This article uses the changing fortunes of actors at the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) over the last 50 years as a point of departure to examine how their creative agency and professional opportunities have been delimited by the dominant film culture in West Africa. Taking into consideration the various efforts, such as awards and the organization of colloquia, made by the festival to recognize their work, it argues that the discontinuity of such promotion has kept them overshadowed by directors, for whom the festival was initially established. It examines the iconography of the star as introduced to Africa by commercial imports and deconstructed by filmmakers like Djibril Diop Mambéty and Flora Gomes. This article posits that the transnational circulation of certain key performers within West African cinema bears the promise of a more elaborate network of African film production and distribution to come.


Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) occurs during pregnancy which affects mother, fetus, and outcome of pregnancy, hence early detection is necessary. The objective of this study was to ascertain the validity of glucometer over standard biochemical testing for detection of GDM and to estimate prevalence of GDM and its associated risk factors. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based study was conducted at Antenatal clinics of Obstetrics Department, tertiary care hospital, based on the "National Guidelines for Diagnosis and Management of GDM." Totally 357 pregnant women between 21 and 28 weeks of gestational age agreed were included in the study from January to March 2016. After obtaining written consent, one step procedure was offered to pregnant women by giving 75 g of anhydrous glucose dissolving in 200–250 ml of water. After 2 h, glucose level was estimated by capillary testing with glucometer and venous glucose by glucose oxidase test. Results: GDM was found in 20.4% pregnant women with capillary testing done by glucometer compare to 11.5% with venous blood testing. GDM was found higher among literates, homemakers, Hindus, people living in nuclear family, belongs to middle class, residing in urban area, primigravidae, obese and with gestational age between 21 and 24 weeks. Intermediate agreement (Kappa = 0.42) was found between two methods with sensitivity of 70.7%, specificity of 86.1%, positive predictive value 39.7%, and negative predictive value 95.8%. Conclusion: Intermediate agreement between two methods indicates glucometer testing can be used to screen pregnant women at an early gestational age (21 weeks), at the community level by health-care workers.


It is important that the nursery setting is a warm and caring environment and that every child feels they have a part to play in maintaining this 'feel good' factor. New children need to be made to feel welcome and secure. We use circle rhymes using names not only to introduce new children but to help them learn other children's names. It also encourages the group to be aware of the need to welcome and involve: 'Hello Sarah (x3) how are you today?' This can be followed by a personal question - How is the new baby? Is mummy feeling better? This not only helps to personalise the relationship but encourages the child to share information and others to listen until it is their turn.


Objectives
As birds are a natural model of diabetes, the objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that feeding adult mourning doves, Zenaida macroura, a high fat diet (60% calories from fat; HF) or refined carbohydrate diet (white bread: WB) for four weeks results in diabetes-like pathologies including hyperglycemia and altered metabolic profiles.

Methods
Separate cohorts of doves were captured for each feeding trial and were acclimated for one week to their respective study diets; cohort 1: WB (n = 6) vs nutritionally-balanced seeds (n = 6), and cohort 2: HF (n = 4) vs control (n = 6). The WB study mimicked natural feeding options for wild birds whereas the HF study used experimental diets. Four weeks later, birds were euthanized with an overdose of sodium pentobarbital and we collected cardiac blood, liver, kidney (HF study only), and pectoralis muscle for metabolomic analyses and biochemical assays.

Results
Pathway analysis of metabolic concentrations revealed only two pathways that were significantly altered (p < 0.05) and concurrently highly impacted (scale: 0-1; > 0.60) by the HF diet consumption: ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis (plasma and pectoralis muscle) and alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism (plasma and kidney; p < 0.05). Only three low impact pathways were significantly affected by the WB diet consumption: glutathione metabolism and histidine metabolism (liver), and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism (pectoralis muscle; p < 0.05). Further, consumption neither of the HF nor of the WB diet altered plasma uric acid, insulin, pectoralis muscle, liver triglycerides, or body mass (only measured in HF study) significantly, but liver glycogen concentrations were 2.12-fold higher in WB than control doves (p < 0.015). Lastly, blood glucose concentrations did not differ between WB or HF birds and control birds.

Conclusions
Contrary to our hypothesis, consumption of a WB or HF diet for four weeks did not induce symptoms of diabetes in doves. Further elucidating the apparent avian resistance to diet-induced metabolic complications may help develop novel therapeutic agents for mammalian diabetes.

Funding Sources
ASU School of Life Sciences/Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development - Research Investment Initiative, a summer research fellowship from the American Physiology Society, and the Center of Evolution and Medicine Graduate Fellow Award.


During a bacteriological examination of materials from slaughtered swine, we isolated from hemorrhagic and markedly edematous mandibular lymph nodes strains of hemolytic streptococci belonging to groups C, E, L, S, and U; also isolated were beta-hemolytic strains that were not classifiable within any of the known serological groups A to U. Hyperimmune sera prepared with these strains contain antibodies that are specific in the homologous system only and are distinct from antibodies against group A to U strains. The strains were investigated for their biochemical and physiological properties. On the basis of the characters determined and because of repeated isolations made in different localities, it is proposed that the strains are representatives of a new serological group of hemolytic streptococci, for which we propose the designation "V".


Many problems took place with regard to occurrence of Korea social disaster, but specific guidelines by type and by article for solving the problems are not fully prepared because of lack of awareness and safety ignorance. Thus, this study is dissertation about space design for responding to Korea social disaster, which figures out character of Korea social disaster, guidelines of temporary shelter in Korea, and supply status through a literature investigation. After analyzing Korea social disaster, occurrence and scale of damage increased and type of disaster also varied. However, the guidelines for managing social disaster are not suitably prepared. Temporary shelter has to prepare various functions and facility by disaster's type and by scale of damage, but the same guideline which has already used in managing natural disaster is applied. So, it can not be fully utilized when social disaster happens. With regard to this problem, many studies has proceeded about social disaster since 2014. However, most of them are about guideline for facility operation and evacuation, so more specific methods for design need to be made. Therefore, depending on types of Korea social disaster, specific operation for temporary shelter and design guidelines for space plan have to be made under the cooperative relationship between each department.


Despite recent advances in medical research, the incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-induced fatal events is increasing. The literature point towards several co-occurring pathways that could lead to terminal complications related with these diseases. Different pathophysiological alterations such as hyperglycaemia, hyperinsulinaemia, insulin resistance, obesity, endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress lead to the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic plaques. In view of the continuous rise in fatal events and overlapping pathological conditions associated with CVD and diabetes, there is a critical need to develop a common treatments against these diseases. The present review highlights the possible use of common drugs that could target diabetes and associated CVD.


In this paper, we aim to raise awareness of the limitations of the F-measure when evaluating the quality of the boundaries found in the automatic segmentation of music. We present and discuss the results of various experiments where subjects listened to different musical excerpts containing boundary indications and had to rate the quality of the boundaries. These boundaries were carefully generated from state-of-the-art segmentation algorithms as well as human-annotated data. The results show that humans tend to give more relevance to the precision component of the Fmeasure rather than the recall component, therefore making the classical F-measure not as perceptually informative as currently assumed. Based on the results of the experiments, we discuss the potential of an alternative evaluation based on the F-measure that emphasizes precision over recall, making the section boundary evaluation more expressive and reliable.


Abstract In this paper, we study the phonon and thermal properties of a nanocrystal by using transfer matrix method in the harmonic approximation. The considered system is a mass-spring nanocrystal with a square cross section. At first, for the ideal case, we obtain the phonon spectrum with free boundary conditions. Then we calculate some phonon transport properties of this system, namely, the phonon density of states (modes) and transmission coefficient under different physical and structural conditions. Finally, in the presence of a linear temperature gradient, we obtain the system's thermal conductivity. The results show that the variation in values of physical and structural parameters causes the phonon system properties to strongly change. For example, by decreasing or increasing the typical band frequency of the system, the phonon transmission coefficient increases or decreases, respectively. Moreover, for a mass periodic (for sequential layers) nanocrystal embedded between the two ideal nanocrystals the thermal conductivity decreases with respect to the ideal case.


Three trials were conducted to identify the critical vitamins in the diets of broiler-strain chicks fed alfalfa juice protein concentrate (AJPC) corn-soy diets from 0 to 3 wk of age. Vitamin supplements were added to AJPC diets. Diets were formulated to contain, parts 30/121, 40/128, 50/135, and 60/142 parts AJPC/parts total diet. Parts were used to permit usage of wet materials and still maintain about 90% dry matter. All diets were formulated to contain 20% crude protein, .93% total sulfur-containing amino acids, and 2,940 kcal metabolizable energy/kg diet. Propionic acid was added at .2% to all diets. Feeds were refrigerated (7 C) and fed out daily. The addition of choline, riboflavin, vitamin B12, vitamin A or E, folic acid, or biotin did not increase weight gains. Addition of 3 mg/kg vitamin B6 completely overcame the growth depression caused by the 50-parts AJPC diet and significant (P less than .05) growth increases (13 to 29%) were achieved with vitamin-B6 supplementation to the 60-parts AJPC diet. Depressed immune responses were completely prevented by the addition of 3 mg/kg of vitamin B6. The significant (P less than .05) increases in leg deformities observed in birds fed the 60-parts AJPC diet were also brought back to more typical values in birds fed the diet supplemented with 3 mg/kg vitamin B6. Vitamin K supplementation (.53 mg/kg) to the 60-parts AJPC diet resulted in significant decreases from 15 min in blood clotting times to 3 to 5 min.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The realization of a long-distance, distributed quantum network based on quantum memory nodes that are linked by photonic channels remains an outstanding challenge. We propose a quantum network node based on neutral alkali atoms coupled to nanophotonic crystal cavities that combines a long-lived memory qubit with a photonic interface at the telecom range, thereby enabling the long-distance distribution of entanglement over low loss optical fibers. We present a novel protocol for the generation of an atom–photon entangled state which uses telecom transitions between excited states of the alkali atoms. We analyze the realistic implementation of this protocol using rubidium and cesium atoms taking into account the full atomic level structure and properties of the nanophotonic crystal cavity. We find that a high fidelity entangled state can be generated with current technologies.


eGovernmnet solutions are getting momentum. Nowadays, we can notice that every country is providing and developing their own solutions, projects and initiatives. As result, we can find a lack of interoperability among them. We can even find interoperability lacks in solutions from the same administration. To overcome this situation we propose the use of a semantic platform where all these solutions may cooperate to expand the accessibility of services in a broad sense. As result, we will present a semantic platform to develop and host eGovernment applications.


This diploma thesis discusses integration of two information technology systems, customer relationship management system (CRM) and contact center system. The first part of this thesis covers basic concepts of customer relationship management systems (CRM) with focus on Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. The second part of this thesis discusses basic concepts of contact center solutions, more specifically Cisco Unified Contact Center Express 5.0 (CUCC).
The main part of this diploma thesis focuses on systems integration of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and Cisco Unified Contact Center. Discussion covers integration requirements, technical possibilities, limitations and the integration itself. Before implementing the integration itself, functional specifications for the integration had to be identified from documentation and pilot service had to be made in order to verify the requirements and use cases. Then, integration has been implemented with web services technology, where Microsoft Dynamics CRM acted as one of the possible web service clients, whereas the web service itself connects to CUCC via database and web-based interfaces. This kind of approach encourages reusability of the web service itself and does not limit usage only to Microsoft Dynamics. Furthermore, a few use case scenarious and behaviour of the solution in production environment are discussed, including problems encountered in the production environment.
At the end of the thesis, the integration (approach) is critically evaluated, which not only includes positive and negative aspects of the approach taken, but also possibilities and improvements that will have to be taken into account for further development of web service and the solution itself.


Studies on artisanal shark fisheries in Tanjungluar - East Lombok were conducted during the year 2001-2011 (except in 2003 and 2007). A sampling method called "rapid market survey" method was employed to collect catch data from surface and bottom longlines fishing, rapidly. Biological data and fisheries data were collected during survey. Catch data for shark were also obtained from daily records filled by TPI officers in Tanjungluar between 2009 and 2010. The results showed that shark longline fishing was conducted every month. The trend of shark catches relates to the number of fishing vessels, fishing ground, and weather conditions at sea. The period between July and September is a transitional season from East to West seasons. During this season, the wind strength is weakened and a good fishing season for the fishers. The lowest catch occurs in January (1.06 tonnes) and the highest catch in September with the total catch of 24.6 tonnes. Sharks caught by surface longline were dominated by Silky shark, Carcharhinus falciformis (40-90%) with the size range of 100-125 cm. The catch of bottom longline was mostly consisting of fish in mature condition that dominated by Grey reef shark ( Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos ), Common black tip shark ( C. limbatus ), Spot tail shark ( C. sorrah ), and Scalloped hammerhead shark ( Sphyrna lewini ), with the size range of 125-200 cm, 170- 250 cm, 100-150 cm, and 170-300 cm, respectively. Surface longline fishing occurs in the offshore waters in depth more than 200 m to 3000 m, whereas bottom longline fishing is operated at a depth of 50-100 m around islands.


Research regarding student cohorts entering the Georgia WebMBA$$ program (an online MBA program in the University System of Georgia) shows consistent demographic characteristics as well as students' reasons for joining the program, experience with online learning, and perceptions of teamwork. The program has a high retention rate, and in this article the authors focus on retaining online learners. They discuss the profile of program students and the teaching approaches that have been successful in addressing potential attrition issues with these learners. To retain virtual learners, the program provides a cohort- and team-based learning experience with extensive faculty feedback and interaction to address isolation concerns, provide application-based content and activities, and help students meet expectations for personal and professional growth. The authors also stress the need to offer a well-managed program and faculty members who are both interested and competent in teaching in the online learning environment.


In this article, a model predictive current controller for multilevel inverters driving electrical machines is proposed. The inverter switch positions are directly set by the controller, thus avoiding the use of a modulator. Admissible switching sequences are enumerated, and a state-space model of the drive is used to predict the drive's response to each sequence. The predicted short-term switching losses are evaluated and minimized. The concept of extrapolation and the use of bounds achieve an effective prediction horizon of up to 100 time steps despite the short switching horizon.


The early 1990s in Hungary saw rapid institutional change and severe economic downturn. Credit relations and the financial system generally suffered from widespread corruption, including the exchange of loans for bribes, self-enrichment schemes, and manipulation of such procedures as bankruptcy, state-initiated debt restructuring programs, and banking supervision processes. The cost of this early rash of corruption and later episodes through the 1990s easily runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars.Many countries in similar circumstances have failed to come to grips with these problems, with disastrous results—the paradigm example being Russia's experience leading up to the crisis of 1998. There, rapid privatization (in the absence of functioning safeguards and market institutions) opened the door to massive self-enrichment by enterprise insiders, and a loosely supervised banking system facilitated the rise of the oligarchs. Hungary saw the beginnings of this in the early 1990s. Its experiments with market socialism had ushered in a complex and murky business environment. Hybrid (state-private) corporate groups, in many cases run by former state managers, linked enterprises, banks, and the state in a collusive mutual embrace.What could be done? Economic restructuring to transform heavily corrupt incentives had to take first priority. Thus, the choices confronting Hungary in the early 1990s were tough and the stakes high. In the event, Hungary escaped the trap of failed transition. The main steps in its reform were the implementation (and adjustment) of a legal reform package known as "legislative shock therapy", a (highly flawed) debt restructuring process, and robust privatization—especially of state holdings in the banking sector. These reforms revolutionized ownership incentives and imposed transparency on the system. The influx of foreign owners, together with the growing strength of markets and public sector institutions, brought banks and enterprises under the effective discipline of corporate governance and regulation. This helped create one of the strongest financial sectors in the region, a vibrant economy, and a reasonably well-governed and competitive marketplace. Corruption in the financial system, nearly a way of life in 1991, became far more episodic and manageable. The disciplines imposed by the applicable international regimes, especially the EU, have played an important role. There are lessons here for policymakers around the world.


In-memory computing (IMC) on a large monolithic chip for deep learning faces area, yield, and fabrication cost challenges due to the ever-increasing model sizes. 2.5D or chiplet-based architectures integrate multiple small chiplets to form a large computing system, presenting a feasible solution to accelerate large deep learning models. In this work, we present a novel benchmarking tool, SIAM, to evaluate the performance of chiplet-based IMC architectures and explore different architectural configurations. SIAM integrates device, circuit, architecture, network-on-chip (NoC), network-on-package (NoP), and DRAM access models to benchmark an end-to-end system. SIAM supports multiple deep neural networks (DNNs), different architectural configurations, and efficient design space exploration. We demonstrate the effectiveness of SIAM by benchmarking state-of-the-art DNNs across different datasets.


Pretension load plays very important role in industrial assemblies in order to avoid accident by loosening of assemblies. The aim is to determine maximum limit of pretension load without thread failure using universal testing machine. The vibration test rig is developed for measuring the loosening performance of nut bolt assemblies. The samples of ISO Metric bolts of different size such as M8, M10, M12, M16 and M20 bolt having 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2 and 2.5 mm pitches respectively are used for testing. The maximum stresses developed and deformations occur due to pretension load applied on nut bolt assembly are obtained by finite element method using ANSYS Workbench version 14. The validations of results are carried out by using experimental method.


Purpose: To investigate the effect of myricetin 3-glucoside (M3GLS) on middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced cerebral ischemia in a rat model, and the mechanism of action involved.Methods: A cerebral ischemia rat model was established using MCAO under 10 % chloral hydrate anesthesia. Neurological severity score was determined by analyzing reflex, motor and sensory functions, as well as balancing potential. Infarction volume was determined using triphenyl tetrazolium chloride dye, while counting of Nissl bodies was done after toluidine blue staining. The protein expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2 were assayed using western blotting, while cytokine levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results: Treatment of cerebral ischemia rats with M3GLS effectively reduced infarct volume, when compared to vehicle-treated group (p < 0.05). Moreover, M3GLS treatment significantly increased the population of Nissl bodies and effectively improved neurologic scores (p < 0.05). In M3GLS-pretreated rats, cerebral ischemia-induced elevation of protein expressions of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly suppressed. M3GL treatment significantly reversed cerebral ischemia-mediated downregulation of Bcl-2 protein level, but markedly reduced cerebral ischemia-induced upregulation of Bax protein level (p < 0.05).Conclusion: M3GLS exerts protective effect against cerebral ischemia-induced brain injury in rats via downregulation of inflammatory cytokines. It reduces infarction volume in the brain of cerebral ischemia rats, and regulates Bcl-2/Bax protein ratio. Thus, M3GLS has a potential for use in the clinical management of cerebral ischemia.
Keywords: Myricetin, Neuroprotection, Anti-inflammation, Cerebral ischemia, Cytokines, Infarction


Soaking may improve the bitter yam properties processed by traditional method of drying and milling. The study investigated the effect of soaking prior to the traditional method of drying and milling on some nutrient and anti-nutrient properties of bitter yam flour. Four equal parts of cleaned, peeled and sliced bitter yam tubers were respectively soaked in clean water for 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours, dewatered, oven-dried at 50°C and milled, using standard procedures. The peak effect was recorded in the sample soaked for 24 hours which increased respectively by 13.12%, 29.41% and 0.81% for moisture, fat and carbohydrate, but decreased by 19.61%, 11.44%, 10.85%, 48.00% and 47.17% for crude fibre, ash, protein, alkaloid and tannin relative to control. Soaking, irrespective of time, prior to oven-drying (50°C) significantly improved the moisture and fat contents, but diminished the studied antinutrient and the other nutrient content of the bitter yam flour. The processing method did not favor the preservation of most of the studied properties. We recommend soaking prior to oven drying when the desired effect is overriding. Further studies, including sensory evaluation are warranted to address the possibility that the method may yield less bitter flour.


【The purpose of this study was to examine the consumption behaviors regarding environment-friendly agricultural products by food-related lifestyles of housewives. The data were collected from 298 housewives living in Yeungnam region through a self-administered questionnaire during April, 2010. Frequencies, Cronbach's $\alpha$ , factor analysis, cluster analysis, one-way analysis of variance, Duncan's multiple range test and chi-square test were conducted by SPSS Windows. The results obtained from this study were as follows. Lifestyles were categorized into five factors by factor analysis: healthy-seeking type, popularity-seeking type, convenience-seeking type, safety-seeking type and taste-seeking type. The respondents belonged to one of three groups by cluster analysis: popularity-seeking group, convenience-seeking group, and wellbeing-seeking group. The main reason given for purchasing environment-friendly agricultural products was safety. The respondents were satisfied with the safety of environment-friendly agricultural products the most. Many respondents purchased environment-friendly agricultural products at large discount markets, and received information about them from mass media. There were significant differences among three groups in the place of purchase environment-friendly agricultural products, information source for environment-friendly agricultural products, most important factor when purchasing environment-friendly agricultural products, the level of satisfaction with environment-friendly agricultural products and the purchase rate of environment-friendly agricultural products among the monthly food expenses.】


This study seeks to identify the relevance and challenges faced in conducting language activities to help foster second/foreign language learning at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Terengganu. This is also aimed at assisting the
organization to review practices of having language activities, hoping this may further cultivate and generate enthusiasm among students to learn second/foreign languages. This research also offers some possible ways to improve students' activities so as to help enhance their second/foreign language learning. In other words, this research may serve as a preliminary attempt aiming at providing reflections and insights on how students' participation in language activities conductedmay be usefulfor them in learning second/foreign languages. The research employs quantitative methodology in which random
stratified sampling technique is used Samples consist of Bumiputera students taking English (as a second language) and Mandarin, French, and Arabic classes (as foreign languages). Generally, students are ofthe opinion that
language activities can become a significant platform to project andshow their language skills and competency during presentations/performances. Nevertheless, as one ofmany recommendations suggested in the findings of this research, wefound that there is still a needfor evaluation andfo//ow-up work after having participated in the language activities.


Electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) provide unique information about electronic structure, but their interpretation has been controversial. This essay discusses a framework for interpretation. Although the interpretation presented here are not new, we believe it is important to present this framework in light of recent publications. The key point is that these experiments provide information about how the electron distribution changes upon ionization, not how electrons behave in the pre-ionized state. Therefore these experiments do not lead to a "selection of the correct orbitals" in chemistry, and they do not overturn the well-known conclusion that both delocalized molecular orbitals and localized molecular orbitals are useful for interpreting chemical structure and dynamics. The two types of orbitals can produce identical total molecular electron densities and therefore molecular properties. Different types of orbitals are useful for different purposes.


Hand gesture recognition is a topic that is still investigated by many scientists for numerous useful aspects. This research investigated hand gestures for sign language number zero to nine. The hand gesture recognition was based on finger direction patterns. The finger directions were detected by a Leap Motion Controller. Finger direction pattern modeling was based on two methods: threshold and artificial neural network. Threshold model 1 contained 15 rules based on the range of finger directions on each axis. Threshold model 2 was developed from model 1 based on the behavior of finger movements when the subject performed hand gestures. The ANN model of the system was designed with four neurons at the output layer, 15 neurons at the input layer, seven neurons at the first hidden layer and 5 neurons at the second hidden layer. The artificial neural network used the logsig as the activation function. The result shows that the first threshold model has the lowest accuracy because the rule is too complicated and rigid. The threshold model 2 can improve the threshold model, but it still needs development to reach better accuracy. The ANN model gave the best result among the developed model with 98% accuracy. LMC produces useful biometric data for hand gesture recognition.


ABSTRACT The corrosion behaviour of Titanium carbonitride (Ti(C,N)) films grown by chemical vapour deposition was analysed in artificial sea water environment. From potentiodynamic polarisation curves, two passivation zones were detected, which originated from an initial oxidation of TiC and TiN to TiO2 followed by growth of the TiO2 layer upon increased polarisation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses verified the mechanism by detecting a gradual decrease in Ti(C,N) peaks accompanied by a gradual increase of oxidised Ti (e.g. TiO2). It was likewise found that carbon in TiC mainly decomposes into carbonate species while the nitrogen in TiN remains elemental and likely escapes as nitrogen gas. Accordingly, Ti(C,N) behaves like a superposition of TiC and TiN with their individual oxidation behaviour, resulting in a highly corrosion resistant material. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


The steel drum bears an indexical relationship to notions of 'Caribbean identity' that correspond with fun, sun, and relaxation. These associations grow out of media representations in film, music, and the American tourist industries. Musicians in Pittsburgh and elsewhere around the world, however, use the steel drum in their own ways, expanding the types of music the steel drum is heard playing. While some still choose to use the steel drum, or steel pan as it is also known, in what is perceived as authentic Caribbean steelband music, others have found ways of incorporating it into a variety of musical genres such as jazz fusion. Music venues, audience perceptions, and performance opportunities determine the ways the steel drum is played and expressed in old and new forms. As the home of steel pan makers and many steel pan musicians, Pittsburgh plays a significant role in these exchanges. Ethnographic material from the Steel City reveals that expectations of authenticity influence the reception of steel pan music. World music education curriculums and multicultural programming in the region shape the instrument's identity as well. This thesis analyzes the complex ways the steel drum is imbued with notions of "Caribbeanness" and how musicians perform on this instrument within and beyond these cultural parameters.


In her later philosophical writings, Stein works to synthesize the medieval scholastic tradition and contemporary phenomenology. Stein draws heavily from Thomas Aquinas's work so that the prevalence of positive references to Thomas have led many to read Stein as a Thomist. On critical questions regarding being and essence, however, Stein is not a Thomist. In addition to mental and actual being, she also affirms essential being, which is properly the being of intelligibilities as well as potencies. Essential being is never separate from an entity with either mental or actual being, but it is a distinct type of being. In this essay, I attempt to contrast briefly Stein's account of being and essence with Thomas's position and to bring out the way in which Stein's affirmation of essential being leads her in a more Scotist than Thomist direction, at least on questions related to essences and universals.


Abstract Kinematic indicators, including certain strain fringes, represent an important group of structures related to the progressive deformation in rocks. The evolution of these fibrous textures can be explained by the combination of multiple mechanisms of deformation and fluid flow, mainly controlled by the orientation of the strain field and the morphology of the grains. In general, the observations are done with an optical microscope and compared with computational models of growth. This work proposes a combination of crystallographic and cathodoluminescence data obtained in rocks from banded iron formations of the Iron Quadrangle in Brazil to represent an example of how complementary analytical techniques can be useful to understand geological problems. The chosen sample exhibits a strain fringe structure of quartz around a clast of magnetite partially transformed into goethite and hematite. Through the crystallographic data it was possible to identify the grain boundary morphology and domains of low deformation areas. On the other hand, the cathodoluminescence signal evidenced the occurrence of grains with a higher concentration of crystalline defects.


Angiotensin II (Ang II) has been implicated in the regulation of smooth muscle cell proliferation after vascular injury, but the molecular mechanisms of this effect remain obscure. The aims of the present study were 1) to determine if Ang II was mitogenic (in a defined serum-free medium) for aortic smooth muscle cells derived from spontaneously hypertensive rats, either alone or in combination with epidermal growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, or platelet-derived growth factor-BB; and 2) to determine if the Ang


One strategy for decreasing the barriers to higher education and for increasing the competency and performance of the occupational and environmental health nurse in the information age is technology enhanced learning. Technology enhanced learning encompasses a variety of technologies employed in teaching and learning activities of presentation, interaction, and transmission to on campus and distant students. Web based learning is growing faster than any other instructional technology, offering students convenience and a wealth of information.


A controlled, rapid, and potentiostat-free method has been developed for grafting the diazonium salt (3,5-bis(4-diazophenoxy)benzoic acid tetrafluoroborate (DCOOH)) on gold and carbon substrates, based on a Zn-mediated chemical dediazonation. The highly stable thin layer organic platforms obtained were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, AFM, impedance, XP, and Raman spectroscopies. A dediazonation mechanism based on radical formation is proposed. Finally, DCOOH was proved as a linker to an aminated electroactive probe.


Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are of key importance in Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM) networks because of their reduced volume and packaging costs compared to discrete components. The research described in this thesis was focussed on the integration of WDM-lasers and Radio-Frequency (RF) modulators. The WDM-lasers are based on an array of Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (SOAs) and an Arrayed-Waveguide Grating (AWG). These lasers can be operated as multiwavelength lasers for simultaneous generation of multiple wavelengths, or as tunable laser in which case their digital control is an advantage over precise analog control needed in for instance sampled-grating distributed Bragg reflector lasers. The RF modulators are based on a traveling-wave Mach-Zehnder structure. The integration of both components on one single chip involves engineering trade-offs relating to the optimization of microwave, electrical, optical and fabrication characteristics. An important aspect of the fabrication of PICs is the selection of a suitable integration technology to realize different waveguide types for active (e.g. amplifier) and passive (e.g. AWG) elements. InP epitaxial wafers containing high-quality integrated active and passive regions were developed by JDS Uniphase and the COBRA Research Institute using a three-step metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy re-growth process. Our PICs use a ridge waveguide design, for which a reactive ion etch process was developed the COBRA cleanroom. As a first step towards the integration of lasers and modulators, we focused on the fabrication of stand-alone devices in compatible structures. The Mach-Zehnder modulator structure was realized in two versions. The first version employed 4-µm-wide phase shifters. This waveguide width enabled a tolerant fabrication process but severely limited the modulator bandwidth due to a high microwave attenuation and a velocity mismatch. A velocity match is important to have an efficient interaction between the modulating microwaves and the optical carrier. Also the modulator impedance of ?? 21W was not matched well to a 50W driver. An additional impedance mismatch caused a standing wave pattern limiting the modulator 3dBe bandwidth to 5GHz. In a next design, we addressed an increase of the modulator impedance and a reduction of both the microwave attenuation and index to achieve a velocity match. All three issues could be accomplished simultaneously, mainly by tuning one design parameter: the waveguide width. The optimum width of 1µm forced us to develop new fabrication steps in order to realize 2- µm-wide metal lines on top of such narrow phase shifters. The result was a traveling-wave Mach-Zehnder modulator that was both velocity- and impedance-matched. The switching voltage was measured to be lower than 5V and the static extinction ratio better than 20dB at 1550nm. The simulated 3-dBe relative optical response was over 50GHz for a device with 2-mm-long phase shifters. The bandwidth deduced from electrical measurements was reduced by a poor quality plated gold to 34GHz. The optical bandwidth measured with a photodiode was reduced to 9GHz by a high contact resistance. These two problems were solved in a second fabrication run. There, a small velocity mismatch limited the modulator bandwidth extracted from S-parameter measurement to 34GHz, enough for 40Gb/s operation. A number of multiwavelength lasers was developed separately in various configurations of three main components: passive waveguides, semiconductor amplifiers (SOA)s and one or more AWGs. We realized a multiwavelength 4-l laser using the basic configuration of an SOAarray and a single AWG in a linear Fabry-Perot cavity. If no simultaneous operation is required, AWG-based lasers can also be applied as discretely tunable lasers. Then, the properties of the AWG can be exploited to increase the number of generated wavelengths over the number of integrated amplifiers. Using two AWGs and eight SOAs, we realized two linear 16-l digitally tunable lasers with a channel spacing of 100GHz. One of these lasers was measured to have an side-mode suppression ratio of over 40dB and an output power of ?? 1mW at 100mA bias current. This power level was substantially higher than that of earlier published AWG-based digitally tunable lasers with an increased number of wavelengths. This was accomplished by coupling two cavities with a multimode interference coupler into one output waveguide. As an alternative for AWG-based multiwavelength lasers in a linear cavity, we realized several WDM ring lasers, which were the first of their kind. Two 4-l AWG-based ring lasers, a 7-l and a 9-l ring laser were all fabricated in the same technology. One of these ring lasers hold the smallest device size of an AWG-based laser to date (1×1.8mm2). As integrated ring lasers had not been used earlier for multiwavelength operation, we made an extensive study of the stability and the mode-competition mechanism in such lasers. From our investigations it can been concluded that the stability properties of these lasers can be good, but that it is difficult to tap sufficient power out of the ring. AWG-based multiwavelength lasers can be applied as an integrated continuous-wave source for a wavelength converter or a modulator. Integrated modulators are a relevant option since direct laser modulation is limited due to the long laser cavity. We designed and fabricated a 4-l multiwavelength laser integrated with a high-speed Mach-Zehnder modulator. For a device consisting of a 4-l multiwavelength laser with four integrated modulators, we applied a novel concept using a single AWG (de)multiplexer. The realization of these integrated components has been accomplished and we came close to operating devices.


Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of protonated methanol-water mixed clusters, H (+)(MeOH) 1(H 2O) n ( n = 1-8), were extensively carried out to analyze the hydrogen bond structures of the clusters. Various structural isomers were energy optimized, and their relative energies with zero point energy corrections and temperature dependence of the free energies were examined. Coexistence of different morphological isomers was suggested. Infrared spectra were simulated on the basis of the optimized structures. The infrared spectra were also experimentally measured for n = 3-9 in the OH stretching vibrational region. The observed broad bands in the hydrogen-bonded OH stretch region were assigned in comparison with the simulations. From the DFT calculations, the preferential proton location was also investigated. Clear correlations between the excess proton location and the cluster morphology were found.


The present study is a concise form of some of the researches conducted within the Interdisciplinary Centre for Advanced Researches on Territorial Dynamics of the University of Bucharest, which had as an objective identifying the relationships between the development of the poles network and the evolution of demographic indicators. The study's objectives are related to identifying the role of decisional impulses from the development poles level in the functional structuring of the local settlements system. The analyses were done at each census level, and the measures adopted by the decision makers in order to stimulate the economy of development poles were underlined. A special attention was given to the communist period, when decisional impulses were followed by immediate effects at the level of dissipative capacity of towns, towards which the investments allocated in order to develop industry were oriented.


In Germany inpatient rehabilitation plays a major role for the treatment of children and adolescents with chronic health conditions. The German Pension Insurance carries out the rehabilitation of children and adolescents with high commitment. Paediatric rehabilitation enables children to go to kindergarten and school without interruption and participate in later professional life. The article specifies the basics of paediatric rehabilitation, describes the disease structure, defines the therapeutic care and explicates survey results.


of orotic acid are discussed together with those of several analogues which have antimetabolic, antimicrobial or antiviral activities. In addition the properties of several substituted uracil and thymine derivatives are described including 6-methyl uracil, S-ethyluracil, 5-hydroxymethyl uracil and the amino uracils. A further section outlines the structure of hydropyrimidines, for example primidone, an anticonvulsant. In general the essays in this part maintain the usual high standard of the series, presenting a great deal of factual information backed up by adequate references. The subject matter of these three particular essays, however, may be of less interest to clinical biochemists than some of the other volumes. D. H. Orrell


Time-dependent wavepackets are widely used to model various phenomena in physics. One approach in simulating the wavepacket dynamics is the quantum trajectory method (QTM). Based on the hydrodynamic formulation of quantum mechanics, the QTM represents the wavepacket by an unstructured set of pseudoparticles whose trajectories are coupled by the quantum potential. The governing equations for the pseudoparticle trajectories are solved using a computationally intensive moving weighted least squares (MWLS) algorithm, and the trajectories can be computed in parallel. This paper contributes a strategy for improving the performance of wavepacket simulations using the QTM. Specifically, adaptivity is incorporated into the MWLS algorithm, and loop scheduling techniques are employed to dynamically load balance the parallel computation of the trajectories. The adaptive MWLS algorithm reduces the amount of computations without sacrificing accuracy, while adaptive loop scheduling addresses the load imbalance introduced by the algorithm and the runtime system. Results of experiments on a Linux cluster are presented to confirm that the adaptive MWLS reduces the trajectory computation time by up to 24%, and adaptive loop scheduling achieves parallel efficiencies of up to 85% when simulating a free particle.


Polypropylene (PP) is widely used in short-term use artifacts, rapidly discarded and should partially replace neat PP. In addition, it is one of the polymers most used in the automobile industry. This study shows the technical feasibility of partially substituting neat PP for a post-consumer counterpart (PP r ), as well as adding ground glass (GP), used as filler in the polymer matrix. Mechanical and thermal properties of the recycled blends (PP/PP r ) and composites (PP/PP r /GP) were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the blend with the highest PP r content obtained a statisti-cally significant decline in elastic modulus, but adding 5 wt% of GP to this blend increased this property, achieving a similar value in relation to neat PP. The composite developed may be a promising tailor-made product with properties resembling those of the virgin plastic. Thus, the automotive industry seems to be a good option for the use of PP r and GP composites and blends, without increasing product requirements.


The transition kernel of the well-known Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm has a point mass at the chain's current position, which prevent direct smoothness properties to be derived for the successive densities of marginals issued from this algorithm. We show here that under mild smoothness assumption on the MH algorithm "input" densities (the initial, proposal and target distributions), propagation of a Lipschitz condition for the iterative densities can be proved. This allows us to build a consistent nonparametric estimate of the entropy for these iterative densities. This theoretical study can be viewed as a building block for a more general MCMC evaluation tool grounded on such estimates.


Discourse analytic research on masculinity has produced some interesting and insightful understandings of male-bonding talk and/or talk around alcohol-related activities. These and other contributions have helped demonstrate the dependence of 'hegemonic' masculinities on the discursive subordination of the 'other', notably women and gay men. The present study builds on such work by examining the reproduction of masculinities in the context of a group of four young men interacting under the influence of alcohol. The talk was recorded with the permission of the four participants (one of whom is a co-author – GE) and subsequently subjected to discourse analysis. Particular attention is paid to definitions of (male) self and others – women, gay men and men from ethnically different backgrounds – which are negotiated during the interaction. The analysis is discussed in the light of current debates on the discursive reproduction of masculinities.


In this paper the choice of the Bernoulli distribution as biased distribution for importance sampling (IS) Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation of linear block codes over binary symmetric channels (BSCs) is studied. Based on the analytical derivation of the optimal IS Bernoulli distribution, with explicit calculation of the variance of the corresponding IS estimator, two novel algorithms for fast-simulation of linear block codes are proposed. For sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) one of the proposed algorithm is SNR-invariant, i.e. the IS estimator does not depend on the cross-over probability of the channel. Also, the proposed algorithms are shown to be suitable for the estimation of the error-correcting capability of the code and the decoder. Finally, the effectiveness of the algorithms is confirmed through simulation results in comparison to standard Monte Carlo method.


The authors have developed a simple technique which permits fabrication of Josephson junctions in high-Tc epitaxial thin films. The junctions demonstrate both DC and AC Josephson effects in LN temperatures. The critical current decreases linearly with external microwave current, and is proportional to (Tc-T)32/.


The effects of hyperbaric helium pressures on the growth and metabolism of the deep-sea isolate ES4 were investigated. In a stainless steel reactor, cell growth was completely inhibited but metabolic gas production was observed. From 85 to 100°C, CO2 production proceeded two to three times faster at 500 atm (1 atm = 101.29 kPa) than at 8 atm. At 105°C, no CO2 was produced until the pressure was increased to 500 atm. Hydrogen and H2S were also produced biotically but were not quantifiable at pressures above 8 atm because of the high concentration of helium. In a glass-lined vessel, growth occurred but the growth rate was not accelerated by pressure. In most cases at temperatures below 100°C, the growth rate was lower at elevated pressures; at 100°C, the growth rates at 8, 250, and 500 atm were nearly identical. Unlike in the stainless steel vessel, CO2 production was exponential during growth and continued for only a short time after growth. In addition, relatively little H2 was produced in the glass-lined vessel, and there was no growth or gas production at 105°C at any pressure. The behavior of ES4 as a function of temperature and pressure was thus very sensitive to the experimental conditions.


Conventional synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems are limited in their ability to satisfy the increasing requirement for improved spatial resolution and wider coverage. The demand for high resolution requires high sampling rates, while coverage is limited by the pulse repetition frequency. Consequently, sampling rate reduction is of high practical value in SAR imaging. In this paper, we introduce a new algorithm, equivalent to the well-known range-Doppler method, to process SAR data using the Fourier series coefficients of the raw signals. We then demonstrate how to exploit the algorithm features to reduce sampling rate in both range and azimuth axes and process the signals at sub-Nyquist rates, by using compressive sensing (CS) tools. In particular, we demonstrate recovery of an image using only a portion of the received signal's bandwidth and also while dropping a large percentage of the transmitted pulses. The complementary pulses may be used to capture other scenes within the same coherent processing interval. In addition, we propose exploiting the ability to reconstruct the image from narrow bands in order to dynamically adapt the transmitted waveform energy to vacant spectral bands, paving the way to cognitive SAR. The proposed recovery algorithms form a new CS-SAR imaging method that can be applied to high-resolution SAR data acquired at sub-Nyquist rates in range and azimuth. The performance of our method is assessed using simulated and real data sets. Finally, our approach is implemented in hardware using a previously suggested Xampling radar prototype.


Vegetative growth of Noctiluca scintillans containing the photosynthetic endosymbiont Pedinomonas noctilucae was investigated in culture and in natural populations. Clonal cultures of N. scintillans containing the endosymbiont, isolated from the inner Gulf of Thailand and Manila Bay, were of two types: one requiring an external food supply and the other not requiring an external food supply. The latter strain was nevertheless able to feed on phytoplankton, indicating facultative phagotrophy. Under optimal growth conditions there was no significant difference in growth rate between N. scintillans possessing the endosymbiont (0.33 day−1) and the heterotrophic N. scintillans (0.28 day−1), without the endosymbiont, isolated from the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. These observations support the hypothesis that the symbiont does not enhance the growth of Noctiluca, but phagotrophy does promote faster growth. Symbiosis is considered to secure survival of the host under food limitation. Cell cycle analysis conducted in a natural population in Manila Bay revealed a diurnal rhythm in cell division, peaking during early morning. The in situ specific growth rate of 0.16 day−1 was within the range reported for the heterotrophic N. scintillans in temperate waters.


The continuous transfer of fuel from the blood to tissues, and its adjustment to the rate of energy metabolism involve close relationships between the control of endogenous stores and that of the periodic intake of food. Neural and blood-borne signals to the brain and efferent sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways seem responsible for three different metabolic and feeding cycles. The matching of input and output of glucose to and from the blood, i.e. the regulation of the blood glucose level proper, is achieved by a short-term feedback mechanism which involves the action of insulin and glucagon on hepatic glucose production and peripheral glucose utilization. Oscillations in level of blood glucose, plasma insulin and glucagon in 8-11 min cycles, as observed in certain species, presumably reflect the play of this short-term regulation of the blood glucose level. The respective role of a pancreatic feedback and of a neural loop in this short-term regulation is discussed. Signals to brain targets and efferent pathways determine the periodic onset of meals after the energy ingested in the preceding meal has been exhausted in free-fed and briefly deprived rats. New evidence has been provided that the fall in blood glucose level exerts a decisive and direct action on the brain to determine meal onset and/or meal size. Superimposed on this prandial periodicity, a lipostatic mechanism modulates the feeding pattern in a dark-light periodicity by the alternation of fat synthesis and fat mobilization. The effects of VMH lesions and vagotomy, either combined or separately, on daily metabolic and feeding patterns suggest that the neural input to the pancreas and adipose tissues plays a primary role in this endogenous cycle and is also involved in the regulation of a constant fat body mass.


BACKGROUND
Accelerated atherosclerosis is a major complication in patients on haemodialysis (HD). Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (MCSF) is a representative regulator of activation of monocytes and macrophages, and plays important roles in the development of atherosclerosis in HD patients. However, the long-term predictive value of the serum MCSF level for the development of aortic calcification under HD conditions has not been reported.

METHODS
Serum MCSF level was measured in 40 HD patients. The aortic calcification index (ACI) was also calculated on computed tomography once each year for 6 years. Predictive value was examined by logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS
At baseline, there was a significant correlation between serum MCSF and ACI (r = 0.43, P<0.01). A significant increase in ACI was first noted at 4 years post-baseline and the increase was maintained thereafter in the high MCSF group. No such changes were noted in the low MCSF group. Univariate analysis identified high levels of calcium x phosphorus product, triglyceride, C-reactive protein (CRP), MCSF and presence of diabetes mellitus as significant predictors for increased ACI at 6 years. However, among these five factors, high levels of CRP and MCSF were the only independent and significant predictors (odds ratio = 24.0, P = 0.03 and odds ratio = 22.8, P = 0.02, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrated that MCSF is associated with the process of atherosclerosis in HD patients. Furthermore, the serum MCSF level is an independent long-term predictor of increased ACI. These results provide useful information for preventive strategies against atherosclerotic disease under HD conditions.


A new GPS positioning algorithm for vehicle tracking namely the "Minimum Range Error Algorithm" (MRERA) was proposed by E. Mok and L. Lam, to track vehicles in dense high-rise environments without the use of dead reckoning, and it can also be used for general geolocation positioning applications. With this algorithm, it is possible to identify which section of road network the mobile user is located, even when insufficient number of satellites are available for position fixing. This algorithm combines psuedorange measurements and coordinate information available in digital maps, used to identify which road section the GPS receiver falls into. Radio beacons should be available at regular intervals along the road network to transmit coodinate information for the MRERA processing engine to be able to compute the true range between the road point position and the available satellites. This paper discusses the integration of the emerging Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) into the MRERA. Different RFID tags are now availabe on the market and a selection of RFID's have been tested for the suitabilty of integrating into the MRERA. Particularly the type of RFID tags able to carry out long range commuincations under high dynamic conditions is suitable for this task. Such long range active RFID tags can be located along the road network and readers will be installed in the vehicles. Tests reported in the literature have shown that the tags information (e.g. the coordinates of its loctaion) can be read with vehicle speeds up to 150 km/h. If an insufficent number of satellites in GNSS positioning is detected the integrated RFID MRERA will be activated to estimate the vehicle's position. The RFID approach compared to other radio transmission devices will be discussed.


Opinion mining and sentiment analysis in social media is a research issue having a great interest in the scientific community. However, before begin this analysis, we are faced with a set of problems. In particular, the problem of the richness of languages and dialects within these media. To address this problem, we propose in this paper an approach of construction and implementation of Syntactic analyzer named ASDA. This tool represents a parser for the Algerian dialect that label the terms of a given corpus. Thus, we construct a labeling table containing for each term its stem, different prefixes and suffixes, allowing us to determine the different grammatical parts a sort of POS tagging. This labeling will serve us later in the semantic processing of the Algerian dialect, like the automatic translation of this dialect or sentiment analysis


Abstract In order to understand sexual reproductive characteristics of an arsenic hyperaccumulator, Pteris vittata L., in soil culture and provide valuable suggestions for its commercial production, two experiments were performed focused on how storage time of spores, collection time, substrate sterilization methods, and culture conditions affect sexual reproductive efficiency. Results demonstrate that spores of P. vittata remain at high viability after several month storage, can live through hot water and spores collected in winter have a higher viability than those collected in spring. Furthermore, light is indispensable for gametophyte growth of P. vittata. During the gametophyte phase and the early sporophyte phase, P. vittata demonstrated a wide adaptability to differing light intensities, but grew best under 40% shade. Additionally, it grew in sand though it prefers fertile substrates. A proper combination of light, substrate, and densities of spores and gametophytes promises efficient reproduction.


A new technique was designed for determining copper in an aqueous solution. Copper was determined by a hybrid system microfluidic coupled with flow injection. The homemade microfluidic chip (MFC) is used for injecting copper and 2,9-Dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (2,9DMP) reagent as a merging zone technique, whereas uric acid is used as a reducing agent and carrier.

A microfluidic chip was made by a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) laser machine using the AutoCAD application for the study of copper by the hybrid system. The chip contains two microchannels with a volume of 60 μL for copper(II) and 2,9DMP reagent. As a carrier solution and reducing agent, 40 mg/L of uric acid was pumped at a flow rate of 5.2 mL/min. Conditions of the coupled technique and analyses were measured at 454 nm.

This system's approach has a linear range, a detection limit (S/N=3), and a quantitation limit (S/N=10) at 0.1-25 mg/L (r2 0.9979), 0.03 and 0.09 mg/L, respectively. Also, repeatability of analyses (n=7) with an average RSD of 0.97 % for concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 mg/L. The dispersion coefficients were 1.977, 1.789, and 1.555 for the three concentrations 5,10, and 20 mg/L, respectively. The recovery of copper in the aqueous solution was estimated to be 103.5%. Dead volume and throughput were zero and 62 per hour, respectively. Sandell's sensitivity and molar absorptivity were 2.467×10-3 µg/cm2 and 1.947×105 L/mol cm, respectively.

The analysis in the novel hybrid microfluidic-flow injection system is efficient, simple, and fast, and it can be used to determine the concentration of copper in an aqueous solution. The homemade microfluidic chip is a low-cost component that uses only an small volume of copper and reagent during analysis.


: Oil production forecasting is an important step in controlling the cost-effect and monitoring the functioning of petroleum reservoirs. As a result, oil production forecasting makes it easier for reservoir engineers to develop feasible projects, which helps to avoid risky investments and achieve long-term growth. As a result, reliable petroleum reservoir forecasting is critical for controlling and managing the effective cost of oil reservoirs. Oil production is influenced by reservoir qualities such as porosity, permeability, compressibility, fluid saturation, and other well operational parameters. Three time series algorithms i.e., Seasonal Naive method, Exponential Smoothening and ARIMA to forecast the Distillate Fuel Oil Refinery and Propane Blender net production for the next two years.


This review is based on the contents of an international congress entitled, "Surfactant 2004", organized by Drs. B. Lachmann and L.M.G. van Golde and held in Berlin, Germany. This is the fourth meeting of its kind; the first one was held in 1989. The purpose was to bring together investigators, interested in surfactant research from different disciplines to review progress in basic and clinical sciences, evaluate findings from clinical trials, and build upon the current knowledge to design better clinical trials for the prematurely born infant and other groups of patients, who are identified with surfactant dysfunction, as well as formulate new hypotheses for surfactant investigation both at the basic science and clinical science levels. Although the importance of surfactant in normal lung function was initially appreciated in the case of the prematurely born infant the importance of surfactant throughout life and the roles, especially of the surfactant proteins, not only in surfactant-re lated activities but also in the innate host defense of the lung has led to a tremendous increase in research activity in the field. The work presented in this meeting is summarized under four general topics: biophysical, innate host defense, surfactant proteins and pulmonary disease, and clinical studies of surfactant.


. The hypothesis of the self-induced collapse of the inflaton wave function was proposed as responsible for the emergence of inhomogeneity and anisotropy at all scales. This proposal was studied within an almost de Sitter space-time approximation for the background, which led to a perfect scale-invariant power spectrum, and also for a quasi-de Sitter background, which allows to distinguish departures from the standard approach due to the inclusion of the collapse hypothesis. In this work we perform a Bayesian model comparison for two different choices of the self-induced collapse in a full quasi-de Sitter expansion scenario. In particular, we analyze the possibility of detecting the imprint of these collapse schemes at low multipoles of the anisotropy temperature power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) using the most recent data provided by the Planck Collaboration. Our results show that one of the two collapse schemes analyzed provides the same Bayesian evidence of the minimal standard cosmological model ΛCDM, while the other scenario is weakly disfavoured with respect to the standard cosmology.


Different patterns of chlorotic to yellowish mottling, mosaic spots and deformation were observed in leaves of field grown figs. The causal virus was identified as Fig mosaic virus (FMV). Electron microscope observations of thin-sectioned tissues from symptomatic leaves or from purified preparations showed double membrane bodies (DMBs) characteristic for FMV particles, which belong to family of Bunyaviridae. FMV infection also caused increases in H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. These results suggest that FMV infection causes oxidative stress in fig leaves leading to the development of epidemiological symptoms.


ABSTRACT Parthenium hysterophorus is an invasive weed that poses significant threats to crop production, biodiversity, human and animal health. Few experiments have been carried out to test the effectiveness of biological control agents such as the beetle Zygogramma bicolorata against this invasive. We released Z. bicolorata beetles as bio-agent to control P. hysterophorus at the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute in Arusha, Tanzania, across two seasons, from February – July 2019 (wet) and August 2019 – January 2020 (dry). Feeding by Z. bicolorata reduced P. hysterophorus leaves, flowers, height as well as biomass, both in the dry and wet season. During the wet season, 100% of all P. hysterophorus leaves were eaten already 28 days after the onset of the experiment, particularly under the highest beetle population treatment (30 individuals). Parthenium hysterophorus flower numbers were greatly reduced under high beetle populations (30 individuals) compared to the control treatment (0 individuals) during both the wet and dry season. Parthenium hysterophorus height was reduced by 87% and 90% during the wet and dry season, respectively when 30 beetles were released. Similarly, biomass was reduced by 90% and 87% during the wet and dry season, respectively. Parthenium hysterophorus responses to beetle treatments did not differ significantly across seasons but the development of both the invasive and its control, Z. bicolorata, was slightly delayed in the dry season. We conclude that Z. bicolorata can be used as bio-agent to manage P. hysterophorus in Tanzania, particularly when released in large numbers.


The term "Multiple therapy" is used to describe the combined use of more than one therapist for one patient following a preconceived plan (German: "Komplementärtherapie"). Combined with dynamic ward groups this approach intensifies the impact of short term in-hospital treatment. The purpose of this strategy is to fragment the patient's defenses, to shorten the therapeutic process and to prime and prepare the patient for ambulatory treatment after discharge. The employment of Multiple therapy in a hospital minimally necessitates workable interpersonal relationships between the members of the team, intensive supervision to prevent countertransference problems and a compatible point of view regarding the goal of treatment amongst the staff. All therapeutic methods, new or old, are in the final analysis nothing else than what the word connotes: a method, a means to an end. They never represent the way itself. The quality of psychiatric therapy and treatment does not depend upon the method, be it multiple therapy, individual analytic therapy, one of the non-verbal methods used or any other. What really counts is 1) whether the method is used by a team which truly wants to cooperate for the benefit of the patient, transcending their own ego demands, 2) whether it really improves interpersonal communication. Every psychiatric patient is somehow alienated and removed from his fellow men. Therapeutic methods employed at the hospital are valid if they facilitate to bridge this gap. If that is achieved, therapy can be considered successful. If not, such approaches merely represent meaningless occurrences which at best foster an illusion that "something really happened". That is not the same as when we see the beginning of a healing process. The therapeutic atmosphere in the hospital is meant to create a climate wherein a natural innate healingpower of man will be liberated. The Romans knew it already: Medicus curat, natura sanat.


This paper aims to describe the implementation of a business communication project called Workplace Exposure Project (WEP). The project involved 36 students requiring them to have an industrial site visit (s) and conducting a semi-structured interview as well as observation. Students were required to find out about business communication practices employed by the chosen company and to write their reflections before, during and after the WEP. Prior to the WEP, they had to obtain permission from relevant parties in order to gain entry into the organisation. Finally, the students had to present their findings to the class orally and submit a written portfolio. Through their reflections, it was indicated that the students enjoyed the learning process using this method as it exposed them to real industrial experience of having an encounter(s) with people from a real business entity and giving them the opportunity and confidence to practice their English language skills. Concurrently, the university was also able to identify the performance of the students as perceived the employers/business owners. The paper concludes with teaching implications for business communication and suggestions for future research.


The work is dedicated to the development of nano-structured paints with a barrier effect. The process of the preparation of such compositions has been studied. The influence of various technological parameters on the processing of these compositions is shown. A practical and effective method for monitoring the progress of this process is proposed. The contribution of technological parameters that allow scaling of the obtained results to experimental and industrial technological lines equipped with serial equipment for the production of paint and varnish composite materials for various purposes is estimated, namely, the dependence of the processing efficiency of carbon nanotubes in the solution medium of an epoxy oligomer on the angular velocity is established. In addition, the temperature limits for the processing of these nanotubes are established for the preparation of nano-structured paint and varnish compositions, which have a barrier effect. It has been established that for the intensification of the processing process, it is necessary to use dispersing bodies and assess the effect of their geometric parameters together with the degree of filling on the efficiency of this processing process. On the basis of this research, the mathematical expression connecting volume capacity with various technological parameters for an estimation of efficiency of process of manufacture of the nano-structured paint and varnish compositions possessing barrier effect is offered.


Online learning has been used in accounting education for many years; arguably the subject matter lends itself to this kind of delivery. In this research the authors apply the Inputs-Environment-Outcome (I-E-O) model to investigate the ways in which students' participation in the online learning environment, their views of the use of technology and perceptions of instructor interactivity affect their performance on an intermediate accounting module. The subjects were all students at the Hashemite University in Jordan. The I-E-O model was estimated using structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques. The results suggests that the two most important variable in explaining student performance (outcome) are prior performance on the prerequisite module (an input variable) and student participation in the online learning environment (an environment module). However, the relationships between prior performance, participation and current performance are richer and more complex than a simple direct link between prior performance and current performance.


In multilingual environments, a single statement may include content from more than one language, a phenomenon known as code-switching. Among speakers of Mandarin Chinese, code switching is a frequent occurrence in daily life, and this mixing of different languages poses serious challenges for language processing. This paper collects text corpora including code switching between Mandarin and English and Mandarin and Taiwanese, where Mandarin is the dominant language. Mutual information and entropy are then used as a basis for an algorithm to identify unknown words from multilingual texts which are then automatically referenced for multilingual inclusions. Experimental results show that the proposed method effectively filters unrelated new words, thus improving the accuracy of extracting unknown words.


While designing adhesives that perform in aqueous environments has proven challenging for synthetic adhesives, microorganisms commonly produce bioadhesives that efficiently attach to a variety of substrates, including wet surfaces that remain a challenge for industrial adhesives. The aquatic bacterium Caulobacter crescentus uses a discrete polar polysaccharide complex, the holdfast, to strongly attach to surfaces and resist flow. The holdfast is extremely versatile and has an impressive adhesive strength. Here, we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to unravel the complex structure of the holdfast and characterize its chemical constituents and their role in adhesion. We used purified holdfasts to dissect the intrinsic properties of this component as a biomaterial, without the effect of the bacterial cell body. Our data support a model where the holdfast is a heterogeneous material composed of two layers: a stiff nanoscopic core, covered by a sparse, flexible brush layer. These two layers contain not only N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG), the only yet identified component present in the holdfast, but also peptides and DNA, which provide structure and adhesive character. Biochemical experiments suggest that, while polypeptides are the most important components for adhesive force, the presence of DNA mainly impacts the brush layer and initial adhesion, and NAG plays a primarily structural role within the core. Moreover, our results suggest that holdfast matures structurally, becoming more homogeneous over time. The unanticipated complexity of both the structure and composition of the holdfast likely underlies its distinctive strength as a wet adhesive and could inform the development of a versatile new family of adhesives.


The self-incompatible composite Senecio jacobaea (ragwort) exhibits geographic variation in the frequency of rayed and discoid (rayless) individuals. Hybrid progenies from within- and between-morph crosses were established in a seminatural (garden) environment to determine whether patterns of segregation conform to single-gene predictions (as found in other Senecio species), whether the direction of dominance is conducive to rapid evolutionary change in ray morphology, and whether geographically distant populations of the discoid morph utilize the same or different genes to suppress ray development. Data from segregating F2 and BC families were consistent with a genetic model involving one major locus and an unknown number of modifiers. Analysis of F1 progenies from different intermorph crosses using the same rayed plant as a seed parent revealed a variable and incomplete pattern of dominance, with a trend toward partial dominance in some crosses. Hybridizations between discoid populations produced a few rayed progeny (4%), but there was no tendency for the frequency of rayed progeny to increase with the geographic distance separating the parent populations. Results of this study indicate that major mutations have been important for the evolution of discoid populations of ragwort, that ray-suppressing mutations should be directly available to selection in most populations, and that the suppression of rays is conditioned by the same or similar gene(s) in Atlantic and Baltic populations of the discoid taxon.


SDS‐PAGE of clathrin coated vesicle (CCV) fractions prepared from developing pea cotyledons are characterized by the presence of a 28 kDa polypeptide. Like clathrin light chains, this polypeptide is heat‐stable and can bind calcium ions. However, the distribution of this polypeptide is not identical to that of clathrin in the rate zonal gradients used to purify CCV. Negatively stained preparations reveal small, 12 nm diameter hollow particles, in addition to CCV. As judged by the electron dense centre to these particles, we infer that CCV preparations from pea cotyledons are contaminated with phytoferritin. This has been confirmed by immuno‐blotting with pea ferritin antibodies. The degree of phytoferritin contamination in CCV fractions is greater when RNase digestion of postmicrosomal pellets is performed at cold, rather than warm temperatures.


Asthma is a complex disorder associated with eosinophil infiltration and the activation of T lymphocytes within the airways. Recent advances in the pathophysiologic mechanisms of asthma point to the importance of eosinophil-basophil progenitor cells and a family of transcription factors that underlie the development of T(H)2-type responses. Further research is needed to address the development of chronic inflammatory changes, the role of profibrotic cytokines, and especially their reliance on eosinophils in the lungs.


This thesis is an investigation of the performance of identities in the social interactions that constitute an international non-governmental organisation (INGO). It examines how those involved in this kind of international-development activity shape what kinds of actors they are through the identity work that is entwined with representations of the organisation and what it is doing.

The thesis is based on data generated over four and a half months with an INGO working in the field of child welfare in China. Data was captured in fieldnotes, interview transcripts, organisational documents and other media such as a television programme and a promotional DVD. It is an ethnographic study that draws on discourse analysis and narrative analysis.

The study addresses the implications of how the problem the organisation seeks to address and the way it is addressing that problem are constructed, and of how relationships with others are depicted. The thesis argues that analysis of identity work at the micro level, which acknowledges the context driven and variable ways in which actors make sense of the organisation and its work, offers valuable insights into how the social practices that form an INGO unfold. This research adds to understandings of being an actor in international development, specifically in the field of child welfare in China. It identifies various tensions that have implications for policy and practice.


SUMMARY An approximate expression of the eikonal equation and the polarization vector may be obtained in weakly anisotropic media from first-order perturbation theory. The advantage of this approximation for qP wave is that the squared phase velocity is linear in the elastic parameters. For qS waves, the first-order approximation is more complicated and can be expressed in terms of the square root of a quadratic function in the elastic parameters. Higher order perturbations can be obtained by an iterative procedure which improves the accuracy of the approximations. Explicit analytic formulae of the approximate squared phase velocities and polarizations are given for orthorhombic and transversely isotropic symmetries. Numerical comparisons between the exact and the approximate phase velocities and polarization vectors obtained at different orders illustrate the accuracy of the approximate formulae presented. For realistic anisotropy, the second-order expressions of the squared phase velocities are accurate approximations which do not cost much more with respect to the first-order computations. Third order expressions of the squared phase velocities are very accurate and need only computation of the first-order approximations. Second order expressions should be used to have good approximations of polarization vectors outside the vicinity of singularities. Higher order approximations of the qS-waves eigenvectors should be applied in neighbouring


This paper describes atomic scale Monte-Carlo studies of entropic elasticity properties of individual polymer chain molecules. An efficient numerical Monte -Carlo sampling approach is outlined and used to evaluate the entropic contribution to the total elastic force.Theoretic predictions of mechanical properties of polymer molecules, particularly complex bio-molecules (proteins, lipids, etc.), are difficult due to effects of entropic elasticity. Entropic elastic force can be a significant contributor to the free energy F of the polymer chain and can even exceed interatomic potential energy U under external mechanical load. Monte-Carlo based approach allows to achieve atomic resolution for molecular structure in contrast to analytical methods. Specific load-extension curves are obtained numerically for a group of molecules with degenerate potential energy profiles. Results of the atomistic modeling are compared with the limiting continuum model of the same type of polymers. The extent of the linear and nonlinear elastic regimes and dependence on the molecular weight and geometric parameters of the molecules are discussed. A significant divergence with the continuummodel behavior is observed at smaller bond angles for all elongationsof the molecule. Linearity of the entropic force exists in a wide range ofthe elongations, however, molecules with low gyration radii(densely packedpolymers) are linear mostly in extensionor unfolding, while very sparsely packed molecules are linear mostly in thecontraction mode. The achieved result cannot be reproduced withinthe settings of the continuum model and required anapplication of atomic scale Monte-Carlo approach developed by our group.


What is the role of providence in Paradise Lost? In Looking into Providences, Raymond B. Waddington provides the first examination of this engaging subject. He explores the variety of implicit organizational structures or 'designs' that govern Paradise Lost, and looks in-depth at the 'trials,' or testing situations, which require interpretation, choice, and action from its characters. Waddington situates the poem within the context of providentialism's centrality to seventeenth-century thought and life, arguing that Milton's own conception of providence was deeply influenced by the theology of Jacob Arminius. Using Milton's Arminian conception of free will, he then looks at the providential trials experienced by angels and humans. Finally, the work explores the ways in which providentialism infiltrates various kinds of discourse, ranging from military to medical, and from political to philosophical.


ABSTRACT
Objective: Evaluation of free radical scavenging activity of Berberine (BBR) in acetaminophen (AAP) induced liver injury.
Study design: Experimental study
Place and Duration: Animal house, Isra University Hyderabad from October 2015 to March 2016.
Methodology: A sample of 80 male Wistar rats was selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and was divided into a control and three experimental groups. Acetaminophen, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and BBR were administered in standard doses. Blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture after 18 hours of post experiment period. Liver function test, anti oxidant enzymes and malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected by ELISA assay kit (Fortress Diagnostics). The data was analyzed on Statistix 10.0 software (USA) at 95% CI (P≤ 0.05).
Results: The BBR showed anti oxidant and anti peroxidant activity against acetaminophen induced liver injury. BBR treated animals showed increased serum and tissue SOD, GPX, CAT, and GSSH with a reduction in tissue MDA (p=0.0001). Liver injury ameliorating effect of BBR was superior to N-acetyl cysteine.
Conclusion: The present study suggests Berberine protects against acetaminophen-induced liver injury by its free radical scavenging activity.


This article is a summary of works and research being developed in Nucleo de Psicologia Comunitaria – NUCOM (Community Psychology project - NUCOM) of the Federal University of Ceara and the University of Santa Cruz do Sul. It provides references that combine their methodologies. It discusses the quest for autonomy through community mobilization and biocentric education and that brings the debate of life as the center of the universe. It develops the relationship between extension and wisdom from studies in Communitarian Psychology and about the Amerindian people, specifically the Guarani, problematizing the meaning of knowledge itself and its relation with extension, research and teaching in university studies. For the Guarani people learning is developed as a desire to know, which includes corporality, intuition, spirituality and thinking in a collective organization purpose. Their view about knowledge is part of our culture and it is often left out because it does not represent the dominant economic and European knowledge, but it with our practice of university education. The extension provides a full and transdisciplinary training, and is necessary as a human and professional education.


Background and purpose
The incidence of brachial plexus palsy (BPP) has decreased recently, but the indivi-d-ual's quality of life is endangered. To provide better chan-ces to BPP neonates and infants, the Department of Developmental Neurology worked out, introduced, and applied a complex early therapy, including nerve point stimulation.

Methods
After diagnosing the severity of BPP, early intensive and complex therapy should be started. Appro-x-imately after a week or ten days following birth, the slightest form (neurapraxia) normalizes without any intervention, and signs of recovery can be detected around this period. The therapy includes the unipolar nerve point electro-stimulation and the regular application of those elemen-tary sensorimotor patterns, which activate both extremities simultaneously.

Results
With the guideline worked out and applied in the Department of Developmental Neurology, full recovery can be achieved in 50% of the patients, and even in the most severe cases (nerve root lesion), functional upper limb usage can be detected with typically developing body-scheme.

Conclusion
Immediately starting complex treatment based on early diagnosis alters the outcome of BPP, providing recovery in the majority of cases and enhancing the everyday arm function of those who only partially benefit from the early treatment.


This article is a personal perspective on male infertility, a condition that is not only extremely prevalent but also a major reason for couples to resort to ART. The introduction of ICSI as a form of facilitated fertilization had a revolutionary impact on our capacity to treat cases of male infertility associated with severely compromised semen quality. However, the widespread use of this technique is also thought to pose risks in terms of the incidence of miscarriage, the health and wellbeing of the offspring and perpetuation of the infertile phenotype into future generations. Furthermore, the advent of ICSI curtailed intellectual interest in the underlying aetiology of male infertility or the development of non-invasive therapeutic strategies that target the male patient rather than the physical deployment of his gametes. As a consequence, progress on elucidating the pathological mechanisms responsible for male infertility has been extremely slow. Genetic and/or epigenetic defects are certainly involved in many cases and may involve mutations/splicing defects affecting the integrity of the testicular RNA profile, as well as the overall kinetics of the transcription process. In addition, spermatogenesis is disrupted by a variety of factors (age, smoking, obesity) many of which are thought to influence fertility and the integrity of sperm DNA through the creation of oxidative stress. Determining the relative contributions of oxidative stress and genetic/epigenetic mutations to the aetiology of male infertility will be a major focus for future research in this important but neglected area.


The diversity of language use in a heterogeneous society gives rise to language variations, including registers. The Aquascape Lovers Community in Rokan Hulu uses a separate register. This study aims to describe the form, function, and meaning of the limited and open circle register in the Aquascape Lovers Community in Rokan Hulu. This research is quantitative research with a descriptive method. Listening and recording methods were used in data collection. The informant is a Community of Aquascape Lovers in Rokan Hulu. The data were analyzed qualitatively by referring to the concept of form, function, and meaning of closed registers and closed registers proposed by Halliday. The results of the study are as follows. First, the limited circle register of the Aquascape Lovers Community in Rokan Hulu at the level of words and phrases in the form of abbreviations and the use of foreign words such as WC, kebo, and sticky rice with interactional and personal functions. Each word and phrase has a specific meaning. Second, the open circle register of the aquascape lover community in Rokan Hulu at the word and phrase-level in the form of abbreviations and the use of foreign words such as PH, lily pipe, and surface scum with interactional, heuristic, and regulatory functions. Each word and phrase has a specific meaning. It can be concluded that some of the registers used by this community can only be understood by community members and some can also be understood by people outside the community.


We extend the classical compound Poisson risk model to consider the distribution of the maximum surplus before ruin where the claim sizes depend on inter-claim times via the Farlie–Gumbel–Morgenstern copula. We derive an integro-differential equation with certain boundary conditions for this distribution, of which the Laplace transform is provided. We obtain the renewal equation and explicit expressions for this distribution are derived when the claim amounts are exponentially distributed. Finally, we present numerical examples.


A model glass with fast and slow processes is studied. The statics is simple and the facilitated slow dynamics is exactly solvable. The main features of a fragile glass appear: Kauzmann transition, Vogel-Fulcher law, Adam-Gibbs relation and aging. The time evolution can be so slow that a quasi-equilibrium occurs at a time-dependent effective temperature. The same effective temperature is derived from the fluctuation-dissipation ratio, which supports the applicability of out-of-equilibrium thermodynamics.


This paper gives a first application of the reduced-phase-space Lagrangian for kinetic theories obtained in a sister paper in this issue by means of Kruskal's averaging coordinates. The approximations made within Kruskal's formalism are of first order in the smallness parameter $\epsilon$, given by the ratio of the gyroperiod to the macroscopic time scale, which is the same as the ratio of the gyroradius to the macroscopic scale length in the drift-kinetic case, or as the ratio of the amplitudes of the fluctuations to the background fields in the gyrokinetic case. This paper presents methods and results concerning local conservation laws for the density of gyrocentres and the charge, energy, momentum and angular momentum. A very important feature of our treatment is that throughout the theory is gauge invariant. The methods consist of a modified Noether formalism with gauge-invariant shift variations which in a very straightforward way lead to, in particular, the symmetric energy–momentum tensor instead of the canonical tensor. The shift variations are defined both within the reduced phase space, which does not contain the gyroangle, and also for gyroangle-dependent quantities which subsequently have to be averaged. A clear definition of the Lagrange density needed for the derivation of the local conservation laws for energy, momentum and angular momentum is given. The discovery of combinations of terms such as the polarization and the magnetization allows the conservation laws to be cast in a very clear form affording insight into their structure.


Motivation: Spatial structure of biological tissues develops during growth and morphogenesis of an organism. In certain cases such a special structure remains invariant during the all organism's life despite constant renewal of the cells in this tissue. The question of interest is: what scheme underlies this phenomenon? Results: A simple mathematical model for the regulation of shoot apical meristem compartments sizes was developed. A mathematical analysis had revealed numerous of solutions, some of which were biologically plausible and interesting.


The world's population began to grow rapidly, especially after the 1950s. Birth, death rates, and migration rates are key drivers of population growth. Population growth plays a crucial role in the country's economic development. The impact of population growth on economic development has been the subject of controversial empirical studies. The researchers argued that population growth could have a positive effect on economic development, as well as negative effects. The BRICS-T (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Turkey) country group is of great importance as it hosts countries with high growth rates, increased exports and national income, abundant natural resources, geopolitical location, logistical possibilities, and development potential in recent years. This study explores the relationship between development and population growth rate of BRICS-T countries, which have almost half the world's population and whose emerging economies are notable. To this end, Human development index data from the United Nations Development Program official database and annual population growth rate data from the World Bank official database were used, covering the 1990-2019 period. Panel data analysis methods taking into account multiple structural breaks were exploited. For this, the structural break panel unit root test which allows up to 5 structural breaks to two variables, developed by Carrion-i Silvestre et al. (2005), was applied. Then, the panel cointegration test with multiple structural breaks was then carried out, which took into account structural breaks and was introduced into literature by Banerjee and Carrion-i Silvestre (2015). As a result of the findings, there appears to be a long-term relationship between the two variables.


Muzafer and Carolyn Wood Sherif are among the founders of social psychology. Their theoretical and empirical findings made important contributions to the management literature. This paper aims to attempt to underline these contributions and highlights the Sherifs' interdisciplinary work and their impact on management research specifically.,Using a citation content analysis, the influence of the Sherifs on management research is detailed by examining how their work has contributed to research published in top management journals.,The Sherifs' work has influenced numerous research streams related to organisational groups, social norms, assimilation contrast theory and a combination of various other topics. Additionally, these works helped originate team and workgroup research in organisation theory.,This is the first manuscript of its type to examine the influence of the Sherifs on management research. Their story is a testament to the impact that social psychology researchers have had in developing modern thought about organisational issues. This work also addresses potential areas for future research building on the Sherifs' work.