Francisella tularensis is a highly virulent intracellular gram-negative bacterium. The organism is usually isolated from wild and domestic animals and invertebrate. Man gets infection by direct contact with those animals or their products but the most common mode of transmission is via arthropod vectors. The disease is endemic in North America, parts of Europe, and Asia but has never been reported in Africa. A 29-year old male living in a rural area of Southern Sudan has been maintained on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis for two years. He presented to our center in May 2010 complaining of fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, and abdominal discomfort for four days. He was very ill, pale, and dehydrated. There were enlarged tender submandibular lymph nodes, but no mouth ulcers or other palpable lymph nodes. Peritonitis was excluded by effluent white blood cell count and culture. Empiric antibiotic treatment with ceftriaxon, and ciprofloxacin was started. Gram-negative coccobacilli were isolated by blood culture. The organism was identified as Francisella tularensis. We started him on a ten-day course of gentamicin after which he improved. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first reported case of bacteremia caused by Francisella tularensis in Sudan.


Transportation sources are a major contributor to air pollution in urban areas. The role of air quality modeling is vital in the formulation of air pollution control and management strategies. Many models have appeared in the literature to estimate near-field ground level concentrations from mobile sources moving on a highway. However, current models do not account explicitly for the effect of wind shear (magnitude) near the ground while computing the ground level concentrations near highways from mobile sources. This study presents an analytical model based on the solution of the convective-diffusion equation by incorporating the wind shear near the ground for gaseous pollutants. The model input includes emission rate, wind speed, wind direction, turbulence, and terrain features. The dispersion coefficients are based on the near field parameterization. The sensitivity of the model to compute ground level concentrations for different inputs is presented for three different downwind distances. In general, the model shows Type III sensitivity (i.e., the errors in the input will show a corresponding change in the computed ground level concentrations) for most of the input variables. However, the model equations should be re-examined for three input variables (wind velocity at the reference height and two variables related to the vertical spread of the plume) to make sure that that the model is valid for computing ground level concentrations.


The advance of technology has led to more competent countermeasures, but lives and properties still continue to suffer from water‐induced disasters, such as floods, landslides, and debris flows. To increase the effectiveness of counter systems, improved methods of planning and designing such systems are prerequisite. This paper describes briefly a methodological approach for predicting debris flow characteristics, and proposes techniques for evaluating and improving the mitigative effectiveness of check dams against debris flows in steep mountain torrents. Additionally, a non‐dimensional parameter, namely potential storage volume, is introduced to generalize the evaluation processes. As an example, the 1999 debris‐flow event in the San Julian River, Venezuela, is chosen for discussion. The paper also proposes a method of evaluating the control function of a series of check dams as well as the criteria for the selection of their sizes, numbers and locations. It is hoped that this work will help to determine which combinations of check dams will fit best together for the optimal control of debris flows and available resources in any river basin. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Free radical mechanism of a cell damage is one of the universal non-specific pathogenic pathways in a cause of many diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, atherosclerosis and aging. So in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, guanine hydroxylation to 8-position gives 8hydroxy2'deoxyguanosine (8OHdG) and 8oxo7,8dihydro2'deoxyguanosine (8oxodG). These substances are one of the predominant products of free radicalinduced oxidative damages. They are usually been applied as biomarkers of oxidative stress and carcinogenesis. The direct oxidation of guanine or incorrect inclusion of 8-oxo-dGTP from the nucleotide pool by polymerases, lead to a lack of specificity of the base pairing in DNA, favoring mutagenesis. Firstly 8-oxo-dG has been described by H. Kasai and S. Nishimura in 1983. Since then, this damage has been widely measured in various tissues and body fluids as blood, urine, brain, liver, and others. Today 8-oxo-dG is already used not only as a marker of oxidative stress, but also as a tool for prognosis of diseases and results of applied therapy. Now many efforts are focused on developing the procedure of measurement of 8-oxo-dG content in tissues and body fluids. In this paper we also discuss the role of the 8-oxo-dG as a biomarker of oxidative stress and a predictor of diseases and results of the applied therapy.


In this article, we share our experiences with the ongoing language and literacy practices and pedagogies of a bilingual, community-based writing center located in South Philadelphia's Italian Market. This writing center one in a network of sites across Philadelphia and southern New Jersey targeted bilingual, Latinx children from ages seven to eighteen. For the past four years, we have partnered with the center to create a translanguaging space. Here, we reflect on the experience of offering translanguaging writing workshops.


ABSTRACT The evolution of approaches to the concept of a cluster is shown. On the basis of studying their diversity, the distinctive features of the cluster from the group of enterprises are highlighted. An analysis of specifics of formation of a structure, depending on a type of a cluster, has been made, and a distinction has been established between a production, transport-logistical and innovative cluster in terms of their structural features. The prospects for using a cluster method for development of unmanned transport technologies are considered. The structure of an innovative production cluster for creating a technological base for unmanned vehicle management is proposed. Keywords: cluster, evolution of approaches, innovations, unmanned technologies, transport.


This thesis in the field of cryptography considers secure data storage outsourcing with keyword search capabilities. To ensure data confidentiality the data is stored in encrypted format. An efficient solution has been developed to enable conjunctive keyword search. Also, a protocol is applied to enable efficient and secure sharing of encrypted data. It is possible to efficiently enrol and revoke users for both the searching and the decryption part of the system. The newly developed search technique is implemented as well to test its practical performance.


Author(s): Umarji, Osman | Advisor(s): Eccles, Jacquelynne | Abstract: Academic motivation is a complex psychological construct. It is multifaceted, hierarchical, dynamic, and developmental in nature. Students exhibit substantial heterogeneity in the ways in which academic motivation develops and manifests in short and long-term behavior. Much of the prior literature has considered motivated behavior in an academic subject like math to be the result of math motivation alone. This dissertation draws from the Eccles' expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation, which posits that academic behavior is the result of subjective psychological perceptions of competence and task-value, in order to investigate the hierarchical and dynamic nature of motivational dispositions and their associations with academic behavior. In Chapter 2, I use variable and person-centered approaches to investigate the development of math and English self-concept of ability throughout adolescence and their dual role in the process of selecting a college major. I demonstrate that the relationship between math and English self-concept changes over time, from being positively correlated to uncorrelated to negatively correlated between sixth and twelfth grade. Cluster analyses uncover heterogeneity in the patterns of math and English self-concept that students hold, and these clusters are predictive of the college major that students eventually select. The cluster also reveal gender differences in self-concept hierarchies that ultimately relate to college major choice. In Chapter 3, I use longitudinal structural equation modeling to study the development of academic task-values in high school. I focus on the role of dimensional comparisons, which refer to cross-domain influences, across the domains of math, English, biology, and physical science. Results indicate that achievement relates to cross domain subjective task values (STV), and STV in 10th grade relates to cross domain STV in 12th grade. STVs in 12th grade relate to college major choice. In Chapter 4, I use cluster analysis and hierarchical logistic regression to investigate daily academic behavior in an undergraduate online course. I synthesize theories of motivated behavior and demonstrate that unique profiles of subjective task values and emotions relate to both expectations of task attainment and actual task attainment. In Chapter 5, I conclude with some critiques regarding the scientific study of motivation, such as problems with modeling latent constructs using linear models. I then present a dynamic systems approach from the physics to modeling human motivation.


This study reviews the relationship between customer perception factors and AI-enabled customer experience in the Ecuadorian banking industry. The study employs a self-designed online questionnaire with five factors for customer perception (convenience in use, personalization, trust, customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction) and two categories for AI-enabled customer experience (AI-hedonic customer experience and AI-recognition customer service). The final valid dataset consisted of 226 questionnaires. The data analysis and the hypotheses tests were conducted using SPSS 26 and structural equation modeling, respectively. The main findings displayed that all five customer perception factors (individual and joint effect) have a positive and significant effect (at least at the 5% level) on AI-enabled customer experience, AI-hedonic customer experience, and AI-recognition customer service in the Ecuadorian banking industry. Study results are aligned with previous findings from other countries, particularly the banking environment in the United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, and Vietnam. The AI techniques involved in the financial sector increase the valuation of customer experience due to AI algorithms recollecting, processing, and analyzing customer behavior. This study contributes a complete statistical and econometric model for determinants of AI-enabled customer experience. The main limitations of the study are that, in the analysis of the most demanded AI financial services, not all services and products are included and the inexistence of a customer perception index. For upcoming research, the authors recommend performing a longitudinal study using quantitative data to measure the effect of AI-enabled customer experience on the Ecuadorian banks' performance.


Sweetpotato cultivars currently grown were selected essentially for their use in human consumption, with little regard for their other potential uses such as ethanol production or animal feed. The objective of this work was to estimate population parameters and genotypic, phenotypic and environmental correlations associated with these traits. Thirty-nine sweetpotato genotypes from the germplasm bank of the Universidade Federal de Lavras were assayed in a randomized complete block design trial with 2 replications. The estimated genetic (CVg) and environmental (CVe) coefficients of variation, the broad sense heritabilities (ha2) and the b= CVg/CVe ratio favor selection of the majority of the traits analysed, with estimates generally higher than 9.52%, 1.44 and 79.31% for CVg, CVg/CVe and ha2, respectively. For all pairs of traits studied, the genotypic and phenotypic correlations had the same sign, and were similar in both magnitude and level of significance. In the cases where correlations were significant, the estimates of the genotypic correlations were slightly higher than those of the phenotypic correlations, and both were higher than environmental correlations as was observed between total fresh root yield x percentage of dry matter in roots, percentage of dry matter in the leaves+vines x total fresh root yield, mean root shape ratings x general root shape ratings. No genetic or phenotypic correlation was observed beetween percentage of root dry matter and measured root density. The selection and recommendation of sweet potato genotypes based on a set of these studied characteristics (depending on the segment of market to be explored), will make possible the complete use of this precious vegetable genetic resource, and its more intense adoption in national agriculture.


A method is described to reconstruct a unilateral asymmetrical defect of the tip of the nose resulting from burn scar contracture and alar loss by utilizing an appropriate full-thickness rotation of tissue of similar consistency to the defect derived from the opposite side of the nose. This transfer led to the use of similar, but normal tissue, by subtracting from the dimensions of the normal side to add to the shortage of tissue on the abnormal side. This method was designed because of the lack of normal adjacent tissue available for transfer and demonstrates a relatively simple solution to a difficult problem.


The authors of this plastic-bound, pocket-sized volume "... are writing for the non-neurologist with whom the initial contact is likely to be made," and include as an emergency "any condition which can be modified by prompt action." The book is written in an engaging and chatty style, somewhat like the recording of a clinician standing at the bedside and speaking to the neophytes gathered around. The errors of the bedside discussion, leaving out details because the audience is presumed to already know them, are also found here. This might be forgiven in writing for neurologists but not in a book intended to serve as a sole information source for nonneurologic practitioners confronted by difficult circumstances. A failure to provide adequate background for some of the recommendations is exemplified by the discussion of treating status epilepticus by giving 250 mg of phenytoin intravenously "at once." If the audience interprets this as


OBJECTIVES
While clinical laboratories report most test results as individual numbers, findings, or observations, clinical diagnosis usually relies on the results of multiple tests. Clinical decision support that integrates multiple elements of laboratory data could be highly useful in enhancing laboratory diagnosis.

METHODS
Using the analyte ferritin in a proof of concept, we extracted clinical laboratory data from patient testing and applied a variety of machine-learning algorithms to predict ferritin test results using the results from other tests. We compared predicted with measured results and reviewed selected cases to assess the clinical value of predicted ferritin.

RESULTS
We show that patient demographics and results of other laboratory tests can discriminate normal from abnormal ferritin results with a high degree of accuracy (area under the curve as high as 0.97, held-out test data). Case review indicated that predicted ferritin results may sometimes better reflect underlying iron status than measured ferritin.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings highlight the substantial informational redundancy present in patient test results and offer a potential foundation for a novel type of clinical decision support aimed at integrating, interpreting, and enhancing the diagnostic value of multianalyte sets of clinical laboratory test results.


This paper presents the effects of combining a zeolite filter with an oxidant-generating device to remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from air. Two types of synthetic zeolites were tested. The sources of VOCs used in the tests were acetone and dried shark fins. Dried shark fins are commonly used in Chinese cooking and they emit amine related compounds with a notorious smell. Experiments were conducted under various conditions in an experimental chamber. Results indicate that combining the zeolite filter with an ozone generator or an ioniser resulted in a faster rate of depletion of VOCs than using either device alone. The effectiveness of the VOC removal is related to the pore size of the zeolite. Zeolite with a larger pore size is capable of adsorbing both the oxidants and the pollutant molecules into the same cavity, which allows catalytic oxidation reaction to occur inside the confined space of the zeolite.


This study aims to identify and analyze legal liability for criminals with mental disorders in the Wonosobo District Court Decision. The results showed that the perpetrators with mental disorders were proven legally and convincingly to commit the crime of sexual harassment, but because of the limited evidence and the role of psychiatrists, the judicial process became ambiguous and the judicial decision stated that the defendant's behavior did not meet the elements of responsibility, so that according to science criminal law the defendant cannot be held responsible for some. However, the attorney and the victim stated that the defendant has the ability to be held criminally responsible because Article 44 of the Criminal Code does not regulate the state of being unable to be partially responsible.


A comparison is made between two tree data structures that support region queries for VLSI layout systems. In a previous study, J.B. Rosenberg (ibid., vol.CAD-4, no.1, p.53-67, 1985) demonstrated that four-dimensional trees have a faster speed but use more memory space than quad trees with bisector lists. In this study the authors show that quad trees without bisector lists, for some small threshold values, have a better speed and require less storage than four-dimensional trees. >


Recently, convolutional neural network (CNN) based image super-resolution (SR) methods have achieved significant performance improvement. However, most CNN-based methods mainly focus on feed-forward architecture design and neglect to explore the feedback mechanism, which usually exists in the human visual system. In this paper, we propose feedback pyramid attention networks (FPAN) to fully exploit the mutual dependencies of features. Specifically, a novel feedback connection structure is developed to enhance low-level feature expression with high-level information. In our method, the output of each layer in the first stage is also used as the input of the corresponding layer in the next state to re-update the previous low-level filters. Moreover, we introduce a pyramid non-local structure to model global contextual information in different scales and improve the discriminative representation of the network. Extensive experimental results on various datasets demonstrate the superiority of our FPAN in comparison with the state-of-the-art SR methods.


Efforts to improve the performance and safety of vehicles include placing active sensing components (e.g., embedded microsensors) within tires result in intelligent tires. One application of intelligent tire is tire force estimation based on accelerometers. However, its development is limited due to the difficulty of relating the tire force to kinematical information by model-based theory. In this manuscript, a universal approach to tire forces estimation by the accelerometer-based intelligent tire is formulated and experimentally validated. First, a microelectromechanical system accelerometer-based intelligent tire prototype is established with the function of on-board monitoring of tire forces. Then, a theoretical rolling kinematics model is proposed for illustrating the mechanisms of acceleration fields, resulting from the coupling effect of rigid body motion and elastic deformation. An analytical model is formulated to estimate the vertical force in real time. Furthermore, the beam model is adopted to describe lateral deformations of the tire belt, directly linking lateral acceleration and lateral force. Finally, the lateral force can be estimated by lateral acceleration and vertical force already estimated. Based on a universal analytical model, the lateral force estimation method realizes high accuracy under different circumstances, even with unified coefficients, by clarifying and eliminating the influence of ply steer. A field test and two bench experiments have been conducted to fully validate the developed model. It can be concluded that the theoretical-analysis-based estimation model realizes an encouraging tire force estimation application with an intelligent tire hardware system.


Abstract Accurate biodosimetry is needed to estimate radiation doses received in vivo from accidental or unwarranted radiation exposures. We investigated the use of DNA repair foci (e.g. γ-H2AX) at late times after irradiation in vivo as a biodosimeter of initial ionizing radiation dose. Two radiosensitive strains (SCID and BALB/c) and two radioresistant strains (C57BL/6 and C3H/HeJ) were used to quantify γ-H2AX foci in a skin tissue microarray after doses of 1 to 10 Gy at early and late times after irradiation (1 and 7 days). Using a 3D quantitative immunofluorescence microscopy analysis, we observed a dose response for γ-H2AX foci for all strains at 30 min, 24 h and 7 days after irradiation. The numbers of residual foci were significantly different between each of the four strains and reflected the relative radiosensitivity in vivo. In comparing γ-H2AX focus and micronucleus formation after irradiation, we also observed association between the number of micronuclei and number of foci after 1 and 7 days between radiosensitive and radioresistant strains. We conclude that 3D image analysis of γ-H2AX in skin can be used to detect relative radiosensitivity based on late residual γ-H2AX foci. This technique may be a useful biodosimeter to determine dose at times up to 1 week after accidental or catastrophic radiation exposure in vivo.


This article deals with proposals on professional orientation for a Brazilian Western Amazon university based on a doctoral thesis entitled "Needs of vocational guidance of students at the Federal University of Rondonia." The objectives: (1) to know some characteristics of professional guidance received before your entry into the university and during your stay at the university; (2) identify the professional orientation received by the students of the Federal University of Rondonia; (3) identify the professional orientation needs of the students of the same university and (4) suggest proposals for the attention to the needs detected and adapted the characteristics of the university. In accordance with the investigated problem and the light, particularly, of the conducting objectives of the study, a line of descriptive inquiry was adopted. In addition to being one of the most used in educational research, it presents itself as the most suitable for the objectives that are proposed especially to describe the nature of the existing conditions. The conclusions are structured around three objectives: (1) characterization of the orientation received and required in secondary education, (2) professional orientation received and needed in university education, and (3) discrepancies between orientation received and needs to receive. This study shows that the need for guidance in university education is considered very important by most students. Moreover, it provided a greater theoretical and practical knowledge on the subject of guidance and led to innovative reflections on instigating issues, opens new possibilities for research and interest to continue studying this theme, not only about the objectives proposed in this work, but also the inferences extracted with more general character, which we formulate as proposals to improve the situation analyzed. These are suggestions considered fundamental, that can serve as reference for effective implementation of a program of action with the High School (PROEM); the introduction of new content on the UFRO – Federal University of Rondonia website; a manual for the student and a tutorial plan at the university.


Aims Estimation of gross primary production (GPP) from remote sensing data is an important approach to study regional or global carbon cycle. However, for a given algorithm, it usually has its limitation on applications to a wide range of vegetation types and/or under diverse environmental conditions. This study was conducted to compare the performance of two remote sensing GPP algorithms, the MODIS GPP and the vegetation photosynthesis model (VPM), in a semiarid temperate grassland ecosystem. Methods The study was conducted at a typical grassland site in Ujimuqin of Inner Mongolia, North China, over 2 years in 2006 and 2007. Environmental controls on GPP measured by the eddy covariance (EC) technique at the study site were first investigated with path analysis of meteorological and soil moisture data at a daily and 8-day time steps. The estimates of GPP derived from the MODIS GPP and the VPM with site-specific inputs were then compared with the values of EC measurements as ground truthing at the site. Site-specific emax (a) was estimated by using rectangular hyperbola function based on the 7-day flux data at 30-min intervals over the peak period of the growing season (May to September). Important Findings Between the two remote sensing GPP algorithms and various estimates of the fraction of absorbed photosynthetic active radiation (FPAR), the VPM based on FPAR derived from the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) works the best in predicting GPP against the ground truthing of EC GPP. A path analysis indicates that the EC GPP in this semiarid temperate grassland ecosystem is controlled predominantly by both soil water and temperature. The site water condition is slightly better simulated by the moisture multiplier in the VPM than in the MODIS GPP algorithm, which is a most probable explanation for a better performance of the VPM than MODIS GPP algorithm in this semiarid grassland ecosystem.


China has basically succeeded in bringing the COVID-19 epidemic under control, thanks to a timely series of effective prevention and control measures taken by the Chinese government. In this study, a public acceptance questionnaire of epidemic prevention measures was designed to investigate the influencing factors of public acceptance. A total of 2062 samples were collected from 8 March 2020 to 9 April 2020, and Independent-Samples T-Test and One-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data collected in the questionnaire in SPSS version 22.0. The results show that age and educational level have a significant influence on public acceptance. With the development of the epidemic, the acceptability grew generally higher. The public acceptance of traffic measures is the highest. This study summarises China's scientific experience in the fight against COVID-19 and the differences in public acceptance. It can provide a positive reference for the development of epidemic prevention in other countries.


The Stock Exchange is a private sector savings and liquidity fund to fund long-term investment projects. The indicators of this market are influenced by several factors, one of which are economic variables. Banks are also one of the most important investors in the financial market. In this study, the effect of exchange rate, bank interest rate, liquidity and inflation rate on stock price index using time series data of 1978-1988 and using equation system model of four equations of the stock price index, inflation rate, profit rate Deposits, and facility interest rates were estimated using the three-stage least squares method. The results showed that the effect of the exchange rate, deposit interest rate and positive liquidity volume and the effect of inflation rate on stock price index was negative. Other equations have been estimated because of the relationship between the bank interest rate and inflation rate, and the results show that both deposit interest rate and facility interest rate have a positive relationship with the inflation rate


Work in the classification literature has shown that in computing a classification function, one need not know the class membership of all observations in the training set; the unlabeled observations still provide information on the marginal distribution of the feature set, and can thus contribute to increased classification accuracy for future observations. The present paper will show that this scheme can also be used for the estimation of class prior probabilities, which would be very useful in applications in which it is difficult or expensive to determine class membership. Both parametric and nonparametric estimators are developed. Asymptotic distributions of the estimators are derived, and it is proven that the use of the unlabeled observations does reduce asymptotic variance. This methodology is also extended to the estimation of subclass probabilities.


Most compression algorithms are designed for minimizing a squared error criterion. The squared error criterion does not accurately represent the fidelity requirements for scientific image compression. In this paper we propose a distortion measure which correlates with subjective evaluations, and an adaptive vector quantization algorithm which minimizes this distortion measure. A new approach to codebook design is presented to replace the nearest neighbor approach.


Community pharmacy sale of over-the-counter (OTC) rapid HIV tests may provide an important extension of the public health system. U.S. pharmacy practise has expanded to include several public health services; however, nothing is known about pharmacist attitudes about OTC sale of HIV tests and related consultation opportunities. Methods This study identifies and explores the views of pharmacists regarding the sale of OTC rapid HIV tests. Exploratory interviews were conducted among a sample of 17 licenced community pharmacists in a Midwestern U.S. state with moderate HIV incidence. 30-minute interviews were conducted in person or by telephone between May and September 2012. Interviews were recorded and transcribed for a priori and open coding. Three investigators independently coded transcripts to assure interrator reliability. Findings Pharmacists had positive attitudes about the OTC rapid HIV test, as testing would likely result in more people learning their HIV status. Participants felt that the pharmacy role should not be limited to test kit sale. Pharmacists framed their role as health consultants focused specifically on results consultation and linkage to treatment. Point of sale was identified as the opportunity for consultation about the HIV test and to establish a relationship for future discussion about results and linkage to care. Conclusion Pharmacist consultation at point of OTC HIV test sale provides an important opportunity to increase options for linkage to HIV care. Future studies should investigate pharmacist opinion and attitudes about the OTC sale of rapid HIV test kits among a larger and more representative sample of community pharmacists, and in states with other geographic, socio demographic and epidemiologic characteristics.


Traditional linguistics assumes that verbs are lexical categories that typically merge in the predicate domain of a sentence: VP. This study shows that, in Gungbe (Kwa), a significantly large class of items functioning as verbs heading a VP in a sentence may also serve as functional elements that merge within the functional skeleton of the clause. The discussion builds on the analysis of Inherent Complement Verbs (ICVs). In the Kwa literature, ICVs are defined as verbs which require a complement in their citation form (e.g., do wezun lit. plant race; 'to run'). This paper argues that these verbs can first merge in two syntactic positions: little v and V. When merged in v, such verbs select for a VP-complement involving an abstract empty V which necessarily takes a bare NP as complement (Hale & Keyser 1993). When merged in V, however, these verbs pattern like other Gungbe lexical verbs in selecting a DP argument. The paper concludes that Gungbe, (and possibly Kwa languages in general) involve a class of verbal roots that can merge in the predicate head or in the functional domain. This finding supports Kayne's (2009) recent antisymmetric approach to the lexicon.


A low-profile planar monopole antenna is proposed to operate within WLAN and WiMAX frequency bands. The antenna is composed of three radiating elements together with an additional strip to control the antenna performance. An electromagnetic (EM) model of the proposed antenna is developed in CST Microwave Studio for numerical analysis and optimization. The principle of operation and parametric study on the antenna performance are provided. Two dual-band and triple-band antennas are fabricated, and experimental results are presented.


To better understand how caregiving varies across contexts and the impact of caregiving on social and economic outcomes, we need to understand how it varies across the entire adult life course and how sensitive caregiving estimates are to the inclusion of different directions and types of care. This is the first study to comprehensively describe multigenerational caregiving patterns by gender and age across European countries. We use the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) Wave 1 (N=114,147) to consider multiple definitions of multigenerational caregiving. In addition to personal care and financial transfers, we also include emotional transfers which are rarely examined. We also examine multigenerational care that includes simultaneous care for any two generations rather than just to parents and children which is most often studied. Across our sample of 11 European countries, we find that women are significantly more likely to give care than men across the life course, and these gender gaps are especially large during critical periods like young adulthood and mid-life around retirement ages. Including emotional caregiving as well as horizontal care (to a spouse, sibling, or friend) are both substantively important in shaping the life course pattern of caregiving and the size of the gender gap. The gender gap in the life course pattern of caregiving have implications for aging, intergenerational inequality, and human capital accumulation across the life course.


This paper presents a model for two-phase nanofluid-fluid flow and heat transfer. The nonuniform nanoparticles are transported using Buongiorno model by convection, Brownian diffusion and thermophoresis. This is the first attempt to employ Buongiorno model for two-phase nanofluid-fluid flow. The moving interface between the nanofluid and the immiscible fluid is captured using the level-set method. The model is first verified and then demonstrated for coupled flow and heat transfer in (1) a water–alumina nanofluid-filled cavity with a rising silicone oil drop and (2) stratified flow of water–alumina nanofluid, pure water and silicone oil in a channel.


To demonstrate the indication for surgery, the preoperative and postoperative course, and to assess the influence of thoracoplasty on respiratory physiology, the data of patients subjected to thoracoplasty during the past 30 years at our hospital were evaluated. Final assessment was performed separately for patients with and without preceding pulmonary resection. In 21 cases there was an unspecific empyema of the pleura and in 6 cases a specific one; in 14 cases there was also a concomitant bronchopleural fistula. After a washing-out period of 92 days (24-283) and after surgery had been unsuccessful in 9 patients, standard thoracoplasty was performed, complemented by a "jalousie" ("Venetian blind") plasty after Heller. Postoperative lethality was 11.1%. 5 patients developed pleuro-cutaneous fistulas that healed by local treatment; in one patient, a small residual cavity remained that required an additional plasty for correction. In 94% of the patients who had been operated upon, scoliosis occurred convex to the thoracoplasty; this was more marked in patients in whom lung resection had been performed than in patients without resection. Restrictive ventilatory disorders were seen in the lung function of 55% of the patients, whereas mixed restrictive-obstructive disorders occurred in 45%. Ergospirometry resulted under load besides in an increased respiratory minute volume (AMV), in a proportionate dead space of the AMV which was significantly higher than preoperatively. Despite the considerable functional and aesthetic consequences resulting therefrom, thoracoplasty still has its justification in refractory pleura empyemas as an ultimate means of cleaning up.


Everyone who works with electronic circuitry on a regular basis needs test equipment. But commercially sold meters and probes are very expensive, and often more than the average home experimenter needs. This money-saving project book aims to solve that dilemma by providing plans and instructions for building two dozen inexpensive test instruments - both analog and digital - for the workbench. This book instructs hobbyists how to construct a voltage range detector, digital voltmeter, transistor/diode tester, deluxe logic probe, light meter, temperature range detector, sine wave audio oscillator, sweep function generator, and many other essential pieces of test equipment - each in two hours or less, using components available at any local electronics store. The complete set of diagnostic tools featured here would cost thousands of dollars if purchased from a dealer, but this book shows readers how easy it is to build them at home for a fraction of the price. Delton T. Horn is the author of more than 35 electronics titles. They include "Designing and Building Electronic Filters" and "Troubleshooting and Repairing Electronic Music Synthesizers."


Background: Rabies is practically 100% fatal zoonotic disease but easily preventable with  timely  administration of vaccine to the dog bite victim, but very commonly myths  and practices  amongst  people  prevent them for adequate and appropriate treatment. Aim & Objective: To know perception of dog bite patients about Anti-rabies Vaccination (ARV) and to know health seeking behaviour of dog bite victims attending a tertiary care hospital.  Material and Methods: A hospital based study was conducted among the animal bite victims who had attended Anti Rabies Clinic from February 2012 to May 2012 after taking their informed verbal consent. All enrolled patients were interviewed using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Majority of the patients (45.6%) in the study were more than 50 years of age. Almost three-fourths of the study population was  male (71.7%). One thirds of the population had primary education while 14.2% of the patients were illiterate. Most of the patients (64.1%) lived within 10 kilometres distance from ARV Clinic. There were 37.6% patients who had applied nothing on the wound site, while only 11% of them had washed the wound with soap and water. 93.9% (385) had approached other health facilities before coming to the ARV Clinic, of which no treatment/care was given in 18.8% of the cases.  Conclusion: Animal bite was more common among adults, adolescents and males. The bite victims did not take proper wound care nor take prompt action to reach the health facility after the bite. Indigenous methods for wound care were quite prevalent.  Key words: ARV, Health Seeking behaviour


The subgroup characteristics of 130 strains of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) isolated in Sapporo during 9 epidemic years 1980-1989 were determined. Monoclonal antibodies raised against the RSV Long strains were used. Subgroup A included 77 (59.2%) isolates and subgroup B 52 (40.0%) strains, while 1 strain was considered to be a variant of a subgroup A strain. The distribution by age of infants and children was different for the 2 subgroups: less than 1 year of age infants with subgroup A infection dominated, greater than 1 year of age subgroup A infections were less common than subgroup B infections. These was no difference in type of illness between the subgroups. Bronchiolitis was the dominant diagnosis in all patients.


"Complex" diseases are, by definition, influenced by multiple causes, both genetic and environmental, and statistical work on the joint action of multiple risk factors has, for more than 40 years, been dominated by the generalized linear model (GLM). In genetics, models for dichotomous traits have traditionally been approached via the model of an underlying, normally distributed, liability. This corresponds to the GLM with binomial errors and a probit link function. Elsewhere in epidemiology, however, the logistic regression model, a GLM with logit link function, has been the tool of choice, largely because of its convenient properties in case‐control studies. The choice of link function has usually been dictated by mathematical convenience, but it has some important implications in (a) the choice of association test statistic in the presence of existing strong risk factors, (b) the ability to predict disease from genotype given its heritability, and (c) the definition, and interpretation of epistasis (or epistacy). These issues are reviewed, and a new association test proposed. Genet. Epidemiol. 36:409–418, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


An urea-ENFET (Enzyme field effect transistor) probe was made by covering one of the grids of the dual ISFET (Ion sensitive field effect transistor) with a membrane of cross-linked bovine serum albumin (BSA)-urease and the other with cross-linked BSA, and the response characteristics of the probe was then tested through differential measurements. In different concentrations of phosphate buffer, the sensor responded to various concentrations of urea solution within 10-60s. From the calibration curve plotted on logarithmic scales a linear concentration range of 1.0-8.0 mg/dl was acquired, and the correlation coefficient and response sensitivity were 0.997 and 50mV/dec. (mg/dl), respectively. However, in dilute urea solution, the sensor responded linearly to the contents of urea over the range of concentration of 0.1-1.0 mg/dl with a correlation coefficient of 0.998 and a response sensitivity of 12-15mV/mg/dl. The standard deviation and the variation coefficient for 20 performances responding to 100mg/dl urea in 0.01M pH7.0 phosphate buffer were found to be 1.39mV and 1.44%, respectively. The urea-ENFET was used for the determination of BUN (Blood urea nitrogen) and the BUN values were compared with those determined by enzymatic method, the repression equation and correlation coefficient for 50 assays were y = -0.1272 + 0.9695x and r = 0.9912, respectively. When the urea-ENFET was used for determining urea either in buffer solution or in serum for 250 runs over a period of 1.5 months (the enzyme FET was stored at 4 degrees C between measurements during this period), the observed decrease of response sensitivity was only about 10%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Multifunctional acrylates are being used increasingly as replacements for solvents, and occupational and general population exposure to this structural class is expanding. Four multi‐functional acrylates and acrylic acid were tested for mutagenicity in the Salmonella typhimurium and mouse lymphoma L5178Y TK+/−assays. In the Salmonella assay, two of the compounds (trimethylolpropane triacrylate and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate) showed weakly positive results with a single tester strain (TA1535) in the presence of hamster liver S9; the other three compounds were negative. All five compounds were negative in the Salmonella assay without S9 activation. In the mouse lymphoma assay, two of the compounds (acrylic acid and ethylene glycol diacrylate) were positive in both the presence and the absence of S9, one compound was positive only in the presence of S9 (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate), and one compound was positive only in the absence of S9 (trimethylolpropane triacrylate).


Abstract Turkey has been investing in its national defence industrial base since the 1980s. As with other developing countries, Turkey's motivations for investing in national defence industries can be boiled down to the pursuit of defence autarky, economic benefits and international prestige. However, after 40 years of investment, Turkey is unable to reach the primary goals of defence industrialisation. We argue that three factors are important to understanding Turkey's persistence in these primary goals. First, Turkey believes that there is an overall improvement in its defence industrial capabilities and the goal of autarky is still reachable. Second, increased defence exports support the belief that Turkish defence industries have become sustainable and the trend will continue in the future. The third reason, perhaps most important of all, has to do with the domestic political gains of defence industrialisation: the AKP uses defence industry and indigenous weapon systems for prestige and, therefore, garners broader support.


______________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract. Himatanthus obovatus is a tree species that has laticifers in its aerial organs, where it is used in folk medicine. The aim of this work was to evaluate the latex of H. obovatus regarding its phytochemical composition and biological activities. The latex was collected and lyophilized, yield (%) was carried out, phytochemical prospection for several groups, determination of the content of flavonoids, phenolics and total tannins, antioxidant activity in reducing DPPH, antifungal activity on the Candida genus, antibacterial for Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella serovar Enteritidis and Thyphymurium and Enterococcus faecalis, hemolytic activity on human erythrocytes and cytotoxicity bioassay on Artemia salina. The latex yield was 19.05%, positive presence of several groups of phytocompounds was observed, total flavonoid content of 78.80 mg QE 100 g -1 , total phenolic compounds of 166.51 mg AGE g 100 -1 , total tannins of 14.81 mg TAE 100 g -1 , antioxidant activity IC50 = 178.87 μg mL -1 , antifungal activity for all Candida strains and antibacterial only for E. coli and E. faecalis, hemolytic activity between 68-18% and cytotoxicity with LC50 = 433.97 μg mL -1 on A. salina. The latex of Himatanthus obovatus demonstrated in this study, important phytochemical data and biological activities.


This is the first survey to determine the occurrence, prevalence, and distribution of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) viral diseases in Argentina. It was conducted in the province of Córdoba, which has 92% of the country's peanut production. It included the main peanut viruses Peanut mottle virus (PeMoV), Peanut stripe virus (PStV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Peanut stunt virus (PSV), Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), and Groundnut ringspot virus (GRSV). Leaf samples from 1,028 individual peanut plants with virus-like symptoms and 986 samples from asymptomatic plants were collected in six counties of Córdoba over 3 years and serologically tested for the presence of viruses. PeMoV was the most frequently detected virus, found in 58.8, 34.2, and 23.4% of samples from the 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06 growing seasons, respectively, and it was found in all sampled counties. Also, it was the only virus detected in asymptomatic plants. Less than 4% of symptomatic plants were infected with CMV or GRSV; 0.5, 3.6, and 2% of samples were positive for CMV; and 0.5, 3.1, and 1.6% were positive for GRSV in the 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, respectively. Some mixed infections were found: CMV-PeMoV and GRSV-PeMoV. During this survey, PSV, PStV, and TSWV were not detected in any peanut samples.


Six murine monoclonal antifluorescyl antibody clones encompassing a defined range of affinities and containing kappa light chains with IgG1 or IgG2 heavy chains were examined. As the fluorescence of the ligand is quenched greater than 90% when fluorescein is bound by antifluorescyl antibodies, fluorescence quenching was assayed to monitor polypeptide reconstitution and active site formation on mixing of resolved heavy (H) and light (L) chains. Of 36 possible experimental combinations of H- and L-chain reaction mixtures, only homologous H and L chains (derived from the same parental immunoglobulin molecule) bound fluorescein. Results from fluorescence polarization studies, conducted independently of fluorescence quenching, confirmed the findings. Competitive inhibition and molecular sieve experiments showed that, despite preferential association of homologous H and L chains, several heterologous H and L chains associated to form intact 7S molecules, although no active site was constituted. Thus, polypeptide recombination and formation of functional antigen binding sites are two processes that immunocytes must regulate during cell differentiation and generation of diversity. A mechanism and underlying the observed preferential reassociation of specific H and L chains and a means of generating affinity maturation, as exhibited by the antifluorescein system, is proposed.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an adapted Porter Diamond Model (PDM) that can be used by transnational education (TNE) countries and institutions as an analytical framework for the strategic evaluation of TNE host countries in terms of attractiveness for exporting higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a literature review to adapt the PDM in the context of TNE host countries. A pilot study of adapted PDM is conducted for China and Malaysia. Available country data are collected via desk study.

Findings

The pilot application of the adapted PDM revealed no major issues or failings. Only some minor difficulties in the identification of appropriate data which can be resolved with the use of alternative metrics. The results from the analysis of the two countries indicate that China and Malaysia are both suitable TNE host countries for expanding existing and developing new activities. This also indicates that the proposed use of the adapted PDM is suitable to effectively evaluate TNE host countries.

Practical implications

This adapted model can be used by TNE exporting institutions and countries to access the suitability of prospective TNE host countries for education export. Also, it can be used to evaluate the future risks for existing TNE activities. TNE host countries can use the model to strengthen their attractiveness for education import or to plan of becoming education hubs.

Originality/value

Considering the scale and the expected growth of TNE, as well as the lack of strategic analysis tools for TNE; the proposed model provides a valuable practical tool to aid strategic planning at institutional and country level.


Removing micropollutants is challenging in part because of their toxicity at low concentrations. A biocatalytic approach could harness the high affinity of enzymes for their substrates to address this challenge. The potential of biocatalysis relative to mature (nonselective ion exchange, selective ion exchange, and whole-cell biological reduction) and emerging (catalysis) perchlorate-removal technologies was evaluated through a quantitative sustainable design framework, and research objectives were prioritized to advance economic and environmental sustainability. In its current undeveloped state, the biocatalytic technology was approximately 1 order of magnitude higher in cost and environmental impact than nonselective ion exchange. Biocatalyst production was highly correlated with cost and impact. Realistic improvement scenarios targeting biocatalyst yield, biocatalyst immobilization for reuse, and elimination of an electron shuttle could reduce total costs to $0.034 m-3 and global warming potential (GWP) to 0.051 kg CO2 eq m-3: roughly 6.5% of cost and 7.3% of GWP of the background from drinking water treatment and competitive with the best performing technology, selective ion exchange. With less stringent perchlorate regulatory limits, ion exchange technologies had increased cost and impact, in contrast to biocatalytic and catalytic technologies. Targeted advances in biocatalysis could provide affordable and sustainable treatment options to protect the public from micropollutants.


Green tea is made from Camellia sinensis and leaves through the oxidation process. It mainly originates in China and has been used traditionally throughout Asia. In the West, black tea has been used mostly, but green tea has become the most popular beverage throughout the world. It is also used as a raw material in cosmetics, health foods, and as an added ingredient in various beverages. Different varieties of green tea are available. The main differences between the varieties are due to harvesting time, production procedures, and horticulture. Drinking green tea has many positive effects on the body. It helps to nourish our five vital organs, among which the most important is the heart. It also has many qualities to help improve our state of mind (thus possibly reducing the consumption of alcohol), it acts as a stimulant, cures blotchiness, fulfills thirst, eliminates indigestion, cures beriberi disease, prevents fatigue, and improves kidney and brain function.


For the treatment of advanced damages of hip joints, Total Hip Arthroplasty is well proven. Due to the different mechanical properties of the prosthesis material and the bone tissue, a partial unloading of the periprosthetic bone occurs. The bone cement causes reduction in bone density as a result of removal of normal stress from the bone, leading to weakening of the bone in that area and the fracture risk increases. Bone loss is identified as one of the main reasons for loosening of the stem. Otherwise, thanks to the press-fit of the non-cemented stem achieved by surgery, the bone layers immediately adjacent to the stem are preloaded, thus encouraged growing, and the bone getting stronger. The non-cemented stem would be the better choice for every patient, but the question remains if the femur can handle the press- fitting surgery. This studies aim to develop a monitoring techniques based on Gait analysis and bone density changes to assess patient recovery after Total Hip Arthroplasty. Furthermore, to validate computational processes based on 3D modeling and Finite Element Methods for optimizing decision making in the operation process and selecting the suited surgical procedure. A vision could be minimizing risk of periprosthetic fracture during and after surgery. Patients: The sample presents 11 patients receiving cemented implant and 13 for the uncemented. Patients are grouped by type of implant. Three checkpoints were considered: before, after operation and one year later. CT scans, gaitrite and kinepro measurements have been realized. Main outcome measures: Fracture risk probability is higher in bone with low bone mineral density; therefore bones are more fragile in elderly people. BMD is indeed one parameter considered among all the observations. Periprosthetic fracture of the femur is a rare but complex complication of THA, and requires demanding surgery. As such, they result in considerable morbidity and dysfunction. Thus, tests of force reaction have been accomplished to support surgeons during the prosthesis fitting. Identification of risk factors for fracture will improve preoperative counseling and aid primary prevention. To assess eventual improvements or find out trends respecting the implant used, gait data have been collected and compared with muscles mass modeling.


Active learning refers to the settings in which a machine learning algorithm (learner) is able to select data from which it learns (selecting points and then obtaining their labels), and by doing so aims to achieve better accuracy (e.g., by avoiding obtaining training data that is redundant or unimportant). Active learning is particularly useful in cases where the labeling cost is high. A common assumption is that an active learning algorithm is aware of the details of the underlying learning algorithm for which it obtains the data. However, in many practical settings, obtaining precise details of the learning algorithm may not be feasible, making the underlying algorithm in essence a black box – no knowledge of the internal workings of the algorithm is available, and only the inputs and corresponding output estimates are accessible. This makes many of the traditional approaches not applicable, or at the least not effective. Hence our motivation is to use the only data that is accessible in black box settings – output estimates. We note that accuracy will improve only if the learner's output estimates change. Therefore we propose active learning criterion that utilizes the information contained within the changes of output estimates.


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Background Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) from matched-sibling donor (MSD) and immunosuppressive treatment (IST) are the most widely used first-line treatments for patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). Overall long-term survival rates are comparable between the two groups. However, patients with age of over 40 have not been generally considered as candidates of SCT from MSD (MSD-SCT) due to higher transplant-related mortality. Recent improvements in MSD-SCT such as less intensive fludarabine-based conditioning, and use of rabbit anti-thymocyte globuline (ATG) instead of horse ATG as first-line IST may change these results. Therefore, we compared the clinical outcomes between MSD-SCT with fludarabine-based conditioning and IST with rabbit ATG and cyclosporine A (CsA).

Methods We analyzed the clinical results of 54 adult SAA patients who were treated with MSD-SCT and 93 with IST as a first-line treatment from March 2006 to May 2012 at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul, Korea. The patients who were treated with MSD-SCT received conditioning with fludarabine (30 mg/m2/day × 6 days), cyclophosphamide (50 mg/kg/day × 2 days), and rabbit ATG (Thymoglobulin®, 2.5 mg/kg/day × 4 days). Those who were treated with IST received rabbit ATG (2.5 mg/kg/day × 5 days) with CsA.

Results The median ages were not significantly different between the MSD-SCT group and IST group (38.5 years vs. 43.0 years; P=0.103). Other baseline characteristics were comparable except the interval from diagnosis to treatment (100 days vs. 40 days; P=0.013), absolute lymphocyte count (0.68 × 109/L vs. 0.93 × 109/L; P=0.013), and platelet count (10.0 × 109/L vs. 11.0 × 109/L; P=0.035). In the IST group, overall response and complete response rates at 1 year were 44.1% (95% CI, 33.8-54.8) and 10.8% (95% CI, 5.3-18.9). Treatment failure developed in 55 (59.1%) patients due to non-response in 34 (36.6%), relapse in 5 (5.4%), clonal evolution in 3 (3.2%), and treatment-related mortality in 13 (14.0%) patients. After treatment failure, 17 (18.3%) patients received SCT from MSD or unrelated donor. In the MSD-SCT group, 10 (18.5%) patients experienced treatment failure due to secondary graft failure in 5 (9.3%), clonal evolution in 1 (1.9%), and treatment-related mortality in 4 (7.4%) patients. Among the patients who experienced secondary graft failure, 4 (7.4%) patients received secondary SCT, which resulted in sustained graft function. Consequently, overall survival (OS) at 3 years in the MSD-SCT group was not significantly different compared to that in the IST group (90.7% vs. 81.0%; P=0.139). However, the MSD-SCT group showed significantly higher failure-free survival (FFS) at 3 years compared to the IST group (80.2% vs. 46.6%; P<0.001). When we analyzed the patients with age of over 40 years, OS at 3 years in the MSD-SCT group was not significantly different compared to that in the IST group (87.5% vs. 74.7%; P=0.251), whereas FFS at 3 years in the MSD-SCT group was significantly higher compared to that in the IST group (84.0% vs. 43.0%; P=0.001).

Conclusions Our data suggest that MSD-SCT is more favorable than IST as a first-line treatment, considering the curative nature of MSD-SCT even in patients over 40 years of age.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Mammography is the best method for early mass detection. In order to limit the search for abnormalities by Computer Aided Diagnosis systems to the region of the breast without undue influence from the background of the mammogram, extraction of the breast contour and pectoral muscle is necessary. Breast contour helps to find the position of the nipple, which its position is important for mass detection in the next stages and presence of pectoral muscle in the mammogram could bias the detection procedures. So during analysis, the pectoral muscle should preferably be excluded from processing. In this paper we propose one low-pass mask for detecting breast contour and a new method for the identification of the pectoral muscle in most medio-lateral oblique mammograms based on Non-Linear Diffusion algorithm which is an edge preserving smoother. Evaluation of the breast contour and pectoral muscle detected in the mammograms were performed by the Hausdorff Distance Measure (HDM) and also the Mean of Absolute Error Distance Measure (MAEDM) based on a distance transform and image algebra between the edges identified by radiologists and by the proposed methods. Then we compare our results by other segmentation methods. Our proposed algorithms show superior results in comparison.


A novel software engineering methodology of today's internet era for developing distributed application is Service-oriented Architecture (SOA). Service providers from different organizations develop their own web services independently and the service consumers can put these services together to develop their applications. Normally, service providers don't want to unveil their background business logic to other organizations. For the purpose of protecting business secret and privacy, background processes are often hidden by their service providers and consumer can only get limited public views. Service consumers communicate with public views using message. This paper improves the rename algorithm and the constructing atomicity-equivalent public view algorithm of an existing process algebra model in [6], hoping to lowering time complexity.


A new antibody reacting with an antigen from polytene chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster has been found in serum of patients with Bechterew's disease. This antigen-antibody system differs from other nuclear antibodies (anti-RNP, anti-Sm, anti-Ha/SS-B) in that it is not detectable by counter-immunoelectrophoresis. The antibody could be detected in 24 out of 62 Morbus Bechterew sera in which the antibody did not strictly correlate with the appearance of HLA-B27 antigen. The new antibody specificity is a specific serological finding in patients with Bechterew's disease and is therefore suitable for use as a diagnostic, and perhaps also as a prognostic test for this type of spondylarthritis till now assumed to be seronegative.


This paper studies the performance of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems employing multichannel beamforming in the presence of unequal power cochannel interference and noise. Our results apply to a wide class of multichannel systems which transmit on the eigenmodes of the MIMO channel, allowing for transmission on any arbitrary number of eigensubchannels, with possibly different modulation formats, and with possibly unequal powers. New exact expressions are derived for the symbol error rate (SER) of each eigensubchannel, the global SER, and the outage probability. We also present simplified closed-form expressions for the high SNR regime, and show that cochannel interference has no effect on the diversity order, but leads to a loss in array gain. Our results are based on new closed-form exact and asymptotic expressions which we derive for the marginal ordered eigenvalue distributions of a certain class of finite-dimensional complex random matrices.


- The refrigerant two-phase flow across tube bundles is widely used. Its heat transfer mechanism needs to be further studied. An experimental system was established for measuring heat transfer coefficients, pressure drop and observing flow patterns. The test section of tube bundles was designed. R1233zd as a new environmentally friendly refrigerant was used as the working fluid. The effects of vapor quality, heat flux and mass flow rate on heat transfer and pressure drop were analyzed. The falling film flow, bubbly flow and shear flow were observed. With the increasing vapor quality and heat flux, the heat transfer coefficient increases. With the increasing vapor quality and mass flow rate, the pressure drop increases.


While MIDI is still the most viable music proto- col, it is not appropriate for use in live networked mu- sic performances. We propose a network data format called MINI. It eliminates the disturbing arpeggio ef- fect caused by network packet delay jitter, and yields smaller packets that can be further reduced by omit- ting marginal MIDI features. MIDIMINI transcoding is transparent, and works with standard MIDI instru- ments. We present the MINI design rationale, protocol, and empirical performance results.


We recently demonstrated that the occupancy of endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) by protein C switches the PAR-1-dependent signaling specificity of thrombin from a permeability-enhancing to a barrier-protective response in endothelial cells. To determine whether the occupancy of EPCR by protein C renders thrombin a protective enzyme, thus up-regulating the expression of signaling molecules in the antiinflammatory pathways, we investigated the effects of thrombin and thrombin receptor agonist peptides (TRAP) on TNF-a-stimulated HUVECs in the absence and presence of the catalytically inactive protein C-S195A by monitoring the expression of cell surface adhesion molecules (VCAM- 1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin), adhesion of neutrophils to cytokine-stimulated endothelial cells, regulation of the Rho family of small GTPases and the activation of nuclear factorkB (NF-kB) pathway. Analysis of the results indicates that both thrombin and TRAP initiate proinflammatory responses in endothelial cells, thus neither thrombin nor TRAP influenced the proinflammatory effects of TNF-a in the absence of the protein C mutant. Interestingly, however, the occupancy of EPCR by the protein C mutant switched the PAR-1-dependent signaling specificity of thrombin and TRAP, thus leading to inhibition of the expression of all three adhesion molecules as well as the binding of neutrophils to TNFa-stimulated endothelial cells. Furthermore, similar to activated protein C, both thrombin and TRAP activated Rac1 and inhibited the activation of RhoA and NF-kB pathways in response to TNF-a in cells pretreated with protein C-S195A. Based on these results we conclude that when EPCR is bound by its natural ligand protein C, the cleavage of PAR-1 by thrombin initiates antiinflammatory responses in vascular endothelial cells.


Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) displays several biological properties which distinguish it from any other human herpesvirus. The most important of these is that it infects and immortalizes human B lymphocytes, both in vitro and in vivo. These indefinitely growing cells consistently express viral proteins in the nucleus or in the plasma membrane; at least one of these is required for immortalization. In severely immunocompromised hosts such as transplant recipients and AIDS patients, EBV induces B-cell lymphoma. Two strains of EBV (A and B) have recently been recognized; they behave differently in their reaction to EBV-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. Further studies are needed to define more accurately the part played by EBV in Burkitt's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Besides immortalization, EBV can infect oropharyngeal epithelial cells in vivo, replicating in them at the time of primary infection (infectious mononucleosis) and reactivations. In fact, EBV infects most people throughout the world while rarely causing severe disease.


Many projects fail because the knowledge learned from them is obtained too late or insufficient (Koenig & Srikantaiah, 2004); 'knowledge in projects', 'knowledge about projects', and 'knowledge from projects' are three types of knowledge that result from project‐based work (Love et al., 2005). This study explores the relationships between the system development life cycle (SDLC) of project management, firm‐level explicit knowledge of organizational knowledge accumulation (OKA), and implicit knowledge of employee knowledge accumulation (EKA) with respect to knowledge accumulation (KA) and knowledge integration (KI). First, it analyzes the competence of SDLC in Taiwan's IT enterprises by adapting expert interviews, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and fuzzy rule‐based theory. This reveals that system planning (SP) and system analysis (SA) are the most important SDLC phases. Second, based on the above result, this study investigates how the effectiveness of SDLC (ESDLC) correlates with KI, OKA, and EKA. Results indicate that EKA and OKA have obvious mutual influences, and that both show significant impact on ESDLC. Furthermore, KI has positive influence on EKA, but negative influence on OKA.


At present, the power system is developing toward a fully renewable energy resources (RERs) equipped system due to significant challenges with the conventional units. This trend has led to remarkable new challenges for power system planners considering the stochastic nature of RERs, application of new emerging technologies, etc. In this article, a two-stage robust stochastic programming model for the optimal scheduling of commercial microgrids equipped with 100% RERs to handle the existing uncertainties is presented. In the day-ahead electricity market, microgrids maximize their expected profits by optimizing their bidding strategy, while minimizing the imbalance cost is targeted for microgrids by adjusting the distributed energy resources in the real-time balancing market. Transactive energy technology is effectively applied to manage the energy trading between microgrids with each other in the local energy transaction market and with the power grid. For demand-side management, the demand response program is posed considering the shiftable and interruptible features of the load. Simulation results on the IEEE 33-bus standard system integrated with microgrids verify that the proposed model could provide satisfactory profits for microgrids participated in the energy exchanging process based on the transactive energy architecture.


The energy of a uniform electron gas can be specified completely in terms of its second-order density matrix. Mayer has therefore suggested that trial matrices satisfying all the usual conditions might be employed to determine variationally correlation energies and pair functions. Unfortunately, the particular choice made by Mayer did not satisfy all the Pauli conditions on the second-order matrix. However, matrices satisfactory from this point of view are presented here and the consequences of assuming such forms are investigated. Since one of the matrices is a direct generalization of the Hartree—Fock expression, a description of correlation effects is assured and it appears that this should be adequate for all densities.


This paper aims to study the morphology and dispersion stability of nanocellulose extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre by high-pressure homogenization method. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) from EFB fibre was hydrolysed using sulphuric acid, followed by high-pressure homogenization, to produce nanocellulose. The isolated MCC and nanocellulose was characterized for their microstructure and stability of the particles. Observation with SEM showed that diameter size of MCC from OPEFB were decreased along with the length of the fibres as the concentration of sulphuric acid increased. While the effects of homogenization cycles on the morphology of the obtained nanocelluloses were observed using FESEM. Overall results revealed that an addition of cycle numbers has shown a reduction in diameter size and substantial breakdown of the cell walls of the nanocellulose. In contrast, for the stability test, the MCCs and NCs particles' stability and dispersibility were dependent on the electrostatic interactions, which helped to maintain a more stable suspension. Therefore, combining the chemical and mechanical processes can successfully pave the way for the production of high added-value nanocellulose from a variety of cellulosic sources and has a good potential for nanocellulose production in Malaysia.


The Eastern Partnership (EaP) was officially launched in May 2009 as a European Union (EU) policy framework to enhance relations with six countries in Eastern Europe and the southern Caucasus. This paper argues that the design of the EaP, which is a predictable technocratic response from the EU institutions supported primarily by a number of new and a few old member states and building on the success of the latest round of enlargement 2004-07, runs the risk of not achieving the market-driven rapprochement between the EU and the EaP countries that it sets out to do. Moreover, the question has to be raised whether the EaP in its current set-up is equipped to deal with the strategic significance of this region which would require the EU to take a stance on a number of foreign and security policy issues. Here, member states' diverging interests on Russia as well as their differing geographical focus (south or east) may well stand in the way for an effective implementation of the EaP's objective of a stable and increasingly prosperous neighbourhood. In any event, relations to the EaP countries is bound to become one of the priority areas of the newly appointed EU foreign and security chief, Catherine Ashton, as she sets about establishing the strengthened office of High Representative (HR) for Foreign Affairs and Security/Vice President for External Relations of the European Commission.


Nano particles are minute materials ranging sizes from 1 to 100 nm. The different classes of nano particle are classified based on their sizes, shapes and properties. The fame of Nanomaterials (NMs) in methodological advancements due to their biological, chemical and physical properties are developing based on their performance. The superiority of using the different types of nanoparticles in the construction field are immense, resulting in extraordinary performance in chemical and physical properties of the modified construction material. Commonly used nanoparticles in the construction sector are copper, carbon nanotubes, titanium dioxide, silica, aluminium oxide and clay. The development of nanoparticles is observed in construction reflecting in adoptive industries, demand and production. The main objective is to analyse and study the history, types, applications and uses in construction.


Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ascites is a rare complication of ventriculoperitoneal shunt, where CSF accumulates in the peritoneal cavity as a result of defective absorption. Alternate CSF diversion procedure such as ventriculoatrial (VA) shunt is another way of managing this complication. Although there are reports published on this condition, the scientific literature hardly discussed the anesthetic management in such scenario. Here, we describe such a case with particular attention to perioperative management during VA shunt insertion for CSF ascites.


A persistent problem with personal digital assistants (PDAs) is the difficulty of entering data into the devices. The best current solutions to the problem are small soft keyboards and constrained handwriting recognizers. Another solution is use of speech. PDAs do not yet have the power to support full speech dictation, but they do have sufficient power to support voice spelling. Voice-spelling problems include the high acoustic confusability between certain letters of the alphabet and the difficulty of memorizing code words for the letters of the alphabet. This paper describes several User-Centered Design studies conducted to develop a voice-spelling alphabet for PDAs that overcomes these problems, including: (1) the development of a model of user performance to assess the potential of voice spelling as an alternate input method for PDAs, (2) Web-based surveys for determining the words that people tend to associate with the letters of the alphabet, (3) accuracy experiments used to tune the final voice-spelling alphabet, and (4) the development of a graphical user interface for displaying code words as a prompt when voice spelling is used. The results of these studies suggest that it would be worthwhile to develop a working voice-spelling system for PDAs in the future.


Background: Somatostatin analogues have shown to be effective in controlling the levels of growth hormone and are recommended for the treatment of acromegaly. These treatments have high costs of acquisition and their use might be restricted in limited resource settings. Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of somatostatin analogues for acromegaly in Colombia. Setting/Subjects/Intervention: A decision model was developed using a hypothetical cohort of patients with Acromegaly. Patients were treated according to the clinical practice of the country. Response to treatment and transition probabilities were derived from published literature. Costs and resource utilization were extracted from public and private sources in Colombia. Main Outcome Measure(s): Cost-effectiveness ratio, measured in Colombian pesos in a 2 year time-horizon. Results: The total medical treatment costs for the octreotide group were (Colombian Pesos) COP$53,807,616, compared to the total costs for the lanreotide group of COP$83,126,567. In the octreotide arm 65.30% of the patients and in the lanreotide arm 59.50% of the patients were successfully controlled. The number of deaths was 295 (13.1%) and 302 (13.4%) for octreotide and lanreotide, respectively. Because the costs are lower and the effectiveness is higher for octreotide in comparison with lanreotide, octreotide is more cost-effective than lanreotide. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were consistent showing octreotide as the most cost-effective option. Conclusions: Costs and effects of octreotide compare favorably to those of lanreotide in the treatment of acromegaly in Colombia. Sensitivity analysis showed that despite the uncertainty in cost-effectiveness ratio this result is robust.


Template for Form 41--Report of Trustee on Refusal by Court to Approve Proposal. Court's formal response of refusal of a trustee's request for approval of a proposal on a given day.


Galactose-deficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1) that exposes GalNAc or sialylated GalNAc has been shown to be associated with disease activity of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). In a previous report, we established an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that measures human Gd-IgA1 using a specific monoclonal antibody KM55 (KM55 mAb), and showed that patients with IgAN contain a higher level of serum Gd-IgA1 than other types of renal diseases. Recently, we also found that the KM55 mAb specifically recognized the glomerular-deposited Gd-IgA1 in renal biopsy. In this study, we aimed to analyze the epitope of KM55 mAb using synthesized peptides corresponding to the hinge region of IgA1 with GalNAc moiety on putative glycosylated Ser/Thr residues, which are Thr225, Thr228, Ser230, Ser232, and Thr236. Binding analysis to single GalNAc-modified hinge region peptide of IgA1 showed that Thr225 with GalNAc is required for recognition of KM55. PST(GalNAC)PP motif was required for KM55 mAb to recognize hinge region peptide of IgA1 which is shown by binding assay with deletion peptide. This result was confirmed by binding of KM55 mAb against peptide with GalNAc at Thr233, which resulted in containing another PST(GalNAC)PP motif. Taken together, we concluded that the epitope of Gd-IgA1-specific KM55 mAb is PST(GalNAc)PP motif.


Transmission control protocol (TCP) provides reliable end-to-end communications between any two devices on the Internet. Slow start mechanism is used when a source machine starts sending data to a destination, or when a TCP connection suffers packet loss and a retransmission timeout has occurred. Congestion avoidance mechanism is then used to transmit information with sustainable data rate from the sender to destination. In this paper, novel designs of the Slow-Start and congestion avoidance mechanisms will be discussed. The Slow Start threshold parameter is removed to create a simple and responsive design. Based on TCP Vegas, a new congestion avoidance design with two reduction rates on a connectionpsilas congestion window parameter is introduced. A smoothing average of the round-trip propagation delay is estimated. Simulation results indicate that the proposed designs fairly share network resources among TCP connections, and operate harmoniously with TCP NewReno connections in networks. The designs of both the slow-start and congestion avoidance processes are simple, and require no modifications to TCP protocol specification.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxicity and cytocompatibility of the developed aliphatic polyester co-polymer scaffolds: poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) and poly(L-lactide-co-1,5-dioxepan-2-one). The scaffolds were produced by solvent casting and particulate leaching, and tested by direct and indirect contact cytotoxicity assays on human osteoblast-like cells and mouse fibroblasts. Cell morphology was documented by light and scanning electron microscopy. Viability was assessed by the MTT, neutral red uptake, lactic dehydrogenase and apoptosis assays. Extraction tests confirmed that the scaffolds did not have a cytotoxic effect on the cells. The cells grew and spread well on the test scaffolds with good cellular attachment and viability. The scaffolds are noncytotoxic and biocompatible with the two cell types and warrant continued investigation as potential constructs for bone tissue engineering.


Recently, there has been a growing interest in the development of cost-effective technologies for the production of biofuels. A common approach to biofuel research is to invent or improve a biochemical or thermochemical conversion step. Subsequently, other conversion and separation steps are added to form a complete biorefinery flowsheet. Because this approach is structured around a specific conversion step, it may limit the possibilities of configuring optimal and innovative biorefineries. This article proposes a novel and systematic two-stage approach to the synthesis and optimization of biorefinery configurations, given available feedstocks and desired products. In the synthesis stage, a systems-based approach is developed to create a methodical way for synthesizing integrated biorefineries. This method is referred to as "forward-backward" approach. It involves forward synthesis of biomass to possible intermediates and reverse synthesis starting with the desired products and identifying necessary species and pathways leading to them. In the optimization stage, Bellman's principle of optimality is applied to decompose the optimization problem into subproblems in which an optimal policy of available technologies is determined for every conversion step. An optimization formulation is utilized to determine the optimal configuration based on screening and connecting the optimal policies and generating the biorefinery flowsheet. A case study of alcohol-producing pathways from lignocellulosic biomass is solved to demonstrate the merits of the proposed approach. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012


Although he mentioned more than once that Tolstoy was his idol, Aldanov, driven by the force of circumstances and catastrophic dimensions of the contemporary historical process, appears to be closer to Dostoevsky, both in terms of theory and subject matter. Scholarly writings that concern Aldanov's understanding of chance as a historical trigger are often tinged with irony, dismissing his ideas as a prominent writer's fancy. Aldanov summarises his views on the role of chance in a brilliant book, possibly the best historiosophical treatise written in Russian — A Night at Ulm: The Philosophy of Chance [Ulmskaya noch. Filosofiya sluchaya] (1953), a kind of manifesto of his main idea, where, citing Descartes and employing his style, Aldanov describes different variants of historical occurrences but leaves out their final resolution, only pointing at the possibility of multiple outcomes. This means that chance rules as ever and sometimes bad luck prevails. Lenin epitomised such a bad turn of events for Russia. The country's subsequent history became that of survival after the terrible blow. The history continues and it remains unclear if any recovery has been made.


In the search for an integrated understanding of the relationships among productive activities, human well-being, and ecosystem functioning, we evaluated the services delivered by a tropical dry forest (TDF) ecosystem in the Chamela Region, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. We synthesized information gathered for the past two decades as part of a long-term ecosystem research study and included social data collected in the past four years using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) conceptual framework as a guide. Here we identify the four nested spatial scales at which information has been obtained and emphasize one of them through a basin conceptual model. We then articulate the biophysical and socioeconomic constraints and drivers determining the delivery of ecosystem services in the Region. We describe the nine most important services, the stakeholders who benefit from those services, and their degree of awareness of such services. We characterize spatial and temporal patterns of the services' delivery as well as trade-offs among services and stakeholders. Finally, we contrast three alternative future scenarios on the delivery of ecosystem services and human well-being. Biophysical and socioeconomic features of the study site strongly influence human−ecosystem interactions, the ecosystem services delivered, the possible future trajectories of the ecosystem, and the effect on human well-being. We discuss future research approaches that will set the basis for an integrated understanding of human−ecosystem interactions and for constructing sustainable management strategies for the TDF.


In the present study some aspects of the health education level and life style of the housewives of a district of Granada were evaluated. The sample was randomly selected between the dwellings in that area. The participation rate was 60%. The survey was carried out by personal and direct interview by a female interviewer. The mean educational level was lower than high school in 97.5%. Mean age was 47 years. 13.3% of them were smokers, and 21.7% drank alcohol regularly. Only 44.1% of those in child bearing age used some contraceptive method; intrauterine devices were not used by anyone of them. Maternal lactation showed an increasing trend with age, but without statistical significance. 28.3% of women were unaware of the services of early diagnosis of genital cancer, and a similar rate ignored the preventive self-examination of the breast. The major conclusions of the study were that the educational level is directly related with the performance of beneficial health habits, and that the activities directed to health education should be promoted in the target population.


Bronze Age studies carried out in the Cantabrian Region have traditionally focused on prestige goods and funerary contexts. As a result of this, the lack of information about daily activities, subsistence strategies, and human settlement on a regional scale is evident in the state of art. However, current research has achieved new discoveries in recent years, allowing a reconstruction of some aspects of the economic structure, settlements, material culture and the palaeoenvironment during the Bronze Age. Indeed, besides the funerary practices discovered in 1983 in San Adrian (Parztuergo Nagusia, Gipuzkoa), research has now revealed the presence of Upper Palaeolithic and Early Bronze Age occupations. This paper presents a first characterization of the retrieved evidence and a preliminary evaluation of the archaeological site and its environment. San Adrian is a tunnel-shaped cave located at 1,000 meters a.s.l. in the Aizkorri mountain range, opening a passage beneath the Atlantic-Mediterranean watershed in northern Iberia. The strategic character of this mountain site is demonstrated by the presence of Upper Palaeolithic and Bronze Age occupations, and by the construction of a road passing through it and the fortification of both its entrances in the Middle Ages. The aim of the archaeological survey started in 2008 was to identify, describe and evaluate the heritage potential of the cave, because previous fieldwork had only managed to make surface finds in the side galleries, including a medieval hoard and Bronze Age human remains. The work carried out by our research group at San Adrian includes a series of test pits and the excavation of an area nine square metres in size following stratigraphic criteria. In the current state, we identified at least two contexts corresponding to Late Upper Palaeolithic and Bronze Age occupations in the cave. Fieldwork included the sieving and flotation of sediment and the collection of samples for different types of analysis: palynology, carpology, sedimentology, and radiocarbon dating. The evidence is being studied by a multidisciplinary team according to expertise requirements for each topic: palaeobotany and environment, archaeozoology, sedimentology, geology, physical anthropology, prehistoric industries (lithics, pottery and bone) and archaeological and historical documentation. Because of its recent discovery, Upper Palaeolithic evidence remains still under study, but first results on Bronze Age layers can be presented. The ongoing archaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies reveal the exploitation of domestic plants and fauna complemented by hunting and foraging of wild species. At the same time, the archaeological artefacts and their production sequences show the exploitation of nearby resources on both sides of the mountain range, while prestige goods are absent. This evidence is also used to estimate the regularity of cave occupations and to propose a model of seasonal exploitation of the mountain environment. The results obtained reveal the exploitation of resources from both the Mediterranean and Atlantic basins, and contribute towards an understanding of the daily activities of Bronze Age societies. In addition, the evidence shows the exchange and circulation of quotidian products between the Cantabrian region and inland Iberia in other networks than those of prestige goods.


Increased risk of mortality with time has been established in association with femoral neck fractures. However, little is known about the in-hospital mortality risk associated with femoral neck fractures in the US population. This study was conducted to determine the in-hospital mortality rate associated with femoral neck fractures and to identify independent demographic features associated with an increased risk of this primary outcome. The authors queried the PearlDiver database (PearlDiver Technologies, Inc, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania) of Medicare patients from 2005 to 2010 for International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9), diagnostic codes for femoral neck fractures and related conditions. Stratified sampling was conducted by creating a group within the data set that included patients with a death discharge using ICD-9-D-820.0 through ICD-9-D-820.13. Age, sex, and year of injury were analyzed as specific demographic variables related to mortality. A total of 751,232 femoral neck fractures occurred during the index study period. There were 11,420 deaths during the initial hospital stay, for an overall mortality rate of 1.52%. The mortality rate in patients older than 84 years was 2.06%. Of all deaths, 89% occurred in patients who were 75 years and older. The mortality rate for femoral neck fractures was 1.22% in women and 2.32% in men (odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.25-1.04). The overall mortality rate for patients in the Medicare population who were treated at an inpatient center for femoral neck fractures from 2005 to 2010 was 1.5%. Men had a mortality rate almost twice that of women. Patients older than 84 years were the most likely to die soon after sustaining a femoral neck fracture.


Luminescent Mn/Co/Ti LDH, synthesized by a single step hydrothermal route, has been found to be optically responsive for utilization as a highly efficient photocatalyst in destruction of the cationic dye Rhodamine B, in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The material has been found to be better than the commercial catalysts like MnO, CoO, TiO2 and Degussa P25. Multiple techniques like XRD, XPS, FT-IR, EIS, TG, UV-visible DRS, PL, TRES, N2-sorption-desorption, dynamic light scattering, TEM-EDS and AFM analyses were used to characterize the LDH. The results indicated Mn/Co/Ti LDH to have a multilayered crystalline structure with hexagonal morphology that carries metal ions in mixed valences, oxygen vacancies, defect states, thermal stability, narrow band gap, high surface area, and electrostatic surface charge variation with pH. The photocatalytic activity of the LDH could be co-related with the structural aspects such as oxidation states, narrow band gap, high surface area and existence of defects. The active species responsible for photocatalysis have been evaluated with EPR, terephthalic acid fluorescence probe and indirect radical-hole trapping experiments. The photodegradation mechanism involves electron and hole hopping across the material and also photosensitization of the dye. Ex situ 1H-NMR and GC-MS analyses of the colorless end products of Rhodamine B destruction provide further insight into the reaction mechanism. The complete mineralization of the decolorized end product of degradation was evaluated with TOC analysis. The results indicate the potential for using multi metal incorporated LDH in destroying dyes and their degradation products in industrial wastewater.


Highlight: Although picloram provided adequate control of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) for a minimum of 3 years, from 3,500 to 11,000 viable seeds remained in the soil, providing a source for rapid reestablishment of the infestation. Continuous sheep grazing for 8 years prevented annual seed set and reduced the size of the soil seed bank from > 3,500 to 15 seeds/m2, greatly reducing the chance of reestablishment from seed. Combining the data from the various treatments indicated that the average annual loss from the soil seed bank is 13% of the original population. This means that even though an initial application of picloram kills most of the vegetative portion of the plant, a repeat treatment is necessary to greatly reduce the number of seeds in the soil seed bank to prevent reestablishment by seed.


This is an important part of our 'globalization of science movement' particularly for the social sciences because it allows a multi-cultural and a multidimensional interpretation of issues, and also allows solutions to various intractable and seemingly complex problems and issues birthed in various cultural contexts. The ideas and concepts of "Cultural frame of reference" and "Cross-cultural frame of reference" were already introduced by us in passing in our papers on the certainty uncertainty principle, cross-cultural research design, structured apperception tests, extended identity theory, ethnography of enculturation, and twenty-first century intellectualism, all of which were published in the year 2023. This issue is not a trifle or a bagatelle, and not certainly a laughing matter. It therefore deserves to be studied in all seriousness by social sciences researchers. It has several practical applications in fields such as social and cultural change and betterment, religious reform, the design of contemporary education systems, cross-cultural research design, behavioural studies, and even technological advancement and betterment. These concepts must be brought into fruition through the use of various social science research techniques such as ethnography, fieldwork, the participant observation method, interviews, questionnaires, emic studies, and the like. This paper is therefore a logical culmination of all our earlier efforts, and all the aforesaid papers besides our other papers have been linked together in a continuous chain.


Modern high performance microprocessors widely employ hardware prefetching technique to hide long memory access latency. While very useful, hardware prefetching tends to aggravate the bandwidth wall, a problem where system performance is increasingly limited by the availability of the off-chip pin bandwidth in Chip Multi-Processors (CMPs).
 In this paper, we propose an analytical model-based study to investigate how hardware prefetching and memory bandwidth partitioning impact CMP system performance and how they interact. The model includes a composite prefetching metric that can help determine under which conditions prefetching can improve system performance, a bandwidth partitioning model that takes into account prefetching effects, and a derivation of the weighted speedup optimum bandwidth partition sizes for different cores. Through model-driven case studies, we find several interesting observations that can be valuable for future CMP system design and optimization. We also explore simulation-based empirical evaluation to validate the observations and show that maximum system performance can be achieved by selective prefetching, guided by the composite prefetching metric, coupled with dynamic bandwidth partitioning.