Introduction : The most commonly used treatment for sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is the application of constant airway pressure (CPAP) during sleep. However compliance with this treatment is frequently below 70%. In France, CPAP equipment hire (from a home care provider) is reimbursed by the national health insurance if compliance >3h/daily. We know that understanding and adherence are key factors for treatment success. Methods: The main aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of an educational intervention (EI) by phone calls in SAS patients treated with CPAP by a home care provider (SADIR). The educational intervention consisted on 5 sessions (day 3, 10, 30, 60, 90 after equipment) of telephone-based counseling intervention by a competent staff. Patients were randomized with or without EI. Results : 379 patients were included. A higher CPAP compliance (> 3hours/night) at 4 months was observed in the EI group compared to control group (75% and 65% respectively, chi 2 =3.97). On average, patients with EI had used CPAP during 4h38 by night versus 4h08 for patients without EI (p=0.04). Conclusion: An educational intervention dispensed by phone increased CPAP compliance.


We present a detailed elemental abundance study of 90 F and G dwarf, turn-off and subgiant stars in the Galactic bulge. Based on high-resolution spectra acquired during gravitational microlensing events, stellar ages and abundances for 11 elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Zn, Y and Ba) have been determined. We find that the Galactic bulge has a wide metallicity distribution with significant peaks at [Fe/H]=-1.09, -0.63, -0.20, +0.12, +0.41. We also find a high fraction of intermediate-age to young stars: at [Fe/H]>0 more than 35 % are younger than 8 Gyr. For [Fe/H]<-0.5 most stars are 10 Gyr or older. We have also identified several episodes when significant star formation in the bulge happened: 3, 6, 8, and 12 Gyr ago. We further find that the "knee" in the alpha-element abundance trends of the sub-solar metallicity bulge is located at about 0.1 dex higher [Fe/H] than in the local thick disk. The Galactic bulge has complex age and abundance properties that appear to be tightly connected to the main Galactic stellar populations. In particular, the peaks in the metallicity distribution, the star formation episodes, and the abundance trends, show similarities with the properties of the Galactic thin and thick disks. At the same time there are additional components not seen outside the bulge region, and that most likely can be associated with the Galactic bar. For instance, the star formation rate appears to have been slightly faster in the bulge than in the local thick disk, which most likely is an indication of the denser stellar environment closer to the Galactic centre. Our results strengthen the observational evidence that support the idea of a secular origin for the Galactic bulge, formed out of the other main Galactic stellar populations present in the central regions of our Galaxy.


As a means to promote the development of innovative energyand resource-efficient production technologies, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launched a programme1 funding over 31  joint research projects with more than 65 m Euros in 2009. Each of the funded projects aims to develop new, holistic solutions for industrial production which can substantially improve energy efficiency. The purpose of these solutions is to ensure and foster the competitiveness as well as the technological top position of German industry. However, in order to reap the fruits of these efficient solutions, it is necessary that they are spread and adopted by industry. As a flanking measure to the 31 research projects, the BMBF and the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) therefore launched a joint initiative called the Effizienzfabrik, the Inno vation Platform for Resource Efficiency in Production. The initiative has three objectives: (1) to disseminate information about recent trends and developments in research on energyand resource-efficient production technologies, (2) to facilitate the dissemination of the project results by publications, events and web-based tools and finally, (3) to create a living network of stakeholders from industry, academia and the public. In this paper, we discuss the approaches developed for and implemented in the Effizienzfabrik. This includes a presenta1. Programme "Resource efficiency in production" within the framework programme "Forschung für die Produktion von morgen". tion of the methodological background, a review of the various tools and services provided to the public and a discussion of lessons learned during the Effizienzfabrik initiative. This information may serve as a basis for launching similar programmes in other countries or contexts.


Myrcianthes ferreyrae is an endemic, endangered species, with a small number of individuals located only in hyperarid, fog-oases known as lomas along the Peruvian desert in southern Peru, where fog is the main source of water. Following centuries of severe deforestation, reforestation with this native species was conducted in the Atiquipa lomas, Arequipa-Perú. On five slopes, five 2-year-old seedlings were irrigated monthly with water trapped by raschel-mesh fog collectors, supplementing natural rainfall with 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 mm month(-1) from February to August 2008. We measured plant growth, increment in basal diameter, height and five leaf traits: leaf mass area (LMA), leaf carbon isotope composition (δ(13)C), nitrogen per leaf area, total leaf carbon and stomatal density; which are indicative of the physiological changes resulting from increased water supply. Plant growth rates, estimated from the variation of either shoot basal diameter or maximum height, were highly correlated with total biomass. Only LMA and δ(13)C were higher in irrigated than in control plants, but we found no further differences among irrigation treatments. This threshold response suggests an on-off strategy fitted to exploit pulses of fog water, which are always limited in magnitude in comparison with natural rain. The absence of a differential response to increased water supply is in agreement with the low phenotypic plasticity expected in plants from very stressful environments. Our results have practical implications for reforestation projects, since irrigating with 20 mm per month is sufficient to achieve the full growth capacity of this species.


BackgroundTuberculosis remains a serious public health challenge in China and disproportionately affects urban and rural population. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics and treatment outcome of tuberculosis patients among a population with mixed rural and urban inhabitants.MethodsClinical and socio-demographic information was collected for each culture-confirmed tuberculosis (TB) patients (with >15 yrs) from January 1st, 2015 to July 31st, 2017 in a provincial TB designated hospital in Jiangxi, China. We conducted both first- and second-line drug susceptibility testing. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to calculate odds ratios for factors associated with the rural and urban culture-positive tuberculosis patients. ResultsOverall, 381 culture-confirmed TB patients were enrolled, of which 302 were from rural and 79 from urban region. Rural patients were more likely to have previous treatment history, be unemployed, less educated, and had a slightly higher rate of multidrug-resistant TB. Urban TB patients had a similar rate (40.5%) of treatment failure with that among rural patients (34.8%). In the final model, individuals with less education (aOR, 3.32, 95%CI [1.31-8.39]), having sputum smear positive results (2.14 [1.34-3.42]), and with multidrug-resistant TB (4.49 [1.09-18.55]) were associated with treatment failure. ConclusionsDespite the distinct social-demographic characteristics, both TB patients from rural and urban population had high unfavorable treatment outcome.


ABSTRACT Clostridium difficile, recently renamed Clostridioides difficile, is the most common cause of antibiotic-associated nosocomial gastrointestinal infections worldwide. To differentiate endogenous infections and transmission events, highly discriminatory subtyping is necessary. Today, methods based on whole-genome sequencing data are increasingly used to subtype bacterial pathogens; however, frequently a standardized methodology and typing nomenclature are missing. Here we report a core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) approach developed for C. difficile. Initially, we determined the breadth of the C. difficile population based on all available MLST sequence types with Bayesian inference (BAPS). The resulting BAPS partitions were used in combination with C. difficile clade information to select representative isolates that were subsequently used to define cgMLST target genes. Finally, we evaluated the novel cgMLST scheme with genomes from 3,025 isolates. BAPS grouping (n = 6 groups) together with the clade information led to a total of 11 representative isolates that were included for cgMLST definition and resulted in 2,270 cgMLST genes that were present in all isolates. Overall, 2,184 to 2,268 cgMLST targets were detected in the genome sequences of 70 outbreak-associated and reference strains, and on average 99.3% cgMLST targets (1,116 to 2,270 targets) were present in 2,954 genomes downloaded from the NCBI database, underlining the representativeness of the cgMLST scheme. Moreover, reanalyzing different cluster scenarios with cgMLST were concordant to published single nucleotide variant analyses. In conclusion, the novel cgMLST is representative for the whole C. difficile population, is highly discriminatory in outbreak situations, and provides a unique nomenclature facilitating interlaboratory exchange.


The brittle–ductile transition (BDT) widely exists in the manufacturing with extremely small deformation scale, thermally assisted machining, and high-speed machining. This paper reviews the BDT in extreme manufacturing. The factors affecting the BDT in extreme manufacturing are analyzed, including the deformation scale and deformation temperature induced brittle-to-ductile transition, and the reverse transition induced by grain size and strain rate. A discussion is arranged to explore the mechanisms of BDT and how to improve the machinability based on the BDT. It is proposed that the mutual transition between brittleness and ductility results from the competition between the occurrence of plastic deformation and the propagation of cracks. The brittleness or ductility of machined material should benefit a specific manufacturing process, which can be regulated by the deformation scale, deformation temperature and machining speed.


Observations are reported of an undocumented HF scattering mode detected by the Kodiak SuperDARN radar during an O‐mode heating experiment recently conducted at the HAARP facility near Gakona, AK. The main features of these observations include enhancements to the Kodiak radar spectrum at frequencies equal to the radar plus the heater frequencies (fr + fH) as well as somewhat weaker enhancements at (fr + fH) ± 85 and (fr + fH) ± 108 kHz. Observations were recorded for ∼20 minutes and enhanced spectra from the heated volume above HAARP were consistently observed by the Kodiak radar during times when the HAARP heater was transmitting. We suggest that the spectral enhancements indicate the presence of perpendicularly propagating upper hybrid (UH) waves which are believed to exist near the UH resonance layer.


Each of the chapters in this volume devotes considerable attention to defining and elaborating the notion of the frame problem-one of the hard problems of artificial intelligence. Not only do the chapters clarify the problems at hand, they shed light on the different approaches taken by those in artificial intelligence and by certain philosophers who have been concerned with related problems in their field. The book should therefore not be read merely as a discussion of the frame problem narrowly conceived, but also as a general analysis of what could be a major challenge to the design of computer systems exhibiting general intelligence.


A honeypot is a supplemented active defense system for network security. It traps attacks, records intrusion information about tools and activities of the hacking process, and prevents attacks outbound the compromised system. Integrated with other security solutions, a honeypot can solve many traditional dilemmas. We expatiate key components of data capture and data control in a honeypot, and give a classification for honeypots according to security goals and application goals. We review the technical progress and security contribution of production honeypots and research honeypots. We present typical honeypot solutions and predict the technical trends of integration, virtualization and distribution for future honeypots.


The poly[2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV)/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) heterojunction was investigated by photoemission spectroscopy. The orbital line-up at the MEH-PPV/P3HT heterojunction was determined based on the data of X-ray and ultra-violet photoemission measurements. The results were discussed with reference to the Induced Density of Interface States (IDIS) and integer charge transfer models. The predicted interface orbital line-up by IDIS is in agreement with measured energy alignment of the investigated interface. This suggests the IDIS model is also valid for polymer/polymer heterojunctions.


ILO, Geneva, Switzerland, 20-21 June 2005
Working title – 'Making the Invisible Visible: Appreciating Cultural Dimensions'

The workshop objectives are to understand and appreciate the cultural dimensions to your current work; to improve your ability to see multiple perspectives, multiple cultural dimensions and cultures, through exposure and practice of practical tools and techniques; and thereby improve your ability to act on facets or elements of culture, to become more active and effective in shaping the cultures that shape us.

Why go? There will be many opportunities for learning exchanges between organizations, as well as Reflection / Flash Mob sessions. It will be different than previous workshops as it will have more of a Knowledge Fair flavour, with a lot of informal spaces to share your experiences.

To find out more or to register for this event, please e-mail Alim Khan at firstname.lastname@example.com


Information retrieval is the process of collecting the data or information from the large volume of data that are available in a local repository or internet according to the user query. Many information retrieval approaches are used by various organizations to facilitate the internet users. Even though, these approaches are consuming more time for the huge data. For reducing the retrieval time, many techniques proposed including clustering techniques for reducing the time. However, they failed to retrieve the more relevant data with less time. For overcoming these drawbacks, this paper proposes an intelligent subtype fuzzy cluster based relevant user data retrieval (ISFCDR) model for effective relevant data retrieval and classification for performing better performance in data recommendation. The proposed model developed by using the existing fuzzy clustering algorithm and classification. Moreover, the existing mutual information based preprocessing also has been done for enhancing the performance of the proposed model. The proposed system is evaluated by conducting various experiments and proved that is better than other existing works in terms of time taken and the content quality.


The solar neutrino flux arrives at Earth as an incoherent admixture of mass eigenstates, and then solar neutrino detection constitute a blind probe to the oscillation pattern of the neutrino flavour conversion. Consequently, it is also impossible to probe, in a model independent approach, any new physics that leads to an enhancement of decoherence during the neutrino evolution, an effect that is present for instance in Open Quantum System formalism. However, such mechanism can also induce changes between mass eigenstates if an energy interchange between the neutrino subsystem and the reservoir is not explicitly forbidden. In this work the conversion probabilities between mass eigenstates in an Open Quantum System are calculated, and limits are stablished for these kind of transitions. We present our results in a pedagogical way, pointing out how far the analysis can go without any assumption on the neutrino conversion physics inside the Sun, before performing the full calculations. We obtain as limits for the decoherence parameters the values of $ \Gamma_3< 6.5\times 10^{-19}$ eV and $\Gamma_8< 7.1\times 10^{-19}$ eV at 3$\sigma$.


Integrated management strategies are required to minimize botrytis grey mold disease of chickpea (CICER ARIETINUM L.) caused by Botrytis cineria . This study was undertaken to determine the effect of cultivars and seed ratio in chickpea-mustard intercropping system on the severity of botrytis grey mold. Three chickpea varieties Abarodhi, KGP59 and ICCCV 97207 were intercropped with Bikash variety of mustard in different combinations. These two crops were grown at RARS, Khajura in three replications in 2012 at the ratio of sole chickpea, 3.1 ICCV97207.Bikash, 3.1 KPG-59.Bikash, 2.1 KPG59.Bikash, 2.1 ICCV-97207.Bikash,2.2 ICCV97207.Bikash, 2.2 KPG- 59.Bikash,1.2 ICCV97207.Bikash, and 1.2 KPG 59.Bikash. Among the three tested varieties, highest disease score and AUDPC was recorded in Abarodhi (7.00, 0.83), followed by KPG59 (6.444, 0.79), and lowest in ICCV97207 (4.77, 0.58). Similarly in sole cropping, highest yield per plant was found in KPG59 (5.47g), followed by ICCCV9720 (4.46 g) and Abarodhi (3.46 g). Among the tested intercropping system, lowest disease incidence was recorded in 1.2 ICCV97207. Bikas followed by 1.2 KPG59. Bikash. From this research, it can be suggested that intercropping chickpea with mustard can significantly reduce BG of chickpea and thus it could be developed into an environment-friendly cropping system for BG control in chickpea fields. The combination, in which disease incidence was lowest, can be replicated in the areas where BG is a major constraint in chickpea production. Agronomy Journal of Nepal (Agron JN) Vol. 3. 2013, Page 89-96 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajn.v3i0.9010


Hajee Danesh University - HSTU Admission Circular for 1st year BSc Engg/Hons programme for the academic session 2014 has been published. SMS application procedure and other instruction


Utilizing renewable energy depends more or less upon non-renewable energy sources (mainly fossil fuels), and which implies that a continuous rise in energy prices is inevitable without technological progress in saving fossil fuel use. Using a simple Hotelling model of optimal resource extraction, this paper explores the conditions under which the continuous price rise of renewable energy is restrained in the presence of technological progress in harnessing renewable energy. The results show that to sustain the age of cheap energy, the growth rate of technology in harnessing renewable energy has to be larger than the discount rate. Even if the rate of the technological progress is faster than the discount rate, the energy price may continue to rise until the conventional system of energy generation from fossil fuels is obsolete.


In this paper, color-mixing applications for food safety and quality was studied, including two-color mixing and three-color mixing. It was shown that the chromaticness of the visual signal resulting from two- or three-color mixing is directly related to the band ratio of light intensity at the two or three selected wavebands. An optical visual device using color mixing to implement the band ratio criterion was presented. Inspection through human vision assisted by an optical device that implements the band ratio criterion would offer flexibility and significant cost savings as compared to inspection with a multispectral machine vision system that implements the same criterion. Example applications of this optical color mixing technique were given for the inspection of chicken carcasses with various diseases and for the detection of chilling injury in cucumbers. Simulation results showed that discrimination by chromaticness that has a direct relation with band ratio can work very well with proper selection of the two or three narrow wavebands. This novel color mixing technique for visual inspection can be implemented on visual devices for a variety of applications, ranging from target detection to food safety inspection.


AMERICANS WORKING AND living in Europe are often struck by the preoccupation in defense and security circles with the pernicious influence of "neoconservatives" on U.S. foreign policy. There is a pervasive sense that American foreign policy is being driven down a radically new path by a small band of ideologues who have virtually hijacked the policymaking process. European defense and foreign policy elites are not the only ones who seem to believe that current U.S. foreign policy is something of an aberration; this view is found more broadly in European public opinion as well. In a 2003 Pew poll, approximately 75 percent of those surveyed in France and Germany said the current "problem with the U.S." was mainly President George W. Bush, while only 21 percent said it had more to do with the United States in general. The end result is a dominant opinion in much of Europe that little will be repaired in the transatlantic relationship until there is a new presidential administration in the United States, or at least a marked reduction in the influence of the small group of neoconservative extremists who surround President Bush. Although there are notable exceptions, many European commentators and much of the public are resorting to conspiratorial theories to explain the direction of U.S. foreign policy and somehow overlook the fact that American public opinion runs in favor of the president's handling of foreign affairs. Perhaps more important, however, they overlook the deep historical roots of the current direction of American foreign policy. It is not driven by a "neocon cabal." Rather, it is that certain individuals associated with the neoconservative label have been particularly articulate in expressing a set of policies that flow from two ideas that resonate deeply in American public opinion. The first is a belief that the United States has a responsibility to spread its vision of individual liberty. The second is that the primary and perhaps exclusive task of the federal government is to protect its citizens from external threats. Whatever the actual causes of U.S. action in any particular instance, those principles loom large in the public debate and shape how and when the United States becomes involved in other countries' affairs. The first principle is often credited to Woodrow Wilson, but in some ways its roots stretch back into the eighteenth century. It is founded on the moral assertions that have been part of American political thought since the early days of the republic. Chief among them is the idea that individual liberty is a moral absolute and that a system of governance that enshrines individual liberty is morally and practically superior to all others. This is a very fundamental belief, deeply embedded in American political thought and public opinion. It is a principle, however, that does not necessarily have the same level of importance in modern European political systems, whose constitutions tend to place a greater emphasis on social harmony than on individual liberty. The second principle conflicts somewhat with the first and serves to moderate the impulse to intervention. Since the republic's founding, there has been a vigorous debate as to the proper role of the federal government, a debate that is still at the heart of most cases brought before the U.S. Supreme Court. But there has always been a strong trend toward the idea of a limited federal government whose sole exclusive area of responsibility is in foreign affairs and the protection of the nation from external enemies. In fact, the first five numbers of the Federalist focus almost exclusively on foreign affairs and the need for a federal government to protect the nation from foreign influence. The end result of this idea is a broad consensus across the political spectrum that cautions against foreign interventions unless they are required for national security reasons. We see these contradictory principles at work today. …


ABSTRACT Oxidative stress response in pathogenic mycobacteria is believed to be of significance for host-pathogen interactions at various stages of infection. It also plays a role in determining the intrinsic susceptibility to isoniazid in mycobacterial species. In this work, we characterized the oxyR-ahpC and furA-katG loci in the nontuberculous pathogen Mycobacterium marinum. In contrast to Mycobacterium smegmatis and likeMycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae, M. marinum was shown to possess a closely linked and divergently oriented equivalents of the regulator of peroxide stress response oxyR and its subordinate geneahpC, encoding a homolog of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase. Purified mycobacterial OxyR was found to bind to theoxyR-ahpC promoter region from M. marinum and additional mycobacterial species. Mobility shift DNA binding analyses using OxyR binding sites from several mycobacteria and a panel of in vitro-generated mutants validated the proposed consensus mycobacterial recognition sequence. M. marinum AhpC levels detected by immunoblotting, were increased upon treatment with H2O2, in keeping with the presence of a functional OxyR and its binding site within the promoter region ofahpC. In contrast, OxyR did not bind to the sequences upstream of the katG structural gene, and katGexpression did not follow the pattern seen with ahpC. Instead, a new open reading frame encoding a homolog of the ferric uptake regulator Fur was identified immediately upstream ofkatG in M. marinum. The furA-katGlinkage and arrangement are ubiquitous in mycobacteria, suggesting the presence of additional regulators of oxidative stress response and potentially explaining the observed differences in ahpC andkatG expression. Collectively, these findings broaden our understanding of oxidative stress response in mycobacteria. They also suggest that M. marinum will be useful as a model system for studying the role of oxidative stress response in mycobacterial physiology, intracellular survival, and other host-pathogen interactions associated with mycobacterial diseases.


BACKGROUND
Road traffic accidents form an increasing bulk of trauma deaths worldwide. The aim of this study was to highlight the pedestrian deaths in our hospital experience and to suggest ways of curbing the menace.

METHODS
A six-year retrospective review of mediocolegal autopsy consultations at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Multiway frequency tables were used for analysis.

RESULTS
Cars constituted the commonest cause of pedestrian deaths (51.2%). This was followed by motorcycles (39.5%), with heavy vehicular deaths contributing 9.3%. The male to female ratio was 1.5:1. The under 20 years age bracket constituted 32.6% while the under 30 years constituted 53.5%. Multiple injuries contributed to 48.8% of deaths followed by head/neck injuries (34.9%).

CONCLUSION
The scourge of fatal road accidents does not spare the pedestrian. Preventive measures are advocated. Legislation, individual discretion and societal commitment will definitely reduce this scourge.


Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive malignant primary brain tumour in humans and has a very poor prognosis. The existing treatments have had limited success in increasing overall survival. Thus, identifying and understanding the key molecule(s) responsible for the malignant phenotype of GBM will yield new potential therapeutic targets. The treatment of brain tumours faces unique challenges, including the presence of the blood brain barrier (BBB), which limits the concentration of drugs that can reach the site of the tumour. Nevertheless, several promising treatments have been shown to cross the BBB and have shown promising pre-clinical results. This review will outline the status of several of these promising targeted therapies.


Microwave far-field radiation was simulated using a coax cable inside which a ferroelectric layer with a ground plane was loaded. The ferroelectric layer was electrically biased via a planar permeable electrode allowing an RF electromagnetic field to penetrate, thereby causing reflection. By interpolating the normal-mode frequencies of the cavity resonator formed by the coax cable, it was determined the coupling between the loaded ferroelectric sample and the resonator is second order. An effective electric-bias configuration for a ferroelectric layer is thus proposed.


Abstract  Diaphania glauculalis (Guenée) is a defoliating pest of the Laran tree, Anthocephalus chinensis (Lamk.) Rich. ex Walp., which is an important tree species for reforestation efforts in tropical and subtropical regions. Currently, little information is available about the calling behavior and pheromone production of D. glauculalis females, but such information is important in developing pheromone-based monitoring systems for the pest. Thus, female calling behavior and its correlation with pheromone production was studied using electroantennogram (EAG) technology, qualitative analysis of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and Y-tube olfactometer assays. Calling females release a sex pheromone from a gland located on the dorsal membrane between the eighth and ninth abdominal segments, as observed with a stereomicroscope. Peak calling behavior occurred with females 3 d after emergence and 6 h into the scotophase. Pheromone release typically increased with the female age and scotophase and then decreased gradually. GC-MS analysis showed that the amount of pheromone in extracts from the pheromone glands were greatest at the onset of the calling behavior and decreased thereafter. Y-tube olfactometer assays confirmed that pheromone gland extracts at 6 h into the scotophase elicited stronger attractiveness in comparison to 5, 7, and 8 h after emergence.


Although non-coding RNA (ncRNA) genes do not encode proteins, they play vital roles in cells by producing functionally important RNAs. In this paper, we present a novel method for predicting ncRNA genes based on compositional features extracted directly from gene sequences. Our method consists of two Support Vector Machine (SVM) models--Codon model which uses codon usage features derived from ncRNA genes and protein-coding genes and Kmer model which utilizes features of nucleotide and dinucleotide frequency extracted respectively from ncRNA genes and randomly chosen genome sequences. The 10-fold cross-validation accuracy for the two models is found to be 92% and 91%, respectively. Thus, we could make an automatic prediction of ncRNA genes in one genome without manual filtration of protein-coding genes. After applying our method in Sulfolobus solfataricus genome, 25 prediction results have been generated according to 25 cut-off pairs. We have also applied the approach in E. coli and found our results comparable to those of previous studies. In general, our method enables automatic identification of ncRNA genes in newly sequenced prokaryotic genomes.


Defects in IL-2 signaling and Tregs correlate with susceptibility to T1D. Helminth burden also negatively correlates with the incidence of T1D. The alarmin IL-33 and its receptor ST2 are elicited in anti-helminth immunity, which also increase Tregs, M2 macrophages and Th2 response. We hypothesized that IL-33 may cooperate with IL-2 in promoting Tregs to protect from T1D. Indeed, a major subset of Tregs express ST2, thus enabling a role for IL-33 in Treg biology. Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, which have less Tregs than the nondiabetic NOD.Idd3 congenic mice, also exhibit less ST2+ Tregs (13±3%) than NOD.Idd3 (38±11%). For better cooperativity and preferential targeting of Tregs, we generated a hybrid cytokine (IL233) bearing IL-2 and IL-33 activities in a single molecule. Recent-hyperglycemia onset NOD mice (n≥6/group) were treated with daily injections (3.3pmol/g) of IL-2 and/or IL-33 or IL233 for 5 days. IL-33 alone offered a similar, if not better reversal of T1D with a 70% cumulative incidence (CI) compared to IL-2 alone (80% CI), whereas IL233 offered the best protection with 50% of mice remaining in remission 10-weeks post-treatment. There was a robust increase in the proportion of Tregs in pancreatic lymph node in IL233 group (25±3.7%) compared to 10±3.9%, 16±4.1%, 14±4.3% and 19±4.3% in Saline, IL-2 only, IL-33 only and IL-2 and IL-33 groups respectively. IL233 treatment also increased the levels of Tregs and group-2 innate lymphoid cells in an alternate species (rats) and blocked high-dose streptozotocin (STZ)-induced beta-cell death. Interestingly, the average islet size was bigger in the rats treated with IL233 in the STZ model, indicating a role of IL233 in islet growth and repair. Thus, IL233 utilizes the synergy of IL-2 and IL-33 to promote Tregs and bears strong therapeutic potential for T1D. Disclosure R. Sharma: None. V. Sabapathy: None.


Abstract— The effect of diazepam and pentobarbital on γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels, the aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA)‐induced accumulation of GABA, and the in vitro activity of l‐glutamate 1‐carboxyl‐lyase (EC 22.214.171.124) [GAD] were studied in various regions of rat brain. Diazepam increased GABA levels in the substantia nigra, diminished the AOAA‐induced accumulation of GABA in the caudate nucleus, cingulate, parietal and entorhinal cortex and had no effect on GABA accumulation in the pyriform and cerebellar cortex. After pentobarbital, GABA levels were elevated in the caudate nucleus but decreased in the parietal and pyriform cortex; the AOAA‐induced accumulation of GABA also diminished in all cortical regions studied. No correlation was found between the apparent changes in GABA synthesis, as estimated by accumulation after inhibition of 4‐aminobutyrate‐2‐oxoglu‐tarate (EC 22.214.171.124) [GABA‐T] with AOAA, and the changes in GABA levels induced by these drugs. The reduction in AOAA‐induced GABA accumulation after diazepam and pentobarbital treatment was most pronounced in regions which showed the greatest accumulation of GABA after AOAA administration. Neither diazepam nor pentobarbital administration affected the activity of GAD in homogenates of cingulate cortex. Chlorpromazine, at a dose which decreased spontaneous activity, enhanced the AOAA‐induced GABA accumulation in the cingulate cortex, suggesting that drug‐induced sedation is not necessarily associated with decreased GABA synthesis. While regional differences were observed in the effects of diazepam and pentobarbital on GABA synthesis, both agents appear to inhibit GABA synthesis in vivo and both do so, in at least some brain areas, at subsedative doses.


Ten 1:1 and 2:1 complexes of [Mn(CO)(3)](+) and [Re(CO)(3)](+) with [Nb(6)O(19)](8)(-) and [Ta(6)O(19)](8)(-) have been isolated as potassium salts in good yields and characterized by elemental analysis, (17)O NMR and infrared spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray structure determinations. Crystal data for 1 (t-Re(2)Ta(6)): empirical formula, K(4)Na(2)Re(2)C(6)Ta(6)O(35)H(20), monoclinic, space group, C2/m, a = 17.648(3) A, b = 10.056(1) A, c = 13.171(2) A, beta = 112.531(2) degrees, Z = 2. 2 (t-Re(2)Nb(6)): empirical formula, K(6)Re(2)C(6)Nb(6)O(38)H(26), monoclinic, space group, C2/m, a = 17.724(1) A, b = 10.0664(6) A, c = 13.1965(7) A, beta = 112.067(1) degrees, Z = 2. 3 (t-Mn(2)Nb(6)): empirical formula, K(6)Mn(2)C(6)Nb(6)O(37)H(24), monoclinic, space group, C2/m, a = 17.812(2) A, b = 10.098(1) A, c = 13.109(2) A, beta = 112.733(2) degrees, Z = 2. 4 (c-Mn(2)Nb(6)): empirical formula, K(6)Mn(2)C(6)Nb(6)O(50)H(50), triclinic, space group, P1, a = 10.2617(6) A, b = 13.4198(8) A, c = 21.411(1) A, alpha = 72.738(1) degrees, beta = 112.067(1) degrees, gamma = 83.501(1) degrees, Z = 2. 5 (c-Re(2)Nb(6)): empirical formula, K(6)Re(2)C(6)Nb(6)O(54)H(58), monoclinic, space group, P2(1)/c, a = 21.687(2) A, b = 10.3085(9) A, c = 26.780(2) A, beta = 108.787(1) degrees, Z = 4. The complexes contain M(CO)(3) groups attached to the surface bridging oxygen atoms of the hexametalate anions to yield structures of nominal C(3)(v)() (1:1), D(3)(d)() (trans 2:1), and C(2)(v)() (cis 2:1) symmetry. The syntheses are carried out in aqueous solution or by aqueous hydrothermal methods, and the complexes have remarkably high thermal, redox, and hydrolytic stabilities. The Re-containing compounds are stable to 400-450 degrees C, at which point CO loss occurs. The Mn compounds lose CO at temperatures above 200 degrees C. Cyclic voltammetry of all complexes in 0.1 M sodium acetate show no redox behavior, except an irreversible oxidation process at approximately 1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl. In contrast to the parent hexametalate anions that are stable only in alkaline (pH >10) solution, the new complexes are stable, at least kinetically, between pH 4 and pEta approximately 12.


A series of experiments has been performed on JET to investigate the dynamics of transient melting due to edge localized modes (ELMs). The experiment employs a deliberately misaligned lamella in one module of the JET bulk tungsten outer divertor, allowing the combination of stationary power flux and ELMs to transiently melt the misaligned edge. During the design of the experiment a number of calculations were performed using 2D particle-in-cell simulations and a heat transfer code to investigate the influence on the deposited power flux of finite Larmor radius effects associated with the energetic ELM ions. This has been performed using parameter scans inside a range of pedestal temperatures and densities to scope different experimentally expected ELM energies. On the one hand, we observe optimistic results, with smoothing of the heat flux due to the Larmor gyration on the protruding side of the lamella which sees the direct parallel flux—the deposited power tends to be lower than the nominal value expected from geometric magnetic field line impact over a distance smaller than 2 Larmor radii, a finding which is always valid during ELMs for such a geometry. On the other hand, the fraction of the flux not reaching the directly wetted side is transferred and spread to the top surface of the lamella. The hottest point of the lamella (corner side/top) does not always benefit from the gain from the Larmor smoothing effect because of an enhanced power deposition from the second contribution.


Boiler unit plays a vital role in power plant and controlling the boiler drum level is one of the critical operations. Nowadays, Fuzzy Logic controller or Conventional PID controller is designed in MATLAB simulation and further prototype is implemented using Embedded Technology, hybrid platform is required in power plant. To overcome this and to get better solution intelligent controller (fuzzy logic) is used to tune the conventional PID controller automatically in online process. Hybrid Fuzzy-PID controller result proves that, it offer better performance (in terms of settling time, rising time, steady state error) than conventional PID controller in boiler drum level control. The simulation results are achieved by using LabVIEW Fuzzy-PID Tool.


Water pollution from arsenic and some other heavy metals has been reported all over the world. The goal of this investigation is to develop different polysaccharides–polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel graft materials for the removal of toxic and carcinogenic arsenic (As) species as well as a series of heavy metals (Mn2+, Cr2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Cu2+ and Pb2+) from contaminated water. Hydrogels were developed with PVA and PVA/polysaccharide (as blended materials) using a γ-ray irradiation technique and then characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and gravimetric methods. The absorbed dose of γ-radiation was optimized to obtain good gelation, and some important physical parameters such as gel fraction, degree of swelling and water absorption kinetics of the synthesized hydrogels were also investigated. The optimum absorbed dose of 30 kGy gave a gel fraction of about 98% in the PVA/corn starch (CS) hydrogel. The developed hydrogels have the capability to make chelates, which are utilized for the removal of arsenic and heavy metals. The absorption of arsenic and heavy-metal ions from the respective aqueous solution by the chelating functionalized gels has been assessed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The calculated maximum amount of iron and arsenic removal capacities of 37 075 and 22 112 mg kg−1, respectively, were found for the PVA/CS hydrogel. We also found that polysaccharide (PS) analogues showed affinities toward the metal ions to a considerable extent in the following order: Fe3+ > Mn2+ > Cu2+ >. The results obtained from this study indicate that the functionalized hydrogels show a good chelating tendency and are suitable for water treatment.


Roughly a decade ago an outstanding thermoelectric Figure of merit ZT of 2.4 was published for nanostructured Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3-based thin film superlattice (SL) structures. The results strongly fueled and renewed the interest in the development of efficient novel nanostructured thermoelectric materials. Several attempts were made to reproduce and improve the properties by using different methods, for example by replacing the cost-intensive metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) used to deposit the superlattices. This method-oriented article shall give a critical overview over the most recent advances concerning growth, structural and electrical characterization, and theoretical understanding of Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 SL systems. Previously reported data as well as new results from our groups are presented. Selected additional results from closely related Bi2Te3- and Sb2Te3-based nanolayered systems are also presented to enhance the discussion.


Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is the predominant and leading causes of blindness for people who have affected by diabetes in the world. DR Complication leads to affect the eyes and can lead to vision loss. Early detection and treatment are crucial for preventing or slowing the progression of the disease. In this study, we propose an approach for detecting diabetic retinopathy using federated learning (FL). A distributed machine learning technique called federated learning allows numerous devices to work together to jointly train a deep learning model without sharing their raw data. Each device in federated learning builds a local model on its own data, then aggregates the base model parameters to upgrade a global model. This process is repeated iteratively until convergence is reached. Computer-Aided Diagnosis frameworks are initially using machine learning and deep learning algorithms. DR diagnostic tools have been established in recent years using machine learning and deep learning models. these models need big data for training and testing to validation of model behaviour. The Federated Learning utilizes the collaboration of multiple devices to train a deep learning model without compromising the privacy of individual patient data. Data dimensionality reduction and data cleaning and other exploratory data analysis process are carried as before implementing the model. We show that federated learning can be used to overcome the problems caused by class imbalance when using real-world patient data. The main goal is to create a system that can control several medical facilities while maintaining data privacy. The findings indicate that the federated learning-based strat-egy is very accurate in identifying diabetic retinopathy and offers a potential technique for enhancing the early diagnosis and management of this condition. The proposed model outperforms existing state-of-the-art techniques in detecting DR and grading the severity of penetration levels while employing unseen fundus images, according to an analysis of observing performance metrics and model interpretation with reliability.


True Genius The Life and Science of John Bardeen. Lillian Hoddeson and Vicki Daitch. Joseph Henry Press (National Academies Press), Washington, DC, 2002. 479 pp. $27.95, C$37.95. ISBN 0-309-08408-3. Hoddeson and Daitch offer an account of the life and science of the researcher who won two Nobel Prizes in physics for his contributions to the invention of the transistor and the theory of superconductivity.


This paper puts forward the hypothesis that wh-exclamatives in Present-day English are much more
 genre-specific than has previously been acknowledged. To test this, prototypical how- and
 what-exclamatives are searched for in three different corpora containing material from conceptually oral
 language, that is prose fiction, personal letters and informal, spontaneous face-to-face conversations. The results show that in
 terms of token frequency, wh-exclamatives are most frequent in personal letters, a genre which has hitherto not
 been linked with exclamatives. Furthermore, the outcomes demonstrate that each genre shows a different distribution of
 exclamatives. In all cases, the different structural realizations (clausal vs. non-clausal form) can be connected to the function
 the exclamative fulfills in the respective genre and to the general properties of the three distinct text types. The results
 compel us to consider that exclamatives might be more specialized than has been believed so far.


These appendices contain 1989 NTS onsite environmental monitoring results. The data presented are accompanied by summaries of statistical evaluations of the data. Offsite data collected by the EPA are available from the US Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Las Vegas, Nevada.


Increased popularity of microblogs in recent years brings about a need for better mechanisms to extract credible or otherwise useful information from noisy and large data. While there are a great number of studies that introduce methods to find credible data, there is no accepted credibility benchmark. As a result, it is hard to compare different studies and generalize from their findings. In this paper, we argue for a methodology for making such studies more useful to the research community. First, the underlying ground truth values of credibility must be reliable. The specific constructs used to define credibility must be carefully defined. Secondly, the underlying network context must be quantified and documented. To illustrate these two points, we conduct a unique credibility study of two different data sets on the same topic, but with different network characteristics. We also conduct two different user surveys, and construct two additional indicators of credibility based on retweet behavior. Through a detailed statistical study, we first show that survey based methods can be extremely noisy and results may vary greatly from survey to survey. However, by combining such methods with retweet behavior, we can incorporate two signals that are noisy but uncorrelated, resulting in ground truth measures that can be predicted with high accuracy and are stable across different data sets and survey methods. Newsworthiness of tweets can be a useful frame for specific applications, but it is not necessary for achieving reliable credibility ground truth measurements.


Gallium nitride phosphide single crystals having the maximum composition of x∼0.09 were epitaxially deposited on (0001) sapphire substrates. The growth was carried out by the vapor phase reaction of the Ga-Br2-PH3-NH3-N2 system. The above maximum composition was attained at a substrate temperature of 980°C.


The advent of mega-sized hydraulic fracturing jobs which incorporate increased proppant per foot density, enlarged fluid volumes, tighter cluster spacing, and shorter stages in the Bakken/Three Forks play, have led to significantly higher IP's on the order of 20% over the past two years. Yet despite this dramatic increase, concerns exist as to whether treatments are fully optimized with respect to costs of overall volumes, rates, and concentrations. This paper describes two case histories, one in the Middle Bakken and one in the Three Forks formations of the Williston Basin, where a multidisciplinary geoscience and engineering team was assembled to attempt to answer the optimization question within the confines of real-world operational logistics and cost constraints. In these case histories, an optimization process is described that begins with wellbore context. The consideration of offset wells in the area, data analytics processes considering reservoir quality, and perceived successful completions for the area are incorporated as input. Detailed layered and geomechanical models are then constructed using drilling, neural network and public domain data to produce optimized perforation cluster design and grouping in precise fracturing stages. A rigorous planar 3D hydraulic fracturing model is used to simulate fracture geometry characteristics including height growth, half length, and aperture. Lastly, proppant tracing and production modeling were used to validate the approach used. The result of the project was to develop an optimization process incorporating the multidisciplinary technical team's expertise to provide an integrated, cost-effective completion design that would lead to more rigorous support for why these engineering decisions were taken. In addition, a secondary goal was to leverage software and database capacity for completion decisions into a "best practices process" that would neither burden the existing E&P staff nor hinder the completion timing. The resultant case study captures the process, technology analysis, weighted benefits, takeaway learnings, and results from two such wells within the Williston Basin.


Tannin-resorcinol-formaldehyde cold-set adhesives for wood laminating and fingerjointing were examined by Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. The analysis revealed that the adhesive was composed at the gel point of resorcinol-formaldehyde oligomers, unreacted flavonoids, and resorcinol-formaldehyde oligomers coreacted with flavonoid units of the tannin. The last ones constitute a high proportion of the adhesive resin. Furthermore, their proportion is highest at the minimum phenolic reactivity around pH 4.


Abstract Intrathermocline eddies (ITE) with diameters of 100 km and of thickness greater than 100 m are observed within each of the three quasi-stationary meanders of the Tsushima Current of the Japan/East Sea. Within the ITE homogenous, anticyclonic flowing core, the temperature is near 10°C with a salinity of 34.12 psu. Because of compensatory baroclinicity of the upper and lower boundaries of the ITE core, the ITE has minor sea level expression. The ITE core displays positive oxygen and negative salinity anomalies in comparison to the surrounding thermocline water, indicative of formation from winter mixed layer water along the southern side of the Japan/East Sea subpolar front. The winter mixing layer is then overridden, or slips below, the regional upper thermocline stratification with its characteristic salinity maximum layer. The winter mixed layer off the coast of Korea closely matches the ITE core characteristics, and is considered as a potential source region. Other sources may be present along ...


This book tells the story of a war unlike any other in history, fought between a nation that believed itself to be invincible, even when its strength was being systematically destroyed by the greatest industrial power in the world. Prior to the middle of the nineteenth century, the Empire of Japan was content to remain in medieval isolation and, apart from very limited trading concessions, was unwilling to extend her contacts with the western world. This was all to change however, as Japan hurtled forwards into the twentieth century, armed and determined to carve out a new identity characterised by a dominating spirit. Dejected by the Great Depression of the early 1930s, they were a nation grown from moderate to militant. Following the pivotal and devastating attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, the Japanese Army were emboldened. Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, Burma, the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies were all overrun with deceptive ease, leading the army to become dangerously confident in their ability. Subsequently named 'The Victory Disease', the author argues that it was this arrogant complacency that led to the army's ultimate downfall. Each episode of note in the history of the Japanese military forces is relayed, as the author dissects, analyses and endeavours to explain the root causes and pivotal decisions that led to defeat.


The ninth-century Irish philosopher, theologian, and speculative grammarian Eriugena invented a number of words, chiefly in order to accommodate Greek terms in Latin. Filiolitas or "sonship" was one of these and a particularly distinctive new word, which almost no one but Eriugena seems to have used. Indeed it appears in all the works ascribed to him and serves both as a word for adoptive sonship in a theological context and as a relative noun in grammatical references. The appearance of the word in a letter of King Charles the Bald may also suggest Eriugena's authorship of that letter.


Here, we present a low-cost solution to perform the online and realistic representation of users using an array of depth cameras. The system is composed of a cluster of 10 Microsoft Kinect 2 cameras, each one associated to a compact NUC PC to stream live depth & color images to a master PC which reconstructs live the point cloud of the scene and can in particular show the body of users standing in the capture area. A custom geometric calibration procedure allows accurate reconstruction of the different 3D data streams. Despite the inherent limitations of depth cameras, in particular sensor noise, the system provides a convincing representation of the user's body, is not limited by changes in clothing (also during immersion), can capture complex poses and even interactions between two persons or with physical objects. The advantage of using depth cameras over conventional cameras is that little processing is required for dynamic reconstruction of unknown shapes, thus allowing true interactive applications. The resulting live 3D model can be inserted in any virtual environment (e.g. Unity 3D software integration plugin), and can be subject to all usual 3D manipulation and transformations.


The adaptation of absolute growth rate of leaves and internodes of Populus euramericana (Dode) Guinier cv. 'Robusta' to irradiance and day length proceeds by increases in the volume of the apex. Diameter and height of the apex increase linearly with time, resulting in linear increases in rates of leaf initiation and stem height growth that can be described by an acceleration factor. The acceleration factor is proportional to day length. The relationship between the acceleration factor and irradiance is curvilinear and saturates at irradiances above about 300 W m(-2). Absolute stem height growth rate is the product of mean relative growth rate in stem height and the length of the growing part of the stem. The temperature-dependent growth pattern of each individual leaf or internode reflects a specific relationship between its relative growth rate and organ age that is independent of irradiance and plant age; however, it is dependent on day length during the primordial phase. The constancy of the growth patterns and the correlation between leaf length and leaf initiation rate indicate that growth of primordia is predetermined in the apex, presumably by the precisely structured vascular system.


Abstract A starting point for this article will be an expression used by Samuel Huntington stating that social democracy is a situation ideology. It is difficult to explicitly define a term of social democracy because it is a conglomeration of different concepts and ideas which are subject to on-going modifications being a reaction to widely understood social changes. This means that, firstly social democracy refers to other political doctrines from which it borrows chosen ideas. Secondly, social democratic movement changes and transforms these ideas. And thirdly, social democracy meets social expectations. It tries to adjust to them and simultaneously it supports some social processes which are beneficiary for it. We deal here with mutual co-operation of society and political movement. How, in the case of social democratic movement, did the tem of the third way appear as explanation of a political doctrine? The creation of the social democratic movement in the second half of the 20th century took place in a situation of existing conservative and liberal movements. Moreover radical movements against existing social order were present at the time: Marxist (communist) and anarchist movement. Appearance, for instance in the Great Britain of the Fabian movements or in Germany of supporters of Eduard Bernstein ideas meant searching own identity among already existing doctrines and political movements. Social democracy shared a critical analysis of social relations presented by radical and revolutionary movements but it fully rejected fighting methods i.e. revolution, uprising and other not legal activities. In this way social democracy became a moderate version of radicals and revolutionists and simultaneously accepting democratic methods of political struggle it went closer to pro-system movements such as liberalism and conservatism. In this way social democracy specified its place as the third solution between two extremities. Some solutions were adopted from both doctrines and some ideas were simply rejected. In relation to a fact that the Socialist International has been operating for more than 60 years, I would like to focus solely on the latest historic period and based on the example of this organisation I would like to point examples of situating the doctrine "between" as "the third way". In this article I would like to present the three cases of meaningful placing of social democracy activities in "between": firstly, till the decade of the 50s finding a way between communism and liberalism, secondly: till the 70s finding a way between super powers and blocs of the cold war and thirdly till the 90s – finding solutions to globalization processes and presenting a doctrine between the old Left and liberalism. Using examples of three above mentioned cases, this article argues that modern social democracy tries to refer to the concept of "the third way" because it is a situational and inclusive doctrine. Keywords: Third way – Social democracy – the Socialist International ----- Bibliography: Zietara, Wojciech: The "third way" as an example, redefining the ideological identity of modern social democracy (in the second half of the 20th century), PCS, 2-2014, pp. 154-169. https://doi.org/10.3224/pcs.v5i2.20817


LATIFAH NURHASANA:
This study was primarily intended to explore speech act in the Disney
animation movie script "Inside Out" by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen. The
analysis was centered on speech act by Paltridge (2000) and by Yule (1996). This
study explored the types of speech act in the utterances of Disney animation movie
script "Inside Out". The term speech act According to Yule (1996:5) is a study of
how the speakers and hearers use language.
This study aims (1) To find out the types of speech act of utterances and (2)
To describe the application of speech acts in the Disney animation movie script
"Inside Out" by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen. There relate to the two
research questions of this study.
This research is designed as qualitative research. The data is taken from
original DVD and transcript from the internet. The technique of analysis data is
document analysis or content analysis. There were three forms of data: video, script,
and classifying. The data analyzed not all the utterances of all the character but it is
just a selected characters and utterances that analyzed.
The result finding shows that there are five types of speech act that appear
during the characters of the movie utter they utterances, which are directive,
declaration, representative, expressive and the last commisive. Representative has
the largest portion than other type with nearly a third of portion. Another types of
speech act is directive types with over a half of all frequencies. Then expressive type
has a roughly a quarter of frequency. Another is declaration and commisive have a
small fraction of frequencies. Then, second research question is about the
application of speech act are representative used for stating, claiming, arguing,
asserting, denying, informing and describing. It is represent to express clearly the
truth of proposition by their utterances and to represent a situation or condition that
can be assumed as truth or falsity. Then, the directive type used to express what they
really wants. directive or requesting someone to do something, forbidding, ordering,
asking, commanding, suggesting, and advising. Different with representative and
directive type, expressive type uses by the character of the movie just for represent
their feeling or someone expression like greeting, apologizing, complementing,
thankful, and regretting and to express psychological statement. While commisive
used to something like promising, threatening, wishing that someone want to do in
the next and the last declaration or exchange statement of someone, confirming, and
approving.
Key words: Speech act, utterances, movie script "Inside Out".


Many countries face serious challenges with education in rural areas. Vast majority of education in rural areas are disadvantaged. In Kazakhstan, inef-fective outcomes of education in rural areas impact on most rural students are lack employability and entrepreneurial skills. This research investigates the role of intensive summer programmes on improving students' learning outcomes aim to develop and Inspire employability and entrepreneurial skills and STEAM-education in rural schools of Kazakhstan. This research suggest that the summer program transferred practical skills and knowledge to stu-dents, while increasing their motivation to learn outside of the classroom in a way that traditional educational system has not. There are social and eco-nomic challenges in the rural areas: unemployment, the lack of highly skilled professionals, and low motivation. Summer programs appear to ad-dress all above issues by motivating youth to learn and providing them with practical skills that can be used in their private life and careers.


The usual way to shrink fit design for precision forging dies are made by thick wall cylinder approach; i.e., taking the pitch diameter of the gear as bore diameter of the die insert without considering gear tooth shape. However, the compressive pre-stress due to the shrink fitting causes dimensional variations on the gear profile of the die insert. The dimensional accuracy of the final product is dependent on the accuracy of the gear die. Therefore, the dimensional variations due to shrink fit must be pre-determined and the gear tooth profile on the die insert modified accordingly. In this study, the dimensional variations of the precision spur gear forging die because of shrink fitting are analyzed by finite element method and the results are compared with the experimental ones. The results show that the FE model is successful to simulate the cylindrical die and agree well with thick wall cylinder approach and the experimental measurements. However, both the experimental measurements and the finite element results of gear die predict much higher radial displacements than the results of cylindrical die. Therefore, the determination of shape change of the gear die profile is beyond the capability of the thick wall cylindrical approach.


In summer reproducing female bats prefer roosts with temperatures in their thermo neutral zone, but in northern Europe, such roosts may be difficult to find. In this study, summer roost site selection of pregnant and lactating soprano pipistrelles were investigated using radio telemetry (2004–2006) in a fiord landscape with complex topography at the species northern extreme. The soprano pipistrelles' common roost sites were in hollow trees (n = 14), but they also used crevices in rock walls (n = 2) and the attic of one building. The bats exclusively sought out roosts on the north side of the fiord with the slope facing south, where solar irradiation yielded the warmest micro climate. From 2005 to 2014, bat boxes were erected at three sites in the study area. From 2012 to 2014 we only found maternity roosts in such structures, thus there was a clear shift in roost site selection by the soprano pipistrelle in the study area. Man-made structures, such as buildings and bat boxes, provided the warmest cavities, whereas natural cavities did not differ significantly from air temperatures. The bats did not find thermo neutral roosts most of the time, and this should affect the energy budgets, and thus the bats' behaviour. Direct observation of predation at roosts in build-up areas suggests that living close to humans could be costly to bats emerging in daylight conditions. No predation attempts were recorded at roosts in woodland habitats.


Let $f\colon Y \to X$ be a proper flat morphism of locally noetherian schemes. Then the locus in $X$ over which $f$ is smooth is stable under generization. We prove that, under suitable assumptions on the formal fibers of $X$, the same property holds for other local properties of morphisms, even if $f$ is only closed and flat. Our proof of this statement reduces to a purely local question known as Grothendieck's localization problem. To answer Grothendieck's problem, we provide a general framework that gives a uniform treatment of previously known cases of this problem, and also solves this problem in new cases, namely for weak normality, seminormality, $F$-rationality, and the 'Cohen–Macaulay and $F$-injective' property. For the weak normality statement, we prove that weak normality always lifts from Cartier divisors. We also solve Grothendieck's localization problem for terminal, canonical, and rational singularities in equal characteristic zero.


Analytical phantoms are used to generate projection data for testing reconstruction accuracy in computed axial tomography. A circular source locus (equivalent to rotating specimen with a fixed source) provides insufficient data for `exact' reconstruction in cone-beam transmission tomography, thus phantom data are useful for studying the consequent errors and also for investigating alternative scanning loci and reconstruction techniques. We present an algorithm that can compute phantom cone-beam projection data from a phantom comprising geometrically defined polyhedra. Each polyhedron is defined as a set of polygons enclosing a volume of fixed linear attenuation coefficient. The algorithm works by projecting each polygon in turn onto the modelled detector array, which accumulates the product of source to polygon intersection distance (for the rays intersecting each detector element), linear attenuation coefficient and sign of projected polygon area (indicating whether rays enter or exit the polyhedron at this face). The phantom data are rotated according to the projection angle, whilst the source location and detector plane remain fixed. Polyhedra can be of simple geometric form, or complex surfaces derived from 3D images of real specimens. This algorithm is illustrated using a phantom comprising 989 238 polygons, representing an iso-surface generated from a microtomographic reconstruction of a piece of walrus tusk.


Populations of the Northern Long-Eared Myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) have declined dramatically in recent years in eastern North America due to white-nose syndrome. Although M. septentrionalis was once common in parts of eastern North America, few studies have examined habitat selection of this species in an agricultural landscape. We used acoustical methods to quantify bat activity and construct a habitat model of M. septentrionalis in an intensively farmed area in the Midwestern United States, where mortality from white-nose syndrome has not yet been observed. Our study confirms that M. septentrionalis prefers forest and avoids open habitats in this agricultural region. The best landscape variable for predicting activity in woodland sites was the proportion of forest coverage within a radius of 2000 meters. Our analysis indicates that bat activity increased exponentially as forest coverage increased. There is no evidence that M. septentrionalis preferred open areas at the edge of forest (within 5 m of forest edge), or that once in the woods, the distance to the forest edge had any impact on activity.


The rise to power of Eliot Spitzer, the scourge of Wall Street and one of America's most controversial politicians, by the reporter who knows his crusade best Few politicians have burst onto the American scene with as much impact as Eliot Spitzer. He has exposed wrongdoing by stock analysts, mutual fund managers, and insurance brokers, and he has investigated corporations that have misled or defrauded investors and consumers. When federal regulators have fallen down on their responsibilities, Spitzer has stepped in to protect ordinary, middle-class Americans. His actions as the New York State attorney general have made companies change the way they do business, which in turn affects every American with a retirement plan, an insurance policy, or a prescription to fill. No reporter has had better or more complete behind-the-scenes access to Spitzer's operation--and to the strategies that have underpinned his crusade against these powerful forces in the American economy--than Brooke A. Masters of "The Washington Post." In "Spoiling for a Fight," she presents a portrait that is at once dramatic and revealing, raising the question of whether Spitzer's way of conducting government business is good or bad for America. Combining passion and zeal with a savvy understanding of the press, Spitzer has brought down some of the biggest names in American finance and now has his sights set on higher office. This revelatory book shows Americans how Spitzer has transformed their lives and what his crusade could mean for the future.


Online labor platforms (OLPs) can use algorithms along two dimensions: matching and control. While previous research has paid considerable attention to how OLPs optimize matching and accommodate market needs, OLPs can also employ algorithms to monitor and tightly control platform work. In this paper, we examine the nature of platform work on OLPs, and the role of algorithmic management in organizing how such work is conducted. Using a qualitative study of Uber drivers' perceptions, supplemented by interviews with Uber executives and engineers, we present a grounded theory that captures the algorithmic management of work on OLPs. In the context of both algorithmic matching and algorithmic control, platform workers experience tensions relating to work execution, compensation, and belonging. We show that these tensions trigger market-like and organization-like response behaviors by platform workers. Our research contributes to the emerging literature on OLPs.


No, not that Batman. Stephan Batman was in the service of Matthew Parker, possibly as his household chaplain, and he aided him in the acquisition of his vast library as well as acquiring a collection of books of his own. His "Christall Glasse of Christian Reformation" was published in 1569. It includes a discussion of the Seven Deadly Sins, and under Sloth, a brief version of the story of Dido and Aeneas that Reid argues is modeled on CA rather than any classical source: in it, Aeneas does not abandon Dido when he departs from Carthage but is merely "long tyme absent," and his sloth lies in the slowness of his return, with its ultimate tragic consequence, not in his delaying the founding of Rome. The episode still poses two puzzles, Reid notes: this account of Aeneas' sloth does not fit well with either of the two ways in which Batman defines the sin, and it is "somewhat surprising" that Batman should turn to Gower, given his "rather ambiguous status among sixteenth-century Protestant reformers," in an anti-papist tract (350). [PN. Copyright. The John Gower Society. eJGN 34.1]


Spontaneous blink rates are controlled by a definable neural system originating in PPRF with facilitatory modulation from SN and superior colliculus and inhibitory modulation provided by cerebellum and occipital cortex. The thalamus may also be involved but the result of its influence is not clear. Reflex blinking is often reduced when spontaneous blink rate is increased and the reverse applies as well. The anatomic control of reflex is primarily in structures in the caudal half of pontine tegmentum and rostral midbrain. However, SN and cerebellum and other structures that regulate blink rate also modulate reflex blinking. Neurochemical control as determined by neuropharmacological experiments is exerted by dopaminergic, cholinergic and GABAergic systems of brain stem. Dopamine activity correlates directly with blink rate whereas agonism of the other two relevant neurotransmitter systems may inhibit blink rate. Clinical implications in central nervous system disease are currently restricted to Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and autism. In the former illness, reduced blink rate signifies a worsening of the illness and a significant increase in blink rate in patients treated with dopamine agonist may be a harbinger of agonist-induced dyskinesia. In schizophrenia, increased blink rate, even in medication-naive subjects, may signify involvement of the structures that regulate blinking. This is important because these structures are rarely invoked as sites of potential pathophysiological import in schizophrenia. Similar considerations apply to autism except that increased blinking more clearly differentiates this disorder from other forms of retardation.


A novel specific type of worm drive, so-called end face engagement worm gear(EFEWD), is originally presented to minimize or overcome the gear backlash. Different factors, including the three different types, contact curves, tooth profile, lubrication angle and the induced normal curvature are taken into account to investigate the meshing characteristics and create the profile of a novel specific type of worm drive through mathematical models and theoretical analysis. The tooth of the worm wheel is very specific with the sine-shaped tooth which is located at the alveolus of the worm and the tooth profile of a worm is generated by the meshing movement of the worm wheel with the sine-shaped tooth, but just the end face of the worm(with three different typical meshing types) is adapted to meshing, and therefore an extraordinary manufacturing methods is used to generate the profile of the end face engagement worm. The research results indicates that the bearing contacts of the generated conjugate hourglass worm gear set are in line contacts, with certain advantages of no-backlash, high precision and high operating efficiency over other gears and gear systems besides the end face engagement worm gear drive may improve bearing contact, reduce the level of transmission errors and lessen the sensitivity to errors of alignment. Also, the end face engagement worm can be easily made with superior meshing and lubrication performance compared with the conventional techniques. In particular, the meshing and lubrication performance of the end face engagement worm gear by using the end face to meshing can be increased over 10% and 7%, respectively. This investigate is expect to provide a new insight on the design of the future no-backlash worm drive for industry.


Abstract In the paper the authors introduce the Kantorovich variant of Stancu operators based on Pólya-Eggenberger distribution. By making use of this new operator, we obtain some indispensable auxiliary results. We also deal with a Voronovskaja type asymptotic formula and some estimates of the rate of approximation involving modulus of smoothness, such as Ditzian-Totik modulus of smoothness. The rate of convergence for differential functions whose derivatives are bounded is also obtained.


In the field of power electronics applications, advances in high voltage semiconductor devices have led specifically over the past few decades to tremendous improvements in terms of power handling capability and control. We focus in this paper on the recent developments with regard to optimizing the power semiconductor for the solid state HVDC breaker for HVDC grid applications. One of the traditional approaches for the development of power semiconductors is to achieve full integration of the active power semiconductor switch and the anti-parallel freewheeling diode. The main aim for such a trend is to obtain higher power densities and more compact systems while at the same time simplifying the component manufacturability by eliminating the need for a separate anti-parallel diode. Recent development efforts over the past few years targeted a fully integrated high voltage and high current IGBT and diode structure on a single chip. As a result, an RC-IGBT type device was realized recently and referred to as the Bi-mode Insulated Gate Transistor BIGT. The BIGT was designed in accordance with the latest IGBT design concepts while fully incorporating an optimized integrated anti-parallel diode in the IGBT structure. This paper will mainly focus on the application of the BIGT especially for the power electronics based Hybrid HVDC breaker application while presenting an overview of the recent advancements from the device design and performance viewpoint. Recent experimental data obtained from tests carried out on prototype samples will also be presented.


A new optical phase modulator microwave photonic filter that can realize a flat-top radio frequency (RF) bandpass filter with multiple taps and bipolar coefficients is presented. It is based on a spatial light modulator that induces a programmable phase-modulation to intensity-modulation frequency response in combination with an RF phase-modulated multiwavelength signal. It enables the realization of negative taps, and opens up regions for operating the bandpass filter to extremely high frequencies. Experimental results demonstrate a multiple tap flat-top microwave filter at 18.5 GHz. To our best knowledge, this is the first phase modulator-based microwave photonic structure that exhibits multiple taps together with an arbitrary flat-top response.


This paper describes the 2019 edition of the Helsinki Digital Humanities Hackathon from the perspective of two of its participants. As (digital) historians they were part of the group that investigated the history of medical advertisements in British nineteenth-century newspapers. The paper describes the research process, as well as the data and methods used during the research. The paper also considers the Hackathon as a laboratory for Digital Humanities research and reflects on the nature of the collaboration as experienced during the Hackathon. As such, the paper describes the challenges of multidisciplinary research and identifies the factors that hinder and foster collaboration in a Digital Humanities context.


We have detected antigens associated with two malignant T-cell lines by use of a sensitive radioimmunoassay. Baboon antisera to a cultured malignant T cell line (MOLT 4F) were prepared and the gammaG-anti-MOLT 4F was enriched by specific adsorption onto, and elution from, MOLT 4F cells followed by repeated absorption with pools of 21 established, long-term cultured B cell lines. Purified 125I-gammaG-anti-MOLT 4F preparation was tested for relative binding to autologous (MOLT 4F) and allogenetic (Sommer-RPMI 8402) T cells as well as B cells, including Sommer B cells (RPMI 8392). The degree of enrichment of antibody to malignant T cell associated antigens, expressed in terms of the ratios of the amount of globulin bound by T cells relative to the amount bound by B cells, were 6.3 and 5.0 for MOLT 4F and Sommer T cells, respectively.


In CNC shaping milling machine, the prediction of the state of tool wear has important application significance to improve productivity, reduce scrap rate and avoid security risks. In this paper, the detection and control system of disk milling cutter is set up by the current monitoring method, the input characteristic quantity and target characteristic quantity of BP neural network for tool wear diagnosis are measured, and the disk milling cutter wear condition prediction neural network is established based on the GA-BP algorithm. At last, the online prediction of milling cutter wear state is realized. The network test results show that the prediction rate of tool wear condition is more than 92.78%.


Abstract What is the argument against government? There are several. For one thing, there is automatic exit for failure: businesses that do not earn a profit go bankrupt, and their resources tend to migrate to other, more effective, managers. For another, entrepreneurs operate with their own funds, or those voluntarily entrusted to them. This does not apply to bureaucrats and politicians, in sharp contrast. Perhaps most important, in the case of each and every commercial interaction in the market, buying, selling, renting, lending, borrowing, there is mutual gain at least in the ex ante sense of anticipations, and usually ex post, after the trade, as well. This rarely occurs under statism, at least not with regard to its source of funds, taxation, since it is not voluntary. An exception would be the relatively unimportant cases in which a consumer purchases something from the government, such as a ticket to cross a bridge, or a producer sells something to this organization, such as an airplane. The present paper is an attempt to elaborate upon this considerations.


Online courses often include interface designs that do not support a positive learner experience. Literature shows a variety of heuristics to detect issues of online courses. While heuristic-based inspection of usability is a dominant method for evaluating digital systems, these methods cannot be easily transferred to online courses. To close this gap, we identified an initial set of social, technical, and pedagogical related items (STP) heuristics based on literature. Next, we analyzed this set using empirical data from two online courses. In total, we analyzed 195 problems with the goal to substantiate a final set of 14 STP heuristics. This new set allows for efficiently evaluating online courses by supporting evaluators and instructional designers in uncovering the most crucial issues and improving the learner experience. Finally, based on this work, we discuss a definition of learner experience for the emerging field of learner experience design and research.


&NA; Three cases of the localized form of congenital generalized fibromatosis are described in females under one year. The lesions were in the parotid region, biceps muscle and abdominal wall. The infiltrative or nodular pattern of these tumours with the periphery resembling smooth muscle and the central portion resembling a haemangiopericytoma makes them a distinct histological entity. Ultrastructurally, these tumours are composed of myofibroblasts. The differential diagnosis from other soft tissue tumours in infancy and early childhood is discussed. These tumours are benign and recurrence after complete local excision is rare.


The SARG04 protocol is one of the most frequently used protocol in commercial plug-and-play quantum key distribution (QKD) system, where an eavesdropper can completely control or change the photon number statistics of the QKD source. To ensure the security of SARG04 protocol in plug-and-play QKD system with an unknown and untrusted source, the bounds of a few statistical parameters of the source need to be monitored. An active or a passive source monitor schemes are proposed to verify these parameters. Furthermore, the practical issues due to statistical fluctuation and detection noise in the source monitoring process are quantitatively analyzed. Our simulation results show that the passive scheme can be efficiently applied to plug-and-play system with SARG04 protocol.


This book serves as a companion piece to the earlier " Clinico-pathologic Conferences of the Massachusetts General Hospital: Selected Medical Cases ," edited by Benjamin Castleman, MD, and H. Robert Dudley, Jr., MD. As was the instance with the earlier book, this represents 50 cases from the clinicopathologic conferences published in the New England Journal of Medicine . These were selected to represent problems considered primarily as being of surgical interest and are discussed not only by the regular and familiar contributors on the Massachusetts General Hospital staff but by an illustrious list of guest discussants. The cases chosen represent ones from the last quarter of a century, but principally selected from those presented in recent years so that the discussions pertaining to diagnostic tests and evaluation of newer contributions to the subjects are timely. The collection represents some common, many uncommon, and a scattering of rare, diseases and lesions. The presentations are


A series of sulfonated homo- and random co-polyimides (co-SPI) based on 2,4-diaminobenzenesulfonic acid (2,4-DABS) and 2,5-diaminobenzenesulfonic acid (2,5-DABS) has been synthesized via conventional two-step polyimidization method. 2,4-DABS and 2,5-DABS were used as sulfonated diamine compounds, 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA) and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) were used as non-sulfonated diamine compounds. Mixtures of sulfonated and non-sulfonated diamine compounds were reacted with benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) to obtain co-SPI membranes. Molar ratios of sulfonated to non-sulfonated diamine were systematically varied to produce copolymers of controlled compositions. The co-SPIs were evaluated for thermal oxidative stability, ion exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake, proton conductivity, solubility, and hydrolytic stability. Proton conductivity and hydrolytic stability of the co-SPIs were compared with the fully aromatic polyimide, homo-SPIs (BTDA/2,4-DABS and BTDA/2,5-DABS). Regarding thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis, it is concluded that desulfonation temperature in the range of 200–350°C suggests high stability of sulfonic acid groups. co-SPIs with 40 mol% of 2,4-DABS showed similar or higher proton conductivity than Nafion® 117 in water. Proton conductivity values of the co-SPIs were mainly a function of IEC and water uptake. Consequently, the optimum concentration of 2,4-DABS was found to be in the range of 30–40 mol% from the viewpoint of proton conductivity, IEC, and hydrolytic stability. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The first nationwide demographic survey was conducted in Vietnam in 1988. The first demographic survey conducted by the National Committee for Population and Family Planning identified fertility rates for 1983-1987. Recent demographic data come from the National Population Dynamics and Family Planning Survey of April 1993 and the Population Multiround Survey and the Intercensal Demographic Survey of 1994. These surveys and censuses have provided valuable data on fertility trends over the years. It is estimated that the total fertility rate (TFR) during 1955-59 was 5.73. However, TFR had dropped to 3.98 by the end of the 1980s and 3.1 by 1994. The Population and Family Planning Program of Vietnam launched in 1963 with the strong support of government and party leaders contributed greatly to this decline in fertility over the last two decades. Local government budgets for the population and family planning program have increased dramatically in recent years, surpassing the contributions of the UN Population Fund, the main international donor to Vietnam.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
We have previously shown that treatment in our combined acute and rehabilitation Stroke Unit improves outcome during the first year after onset of stroke compared with stroke patients treated in general wards. The aim of the present trial was to examine the long-term effects of the stroke unit care.

METHODS
In a randomized controlled trial, 110 patients with symptoms and signs of an acute stroke were allocated to the Stroke Unit and 110 to general wards. No significant differences existed in baseline characteristics between the two groups. The outcome after 5 years was measured by the proportion of patients at home, the proportion of patients in an institution, the mortality, and the functional state assessed by Barthel Index.

RESULTS
After 5 years, 38 (34.5%) of the patients randomized to the Stroke Unit and 20 (18.2%) of the patients randomized to the general wards were at home (P = .006). Sixty-five (59.1%) of the patients from the Stroke Unit and 78 (70.9%) of the patients from the general wards were dead (P = .041), while 7 (6.4%) and 12 (10.9%), respectively, were in an institution (e.g., nursing home) (P = NS). Functional state was significantly better for patients treated in the Stroke Unit.

CONCLUSIONS
For the first time it is shown that stroke unit care improves long-term survival and functional state and increases the proportion of patients able to live at home 5 years after the stroke. Combined acute and rehabilitation stroke units appear to be an effective way of organizing treatment for acute stroke patients.


Externalities are a fundamental aspect of any modern interdependent economy. The fact that agents interact with one another makes it inevitable that their decisions will influence one another directly, in addition to any indirect impact that may occur through the market place. Ever since the earliest stages of the discipline, externalities have been of prime concern to economists, who have long argued that they provide an important motive for (economic) decision making. To cite one prominent example, in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith notes that "Though it is in order to supply the necessities and conveniences of the body that the advantages of external fortune are originally recommended to us, yet we cannot live long in the world without perceiving that the respect of our equals, our credit and rank in the society we live in, depend very much upon the degree in which we possess, or are supposed to possess those advantages. The desire of becoming the proper objects of this respect . . . is perhaps the strongest of all our desires" [Smith (1759, pp. 348–349)]. In modern terminology, Adam Smith is referring to a consumption externality.


This study was conducted by the 25th of April until 25 May 2016 in the Market Langgam, Langgam Subsdistrict Pelalawan District Riau Province. Research aims to analyze supply, demand and the form of marketing fish smoke in Langgam Market. Methods used in research is the method survey with the number of respondents 10 people. The number of supply and demand fish smoke the as many as 400 until 500 kg per week and when not the only about 150 until 200 kg per week. Marketing fish smoke from the products are good quality with a kind of fish Criptopterus bichirchis, Mystus nemurus, Pangasius pangasius, and Thynnichthys polylepis. Price of smoke in Market Langgam relatively accessible to the advantage Rp 5.000,- until Rp 10.000,- per kilogram. Distribution fish smoke in Market Langgam short enough, namely fishermen processing to intermediary traders then to the traders are a retailer until to consumers the end.Keywords: marketing, supply, demand, fish smoke, Langgam Market


Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) adherence is crucial in lowering HIV/AIDS-related mortality. General health status is known to predict mortality, but no study has assessed its association with HAART adherence. A total of 103 whites, African Americans, and Hispanic/Latinos with HIV/AIDS underwent an interview using validated measures. Regression analyses assessed the relationship between general health status and HAART adherence while controlling for social support, sense of control, depression, stress, HIV stigma, substance abuse, and unfair treatment because of race. Those rating their general health as fair/poor were 4 times more likely to be nonadherent (odds ratio [OR], 4.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19-15.79). This association dramatically strengthened in the multivariate regression model (OR, 10.96; 95% CI, 1.46-82.36) after controlling for the covariates. Conclusion: General health status was the strongest predictor of HAART nonadherence, and future research is needed to assess whether this 1-question general health measure can be clinically used to influence adherence.


In this thesis factors that explain Swedish pharmaceutical export as been analyzed. The period investigated is from 1995 to 2010. The investigation is concluded through the use of a gravity model. It investigates not only the GDP and distance variable but also the effects of GDP/capita, exchange rates and the effect of being a part of the internal market of EU. The effects of having access to the ocean and if the country has English as its official language is investigated as well as the effect of sharing the same religion. The results show that only a smaller subset of countries make up for most of the pharmaceutical export. The results also shows that the pharmaceutical export can be explained by the same variables as most other goods.


A robust version of the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) bearing estimation algorithm based on robust statistics is developed for a direct sequence-code division multiple access impulsive noise channel. The proposed subspace algorithm is computed by using the antenna array covariance matrix, which is derived from the robust maximum likelihood estimator of location. Each element of the robust covariance matrix is computed as the sample myriad of a window of the received observations. The MUSIC antenna array scheme is jointly used to mitigate the effects of multipath and impulsive noise. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly outperforms the other linear and nonlinear schemes.


The agriculture sector employs the largest percentage of the work force in South Asia (53.3% in 2005). However, by 2009 its percentage as a share of the GDP was about 18% making it the lowest contributor to GDP amongst Agriculture, Industry and Services (World Bank, 2011).The available literature cites a variety of reasons for the lower productivity and efficiency of the sector in South Asia – land fragmentation (Niroula and Thapa, 2005, Rahman and Rahman, 2008 and Tana, Heerinkb, Kuyvenhovenb, and Quc, 2010), institutional markets inefficiencies (Lokanathan and de Silva 2010), low quality inputs such as planting material, fertilizer and pesticides (Mwangi, 1996) and lack of knowledge of proper farming practices (Ruttan, 2002). Land fragmentation inhibits efficiency and productivity since small land sizes often prevent farmers from exploiting economies of scale and from adopting innovative agricultural practices (Niroula and Thapa, 2005). Similarly, the use of inferior quality inputs, such as seeds and fertilizer, results in low yields and hence poor productivity. The use of inferior quality inputs is often due the unavailability of high quality inputs and the lack of appropriate knowledge amongst farmers, which is exacerbated by failures in agricultural extension (Kapugama et al., 2011; Perera et al, 2011). Finally, at the time o selling, inefficient markets arise due to inability of the markets to clear resulting in a mismatch between supply and demand. These market inefficiencies make it difficult for farmers to effectively engage in markets (Barret, 2005, Fafchamps, 2004, World Banks, 2002). The mismatch is more acute when relevant complimentary infrastructure such as cold storage and warehousing are not available, which is often the case in developing economies.Whilst a majority of the above mentioned issues can be found in most developing countries, the relative importance of each of these aspects with respect to inhibiting sector efficiency and productivity varies depending on the local context in the country. Irrespective the need for improvement in sector efficiency and productivity is paramount, since a majority of the poor from developing countries live in rural areas (World Bank 2007) with a significant proportion of them depending on agriculture for their livelihoods. Resolving structural and institutional problems such as land fragmentation are difficult. These are contentious subjects steeped with political implications that inhibit action. Cognizant of this, various innovations in aggregation like contract farming models have allowed workarounds that can improve sector efficiency. Similarly market inefficiencies can potentially be reduced by increasing farmer access to appropriate information and knowledge. In keeping with this rational, a number of public and private entities have started providing various innovative services (mainly through the mobile) which provide needed information to farmers (Lokanathan and de Silva, 2010). Amongst these services the most common information provided is market price information. However, is price information the most important piece of information that the farmers require? Ratnadiwakara, de Silva and Soysa (2008) identified six stages crop cultivation – deciding, seeding, preparing and planting, growing, harvesting and selling. The paper examines the information requirements of the farmers throughout the crop cycle, in three countries (Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka), using the results of multi-country survey of farmers in these countries.