In our more and more connected world where people are used to managing their lives via digital services, it has become mandatory for a successful company to build applications that can scale with the popularity of the company's services. Scalability is not the only requirement but similarly important is that modern applications are highly available and fast because users are not willing to wait in our ever faster moving world. Due to this, we have seen a shift from the classic monolith towards micro service architectures which promise to be more easily scalable. The emergence of serverless functions further strengthened this trend more recently. By implementing a micro service architecture, application developers are all of a sudden exposed to the realm of distributed applications with its seemingly limitless scalability but also its pitfalls nobody tells you about upfront. So instead of solving business domain problems, developers find themselves fighting with race conditions, distributed failures, inconsistencies and in general a drastically increased complexity. In order to solve some of these problems, people introduce endless retries, timeouts, sagas and distributed transactions. These band aids can quickly result in a not so scalable system that is brittle and hard to maintain. The underlying problem is that developers are responsible for ensuring reliable communication and consistent state changes. Having a system that takes care of these aspects could drastically reduce the complexity of developing scalable distributed applications. By inverting the traditional control-flow from application-to-database to database-to-application, we can put the database in charge of ensuring reliable communication and consistent state changes and, thus, freeing the developer to think about it. In this keynote, I want to explore the idea of putting the database in charge of driving the application logic using the example of Stateful Functions, a library built on top of Apache Flink that follows this idea. I will explain how Stateful Functions achieves scalability and consistency but also what its limitations are. Based on these results, I would like to sketch the requirements for a runtime that can truly realise the full potential of Stateful Functions and discuss with you ideas how it could be implemented.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of lncRNA XIST on the proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of retinoblastoma (RB) and its relevant mechanism.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
60 RB patients who were treated in our hospital were collected. The expression of XIST in tissues and cells was detected by qRT-PCR, and the effect of XIST on the prognosis of RB cells was observed. Stable and transient over-expression and suppression vectors were established and transfected into RB cells WERI-RB1 and Y79. CCK-8, transwell, and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of transfected cells. Western Blot was used to detect apoptosis-related proteins and EMT-related proteins. Dual-Luciferase report was used to determine the relationship between XIST and miR-142-5p. RNA pull-down and RIP experiments were used to determine the relationship between XIST and miR-142-5p.

RESULTS
XIST was highly expressed in RB patients, which had a high diagnostic value. Patients with XIST high expression had a poor prognosis. After overexpression of XIST, the proliferation, invasion and EMT of cells increased, and apoptosis rate decreased, while inhibition of Ptv1 had the opposite effect. Dual-Luciferase report confirmed that XIST could target miR-142-5p. Functional analysis showed that the overexpression of miR-142-5p inhibited the proliferation, invasion and EMT of RB cells and promoted cell apoptosis. Rescue experiments showed that miR-142-5p could eliminate the inhibition of miR-142-5p on the proliferation, invasion, and EMT of RB cells by upregulating XIST expression.

CONCLUSIONS
Ptv1 can promote the proliferation, invasion, and EMT of RB cells by regulating miR-142-5p.


Sweet sorghum has potential as an energy crop in the Southwest since, compared to corn, it requires less fertilizer and water, is cheaper to grow, and requires less energy to process into ethanol. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of obtaining two crops of sweet sorghum from a single seeding. Two cultivars of sweet sorghum were seeded at early and late dates at the Maricopa Agricultural Center in 2006. Two crops of sweet sorghum were obtained in our study with a short season cultivar Bundle King, but not with the longer season cultivar MMR 327/36. The ethanol yield of Bundle King of 213 gal/acre from two crops planted on April 7 was not significantly greater statistically than the ethanol yield of 162 gal/acre from a single crop planted on June 1. Bundle King is an inherently low yielding variety, as are most short season sweet sorghum cultivars that may be used for double cropping. Thus, the problem with double cropping is identifying a suitable cultivar along with increased harvest costs, despite the advantage of providing a more even supply of feedstock to an ethanol plant.


Nanoscale refinement on a (100) oriented silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer was introduced by using tetra-methyl-ammonium hydroxide (TMAH, 25 wt%) anisotropic silicon etchant, with temperature kept at 50 °C to achieve precise etching of the (111) crystal plane. Specifically for a silicon nanowire (SiNW) with oxide sidewall protection, the in situ TMAH process enabled effective size reduction in both lateral (2.3 nm/min) and vertical (1.7 nm/min) dimensions. A sub-50 nm SiNW with a length of microns with uniform triangular cross-section was achieved accordingly, yielding enhanced field effect transistor (FET) characteristics in comparison with its 100 nm-wide pre-refining counterpart, which demonstrated the feasibility of this highly controllable refinement process. Detailed examination revealed that the high surface quality of the (111) plane, as well as the bulk depletion property should be the causes of this electrical enhancement, which implies the great potential of the as-made cost-effective SiNW FET device in many fields.


We introduce the effective Hamiltonian which describes eg electrons in doped bilayer La2−2xSr1+2xMn2O7 manganites and study magnetic and charge order using correlated wavefunctions. The Hamiltonian includes: the kinetic energy, the crystal field splitting between x2−y2 and 3z2−r2 orbitals, on-site interactions—Coulomb U and Hund's exchange JH between eg electrons, antiferromagnetic superexchange interaction J′>0 between t2g core S = 3/2 spins, and finally the coupling between eg electrons and Jahn–Teller local modes. The model reproduces reasonably well the evolution of magnetic order with increasing hole doping x in the experimentally accessible range from x = 0.3 up to x = 0.9. Electron correlations are found to be of crucial importance for the stability of the recently experimentally identified CE phase in a half-doped (x = 0.5) bilayer (with zig-zag ferromagnetic chains in each plane coupled antiferromagnetically with neighbouring chains in the same and in the other layer).


An analysis of electrocardiograms (ECG lead II) obtained following blunt thoracic impacts conducted on 12 anesthetized pigs indicated that all animals developed some degree of trauma to the heart conducting system: sino-atrial nodal disturbances, atrio-ventricular junctional dysfunction, intraventricular conduction defects (e.g., bundle branch blocks), or ventricular fibrillation. The induced ventricular fibrillation proceeded rapidly to the demise of four animals in this study. A comparison of the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation with measured biomechanical response parameters indicated a significant correlation of ventricular dysfunction with high levels of sternal acceleration (930 g) and impact velocity (10.7 m/s). The initiation of ventricular fibrillation did not correlate with typical biomechanical thoracic injury "indicators" (i.i., level of normalized thoracic deflection, cumulative AIS, peak spinal acceleration, or applied force). An injury severity classification (MCD) was subsequently developed for the evaluation of myocardial conducting system dysfunctions.


Image filtering is often applied as a post-process to Monte Carlo generated pictures, in order to reduce
noise. In this paper we present an algorithm based on density estimation techniques that applies an energy
preserving adaptive kernel filter to individual samples during image rendering. The used kernel widths
diminish as the number of samples goes up, ensuring a reasonable noise versus bias trade-off at any time.
This results in a progressive algorithm, that still converges asymptotically to a correct solution. Results
show that general noise as well as spike noise can effectively be reduced. Many interesting extensions are
possible, making this a very promising technique for Monte Carlo image synthesis.


The relationship between the force generated by an isometrically contracting muscle and the associated myoelectric signal has been the subject of extensive investigation in the past and conflicting results were reported regarding this relationship. The objective of the present study was to investigate some of the sources that may lead to such conflicting results. Two possible sources were examined. The first was the variability in the force-EMG relationship resulting from processing the EMG signal with different EMG signal processing techniques and the second was the variability in the force-EMG relation obtained from repeated muscle contractions. The results of the study indicate that slight variations in the force-EMG relationships can be attributed to the selection of different processing techniques. However, the variability in the force-EMG relation, obtained by using different EMG signal processors, was found to be significantly smaller than the variability in this relationship obtained from repeated muscle contractions.


Dental procedures are a common reason for general anesthesia, and there is widespread concern among veterinarians that heart disease increases the occurrence of anesthetic complications. Anxiety about anesthetizing dogs with heart disease is a common cause of referral to specialty centers. To begin to address the potential effect of heart disease on anesthetic complications in dogs undergoing anesthesia for routine dental procedures, we compared anesthetic complications in 100 dogs with heart disease severe enough to trigger referral to a specialty center (cases) to those found in 100 dogs without cardiac disease (controls) that underwent similar procedures at the same teaching hospital. Medical records were reviewed to evaluate the occurrence of anesthetic complications. No dogs died in either group, and no significant differences were found between the groups in any of the anesthetic complications evaluated, although dogs in the heart disease group were significantly older with higher American Society of Anesthesiologists scores. Midazolam and etomidate were used more frequently, and alpha-2 agonists used less frequently, in the heart disease group compared to controls. This study suggests dogs with heart disease, when anesthetized by trained personnel and carefully monitored during routine dental procedures, are not at significantly increased risk for anesthetic complications.


Antimicrobial activity of B. aegyptiaca bark smoke extracts were investigated against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Candida albicans. The smoke was extracted by use of different solvents. These were subjected to phytochemical tests. The different extracts were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility using disc diffusion method. Positive and negative controls of Streptomycin (10 µg/disc) and drugless media were also set respectively. The test microorganisms were collected from specimens of patients who are given medical treatment in MTRH.The strongest inhibition was observed in the cases of the crude extract on E. coli (12mm) and C.albicans (8mm) compared to Streptomycin which had a diameter of inhibition of 13mm and 12mm on E.coli and C. albicans respectively.This study may help to suggest an alternative possible leading compound for development of new antimicrobial agents against E. coli and C. albicans. It may also be emphasized here that this in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing results need standardization with further studies and it should also have a correlation with in vivo therapeutic response experiments.


India is one of the fastest developing nations in the world, thus resulting in more buying capacity for its citizens. There is an explosion of vehicles on Indian highways which has surged by more than 400 percent from 2001 to 2013 i.e. in 12 years comparing it to National highways which merely has grown by 133 percent, thus resulting in congestion and increase of accident rates in India. Black spots are being declared throughout the country in order to achieve the aim of reduction of accident by 50 percent till 2020. Middle-income countries own about 52 percent of the world's vehicle but they account for more than 88 percent of the world's road traffic fatalities. By this rate of growth the fatal accidents are going to be the 5th largest cause of accident in the world by 2020. Pedestrians, Cyclist and Motorbikes together form around 57 percent of death rates happening on the roads of the world, out of which persons in the age group of 15 to 44 years account for more than 60 percent of world's total fatal accident rates. Literature Review has been carried out showing the scenario of accidents happening on different highways of India along with its causes and solutions. IndexTerms Black Spots, Accident, Fatal Accidents, Pedestrian and Cyclist, Geometric deficiencies causing accidents.


Totally biodegradable, double-layered antimicrobial composite films were introduced for food packaging. The substrate layers of the sheets were prepared from poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and sugar beet pulp (SBP) or poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) and SBP by a twin-screw extruder. The active layer consisting of antimicrobial in either PLA or chitosan was formed on the surfaces of the substrates by solution coating followed by solvent evaporation. Air-coupled ultrasonic evaluation and microscopic examination showed a homogeneous structure for the composite sheets. Mechanical analysis and acoustic emission demonstrated the double-layered composites possessing appropriate tensile strength and fracture characteristics for the use as light weight-bearing materials. The release of Nisaplin® or allyl isothiocyanate (AIT) effectively suppressed the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella cells, respectively; the co-release of Nisaplin® and AIT played a synergistic effect on inhibition of L. monocytogenes. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012


During development, specific cells are eliminated by apoptosis to ensure that the correct number of cells is integrated in a given tissue or structure. How the apoptosis machinery is activated selectively in vivo in the context of a developing tissue is still poorly understood. In the Drosophila ovary, specialised follicle cells [polar cells (PCs)] are produced in excess during early oogenesis and reduced by apoptosis to exactly two cells per follicle extremity. PCs act as an organising centre during follicle maturation as they are the only source of the JAK/STAT pathway ligand Unpaired (Upd), the morphogen activity of which instructs distinct follicle cell fates. Here we show that reduction of Upd levels leads to prolonged survival of supernumerary PCs, downregulation of the pro-apoptotic factor Hid, upregulation of the anti-apoptotic factor Diap1 and inhibition of caspase activity. Upd-mediated activation of the JAK/STAT pathway occurs in PCs themselves, as well as in adjacent terminal follicle and interfollicular stalk cells, and inhibition of JAK/STAT signalling in any one of these cell populations protects PCs from apoptosis. Thus, a Stat-dependent unidentified relay signal is necessary for inducing supernumerary PC death. Finally, blocking apoptosis of PCs leads to specification of excess adjacent border cells via excessive Upd signalling. Our results therefore show that Upd and JAK/STAT signalling induce apoptosis of supernumerary PCs to control the size of the PC organising centre and thereby produce appropriate levels of Upd. This is the first example linking this highly conserved signalling pathway with developmental apoptosis in Drosophila.


Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has evolved from mere social philanthropy to its present conceptualisation as a distinct organisational strategy. This study treats CSR as a strategic decision, and focuses on the sense-making process of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with respect to pro-CSR intent. We consider collectively multiple structural determinants including personal values, stakeholder culture and environmental munificence and relate them to an intention by the CEO to act in a socially responsible manner.


This study investigated the effectiveness of a behavioural intervention programme in reducing disruptive behaviours in children with brain injury. The behavioural package included programme rules, a token economy with response cost and mystery motivators. Participants were three male patients in an after-school programme at a rehabilitation hospital who were identified as having both a brain injury and disruptive behaviours in the classroom setting. Two control composites were formed, one with children who behaved appropriately and one with children who behaved in a disruptive manner. This study employed a multiple baseline design across individuals. The participants' disruptive behaviour decreased during the intervention phase by an average of 69%; the effect size of each participant's improvement was 'large'. The comparisons' disruptive behaviour was unchanged. This pronounced decrease in disruptive behaviours for the three participants was maintained in the follow-up phase. This short-term, easily implemented package altered important programme and social behaviours positively, were well received by children and staff and resulted in long-term improvements to behavioural deficits secondary to brain injury. These results are discussed in terms of theoretical disagreements, methodological issues and practical community-based interventions in brain-injured children.


Eighteen basmati rice varieties were characterized using morphological descriptors adopted from the DUS guidelines of PPV & FR Authority and subsequently examined for their Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability. Among the 46 visually assessed characters 26 characters were monomorphic, 11 characters were dimorphic and seven characters were polymorphic indicating their potential for varietal characterization and distinctiveness. No intra-varietal variation was observed for any of the visual characteristics and expression of characters in different varieties remained same for the two consecutive years confirming the uniformity and stability of the varieties. Combined Over Years Distinctiveness (COY-D) analysis was made on 14 measurable DUS descriptors which revealed distinctiveness for all varieties with respect to each other. COY-D analysis was complemented with MJRA analysis. The slope of the MJRA curves in both the years and regression coefficients indicated that all the considered characters were not completely independent and they are interacting with each other as well as with environment. Combined Over Years Uniformity (COY-U) analysis for five of the measurable characteristics revealed that 15 out of 18 varieties were almost uniform for the characters under study. However the other three varieties were non-uniform for one or two characters emphasizing the need for their further purification to attain a considerable level of homogeneity in their heterogeneous blend. On the basis of grouping characteristics unique morphological profiles could be established for seven varieties. When all the 60 morphological descriptors were studied two more varieties could be distinguished. Thus the morphological DUS descriptors could establish distinctiveness of some varieties but varieties showing overlapping of the expression for these characters could not be discriminated hence some other markers/descriptors could be considered for complementing the morphological DUS descriptors for establishing the distinctiveness.


Adenosine mediates immunosuppression within the tumor microenvironment through triggering adenosine 2A receptors (A2AR) on immune cells. To determine whether this pathway could be targeted as an immunotherapy, we performed a phase 1 clinical trial with a small molecule A2AR antagonist. We find that this molecule can safely block adenosine signaling in vivo. In a cohort of 68 renal cell cancer (RCC) patients, we also observe clinical responses alone and in combination with an anti-PD-L1 antibody, including subjects who had progressed on PD-(L)1 inhibitors. Durable clinical benefit is associated with increased recruitment of CD8+ T cells into the tumor. Treament can also broaden the circulating T cell repertoire. Clinical responses are associated with an adenosine-regulated gene expression signature in pre-treatment tumor biopsies. A2AR signaling, therefore, represents a targetable immune checkpoint distinct from PD-(L)1 that restricts anti-tumor immunity.


ABSTRACT Fission yeast phosphate homeostasis entails transcriptional induction of genes encoding phosphate-mobilizing proteins under conditions of phosphate starvation. Transcription factor Pho7, a member of the Zn2Cys6 family of fungal transcription regulators, is the central player in the starvation response. The DNA binding sites in the promoters of phosphate-responsive genes have not been defined, nor have any structure-function relationships been established for the Pho7 protein. Here we narrow this knowledge gap by (i) delineating an autonomous DNA-binding domain (DBD) within Pho7 that includes the Zn2Cys6 module, (ii) deploying recombinant Pho7 DBD in DNase I footprinting and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) to map the Pho7 recognition sites in the promoters of the phosphate-regulated pho1 and tgp1 genes to a 12-nucleotide sequence motif [5′-TCG(G/C)(A/T)xxTTxAA], (iii) independently identifying the same motif as a Pho7 recognition element via in silico analysis of available genome-wide ChIP-seq data, (iv) affirming that mutations in the two Pho7 recognition sites in the pho1 promoter efface pho1 expression in vivo, and (v) establishing that the zinc-binding cysteines and a pair of conserved arginines in the DBD are essential for Pho7 activity in vivo. IMPORTANCE Fungi respond to phosphate starvation by inducing the transcription of a set of phosphate acquisition genes that comprise a phosphate regulon. Pho7, a member of the Zn2Cys6 family of fungal transcription regulators, is the central player in the phosphate starvation response in fission yeast. The present study identifies a 12-nucleotide Pho7 DNA binding motif [5′-TCG(G/C)(A/T)xxTTxAA] in the promoters of phosphate-regulated genes, pinpoints DNA and protein features important for Pho7 binding to DNA, and correlates them with Pho7-dependent gene expression in vivo. The results highlight distinctive properties of Pho7 vis-a-vis other fungal zinc binuclear cluster transcription factors as well as the divergent cast of transcription factors deployed for phosphate homeostasis in fission yeast versus budding yeast. Fungi respond to phosphate starvation by inducing the transcription of a set of phosphate acquisition genes that comprise a phosphate regulon. Pho7, a member of the Zn2Cys6 family of fungal transcription regulators, is the central player in the phosphate starvation response in fission yeast. The present study identifies a 12-nucleotide Pho7 DNA binding motif [5′-TCG(G/C)(A/T)xxTTxAA] in the promoters of phosphate-regulated genes, pinpoints DNA and protein features important for Pho7 binding to DNA, and correlates them with Pho7-dependent gene expression in vivo. The results highlight distinctive properties of Pho7 vis-a-vis other fungal zinc binuclear cluster transcription factors as well as the divergent cast of transcription factors deployed for phosphate homeostasis in fission yeast versus budding yeast.


There is general agreement that meta-analysis is an important tool for synthesizing study results in quantitative educational research. Yet, a shared feature of many meta-analyses is a failure to report sufficient information for readers to fully judge the reported findings, such as the populations to which generalizations are to be made, inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies, the rationale underlying coded variables, including their scaling, relationship to study goals, and the sensitivity of conclusions to the chosen methodology. The authors provide (a) evidence of the prevalence of deficiencies of reporting and (b) suggestions about the kind of information that meta-analysts should typically provide. Providing readers with that information should significantly improve readers' ability to evaluate the credibility of a meta-analysis.


Cocoyam samples soaked in sodium metabisulphite (SM) and water blanched (WB) were oven dried at 50, 60 and 70° C and microwave power levels of 385, 540 and 700 W while untreated samples were sun dried. The effect of drying on selected properties of cocoyam was studied. The drying time generally reduced with increase in drying temperature and power level used. The use of SM pretreatment resulted in lower drying times compared with WB pretreatment. Effective moisture diffusivity values (D eff ) for all the drying conditions varied from 5.27 x 10 -8 to 2.07 x 10 -6 m 2 /s and SM samples had higher values than WB samples. Activation energy values for oven drying were 37.41 KJ/mol and 61.79 KJ/mol and that for microwave drying were 38.59 and 41.91W/g for SM and WB samples respectively. The energy consumption varied from 125.1 to 142.8 kWh and 308 to 396.7 Wh while that of specific energy requirement varied from 86.2 to 106.5 kWh/kg and 1.49 to 2.03 KJ/kg water for oven drying and microwave drying respectively.


The Circle of Research and Practice Department offers continuous insight to and between health promotion practitioners, community partners, and researchers. As stated often in this department, the commentaries offered here reflect our commitment to the essential connections between what we know, what we do, and what we learn in our health promotion efforts. Effective health promotion, both research and practice, has the potential to address some of the most complex questions of our time. It also has the ability to address the relationship between private troubles and public issues, offering strategies and interventions that influence the personal behaviors and structural determinants of health. In the effort to eliminate health disparities associated with race and ethnicity in the United States, health promotion research and practice are key partners. Our contribution to this important theme issue of Health Promotion Practice is a commentary based on an interview with Dr. Imani Ma'at, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) 2010 initiative. REACH 2010, and Dr. Ma'at's insight into its potential, provide a vibrant example of the circle of research and practice and what can happen when the circle is engaged.


The government of Brazil has introduced two health and nutrition monitoring systems (the Indigenous Health Care Information System (SIASI) and the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System for Indigenous People (SISVAN‐I) as part of reforms to health care and social protection services for indigenous peoples, who have the worst health status of any population group in the country. This article covers the origins and development of these systems and examines their functioning in one local health district, which serves the Xavante people. It assesses the systems' performance in relation to the aspects established in the case study terms of reference: quality of information, inclusivity, relevance to potential users, costs and sustainability. A number of key issues are identified. Some are intrinsic to the technical, cultural and political challenges of working with indigenous peoples, while others reflect problems with the implementation of responses to these challenges at different levels in Brazil.


Antenatal care(ANC) is very importantfor pregnant women. Prenatal periodisa period of preparation, both physically (fetal grow thand maternal adaptation) and psychological (anticipatedto be a parent). Butin fact, up to this time K4 visit coveragein pregnant womenin Banyuwang is till low enough ordo not meet the set targets. The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of methods of communication in changing social behavior to improve K4 visit pregnant women in Banyuwangi 2014.This study used quantitative research methods to design the expansion draft randomized control group pretest-posttest design. The independent variableis the method of communication in changing social behavior (methods of health education in health vasilitas, workshops community leaders, and educational cadres), and the dependent variablein the form of visits K4 pregnant women. Sampling technique using multi stage sampling. Location of the study are in PHC Sempu. Instruments research on variable communication methodin changing social behavioris a unit of learning program (SAP) and the variable K4 visit pregnant women using observation KIA book. Statistical testin this study is a statistical test Che-Square One Sample and Kruskal Wills.The results showedthe influence of classes and support pregnant women with ρ0:00 husband, Communication cadres with 0:00 ρ and ρ public figures with 0001. Theory Snehandu B. Karin Notoatmodjo, (2007) analyzed thestarting point of health behavior that the behavior of one of which is a function of the presen ceorab sence of information about health or medical facility (accesebility of information) and social support from the surrounding community (social support). Forthat we need the strong support both in terms of policies and toolsin order to improvethe effectiveness of reporting K4 pregnant women.Keywords: Visits K4, Behavior


In this paper, we present a systematic design procedure for Q-enhanced integrated LC filters, which does not require any simulations and is thus suitable for design automation. The design procedure has been described in the CAIRO+ analog design environment, containing the BSIM3v3 models of the MOS transistors. Precise estimations of the quality factor and the resonance frequency were made possible by adding the integrated inductance ¿-model into the design environment. Several design examples of 2.4 GHz Q-enhanced LC filters are given in a 0.13 ¿m CMOS process.


A study was made of the oral diadochokinetic rates, non-linguistic rhythmic skills and auditory sequential memory of 60 normal and 30 severely speech-disordered children aged 3-5 years. Results were analysed and the speech-disordered children showed a wide range of difficulties. All age groups of the speech-disordered children scored significantly less well than the normal children on the three tasks. Their diadochokinetic rates showed a particular problem with the sequencing of different sounds rather than with repetitions of the same sound. Their rhythmic skills showed greatest difficulty with the stress component of the task. Their auditory sequential memory was significantly poorer than the normal children. These difficulties are interpreted as a sign of a deficit of fine motor coordination and timing in the speech-disordered children. Diadochokinetic rates and non-linguistic rhythmic skills are shown to be developmentally age-related abilities in normal children.


Objectives
Qualitatively, nutrition science and policy experts recognize that variation in muscle food categories (CAT) and descriptions (DESCR) hinder effective translation of research into policy. The purpose of this systematic review was to quantitatively describe CAT and DESCR patterns in nutrition-related chronic disease literature.

Methods
We identified 3427 articles in PubMed, Cochrane, and CINHAL up to March 2018. Inclusion criteria were: 1) observational (OBS) or randomized controlled trial (RCT) designs, 2) muscle food consumption as an independent variable, 3) primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, or cancer as a dependent variable, 4) population 19+ years, and 5) females not pregnant/lactating. We considered a CAT as the phrase researchers used to refer to a muscle food group and DESCR as the explanation of a CAT. Table 1 describes our empirical scoring scale. We used generalized linear mixed models to assess effect of publication date, one-way ANOVAs to assess differences between study designs and chronic disease types, and binary logit models to estimate probabilities of DESCR factors.

Results
We identified 1019 CAT and 833 DESCR from 369 articles. Mean CAT specificity for RCT and OBS was 2 and 3 points, respectively (out of 7; Table 1), with no differences among chronic disease types. Specificity of OBS CAT was higher in more recent publications but RCT CAT became less specific in the 2000 s compared to previous years. RCT CAT were 5x more likely to include species, 6x more likely to include leanness, but 5x less likely to include processing degree compared to OBS CAT. Among all CAT, 76% and 82% included a DESCR for OBS and RCT, respectively. Researchers described processed meat, red meat, and total meat categories more commonly than poultry or fish categories. Of processed meat DESCR provided by researchers, 31% included a common term used in publicly available regulatory definitions.

Conclusions
Muscle food categories and descriptions are substantively different within and between observational and experimental studies and do not match definitions used by regulatory agencies. A practical muscle food classification system is warranted to improve interpretation of evidence regarding muscle food consumption and chronic disease.

Funding Sources
The Beef Checkoff.

Supporting Tables Images and/or Graphs


Image registration is the process of establishing correspondences between two or more images taken at different times, from different viewpoints, under different lighting conditions, and/or by different sensors, and aligning them with respect to a coordinate system that is coherent with the three dimensional structure of the scene. Once feature correspondences have been established and the geometric alignment has been performed, the images are combined to provide a representation of the scene that is both geometrically and photometrically consistent. This last process is known as image mosaicking.
The primary contribution of this research is the development of computational frameworks that tackle in a general and principled way the problems arising in the construction of an image registration and mosaicking system. Specifically, we present a general theory to detect image point features that are suitable for matching. Our theory generalizes and extends much of the previous work on detecting feature locations. We introduce a novel, physically motivated curve/region descriptor suitable to establish image correspondences in a geometrically invariant fashion. New methods to estimate robustly the image transformation parameters in presence of large quantities of outliers and of multiple models are also presented. Finally we present a fully automated registration and mosaicking system that can produce seamless mosaics from image pairs. Extensive experimental results with biological images, satellite images and consumer photographs are presented.


Wang and Blei (2019) studies multiple causal inference and proposes the deconfounder algorithm. The paper discusses theoretical requirements and presents empirical studies. Several refinements have been suggested around the theory of the deconfounder. Among these, Imai and Jiang clarified the assumption of "no unobserved single-cause confounders." Using their assumption, this paper clarifies the theory. Furthermore, Ogburn et al. (2020) proposes counterexamples to the theory. But the proposed counterexamples do not satisfy the required assumptions.


This paper studies gene trees in subdivided populations which are constructed as perfect phylogenies from the pattern of mutations in a sample of DNA sequences and presents a new recursion for the probability distribution of such gene trees. The underlying evolutionary model is the coalescent process in a subdivided population. The infinitely-many-sites model of mutation is assumed. Ancestral inference questions that are discussed are maximum likelihood estimation of migration and mutation rates; detection of population growth by likelihood techniques; determining the distribution of the time to the most recent common ancestor of a sample of sequences; determining the distribution of the age of the mutations on the gene tree; determining in which subpopulation the most recent common ancestor of all the sequences was; determining subpopulation ancestors, where they were, and times to them; and determining in which subpopulations mutations occurred. A computational technique of Griffiths and Tavaré used is a computer intensive Markov chain simulation, which simulates gene trees conditional on their topology implied by the mutation pattern in the sample of DNA sequences. The software GENETREE, which implements these ancestral inference techniques, is available.


The teachers' motivation is crucial to the institutional value and accomplishment of goals; it greatly influences the success of institutions, particularly in educational institutions. This study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess teachers' motivation and named it as Teachers' Motivation Questionnaire (TMQ). The questionnaire contained two motivation dimensions provided by Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory of Motivation (i.e., Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation). The preliminary draft of the questionnaire was created after a focus group discussion on the forty-four (44) item, five (5) point Likert Scale. After ensuring content and face validity by having the items reviewed by experts and removing any items with CVR scores of less than 0.42, the questionnaire's items were whittled down to just thirty (30). Two hundred twenty-six teachers working for the school education department participated in a pilot study of the revised questionnaire. The data were processed using PLS Smart version 4, which determined the questionnaire's validity, reliability, and model fit. After removing the unsuitable items, the questionnaire was reduced to eighteen (18) items. The AVE values for extrinsic motivation items were 0.575 > 0.5, while for intrinsic motivation items were 0.633> 0.5. The Fornell-Lacker criterion value (0.828) was greater than the correlations with other latent components, 0.778 and 0.828, respectively. The Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio (HTMT) was 0.895 0.9, which is considered good. Cronbach alpha values for extrinsic motivation were 0.917 > 0.7, while for intrinsic motivation were 0.916 > 0.7. Similarly, the composite reliability (CR) values for extrinsic motivation were 0.931 > 0.7 and 0.932 > 0.7, respectively. So, the Teachers' Motivation Questionnaire (TMQ) was internally consistent, valid, and reliable. The overall study's findings approved using TMQ to investigate teachers' motivation.


A fiber-optic technique for measuring relative density has been developed and successfully applied to the electrolyte of a lead-acid battery. The method relies on the optical power loss exhibited by fibers bent beyond a critical radius. For such fibers the loss depends on the refractive index of the surrounding medium, which is proportional to its specific gravity. The amount of leakage can be measured and related to the value of the specific gravity. The application of this technique has one main drawback: errors can arise from source intensity variations, variable losses in fibers and connectors, and sensitivity changes in the detectors. >


Using Japanese household survey micro data for the period 2000–2015, this study examines the effects of home ownership on household stock-holdings. To disentangle the effect of property value and mortgage debt on households' stock-holdings as a share of their liquid financial assets, we apply the instrumental variable approach proposed by Chetty et al. (2017), which employs differences in average house price indices across regional housing markets in the year in which household portfolios are measured and those in the year in which the house was purchased. Our estimates suggest that an exogenous increase in property value (while holding mortgage debt constant) is associated with an increase in stock-holdings as a share of liquid financial assets, while an increase in mortgage debt (while holding property value constant) is associated with a decrease. We also find that a simultaneous increase in property value and mortgage debt (while holding home equity constant) has no effect on households' stock-holdings but is associated with an increase in mortgage debt repayment.


Machine learning systems play an important role in helping and assisting engineers in their daily activities. Many jobs can now be automated, and one of them is in handling and processing customers' complaints before they could proceed with failure investigation. In this paper, we discuss a real-life challenge faced by the manufacturing engineers in a life science multinational company. This paper presents a step by step methodology of multilingual translation and multiclassification of Repair Codes. This solution will allow manufacturing engineers to take advantage of machine learning model to reduce the time taken to manually translate row by row and verify the Repair Codes in the file.


Food packaging is traditionally limited to protect the food from physical, biological and chemical deterioration before consumption. In the recent years, the production of ecofriendly natural polymers as packaging material has many attractions for food manufacturers. The natural biodegradable polymers are more preferred to non-biodegradable plastic packaging polymers, which cause the biological pollution. Gelatin is one of the most common types of packaging polymer derived from bovine and porcine sources. In recent years, gelatin from marine fish species has been introduced as an alternative to mammalian gelatin. Cold water fish skin gelatin show worse rheological properties, low stability, gelling and melting points in comparison with mammalian and warm water fish gelatin. Gelatin films also have good oxygen barrier properties, but possess poor water barrier. The main goal of this study was to improve the characteristics of gelatin from the cold water fish skin. The first objective was to investigate the effect of type and concentration of different polysaccharide gums (i.e. pectin (P), sodium alginate (SA), and karaya gum (KG), 1% and 2% w/v) as well as glycerol content (30% and 40%) on the characteristics of fish skin gelatin film. The differences among different films (FSG, FSG-P, FSG-SA and FSGKG) were assessed by determining the physical, mechanical, barrier, microstructure, and thermal properties. The second objective was to compare the efficiency of the most desirable composite film and two commercial films on the quality and shelf life of the red tilapia fish fillets. The efficiency of the most desirable composite films and two commercial films (i.e. low- and high density polyethylene, LDPE and HDPE) were compared by assessing the moisture content, pH, aw, colour (L*, a* and b*), texture properties (hardness, cohesiveness, springiness), rancidity degree and microbial quality of red tilapia fish fillets in the fresh form and after 28 days storage at 4 °C. The addition of polysaccharide gum to the native fish skin gelatin led to improve its melting point, tensile strength (TS), and barrier properties (i.e. water vapour and oxygen). The tensile strength (TS) and melting point were decreased; while the elongation at break (EAB), water vapour permeability (WVP), and oxygen permeability were increased by increasing the percentage of glycerol (as a plasticizer) in the film formulation. Also, FSG based composite films containing 2% karaya gum, sodium alginate, and pectin decreased solubility from 99% to 32%, 39%, and 46%, respectively at 30% glycerol content. The composite film containing 2% polysaccharides gum (especially sodium alginate and karaya gum) along with 30% glycerol had the most desirable characteristics among all composite films. In the present study, karaya gum and pectin induced the most and least desirable effect on the characteristics of FSG film. Among all samples, the composite films (FSG-KG and FSG-SA) containing 30% glycerol had the most desirable characteristics in terms of physical-, mechanical- and barrier properties. Therefore, they were chosen for wrapping red tilapia fish and storage study. For shelf life testing and storage study, the tilapia fish fillets were wrapped with the most desirable composite films and two commercial films (LDPE and HDPE) and stored for 28 days at 4 °C. All wrapped samples were analyzed by the interval of 7 days in terms of microbial quality, physical and chemical characteristics, and texture. TBA of fish fillet wrapped with commercial films showed the highest changes (0.03-0.99); while FSG-KG wrapped fish fillet had the lowest TBA changes (0.03-0.36) among all samples. Tilapia fish fillets wrapped with the composite films had lower colour and texture changes than the samples wrapped with commercial films. In this study, the composite films (FSG-KG and FSG-SA) more efficiently retarded the microbial growth of red tilapia fish than the native FSG film and target commercial films (i.e. LDPE and HDPE).


Abstract Almost a decade ago, the sudden rise of breast muscle defects in fast-growing commercial broiler breeds challenged the broiler production industry and meat scientists to address the issue of these novel muscle abnormalities. After that, a widespread hypothesis showing a correlation between high muscle yield and incidence of these muscle myopathies received much acceptance from the research community. Increased muscle hypertrophy and unbalanced growth of connective tissues lead to an inadequate blood supply that ultimately causes hypoxia in muscle fibers. Reduced blood vascular density in muscle fibers induces oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to muscle fibrosis, lipidosis and myodegeneration. Along with physical changes, the myopathic muscles exhibit poor sensory properties, abnormal texture properties and a low nutritional profile. As these myopathies alter meat's physical appearance, they have a negative impact on customer's behavior and preference. A better production environment with proper dietary supplementation with balanced breeding strategies can minimize the incidence of muscle myopathies in broiler chicken. This review aims to address the underlying mechanism behind these myopathies and their impact on poultry meat quality, including nutritional value and consumer behavior. It describes the link between genetic and non-genetic elements influencing myopathies, along with the strategies to minimize the occurrence of breast muscle myopathies.


damage." Any doctor who is still vaccinating should ensure that he is using a non-heroic technique and observing all contraindications.2 What about vaccination as a requirement of employment? Routine vaccination of hospital and health personnel and of students need no longer be recommended in Britain. We doubt whether smallpox vaccination should still be required for servicemen unless they are on the alert to proceed to Somalia or Ethiopia-and that is pretty unlikely. If members ofHM Forces did have to go to the only remaining endemic areas there would probably be plenty of time to immunise them before departure. For the rest of Europe it is high time that routine vaccination was stopped. When asked when Sweden would stop the routine vaccination of infants, Espmark replied :5 "We will stop vaccination of infants when the smallpox eradication campaign has advanced so far that there is no fear any more of importations." Surely for Europe that time has now come? Finally, we need to have an insurance policy-strategic stores of freeze-dried vaccine distributed throughout the country-just in case.


Isolated newborn rat calvarial bone cells grown in monolayer on polyurethane membranes in specially constructed culture chambers and subjected to a cyclical biaxial mechanical strain of 0.17% at a frequency of 1 Hz for 30 min demonstrated a 16% increase in DNA synthesis during the subsequent 24 h. The metabolites of the inositol phosphate pathway, shown to be an important second messenger in many cell types, were shown to be elevated using high‐performance liquid chromatography to separate and quantitate the various inositol polyphosphates. Inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate, inositol 1,4‐bisphosphate, and inositol 1,3,4,5‐tetrakisphosphate reached peak accumulations after 20 s of mechanical strain. Inositol 1,3,4‐trisphosphate reached a peak accumulation after 2 min, and inositol 1,2,3,4,5,6 phosphate reached a peak accumulation after 60 min of mechanical strain. Neomycin, an inhibitor of phospholipase C, a membrane‐bound enzyme that hydrolyzes phosphatidyl inositol 4,5‐bisphosphate to start the inositol phosphate cascade, completely inhibited accumulation of the above inositol phosphates during mechanical straining of the bone cells. Neomycin also completely abolished the increase in DNA synthesis that was seen after a mechanical strain of 0.17%. It is concluded from this study that the inositol phosphate pathway is activated by mechanical strain in bone cells and that this pathway is an important and primary mediator in the transduction of mechanical strain into cellular proliferation in these cells.


Bioethanol is expected as a prospective alternative to fossil fuels for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. The study aims to design bioethanol production system utilizing energy crops in restorable fallow land in Japan and evaluate system performance based on energy balances, costs, and carbon emissions. The energy system has three processes such as cultivation, transportation, and manufacturing. In the analysis, energy potential in the area is calculated considering crop species, yields, chemical components, available land areas, and conversion efficiency. Then, the system performance is derived focusing on a local prefecture as a case study. The result shows that sorghum is expected to have the highest energy potential in most regions except for northern prefectures, and the amount of bioethanol produced from crops in fallow land is estimated to be about 2 million kl. Net energy value reaches -1.09 to 15.9 MJ/l. The total cost producing bioethanol is 2.4 to 8.9 times higher than petroleum fuel on calorific value basis. It is concluded that it is important to improve the productivity of the cultivation process of energy crops and to design optimized energy system to meet social requirements in near future.


Inorganically crosslinked polymers have been intensively implemented for conformance control treatments in oil and gas wells at low temperatures (<90 (cid:1) C) because of their faster gelation time compared to organically crosslinked gels. Crosslinkers such as chromium acetate are known to be toxic, and aluminium-based alternatives have been introduced. This study aims to investigate the impact of aluminium acetate (AlAc) particle size on the gelation kinetics of polyacrylamide (PAM)-based gels at a pH of 5 and temperature of 75 (cid:1) C. Moreover, bentonite is used as an additive to delay the crosslinking of PAM/AlAc gels. Reducing the particle size increases the specific surface area of the particles and provides more crosslinking sites. Therefore, lower PAM concentrations (up to 5 wt.%) could be used without AlAc settling. Using 7 wt. % PAM/1 wt.% AlAc with sizes of 25 and 48 μ m revealed a crosslinking time of 17 and 115 min, respectively. The addition of bentonite at low crosslinker concentrations (0.5 – 1 wt.%) did not decrease the gel strength of 7 wt.% PAM/1 wt. % AlAc significantly. The gelation time was extended after adding 1 wt.% bentonite to the formulation where the delay was attributed to the adsorption of AlAc on the bentonite surface that was illustrated by molecular simulation.


The operation of large industrial furnaces will continue to rely on hydrocarbon fuels in the near foreseeable future. Mathematical modeling and numerical simulation is expected to deliver key insights to implement measures to further reduce pollutant emissions. These measures include the design optimization of the burners, the dilution of oxidizer with exhaust gasses, and the mixing of natural gas with hydrogen. In this paper, we target the numerical simulation of non-premixed turbulent combustion of natural gas in a single heating section of a ring pit anode baking furnace. In previous work, we performed combustion simulations using a commercial flow simulator combined with an open-source package for the three-dimensional mesh generation. This motivates switching to a fully open-source software stack. In this paper, we develop a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes model for the turbulent flow combined with an infinitely fast mixed-is-burnt model for the non-premixed combustion and a participating media model for the radiative heat transfer in OpenFoam. The heat transfer to the refractory brick lining is taken into account by a conjugate heat transfer model. Numerical simulations provide valuable insight into the heat release and chemical species distribution in the staged combustion process using two burners. Results show that at the operating conditions implemented, higher peak temperatures are formed at the burner closest to the air inlet. This results in a larger thermal nitric-oxide concentration. The inclusion of the heat absorption in the refractory bricks results in a more uniform temperature on the symmetry plane at the center of the section. The peak in thermal nitric-oxides is reduced by a factor of four compared to the model with adiabatic walls.


ABSTRACT There is growing scholarship on how social media are shaping the practice and performance of mainstream media organisations. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide journalists with information and sources on issues happening across the globe. Journalists and news organisations are appropriating social media tools to generate story ideas and interact with audiences. Concerns about the quality of information circulated on these platforms and the growing misinformation and disinformation remain, affecting the reputation of mainstream media and digital start-ups. This study investigates the Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITE), a digital start-up in Zimbabwe, focusing on its role as a digital public sphere in the country's news ecosystem thus contributing to understandings of the role and importance of the digital public sphere in the Zimbabwean context. Drawing upon the digital public sphere and social constructionism as frameworks for conceptualising digital tools and journalism practice, this research interrogates the role of this digital start-up. We argue that CITE has appropriated and adopted digital tools to transform its news making practice in ways that provide a platform for excluded and marginalised communities.


This study explored the experiences of college staff members engaged in advancing LGBTQ equity at a small fine arts college in the Midwestern United States. This qualitative case study advanced a conceptual framework for queer leadership in higher education. Findings illuminate how campus leaders engaged queer leadership strategies and LGBTQ advocacy to advance LGBTQ equity through college policy and practice. This study reveals rich implications for college administrators and higher education leaders advancing change for LGBTQ equity.


In still caste-ridden Indian society, kinship and marriage are the least changeable dimensions of social life. To assess the mood and tempter of changing Hindu society, the present study of the values and attitudes of students in Calcutta, is being conducted. Here some results of a structured questionnaire survey involving 200 students above the college level are reported. The sample consisted of 100 males and 100 females, a majority of whom were arts


Mayonnaise is an oil in water emulsion and used as condiment. Different vegetable oils used for mayonnaise production give different fatty acid compositions. The objective of this study was to determine physicochemical and sensory properties of mayonnaise in the use of different vegetable oils, by analyzing pH, color and viscosity as well as aroma and taste profiles by quantitative descriptive analysis. Sesame oil, palm oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, a mixture (1:1)of coconut oil and sunflower oil or palm oil and soybean oil were used in formulations to give different compositions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and saturated fatty acids (SFA). Mayonnaise characteristics including pH, color (L) and viscosity values which were ranged at 3.12–3.87, 87.47–89.58 and 3700–5513 cp respectively, were less associated to different fatty acid compositions. This also happened to sensory profiles. However principal component analysis result could map SFA/MUFA/PUFA with different characteristics of mayonnaise color, aroma and taste. Mayonnaise samples which correlated to PUFA had lighter color, and characteristics of oily taste and oil aroma, with the use of sunflower oil, meanwhile samples of soybean oil which also correlated to PUFA had the characteristics of mustard aroma, savory taste, acid taste, eggy aroma and mustard taste. MUFA correlated to sweet taste. Characteristics of lemon aroma was close to SFA with the use of coconut oil or its mixture. Therefore, color, aroma and taste of mayonnaise can be affected by the use of different fatty acid compositions.


The thymus is the primary site for thymopoiesis and production of naïve T cells; however, thymic function declines with age. Thymopoiesis requires continuous thymic seeding by early T cell progenitors (ETP), a progeny of the bone marrow-derived lineage marker negative, Sca1pos, c-kitpos (LSK) progenitors that express Flt3 (LSK Flt3pos). A decrease in the frequency of ETP, and in the number of LSK Flt3pos with age has been implicated as a mechanism for the decline in thymopoiesis. We have shown that a decrease in thymocyte numbers occurs as early as 3m of age and correlates with a decrease in Foxn1 expression; however, a role for Foxn1 in thymopoiesis remains unknown. Here, we show that thymi of aged Foxn1 transgenic mice (Tg) have a higher number of thymocytes and ETP compared to aged wild type mice. Forced expression of Foxn1 also rescues aged-associated alterations of thymic architecture. Unexpectedly, we found that Foxn1 is over expressed in the bone marrow (BM). While the LSK and LSK Flt3pos are reduced in aged wild type mice, these populations remain unchanged in aged Foxn1Tg. Furthermore, the aged Foxn1 Tg also have a higher number of the lineage marker negative CD90.2pos CD2pos, a population absent in the Foxn1 mutated nude mice. Thus, our data suggest that expression of Foxn1 is critical for functional thymic and BM stromal cell niches required for the survival of T cell progenitors (NIA AG023809).


Conceptions of Health Behavior. Health Behavior: Definitions and Diversity D.S. Gochman. Historical and Cultural Foundations of Health Behavior: A Comparative Approach H. Fabrega. ersonal Determinants. Cognitive Representation of Health and Illness R.R. Lau. The Health Belief Model and Health Behavior V.J. Strecher, et al. Beliefs About Control and Health Behavior J.W. Reich, et al. Protection Motivation Theory R. Rogers, S. Prentice-Dunn. Family Determinants. Family Determinants of Health Actions T. Baranowski. Family Health Cognitions D.S. Gochman. Maternal Influences on children's Health Behavior B.J. Tinsley. Social Determinants. Lifestyles, Social Class, Demographic Characteristics, and Health Behavior W.C. Cockerham. Social Attachments, Group Structures and Health Behavior R. Geertsen. Sick-Role Concepts and Health Behavior A. Segall. Institutional and Cultural Determinants. Work-Related Determinants of Health Behavior J.M. Eakin. Cultural Determinants of Health Behavior W.W. Dressler, K.S. Oths. Integration and Synthesis. Personal and Social Determinants of Health Behavior: An Integration D.S. Gochman. 3 Additional Articles. Cumulative Index, Vols. I-IV.


In recent years, conspiracy theories have pervaded mainstream discourse. Social media, in particular, reinforce their visibility and propagation. However, most prior studies on the dissemination of conspiracy theories in digital environments have focused on individual cases or conspiracy theories as a generic phenomenon. Our research addresses this gap by comparing the 10 most prominent conspiracy theories on Twitter, the communities supporting them, and their main propagators. Drawing on a dataset of 106,807 tweets published over 6 weeks from 2018 to 2019, we combine large-scale network analysis and in-depth qualitative analysis of user profiles. Our findings illustrate which conspiracy theories are prevalent on Twitter, and how different conspiracy theories are separated or interconnected within communities. In addition, our study provides empirical support for previous assertions that extremist accounts are being "deplatformed" by leading social media companies. We also discuss how the implications of these findings elucidate the role of societal and political contexts in propagating conspiracy theories on social media.


The diversity and abundance patterns of nocturnal insect orders during the crepuscular and nocturnal periods, 6pm-9pm, 10pm1am and 4am-7am at Kota Gelanggi limestone complexes were investigated. The insects were collected by using light traps over a period of six months from May to October 2014. A total of 35 732 individuals from 19 orders were captured. Coleoptera (n=14 103, 39.5%), Hymenoptera (n=10 030, 28.1%) and Diptera (n=4 821, 13.5%) were the most abundant orders. The results showed a bimodal pattern in the abundance of insects where more were caught during dusk followed by dawn and the lowest during the nocturnal period. However there was no significant difference (F= 0.71, df= 2, P> 0.05) in insect abundance between the three sessions. Studies on nocturnal insect activity patterns give us an understanding of the behaviour of the insects especially agricultural pest insects, and this information is necessary to develop effective pest control management.


This article uses a diachronic study of Argentina to explain how the nascent democracies of Latin America build the rule of law. The changing relationship between Argentina's executive and judicial branches demonstrates that the construction of the rule of law is not a linear process. There have been periods of regression away from, as well as progress towards, the rule of law. This article uses party competition to explain Argentina's varying levels of judicial independence. The rule of law results from a balance of power between at least two political parties, neither of which has monolithic control, meaning that no highly disciplined party sustains control of both the executive and legislative branches. Competitive politics creates a climate in which an autonomous judiciary can emerge.


Cortisol, 2.5 mg/kg, dichloromethane diphosphonate (Cl2MDP), 0.1, 1.0 and 4.0 mg/kg, and combinations of the two were administered daily for 42 days to young adult rabbits (3.9 kg) to determine if Cl2MDP could inhibit development of cortisol-induced osteopenia. A beginning and a terminal control group were included in the experiment. In the terminal controls compared with the beginning controls, the proximal tibia lost cortical and trabecular bone, the distal femur gained cortical bone and the lumbar vertebral body lost trabecular bone. The administration of Cl2MDP alone inhibited bone resorption at those sites where bone loss was occurring. Two cortical bone sites showed gains in bone. The 1.0 mg/kg dose was most effective. In rabbits administered cortisol, bone formation was inhibited; the number of osteoclasts was markedly increased, cortical bone was lost in all the bones examined, and there was no marked effect on trabecular bone. Cl2MDP administered with cortisol partially inhibited cortisol-induced bone loss. The concomitant administration of Cl2MDP did not alter the number of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. The 1.0 mg/kg dose was most effective. The results of this study clearly demonstrated the need to evaluate several bones and different sites within individual bones if erroneous conclusions are to be avoided when studying agents that affect bone metabolism.


The design of interactive algorithms for robotic total stations often requires hardware-in-the-Ioop setups during software development and verification. The use of real-time simulation setups can reduce the development and test effort significantly. However, the analysis of the simulation uncertainty is crucial for proper design of simulation setups and for the interpretation of simulation results. In this paper, we present a real-time simulation method for modern robotic total stations. We provide details for an exemplary robotic total station including models of geometry, actuators and sensors. The simulation uncertainty was estimated analytically and verified by Monte Carlo experiments.


One-visit root canal treatment (OV-RCT) aims to preserve damaged teeth by fulfilling the principles of the endodontic triad (cleaning and shaping, sterilizationand root canal obturation) which are completed in OV; the advantage is lower risk of bacterial contamination, shorter time without compromising the quality oftreatment results. This case report discusses OV-RCT of man-dibular right second molar. A 23-year-old woman with a diagnosis of asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis in the mandibular mo-lar, radiographically showed slight widening of the periodontal ligament. One-visit RCT was performed using Protaper Next ro-tary files on the mesiobuccal and mesiolingual roots up to X2 files (#25/06) and X3 files (#30/07) on the distal roots. The root canals were irrigated using 5.25%NaOCl and 17% EDTA. The root canal filling technique was carried out using a single cone technique using an epoxy resin sealer and gutta percha material. The treatment was successfully carried out. It was concluded that OV-RCT of the right lower second molar showed success both clinically and radiographically.


SDC (Samarium doped Ceria) electrolyte was developed for Intermediate temperature SOFC (500°C- 800°C) which showed a good electrical conductivity. In this study, we used sintering aids to reduce the SDC sintering temperature down to 1000°C, especially which can help the SOFC scale-up. In order to reduce the SDC sintering temperature, Li2CO3 and Bi2O3 were used as a sinering aids for decreasing sintering temperature. Li2CO3 and Bi2O3 doped SDC sintered at 1000°C showed 99% of the theoretical density and higher electrical conductivity than the pure SDC sintered at 1500°C. When measuring the OCV (Open circuit voltage) with the Li2CO3 and Bi2O3 doped SDC electrolyte, however, the OCV values were lower than the theoretical OCV values which means that the modified SDC still had electronic conductivity.


Dual emissions from S1 (blue region) and S2 (UV region) states of a chromophore with donor−acceptor structure were observed at room temperature. The photophysical properties of the chromophore depend critically on the packing of the molecules. The molecule exhibits weak S1 emission and strong S2 emission; however, when it undergoes solid aggregation, the S1 emission is enhanced while the S2 emission is quenched. The H-packing (face-to-face packing) of the molecules is revealed as the key factor for this interesting aggregation-dependent dual emission.


The financial institutions nowadays have big development departments and are trying to adjust all the processes towards the use of agile software development. Before they mostly relied on the waterfall methods of development because it was more reliable and brought overall more value. But the demand outgoing from the rapidly changing world made companies consider Agile software methods as well. Companies usually spend additional resources on the changes and software process improvement to become more Agile, therefore the ways to evaluate change results are relevant for them. In this thesis, the case study on the LHV bank which applied 8 proposals of Agile Software Process Improvement was done. The proposals introduction of the agile management culture in the whole company, organization of the relevant training, assigning the concrete development team for the bank products, setting the common objective to the autonomous teams, and review of the agile development methods, delivery, and moving system architecture from the legacy system to the microservices. In light of its context, this thesis addresses the research questions of how the proposals were implemented, what was the impact of the implemented changes on the company, and what can be done to further improve the impact? In order to answer the research questions, the interviews with the employees of the company took place and the qualitative data were analyzed. The analysis was done to allow us to understand how the proposals were applied and which further improvements can be done in the future in LHV Bank.


The wave propagation in and the vibration of sandwich plates with cellular core are analyzed and controlled. Negative Poisson's ratio (auxetic) core materials of different geometry placed periodically in the plate introduce the proper impedance mismatch necessary to obstruct the propagation of waves over specified frequency bands (stop bands) and in particular directions. The location and the extension of the stop bands and the directions of wave propagation can be modified by proper selection of the periodicity and of the geometrical and physical properties of the core. A finite element model is developed to predict the dynamic response of three-layered sandwich panels with honeycomb core. The finite element model along with the theory of periodic structures evaluates the influence of core materials of different geometry placed periodically along the two dimensions of the structure. This combined analysis yields the phase constant surfaces for the considered sandwich plates, which define location and extension of the stop bands, as well as the directions of wave propagation at assigned frequency values. The analysis of the phase constant surfaces and the evaluation of the harmonic response at specified frequencies demonstrate the plates' directional properties, whose spatial patterns strongly depend on the configuration of the periodic core and on the excitation frequency. Auxetic honeycombs are here considered as core materials in order to obtain maximum design flexibility. Their elastic and inertial characteristics in fact vary substantially with their internal geometry. For given configurations they outcast up to five times the corresponding properties of traditional hexagonal honeycombs. The presented numerical results demonstrate the unique characteristics of this class of two-dimensional periodic structures, which behave as directional mechanical filters. The findings of the study suggest that optimal configurations for the periodic cellular core may be identified in order to design passive composite panels, which are stable and quiet over desired frequency bands and which fit desired transmissibility levels in particular directions. Such unique filtering capabilities are achieved without requiring additional passive or active control devices and therefore without compromising the size and the weight of the layered structure.


Restricted dictionaries are fully-fledged dictionaries and their contribution to lexicography should never be underestimated. Because restricted dictionaries often are neglected in lexicographic discussions this article emphasises the significance of their role as members of the lexicographic family. Within a comprehensive dictionary culture the focus should not only be on dictionaries dealing with languages for general purposes but also on dictionaries in which languages for special purposes are treated. This paper firstly offers some terminological clarity and distinguishes between subject field dictionaries and special field dictionaries. The user-perspective is then discussed before it is shown how aspects of a general theory of lexicography also prevail in these dictionaries. This applies among others to the subtypological classification as well as different lexicographic functions. Using a dictionary from each of the categories of subject field and special field dictionaries it is indicated how dictionary structures are employed and further developed in an innovative way. Attention is given to structures like the article structure and the frame structure and to a transtextual approach in monolingual dictionaries with a bilingual dimension. The focus in the discussion of the subject field dictionary is on different aspects of the macrostructure. An explanation is given of double-layered sublemmata and it is shown how integrated macrostructures are employed in this dictionary. It is indicated how this section of the lexicographic practice can enrich the field of metalexicography and dictionary research. Keywords: back matter texts; double-layered sublemmata; first level sublemmata; guiding element; integrated macrostructure; learner's dictionary; partial article stretches; special field dictionary; specialised dictionary; subject field dictionary; sublemmata; transtextual approach; user-perspective


In this letter, we propose a voltage-source inverter control working in the open loop of an induction motor measuring the stator current and using an artificial neural network. This technique has the mission to estimate the speed and torque of the rotor without using sensors. With this, a simple and cheap method of control is obtained, with as much precision and robustness as other more complex ones.


We examined the effects of a morphological awareness (MA) training program on the enhancement of word and pseudo-word reading and phonological awareness in Arabic-speaking children with dyslexia. We compared two groups of children with dyslexia from Grade 3, an experimental group (n = 12; mean age = 112.4 months) with a control group (n = 13; mean age = 111.61 months). The training program focused on morphological analysis, derivational morphology and inflexional morphology. Results revealed that the experimental group outperformed controls on all post-training measures for MA, reading words and pseudo-words as well as phonological awareness. Also, the post-training measures were better achieved in the experimental group than pre-training ones, which confirm the efficacy of the morphological training program. We discuss these findings in light of the relationship between morphological awareness and word reading and phonological awareness, and the Arabic orthographic features as a morphological based language.


This article describes how the author successfully adapted techniques drawn from the literature on active learning for use in a graduate-level course on quantum field theory. Students completed readings and online questions ahead of each class and spent class time working through problems that required them to practice the decisions and skills typical of a theoretical physicist. The instructor monitored these activities and regularly provided timely feedback to guide their thinking. Instructor-student interactions and student enthusiasm were similar to that encountered in one-on-one discussions with advanced graduate students. Course coverage was not compromised. The teaching techniques described here are well suited to other advanced courses.


Virtualization has become an important technology that is used across many platforms, particularly servers, to increase utilization, multi-tenancy and security. Virtualization introduces additional overhead that often relates to memory management, interrupt handling and hypervisor mode switching. Among those, memory management and translation lookaside buffer (TLB) management have been shown to have a significant impact on the performance of systems. Two principal mechanisms for TLB management exist in today's systems, namely software and hardware managed TLBs. In this paper, we analyze and quantify the overhead of a pure software virtualization that is implemented over a software managed TLB. We then describe our design of hardware extensions to support virtualization in systems with software managed TLBs to remove the most dominant overheads. These extensions were implemented in the Power embedded A2 core, which is used in the PowerEN and in the Blue Gene/Q processors. They were used to implement a KVM port. We evaluate each of these hardware extensions to determine their overall contributions to performance and efficiency. Collectively these extensions demonstrate an average improvement of 232% over a pure software implementation.


The study focused to evaluate cytotoxic, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticholinesterase activities of methanol extracts of Pleurotus ostreatus Jacq. (Pleurotaceae), Boletus edulis Bull. (Boletaceae), Tricholoma populinum J. (Tricholomataceae) Helvella queletii Bres. (Helvellaceae), Armillaria tabescens Emel. (Physalacriaceae), Psathyrella candolleana Fr. (Psathyrellaceae) and Helvella leucopus Pers. (Helvellaceae) mushroom species. Phenolic acid profiles of these mushrooms were also determined to obtain further information on the correlation between the contents of phenolic compounds and studied activities. Cytotoxic activity of mushrooms was screened by MTT cytotoxicity assay on cancer (HeLa) and normal epithelium (NRK-52E) cell lines. To determine antioxidant potential of mushroom extracts free radical scavenging, reducing power, superoxide anion radical scavenging, total antioxidant and metal chelating activities were studied, To indicate anthicholinesterase activity the acetyl-and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activities of the mushroom extracts were studied. For antimicrobial activity disc diffusion method was applied. Phenolic profile of mushrooms were determined by HPLC system. The IC50 values of the extracts were 1.58-25.11 and 2.05-22.32 mg/mL for HeLa and NRK-52E cells, respectively. At antimicrobial activity the inhibiton zones were found to be as 1 ± 0.12-13 ± 0.23 mm. P. ostreatus, B. edulis and H. leucopus extracts were showed higher activities than the other mushroms at antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticholinesterase and cytotoxic activity.


The reproducibility as the standard deviation or standard error of analytical data is used to estimate the performance ability of the isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS). The standard deviation of □^13C value of a sample is not supposed to be the same on a wide range of sample weights. In order to determine the suitable sample amounts required for high precision and accuracy and the factors required for optimal equipment conditions, certified reference materials were repeatedly measured with various weight ranges using an elemental analyzerisotope ratio mass spectrometer (EA-IRMS). The measured □^13C values of the standards EMA-P1 and EMAP2 fell within the certified value ±2σ with the minimum carbon contents of 102.107 μg and 116.879 μg, respectively. In addition, for the two standards, the peak height ratios calculated by the CO_2(^12C^16O^16O) peak height of the sample to the working standard were 62.8% and 66.8%, respectively. The isotopic composition change was also investigated by the fractionation factor □applied and did not show a large difference in a wide range of sample weight for the two standards. We suggest that carbon isotope composition needs to be determined by considering several factors such as element contents, standard deviation of □^13C value, peak height ratio(or peak height) and fractionation factor □applied.


Seven healthy volunteers (four males, 20-28 years) were studied to determine the effect of parenteral nutrition (PN) on ampicillin clearance. Each volunteer received intravenous infusions of 1 liter of PN (3.75% amino acid and 10% dextrose) alternating with 1 liter of 10% dextrose (containing all additives as PN except for calcium and phosphorus); and a meal containing similar fluid volume, caloric, protein, and sodium content as the PN solution. Ampicillin (250 mg) was given intravenously 2 hr after commencement of each intravenous solution and 4 hr after the meal. During PN infusion, the mean (+/- SE) glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as indicated by creatinine clearance was 125 +/- 18 ml/min; ampicillin pharmacokinetic data included area under the serum ampicillin concentration-time curve of 899 +/- 118 micrograms min/ml, terminal elimination half life of 37 +/- 4.3 min, volume of distribution at steady state of 11.9 +/- 1.6 liter, total body clearance of 4.7 +/- 0.6 ml/min/kg, renal clearance of 3.8 +/- 0.5 ml/min/kg, and 82 +/- 6.7% of the ampicillin administered was excreted in urine over 10 hr. The results were not significantly altered by different nutrient regimens or the order of infusion of intravenous solutions. We conclude that the use of PN is unlikely to affect the pharmacokinetics of ampicillin provided the renal functions including GFR, remain unchanged.


The student clinical experience is rich, yet challenges arise in providing experiences where leadership skills can be developed and used in nursing practice. To increase student confidence and enhance student ability to safely and effectively prioritize, delegate, and implement care for numerous patients, a simulation-based learning (SBL) experience was developed. The SBL experience involves multiple patient simulators, case study analysis, and a debriefing session. Ninety-seven senior nursing students participated in this program. Students reported through Likert surveys to either "agree" or "strongly agree" that the SBL was well organized (87%, n = 84), prompted realistic expectations (59%, n = 57), the scenarios were believable (73%, n = 71), case studies increased understanding (66%, n = 64), and that the SBL experience increased understanding of prioritizing and delegating care (69%, n = 67). Seventy-eight percent (n = 76) reported "more confidence in ability to work as a team" and 55% (n = 52) reported "more confidence in prioritizing and delegating care."


Disclosed is a lithium primary battery using a composite electrolyte, wherein, in order to maximize advantages of a lithium thionyl battery and a lithium sulfonyl battery, electrolytes of the two batteries are mixed to proceed two-stage discharging, thereby making it possible to check the battery usage.


During the 1966-1971 period, an international comparison was made of measurements of the luminance factor and reflectance of pressed tablets of MgO and BaSO(4) and of MS-14 opal glasses. Twelve laboratories from eleven countries took part, many of them national standardizing laboratories. Variations in the manufacture of the pressed tablets and the effect of cleaning the opal glasses limited the precision of the comparison to some extent, but some useful information emerged. The interlaboratory variation was +/-0.3% for the pressed tablets and +/-0.6% for the opal glasses. Samples with improved properties should be developed for future intercomparisons of this type.


3D point cloud data is increasingly used in safety-critical applications such as autonomous driving. Thus, robustness of 3D deep learning models against adversarial attacks is a major consider-ation. In this paper, we systematically study the impact of various self-supervised learning proxy tasks on different architectures and threat models for 3D point clouds. Specifically, we study MLP-based (PointNet), convolution-based (DGCNN), and transformer-based (PCT) 3D architectures. Through comprehensive experiments, we demonstrate that appropriate self-supervisions can significantly enhance the robustness in 3D point cloud recognition, achieving considerable improvements compared to the standard adversarial training baseline. Our analysis reveals that local feature learning is desirable for adversarial robustness since it limits the adversarial propagation between the point-level input perturbations and the model's final output. It also explains the success of DGCNN and the jigsaw proxy task in achieving 3D robustness.


The ocean climate of the southern Norwegian Sea - the Norwegian Basin - is largely set by the relative amount of Atlantic Water in the eastern and Arctic Water in the western region. Here we utilized hydrographic data from repeated sections, together with annually gridded survey data of the upper 1000 m, to resolve the main hydrographic changes over the period 1995-2019. Based on integrated heat -and freshwater content, we divide into three periods. The first period 1995-2005, denoted Arctic, is characterized by relative fresh and cold Atlantic Water overlaying Arctic Intermediate Water that basically covers the whole Norwegian Basin. Differently, the conditions during the period 2006-2016, denoted Atlantic, are warmer and more saline, and the extent and thickness of Arctic Intermediate Water is greatly reduced. During the most recent period denoted Fresh, 2017-2019, there has been a major freshening of the Atlantic waters, the layer of Arctic Intermediate Water has not recovered, but instead a layer of warmer but relative fresh Arctic Water has expanded. We find that increased abundance of the Arctic zooplankton Calanus hyperboreus in the southern and eastern Norwegian Basin coincides with increased extent of Arctic Water. We also note that the overall mesozooplankton biomass in the Norwegian Basin is significantly higher during periods of relative high amount of Arctic Water. Furthermore, we show that both nitrate and silicate winter (pre-bloom) concentrations are significantly higher in the Arctic Water compared to Atlantic Water, and that there is a reduction in nutrients from the Arctic period compared subsequent Atlantic and Fresh periods. Since these nutrients can be interpreted as the potential for new production, changes in the influx of western Arctic waters are expected to have a bottom-up effect on the Norwegian Sea. Hence, this study indicates that the amount of Arctic waters and their concentration of nutrients and zooplankton are more important for the Norwegian Basin ecosystem functioning rather than the temperature of the Atlantic waters.


Agency problems are an important determinant of corporate cash holdings. For a sample of more than 11,000 firms from 45 countries, we find that corporations in countries where shareholders rights are not well protected hold up to twice as much cash as corporations in countries with good shareholder protection. In addition, when shareholder protection is poor, factors that generally drive the need for cash holdings, such as investment opportunities and asymmetric information, actually become less important. These results are stronger after controlling for capital market development. Indeed, consistent with the importance of agency costs, we find that firms hold larger cash balances when access to funds is easier. Our evidence is consistent with the conjecture that investors in countries with poor shareholder protection cannot force managers to disgorge excessive cash balances.


The subject of the authors' attention are certain questions concerning the responsibility for the acts of other persons in the misdemeanor law of the Republic of Serbia. Under certain conditions, if a child or а minor (descendants) commits a misdemeanor, instead of him or together with him, other persons can be held responsible as well, foremost his parents who had not exercised due supervision. There is a difference between the responsibility of a parent whose children have committed a misdemeanor and are under 14, and that of a parent whose children are between 14 and 18 years old. Therefore, there is a difference in terms of responsibility of the parent depending on if the person who committed the misdemeanor is, from the perspective of the Misdemeanor Law, a child or a minor. The authors critically analyze the articles of the Misdemeanor Law that concern the responsibility of the parent for the misdemeanors committed by their descendants. In the end, they conclude that the Misdemeanor Law undermines one of the essential legal principle that the "scope of rights has to correspond to the scope of obligations and responsibility".


Socialization online sites have become important landmarks for people all around the world and of all ages, especially for youth. Users of such services can socialize with people they know or with unknown, people located in the vicinity or at different distances, even on different continents. In other words, social online sites help people to interact with others of their kind, to know people who have the same passions as they have. The access to such sites is free and the members can build profiles (which include data on name, age, hobbies or favorite books and movies) and can share photos, music or videos with the others. A friend is, in the language of the socialization sites, any user who has a link to his/her profile page. Users can send messages or can leave comments on other profiles. In some cases, people who meet on such sites decide to meet also in the real life.


The eosinophilic granuloma of the intestine is a rare disease and is difficult to classify as far as etiology and pathogenesis are concerned. Unexplained, recurrent colicky obstipation and diarrhea accompained by anemia should induce x-ray examination of the small intestine and selective angiography in case of acute bleeding. Therapy with corticosteroids is justified in cases with diffuse involvement of the intestine without stenoses or ulcerations. Otherwise surgical removal of the involved segments with cure the disease, which is always benign.


Substance use and/or disorders (SUDs) have been identified as a significant correlate of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure and present complex issues that intersect with the topography of IPV, attendant mental health, and physical co-morbidities and may pose barriers to primary care- and other agency-based screening and intervention efforts. Despite substantial research indicating significantly higher rates of all types and severity of IPV victimization among women with SUDs and bidirectional associations between partner or self-use of drugs or alcohol and IPV victimization, effective screening, brief interventions, coordinated systems of care, and treatment approaches to address these co-occurring problems remain very limited. We integrated select research examining the intersection of IPV victimization and SUDs and several comorbidities that have significant public health impact and provided recommendations for scaling up targeted interventions to redress these co-occurring problems among women in primary, emergency, and other care settings.


OBJECTIVE
To comparatively study the diagnostic capabilities of positron emission tomography (PET) with various tumorotropic radiopharmaceuticals (TRPs) in detecting malignant brain gliomas (BG) and estimating their degree.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
One hundred and fourteen patients, including 47 with histologically verified glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), 27 with anaplastic astrocytoma (AA), 23 with benign astrocytoma (BA), and 17 with postoperative cysts, were examined. PET was performed using TRPs: 18F-fluorodesoxyglucose (18F-FDG), 11C-sodium butyrate (11C-SB), 11C-L-methionine (11C-MET), and 11C-choline (11C-COL).

RESULTS
Malignant gliomas (GBM and AA) were clearly visualized by PET using 11C-MET, 11C-CHOL, and 11C-SB. 18F-FDG PET visualization of tumors was difficult because of increased RP accumulation in the cerebral cortex. WHO grades II-III gliomas were completely visualized by 11C-MET PET. Only some tumors were clearly displayed by PET with 11C-CHOL and 11C-SB. The accumulation indices (AI) obtained by 11C-CHOL PET in patients with malignant gliomas were, on average, 4.0- and 5.5-fold higher than those by 11C-MET and 11C-SB PET, respectively. Significant differences (p < 0.001) in AI obtained by "C-CHOL ("C-CHOL-AI) PET were first established between the patients with GBM (WHO grade IV) and those with AA (WHO grade III).

CONCLUSION
11C-CHOL PET is the most sensitive method to identify gliomas and estimate their grade. The advantage of 11C-MET PET is the possible imaging of the entire volume of viable tumor tissue.


The article substantiates necessity of including into common concept of "public health" such an additional systemic attribute as psychological (spiritual) health. The essence of psychological health is revealed as a totality of values, attitudes and motives of human behavior in society - kind of all characterizing human personality. It is demonstrated that in the most degree disorders of psychological health occur under effect of negative alterations of social cultural environment (anomia, desocialization, undermining cultural core of society) resulting in development of abnormal types of personality. The increasing of prevalence of these types in population is to be considered as disorder of psychological health and decreasing of vitality of society.


The article below attempt to analize the influence of Indonesian politics to the development of islamic economics practices in Indonesia, especially situation and condition of Indonesian politics in the New Order Era and the reformation era. The article find that the influence of situation and condition of politics transformed in Indonesian political economy oriented to Islamic economic system in developing Islamic economic practice is very signifinace. Politics of the New Order Era bounded the development of Islamic economic practice. Politics of the reformation era supported the development of Islamic economic practice. It was proven by a rapid progress of Islamic economic practice in the area of Islamic banking, Islamic insurance, Islamic capital market, Sukuk, Islamic unit trust/mutual fund, Islamic microfinance institution, and Islamic public finance in the reformation era because of political condition and situation support.


Abstract. The newly developed land surface scheme SURFEX (SURFace EXternalisee) is implemented into a limited-area numerical weather prediction model running operationally in a number of countries of the ALADIN and HIRLAM consortia. The primary question addressed is the ability of SURFEX to be used as a new land surface scheme and thus assessing its potential use in an operational configuration instead of the original ISBA (Interactions between Soil, Biosphere, and Atmosphere) scheme. The results show that the introduction of SURFEX either shows improvement for or has a neutral impact on the 2 m temperature, 2 m relative humidity and 10 m wind. However, it seems that SURFEX has a tendency to produce higher maximum temperatures at high-elevation stations during winter daytime, which degrades the 2 m temperature scores. In addition, surface radiative and energy fluxes improve compared to observations from the Cabauw tower. The results also show that promising improvements with a demonstrated positive impact on the forecast performance are achieved by introducing the town energy balance (TEB) scheme. It was found that the use of SURFEX has a neutral impact on the precipitation scores. However, the implementation of TEB within SURFEX for a high-resolution run tends to cause rainfall to be locally concentrated, and the total accumulated precipitation obviously decreases during the summer. One of the novel features developed in SURFEX is the availability of a more advanced surface data assimilation using the extended Kalman filter. The results over Belgium show that the forecast scores are similar between the extended Kalman filter and the classical optimal interpolation scheme. Finally, concerning the vertical scores, the introduction of SURFEX either shows improvement for or has a neutral impact in the free atmosphere.


This study deals with strategic maneuvering in selected political interviews from the pragmatic point of view represented by two interviews with: Cheney and Obama. It falls in five sections; section one is an introduction, section two provides a literature review on strategic maneuvering and the related pragmatic theories to the current study, section three is to develop a model for the process of strategic maneuvering analysis, section four is about the analysis of the data, and section five sums up the conclusions. The study attempts to investigate strategic maneuvering strategies and stages. To achieve such aims, a model is developed for the analysis of strategic maneuvering in the selected political interviews. The findings of the analysis verify the hypotheses represented by the process of strategic maneuvering stages, and strategies in the two selected political interviews.


Human interaction is one of the most important characteristics of group social dynamics in meetings. In this paper, we propose an approach for capture, recognition, and visualization of human interactions. Unlike physical interactions (e.g., turn-taking and addressing), the human interactions considered here are incorporated with semantics, i.e., user intention or attitude toward a topic. We adopt a collaborative approach for capturing interactions by employing multiple sensors, such as video cameras, microphones, and motion sensors. A multimodal method is proposed for interaction recognition based on a variety of contexts, including head gestures, attention from others, speech tone, speaking time, interaction occasion (spontaneous or reactive), and information about the previous interaction. A support vector machines (SVM) classifier is used to classify human interaction based on these features. A graphical user interface called MMBrowser is presented for interaction visualization. Experimental results have shown the effectiveness of our approach.