Abstract Boron complexes BL1 and BL2 were prepared from O-donor ligands, 2,2′-(1E,1′E)-(ethane-1,2-diylbis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene))bis(methane-1-yl-1-ylidene)diphenol (L1) and 2,2′-(propane-1,3-diylbis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene))bis(methane-1-yl-1-ylidene)diphenol (L2). The complexes were fully characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, LC-MS/MS, TGA/DTA, UV-Vis, elemental analysis, SEM, and FTIR. The transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone derivatives was investigated by the boron complexes in the presence of isoPrOH, as the hydrogen source, under basic condition with NaOH. The results showed that the boron complexes were promising catalytic precursors for transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones in 0.1 M isoPrOH solution (up to 99%). Both steric and electronic factors of this class of molecules had a significant impact on the catalytic properties.


With the rapid advance of communication technologies and the free-flow of information, the concept of collaboration extends beyond physical locations and time zones in the form of virtual teams that are globally connected. This study considers how modern Web 2.0 based collaborative technologies (wikis) relate knowledge creation and utilization in student groups and aims to find out if these collaborative technologies are better suited to tasks requiring extensive asynchronous collaboration in an educational setting. To perform controlled experiments a sample of student teams that have worked in technologically and demographically diverse groups was selected, from which we had 49 experimental and 48 control teams with 193 and 192 participants respectively. We found that wiki technologies do not suit all kinds of tasks and do not always increase knowledge creation, knowledge maintenance, problem solving and thus knowledge utilization in team collaboration.


In this paper, we define event expression over sentences of natural language and semantic relations between events. Based on this definition, we formally consider text understanding process having events as basic unit.


We report an upturn in the soft X-ray light curve of SNR 1987A in late 2003 (~6200 days after the explosion), as observed with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Since early 2004, the rapid increase of the 0.5-2 keV band X-ray light curve can no longer be described by the exponential density distribution model with which we successfully fitted the data between 1990 and 2003. Around day 6200, we also find that the fractional contribution to the observed soft X-ray flux from the decelerated shock begins to exceed that of the fast shock and that the X-ray brightening becomes "global" rather than "spotty." We interpret these results as evidence that the blast wave has reached the main body of the dense circumstellar material all around the inner ring. This interpretation is supported by other recent observations, including a deceleration of the radial expansion of the X-ray remnant, a significant upturn in the mid-IR intensities, and the prevalence of the optical hot spots around the entire inner ring, all of which occur at around day 6000. In contrast to the soft X-ray light curve, the hard-band (3-10 keV) X-ray light curve increases at a much lower rate, which is rather similar to the radio light curve. The hard X-ray emission may thus originate from the reverse shock where the radio emission is likely produced. Alternatively, the low increase rate of the hard X-rays may simply be a result of the continuous softening of the overall X-ray spectrum.


The studies on the period and abundance of blooming, flower development, as well as nectar productivity of two cultivars of Lonicera kamtschatica (Sevast.) Pojark. were carried out in 2004-2005 in Lublin. The investigated plants bloomed between the third decade of April and the middle of May. The life span of protogynous flowers was about 4-5 days. The mean amount of sugars secreted by 10 flowers of the examined cultivars ranged from 17.77 mg to 28.31 mg. The sugars yield amounted to from 44.08 to 67.81 kg.ha -1 . Flowers of the investigated plants were a good nectar source for honeybees and bumblebees.


OBJECTIVES
To present the development of an experimental model in rats for translational expansive tooth movement.

SETTING AND SAMPLE
Section of Periodontology at Department of Dentistry Aarhus University. Twenty male Wistar rats in two pilot experimental settings plus seven animals without any intervention serving as controls.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The second molar (group P1) or the second and third molar (group P2) in the maxillae of the animals were moved buccally using transpalatal β-titanium springs. In the group P2, two spring types (high force and low force) and two preangulations (0° passive or 30° torsion moment) were tested. The amount and type of tooth movement achieved and the resulting skeletal effect were assessed on microCT images, histological analysis was performed on few selected specimens.

RESULTS
Expansive translational root movement amounting half a tooth width was achieved. Comparison of the amount of tooth movement at the right and left side of the maxilla showed that the expansion was rather symmetrical in the P2 group. Skeletal widening of the maxilla contributed in the P2 group to approximately one-third of the total root movement, whereas two-thirds were dental movement.

CONCLUSION
With the model used in the P2 group, further research on translational expansive tooth movement and its effect on the periodontium can be pursued. In models for orthodontic expansion, it is strongly recommended to separately evaluate skeletal and dental effects.


After physical reality began to be considered mathematically, and the Aristotelian conception of the world was abandoned one should accept that the world the Ancient Greeks were in the habit of considering has disappeared. One might also say that the world is not today what it used to be some decades ago. The technological revolution and its progress, the sophistication of methods of communication, the appearance of new illnesses and calamities indicate that our world is no longer the world that was known by the philosophers and scientists of the first decades of the 20 th  century. Ancient philosophers did not have to face these kinds of problems. My claim in this paper is that Ancient philosophy can be regarded as living thought and hence not as a "piece of archaeology". I shall examine first some possible ways of considering the study of Ancient philosophy. Secondly, I will provide some examples of philosophical problems posited by Ancient philosophers that have been considered seriously by some distinguished contemporary philosophers. Finally, I will give some concluding remarks.


Although milk replacers are widely used to feed
orphaned and injured marsupial joeys in Australia, little
is known about the nutrient composition of these foods.
We analysed two milk substitutes, Di-Vetelact (DiV) and
Wombaroo Kangaroo (Wom) [milk stage >0·7 (joeys
having completed 70% of their pouch life)], for their
content of fatty acids, amino acids, and minerals and
trace elements. The protein contents of DiV and Wom
were 25·0% and 17·3% of fresh weight, respectively, and,
except for tryptophan, the amino-acid profile compared
favourably with three high-quality proteins. The fattyacid
content of DiV and Wom was 9·65% and 17·6%,
respectively. Relative to marsupial milk, linoleic acid
(DiV, 18·3%; Wom, 9·32%) and a-linolenic acid (DiV,
2·97%; Wom, 3·94%) were well represented in both milk
replacers, but docosahexaenoic acid was not detected.
Comparable amounts of zinc, iron, potassium, calcium,
magnesium and phosphorus were present in DiV and
Wom, but the copper content of DiV was only 5% that of
Wom and manganese was not detected in DiV. These
data indicate that two popular marsupial milk replacers
contain healthful amounts of many essential nutrients
relative to marsupial milk but lack the docosahexaenoic
acid that is critical for brain growth and development in
mammals.


Widely used for high-speed high-precision motion control in the electronics, nuclear and automotive industries, gantry stages are usually controlled using independent axis control. In order to avoid the effects of the mechanical coupling over synchronization and tracking errors, we propose a control on a modal reference frame. First, the system is modeled with respect to the center of mass of the moving beam and a modal transformation is applied to obtain the motion equations on a decoupling base. Next, a model-based control scheme is deduced with the minimization of synchronization and tracking errors as objectives. Finally, experimental results show that the proposed modal control scheme leads to an improved motion control of the point-tool in comparison with the present industrial control.


The ubiquitous pannexin 1 (Panx1) ion- and metabolite-permeable channel mediates the release of ATP, a potent signalling molecule. In the present study, we provide striking evidence that ATP, in turn, stimulates internalization of Panx1 to intracellular membranes. These findings hold important implications for understanding the regulation of Panx1 when extracellular ATP is elevated. In the nervous system, this includes phenomena such as synaptic plasticity, pain, precursor cell development and stroke; outside of the nervous system, this includes things like skeletal and smooth muscle activity and inflammation. Within 15 min, ATP led to significant Panx1-EGFP internalization. In a series of experiments, we determined that hydrolysable ATP is the most potent stimulator of Panx1 internalization. We identified two possible mechanisms for Panx1 internalization, including activation of ionotropic purinergic (P2X) receptors and involvement of a putative ATP-sensitive residue in the first extracellular loop of Panx1 (Trp(74)). Internalization was cholesterol-dependent, but clathrin, caveolin and dynamin independent. Detailed analysis of Panx1 at specific endosome sub-compartments confirmed that Panx1 is expressed in endosome membranes of the classical degradation pathway under basal conditions and that elevation of ATP levels diverts a sub-population to recycling endosomes. This is the first report detailing endosome localization of Panx1 under basal conditions and the potential for ATP regulation of its surface expression. Given the ubiquitous expression profile of Panx1 and the importance of ATP signalling, these findings are of critical importance for understanding the role of Panx1 in health and disease.


Interposer Package-on-Package (PoP) technology was developed and has been in very high-volume production over the last several years for high-end mobile application processors (APs). This is due to its advantages of good package design flexibility, controllable package warpage at room temperature (25°C) and high temperature (260°C), reduced assembly manufacturing cycle time and chip-last assembly manufacturing availability. To date, the laminate-substrate based interposer-PoP has been employed for high-end mobile APs with very high-volume production. Recently, this interposer-PoP design has faced some technical limitations including the need to reduce: top and bottom routing layer thickness, copper (Cu) trace line/space and via size for next generation mobile APs. These reductions may require ultra-thin package z-height and high-bandwidth bottom and top routing layers. To address these challenges, a new interposer-PoP with High-Density Fan-Out (HDFO) redistribution layer (RDL) routing layer has been designed and demonstrated. It is part of an initiative to achieve an ultra-thin package z-height, interposer-PoP structure with high bandwidth and improved signal integrity/power integrity (SI/PI) routing layer using a chip-last assembly manufacturing process flow. This paper will discuss package-level characterizations on the interposer-PoP with HDFO RDL routing layer as well as package z-height evaluation, temperature-dependent package warpage measurements and package-level reliability tests conducted in accordance with JEDEC.


The traffic conditions in urban areas change with time due to varying congestion levels and incidents resulting in unexpected varying travel time on the infrastructure links. These conditions lead to the formulation of the Dynamic Vehicle Routing and scheduling Problem with Soft Time Windows (D-VRPSTW) with dynamic travel time in the city logistics field. This paper presents a column generation-based exact solution approach for the D-VRPSTW. The performance evaluation on a test instance under different dynamic travel time events, shows that the D-VRPSTW solutions based on the updated travel times result in significant cost savings as compared to static version.


Organisms encoding multidrug resistance genes are becoming increasingly prevalent. During a 2-month period (December, 2000, to January, 2001), 83 consecutive isolates of Enterobacter spp. were collected in our microbiology department. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined using the Vitek II automatic system. We selected strains with decreased susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins. The double-disk potentiation test was positive in 10 of these strains, indicating the presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), isoelectric focusing (IEF), and sequencing identified TEM 24 beta-lactamase in the 10 selected E. aerogenes. Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD-PCR) revealed the same clonal origin for all the strains tested and strongly suggest an outbreak of multidrug-resistant E. aerogenes. To follow up the trends in ESBLs-producing Enterobacter infections in the hospital over time, we repeated the study 1 year later (December, 2001, to February, 2002). Only three ESBLs-producing Enterobacter were found. All of them corresponded to the previously characterized clone.


We focus on the spherically averaged exchange-correlation hole ρXC(r, u) of density functional theory, which describes the reduction in the electron density at a distance u due to the reference electron localized at position r. The correlation factor (CF) approach, where the model exchange hole ρXmodel(r, u) is multiplied by a CF (fC(r, u)) to yield an approximation to the exchange-correlation hole ρXC(r, u) = fC(r, u) ρXmodel(r, u), has proven to be a powerful tool for the development of new approximations. One of the remaining challenges within the CF approach is the self-consistent implementation of the resulting functionals. To address this issue, here we propose a simplification of the previously developed CFs such that self-consistent implementations become feasible. As an illustration of the simplified CF model, we develop a new meta-GGA functional, and using only a minimum of empiricism, we provide an easy derivation of an approximation that is of an accuracy similar to more involved meta-GGA functionals.


The Los Angeles Healthy Kids program extends health coverage to uninsured children from birth through age 18 in families with income below 300 percent of the federal poverty level who are ineligible for Medicaid or SCHIP. Results from this first case study report on Healthy Kids implementation indicate that the program is off to a very positive start. Researchers found that the program's effective community-based outreach and simplified enrollment have fueled strong enrollment, its benefits package and managed care provider network were carefully designed to meet the needs of vulnerable children, and that Healthy Kids has been implemented smoothly.


In this paper, the conflict styles of 288 athletes participated in Turkey Inter-Universities Wushu Championship in Antalya in the academic year 2017-2018 were evaluated. The research presents the significance for revealing the athletes' conflict styles with their families, trainers and teammates and creating solutions. The questionnaire was used as a data collection tool in the research. This scale was adapted from the measurement used in the undergraduate students by Önder (2008). The athletes' conflict styles were determined with their responses to the questions as (2,02±1,07) in the vertical conflict on average. In the horizontal conflict and vertical conflict sub-dimensions, the athletes were seen to experience less conflicts (1,90±,985). The significant differences were found between the vertical conflict and horizontal conflict sub-dimensions in the variables of age, educational back ground, undergraduate year and domicile. In accordance with the gender variable, a significant difference was found in the horizontal conflict sub-dimension. The female athletes were considered to experience horizontal conflicts less than the male ones among themselves. This paper has great importance since it keeps light on the managers and the athletes. In conclusion, the athletes participated in the vertical and horizontal conflict subdimensions less. This means that the athletes have positive approaches to conflicts, and that they are well-intentioned in conflict management. It is possible to say that conlicts are experienced less by them since sportive performance makes positive effects.


A brief survey was made of the methods currently used for indexing of electron channeling patterns. Special attention was given to orientation determination of individual grains in a polycrystalline sample, for trace analysis and for determination of the relative orientation of the grains. The accuracy of various procedures was tested on alpha brass samples containing annealing twins. It was found that the beam direction (z) can be routinely determined with an error of less than 0.1° and the "in-plane" directions (x, y) with an error of less than 1°. This accuracy is sufficient to determine the slip planes in a unique manner using their slip traces on the surface. It is also sufficient to determine relative orientations of the grains with average errors of less than 0.5° in rotation angle and in the position of the rotation axis. It was shown that this accuracy seems to be sufficient for distinguishing most special, nearcoincidence grain boundaries in polycrystalline samples. Procedures used for crystallographic description of a polycrystalline specimen are discussed. These include: indexing of the channeling patterns, orientation determination of the grains, trace analysis, and misorientation (relative orientation) determination. Accuracy of these procedures is estimated through the study of twin-oriented grains in alpha brass. Possibilities of improving the accuracy and speeding up the analytical procedures by using appropriate microcomputer programs are indicated.


As the transformative power of AI crosses all economic and social sectors, the use of it as a modern technique for the simulation and/or forecast of various indicators must be viewed as a tool for sustainable development. The present paper reveals the results of research on modeling and simulating the influences of four economic indicators (the production in industry, the intramural research and development expenditure, the turnover and volume of sales and employment) on the evolution of European Economic Sentiment using artificial intelligence. The main goal of the research was to build, train and validate an artificial neural network that is able to forecast the following year's value of economic sentiment using the present values of the other indicators. Research on predicting European Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) using artificial neural networks is a starting point, with work on this subject almost inexistent, the reason being mainly that ESI is a composite of five sectoral confidence indicators and is not thought to be an emotional response to the interaction of the entrepreneurial population with different economic indicators. The authors investigated, without involving a direct mathematical interaction among the indicators involved, predicting ESI based on a cognitive response. Considering the aim of the research, the method used was simulation with an artificial neural network and a feedforward network (structure 4-9-6-1) and a backward propagation instruction algorithm was built. The data used are euro area values (for 19 countries only—EA19) recorded between 1999 and 2016, with Eurostat as the European Commission's statistical data website. To validate the results, the authors imposed the following targets: the result of the neural network training error is less than 5% and the prediction verification error is less than 10%. The research outcomes resulted in a training error (after 30,878 iterations) of less than 0.099% and a predictive check error of 2.02%, which resulted in the conclusion of accurate training and an efficient prediction. AI and artificial neural networks, are modeling and simulation methods that can yield results of nonlinear problems that cover, for example, human decisions based on human cognitive processes as a result of previous experiences. ANN copies the structure and functioning of the biological brain, having the advantage through learning and coaching processes (biological cognitive), to copy/predict the results of the thinking process and, thus, the process of choice by the biological brain. The importance of the present paper and its results stems from the authors' desire to use and popularize modern methods of predicting the different macroeconomic indices that influence the behavior of entrepreneurs and therefore the decisions of these entrepreneurs based on cognitive response more than considering linear mathematical functions that cannot correctly understand and anticipate financial crises or economic convulsions. Using methods such as AI, we can anticipate micro- and macroeconomic developments, and therefore react in the direction of diminishing their negative effects for companies as well as the national economy or European economy.


Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a major public health problem worldwide and Nepal is not an exception. Complications of DM are in rise which results in major disabilities and poor quality of life. But evidences show that adoption of self-care practices can prevent those complications leading a healthy and quality life. Self-care practice is closely related to self-efficacy. Thus, present study aimed to assess perceived self-efficacy and self-care practices and to examine relationship between perceived self-efficacy and self-care practice of patients with Diabetes.
Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study conducted in Patan Hospital among 100 patients was reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Committee. Samples were selected purposively and data was collected by face to face interview technique. Diabetes Self-Efficacy Scale and self-care practice questionnaire was used to measure self-efficacy and self-care practice, respectively.
Results: Fifty nine percent and 81% of participants had moderate level of perceived self-efficacy and good self-care practice, respectively. There was significant moderate positive (r=0.62, p<0.001) correlation between perceived self-efficacy and self-care practice even after controlling the variables (e.g. age, gender and participation in educational program regarding self-care).
Conclusion: The self-efficacy of participants was moderate and self-care practice was good. However, self-care practice was very low on foot care and exercise. The significant positive relationship between perceived self-efficacy and self-care practice highlights the need for conducting educational activities for patients with DM to increase self-efficacy thereby increasing self-care practice.


This study was conducted to contribute to the expansion of activity areas of nurses in the fiel of health promotion services whose importance are increasing day by day. To achieve such goals the writer analized the social values of health promotion services through the method of literature reveiw and held workshops five times with the research team to develop a new program model applicable in health centers and industry. As a conclusion, we recommended the following roles of nurses to be reevaluted an reinforced: 1. Roles as advertizers of the importance of keeping positive health, its social diffussion, an making social environments supporting it. 2. Roles of intervention to change life-styles into positive, active, and client-centered ones 3. Roles of communicators, planners, and managers for the contribution to the maximization of team efficiency with a view to reducing health risk and preventing health threat.


The proliferation of fibroblasts cultured from psoriatic and normal skin was compared following addition of clobetasol propionate to the culture medium. Proliferation was stimulated at 0.1 microgram/ml and progressively inhibited at 1-10 micrograms/ml. A differential sensitivity to the drug was demonstrated: the fibroblasts from involved psoriatic skin were more stimulated than normal fibroblasts at 0.1 microgram/ml and then more inhibited at 10 micrograms/ml. The fibroblasts from uninvolved psoriatic skin displayed intermediate responses. There was some cytotoxicity in cultures of the psoriatic cells at 10 micrograms/ml. The results demonstrate a further abnormality of fibroblasts from psoriatic skin.


Sarcophyton sp. is one kind of soft corals are today widely studied bioactive content as raw material for making drugs. Some research indicates that extracts Sarcophyton sp. Has many contain terpene compounds that function as antimicrobial, anticancer, antitumor, and anti-inflammantori. Research on Testing Activities Extract Coral Sarcophyton sp against Staphylococcus aureus has been done with the aim to determine the antimicrobial activity of extracts Soft Coral Sarcophyton sp against Staphylococcus aureus. Research conducted by the diffusion method, using iron cylinder diameter in the outer diameter of 6 mm and 8 mm, with an incubation period of 24 hours at 37° C. There are three test concentration of 5%, 10%, and 15% w/v, with the results of each inhibition zone average diameter: 8.91 mm, 9.92 mm and 11.18 mm. In this study a comparison is Tetracycline HCL is used as a positive control with a diameter of inhibition zone produced is 24.18 mm and Na.CMC 1% as a negative control. The results showed that the Soft Coral Sarcophyton sp extract can inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in consentration 5%, 10%, and 15% w / v. This study found that the higher concentration of the extract Soft Coral Sarcophyton sp has the higher of inhibitory power. The amount of concentration is directly proportional to the diameter of inhibition zone obtained.


Population studies have been well developed in many countries of the world, but not so in Taiwan. Many academic people and general citizens in the Taiwan area are still not very familiar with the significance of population research within and outside of the nation. The purpose of this paper is to help readers understand the importance and development situation and trend of the field of population studies, so that they can be motivated to carry out population research and can become more knowledgeable of institutions and organizations both in Taiwan and abroad. Important concepts of the development and trend of population studies presented in this paper are developed by the author after many years of population study. Most sources used in this paper are secondary, and appear in various population references and documents of population organizations. The paper includes 3 main parts: the importance of population studies, the development of population studies in Taiwan, and international population research and sponsoring organizations and agencies. In the 1st part, the important need for population studies has been comprehensively discussed. In the 2nd part, discussions are extended to 3 subjects government's role on data collection and data analysis, teaching and research developments in acdemic institutions, and the role of private organizations in the promotion and application of population studies. In the 3rd part, more than 70 international institutions and agencies of population studies have been introduced and examined. Partticular attention has been paid to characteristics and functions of 3 organizations: UN Population Divisions, IUSSP, and CICRED. In addition, many other international public and private agencies in different countries have been listed and their locations mentioned. In this paper, discussion has not focused on the development of population in the US. It is because the development status in the US is unusually important and requires a separate, special report. The author has made such a report on population studies in the US a decade ago, and it will not be repeated here. (author's modified)


Sixty-one isolates of Candida albicans were tested for their phospholipase activity and this parameter was correlated with pathogenicity in albino mice. Of the isolates tested, 57 (93%) showed appreciable phospholipase activity and of these, 55 (90%) were pathogenic to mice. A significant correlation was found between phospholipase activity and involvement of kidneys in animal pathogenicity studies. The isolates of C. albicans, that exhibited higher phospholipase activity were found to be pathogenic for mice.


The peculiarities of behaviour reactions of rats-aggressors to the change of a partner in a «partition» test has been investigated under modelling of sensory contact under the conditions of agonistic collisions. Correlations between indices of the orientation to a partner, and between motor and emotional reactions testify to the increasing interest in th e unknown partner with the submissive type of behaviour and to activity and nervous excitement, related to a high level of aggressive motivation.


The article deals with the absence of medical studies at the Vilnius Jesuit Academy. The question in the historiography is linked rather with the local peculiarities than the Jesuit attitude toward medicine in particular. Some attempts to establish medical studies in Vilnius during the 16th and 17th centuries are discussed in the context of Early-modern Jesuit universities that forbade Jesuits to involve themselves in academic medicine. The exclusion of medicine from Jesuit schools is analyzed as an intentional dissociation from the rise of the learned medicine and early modern philosophical tendencies of the medicalization of the soul. Jesuits also introduced the pattern of medicus religiosus instead of medicus philosophus, which represented their image of medical practitioner.


In this work, the performance of two algorithms that allow a mobile robot to guide itself as it explores its surroundings is studied. For that purpose, the performance of harmonic potential fields and A* algorithms is considered. The algorithm offering the best service to a real mobile robot in its future implementation is selected based on test results. Initially, the robot would not know in which environment it is located, and would only obtain limited information about its surroundings by means of its sensors, thus implying that the robot has to trace the route dynamically from the motion starting point to the goal. To evaluate these algorithms, critical surroundings are assumed, which are formed by the possible U- and T-shaped structures that the robot could detect in an unknown environment. The evolution of the dynamic performance of these algorithms generates solutions that represent local minima between the robot and the point objective. The selection criterion of the best algorithm is mainly based on the ability to find the point objective in environments with strong local minima, which need to be solved by means of the studied algorithms to allow the robot to avoid and/or get out of complex structures. Finally, the efficiency of the algorithms in the calculation process, i.e., the time taken by them to reach the point objective satisfactorily, is analyzed and presented, considering that the shorter the time, the greater the selection weighting.


The Moore School of Electrical Engineering offers a program in electrooptics, with a microwave optics component, intended for graduate and advanced senior undergraduate electrical engineering students. The courses offered cover topics in classical and modern optics, such as matrix treatment of optical systems; physical, Fourier, and electron optics; coherence, radiometry, and photometry; sources of optical radiation; and modulation and detection. In addition, optical computing, optical and nonoptical holography, and synthetic aperture systems are included. Course material is introduced by taking advantage of the strong background our electrical engineering students have in electromagnetics, Fourier analysis, linear systems, matrix methods, and communications and information theory. Outlines and source material for the various courses in the program are presented here, together with a description of laboratory facilities that allow students to become familiar with the practical aspects of electrooptics and microwave optics in a research-oriented environment rather than a structured laboratory course environment. Supervised involvement of the student in the ongoing research activity serves as a vehicle for learning experimental techniques.


A wide range of effective drugs is available for the treatment of major depression. The discovery of these agents has not always been the result of rational drug design. Tricyclic antidepressants formed the mainstay of treatment until the 1990s, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have dominated treatment over the last decade. However, the poor tolerability associated with tricyclic antidepressants and concerns about the efficacy of SSRIs has led to the search for alternative agents. Attention has focused on those drugs that affect norepinephrine and/or serotonin systems, with the recent introduction of a number of agents, including venlafaxine, milnacipran, nefazodone, mirtazapine, and reboxetine. Venlafaxine, which is the first in a new class of drugs known as serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, may be associated with an earlier onset of action and higher remission rates than SSRIs. It is hoped that the development of drugs with multiple sites of action will translate into improved clinical efficacy in the treatment of depression.


Centrifugal compressor applied to turbochargers is required to operate stably in wide range from choking to surging. In our past research, authors suggested a design policy called STB (flow Stabilization by inducing Tip leakage vortex Breakdown) concept, which indicates "Operating range can be enhanced with uniform blockage region generated by tip leakage vortex breakdown". In this study, authors tried to validate the STB concept by redesigning a given impeller into a wide range compressor. In this research, detailed analyses showed that non-uniform and unstable stall occurred at small flow rate in the conventional impeller. On the other hand, in the redesigned new impeller having high inducer loading, unsteady numerical calculation showed that the strengthened blade tip leakage flow generated a circumferential uniform blockage region, which could stabilize its internal flow. As a result of performance test of the new impeller, considering that the surging flow rate at the same shaft speed was reduced by 3% and the pressure ratio at the surging point had been improved from 2.8 to 2.9, the surging flow rate at the pressure ratio of 2.8 could be reduced by 8%. In this way, it was found that the tip leakage flow was dominant with the stall phenomenon of the centrifugal compressor, and it was also confirmed that the STB concept was one of the effective means for the operation range enhancement.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study was to explore the features of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) at Doppler ultrasonography, analyzing specifically the presence of intratumoral venous flow in patients with an established diagnosis of FNH. Previous studies showed that using a venous Doppler spectrum, intratumoral vessels are often depicted in hepatocellular adenoma (HCA) but less frequently in FNH.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Forty-five FNHs from thirty-three consecutive patients (26 female, 7 male; mean±SD age: 40±13) underwent color Doppler ultrasonography and spectral analysis according to a standardized protocol. FNH diagnosis was established by the presence of typical behavior at contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) associated with another imaging technique (contrast-enhanced computed tomography [ceCT] or contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance [ceMR]). A biopsy was performed when imaging was inconclusive. All data concerning Doppler analysis were reviewed by two more operators, blinded to the final diagnosis, and the interobserver agreement for the presence of venous Doppler signal was determined by Cohen's Kappa.

RESULTS
Of the 33 patients, 24 had a single solitary focus, and 9 had multiple foci. Lesion diameter ranged between 1.2 and 8.9 cm (mean ± SD 3.2±1.6 cm). The central feeding artery with the typical arterial spectrum was detected in all 45 lesions, whereas the spoke-wheel sign was observed in 18 cases (40%). A venous Doppler signal was detected in 35 FNHs (77.8%), and in 60% of them, it was identified in the center of the lesion.

CONCLUSIONS
Venous Doppler signal located in the center of the lesion suspected to be a hypervascular benign lesion cannot be considered a typical HCA feature since it has been detected in a high percentage of FNH cases.


The APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology is presented to a person who, in the opinion of the Committee on Scientific Awards, has made distinguished theoretical or empirical advances leading to the understanding or amelioration of important practical problems. The 2015 recipient is Michael E. Lamb, who "has significantly advanced understanding of the developmental and contextual factors affecting the delivery and impact of child care in the early years of life; the role of parent-child relationships in development; and the cognitive, emotional, and social factors affecting the quality of children's testimony, especially in cases of sexual and physical abuse." award citation, biography, and a selected bibliography are presented here.


Web-active end-user programmers spend substantial time and cognitive effort seeking information while debugging web mashups, which are platforms for creating web applications by combining data and functionality from two or more different sources. The debugging on these platforms is challenging as end user programmers need to forage within the mashup environment to find bugs and on the web to forage for the solution to those bugs. To understand the foraging behavior of end-user programmers when debugging, we used information forging theory. Information foraging theory helps understand how users forage for information and has been successfully used to understand and model user behavior when foraging through documents, the web, user interfaces, and programming environments. Through the lens of information foraging theory, we analyzed the data from a controlled lab study of eight web-active end-user programmers. The programmers completed two debugging tasks using the Yahoo! Pipes web mashup environment. On analyzing the data, we identified three types of cues: clear, fuzzy, and elusive. Clear cues helped participants to find and fix bugs with ease while fuzzy and elusive cues led to useless foraging. We also identified the strategies used by the participants when finding and fixing bugs. Our results give us a better understanding of the programming behavior of web-active end-users and can inform researchers and professionals how to create better support for the debugging process. Further, this study methodology can be adapted by researchers to understand other aspects of programming such as implementing, reusing, and maintaining code.


This paper presents adaptive filtering algorithm for processing noise signal which are present in ambient environment for digital hearing aid system. Conventional hearing aid system suffers from noise signal due to imbalance in the signal boost which degrades the original speech signal and reduce the capability of the hearing signals in noise environment. This can be reduced by utilizing adaptive filtering techniques in the FIR filter bank. However this method is very unstable since their weights are modified frequently. The proposed model design is written in Verilog and realized using Synopsys design compiler using 90 nm technology. The model is realized for 32, 64 and 128 adaptive filters coefficient lengths and are compared with traditional pipelined DA based adaptive FIR filter. The model achieves42.61% lesser area and 29.42% lesser ADP along65.13% power reduction and 41% of PDP compared with the traditional designs.


The common approach to estimate bus dwell time at a BRT station platform is to apply the
traditional dwell time methodology derived for suburban bus stops. Current dwell time models are
sensitive towards bus type, fare collection policy along with the number of boarding and alighting
passengers. However, they fall short in accounting for the effects of passenger/s walking on a
relatively longer BRT station platform. Analysis presented in this paper shows that the average
walking time of a passenger at BRT platform is 10 times more than that of bus stop. The
requirement of walking to the bus entry door at the BRT station platform may lead to the bus
experiencing a higher dwell time. This paper presents a theory for a BRT network which explains
the loss of station capacity during peak period operation. It also highlights shortcomings of present
available bus dwell time models suggested for the analysis of BRT operation.


Cumbé coconut palm (Parajubaea cocoides Burret) is an ornamental species endemic of Ecuador. It is threatened by environmental and socioeconomic factors. Your sexual propagation by seed, is not effective. Tissue culture can become an alternative and within this, somatic embryogenesis. The objective of this research was to obtain somatic embryos in semi-solid and liquid media culture from immature zygotic embryos. The explants were collected from mature plants and fruits were placed to form calli in culture medium with different concentrations of 2,4-D and activated carbon. Callus with embryogenic structures were used to form embryos in semisolid medium with BAP and kinetin and in liquid culture medium with BAP. The results showed that in treatments without activated carbon or low concentrations of 2,4-D no callus were formed. With 60 mg l-1 2,4-D and 1 g l-1 activated charcoal, friable callus were obtained. It was possible to obtain somatic embryos in semisolid and liquid culture medium, with higher number in liquid. The results provide the basis for propagating this species by somatic embryogenesis.


There are two primary objectives of this dissertation. The first goal is to identify certain limits of genetic algorithms that use only fitness for learning genetic linkage. Both an explanatory theory and experimental results to support the theory are provided. The other goal is to propose a better design of the linkage learning genetic algorithm. After understanding the cause of the performance barrier, the design of the linkage learning genetic algorithm is modified accordingly to improve its performance on uniformly scaled problems. This dissertation starts with presenting the background of the linkage learning genetic algorithm. Then, it introduces the use of promoters on the chromosome to improve the performance of the linkage learning genetic algorithm on uniformly scaled problems. The convergence time model is constructed by identifying the sequential behavior, developing the tightness time model, and establishing the connection in between. The use of subchromosome representations is to avoid the limit implied by the convergence time model. The experimental results demonstrate that the use of subchromosome representations may be a promising way to design a better linkage learning genetic algorithm. The study finds that using promoters on the chromosome can improve nucleation potential and promote correct building-block formation. It also observes that the linkage learning genetic algorithm has a consistent, sequential behavior instead of different behaviors on different problems as was previously believed. Moreover, the competition among building blocks of equal salience is the main cause of the exponential growth of convergence time. Finally, adopting subchromosome representations can reduce the competition among building blocks, and therefore, scalable genetic linkage learning for a unimetric approach is possible.


In this exploratory paper, we advocate for a way to mitigate the anthropocentrism inherent in interaction-design methodologies. We propose to involve animals that live in anthropic environments as participants in design processes. The current relationships between animals and technology have an inevitable impact on their well-being and raise fundamental ethical questions concerning our design policies. Drawing from the work of Bruno Latour and Donna Haraway, we argue for a situated approach in which we reflect upon concrete design contexts. We explore the notion of becoming with as a conceptual framework for the intuitive and bodily understanding that takes place between humans and animals when they encounter one-another in shared contexts. Adopting a research through design approach, we further explore this notion by reflecting upon two different participatory design projects with two dogs. We found these reflections to offer valuable perspectives for designers to analyse and discuss their iterative processes.


Cerebral aneurysm thrombosis is one of the factors increasing the risk of microsurgical treatment. Thrombi and calcifications within the aneurysm neck prevent adequate clipping and should be removed before the procedure. At the same time, the process of thrombectomy is difficult and time consuming that increases duration of temporary arterial clipping and risk of cerebral ischemia.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the results of thrombectomy without temporary arterial clipping for giant aneurysms of anterior brain circulation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Four patients with giant partially thrombosed saccular aneurysms underwent thrombectomy without temporary clipping followed by neck clipping. In all cases, the aneurysm was thrombosed by more than 80-90% of its baseline volume, and aneurysm neck contained parietal thrombi from all sides. Mean duration of thrombectomy from aneurysm opening to bleeding and temporary clipping of the parent artery was 82 minutes, time of temporary clipping was about 12 minutes.

RESULTS
Favorable clinical and radiological postoperative results were obtained in all patients. The authors present a scheme of surgical stages and video presentation involving the main surgical aspects of this procedure.

CONCLUSION
Thrombectomy without temporary clipping of the parent artery is an effective technique for microsurgical treatment of giant partially thrombosed saccular intracranial aneurysms. Since most thrombi are removed without bleeding, duration of temporary blood flow discontinuation in the parent artery is significantly reduced. Therefore, we decrease the risk of cerebral ischemia. This technique can be useful in microsurgical treatment of complex aneurysms of the middle cerebral and internal carotid arteries, as well as other aneurysms.


Air cleaning by electrostatic precipitation or HEPA filtration was evaluated for effectiveness in reducing concentrations of aerosolized Bacillus subtilis spores in a closed space. It was found that air cleaning devices were effective as forced ventilation at the same airflow rate.


The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among the aging population (60 years of age and above) in China. Epidemiological investigations on MCI in online Chinese journals were identified manually using the CQVIP, CNKI, and Wanfang databases. Articles from journals published in English were identified using PubMed and Web of Science. Original studies that included prevalence surveys of MCI were selected. Forty-eight relevant studies were included in the analysis, covering 22 provinces in China. Our results showed that the pooled prevalence of MCI in the older Chinese population was 14.71% (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.50-14.92%). The prevalence was 16.72% (95% CI, 15.68-17.71%) in clinical samples vs. 14.61% (95% CI, 14.40-14.83%) in nonclinical samples (χ2=16.60, P<0.01), and 15.20% (95% CI, 14.91-15.49%) in screened samples vs. 14.16% (95% CI, 13.85-14.46%) in diagnosed samples (χ2=22.11, P<0.01). People of older age, of female sex, or living in rural areas or western China were associated with a higher prevalence of MCI. The prevalence of MCI was high in Chinese older adults, and even higher in those who were older, female, or living in rural areas or western China. Future studies are recommended to address the prevalence of MCI in the other 12 provinces of China. Furthermore, diagnostic assessments should be included in the identification of MCI.


The quasi-static capacitance-voltage ( C-V) technique measures the dependence of junction capacitance on the bias voltage by applying a slow, reverse-bias voltage ramp to the solar cell in the dark, using simple circuitry. The resulting C-V curves contain information on the junction area and base dopant concentration, as well as their built-in potential. However, in the case of solar cells made on low to medium resistivity substrates and having thick emitters, the emitter dopant profile has to be taken into account. A simple method can then be used to model the complete C-V curves, which, if the base doping is known, permits one to estimate the emitter doping profile. To illustrate the method experimentally, several silicon solar cells with different base resistivities have been measured. They comprise a wide range of areas, surface faceting conditions and emitter doping profiles. The analysis of the quasi-static capacitance characteristics of the flat surface cells resulted in good agreement with independent data for the wafer resistivity and the emitter doping profile. The capacitance in the case of textured surfaces is a function of the effective junction area, which is otherwise difficult to measure, and is essential to understand the emitter and space charge region recombination currents. The results indicate that the effective area of the junction is not as large as the area of the textured surface.


The present study aims at assessing the key spectral parameters of the incident wave on a fixed oscillating water column (OWC) device, based on the air pressure measurements inside the chamber and on the numerical hydrodynamic coefficients of the device. The methodology is based on the equation of continuity of the air in the time-domain and linear decomposition of the air flow in the usual terms of radiation and diffraction flows. By applying the Fast Fourier Transform, the time-domain equation is transposed to the respective frequency-domain equation. This methodology was applied to the 400 kW OWC power plant, on the Island of Pico, Azores, which has been monitored since 2005 by the Wave Energy Centre. The numerical hydrodynamic coefficients obtained by the 3D radiation-diffraction boundary element code, AQUADYN-OWC, were used in this study. No measurements of the incident wave in front of the plant are available; therefore the results obtained for a set of records are compared with forecast estimations for the site of Pico plant provided by INETI and also with the measurements of two directional wave rider buoys offshore Pico and Terceira islands. These data are provided by the Centre of Climate, Meteorology and Global Changes and propagated via the SWAN spectral wave model to the zone of interest. Final objective is to improve the control of the Pico plant by assessing its performance for a range of sea states.


Abstract : Floating ice impact forces are of concern where structures are built in ice-susceptible waters. Bridge piers, ice control structures or icebreakers are a few examples where the ability to predict the expected ice impact force would be of great help in the design process. Experiments were performed to determine the response of a floating ice beam to a vertically applied force. The data were used to calibrate a numerical finite element model of the floating ice. The ice was characterized as a linear elastic material in the numerical analysis, and the calibration data were used to assess this assumption as well as to develop a fluid influence coefficient matrix to simulate the dynamic influence of the fluid beneath the ice beam. Finally, a scale model study was performed to determine actual impact forces generated by a floating ice beam against a 45 deg sloped structure. The numerical model developed was then compared to the actual data. The numerical model does well at predicting impact forces for all the beams at low velocity and the force from the thicker ice beams at all velocities. Both the numerical and experimental forces show the same trends and appear to level off and approach a constant value with increasing beam length. The discrepancies between numerical predictions and experimental results are thought to be caused by damage in the experimental ice beams which is not accounted for in the numerical model. Freshwater ice, Ribbon bridge, Impact forces, Sloped structures.


Medical image segmentation, as an application of image segmentation, is to extract anatomical structures from medical images. In this proposal, existing methods for medical image segmentation are reviewed. According to the review, segmentation of multiple bone structures in complex x-ray images is not well studied. This leads to the proposed research topic: segmentation of bone structures in x-ray images. Atlas-based segmentation is a promising approach for solving such a complex segmentation problem. Preliminary work on atlas-based segmentation of CT and x-ray images suggests that this approach can provide a robust and accurate method for automatic segmentation of x-ray images. Using advanced technology to increase the speed and accuracy of diagnosis in a trauma environment is the most frequently used application and helps in identifying fractures and sprains. An orthopedic surgeon could utilize these tools for alignment purposes as in hip and fracture pinning, thus saving time without having to reposition the patient or imaging device. The tools available today have made it possible to innovatively extract information about human body in a convenient and economical fashion. The continuing advances made available through both hardware and software demands new techniques and enhancement of existing techniques to be developed. It is a well-known fact that there is no common method that can be applied to analyze or process all parts of a human body and the techniques are dedicated to each part separately. Owing to this demand, this paper focuses on the bone part of human anatomy.


The nocturnal pattern of plasma prolactin (PRL) and cortisol in male epileptics with complex partial seizures and primary generalized seizures was studied by all-night polygraphic recordings with continuous video monitoring and sequential blood sampling at 30-minute intervals. Mean nocturnal plasma PRL concentrations in both groups of epileptics were significantly elevated when compared with nonepileptic control subjects studied in a similar fashion. Eight subclinical and three clinical partial seizures were recorded during sleep. Although a tenfold increase of plasma PRL level occurred following a short brief clinical complex partial seizure, there was no direct correlation between single subclinical partial seizures and nocturnal fluctuations of plasma PRL concentrations. We did not observe recognizable plasma cortisol changes following partial seizures during sleep, nor significant differences of mean nocturnal plasma cortisol levels between epileptics and controls. The data obtained in this environmentally controlled study indicate that postictal elevation of plasma PRL is a specific phenomenon related to seizure discharges; however, failure of such a rise does not exclude partial seizures.


From 36 capybaras, slaughtered between 1989 and 1996, 11 young, less than 6 months old, and 25 adults, in the floodplain region of Mato Grosso do Sul, 570 Filarioidea nematodes were collected. Three hundred and ninety-four specimen of Cruorifilaria tuberocauda were collected from the renal arteries (380) and from pulmonary arteries (14) and 176 specimen of Yatesia hydrochoerus from the fasciae of skeleptical muscles, mainly from the obliquus externus abdominis region and from the internal faces of hind limbs.


The ultra-high efficiency and cost-effective photovoltaics based on halide preovskites have brought a revolution to ongoing photovoltaic research, surpassing the expectations of the scientific commu-nity. However, structural stability is a severe issue that hinders their wide-scale integration at the device level. Compositional engineering with the halide mixing has become an efficient way to deal with this issue without compromising device efficiency. Herein, the structural, electronic and optical properties of the bromide mixed orthorhombic RbPb(I 1–x Br x ) 3 (where, x = 0 . 25, 0 . 50 and 0 . 75) are calculated using the density functional theory. The electronic bandstructure and density of states (DOS) are calculated using both PBE (Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof) and TB-mBJ (Tran Blaha modified Becke Johnson) potential. The lowest energy bandgaps of 2 . 288 and 2 . 986 eV for bromide mixing of x = 0 . 50 are obtained using PBE and TB-mBJ, respectively. In contrast, the mixed bromide phases possess a smaller effective mass, facilitating a better carrier transport through the mixed halide. Using PBE, the excitons appear to be the Mott-Wannier type. However, the TB-mBJ predicts the exciton to be Frenkel type for bromide mixing of x = 0 . 75 and a Mott-Wannier type for all other mixing under study. The spectroscopic limited maximum efficiency (SLME) is observed to be at the highest values of 14 . 0% and 4 . 1% for the equal admixture of I and Br using PBE and TB-mBJ, respectively. The calculated properties are consistent with the reported data of the similar structures.


We describe in detail normal personality traits in persons with psychiatrist‐ascertained anxiety and depressive disorders in a general population sample. We investigated Revised NEO Personality Inventory traits in 731 community subjects examined by psychiatrists with the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry. All of the lifetime disorders of interest (simple phobia, social phobia, agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), and dysthymia) were associated with high neuroticism. Social phobia, agoraphobia, and dysthymia were associated with low extraversion, and OCD was associated with high openness to experience. In addition, lower‐order facets of extraversion (E), openness (O), agreeableness (A), and conscientiousness (C) were associated with certain disorders (specifically, low assertiveness (E) and high openness to feelings (O) with MDD, low trust (A) with social phobia and agoraphobia, low self‐discipline (C) with several of the disorders, and low competence and achievement striving (C) with social phobia). Neuroticism in particular was related to acuity of disorder. Longitudinal study is necessary to differentiate state versus pathoplastic effects. Depression and Anxiety 00:000–000, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Background: Insulin resistance (IR) is a characteristic feature in patients who are developing Type 2 diabetes in the prediabetic stage. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a breathing disorder characterized by frequent episodes of reduced airflow due to obstruction in the upper airway while sleeping. OSA is associated with intermittent hypoxia and predisposition to increased IR.

Aims and Objectives: This study investigates the extent of IR in prediabetics and OSA patients and also compares serum nitric oxide (NO) levels in the three study groups.

Materials and Methods: Three groups each comprising of 50 people were selected: Group I - control group; Group II - prediabetic patients; and Group III - OSA patients. Fasting blood glucose, insulin, and NO levels were measured in these subjects and IR calculated.

Results: Insulin levels and IR were significantly higher in OSA and prediabetic patients when compared to control subjects. There was no significant difference in insulin levels (P > 0.05) between OSA and prediabetic groups. OSA group had significantly lower level of NO compared to both control and prediabetic groups.

Conclusion: High insulin levels and IR in prediabetics indicate that they are prone to develop Type 2 diabetes. The same findings in OSA patients could mean that they are also prone to develop Type 2 diabetes. NO levels are significantly low in OSA patients. Low NO level has been associated with hypoxia; this molecule with its wide array of actions may be involved in glucose homeostasis.


Drug delivery device, the injection device comprising a container containing a drug to be released, the sensor outputs a signal containing the released information released detect and drug from the injection device, and a processor that collects and stores delivery information provided.


One of the biggest issues in today's healthcare industry is to find a very fast yet effective diagnostic platform, which is suitable for our busy lifestyle without compromising the detection efficiency. The major requirements of an efficient diagnostic platform can be summarized as minimum sample requirement, least reagent requirement, having options of multiple tests in a single platform, high through put analysis and last but never the least a non-expensive sample run. The largest contributor of the bio-assay industry is protein based chromogenic bio-assays, which depends on strong antigen-antibody interaction and high emissive properties of reporter dye molecule attached to the antigen. In reality, this apparently simple looking reaction system has to face several difficulties before an appreciable signal is received by the photo-detector to give an analysable dataset. With the rapid emergence of nanotechnology during last few decades, some of the critical problems have been solved [1-5]. However, a large number of unresolved issues still remain there. This editorial will briefly address some of those critical issues and how they have been tackled by nanotechnology. The two-most tunable variables of a bio-assay platform are the reporter molecules and the sensing platform as described by the Figure 1. We will describe both the issues separately in the next sections.


Summary True body growth of over 6 g day approaching that obtained with an Intact protein diet was obtained by feeding weanling rats a pure amino acid diet equivalent to 10% protein. This rapid rate of growth was obtained by increasing the arginine content of the diet over that previously used. 0.5% arginine HCl appeared to be the requirement level for optimum growth.


Aluminum and its alloys are the most essential considerations as base metal in metal matrix composites. The aluminum alloys are reasonably attracted by various researchers owing to their decrease in weight, high quality corrosion resistance, maximum thermal and electrical conductivity, and on precipitation, they exhibit higher strength and superior damping capacity. The strong requirement for weight reduction in automobile and aerospace industries insists on the optimization of the design of products to make use of less weight materials. MMCs production has numerous challenges like porosity formation, attainment of good wettability and inappropriate distribution of reinforcement. Homogenous distribution of reinforcement in the metal matrix composites is the most important challenge among the other parameters and obtained by twostep stir casting method. In this present research work Al6065 & Hybrid composites with four different reinforcement particles such as SiC, alumina, SiC-fly ash, alumina-fly ash in three different weight fractions (2, 4, and 6 %) were fabricated by modified stir casting method. The mechanical properties of the Al6065 & hybrid composites and unreinforced alloy have been investigated. The enhancement in the mechanical properties of Al6065 composites due to the reinforcement of particles is obtained.


The IEC 61850 standard specifies a data model and communication service mapping to facilitate exchange of data and events amongst devices in a substation automation system (SAS). One of the architectural components of an IEC 61850 SAS is the process bus. The process bus is an isolated network segment used for carrying Sampled Value (SV) streams of process data and possibly GOOSE status and command signals between Merging Units (MU) and the IEDs implementing monitoring, protection and control functionality related to the connected secondary equipment. The term MU refers to network-enabled devices that connect to instrument transformers in the switchyard streaming packets of sampled values onto the process bus as defined in IEC 61850-9-2. This paper describes work done to develop an IEC 61850-9-2 implementation and integrate it into a testing environment which can simulate primary and secondary equipment modeled substation scenarios and provide a parametric emulation of the functionality of a MU.


Biological invasions with known histories are rare, especially in the sea, and empirical studies of the genetic consequences are even rarer. Fifty-five years ago, the state of Hawai'i began a remarkable, if unintentional, 'experiment' with the introduction of three reef fishes, Lutjanus fulvus, Cephalopholis argus and Lutjanus kasmira. All have since expanded from the initial introduction of 2204 to 3163 individuals; however, historical records show that initially L. fulvus remained scarce, C. argus had modest population expansion and L. kasmira experienced rapid population growth. The consequences of differential population growth rates are apparent in F-statistics: Hawaiian L. fulvus demonstrate strong and significant haplotype frequency shifts from the founder location (FST = 0.449), C. argus shows low but significant differentiation (FST = 0.066) and L. kasmira is nearly identical to the founder location (FST = 0.008). All three species had higher mtDNA diversity in the introduced range, which can be explained by multiple sources for L. fulvus and L. kasmira, but not for C. argus. We conclude that lag time before population expansion, in conjunction with genetic drift, has defined the genetic architecture of these three species in the introduced range.


This paper studies the effects of sharing markets on the prices for new products and on product design in terms of durability. In a dynamic economy with overlapping generations, consumers take strategic purchasing decisions, anticipated by a durable-goods monopolist. Without sharing, the optimal durability increases in the production cost. In the presence of sharing, a producer prefers to limit durability for low-cost products, effectively disabling a secondary sharing market. However, all else equal, a peer-to-peer economy never decreases the incentives to provide durability.


In this study, the structural transformation of the Kisas's Zhakir (Alawi religious minstrel) – Ashik (minstrel) tradition in context of secularization and cultural economy is analyzed. As a cause and consequence of the cultural economy, the performance of folk songs has gained great importance in cities after the 1960s in Turkey. In addition, if the transformation of the Ashik tradition is added, this has had a great impact on the representation (although not directly in their nature) of the instrumental and vocal performances, which are one of the cornerstones of Alawi-Bektashi culture and tradition. The Bektashis, who have only one town population in Urfa, have adapted to the existing isolation, although there is no social and cultural interdiction. Even if they are "profan" and "heterodox" in a sense, they have built "outwardly open" and "extroverted" cultural rituals because of the increasing rural migration after the 1970s and the social and cultural transformation experienced by Turkey. If it is avaluated through the example of Kisas (and in a sense Akpinar), this construction activity has been served not only by their own hands but also with cultural research activities. In this sense, it is claimed that the opportunities of secularization and cultural economy are instrumentalized. As a form of worldly, secularization is substituted as a model of universalization; it will be stated that this is conceived and designed as a transition from Zhakir to Ashik. On the other hand, in terms of literary quality, it will be revealed that Kisas has other characteristics, unlike the dominant characteristics of the folk songs in Urfa region, that Kisas has the tradition and/or features of Ashik style literary, but that it later ascribes the Ashik style culture and tradition to itself later. It will be stated that this is a inevitable option in the transition from Zhakir to Ashik.Keywords: Zhakir, Ashik, Secularism, Cultural Economy, Religious Character, Artisan Personality.


The Islamic Social Enterprise (ISE) is increasingly gaining attention due to its flexibility to perform trading activities for income generation while at the same time offering societal contributions. The roles of ISE is greatly viewed from value-based perspective, where the ISE's objective is to support the Islamic third economic sector in easing the needs of those unfortunate and middle class citizens. Involving in trading activities is imperative for this institution given that collections from donations are insufficient as the demand for contribution is very high, as well as there is some cost acquired in its management. In this case, ISE's sustainability should be taking care of to ensure the continuous contributions can be given to society. There are several perspectives on the definition of ISE since it is normally formatted in different forms, receiving initial and continuous source of collections from different Islamic charitable contracts and running different activities. Therefore, this paper attempts to position the definition and the context of ISE by deliberating its definitions and characteristics. Thus, the paper reviews the existing literature from the area of Islamic third economic sector and Islamic transaction law and inter-relating these aspects in the context of ISE. The focus is given on the aspect of the institution's objectives, source of capital using the Islamic charitable contracts, its activities and; income generation and distribution. Based on the findings, the distinctive yet flexible definition of ISE expands the new and relevant area of Islamic third economic sector using Islamic charitable contracts. The discussion highlights that ISE should be guided by maqasid shariah, and follow the Islamic principles. This paper points out that not all Islamic charitable contracts are applicable for ISE, which should be comprehended for new established ISE.


This paper examines the dynamics of return and dynamic volatility across the Malaysian and pan-Asian countries' listed property companies market over the period January 1998 to August 2012. Listed property companies' portfolios have the potential to offer high returns and low risks for long-term investments for individuals as well as institutional investors. As such, it is important to assess the return and volatility level of the Malaysian listed property companies market in the dynamic region of pan-Asian countries. This paper uses ARCH and GARCH models to empirically examine the dynamic volatility of listed property companies in 12 pan-Asian countries. The findings revealed that for the past 14-years Malaysia experienced moderately high volatility levels in term of investment in listed property companies. This study will contribute significantly to the empirical literature on the volatility dynamics of the Malaysian property market in international real estate portfolios. In particular, the findings from the study will be useful for international investors to better understand the potential portfolio implications of investing in the Malaysian real estate market.


The authors examined morphologically the arteries of the surface and intracerebral arteries of the cortex and white substance of different areas of the cerebral hemispheres in 11 necropsies of patients with arterial hypertension who died from hemorrhagic strokes. It was established that arteries of the cerebral surface 200-500 micron in diameter were characterized by compensatory-adaptive processes reflecting structural adaptation of the vessels to a prolonged elevation of blood pressure. The intracerebral arteries were considerably more frequently characterized by changes induced by hypertonic crises expressed in the form of plasmorrhagias and isolated necrosis of the tunica media. The cortico-medullary arteries 100-150 micron in diameter were predominantly affected which accounts for a more severe damage to the cerebral white substance in arterial hypertension.


ABSTRACT The design and implementation of a scientific writing assignment in a >100 student upper-level undergraduate microbiology class resulted in a peer-reviewed publication in an open-access journal. The primary course objectives and requirements were met by assigning groups of four to five students one of 25 distinct section topics of similar size and complexity that complemented the course materials. Students were taught to identify, read and cite primary scientific literature, to avoid plagiarism, and to share in productive interactions with peers throughout the assignment by a combination of class instructions, and personal and group mentoring. A team of volunteer students performed additional editing and compiling of the manuscript into the final cohesive, submitted review.


Haiyang-1C (HY-1C) is the first operational ocean color satellite of China, which is intended to obtain daily global ocean color data. The Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) onboard provides a potential novel detector for the detection of marine oil spills. Although airborne UV sensors have shown great efficiency for the detection of spilled oils, the capability of spaceborne UV sensor is not yet clear. In this study, we designed a ground-based experiment to interpret the UV characteristics of various weathered oils, and found that very thin oil films are quite sensitive to the UV radiation due to the surface interference light. Moreover, by comparing spaceborne and airborne UV images of spilled oils collected from HY-1C UVI and AVIRIS, the scale effect of ultraviolet remote sensing has been interpreted clearly. The interference light and sunglint reflection play different roles in the imaging process of spilled oils, leading them to appear radical different features (brighter or darker than the background oil-free seawater) in ground, airborne and spaceborne observation, which deserves further research. Ultraviolet remote sensing, therefore, can work as a new approach and improve the detection and monitoring of marine oil spills.


By the method of community ecology, this paper surveyed the weed community in a cornfield at the Shenyang Experimental Station of Ecology, CAS, and studied the effects of tillage method and herbicide on the weed composition, species diversity, and biomass at the experimental site. The results showed that the dominant weed species in the cornfield were Eriochloa villosa, Abutilon theophrasti, Bidens frondosa and Commelina communis, of which, Eriochloa villosa had the highest important value. In non-tillage field without herbicide application, the weed community had larger biomass, higher richness (S) and concentration (C), but lower species diversity (D) and species evenness (J). Herbicide could decrease weed species and inhibit biomass growth significantly in non-tillage field. It was clear that tillage method and herbicide could affect the weed composition, diversity and stability significantly.


Stimulation of human lymphocytes in mixed leukocyte culture (MLC) with x-irradiated pooled allogeneic normal cells (poolx) was previously shown to result in generation of effector cells cytotoxic for autologous Epstein-Barr virus- (EBV) transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL). This study was undertaken to determine whether lysis of the autologous EBV- transformed LCL cells by pool-stimulated cells is mediated by cytotoxic Tc lymphocytes (Tc) or natural killer- (NK) like cells, both of which are generated in MLC. In the first series of experiments, proliferating cells were eliminated by treatment of pool-stimulated cells with 5 X 10(-5) M 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) and light. The remaining cells failed to lyse allogeneic normal lymphocytes and autologous LCL cells, whereas cytotoxicity against NK-sensitive K562 leukemia cells was retained. In the second series of experiments, pool-stimulated effector cells were treated with monoclonal anti-human Tc cell antibodies, OKT3 or OKT8, and complement (C). The cells recovered after antibody and C treatment were diminished in their ability to lyse allogeneic normal lymphocytes as well as autologous LCL cells, whereas their cytotoxicity against K562 leukemia cells was unaffected. These combined results provide strong evidence that lysis of autologous LCL cells by lymphocytes stimulated with pooled allogeneic normal cells is mediated by Tc rather than NK-like cells.


The study is focused on the burial practices of the Masadiit Tribe specifically in Barangay Poblacion, Baoyan and Dumagas, Boliney, Abra, Philippines along their preparations, actual burial, and the post burial. There were ten Panglakayen (Elders of the tribe) including the bereaved family who served as respondents of the study. Digital cameras and mobile phones were utilized in the documentation. Unique cultural features were observed such as a ritual of singing and relaying good memories with the sick person called "Canchannag" or "urfaab". Friends and relatives gather to show support to the sick person (Farufur) and when she/he dies Fukaang follows, a way to inform friends from other nearby places of the news. Other details on the actual and post burial practices are considered in the succeeding pages. This paper helps to awaken awareness and appreciation of the cultural setting of the tribe under study.


How do we teach children to express and communicate ideas in a formal and informal mode? What type of language do they need in a concrete context? How should they determine a proper level of formalization of their descriptions? In an attempt to explore these issues we carried out a pilot experiment in the frames of the DALEST European project whose goal was to create environment for stimulating the 3D geometry understanding of young students and to assist them in developing some fundamental mathematical skills including spatial visualization and articulating ideas. The pilot experiment was carried out with 5th graders from five Bulgarian schools by means of specially designed educational scenarios and the Cubix Editor (a Logo based application for manipulating unit-sized cubes). The children were given tasks to describe compositions of unit-sized cubes and to build such compositions by means of the Cubix Editor when given their descriptions by peers. The students experienced the whole process of generating a good description - becoming aware of the ambiguity, producing counterexamples, reducing the ambiguity, eliminating the redundancy.

The pilot experiment aimed at specifying the structure, scope and methods behind the stereometry activities envisaged for 5th graders in the frames of the DALEST project.

The first impressions confirm our belief that the language is playing significant role in the learning experiences of the students, that the relationship between thoughts and words involves back and forth reshaping process. While constructing and describing cubical structures they articulated their own ideas, developed concepts collaboratively with others, moved between everyday and mathematical terms, between procedural and declarative style, exploring the boundaries of understanding. Such interplay with the step-wise refinement of their descriptions of cubical structures would hopefully enhance students' skills for working with mathematical definitions, on one hand, and prepare them for writing, debugging and explaining programs, on the other.


An Official Publication of The Transplantation Society The Japan Society for Transplantation • The Hellenic Transplantation Society The European Society for Transplantation • The Canadian Transplantation Society The Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand The Scandinavian Transplantation Society • The Latin American Transplantation Society The Pan-American Society for Dialysis & Transplantation • The Society for Organ Sharing The Catalan Transplantation Society • The Asian Transplantation Society


The fabrication and electrical characteristics of p-channel AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure FETs with self-aligned p/sup +/ source-drain regions formed by low-energy co-implantation of Be and F are reported. The devices utilize a sidewall-assisted refractory gate process and are fabricated on an undoped AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure grown by MOVPE. Compared with Be implantation alone, the co-implantation of F/sup +/ at 8 keV with 2*10/sup 14/ ions/cm/sup 2/ results in a 3* increase in the post-anneal Be concentration near the surface for a Be/sup +/ implantation at 15 keV with 4*10/sup 14/ ions/cm/sup 2/. Co-implantation permits a low source resistance to be obtained with shallow p/sup +/ source-drain regions. Although short-channel effects must be further reduced at small gate lengths, the electrical characteristics are otherwise excellent and show a 77-K transconductance as high as 207 mS/mm for a 0.5- mu m gate length.<<ETX>>


In this paper, we present a pipeline and several key techniques necessary for editing a real scene captured with both cameras and laser range scanners. We develop automatic algorithms to segment the geometry from range images into distinct surfaces, register texture from radiance images with the geometry, and synthesize compact high-quality texture maps. The result is an object-level representation of the scene which can be rendered with modifications to structure via traditional rendering methods. The segmentation algorithm for geometry operates directly on the point cloud from multiple registered 3D range images instead of a reconstructed mesh. It is a top-down algorithm which recursively partitions a point set into two subsets using a pairwise similarity measure. The result is a binary tree with individual surfaces as leaves. Our image registration technique performs a very efficient search to automatically find the camera poses for arbitrary position and orientation relative to the geometry. Thus, we can take photographs from any location without precalibration between the scanner and the camera. The algorithms have been applied to large-scale real data. We demonstrate our ability to edit a captured scene by moving, inserting, and deleting objects.


Background and importance Medication reconciliation (MR) is the process of providing an exact and accurate list of all medications a patient is taking. This process is necessary to ensure that patients get the correct medications when admitted to hospital, thus preventing drug related problems. The pharmacists in the emergency department at Stavanger University Hospital use a method based on IMM-methodology (Integrated Medicines Management) when executing MR. This is time consuming, partly due to asking patients open questions and the lack of electronic resources available at the time IMM-methodology was developed. Aim and objectives This thesis aims to make the pharmacist's method for MR at the emergency department more efficient, thus obtaining correct medicine lists as early as possible for more patients. Materials and methods An observation study surveyed possible improvements in the established method for MR at Stavanger University Hospital. This subsequently led to implementing a revised method for MR through an intervention study, comparing the methods with efficiency (time usage/patient) and quality (proportion of patients with discrepancies and number of discrepancies per patient). The revised method was deemed not qualitatively inferior to the established method if the proportion of discrepancies had a maximum deviation of 10%. Results In total two hundred patients (78 years ± 10, 58% women) were included in the control group and currently hundred patients (78 years ± 9, 50% women) in the intervention group. The time usage for completing a MR in the intervention group was reduced by 34% compared to the control group. There was no difference in the proportion of patients with discrepancies/number of discrepancies per patient (respectively 79%/1.9 in the control group and 80%/1.9 in the intervention group). Conclusion and relevance Data from the first 100 patients in the intervention group shows that the revised method for performing MR makes the process more efficient without significantly deterioration of quality.


Abstract. In this work we develop a reduced-complexity model (RCM) for river delta formation (referred to as DeltaRCM in the following). It is a rule-based cellular morphodynamic model, in contrast to reductionist models based on detailed computational fluid dynamics. The basic framework of this model (DeltaRCM) consists of stochastic parcel-based cellular routing schemes for water and sediment and a set of phenomenological rules for sediment deposition and erosion. The outputs of the model include a depth-averaged flow field, water surface elevation and bed topography that evolve in time. Results show that DeltaRCM is able (1) to resolve a wide range of channel dynamics – including elongation, bifurcation, avulsion and migration – and (2) to produce a variety of deltas such as alluvial fan deltas and deltas with multiple orders of bifurcations. We also demonstrate a simple stratigraphy recording component which tracks the distribution of coarse and fine materials and the age of the deposits. Essential processes that must be included in reduced-complexity delta models include a depth-averaged flow field that guides sediment transport a nontrivial water surface profile that accounts for backwater effects at least in the main channels, both bedload and suspended sediment transport, and topographic steering of sediment transport.


This study assesses the level-2 precipitation estimates from 10 radiometers relative to Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Ku-band precipitation radar (KuPR) in two parts. First, nine sensors—four imagers [Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) and three Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounders (SSMISs)] and five sounders [Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) and four Microwave Humidity Sounders (MHSs)]—are evaluated over the 65°S–65°N region. Over ocean, imagers outperform sounders, primarily due to the usage of low-frequency channels. Furthermore, AMSR2 is clearly superior to SSMISs, likely due to the finer footprint size. Over land all sensors perform similarly except the noticeably worse performance from ATMS and SSMIS-F17. Second, we include the Sondeur Atmospherique du Profil d'Humidite Intertropicale par Radiometrie (SAPHIR) into the evaluation process, contrasting it against other sensors in the SAPHIR latitudes (30°S–30°N). SAPHIR has a slightly worse detection capability than other sounders over ocean but comparable detection performance to MHSs over land. The intensity estimates from SAPHIR show a larger normalized root-mean-square-error over both land and ocean, likely because only 183.3-GHz channels are available. Currently, imagers are preferred to sounders when level-2 estimates are incorporated into level-3 products. Our results suggest a sensor-specific priority order. Over ocean, this study indicates a priority order of AMSR2, SSMISs, MHSs and ATMS, and SAPHIR. Over land, SSMIS-F17, ATMS and SAPHIR should be given a lower priority than the other sensors.


The accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) causes endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), which is characteristic of cells with high levels of secretory activity and is involved in a variety of diseases. In response to ERS, cells initiate an adaptive process named the unfolding protein response (UPR) to maintain intracellular homeostasis and survival. However, long term and unresolved ERS can also induce apoptosis. As the most conserved signaling branch of UPR, the IRE1‐XBP1 pathway plays an important role in both physiological and pathological states, and its activity has a profound impact on disease progression and prognosis. Here, the latest research progress of IRE1‐XBP1 pathway in cancer, metabolic diseases, and other diseases was briefly introduced, and the relationship between several diseases and this pathway was analyzed. Besides, the new understanding and prospect of IRE1‐XBP1 pathway regulating male reproduction were reviewed.


The 17th century was a time of change in Sweden. During the century many of the Swedish laws were altered. In the beginning of the 17th century this alteration resulted in a more severe sentence for most of the committed crimes, but a mitigation of the sentence for some of those crimes was effected in the middle of the 17th century. The aim of this study is to see how two local courts in the judicial system during the mid 17th century in Sweden treated adultery, and those who committed the crime against the background of what the law regarding adultery stipulated. The source material used are court records from Fryksdals hundred and Josse hundred in western Sweden, and laws regarding adultery during the 17th century. This research shows that the laws regarding adultery were in themselves not gender specific, and their main concern was the marital status of those involved. The punishment for all forms of adultery was a death sentence during the first half of the 17th century, but during the latter part of the century the punishment for a specific form of adultery, when only one of the involved was married, was mitigated to a fine which differed according to marital status. In most of the cases both courts in Fryksdals hundred and Josse hundred applied the law as it was written in their verdict, and the verdicts of acquittals were few. There is however a tendency in the findings towards a difference between the actual local courts at the end of the first half of the 17th century. Court records show that Fryksdals hundred, which generally had more crimes regarding adultery than Josse hundred, during that time applied a more rigorous attitude towards those crimes. The conclusion is that, although the results from both hundreds do not differ much from the general picture of adultery in Sweden, there is still a tendency of a difference between the actual local courts themselves.


The two rhodium complexes [Rh(acac)(L(R))] (L(R)=(S,S)-5,11,17,23-tetra-tert-butyl-25,27-di(OR)-26,28-bis(1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-dioxyphosphanyloxy)calix[4]arene; 6: R=benzyl, 7: R=fluorenyl), each based on a hemispherical chelator forming a pocket about the metal centre upon chelation, are active in the hydroformylation of 1-octene and styrene. As expected for this family of diphosphanes, both complexes resulted in remarkably high selectivity towards the linear aldehyde in the hydroformylation of 1-octene (l/b≈15 for both complexes). Linear aldehyde selectivity was also observed when using styrene, but surprisingly only 6 displayed a marked preference for the linear product (l/b=12.4 (6) vs. 1.9 (7)). A detailed study of the structure of the complexes under CO or CO/H(2) in toluene was performed by high-pressure NMR (HP NMR) and FT-IR (HP-IR) spectroscopies. The spectroscopic data revealed that treatment of 6 with CO gave [Rh(acac)(CO)(η(1)-L(benzyl))] (8), in which the diphosphite behaves as a unidentate ligand. Subsequent addition of H(2) to the solution resulted in a well-defined chelate complex with the formula [RhH(CO)(2)(L(benzyl))] (9). Unlike 6, treatment of complex 7 with CO only led to ligand dissociation and concomitant formation of [Rh(acac)(CO)(2)], but upon addition of H(2) a chelate complex analogous to 9 was formed quantitatively. In both [RhH(CO)(2)(L(R))] complexes the diphosphite adopts the bis-equatorial coordination mode, a structural feature known to favour the formation of linear aldehydes. As revealed by variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy, these complexes show the typical fluxionality of trigonal bipyramidal [RhH(CO)(2)(diphosphane)] complexes. The lower linear selectivity of 7 versus 6 in the hydroformylation of styrene was assigned to steric effects, due to the pocket in which the catalysis takes place being less adapted to accommodate CO or larger olefins and, therefore, possibly leading to facile ligand decoordination. This interpretation was corroborated by an X-ray structure determination carried out for 7.


This paper deals with contents on the estimation of rail beam from the geotechnical engineering aspect. Rail beam is reinforced rail installed on the inside and outside of rail to prevent differential settlement during the construction period of railroad crossing construction. Such rail beam is frequently being installed to ensure stability of existing railroad facilities because of increasing constructions of underground structures crossing railroad in recent. However, there is a difficulty in design due to lack of design standard on rail beam length. Furthermore, derailing accidents are also occurring as a result of rail beam length shortage. Accordingly, this paper presented flow chart based on the classification into soil ground and bedrock ground for the rail beam length estimation. In addition, case study was conducted on rail combination and location through which effective rail combination and location were ensured.


Introduction. An appropriately balanced and varied diet should cover the body's demand for energy and all necessary nutrients. In case of health disorders caused by malnutrition, a change of eating patterns or introduction of temporary dietary supplements containing deficient nutrients should be considered. Aim. Assessment of the level of knowledge among patients of pharmacies in Poznan/Greater Poland on nutritional supplements and factors which influence or decide about their use in everyday life. Material and Methods. A study concerning the use of dietary supplements was conducted on the basis of an original survey in a group of 401 persons, both men and women. The survey consists of 17 single choice questions and one multiple choice question. In order to assess preferences within the scope of use of a chosen group of supplements, a five‑grade hedonic scale was used. Results. The study showed that most patients considered their knowledge to be at least at a good level. Those results were not confirmed by an objective assessment of their knowledge. The most preferred supplements were products including Omega-3 and Omega-6 acids, vitamin D, probiotics and prebiotics, calcium and vitamin and mineral complexes. The preferences among women and men in relation to the choice of specific groups of dietary supplements were similar. Conclusion. The study showed a varied level of knowledge on dietary supplements – especially on the legal aspects of their introduction on the market. The general level of knowledge on supplements was higher in the group of women.


Since its advent, thèjust{in{time'{paradigm has considerable innu-ence on production planning and control. While originally employed for high{volume production, `just{in{time'{concepts are meanwhile documented for low{volume, make{to{order production as well. An example is the assembly of multiple customer{speciic products as recently considered by Agrawal et al. The problem has been inspired by the production planning of Westinghouse ESG, Maryland. Agrawal et al. modelled the problem as MILP and proposed a suited heuristic with acronym LETSA which gives near{optimal solutions. We show that the problem can be modelled as simple single resource{constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP). This has several advantages: First, it allows an integrated perspective on`just{in{time'{steered low{volume, make{to{order assemblies. Second, it makes available the rich supply of models, insights, and methods of resource{constrained project scheduling. The latter includes the well{known serial scheduling algorithm which brings forth the same schedule as LETSA with a computational eeort which is only O(n 2) instead of O(n 4), where n is the number of assembly operations.


This study investigated the roles of filial piety, parental warmth, and parental control in parent-adolescent conflict among Vietnamese families. Two hundred four adolescents completed questionnaires about mother-adolescent conflict and 201 adolescents completed questionnaires about father-adolescent conflict. The results of multiple regression analyses revealed that filial piety, parental warmth, and parental control are significant predictors of mother-adolescent conflict and father-adolescent conflict. Maternal control was the strongest predictor of mother-adolescent conflict and paternal warmth was the strongest predictor of father-adolescent conflict. The implications of the findings for counseling parents and their adolescent children, as well as, directions for future research are discussed.


Major problems in drilling titanium like chip welding which leads to frictional heating and consequently to high cutting temperature are attributed to properties of titanium. Severe chip adhesion and easy chipping are problems also encountered in drilling titanium. On the other hand, low frequency vibratory drilling is known to have an inhibitory effect on the plastic deformation zone as well as to curb the increase in cutting temperature. This drilling method is thought to be effective in combating the aforementioned problems in drilling titanium, thus low frequency vibratory drilling is employed in the investigation of the cutting characteristics of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. From this study, low frequency vibratory drilling is found to be effective in accelerating the cutting fluid cooling effect and reducing drill point friction heat as a result of the much improved cutting fluid permeability.