Steganography is a technique to hide the presence of secret communication. When one of the communication elements is under the influence of the enemy, it can be used. The main measure to evaluate steganography methods in a certain capacity is security. Therefore, in a certain capacity, reducing the amount of changes in the cover media, creates a higher embedding efficiency and thus more security of an steganography method. Mostly, security and capacity are in conflict with each other, the increase of one lead to the decrease of the other. The presence of a single criterion that represents security and capacity at the same time be useful in comparing steganography methods. EMD and the relevant methods are a group of steganography techniques, which optimize the amount of changes resulting from embedding (security). The present paper is aimed to provide an evaluation criterion for this group of steganography methods. In this study, after a general review and comparison of EMD-based steganography techniques, we present a method to compare them exactly, from the perspective of embedding efficiency. First, a formula is presented to determine the value of embedding efficiency, which indicates the effect of one or more changes on one or more pixels. The results demonstrate that the proposed embedding efficiency formula shows the performance of the methods better when several changes are made on a pixel compared to the existing criteria. In the second step, we have obtained an upper bound, which determines the best efficiency for each certain capacity. Finally, based on the introduced bound, another evaluation criterion for a better comparison of the methods is presented.


This paper sets out to critically explore the way disability policies are framed in African higher education. Presented in this paper is a review of published studies that detail the dominant framing perspectives that have influenced disability policies in African Higher Education (HE). Review of literature was done using the Yair Levy and Timothy J. Ellis (2006) systems approach to conducting an effective literature review. The paper has three sections and these include (a) an introduction (b) dominant policy framing perspectives (c) and a discussion on exploring possibilities for an expansive disability policy framing for Higher Education in Africa.This paper argues for nuanced ways to expand our understanding of the current and emerging issues pertaining to the study of policies on disability in the field of HE in Africa.


Soil salinity and atmospheric relative humidity influence plant growth, but few data are available showing the interaction between them. This interaction was studied with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) in four sunlit climate chambers at temperatures cycling daily between 38 and 26 C. Relative humidity was controlled at 25, 40, 65, and 90%. The root medium was maintained at osmotic potentials of −0.4, −5, −10, and −15 bars. Relative humidity significantly affected shoot growth only in the 90% relative humidity treatment, where growth was increased about 40%. The shoot-to-root ratio at high humidities was at least double the ratio at low humidities. The 50% yield decrement based on leaf area or plant dry weight occurred at an osmotic potential of −5 bars. Because the anthers of the cotton flowers in the 25 and 90% relative humidity treatments did not dehisce, seed cotton yields at these relative humidities were essentially zero. Seed cotton yields per plant at 40 and 65% relative humidities were comparable to or greater than field yields. Transpiration per unit leaf area for the entire experiment increased an average of 80% for all salinity levels as the relative humidity decreased from 90 to 25% and decreased slightly with increasing salinity in all humidity treatments. Transpiration per unit leaf area decreased as the plants matured and tended to approach the same value for all treatments near the end of the experiment. The relative yield of dry matter and leaf area as a function of salinity was the same at all relative humidities, indicating that no interaction between salinity and relative humidity occurred.


We have used mutational analysis to identify four genes, MXAN3553, MXAN3554, MXAN3555, and MXAN3556, constituting an operon that is essential for normal fruiting body development in Myxococcus xanthus. Deletion of MXAN3553, which encoded a hypothetical protein, resulted in delayed fruiting body development. MXAN3554 was predicted to encode a metallopeptidase, and its deletion caused fruiting body formation to fail. Inactivation of MXAN3555, which encoded a putative NtrC-type response regulator, resulted in delayed aggregation and a severe reduction in sporulation. Fruiting bodies also failed to develop with the deletion of MXAN3556, another gene encoding a hypothetical protein.


OBJECTIVE--To establish whether ABO blood group is related to ischaemic heart disease on an individual and geographic basis in Britain. DESIGN--Prospective study of 7662 men with known ABO blood group selected from age-sex registers in general practices in 24 British towns. MEASUREMENTS--ABO blood group, standard cardiovascular risk factors, social class, and presence or absence of ischaemic heart disease determined at entry to study. END POINTS--Eight year follow up of fatal and nonfatal ischaemic heart disease events achieved for 99% of study population. RESULTS--Towns with a higher prevalence of blood group O had higher incidences of ischaemic heart disease. In individual subjects, however, the incidence of ischaemic heart disease was higher in those with group A than in those with other blood groups (relative risk 1.21, 95% confidence limits 1.01 to 1.46). Total serum cholesterol concentration was slightly higher in subjects of blood group A. No other cardiovascular risk factor (including social class) was related to blood group. CONCLUSIONS--Blood group A is related to the incidence of ischaemic heart disease in individual subjects. Geographic differences in the distribution of ABO blood groups do not explain geographic variation in rates of ischaemic heart disease in Britain. The findings do not support the view that ABO blood group and social class are related.


Abstract:Sultan Abdülhamid II (r. 1876–1909), dubbed the "Red Sultan," was widely satirized in both the European and the Ottoman press. While cruelty and paranoia were the main topics on which his representations were focused, he was also frequently sexualized with reference to his harem; one German novel referred to him as "Lord of a Thousand Women." What precisely was the function of this sexualization? This article suggests that Abdülhamid perfectly fit the European model of the "Oriental despot" which, as Alain Grosrichard has argued, was fundamentally sexualized. In turn, Abdülhamid's identification with despotism helped recast the European powers' colonial ambitions as efforts to enlighten and emancipate, rather than enslave and exploit. The sexualization of Sultan Abdülhamid was taken up again by the Kemalists during the 1920s, and this time it served the function of helping construct the identity of the nascent Republic of Turkey by juxtaposing it against the Ottoman Empire as its "constitutive Other." In this respect, it bears some similarities to the sexualization of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette in the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution.


Purpose
A novel proportional integral derivative-extended state disturbance observer-based control (PID-ESDOBC) algorithm is proposed to solve the nonlinear hydrodynamics, parameters perturbation and external disturbance in yaw control of remote operated vehicles (ROVs). The effectiveness of PID-ESDOBC is verified through the experiments and the results indicate that the proposed method can effectively track the desired attitude and attenuate the external disturbance.

Design/methodology/approach
This study fully investigates the hydrodynamic model of ROVs and proposes a control-oriented hydrodynamic state space model of ROVs in yaw direction. Based on this, this study designs the PID-ESDOBC controller, whose stability is also analyzed through Kharitonov theorem and Mikhailov criterion. The conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) and active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) are compared with our method in our experiment.

Findings
In this paper, the authors address the nonlinear hydrodynamics, parameters perturbation and external disturbance problems of ROVs with multi-vector propulsion by using PID-ESDOBC control scheme. The advantage is that the nonlinearities and external disturbance can be estimated accurately and attenuate promptly without requiring the precise model of ROVs. Compared to PID and ADRC, both in overshoot and settling time, the improvement is 2X on average compared to conventional PID and ADRC in the pool experiment.

Research limitations/implications
The delays occurred in the control process can be solved in the future work.

Practical implications
The attitude control is a kernel problem for ROVs. A precise kinematic and dynamic model for ROVs and an advanced control system are the key factors to obtain the better maneuverability in attitude control. The PID-ESDOBC method proposed in this paper can effectively attenuate nonlinearities and external disturbance, which leads to a quick response and good tracking performance to baseline controller.

Social implications
The PID-ESDOBC algorithm proposed in this paper can be ensure the precise and fast maneuverability in attitude control of ROVs or other underwater equipment operating in the complex underwater environment. In this way, the robot can better perform undersea work and tasks.

Originality/value
The dynamics of the ROV and the nominal control model are investigated. A novel control scheme PID-ESDOBC is proposed to achieve rapidly yaw attitude tracking and effectively reject the external disturbance. The robustness of the controller is also analyzed which provides parameters tuning guidelines. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is experimental verified with a comparison by conventional PID, ADRC.


As one-dimension line defects, grain boundaries (GBs) can affect many intrinsic properties of graphene. In this paper, the mechanical properties of 20 representative graphene grain boundaries were studied using density functional theory and molecular dynamics. With different arrangements of the pentagonal and heptagonal rings, the grain boundary may remain flat or become inflected up to 72°. For the flat GBs, the intrinsic tensile strength decreases linearly with the formation energy with a maximum value of 93 GPa, close to that of a perfect graphene. The intrinsic tensile strength of the inflected GBs is found to generally decrease with increasing inflection angle. Stone-Wales transformation is identified as the major failure mechanism of graphene GBs at high temperatures, whereas the initial fracture site can be either on the boundary line or inside the domain. These theoretical results constitute a useful picture of the grain boundary effect on the mechanical properties of polycrystalline graphene.


Recent data suggest that the cornea not only represents a passive barrier protecting the eye but that the cells of individual corneal layers contribute to the regulation of immune responses in the anterior segment of the eye. On the one hand, these regulatory mechanisms have to ensure immune privilege to protect the eye against self-damaging immune reactions while, on the other hand, the eye has to be protected against harmful pathogens and other invaders from the external environment. A factor produced by corneal stromal cells that selectively inhibits secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines by activated T cells has been described recently. The author suggests that this is one of the mechanisms by which the cornea contributes to the immune protection against harmful invaders of immune privilege in the eye.


A plastic scintillator has been developed which shows a decay time dependent upon energy loss per unit distance, and hence is suitable for use with pulse shape discrimination methods. This scintillator was employed in conjunction with an improved discrimination system and the data were analyzed on a two-dimensional analyzer which provided a matrix of 72 × 64 channels. At a bias level where 99 per cent of the electron scintillations were eliminated, it was possible to obtain almost 100 per cent counting efficiency for recoil protons of 2 mev, and the scintillator was useful for protons down to 0.5 mev. The influence of various monomers, polymerization conditions, scintillating solutes, and secondary solvents was investigated, and a preliminary survey of the effects of these variables on pulse shape discrimination is presented.


Folk Song Lab uses interactive group sessions to explore different ways by which improvisation stimulates an attitude towards the song by which it is understood as a cognitive framework that is recreated by the singer in the performance moment. It takes its point of origin in certain conceptual qualities found in traditional folk song and improvisation, stimulated using flow-inducing concepts (Csikszentmihalyi 1990. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper Collins.) such as risk, mimicry, play and reorientation, and interpreted in musical terms and without written instructions. This empirical study uses particular developed improvisational methods reflecting traditional songs' cognitive frames. The project raises questions regarding the influence of time in relation to how creativity and flow appear during improvising sessions. Some of the methods explored in the project, such as mirror singing, might be related to neuroscientific findings regarding the function of mirror-neurons, hence reflecting the possibilities for conceiving of human creativity in a collective way.


The generation of polyfunctional CD8+ T cells, in response to vaccination or natural infection, has been associated with improved protective immunity. However, it is unclear whether the maintenance of polyfunctionality is related to particular cellular phenotypic characteristics. To determine whether the cytokine expression profile is linked to the memory differentiation stage, we analyzed the degree of polyfunctionality of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells within different memory subpopulations in 20 ART-naïve HIV-1 infected individuals at approximately 34 weeks post infection. These profiles were compared with CMV-specific CD8+ T cell responses in HIV-uninfected controls and in individuals chronically infected with HIV. Our results showed that the polyfunctional abilities of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells differed according to their memory phenotype. Early-differentiated cells (CD45RO+CD27+) exhibited a higher proportion of cells positive for three or four functions (p<0.001), and a lower proportion of mono-functional cells (p<0.001) compared to terminally-differentiated (CD45RO−CD27−) HIV-specific CD8+ T cells. The majority of terminally-differentiated HIV-specific CD8+ T cells were mono-functional (median 69% [IQR: 57–83]), producing predominantly CD107a or MIP1β. Moreover, proportions of HIV-specific mono-functional CD8+ T cells positively associated with proportions of terminally-differentiated HIV-specific CD8+ T cells (p=0.019, r=0.54). In contrast, CMV-specific CD8+ T cell polyfunctional capacities were similar across all memory subpopulations, with terminally-and early-differentiated cells endowed with comparable polyfunctionality. Overall, these data show that the polyfunctional abilities of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells are influenced by the stage of memory differentiation, which is not the case for CMV-specific responses.


When a dialysis patient is lacking goals in life, when the wish for health and well-being is only a dream, and when the hope to achieve less suffering is small, the patient may decide to commit suicide. Generally, nephrologists are asked to assist these patiants in giving death, thus facilitating euthanasia. Euthanasia can be active (commissioned) or passive (omitted), and the interruption of dialysis treatment is a typical case of omitted euthanasia. Three different cases of dialysis patients requesting euthanasia are here reported. The cases emphasize how different can be the correlation between the control of symptoms by hemodialysis and the patients' own perception of their life quality. Hospice treatment in dialysis patients who are determined to end their lives can be interpreted, according to many authors, as the palliative continuity of care from dialysis to a "smooth" end of life. Nevertheless, health operators should keep in mind that palliative care and hospice treatment should be seen as the last setting for patients who freely wish to leave dialysis towards a "smooth" death.


This study examines the challenges and complexitites within the role of a building principal during a time of reform. Presented from the lens and voice of an experienced principal who came to a struggling urban elementary school, this portrayal represents three years of key moments of change as collected, described and interpreted from the lens of the principal. Compiled as a series of narrative accounts, the storied snapshots were crafted from personal jopurnal notes along with the supporting details obtained from sources such as meeting notes, emails, surveys and other day-to-day documents reflecting a change in practice.Organized around several collections of "key moments of chsange", rich description and additional narrative devices are used to examine variuos human experiences related to leading during change. A representation of stakeholders within a building are portrayed- teachers, support staff, parents. Along with a description of the external environment and context from this single instance of change, the underlying emotions, hopes, reactions and moral dispositions of the building level leader interacting with others is examined and interpreted.This study reveals that leading during change holds unique challenges that are frequently in conflict. Both a sense of rigidity needed to meet the present accountability required from schools yet a flexibility to deal with the diverse human side of teachers, students and parents is required within the role. Throughout the study, specific examples of these paradoxes and dichotomies are described and interpreted.


Statistical bounds for model parameters and corresponding system frequency-response limits are established. The results are extended to multivariable systems to produce an element-by-element characterisation of system uncertainty. This uncertainty representation can be used to develop frequency-response bounds on the eigenfunctions of perturbed multivariable systems; thus producing system gain and phase information via a generalised Nyquist analysis. An application of the technique is presented using a two-input/two-output system.


In the 1950s, Chikio Hayashi developed an election prediction model for Japan by using sampling theory and face-to-face surveys. This model is built on the following steps: (1) defining the support rate for each candidate; (2) estimating the ratio of votes garnered by each candidate; (3) using Hayashi's quantification method type 1 and correcting the difference between the value estimated from the third order regression and the ratio of votes; and (4) calculating the winning probability for each candidate by using quantification method type 2 or the margin of error for the estimated ratio of votes. In the 1990s, the telephone replaced the face-to-face survey mode, providing changes to Hayashi's election prediction model. We discuss the reasons for these improvements.


The Southern African Review of Books (SARB/SAROB) was published in London from mid-1987 to sometime in the mid-1990s. It was modelled on the Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books, and its editorial team was largely based in the UK. It was inspired by the tantalising indications that South Africa's apartheid regime was either about to collapse or contemplating a hardening cycle of conflict and suppression. Its correspondence columns gave much space to the 'Writing in a State of Emergency' debate initiated by Michael Chapman, and its contributors and reviewers (many writing from the comparative safety of London) saw themselves as being on the front line of radical change in South Africa. All in all, SARB managed to gather a formidable array of political, academic and literary talent around it, and the survey now of the issues raised (or not raised) may offer an intriguing glimpse of, and inspire thoughtful reflection on, where we were two decades ago and where have we managed (or failed) ...


The shallow water equations, also known as the Saint Venant equations, are commonly used to simulate transient free-surface flows including dam-break and levee-breach flows. However, these solutions give inaccurate results in the near-field of dam-break flow. In this paper, 3D numerical simulations of dam-break flow are done using the large eddy simulation (LES) and the k–ϵ turbulence models with tracking of the free surface by the volume-of-fluid model. A computational fluid dynamics solver is utilized for this. Results are compared with published experimental data on dam-break flow through a partial breach as well as with results obtained by others using a shallow water model. The results show that both the LES and the k–ϵ modelling satisfactorily reproduce the temporal variation of the measured bottom pressure. However, the LES model captures better the free surface and velocity variation with time.


This study explores digital competencies among gen Z in two countries; Malaysia and
Bangladesh. As every generation has its own characteristics and use of digital devices varies, it is the interest of
the research to assess how gen Z equip themselves with digital competencies, and whether country background
plays a significant difference in the relationship between attitude, computer self-efficacy, information literacy
and digital competency. Drawing from the lens of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the self-efficacy
theory, the surveys were conducted within almost the same time frame. The samples were drawn from users of
digital devices aged between 18 to 24 at the time of the survey. The results of the structural model suggest
attitude, computer self-efficacy and information literacy explain for digital competencies in Malaysia, whereas
only attitude and information literacy explain for digital competencies in Bangladesh. The PLS Multi Group
Analysis (MLA) for the country comparison show there is a significant difference in the relationship between
information literacy and digital competency. The findings suggest event though many claim gen Z is digital
savvy, diversities in the demographic background would make a difference in one's ability in utilising
technology. Hence, focus and intervention programs must be introduced for ensuring digital equality.


The measurement of temperature is indispensable in the fields of life, science, and industry. Fluorescence thermometers are attractive to researchers because of their advantages such as noncontact, high sensitivity, fast response, and excellent anti-interference. Here, a new coordination polymer (HNU-76) was synthesized by assembling Zn2+ with the H3TCA ligand, a fluorescent molecule with an AIE behavior, which can be used as a fluorescence thermometer. At 100-210 K, the fluorescence intensity ratio of HNU-76 versus temperature conforms to an Arrhenius-type decay relationship (R2 = 0.997), which can be the candidate for low-temperature sensing. In order to increase the sensing range, 4-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl] pyndine (DMSP) was successfully embedded on HNU-76, obtaining HNU-76⊃DMSP. The fluorescence intensity of HNU-76⊃DMSP conforms to an Arrhenius-type decay relationship (R2 = 0.997) at 270-360 K versus temperature. HNU-76 can be used for fluorescence detection at low temperatures, due to the DMSP loading, and HNU-76⊃DMSP can serve as the temperature thermometer in a range of temperatures common. Both materials show good cyclability and have the potential to be used in fluorescence thermometers.


Triphosphine and diphosphine ligands with backbones designed to facilitate metal-arene interactions were employed to support multinuclear Ni complexes. Di- and trinuclear metal complexes supported by a triphosphine containing a triarylbenzene linker display diverse metal-arene binding modes. Multinuclear Ni halide complexes were isolated with strongly interacting metal centers bound to opposite faces of the coordinated arene. Upon reaction of the trinickel diiodide complex, 2, with disodium tetracarbonylferrate, a cofacial triangulo nickel(0) complex, 4, was isolated. The Ni03 cluster motif can also be supported by a para-terphenyldiphosphine, where a terminal carbon monoxide ligand replaces the third phosphine donor. All multinuclear complexes feature strong metal-arene interactions, demonstrating the use of an arene as a versatile ligand design element for small clusters.


A 21-year-old woman developed diplopia, rhinolalia, and movement imbalance 3 weeks after COVID-19. On neurologic examination, she presented with left mydriasis, mild bilateral lateral rectus palsy, and horizontal gaze-evoked eyelid nystagmus (Video 1). The patient's generalized hyporeflexia and ataxic gait were consistent with symptoms of Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS). A test for GQ1b antibodies returned positive. Despite immunoglobulin therapy, the patient developed respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. The symptoms improved over the succeeding days. MFS has been associated with COVID-19, but this is the first case with positive GQ1b antibodies.1 Eyelid nystagmus is an intermittent upward jerking of eyelids associated with posterior fossa lesions that can also be present in MFS.2


Exposure of proteins on the surface of the small (30S) ribosomal subunit of Escherichia coli was studied by the hot tritium bombardment technique. Eight of 21 proteins of the 30 S subunit (S3, S8, S10, S12, S15, S16, S17, and S19) had virtually no groups exposed on the surface of the particle, i.e., they were mainly hidden inside. Seven proteins (S1, S4, S5, S7, S18, S20, and S21) were all well exposed on the surface of the particle, thus being outside proteins. The remaining proteins (S2, S6, S9 and/or S11, S13, and S14) were partially exposed. On the basis of these results a reconcilement of the three-dimensional protein map of the small ribosomal subunit has been done and corrected model is proposed.


Phaseolus vulgaris is an important grain legume for human consumption. Recently, association mapping studies have been performed for the species aiming to identify loci underlying quantitative variation of traits. It is now imperative to know whether the linkage disequilibrium (LD) reflects the true association between a marker and causative loci. The aim of this study was to estimate and analyze LD on a diversity panel of common beans using ordinary r² and r2 extensions which correct bias due to population structure (rS²), kinship (rV²), and both (rVS²). A total of 10,362 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified by genotyping by sequencing (GBS), and polymorphisms were found to be widely distributed along the 11 chromosomes. In terms of r2, high values of LD (over 0.8) were identified between SNPs located at opposite chromosomal ends. Estimates for rV² were lower than those for rS². Results for rV² and rVS² were similar, suggesting that kinship may also include information on population structure. Over genetic distance, LD decayed to 0.1 at a distance of 1 Mb for rVS². Inter-chromosomal LD was also evidenced. This study showed that LD estimates decay dramatically according to the population structure, and especially the degree of kinship. Importantly, the LD estimates reported herein may influence our ability to perform association mapping studies on P. vulgaris.


The properties of a helium atmospheric-pressure plasma jet (APPJ) are diagnosed with a dual assisted grounded electrode dielectric barrier discharge device. In the glow discharge, we captured the current waveforms at the positions of the three grounded rings. From the current waveforms, the time delay between the adjacent positions of the rings is employed to calculate the plasma bullet velocity of the helium APPJ. Moreover, the electron density is deduced from a model combining with the time delay and current intensity, which is about 1011 cm−3. In addition, The ion-neutral particles collision frequency in the radial direction is calculated from the current phase difference between two rings, which is on the order of 107 Hz. The results are helpful for understanding the basic properties of APPJs.


For chronic pain, 1 hub-and-spoke model and 4 stepped care models for the delivery of care in Canada and internationally were identified and described. No information was found on the use of the Oncology Care Model for chronic pain.
For other medical conditions, 9 stepped care models, 5 hub-and-spoke models, and the Oncology Care Model for the delivery of care in Canada and internationally were identified and described.
Patient-related outcomes used to evaluate the effectiveness of models of care for chronic pain include pain measures (e.g., intensity, duration), psychosocial outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression), functional outcomes (e.g., disability, employment status), and health care utilization (e.g., opioid prescriptions, health care visits).
Various barriers and facilitators to providing care for patients with chronic pain were identified in the consultations and the literature. The most common factors that influenced the care provided to patients with chronic pain pertained to funding, support, and collaboration from the government and locally; having a centralized intake and referral system; and leveraging existing resources.
There appears to be considerable variation in the models of care used to address the care needs of patients with chronic pain. In Canada, there are provincial, regional, and local models, and local programs; some regions do not have a formalized approach for the provision of care for chronic pain patients.


ABSTRACT Climate information services (CIS) can reduce climate vulnerability by enhancing information access, knowledge exchanges, and networks. Central to CIS is the need to understand the social and environmental context in which information is used. While researchers have identified many influential dimensions, there lacks rigorous analysis of all the dimensions salient to a CIS case study as well as a model to help CIS implementers design and evolve their CIS in its course. This research addresses these gaps by analysing a CIS we developed for coffee farmers in Jamaica that introduced new weather and climate information in workshops, text messages, and interviews. We identify nine dimensions related to the information providers, users, and their union, and we show how each influenced the design and evolution of our CIS. We further show their dynamic relations in an analytical model. We argue that the context is emergent, requiring flexible CIS, and that assessing the providers is as important as a focus on the users, which is often the emphasis in CIS scholarship. This study is a demonstration of how varied contextual dimensions affect the design, implementation, and use of a CIS, while also providing empirical detail about a coffee farming and climate context.


Lead-free ceramics with compositions of (1−x)[0.67Bi1.05FeO3-0.33BaTiO3]-xBaZrO3 (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.05) [BF-BT-BZx] have been prepared through a conventional solid-state reaction method. The effects of BZ substitution on the crystal structural, microstructural, piezoelectric, and electrical properties of the ceramics were investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that all ceramics were formed with a mixed structure of rhombohedral and tetragonal perovskite phases. For x = 0.03, good ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were observed: 2Pr = 43 μC/cm2 and 2Ec = 61 kV/cm. The static- and dynamic-piezoelectric constants were observed to be 52 pC/N and 330 pm/V, respectively.


The purpose of this study was to examine humour from the perspectives of 60-72-month-old children and their teachers in Turkey. A phenomenological method was used to collect data through semi-structured interviews, which included each child making a drawing about something they thought was 'funny'. Teachers were also interviewed via semi-structured questions related to children's humour. Data collected from 22 children and five teachers were analysed using McGhee's humour development theory and Martin's descriptions of four humour styles. The humour produced by our sample mainly included items related to incongruity. Teachers described children's humour development in terms of how the children behaved within their social group, and some believing that children who do not make jokes about their peers, have no humour development. Our findings pointed to a lack of awareness of the benefits of humour to the learning process and early years' education, particularly with teachers needing to account for age, developmental level and cultural differences.


Determination of quantitative thermodynamic and kinetic frameworks for ribozymes derived from the Azoarcus group I intron and comparisons to their well-studied analogs from the Tetrahymena group I intron reveal similarities and differences between these RNAs. The guanosine (G) substrate binds to the Azoarcus and Tetrahymena ribozymes with similar equilibrium binding constants and similar very slow association rate constants. These and additional literature observations support a model in which the free ribozyme is not conformationally competent to bind G and in which the probability of assuming the binding-competent state is determined by tertiary interactions of peripheral elements. As proposed previously, the slow binding of guanosine may play a role in the specificity of group I intron self-splicing, and slow binding may be used analogously in other biological processes. The internal equilibrium between ribozyme-bound substrates and products is similar for these ribozymes, but the Azoarcus ribozyme does not display the coupling in the binding of substrates that is observed with the Tetrahymena ribozyme, suggesting that local preorganization of the active site and rearrangements within the active site upon substrate binding are different for these ribozymes. Our results also confirm the much greater tertiary binding energy of the 5′-splice site analog with the Azoarcus ribozyme, binding energy that presumably compensates for the fewer base-pairing interactions to allow the 5′-exon intermediate in self splicing to remain bound subsequent to 5′-exon cleavage and prior to exon ligation. Most generally, these frameworks provide a foundation for design and interpretation of experiments investigating fundamental properties of these and other structured RNAs.


Background and Aim: With advent of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (covid-19) pandemic, need for a dedicated government hospital was felt. Following directions after a cabinet decision, a dedicated Covid hospital was made functional within a month in Central district of Delhi. This manuscript briefs the journey and challenges experienced during this mission. Method: As per decision of the state health ministry, bed allocation was planned along with provision for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Covid -19. Various trainings were simultaneously conducted, licences were obtained and manpower and material were arranged starting with procurement to service provision and waste management. Result: Concerted efforts resulted in initiation of clinical and diagnostic services within one month of initiation of teamwork. Government supported in all the licencing requirements and material management. The hospital became functional during the first wave; and by the start of second wave, 20-bedded fully equipped Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was ready with pressure swing adsorber (PSA) oxygen generator in premises. Conclusion: A well-coordinated action in the right direction with administrative support can help in achieving difficult targets. Opening a new hospital amidst lockdown and resource constraints in an emergency situation was a rewarding achievement.


&NA; The Hispanic population is the fastest growing minority population in the United States. Little research has been done to assess the stroke risk in the Hispanic population, which has a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, alcohol use, and physical inactivity. Healthcare professionals therefore are faced with the management and education of a cultural group with unfamiliar health beliefs. To decrease the risk of stroke, a culturally sensitive program that combines education and risk identification is needed. This article identifies the development of a stroke education and screening program for Hispanics.


BXERL is a proposal for a test facility (Beijing X-ray Energy Recovery Linac), which requires its injector to provide an electron beam of 5 MeV, 77 pC/ bunch at a repetition rate of 130 MHz (average current of 10 mA). In this paper, we present the design of the injector, which consists of a 500 kV photocathode DC gun equipped with a GaAs cathode preparation device, a 1.3 GHz normal conducting RF buncher, two solenoids, and one cryomodule containing two 1.3 GHz 2-cell superconducting RF cavities as the energy booster. The detailed beam dynamics show that the injector can generate electron bunches with a RMS normalized emittance of 1.49 pi mm.mrad, a bunch length of 0.67 mm, a beam energy of 5 MeV and an energy spread of 0.72%.


Understanding mechanisms of injury and repair in the developing brain remains a challenge. Damage is the result of an acute injury and of subsequent modifications in brain development. The aim of the present study was to define the nature of acute and subsequent brain neurochemical profile alterations in a model of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic injury (HI) in the P3 rat pup using high-field MR imaging and spectroscopic techniques. P3 Wistar pups underwent moderate (HI) injury consisting of right carotid cauterization, and hypoxia for 30 minutes at 6% O 2 . 24 hours (P4, n = 8) and 8 days after HI (P11, n = 8) MRI and 1H-MRS was performed using a 9.4T magnet. 1H-MRS spectra within the ipsilateral and contralateral cortex were acquired. Injury was seen as an hyperintense signal in the ispilateral cortex. The volume of the brain in the HI group compared to the control was not significantly different at P4 but was reduced at P11. At P4 the neurochemical profile of the ipsilateral cortex indicated significant decreases of several metabolites (macromolecules, phosphocholine, creatine, inositol, N-acetyl aspartate, taurine, glutamate, glutamate/glutamine) reflecting an acute energetic and functional slowing-down in the injured cortex. At P11, only a few metabolites showed significant increase (phosphocreatine, glutamate, taurine, glutamate/glutamine). At P11, the variation of the metabolite concentrations need to be further investigated to define their role in this context. These results provide new in vivo insight into the neurochemical processes resulting from HI in the developing brain that can be used to monitor injury and the response to protective therapies.


The up-link transmissions of mobile stations are typically uncoordinated, which lead to asynchronous DS-CDMA systems. Provided that the propagation delay differences of users are less than one symbol duration, every bit of each user is interfered by two consecutive bits of every other user supported by the system which are overlapping with the bit of interest. This is only true, however, with the proviso of an identical channel bit rate for all the users. Hence the multiuser detector (MUD) must have knowledge of these two overlapping bits, in order to efficiently detect the desired bit (DB). Suboptimal MUDs have been proposed based on a truncated observation window, in which the overlapping 'edge' bits are tentatively estimated by some other means. Using a similar approach, a MUD is developed in this contribution which invokes genetic algorithms (GAs), in order to estimate the DBs within the truncated observation window as well as to simultaneously improve the edge bits error probability (EBEP). Computer simulations showed that by using GAs for improving the reliability of the edge bits, our proposed MUD can achieve a near-optimum EBEP performance, while imposing a lower complexity compared to that of the optimum MUD.


It is proposed that direct electron transfer is dependent on the orientation of the heme plane in cytochrome c (cyt c) assembled on electrode surfaces. Orientation with the heme plane in cyt c parallel to the gold electrode surface favors the direct electron transfer, while vertical orientation of the heme plane makes the direct electron transfer difficult. A preferable electron transport pathway for cyt c is through the axial ligand (His-18) of the heme center rather than the porphyrin ring.


Description of the subject. Spanish sage or chia (Salvia hispanica) has attracted increasing interest over the last decade due to the composition of its seeds. It is now cultivated in several European countries. Objectives. The aims of this study were to investigate the oil content and composition of seeds from chia cultivated over a three-year period in South-West France. Method. The cultivar Oruro (Panam, France) was used for this study. It was cultivated in 2014, 2015 and 2017 at Villemur-sur-Tarn (South-West France). Oil, ash and protein contents (Kjeldahl) was assessed, fatty acids (GC-FID), sterols (GC), tocopherols (HPLC) composition was determined on seeds. Results. Cultivation year affected oil, protein and ash contents, and the content and composition of fatty acid, sterols and tocopherols. Oil (range of 30.6-34.7%) and ash (4.8-5.2%) contents were higher in 2014 and 2015 (higher rainfall than 2017). Protein content was higher in 2017 (21.7%) than in the other two years (17.5-19.9%). This trend was expected, given the negative correlation between oil and protein contents. Polyunsaturated fatty acids predominated, and their levels were highest in 2015 and lowest in 2017. Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid levels followed the opposite pattern (lowest in 2015 and highest in 2017). Sterols and tocopherols accumulated to higher levels in the seeds in 2014 than in 2017. Conclusions. All the seed quality traits of chia cultivated in France were affected by the climatic conditions of the year of cultivation.


A new type of styrene monomer, 1-{4-[(4-vinylbenzyl)oxy]phenyl}ethanone (VBOPE), was synthesized. The oxime, phenylhydrazone, toluol-4-sulfonic acid hydrazone, and thiosemicarbazone (TSC) derivatives of VBOPE were prepared with hydroxylamine hydrochloride, phenylhydrazine, toluol-4-sulfonic acid hydrazine, and TSC hydrochloride, respectively. Radical homopolymerization of the monomers were prepared at 65°C in 1,4-dioxane solution with benzoylperoxide as an initiator. The compounds was characterized with Fourier transform infrared and NMR techniques. The thermal properties of polymers were investigated with thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The activation energies of the thermal degradation of the polymers were calculated with the Ozawa and Kissinger method. The antibacterial and antifungal effects of the monomer and the polymer and its derivatives were also investigated on various bacteria and fungi. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers


Summary

Seven commonly known medicinal plants from Zimbabwe were analysed for their antioxidant activity as well as their total phenolic content. The plant samples used in this study were Albizia amara, Elionurus muticus, Heteropyxis natalensis, Hoslundia opposita, Lippia javanica, Ocimum urticifolia and Warburgia salutaris. The plant samples were extracted using 70% ethanol. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical assay was used to determine the antioxidant activity of the plant extracts, while the Folin–Ciocalteu method was used to determine the total phenolic content. The antioxidant activities of the plant extracts ranged from 95.84 ± 0.50% for E. muticus to 5.31 ± 4.47% for H. opposita. Total phenolics in the plant extract estimated as tannic acid equivalent (TAE) ranged from 0.098 ± 0.005 mg per 100 g for H. natalensis to 0.024 ± 0.006 TAE for H. opposita. There was a poor correlation (R = 0.522) between total phenolic content and antioxidant activity in the plant samples. The results indicate the presence of phenolic compounds as well as significant antioxidant activity.


Ova (n=62), which were collected from slaughterhouse bovine ovaries, and embryos (n=26), which were non-surgically recovered from 11 superovulated crossbred donor cows, were frozen. The frozen ova and embryos were then thawed using two conventional thawing protocols, i.e. at 37 degrees C for 30 seconds in a water bath and at 25 degrees C for 2 minutes in air. Some 64.5% of the ova and 53.8% of the embryos thawed in the water bath and 16.1% of the ova and 7.7% of the embryos thawed in ambient air exhibited fractured zonae pellucidae. The slow thawing protocol had a lower incidence of zona damage in cryopreserved oval and embryos than the fast thawing protocol. A low pregnancy rate (12.5%) was recorded for embryos transferred with zona fracture while embryos transferred with intact zonae had a rate of 35.3%) indicating that embryos with zona damage are less viable.


Chromium is one of the highly toxic and carcinogenic heavy metals. Due to increased anthropogenic activities, high concentration of chromium is found in many areas. Many microorganisms have the ability to detoxify chromium. Metagenomics allow us to comprehensively study microbial communities present at different sites without culturing them. The objective of this study was to analyze the abundance of microbial groups in different environments contaminated with chromium. For this purpose, chromium contaminated soil, anaerobic sludge and reactor samples were chosen. 16S rRNA data of these samples was retrieved from NCBI SRA database. The sequences were analyzed by Mothur software accessed via Galaxy server, and were classified using SILVA database. Venn diagram, phylogenetic tree, heatmap, relative abundance graphs and Krona pie charts were generated. Statistical analysis was also performed in the form of AMOVA and HOMOVA tests. According to results of our study, Proteobacteria, Leucobacter, Actinomycetales, Actinobacteria, Arthrobacter, Rhizobiales, Sphingomonas, Bradyrizobium and Nucardioidaceae were present in all the samples. Firmicutes, Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia and Bacteroidetes were more abundant in chromium contaminated samples as compared to control samples. The results were also found to be statistically significant. The above-mentioned bacteria can be targeted and studied to discover their roles in bioremediation of chromium contaminated sites.


In this book the author describes the technique of the intravenous urogram and discusses the various disorders of the urinary tract which can be diagnosed with this test. This reviewer agrees wholeheartedly with the author's emphasis on individualizing the procedure according to the patient's problem. This is described as the "tailored urogram," and an entire chapter is devoted to the subject. The author suggests that a physician should supervise the conduct of the examination, with the roentgenograms being observed as they are obtained. Only in this manner can additional views be taken or the procedure modified so that a maximum amount of information is obtained in each case. The first two chapters deal with the technique of the examination, and it is unfortunate that numerous words have been mispelled. This detracts from the most important part of the book. The remaining chapters have to do with the preliminary film of


We design distributed spectrum sensing and access strategies for opportunistic spectrum access (OSA) under an energy constraint on secondary users. Both the continuous and the bursty traffic models are considered for different applications of the secondary network. In each slot, a secondary user sequentially decides whether to sense, where in the spectrum to sense, and whether to access. By casting this sequential decision-making problem in the framework of partially observable Markov decision processes, we obtain stationary optimal spectrum sensing and access policies that maximize the throughput of the secondary user during its battery lifetime. We also establish threshold structures of the optimal policies and study the fundamental tradeoffs involved in the energy-constrained OSA design. Numerical results are provided to investigate the impact of the secondary user's residual energy on the optimal spectrum sensing and access decisions.


In scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) an atomically sharp metallic tip is brought in close proximity to a (semi) conducting sample to probe the electronic and topographic features of the surface. Three extensions of this technique, namely cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (X-STM), scanning tunneling luminescence microscopy (STL), and spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM), are presented in this thesis. In the first technique, X-STM, a sample is cleaved along the (110) natural cleavage plane of a zinc-blende crystal to allow the observation of single dopants and embedded nanostructures such as quantum wells and quantum dots in a plane parallel to the growth direction. The second technique, STL, in which the STM-tip locally induces luminescence can be used to extend optical probing beyond the diffraction limit. In this respect, this technique has the potential to provide a wealth of information about light–matter interactions on the atomic-scale. Furthermore, the optical properties of a material system can be linked to its magnetic properties by studying the polarization of the STM-induced luminescence. In this respect, STL and the technique of SP-STM are complementary. In the latter technique a magnetic sensitive STM-tip is used to probe the electromagnetic properties of a surface on the atomic-scale, a highly sought after capability in modern day development of spintronics. Although the techniques of STL and SP-STM have great potential, the downside is that they are notoriously difficult to implement experimentally. This is reflected in the small number of groups that have succeeded in implementing one of the techniques, let alone both simultaneously. This is a pity since the complementary nature of these two techniques opens up a myriad of experiments with which the optical, electronic, and magnetic properties of materials can be simultaneously investigated with atomic-scale resolution. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to combine the two techniques of STL and SP-STM, with the technique of X-STM to study the properties of single dopants and embedded nanostructures. In this thesis the successful implementation of the before mentioned techniques in a single scanning tunneling microscopy is reported. It is shown that it is possible to relatively easily and cost-effectively implement luminescence detection into a commercially available Omicron low temperature STM. STM-induced luminescence could be collected efficiently from an Au(110)(1 × 3)-reconstructed surface. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that it is possible to simultaneously record the surface topography and the corresponding photon map, both with atomic resolution. The fact that a full luminescence spectrum is recorded at each grid point where the luminescence is collected allows for a spatially resolved spectral analysis. Besides successful STL on a metallic surface, the collection of luminescence from a highly Zn-doped GaAs semiconductor sample was demonstrated. Here, a threshold bias voltage for the onset of electroluminescence was found yet. No correlation between the shape, the position, and the intensity of the luminescence spectra with the positions of the dopants was found. The results show that the proposed collection system can be used to spectrally collect and analyze the STM-induced luminescence from both metallic and semiconductor material systems with atomic-scale resolution. Spin-polarized tunneling microscopy was demonstrated on a vicinal W(110)-surface covered with a thin iron film. This material system consists of alternating mono- and bilayer magnetic nanowires. Tips having an in-plane direction of magnetization and tips that proofed to have a slanted direction of magnetization were used. Respectively, three and four levels of magnetic contrast were observed with these tips, unambiguously demonstrating SP-STM. The next step along the lines of the current work is to extend SP-STM to dilute magnetic semiconductors, e.g. Mn in GaAs. Atomic-scale resolution with magnetic chromium tips has already been observed (not in the thesis) on this material system in X-STM measurements, an important step towards probing the magnetic properties of dilute magnetic semiconductors in the future. In the last decade the fabrication of quantum dots (QDs) has been intensively studied. The interesthas been, and still is, stimulated by applications of self-assembled QDs in optoelectronic devices. Nowadays, QDs are for instance applied or suggested in QD lasers, single electron transistors, and spin manipulation. It is well known that the optical and electronic properties of QDs are strongly affected by their size, shape, and chemical composition. In this thesis the size, shape and chemical composition of QDs and ways to control these properties have been intensively studied for various material systems and growth techniques by atom probe tomography (APT) and X-STM. The technique of APT is a conceptually completely different characterization technique as X-STM: atoms are evaporated from a high voltage biased specimen by a laser pulse and recorded at a detector. The technique allows the fully three-dimensional characterization of embedded nanostructures, carrying the geometrical and chemical analysis beyond the twodimensional cleavage plane to which the technique of X-STM is restricted. In this thesis, APT was bench marked against X-STM. It is shown that APT and X-STM complement each other very well. Where X-STM gives only two-dimensional cross-sections, APT provides a fully three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction, and where X-STM has a limited capability to distinguish chemical species, the mass-spectral analysis of APT offers the ability to distinguish different elements from each other. The two techniques were linked by means of computational methods that model surface relaxation. This analysis method emphasized structural features of the studied QDs that were not detected or neglected in previous measurements but are important in modeling the QDs. Control over the height of QDs allows the tuning of their emission wavelength and g-factor. Nowadays, several methods are available to achieve this in the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode, among which the use of surfactants, double-capping, indium flush, and strain engineering of the capping layer. In this thesis, the latter two techniques are investigated in detail by X-STM and Kinetic Monte-Carlo (KMC) simulations. X-STM studies have, and will continue, to provided a wealth of information giving a better understanding of the growth process, but the technique only provides a cross-sectional snapshot of the buried QDs after the completion of the growth. In this respect, techniques such as APT and KMC simulations can be of great complementary value and provide further insight into the details of the growth process. The work presented in this thesis is the first in which a realistic, fully three-dimensional KMC simulation is compared with experimental results. The agreement between the KMC simulations and the experimental results opens up the door for the use of KMC simulations in the future to predict the outcome of the growth process. In the last part of the thesis, the details and possibilities of droplet epitaxy as an alternative technique to grow self-assembled QDs were reported. Traditionally, QDs are grown in the strain driven Stranski-Krastanov mode. Defect free QDs can be grown with this technique, but the presence of strain in the material during the growth process is a major complicating factor. For one, strain can strongly modify the electronic structure and is the driving force behind QD decomposition and intermixing. The resulting structural imperfections can obscure the intrinsic properties of the QDs and hinder the linking of experiment, e.g. photoluminescence measurements, with a realistic QD model. In this thesis, it was shown that in this respect QDs grown by droplet epitaxy provide a much simpler approach. This technique involves the low temperature growth of unstrained liquid group III-elements droplets that are subsequently crystallized into QDs by the incorporation of group V-elements. It was shown that wetting layers (less than 1 bilayer) form on an (001)-oriented substrate and are absent on an (311)A-oriented substrate. As expected in lattice-matched material systems, the QDs were found to be unstrained. The results show that some degree of Al intermixing, attributed to local etching, with the GaAs QDs occurs during the growth in case of the (001)-oriented substrate. In case of the (311)A-oriented substrate, substantial interface fluctuations are present between the nanostructures and the buffer layer. These fluctuations are attributed to the destabilization of the interface by the liquid Ga droplet and subsequent reconfiguration of the surface in energetically more favorable facets. It is demonstrated in this thesis that quantum wires (QWRs) can be created by annealing uncapped QDs grown on the (311)A-oriented substrate. The QWRs show strongly polarized emission along the direction of the QWRs, a feature that is highly desirable in the fabrication of lasers that use cleaved crystalic surfaces as Fabry-Perot mirrors.


Abstract:  A partial quadrate (essentially the otic part) from the nonmarine, earliest Eocene (54.6 Ma) Tingamarra Local Fauna in Queensland, Australia, has been identified as the oldest Australian anseriform fossil. The Tingamarra quadrate shows a combination of plesiomorphic anseriform characters with a unique synapomorphic character complex of the Anhimidae (screamers), which today are endemic to South America. In concert with the basal position of the Anhimidae among the crown‐group anseriforms, this set of characters suggests a stem group of the Anhimidae, raising a possibility of the Transantarctic migration of stem anhimids to South America. The quadrate morphology supports palaeognathous rather than recently claimed anhimid relationships of the Dromornithidae and identifies Sylviornis as an anseriform rather than a galliform.


Preface and acknowledgements Introduction - G.C. Harcourt and Peter Kriesler 1. A personal view of the origins of post-Keynesian ideas in the history of economics - Jan Kregel 2. Sraffa, Keynes and post-Keynesianism - Heinz Kurz 3. Sraffa, Keynes and post-Keynesians: Suggestions for a synthesis in the making - Richard Arena and Stephanie Blankenburg 4. On the notion of equilibrium or the centre of gravitation in economic theory - Ajit Sinha 5. Keynesian foundations of post-Keynesian economics - Paul Davidson 6. Money - Randall Wray 7. Post-Keynesian theories of money and credit: conflict and (some) resolutions - Victoria Chick and Sheila Dow 8. The scientific illusion of New Keynesian monetary theory - Colin Rogers 9. Single period analysis and continuation analysis of endogenous money: a revisitation of the debate between horizontalists and structuralists - Giuseppe Fontana 10. Post-Keynesian monetary economics Godley-like - Mark Lavoie 11. Hyman Minsky and the financial instability hypothesis - John King 12. Endogenous growth: A Kaldorian approach - Mark Setterfield 13. Structural economic dynamics and the Cambridge tradition - Prue Kerr and Robert Scazzieri 14. The Cambridge post-Keynesian school of income and wealth distribution - Mauro Baranzini and Amalia Mirante 15. Reinventing macroeconomics - Edward Nell 16. Long-run growth in open economies: export-led cumulative causation or a balance-of-payments constraint? - Robert Blecker 17. Post-Keynesian precepts for nonlinear, endogenous, nonstochastic, business cycle theories - K. Vela Velupillai 18. Post-Keynesian approaches to industrial pricing: a survey and critique - Ken Coutts and Neville Norman 19. Post-Keynesian price theory: from pricing to market governance to the economy as a whole - Frederic S. Lee 20. Kaleckian economics - Robert Dixon and Jan Toporowski 21. Wages policy - John King 22. Discrimination in the labour markets - Peter Riach and Judith Rich 23. Post-Keynesian perspectives on economic development and growth - Peter Kriesler 24. Keynes and economic development - Tony Thirlwall 25. Post-Keynesian economics and the role of aggregate demand in less-developed economies - Amitava Krishna Dutt


We study the evolution of telecommunications technology and the challenges to surveillance faced by law enforcement agencies. We focus on surveillance history in the United States. US government surveillance will have an increasing impact on the global civil society because of the globalization of packet-based communication networks-as a great deal of international traffic travels across American network wires. The bandwidth exchanges operating on the coasts of the US illustrate that surveillance policies in the U.S. will affect citizens in Pacific Rim and European communities. Policy makers must take a broader view of law enforcement surveillance and do more to ensure individual privacy.


This paper demonstrates thin glass interposers with fine pitch through package vias (TPV) as a low cost and high I/O substrate for 3D integration. Interposers for packaging of ULK and 3D-ICs need to support large numbers of die to die interconnections with I/O pitch below 50 μm. Current organic substrates are limited by CTE mismatch, wiring density, and poor dimensional stability. Wafer based silicon interposers can achieve high I/Os at fine pitch, but are limited by high cost. Glass is an ideal interposer material due to its insulating property, large panel availability and CTE match to silicon. The main focus of this work is on a) electrical and mechanical design, b) TPV and fine line formation and c) integration process and electrical characterization of thin glass interposers. This work for the first time demonstrates high throughput formation of 30 μm pitch TPVs in ultrathin glass using a parallel laser process. An integration process was demonstrated for glass interposer with polymer build-up layers on both sides. The glass interposer had stable electrical properties up to 20GHz and low insertion loss of less than 0.15dB was measured for TPVs at 9GHz.


This Paper investigated the Analysis of Poultry Feed Marketing in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area in Imo State.  This study was aimed at determining the socio-economic profile of traders distributing poultry feed, the channels of poultry feed distribution from producers to farmers, the socio-economic factors influencing the income of traders dealing on poultry feed in the study area and also the factors militating against effective marketing of poultry feed in Ahiazu Mbaise L.G.A. of Imo State.  The study area is located in Ahiazu Mabise were they have enough poultry feed marketers.  Seven villages were selected from the thirteen villages that make up the Local Government Area and 3 markets were selected.  For the study which includes Afor-ukwu, Afor-ogbe and Nwoaha market and a total of (70) questionnaires were administered to the wholesalers and retailers of poultry feed marketers who were randomly selected from the three (3) poultry feed markets. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the socio-economic profile of the respondents; it was also used to analyze the problems faced by the respondents in the study area.  The factors affecting income of the poultry feed marketers in the study area were determined using multiple regressions.  The lead equation which was the semi-log regression model was chosen based on apriori expectation which gave an R 2 value of 0.866 meaning that 86.6% of the variance in income when explained by the independent variables of Age, Educational level, Purchase cost and cost of transportation which were significant in the equation. The marketing margin and efficiency was archived using the marketing margin analysis.  For both wholesalers and retailers, given a margin of 14.2% and 19% respectively. The research revealed three (3) marketing channels: the producers sell their poultry feeds to wholesalers, who resell their products to retailers and the retailers sell to consumers. The marketing efficiency was also determined to be 13%.  The major constraints faced by the traders include: trades: Higher cost of transportation, bad roads, lack of funds and credit facilities.  Appropriate and useful recommendation was stated and if implemented will improved the poultry feed marketing in Ahiazu Mbaise L.G.A in Imo State.


The use of wearable motion sensing technology offers important advantages over conventional methods for obtaining measures of physical activity and/or physical functioning in individuals with chronic diseases. This review aims to identify the actual state of applying wearable systems for monitoring mobility-related activity in individuals with chronic disease conditions. In this review we focus on technologies and applications, feasibility and adherence aspects, and clinical relevance of wearable motion sensing technology. PubMed (Medline since 1990), PEdro, and reference lists of all relevant articles were searched. Two authors independently reviewed randomised trials systematically. The quality of selected articles was scored and study results were summarised and discussed. 163 abstracts were considered. After application of inclusion criteria and full text reading, 25 articles were taken into account in a full text review. Twelve of these papers evaluated walking with pedometers, seven used uniaxial accelerometers to assess physical activity, six used multiaxial accelerometers, and two papers used a combination approach of a pedometer and a multiaxial accelerometer for obtaining overall activity and energy expenditure measures. Seven studies mentioned feasibility and/or adherence aspects. The number of studies that use movement sensors for monitoring of activity patterns in chronic disease (postural transitions, time spent in certain positions or activities) is nonexistent on the RCT level of study design. Although feasible methods for monitoring human mobility are available, evidence-based clinical applications of these methods in individuals with chronic diseases are in need of further development.


Animals often avoid novel objects, a behavior known as neophobia. We examined behavioral responses of captive European starlings to novel objects placed at their food dishes. Exposure occurred concurrently to food reintroduction following overnight fasting. Behavior was analyzed for 10 min via video recording. We expected an increase in avoidance behavior compared with trials in which food was reintroduced without a novel object. Seven of 10 novel objects increased latency to approach the dish. In contrast to our expectations, neither prior restraint nor exogenous corticosterone changed the neophobic response to novel objects. While exposure to a novel object increased approach latency, there was no additional effect of restraining animals in a cloth bag for 15 min before food reintroduction. Furthermore, the subcutaneous injection of corticosterone did not affect approach latency by itself, nor did it affect the response to a novel object. Finally, we expected repeated exposure to the same object to extinguishing the neophobic response, and that restraint stress would prevent habituation. Our results show that European starlings habituate rapidly to exposure to a novel object, as approach latency returned to baseline within three repeated exposures to the same object. When the repeated presentation of the object was combined with prior restraint, however, the latency to approach never returned to baseline. These results reveal that neophobia in starlings is object-specific and that, while neither acute stress nor corticosterone directly affects the behavioral response to a novel object, acute stress appears to have a permissive effect on neophobia by inhibiting habituation.


Ion-acoustic solitary waves in a weakly relativistic warm plasma at the critical phase velocity are investigated using reductive perturbation theory. The basic set of fluid equations describing the system is reduced to a renormalized warmion modified Korteweg—de Vries (mKdV) equation for the first-order perturbed potential and a renormalized linear inhomogeneous equation for the second-order perturbed potential. The stationary solution of the coupled equations is obtained. The cold-plasma limit is considered in order to rule comparisons with work of Pakira et al.


A high‐resolution version of the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model has been used to study the fine structure of a cloud head and its associated cold conveyor belt jet (CJ) and sting jet (SJ) in an intense extratropical cyclone that produced damaging surface winds in northern Ireland and central Scotland on 3 January 2012. The model was run with many different initialisation times and physical parametrisations, and a run was selected that verified well against a variety of observations. New methods have been devised to visualise the 3D structure of the CJ and SJ and to attribute strong surface winds to one or other of them, and the validity of regarding the SJ as a semi‐Lagrangian feature has been assessed. The model suggests that, whereas the CJ remained mainly below the 850 hPa level as it circulated around the bent‐back front, the SJ consisted of a stream or streams of air within the bent‐back frontal zone that first ascended from close to the surface into the middle and upper‐level parts of the cloud head before descending from evaporating cloud filaments at the tip of the cloud head and reaching the top of the boundary layer slightly ahead of the CJ. The simulations did not support the idea that either the evaporation or conditional symmetric instability (CSI) played a major role in the development of these jets. The strong gusts (up to 47 m s−1) which were recorded on the north coast of Ireland appear to have been due mainly to the CJ, which by then was undercutting the SJ. The SJ was responsible for stronger surface winds than the CJ several hours earlier during the initial stage of frontal fracture, but only for a limited period.


Cold atmospheric plasma has been widely applied in medical treatment clinically, especially skin diseases. However, the mechanism of cold atmospheric plasma on the treatment of skin diseases is still undefined. In this study, dinitrofluorobenzene-induced atopic dermatitis mice model was constructed. Cold atmospheric plasma was able to decrease skin cells apoptosis, relieve skin inflammation, ER stress and oxidative stress caused by dinitrofluorobenzene stimulation, which was mediated by cold atmospheric plasma-induced MANF expression. In terms of mechanism, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α expression was increased intracellularly after cold atmospheric plasma treatment, which further bound to the promoter region of manf gene and enhanced MANF transcriptional expression. This study reveals that cold atmospheric plasma has a positive effect on atopic dermatitis treatment, also demonstrates the regulatory mechanism of cold atmospheric plasma on MANF expression via HIF-1α, which indicates the potential medical application of cold atmospheric plasma for atopic dermatitis treatment.


The aim of this paper is to analyse the state enterprise sector in Russia in terms of its origin, economic significance, principles of operation and efficiency. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and those dependent on the state – constituting about 30–40% of the full potential of the Russian economy – are particularly strongly represented within the largest Russian companies, in sectors defined as strategic. Therefore, the classification, legal basis and forms of the above-mentioned enterprises will be analysed. It appears that Russian state-owned enterprises operate according to an entirely different set of rules than companies in developed countries and this situation is likely to be intentional. This study will be conducted on the basis of official statistics, a few empirical studies and the analysis of international literature (mainly contained in the various studies conducted by organisations such as the OECD and the World Bank). The following analyses will be carried out: the analysis of legal acts concerning SOEs in Russia, the presence of SOEs will be analysed across the ranking list of the largest Russian companies (including the Top 400 list). Studies of scientific papers in Russian and English will also be carried out. Knowledge on the functioning of the Russian state-owned enterprises and information about the model of corporate governance used in this country (corporate governance of the country) are very limited. Moreover, in papers by various authors one can find ambiguous or even contradictory opinions. This results mostly from differences in the assumptions and definitions, or simply from the use of unreliable / incomplete data. The author expects that this paper will result in the creation of a clear, dependable and objective image of the Russian state-owned enterprise sector. During the past twenty years of the Russian transformation there have been two opposite processes in the field of state property. The first one is privatisation and the second one is the process of strengthening the presence of the state in certain branches of the Russian economy. These two processes will be analyzed in this paper. This analysis will clearly show that despite a huge decline in the SOE sector after the transformation, this sector is still very significant to the Russian economy. Moreover, these enterprises play a crucial role, since they are concentrated in the most strategic sectors, and are more profitable and have other competitive advantages over private enterprises.


In this article, the authors discuss ways ecobehavioral assessment (EBA) has contributed to greater understanding of students' response to instructional intervention and its relationship to academic learning and achievement. EBA represents a proven effective way to conduct a contextual analysis of the instructional environments, teacher and student interactions, student engagement, and specific teaching practices that promote learning. It mirrors much of the current thinking regarding functional assessment of academic behavior and response to intervention (RTI). With EBA, school personnel are able to examine various aspects of the classroom environment and instruction to determine how best to increase students' positive response to instruction and, in turn, improve academic achievement. The authors argue that incorporating elements of EBA into the RTI model yields a more complete picture by allowing observers to identify the ecological and educational factors that promote or inhibit student academic gains. That knowledge can easily be incorporated into multitiered prevention and intervention programs in schools.


Makerspaces continue to grow in popularity in public, academic, and school libraries. As makerspaces are included in library services, accessibility for all users is important. What motivates a school librarian to implement a makerspace accessible to all learners? Are they more likely to invest in accessibility if provided the necessary resources? In this study, researchers discuss which Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen 1985) variables significantly predict school librarians' intentions to implement accessible makerspaces. Researchers also delve into how attitude towards accessibility in makerspaces influence the intention to implement accessible makerspace. Findings indicate identifying perceived behavior control is the principal predictor of behavioral intention. Additionally, identifying makerspace accessibility as a top priority and agreeing that it should be accessible might be different in the minds of school librarians.


We use the tephrostratigraphic framework along the Aegean Volcanic Arc established in Part 1 of this contribution to determine hemipelagic sedimentation rates, calculate new tephra ages, and constrain the minimum magnitudes of (sub)plinian eruptions of the last 200 kyrs. Hemipelagic sedimentation rates range from ∼0.5 cm/kyr up to ∼40 cm/kyr and vary laterally as well as over time. Interpolation between dated tephras yields an eruption age of ∼37 ka for the Firiplaka tephra, showing that explosive volcanism on Milos is ∼24 kyrs younger than previously thought. The four marine Nisyros tephras (N1 to N4) identified in Part 1 (including the Upper (N1) and Lower (N4) Pumice) have ages of ∼57 ka, ∼63 ka, ∼69 ka, and ∼76 ka, respectively. Eruption ages for the Yali‐1 and Yali‐2 tephras are ∼55 ka and ∼34 ka, respectively. The Yali‐2 tephra comprises two geochemically and laterally distinct marine facies. The southern facies is identical to the Yali‐2 fall deposit on land but the western facies has slightly less evolved glass compositions. Overall, erupted plinian and co‐ignimbrite fall tephra volumes range from <1 to 56 km3 (excluding possible caldera fillings and ignimbrite volumes), and 80% of the eruptions had magnitude 5.5 < M ≤ 7.2 (M = log(m)‐7; m = erupted magma mass in kg). Twenty percent of the tephras represent 3.2 < M < 5.5 eruptions. The long‐term average tephra magma mass flux through highly explosive eruptions of Santorini is estimated at ∼40 kg/s. The analogous data for the Kos‐Yali‐Nisyros volcanic complex is less‐well constrained but similar to Santorini.


Through self-assessment system taxpayers who use bookkeeping or accounting as the basis for the imposition of taxes, must understand the things related to the purposes of taxation for the accounting has an important role in calculating the amount of tax payable within one fiscal year. Each company was established to make a profit (profit) and income tax must issue their employees every month. In the tax collection system recently was given the trust of taxpayers as well as the responsibility is greater, to implement the obligations of one citizen to his country in the field of taxation. Namely, in this case is any taxpayer who is registered or who have a Taxpayer Identification Number (NPWP) should be: take, fill out and include letter of information (SPT). Company in the sector of goods or services must have some staff / employees, which only relate to the employee / employees are related to wages, salaries, honoraria, bonuses, or any of the companies received money or goods in the form of tax levied in accordance with job or positions held. This study aims to evaluate whether tax policy is applied in accordance with the company's calculations have been expected in this case is the income tax of Article 21. Key Words : income tax, wages, salaries, honoraria, bonuses


The overall effectiveness of driving simulation as a research tool is linked to how accurately modern technology can model reality. The objective of this project was to conduct a driving simulator experiment to examine the perceptual and behavioral effects of various parameters of the simulation deemed relevant from theories of ego motion. Twenty drivers completed speed production tasks (absolute production, fixed-increase production, and ratio production) while driving through a rural road scenario that was experienced under varied conditions of motion, field of view, and optic flow. The study concluded that field of view (FOV) and optic flow simulation parameters were significant to the perception of absolute speed, with high levels of each resulting in more accurate perception of speed and speed change (acceleration/deceleration). The results of this study will allow researchers to consider the relative importance of simulation parameters in designing future behavioral research pertaining to speed perception using driving simulators.


Existing research and educational policy stress the importance of the voice of young people. In response to personal experiences as a mother of a child with autism and often speaking for my son, this study explores the views of young people with autism regarding being spoken for using a narrative methodology and thematic analysis. Existing research indicates that social engagement from children with autism would rarely happen without mediation from adults (Bauminger & Shulman, 2003). Calder et al. (2013) stress the need for caution regarding the degree of adult involvement in the social encounters of children with autism. Insider accounts from individuals with autism inform us that being coerced into social interaction can be detrimental. The main aim of the research was to elicit the narratives of young people with autism regarding being spoken for by others in order to generate via thematic analysis the implications to consider when speaking for young people with autism. This research elicited the narratives of five young people with autism who attended an IR provision within a Local Authority in the North of England. Data was collected through individual sessions with each participant using storyboards and activity sheets within a semi-structured interview session and the aid of narrative-oriented prompts.
Themes evoked from this research suggest that adults' consideration of context is key when speaking for young people with autism. Results highlight the need for adults to be aware of forces of control and power that can impact on perceptions of ability, feelings of anxiety and confidence. Feelings of unhappiness and annoyance were reported by participants when these factors had not been carefully considered. Being sensitive to knowing and understanding the needs of young people with autism is essential. Participants reported positive feelings when the above factors had been considered and being spoken for was carried out sensitively. Being mindful of the implications raised in this study when working with and speaking for young people with autism will help to ensure that we are aiming to work supportively and as advocates for individuals with autism.
Key words: autism; voice; young people; support; pupil views; qualitative research methods; narrative; thematic analysis; professional practice.


Avedesian, JM, Judge, LW, Wang, H, and Dickin, DC. Kinetic analysis of unilateral landings in female volleyball players after a dynamic and combined dynamic-static warm-up. J Strength Cond Res 33(6): 1524-1533, 2019-A warm-up is an important period before training or competition to prepare an athlete for the physical demands of subsequent activity. Previous research has extensively focused on the effects of warm-up in relation to various jumping performance attributes; however, limited research has examined the biomechanical nature of landings after common warm-up practices. Twelve female, collegiate-level volleyball players performed unilateral landings on the dominant and nondominant limb before and after dynamic warm-ups and combined dynamic-static (CDS) warm-ups. Kinetic variables of interest were measured at the hip and knee during the landing phase of a volleyball-simulated jump-landing maneuver. A significant 3-way interaction (warm-up × limb × time) for peak internal knee adduction moment was observed, as this kinetic parameter significantly increased (p = 0.01; d = 0.79) in the nondominant limb at 1-minute post-CDS warm-up. No other warm-up differences were detected; however, significant main effects of limb were determined for dominant-limb internal hip abduction moment (p < 0.01; d = 1.32), dominant-knee internal rotation moment (p < 0.01; d = 1.88), and nondominant-knee external rotation moment (p < 0.01; d = 1.86), which may be due to altered hip and trunk mechanics during the jump landings. This information provides strength and conditioning professionals with biomechanical information to determine warm-up protocols that reduce the risk of injury in female volleyball athletes.


An acute, placebo-controlled, single-blind, crossover, dose-response, exploratory study was designed to investigate the hypoglycaemic effects of New Zealand pine bark extract (Enzogenol®). Twenty-five healthy participants categorised into having a monophasic or complex (biphasic or triphasic) glucose curve shape at the control visit consumed a placebo and Enzogenol® (50 and 400 mg) on three separate occasions before an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). In the monophasic group, 50 and 400 mg of Enzogenol® significantly reduced the mean glucose incremental area under the curve (iAUC) compared to control 241.3 ± 20.2 vs. 335.4 ± 34.0 mmol/L·min, p = 0.034 and 249.3 ± 25.4 vs. 353.6 ± 31.5 mmol/L·min, p = 0.012, respectively. The 400 mg dose further reduced the percentage increment of postprandial glucose (%PG) 31.4% ± 7.9% vs. 47.5% ± 8.6%, p = 0.010, glucose peak 7.9 ± 0.3 vs. 8.9 ± 0.3 mmol/L, p = 0.025 and 2h-OGTT postprandial glucose (2hPG) 6.1 ± 0.3 vs. 6.7 ± 0.3 mmol/L, p = 0.027. Glucose iAUC was not significantly different in the complex group, except for reductions in %PG 28.7% ± 8.2% vs. 43.4% ± 5.9%, p = 0.012 after 50 mg dose and 27.7% ± 5.4% vs. 47.3% ± 7.2%, p = 0.025 after 400 mg dose. The results suggest that Enzogenol® may have hypoglycaemic effects in healthy participants, especially those exhibiting monophasic shapes.


The urgent need to improve livestock productivity in sub–Saharan Africa in order to keep pace with expected increases in demand for meat and milk is very topical. Breed improvement provides key entry points for increasing productivity in cattle populations. However, there are tendencies for genetic improvement programs to focus on single, market driven traits such as milk or meat production in isolation of environmental constraints and broader livestock system functions which cattle perform in developing countries. This potentially leads to genotypes that are not well adapted to the environment and not capable of performing the multiple roles that cattle assume in smallholder systems. In developing countries, many important functions of livestock are embedded in non-tradeable traits that are neither captured in economic analysis nor considered in livestock improvement programs. This study employs Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) ranking techniques and conjoint analysis to evaluate preferences of cattle keepers in pastoral and agro-pastoral systems of selected sites in Kenya and Ethiopia for various cattle traits. These systems are characterized by low input management and prevalence of various cattle diseases. Trypanosomosis is a serious disease constraint in Ghibe valley of Ethiopia and some of the pastoral areas in Kenya. The results indicate that farmer preferences for cattle traits are influenced by various factors including production system characteristics, infrastructural constraints and environmental conditions, especially in relation to disease prevalence and availability of cattle feeds. In the crop-livestock systems of Ghibe valley in Ethiopia, preferred cattle traits include trypanotolerance, reproductive potential and fitness to traction. Milk production is a less important trait. On the other hand, in the pastoral and agropastoral systems of Kenya, important traits include trypanotolerance, reproductive potential, coat colour and watering needs.


We propose new regression models in survival analysis based on homogeneous and inhomogeneous phase-type distributions. The intensity function in this setting plays the role of the hazard function. For unidimensional intensity matrices, we recover the proportional hazard and accelerated failure time models, among others. However, when considering higher dimensions, the proposed methods are only asymptotically equivalent to their classical counterparts and enjoy greater flexibility in the body of the distribution. For their estimation, the latent path representation of semi-Markov models is exploited. Consequently, an adapted EM algorithm is provided and the likelihood is shown to increase at each iteration. We provide several examples of practical significance and outline relevant extensions. The practical feasibility of the models is illustrated on simulated and real-world datasets.


The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of novel styrylquinolinium dye thin films for photonic applications have been studied by the Z-scan, second harmonic generation (SHG), and third harmonic generation (THG) techniques, providing both the second- and third-order nonlinear optical parameters. The styrylquinolinium dye (E)-1-ethyl-4-(2-(4-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)vinyl)quinolinium bromide was synthesized by the Knoevenagel condensation, and its structure and physicochemical properties were determined by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FTIR, UV–vis spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Functional thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using UV TEA N2 laser onto glass substrates and KCl, NaCl monocrystals at room temperature and vacuum at 10–3 mbar/0.1 Pa. Further characterization of the films and target from native material by FTIR spectroscopy revealed that there was no difference between the deposited films and the initial material. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) ...


In order to study the forming condition of EFP under radial rotation, the numerical simulation of typical explosively-formed projectile (EFP) charge structure in different positions and rotational speeds are completed by using the finite element simulation software LS-DYNA. Simulation results are verified preliminarily by experiments. Results show that the EFP formed under the radial rotation condition has the lateral deflection speed, and the shape is asymmetrical. When the tip of the EFP has horizontal diversion, the tail of the EFP has vertical diversion, and the infection of radial rotation is most seriously, while the rotation location is in the bottom with middle and the donated pointed rotation location followed. Research results also provide a good example for the study of EFP under the radial rotation condition.


Background The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends nontargeted opt-out HIV screening in healthcare settings. Cost effectiveness is critical when considering potential screening methods. Our goal was to compare programmatic costs of nontargeted opt-out rapid HIV screening with physician-directed diagnostic rapid HIV testing in an urban emergency department (ED) as part of the Denver ED HIV Opt-Out Trial. Methods This was a prospective cohort study nested in a larger quasi-experiment. Over 16 months, nontargeted rapid HIV screening (intervention) and diagnostic rapid HIV testing (control) were alternated in 4-month time blocks. During the intervention phase, patients were offered HIV testing using an opt-out approach during registration; during the control phase, physicians used a diagnostic approach to offer HIV testing to patients. Each method was fully integrated into ED operations. Direct program costs were determined using the perspective of the ED. Time-motion methodology was used to estimate personnel activity costs. Costs per patient newly-diagnosed with HIV infection by intervention phase, and incremental cost effectiveness ratios were calculated. Results During the intervention phase, 28,043 eligible patients were included, 6,933 (25%) completed testing, and 15 (0.2%, 95% CI: 0.1%–0.4%) were newly-diagnosed with HIV infection. During the control phase, 29,925 eligible patients were included, 243 (0.8%) completed testing, and 4 (1.7%, 95% CI: 0.4%–4.2%) were newly-diagnosed with HIV infection. Total annualized costs for nontargeted screening were $148,997, whereas total annualized costs for diagnostic HIV testing were $31,355. The average costs per HIV diagnosis were $9,932 and $7,839, respectively. Nontargeted HIV screening identified 11 more HIV infections at an incremental cost of $10,693 per additional infection. Conclusions Compared to diagnostic testing, nontargeted HIV screening was more costly but identified more HIV infections. More effective and less costly testing strategies may be required to improve the identification of patients with undiagnosed HIV infection in the ED.


These days bone and joint problem is one of the serious health issues in the whole world, millions of people are suffered from it and number is increasing with an alarming rate. Annually, there are more than million surgeries getting done in the world just because of injuries to human hard tissue system. Recently in medical applications, synthetic Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been widely used as an important material because of excellent properties such as bio affinity and high osteogenic potential. HA, particles prevent the growth of cancer cells. Recently, natural hydroxyapatite bio ceramics are extracted by normal calcinations of some bio wastes. Biologically derived natural materials such as bovine bones, fish bones, oyster shells, corals and egg shells, they have converted into useful biomaterials. Moreover, extraction of HA from bio-waste is simple, economically and environmentally preferable. The mechanical Properties of HA is low in comparison with cortical bone. As a result, incorporation of resistant oxide phase has been resistant to optimize biocompatibility and improve mechanical properties of HA. Zirconia (ZrO2), is one of the best materials which can increase the
HA properties. ZrO2 is a well known material which has high mechanical properties and greater strength, low toxicity and lower magnetic susceptibility in comparison with Ti and Titanium's alloys. In the present work, HA/ZrO2 bio ceramic were fabricated in various sintering conditions and nano particle size is achieved by milling technique. HA was derived from natural sources that chosen bovine bone. Effects of ZrO2 on the composites were investigated. Adding the additive resulted in the values of higher density. Density of the sintered samples was determined by using the Archimedes method and distilled water was used as the fluid medium. The phase formation of the sintered samples was analyzed by X-ray diffraction technique (XRD). The micro structural investigation of the samples was performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).


This publication on "Data Analysis Manual for Coconut Researchers" provides basic statistical concepts and includes: sampling methods, frequency distribution of observations, estimation and tests of significance, analysis and relationships between variables, basic principles for planning and conducting coconut field trials, basic experimental designs for coconut trials, experimental designs for coconut trials with modified blocking, experimental designs for multiple factors, analysis of multilocation trials, and multivariate analysis and determination of genetic distance. The manual provide details of experimental designs to use in agronomic, breeding trails and germplasm characterization and evaluation. The data used for most of the examples in this manual are actual research data on coconut generated at the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod, India. Almost all the analyses described in this manual have been described with some suitable examples and step-by-step procedures. Using this tutorial-type manual, coconut researchers as well as other researchers can practice computation by themselves using the examples provided in this manual and then use the same procedure to analyze their own data. The manual also include introduction to ?R? and its use to perform statistical analysis for data presentation in this manual and are presented as Appendices. It is therefore expected that this publication will help the scientific community to better plan and manage their experiments and, analyze and interpret their experimental data. (Resume d'auteur)


ABSTRACT Benign benign vascular tumors (e.g., hemangiomas) and malformations are commonly encountered lesions in all ages of life, especially in infancy and childhood. Hemangiomas are considered to be proliferative vascular lesions while malformations are defects of embryonal vascular morphogenesis. Less than 1% of hemangiomas within the body occur in skeletal muscle and of these approximately 15% have been reported to occur in the head and neck musculature (e.g. masseter, trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, mylohyoid, temporalis muscles) Intramuscular angioma (the preferred term for lesions formerly known as intramuscular hemangiomas by WHO Tumors of Soft Tissue and Bone Classification, 5th edition 2020) (IA) occurring in the extraocular muscles or palpebral muscles (orbicularis oculi) are extremely rare with only a few case reports in the English literature. To date, all the extraocular muscles have reportedly been involved. With the case reported herein, the medial rectus muscle appears to be the most common extraocular muscle involved.


Replacement of the three N-terminal residues preceding the conserved Gly of cystatin A by the corresponding 10-residue long segment of cystatin C increased the affinity of the inhibitor for the major lysosomal cysteine proteinase, cathepsin B, by approximately 15-fold. This tighter binding was predominantly due to a higher overall association rate constant. Characterization of the interaction with an inactive Cys29 to Ala variant of cathepsin B indicated that the higher rate constant was a result of an increased ability of the N-terminal region of the chimeric inhibitor to promote displacement of the cathepsin B occluding loop in the second binding step. The low dissociation rate constant for the binding of cystatin A to cathepsin B was retained by the chimeric inhibitor, which therefore had a higher affinity for this enzyme than any natural cystatin identified so far. In contrast, the N-terminal substitution negligibly affected the ability of cystatin A to inhibit papain. However, substitutions of Gly75 in the second binding loop of cystatin A by Trp or His, making the loop similar to those of cystatins C or B, respectively, increased the affinity for papain by approximately 10-fold. This enhanced affinity was due to both a higher association rate constant and a lower dissociation rate constant. Modeling of complexes between the two variants and papain indicated the possibility of favorable interactions being established between the substituting residues and the enzyme. The second-loop substitutions negligibly affected or moderately reduced the affinity for cathepsin B. Together, these results show that the inhibitory ability of cystatins can be substantially improved by protein engineering.