The assigned study is dedicated to the synthesis, improvement and characterization of acrylic-based superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) which can be used in versatile applications notably in disposable diapers and pharmaceutics. The industrially preferred solution polymerization route and low cost monomers were used to synthesize SAPs. Homopolymer and copolymer based SAPs were prepared with varying amount of cross-linker and initiator concentrations and compared for swelling rate with a commercially available SAP sample. Swelling capacity linearly decreases with increase in cross-linker content for both the synthesized SAPs samples whereas it first increases and then decreases with initiator content for the synthesized copolymer SAP. Swelling kinetics of the synthesized and commercial SAPs were modelled using model equation proposed by Omidian et al . Both the synthesized SAPs showed substantial increase in swelling capacity whereas copolymer SAP exhibited the highest swelling rate (rate parameter 2.78 min) when compared to homopolymer SAP and the commercially available SAP samples. Accordingly, the copolymer SAP may find its application in disposable diapers or pharmaceutics where the higher swelling rate is of prime importance. Copolymer and commercially available SAPs depicted significant decrease in swelling capacity even at very low saline solution concentration (0.01 %).


The morphology of rabbit heart muscle mitochondria isolated in several media has been compared by electron microscopy. The internal structure of isolated mitochondria differs from that of in situ mitochondria, with the type and degree of alteration depending on the isolation medium. Examination of the isolated mitochondria after incubation revealed that additional morphological changes occurred during incubation, but these changes were less pronounced when the incubation was conducted in a complete medium containing substrate. The isolated mitochondria have been shown to be capable of catalyzing a slow aerobic oxidation of extramitochondrial reduced diphosphopyridine nucleotide. The rate of DPNH oxidation observed is sufficient to account for the ability of the mitochondria to oxidize lactate in the presence of catalytic amounts of DPNH. The suspensions used were essentially free of mitochondrial fragments, which are known to oxidize DPNH. Possible relationships of these findings to metabolism in situ are discussed. The results indicate the desirability of correlating biochemical activities with the morphology of isolated mitochondria.


Carthamus tinctorius L. (Safflower) has been often preferred because of rich fatty acid, flavonoid, alkaloid, and polysaccharide contents in its different parts in medicine and industrial area. Although its antioxidant, antienflamatuar, and antitumor properties have been proven in many studies, the mechanism underlying the anticancer activity is still more unclear. This study was first conducted to elucidate the apoptotic gene expression changes in human colorectal (CaCo-2), lung (A549), and cervix cancer (HeLa) cells after exposure to safflower seed oil (SFO). Cytotoxic activity of cancer cells was evaluated by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl2H-tetrazoliumbromide) assay and then, total RNA derived from cell lines to analyze the gene expression profile on Real-Time Ready Human Apoptosis Panel 96 was used. MTT results showed that SFO greatly inhibited A549, CaCo-2 and HeLa cell proliferation, with a value of IC50 of 1.26, 3.92 and 13.12 μg/ml, respectively. According to the cDNA microarray analysis, 56 genes were interpreted in connection with extrinsic, intrinsic, PI3K/AKT, JAK/STAT, and NFκB pathways. SFO treatments triggered apoptosis through the caspase-dependently pathway along with upregulated the expressions of many pro-apoptotic genes in the extrinsic and intrinsic pathway in HeLa cells. However, in A549 and CaCo-2 cells, SFO treatments were inhibited cell survival mechanism through frequently caspase-independent genes following downregulated the expression of anti-apoptotic genes. It is noteworthy that although cancer cells have different sensitivity, SFO induced apoptosis through different pathways. Taken together, SFO, as a natural resource, has the potential to be used as a promising agent against cancer, especially in gene therapy level.


This is the interim report on the second ruling engine of the Institute for Optical Research, Kyoiku University.The engine was installed at the institute in 1962. Despite the effort, no success has been made in producing usable plane gratings until a year ago, and the new research group was formed in May, 1971 in order to improve the situation. This paper describes the results of new group's endeavor toward improvement of the engine.


This work describes RAFT polymerization with manganese(III) acetylacetonate (Mn(acac)3) as an initiator. Initiated by Mn(acac)3, RAFT polymerization of poly(vinyl acetate) was achieved at 80 °C mediated by a xanthate, methyl 2-(ethoxycarbonothioylthio)propanoate. The polymerization manifested good control at a low concentration of Mn(acac)3 (approximately 157 ppm). The polymer was endowed with a high chain end fidelity (97%), which was comparable or even better in comparison with the azobisisobutyronitrile-initiated polymerization. The polymerization behavior was revealed to comply with the features of a typical RAFT process. Successful Mn(acac)3-initiated RAFT polymerization of methyl methacrylate at 25 °C with a typical dithioester as a RAFT agent, and styrene at 100 °C with a dithiocarbamate as a RAFT agent demonstrated that Mn(acac)3 was a versatile and superior RAFT initiator.


Elastic Optical Network (EON) architectures are considered as a very promising solution for both huge bandwidth and flexible connection provisioning in next generation optical networks. In EON, a basic problem in network design and operation is the problem of Routing and Spectrum Allocation (RSA). In this article, we focus on offline RSA in a survivable EON scenario with shared backup path protection (SBPP). We formulate RSA/SBPP as an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) problem. Since RSA is a difficult problem itself, we propose several heuristic algorithms including both new proposals called Adaptive Frequency Assignment with Shared Backup Path Protection (AFA/SBPP) and Most Subcarriers and Average Longest Path First (MSALPF) as well as existing RSA methods adapted to the SBPP scenario. We investigate the efficiency of all algorithms for a set of network scenarios and we show that the proposed new algorithms outperform other reference algorithms. Moreover, numerical experiments show that the shared backup path protection approach enables reduction of the spectrum usage up to 28% comparing to the dedicated path protection approach without sharing of backup capacity. However, the difference between these scenarios strongly depends on the network topology and other parameters.


ABSTRACT Indigenous knowledge is a multilayered knowledge system that can inform contemporary management in both natural observations and cultural value. Centuries old observations preserved within song, chant, and story has been globally recognized as a resource to integrate with conservation efforts for endangered species. In the case of the endemic land snails, kāhuli, of the Hawaiian archipelago, there is a prominent cultural presence preserved in oral tradition and written records in 19th and early 20th century's Hawaiian language newspapers. As we witness the dramatic decimation of one of the greatest models of species radiation, the unveiling of the repositories of indigenous knowledge is crucial for conservation of these endemic land snails. This paper reports on indigenous knowledge that informs about the cultural significance (i.e., poetic device, metaphorical role, importance to hula) and ecology of kāhuli, and how indigenous knowledge can contribute to conservation efforts of rare and endangered species.


OBJECTIVES
To measure actual and instructed preoperative fasting durations in women undergoing scheduled cesarean birth, to compare these times with national guidelines for healthy patients undergoing elective procedures, and to describe discomforts associated with preoperative fasting.

DESIGN
One group, nonexperimental, comparative, descriptive.

SETTING
Nonprofit private medical center in Texas with 6,000 births/year.

PATIENTS
Convenience sample of 51 hospitalized postpartum women.

INTERVENTIONS
Participants were interviewed an average of 44 hours after their cesarean birth, and their medical records were reviewed for fasting information.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Duration of actual and instructed fasting, comparison with national guidelines, and ratings of thirst and hunger.

RESULTS
The participants fasted from liquids and solids an average of 11 and 13 hours, respectively. Both actual and instructed fasting durations were significantly longer than national guidelines. Most participants (70%) were instructed to be nulla per os after midnight whether they were to have a.m. or p.m. surgery. Thirst and hunger scores averaged 5 and 4, respectively, on a 0-10 scale.

CONCLUSION
Patients having scheduled cesarean birth fast for unnecessarily long periods. Nurses should be knowledgeable about evidence-based preoperative fasting practices and collaborate with physicians to implement them.


Academics are expected to have good academic writing expertise since writing scholarly articles and getting them published in scholarly journals is a core activity in the career of an academic. The paper reports an intervention to assist senior members (SMs) who have limited experience in academic writing to improve upon their academic writing expertise. The main intervention was the use of a five-day research workshop. Fifteen SMs of the College of Technology Education, Kumasi of the University of Education, Winneba in Ghana participated in the workshop. Interviews and structured questionnaire were used to collect data on perceived improvement in respondents' academic writing expertise after their participation in the workshop. The results showed that, through the workshop, there was significant improvement in participants' motivation for academic writing and their ability to write effectively, the main sections of a research paper (e.g., Introduction and the problem statement, literature review and hypotheses, data analysis, methodology, discussion and implications, and conclusion). Implications and recommendations for management have been discussed and limitations have been noted. The study contributes to the literature in the area of faculty development in higher education.


We have developed measurement systems for radiometric realization of the units of luminous intensity and illuminance. The advantages of the trap-detector-based systems include a low level of detector-filter interreflections and good spatial homogeneity. Evaluation of known uncertainty components gives a total uncertainty of 0,6% (2 σ).


A number of advanced fiber reinforced organic matrix composites are being developed and applied in the aerospace industry. In these applications, the composites may be exposed to a variety of harsh environments, which may induce chemical and physical changes in the composite material, and ultimately lead to component failure. The successful use of these composites, therefore, requires methods to reliably detect and assess these changes. During this Phase I Program, a fiber optic based Fourier transform Raman spectrometer was specifically developed to perform nondestructive evaluation of environmentally damaged composites. Specifically, graphite and Kevlar reinforced epoxy and polyimide composite samples were subjected to thermal cycling, moisture exposure and ultraviolet irradiation. Three point flexure tests were used to measure flexural strength, flexural modulus, failure strain and failure load to assess induced mechanical property changes in the composites. Reflectance infrared spectra of the sample surfaces, as well as transmission infrared spectra of evolved gas phase chemical species were used to further characterize these changes.


On the 60th Anniversary of the 1947 International Emergency Conference on Anti-Semitism in Seelisberg, Switzerland, this article provides an overview and analysis of: historical events leading up to this conference; the working process and results of the conference with a focus on the specific work of its various commissions, especially that of Commission III on the Role of the Churches and the Ten Points (Theses) of Seelisberg. Looking back from the present-day vantage point, it comments on the effects of its work over the past several decades, and closes with a brief summary of the 60th Anniversary Jewish-Christian scholarly conference hosted at Lasalle-Haus in Bad Schonbrunn, Switzerland -including the 2007 joint declaration by the Swiss Bishops Conference, the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches and the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities. An Addendum to the article provides a photograph and a list of the 1947 conference officers and commission participants.


A total of 132 patients with adenocarcinoma of the rectum were treated in a program of "selective sandwich" adjunctive radiation therapy and have been followed for a minimum period of 5 years. All patients were given a single dose of preoperative radiation, 500 cGy, either on the day of or the day before surgery. At surgery, 12 patients with metastatic disease were treated palliatively. The remaining 120 patients underwent radical curative surgery. Patients were then staged histopathologically according to the Astler-Coller modification of Dukes' staging: 34 patients with stage A or B1 disease were followed with no further treatment; 54 patients with stage B2 or C cancer received a planned course of high-dose postoperative radiation (4,500 cGy in 5 weeks); 32 patients with stage B2 and C cancer received no further treatment. Radiation therapy was well tolerated with few long-term side effects. None of the patients receiving low-dose preoperative radiation alone had any complications. Two patients (4%) treated with the combined pre- and postoperative radiation experienced major small bowel complications. Local recurrence was observed in 11 of 32 patients (34%) with stage B2 and C disease receiving low-dose preoperative radiation alone, as compared to 5 of 54 patients (9%) of the combined pre- and postoperative radiation group. The absolute 5-year survival in these two groups is 54% and 72%, respectively. With follow-up now exceeding 5 years, the survival of patients treated with the planned approach of combined pre- and postoperative radiation continues to remain appreciably better than for patients receiving low-dose preoperative radiation alone.


This research examines the influence of framing and priming theories of the mass media taken together, asking whether the two phenomena can interact to produce different outcomes. Most extant research on media effects looks at the theories independently without recognizing the potential or an interactive effect. Priming theory states that news attention to a particular issue increases the salience of it, encouraging the incorporation of that subject into judgments of public officials; framing theory argues that the content of a story influences the effect that it has on the audience. To date, however, little work has been conducted incorporating the ideas of the theories with one another. In this work, I ask whether the media's frame influences public opinion of policy issues and encourages the incorporation of the issue into evaluations of public officials. That is, do differing portrayals of the same story influence individuals' judgments of public figures?


This paper presents a novel algorithm for developing dynamic equivalents of large-scale power systems. Generators are identified to the coherent groups according to the relation factors, which represent the relative coupling degree between the generators. While the groups are identified, participation numbers-which are the measure of the relative participation of the generators in the group-are obtained. All generators and controllers in the group are weighted by participation numbers and aggregated to construct a dynamic equivalent. The proposed algorithm is applied to a 272-machine Korea Electric Power Corporation's system. The results indicate the accuracy and usefulness of the algorithm.


The Upper Pennsylvanian Finis Shale Member of the Graham Formation, Cisco Group (Virgilian Series) can be characterized by its foraminiferal assemblage. Although the chronostratigraphic position of the Finis Shale has been disputed for most of this century, the occurrence of Virgilian age foraminifera supports recent research placing the Finis at the base of the Cisco Group. The mid-unit shales of the Finis contain the highest generic diversity of foraminifera, and also contain an enigmatic taxon, Finisia martini, described herein.


Abstract Slow growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), hinders advancement in all areas of research toward prevention and treatment. Real time imaging, employing reporter enzyme fluorescence (REF) that uses custom fluorogenic substrates for bacterial enzymes, allows rapid and specific detection of Mtb in live animals. We have synthesized a novel REF substrate, CNIR800, which carries a near-infrared (NIR) fluorochrome IRDye 800CW, with a quencher connected through the lactam ring that is hydrolyzed by the enzyme BlaC (β-lactamase) naturally expressed by Mtb. CNIR800 produces long wavelength emission at 795 nm upon excitation (745 nm) and exhibits significantly improved signal-to-noise ratios for detection of Mtb . The detection threshold with CNIR800 is ∼100 colony forming units (CFU) in vitro and <1000 CFU in the lungs of mice. Additionally, fluorescence signal from cleaved CNIR800 reaches maximal levels at 4-6 h post-administration in live animals, allowing accurate evaluation of anti-tuberculous drug efficacy. Thus, CNIR800 represents an excellent substrate for accurate detection of Mtb rapidly and specifically in animals, facilitating research toward understanding pathogenic mechanisms, evaluation of therapeutic outcomes, and screening new vaccines.


As agrarian society developed, the most fertile soils able to sustain the nutritional requirements needed for high crop yield were assigned to farming, while the more penurious soils were left to uphold the forest ecosystems. Some temperate forests are developed on acidic soils considered to be nutrient poor, as much of the inorganic nutrients are entrapped in poorly weatherable soil minerals and not easily accessed by plant roots. In an undisturbed ecosystem, the largest contribution of available nutrients comes from the recycling of organically bound nutrients via the decomposition of dead plant material. If biomass is removed, for instance with a more intensified exploitation of the forest ecosystems including whole tree harvesting, this source of nutrients is consequently decreased. The importance of soil mineral weathering as a source of nutrients, and especially that promoted by soil biota, is thereby emphasized.This thesis addresses biotic parameters associated with mineral weathering. Different aspects of soil solution sampling strategies and analysis of different organic ligands as well as biomarkers for the estimation of fungal biomass were investigated. These chemical parameters were also evaluated as indicators of microbial activity in relation to mineral nutrient availability in soil.With the assumption that the current nutrient status of a soil will affect the microbial interest of certain minerals as sources of inorganic nutrients, a mineral amendment trial was performed in a Swedish boreal forest soil. Overall, the amended soil presented good nutrient status, but with a possible shortage of iron. Due to this, it was hypothesized that the amended mineral with the highest iron content i.e. biotite would cause an elevation of microbial activity in its vicinity when compared to the bulk soil.The level of microbial activity in the vicinity of the amended minerals was evaluated via quantification of organic acids and siderophores, as well as estimation of fungal biomass and enzymatic activity.The highest microbial activity was measured for the O horizon of the investigated podzol, although nothing indicated an elevated association with the amended minerals. In the E horizon, however, elevation in microbial activity was observed in the vicinity of the biotite mineral when compared with bulk soil, although only a few of the investigated parameters differed significantly when evaluated separately. To enable this study, a highly sensitive analytical method employing liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry was developed to quantify a number of hydroxamate siderophores. On-line pre-concentration enabled detection of these organic ligands in the pico-molar range – a necessity when analyzing natural samples.Furthermore, an analytical method was developed for the estimation of fungal biomass via quantification of chitin-derived glucosamine, which also employed liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Unlike currently available methods, the one presented in this thesis did not involve analyte derivatization, which resulted in high sample throughput while simultaneously avoiding complications involved with the additional derivatization procedure.The distribution of a group of organic ligands known as aromatic low molecular mass organic acids was also studied in a boreal forest podzol soil. Different sampling and samples preparation techniques, namely tension-lysimeters, soil centrifugation and liquid-soil extraction, were compared when analyzing soil solution components. Significant differences in analyte amount and species type were found between these sampling techniques. Some of the differences could be accounted for by variation in soil composition at different depths of the investigated podzol, but others could be attributed to structural differences within the studied analyte group. This clearly illustrated the intricacy of sampling and analysis when working with a sample matrix as complex and diverse as soil.As previously, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry was used to quantify the analytes of interest. A highly sensitive analytical method was developed that was able to detect eleven aromatic low molecular mass organic acids in the nano-molar range. High selectivity was ensured by applying multiple reaction monitoring enabled by collision induced fragmentation of the analytes.


This descriptive cross-sectional study investigates the prevalence of driving anger among adolescents in designated zones within Bhopal, India. Anger, characterized as a hostile emotional state, holds potential for harmful behaviors. The study explores the development of anger from childhood to adolescence, emphasizing its relevance to driving behavior. The concept of "road rage" is defined, illustrating its intersection with driving anger. The research employed a questionnaire-based approach, collecting data on socio-demographic profiles and utilizing the Deffenbacher Driving Anger Scale (Short Scale) to assess driving anger levels. The study's significance lies in addressing the growing concern of road rage incidents among young drivers in India. It is revealed that about 87% of the study population has higher levels of driving anger.

Keywords: Adolescents, driving anger, road rage, Deffenbacher Driving Anger Scale.


This discussion identiaes the statistical realities resulting from institutionalized racism and foregrounding the challenges to ensuring the welfare of Black children. It then identiaes speciac instances where policy and law makers should reconsider rules and objectives, while keeping in mind the ultimate effects imposed on children and their family systems of support.


PART I: LEAN AS A COMPETITIVE STRATEGY Lean Philosophy as an Enterprise Solution Case Study: An Introduction to Carjo Manufacturing Co. PART II: STRATEGIC THINKING Integrating Strategic Goals Hoshin Methods Case Study: Implementing Policy Deployment at Carjo Manufacturing Co. PART III: UNDERSTANDING VALUE The Basics of Value Stream Mapping . Case Study: Creating Current-State Maps of Three Carjo Manufacturing Facilities Case Study: Identifying Improvement Opportunities at Carjo Manufacturing Co. PART IV: IMPROVE Systems Thinking and Theory of Constraints Tool Selection Using Six Sigma to Improve Quality Using 5S to Create a Clean and Manageable Work Environment Using Single-Minute Exchange of Dies to Reduce Setup Time Standard Work: Documenting the Interaction between People and Their Environment Mistake-Proofing (a.k.a. Poka-Yoke): Preventing Defects by Monitoring Process Conditions and Correcting Errors at the Source PART V: PLAN AND IMPLEMENT Case Study: Daily Management and Action Plans at Carjo Manufacturing Co. Conclusion LEANcyclopedia Lean Glossary Additional Resources


Aims
The therapeutical management of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the setting of Brugada syndrome (BS) might be challenging as many antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) with sodium channel blocking properties might lead to to the development of ventricular arrhythmias. This study sought to evaluate the clinical outcome in a consecutive series of patients with BS having undergone pulmonary vein (PV) isolation by means of radiofrequency (RF) or cryoballoon (CB) ablation and the efficacy of catheter ablation for preventing inappropriate interventions delivered by implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) on a 3-year follow up.

Methods and results
Twenty-three consecutive patients with BS (13 males; mean age was 47 ± 18 years) having undergone PV isolation for drug-resistant paroxysmal AF were enrolled. Eleven patients (48%) had an ICD implanted of whom four had inappropriate shocks secondary to rapid AF. Over a mean follow-up period of 35.0 ± 25.4 months (median 36 months) the freedom from AF recurrence after the index PV isolation procedure was 74% without AADs. Patients with inappropriate ICD interventions for AF did not present futher ICD shocks after AF ablation. No major complications occurred.

Conclusion
Catheter ablation is a valid therapeutic choice for patients with BS and paroxysmal AF considering the high success rates, the limitations of the AADs and the safety of the procedure, and it should be taken into consideration especially in those patients presenting inappropriate ICD shocks due to rapid AF.


Background: Cell-to-cell interaction is thought to be an important feature of a variety of biological processes. As far as the proinflammatory process is concerned, the interaction between mesangial cells and monocytes/macrophages induces the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and this may play a role in glomerulonephritis. In this study, we investigated whether the cell-to-cell interaction between immune cells and renal fibroblasts induces MCP-1 gene expression, which may be involved in interstitial inflammation in the kidney. Methods: Human renal fibroblast cell lines, tNKF (from a normal kidney) and tFKIF (from a kidney with fibrosis), and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were used to assess the effect of cell-to-cell contact on the expression of MCP-1 mRNA in the fibroblasts. The expression of the MCP-1 gene in the fibroblasts was also examined after stimulation with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the culture supernatant from PBMC. RT-PCR was used to detect MCP-1 mRNA expression. Neutralizing antibodies to intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular endothelial adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were used to block the cell-to-cell contact between the fibroblasts and PBMC. Results: TNF-α and the culture supernatant from PBMC increased MCP-1 gene expression in tNKF cells. Contact culture with PBMC also significantly increased MCP-1 gene expression in tNKF cells. Although the basal level of MCP-1 mRNA was higher in tFKIF than tNKF cells, tFKIF cells did not respond significantly to any stimulation in this study. Following pretreatment with anti-ICAM-1 antibody, MCP-1 gene expression in tNKF cells was significantly suppressed in contact culture with PBMC. Anti-VCAM-1 antibody treatment had no effects. Conclusion: It is suggested that the interaction between renal fibroblasts and PBMC was mediated through direct contact and by secreted humoral factors. ICAM-1 on renal fibroblasts may be involved in the direct cell-to-cell interaction inducing MCP-1 gene expression, which seems to be involved in renal interstitial inflammation.


About 200 compression and heating experiments simulating diagenesis and low-grade metamorphism have been performed on samples of CaCO3 sediments obtained from the banks west of Andros Island in the Bahamas; the mud consists mainly of aragonite needles, 0.1µ by 1µ, and ovoid pellets, about 100µ across. The ranges of conditions and the precisions of the experiments were as follows: pressure P, 1-3,000 bars, ±10%; temperature T, 25°-400°C., ±10%; and time t, 3 hours to 2 months, ±1%. The chemical compositions of the sea water in the mud and the vapor driven off were not determined. Consolidation is effected by compaction of grains, recrystallization, and by increase of integranular bonding. Pressure of 30 bars causes a compaction of about 20% for a given temperature; at T = 25° C. the density increases from that of the initial mud, 1.7 g/cm3, to a final 2.0 g/cm3; essentially, some of the interstitial water is squeezed out. Heating at T between 100° and 200° C., under P 1 day, lithifies the mud, apparently during inversion of aragonite to calcite; electron micrographs show coalescence, increasing with time, of the original needles to rounded grains and then to a subhedral, interlocking texture; the product has a compressive strength >100 bars. Higher pressure, P>100 bars, causes increasing breakage of the aragonite needles. About 30 experiments on aragonitic mud from Kapingamarangi Atoll in the Caroline Islands produced results similar to those obtained on the Bahamas mud. However, in none of 6 experiments performed on deep-sea, coccolithic, calcite ooze from near the Hawaiian Islands could the sample be lithified, even at T = 400° C., P = 1,000 bars, t = 11 days; apparently consolidation of calcite sediment requires the circulation of dissolving water. End_of_Article - Last_Page 544------------


The adaptive algorithm satisfies the present needs on technology for diagnosis biosignals as lung sound signals (LSSs) and accurate techniques for the separation of heart sound signals (HSSs) and other background noise from LSS. This study investigates an improved adaptive noise cancellation (ANC) based on normalized last-mean-square (NLMS) algorithm. The parameters of ANC-NLMS algorithm are the filter length (Lj) parameter, which is determined in 2n sequence of 2, 4, 8, 16,…, 2048, and the step size (μn), which is automatically randomly identified using variable μn (VSS) optimization. Initially, the algorithm is subjected experimentally to identify the optimal μn range that works with 11 Lj values as a specific case. This case is used to study the improved performance of the proposed method based on the signal-to-noise ratio and mean square error. Moreover, the performance is evaluated four times for four μn values, each of which with all Lj to obtain the output SNRout matrix (4 × 11). The improvement level is estimated and compared with the SNRin prior to the application of the proposed algorithm and after SNRouts. The proposed method achieves high-performance ANC-NLMS algorithm by optimizing VSS when it is close to zero at determining Lj, at which the algorithm shows the capability to separate HSS from LSS. Furthermore, the SNRout of normal LSS starts to improve at Lj of 64 and Lj limit of 1024. The SNRout of abnormal LSS starts from a Lj value of 512 to more than 2048 for all determined μn. Results revealed that the SNRout of the abnormal LSS is small (negative value), whereas that in the normal LSS is large (reaches a positive value). Finally, the designed ANC-NLMS algorithm can separate HSS from LSS. This algorithm can also achieve a good performance by optimizing VSS at the determined 11 Lj values. Additionally, the steps of the proposed method and the obtained SNRout may be used to classify LSS by using a computer.


Wood is an important raw material for the global industry with rapidly increasing demand. To isolate the differentially expressed genes in xylogenesis of Chinese fir [Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook], a forward subtractive cDNA library was constructed using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) method, which was performed using the cDNA from the mutant Dugansha clone as the tester and the cDNA from the normal Jurong 0 clone as the driver. Six hundred and eighteen clones were obtained. Recombinants were identified using PCR with universal T7 and SP6 primers and using EcoR digestion. To further eliminate false positive, dot hybridization was used with four DIG-labeled probes (FSP, RSP, UTP, and UDP). Real-time PCR was performed to confirm the results. A total of 260 unique ESTs were obtained, 60% of the ESTs exhibiting homologies with proteins of known function fell into 4 major classes: metabolism, cell wall biogenesis and remodeling, signal transduction and stress. The systematic analysis of genes involved in wood formation in Chinese fir provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in xylem differentiation, is important resources for forest research directed toward understanding the genetic control of wood formation and future endeavors to modify wood and fiber properties for industrial use.


Chitin, a kind of second abundant natural saccharide, has great potential in biomedical applications. Here, chitin nanofibers combined with magnetic nanoparticles, a magnetic hydrogel, was prepared in one step by mixing Fe ions with partially deacetylated chitin nanofibers (DEChNs) and physically coagulating in an ammonia gas bath. The storage modulus of the prepared magnetic DEChN (M-DEChN) hydrogels reached 5507 Pa and could be remolded by adjusting the pH value assisted with an ultrasound treatment. In addition, the M-DEChN hydrogels showed an assignable heating behavior in alternating electromagnetic fields (AMFs), and the temperature of the M-DEChN was adjustable by controlling the content of magnetic particles inside. Benefiting from the remote heating ability, the biocompatible magnetic hydrogel showed thermoablation ability to osteosarcoma cells both in vitro and in vivo. These kinds of M-DEChN hydrogels show great application prospects in killing cancer cells.


The basic purpose of this study is "to analyse different safety and security measures in both public and private schools at secondary level in Islamabad." The study was conducted in Islamabad; therefore all the heads of schools constituted as the population of this study. In the sample the number of public schools were 50 and private were also 50. The numbers of male heads of the schools were 56 and female were 44. Checklist for Comparative Analysis of Safety and Security Measures at Secondary level was used to collect the data. It consists of 35 items. Heads of schools responded to the items in three ways either as "Yes" or "No" and further action needed. The findings of this study shows that safety and security measures such as flooring and lighting; number of furniture according to the number of users, stable portable equipment i.e. TV and Computers, good practice of computers among students; fire-fighting equipment, fire evacuation procedures, the evacuation drill; testing of water samples, Remedial actions against exceed limits for bacteria, cold water is used for preparing foods and beverages; emission inspection stickers; Natural disasters, Fires, Chemical or hazardous material spills or releases, Major transportation accidents, Incidents of violence, Bomb threats and acts of terror are most common measure in both public and private school at secondary level. Both male and female heads as well as public and private schools heads had no significant mean differences regarding safety and security measures at secondary level schools in Islamabad, Pakistan


Active space experiments involving the controlled injection of electron beams and the formation of artificially generated currents can provide in many cases a calibration of natural phenomena connected with the dynamic interaction of charged particles with fields. They have a long history beginning from the launches of small rockets with electron guns in order to map magnetic fields lines in the Earth's magnetosphere or to excite artificial auroras. Moreover, natural beams of charged particles exist in many space and astrophysical plasmas and were identified in situ by several satellites; a few examples are beams connected with solar bursts, planetary foreshocks or suprathermal fluxes traveling in planetary magnetospheres. Many experimental and theoretical works have been performed in order to interpret or plan space experiments involving beam injection as well as to understand the physics of wave-particle interaction, as wave radiation, beam dynamics and background plasma modification. Recently, theoretical studies of the nonlinear evolution of a thin monoenergetic electron beam injected in a magnetized plasma and interacting with a whistler wave packet have led to new results. The influence of an effective dissipation process connected with whistler wave field leakage out of the beam volume to infinity (that is, effective radiation outside the beam) on the nonlinear evolution of beam electrons distribution in phase space has been studied under conditions relevant to active space experiments and related laboratory modelling. The beam-waves system's evolution reveals the formation of stable nonlinear structures continuously decelerated due to the effective friction imposed by the strongly dissipated waves. The nonlinear interaction between the electron bunches and the wave packet are discussed in terms of dynamic energy exchange, particle trapping, slowing down of the beam, wave dissipation and quasi-linear diffusion.


: The zone of the bronchial constriction of the esophagus and the area of the upper and lower dilatation of the esophagus was studied in humans of different age by the morphohistotopographic method at the macro- and microscopic levels. The bronchial constriction area of the esophagus was found to have a thickening of the circular layer of the muscular tunic, less relative thickness of the longitudinal layer, changed course of muscular fibers. The smooth muscle thickening of the circulating layer of the muscular tunic is localized at the boundary of the transitional zone of the displacement of the striated muscle fibers by smooth myocytes. The above morphological signs are characteristic of the areas with sphincter functions which allows to consider the bronchial constriction as a sphincter zone of the esophagus.


Current management of bipolar disorder relies on self-reported questionnaires and interviews with clinicians. The development of objective measures of deteriorating mood may also allow for early interventions to take place to avoid transitions into depressive states. The objective of this study was to use acceleration data recorded from smartphones to predict levels of depression in a population of participants diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Data were collected from 52 participants, with a mean of 37 weeks of acceleration data with a corresponding depression score recorded per participant. Time varying hidden Markov models were used to extract weekly features of activity, sleep and circadian rhythms. Personalised regression achieved mean absolute errors of 1.00(0.57) from a possible scale of 0 to 27 and was able to classify depression with an accuracy of 0.84(0.16). The results demonstrate features derived from smartphone accelerometers are able to provide objective markers of depression. Low barriers for uptake exist due to the widespread use of smartphones, with personalised models able to account for differences in the behaviour of individuals and provide accurate predictions of depression.


We use a modified Becke—Johnson exchange plus a local density approximation correlation potential within the density functional theory to investigate the electronic structures of Hg1−xCdxTe and In1−xGaxAs with x being 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1. For both of the two series, our calculated energy gaps and dielectric functions (real part ∊1 and imaginary part ∊2) are in agreement with the corresponding experimental results with x being between 0 and 1. The calculated zero-frequency refractive index varies greatly with x for Hg1−xCdxTe, but changes little with x for In1−xGaxAs, which is consistent with the real parts of their dielectric functions. Therefore, this new approach is satisfactory to describe the electronic structures and the optical properties of the semiconductors.


In 1778, Bologna's Teatro Comunale mounted a production of Christoph Willibald Gluck's Alceste , the composer's pathbreaking masterpiece of Viennese operatic reform from 1767. A hitherto unexplored exemplar of the libretto printed for the Bolognese production bears extensive manuscript annotations in the hand of Antonio Montefani, the stage director, that provide detailed evidence for the production's staging and technical components. When examined with related sources, including Montefani's notes from a rehearsal or early performance; his correspondence with Ranieri de' Calzabigi, the librettist; and exchanges involving Gluck, Padre Giambattista Martini, Giambattista Mancini, and the Bolognese impresario during the production's planning stages, a vivid image of the Bolognese production emerges. Montefani managed to preserve most of Alceste 's innovative features—choruses and dances integrated within the scenes as well as complex staging of diverse groups of individuals—even when forced to compromise with Giuseppe Canziani, the production's choreographer. These difficult collaborations, involving interactions within networks of creative personnel both local and long-distance, demonstrate the practical and logistical problems reform opera posed for Italian theaters accustomed to conventional opera seria and the creative solutions offered by one of eighteenth-century Italy's leading cultural centers.


Blood pressure (BP) exhibits different variabilities and surges with different time phases, from the shortest beat-by-beat to longest yearly changes. We hypothesized that the synergistic resonance of these BP variabilites generates an extraordinarily large dynamic surge in BP and triggers cardiovascular events (the resonance hypothesis). The power of pulses is transmitted to the peripheral sites without attenuation by the large arteries, in individuals with stiffened arteries. Thus, the effect of a BP surge on cardiovascular risk would be especially exaggerated in high-risk patients with vascular disease. Based on this concept, our group recently proposed a new theory of systemic hemodynamic atherothromboltic syndrome (SHATS), a vicious cycle of hemodynamic stress and vascular disease that advances organ damage and triggers cardiovascular disease. Clinical phenotypes of SHATS are large-artery atherothombotic diseases such as stroke, coronary artery disease, and aortic and pheripheral artery disease; small-artery diseases, and microcirculation-related disease such as vascular cognitive dysfunction, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. The careful consideration of BP variability and vascular diseases such as SHATS, and the early detection and management of SHATS, will achieve more effective individualized cardiovascular protection. In the near future, information and communication technology-based 'anticipation medicine' predicted by the changes of individual BP values could be a promising approach to achieving zero cardiovascular events.


The drag of a heavy quark and the jet quenching parameter are studied in the strongly coupled = 2* plasma using the AdS/CFT correspondence. Both increase in units of the spatial string tension as the theory departs from conformal invariance. The description of heavy quark dynamics using a Langevin equation is also considered. It is found that the difference between the velocity dependent factors of the transverse and longitudinal momentum broadening of the quark admits an interpretation in terms of relativistic effects, so the distribution is spherical in the quark rest frame. When conformal invariance is broken there is a broadening of the longitudinal momentum distribution. This effect may be useful in understanding the jet distribution observed in experiments.


The case of a 59-year-old, jaundiced male is reported. Autopsy revealed an obstructing blood thrombus in the common bile duct. The thrombus was firmly attached to the duct wall. Microscopic remnants of thread material were found in the centre of the thrombus, but not elsewhere. Approximately 10 months prior to death an elective and uncomplicated cholecystectomy was performed, and the cystic duct was ligated with silk. The unabsorbable thread material is supposed to have migrated through the duct wall, resulting in secondary inflammatory reaction, bleeding and finally the formation of an intra-luminal thrombus. The clinical manifestations were largely in agreement with the patho-anatomical findings.


This study aims to re-conceptualise volunteer tourism through wider theoretical questions and analytical approach in order to contribute to developing a more holistic theoretical framework for understanding volunteer tourism. This thesis is premised primarily on the question: 'why do individuals travel as volunteers?' Focusing on volunteer tourists from Hong Kong and Taiwan, this thesis seeks to unpack how volunteer tourism becomes a social trend. As a choice of travelling, taking part in volunteer tourism is not just a discrete choice of a single volunteer tourist. It is a prevailing choice from the overarching, complex ethical terrain in which an individual chooses to do things from a particular instilled position. This instilled position emerges from the interplay of neoliberal constructions and responsibilisation through institutionalised service obligation in schools that encourage students to extend care to distant others alongside the culturally rooted ethical dispositions that inform developing oneself by taking up more responsibilities. This social trend also manifests the search for rebuilding social ties that can be actualised through being part of moral communities and new ways of being through distancing from the 'familiar' and critical self-reflection in the 'unfamiliar'. This moves the conceptualisation of volunteer tourism beyond the absolute dichotomy between altruism and self-interest to the broader discussion around ways of being and becoming a moral self. This study also offers a 'post-normative' analytical framework to understand how a good self is cultivated, experienced and re-invented through volunteer tourism. On the one hand, it draws together the concepts to examine the active and conscious technologies of the self, unconscious dispositions and the notion of quality which play out for the development of the self towards an ethical subject. On the other hand, it links up the concepts of community, liminality and geographies of care to investigate the meaning and formation of the moral self in a collective setting. This study further contributes to this theoretical framework by widening the discussion to a non-Western context. The finding of this research shows that in Chinese societies in East Asia, developing a good self is the choice as well as the outcome, which is slightly different from the Western responsibilisation. This study contributes to the current responsibilisation as well as alternative tourism or ethical tourism literature by looking at the complex ethical and cultural framework in which individuals choose to do things from particular dispositions rather than positing individuals to make discrete choices. The way that these Asian volunteers conceive volunteer tourism, as informed by their traditional values, helps to re-orientate from sending aid to change poor people's lives to sharing and exchange which may also help to disorientate volunteers' subjectivities. This responds to the urge for 'Asianising the field' through more research on the emerging phenomenon of Asian tourists/tourism within Asia.


Abstract Objective To evaluate the role of autoantibodies to N-terminally truncated glutamic acid decarboxylase GAD65(96-585) (t-GADA) as a marker for type 1 diabetes (T1D) and to assess the potential human leukocyte antigen (HLA) associations with such autoantibodies. Design In this cross-sectional study combining data from the Finnish Pediatric Diabetes Register, the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention study, the DIABIMMUNE study, and the Early Dietary Intervention and Later Signs of Beta-Cell Autoimmunity study, venous blood samples from 760 individuals (53.7% males) were analyzed for t-GADA, autoantibodies to full-length GAD65 (f-GADA), and islet cell antibodies. Epitope-specific GAD autoantibodies were analyzed from 189 study participants. Results T1D had been diagnosed in 174 (23%) participants. Altogether 631 (83%) individuals tested positive for f-GADA and 451 (59%) for t-GADA at a median age of 9.0 (range 0.2-61.5) years. t-GADA demonstrated higher specificity (46%) and positive predictive value (30%) for T1D than positivity for f-GADA alone (15% and 21%, respectively). Among participants positive for f-GADA, those who tested positive for t-GADA carried more frequently HLA genotypes conferring increased risk for T1D than those who tested negative for t-GADA (77% vs 53%; P < 0.001). Conclusions Autoantibodies to N-terminally truncated GAD improve the screening for T1D compared to f-GADA and may facilitate the selection of participants for clinical trials. HLA class II-mediated antigen presentation of GAD(96–585)-derived or structurally similar peptides might comprise an important pathomechanism in T1D.


A simple protocol for the demonstration of a beta-lactamase in the gonococcus has been adapted from the iodometric technique on agar medium developed by Labia and Barthelemy [13]. This protocol has been applied to 70 strains which produce this enzyme isolated in France and in three African countries.


Paraneoplastic acrokeratosis, or Bazex syndrome, is a rare, distinct dermatosis characterized by psoriasiform acral hyperkeratosis. In most cases, it is a specific cutaneous sign of an occult squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract that has metastasized to cervical lymph nodes. We report the fifth American case of paraneoplastic acrokeratosis. The patient's skin disease was more remarkable for its hyperpigmentation than its hyperkeratosis. Nearly all of the hyperpigmentation resolved, but the nail dystrophy persisted seven months after the tumor had been treated using surgery and radiation.


This is a collection of recent lectures given by the author on feminism, religion, and education. Contents: Feminist Consciousness and World Peace; Integrating Feminist Perspectives into the Religious Studies Curriculum; Masculine and Feminine Dimensions of the Divine; Women in the Church; The Story of World Religions; Values in the Curriculum; Values in Honors Education, and Authority and Responsibility in the Classroom.


We analyze the information provided by the word embeddings about the grammatical gender in Swedish. We wish that this paper may serve as one of the bridges to connect the methods of computational linguistics and general linguistics. Taking nominal classification in Swedish as a case study, we first show how the information about grammatical gender in language can be captured by word embedding models and artificial neural networks. Then, we match our results with previous linguistic hypotheses on assignment and usage of grammatical gender in Swedish and analyze the errors made by the computational model from a linguistic perspective.


The level of natural killer (NK) activity was found to vary considerably among several mouse strains. In vivo and in vitro, interferon (IFN) and IFN inducers have been shown to augment mouse NK activity. C3H/He mice showed high NK activity, DDD/1 and A/J mice low NK activity, and C57BL/6, BALB/c and DBA/2 mice intermediate NK activity after injection with polyinosinic polycytidylic acid (poly I. C.). The same NK activity correlation was observed in nontreated mice, but the NK activities were lower compared with the poly I. C.-injected mice. Moreover, the DDD/1 and A/J mice showed almost no augmentation of NK activity on injection with poly I.C. In vivo, C3H/He, BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice injected with IFN showed augmented NK activity, but DDD/1 mice showed no such reaction. In vitro, C3H/He, BALB/c and C57BL/6 mouse spleen cells treated with IFN also showed augmented NK activity, but DDD/1 mouse spleen cells showed almost none. F1 hybrids between high (C3H/He) and low (DDD/1) NK-activity strains showed high NK activity. Thus, activity is dominant over low activity. The segregation of (DDD/1 X C3H/He) Fl X DDD/1 back-cross mice suggested that the strain differences in NK activity are under polygenic control.


Background: Advances in big data analytics can enable more effective and efficient research processes, with important implications for aging research. Translating these new potentialities to research outcomes, however, remains a challenge, as exponentially increasing big data availability is yet to translate into a commensurate era of 'big knowledge,' or exponential increases in biomedical breakthroughs. Some argue that big data analytics heralds a new era associated with the 'end of theory.' According to this perspective, correlation supersedes causation, and science will ultimately advance without theory and hypotheses testing. On the other hand, others argue that theory cannot be subordinate to data, no matter how comprehensive data coverage may ultimately become. Objective: Given these two tensions, namely (i) between exponential increases in data that have not translated into exponential increases in biomedical research outputs; and (ii) between the promise of comprehensive data coverage and inductive data-driven modes of enquiry versus theory-driven deductive modes, this critical review seeks to offer useful perspectives of big data analytics and to derive certain theoretical implications for aging research. Method: This work offers a critical review of theory and literature relating big data to aging research. Result: The rise of big data provides important insights into the theory development process itself, highlighting potential for holistic theoretical assemblage to ultimately enable near real time research capability. Conclusion: Big data may represent a new paradigm of aging research that can dramatically increase the rate of scientific breakthroughs, but innovative theory development remains key to this potential.


We present a polarization and Faraday rotation study of the hybrid morphology radio galaxy NGC 612 (PKS 0131-36), using Australian Telescope Compact Array observations from 1 to 3 GHz. In general, the results are consistent with an external Faraday screen close to the radio source. In the eastern FRII lobe, the RM of the hotspot increases in magnitude towards the leading edge, as well as changing sign (compared to the rest of the lobe). The Faraday depolarization is also ~3 times larger at the hotspot than elsewhere. A plausible explanation for this is significant compression of ambient magnetised gas by the bow shock produced by the advancing hotspot. The western FRI lobe also exhibits some evidence of interaction with local magnetised gas, as a transverse band of high RM coincides with a distinct bend in the lobe. Previous observations of NGC 612 revealed an HI bridge of tidal debris along the direction of the eastern lobe towards the gas-rich companion NGC 619. We find no clear evidence that ionised gas associated with this bridge is either mixing with or lies in the foreground of the radio source. This is consistent with the absence of HI absorption against the hotspot, and indicates that the tidal debris must lie mostly behind the eastern lobe.


BACKGROUND
Intensive Care Units are emotionally intense environments where professional autonomy and interprofessional collaboration are essential. Nurses are at high risk of burnout, and the level of compassion satisfaction has a deep impact on the quality of their professional life. Although leadership styles and burnout have been the subject of an extensive body of research, there is an existing gap regarding the relationship between leadership strategies and intensive care nurses' quality of working life and the impact on their compassion satisfaction. Specifically, there is a lack of literature in southern European countries concerning the influence of organizational and cultural contexts.

AIM
To evaluate the impact of nurse managers' leadership styles on Intensive Care Unit nurses' job satisfaction and compassion satisfaction.

DESIGN
A cross-sectional study.

METHODS
An online set of validated tests was sent to a non-probabilistic sample of nurses, recruited via the Italian association of intensive care and emergency nursing website. The set of tests consisted of the Empowering Leadership Questionnaire, Compassion Satisfaction Scale, and McCloskey Mueller Satisfaction Scale. Nurses actively working in intensive care and critical care settings were included in this study. ICU managers and leaders were excluded.

RESULTS
308 nurses (response rate 63,2%) compiled the questionnaires,. Statistical analysis showed that the Leadership dimension of "Showing concern towards the team" had a significant effect on Compassion Satisfaction. In addition, this dimension had an effect on nurses' overall job satisfaction on five out of eight subscales.

CONCLUSIONS
Leaders' authentic listening, communication, and participation capabilities have a positive impact on nurses' job and compassion satisfaction. The interest for team well-being, taking time to discuss team concerns, and working closely with the team affects unpredicted factors like working hours, flexibility in shift scheduling, satisfaction about recognition, and career advancement.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Results suggest that nurse managers can draw on/adopt leadership strategies oriented to authentic listening and interaction with the team in order to manage organizational issues, increase nurses' professional quality of life and prevent burnout.


Fingerprint identification system is mainly consisted of fingerprint achieving, fingerprint classification and fingerprint matching. Fingerprint matching is the key to the system and effects on the precision and efficiency of the whole system directly. Fingerprints are matched mainly based on their fingerprint texture pattern, which can be described with the orientation field of fingerprints. A fingerprint, which has the different orientation angle structure in different local area of the fingerprint and has a texture pattern correlation among the neighboring local areas of the fingerprint, can be viewed as a Markov stochastic field. A novel method of fingerprint matching, which is based on embedded hidden Markov model (HMM) that is used for modeling the fingerprint's orientation field, is described in this paper. The accurate and robust fingerprint matching can be achieved by matching embedded hidden Markov model parameters which were built after the processing of extracting features from a fingerprint, forming the samples of observation vectors and training the embedded hidden Markov model parameters.


Judging a gymnastics routine is a noisy process, and the performance of judges varies widely. In collaboration with the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) and Longines, we are designing and implementing an improved statistical engine to analyze the performance of gymnastics judges during and after major competitions like the Olympic Games and the World Championships. The engine, called the Judge Evaluation Program (JEP), has three objectives: (1) provide constructive feedback to judges, executive committees and national federations; (2) assign the best judges to the most important competitions; (3) detect bias and outright cheating.
Using data from international gymnastics competitions held during the 2013-2016 Olympic cycle, we first develop a marking score evaluating the accuracy of the marks given by gymnastics judges. Judging a gymnastics routine is a random process, and we can model this process very accurately using heteroscedastic random variables. The marking score scales the difference between the mark of a judge and the theoretical performance of a gymnast as a function of the standard deviation of the judging error estimated from data for each apparatus. This dependence between judging variability and performance quality has never been properly studied. We then study ranking scores assessing to what extent judges rate gymnasts in the correct order, and explain why we ultimately chose not to implement them. We also study outlier detection to pinpoint gymnasts who were poorly evaluated by judges. Finally, we discuss interesting observations and discoveries that led to recommendations and rule changes at the FIG.


Compacted bentonite is considered to be used for deep geological nuclear waste disposal due to its isolation properties such as low permeability, solute retention and swelling pressure. To ensure that these properties will remain favourable throughout the long-term performance, understanding its physical behaviour in front of environmental variables is paramountThe study of expansive soils in geotechnics and geomechanics has been historically motivated because of the damage related to foundations during wetting and drying cycles. In recent decades, research has also been driven by the foreseen use of these materials, in particular bentonite, as buffers in nuclear waste disposal concepts. In this context the main behaviour to be predicted is the swelling pressure development, which will condition the microbial activity and the sealing. The characterisation of material was done determining: the evolution of macroscopic parameters (such as axial strains, void ratio and, in case of isochoric saturation, swelling pressure) upon wetting; initial and final total suction; initial and final degree of saturation; as well as, by analysing the structure of bentonite in initial and final state on the base of XCT image data. Tests were conducted is such a way that the influence of possible side factors such as crushing the grains upon compaction of dry material and cracks evolution upon drying were avoided.


From the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, the geopolitical placement of Ukraine drew the attention of some of Europe's most influential cartographers. Many of these maps, including ones of exceptional rarity, were collected by the Ukrainian scholar and journalist Bohdan Krawciw.Krawciw traced the physical and aesthetic depiction of Ukraine across its changing borders as a means of self-recognition and as a cultural and political history of the contested nation and its peoples. Of special interest are his maps of Ukraine from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, at the crossroads of four empires: Habsburg, Ottoman, Russian, and Soviet.As part of his personal archive, Krawciw's maps were bequeathed to Harvard University upon his death in 1975. This book serves as both a catalog of his collection and a description of how the maps he collected serve as an invaluable source for Ukraine's history and a symbol of Ukrainian national identity. The book contains nearly 100 examples from the collection, many in full color, as well as indices listing maps by cartographer and by place name.


Stroke is a condition characterized by sudden deprivation of blood flow to a brain region and defined by different post-injury phases, which involve various molecular and cellular cascades. At an early stage during the acute phase, fast initial cell death occurs, followed by inflammation and scarring. This is followed by a sub-acute or recovery phase when endogenous plasticity mechanisms may promote spontaneous recovery, depending on various factors that are yet to be completely understood. At later time points, stroke leads to greater neurodegeneration compared to healthy controls in both clinical and preclinical studies, this is evident during the chronic phase when recovery slows down and neurodegenerative signatures appear. Astrocytes have been studied in the context of ischemic stroke due to their role in glutamate re-uptake, as components of the neurovascular unit, as building blocks of the glial scar, and synaptic plasticity regulators. All these roles render astrocytes interesting, yet understudied players in the context of stroke-induced neurodegeneration. With this review, we provide a summary of previous research, highlight astrocytes as potential therapeutic targets, and formulate questions about the role of astrocytes in the mechanisms during the acute, sub-acute, and chronic post-stroke phases that may lead to neurorestoration or neurodegeneration.


This study investigated the quality characteristics (chemical composition, amino acid content, lipid content, and rutin content) of common and tartary buckwheats cultivated from Korea and China. The moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude ash, and carbohydrate contents of various common and tartary buckwheats were 8.78~13.37%, 11.00~12.11%, 2.87~3.18%, 1.80~2.58%, and 70.2~73.8%, respectively. The major amino acids in Korean and Chinese buckwheats were aspartic acid (1,105.1~1,403.5 mg/100 g), glutamine (2,250.9~2,996.1 mg/100 g), and arginine (932.5~1,388.6 mg/100 g). The major minerals were K (423.7~569.4 mg/100 g), Mg (181.8~255.9 mg/100 g), and P (328.6~555.0 mg/100 g). Palmitic acid (14.2~16.1%) was the major saturated fatty acid, and oleic (37.0~40.8%) and linoleic (31.7~38.6%) acids were the major unsaturated fatty acids. Tartary buckwheats (261.0~265.0 mg/g) had significantly higher rutin contents than that of common buckwheats (4.39~5.68 mg/g). These results suggested that common and tartary buckwheats cultivated in Korea and China contain naturally occurringnutrients in an abundance.


DEHA, a chemical used in plastic food wrap and cosmetics, causes intrauterine growth retardation and fetal abnormalities in rats, decreases fertility in mice and is a hepatocarcinogen. Since changes in P-450 activity can alter both carcinogenic and teratogenic activity, we studied the effect of DEHA on hepatic P-450 in P and NP C57BL/6J mice using aminopyrine-N-demethylase activity (APD), P-450 content and HPLC isozyme pattern in non-treated (NT) and treated (T) females. Mice were treated with 1 intraperitoneal injection of DEHA (12.5 ml/kg body weight) 48 hrs before preparation at hepatic microsomes.In NP mice, DEHA increased P-450 content (NT = 0.80 ± 0.11, T = 1.11 ± 0.05 nmoles/mg protein p< 0.001) but did not alter APD activity, (NT = 14.7 ± 1.9, T = 16.3 ± 5.3 nmoles HCHO/min/mg protein). In P mice treated on day 15 of gestation, DEHA increased both P-450 (NT = 0.67 ± 0.06, T = 0.92 ± 0.12 nmoles/mg protein, p< 0.001) and APD (NT = 7.0 ± 0.1, T = 14.0 ± 2.8 nmoles HCHO/min/mg protein p<0.001). HPLC elution patterns confirmed DEHA induction of P-450 constitutive isozymes and demonstrated that P-450-gest, an isozyme induced in mouse pregnancy (Biochem Pharm, in press), was decreased by DEHA treatment.In conclusion. DEHA increased P-450 content in NP and P mice but increased APD only in P mice. In the P mouse, DEHA decreased P-450-gest but increased other P-450 isozymes. Future studies are needed to determine if the reproductive effects of DEHA are mediated through changes in P-450 isozymes.


Local food systems are increasingly being studied in response to the threats imposed on global agri-industrial food systems. Central to local food is the community who is imaging and implementing diverse and hyper-local food assets, which are making a significant, but largely unknown, contribution to food security, resiliency, and sustainability. It is important to align these assets with broader regional food policies, programs, and regulations. However, there are few mechanisms to engage stakeholders or share local information. One possible mechanism to learn about local food assets is volunteered geographic information (VGI); a phenomenon that blends crowdsourcing, citizen science, and online mapping. It is currently being studied for its ability to engage and gather information from diverse and under-represented groups.

This policy-relevant research investigates how VGI can support greater engagement and knowledge sharing across diverse food stakeholders. To achieve this objective, the VGI system framework is established to study the processes that support the creation of VGI. Next, the new era of food mapping, dubbed Food Mapping 2.0, is investigated to understand the impact evolving mapping techniques have on the engagement of food stakeholders. Lastly, the VGI systems framework, which is embedded in participatory geographic information system and participatory action research methods, is applied to support participatory mapping of regional food assets in Durham Region.

His research gathered contributions on over 200 food assets in Durham Region – an upper-tier municipality just east of Toronto consisting of eight lower-tier municipalities – effectively capturing the distributed intelligence of government, not-for-profit, and community stakeholders. The crowdsourced data include locations, descriptions, and media related to farms, markets, community gardens, foodscapes, and other innovative food assets. The community identified urban food assets as a central strength of the regional food system. Overall, this project enabled the creation of an open food assets dataset, further supporting the development of an online Food Assets map and a Crowdsourcing Urban Food Assets report, which are collective used to inform future food policy, regulation, and program development. Overall, this research revealed a uniquely local and community-driven perspective about food system assets within Durham, while serving as a prototype of the VGI systems framework.


Differences in regulations result in needless destruction of safe food and hamper food trade. The differences are not just the result of the history of food safety regulations, often developed in times before global cooperation, but are also built in new regulations. It may be responses to media hypes or for other reasons, but in most cases the differences cannot be justified scientifically. A major difficulty is that, due to the developments in analytical techniques the number of chemicals that are found in food is increasing rapidly and chemicals are always suspected to be a safety risk. By far most chemicals are of natural origin but could not be detected in the past because the methods available in the past were not sensitive enough. Demanding the absence of chemicals because the risk they present is unknown, however, would eventually make all food unacceptable. The general public should be shown that everything they eat is chemical, and all food components will be toxic if the amount is too high. It should also be shown that many of these chemicals will also cause illness and death if there is not enough of it as is the case with vitamins and minerals.


Background Worldwide there are up to 300,000 known plant species. But, only 2% are consumed by human. Under nutrition among under five children is still a public health problem. There is an information gap on the importance of agricultural biodiversity in relation to dietary intake and nutritional status. Objective to assess the correlation between agricultural bio-diversity, dietary diversity, household food insecurity and associated factors of wasting among 6-59 months old children. Method A community based cross-sectional study was employed among 367 systematically selected children aged 6-59 months from January to April 2018. The sample size was determined by Epi Info 18.104.22.168. Data were collected by open data kit. Height and weight were measured using height measuring board and SECA Germany. Data entry and analysis was done using Epi Data version 3.1 and STATA version 14. Descriptive statistics was computed and reported using frequency and percentage. Anthropometric measurements were analyzed using WHO Anthro 2005 software. Linear regression and correlation were done. A p-value of < 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals were used to see the statistical significance. Result The prevalence of wasting was 7.3%(95% C.I; 4.6, 10.0). Dietary diversity score is found to be correlated with height for weight Z score (r=-0.11, p-value=0.04) of children. Mother who are unable to read and write (B=-.126, 95% CI: -1.02, -.034) and dietary diversity score (B=.143, 95% CI: .14, 1.86) were factors associated with wasting. Conclusion and Recommendation Wasting is higher than the national target of Ethiopia. Educational status of mother and DDS were factors associated with wasting among children aged 6-59 months. Prevention of nutritional problem should include reducing illiteracy rate among mother/care-givers and promote diversified intake of diet among 6-59 months old.


Neural engineering has grown substantially in the last few years and it is time to review the progress of the first journal in this field. Journal of Neural Engineering (JNE) is a quarterly publication that started in 2004. The journal is now in its third volume and eleven issues, consisting of 114 articles in total, have been published since its launch. The editorial processing times have been kept to a minimum, the receipt to first decision time is 41 days, on average, and the time from receipt to publication has been maintained below three months. It is also worth noting that it is free to publish in Journal of Neural Engineering—there are no author fees—and once published the articles are free online for the first month. The journal has been listed in Pubmed® since 2005 and has been accepted by ISI® in 2006. Who is reading Journal of Neural Engineering? The number of readers of JNE has increased significantly from 8050 full-text downloads in 2004 to 14 900 in 2005 and the first seven months of 2006 have already seen 12 800 downloads. The top users in 2005 were the Microsoft Corporation, Stanford University and the University of Michigan. The list of top ten users also includes non-US institutions: University of Toronto, University of Tokyo, Hong Kong Polytechnic, National Library of China and University College London, reflecting the international flavor of the journal. What are the hot topics in neural engineering? Based on the number of downloads and citations for 2004–2005, the top three topics are: (1) Brain–computer interfaces (2) Visual prostheses (3) Neural modelling Several other topics such as microelectrode arrays, neural signal processing, neural dynamics and neural circuit engineering are also in the top ten. Where are Journal of Neural Engineering articles cited? JNE articles have reached a wide audience and have been cited in of some of the best journals in physiology and neuroscience such as Nature Neuroscience, Journal of Neuroscience, Trends in Neuroscience, Journal of Physiology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science as well as in engineering and physics journals such as Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Physical Review Letters and IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. However, the number of citations in clinical journals is limited. What is special about Journal of Neural Engineering? JNE has published two special issues: (1) The Eye and the Chip (visual prostheses) (vol. 2, (1), 2005) and (2) Sensory Integration: Role of Internal Models (vol. 2, (3), 2005). These special issues have attracted a lot of attention based on the number of article downloads. JNE also publishes tutorials intended to provide background information on specific topics such as classification, sensory substitution and cortical neural prosthetics. A series of tutorials from the 3rd Neuro-IT and Neuroengineering Summer School has been published with the first appearing in vol. 2 (4), 2005. What is in the future for Journal of Neural Engineering? The goal of any journal should be to provide a particular field with the best venue for scientists and engineers to make their work available and noticeable to the rest of the community. In particular, attracting a strong readership base and high quality manuscripts should be the first priority. Providing accurate, reliable and speedy reviews should be the next. With an international board of experts in the field of neural engineering, a solid base of reviewers, readers and contributors, JNE is in a strong position to continue to serve the neural engineering community. However, this is still a small community and growth is essential for continued success in this area. There are two areas of expansion of great interest for the field of neural engineering currently poised between basic science on one hand and clinical implementation on the other: translational neuroscience and therapeutic neural engineering. We should strive to bridge the gap between basic neuroscience, clinical science and engineering by attracting contributions from neuroscientists and clinicians with an interest in neural engineering. I urge members of the neural engineering community to encourage their colleagues in these areas to consider JNE for publication of those manuscripts at the interface with neuroscience and engineering. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of the board members, the reviewers of the articles and the staff at the Institute of Physics Publishing for their contribution to the Journal of Neural Engineering.


219 Background: The 2011 Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (CCRA) report on the State of Cancer Clinical Trials in Canada outlined in detail the threats to the conduct of academic oncology clinical trials caused by increasing complexity and workload resulting from a perceived onerous regulatory environment. The report recommended engaging Health Canada and key stakeholders to foster agreement in appropriate interpretations of the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations Part C Division 5 and ICH Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines.

METHODS
The ISCT Working Group (ISCT WG) was formed in 2012 to address the CCRA recommendations for academic clinical trials and include experts from multiple therapeutic areas. The primary objective of the ISCT is to develop specific, practical interpretations of current regulations, laws and guidelines to facilitate Canadian clinical trials. Feedback was obtained from interested parties and ISCT members by means of surveys, face-to-face meetings and conference calls.

RESULTS
The major areas of concern identified include Health Canada Clinical Trial Applications, Investigational Product supply, monitoring, oversight of equipment and facilities, delegation of duties, validation of electronic systems, source documents and records retention, trial costs, the consistency of interpretation by different divisions of Health Canada, and access to related resources. A subcommittee was established for each area identified above and a series of recommendations to streamline processes with a focus to reduce regulatory burden for academic clinical trials. The ISCT WG used other relevant documents including the OECD framework and FDA Guidance on Risk Based Monitoring to inform its work.

CONCLUSIONS
The final recommendations of the ISCT have been provided to all stakeholders, presented at international conferences and published on the N2 website. Canadian academic sites have used guidelines during Health Canada inspections with success. Future goals include an ISCT Workshop for academic site leaders to facilitate implementation of the ISCT guidelines, continue to address areas of concern, and track the success of the recommendations in ameliorating the conduct of academic trials.


In the implementation of the state administrative decree, the principle of praesumtio iustae causa is known as part of the implementation of the state administrative decree to resolve state administrative disputes. This principle means that a state administrative decision is always considered valid. This research has the aim of providing protection for the rights of the people that originate from individual rights as well as providing protection for the rights of the community based on the common interests of individuals in the community. The government has an obligation to promote the general welfare as stated in the constitutional mandate. In carrying out this obligation, the government takes regulatory and administrative law enforcement actions. The research method used is descriptive normative research, judging from the effectiveness of this principle is considered valid. And not only that, the possibility of disputes in the state administrative area occurring in the current pandemic era sees this case being included in the area of state administration, even these disputes are often found in the government. The conclusion is Article 65 of Law Number 30 of 2014 concerning Government Administration, what is protected is the interests of the wider community who will be harmed by the issuance of the government decree. So that with the provisions in Article 65 of Law Number 30 of 2014 concerning Government Administration, it can add options for the community to get wider legal protection for the issuance of a government decree/action.


Rhodiola rosea (RR) is an adaptogenic herb suggested to improve exercise and cognitive performance and reduce stress responses. Further, some evidence reports that L-carnitine (LC) can alter metabolism during exercise and improve performance. This study examined the effects of acute ingestion of a commercially available RR beverage (250 mg, 3% Rosavin) with and without LC (500 mg) on exercise performance, cognitive function and salivary cortisol. In a double-blind, randomised, crossover-design, 18 healthy, active men and women (age, 21±6 years; maximal oxygen uptake, VO2max 43±9 ml/min/kg) consumed 250 ml of a RR-LC, RR and placebo beverage 45 min before a cycle to fatigue at 77±11% of VO2max. Immediately before and after exercise, computerised cognitive tasks of Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVP), Visual Recognition Memory (VRM) and Stroop Colour-Word (Stroop) were completed. Expired gas and heart rate were recorded continuously during exercise. Capillary blood samples were taken for lactate analysis 2 min after cycling and saliva samples were collected before beverage ingestion, before and immediately after cognitive tests for cortisol analysis. Data were analysed using repeated measures ANOVAs with significance set at P<0.05. Time to fatigue, physiological and cognitive variables did not differ between treatments. Cortisol increased (P=0.028) after tests, but there was no effect of treatment on this response. However, exercise elicited higher RVP sustained attention (P<0.05), a faster response time in Stroop (P<0.05), but VRM was reduced. These findings suggest that acute RR-LC ingestion does not alter cognitive function, exercise performance or salivary cortisol. However, chronic supplementation or greater dosage might affect these results. These results show that exhaustive exercise reduces reaction time and increases attention, but memory outcomes become decreased.


Low-cycle fatigue failure has been widely accepted as the key mechanism causing damages of coke drums during cyclic thermal-mechanical loadings. Common damages of coke drums known as bulging and cracking are associated with accumulative plasticity caused by thermal and mechanical strains. External repairs using temper-bead welding techniques are implemented to repair welds in the damaged areas of coke drums, which provide structural support to the vessels. Compared with matching filler metals, Ni-base fillers including alloy 625 and alloy 182 are compatible with both low-alloy steel base metal and internal clads in terms of weldability and thermal expansion. However, the differences of yield strengths and cyclic hardening behaviors of nickel-base alloys from base metals compromise the fatigue resistances of weld joints. In this study, alloy 182 and alloy 625 repair coupons were evaluated and compared based on isothermal low-cycle fatigue tests. Low-cycle fatigue behaviors of both weld metals and 1.25Cr-0.5Mo base metal were measured at 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% strain amplitudes. Test results indicate both nickel-base filler metals exhibit overmatching strength over the base metal due to cyclic hardening. Low-cycle fatigue tests of Heat Affected zone (HAZ) samples show the failures of alloy 625 weld joints occur in the base metal, while the failures of alloy 182 weld joints occur along the fusion boundary. The observations show strength mismatch and fatigue resistance are the key factors to determine failure locations of the joints. In addition, cyclic hardening coefficients based on kinematic hardening model were extracted from experimental data to simulate the cyclic behaviors of the weld joints. Finite element simulation results were shown to be consistent with experimental data at stabilized cycles. Cyclic behaviors of weld metal and base metal within a weld transition sample were calculated based on the numerical model.


Scanning electron microscopy observations have been made on fracture surfaces induced by tensile tests of Ag-added SmBa2Cu3Oy/Sm2BaCuO5 composite bulk superconductors melt-grown in O2 and 1%O2/Ar atmospheres. It was deduced that the inferior tensile strength in the bulk grown in 1%O2/Ar, as compared with that of the bulk grown in O2, was caused by the larger size and volume fraction of the included voids. The tensile strength of a specimen with a fracture surface consisting of multiple facets was lower than that with a single facet for the bulks grown in both conditions. It was found that a rectangular facet on the fracture surface is a possible origin for the fatal crack and that the secondary phase particles on that area act as anchoring points for initial crack propagation.


This article assesses several recent studies in the manpower training evaluation literature claiming that (1) nonexperimental methods of program evaluation produce unreliable estimates of program impacts and (2) randomized experiments are necessary to produce reliable ones. We present a more optimistic statement about the value of nonexperimental methods in analyzing the effects of training programs on earnings. Previous empirical demonstrations of the sensitivity of estimates of program impact to alternative non experimental procedures either do not test the validity of the testable assumptions that justify the nonexperimental procedures or else disregard the inference from such tests. We reanalyze data from the National Supported Work Demonstration experiment (NSW) utilized by LaLonde and Fraker and Maynard and reexamine the performance of nonexperimental estimates of the net impact of the NSW program on the posttraining earnings of young high school dropouts and adult women. Using several simple strategies for testing the appropriateness of alternative formulations of such estimators, we show that a number of the nonexperimental estimators used in these studies can be rejected. Although we eliminate a number of nonexperimental estimators by such tests, we are able to find estimators that are not rejected by these tests. Estimators not rejected by such tests yield net impact estimates that lead to the same inference about the impact of the program as the experimental estimates. The empirical results from our limited study provide tangible evidence that the recent denunciation of nonexperimental methods forevaluating manpower training effects is premature.


A debated policy issue is how to combine the excellence goals chased by Research and Innovation (R&I) policies and the need to reduce regional disparities as of the EU Cohesion Policy priorities. In other words there is a tension between concentrating funds in core and well-endowed urban areas, in order to reach economies of scale and scope, or rather favouring less endowed, peripheral and economically weaker regions, which could be less prepared to achieve excellence in innovation and research. A way to address this trade-off has been proposed by the recent smart specialisation approach. This approach admits the possibility for any region to generate innovation, by leveraging its own strengths and competitive advantages and selectively targeting its place-based R&I strategy on those economic activities in which the region can hope to excel. However, the conditions which could actually ensure a synergic relation between different policies aiming at enhancing European competitiveness, overcoming possible obstacles and tensions, still have to be explored. This paper aims at providing some insights on how and at which conditions regional innovation policies can be effective in promoting both excellence and cohesion objectives in lagging behind EU regions. To this end, the case of the regional innovation policy carried out by Apulia region (Southern Italy) is presented. The experience of Apulia indicates that there is scope for lagging behind regions to develop well-designed regional innovation systems, supporting the development and implementation of far reaching innovation strategies adapted to the specific needs and assets of regional economy. At the same time, there is a pressing need to develop novel practices of governance in particular as regards avoiding demand-driven approach which adapts excessively to the perspectives of local firms and can be more easily (and in difficult circumstances perhaps even necessarily) prone to short termism. This paper critically describes elements of strengths and weaknesses observed within the case study of Apulia region, to produce lessons learned of more general relevance.


As the dependant of organizations to Information Technology increases and government agencies reliance on private organizations to protect critical information infrastructure, National government in some quarters began not to merely outsource services from the private but to equally provide protection to information resources. Nigerian postal service (NIPOST) is a large government agency responsible for postal services in the country, following the government recommendations NIPOST partners with a number of private sector organizations to provide services to its customers. Incident response is a key aspect of information security and it is not well attended in most organizations, The focus of this study is to investigate the computer security incident response process in NIPOST, shared responsibility and coordinated incident response capability and how NIPOST utilizes the incident response teams to support its information security learning and a general support for cybersecurity protection. The project is a case study based with interviews, documentation and questionnaire as the key to improve NIPOST incident response process and any similar organisation to provide a knowledge feedback to the agency and the cybersecurity community at large through a collaborative workspace. A detail investigation was conducted in the second phase of the research, the investigation revealed that the organization incident response does not support learning from the past incident and there was no any collaboration with outside teams. The proposed enhanced framework supports incident learning and coordination between teams at all levels and this improves organizational learning and coordination, which finally improve cyber security. To validate the proposed enhanced framework, expert's feedback through a questionnaire were analysed with modification of the initial result. This result can be improved to build a framework for national computer security incident response framework.


Hamilton and Gifford's (1976) results that illusory correlation (overestimation of correlation) occured between distinctive group (small group) and distinctive members (minority members) have not been replicated in Japan (Shirai, 1979; Sugimori, 1987). Rather, a conceptual replication of Hamilton and Gifford (1976) had demonstrated illusory correlation between small groups and unlikable members. To resolve these inconsistencies of the results, Exp. 1 and Exp. 2 examined proportion judgments of likable and unlikable members in each of the large and the small groups under six proportions of likable and unlikable members. Exp. 1 and Exp. 2 differs in the number of stimulus groups; Ss in Exp. 1 saw member-descriptions of both large and small groups. In Exp. 2., Ss saw member-descriptions of a large or a small group to exclude contrast effects. In both experiments, the number of unlikable members in small groups were relatively overestimated than the number of likable members; whereas in large groups, the number of likable members were relatively overestimated than the number of unlikable members only when the large groups were presented with small groups (in Exp. 1.). These results suggest that the results of Hamilton and Gifford (1976) can be explained by centralizing tendency. It was also found that there is negativity bias on small groups.


ABSTRACT Although metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are advantageous to the removal of organic pollutants, the general MOFs in powder form is disadvantageous to their practical applications. In-situ MOF synthesis in alginate gel is a good way to fabricate an MOF composite for many applications, which is different from blending MOF particles with polymers. In-situ synthesis of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (ZIF-8) in alginate gel is in the form of beads with rough wrinkles and has many pores inside. When used as an absorbent, in-situ synthesis of ZIF-8 in alginate gel could remove 97.7 ± 0.9% of ofloxacin from ofloxacin solution and the equilibrium adsorption capacity is up to 160.6 ± 1.3 mg/g. During the adsorption, ofloxacin is first brought into the gel by the solvent exchange and gel microchannel adsorption, and it can then be absorbed by in-situ ZIF-8. Moreover, the adsorption efficiency can reach 85.5% even after four cycles of adsorption. We believe that in-situ synthesis of ZIF-8 in alginate gel will be an appropriate material for the removal of ofloxacin in the wastewater. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Integrating more processor cores on-die has become the unanimous trend in the microprocessor industry. Most of the current research thrusts using chip multiprocessors (CMPs) as the baseline to analyze problems in various domains. One of the main design issues facing CMP systems is the growing number of snoops required to maintain cache coherency and to support self/cross-modifying code that leads to power and performance limitations. In this paper, we analyze the internal and external snoop behavior in a CMP system and relax the snoopy cache coherence protocol based on the program semantics and properties of the shared variables for saving power. Based on the observations and analyses, we propose two novel techniques: Selective Snoop Probe (SSP) and Essential Snoop Probe (ESP) to reduce power without compromising performance. Our simulation results show that using the SSPtechnique, 5% to 65% data cache energy savings per core for different processor configurations can be achieved with 1% to 2% performance improvement. We also show that 5% to 82% of data cache energy per core is spent on the non-essential snoop probes that can be saved using the ESP technique.


In this paper, we study in depth a new modeling method of the parameter curve and surface, i.e. uniform trigonometric polynomial B-spline surface with shape parameters. We have designed a series of algorithms. We also develop a Space Freedom Surface Modeling System under Microsoft Visual C++6.0 programmed circumstance, with some examples given as the application of the model. Through experiments, we present the range of change of the shape parameters in this model and discuss its effect on the surface when the controlling polygon remains constant.


This paper aimed to assess the severity of desertification in Segzi plain located in the eastern part of Isfahan city, focusing on groundwater quality criteria used in MEDALUS model. Bayesian Belief networks (BBNs) were also used to convert MEDALUS model into a predictive, cause and effects model. Different techniques such as Kriging and IDW were applied to water quality data of 12 groundwater wells to map continuous variations of the CL, SAR, EC, TDS, pH and decline in water table indices in GIS environment. The effects of measured water quality indicators on desertification severity levels were assessed using sensitivity and scenario analysis in BBNs model. According to the results of the MEDALUS, the desertification of the study area was classified as severe class due to its low quality of groundwater. Sensitivity analysis by the both models showed that decline in waater table, water chloride content and electrical conductivity were the most important parameters responsible for desertification in the region from ground water condition standpoint. The determination coefficient between the outputs of the MEDALUS and BBNs models (R2>0.63) indicated that the results of both models were significantly correlated (α=5 %). These results indicate that the application of BBNs model in desertification assessment can appropriately accommodate the uncertainty of desertification methods and can help managers to make better decision for upcoming land management projects.


The density functional calculations with aug-cc-pVDZ basis sets on cationic guanine-cytosine (GC(+)) and adenine-thymine (AT(+)) base pairs suggest that the cationic charge is almost entirely localized on the G and A units with significant changes in the N-H and N...O distances around the H-bonded area. While the calculated intramolecular reorganization energy (lambda(v)) for a GC base pair (0.75 eV) is remarkably larger than that for an isolated G base (0.49 eV), for the AT base pairs these values (0.44 and 0.40 eV) are almost the same. The gas phase activation energies (E(a)) for GC(+)GC-->GCGC(+), AT(+)AT-->ATAT(+), and GC(+)AT-->GCAT(+) hole transfer processes are 0.19, 0.11, and 0.73 eV with rate constants of 1.69 x 10(11), 3.15 x 10(11), and 4.61(0.168) s(-1), respectively, at 298 K. An alternative mechanism of hole transfer has been proposed on the basis of energy barriers.