Bioenergy from boreal forests managed for productive purposes (e.g., pulp, timber) is commonly held to offer attractive options for climate change mitigation. However, this view has been challenged in recent years. Carbon balances, cumulative radiative forcing, and average global temperature change have been calculated for a variety of bioenergy management regimes in Swedish forests, and the results support the view that an increased use of forest biomass for energy in Sweden can contribute to climate change mitigation, although methodological (e.g., spatial scales) and parameter value choices influence the results significantly. We show that the climate effect of forest‐based bioenergy depends on the forest ecosystems and management, including biomass extraction for bioenergy and other products, and how this management changes in response to anticipated market demands; and on the energy system effects, which determine the fossil carbon displacement and other greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation effects of using forest biomass for bioenergy and other purposes. The public and private sectors are advised to consider information from comprehensive analyses that provide insights about energy and forest systems in the context of evolving forest product markets, alternative policy options, and energy technology pathways in their decision‐making processes. WIREs Energy Environ 2016, 5:351–369. doi: 10.1002/wene.178


What is special about all our living exchanges with our surroundings is that they occur within the ceaseless, intertwined flow of many unfolding strands of spontaneously responsive, living activity. This requires us to adopt a kind of fluid, process thinking, a shift from thinking of events as occurring between things and beings existing as separate entities prior to their inter-action, to events occurring within a continuously unfolding, holistic but stranded flow of events, with no clear, already existing boundaries to be found anywhere (Mol & Law, 1994)—a flow of events within which we ourselves are also immersed. We thus become involved in activities within which we find things happening to us, as much as we make things happen in our surroundings—in other words, our surroundings are also agentive in that they can exert "calls" upon us to respond within them in appropriate ways. Consequently, what we can learn in such encounters is not just new facts or bits of information, but new ways of relating or orienting ourselves bodily to the others and othernesses in the world around us—although much can "stand in the way" of our doing this. My concern below is to explore events happening on the (inter)-subjective side of the Cartesian subject/object divide which "shape" our spontaneous ways of acting in, and reflecting on, the "worlds" within which we live out our lives.


This paper presents techniques for design and embedded implementation of a kinematics controller for a Mecanum wheeled omnidirectional robot (MWOR). The kinematic controller is designed based on feedback linearization method, and then shown asymptotically stable via the Lyapunov stability theory. The proposed motion control law has been implemented into an FPGA development board using System-on-a-programmable-chip (SoPC). Simulations and experimental results are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed controller for Mecanum wheeled omnidirectional robots.


This study explored the use of a multi-rater social behavior scale with a diverse sample of preschoolers to test the influence of demographic, family status, and language ability variables on the rated frequency and functional importance of prosocial and problem behaviors. Major results from the teachers' ratings of behavior indicated (a) significant differences between boys and girls in that the average girl exhibited more prosocial behaviors and the average boy more problem behaviors; (b) significant differences for language ability; those preschoolers with excellent language ability showed more prosocial skills and fewer problem behaviors than did children with average or poor language; and (c) differences among families depending on the work status of mothers and fathers. The results of the parents' ratings indicated similar patterns as teachers and also suggested differences in social behavior between White and Black preschoolers. Although the overall perceptions of preschoolers' social behavior were similar as rated by parents and teachers, the correlation between their frequency and importance ratings on specific behavior items were moderately low at best. These data were interpreted to reinforce the practice of acquiring cross-informant ratings of preschoolers and to support the validity of the Social Skills Rating System.


The plasma formed by the breakdown of gases (argon was used in the experiments, whereas argon and helium were considered in the calculations) at atmospheric pressure in light beams was studied experimentally and modelled numerically. The field amplitude in these beams was virtually constant in the direction of propagation and described by a high-order Bessel function in the radial direction. The initial stage in the evolution of a spark, when the tubular configuration of the heating-radiation caustic exerts the greatest influence on the characteristics of the plasma channel, was investigated.


In this paper we focus on identity processes to analyze a series of narrations produced through a biographical approach. These narrations belong to youngsters who live in popular areas of the city of Cordoba. Our analysis support certain propositions stated by other researches pointing at neighborhoods as identity operators and at the street as a dangerous place. Nevertheless we observe that the definition of the residence as 'barrio' or 'villa' implies for youngsters an active symbolic dispute, showing that stigmatization processes are not exclusive of experiences taking place out of the neighborhood. Throughout this paper we give account for some discursive, moral and emotional operations through which youngsters get to present themselves as members of "respectful" neighborhoods, stating an identity distance with certain threatening othernesses wondering around 'the street': physic and symbolic place that appears to be an obstacle for their projections to institution-based "subworlds" such as school and work.


The mineralogy and environmental history of Mars are been extensively investigated through remote sensing observations paired with laboratory and in situ experiments. A significant portion of these experiments is being devoted to the identification and quantification of different iron oxides present in the Martian terrains. Although such experiments can provide valuable information regarding the presence of these minerals, the scope of the resulting observations may be hindered by logistics and cost-related constraints. We believe that predictive computer simulations can be employed to mitigate some of these constraints and contribute to the generation and validation of hypotheses in this area. Accordingly, we propose the use of SPLITS (Spectral Light Transport Model for Sand) in investigations involving the spectral signatures of iron-rich sand-textured soils found on Mars, and demonstrate its predictive capabilities in this context through comparisons of modeled results with actual measured data.


Many phytochemicals possess cancer‐preventive properties, some putatively through phase II metabolism‐mediated mutagen/oxidant quenching. However, in studies to date, most candidate agents are not active in human lung cells. In vitro and in vivo screening studies for discovery are clearly needed for new, more potent chemopreventive agents for lung cancer. Here we applied a gene expression‐based high‐throughput screening approach to identify phytochemical inducers of phase II metabolism enzymes GSTP1 and NQO1 in primary normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells and immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC). We have screened 800 compounds in the MicroSource Natural Products Library for inducers of GSTP1 and NQO1 expression, and identified 2, 3‐dihydroxy‐4‐methoxy‐4′‐ethoxybenzophenone, triacetylresveratrol, ivermectin, sanguinarine sulfate, and daunorubicin as new inducers for GSTP1 and NQO1 mRNA expression. Consistent with this effect, the induction of NQO1 protein expression by immunoblot was found for all these agents in both HBEC and NHBE cells at the same concentration (1.0 µM, final concentration) that induced NQO1 mRNA expression. However, GSTP1 protein expression did not significantly change with any selected agents. Proliferation/viability assays showed that HBEC and NHBE were significantly inhibited by ivermectin, sanguinarine sulfate, and daunorubicin. These data demonstrate the feasibility of high‐throughput screening for inducers of NQO1. Moreover, the data identify 2, 3‐dihydroxy‐4‐methoxy‐4′‐ethoxybenzophenone and triacetylresveratrol as most potent and low toxicity inducers [12‐fold, and 10‐fold, respectively, at the protein level], implying they are potential new agents for further in vitro and preclinical in vivo testing for prevention of tobacco‐related lung cancer. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):A69.


ABSTRACT The University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine established the Pittman Scholars Program in 2015 to elevate scientific impact and to support the recruitment and retention of highly competitive junior faculty. The authors examined the impact of this program on research productivity and on faculty retention. The authors evaluated publications and extramural grant awards and available demographic data for the Pittman Scholars compared to all junior faculty in the Heersink School of Medicine. From 2015 to 2021, the program awarded a diverse group of 41 junior faculty members across the institution. For this cohort, ninety-four new extramural grants were awarded and 146 grant applications were submitted since the inception of the scholar award. Pittman Scholars published a total of 411 papers during the term of the award. The faculty retention rate of the scholars was 95%, comparable to that of all Heersink junior faculty, with 2 recipients being recruited to other institutions. The implementation of the Pittman Scholars Program has been an effective strategy to celebrate scientific impact and acknowledge junior faculty members as outstanding scientists at our institution. The Pittman Scholars award allows junior faculty to use funds for their research program, publications, collaborations, and career advancement. The Pittman Scholars are recognized at local, regional, and national levels for the work they are contributing to academic medicine. The program has served as an important pipeline faculty development program and an avenue for individual recognition for research-intensive faculty.


ASEAN is a stirring and vibrant region with nearly half of its 630 million people aged below 35. It has one of the best resources possible which is human capital to embrace the very real challenges of the Industry 4.0 economy. Youths are the backbone of a nation. It is utmost necessary to create skills, behaviour, awareness, welfare-attitudes and a sense of ethical responsibilities among the youths to anticipate the needs of the economy and prepare a highly skilled workforce in order to build a competitive republic. This paper reviews the roles of youth in ASEAN region. Poverty, unemployment rates are constantly higher in this region which is causing a prolonged and frustrating situation for the youths. When, the industry is demanding highly skilled professionals to support the economy, the educational institutes struggling to produce an employable workforce for the job market. Online libraries and Google scholar electronic databases were researched from 2009 to 2019 using free-text words and youth subject headings relevant to the topic. Most studies identified were exploratory and of varying methodological design. The inclusion studies found that there are several initiatives taken by the ASEAN members which need to be scrutinized. The carry out of collaborative research to endorse industry competitiveness and innovation has been largely missing in the region's youth development landscape. These challenges need to be addressed urgently and orient better learning to optimize the role of youths for its full economic development potential.


【Dissolution profile comparsions can be done by virtue of the similarity factor $(f_2)$ . It is a logarithmic reciprocal square root transformation of the sum of squared error of % dissolution differences between two profiles at several time points. It gives information on the degree of similarity between the two profiles: An $f_2$ value between 50 and 100 suggests the similarity/equivalence of the two dissolution curves being compared. The objective of this report was to provide a careful examination on the $f_2$ metrics in detail. It was shown that $f_2$ values exceeded 50, when relative differences in % dissolved between two products were less than 15% at all time points. The similarity factor value was also found to be greater than 50, in cases when absolute % dissolution differences were below 10% at all time points. Interestingly, the $f_2$ value was changed by the number of the time points selected for calculation. In particular, $f_2$ tended to have higher values, when the $f_2$ metrics used a large number of time points in which % dissolved reached plateau. Finally, since the similarity factor was a sample statistics, it was impossible to infer type I/II errors and sampling error. Despite certain limitations inherited in the $f_2$ metrics, it was easy and convenient to evaluate how similar the two dissolution profiles were.】


CONTEXT
Anterior tibial shear force and knee valgus moment increase anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) loading. Muscle coactivation of the quadriceps and hamstrings influences anterior tibial shear force and knee valgus moment, thus potentially influencing ACL loading and injury risk. Therefore, identifying exercises that facilitate balanced activation of the quadriceps and hamstrings might be beneficial in ACL injury rehabilitation and prevention.

OBJECTIVE
To quantify and compare quadriceps with hamstrings coactivation electromyographic (EMG) ratios during commonly used closed kinetic chain exercises.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.

SETTING
Research laboratory.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS
Twenty-seven healthy, physically active volunteers (12 men, 15 women; age = 22.1 ± 3.1 years, height = 171.4 ± 10 cm, mass = 72.4 ± 16.7 kg).

INTERVENTION(S)
Participants completed 9 separate closed chain therapeutic exercises in a randomized order.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)
Surface electromyography quantified the activity level of the vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), medial hamstrings (MH), and biceps femoris (BF) muscles. The quadriceps-to-hamstrings (Q:H) coactivation ratio was computed as the sum of average quadriceps (VM, VL) EMG amplitude divided by the sum of average hamstrings (MH, BF) EMG amplitude for each trial. We used repeated-measures analyses of variance to compare Q:H ratios and individual muscle contributions across exercises (α = .05), then used post hoc Tukey analyses.

RESULTS
We observed a main effect for exercise (F(3,79) = 22.6, P< .001). The post hoc Tukey analyses revealed smaller Q:H ratios during the single-limb dead lift (2.87 ± 1.77) than the single-limb squat (5.52 ± 2.89) exercise. The largest Q:H ratios were observed during the transverse-lunge (7.78 ± 5.51, P< .001), lateral-lunge (9.30 ± 5.53, P< .001), and forward-lunge (9.70 ± 5.90, P< .001) exercises.

CONCLUSIONS
The most balanced (smallest) coactivation ratios were observed during the single-limb dead-lift, lateral-hop, transverse-hop, and lateral band-walk exercises. These exercises potentially could facilitate balanced activation in ACL rehabilitation and injury-prevention programs. They also could be used in postinjury rehabilitation programs in a safe and progressive manner.


This paper considers the perpendicular parking problem of car-like vehicles for both forward and reverse maneuvers. A sensor based controller with a weighted control scheme is proposed and is compared with a state of the art path planning approach. The perception problem is threated as well considering a Velodyne VLP-16 as the sensor providing the required exteroceptive information. A methodology to extract the necessary information for both approaches from the sensor data is presented. A fast prototyping environment has been used to develop the parking application, and also used as simulator in order to validate the approach. Preliminary results from simulation and real experimentation show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


Abstract Abstract Stomata (singular, "stoma") are tiny pores through which plants breathe. Stomata are found on the upper and lower sides of leaves, on flower petals, on stems, and on roots. Scientists survey plant surfaces to determine the density and size of stomata and relate these findings to properties of the environment, such as temperature and the amounts of sunlight, humidity, oxygen, and carbon dioxide in the air when a leaf is formed. Stomata of various plants are suitable subjects for classroom laboratory activities since they may be examined by light microscopy.


Anti-tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) medications have revolutionized the care of children and adults with chronic arthritis. They are quick acting, highly effective, and remarkably safe, particularly in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Anti-TNFα agents come in 2 basic varieties: monoclonal antibodies to TNFα (e.g., infliximab, adalimumab) and a fusion protein containing a TNF receptor (etanercept). Although hypersensitivity reactions are not uncommon with some of the TNFα antibodies (e.g., infliximab), there are only rare reports of anaphylaxis to subcutaneous injections of etanercept in adults with rheumatoid arthritis. Herein, we report 2 cases of anaphylaxis in children with JIA after etanercept injections. Although rare, pediatricians need to be aware of this potentially dangerous occurrence.


The task of writing about the process of making and contextualising art can be overwhelming for some graduate students. While the challenge may be due in part to limited time and attention to the practice of writing, in a practice-based arts thesis there is a deeper issue: how the visual and written components are attended to in a manner that neither is subjugated and both are fully realised. Helping students to revision art and writing as similar creative processes that can be structured around a framework designed to address both processes can override the conception that writing and art are polarising forces.

This article describes one such framework that was found to be effective from both the perspective of the professor and the student in fleshing out the heart of both artistic processes and finding an integrating structure that moves a thesis to fruition.


Reversible data hiding (RDH) is used to embed secret message into a cover image by slightly modifying its pixel values. Embedded message and the cover image are completely recovered from the marked content. RDH supports information hiding with the lossless compressibility of natural images. Lossless compression, difference expansion, histogram modification, prediction-error expansion and integer transform techniques are used for RDH process. Histogram based RDH method is divided into two steps histogram generation and histogram modification. Histogram construction is performed with the pixel pairs sequences and their different values. Histogram modification is carried out to embed data into the cover image. The un-hiding process recovers the message and also the cover image. Reversible data hiding (RDH) scheme is designed by using difference-pair-mapping (DPM) mechanism. A sequence consisting of pairs of difference values is computed by considering each pixelpair and its context. DPM is an injective mapping defined on difference-pairs. Specifically designed DPM is used for Reversible data embedding process. A two-dimensional difference-histogram is generated by counting the frequency of the resulting difference-pairs. Current histogram-based RDH methods use natural extension of expansion embedding and shifting techniques. A pixel-pair-selection strategy is adopted to use the pixel-pairs located in smooth image regions to embed data. Capacity distortion property is used evaluate the embedding capacity (EC). Two dimensional difference histogram modification model is enhanced to increase the embedding capacity. Difference Pair Mapping (DPM) model is optimized to identify pixel redundancy. Multiple in value based pixel pair modification is allowed in the system. Histogram modification is carried out with different frequency levels.


The aim of this paper is to add to the social accounting literature by way of including the thoughts and perceptions towards social accounting of a previously unexplored group – Syrian accountants. Furthermore, the authors seek to 'explore the emancipatory possibilities for social accounting in Syria' (p. 1171). A thorough literature review situates and informs the study, in which the authors particularly acknowledge the problems associated with the application of a Western appreciation of social accounting to an Islamic economy considered to be in transition. They highlight the differing contexts of both 'traditional' and social accounting and are hopeful that Syria's political and religious history might provide a foothold for the emancipatory potential of social accounting. Data were gathered via 24 face-to-face interviews conducted in two stages (2002 and 2005). It is not evident if the same participants were interviewed in each stage, nor is it clear how participants were selected. However, the sample appears to give a cross section of regulators, academics and practitioners. The interviews were conducted in Arabic and transcribed and subsequently translated into English. The study reveals that, although Syrian accountants perceived a significant role for social accounting, they were hesitant to afford it any great urgency. Additionally, the authors' initial hopes for a more emancipatory social accounting were also found to be unlikely. This paper adds an additional dimension to the extant literature and should prove useful to many researchers in the field of social accounting/sustainability. It would be interesting to see if anything has changed in Syria since the last interviews were conducted eight years ago.


Five chemicals indigenous to the dental office environment that may cause toxic effects are formaldehyde, phenol, acrylic, mercury, and nitrous oxide. These chemicals create abnormal stress on physiological and psychological systems of the body resulting in symptomatology and pathology when the body defenses can no longer maintain homeostasis by adaptation. This study demonstrated serious behavioral consequences of chemical and heavy metal exposure. This study provided evidence that a significant percentage of dental office personnel who are exposed to the dental office chemicals show psycho neurological dysfunction. It was concluded that these individuals suffer adverse reactions to the chemicals in their work environment. The problem areas included perceptual motor difficulty in cognitive functioning, concern with bodily functions, despondency, and interpersonal problems.


In a recent experiment Zhu and Lin [Phys. Rev. A 53, 1767 (1996)] reported gain linewidths, in a coherently pumped atomic system, which were much less than the Doppler width. We show that this observation is easily explained in terms of our work [Phys. Rev. A 53, 2842 (1996)], which is generalized to correspond to the experimental situation by inclusion of incoherent pumping, and pump and probe laser linewidths.


In this essay, I draw the discourses around bestiality/zoophilia into the realm of queer theory in order to point to a new form of animal advocacy, something that might be called, in shorthand, loving animals. My argument is quite simple: if all interdicts against bestiality depend on a firm notion of exactly what sex is (and they do), and if queer theory disrupts that firm foundation by arguing that sexuality is impossible to define beforehand and pervades many different kinds of relations (and it does), then viewing bestiality in the frame of queer theory can give us another way to conceptualize the limitations of human exceptionalism. By focusing on transformative connections between humans and animals, a new form of animal advocacy emerges through the revolutionary power of love.


We investigated the pattern of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) expression in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) and assessed its prognostic and potential functional relevance. LPL mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) from 55 CLL patients differed by 2 orders of magnitude between cases with mutated (N=28) or unmutated (N=27) IGV H (median: 1.62 vs. 100.43 compared to normal PBMNC). LPL expression correlated strongly with IGV H mutational status ( R=0.78; P High LPL expression (≥ 10) predicted unmutated IGV H status with an odds ratio of 128.71 ( P ) and discriminated between mutated and unmutated cases in 51 of 55 patients (93%). In an extended cohort of 104 patients, a trend for LPL as a prognostic factor regarding overall survival was found: While the median overall survival (OS) in patients with LPL expression of more than 10 was 105 months, the median OS was not reached in the low LPL group. Importantly, high LPL expression (≥ 10) was significantly associated with a short treatment-free survival (median 40 vs. 96 months, P = 0.001) . By indirect immunofluorescence, LPL was detected in the cytoplasm of leukemic B-CLL cells and showed intense, large granular and punctate distribution. Fine granular and diffuse staining was observed in monocytes but no immunoreactivity was detected in T- cells. In order to compare the LPL protein expression unmutated (LPL mRNA high) and mutated (LPL mRNA low) samples from 10 patients (5 mutated and 5 unmutated) were prepared and stained under identical conditions.The intensity of intracellular immunoreactivity to LPL antibody in B-CLL cells was higher in each unmutated compared to the mutated samples. In order to investigate the association of LPL with other genes we performed gene expression profiling on 12 patient samples selected for high or low LPL yielding 251 differentially expressed genes: 171 genes associated with LPL only (group 1), 58 genes with LPL and mutational status (group 2) and 22 genes with mutational status only (group 3). While group 2 and 3 contained a number of genes previously described by Rosenwald and Klein*, a considerable number of genes associated with lipid metabolism were clustered in group 1, indicating a functional role of LPL in B-CLL cells. Our data establish LPL as a prognostic marker and suggest functional consequences of LPL overexpression in patients with B-CLL. *J Exp Med 2001


Taman Satwa Taru Jurug is now lost its luster. Lack of maintenance makes the public interest to visit Taman Satwa Taru Jurug gradually receding. "Kebon Rojo" was a garden of Kasunanan Surakarta Palace formerly reserved for the royal family recreation area. Kebon Rojo applied the concept of "olah raga" (physical activities), olah rasa (psychic management), and "olah-olah (culinary process) which belonged to the application of customary values of Java. The Kebon Rojo concept is a potential that can be used as the first step of planning and design concept considerations of Kebon Rojo wildlife park in Surakarta. The zoo or wildlife park is closely related to nature, especially animals and plants, the ecological aspects in it cannot be ruled out. Therefore, the output of the design concept that is considering the ecological aspect is also very necessary. The design problem is how to apply the principle of the former Kebon Rojo, which can also apply the concept of Eco-Cultural Architecture based on the concept of sustainable, which not only includes something that is seen as physical entity such as environment and nature, but also include something that is not seen as a physical entity, such as culture, habits and customs. In planing process, it is essential to collect particular data, especially about the history, location, and also technical requirements of wildlife park. The design result is, "Kebon Rojo" wildlife park Surakarta can be a public space which can be used as a recreational area with the concept of education and conservation, which become a home for a wide range of plants and animals, which apply the concept of Eco-Cultural Architecture by implementing the values and principles of "Kebon Rojo" royal family garden. , Keywords : Wildlife Park, Ecology, Cultural, Eco-Cultural Architecture


Background: Hepatitis B is one of popular health problem and is considered as major global infectious hazard. It represents an occupational risk for all people who are working in healthcare, including doctors, nurses, laboratory staff, and training interns as well as the student who is trained in hospitals. This can be correlated with their contact with body fluids during clinical rotations and activities. However, protection from getting any infection logically is mandatory for healthcare worker. Aim: Our problem in this study was to assess how our new doctors in Saudi Arabia, specifically those in Riyadh Region and Eastern Region are safe and are protected from hepatitis B infection by evaluating their knowledge, attitude and practice towards Hepatitis B. Method: That was a cross-sectional study which was conducted to intern doctors in Riyadh and Eastern Regions. Random sampling technique was used to select 350 intern doctors. Study tool was a self-administrated questionnaire that is made online by using Google drive forms and sent as an internet link to all interns via WhatsApp mobile application. Data analysis was done using computer application SPSS 24. Comparison between results and many variables was done using Chi-Square test and statistical significance is considered when P-Value < 0.05.
Result: In this study, 131 intern doctors participated out of 350 who received the questionnaires (response rate 94.6%). Regarding the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice, around 86% of participants have good knowledge, 63% of them have a positive attitude and 85% have a good practice. Chi-Square test was applied to compare our results of KAP with gender and region. No difference between males and females was found in the level of knowledge and attitude (P-value > 0.05). Males were better than females in practice (P 0.05). Conclusion: It was obvious that our new doctors in Eastern and Riyadh regions have good knowledge, attitude and practice for Hepatitis B. People in Eastern region have less knowledge and attitude compared to those in Riyadh with a significant difference between them. Also, males interns have a better practice than females interns in general.


ABSTRACT Purpose To compare the effect of general anesthesia (GA) and regional anesthesia (RA) on f-URS outcomes and surgeon comfort. Material and Methods The study was conducted between June 2017 to January 2018 and data collection was applied in a prospective, randomized fashion. 120 patients participated in the study and were divided into RA group (n=56) and GA group (n=64). Demographic, operative and post-operative parameters of patients were analysed. The end point of this study was the effect of two anesthesia regimens on the comfort of the surgeon, and the comparability of feasibility and safety against perioperative complications. Results The study including 120 randomized patients, 14 patients were excluded from the study and completed with 106 patients (45 in RA group and 61 in GA group). No difference was detected between the two groups in terms of preoperative data. During the monitorization of operative vital signs, 3 patients in RA group experienced bradycardia, and this finding was significant when compared with GA group (p=0.041). Additionally, 2 patients in RA group experienced mucosal tears and 1 patient experienced hemorrhage during the operation, but no complications were observed in the GA group (p=0.041). Postoperative surgeon comfort evaluation revealed statistically significant results in favor of GA group (p=0.001). Conclusions Both GA and RA are equally effective and safe anesthesia methods for f-URS procedures. However, RA group showed significantly increased likelihood of bradycardia and mucosal injury during surgery, and significantly decreased surgeon comfort during surgery.


Developmental programmed cell death (dPCD) controls a plethora of functions in plant growth and reproduction. In the root cap of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), dPCD functions to control organ size in balance with the continuous stem cell activity in the root meristem. Key regulators of root cap dPCD including SOMBRERO/ANAC033 (SMB) belong to the NAC family of transcription factors. Here we identify the C2H2 zinc finger protein ZINC FINGER OF ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA 14 ZAT14 as part of the gene regulatory network of root cap dPCD acting downstream of SMB. Similar to SMB, ZAT14 inducible misexpression leads to extensive ectopic cell death. Both the canonical EAR motif and a conserved L-box motif of ZAT14 act as transcriptional repression motifs and are required to trigger cell death. While a single zat14 mutant does not show a cell death-related phenotype, a quintuple mutant knocking out five related ZAT paralogs shows a delayed onset of dPCD execution in the columella and the adjacent lateral root cap. While ZAT14 is co-expressed with established dPCD-associated genes, it does not activate their expression. Our results suggest that ZAT14 acts as a transcriptional repressor controlling a so far uncharacterized sub-section of the dPCD gene regulatory network active in specific root cap tissues.


In this paper, we present an extended Kalman filter (EKF)-based solution for the estimation of the angular motion using a gyro-free inertial measurement unit (GF-IMU) built of twelve separate mono-axial accelerometers. Using such a GF-IMU produces a vector, which we call the angular information vector (AIV) that consists of 3D angular acceleration terms and six quadratic terms of angular velocities. We consider the multiple distributed orthogonal triads of accelerometers that consist of three nonplanar distributed triads equally spaced from a central triad as a specific case to solve. During research for the possible filter schemes, we derived equality constraints. Hence we incorporate the constraints in the filter to improve the accuracy of the angular motion estimation, which in turn improves the attitude accuracy (direction cosine matrix (DCM) or quaternion vector).


Moringa oleifera Lam is a plant that has recently gained importance as a food because of its nutritional value and bioactive compound content and because practically all the organs are usable. The use of nanoparticles has appeared as an alternative to increase bioactive compounds in plants. The goal of this work was to determine if the application of copper nanoparticles would increase the content of bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity in M. oleifera. Copper (Cu) nanoparticles were applied to the leaves at four different times throughout crop growth. The biocompounds were analyzed after the second, third, and fourth applications. The results show that application of Cu nanoparticles has a beneficial effect on the accumulation of bioactive compounds in M. oleifera leaves. In addition, the antioxidant capacity and carotenoid and chlorophyll contents in the leaves of M. oleifera increased after Cu nanoparticles application. The same effect was not observed in the fruit of M. oleifera. Here, the bioactive compound contents diminished. Therefore, the use of Cu nanoparticles can be an important alternative to improve the quality of this plant, particularly that of the leaves.


This paper reports the first practical realisation of the zero voltage switching (ZVS) condition in a single switch resonance reset forward converter. Power limits in single switch topology are extended by introducing an application of the new silicon carbide switch (SiC JFET) in the resonant reset converter as a single ended counterpart to the multiswitch topologies in high power rectifiers. Obtaining ZVS-ON condition increases the efficiency furthermore. Additionally, paper explores the system impact of silicon carbide power devices in power converters showing designers not only the technical benefits, but also cost aspects. Proposed single switch resonant reset approach is given to utilise the semiconductor devices more efficiently, obtain higher power density, higher efficiency and lower system costs. A variable frequency control algorithm applied to manage the proposed converter and experimental results confirming the theoretical calculations finalise the paper.


The activation of protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) in cultured rat hippocampal neurons triggers synaptic retrograde signaling through the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol, thereby activating the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R). CB1R is a metabotropic receptor activated by marihuana and endocannabinoids that suppresses neurotransmitter release. Also, activation of the CB1R increases rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) and food intake. The lateral hypothalamus is a crucial structure to modulate both feeding and waking. To evaluate the effect of PAR1 stimulation in the lateral hypothalamus on food intake and on the sleep–waking cycle, we implanted rats with electrodes, for recording sleep, and cannulae, to administer S1820, a selective PAR1 agonist peptide, bilaterally into the lateral hypothalamus. To determine whether the effects induced by PAR1 stimulation were mediated by CB1R activation, we administered AM251, a CB1R inverse agonist, to block S1820 effects. Our results show that the stimulation of PAR1 into the lateral hypothalamus increases both food intake and REMS and such effects were prevented by AM251, indicating that PAR1 modulates both food intake and the sleep–waking cycle, in the lateral hypothalamus, through CB1R activation. This study shows novel behavioral changes induced by PAR1 activation and further supports the notion that endocannabinoids are food intake and REMS promoters.


Background Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has significant adverse effects on an individual's health status.1 Secukinumab, an interleukin (IL)-17A inhibitor, improved signs and symptoms and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) over 52 weeks (wks) in the randomised, double-blind, placebo (PBO)-controlled, Phase 3 MEASURE 1 study (NCT01358175).2,3 Objectives To evaluate the effect of secukinumab on disease activity, pain, physical function, fatigue, and general and AS-specific quality of life (QoL) measures over 104 wks. Methods 371 adults with active AS were randomised to receive secukinumab 10 mg/kg i.v. at baseline (BL), Wks 2 and 4, and then s.c. 150 mg (IV→150 mg) or 75 mg (IV→75 mg) every 4 wks from Wk 8, or PBO. At Wk 16, PBO-treated patients (pts) were re-randomised to receive secukinumab 150 mg or 75 mg s.c. from Wk 16 (non-responders) or Wk 24 (responders). PROs assessed included: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI); Short Form-36 physical and mental component summaries (SF-36 PCS and SF-36 MCS, respectively); AS Quality of Life (ASQoL); patient's global assessment of disease activity; patient's assessment of total spinal pain; patient's assessment of nocturnal pain; Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI); Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue); and EuroQoL-5-dimension health status questionnaire (EQ-5D). BASDAI, SF-36 PCS and ASQoL were predefined secondary endpoints and are reported using a mixed-effect model repeated measures (MMRM) analysis. Other PROs and analyses by prior anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy use were exploratory endpoints and are reported as observed data (Wk 104). Results 97/125 (77.6%) and 103/124 (83.1%) pts randomised to IV→150 mg and IV→75 mg, respectively, completed 104 wks of treatment. The improvements in BASDAI, SF-36 PCS and MCS, ASQoL, BASFI, and FACIT-Fatigue achieved with secukinumab at Wk 52 were sustained at Wk 104, with mean changes from BL being greater than minimum clinically important differences (Table). Improvements were also observed in patient's global assessment of disease activity, total spinal pain, nocturnal pain, and EQ-5D. Sustained improvements were observed regardless of prior anti-TNF use. In anti–TNF-naïve pts, mean changes from baseline at Wk 104 with secukinumab IV→150 mg and IV→75 mg were: −3.5 and −3.1, respectively, for BASDAI; 8.4 and 7.4 for SF-36 PCS; and −5.0 and −4.4 for ASQoL. Corresponding changes in anti-TNF-IR pts, were: −3.2 and −2.9 (BASDAI); 6.9 and 7.6 (SF-36 PCS); and −4.1 and −5.1 (ASQoL). Conclusions In pts with active AS, secukinumab provided sustained improvements through 2 years in PROs including disease activity, pain, physical function, fatigue, as well as general and AS-specific measures of QoL. References Sieper J et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2002;61:iii8–18 Deodhar A et al. Arthritis Rheum 2014;66:S233 Baeten D et al. N Engl J Med 2015;373:2534–48 Disclosure of Interest P. Emery Consultant for: AbbVie, BMS, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, UCB, D. Baeten Grant/research support from: Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, AbbVie, BMS, Eli Lilly, Roche, UCB, A. Deodhar Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, A. Wei Grant/research support from: Abbvie, BMS, Celgene, Chugai, Eisai, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, TSH Taiwan, and UCB, Consultant for: Abbvie, BMS, Celgene, Chugai, Eisai, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, TSH Taiwan, and UCB, P. Geusens Grant/research support from: participation in clinical studies, boards, Speakers bureau: Pfizer, Abbott, Lilly, Amgen, MSD, Will, Bio Minerals and Roche, Z. Talloczy Shareholder of: Novartis, Employee of: Novartis, Y. Gong Employee of: Novartis, B. Porter Shareholder of: Novartis, Employee of: Novartis


A new reaction system involving a heterogeneous H3PW12O40/CeO2 catalyst and methyl iodide initiator was developed for bulk ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of trimethylene carbonate (TMC). Combination of a Bronsted acid (H3PW12O40) and Lewis base (CeO2) had a synergic effect on a well-controlled ROP without decarboxylation, which gave poly(TMC) of molecular weight (Mn) 30 000 and Polydispersity Index (PDI) of 1.80 at 60 °C and 24 h. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy elucidated a reaction mechanism in which H3PW12O40 promoted the initiation reaction and CeO2 activated TMC, and the interface of these two components was an active site for ROP. The catalyst was removed readily by filtrating a dimethyl carbonate solution of poly(TMC), which was confirmed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. In addition, various kinds of biomass-derived poly(aliphatic carbonate)s were synthesized and thermal properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis. In particular, pyrolysis-gas chromatography mass spectrometry of these polymers revealed that the degradation mechanism was highly dependent upon a small amount of ether linkages and a pendant methyl group.


The minimum chemical modification that can be incorporated into an organic molecule is the replacement of a hydrogen atom for a deuterium atom. This change is not altering the pharmacological properties of a molecule, although it provides the possibility of making specific spectroscopic evaluations. Thus, in the present study, we explore how a stereogenic center is influenced by such an isotopic labeling. The studies were conducted on both enantiomers of flavanone (1 and 2) which is the parent molecule of a large group of pharmacologically active natural occurring secondary metabolites. Flavanone comprised 12 carbon atoms forming two benzene rings, a carbonyl group, an ethereal oxygen atom, a methylene group, and only one C-H stereogenic center, so it seems to be an ideal candidate for such studies. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used for the accurate prediction of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of (R)-(3) and (S)-flavanone-2-d (4), of (R)-(5) and (S)-flavanone-3,3-d2 (6), and of (R)-(7) and (S)-flavanone-2',3',4',5',6'-d5 (8). To gain compounds that provide experimental VCD spectra for comparative purposes, the calculated spectra of both enantiomers of the corresponding flavanones, obtained after HPLC separation of the racemates by means of a chiral column, were contrasted, thereby revealing excellent agreements when using the CompareVOA software. In addition, the VCD spectra of both unlabeled enantiomeric flavanones (1 and 2) were also compared to the labeled molecules, revealing that the VCD spectra show significant variations induced by the deuterium incorporation.


The simple problem of the motion of a free mass initially at rest and under the influence of a harmonic force is attended to. In particular the dependence of the subsequent motion on the phase of the force when it is turned on is dealt with. The purpose of this is to provide an example of differential equations in dynamics for students. The circuit of a simple analogue computer capable of solving this problem is provided.


Scientific theory construction and empirical data support are required in macro-quality evaluation. From the perspective of consumers' perception, the analysis model of China quality status is built, which contains the evaluation in four aspects of general characteristics, structural characteristics, institutional design and quality subject. Based on the model framework and macro-quality observation data, the current situation of China quality is concluded as follows: the overall situation of quality safety improves in a stable manner without overall quality hazards; structural problems stand out in quality development; public services provided by the government are not so effective; the "soft power" in quality development and consumers' quality action ability are weak. Based on above research conclusions, policy suggestions are listed as follows: increase public investment in social quality, emphasize quality education on citizens, resolve structure problems in quality development, especially the issue of insufficient "soft power", focus on the innovation of quality governance system required by modern market economy, introduce mechanisms where the society participate in quality supervision such as "Whistleblower Protection Act", and promote the process of common quality governance.


A well known, the tribute quota for the first fifteen years after the transference of the treasury to Athens (454/3-440/39 B.C.) was recorded on the great so-called First Stele. The present study tries to determine exactly how the lists were disposed on that stele. The first of these studies, which appeared in Classical Philology, XXXVII (October, 1942), 371-84, is not necessary for the understanding of the present paper. It suffices to recall that the stele was inscribed on all four faces. For the fifteen years which the record covers, fourteen lists are preserved. Thanks to the long labors of B. D. Meritt, H. T. Wade-Gery, the late A. B. West, his pupil M. F. McGregor, and others, all but two of the fourteen lists are securely placed and dated. The two unplaced lists cover two of the years 449/8, 448/7, 447/6. The missing list-if there ever was such a list -belongs to the remaining one of these three years. During that time the new Periclean democracy was certainly on its mettle; but information is scant; and new facts, if they could be established, would be welcome. Scheme I.-Hitherto three principal schemes have been proposed for the disposition of lists on the First Stele. These schemes are illustrated in Figure 1. It will be noted that Scheme IF was formally perfect: the fifteen lists (there were fifteen, since Wade-Gery had not yet eliminated


Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications are gaining momentum due to the rapid deployment of smart devices with self-organizing capabilities, able to interact each other without the human operator support. Ultimately, M2M paradigm allows Machine-Type Communication Devices (MTCD) to exchange data in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) mode, avoiding the need of a core network handling end-to-end communication establishment between two machines. To this end, the recent Device-to-Device (D2D) feature, introduced by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 12, fosters new types of service based on the device proximity concept and helps to offload cellular networks by enabling direct-mode communications among cellular users. Furthermore, D2D is also considered a suitable technology to fully support M2M communications thanks to the reduced power consumption and the hop gain. In this paper we first review crucial aspects of M2M communications and examine major issues involving terminals operating in D2D mode in LTE-A networks. Then, a multi-hop D2D communication scheme is proposed in order to enhance end-to-end connectivity among devices in a proximity area within an LTE-A cell. We also describe a promising resource allocation approach aware of the multi-hop D2D network configuration, able to fulfil bandwidth requests of all the cooperating devices, according to the related role in the network set-up.


Critical Theory for Library and Information Science: Exploring the Social from Across Disciplines edited by Gloria J. Leckie, Lisa M. Given, and John Buschman. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2010. 326 pp. ISBN 978-1-59158-938-9. Critical Theory for Library and Information Science claims that information studies and its accompanying professions have largely neglected critical theory and that a more critical–theoretical approach is necessary for correcting epistemological assumptions within the field, particularly those relating to power and social justice. 1 In their Introduction, Leckie, Given, and Buschman cite three reasons for encouraging information studies to engage with critical theory: to oppose further incursion of neoliberal grand recit (such as the market or managerialism), to be more in tune with scholarship in other disciplines, and to enable sophisticated responses to current issues facing the field. This volume reflects a trend within information studies that questions the scientific and positivist views that have long dominated the field. It offers alternative methodologies for studying information phenomena, particularly those employed within the humanities and qualitative social sciences. In short, this volume represents an important and reasoned contribution at the advent of critical theory to metatheoretical discourse within information studies. The necessity of its intervention cannot be overstated. Leckie, Given, and Buschman's volume introduces readers to a wide range of critical theorists, including such notable thinkers as Roland Barthes, Paulo Freire, Jacques Lacan, Martin Heidegger, Bruno Latour, Jean Lave, and Gayatri Spivak, to name only a few. The volume assembles roughly two dozen scholars within information studies to compile 23 essays, each of which explores the ideas of a particular critical theorist or theorists and the potential implication of their ideas for information studies. Perhaps the most remarkable accomplishment of this volume is the ability of its contributors to offer cogent, clear, and digestible summaries and examinations of complex ideas within critical theory. Each of the essays offers equally intelligible explanations of the potential interventions critical theory can make within information studies; to highlight only a few topics: new ways of thinking about classification and power, correctives to cognitive and psychoanalytic assumptions, a reexamination of everyday life information activities, the examination of social-constructivism on institutions and administration, a reexamination of the role of libraries and archives in the public sphere, and the centrality of representation and the benefit of humanistic methods to understanding cultural institutions. The volume in no way attempts to be a compendious study of all of critical theory's potential for information studies; instead, it provides a concise examination of the ideas of those theorists who receive attention. That each of the contributors accomplishes such lucidity is not a


The human visual system prioritizes processing of novel information, leading to faster detection of novel stimuli. Novelty facilitates conflict resolution through the enhanced early perceptual processing. However, the role of novel information processing during the conflict-related response selection and inhibition remains unclear. Here, we used a face-gender classification version of the Simon task and manipulated task-difficulty and novelty of task-relevant information. The novel quality of stimuli was made task-irrelevant, and an in-group bias was tightly controlled by manipulation of a gender of picture stimuli. We found that the in-group bias modulated the role of novelty in executive control. Novel opposite-sex stimuli facilitated response inhibition only when the task was not demanding. By contrast, novelty enhanced response selection irrespective of the in-group factor when task-difficulty was increased. These findings support the in-group bias mechanism of visual processing, in cases when attentional resources are not limited by a demanding task. The results are further discussed along the lines of the attentional load theory and neural mechanisms of response-inhibition and locomotor activity. In conclusion, our data showed that processing of novel information may enhance executive control through facilitated response selection and inhibition.


We here provide a protocol for the decontamination of ancient bones and teeth that is based on a temperature-controlled, sequential release of DNA. DNA can be extracted from all fractions generated with this method and the fraction with the highest proportion of endogenous DNA identified for further analysis. The protocol proceeds through repeated incubation of the sample powder in phosphate buffer at 37, 60 and 90 °C, followed by the complete lysis of the residual sample powder. As DNA is denatured at high temperature, subsequent DNA extraction and library preparation has to be performed using methods optimized for single-stranded DNA.


Background:
A research prioritisation process conducted with people with diabetes, health professionals and policy makers, identified low attendance at structured education for Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) as a priority area for research in Ireland. The aim of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators to attendance at T2DM structured education programmes in Ireland.

Methods:
People with T2DM who had attended, or been invited to attend, at one of the three structured education programmes (CODE, DESMOND and X-PERT) and educators from the three programmes took part in semi-structured telephone interviews. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Findings:
15 people with T2DM and 14 educators were interviewed. People with T2DM described a lack of information at initial diagnosis but were overwhelmingly positive about their experience of structured education programmes. Reasons for non-attendance included not knowing programmes were available, not appreciating the potential benefits, and not wanting to admit to the reality of diabetes. Analysis also identified innovations to increase attendance developed by educators in different areas, and the key role of healthcare professionals in promoting structured education.

Discussion:
People with T2DM see clear benefits of structured education after attending but need information and encouragement from their healthcare team to support attendance. The innovative strategies developed by educators across the country to promote structured education could be better communicated and standardised nationally. The findings of this study will be discussed in relation to the best use of qualitative research to understand the context for intervention development.


We report a chronic Intestinal Schistosomiasis which is presented as a Sigmoid Volvulus in a healthy 21-year -old Sudanese male who presented with abdominal pain. Sigmoid Volvulus was diagnosed, and he underwent exploratory laparotomy. Pathological study by microscope revealed a non-necrotizing granulomas with centrally located egg with a lateral spine characteristic of S. mansoni. To our knowledge, this is the fifth reported case worldwide.


In Poland an increase in the of number solar thermal collectors is observed in household applications. For economic and ecological profitability the creation of a solar thermal installation design in a proper manner is essential. In order to determine solar installations size, software calculating future solar heat gains is used. SHW software is an examples of such software. The aim of this work was to compare the simulation results with the real results of the solar installation operation. The comparison was performed by an example of a single-family house with flat plate collector installations located in south-east Poland. This installation supports domestic hot water preparation in a house occupied by four people (in two-year period of analyses). The additional heat source in this building is a gas boiler. Solar fraction parameter values were chosen for this comparison. Solar fraction is calculated as a ratio of solar heat gains used in the domestic hot water preparation process to the heat desired for domestic hot water preparation. The real results of Solar Fraction turned out to be higher than the simulation results from May to August (there were many days with Solar Fraction = 1). A difference of 20–50 percentage points was observed (Solar Fraction). Apart from this period no special differences were observed.


Prolymphocytic leukemia (PLL) is a malignant lymphoproliferative disorder, characterized by massive splenomegaly, predominance of prolymphocytes in the peripheral blood and bone marrow, minimal lymph nodes enlargement and poor prognosis. It accounts for a 5-10% case of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Patients age is usually over the fifth decade, the disease is 4.1 more common in males. More than 80% are B-lymphocytic derived cells showing a post-thymic phenotype. Median survival of B-PLL patients is 3 years, while only 7 months in T-PLL. Standard therapy of CLL with alkylating agents and prednisone have been not much effective in the treatment of PLL with a response rate of about 20%. Up to date no ideal treatment is available for PLL. A realistic goal is probably to achieve a clinical course transformation, from aggressive to mild, thus changing from short to long term prognosis. For this purpose the initial therapeutic approach cannot be limited to a single agent only. Splenic irradiation, intensive anthracyclines-based regimens, leukapheresis combine together represent the best therapeutic choice. Alkylating agents with or without prednisone may play a role in keeping indolent clinical course. Fludarabine has shown antileukemic activity against PPL even in patients resistant.


The concentration of six different trace metals [vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd)] were determined in various fruit and vegetables [peach (Prunus persica L.), plum (Prunus domestica L.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), courgette or marrow (Cucurbita pepo L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)] provided by diverse farms. Metal distribution was also separately evaluated, in skin and pulp, where it was possible. Their contributions to human daily intake of trace metals were investigated. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of these metals in the fruit and vegetables. All traces of elements tested in peaches and tomatoes were higher in the skin than in the pulp except for Cd in the peaches; all traces of elements tested in plums and marrows were higher in the pulp than in the skin. The concentrations of Pb and Cd in lettuce were 1.3 and 2.7 times above the permissible levels, respectively. It is concluded that the regular monitoring of food trace metals is very important to prevent diseases that depend on their excessive accumulation in the human food chain.


The Edgeworth-Wilson exchanges in 1923 reveal that neither Francis Isidro Edgeworth, one of the top ten economists of all time in world history ,nor Edwin Wilson, one of the very top American applied mathematicians in the USA in the first half of the twentieth century, had any idea about how to deal with Part II of J.M. Keynes's, A Treatise on Probability (1921). The same conclusion holds for Ronald Fisher, who Stephen Stigler claims was the greatest statistician of the twentieth century. Richard Dawkins claims he was also the greatest biologist since Darwin. In fact, it is Benoit Mandelbrot, by a longshot, who was the greatest statistician of the 20th century. Part II of the, A Treatise on Probability includes Keynes's formal analysis of his Boolean, non additive, nonlinear, indeterminate, interval valued approach approach to logical probability, based on the use of upper and lower limits or bounds. This inability to deal with Part II of the A Treatise on Probability would explain why the Keynesian Fundamentalists (the Robinsons, R. Skidelsky, P. Davidson, G.L.S. Shackle, J. Runde, S. Dow, R. O'Donnell, A. Carabelli, T. Lawson, and hundreds of other Post Keynesian and Institutionalist economists) have completely failed to grasp the interval valued approach of Keynes. They simply lacked the necessary training in mathematical logic, probability, and statistics needed to comprehend what Keynes was doing. The result is a gigantic, intellectual mess based on (a) their misbelief that Keynes's theory is an ordinal theory that can only be applied some of the time because of their confusion regarding unknown and indeterminate probabilities and (b) their inability to find the very large number of errors made in F. P. Ramsey's two very poor reviews of Keynes's A Treatise on Probability. Again, Ramsey was simply overwhelmed by Part II of the A Treatise on Probability and could not follow Keynes's analysis of interval valued probability. Ramsey's claims about Keynes's "mysterious non numerical probabilities" not obeying the laws of the calculus of probability and the Stohs-Garner discussions about "what is a non numerical probability?" are the foundation for the Fundamentalist position of Skidelsky that Keynes's approach was an ordinal approach that could only be applied some of the time. Nothing is further from the truth.


Two enzymes, amylase and protease of Streptomyces species were purified by a combination of ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration and characterized. The amylase had an exoaction on starch yielding maltose as a major end product and was identified as β‐amylase. The purified amylase had a molecular weight of 48,000 and was maximally active at 35 °C and at pH 6.0. On the other hand, protease had a molecular weight of 21,000 and was most active at pH 10.0 and at a temperature of 30 °C. The Km or MICHAELIS constant of amylase for maize starch was 0.333 mg/ml while that of protease for casein was 2.5 mg/ml. The feasibility of using the purified protease for various industrial application especially in the chillproofing of beer is discussed.


The traffic abnormity detection is an important task in the traffic management system, and it becomes more important in the ITS.The traditional detection algorithms have several deficiencies and can not satisfy the visual surveillance system.An algorithm based on digital image processing can get the accurate parameters of traffic by rectifying the nonlinear distortion.This algorithm can detect and predict the traffic abnormity.The results of experiments show that this algorithm has availability and has good applications in the ITS.


In this article, the sector update delay (SUD) of the digital control three-phase six-switch (3 ph–6 s) buck power factor correction (PFC) converter is analyzed. SUD of 3 ph–6 s buck PFC converter results in the increase of switching loss and input current distortion at the transition from even sector to odd sector. For applications when ac input frequency is 47–63 Hz, the effect of SUD is relatively small, and SUD is usually ignored. However, for applications of high ac input frequency, e.g., 360–800 Hz, the SUD of 3 ph–6 s buck PFC converter seriously affects its efficiency and input current total harmonics distortion (THD). In order to suppress the effect of SUD and to improve the input current THD and efficiency of 3 ph–6 s buck PFC converter over a wide ac input frequency, a time delay compensation method has been proposed in this article. The effect of SUD is verified by a 1.5-kW prototype with a low-cost microcontroller. Experimental results show that lower input current THD and higher efficiency over a wide ac input frequency have been achieved by the proposed compensation method.


In the present study, Al2O3 coatings were deposited by plasma spraying using feedstock of different particle sizes. The effects of particle size on their velocity and temperature in the plasma jet, the microstructure and properties of the coatings were investigated. The results revealed that in view of the smaller inertia effects and lower heat capacity, the smaller particles can be easily accelerated and heated, and have higher in-flight velocity and temperature, which contributed to produce a denser coating with lower porosity and higher mechanical properties. It was also found that the coating deposited using the finest starting powder has the lowest thermal diffusivity. This may be reasonably correlated with the microstructural characteristics. In addition, the coating manufactured using the intermediate feedstock in terms of particle size (D50 of 19.3µm) exhibited the highest wear resistance.


Schmidt Cassegrain spider obscuration telescope (SCT) is one of the types of observations operating with a concave mirror. It combines several lenses and mirrors working together as an optical system. The light rays fall into the tube from the main mirror and gather on another smaller mirror called a secondary mirror. Unlike the formation of Newton's telescope, no light is made from the secondary mirror out the side of the tube but is directed to the middle of the main mirror. There is an opening in the middle of the main mirror so the light beam can go out and direct the vision lens system. The secondary mirror is located in the middle of a glass slice and is installed by thin carriers. The function of this board is to correct the portrait of the significant spherical mirror and reduce this coma aberration in the system to the lowest possible score.
In this research, the efficiency of design performance was studied due to image analysis tools provided by the Zemax program. The results showe the image quality when using a variable field of view with a limit (0o- 0.5o) and for a variable focal depth as needed.


In this study, the level of Pb, Zn, Cd of Ayvalik Saltern, determined by using Halimione portulacoides (L.) Aellen, analysis were done by using Perkin Elmer Analyst 700 Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS) device. Saltern which is located adjacent to the Izmir-Canakkale highway, heavy metals changes determined, depending on the distance to the highway. The root, stem, leaves, and cultivation soil of plant was formed material of this study. Sampling, were done 7 station which was determined on the soil dam is surrounding saltern between 2009-2010. Through 12 months, samples regularly collected from every station. As a result of all analysis, we saw the level of Pb <0.0010.977 ppm, Zn 0.099-1.650 ppm, Cd <0.001-0.102 ppm in the soil Pb 0.523-1.599 ppm, Zn 0.143-1.248 ppm ve Cd 0.0060.432 ppm. Accumulation of Pb and Zn increased depend on a highway, Cd accumulation couldn't be obtained clear correlation with distance highway. The fact that the results İn the analysis are below the limit values is because the dominant direction of the wind is North-west (through Tuzla motorway), there aren't any crossroads or signalization on the motorway on the southern part of Tuzla and there aren't any industrial plants having polluting effects.


IN CASE of unbalanced faults on power systems, the voltage on the unfaulted phase or phases may often reach very high values. There may be an overvoltage caused by the short circuit itself and a further overvoltage caused by the clearing of the fault. In the present paper only the first type will be discussed. These unfaulted phase overvoltages may vary widely with the type of fault, the system constants and arrangement, and the kinds of synchronous machines affected. However, in faults not involving ground the presence of overvoltages depends on the fact that the synchronous machines supplying the fault current are not electrically symmetric-rotor machines. Thus, these overvoltages may be largely eliminated or reduced by a properly designed amortisseur winding. Even in case of overvoltages caused by faults involving ground there is a considerable reduction with such an amortisseur winding.


The Defense of Holy Images by John of Damascus stands as the archetypal exposition of the Christian theology of images. Written at the outbreak of the Iconoclastic Controversy, it has been mostly valued for its theological content and given scholarly short shrift as a narrowly focused polemic. The work is more than that. It presents a complex and profound explication of the nature of images and the phenomenon of representation, and is an important part of the "history of looking"in western culture. A long chain of visual conceptions connects classical Greek and Roman writers, such as Homer and Quintilian, to John: the living image, the interrelation of word and image, and image and memory, themes elaborated particularly in the Second Sophistic period of the early Common Era. For John to deploy this heritage so skillfully to the thorny problem of the place of images in Christianity, at the outbreak of a violent conflict that lasted a further 100 years after his writing, manifests an intellect and creativity that has not been sufficiently appreciated. The Defense of Holy Images, understood in this context, is another innovative synthesis of Christianity and classical culture produced by late antique Christian writers.


A young woman with long-standing inflammatory bowel disease presented with a tender left gastrocnemius myositis in association with an exacerbation of her disease. Muscle biopsy showed a chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate and atrophic muscle fibres, but no granulomata or vasculitis, and her symptoms responded to high-dose steroids. Twelve months later she underwent subtotal colectomy for troublesome symptoms and incidentally was discovered to have an adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid colon. Myositis without granulomata has not been reported previously in either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.


Abstract Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease, frequently associated with cardiovascular involvement. One of the most frequent complication is mitral valve regurgitation in more than one-third of the patients. Case summary A 30-year-old woman with arthralgia, butterfly rash, and Raynaud phenomenon presented with a systolic murmur and renal impairment. Based on the kidney biopsy the diagnosis of SLE was made. Echocardiography revealed the presence of pulmonary hypertension, restrictive mitral valve disease with nodular thickening of the anterior leaflet and moderate regurgitation, compatible with Libman Sacks (LS) endocarditis. Immunosuppressive therapy was started and the patient status improved with normalization of systolic pulmonary artery pressure. After 8 years without follow-up, she presented with fatigue and dyspnoea based on a severe mitral valve stenosis. Subsequently, she underwent a minimal invasive mitral valve replacement and the diagnosis of LS endocarditis could be confirmed upon histopathological examination. Discussion This case demonstrates that LS endocarditis can not only lead to mitral regurgitation but occasionally to mitral stenosis due to chronic inflammation with thickening and fusion of mitral valve leaflets. Hereby, comprehensive echocardiography, inclusive stress echocardiography, plays a critical role.


The arable weeds (segetal flora) were explored on Plesivica hills (NW Croatia) during vegetational seasons 2002 and 2003 at 10 locations. The common methods of plant recording, collecting and identification were applied in the research of the arable weeds. Th e nomenclature of plants was according to Tutin et al. (1964-1980, 1993). The total of 107 taxa of arable weeds that classified to 32 families was noted. The most represented families were Poaceae, Asteraceae and Fabaceae. Therophytes were dominant in the fields that were the subject of this research. Most of the species were the cosmopolites and the Euroasian origin. 78 weed species were noted in dense crop fi elds (wheat, barley). Some of them (Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rausch., Cirsium arvense (L.)Scop., Galium aparine L., Papaver rhoeas L., Stellaria media(L.)Vill. and Veronica persica Poir.) are the most harmful weeds of dense crops. 62 weeds were noted in maize fields. Some of them were typically row crop weeds, as for instance: Amaranthus retrofl exus L., Chenopodium album L., Ch. polyspermum L., Cirsium arvense, Convolvulus arvensis L., Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop., Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) PB., Polygonum lapathifolium L. and Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. Very invasive species Abutilon theophrasti Med. was found on the row crop fields. Very dangerous aeroallergenic species Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. was dispersed in many of the researched fields.


Meshfree methods have been developed based on Galerkin type weak formulation and strong formulation with collocation. Galerkin type formulation in conjunction with the compactly supported approximation functions and polynomial reproducibility yields algebraic convergence, while strong form collocation method with nonlocal approximation such as radial basis functions offers exponential convergence. In this work, we discuss rank instability resulting from the nodal integration of Galerkin type meshfree method as well as the ill-conditioning type instability in the radial basis collocation method. We present the recent advances in resolving these difficulties in meshfree methods, and demonstrate how meshfree methods can be applied to problems difficult to be modeled by the conventional finite element methods due to their intrinsic regularity constraints.


To better understand obesity, its related conditions and risk factors, and the best assessment and management approaches for the adult population, the Disease Management Association of America and the National Committee for Quality Assurance partnered to conduct a literature review that could inform future initiatives of both organizations as well as others. The goals of the literature review were to: (1) describe the prevalence of obesity and related conditions and their health and financial impacts; (2) illustrate the clinical importance and interrelatedness of the conditions; and, the focus of this article, (3) describe the evidence supporting the different assessment and management options for obesity and comorbid conditions.


Recently, the LHCb Collaboration reported pronounced structures in the invariant mass spectrum of J/ψ pairs produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. In this Letter, we argue that the data can be very well described within two variants of a coupled-channel approach employing T matrices consistent with unitarity: (i) with just two channels, J/ψJ/ψ and ψ(2S)J/ψ, as long as energy-dependent interactions in these channels are allowed, or (ii) with three channels J/ψJ/ψ, ψ(2S)J/ψ, and ψ(3770)J/ψ with just constant contact interactions. Both formulations hint at the existence of a near-threshold state in the J/ψJ/ψ system with the quantum numbers J^{PC}=0^{++} or 2^{++}, which we refer to as X(6200). We suggest experimental tests to check the existence of this state and discuss what additional channels need to be studied experimentally to allow for distinctive tests between the two mechanisms proposed. If the molecular nature of X(6200), as hinted by the three-channel approach, is confirmed, many other double-quarkonium states should exist driven by the same binding mechanism. In particular, there should be an η_{c}η_{c} molecule with a similar binding energy.


Silicon carbide (SiC)-based metal-insulator-semiconductor devices are attractive for gas sensing in automotive exhausts and flue gases. The response of the devices to reducing gases has been assumed to be due to a reduced metal work function at the metal-oxide interface that shifts the flat band capacitance to lower voltages. We have discovered that high temperature (700 K) exposure to hydrogen results not only in the flat-band voltage occurring at a more negative bias than in oxygen, but also in the transition from accumulation (high capacitance) to inversion (low capacitance) occurring over a relatively narrow voltage range. In oxygen, this transition is broadened, indicating the creation of a high density of interface states. We present a model of the hydrogen/oxygen response based on two independent phenomena: a chemically induced shift in the metal-semiconductor work function difference and the passivation/creation of charged states at the SiO/sub 2/-SiC interface that is much slower than the work function shift. We discuss the effect of these results on sensor design and the choice of operating point.


Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are commonly found in the Norwegian Sea during the summer months. Records from around 1995 to 2004 show that their distribution patterns were mainly associated with those of macro-zooplankton. More recent studies conducted from 2009 to 2012 demonstrate marked shifts, with fin whale distribution related to pelagic fish distribution, decreasing densities of humpbacks, and increased densities of toothed whales. During the same period, historically large abundances of pelagic planktivorous fish in the Norwegian Sea were reported. The goals of this study were to examine the summer distribution of fin and humpback whales from 2013 to 2018 and to assess the potential association between distribution and environmental impact factors. Results suggest a pronounced northerly shift in distribution for both species, a feeding hotspot for fin whales at the shelf area between Svalbard and Norway, and one near Bear Island for humpback whales. Fin whale distribution was associated with that of blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) and capelin (Mallotus villosus), whereas humpback whale distribution was associated with that of euphausiids (Meganyctiphanes norvegica, Thysanoessa longicaudata, and Thysanoessa inermis), capelin, and herring (Clupea harengus). However, a significant negative spatial correlation was found between whale occurrence and the widely expanding population of northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). The results of this study suggest that the prey composition of fin and humpback whales in recent years contain a large proportion of fish. The apparent northerly shift in the distribution of these whale species is largely determined by the availability of prey, but it likely is also impacted by direct or indirect interspecific interactions, especially with killer whales (Orcinus orca). Such large-scale pronounced changes in distribution seem to confirm a high degree of plasticity in fin and humpback whale feeding in the Norwegian Sea.


Fungal keratitis is an infection that is insidious and frequently misdiagnosed. Those with chronic eye surface conditions, contact lenses, systemic immunosuppression, and diabetes have been the most frequently affected with fungal keratitis. An 84-year-old male patient with a history of bilateral penetrating keratoplasty (PK) for keratoconus presented with pain and decreased visual acuity on his left eye. A corneal perforation was found, which was treated immediately with a full-thickness corneal transplant. The specimen was sent for bacterial and fungal cultures. Topical corticosteroids were prescribed postoperatively. Beauveria bassiana was isolated from the corneal scrapings. The postoperative treatment was modified by reducing the dose of corticosteroid and adding topical natamycin together with systemic posaconazole. No recurrence occurred in the transplant four months postoperatively under topical dexamethasone 0.1% b.i.d. This is the first case of keratitis and perforation in a previously transplanted cornea. Due to the rarity of the infection, there are no clear guidelines for postoperative prophylaxis in B. bassiana infection. Either the continuation of corticosteroids or the switch to another immunosuppressive therapy and selecting the appropriate antifungal regimen posed a significant therapeutic dilemma.


The importance of water quality, protection of watersheds and restoration of aquatic ecosystems has steadily been gaining attention. Wetlands perform many functions that are beneficial to water quality, and also play an important role in forested landscapes. Peatlands in forested catchments act as both sinks and sources for different nutrients. The effects of leached nutrients from a forested catchment on a fen and the retention properties of the fen were investigated using data collected from the Bohyttan fen in the commune of Nora, Sweden. In addition, the effects of forestry management on nutrient loading and how the fen affects the flow of nutrients into the nearby lake were also investigated.

Runoff measurements into and out of the fen were calculated using v-notch weirs and water level recorders. Water samples were collected monthly and used to calculate nutrient balances and retention of different elements. The effects of different forest management practices on nutrient leaching were investigated using the calibration period and control area technique.

The peatland retention was obvious for nitrate (34%), ammonium (6%) phosphate (5%), potassium (8%) and sulfate (7%). Nitrate retention is beneficial for water quality and helps to mitigate the effects of nutrient leaching, however the peatland exported organic nitrogen (-6.5%) and iron (-9%). Results show that the effects of forestry practices like clear-cutting increased the transport of nitrate and potassium even six years after it was carried out. Ditching of a cleared forest stand lowered the groundwater and also caused a rise in the pH of nearby stream water.

Leaching from forest land showed a correlation between high water color, DOC and iron concentrations. These conditions furnish additional organic matter and lead to a deterioration in water quality.


Introduction: Delusional Misidentification Syndrome (DMS) encompasses a group of disorders in which a person persistently believes the identity of people, places, or objects are altered. Historically, described in psychotic disorders, DMS prevalence is 15.8% in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 16.6% in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We present a case of DMS in a patient with dementia that incorporates elements of mirrored self-misidentification and phantom boarder syndrome and therapeutic response to a combination of a behavioral intervention and donepezil.

Case: 75-year-old white female presented with a four months history of DMS and visual hallucinations. Patient perceived her own reflection in picture glass as an older lady who was trying to steal her "boyfriends." Her "boyfriends" were three pictures of soldiers in her apartment. MMSE was 27/30 (WORLD) and 23/30 (Serial 7s). MRI showed biparietal and right hippocampal atrophy. NPT showed impaired language, spatial abilities, memory, and executive control. She scored <1 percentile on category word fluency, judgement of line orientation, raw complex figures and Beery VMI. Patient was diagnosed with probable AD, using NINCDS-ADRDA and findings on neuropsychological testing (NPT) and MRI. DLB was excluded using McKeith's criteria. After a failed trial of risperidone, she received donepezil and family was instructed to remove photographs. MMSE stable with resolution of the mirrored selfmisidentification at 4 months follow up.

Conclusion: Patient's poor response to risperidone is consistent with previous studies suggesting limitations of antipsychotic treatment for psychotic symptoms in AD. Removal of potential symptom trigger along with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor resulted in remission for up to 4 months. The potentiating effect of donepezil on the cholinergic component of the visuo-amygdaloid pathway/dorsal visual pathway may account for these changes.


The study examines the colonial legacy and the humanitarian crisis in the Eastern DRC. The research has three objectives: to identify the characteristics of Colonial legacy in the Eastern DRC, to establish the crisis caused by colonialism in the Eastern DRC, to investigate if there is any relationship between colonial legacy and humanitarian crisis in the Eastern DRC. This research is guided by three questions such as to explain the characteristics of colonial legacy in the Eastern DRC, to establish the challenges caused by colonialism in the Eastern DRC and to see if there is any relationship between humanitarian crisis and colonial legacy in the Eastern DRC. The population of this study is the displaced people living in the camp of GIHEMBE in GICUMBI District, Gihembe sector) and local leaders from Goma area in Eastern DRC. The study population consisted of both male and female having the age group of 45 and above. The reason for choosing this age group is because it is the older people who were there during colonialism therefore they are able to provide the needed information of the study. This category of age is also to be considered for the collection of information as mature they are staying at homes therefore was facilitated the researcher to meet. The colonization factors by far, the presence of armed groups in the region also fuels the violence. Behind the mentioned facts are the peacekeeping missions. All those factors remain at the heart of the humanitarian crisis in DRC which result in number of deaths, displacement of persons both internally and externally, diseases in refugees, many died by hungry and political instability hence reducing the socio economic potentials of the region in general. The overwhelming negative effects of continuing crisis on peace, Security and stability in the society of Great Lakes Region need to be addressed. This study was at exploring the impact of the colonial legacy and humanitarian crisis in the great lakes region. The researcher used the qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. The qualitative research method allowed the researcher to find out much richer answers to the questions analyzed in the study and the quantitative method helped him to understand and interprets the results using mathematical concept, statistical analysis, theories and hypothesis pertaining to phenomena. Questionnaires and interview methods was also used. Data was got from Gihembe refugee camp and Goma which was a field area and other sources such as Journals, Books and Gihembe camp records. The researcher recommended the government of DRC to improve the internal affairs including stopping discrimination between Congolese, stopping corruption and establishing adequate salaries for authorities at local level and the military, reform of the government institutions to which the population may have access easily; at no cost. Focus on control and regulations implementation of the exploitation of natural resources. The researcher also recommended the neighbouring countries of DRC to help for maintaining security in the region by working together fighting against arms smuggling and trafficking


Let LFC be the class of all locally FC-groups. We study the existentially closed groups in the class LFC p of all LFC-groups H whose torsion subgroup T(H) is a p-group. Differently from the situation in LFC, every existentially closed LFC p -group is already closed in LFC p , and there exist 2ℵ 0 countable closed LFCp-groups G. However, in the countable case, T(G) is up to isomorphism always a unique locally finite p-group with similar properties as the unique countable existentially closed locally finite p-group E p


The role of surgical revascularization for patients with ischemic stroke remains controversial. During acute phase of large artery occlusive ischemic stroke, extracranial–intracranial (EC-IC) bypass, such as superficial temporal-middle cerebral aretery (STA-MCA) bypass sugery, has been rarely performed. We report a case of successful emergency STA-MCA bypass surgery to stop the neurologic deterioration and improve the hemodynamic compromise in a patient with acute symptomatic MCA occlusion associated with hypoperfusion


Arc spraying can be used to produce coatings to protect against wear and tear against erosion. This paper presents some results obtained within the core research program of the NRC Technology Group in Surface Engineering on the development of erosion-resistant coatings. A relationship is established between the volume loss of the material (performance) under different erosion conditions and the coating properties or the microstructure. The results show that the wear behavior of the arc-sprayed materials depends on the type, size and impact strength of the impacting eroding particles. It is observed that for soft materials, even if ductile tearing is an active mode of degradation, the brittle behavior of intersplat oxides also plays an important role. For harder materials, this brittle delamination of splats becomes the dominant erosive mechanism, as can be observed on the worn surfaces. Paper includes a German-language abstract.


We report the magnetic characterization of the frustrated transition metal pyrochlore ${\text{NaCaCo}}_{2}{\mathrm{F}}_{7}$. This material has high spin Co${}^{2+}$ in CoF${}_{6}$ octahedra in a pyrochlore lattice and disordered nonmagnetic Na and Ca on the large-atom sites in the structure. Large crystals grown by the floating zone method were studied. The magnetic susceptibility is isotropic; the Co moment is larger than the spin-only value; and in spite of the large Curie Weiss theta (\ensuremath{-}140 K), freezing of the spin system, as characterized by peaks in the ac and dc susceptibility and specific heat, does not occur until around 2.4 K. This yields a frustration index of $f\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\theta}}_{\mathrm{CW}}/{T}_{f}\ensuremath{\approx}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}56$, an indication that the system is highly frustrated. The observed entropy loss at the freezing transition is low, indicating that magnetic entropy remains present in the system at 0.6 K. The compound may be the realization of a frustrated pyrochlore antiferromagnet with weak bond disorder. The high magnetic interaction strength, strong frustration, and the availability of large single crystals makes ${\text{NaCaCo}}_{2}{\mathrm{F}}_{7}$ an interesting alternative to rare earth oxide pyrochlores for the study of geometric magnetic frustration in pyrochlore lattices.


In this study, AISI 430/AISI 1040 steel couple 10 mm thick were welded in the butt position without any pre-treatment using keyhole plasma transferred arc (KPTA) process. Welded joints were manufactured selecting constant welding speed (0.01 mmin−1) and two different nozzle orifice diameters (2.4 and 3.2 mm), three different welding currents (130, 135 and 140 A), at a constant plasma gas flow (1.2 l min−1), a shielding gas flow (25 l min−1). The microstructural changes that occurred in the interface regions of the welded samples were examined by microhardness, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). In order to determine mechanical properties of samples, the V-notch Charpy tests were performed. In addition, fracture types in the notch impact strength tests of samples were determined from the fractographic examinations using SEM. K e y w o r d s: plasma transferred arc welding, keyhole, AISI 430, AISI 1040, nozzle orifice diameter


Automatic Text categorization refers to the process of assigning a category or some categories automatically among predefined ones. Text categorization is challenging in Indian languages has rich in morphology, a large number of word forms and large feature spaces. This paper investigates the performance of different classification approaches using different term weighting approaches in order to decide the most applicable one to Telugu text classification problem. We have investigated on different term weighting methods for Telugu corpus in combination with Naive Bayes ( NB), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and k Nearest Neighbor (kNN) classifiers.


In this paper, to control the existing headlamp control system using steering wheel angle more efficiently and more actively, image processing algorithm which improved the detection rate of lane at night based on camera was suggested. And to recognize road lane more clearly in the conditions of low illumination, new algorithms were developed in the aspects of improving brightness, extracting clear lane edge and using the characteristics of lane. Through this research, it turned out that lane detection ability by using the normalized stretching, angular mask and expected-area scan have good performance in the night compare to existing algorithms.


Acoustic echo suppression techniques for full-duplex communication in low-complexity systems are commonly known to introduce distortion to the desired signal (i.e., near-end speech). Moreover, most traditional echo control techniques typically require accurately detecting the contribution of the near-end speaker to the microphone signal ("double talk"). In this letter, we propose a novel approach to acoustic echo suppression, which aims at extracting the near-end signal using a constraint for minimizing the distortion, and without requiring a double-talk detector.


Abstract We present electro-optic switching from a planar waveguide with a ferroelectric liquid crystal overlayer and discuss the operating principle and the parameters significant for the operation of the device. We have found electro-optic response times of about 20 μs at best as well as a high (5.7%) transmittance in the ON-state of the device. The contrast ratio was 4:1 ON to OFF state.


The serial position curve in free recall of a list of action phrases differs depending on whether the phrases were memorized by listening/reading (verbal task; VT) or by additionally enacting the denoted actions (subject-performed task; SPT). In VTs there is a clear primacy effect and a short recency effect. In SPTs there is no primacy effect but an extended recency effect. H. D. Zimmer, T. Helstrup, and J. Engelkamp (2000) assumed that SPTs provide excellent item-specific information, which leads to an automatic pop-out of the items presented last. In the present study, the authors assumed that good item-specific encoding generally enhances the recency effect and that it hinders rehearsal processes and thereby reduces the primacy effect. This assumption was confirmed. An item-specific orienting task leads to parallel serial position curves in VTs and SPTs with no primacy effect but a clear recency effect. Moreover, the same serial position effects were shown with nouns as learning material. An item-specific orienting task changes the classical U-shaped serial position curve with verbal material and leads to the disappearance of the primacy and the enhancement of the recency effect.


Raman microscopy enables a sensitive, label-free molecular imaging of cells. Employing deep-UV (DUV) light for Raman excitation allows selective measurement of nucleotide bases and aromatic amino acids in a cell, without spectral overlapping of components with a large quantity (i.e. lipid, peptide), because their Raman scattering are specifically enhanced due to the resonance effect. To implement DUV resonance Raman imaging of cells, I previously established a home-built Raman microscope equipped with a DUV laser (λ = 257.2 nm). Raman image representing the distribution of cellular nucleic acid can be reconstructed with the intensity of a Raman band selectively assigned to adenine and guanine. Unfortunately, DUV resonance Raman imaging of cells is severely hindered by molecular photodegradation that occurs after a molecule absorbs DUV light during Raman measurement, precluding a high signal-to-noise ratio and repetitive measurement. To address this issue, I developed a technique for molecular protection under DUV exposure; the trivalent ions of lanthanide group including terbium, europium, and thulium could significantly suppress the molecular photodegradation by relaxing the DUV-excited molecules. The buffer solution containing any of these lanthanide ions with the concentration of 100 µM or higher could provide less destruction of the cellular structures, including nucleotide bases, than the one without the ions, under DUV exposure. Utilizing such protective effects of the lanthanide ions, I successfully achieved a twice higher signal-to-noise ratio and repetitive DUV Raman imaging of cells.


ABSTRACT The authors examined a model of instruction for English-language learners (ELLs) who were learning academic English while they tried to meet content standards required by the nation's education reform movement. In previous work (J. Echevarria, M. E. Vogt, & D. Short, 2000), the authors developed and validated a model of instruction (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol; SIOP model) for ELLs. In this study, the authors tested the model for its effects on student achievement. Findings revealed that students whose teachers implemented the SIOP model performed slightly better than did a comparison group on an expository essay writing task, which closely approximated academic assignments that ELLs must perform in standards-based classrooms.