In the mid-1970's rubber tapper leaders Chico Mendes and Wilson Pinheiro reformulated strategic objectives of the rubber tappers' movement, from protesting and denouncing violent dispossession of families and deforestation to defending rubber tappers' forest territories and diversified land use. This strategic turn laid the basis for the rubber tappers' transformation from a solely class-based union movement to one that incorporates a specific cultural identity associated with land and resource uses defined as opposed to the government-sponsored socio-environmentally destructive development model. The rubber tappers' conceptual transformation of "extractivism", from an archaic, outdated and primitive economic activity into an alternative for a modern, sustainable development model, based in their distinct culture, mirrored and paralleled the emergence of identity-based social movements globally. It also mirrored the re-emergence of "submerged" indigenous ethnicities and subsequent "ethnogenesis" of allegedly extinct or forgotten indigenous peoples, in both cases contrary to the assumptions and predictions of both policy and some anthropological theory. The rubber tappers' definition of extractive reserves as collective land rights – and access to technology, social services and markets on terms in some measure controlled by the communities – in exchange for environmental and forest protection enabled significant territorial gains (parallel to indigenous territories), as well as proliferation of extractive reserve analogues in both environmental and land reform policy. Alliances with indigenous peoples and environmentalists were central to the development of this vision. The model of collective rights, with access to technology, services and markets could have very broad applicability for poor populations globally, in light of climate change and other environmental crises, if at-scale incentives for climate change and other environmental mitigation can be created.


The article analizes possible obstacles arizing on the road of implementing new methods and technologies in the process of teaching Russian as a foreign language. In the course of the discussion of the subject, the author pays special attention to the role of the teacher and adequate effort in putting methodical innovations into practice.


It is possible to understanding the spatial behavior and structure of cities based on urban morphology alone. The units of analysis are urban clusters, defined as contiguous built-up urban areas instead of municipalities defined by politically determined boundaries. By means of historic data of the Tel-Aviv metropolis we present analyses of urban cluster statistics from 1935 to 2000. We focus on the largest cluster which includes the city of Tel-Aviv and several surrounding municipalities. The results suggest anomalies in the years 1964 and 1985. Based on the character of cities as self organizing systems, our study suggests that the analysis of urban cluster dynamics is an efficient tool to study urban phenomena.


A comparative study of the phenotype and immune functions of highly purified CD8+CD4- T cells obtained from the spleen and thymus of normal mice and from the spleen of athymic nude mice was conducted. Of seven individual normal and nude mice examined, the range of V beta 8+ cells among CD8+ T cells was a heterogeneous 4.3 to 30.5% for athymic nude mice and a much more uniform spread from 14.7 to 18.5% for normal mice. In six of the seven nude mice examined, the fraction of V beta 8+ cells was below the lower limit of the V beta 8 distribution in normal mice. However, one of the seven nude mice contained nearly twice the percentage of normal V beta 8+ cells. A reduction in the density of V beta 8 as well as CD3 Ag expression was also observed in athymic CD8+CD4- cells although an Ly-6-linked Ag, B4B2 displayed a highly increased expression. Considering the battery of Ag analyzed in entirety, athymic CD8+CD4- T cells were clearly distinct from their "counterpart" CD8+CD4- T cells isolated from either thymus or spleen of normal (euthymic) mice. Anti-CD3-mediated triggering of the TCR:CD3 complex caused extensive clonal proliferation in cultures to which single responding CD8+ T cells had been deposited. Under identical conditions, however, anti-CD3 caused little, if any clonal expansion in CD8+ cells from athymic nude mice. Highly purified athymic CD8+CD4- cells produced readily detectable IL-2R expression and IL-2 synthesis and secretion upon stimulation by anti-CD3 and by Con A. Production of IL-2 by purified athymic CD8+CD4- cells was due to CD8+CD4- cells and not due to a minor population of contaminating CD8- cells as anti-CD8 + C treatment completely abrogated the ability of athymic CD8+CD4- cells to produce IL-2. Despite IL-2 production and IL-2R expression by athymic nude CD8+CD4- T cells in response to anti-CD3 and to Con A, an impaired proliferative response followed.


Objective:This study characterizes the spelling impairment of Italian dyslexic children and evaluates the relationship between reading and spelling disorders. Background:Developmental spelling deficits are much less investigated than reading deficits. Based on the dual-model approach, studies of English-speaking subjects describe a surface and a phonological dysgraphia. In languages with shallow orthographies, there is evidence of surface and phonological dyslexia, but no data are available for dysgraphia. Methods:Eighteen dyslexic children were studied. Writing was investigated by means of a spelling test that included regular words with one-sound-to-one-letter correspondence, regular words requiring syllabic conversion rules, words with unpredictable transcription, and nonwords with one-sound-to-one-letter correspondence. The dyslexics' spelling errors were compared with those of 30 age-matched proficient readers. Results:The dyslexic participants were very slow readers. Their errors were compatible with the hypothesis of a prevalent use of the sublexical reading procedure (i.e., surface dyslexia). They were also generally impaired with respect to the control children in all subsections of the spelling test. However, multivariate and single case analyses as well as qualitative analysis of errors indicated that their major problem was writing words with unpredictable transcription. This failure was consistent with the view of prevalent subword level processing in writing. Conclusion:The pattern of the spelling impairment mirrors the children's reading impairment, with most children suffering from surface dysgraphia.


OBJECTIVES
Uroflowmetry (UFM) is the first-line noninvasive screening test employed in the diagnosis of lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD). The purpose of this study was to determine normal UFM values in healthy Turkish children among our local population.

METHODS
A total of 100 healthy girls and 62 healthy boys aged 5-15 years, who applied to İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center Pediatrics Polyclinic between February 2021 and January 2022, were included in the present study. The UFM parameters, including maximum flow rate (Qmax), average flow rate (Qavg), voided volume (VV), time to maximum flow, and voiding time, were measured using the Inoflow Smart System UFM Device and the resulting urine flow curve was recorded. The children were compared in terms of the UFM parameters based on their gender and age groups (5-10 years and 11-15 years).

RESULTS
The mean Qmax value in healthy female children aged 5-15 years (21.8 ± 8.6 mL/s) was significantly higher than in male children (17.98 ± 6.1 mL/s) (p = .003). VV, Qmax, and Qavg values of the children in the 11-15 age group were significantly higher than those in the age group of 5-10 years (p > .05 for each). VV, Qmax, and Qavg values were directly proportional to age (p = .0001, for each).

CONCLUSIONS
We believe that this study adds to the limited knowledge base regarding normal flow patterns in healthy children.


Daylighting calculations depend on the luminance distribution of the sky. The new concept of sky luminance distributions is modelling skies under a wide range of occurrences from the overcast sky to cloudless situations without or with sunlight respectively. This concept was proposed for the standardisation of exterior daylight conditions by CIE (Commission Internationale de l′Éclairage) for the world wide application. In this paper the calculation procedure of the relative sky luminance distribution and sky parametrisation of the fifteen standardised patterns is described. The CIE Standard General Sky is a generalisation of the CIE Clear Sky formula and the presented sky set is expected to be published as CIE standard. It could provide good means for the characterisation of daylight climate in any arbitrary locality or for the calculation of exterior daylight which both define the basic sources of daylight simulations in interiors.


We study the problem of generating adversarial examples in a black-box setting, where we only have access to a zeroth order oracle, providing us with loss function evaluations. Although this setting has been investigated in previous work, most past approaches using zeroth order optimization implicitly assume that the gradients of the loss function with respect to the input images are \emph{unstructured}. In this work, we show that in fact substantial correlations exist within these gradients, and we propose to capture these correlations via a Gaussian Markov random field (GMRF). Given the intractability of the explicit covariance structure of the MRF, we show that the covariance structure can be efficiently represented using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), along with low-rank updates to perform exact posterior estimation under this model. We use this modeling technique to find fast one-step adversarial attacks, akin to a black-box version of the Fast Gradient Sign Method~(FGSM), and show that the method uses fewer queries and achieves higher attack success rates than the current state of the art. We also highlight the general applicability of this gradient modeling setup.


This chapter explores irrationality, the second ground for judicial review identified by Lord Diplock in Council of Civil Service Unions and Others v Minister for the Civil Service. It examines the meaning of this principle, its foundation upon the test of unreasonableness, and the approach that the courts have adopted since that case. Irrationality, and the notion of unreasonableness upon which it is based, is a particularly vague and ambiguous term, with a range of possible interpretations and meanings. This has meant that the courts have often considered judicial review claims, brought on the basis of irrationality, with varying degrees of caution, often employing the necessary tests with notable stringency. In part as a result of this, and in part also due to the increasing influence of European legal practices on the UK system, the test of proportionality has developed as a substantive ground for judicial review, often overlapping and sometimes conflicting with application of the irrationality doctrine.


Two Fe-Ni alloys very differing in Ni content, Fe64Ni36 and Fe20Ni80, were borided at 850°C for 8 h using a high boron potential powder medium. On both alloys ~150 μm thick boride coatings grew in the form of two stratified sublayers of different thickness depending on the Ni content of the metal substrate. The outer sublayer mainly consisted of a ternary (Fe,Ni)B compound with small amounts of Ni borides in its outermost region, the inner by a ternary (Fe,Ni)2B compound. It is shown and explained how the same (Fe,Ni)B compound could form on both high-Ni alloys in spite of the considerable difference in Ni content.


Different types of electrochromic devices for thermal emittance modulation were developed in the spectral region from mid- to far-infrared ~ 2–40 m m ! . In all devices polycrystalline and amorphous tungsten oxide have been used as electrochromic and ion storage layer, respectively. Two types of all-solid-state devices were designed, one with a metal grid for the top and bottom electrode deposited on a highly emissive glass substrate, and another with a top metal grid electrode and a highly reflecting bottom metal electrode layer. Tantalum oxide is used as an ion conductor in both device types. The third device type consists of a polymeric ion conductor. All solid-state constituent layers were grown by either reactive or nonreactive dc or rf magnetron sputtering in a high vacuum environment. Modulation of the emittance is accomplished by reversible insertion of Li ions into polycrystalline WO 3 by applying and switching a small voltage across the structure. Spectrally dependent measured reflectance modulation of the device has been used to determine the device emissivity modulation with respect to the blackbody emissivity spectra at 300 K. Best device performance was found in both solid-state devices showing an emissivity modulation of about 20%.


A bounded error estimation procedure based on integro-differential polynomials linking the inputs, the outputs and the parameters of the model is presented in this paper. These polynomials are obtained from differential algebra tools given input-output polynomials. The use of the distribution theory permits to obtain new relations in which the order of derivatives of the model outputs are smaller. This method is applied on the water tank example and the results are compared with the classical method based on the simple use of input-output polynomials. As it will be seen, this method significantly improves the parameter estimation results.


Background Prenatal exposure to maternal adverse life events has been associated with offspring ADHD, but the role of familial confounding is unclear. We aimed to clarify if adverse life events during pregnancy are related to ADHD symptoms in offspring, taking shared familial factors into account. Method Data were collected on 34,751 children (including 6,427 siblings) participating in the population‐based Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. During pregnancy, mothers reported whether they had experienced specific life events. We assessed ADHD symptoms in five‐year‐old children with the Conners' Parent Rating Scale–Revised: short form. We modeled the associations between life events and mean ADHD scores with ordinary linear regression in the full cohort, and with fixed‐effect linear regression in sibling comparisons to adjust for familial confounding. Results Children exposed to adverse life events had higher ADHD scores at age 5, with the strongest effect observed for financial problems (mean differences 0.10 [95% CI: 0.09, 0.11] in adjusted model), and the weakest for having lost someone close (0.02 [95% CI 0.01, 0.04] in adjusted model). Comparing exposure‐discordant siblings resulted in attenuated estimates that were no longer statistically significant (e.g. mean difference for financial problems −0.03 [95% CI −0.07, 0.02]). ADHD scores increased if the mother had experienced the event as painful or difficult, and with the number of events, whereas sibling‐comparison analyses resulted in estimates attenuated toward the null. Conclusions These results suggest that the association between adverse life events during pregnancy and offspring ADHD symptoms is largely explained by familial factors.


The focus of debate on capital theory still is on the macroeconomic aggregate production function, almost seventy years after Joan Robinson attacked this concept. It has turned out that reswitching is rare in large systems. Reswitching and reverse capital deepening once were the most effective arguments against the production function. Later it was shown that an approximate surrogate production function could be constructed, using the approach of random matrices. This seemed to weaken the critique, but a new one has emerged, which shows that the number of effective techniques on the wage curve is small and that the possibilities of substitution between capital and labour are quite restricted in the relevant range or profit. This paper reconstructs the path by which the new results were arrived at and presents a new variant of the proof of zero substitution.


Abstract Question: What is the relative importance of environmental gradients and surface microtopography (variation in vertical level within sampling units) for fine-scale plant species richness in Picea abies swamp forests? Location: 11 swamp forests in SE Norway. Methods: We recorded species richness (number of species of vascular plants, mosses, Sphagnum and hepatics), depth to water table, soil base status and vertical range (microtopographic relief) in 2400 microplots, (each 1/16 m2), in 150 1-m2 plots in the 11 swamp forests. Relationships between species richness and environmental predictors were modelled by GLMM. Results: Moss and hepatic species richness increased with increasing microtopographic relief, most strongly for wet acid sites, in which similar trends were also found for Sphagnum. Relief was a poor predictor of vascular plant species richness. Conclusions: Microtopographic relief is a good predictor of local species richness in Picea abies swamp forests, partly because larger vertical variability means higher within-plot habitat diversity with respect to the wet-dry gradient, and partly because qualitatively new microhabitats associated with steep slopes are added in drier sites. The relationship between species richness and microtopographic relief is context dependent, differing in complex ways among species groups and among sites with different environmental conditions.


Abstract. Remote sensing has provided a modern wider perspective to approach the earth with its various environments and impact of humans by prospecting previously unknown frontiers of human life. The traces of mobile groups are archaeologically often more difficult to detect than those of the sedentary ones, but new approaches and methods have changed and enhanced the ways to extract archaeological information of hunter-gatherers and pastoral nomads. Remote sensing, for example, provides alternative views from above and better visibility in a larger scale, especially with high resolution solutions, than on the ground to trace sites. Mobile people have become more visible in archaeology, and therefore their importance in the development of human cultures has received more focus and understanding. This paper will focus on the use of remote sensing in the archaeological study of mobile cultures and their environments in the Near East. Various examples of techniques and site types will be discussed, and the suitability of applications will be considered based on the studies by Finnish and Finnish-Swedish projects in the Near East. We will provide examples of applications and emphasize the importance of empirical approaches in studying archaeological evidence by remote sensing. GPS coordinate points have served as the basis of our field survey and mapping. From the image-based data we shall deal with aerial photographs, CORONA satellite photographs, Landsat, SPOT, QuickBird and GeoEye satellite images. From the range-based data we shall discuss X-SAR Shuttle Mission 2000 and ASTER-DEM data, but LiDAR and geophysical devices will only be briefly considered.


Two separate applications of Wyner-Ziv coding of motion video coding are considered. The Wyner-Ziv theorem on source coding with side information available only at the decoder suggests that an asymmetric video codec, where individual frames are encoded separately, but decoded conditionally could achieve efficiency comparable to current interframe video compression systems. First results on the Wyner-Ziv coding scheme for motion video are reported that use interframe encoding, but interframe decoding. Secondly, Wyner-Ziv coding for the transmission of compressed video over an error-prone channel is applied. This coding scheme is used to generate a supplementary bit stream, which contains a coarsely quantized representation of the transmitted video signal. Using the conventionally decoded, error-concealed video signal as side information to decode the Wyner-Ziv bits, the transmission errors in the decoded video waveform are corrected up to a certain residual distortion, significantly improving the visual quality of the decoded video.


Systematic level design and optimization of a Radio Frequency (RF) receiver is a multi-dimensional problem and it is usually an arduous and experience-based work because of the trade-off between various system parameters. In the mean while, co-operated with Genetic Algorithm (GA) and local search, Memetic Algorithm (MA) gradually becomes popular to solve multi-dimensional optimization problems, and it can be an efficient method for computer-aided design of RF receivers. In this paper, the MA method was adopted to aid the design of a 5.8 GHz RF receiver front-end. The transfer function for the signal-to-noise ratio at the front-end output (SNRout) was first derived based on the gain, noise figure and inter-modulation product of each individual circuit component, and the transfer function was then used as the required fitness function for the MA method. The efficacy of the proposed method was validated by ADS simulations.


The present invention, by locally administered strontium ions in bone tissue, upon implantation of a bone tissue implant in said bone tissue, based on the fact that it has been found that bone formation and bone mass can be improved . In particular, the present invention is a bone tissue implant having an implant surface covered by an oxide layer comprising strontium ions, and a method of manufacturing the same. The present invention, blasting powder comprising strontium ions, a method for locally increasing bone formation, and the use of strontium ions or a salt thereof for manufacturing a pharmaceutical composition for locally increasing bone formation is provided . .FIELD 8


By means of Riccati transformation techniques we establish some oscillation criteria for the second order Emden–Fowler dynamic equation on a time scale. Such equations contain the classical Emden–Fowler equation as well a s their discrete counterparts. The classical oscillation results of Atkinson (i n the superlinear case) and Belohorec (in the sublinear case) are extended in this paper to Emden–Fowler dynamic equations on any time scale.


PurposeThe economic and social problems, including high unemployment, facing the Greek economy in recent years are substantial. The role of the agri-food sector and agriculture in dealing with unemployment is a concern. To support the agricultural economy, a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2007–2014 was adopted and implemented in the EU Member States. However, boosting employment, in the industry itself and indirectly in the economy, has almost never been a key goal of any policy. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the CAP 2014–2020 in maintaining and enhancing employment and income distribution in the region of Central Macedonia.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the regional social accounting matrix (SAM), which examines the depiction of the interconnections between the sectors of economic activity and local economy (households, businesses, public) but also interconnections and transactions with the rest of the world. The SAM presents a more complete picture of the economic figures of the region, evaluating the interconnections of cross-sectoral relations and the implemented policies, both in the production sectors and in the regional society.FindingsFor the Central Macedonia region, the agricultural sector is a key player, holding a regulatory role for regional economic viability, and shows marked connections with the other industry branches of the region.Originality/valueThe new CAP 2014–2020 through Pillar 2–Rural Development may reinforce the new role of the industry in terms of the environment, integrated rural development and social structure of rural areas, ensuring coherence.


Malaria is the most frequent tropical infectious disease in the world and depending on the Plasmodium subtype it may be defined its geographical distribution. The number of imported cases in the last years has increased due to the augmentation of the number of travelers from endemic zones, lack of adequate prophylaxis an the prevalence of each time higher of parasites resistant to the drugs used for their treatment. For these reasons a case of acute febrile syndrome is presented and antecedent of having arrived from Angola, country where Malaria is considered endemic and he was diagnosed malaria produced by Plasmodium falciparum. The control of imported malaria is really necessary for the risk it represents on the receptive areas which, as in Cuba, have eliminated the disease.


OBJECTIVE
To identify the existence of spatial and temporal patterns in the occurrence of intentional homicides in the municipality of São Paulo (MSP), Brazil, and to discuss the analytical value of taking such patterns into account when designing studies that address the dynamics and factors associated with the incidence of homicides.

METHODS
A longitudinal ecological study was conducted, having as units of analysis 13 205 census tracts and the 96 census districts that congregate these sectors in São Paulo. All intentional homicides reported in the city between 2000 and 2008 were analyzed. The gross homicide rates per 100 000 population was calculated as well as the global and local Bayesian estimates for each census tract during the study period. To verify the possibility of identifying different patterns of the spatial distribution of homicides, we used BoxMap and Moran's I index.

RESULTS
The homicide trends in the city of São Paulo in the last decade were not homogeneous and systematic. Instead, seven patterns of spatial distribution were identified; that is, seven spatial regimes for the occurrence of intentional homicides, considering the homicide rates within each census tract as well as the rates in adjacent tracts. These spatial distribution regimes were not contained within the limits of the census tracts and districts.

CONCLUSIONS
The results show the importance of analyzing the spatial distribution of social phenomena without restriction of political and administrative boundaries.


In this paper, we present a fast converging Set-membership Constant Modulus algorithm (SM-CM) for blind interference suppression in direct-sequence/code-division multiple-access (DS/CDMA) systems. We add a specified upper bound for the cost function of constant modulus algorithm (CMA), adaptively changing the step-size in the hyperstrip space which is decided by the upper error bound, so as to obtain the optimal weight of the detector. Simulations indicate that the SM-CM algorithm outperforms the CMA in convergence speed and steady-state performance and the SM-CM algorithm can work especially well when there are multiple-access interference (MAI) and narrow band interference (NBI) in the system.


We present a combination of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) with spatially and time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy in a scanning transmission X-ray microscope (STXM). This allows the direct measurement of the high-frequency component of the precessing magnetization using the transverse X-ray detected FMR (XFMR). We analyze the element-specific, dynamic magnetic contrast of a model system consisting of a Permalloy (Py) disk with a Cobalt (Co) stripe on top. These STXM-FMR images are snapshots of the magnetization-precession in the linear excitation regime of FMR with around 35 nm spatial resolution and ps temporal resolution. Spin wave excitations of the Py disk, the Co stripe and the coupled system are directly visualized by the element-specific dynamic magnetic contrast (of Co and the Ni of permalloy). We show that the resonantly excited Permalloy magnetization drives a spin wave excitation in the Co stripe, which we directly image in phase and amplitude. This phase and amplitude resolved measurement of an angular momentum transfer at the interface is possible due to the separation of excitation by microwaves and detection by X-rays.


The theoretical link between road improvement strategies and economic development is that road improvement reduces land transport costs and hence increases profit margins on exported goods. Domestic production of these goods should expand as a consequence, thus increasing gross domestic product, and improving the balance of payments. The theoretical conditions under which this theory applies are described. A case study is presented to show the magnitudes of economic benefits expected to flow from a specific road development proposal in the State of Victoria, Australia. The case involves a 3.7 kilometre bypass in metropolitan Melbourne, linking two freeways on interstate routes, and the Port of Melbourne. The proposed route not only reduces travel times and operating costs of export-orientated and other traffic, it also relieves some residential areas of the external costs of nearby traffic, particularly noise, vibration, air pollution, accidents, and congestion. Estimates of the economic value of these external benefits of the proposal are also given. For the covering entry of the conference see IRRD 823206. (Author/TRRL)


DURING the past few years, the measurement of the concentration of bilirubin in the serum has become very important in the pediatric field because of its value in the management of erythroblastosis fetalis and other forms of jaundice during early infancy. In previous communications, a micro modification of the standard method of Malloy and Evelyn was presented for the determination of the concentration of bilirubin in the serum of capillary blood. Although this method has proved to be very satisfactory, some have found the long waiting period for the development of the azobilirubin color a real objection. The present method overcomes this drawback by employing a dilute solution of caffein sodium benzoate as a catalyst, as first suggested by Jendrassak and Grof, and an increased strength of the diazo reagent as described by White and Duncan. It is well known that although the azobilirubin reaction continues to progress at a slower rate indefinitely, Malloy and Evelyn have shown that a 30-minute waiting period can be considered sufficient for the development of color when the ordinary diazo reagent is used. Using the 30-minute reading as the end point at which the reaction may be considered 100% completed, it can be seen (Fig. 1) that this same point is reached using caffein alone in 15 minutes, and using both caffein and a strengthened diazo reagent at 3 minutes. In the latter instance, the reaction does not change appreciably during the ensuing 26 minutes and may for all practical purposes be considered as complete at 4 minutes. [See the FIG. I. in Source pdf]


Abstract An ethanol-methyl-t-butyl ether (MTBE) fuel blend was used as a substitute for hydrated ethanol to improve the vehicle cold start and drivability characteristics during the warm-up period. The vehicle was tested in a cold box, reaching a lower ambient temperature limit of -6deg;C, which represents the most severe weather condition experienced in Brazil. Different concentrations of MTBE in ethanol were investigated. The results show satisfactory drivability characteristics for the tested conditions, comparable with those found in gasoline-fuelled vehicles, thus overcoming the existing cold start difficulties in production ethanol-fuelled vehicles.


The objective of this research is to develop a software algorithm for evaluating the effectiveness of using the Financial Message Transfer System for Remote Banking Systems. The study considers hardware system that provide two types of interactions between the legal entity and the bank: «Direct Banking» and «Internet Banking». During the work were identified and analyzed the main features of remote banking systems and determined the efficiency criteria of the systems. Based on the analysis output, were developed and proposed a mathematical model for evaluating the effectiveness of considered systems thought using the cost and quantity coefficients of system ensuring, as well as the financial and economic business performance indicators. In accordance with the proposed mathematical model, was constructed an algorithm that makes it possible to obtain quantitative estimates of Remote Banking Systems effectiveness. The developed algorithm belongs to the heuristic class and is based on the analysis of both the open statistical and the modeled by simulation tools data. The conducted computational experiments reflects the efficiency of the proposed mathematical model, as well as an algorithm based on the developed model.


Motivation in doing a task is influenced not only by the expected outcome of the task but also by the belief that one has in successfully executing the task. Over time, individuals accumulate experiences that contribute toward a general belief in one's overall ability to successfully perform tasks, which is called general self-efficacy (GSE). We investigated the relationship between regional gray matter volume and individual differences in GSE. Brain anatomy was analyzed using magnetic resonance images obtained from 64 healthy right-handed participants who had completed Sherer's GSE scale. After controlling for other factors related to motivation, age, sex, and total gray matter volume of each participant, results showed that regional gray matter volume in the posterior part of the precuneus significantly and positively correlated with the GSE score. These results suggest that one's accumulated experiences of success and failure, which contribute toward GSE, also influence the anatomical characteristics of the precuneus.


THE DETERMINATION OF COTTON (Gossypium hirsutum L.) GENOTYPES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF DROUGHT TOLERANT COTTON VARIETIES Ceng PEYNİRCİOĞLU M.Sc. Thesis, Department of Field Crop Sciences Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hüseyin BAŞAL 2014, 86 pages Turkey is among the countries that will be negatively affected by global climate change in the future. Therefore it is important to improve drought tolerant cotton varieties in terms of continuousness of cotton production in the future. In this study 48 cotton genotypes which were obtained from foreign countries and Nazilli Cotton Research Station were used as research materials. The purpose of the study was to determine the response of cotton genotypes to water stress and to select water stress resistance/tolerant cotton genotypes. The study was conducted under two locations; Adnan Menderes University Agriculture Faculty and Özaltın Agriculture Company Experiment Fields. The cotton genotypes were grown under full (100 %) and deficit (50%) irrigation. The experiment design was Augmented design with four replications. Water deficit decreased mean seed cotton yield, 1. and 2. Position boll retention rate, boll number, fiber length, uniformity index, and fiber strength, increased mean lint percentage and fiber fineness, and did not affect boll weight, elongation and seed weight. The result of this study showed that based on seed cotton yield, the irrigation water use efficiency and drought susceptibility index, CABU/CS2-1-83, Coker 208, TKY 9409, TKY 9304, Semu SS/G, Nazilli 84-S and Taşkent 1 genotypes would be drought sensitive, Lachata, MS-30/1, NGF-63, NP EGE 2009, Eva, NIAB 111 ve NIAB 999 genotypes would be drought tolerant and would be used as a parent in the breeding program to improve drought tolerant cotton genotypes.


The quality of buildings, especially those executed by indigenous construction firms and professionals in Nigeria cannot be measurable with those of developed countries, or even those of other countries in the West African sub-region such as Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana. This ugly situation has been attributed to many factors, ranging from the dearth of skilled tradesmen, non-existence of national quality standards and code of practice and ineffective government regularity policies to mention a few. It is against this background that this study was undertaken to ascertain the level of compliance with existing quality management standards in public building projects in the South-Eastern States of Nigeria in accordance with NIOB/NBC quality checklist. The construction methodology, project quality management plan, and project health and safety plan are all factors that influence the quality of a structure. A checklist document that guides on workmanship, construction materials, inspection, material sampling, and testing is crucial to the success of the quality management strategy. The checklist document contains 62 variables that were regarded important factors.Subsurface, timber, formwork, concrete work, steel reinforcement, block work, rendering, and roofing were the eight sub-headings for the 62 variables. The evaluation was done on a 5-point Likert scale, and the results were analysed using the weighted average mean index (Iimp), which ranged from -2 to 2. With a mean score of 1.5752, the subsurface sub-sector came in first, followed by the roofing sub-sector.With a mean score of 1.3297, blockwork comes in last, followed by the rendering sub-sector with a mean score of 1.3492. 730 people answered to the 900 structured questionnaires that were distributed, representing an 81.1 percent response rate. Quality control checklists and approved systems for construction project monitoring should be provided by building professional groups and all levels of government regulatory agencies.


We study the second derivative effects on the constitutive relations of an uncharged parity-even Galilean fluid using the null fluid framework. Null fluids are an equivalent representation of Galilean fluids in terms of a higher dimensional relativistic fluid, which makes the Galilean symmetries manifest and tractable. The analysis is based on the offshell formalism of hydrodynamics. We use this formalism to work out a generic algorithm to obtain the constitutive relations of a Galilean fluid up to arbitrarily high derivative orders, and later specialise to second order. Finally, we study the Stokes' law which determines the drag force on an object moving through a fluid, in presence of certain second order terms. We identify the second order transport coefficients which leave the drag force invariant. Dated: September 2, 2018 Comments: 33 + 1 pages, 10 tables, LTEX E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com , email@example.com


Today freeform surfaces are widely used on products in automobile, aerospace, and die/molds industries, which are generally manufactured using multi-axis CNC machines. Frequent changes in the design of products necessitate creation of CNC part programs which need fast and accurate toolpath generation methods. Traditional toolpath generation methods involve complex computations and are unable to consider multiple surface patches together. The voxel-based CAD model provides the ability to represent the multi-patch surfaces in a discretized manner which can be processed using an advanced parallel computing framework for accurate tool path planning. This paper presents a new method to generate an adaptive Iso-planar toolpath for a 3-axis CNC machine using the voxel-based part model. The algorithm is designed to work on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) that allows parallel processing for faster toolpath generation. The proposed approach consists of two main steps, an algorithm to generate gouge free cutter location points from the voxel-based CAD model and an algorithm to find out sidestep and forward step from those cutter location points to create the final CNC tool path. A new image-processing technique has been proposed to identify gouge by detecting the shadow surface voxels and their intersection with the cutting tool. The developed system was extensively tested and compared with the various reported toolpath planning strategies for machining complex freeform surface parts. The results show that the developed method is computationally efficient, robust, and accurate in generating adaptive planar toolpath.


Bilateral endoscopic electrocautery of the upper thoracic sympathetic ganglia (T2-4) was performed, mainly for palmar hyperhidrosis, on 535 patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of this procedure on cardiac and physical performance. A subgroup of 18 patients underwent cycle ergometer test with ECG recordings before and three months after surgery. After the operation, a significantly reduced heart rate at rest (12%) as well as during exercise and during recovery after exercise was found. The systolic blood pressure was reduced only at rest (7%) and the diastolic blood pressure was not significantly altered. Maximal workload was not affected by the operation and only a few patients had noticed their reduced heart rate. Three patients with angina pectoris and three with incapacitating tachycardia related to mental stress were operated on with excellent results. Thoracoscopic sympathicotomy is a safe, fast, cheap and efficient method for cardiac sympathetic denervation. This procedure might constitute an alternative to long-term thoracic epidural anaesthesia and implantation of thoracic electric stimulation devices in patients not suited for aortocoronary by-pass. Patients who require cardiac beta-receptor blockers and suffer from side effects of these drugs might also benefit from surgical cardiac sympathetic denervation.


The following overview introduces a series of articles that focuses on multifactor productivity (MFP) growth in health care. This edition of the Health Care Financing Review begins with a theoretical discussion of the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) and the conceptual reasons for the MFP adjustment incorporated into the Medicare physician fee schedule (MPFS). The issue then moves on to an exploratory data-driven analysis of MFP growth in physicians' offices, and an evaluation of that exploration. Finally, the edition concludes with an empirically-based analysis of MFP growth in the hospital sector, as well as a study related to Medicare physician payment that looks at the individual contributors to recent growth in relative value units (RVUs).1


Purpose – The paper aims to look at the balanced scorecard (BSC) concept and discuss in what way it should be applied to higher education programs/institutions in the Indian context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on extant literature on the balanced scorecard concept per se, as well as applications of BSC in higher education as reported by other researchers. Findings – The BSC approach offers an institution the opportunity to formulate a cascade of measures to translate the mission of knowledge creation, sharing and utilization into a comprehensive, coherent, communicable and mobilizing framework – for external stakeholders and for one another. Research limitations/implications – In the absence of any specific Indian case study, the possible impact could only be conjectured or deduced. Practical implications – A useful model is proposed that can be adapted with appropriate modifications to the management of tertiary institutions of education in India, whether it be a university, affiliate college, autonomous institution or private educational institution. Originality/value – In the absence of evidence of the application of BSC to the educational institutional domain in India, the current paper may be a starting-point for a debate and possible strategies to implement BSC methodology in this area.


Background/Aim: The evidence on the efficacy of somatostatin analogues in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in humans is conflicting. A variety of human tumors demonstrate somatostatin receptors. All subtypes bind human somatostatin with high affinity, while somatostatin analogues bind with high affinity to somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (sst2). We investigated the sst2 expression in HCC and examined whether HCCs expressing sst2 are a distinct subgroup. Patients and Methods: Forty-five human HCCs were tested for sst2 expression and biological alterations. The proliferative capacity was determined with Ki67 immunostaining and the DNA ploidy status was measured by fluorescent in situ hybridization with a chromosome 1-specific repetitive DNA probe. Expression of tumor suppressor genes (p16, p53 and Rb1) was measured by immunohistochemistry. Results: sst2 expression was detected in 30 tumors (67%). No correlation existed between sst2 expression and the immunoprofiles of the tumor suppressor genes, aneuploidy, proliferation, age, gender, α-fetoprotein levels, tumor size, tumor grade and underlying liver disease. Conclusion: In 67% of the patients with HCC, sst2 could be detected in the tumor. No clinical, pathological or biological characteristics were specific for sst2-positive tumors.


In this article, I offer a vision of the Internet in the coming decade (2000-2010) from a ground-level perspective. Looking ahead, I've recently begun to see that for many of us, technology is subsiding as the obstacle. There's never a question any more of whether we "can" do something technically. Today's available toolbox allows for robust, production-grade systems-provided you have the right people to build and maintain them; which is exactly the issue: the largest bottleneck is no longer technology, but people.


Data processes run by states, governments and the like have been a great deal and as old as the modern human history. Data had always been important. Tons were collected and siloed, but never in the past had its importance been felt as much as it had been when the last crisis broke out in 2008. Because these tons of data either, as some were redundant and occupying large spaces with huge storage costs, were not useful given the processing power and due to outdated mind-sets, or were not even the tiniest portion of the data necessary to do analysis , the experts realised. With the advances in the digital world dealing with data has become easier. Combined with the urgent needs and demands from the bottom up and top down there now is more enlightened and educated perception of data and whatever its extensions are, and its / their potential use, though a little bit late. In the late 90s, however, things were not as computerised and DataeXve was not as Big as it is today, and manual operations dominated the automated ones. There were definitely inefficiencies in DataeXve. Still, even then, there were efforts to improve these processes. This work focuses on one of those early efforts.


Relevance Currently, in genetic studies and selection of cabbage cultures, biotechnological methods for creating clean lines — doubled haploids in the culture of anthers and in the culture of isolated microspores are widely used. A common feature of these technologies is that the plants obtained in vitro have different levels of ploidy and along with doubled haploids there are haploid, tetraploid and mixoploid forms. Therefore, the use of new cytological methods of analysis of haploid plants remains an urgent problem. Material and method The aim of this work is to establish the genetic nature of regenerated plants of Brassica oleracea L., obtained from reproductive organs in vitro. Isolated anthers and ovaries of white cabbage were cultivated on solid nutrient media containing mineral salts according to the recipe Murashige and Skoog (MS). The obtained regenerated plants were used to calculate the number of chromosomes in the root meristem, as well as the number of chloroplasts in the cells of the closing stomata of leaves using the new universal method of preparing preparations of plant chromosomes – "SteamDrop". Results As a result of the research, the dependence of the level of ploidy on the cultivation conditions was studied. It has been shown that plants-regenerants of white cabbage, obtained in vitro from reproductive organs, had a different set of chromosomes (n, 3n, 5n). It was established that the number of chloroplasts in the stomatal cells of regenerated plants was from 9 to 45, while the original donor plants had 18–20.


The revised Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) introduces the possibility that certain waste streams that have undergone a recovery operation can cease to be waste, if they fulfil certain criteria - so-called End-of-waste (EoW) criteria. These criteria have to be developed, and they are to ensure that the waste streams fulfil a number of conditions spelled out in teh Directive, including existence of a commonly used specific applications, existence of a market or a demand, fulfilment of technical requirements for the specific applications, meeting existing legislation and standards applicable to the products the waste streams substitute, and absence of any overall adverse environmental or human health impacts. This report is a contribution to the development and implementation of the concept of End-of-waste (EoW) in EU legislation. The report presents a list of waste streams currently traded in the EU27 that are suitable candidates for a detailed assessment of EoW criteria. Suitability has been evaluated against a number of operational and transparent, mainly quantitative selection criteria, which have been developed to reflect to the extent possible the fulfilment of the conditions of market, specific applications, legislation and standard compliance and environment required by the Waste Framework Directive.


Using numerical solution of the full Maxwell–Bloch equations, which is obtained by the finite-difference time-domain method and the iterative predictor–corrector method, we investigate the modulation effect of relative carrier–envelope phase (hereinafter referred to as the relative phase) on resonant propagation of two-colour femtosecond ultrashort laser pulses in a V-type three-level atomic medium. It is found that the pulse splitting occurs for a smaller value of relative phase; when the value of relative phase increases to a certain value, only the variation of pulse shape is present and the pulse splitting does not occur any more; moreover, when the value of relative phase is smaller, the pulse group velocity is larger. The relative phase also has an obvious effect on population and spectral property. Different population transfers can be realized by adjusting the value of relative phase. Generally speaking, for the pulses with smaller areas their spectral strengths and frequency ranges decrease obviously with the value of relative phase increasing; for the pulses with larger areas, with value of the relative phase increasing, their spectral strengths decrease remarkably but the relative strengths of the higher frequency components increase significantly, while the spectral frequency range is not varied evidently.


AIM
This paper is a report of a discussion of the arguments surrounding the role of the initial literature review in grounded theory.

BACKGROUND
Researchers new to grounded theory may find themselves confused about the literature review, something we ourselves experienced, pointing to the need for clarity about use of the literature in grounded theory to help guide others about to embark on similar research journeys.

DISCUSSION
The arguments for and against the use of a substantial topic-related initial literature review in a grounded theory study are discussed, giving examples from our own studies. The use of theoretically sampled literature and the necessity for reflexivity are also discussed. Reflexivity is viewed as the explicit quest to limit researcher effects on the data by awareness of self, something seen as integral both to the process of data collection and the constant comparison method essential to grounded theory.

CONCLUSION
A researcher who is close to the field may already be theoretically sensitized and familiar with the literature on the study topic. Use of literature or any other preknowledge should not prevent a grounded theory arising from the inductive-deductive interplay which is at the heart of this method. Reflexivity is needed to prevent prior knowledge distorting the researcher's perceptions of the data.


The purpose of this paper is to introduce a framework of model elements and associated computation methods which are well suited to model information flow and physical processes in manufacturing systems. The proposed elements, the so called stochastic finite elements, are based on a discrete representation of time, in order to render distribution assumptions unnecessary. In our research, we extend available discrete time queueing models by models for batch processes, which are very common in manufacturing systems, when goods are transported or processed in some steps in batches and in some other steps piecewise. We give a short review of these models.


Age-related differences in etiology were examined in 214 instances of mycobacterial cervical lymphadenopathy. In adults, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from 147 lymph nodes and "atypical" mycobacteria was isolated from seven nodes. In contrast, M tuberculosis was isolated from only five nodes from children while other mycobacteria were isolated from 55 nodes. Mycobacterium tuberculosis clearly preponderates as the cause of mycobacterial cervical adenitis in adults while other mycobacteria are the cause of most cervical adenitis in children. The preponderance of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare in cervical adenitis in children contrasts with reports of Mycobacterium scrofulaceum as the most frequent causative agent in other geographic areas and may reflect either a change in causative agents or geographic differences. However, the finding of M tuberculosis in 8% of nodes indicates that other mycobacteria cannot be assumed to be the only cause of this disease in children.


Bringing together a team of global experts, this is the first volume to focus on the ways in which meanings are ascribed to actions in social interaction. It builds on the research traditions of Conversation Analysis and Pragmatics, and highlights the role of interactional, social, linguistic, multimodal, and epistemic factors in the formation and ascription of action-meanings. It shows how inference and intention ascription are displayed and drawn upon by participants in social interaction. Each chapter reveals practices, processes, and uses of action ascription, based on the analysis of audio and video recordings from nine different languages. Action ascription is conceptualised in this volume as not merely a cognitive process, but a social action in its own right that is used for managing interactional concerns and guiding the subsequent course of social interaction. It will be essential reading for academic researchers and advanced students interested in the relationship between language, behaviour and social interaction.


In this report, highly active metallocene initiators are used for the polymerization of a ketene monomer, dimethylketene, which typically contains two adjacent double bonds (R2 CCO). By using the methylzirconocene methyltriarylborate complex (Cp2 ZrMe+ MeB(C6 F5 )3 - ) as the activation system, associated with the possible cleavage of CC and CO bonds in ketene monomers, a structure-specific and high-molecular-weight polyester ( M n ¯ > 300 000 g mol-1 ) can be afforded. The resulting polyester structure, comprehensively characterized by NMR, indicates a significant reactive selectivity of the "bent-sandwich" cationic site Cp2 ZrMe+ . It reveals that the positively charged zirconium (Zr+ ) prefers to coordinate with a negatively charged oxygen (O- ) when it is already bonded to the carbon, while a negatively charged carbon (C- ) will be assigned in priority if the oxygen-zirconium bond exists. This report allows for broadening the application field of metallocene initiators in non-olefin reactions and deepening our insight into the mechanism of the living insertion/Ziegler-Natta polymerization.


Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of sexual dysfunction in male outpatients with concomitant psychiatric and medical conditions and to establish the validity of the Massachusetts General Hospital Sexual Function Questionnaire (MGH). Methods: Male VA outpatients were given two sexual function questionnaires, a 36-item Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire (CSFQ) and the 5-item MGH. Medical records were evaluated for diagnosis, medications and illnesses that might affect sexual functioning. Results: Among 100 outpatient respondents, the CSFQ showed that 90% and the MGH showed that 77% experienced sexual dysfunction. Forty percent of patients reported total absence of sexual function. Good concurrent validity was established between the MGH and CSFQ. Conclusions: Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in psychiatric outpatients. The MGH is a valid clinical measure to determine sexual dysfunction.


The rapid formation of an electron internal transport barrier (eITB) is observed during a slow evolution (≃200 ms) from a centrally peaked to a hollow current density profile, while all external actuators remain constant. The time constant for the barrier formation appears to be shorter than the electron energy confinement time. The improved confinement associated with the barrier formation occurs first in a localized region off-axis. Then the effects propagate to inner and outer flux surfaces on a confinement time scale. The temporal and spatial localizations of the barrier formation suggest a threshold in the magnetic shear profile that triggers the onset of the eITB. The threshold-like behaviour can be attributed to the sudden appearance of a minimum q (or zero-shear) flux surface in the safety factor profile. Based on modelling of the current profile evolution using the ASTRA transport code, the appearance of the zero-shear flux surface is correlated with the temporal and spatial formation of the barrier.


We present the evolving fraction conceptions of two elementary school children with mathematics learning disabilities (MLD). We use qualitative analyses to capture the mathematical knowledge and experiences of each child and show how teaching was used to support advancement of their fractional reasoning. Results illustrate two viable pathways of advancing fractional thinking, both of which reflect students' increasing levels of units coordination over time. We argue that recognizing and building on each child's strengths—while respecting and accommodating for their MLD—was central to promoting their learning. Results provide an existence proof of a new evidence base for student-centered, problem-based instruction for students with MLD, grounded in a careful understanding of student mathematical thinking and accommodations for cognitive differences.


In outdoor light emitting diode (LED) lighting system, there are a lot of applications. Depending on the output power rating, the power stage to drive LED can be classified into single-stage and two-stage structures. The single-stage structure is for low power LED lighting applications and it is hard to apply over 60~70 W output power because of its low efficiency and huge size of transformer at high power. On the other hand, the two-stage structure is usually used for high power applications and it is undesirable to cover wide output power range because of poor power factor (PF) at light load condition. To solve these problems, this paper proposes an interleaved single-stage flyback AC-DC converter with turn-on time mapped frequency control method. The proposed converter provides high efficiency at heavy load with low AC line and at light load with high AC line conditions. Also the proposed converter shows high PF and low total harmonic distortion (THD) even if the output power is very low. As a result, a single LED AC-DC converter can cover wide power range of outdoor LED lighting applications. To verify the validity of the proposed converter, an 81 W prototype converter has been constructed and experimented.


In Japan, tea (Camellia sinenis (L.) Kuntze) seedlings are propagated by cutting. A root system of clonal plants by cutting consists of adventitious roots and lateral roots. Most of the roots grow horizontally, which results in a shallow distribution of the root system. Such a shallow root system could be one of the factors contributing to the deterioration of nutrient uptake and resistance to water stress. Gravitropism of the roots is considered to be a decisive factor that controls the depth of a root system. The authors have investigated changes in the growth direction of roots to gravitative stimulus, using several kinds of roots (seminal roots, lateral roots and adventitious roots). Furthermore, amyloplasts in the root-cap cells, which are considered to be an equipment sensing gravistimulus, were observed. Seminal roots prominently showed orthogravitropism and contained many amyloplast particles in their root cap cells. Most lateral and adventitious roots showed plagiogravitropism, growing in an angle to gravistimulus, and lacked observable amyloplast particles in their root cap cells. The results suggest that the shallowing of root systems of elonal tea plants could be attributed to a gravitropic reaction of the adventitious and lateral roots composing the root system. There could also be a close relationship between the growth direction of roots and the presence of amyloplasts in root-cap cells.


It is known that partial denervation of muscle leads to the enlargement of the intact motor units by collateral sprouting of the intramuscular axons. After partially denervating the hind limb muscles in the frog, its effect on the intact motoneuron cell size was investigated. It was found that motoneurons increase in size when their motor unit territory expanded. This increase indicates size plasticity and the dynamic nature of motoneuron size. It is proposed that there are two distinct, but interacting states relating to motoneuron size (the stable in equilibrium labile states). The implications of size plasticity of motoneuron on synaptogenesis/synaptic reorganization on its membrane surface is discussed.


This paper presents a simple implementation for unmarked road tracking. It is mainly based on the calculation of road vanishing point position relative to the vehicle. An algorithm is derived to calculate the vanishing point location. This algorithm is made robust by introducing solutions to noisy peeks, unbounded vanishing point location, and irrelevant lines. Also, the paper defines a method to solve surrounding environment inconsistency by adaptation of thresholds. The paper shows experimental results on both modeled and real world environments.


A dishing model is developed to investigate the electrical effects of metal dishing in the damascene process, based on experimental data and physical analysis. A metric for dishing, the dishing radius, has been defined. A study utilizing this model shows that the impact of dishing on performance can be mitigated at both the process and design stages. More specifically, process improvement is most effective when the dishing radius is less than 50 /spl mu/m. During design, dishing effects can be suppressed by uniformly splitting a wide line into several narrower lines; the most beneficial number of line-splitting is between two and four from both efficiency and performance considerations.


We show that families of leafless quantum graphs that are isospectral for the standard Laplacian are finite. We show that the minimum edge length is a spectral invariant. We give an upper bound for the size of isospectral families in terms of the total edge length of the quantum graphs.
We define the Bloch spectrum of a quantum graph to be the map that assigns to each element in the deRham cohomology the spectrum of an associated magnetic Schr\"odinger operator. We show that the Bloch spectrum determines the Albanese torus, the block structure and the planarity of the graph. It determines a geometric dual of a planar graph. This enables us to show that the Bloch spectrum identifies and completely determines planar 3-connected quantum graphs.


During the eighteenth century, the Vietnamese government relied on local chieftains to govern its northern uplands, including the Sino-Vietnamese border region. In Lạng Sơn Province—an intermediary point for diplomatic documents traveling from the Lê-Trịnh government to the Qing—the government constructed a documentary system that gave local chieftains considerable political responsibility. Under this system, local chieftains were responsible for administering tax collection and some forms of military service, researching the titles and positions of Qing officials, purchasing Qing calendars, and forwarding official documents. Thus, these local chieftains played important roles in eighteenth-century Sino-Vietnamese relations and politics.


We explore the ground-state physics of two-dimensional spin-1/2 U(1) quantum link models, one of the simplest nontrivial lattice gauge theories with fermionic matter within experimental reach for quantum simulations. Whereas in the large mass limit we observe Neél-like vortex-antivortex and striped crystalline phases, for small masses there is a transition from the striped phases into a disordered phase whose properties resemble those at the Rokhsar-Kivelson point of the quantum dimer model. This phase is characterized on ladders by boundary Haldane-like properties, such as vanishing parity and finite string ordering. Moreover, from studies of the string tension between gauge charges, we find that, whereas the striped phases are confined, the novel disordered phase present clear indications of being deconfined. Our results open exciting perspectives of studying highly nontrivial physics in quantum simulators, such as spin-liquid behavior and confinement-deconfinement transitions, without the need of explicitly engineering plaquette terms.


We report on responsive photoluminescent hybrid materials with quantum dots immobilized in organized manner fabricated by spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly (SA LbL). The strongly interacting polyelectrolytes such as poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) serve for confining CdTe nanoparticles stabilized by thioglycolic acid, while a poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) hydrogel matrix presents an elastomeric network with pH-responsive properties. Quantum dot layers encapsulated in PSS-PAH bilayers are confined inside this hybrid hydrogel matrix. The system undergoes reversible changes in photoluminescent intensity in response to pH variations. Photoluminescent intensity of the hybrid matrix is suppressed in excess negative charge at high pH, but excess positive charge at low pH results in significant photoluminescence increase. Such hybrid quantum dot-containing hydrogel-LbL assemblies provide a way for a novel design of materials with precisely controlled structure and pH-triggered optical properties which might be developed into or pHor chemical sensors.


Context: Communication skills have an important role in people satisfactions. Mothers' satisfactions with midwives' communication skills can make an appropriate setting in order to achieve psychological and physical health of mothers. Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of training workshop on midwives' communication skills and mothers' satisfaction in maternity unit. Setting and Design: This semi-experimental study was done with participation of 40 midwives in maternity unit and 100 mothers in postnatural delivery ward in Mahdieh Hospital, Tehran, Iran, in 2016. Materials and Methods: Sampling was done by census method for midwives and by available method for mothers. Two sessions of communication skills workshop were performed for mothers in two consecutive days. Midwives' communication skills were assessed by Jerabek questionnaire and mothers' satisfaction was measured by satisfaction with communication questionnaire before intervention and 4 weeks later. Statistical Analysis Used: Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, frequency, mean, standard deviation, pair and independent t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficient and regression were used for data analysis. Results: Before intervention, mean and standard deviation for midwives' communication skills was 99.44 ± 9.19 and for mothers' satisfaction was 61.88 ± 17.8. After communication skills training workshop, midwives' communication skill raised to 139.62 ± 7.13 (P = 0.002) and mothers' satisfaction increased to 88.68 ± 12.79 (P = 0.003). Conclusion: Communication skill training to midwives may have a positive effect on mothers' satisfaction. Thus, integrating communication skills training in continuing midwifery education program is suggested.


In the present work, a comprehensive screening and evaluation system was established to improve the plant–microbial synergistic degradation effects of QNs. The study included the construction of a 3D-QSAR model, the molecular modification, environmental friendliness and functional evaluation of drugs, degradation pathway simulation, and human health risk assessment. Molecular dynamics was applied to quantify the binding capacity of QNs toward the plant degradation enzyme (peroxidase) and microbial degradation enzymes (manganese peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, and laccase). The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was used in combination with the weighted average method for normalization and assigning equal weights to the plant and microbial degradation effect values of the QNs. Considering the synergistic degradation effect value as the dependent variable and the molecular information of the QNs as the independent variable, a 3D-QSAR model was constructed for the plant–microbial synergistic degradation effect of QNs. The constructed model was then employed to conduct the molecular modification, environmental friendliness and functional evaluation, degradation pathway simulation, and human health risk assessment of transformation products using pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics. The results revealed that the synergistic degradation effect 3D-QSAR (CoMSIA) model exhibited good internal and external prediction ability, fitting ability, stability, and no overfitting phenomenon. Norfloxacin (NOR) was used as the target molecule in the molecular modification. A total of 35 NOR derivatives with enhanced plant–microbial synergistic degradation effect (1.32–21.51%) were designed by introducing small-volume, strongly electronegative, and hydrophobic hydrogen bond receptor groups into the active group of the norfloxacin structure. The environment-friendliness and the functionality of NOR were evaluated prior to and after the modification, which revealed seven environment-friendly FQs derivatives exhibiting moderate improvement in stability and bactericidal efficacy. The simulation of the NOR plant and microbial degradation pathways prior to and after the modification and the calculation of the reaction energy barrier revealed Pathway A (D-17 to D-17-2) and Pathway B (D-17 to D-17-4) as the most prone degradation pathways in plants and Pathway A (D-17 to D-17-1) and Pathway B (D-17 to D-17-4) as the most prone degradation pathways in microorganisms. This demonstrated that the degradation of the modified NOR derivatives was significantly enhanced, with the hydroxylation and piperazine ring substitution reaction playing an important role in the degradation process. Finally, the parameters, including hepatotoxicity, mutagenicity, and rodent carcinogenicity, among others, predicted using the pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics analyses revealed a significant reduction in the human health risk associated with the modified NOR, along with a considerable reduction in the toxicity of its transformation products, implying that the human health risk associated with the transformation products was reduced remarkably. The present study provides a theoretical basis for novel ideas and evaluation programs for improving the plant–microbial synergistic degradation of the QNs antibiotics for source control and drug design, thereby reducing the residues of these antibiotics and the associated hazard in the complex plant–soil environment, ultimately decreasing the potential risks to human health.


Discussion and author's closure of paper 46–112 by Charles F. Dalziel, presented at the AIEE summer convention, Detroit, Mich., June 24–28, 1946, and published in AIEE TRANSACTIONS, 1946, August-September section, pages 579–85.


Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are considered normal in many circumstances but can act as markers to other cardiac disease such as cardiomyopathy and ischemic heart disease. This case is presented to illustrate frequent PVCs as a marker for serious heart disease.


The gall midges genus Niladmirara Fedotova, gen. n. (type species: N. metula Fedotova, sp. n.) is described in the tribe Asynaptini (Cecidomyiidae: Porricondylinae). This genus consists of three species: type species, N. devergentia sp. n. and N. mucronata (Mamaev et Zaitzev), comb. n. New genus is closely related to Camptomyia Kieffer, 1894 but differs from it by form of wide transversal or round genitalia; by absence transversal dorsal bridge between roots of gonocoxites; by presence of roots of parameres fused with apodemae of gonocoxites; by two pairs very long overlapping projections of parameres; by presence of enlarging on proximal end of aedeagal rod; by gonostylus with subapical ventral excision and apical little claw; by very long neck of middle flagellomeres. Key to the species of Niladmirara gen. n. is given for males.


microRNA (miRNA) is evolutionarily conserved, non-coding small RNA (19-25 nt) involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. To further understand the biogenesis and functions of miRNA, and to quantify miRNA expression levels, the expression of miR-28 in B lymphoma cell lines was detected by solution hybridization and Northern blot, and their detected results were compared. The results indicated that detection of miR-28 by solution hybridization and Northern blot showed positive, but total RNA amount used for solution hybridization detection was significantly lower than that for Northern blot detection (5 microg vs 30 microg), signal of solution hybridization was stronger than that of Northern blot. It is concluded that the solution hybridization for detection of miR-28 in B cell lymphoma cell lines is a faster and more sensitive method as compared with standard Northern blot technique.


Background: Iatrogenic meningitis is an important complication in neurosurgery. This infection is not common. This paper presents the first report of recurrent shunt meningitis caused by drug resistant Enterococcus fecalis in Iran. Case report: We report a case with recurrent shunt meningitis caused by Enteroccocus fecalis in a 9-year old girl with ventriculoperitoneal shunt which did not recover by antibiotic therapy until the removal of the infected shunt. Discussion and Conclusion: Patients with hydrocephalus who are treated with ventriculoperitoneal shunts are susceptible to bacterial infections. The rate of this nosocomial infection varies from 2% to 22%. It is suggested to pay more attention to symptoms of CNS infections among patients with cerebrospinal fluid drainage.


Summary (-)-Emetine hydrochloride (NSC 33669) is most effective in the treatment of Leukemia L1210 in mice when it is administered i.p. as three doses of 16 mg/kg on Days 1, 5, and 9. The distribution of emetine in the tissues was determined after i.p. administration of the drug to normal male C57BL/6 × DBA/2 F 1 mice on several schedules and after i.p. administration to leukemic animals on Days 1, 5, and 9. The drug was also administered p.o. to normal animals. Emetine was detected in tissues by a spectrophotofluorometric method with a lower limit of 0.5 µg/g of tissue. No significant differences in drug distribution after i.p. administration were observed in either normal or leukemic animals. There appears to be no relationship between the apparent schedule dependency of the drug and its tissue distribution in mice. Drug levels at 24 and 48 hr were higher in leukemic liver and spleen than in tissue from normal animals. Emetine was detected in all tissues examined after p.o. administration, but the pattern of concentration was erratic and levels of drug in tissue were generally lower than those seen after i.p. administration. Emetine was preferentially excreted in the urine. As much as 40% of the administered dose was excreted as unchanged emetine 24 hr after a single i.p. injection. Concentrations of drug (µg of drug/g of tissue) were higher in the small intestine than in the kidney. There appears to be no direct correlation between drug levels in these two organs and route of excretion. Twenty-four hr after i.p. or p.o. administration of a single dose of emetine, 50 to 100% of the drug could be accounted for in whole-mouse homogenates and urinary excretion. There was marked variation among individual mice in the percentage of emetine detected in either whole-mouse homogenates or in excreted urine.


INTRODUCTION
Asthma, the most common chronic disease in paediatrics, is characterised by an inflammatory process involving the proximal and distal airways, with remodelling of the airways and changes in respiratory function.

STATE OF THE ART
Recent studies in children have provided evidence of damage to the small airways identical to that occurring in adults. In fact inflammatory cells as well as structural alterations of the airways have been found in both bronchial biopsies and broncho-alveolar lavage fluid in infants and young children. At the functional level this damage is manifest by a reduction in maximum expiratory flow rates between 25-75% of the vital capacity. It also shows itself by the demonstration of thick walled bronchi and hypodense bands on the high resolution CT scan. It appears that conventional inhaled treatments have no effect on the small airways. Finally the main prognostic factors for this distal damage are respiratory infections and exposure to tobacco in utero.

PERSPECTIVES
Damage to the small airways in childhood asthma indicates the need for new therapies aimed at this part of the respiratory system.

CONCLUSION
Inflammation and remodelling of the small airways develops early in an asthmatic child whose respiratory system is growing rapidly and persists throughout life.


A new paradigm regarding a significant technological development has been introduced, each individual gets full trust in controlling an asset and can see the level of authenticity of a particular asset. Through qualitative methods, it is possible to have structured results as the first step to the perfection of the digitalisation era, in which the current revolutionary technology called blockchain has come into play. One of the main innovations found through this research is the role of blockchain in enhancing e-certificate data security, it is proven that administration can be well distributed and reduce operational costs for every field in the world. It is clear that blockchain, especially in the world of education certification, has a big impact, because it can create a global trust network, immutable, authenticated ubiquitous, and can shape a better world for Indonesia as a superpower. With good execution using the SHA-256 hash, e-certificate blockchain technology can be of high value and have an impact on the quality of potential human resources in educational institutions.


Summary A recent application of ultrasound (US) therapy is to bone fractures. In two randomized controlled trials in humans, specific dosed US accelerated fresh tibial and radial fracture repair by 38%. When applied to delayed- and non-unions the same dosed US resulted in union in over 80% of cases. Similar US may augment fracture repair in veterinary practice. This paper reviews US dosages applied during fracture repair and their effect on bone healing. It concludes by discussing the clinical and practical implications of these findings to veterinary practice and the need for further research into this electrotherapeutic modality. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound has been shown to facilitate fresh fracture repair, reduce the incidence of delayed-union and initiate healing of fractures displaying delayedand non-union. This paper discusses these findings and their implications to veterinary practice.


The relations developed previously for the spinodal and the consolute state in quasi-binary polymer solutions (single solvent and polydisperse polymer) are extended so as to cover quasi-ternary systems containing in addition a second polydisperse polymer. The equations obtained also describe polymer compatibility, solvent + non-solvent + polydisperse polymer systems and truly ternary low-molecular-weight mixtures. Some experimental examples relating to the quasi-ternary system diphenylether + linear polyethylene + polypropylene illustrate the usefulness of the equations. The interaction between polyethylene and polypropylene segments differs according as the latter belong to isotactic or atactic sequences. The mutual solvent method for determining polymer compatibility may lead to erroneous conclusions.


We present here a general overview of electron spectroscopies from a practical point of view. The most frequently used ones are described and the type of structural information they can provide on materials is explained in relation to the physical processes on which they are based. Furthermore, we explore critically and in detail various tools that have been developed to allow a systematic solving of structures by these spectroscopies.


We calculate the energy eigenvalues and the sate functions of one-electron Quantum Dot (QD) by using a combination of Quantum Genetic Algorithm (QGA) and Hartree–Fock–Roothaan (HFR) method. The linear and the third-order nonlinear optical absorption coefficients for the 1s-1p, 1p-1d, and 1d-1f transitions are examined as a function of the incident photon energy for three different values of the stoichiometric ratio. The results show that the stoichiometric ratio, impurity, relaxation time, and dot size have great influence on the optical absorption coefficients of QDs.


Local realism reduces to the proposition that local determinate reality is the necessary and sufficient cause of every physical effect. By any standard account, quantum theory requires that local realism is false, because it embeds the famously spooky premise that some physical effects require causes that are instantly effective from arbitrarily far away. Nonetheless, quantum theory has replaced local realism as the foundation of science because, whereas local realism allegedly cannot violate the Bell inequality, quantum theory is taken to do so in accord with experiments. Here we prove, however, that an epistemic contextual model of local realism solves a puzzle about independent random measurements of local hidden variables in a way that causally explains observed Bell violations. We also reveal exactly how the Bell inequality fails to represent the local realistic prediction. Finally, we show that any theory that denies local realism comprises an unfalsifiable causal claim that is freely adjustable to make arbitrary predictions, which thus provide no validation of its causal claim. Results revitalize the hypothesis that local realism prevails. Keywords: Local Realism. Bell Violations. Photons. Entanglement. Quantum Physics.


This study investigates the potential of object-based feature extraction from Google Earth Imagery for mapping termite mounds in Amazon's savannas. Termite mounds are often hotspots of plant growth (i.e. primary productivity). Accurate and timely information about termite mounds is crucial for land management decision-making and ecosystem monitoring. To address this issue, the effectiveness of object-based feature extraction that use automated image segmentation to extract meaningful ground features from imagery was tested. The study used very high resolution multispectral Google Earth images to produce termite mounds maps in Bahia, Brazil. The results from the study indicated that an object-based approach provides a better means for ground feature extraction than a pixel based method because it provides an effective way to incorporate spatial information and expert knowledge into the feature extraction process. Also the results suggest that Google earth imagery has considerable potential in mapping termite mounds in Amazon's savannas.


Market diversification and economic globalization bring various uncertainties to the completion of manufacturing task. It requires manufacturing resource aggregation (MRA) could adjust to dynamic changing factors (DCFs) that happen during the life cycle of MRA. The emerging Cyber Physical Systems (CPS), in which the real-time states of physical resources are fully sensed, enable to identify the DCFs in time. This supports to realize the real dynamic MRA. Take CPS as background, the paper focuses on dynamic MRA which includes two key issues, manufacturing resource virtualization model (MRVM) and dynamic service composition. In order to give a complete manufacturing resource view, MRVM which contains both static and dynamic information is built. Based on the analysis towards life cycle of MRA, the paper proposes a dynamic MRA architecture. And as the core parts of it, the implementation process of manufacturing resource service composition and a multi-level dynamic adjustment strategy are described in detail. At last, we make a conclusion.


This study examines the mediating role of Overall Service Quality in the service quality-customer satisfaction relationship in the context of professional football. Quantitative data were collected from a survey of 415 spectators attending a professional football game in Greece. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to examine the validity of the scale. Multiple regression analyses was used to assess the mediation effect of Overall Service Quality. Results of the CFA and alpha test supported the psychometric property of the scale. Overall Service Quality was shown to mediate the relationship between the five dimensions of service quality and fans' satisfaction.


In this paper, we introduce a new decoupling capacitor stacked chip (DCSC) with discrete capacitors and through-silicon-vias (TSVs) that can be implemented into a multi-stacked 3D-IC system. The core idea of the proposed TSV-based DCSC is stacking the decoupling capacitors such as a silicon-based NMOS capacitor and a discrete capacitor on the backside of a chip and connecting the capacitors to the chip-power distribution network (PDN) through TSVs. A new TSV based DCSC structure that has the advantages of chip-level NMOS capacitor (under several tens pH) and package-level decoupling capacitor (up to several uF) solutions, which represent the conventional decoupling capacitor solution, is proposed. The proposed DCSC is a proper structure for implementing into multi-stacked 3D-IC systems through using the TSV technology. In addition, 3D PDN impedance variations are analyzed according to the number of TSVs in a multi-stacked 3D-IC system that is applied to DCSC and its arrangement. It is possible to achieve a robust 3D PDN for the power noise by using a TSV based DCSC and by arranging power as many TSVs as possible uniformly.


Christian Religious Education is an educational subject at all levels of learning. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors influencing student enrolment in C.R.E in public secondary schools. The study pursued the following objectives students' perception on importance of C.R.E and its effects on enrolment, the role of career guidance in the selection of C.R.E as a subject and it affects enrolment , relationship between teacher's qualification and student enrolment and challenges facing the teaching of C.R.E and how it affects enrolment This study adopted a descriptive survey design to determine the factors influencing student's enrolment in CRE. To carry out a research on this area the researcher selected a sample of 30 out of 48 public secondary schools. In each of the 30 public secondary schools the researcher selected 5 from four students who have enrolled in CRE form 5 students who have not enrolled in CRE, and students were randomly selected. The research developed and use questionnaires for students who have enrolled for CRE, a questionnaire for students who have not enrolled in CRE, and a questionnaire for CRE teachers. The researcher employed descriptive statistics as a technique to analyzing qualitative and content analysis for qualitative data. Distributions and percentages, conclusions, records and suggestions were given. Data was presented using frequency tables. The study revealed that students' perception on importance of C.R.E affect their enrolment in public secondary schools to great extent. The study also revealed that role of career guidance in the selection of C.R.E as a subject and it affects enrolment in public secondary schools to great extent as most school didn't offer career guidance on selection of subject. The study found that teacher's academic qualification affected student enrolment into CRE, thus a relationship between teacher's qualification and student enrolment in CRE. The study further established that there were numerous challenges facing the teaching of C.R.E which negatively affected the enrolment of CRE in public secondary schools.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate clinical features of assisted reproductive technology (ART) patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) compared to spontaneously conceived PIH patients.

METHODS
We retrospectively compared PIH incidence, maternal outcomes, and neonatal outcomes among these patients.

RESULTS
Preeclampsia, cesarean rate, and massive maternal bleeding were significantly more common in the ART group. Neonatal outcomes showed no significant difference between the groups. Multiple regression analysis revealed ART as an independent risk factor for preeclampsia. However, higher cesarean rate and massive bleeding were mainly associated with multiple pregnancy.

CONCLUSION
ART patients with PIH had an increased incidence of preeclampsia, cesarean delivery, and massive maternal hemorrhage.


It has been proposed that uncharged tRNA molecules may act as positive regulatory factors to control the expression of a number of operons in Bacillus subtilis and related bacteria by interacting with leader sequences to cause antitermination. In this study we report the isolation and characterization of regulatory mutations that modify one of the tRNA molecules predicted to have such a regulatory role. Three different alleles of the B. subtilis leucine tRNA gene leuG were found that resulted in higher expression of the ilv-leu biosynthetic operon. Each resulted in a base change in the D-loop of the leucine tRNA molecule with the anticodon 5'-GAG-3' (leucine tRNAGAG). Experiments with strains that are diploid for mutant and wild-type alleles suggested that both charged and uncharged tRNA molecules may interact with leader sequences to control expression of the operon.


Picosecond time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy has been used to investigate the optical properties of GaN pyramids overgrown on hexagonal-patterned GaN(0001) epilayers on sapphire and silicon substrates with AlN buffer layers. We found that: (i) the release of the biaxial compressive strain in GaN pyramids on GaN/AlN/sapphire substrate led to a 7 meV redshift of the spectral peak position with respect to the strained GaN epilayer grown under identical conditions; (ii) in the GaN pyramids on GaN/AlN/sapphire substrate, strong band edge transitions with much narrower linewidths than those in the GaN epilayer have been observed, indicating the improved crystalline quality of the overgrown pyramids; (iii) PL spectra taken from different parts of the pyramids revealed that the top of the pyramid had the highest crystalline quality; and (iv) the presence of strong band-to-impurity transitions in the pyramids were primarily due to the incorporation of the oxygen and silicon impurities from the SiO2...


Research on the formal role of universities in stimulating regional economic development is relatively recent. However, the role of universities in contributing to regional technological and service variety is underresearched. In this study, we use a data set that has wide geographic coverage. The analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of the UK-wide contribution of university spin-offs (USOs) to the innovation capacity of their host regional economies. We argue that the survival and growth of USOs imply embeddedness in innovation ecosystems in a region. The findings show that the majority of firms in the sample are relatively young, small in size, and are still at the early stages of their life cycle. Hence, the products and services that are offered are fairly small in number. Nevertheless, their products/services based on university research have the potential for value capture by other firms thus implying contributions to a range of related and unrelated industry sectors within a region or beyond the local.


Objective: To identify the factors associated with pulmonary metastasis, such as lymph node positivity, tumour location and histological differentiation in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (scc).
Material and Methods: This study is designed as retrospective cohort study. Data from 263 patients diagnosed with laryngeal scc were reviewed retrospectively. Pulmonary metastasis was observed in 39 of these patients.
Results: The transglottic tumors had the highest pulmonary metastasis rate (%50). The pulmonary metastasis rate was significantly lower in patients with glottic tumors than those with tumors in other regions (p= 0.003) The pulmonary metastasis rate was higher in lymph node-positive patients than in lymph node-negative patients. Pulmonary metastasis rate was significantly higher among patients with N2-N3 stage lymph nodes compared to those with N1 stage lymph nodes. Pulmonary metastasis rate is also increased significantly among patients with histologically poorly differentiated tumors (p= 0.001).
Conclusion: The laryngeal cancer patients with positive lymph node, with transglottic tumour and with poorly/moderately differentiated tumour should be monitored carefully and followed up closely for possible pulmonary metastasis.