We investigate the mantle dynamics beneath the North China Craton (NCC) and surrounding regions based on a synthesis of recent P-wave mantle tomographic data down to depths of 600–800 km and their correlation with the surface geological features, with particular reference to the Paleoproterozoic tectonic events associated with the incorporation of the NCC within the Columbia supercontinent amalgam. From the tomographic images, we identify a hot corridor in the mantle transition zone beneath the central region of the Western Block of the NCC sandwiched between two cold corridors. This scenario is similar to the donut-shaped high-velocity anomaly surrounding a region of low-velocity anomaly in the lowermost mantle under the Pacific and suggests that the cold regions might represent slab graveyards which provide the fuel for the plumes rising from the center. A tomographic transect along the collisional suture of the NCC with the Columbia supercontinent, covering the Yinshan-Ordos Blocks in the Western Block through the Central Orogenic Belt and into the Eastern Block of the NCC reveals a ca. 250 km thick lithospheric keel below the Ordos Block defined by a prominent high-velocity anomaly. We identify slab break-off and asthenospheric upwelling in this region and suggest that this process probably initiated the thermal and material erosion of the tectosphere beneath the Eastern Block from the Paleoproterozoic, which was further intensified during the Mesozoic when a substantial part of the sub-continental mantle lithosphere was lost. We visualize heat input from asthenosphere and interaction between asthenosphere and overlying carbonated tectosphere releasing CO2-rich fluids for the preservation of ultra-high temperature (ca. 1000 ◦C) metamorphic rocks enriched in CO2 as well as high-pressure mafic granulites as a paired suite in this region. We also identify a hot swell of the asthenosphere rooted to more than 200 km depth and reaching up to the shallow mantle in the tomographic section along 35◦N latitude at a depth of 800 km. This zone represents a cross-section through the southern part of the NCC. The surface distribution of Paleoproterozoic Xiong'er lavas and mafic dykes in this region would indicate that this region might have evidenced similar upwellings in the past. Our study has important implications in understanding the evolution of the NCC and suggests that the extensive modification of the mantle architecture and lithospheric structure beneath one of the fundamental Precambrian nuclei of Asia had a prolonged history probably dating from the Paleoproterozoic suturing of the NCC within the Columbia . supercontinent amalgam


The software industry loses billions of dollars each year due to software piracy. And CD-ROM technology is one of the most successful and fast growing methods for quickly and economically distributing information. So it is an urgency to find a good method to protect CD-ROM from being pirated. In this chapter, we will discuss some new technologies of anti- piracy. According to these discussions, we will put forward our new anti-piracy method.


Injera is soft fermented baked product, which is commonly prepared from teff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.)) flour and believed to be consumed on daily basis by two-thirds of Ethiopians. As it is a product of naturally fermented dough, the course of fermentation is done by consortia of microorganisms. The study was aimed at isolating and identifying some dominant bacteria from fermenting teff (Eragrostis tef) dough. A total of 97 dough samples were collected from households, microenterprises, and hotels with different fermentation stage from Addis Ababa. The bacterial isolates obtained from the fermenting teff dough samples were selected on the basis of their acid production potentials. A total of 24 purified bacterial isolates were found to be Gram-positive (they are coccus and rod under microscope) and were good acid producers. Genomic DNA of bacterial isolates were extracted using Invisorb® Spin DNA Extraction kit. 16S rRNA of bacterial isolates were amplified using the bacteria universal primers (rD1 and fD1). The amplified product was sequenced at Genewiz, USA. Sequence analysis and comparison with the resources at the database were conducted to identify the isolated microbes into species and strain levels. The bacterial isolates were identified as Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus brevis, Enterococcus durans, Enterococcus hirae, Enterococcus avium, and Enterococcus faecium. All identified lactic acid bacteria were able to produce acid at 12 h time of incubation. This study has confirmed the presence of different bacterial species in the fermenting teff dough and also supports the involvement of various groups of bacterial species in the course of the fermentation.


A statistical study was carried out to evaluate the dental caries of permanent teeth in the elementary school children (208 boys and 165 girls, 373 children of total) in the town of Fuji, Saga Prefectur, which is a mountain village, by means of psychological test and investigation of the living environment of children and their parents. The following results were obtained: 1. In analysis of the relationship between the increase of dental caries and personality characteristics, was shown a tendency toward a low degree of direct of correlation. However, in analysis of quantification type III, it was proven that personality characteristics that as dependency, regression, nervousness and emotional instability related to an increase in dental caries. 2. In the analysis of the relationship between living environments and personality characteristics, a tendency towards a low personality profile was recognized in the children with an increase of dental caries. 3. In pasticvcal, there was a distortion of the personality characteristics of slef-uncontrol and dependency. 4. In comparing the first half of the elementary school year with the last half, a difference in the living environment and personality characteristics was observed during the last half year. 5. The results obtained in this study indicated that early discovery of problems in the living environment and synthetic approach during the first half of the elementary school year were important for the prevention of dental caries of permanent teeth.


We report the clinical course of a female child with a normal karyotype and chromosomal microarray who presented as an infant with clinical findings consistent with congenital polyvalvular disease (CPVD). This clinical entity describes patients with multiple congenitally dysplastic valves, often showing nodular or cystic malformation in at least two cardiac valves. This patient then developed medically refractory multifocal ventricular arrhythmia and required radiofrequency ablation at seven months of age. She had good tachycardia control but became symptomatic with right heart failure related to progressive tricuspid, pulmonary, and mitral valve dysfunction necessitating multivalvular replacement at 21 months of age.


A classical analysis of shape phase transitions and phase coexistence in odd-even nuclei has been performed in the framework of the interacting boson-fermion model. The results indicate that the effects of a single particle may influence different types of transitions in different ways. Especially, it is revealed that phase coexistence can clearly emerge in the critical region and thus be taken as a indicator of the shape phase transitions in odd-even nuclei.


Why is it important to treat nicotine addiction in schizophrenia? The prevalence of smoking in schizophrenia, as in other mental disorders, is higher than in the general population. Smoking is also associated with higher rates of medical morbidity, including cardiovascular and lung diseases, and with higher mortality in schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenia is characterized by a constellation of clinical and cognitive deficits, and these patients may remediate such deficits by cigarette smoking. Genetic and environmental factors may also play a role in the high comorbid rates of smoking in schizophrenia. Preclinical and human laboratory studies have elucidated factors which may determine this comorbidity in schizophrenia, and recent treatments for both nicotine dependence (eg, nicotine replacement, bupropion) and schizophrenia (atypical antipsychotic drugs) may be useful for smoking reduction and cessation in this population. We review the biology of nicotine addiction in schizophrenia, and findings from the laboratory and clinic which suggest that: (1) there may be biological factors which explain the high rates of comorbid nicotine addiction in schizophrenic patients; and (2) based on an understanding of this neurobiology, effective treatment for nicotine addiction in these patients is possible. A clinical approach, including pharmacologic and behavioral treatments, is discussed.


Objective We aimed to test the hypothesis that early diet programmes the metabolic profile of young adults born preterm. Design We analysed banked urine samples obtained at a 20-year follow-up visit from adults that had participated as neonates in controlled trials involving randomisation within 48 hours of birth to feeds of preterm formula (PTF), banked breast milk (BBM) or term formula (TF) for 1 month postnatally. Main outcome measures We performed proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, analysing spectra by dietary group and sex. Orthogonal projections to latent structure discriminant analyses was used to model class differences and identify metabolites contributing to the differences between groups. Additionally, spectra were correlated with birth weight, gestational age and weight z score at 2 weeks of age. Results Of the original number of 926 trial participants, urine samples were available from 197 (21%) healthy young adults (42% men) born preterm (mean 30.7±2.8 weeks) and randomised to BBM (n=55; 28 men), TF (n=48; 14 men) and PTF (n=93; 40 men). We found no significant differences in urinary spectra between dietary groups including when stratified by sex. Correlation analysis revealed a weak association between metabolic profile and gestational age that was lost on controlling for ethanol excretion. Conclusions We found no evidence that dietary exposures in the neonatal period influence the metabolic phenotype in young adult life.


PATIENT, a girl, aged 7. History: There was much bruising of left eye at birth. Delivery was carried out under chloroform. The mother does not know whether the forceps were used. The eye has always looked smaller than the other. Present condition: There is left enophthalmos with slight downward and outward strabismus; the ocular movements are good. Left eyeball smaller than right. Transverse diameters of cornea: Right 12 mm., left 11 mm. There is a large mass of fibrous tissue in vitreous, of roughly conical shape, extending from broad irregular base, covering disk, to a small irregular head at apex just behind the lens. There is a good deal of pigmentation about the base. Direct pupillary light reflex absent, consensual present. The mass of fibrous tissue in the vitreous is probably the result of haemorrhage due to birth iDjury, possibly avulsion of the optic nerve.


The displacements due to a radiating point source in an infinite anisotropic elastic medium are found in terms of Fourier integrals. The integrals are evaluated asymptotically, yielding explicit expressions for displacements at points far from the source. The relative amplitudes of waves from a point source are thus determined, and it is found that although in general the decay of wave amplitudes is proportional to the distance from the source, it is possible that in certain directions the decay is less than this. The method used in this paper is also shown to be an alternative way of deriving known results concerning the geometry of the propagation of disturbances. As an example, the radiation in a transversely isotropic medium from an isolated force varying harmonically with time is discussed.


A progressive significant decrease of CD28 surface antigen expression on CD4+ (mean, 90, 86, 79, 68% in stages I, II, III, and IV, respectively, versus 96% in normals), as well as on CD8+ T lymphocytes (mean, 38, 32, 31, and 29% in stages I, II, III, and IV, respectively, versus 47% in normals) was observed during HIV-1 infection. The increase of cytotoxic/suppressor T cells, in both percentage and absolute numbers, that was observed in almost all HIV-1 patients, was associated with an increase of the CD8+ cells lacking the CD28 surface antigen. The loss of CD28 antigen expression was parallel to the increase of CD38, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR, and CD45RO antigen expression on T lymphocytes throughout the disease. Furthermore, a positive significant correlation within the CD4+ but not the CD8+ subset was observed between the percentage of cells lacking the CD28 antigen and the percentage of cells expressing the HLA-DR and CD38 antigens, a finding suggesting that the loss of CD28 antigen expression on CD4+ lymphocytes may be associated with T-lymphocyte activation. Patients treated with zidovudine showed no significant differences in the percentages of either CD4+CD28+ or CD8+CD28+ T-cell subsets when compared to untreated patients. These phenotypic changes may be associated with the functional defects of T lymphocytes in HIV-1 infected individuals.


In the modern operation of enucleation of the tonsil, the surgeon finds it easy to strip the upper lobe from its bed, but he encounters an obscure mass of muscular tissue attached to the submerged surface of the tonsil at the junction (below its middle) of the upper and lower lobes. At this stage he imagines, as a rule, that he has encountered the superior constrictor, which is commonly assumed to be an immediate relation. He ceases dissection and arranges the snare around the lower part of the tonsil, trusting to the automatic action of the wire to complete the operation. The result is imperfect enucleation, for the caprice of the snare may leave muscle attached to the tonsil or it may cut through the lower lobe, leaving a portion in situ. We propose to show that the superior constrictor is not an immediate relation; that it has no direct


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the value of using a linear stapler device for the closure of the pharynx during total laryngectomy.

METHODS
Sixteen total laryngectomies were performed between August 2010 and December 2011, during the operation, the TA 60 linear stapler was used for pharyngeal closure. Among these patients, two patients had the history of pre-operative radiotherapy, four patients recurred after radiotherapy, ten patients were treated for the first time. 100 ml methylene blue was injected into the newly closed laryngopharyngeal cavity through the nasopharyngeal breather pipe for checking up whether it was watertight or not.

RESULTS
Among the sixteen patients, methylene blue leakage from the mucosal joint of the gular cavity closed by the stapler were not found in fifteen patients, it was only found in one patient. The transudatory places were sutured with absorbable Vicryl sutures. This patient healed well without pharyngocutaneous fistula. Negative surgical margins were achieved in all patients. No patient needed to be transferred to open surgery. Using a linear stapler device in total laryngectomy, 45 minutes could be saved as compaired to manual suture. One patient developed a light pharyngocutaneous fistula. The incidence of pharyngocutaneous fistula was 6.25% (1/16).

CONCLUSIONS
This stapled closed technique for pharyngoplasty is efficient, eliminates the risk of wound contamination, saves operation time and decreases the incidence of pharyngocutaneous fistula. This technique can be recommended as alternative for repairing the pharynx in patients undergoing total laryngectomy.


The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of conflict management in performance of organizations with a view to solving the current phenomenon of conflicts being experienced in public secondary school organizations and make them more effective, efficient and conducive for the development of human resources. The specific objectives of the study were to: assess the effect of conflict in performance of public secondary schools, determine whether management being aware of conflict in the school organization help towards conflict resolution and management, establish management approaches used by the educational institutions managers in Kenya in conflict management and resolution, evaluate the role of environment in conflict resolutions and suggest recommendations for solving conflict in public secondary school organizations.Both qualitative and quantitative research was used. The research design used in this study was descriptive survey. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. The target population was 140 secondary school principals. Using stratified probability sampling based on different categories of schools and non- probability sampling, an optimum proportion of 30% was drawn from each category of the target population of schools to satisfy these requirements of optimality and representativeness. From each of the selected school, the principal that is the CEO was selected. Therefore, 43 principals were selected as the chief executive officers in-charge of management of the school organizations. Since the study was concerned with the relationships between identified dependent, intervening and independent variables, structural equation modeling and other multivariate statistical tools were used to analyze the data. The regression and ANOVA analysis were used to analyze the relationship between conflict management and performance in educational institutions. The correlationcoefficients indicated a fairly positive strong relationship, r = 0.69.This indicates that the relationship is not weak and can be used to explain and predict the rate of performance. On the ANOVA, the beta coefficient of the resulting regression model t=2.822 indicates that the beta coefficient is significantly greater than 0, =0.07 which is less than  =0.05 the test statistic. This further confirms that essentially there is a strong relationship between conflict resolution and performance in an educational institution. All the four null hypotheses of the study, which were analyzed using Chi and T-test, were rejected. Stepwise regression analysis showed zero significance between the role of environment in conflict management and performance of school organizations. These results were consistent with earlier empirical research on conflict management and organizational performance in organizations.In conclusion therefore, relationship between conflict management and the performance of school organizations seems to be clear. When the management is knowledgeable in conflict management and at the same time putting this knowledge into practice, the schools will experience less conflict and do well in all activities and areas. The researcher recommends that conflict management systems should be integrated within the system of the organization and the integration should be at a higher level of the organization hierarchy rather than mere interconnection; conflict management is a human sub-system which is achieved trough typical development process.


A key factor in successful application of Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) technology in tunneling is the ability to develop accurate performance estimates for determining project schedule and costs. Over many years of TBM related research, the Earth Mechanics Institute of the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) has developed a computer based model to predict the performance of TBM in hard rock. Although the CSM model has proven reliable in massive rock conditions, its accuracy has been limited in rock mass exhibiting a high degree of fracturing. Quantifying the rock mass fracture and intact rock brittleness effects into the CSM model, Modified CSM Model has been developed. This book named as "Modified CSM Model for Predicting TBM Performance in Rock Mass" is related to rock mass-TBM interaction. The book reviews the well-known TBM performance prediction models such as; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), QTBM, CSM, and Modified CSM. Further, it includes geotechnical and technological information related to the projects used for development of the Modified CSM model. The book is useful for engineers and scientists who deal with rock mechanics and TBM tunneling.


The loss of genetic diversity in small or isolated populations can increase inbreeding, decrease fitness and adaptive potential and increase a species' probability of extinction. In species with life histories that naturally result in small populations and/or low levels of gene flow, patterns of anthropogenically induced genetic erosion can be obscured by evolutionary history; yet these species may still be susceptible to genetic loss. We assess genetic diversity among populations of Ambystoma salamanders endemic to Mexico, including populations that are facultatively or obligately paedomorphic, to test whether paedomorphic lineages have lower genetic diversity than metamorphic ones, and whether gene flow contributes to the maintenance of diversity in divergent forms with either life history. We also test the utility of our markers in assigning illegally harvested individuals to populations of origin. We found reduced genetic diversity in paedomorphic compared with some, but not all, metamorphic populations. Populations of both forms showed genetic signatures of bottlenecks, underscoring that factors other than paedomorphosis contribute to historical reductions in population size. In general, Ambystoma populations have low interpopulation gene flow and admixture, but paedomorphic populations have higher within‐population relatedness than most metamorphic populations. We discuss historical and current landscape attributes that impact populations and their connectivity, the implications of our findings for ongoing captive propagation programs and the prospects for continued genetic health of Ambystoma in México.


Au/PN/sub x//InP Schottky junctions have been formed using sophisticated in situ multistep plasma process. An effective barrier height as high as 0.83 eV has been achieved for Au/PN/sub x//InP Schottky diodes. The true barrier height estimated from the Richardson plot was 0.57 eV. This suggests that the surface Fermi level pinned at 0.39 eV below the conduction band edge for conventionally prepared Au/InP Schottky junctions is weakened in plasma-treated Au/PN/sub x//InP Schottky junctions. The effective barrier is enhanced by the effects of both the metal-insulator-semiconductor structure and weakened pinning of the surface Fermi level.


The effect of cooling rate on microstructure of vertical-type high-speed twin-roll cast 3003 aluminum alloy strip was investigated. The solidification structure was characterized in terms of grain size and kinds, size, morphology and chemical composition of secondary particles. The 3003 aluminum alloy strip consisted of cell structure, dendritic structure, globular grains and eutectic structure along the strip thickness direction. From the relationship between the cooling rates and as-cast grain size, the cooling rate of high-speed twin-roll cast strip surface area was estimated as 3.1 © 103K/s. Significant differences in the formation of secondary particles were found between direct chill (DC)-casting and the high-speed twin-roll casting as a result of the different cooling rates; Al6(Mn,Fe) and ¡-Al(Mn,Fe)Si phase were identified in the DC-cast sample, whereas only ¡-Al(Mn,Fe)Si was predominant in the high-speed twin-roll cast strip. The Al6(Mn,Fe) particles in DC-cast sample were script-like morphology with high aspect-ratio. In contrast, ¡-Al(Mn,Fe)Si particles in the high-speed twin-roll cast strip was spore-like morphology. Most ¡-Al(Mn,Fe)Si particles in the strip were considered to be formed as one of the eutectic components from the liquid droplets trapped in the inter-dendrite regions. In particular, Fe-rich ¡-Al(Mn,Fe)Si phase was formed at strip central area due to the increase in Fe segregation at the growth front. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.F-M2018853]


A series of novel peptide ligands that specifically bind to tumor vascular endothelial CD13 receptor were designed, synthesized and evaluated for in vitro binding. In this study, peptide-monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) conjugates were evaluated for their in-vitro cytotoxicity and mice in-vivo anti-tumor efficacy. The peptides [PEP20, GYPAY; and PEP173 GYPAVYLF] were synthesized by standard solid phase peptide synthesis method. The drug-linker conjugate maleimidocaproyl-valine-citrulline-paminobenzoyloxycarbonyl-monomethyl auristatin E (mc-vc-PABC-MMAE) was used to prepare the peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs). Formation of the PDCs was confirmed by ESI-MS (PEP20-MMAE, 1062.5 [M+H+Na]+2; PEP173-MMAE, 828.9 [M+2H+Na]+3) and the % purities of the PDCs after purification were higher than 98%. For invitro cytotoxicity study, CD13 +ve HT1080, CD13-ve MCF7 and HEK293 (normal cells) cells were incubated with various concentrations of PDCs/MMAE. The drug, MMAE, showed very high potency (low IC50 values) across all three cell lines (HT-1080 cells, IC50 0.09358 nM; MCF-7 cells, IC50 0.4250 nM; HEK-293 cells, IC50 0.8354 nM). PDCs (PEP20-MMAE and PEP173-MMAE) showed significantly lower cytotoxicity than MMAE in all cell lines. PEP20-MMAE showed 5.2 and 4.3 times lower cytotoxicity in CD13 negative MCF-7 and control normal HEK-293 cells, respectively, when compared to that in CD13 positive HT-1080 cells. PEP173-MMAE was found to have approximately 2.4 times less cytotoxicity in both MCF-7 cells and HEK-293 cells as compared to HT-1080 cells. For the anti-tumor efficacy study, 975 nmol/kg, which is equivalent to 0.70 mg/kg of MMAE, was selected as the treatment dose. In the mice treated with only PBS, the tumor grew rapidly and reached approximately 450 mm3 by day 28 after tumor implantation (Figure 5). MMAE, PEP20-MMAE, and PEP173-MMAE, all showed almost complete tumor regression during the study. PEP20-MMAE and PEP173-MMAE showed slightly higher tumor regression than MMAE, but the difference was not statistically significant. However, the PDCs exhibited much lower weight loss in mice as compared to the drug MMAE indicating lower side effects in vivo. The limited effectiveness of peptide drug conjugates in in vivo mice tumor model suggested the need of further research to achieve the optimal chemical configuration of the conjugates for in vivo targeting.


A four-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for application in blood (serum and plasma) and tumor tissue extracts was set up within the framework of the EORTC Receptor and Biomarker Study Group (RBSG). Polyclonal antibodies against VEGF165 were raised in chickens and rabbits, and used in a previously described assay format. The assay was validated and characterized for use in serum, plasma and tumor tissue extracts. The resulting VEGF ELISA was found to be specific for VEGF165 and VEGF121, the main isoforms of VEGF. The assay showed good precision and parallelism in serial dilutions of samples. The assay was not susceptible to interference by heterophilic antibodies because avian antibodies (duck anti-chicken and chicken anti-VEGF) were used in the pre-analyte stage and mammalian antibodies (rabbit anti-VEGF and goat anti-rabbit) in the post-analyte stage. In conclusion, a sensitive, robust and specific VEGF ELISA has been developed. Research into the prognostic value of VEGF employing this assay is currently underway.


Since 1995 CAMD has been offering exposure services, so called print shop for a variety of users interested in making precision High-Aspect-Ratio Microstructures (HARMST) for various application. Services have been expanded beyond only the print shop service in recent years and now include x-ray mask fabrication, substrate preparation for PMMA and SU- 8 resists, electroplating, finishing and molding. Metallic and polymeric parts are now routinely fabricated for precision engineering, micro-fluidic and micro-optic applications. This paper presents a brief overview of the actual status of LiGA services provided at CAMD including ongoing research efforts and examples of LiGA components for different applications.


Pleased as I am to meet with an insight largely in accord with my own views, I feel that Robert E. Burkhart [Forum, Jan. 1972] is only too modest to limit the application of his schema to my essay. His ideas have a value and suggestiveness quite apart from mine and ought to be pursued more extensively than they are here. I believe he might wish to add two peripheral and defective, but symmetrical, love rela tionships to his schema—that between Frances and Hindley in the first generation and that putative one between Cathy and Lockwood in the second—both involving the insertion of a fairly weak and ordinary outsider into the novel's genealogical web of Earnshaw and Linton. And I would propose extending the schema to include the relationship between Heathcliff and Isabella. Beyond these suggestions, however, I shall not consider the extension and wider application of Mr. Burkhart's structure but merely mention how his remarks reflect upon my own essay. I agree that his schema supports my contentions that no single character in the novel possesses a point of view endorsed by Emily Bronte and that, relative to Heathcliff and Catherine, the other characters of the novel seldom receive their rightful share of con sideration and weight from its readers. I agree that all the characters must be considered before the dis tinctive conceptual balancing and jousting of Wuther ing Heights can be appreciated. But I do see one aspect of Mr. Burkhart's schema as possibly an implicit chal lenge to my presentation: the symmetrical structure that he rightly sees and describes might well be taken to indicate that Wuthering Heights possesses a lucid, harmonious meaning, whereas I argued that the novel's several patterns (among those that I noted were the severe genealogical symmetry, the marriage triangles, and the arc from Hareton Earnshaw 1500 to Hareton Earnshaw 1802) were enigmatic and teasing rather than satisfactorily significant. In other words, I argued that it is impossible to translate the clean geometrical shapes embedded in the novel into clear meanings answerable to the novel as a whole. I think that the pattern that Mr. Burkhart nicely discerns is another such beguilement, which leads to only partial meaning and away from the chaotic "wuthering" at the heart of the book. I could be wrong. But I shall leave it to Mr. Burkhart, or some one else more perceptive or less prejudiced than I, to pursue his suggestive schema to its full extent of sig nificance.


Woody Guthrie was perhaps America's most peripatetic songwriter, producing an enormous body of work — over three thousand songs as well as novels, non-fiction prose and visual artwork — grounded in particular regions, cities and points of transit (the road, the rails and, during his Merchant Marine days, the sea). This study examines Guthrie's life and art in relation to the locations that inspired him, drawing not only on his recorded and published output but also on a wealth of unpublished sources housed in the Woody Guthrie Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.


A transformation of a plane electromagnetic wave in a medium with permittivity and conductivity changing in time as a finite sequence of rectangular periodic pulses is considered. An exact solution of the problem is derived and the influence of the conductivity on the wave parametric amplifications is investigated. A transition to intermittent chaotic behaviour of the secondary waves is shown to occur and the Hurst index is numerically estimated.


The article draws on two Office of National Statistics' Omnibus sample surveys to provide the demographic context for living-apart-together.The Omnibus sample surveys for this project were funded by the ONS and by the ESRC (grant no. L326253054). The ESRC grant also supported the qualitative research, and we are grateful to Sophie Sarre and Jennifer Burton, who organised and undertook the interviews. The second part of the paper begins to explore the meanings of this form of partnership through interviews conducted with a sub-sample of respondents to the second survey, conducted in April 2004. The exploratory study complicates our understanding of the range of partnership statuses, which in turn has implications for policymakers grappling with whether and how to regulate different statuses in different ways. We conclude that living-apart-together is a significant form of partnership in Britain, and that it may take place at different points in the lifecourse. We explore the idea that this form of partnership further signals the spread of 'selfish individualism' and a 'flight from commitment'. We find instead that living-apart-together represents a different kind of shared life to those involved from that they perceive to characterise co-residential relationships.


The testimony of witnesses represents the type of evidence, without which practically no criminal case can do. It is the significance of this type of evidence that determines the legislative requirements for the regulation of preparation and the procedure for the interrogation of a witness, as well as for the recording of evidence. This is of particular importance both from the standpoint of ensuring the admissibility and reliability of evidence, as well as from the point of view of ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of persons involved in criminal proceedings. The national legislation of modern states creates its own standards for the use of witness testimony in proving criminal cases. With all the variety of approaches, the importance of information technology in the collection, testing and evaluation of witness testimony can be viewed in the following main areas: as a means of fixing an investigative action, as a way of establishing the actual circumstances relevant to the case, as a means of ensuring the production of an investigative action, and as a means of transmitting information. Based on the analysis of the criminal procedure legislation of the Russian Federation and some foreign countries, the paper examines the problems of legislative regulation of the use of digital technologies during the interrogation of witnesses, including remote interrogation and deposition of witness testimony. Special attention is given to distant interrogation at the request of foreign countries.


: Although Southern Europe is relatively homogeneous in terms of settlement characteristics and urban dynamics, spatial heterogeneity in its population distribution is still high, and di ff erences across regions outline specific demographic patterns that require in-depth investigation. In such contexts, density-dependent mechanisms of population growth are a key factor regulating socio-demographic dynamics at various spatial levels. Results of a spatio-temporal analysis of the distribution of the resident population in Greece contributes to identifying latent (density-dependent) processes of metropolitan growth over a su ffi ciently long time interval (1961-2011). Identification of density-dependent patterns of population growth contributes to the analysis of socioeconomic factors underlying demographic divides, possibly distinguishing between the e ff ects of population concentration and dispersion. Population growth rates were non-linearly correlated with population density, highlighting a positive (or negative) impact of urban concentration on demographic growth when population is lower (or higher) than a fixed threshold (2800 and 1300 inhabitants / km 2 in 1961 and 2011, respectively). In a context of low population density (less than 20 inhabitants / km 2 ), the relationship between density and growth was again negative, contrasting with the positive and linear relationship observed in denser contexts. This result evidences a sort of 'depopulation' trap that leads to accelerated population decline under a defined density threshold. An improved understanding of density-dependent mechanisms of population growth and decline contributes to rethinking strategies of sustainable development and social policies more adapted to heterogeneous regional contexts.


In plasma processing the efficient dissociation of molecules is the key element for producing the precursors for plasma deposition, surface modification, and molecule conversion. During these processes always molecules are generated, as e.g. H 2 in deposition of hydrogenated carbon or molecules may be converted to new molecules. Measurement of molecules is thus a possible way to investigate the reactive pathways in plasma chemistry. It appears that the surface plays a pertinent role in the formation of molecules. This became clear from the study of several plasmas, including the remote plasma of an expanding thermal plasma. Measurements by mass spectrometry and infrared absorption indicate several dominant pathways as re-formation of N 2 and O 2 besides a small percentage of NO in N/O, the formation of ammonia in N/H, of water in H/O and CO and H 2 in H/C/N/O containing plasmas. The presence of excited molecules presumably generated at the surface bordering the plasma indicates the presence of modified chemistry in a plasma environment.


We investigate the rogue wave dynamics of the dissipative Kundu-Eckhaus equation. With this motivation, we propose a split-step Fourier scheme for its numerical solution. After testing the accuracy and stability of the scheme using an analytical solution as a benchmark problem, we analyze the chaotic wave fields generated by the modulation instability within the frame of the dissipative Kundu-Eckhaus equation. We discuss the effects of various parameters on rogue wave formation probability and we also discuss the role of dissipation on occurrences of such waves.


Abstract For nutritional assessment work for older population, it is important to be able to estimate body height based on knee height. The present report describes three equations for height estimation among older Bengalees based on knee height and compares the results with knee height based formulae developed for several other populations. Anthropometric measurements were analyzed from 114 (62 men and 52 women) older subjects aged >= 55 years. The subjects were randomly selected from two blocks (Contai I and Ramnagar I), at coastal area of Purba Medinipur District in West Bengal, India. A population specific formula for height was created based on knee height of the subjects. These estimated formulae from the present study and fourteen other previously reported formulae were also applied to these older population and the mean estimation errors were statistically compared. Analysis indicated that our derived formulae gave accurate estimation of height among the subjects.


Purpose: The presence of a functional periosteum accelerates healing in bone defects by providing a source of progenitor cells that aid in repair. We hypothesized that bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) sheets could be used to engineer functional periosteal tissues. Materials and Methods: BMSCs were cultured to hyperconfluence and produced sufficient extracellular matrix to form robust tissue sheets. The sheets were wrapped around calcium phosphate pellets and implanted subcutaneously in mice for 8 weeks. Histologic comparisons were made between calcium phosphate samples with and without BMSC sheet wraps. Bone and periosteum formation were analyzed through tissue morphology and tissue-specific protein expression. Results: Calcium phosphate pellets wrapped in BMSC sheets regenerated a bone-like tissue, but pellets lacking the cell sheet wrap did not. The bone-like tissue seen on the calcium phosphate scaffolds wrapped with the BMSC sheets was enclosed within a periosteum-like tissue characterized morphologically and through expression of periostin. Conclusions: These data indicate that cell sheet technology has potential for regenerating a functional periosteum-like tissue that could aid in future orthopedic therapy. 2014PublishedbyElsevier Inconbehalfof theAmericanAssociationofOralandMaxillofacial Surgeons J Oral Maxillofac Surg 72:1078-1083, 2014


Background Objectives To assess the validity of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) health-related quality of life measure in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis. It was hypothesised that improvements in the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) would be significantly related to the NHP. Methods Data on both the NHP and the HAQ were collected as part of a multicenter clinical trial conducted in Europe (n = 473). The NHP was administered at baseline and at weeks 12 and 24. The NHP consists of 38 items which assess physical mobility (MOB), pain (PAIN), energy (ENRG), sleep (SLP), emotional reactions (EMO), and social isolation (ISO). Both the NHP and the HAQ are scored so that lower scores indicate better HRQOL, and negative change scores indicate improvements. Validity was assessed by estimating the correlation between the scales of the NHP and the HAQ in cross-section and longitudinally (change score from baseline to week 24, Δ). It was hypothesised that both relationships would be positive, and that stronger relationships would be seen in the more physical HRQOL scales of the NHP (MOB and PAIN). Results In cross-section (first row of the Table 1), all six of the NHP scales were positively and statistically significantly correlated with the HAQ. Additionally, as shown in the second row, the changes in all six of the NHP scales were positively and statistically significantly correlated with the change in the HAQ (D HAQ). As predicted, the highest correlations were seen in the more physical HRQOL scales, MOB and PAIN.Abstract AB0235 Table 1 Correlation between NHP Scales and the HAQ (n = 473) MOB PAIN ENRG SLP EMO ISO HAQ 0.773*** 0.537*** 0.494*** 0.270*** 0.425*** 0.325*** Δ MOB Δ PAIN Δ ENRG Δ SLP Δ EMO Δ ISO Δ HAQ 0.562*** 0.521*** 0.435*** 0.268*** 0.343*** 0.220*** *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Conclusion These data support the validity of the Nottingham Health Profile as a measure of health-related quality of life in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis.


LiDAR technology is a source of geographic information for obtaining coordinate points including height, with more accurately, one of the main applications is having LiDAR in forestry, but in Colombia the underdevelopment of this sector limits explore the convenience of using LiDAR data to estimate forest resources. This paper explores the use of LiDAR data for estimating forest volume in Metropolitan Park Forest San Carlos in Bogota DC Establishing a framework for background with similar studies; analyze a group of tools to manage LiDAR data and subsequently establishing a methodological procedure for a regression model relating the standard height data, with variable field, forest volume. Regression analysis was performed on decision criteria supported statistical testing various models to select the variables that best represent the phenomenon, establishing the goodness of fit test of the model and its parameters. Although the model is obtained did not produce the expected results in terms of estimating forest volume examines the causes of that happening. Finally the model is validated by applying it to the entire study area and represented geographically through a thematic map.


We have developed a digital fabrication process using high-resolution liquid toner electrophotography, consisting of fine liquid toner, a high-resolution exposure system, and nonelectrical transfer. Fine pitch multiline patterns of Cu wiring can be obtained by printing fine lines with seed toners and by electroless plating deposited on lines. Submicron-diameter seed toners have superfine conductive particles on their surfaces. Adhesion between the seed toner layer and Cu layer was increased by applying surface modification. Multiline patterns of 1 pixel line width (21.6 μm) with the volume resistivity of 2.1 x 10 -6 Qcm were realized by using a 1200 dpi resolution light-emitting diode. Furthermore, the development process of multiline patterns with 2540 dpi resolution was examined by numerical simulations based on the electrophoretic characteristics of liquid toner and on the electrostatic forces. The capability of multiline-pattern formation of line and space (L/S)=10/10 μm was confirmed. The actual toner images of L/S= 10/10 μm multiline pattern were obtained by using a 2540 dpi resolution luster scanning unit (LSU). Theoretical and experimental results confirm that the fabrication process using liquid toner electrophotography is available for realizing high-resolution multiline patterns.


Let T be a power-bounded positive conservative operator on L i of a ofinite measure space. Let e be a bounded positive function invariant under the operator adjoint to T. Theorem. (1) / \T"f\ ■ e -> 0 implies (2) J \T"f\ -» 0. If Tand all its powers are ergodic, and T satisfies an abstract Harris condition, then(l) holds by the Jamison-Orey theorem for all integrable / with / / ■ e = 0, and hence also (2) holds for such/. A new proof of the Jamison-Orey theorem is given, via the 'filling scheme'. For discrete measure spaces this is due to Donald Ornstein, Proc Amer. Math. Soc. 22 (1969), 549-551. If 7* is power-bounded, conservative and ergodic, and 0 < /0 = Tf0, then fo ; e E L, implies/o 6 L\, hence (2) implies that T"f converges for each/ gl,, Theorem. Let T be a positive conservative contraction on L | ; then the class of functions {/ — Tfif e L*} is dense in the class of functions {/ — Tfif E Li). 1. Let (X,<¿1, m) be a a-finite measure space. We consider a positive linear operator Fon F,, such that supjF"), < oo. It is known [13] that X decomposes into sets F and Z, such that/ E L^(Y) implies Hm, f F"/> 0;/ E LX(Z) implies Tf E LX(Z) and lim" f \T"f\ = 0; moreover, there exists a function e E F* such that supp e = Y and T*e = e. If F is conservative and ergodic, i.e., />0,/20 implies 2£o T'f = °° a-e-> then either x = F or X = Z. We investigate in the present paper the convergence to zero of \T"f\x. If X = Z, there is nothing to investigate since the convergence to zero is assured for all f; therefore we may and do assume X = Y. The papers of Orey [8] and Jamison and Orey [5] discuss the same problem for T Markovian and in a probabilistic context. Assuming that the measure is discrete, D. S. Ornstein [9] showed how to reduce the present situation to the Markovian case. Here this is done for general measure spaces and without assuming F ergodic (Theorem 2.1). We give in all detail the deep arguments only sketched by Ornstein. Since we do not assume that the measure is discrete or F is ergodic, our proof is more involved, and we need also to appeal to the theorems of H. Rost [12] giving conditions for the Presented to the Society, January 17, 1972; received by the editors October 18, 1971 and, in revised form, May 12, 1972. AMS (MOS) subject classifications (1970). Primary 60F15, 28A65; Secondary 60J05.


The decreasing of environmental quality in padang is caused by the changes of the land, the increasing
number of vehicles and the increasing number of population. The solution to overcome these problems is by
providing a green open space at universitas negeri padang (unp). The objectives of this study are 1) to
analyze the needs of green open space at unp, 2) to plan the construction of open green space at unp. The
method employed in this study was survey by using spatial analysis remote sensing data from google earth.
The results of the study revealed that unp had open green space as large as 7.643 ha. The area of green open
space at unp that fulfilled the width criteria was as much as 10%, and the fulfillment of population and clean
air criteria was as much as 20%. However, the minimum width criterion of green open space, which was as
much as 30%, was not fulfilled yet. The discrepancy between the area of open green space and the criteria of
minimum width (30%) was 0.447 ha. Such lack of green open space can be filled by: optimizing the
unoccupied land as large as 1.4 ha by planting the clump, providing 2308 flower's pots, and making use of
building shelter and building lobbies, and campus corridor to be planted with clump, ornamental plants or
other types of epiphytes and lianas.


Many renal disorders are associated with changes in the size of the kidneys, normative standards for assessing renal size is essential as it shows variability in the values of normal renal size depending on body size, age and ethnicity and for comparison when examining renal disease. Ultrasound is usually the first imaging modality use in evaluating the kidneys for pathology. The aim of this study is to determine the renal size of normal adult population. This was a prospective cross sectional study conducted over a period of 10 months (January-October 2016) on the kidneys of 390 normal adults aged >18 years. The length, width, depth, volume, cortical thickness and parenchymal thickness of both kidneys were measured using ultrasound. The mean right and left renal size was 139±34.2cm 3 and 173.7±13.5cm 3 respectively. The difference in size was statistically significant. In males, the mean right renal size was 140.2±33.7 cm 3 while the mean left renal size was 183±48.9cm 3 . In females, mean right renal size was 138.6±34.8cm 3 while the mean left renal size was 164.3± 47.7cm 3 . There was a positive correlation between renal size and age, side, body mass index (BMI) and body surface area (BSA). Normative values of renal size in an adult Nigerian population have been established. Renal size correlated with age, sex, BMI and BSA. Body habitus, age, sex, and side should be taken into consideration when reporting the renal size of normal adults.


This paper considers the problem of circular periodic motion generation for nonholonomic mobile robots. By employing a nonlinear system exhibiting limit cycle behavior, we provide a control law that stabilizes a nonholonomic mobile robot to a circular path with the prescribed direction of rotation and speed. Stability of the resulting circular periodic motion of the mobile robot is shown by linear stability analysis of a suitably defined error system. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the proposed method.


A very small artificial pupil in front of the eye allows a distinct view of an object when accommodation is incorrect. Helmholtz reported that the retinal image size of the object is changed when the eye is not accommodated for the object. Binocular size matching with an artificial pupil before one eye is used to provide quantitative data relating image-size change to accommodation and distance of the artificial pupil from the eye. Control experiments, including paralysis of accommodation in one eye, establish that the phenomenon is related to accommodation and is not an artifact of other variables.


Effective strategy implementation is considered critical towards the achievement of institutional objectives by facilitating better organizational performance for long-term sustainability. In Kenya, state owned corporations such as the Kenya Medical Training College continue to perform below stakeholder expectations, and over rely on the exchequer for budget support, resulting in loss of viability and inability to effectively deliver on its core mandate. Numerous studies on corporate strategy have reported a correlation between poor strategy implementation practices and underperformance in many commercial and not for profit organizations. This study therefore sought to examine strategic leadership and effective communication during strategy implementation and its effect on organizational performance at the Kenya Medical Training College. Through extensive review of extant literature, the Balanced Scorecard, Institutional and Agency theories were chosen to anchor this study. The study adopted descriptive research design in line with the general objective of the study, while census method was used to enroll the study participants. The unit of analysis was the Kenya Medical Training College, while the unit of observation was 84 senior managers at the college. Relevant data generated using likert scale type questionnaire were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26. The study results were presented using descriptive statistics. Multiple linear regression was used to test for association between variables, and statistics set at p< 0.05 at a confidence level of 95%. The study revealed that both strategic leadership and effective communication were positively associated with organizational performance at the Kenya Medical Training College. However, only effective communication (p-Value = 0.031) was deemed to have a statistically significant influence on organizational performance. The position taken by this study is that continuous effective communication is critical during strategy formulation and implementation process for the purpose of facilitating the realization of the set organizational performance objectives. This study therefore recommends that the Chief Executive Officer at the Kenya Medical Training College should sensitize managerial position holders and support staff on proposed future changes, and persuade all key stakeholders to adopt behaviour compatible to the desired strategic change. The Chief Executive Officer should also actively involve staff in the change process, while simultaneously reducing time lag in communication within, between and among campuses and college headquarters. The expected study output is effective strategy implementation, enhanced service delivery and improved organizational performance.


We compared the efficacy of sleep restriction therapy combined with sleep hygiene, nap modification of sleep restriction therapy combined with sleep hygiene, and sleep hygiene alone as treatments for insomnia in 39 community-dwelling men and women 55 years and older. We used the wrist actigraph as an objective outcome measure for all subjects at baseline, end of treatment, and 3-month follow-up; polysomnography (PSG) was conducted in a subgroup of subjects. Although subjects appeared to follow restriction instructions through follow-up, we found few between-group differences in treatment efficacy. Lack of treatment effect might be explained by the efficacy of HYG as a treatment in itself and the relatively low symptom level in these healthy older poor sleepers. At baseline, actigraphic results were found to correlate more highly than sleep log data with PSG in our sample. Actigraphic total sleep time, in particular, was highly correlated with PSG. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2000; 13:17-27).


The Jovian Trojans are two swarms of objects located around the L4 and L5 Lagrange points. The population is thought to have been captured by Jupiter during the Solar system's youth. Within the swarms, six collisional families have been identified in previous work, with four in the L4 swarm, and two in the L5. Our aim is to investigate the stability of the two Trojan swarms, with a particular focus on these collisional families. We find that the members of Trojan swarms escape the population at a linear rate, with the primordial L4 (23.35 per cent escape) and L5 (24.89 per cent escape) population sizes likely 1.31 and 1.35 times larger than today. Given that the escape rates were approximately equal between the two Trojan swarms, our results do not explain the observed asymmetry between the two groups, suggesting that the numerical differences are primordial in nature, supporting previous studies. Upon leaving the Trojan population, the escaped objects move on to orbits that resemble those of the Centaur and short-period comet populations. Within the Trojan collisional families, the 1996 RJ and 2001 UV209 families are found to be dynamically stable over the lifetime of the Solar system, whilst the Hektor, Arkesilos and Ennomos families exhibit various degrees of instability. The larger Eurybates family shows 18.81 per cent of simulated members escaping the Trojan population. Unlike the L4 swarm, the escape rate from the Eurybates family is found to increase as a function of time, allowing an age estimation of approximately 1.045 ± 0.364 × 109 yr.


Congenital Cytomegalovirus infection is the leading non-genetic cause of neurosensory deafness. We compared the outcomes of a treated group of children to an untreated group. The effect of antiviral therapy on hearing improvement between baseline and 2-year follow-up was statistically significant. These results suggest that the benefit of 6-week therapy is not limited to preventing further hearing deterioration.


Abstract Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) is a non-invasive simultaneous measurement of the cardiovascular and respiratory system during exercise to assess a patient's exercise capacity. It is used in a wide spectrum of clinical applications for the objective determination of functional capacity and impairment. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing involves measurements of respiratory oxygen uptake (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), and other cardiopulmonary and metabolic measures during a symptom‐limited exercise test. This article gives an overview of indications and contraindications and explains step by step how cardiopulmonary exercise testing is being performed.


: There are differences between disgust and other negative emotions. There are also different types of disgust. This review explores the methods used to induce different types of consumer disgust. Products and services, propaganda, organizational behavior, and unfair distribution can lead to different types of consumer disgust, which can affect consumer behavior such as product evaluation, purchase intention, willingness to pay, delayed decision-making, word of mouth, and product consumption. Future research directions are also discussed.


Abstract The local current at a constriction can be higher than the average current, which can lower the engineering value of the critical current density in lithium-ion cells. We show that X-ray Computed Tomography can be used to image the extent and the length scale of this constriction. The constriction is seen by comparing the in-plane thickness profile of the lithium metal at the anode before, and then at the cathode after full discharge. Remarkable discrepancy between these two images highlights the nature of the constriction. Graphical abstract


The scope of strategic planning documents for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the procedure for their development and coordination on interregional and federal levels, the requirements for their content and conjunction with other longand medium-term territorial programs are now approved by statute. The article presents the theoretical and methodological problems of detailing and interrelation of the region's socio-economic development scenarios with the forecast parameters of regional energy consumption based on the fuel and energy balance under conditions of incomplete retrospective information. This situation is typical of the market environment, and some restrictions on access to statistical data are irremovable. This fact reduces the opportunity to apply formal and rigorous evaluation methods and the objectivity level of not only the forecast indicators, but also of the current ones. The coordination of these documents is methodologically and practically relevant due to the relative isolation of their formation process, a different level of detailing of the forecast scenarios, and a lack of the required information. The author uses the energy saving and energy efficiency measurement technique that is based on the structural comparison of performance, current and estimated fuel and energy balances, consistent with the region's socio-economic development forecast. The author is also concerned with the development of this technique for the purpose of a comparative regional energy consumption analysis in retrospective and predictive periods. Since 2007, the author has been involved in practical calculations within the framework of the state order of the Ministry of Energy, Housing and Utilities of the Sverdlovsk Region. The article describes methodological characteristics of the author's approaches to the development of variants of the fuel and energy balance, taking into account maintaining the official scenarios of socio-economic development of the region, the errors and the incompleteness of statistical data, and the regulatory requirements pertaining to the quality of forecasts.


Requirements Engineering (RE) is a socially constructed activity and as such it includes the creation, development, assessment and communication of innovative ideas. An idea can take the form of a thought related either to the analysis of a problem, or to the search of a solution to this problem, and it can be concrete or abstract. Creative thinking is what RE professionals tacitly or explicitly use in their RE processes to conceptualize smart solutions to problems. RE demands the stakeholders to create visions of a future software system and to imagine all its implications. Creativity techniques that have been practiced in other fields can support this creative part of RE. The CreaE series of workshops brings together RE practitioners and researches who are interested in discussing the role of creativity in RE and the ways in which creativity techniques from other disciplines can be leveraged in RE. CreaRE 2010 aimed at creating awareness of the importance of research on creativity in RE and initiated the conversation on experiences of applying creativity techniques in support of RE activities. CreaRE 2012 builds upon this foundation and extends the discussion on creativity in RE by actively fostering the exchange of ideas among members of diverse communities that are engaged in RE research and practice. CreaRE 2012 united an audience reaching out to areas such as design, theatre improvisation, stakeholder interactions, studies on cultural heritage and multimedia systems. This report describes the results of the workshop.


We present a highly time-resolved historical record of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from an Alpine ice core (Fiescherhorn glacier, Switzerland). Introduced in the 1940s, PCBs were widely used industrial chemicals. Because of their persistence they are still found in the environment, long after their production phase-out. The Fiescherhorn ice core record covers the entire time period of industrial use of PCBs, that is, 1940-2002. The total concentration of six PCBs varies from 0.5 to 5 ng L(-1) and reveals a temporal trend, with an 8-fold increase from the early 1940s to the peak value in the 1970s. The level in 2002 is comparable to the concentration in the 1940s, when PCBs were introduced into the market. The time trend of PCBs associated with the particulate fraction closely follows the trend found in the dissolved fraction, but the absolute values are a factor of 10 lower. In addition to changing emissions, fluctuations in the PCB record were explained by variabilty in convective transport and postdepositional processes such as surface melting. Concentrations of PCBs are in agreement with data from seasonal snow samples in the Alps, but are a factor of 100 higher than concentrations measured in the Arctic. Contrasting time trends and congener patterns between the Alpine and Arctic region indicate the importance of atmospheric transport and postdepositional effects.


ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the effects of 8-week strength exercise on knee and ankle proprioception of individuals with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Forty participants were randomly divided into control and strength exercise groups. Strength exercise group underwent squat training of three times a week for 8 weeks, while control group received an education programme. Threshold for detection of passive movement of knee and ankle joint was tested using an electrically driven movable frame. Between- and within-group differences were evaluated through repeated-measurement analysis of variance. After intervention, passive motion sense in knee flexion of participants in strength exercise group significantly improved (p = 0.033, 95% confidence interval of mean difference: 0.019–1.478) with significant difference between groups. No significant differences of passive motion senses were found in knee extension and ankle between strength exercise and control groups. Eight-week squat training significantly improves the motion sense of knee flexion in patients with KOA.


HD-tDCS is capable to increase the focality of neuromodulation and has been recently applied to improve endurance performance in healthy subjects. Here, in a double-blind, counterbalanced, randomized order, elite cyclists (27 ± 4.3 years; BMI: 20.2 ± 1.2 kg/m2; VO2peak: 67.5 ± 1.2 mL/min/kg) with T1D (no complications) underwent either HD-tDCS (F3, F4) or control (SHAM) and completed a constant-load trial at 75% of the 2nd ventilatory threshold plus a 15-km cycling time-trial (TT) . After HD-tDCS, the total time to cover the TT was 3.8 % faster (P<.01) and associated with higher mean power output (P<.01) and a lower rate of perceived exertion/power at iso-time (F=5.7; P<.01) than the SHAM condition. Cadence, lactate, glycemia, heart rate did not differ in both conditions. These findings suggest that upregulation of the prefrontal cortex could safely enhance endurance performance in elite cyclists with T1D, without altering physiological and perceptual responses at moderate intensity. Present data open to future applications of HD-tDCS to a wider population of active T1D-subjects.

 R.Codella: None. L.Filipas: None. G.Gallo: None. L.Luzi: Advisory Panel; Eli Lilly and Company, Speaker's Bureau; Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk.


Arctodiaptomus dampfi Brehm is a diaptomid copepod described from Lake Peten, in Guatemala. Due to the fact that the type material is lost and no additional material was available, the taxonomical status of this species remained unclear for more than 65 years. Arctodiaptomus dampfi has been advanced as a synonym of A. dorsalis and some authors followed this position; instead, others recognized this species in regional checklists. We collected zooplankton samples at Lake Peten, A. dampfi type locality, and compared this material with confirmed museum specimens and material from Louisiana, the type locality of A. dorsalis. Our observations with light microscopy and SEM allowed us to state that A. dampfi is in fact a synonym of A. dorsalis and should be excluded from regional lists. This was concluded after examination and comparison of the taxonomically relevant structures in both groups of specimens. Differences between both groups of specimens were slight. We found significative size differences between the Guatemalan population and the other neotropical and nearctic ones, the former being the smallest sized populations known throughout the known distributional range of A. dorsalis.


An integrated chronostratigraphy of late Neogene active margin basins of the northeastern Pacific Ocean is developed by calibrating the temperature of north Pacific planktic foraminiferal evolutionary datums and paleoclimatically controlled coiling shifts of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma with paleomagnetic, radiometric, and isotopic stratigraphies. This regional chronostratigraphic framework is then adapted to individual sedimentary basins. Ongoing work in the Ventura basin illustrates such an application. Planktic foraminiferal events at Balcom, Wheeler, and Santa Paula canyons are calibrated against paleomagnetic stratigraphy and radiometrically dated ash layers. This calibration agrees with and supplements previously derived regional calibrations. In particular, several coiling shifts of N. pachyderma and the last occurrence datums of Neogloboquadrina asanoi and Neogloboquadrina humerosa appear most useful in this area. These events provide high-resolution chronostratigraphic control between approximately 2.6 and 0.7 Ma in the central Ventura basin. Such chronostratigraphic control is an integral part of geohistory analysis, an application of which is presented to illustrate the utility of the integrated chronostratigraphic framework. Geohistory analysis of the Balcom and Wheeler canyon sections is used to reconstruct stratigraphic evolution north and south of the Oakridge Fault during deposition of the Pico Formation. Both sections show rapid subsidence during the Repettian, slower subsidence or possible upliftmore » during the Venturian, and renewed subsidence during the Wheelerian. These histories do differ in several respects and a comparison of subsidence, uplift, and rock accumulation rates indicates that the fault was a normal fault, down to the north, through most of its Pliocene-Pleistocene history, being reactivated as a high-angle reverse fault only during the late Pleistocene.« less


The Nd3+-doped gadolinium vanadate Nd∶GdVO4 is a new type of crystal with laser properties superior to Nd∶YVO4. Experiment results show that the former has larger absorption cross section (3.261×10-19 cm2) and larger emission cross section (9.283×10-20 cm2). The heat conductivity of Nd∶GdVO4 is similar to that of Nd∶YAG, therefore it is a promising crystal for LD pumped laser. It is used to gain compact, high effect and all solid state lasers. The absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra were reported and the relationship between spectra and crystal structure was analyzed. Characteristics of energy levels of Nd3+ in the Nd∶GdVO4 crystal were discussed. The possibility of achieving laser oscillation at 0.91 μm was discussed.


In this study, Fuzzy TOPSIS method was performed for the selection of open pit truck and the optimal solution of the problem was investigated. Data from Turkish Coal Enterprises was used in the application of the method. This paper explains the Fuzzy TOPSIS approaches with group decision-making application in an open pit coal mine in Turkey. An algorithm of the multi-person multi-criteria decision making with fuzzy set approach was applied an equipment selection problem. It was found that Fuzzy TOPSIS with a group decision making is a method that may help decision-makers in solving different decision-making problems in mining.


A well-known observer of Taiwan and Asian history and culture provides an insightful biography of Lee Teng Hui, the pro-democracy statesman and former president of the Republic of China. As head of the Taiwanese government from 1988 to 2000, Lee managed, without violence or major civil unrest, to reform the authoritarian state into a constitutional democracy with a multi-party political system. This examination of Lee's success puts to rest the idea that Asian values support only authoritarian regimes and reject human rights and political democracy in favor of economic success and military power.Richard C. Kagan describes in rich detail Lee's struggle to reinvent Taiwan's culture and political system by advocating an independent sovereign nation with universal values of human rights, democracy, freedom, and economic justice. His book offers new insights into the role Lee played in the still volatile Taiwan Strait crisis and how Lee's diplomatic skills used the crisis to break free of the "One China" straitjacket of the Shanghai Communique of 1972 while avoiding open warfare with the People's Republic of China. The author argues that Taiwan is a vital part of America's national security interests in Asia and that the loss of Taiwan to Mainland China would seriously damage American economic and military power in Asia. He calls Lee's life a beacon for people looking for new ways to promote democracy and sovereignty and intends this biography of Lee's life to highlight the statesman's significant contributions, until now little known or misunderstood in the United States and Europe."


needling if intracerebral blood is suspected. Once the possibility of any of these complications has been raised, the investigations may well pass into the sphere of the experienced neurosurgeon, who will prepare for ventriculography and craniotomy if necessary. If the watchful clinician finds no sign of deterioration in the patient's condition he should treat him by giving him every chance to survive the period of maximal cerebral commotion. He should be kept quiet by such drugs as chloral or intramuscular paraldehyde, should receive nourishing fluids by mouth unless coma is so deep as to cause the risk of aspiration, and should get all the nursing that will conserve his powers of recovery. There is no warrant at all for dehydration. The patient should not be restrained, and the confused, mildly resistive patient is better sitting in an armchair than being unnecessarily restrained in bed. It may not seem satisfactory merely to remain watchful in the acute stages of head injury, but the results justify the selfdiscipline which such an attitude requires.


School vision and mission statements - collectively known as guiding statements - define organizational purpose and should serve to guide the course of the school and the outcomes that it hopes to achieve. Though guiding statements have received much attention in the business literature, school vision has been subject to limited empirical review and school mission statements have been largely ignored in the school research literature. Although many schools have guiding statements, school leaders may not be well versed in the development and application of such an organizational management principle that has been developed and studied primarily in the business world. This paper presents the findings of a case study of one new school's experience developing and implementing a set of guiding statements. The development of the school's statements of purpose, vision, and values provided the starting point for building a site-based leadership team and the guiding statements provided the backdrop to the planning work that was done prior to the school's opening and throughout its first year of operation. Teachers, staff, and the principal reflected on these experiences and the role that the school guiding statements played in the development of the leadership team and in defining the identity of the school. The findings were consistent with the findings on guiding statements in the existing literature: regular communication of the guiding statements provided reinforcement of the concepts they contained, the guiding statements provided a reference point for the work that was done at the site, and alignment of action to the guiding statements was a factor in the perception of their value. The data analysis also revealed several factors perceived as important to the guiding statement development process. The study is grounded in a strengths- based approach to research and data analysis that centers on the aspects of the mutual learning model (Schwarz, 2013) that benefited the guiding statement development and implementation process


In the paper, an informal preschool program is described that Akshara Foundation administered over 12 months in a set of non-notified slums in Bengaluru. The intervention is particularly noteworthy because it involved starting a system from scratch, as the area was not recognized by the local government, and therefore was severely under resourced.


This study aims to rescue the discussion of science fragmentation, exploring how this phenomenon manifests itself in Management Science and Business Administration and what its implications for the advancement of scientific knowledge. As an illustrative case, we used the interface between Operations Management and Human Resources Management fields. The methodology adopted was a bibliometric research through a structured mapping of the scientific production of these two major areas. The results indicated that both evolved independently, with little synergy, given the paucity of works found in two decades of research. The study highlights some factors that can enhance the fragmentation: epistemological views, preferences, and methodological gaps between the authors. From these findings, the study seeks to provoke reflection about the opportunities offered from the exchange between areas for the advancement of knowledge.


Calculated values of oxygen consumption have been used to calculate a Fick cardiac output when thermodilution measurements are unreliable and when oxygen consumption measurements are unavailable. To determine the accuracy of these calculations, we measured cardiac output in 20 patients by four methods: (1) a reference Fick cardiac output calculated from metabolic oxygen consumption measurements and arterial-venous oxygen content difference (COmet); (2) thermodilution cardiac output (COtherm), (3) an estimated Fick cardiac output based on calculated oxygen consumption using standard equations (COcalc), and (4) an estimated Fick cardiac output using a bedside measurement of expired carbon dioxide production (COexp). The mean difference +/- 95% limits of agreement between COtherm and COmet was 1.71 +/- 5 liters/min. The mean difference between COcalc and COmet was -0.04 +/- 3.33 liters/min. The mean difference between COexp and COmet was 0.31 +/- 3.01 liters/min. On the basis of these wide confidence intervals, we conclude that (1) thermodilution and metabolic measurements of cardiac output frequently differ in critically ill patients, and (2) estimates of oxygen consumption, based on either standard equations or on expired carbon dioxide production measurements, are poor substitutes for metabolic measurements of oxygen consumption in critically ill subjects and may provide inaccurate estimates of cardiac output.


Microcrystalline silicon (µc‐Si:H) cells can reach efficiencies up to typically 10% and are usually incorporated in tandem micromorph devices. When cells are grown on rough substrates, "cracks" can appear in the µc‐Si:H layers. Previous works have demonstrated that these cracks have mainly detrimental effects on the fill factor and open‐circuit voltage, and act as bad diodes with a high reverse saturation current. In this paper, we clarify the nature of the cracks, their role in post‐oxidation processes, and indicate how their density can be reduced. Regular secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and local nano‐SIMS measurements show that these cracks are prone to local post‐oxidation and lead to apparent high oxygen content in the layer. Usually the number of cracks can be decreased with an appropriate modification of the substrate surface morphology, but then, the required light scattering effect is reduced due to a lower roughness. This study presents an alternative/complementary way to decrease the crack density by increasing the substrate temperature during deposition. These results, also obtained when performing numerical simulation of the growth process, are attributed to the enhanced surface diffusion of the adatoms at higher deposition temperature. We evaluate the cracks density by introducing a fast method to count cracks with good statistics over approximately 4000 µm of sample cross‐section. This method is proven to be useful to quickly visualize the impact of substrate morphology on the density of cracks in microcrystalline and in micromorph devices, which is an important issue in the manufacturing process of modules. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Profit is one of the main data indicators to assess economic firm that can be regarded as a proper indicator for decision-making. In spite of all various concepts that have been submitted for profit concepts, it seems these concepts are not acceptable by economists and accountants. This research investigates submitted concepts and definitions that are relatively comprehensive and accepted in two fields of economics and accounting; moreover, analyzing impacts of each definition is accepted. Discrepancy in economists and accountants' view about cost leads to a difference between accounting profit and economic profit. Thus, opportunity cost is not deniable in this role. Moreover, the accountants use straight line or exponential method for calculating depreciation, whereas the economists utilize a method based on profit. This research has tried to present an acceptable concept for profit using the conducted studies and submitted theoretical basics. Normal 0 false false false RU X-NONE X-NONE


Objective: Members of Enterobacterales can cause various diseases in humans. The objective of this study was to determine the genus/species distribution and antimicrobial susceptibilities of Enterobacterales isolated from blood cultures in Central Laboratory of Hacettepe University Hospital. Method: Enterobacterales isolated from blood between July-2014 and April-2018 were included in the study. MALDI-TOF MS was used for the identification of isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined with automated system (VITEK 2 Compact for the isolates between 2014 and 2018; BD Phoenix for the isolates in 2018) and disk diffusion method. Results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing were interpreted according to EUCAST breakpoints. Results: In total, 1765 isolates belonging to the order Enterobacterales were isolated from blood cultures. The most common microorganisms were Escherichia coli (47.6%), Klebsiella (34.1%), Enterobacter (6%), Proteus (4.4%) and Serratia spp. (3.5%), respectively. The remaining isolates included Salmonella, Citrobacter, M. morganii, Pantoea, Raoultella and Providencia spp. The lowest resistance rates among E. coli, Klebsiella and Enterobacter spp. isolates were observed against meropenem and amikacin. However, 21.1% of Klebsiella isolates were resistant to meropenem. The most active antimicrobials against Proteus isolates were piperacillintazobactam and meropenem. Resistance was not observed against piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem among Proteus isolates. The most active antimicrobial against Serratia isolates was trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole with a resistance rate of 0%. Resistance was not noted against ampicillin and trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole among Salmonella isolates, whereas 26.1% of isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin. All Citrobacter isolates were susceptible to meropenem, amikacin and cefepime. Conclusion: Findings of our study may guide the selection of proper antimicrobials for the treatment of bacteremia caused by Enterobacterales. Furthermore, this study provides important epidemiological information regarding the distribution of members of Enterobacterales causing bacteremia.


985 episodes of hepatitis representing 98% of all acute hepatitis episodes found in a Swedish city during a 10-year period were analyzed for anti-hepatitis A IgM antibodies and hepatitis B surface antigen. Hepatitis A was diagnosed in 311 episodes (32%), hepatitis B in 494 (50%), simultaneous acute hepatitis A and B in 12 (1.2%), and 168 episodes (17%) were classified as hepatitis non-A, non-B. The majority of the hepatitis A cases were drug addicts (58%), and all were concentrated in 3 outbreaks of 1-2 years duration. 16% of all hepatitis A cases were probably imported. Hepatitis B cases decreased significantly (p less than 0.001) between the first and second half of the study period. 47% were drug addicts. Hepatitis non-A, non-B was also dominated by drug addicts (61%). Approximately 20% of the cases in all 3 types of hepatitis had no identifiable source.


Microblog is one of the most influential social media platforms. Timely prediction of the popular tweet in microblog is of great value in monitoring emergency monitoring, public opinions, personalized recommendations, marketing and other areas. This paper presents our improved method for predicting popularity of tweet in microblog. Firstly, we propose some new dynamic features, such as retweet depth, retweet width and the total fans' number of the forwarders, to improve prediction performance. Secondly, we propose an efficient algorithm LR-DT, which is based on the linear regression and the decision tree, to detect the popularity in early time. We first use the selected feature space to train a decision tree, after that for each new tweet we use the linear regression algorithm to predict the value of dynamic features after the tweet transferred an hour later, at last we use the decision tree classifier to predict the popularity of the tweet by the predicted features and some static features. The experiments are conducted on the real data set from Microblog, and the results showed that the proposed method can significantly reduce the time to identify the popularity of tweet and keep the accuracy at meantime.


In the 21 st century, economic growth will be driven by people leveraging their know‐how, innovation and reputation, surpassing the contributory role of capital, land and equipment. In today's knowledge-based economies, Intellectual Capital (IC), in addition to financial and physical capital, plays a significant role in the value creation process of organizations. It is argued that the success of many 21st century organizations will lie in their ability to unlock and exploit their IC to obtain maximum organizational advantage. In an ever increasing competitive world, measurement, management and disclosure of IC are an important and useful means to keep investors well-informed. IC management is a wide process, which aims to utilize and develop the IC and maximize the outcome of IC of the firm. Currently, IC disclosure is not compulsory, and IC disclosure is done by select few companies, purely on voluntary basis. Unfortunately, IC measurement and disclosure in the developing economy are still at a very nascent stage, especially in India. This study attempts to provide an insight into the style of IC disclosure done by the Indian companies. It is said that "what is measured in companies is also what finally gets managed." Traditional accounting practices will need to assimilate innovations that seek to meaningfully represent the true value of the intangible assets of the company. In the knowledge age, it is the availability of IC and its effective use that determines the failure or success of an enterprise. IC is almost impossible to measure accurately but its returns can be nearly infinite. This paper investigates voluntary ICD by select Indian companies. This is an exploratory study of ICD and measurement by the 8 Indian companies over 5-year period, using content analysis and market value added (MVA) as research methodologies. IC is valued at market value (MV) minus book value (BV). The annual reports of the selected companies were collected from their respective web sites. As part of present study, various statistical techniques have been used to analyze the data. The findings show that on an average, the sample companies reported a positive value of IC; significant correlation has been noticed between tangible assets (TA) and net operating profits (NOP). However, no significant difference was found between percentage of IC to MV, and per cent of TA to MV. The study finds wide-disparity, low-level, and purely voluntary nature of the ICD made by the selected companies. Unfortunately, the omission of IC information may adversely influence the quality of decisions made by shareholders, or lead to material misstatements. Such challenges may be addressed by devising somewhat innovative accounting standards—beyond the existing ones—as necessary tools for authorities seeking to manage the IC of an entity. We recommend to the international accounting bodies, to take the lead by establishing a harmonized ICD standard, and provide guidance to the big listed companies for proper measurement and disclosure of IC, both for internal and external users.


Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important health problem with an increasing number of patients acquiring the virus. Some infected patients are known to develop liver cirrhosis and /or possible hepatocellular carcinoma. This study was designed to find out the seroprevalence of hepatitis C viral antibodies among antenatal attendees in a mission hospital in Niger-Delta, Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study in which ELISA test was done on consented consecutive antenatal attendees from 1st January to 30th June 2010. Eight hundred and thirty six (836) pregnant women were counselled and screened for HCV antibodies. Out of this number, 24(2.87%) tested positive for HCV antibodies. Their mean age and parity were 25.5 ± 4.5 years and 2.2 ± 1.1 respectively. Most (75%) of the sero-positive subjects had little level or no formal education; were older in age (37.5%) and mostly (37.5%) engaged in commercial activities. Education, public health enlightenment, women empowerment, modification of risky behaviors among other intervention measures could help to reduce the high rate of HCV infection observed in the study. Keywords: Seroprevalence, Hepatitis C virus, antibodies, pregnancy, Niger-Delta, Nigeria Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 63 No 4, 2013


Article deals with some personal visual research during motion on the line of mind and time. The author rides a bicycle and led the discussion in a particular direction from personal experiences to common insights for art and life. The bicycle is an individual means of transport. There are many meanings in the definition of "individual" – the choice of a bicycle is based on the height of the bike, the terrain to which it will be used, the BEAUTY of the frame and the components of the extra equipment. Apart from the utilitarian, the bicycle has an aesthetic and ecological importance for the people. He also has an emotional presence.


ADHD is a common neurobehavioral disorder that is highly heritable. Recent research has identified several genes that are associated with ADHD. In addition, there are several biological factors that are environmentally derived that appear to play a role in the etiology of ADHD. It is quite clear that ADHD begins in childhood, but persists into adolescence and adulthood for the majority of individuals. Since the criteria for the diagnosis of ADHD are most applicable to children, making the diagnosis in adolescents requires an understanding of how these symptoms are expressed in this age group. The prognosis of ADHD is variable and depends on several psychosocial factors, with approximately 20% of adolescents who perform well in social, emotional, and educational domains, another 20% who perform poorly in these domains, and the majority who perform somewhere in the middle.


Abstract Discrete fracture and matrix (DFM) homogenization, simultaneously capturing reservoir layers and contained fractures, is an alternative to discrete fracture network (DFN) upscaling. Here, the DFM approach was applied to a fractured carbonate reservoir. Honouring geostatistical data from well logs, near-well multilayer reservoir models were constructed and analysed. Fracture aperture variations were modelled with a new semi-analytical model including a special treatment of layer-restricted fractures. Important results concern both pre-processing of stochastically generated DFMs for finite-element meshing, and the ensemble permeability values obtained by numerical homogenization of single v. multilayer models, respectively. Upscaling by volume averaging of vertically stacked single-layer DFMs results only in a fraction of the equivalent horizontal permeability that is obtained by homogenization of the multilayer models. Inspection of the flow patterns shows that this discrepancy arises because many fractures contact each other at layer boundaries fostering cross-flow. This effect is further enhanced where fractures intersect multiple layers. Compared to earlier DFN models for this reservoir, the DFM-derived fracture and matrix ensemble permeabilities are up to four times higher, highlighting how important it is to include the rock matrix into equivalent permeability calculations.


A statement made by Rokitansky in his text "A Manual of Pathological Anatomy," published in Philadelphia in 1855, to the effect that cancer and tuberculosis are antagonistic and that the two diseases rarely occur in the same individual has served as a starting point for much discussion in the medical press. A perusal of the literature of this subject reveals considerable difference of opinion among various observers. Much experimental work has been carried out both on animals and in man to determine the effects of the various tuberculins and emulsions of the tubercle bacillus on the development and course of malignancy. In the experimental work on animals both spontaneous and transplanted tumors have been used. Up to the present time the results of various experimenters have been very contradictory. Teutschlaender and Klages in Germany report series of cases in which they claim to have established definite antagonism between tuberculosis and cancer. They worked chiefly with the Rous chicken sarcoma though Teutschlaender included other forms of malignancy in his studies. On the other hand, Simpson and Marsh, in a series of experiments using various types of tuberculin and bacillus emulsions in large doses, were unable to observe any effect on tumor development or progress in spontaneous carcinoma in a high tumor strain of mice.


A simple speciation and preconcentration of trace levels of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in water samples have been performed using the directly suspended droplet microextraction (DSDME) method prior to its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). In this study, samples with Cr(III) and Cr(VI) and sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate (Na-DDTC) was pH adjusted and then 1-octanol placed on top of the vortex. Chromium speciation was based on the complex formation reaction of Cr(VI) with a chelating agent in the pH range of 1–6. After preconcentration, the extraction solvent was removed by a micropipette prior to injection to the FAAS introduction system. Experimental parameters affecting the directly suspended droplet microextraction performance, such as size of drop, extraction time, pH, stirring speed, extraction time and type of extraction solvent, were investigated. In order to obtain the global optimum conditions and also for increased accuracy, the most important parameters were chosen for evaluation by response surface methodology (RSM). Finally, the injection of 100 microliter of analyte-containing extraction solvent supplied a very reproducible response in the peak area mode. Cr(III) was calculated after reaction with KMnO4 in the presence of an acidic solution and subtracting from the amount of Cr(VI) that has determined in a previous step. Under optimum conditions, limits of detection (LOD) of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) were 1.2 and 1.8 ng mL−1, respectively. The calibration graphs were linear in the range of 3–90 ng mL−1 for Cr(VI) (R2 = 0.9911) and 5–110 ng mL−1 for Cr(III) (R2 = 0.9844). Thermodynamic parameters affecting the extraction phenomena were studied. Relative standard deviations (RSD) were 5.8% and 6.1% for Cr(III) and Cr(VI), respectively. The presented method has been performed on tap and river water analysis with satisfactory results.


Most of the time, customers look for alternative solutions or home trends to lower their weekly costs. Some people switch to natural methods of reducing environmental chemical exposure. This study compared commercial fabric softener pods with a homemade calamansi (Citrofortunella microcarpa) -vinegar solution to determine whether the product was more effective and cost-efficient in the long run. The experiment was carried out by comparing the odor and cloth softness of the two solutions. The effectiveness and cost-efficiency of each were determined by the researchers. The commercially available and homemade fabric softeners were compared using a Likert scale in survey form. Additionally, SPSS was utilized to examine the outcomes. According to the study, the do-it-yourself solution is a less expensive option for fabric softeners than commercially available ones, providing similar results. However, additional research and modifications are required to make the homemade remedy effective. At par with the readily available commercial fabric softener, if not superior. The collected information and study findings would aid consumers in determining whether to use fabric softeners that are still being used or use the Calamansi-Vinegar solution that is commercially available and would enable additional studies to be done by other academics


Most real-world engineering optimization problems are inherently multiobjective, for example, searching for trade-off solutions of high quality and low cost. As no single optimal solution exists for such problems, multiobjective optimizers provide sets of optimal (or near-optimal) trade-off solutions to choose from. The empirical attainment function (EAF) is a powerful tool that can be used to analyze and compare the performance of these optimizers. While the visualization of EAFs is rather straightforward in two objectives, the three-objective case presents a great challenge as we need to visualize a large number of 3D cuboids. This paper addresses the visualization of exact as well as approximated 3D EAF values and differences in these values provided by two competing multiobjective optimizers. We show that the exact EAFs can be visualized using slicing and maximum intensity projection (MIP), while the approximated EAFs can be visualized using slicing, MIP, and direct volume rendering. In addition, the paper demonstrates the use of the proposed visualization techniques on a steel casting optimization problem.