BACKGROUND
Physicians and patients are increasingly communicating with one another by e-mail concerning administrative issues, medications, and other aspects of care. The objective of this article is to review existing guidelines for general physicians communicating with patients by e-mail as the basis for developing more specific guidelines for psychiatric practice.

METHOD
We review e-mail guidelines previously developed by the American Medical Informatics Association, subsequently promulgated by the American Medical Association, and consider each suggestion for clinical and administrative practice from the perspective of psychiatric practice. Case vignettes illustrate several of these issues.

RESULTS
We suggest expansion and/or modification of existing guidelines to address more directly issues of specific concern in psychiatric practice.

CONCLUSION
Existing general guidelines concerning the use of e-mail in medical practice are useful starting points for psychiatric practice. Psychiatrists must pay particular attention to issues of confidentiality, communicative tone, and professional boundaries. With cautious application, e-mail may provide a useful tool for enhancing communication and treatment options for psychiatrists and their patients.


PURPOSE: The study aims were (1) to determine whether baseline measures—including the Body Mass Index, Airflow Obstruction, Dyspnea, and Exercise Capacity (BODE) index; Age, Dyspnea, and Airflow Obstruction (ADO) index; physical activity; comorbidities (cardiac, metabolic, or musculoskeletal disease); and the number of hospitalizations over the previous 12 months—can predict responders in 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) following pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) and (2) to determine whether different methods in defining improvement in 6MWD affected identifying responders to PR. METHODS: All participants with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who attended PR at our institution between 2004 and 2009 were evaluated. A participant was classified as a responder with improvement in 6MWD (≥25 m or ≥2 SD of this dataset coefficient of repeatability). RESULTS: A total of 203 participants (mean age, 68.2 ± 8.7 years; mean predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second, 52.5 ± 22.4%) were analyzed. One hundred twenty participants (59.1%) had a comorbidity categorized as cardiac, metabolic, or musculoskeletal disease. The binary logistic regression models showed that younger participants (P ⩽ .015) and, when using the coefficient of repeatability method (≥60.9 m), participants with metabolic disease (P = .040) were the only independent predictors of response. No other measure, including participant BODE or ADO index scores, contributed to either model. CONCLUSION: Identifying responders in exercise capacity following PR remains difficult, with only age and participants with metabolic disease identified as independent predictors.


In 27 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, we determined fasting serum glucose, hemoglobin A,, body weight, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-chol), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-chol), and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol during treatment with insulin and several months after changing treatment to chlorpropamide. In five patients, diabetic control deteriorated to the point where insulin was reinitiated. In the remaining 22 patients, despite a significant decrease in weight (122 ± 5 vs. 114 ± 5% ideal body wt; P < .025) on chlorpropamide, HDL-chol fell from 49 ± 4 to 40 ± 4 mg/dl (P < .01) when therapy was modified from insulin to the sulfonylurea. There was a concomitant increase in LDL-chol:HDL-chol from 3.6 ± 0.3 to 4.4 ± 0.5 (P < .05). In the 5 patients in whom insulin was reinstituted, HDL-chol increased to its previous level on insulin (P < .05). Changing antidiabetic medication from insulin to sulfonylureas may alter the lipoproteins in a manner that increases cardiovascular risk.


In this study, we analyzed full-length SARS-CoV-2 genomes from multiple countries to determine early trends in the evolutionary dynamics of the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated SARS-CoV-2 evolved early into at least three phylogenetic groups, characterized by positive selection at specific residues of the accessory proteins OFR3a and ORF8a. We also report evidence of epistatic interactions among sites in the genome that may be important in the generation of variants adapted to humans. These observations might impact not only public health, but also suggest more studies are needed to understand the genetic mechanisms that may affect the development of therapeutic and preventive tools, like antivirals and vaccines.


This paper explores the implications of the South African Higher Education Quality Committee's (HEQC) shift from its own key understanding of quality as "fitness of, and for purpose", and "transformation" to an understanding of quality as, in Harvey and Green's classification, "conformance to specifications". This focus contrasts with the approach of the University of Natal as promoting, developing and implementing quality initiatives, guided by a philosophy of partnership development. The new external quality assurance environment will have significant implications for quality activities at institutions in South Africa. It could be seen to run counter to the long-term efforts of the Quality Promotion Unit (QPU) at the University of Natal, and policies and procedures put in place to encourage organizational change and quality improvement in areas such as student feedback, promotions for academic staff, academic staff development, and student assessment. We believe it is essential to include both accountability and improvement aspects of quality to encourage a culture of continuous improvement rather than a culture of compliance. The key question for the QPU is whether we alter our strategies to accommodate a compliance philosophy, and in the process alienate our partners within the institution, or do we wait for the first audit?


Migrant teachers' negotiation of cultural value differences and conflicts during their respective professional socialisation experiences is explored from a social constructivist perspective in this paper, based on Bishop's classification of approaches to cultural conflicts. Successful negotiation of these conflicts contributes towards increased teacher efficacy, and thus promotes students' cognitive, affective and behavioural developments. On the other hand, education involves teachers' inevitable portrayal of values related to the curriculum subject and its pedagogy, in addition to other more general values. This applies too to school mathematics; afterall, mathematics and mathematics pedagogy are socio-culturally referenced. This paper examines two migrant teachers of mathematics, being part of an ongoing, larger study which investigates the nature of value conflicts and the range of teacher responsive strategies in the secondary mathematics classroom. A qualitative case study methodology which gathered data from document analyses, lesson observations and interviews has been adopted. The different negotiation strategies adopted by the teachers implied the operation of these strategies as a function of teacher-perceived educational context compatibility, and highlighted the role of overriding values. Implications for teacher practice are outlined.


In a user-centric service creation process, users should drive the service creation, in which services can be composed out of existing services. However, the creation is expected to take place also at runtime and possibly be performed by non-technical users. These users require support in the composition process, since they cannot deal with all the technical details of service composition. Furthermore, users have different characteristics and properties. In this paper we propose a classification of users in terms of their application domain and technical knowledge in order to identify different types of users and their requirements in the service composition process. These requirements can be used to design and build suitable supporting composition environments. Although our classification of users may seem trivial at first sight, it is quite essential for identifying users requirements and derive the appropriate supporting environment. Nowadays most of the approaches are technology-driven rather than user-oriented. We argue that only by taking the user into account a truly user-centric service creation and delivery can be achieved.


A study was undertaken ( i ) to investigate and compare the
effect of chromosome make up on semen characteristics of three
buffalo genotypes , viz swamp , 2n=48 ; river 2n=50; and
crossbred , 2n=49; ( ii ) to investigate the influence of climate
on the semen characteristics of the three genotypes ; (iii) to
study the freezability of the semen of the three buffalo
genotypes using four different extenders .
Theresults showed that in general , the semen quality was
better i n the swamp buffalo as compared to the river type. Except for the semen colour, density, volume and spermatozoa
concentration , all the other semen characteristics of the
crossbred buffalo were inferior to that of the other two
genotypes . The lower mean values for mass activity,
progressive motility percentage , percent intact acrosome and
the higher incidence of total spermatozoa abnormalities in the
crossbred buffalo ( 2n=49) semen indicate that the odd number
chromosome complement of this genotype has an adverse effect
on its semen characteristics.


Statistics of Indonesia's (BPS) performance are not optimal since there is a lack of integration among business processes. This has resulted in unsynchronized data, unstandardized business processes, and inefficient IT investment. To encourage more qualified and integrated business processes, BPS should optimize the knowledge sharing process (KSP) among government employees in statistical areas. This study designed a Knowledge Sharing System (KSS) to facilitate KSP in BPS towards knowledge sharing improvement. The KSS manifested a hypothesis that the design of qualified knowledge management can facilitate an organization to overcome the lack of integration among business processes. Hence, BPS can avoid repetitive mistakes, improve work efficiency, and reduce the risk of failure. This study generated a business process-oriented KSS by combining soft system methodology with the B-KIDE (Business process-oriented Knowledge Infrastructure Development) Framework. It delivered research artifacts (a rich picture, CATWOE analysis (costumer, actor, transformation, weltanschauung, owner, environment), and conceptual model) to capture eight mechanisms of knowledge, map them into the knowledge process, and define the applicable technology. The KSS model has perceived a score of 0.40 using the Kappa formula that indicates the stakeholders' acceptance. Therefore, BPS can leverage a qualified KSS towards the integrated business processes statistically while the hypothesis was accepted.


I have received many requests for a working formula for the cream which I suggested a few years ago, as well as requests for its publication. The following formula gives a good and practically uniform product, if the compounding is done by a careful pharamacist who takes pride in his results. Melt the stearic acid. At the same time, dissolve the potassium carbonate in 320 cc. of water and heat to about 170 F. on the hot water bath. Bring the stearic acid to the same temperature and mix the two. Continue this temperature on a hot water bath, and stir occasionally until the reaction is complete. Dissolve the powdered borax in 100 cc. of water; add the quince jelly and heat on the hot water bath to about 170 F. Add this mixture to the first, which should be at the same temperature, and again leave on the hot water bath till the reaction is complete. Heat the glycerite of starch to the same temperature, stir in the powdered zinc oxide with a glass stirring rod and add to the other mixture, stirring occasionally. Let the mixture cool, add flavoring (oil Ylang Ylang recommended) and mill.


Sediments play an important role in the quality of aquatic ecosystems in the Dam Lake where they can either be a sink or a source of contaminants, depending on the management. This purpose of this study is to identify the sediment quality in order to find out the causes for the malodor and the eutrophication that is causing a bad scenario. Solutions for improving the dam are proposed. Multivariate statistical techniques, such as a principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA), were applied to the data regarding sediment quality in relation to anthropogenic impact in Suat Ugurlu Dam Lake. This data was generated during 2014-2015, with monitoring at four sites for 11 parameters. PCA and CA were used in the study of the samples. The total variance of 84.1%, 74.3%, 87.4% and 91.5% suggest 4, 3, 3 and 4 principle components (PCs) in the four locations: LC1, LC2, LC3 and LC4, respectively. Also, a CA was applied to both the variables and the observations. Some variables and observations showed a high similarity based on the results of variables in the CA. Also, the similarity ratio of temperature-mercury (Hg) and oxidation reduction potential (ORP) was high and generally, the cluster number of variables was 5, according to the selected similarity level.


This thesis aims essentially at an investigation of the origins and developments of mosque architecture in the region of Bengal in pre-Mughal times (that is, for these purposes, to A.D. 1538); but, since the study of a limited aspect of a pan-Islamic manifestation may in itself be sterile, an attempt has been made to integrate the Islamic Bengali microcosm into the macrocosm of the mediaeval Islamic world. Firstly, therefore, the growth of religious architecture is related to its humanistic background, especially that of the development of Islam with its political and social implications increasing in importance while Islam as a religious system gathered increasing momentum. The mosque itself is then studied in various aspects: the architectural origins of the mosque as a focal point of the religious life of the community are first investigated; and then the history of mosque architecture from the beginning to A.D. 1538 is analysed in general, but always with an eye to the particular manifestations of Bengal. Evidence for the etymologies which have been proposed for the term Masjid are collected and discussed in extenso; but, to preserve the continuity of the major arguments of the thesis, this material has been relegated to an appendix. The mosque architecture of Bengal is then discussed in detail. All previous work on the subject is examined and criticized, and the errors and misapprehensions of some authors corrected and explained. The treatment of this material is at once broadly chronological and typological, and a viable classification (as exhibited in the Table of Contents) has been adopted throughout. Full use has been made of the rather confused epigraphical evidence. While Mughal architecture is not the direct concern of the thesis, an attempt has also been made to relate some characteristic aspects of Bengali building and their future employment in Mughal times. The decorative arts of the period have been considered in drawing conclusions; but the volume of evidence from this sphere is so great as to have made it necessary to exclude any detailed discussion in this thesis. Thus the thesis as a whole presents an ordered exposition of Bengali mosque architecture viewed in its wider context, which I submit as an original contribution to scholarly knowledge especially in the exercise of critical judgment over the whole field; in addition, some new evidence is here presented for the first time, which adds a further dimension to the validity of my criticism.


Hydroelectric plants broadly sustain Colombian electricity demand. However, wind power emerges to improve the Colombian energy matrix and capacity, satisfying the energy demand. Thus, this study evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of projects based on Small Wind Turbines (SWTs), based on the Colombian wind resource availability. Furthermore, due to the Colombian diversity of energy sources, sensitivity to climate changes and a high percentage of non-interconnected territory, the SWTs excels as an off-grid energy system alternative. For this purpose, the annual energy production and the capacity factor of 24 SWT and the wind resource in Puerto Bolívar, La Guajira, are considered. A techno-economic study that includes cash flow analysis and net present value is used to determine economic viability, considering a financing percentage sensitivity analysis. From the results, it can be concluded that an SWT based project increases its profitability by increasing the IRR value and lowering the financing percentage. Further, the best SWT models can be related to a higher capacity factor value based on the economic phase.


Abstract More than 2000 km of good quality, post-1980 marine seismic data, acquired offshore from Kerema, allow perception of the structural style and evolution of the frontal (external) part of the Papuan Fold Belt. Previous interpretations of the sub-surface structure of the Papuan Fold Belt have been based on outcrop evidence, where thrust and reverse faults are documented as having dominantly southward (external) vergence. The offshore seismic data reveal that southward-dipping (interior-verging) back- thrusts are important structures, especially as constructive elements in large culminations. The backthrusts have been instrumental in raising the target section within reach of the drill in large anticlinal fold traps. Marine seismic data provide insight which is critical of ascertaining the geometry of deep structures, and for determining optimum locations for drilling. Additionally, concepts derived from perception of offshore structures might be applied in future interpretations of the onshore part of the fold belt, where seismic acquisition is made difficult by rugged terrain. Folds and faults of the frontal part of the Papuan Fold Belt are detached along a nearly horizontal deep, supracrustal level (probably in ductile Mesozoic shales). The thick assemblage of detached cover rocks is internally delaminated and laterally compressed at shallower levels by structural thickening of ductile zones, and by exterior-verging and interior-verging thrusts that break the limbs of asymmetric folds. The stratigraphic and structural geometries demonstrates that compression and tightening of the fold belt migrated progressively southwestward in episodic fashion: successively younger stratigraphic sequence are less tightly folded than their predecessors.


There is a strong demand for standalone actinic tools for mask blank and mask metrology. We expect to deliver contributions to key issues for the infrastructure tools such as actinic reflectometer, actinic defect inspection and components like high brightness sources together with our partners. With our EUV-reflectometer EUV-MBR we are ready to fulfill HVM requirements in accurate and sensitive spectral metrology. Migrating from mask blanks to masks is supported with integrated fiducial mark detection and small spot sizes of down to < 0.03 mm2. Hence, the EUV-MBR is able to detect minimal variations on mask blank and can support process monitoring for our partners in European EXEPT project. For actinic blank inspection a proof of concept experiment based on an EUV microscope at BASC's EUV-Lamp allows for comparing actinic signatures with AFM scans. Results allow for extrapolation to sub 30 nm sensitivity and fast full blank scan. For LPP sources we demonstrated a new concept utilizing a laser, with parameters optimized for high brightness EUV generation and a new regenerative target concept for high position stability, gain, repetition rate operation and efficiency in the first proof of concept experiment. Up to 350 W/(mm2 sr) from < 20 μm source size have been demonstrated.


The advantages of weak measurements, and especially measurements of imaginary weak values, for precision enhancement, are discussed. A situation is considered in which the initial state of the measurement device varies randomly on each run, and is shown to be in fact beneficial when imaginary weak values are used. The result is supported by numerical calculation and also provides an explanation for the reduction of technical noise in some recent experimental results. A connection to quantum metrology formalism is made.


We study the transfer of heat in the nonequilibrium spin-boson model with an Ohmic dissipation. In the nonadiabatic limit we derive a formula for the thermal conductance based on a rate equation formalism at the level of the noninteracting blip approximation, valid for temperatures T>T(K), with T(K) as the Kondo temperature. We evaluate this expression analytically assuming either weak or strong couplings, and demonstrate that our results agree with exact relations. Far-from-equilibrium situations are further examined, showing a close correspondence to the linear response limit.


Impregnation of dry wood with pure lactic acid oligomers (OLAs) followed by heat treatment confers promising properties to wood because of OLA's good diffusion, in-situ polymerization and persistence in cell walls. Treatment provides drastic reduction of the equilibrium moisture content, high dimensional stability and good durability. The presence of water during treatment has been evaluated. Curing of OLA impregnated dry wood in humid atmosphere leads to a strong and global degradation of the material. OLA treatment of wet wood only impacts the water leaching rate negatively. Treatment of dry wood with OLA diluted in water additionally decreases the biological resistance and is not efficient for decreasing hygroscopicity. Treatment of dry wood with lactic acid solution leads to a lower polymerization level but confers good properties.


Objective: The aim of our research was to evaluate the relationship involving LVEF, LDL, BNP, Troponin I and CFR, and to determine the predictors of LVEF in patients with CMVD and OCAD, and in patients with CMVD.

Results: The mean age was 58.5±12.5 years. Approximately 60% of the patients were women. Chest pain was the common symptom in both conditions around 45% followed by chest tightness which was 25%. In patients OCAD and CMVD we found low density lipoprotein-c (LDL-c) had significant inverse relationship with LVEF (r= -0.323, P= 0.042), LVEF also had significant negative relationship with BNP, and Troponin-I. While a significant direct relationship turned out to be observed linking LVEF with CFR (r= 0.422, P=0.007). Left ventricular ejection fraction had significant negative relationship with LDL-C (r= -0.489, P=0.029), and BNP (r= -0.472, P=0.035) in patients with OCAD only. Age, blood pressure, lipid levels, RDW, HbA1C, symptoms, NYHA classification, Alcohol drinking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, troponin levels and BNP were the predictors for LVEF in CMVD patients. We depicted a strong negative relationship between LVEF and biomarkers (LDL-c, BNP, Troponin-I), with a significant positive association between LVEF and CFR.


Farmed mink are known for showing stereotypies and tail biting, behaviours that are mostly viewed as indicators of reduced welfare. Among the factors that are often described as being relevant for the welfare of mink are food management systems, age at weaning, and type/presence of nest boxes and bedding. In the present study of commercially farmed mink, all of these factors have been integrated in one housing system. The occurrence of stereotypies and tail biting were observed at six Dutch mink farms, which differed from one another with respect to the number of modifications and the time since the introduction of these modifications. On each farm, 60 non-lactating female mink were observed during winter and 50 lactating female mink (with kits) were observed during summer. Mink on the farm with the most modifications spent 4.1% and 0.8% of their time performing stereotypies in winter and in summer, respectively. Mink on the farm with the least modifications spent 32% and 10.9% of their time performing stereotypies in winter and in summer, respectively. The occurrence of stereotypic behaviour in winter gradually increased as feeding time approached. This gradual increase was not observed at the farm with the least modifications. In general, mink spent less time performing stereotypies in summer than in winter. No clear differences were found between the farms for the occurrence of tail biting in relation to the modifications of the new system, although one farm showed a lower percentage (4%) of tail biters during summer. In conclusion, the farms that had introduced more modifications into their husbandry system housed animals showing less stereotypic behaviour. The results of this field study demonstrate an inverse relationship between the number of modifications and the occurrence of stereotypies; because of the experimental design, however, a causal relationship is not implied. Further work is required to investigate the impact of each measure both in isolation and in the integrated system under more carefully standardised conditions.


We consider a hotel distribution system in which a hotel sells rooms through both its own offline channel and Online-Travel-Agency's (OTA) online channel. In particular, we consider a commonly used allocation scheme in the hotel industry: Commission Override Model (COM), which uses both wholesale contract and consignment contract to sell hotel rooms. In essence, under the wholesale contract OTA 'earns' allotments of rooms after it purchases them; while under the consignment contract the hotel decides on the consignment quantity and retains ownership of the rooms. In contrast to COM, in the traditional Pure Merchant Model (PMM), the revenue from unsold online rooms is permanently lost. We formulate the game model and characterize equilibrium. The results show that COM contract can always improve the hotel's profit in comparison to PMM, and COM is an effective tool to achieve Pareto Improvement with high commission rate and large demand variance.


ABSTRACT (1) The validity of the norms that determine society's identity needs to be guaranteed. The reason is that there are other alternatives to this society. The guarantee is accomplished when it is valid that each person has the duty to comply with the norms (law) and that sanctioning occurs in case of not complying. Sanctioning therefore means confirming the identity of society. The confirmation is totally accomplished with the sanction. (2) On the contrary, there's no alternative to the rules that refer to the social environment; therefore they stabilize themselves. Here lies the basis for lower sanctions in case of reckless acts due to mistakes—not due to indifference. (3) The disturbance of validity occurs in the same manner as its guarantee: by meaning, not by nature. Natural events, such as causal courses or psychological facts are not, per se, components of criminal behavior. They do so as symbol carriers. (4) Imputation begins with the distribution of competence between the offender, the victim, and third parties. (5) The so-called subjective imputation proves itself to be more a specified-personal imputation. It's an imputation which focuses on the law-abiding citizen as a criterion person. (6) The science of criminal law arises from the distinction between meaning (culpability) and nature. Every single dogmatic concept can be traced to this distinction. The sanction contradicts the meaning of the criminal act (the norm isn't valid). Meaningless, blameless behaviors should not (cannot) be contradicted.


Background Treatment strategies nowadays are targeting clinical remission or low disease activity. In some patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) clinical findings defer from the ultrasonographic evidence of inflammation which raise the need for revising the remission criteria in the clinical practice. Objectives The aim of our study was to estimate the presence of subclinical synovitis by power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) in PsA patients, who were considered as being in clinical remission defined by DAS28-ESR (Disease activity score of 28 joints – erythrocyte sedimentation rate) for at least 6 months during the treatment course. Methods 64 PsA patients in clinical remission based on DAS28 – ESR <2.6 were included in the study. The patients were examined by two independent rheumatologists. The affected joints were assessed by PDUS (MyLab 60, Esaote) for the presence of synovial hypertrophy (SH) and synovitis scored from 0 to 3 based on the presence and intensity of PD signal. Disease activity was determined by the presence of SH ≥2 degree and a positive PD signal. Results We found a persistent synovitis in 23 (35.9%) of the PsA with clinical remission of the peripheral joint involvement. Active synovitis was also found in 7 (10.9%) of the patients with DAS28 <2.6 which were on systemic corticosteroid (CS) treatment regimen. Conclusions The presence of active synovitis on PDUS in a significant part of the studied PsA patients (35.9%) which were considered as being in clinical remission for at least 6 months showed that these kind of patients need to be closely followed-up and adequately treated. The systemic CS treatment does not exclude the presence of disease activity in PsA. Further studies for assessment of the synovitis will establish correct criteria for defining and monitoring the disease activity in PsA. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Female rats treated with testosterone as neonates and as adults exhibited a temporal patterning of male copulatory behavior identical to that of normal males, although such females displayed few intromission reflexes and almost no ejaculatory patterns. With prenatal, postnatal, and adult testosterone treatment, female rats displayed all the characteristic masculine responses and intervals, including the ultrasonic postejaculatory vocalization.


As the clearances in disk drives approach subnanometer values, accurately predicting lubricant behavior is becoming more critical to designing reliable slider-disk interfaces. Central to any analysis of lubricant in disk drives is the disjoining pressure of the lubricant films on the disk and slider surfaces. This paper reviews current measurement techniques of the disjoining pressure of the lubricants used in disk drives and theoretical expressions of the disjoining pressure as a function of lubricant thickness. This paper also discusses what disjoining pressure analyses will be needed for future disk drive technologies.


Web services might be a way to solve the integration problem because Web services technology provides a higher layer of abstraction that hides implementation details from applications. Using this technology, applications invoke other applications' functions through well-defined, easy-to-use interfaces. To test the potential of a Web services solution, we implemented a microarray data-mining system that uses Web services in drug discovery - a research process that attempts to identify new avenues for developing therapeutic drugs. Although our implementation focuses on a problem within the life sciences, we strongly believe that Web services could be a boon to any research field that requires analyzing volumes of data and conducting complex data mining.


The article deals with the problems of functioning and improvement of measuring and control devices in the medical industry. The classification, principles of organization of specialized, multifunctional and single-functional medical instrument and computer systems are considered. A model for solving the problem of scalability and availability through the use of non-relational data management systems that combine methods for achieving atomicity and data consistency is proposed. The promising diagnostic methods in medicine are described. The importance of a prompt assessment of the patient's condition is emphasized. The optimization and modernization of the digital radiography using modern machine learning algorithms are given and justified.


This study deliberates on the main energy policies and their implications for Turkey in recent years. Turkey has been implementing some major policy changes in its energy strategy, including comprehensive liberalization and competitive market initiatives. There have been also same efforts to attract investors into energy sector. Energy efficiency is also attracting attention from the policy makers since it is an important element of the energy supply security. Diversification of the suppliers of natural gas and oil, and an increase in the use of alternative renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, reduce energy costs and contribute to the energy supply security. There has been an ongoing effort to modify laws and regulations to confirm with European Union (EU) legislations forTurkey's advancement toward accession to EU.Turkey may also serve as aTransportation Corridor and an Energy Hub between the East and the West


The paper examines in a comparative manner the approaches taken towards WTO law by the American and European legal orders in order to explore the core reason behind the European approach. The European approach to WTO appears unique compared with its general approach towards international law, in particular for international agreements concluded by the Community. The paper argues that the selective and pragmatic American approach, both legislative and judicial, towards WTO law have strongly influenced the judiciary on the other side of Atlantic to configure a selective and pragmatic judicial approach as well.


Background. In the present study, we used the Brown-Norway (BN) to Lewis model as a model for acute rejection, to test the hypothesis that dopamine (DA) treatment of BN donors significantly reduces the inflammatory response after renal transplantation. Methods. BN and Lewis rats (isograft controls) were treated for 24 hr with DA (5 &mgr;g/kg/min) or NaCl (0.9%), respectively. After 24 hr of cold storage in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution, renal allografts were orthotopically transplanted into Lewis recipients. All recipients received immunosuppression until they were sacrificed. Allografts were harvested one, three, five, and 10 days after transplantation and analyzed by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry (CD3, major histocompatibility complex [MHC] class II, ED1, P-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule [ICAM]-1) and by RNase protection assay for cytokine mRNA. Results. Ten days after transplantation Banff tubulitis scores were significantly lower in DA-treated than in NaCl-treated allografts. No significant differences were found in Banff interstitial infiltration scores. The numbers of MHC class II+ and CD3+ cells were significantly decreased in DA-treated animals as assessed by immunohistochemistry. No differences were found in the number of ED1+, P-selectin+, and ICAM-1+ cells. The expression of Lt&agr;, tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-1&bgr;, and interleukin-2 mRNA was significantly reduced in DA-treated animals. Conclusion. Our data indicate that donor DA treatment significantly inhibits tubulitis in renal allografts subjected to prolonged cold preservation. A reduced number of infiltrating MHC class II+ and CD3+ cells together with decreased cytokine expression could diminish renal scarring, reduce allograft immunogenicity, and hence improve transplantation outcome.


Studies are reviewed on the development and application of a new method of measuring the magnetic susceptibility of single biological cells and liposomal bilayer aggregates that model the core of the cell membrane, and also any nonmagnetic and weakly magnetic microparticles of volume of the order of 10−10 cm3, without violating their integrity. The method is based on the phenomenon of magnetophoretic motion of cells in a buffer medium caused by the interaction of the magnetic moment of the cell induced by an external magnetic field with the fringing field of a thin magnetic filament magnetized by the same field. It enables measuring induced moments of either sign of the order of 104–105 Bohr magnetons in a field of 1 kOe. The potentialities of the method are illustrated by the results of studies of the magnetic properties of human erythrocytes containing hemoglobin in the fundamental forms obtained as functions of the temperature, the pH of the medium, and oxygen-exchange processes. The properties of hemoglobin in cells and solutions are compared. The possibility is noted of identifying the magnetic properties and the physiological state of the cells. By using magnetic capture of spherical and cylindrical multilayer liposomes, one can obtain the most complete information on the magnetic properties of the lipid bilayer—its magnetic susceptibility, diamagnetic anisotropy, and the components of the magnetic susceptibility tensor. These potentialities of magnetic capture have been realized experimentally, and by using it new information has been obtained on the features of the thermotropic behavior of membrane bilayers of synthetic dipalmitoyllecithin in the region of the fundamental phase transition and of bilayers of natural phospholipids–egg lecithin and the total lipids of erythrocyte membranes in the region of thermal structural rearrangements. The high sensitivity of magnetic capture to a change of the state of the lipid bilayer and its information content with respect to structural organization are noted.


How do ordinary people respond to prolonged terror? The convulsion of Japan's "Warring States" period between 1467 and 1568 destroyed the medieval order and exposed the framework of an early modern polity. Mary Elizabeth Berry investigates the experience of upheaval in Kyoto during this time. Using diaries and urban records (extensively quoted in the text), Berry explores the violence of war, misrule, private justice, outlawry, and popular uprising. She also examines the structures of order, old and new, that abated chaos and abetted social transformation. The wartime culture of Kyoto comes to life in a panoramic study that covers the rebellion of the Lotus sectarians, the organization of work and power in commoner neighborhoods, the replotting of urban geography, and the redefinition of authority and prestige in the arena of play.


Aiming to achieve metal-oxide-based electrodes for Li-ion batteries with enhanced energy density and cycling life, especially overcoming their negative volume expansion during cycling, more effort should be devoted to the exploration of the combination of morphology-controlled metal oxides with carbonaceous materials. In this work, we select dual/single-metallic organic frameworks immobilized on the surface of carbon nanotubes as the precursors to synthesize composites of ternary/single metal oxides with carbon nanotubes (ZnCo2O4@CNTs and ZnO@CNTs). The main product, ZnCo2O4@CNTs, consists of ultrafine ZnCo2O4 nanoparticles embedded deeply in the carbon nanotubes. The existence of small-size ternary metal oxides as well as the carbon nanotubes results in outstanding lithium-storage properties of the ZnCo2O4@CNT anode for lithium-ion batteries. It delivers an extremely high capacity (1507 mA h g-1, 100 mA g-1) after 200 cycles, which is larger than the theoretical value.


In this paper we present a new algorithm for computing reduced-order models of interconnect which utilizes the dominant controllable subspace of the system. The dominant controllable modes are computed via a new iterative Lyapunov equation solver, Vector ADI. This new algorithm is as inexpensive as Krylov subspace-based moment matching methods, and often produces a better approximation over a wide frequency range. A spiral inductor and a transmission line example show this new method can be much more accurate than moment matching via Arnoldi.


Allelopathy is the production of chemicals (allelochemicals) of a plant which can influence the growth and development of another plant that can be either negative by reducing germination or positive by increasing growth. This study was conducted to (1) determine the allelopathic potential of the following grasses (Family Poaceae), Chloris barbata, Eleusine indica and Saccharum spontaneum in Tigbauan, Iloilo on the germination of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seeds; (2) determine the grass extracts that can inhibit or induce the germination; and (3) determine if there is a significant difference on the allelopathic potential of the grass extracts on the germination of lettuce seeds in each assay used. Filter paper and soil germination assays were the growth assays used. Results of the study revealed that the grasses used had significantly reduced and differ in their germination rate of lettuce seeds at 0.05 level of significance using One-Way Analysis of Variance and post hoc Tukey analyses. Both germination assays used, showed that S. spontaneum has the lowest germination rate. Eleusine indica has the highest germination rate in filter paper assay while Chloris barbata in soil germination assay. The grass extracts used have an allelopathic potential by decreasing the germination rate of lettuce seeds. This study suggested that allelopathic activity is one feature of attributes that enable invasive species to dominate in habitat space of communities they are present. Identifying these attributes and clarifying the relative importance could enhance our ecological understanding of the problematic species and facilitate the management of plant invasions.


The use of SiO 2 -like layers as adhesion-promoting inter-layers between a reactive plasma polymer film and a gold substrate is compared to a self-assembled monolayer of dodecanethiol and to bare gold. The chemical structure of the silicon oxide film is optimized by varying feed gas ratios and process input power. A 5 s oxygen plasma modification of the SiO 2 -like film deposited from hexamethyldisiloxane has been found to be vital to prepare the surface for covalent bonding of the subsequently deposited reactive polymer layer. Film chemical structures and reactivity have been studied using IR reflection-absorption spectroscopy, XPS, contact angle goniometry and SPR spectroscopy.


In this paper, we consider a cellular communication system with half-duplex regenerative relays, and propose a dynamic spectrum access (DSA)-based protocol for simultaneous uplink transmission in the same frequency band as the downlink transmission. The proposed protocol facilitates better frequency utilization. In this protocol, relay selection is employed for the downlink, while distributed beamforming is used in the uplink. Assuming peak interference constraints as well as peak power constraints for all uplink transmissions, we analyze the outage performance of the protocol. Expressions are also presented for the asymptotic outage probability. Computer simulations demonstrate that asymmetry in rates that is characteristic of cellular links makes it possible to achieve good outage performance for both uplink and downlink transmissions.


Background: Human labor is a complex series of cellular and molecular events that occur at the materno-fetal and uterine levels. Many hypotheses have been proposed for the initiation of human labor, one hypothesis suggests that maturation of the fetus releases a signal in the amniotic fluid that will be transmitted to myometrium via the fetal membranes and initiate uterine contractions. There is strong evidence that prostaglandins (PGs) play a central role in initiation and progression of human labor. Objectives: In this study we intended to investigate the expression of prostaglandin F synthase and the prostaglandin transporter in the human fetal membranes and to explore the relationship between cytokines and PGs in the mechanism of human labor. Methods: We used fetal membranes obtained before labor at term and after spontaneous labor at term or preterm to identify the changes in prostaglandin F synthase (AKR1B1) and human prostaglandin transporter (SLCO2A1) proteins in relation to parturition. Using fetal membranes explants we tested the effect of cytokines (interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha) on PG production and the concomitant changes in cyclooxygenase-2 (PTGS2), AKR1B1 and SLCO2A1 expression. Results: Expression of PTGS2 and AKR1B1 was upregulated in the fetal membranes in association with term labor while SLCO2A1 was downregulated with advancing gestation and during term labor. Before labor, IL-1 increased the expression of PTGS2, however during labor TNF upregulated PTGS2 and AKR1B1 proteins. Conclusions: The prostaglandin F synthase AKR1B1 is upregulated while prostaglandin transporter is downregulated during term labor. The amnion is more responsive than choriodecidua to stimulation with pro-inflammatory cytokines. The mechanisms of term and preterm labor are different.


Postpartum uterine diseases such as metritis and endometritis are highly prevalent in dairy cows. These diseases negatively affect the reproductive performance and consequently economic activity. Cows in the puerperal period presenting endometritis may have alterations in the hemodynamics of the uterine tissue and the uterine arteries, which differ them from healthy cows. Therefore, this study aimed to use the Doppler ultrasonography to describe the hemodynamic changes in the uterus of cows showing endometritis diagnosed between 25 - 35 days postpartum. Eighty-nine Holstein Friesian females with 25 to 35 days postpartum were studied. Cows were assigned to two experimental groups, infected or not infected, according to the results of the endometrial cytology. Clinical examination, vaginoscopy, Doppler ultrasound and sample collection (saline solution was injected and recovered by endoscopie method aiming cytological and microbiological evaluation of the uterus) were also performed. Cows with endometritis had the cervix (P = 0.040) and the left horn (P = 0.020) increased compared to healthy cows. 78.6% of the endometritic cows showed abnormal uterine discharge, while 57.6% of healthy cows had this same condition (P = 0.0005). The spectral Doppler evaluation of the uterine arteries revealed no differences between groups. Bacillus spp., Trueperella pyogenes, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus intermedius were the most isolated bacteria among samples. Higher score or increase of uterus vascularization of the endometrial Doppler was correlated with Trueperella pyogenes (P = 0.0003) and intrauterine heterogeneous content (P = 0.0047). Finally, mesometrial Doppler was correlated with endometrial Doppler (P < 0.001), uterine bacteria (P = 0.001) and intrauterine heterogeneous content (P = 0.049). Regarding the evolution of uterine alterations, Doppler ultrasonography provides fast results and is a lesser invasive technique such as uterus biopsie and endometrial citology and gives answers about fertility and uterus health.


Ancient human genome data accumulated in recent years can be employed to establish the spatiotemporal trajectories of genetic variants associated with human diseases. Such knowledge might illuminate if and how past adaptations impact contemporary human health and medicine. Scarcely any studies have yet attempted to evaluate genetic susceptibility to neurodegenerative disorders in ancient human communities. Using publicly available ancient human genome-wide data, this study evaluated the molecular predisposition to neurodegenerative disorders in ancient human communities. Ancient genome-wide data was screened for the presence of variants unequivocally associated with neurodegenerative disorders in modern populations, identifying two rare variants in the LRRK2 gene associated with Mendelian Parkinson's disease, a pathogenic variant in the CRH gene associated with an uncommon form of epilepsy, and a rare variant in the TREM2 gene that is a possible risk modifier associated with Alzheimer's disease. Their historical and geographic prevalence was also assessed, indicating differing spatiotemporal frequency dynamics for these clinically significant variants. Neurodegenerative disorders often have poorly understood pathogenesis that might be elucidated by studying the interaction of past genetic variability with ecological and evolutionary factors such as adverse environmental conditions, specific selective pressures, periods of population isolation, and admixture processes. Data on molecular predisposition to neurodegenerative disorders in ancient genomes is instructive to modern medical diagnostic and therapeutic practices.


Background Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthropathy commonly associated with psoriasis. Minimal disease activity (MDA) and remission represent treatment targets. However, their assessment is to date an unmet need in PsA patients. Objectives Aim of the study was to prospectively evaluate MDA and remission in PsA patients who were treated with subcutaneous TNF inhibitors (iTNF), every 3/6 months for 2 years. Methods Clinical and laboratory data from 221 PsA patients were analyzed (F:M=1.3, age 55±13 years, disease duration 12.3±6.1 years) at baseline (T0), after 22 (T22), 54 (T54) and 104 (T104) weeks from the beginning of TNFi (adalimumab n=94; etanercept n=84; golimumab n=43). Values of DAS28-CRP, CPDAI, and DAPSA were calculated, and MDA/remission were assessed at the all the time points. MDA was defined as the occurrence of 5/7 criteria, while remission was assessed as DAS28-CRP<2.6, DAPSA≤3.3, and CPDAI<2. Occurrences of comorbidities such as cardio-vascular, renal, respiratory, infectious, metabolic, neuropsychiatric and thyroid diseases were registered. Concomitant therapies (steroids and csDMARDs) and predictive factors of remission were analyzed in accordance with the above-mentioned scores. The Chi-square test was used to compare the remission rate at the follow-up and to analyze the predictive factors. Cohen's kappa analysis was performed to measure the concordance between clinimetric scores: kappa ≥0.6 was considered as a good agreement and kappa ≥0.8 was considered as an excellent agreement. Results Prevalence of patients on DAS28 and DAPSA remission was significantly higher at T104 comparing to T0, T22 and T54 while patients on MDA and CPDAI remission were more frequent at T104 compared with T0 and T22 (Figure1A). At all the time points, a good concordance between MDA and DAS28<2.6 occurred (k=0.63) and an excellent concordance was obtained between MDA, CPDAI<2 and DAPSA≤3.3 (k=0.81). At T22, patients with thyreopathies achieved the CPDAI remission in a lower percentage compared to patients without thyreopathies (P=0.02, OR=3.3) (Figure 1B). At T104, the female sex was associated with a lower prevalence of patients on DAS28 remission (P=0.005, OR=2.3) and MDA (P=0.01, OR=2.7) while a lower percentage of patients with metabolic comorbidities was on DAS28 remission with the respect to patients without them (P=0.02, OR=3.3) (Figure1B). Patients on concomitant steroid therapy were fewer at T22/54/104 with the respect to T0 (P<0.0001 for all the comparisons) while the rate of patients on csDMARDs was lower at T104 compared with T0 (P<0.01). Conclusions In clinical practice, MDA and remission were achieved in a high prevalence of PsA patients during TNFi treatment with a rate that increased from 22 to 104 weeks. Tapering of the concomitant treatment was thus allowed. Predictors as thyreopathies, female sex, and metabolic comorbidities were associated with a lower probability to achieve clinical remission. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Since the 1900s, a new form of democracy has emerged, where the social representation is reinforced and the citizens participate in the public policy and they determine the budget for their location. The level of diffusion and application of participatory budgeting is unknown. The implications caused for democratic processes are also unknown. In this context, a systematic literature review of publications indexed from 2000 to 2016 was conducted. Using the software NVivo for qualitative analysis and using matrices the following information was organized, analyzed and synthesized: title, author, year of publication, research line and application of common themes. The results show to Porto Alegre in Brazil as the area of greatest application of this methodology, the political will as the main factor of success, and a time of controversy in the process.


Photoinduced variations in the refractive index of nitrogen-doped silica are directly measured in the wavelength range from 350 to 2500 nm. It is found that the change in the refractive index under the action of 193 nm laser radiation significantly increases in the long-wavelength region and amounts to ~10-3 at λ=2.5 μm (for the energy fluence ~104 J cm-2). This means that the nature of the photorefractive effect in nitrogen-doped silica is related to photostructural transformations affecting the phonon part of the optical absorption spectrum.


Traditionally, stainless steels find a wide range of applications, which include pipelines, automobiles, engine and gear parts etc. In many of these applications, structures and components go through fatigue loading ranging for low cycle to high cycle. ISO/TR 15510 X12CrMnNiN17-7-5 is a special grade of austenitic stainless steel, which is developed to conserve nickel and is used in automobile parts such as automotive trim, automobile wheel covers, flat conveyer chains, railroad passenger car bodies. The aim of this project is to explore the low cycle fatigue behaviour and its effect on the tensile properties of the abovementioned non-conventional stainless steel, which is unavailable in literature. Attempts have also been made to understand the microstructural variation due to deformation in the steel, as the structure is austenitic, hence metastable in nature. For these purposes a set of non-conventional austenitic stainless steel rods were annealed by soaking at 1000°C for one hour these were followed by water quenching prior to machining.The fatigue studies have been carried out at four different strain amplitudes (at ambient temperature) up to 100 cycles, which have been followed by tensile tests on the fatigued samples at constant crosshead speed of 1mm/minute. The low cycle fatigue results include that the steel undergoes cyclic softening behavior, which has also been reflected from the post-fatigue tensile results X-ray diffraction studies indicate that deformation induced phase transformation takes place in the steel due to combined effects of fatigue and tensile loading. The extent of phase transformation has been estimated and is correlated with the extent of deformation.


Plasma turbulence characteristics, including radial correlation lengths, decorrelation times, amplitude profile and flow velocity, have been measured during a ρ* scan on DIII-D while all other transport relevant dimensionless quantities (e.g., β, ν*, κ, q, Te/Ti) are held nearly constant. The turbulence is measured by examining the correlation properties of the local long wavelength (k⊥ρi ≤ 1) density fluctuations, measured with beam emission spectroscopy. The radial correlation length of the turbulence Lc,r is shown to scale with the local ion gyroradius, Lc,r ≈ 5ρi, while the decorrelation times scale with the local acoustic velocity as τc~a/cs. The turbulent diffusivity parameter, D~(Lc,r2/τc), scales in a roughly gyro-Bohm-like fashion, as predicted by the gyrokinetic equations governing turbulent transport. The experimental one fluid power balance heat diffusivity scaling and that from GLF23 modelling compare reasonably well.


Four compositions of commercially available PZT are characterized under combined stress and electric field loading. The loading consists of a series of increasing compressive stress increments alternating with a series of bipolar electric field cycles. The softest composition has the lowest Young's modulus and shows hysteresis in the electric field cycle that increases as the compressive stress is increased. A distinct yield stress associated with the onset of deformation twinning (depolarization) is evident at around 25 Mpa. After loading to 180 Mpa and unloading, there is a large residual strain. The hardest composition has a higher Young's modulus, shows little or no hysteresis in the electric field cycle until the compressive stress has been applied, has a distinct yield point at around 75 Mpa associated with the onset of deformation twinning, and after loading to 180 Mpa and unloading the non-linear strain is recovered. There is no residual strain. The two compositions that lie between the extremes display intermediate behavior.


This paper provides insights into the stability of flexible orthotropic rectangular plates in supersonic flow by revealing the amplitude-speed dependency behavior for such panels in precritical and postcritical flight conditions. Flutter and postflutter behaviors are discussed to highlight the important effect of the structural and aerodynamic nonlinearities inherently present for panels in high-speed flows. The influence of transversal shear on stability is also illustrated. Depending on the plate's geometrical parameters, soft- and hard-type flutter behaviors are possible, and a graphical interpretation is provided along with pertinent conclusions.


Ambrosia beetle, Platypus koryoensis, is a vector of oak wilt disease caused by Raffaelea sp. in Korea. The degree of damage by oak wilt disease was dependent on the density of the beetles in the oak trunk, a relationship between the degree of damage by oak wilt disease and the density of beetle on the basis of the number of entry hole was studied. Entry hole distribution within tree trunk was analyzed by the nearest neighbor method. Thirty four oak trees (Quercus mongolica) located in survey area were selected and then degree of damage, the number of attack hole/623 ㎠ in upper (50 ㎝ from the surface) and lower (surface) trunk and the nearest neighbor distance between the holes were measured. The number of hole and the nearest neighbor distance in upper and lower part were positively correlated with each other. As the degree of damage was severer, the number of the holes increased, whereas the nearest neighbor distance decreased. The distribution pattern of the hole was changed from clumped one to uniform as the severity of damage increased. These results suggested that Platypus koryoensis attacked the oak tree in concentrative manner at initial stage of attack but at final stage, it distributed uniformly to reduce intraspecific competition between the beetles.


This study aims to look at the influence of education level and household power relations on entrepreneurial aspirations in women, using the women participating in the Micro-Waqf Bank (MWB) revolving fund program in Gunung Pati, Central Java as a case study. The study uses primary data obtained from the survey, analysed with descriptive statistical techniques and Two-way ANOVA. The results show that household power-relations significantly influence women's entrepreneurial ambitions. The greater their power in the household, the higher their entrepreneurial intentions. Meanwhile, the education level does not have a significant effect. The results of this study have important implications for women's economic empowerment. Every program to increase entrepreneurial intentions and women's economic empowerment needs to be balanced with social education for households about the importance of giving recognition and appreciation to the woman'srolein house hold decision-making. Adequate room for women to be active in productive economic activities needs to be provided in the household.
Keywords: Women Entrepreneurial Intention, Household Power-Relation, Micro-Waqf Bank.


Resistance to protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase (PPO)-inhibitors in Amaranthus palmeri and Amaranthus tuberculatus is mainly contributed by mutations in the PPO enzyme, which renders herbicide molecules ineffective. The deletion of glycine210 (ΔG210) is the most predominant PPO mutation. ΔG210-ppo2 is overexpressed in rice (Oryza sativa c. 'Nipponbare') and Arabidopsis thaliana (Col-0). A foliar assay was conducted on transgenic T1 rice plants with 2× dose of fomesafen (780 g ha−1), showing less injury than the non-transgenic (WT) plants. A soil-based assay conducted with T2 rice seeds confirmed tolerance to fomesafen applied pre-emergence. In agar medium, root growth of WT rice seedlings was inhibited >90% at 5 µM fomesafen, while root growth of T2 seedlings was inhibited by 50% at 45 µM fomesafen. The presence and expression of the transgene were confirmed in the T2 rice survivors of soil-applied fomesafen. A soil-based assay was also conducted with transgenic A. thaliana expressing ΔG210-ppo2 which confirmed tolerance to the pre-emergence application of fomesafen and saflufenacil. The expression of A. palmeri ΔG210-ppo2 successfully conferred tolerance to soil-applied fomesafen in rice and Arabidopsis. This mutant also confers cross-tolerance to saflufenacil in Arabidopsis. This trait could be introduced into high-value crops that lack chemical options for weed management.


Recommended values are presented for qm, qt and QT (momentum transfer cross-sections for elastic collisions, total cross-sections for elastic collisions and total collision cross-sections, respectively) of electrons in xenon for electron energies from 0 to 104 eV. Recommended values of ionisation cross-sections qi are also presented. Using these values of qm together with values of qi and Townsend ionisation coefficients alpha , recommended values of total excitation cross-sections qe are determined. The values of qm for electron energies from 5 to 20 eV are smaller than those of Frost and Phelps (1964) by a considerable amount. The values of qe for energies from about 20 to 100 eV are much larger than those of de Heer et al. (1979).


One of the actual trends in polymer foams consists in the development of new materials by combining density reduction through foaming with the incorporation of functional fillers. This would enable to obtain materials with improved specific properties and added functionalities. There is also a growing interest in the use of environmentally-friendly materials obtained from renewable sources, thus coming as a logical step to combine both in order to create novel biocomposite foams. This work presents an overview of our recent results regarding the preparation and structural and thermo-mechanical characterizations of rigid polypropylene-based composite foams, with the main goal of developing new lightweight materials with tailor-made properties (multifunctional foams). Several reinforcements have been considered, from renewable cellulose fibres to nanometric-sized reinforcements such as silicate-layered nanoclays and carbon nanofibres.


Projections of potential impacts of climate change and groundwater abstraction on gaining and losing streams, particularly in ephemeral river basins exhibiting sporadic and intricate flux exchanges, have remained largely unexplored. To fill this gap, we propose a promising modeling scheme based on the new fully integrated hydrological model SWAT‐MODFLOW‐NWT, calibrated and validated for 1978–2012, to quantify the intertwined surface‐groundwater interactions under a conjuncture of three climatic emission scenarios (RCP 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5) and two groundwater pumping variants: "pumping" (extending current groundwater utilization into the future) and "nonpumping" (assuming a complete cease of pumping in the future). By forcing the integrated model with future downscaled climate predictors of CanESM2 under the aforementioned RCPs for three time slices up to year 2100, projections of various water resources components for the Gharehsoo River Basin (GRB), in northwestern Iran were made. Results demonstrate that because of a general decrease of future precipitation, though with ups and downs across the total projection period, most of the surface and ‐subsurface budget quantities and fluxes are substantially affected. In particular, future groundwater discharge (baseflow) to the gaining streams will be more influenced by the "pumping" variant (increasing and decreasing for "nonpumping" and "pumping", respectively) than the concentrated groundwater recharge from the losing streams (decreasing and increasing for "nonpumping" and "pumping", respectively). Future water yield and groundwater storage will also diminish and, surprisingly, this cannot be alleviated by future "nonpumping", indicating the groundwater overutilization is the compelling reason for the future water scarcity in the GRB, rather than climate change alone.


The presence of three of the main respiratory viruses found in camels, that is, peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), bovine para-influenza virus 3 (PIV3) and bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1), was investigated and isolation of these viruses in different cell cultures was carried out. A total of 100 pneumonic camel lungs collected from slaughterhouses were screened for the presence of PPR, PIV3 and BHV-1 viral antigens using ELISA. Forty five were found to be positive for PPRV, 15 for PIV3 and 4 for BHV-1 virus antigen. Of these samples, 15 PPR, 12 PIV3 and 3 BHV-1 positives were inoculated in MDBK cell line, primary and secondary lamb and bovine kidney cells. Each of the three viruses were successfully isolated in the different cultures used; CPE was seen at day 14 for PPR, day 3 for PIV3 and day 2 for BHV-1 after infection; CPE was observed, characterized by cell rounding, elongation with some syncytia formation for both PPR and PIV3, and BHV-1 samples showed cell rounding, edematous cells and cell sheet detachment. This is the first report of the isolation of PPR virus from camels.


N-[4-(5-Nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazolyl]formamide (FANFT) is a potent urinary bladder carcinogen in the rat, and it can be metabolically activated in vitro by a variety of enzyme systems including aerobic cooxidation by prostaglandin H synthase. The latter enzyme is present in the rat bladder mucosa and can be inhibited by the oral administration of aspirin (ASA). To determine if ASA could inhibit the bladder carcinogenicity of FANFT, FANFT (0.2%) was co-administered in the diet with ASA (0.5%) for 12 weeks followed by 1 week of ASA only and then 56 weeks on control diet. 0.2% FANFT followed by control diet induced bladder carcinomas in 18 of 21 (87%) rats, but when ASA was co-administered, only 10 of 27 (37%) rats developed bladder carcinoma (p less than 0.001). However, forestomach tumors, not seen in rats fed only FANFT, developed in 7 rats fed FANFT plus ASA. No tumors occurred in control rats or those fed only ASA. Possible mechanisms, including the role of prostaglandin H synthase in FANFT metabolism, are discussed.


A 58-year-old man presented acutely with features of post-surgical adhesive small bowel obstruction. Following an unsuccessful trial of conservative management, computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen was performed. This revealed a mass in the ileocaecal region, for which he underwent a subsequent right hemicolectomy. Histology revealed diffuse B-cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the terminal ileum. Confounding obstructive lesion of the intestine in patients with a history of previous laparotomy is extremely uncommon. Early high resolution imaging may predict diagnosis and consolidate clinical management plans.


Actinic cheilitis is a premalignant condition that can be treated in several ways. A total of 43 patients with biopsy‐proven actinic cheilitis were treated with the carbon dioxide (CO2) laser. After follow‐up of at least 10 months, 26 patients thought that the lip was cosmetically improved, and 40 thought that the function of the lip was improved or had not changed. Complications were few and included only mild hypertrophic scarring, which resulted most often from the diagnostic biopsy and was corrected with topical or intralesional steroids or no therapy except simple massage. The CO2 laser is a simple, inexpensive, effective therapy for actinic cheilitis.


Epidural abscesses are rare suppurative abscesses of the central nervous system that can expand and lead to severe neurologic complications and even death. Here we describe the case of a 68-year-old female who developed a spinal epidural abscess one month following cervical spinal decompression and fusion. The patient presented with decreased grip strength, flaccid paralysis of the lower extremities with hyporeflexia, urinary incontinence, and decreased sensation in the bilateral lower extremities. A cervical spine MRI revealed a large cervical spinal epidural abscess causing multilevel spinal cord compression that was treated with surgical evacuation and antibiotics. Due to the complications of epidural abscess, we as clinicians must have high clinical suspicion to initiate the correct treatment. In addition, patients without neurological symptoms or symptoms lasting less than 36 hours have the best recovery rate. Our case highlights the importance of timely diagnosis, management, and intervention, which can lead to restored functionality and the prevention of permanent neurologic sequelae.


We have measured the mobility of negative ion species drifting in mixtures of SF6 with N2, O2 and air. The pulsed Townsend experiment was used for this purpose. The conditions of the experiment, high pressures and low values of the reduced electric field, E/N, ensured that the majority species drifting in the gap was , to which the present mobilities are ascribed. The extrapolated, zero field mobilities for several mixture compositions were used to test them successfully with Blanc's law. Moreover, the measured zero field mobilities in air could also be explained in terms of the measured mobilities for this ionic species in N2 and O2.


Uterine sarcomas occur very rarely in young women. Hysterectomy, which is a standard treatment, may not be acceptable for those patients, especially nulliparous women. Fertility-sparing management may be an alternative. The aim of the study was to assess fertility-sparing management in patients with uterine sarcoma. Eleven patients were eligible for the study. Histopathologic types of the tumor included: adenosarcoma (n = 3), low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (n = 3), low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma (n = 1), leiomyosarcoma (n = 1), leiomyosarcoma myxoides (n = 1), rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 1), high grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (n = 1). The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 27.4 years (range: 17–35) and the average follow-up 61 months (range: 12–158). Six patients received adjuvant treatment: megestrol (n = 5) and chemotherapy (n = 1). Recurrence was diagnosed in five cases. Median time to recurrence was 35 months (range: 8–90). Three patients conceived spontaneously following treatment and gave at least one live birth. In total, five full-term pregnancies were recorded and five healthy children were born. Fertility-sparing management may be considered in some patients with uterine sarcoma; however, it may not be appropriate in high-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma. Patients with adenosarcoma may have a low chance of childbearing.


Results from previous studies suggest that stressful environmental conditions such as those faced on expedition may result in psychological growth. Building on previous research, the present cross-sectional study examined the role of personality and perceived stress in relation to post-expedition growth. Eighty-three participants who had completed a mountaineering expedition responded to measures of stress, personality, growth, well-being, and resilience. Findings implicate perceived stress, and personality dimensions of agreeableness and openness, in post-expedition growth. Growth was associated with well-being but distinct from psychological resilience, highlighting the need to consider growth and resilience independently. Present findings support the proposition that stressful expedition environments may promote positive psychological adjustment and identify factors that may influence this change. Research is needed to delineate the impact of other variables, such as coping, on changes that occurs during the post-expedition phase. Such research holds relevance for maintaining health following immersion in extreme and unusual environments.


Highly dense WC and WC-CNT composites with a relative density of up to 99% were obtained by HFIHS under a pressure of 80 MPa within 3 minutes. The average grain size of WC was about 87 nm. The effect of CNT on sintering of WC, the hardnesses and fracture toughnesses of the dense WC-CNT composites produced by HFIHS were also investigated.


The surgical treatment of early-stage cancer of the cervix is undergoing renewed scrutiny in an effort to minimize complications, preserve fertility when desired by the patient, and yet avoid any compromise of therapeutic efficacy. With regard to radical hysterectomy, the extent of the parametrial resection and lymphadenectomy are two topics of particular interest. A review of the relevant literature concerning radical hysterectomy and cervical cancer that supports a less radical approach is discussed. For women with stage I cervical cancer, a less radical resection appears to offer more when considered in the context of fewer immediate and long-term complications and comparable long-term survival.


To the Editor: We were impressed by the close similarities between the case reported by Farolan et a! {1992;9; 264-267) under the title of lipoid proteinosis (LP) and the case we reported in the same issue with infantile systemic hyalinosis (ISH) (1992;9:255-258). Indeed, we believe that the two case reports almost certainly accidentally relate to the same patient. In our view, it is difficult to justify a diagnosis of LP in the case reported by Farloan et al, whereas the clinical features described are very suggestive of ISH. The absence of laryngeal involvement, lack of eyelid margin lesions, and presence of profound gingivai hyperplasia and generalized joint stiffness are as indicative of ISH as they are incompatible with LP. As we previously showed, children with ISH do not all die during infancy (1). The light and electron microscopic features described by Farolan et al are also consistent with a diagnosis of ISH. Although there is no evidence in their Figure 4 of the banding pattern we described in ISH or of any evidence of phagocytosis of the amorphous material (1), these findings are not always readily demonstrated. We believe that these two case reports relate to a single patient, and that the clinical and pathologic findings indicate a diagnosis of ISH, of the type in which there are some overlap features with juvenile hyaline fibromatosis.


Sampling is a key component in the Integrated Pest Management. In this studit was compared the colleting capacity of two sampling methods for caterpillar (Anticarsia gemmatalis Hueb., 1818) and stink bug (Piezodorus guildinii Westw., 1837). An experiment was carried out in soybean sown in three spacing (0.30, 0.40 and 0.50m). The experiment design was a completely randomized design with ten repetitions (sampling) in a 2x3 factorial. The population of velvetbean caterpillar and stink bug was evaluated in two sampling methods (beating cloth and vertical beat sheet) and three row spacing, at V8 and R6 stages, for caterpillar and stink bug, respectively. Results showed greater efficiency of the vertical beat sheet compared with beating cloth in colleting caterpillar. In the smaller spacing, the vertical beating cloth did not clarify its greater capacity of colleting bugs, as observed for caterpillars. These results show that more studies are necessary to evaluate sampling methods of insects in soybean using different plant spacing.


This study objective is to evaluate Gumbel's law exclusive use relative error of the in favor of theoretical and practical laws in extreme rainfall quantile estimation. To do this, an extreme rainfall database from 1941 to 2000 from the Bianouan, Agnibilékro, Adiaké and Ayamé rainfall stations on the Bia River watershed was established. The results analyzes show that the Fréchet and normal Log 2 laws are respectively the ideal laws of the theoretical and practical approach. In addition, a Gumbel's law exclusive use underestimates extreme rainfall quantiles compared to two approaches. Thus, Gumbel's law use could be justified by an economic or operational issue insofar as it understates the structures while minimizing the cost.


Combining a quantitative approach with a managerial issues approach, this introduction to productions and operations management provides coverage of every P/OM topic - from re-engineering to teams, to total quality management ideas, to layout, to finite scheduling to technology. It focuses on eleven critical decisions - both strategic and tactical - that managers must make for meeting customer needs and increasing productivity in a dynamic, global economy.


Public knowledge graphs such as DBpedia and Wikidata have been recognized as interesting sources of background knowledge to build content-based recommender systems. They can be used to add information about the items to be recommended and links between those. While quite a few approaches for exploiting knowledge graphs have been proposed, most of them aim at optimizing the recommendation strategy while using a fixed knowledge graph. In this paper, we take a different approach, i.e., we fix the recommendation strategy and observe changes when using different underlying knowledge graphs. Particularly, we use different language editions of DBpedia. We show that the usage of different knowledge graphs does not only lead to differently biased recommender systems, but also to recommender systems that differ in performance for particular fields of recommendations.


Synthetic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) was administered intravenously to 50 women with Stein-Leventhal syndrome and to 15 women with normal menstrual cycle. The patients with Stein-Leventhal syndrome were divided into two groups on the basis of the macroscopic characteristics of the ovaries: group I-with enlarged ovaries--and group II--with normal or diminished ovaries. The basal levels of FSH and LH in group I were greater as compared with those of group II. The maximal increase of both gonadotropins after a LH-RH stimulation was also greater in group I women. On the basis of the results obtained, the elevated basal levels and gonadotropin response to LH-RH test may be used in the differential diagnosis between the two forms of the disease.


This paper describes a method of simultaneously estimating the road region and the ego-motion for outdoor mobile robots. Temporal integration of sensor data is effective for robust estimation of road region. To integrate sensor data obtained at multiple places, the robotpsilas ego-motion has to be estimated simultaneously. It is also necessary to use multiple sensors for reliable estimation because road boundary features from one sensor, such as white lines and curbs, are not always available. In addition, to cope with the change of the road type, we prepare multiple road models for estimation. We implement this multi sensor-based, simultaneous estimation of road region and ego-motion using a particle filter.We also devise a technique for generating new particles to cope with gradual road type changes. The proposed method has been successfully applied to autonomous navigation in various road scenes. Application to other types of roads such as intersections is also discussed.


This paper proposes an active islanding detection method for the BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) with 3-phase inverter which is connected to the AC grid. The proposed method adopts the DDSRF (Decoupled Double Synchronous Reference Frame) PLL (Phase Locked-Loop) so that the independent control of positive-sequence and negative-sequence current is successfully carried out using the detected phase angle information. The islanding state can be detected by sensing the variation of negative-sequence voltage at the PCC (Point of Common Connection) due to the injection of 2-3% negative-sequence current from the BESS. The proposed method provides a secure and rapid detection under the variation of negative-sequence voltage due to the sag and swell. The feasibility of proposed method was verified by computer simulations with PSCAD/EMTDC and experimental analyses with 5kW hardware prototype for the benchmark circuit of islanding detection suggested by IEEE 1547 and UL1741. The proposed method would be applicable for the secure detection of islanding state in the grid-tied Microgrid.


The family Peradeniidae (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea) is represented by two rare extant species from southeastern Australia (Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania). A new species, Peradenia galerita sp. n., is described from Eocene Baltic amber. The fossil species is very similar to the living Perndenia, but has the short metasomatic petiole typical of most Proctotrupoidea. The subfamily classification of Heloridae proposed by Rasnitsyn and the status of Peradeniidae are briefly reviewed. The subfamily Mesohelorinae Rasnitsyn, 1990 is a junior synonym of Protohelorinae Rasnitsyn, 1980 (syn. n.).


Cancer of the pancreas in the pediatric age group is very rare. The incidence of pain and jaundice of clinical pictures is found less than in the adult. A case of a 13-year-old girl who was successfully treated by radical pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple's operation) with long term survival is reported. The literatures were reviewed the revealing only hope for long term survival is by radical resection which was proved by many authors. Infants and children tolerate radical resection of the pancreas somewhat better than adults with a lower mortality rate and providing long term survival.


The article presents the philosophical foundation and historical transformations of the gender concept in Chinese tradition. Based on analyses of the pre-Qin and later conceptions of gender and of the differences in evaluation of female and male social roles, it concludes that this concept was a relatively egalitarian one in ancient society, for it was based upon a complementary relation between both genders and manifested itself in the classical definition of binary concepts  yinyang  and  neiwai . The article also shows later transformations of this concept and points out that in later Confucian official state doctrine the male social role was seen as superior and the female as subordinate one.


This panel1 is dedicated to the theme of 'data collaboratives', a novel form of public private partnership to leverage data for addressing societal challenges. The panel brings together prolific researchers and practitioners to share lessons and discuss how value is created from data collaboratives for the solving of public problems. The panel will highlight prominent examples of data collaboratives at international, national, and regional/city-levels and discuss the value creation mechanisms underlying them, as well as more broadly best practices and challenges associated with data collaboratives. The panel offers an opportunity for conference attendees to engage with this emerging new theme through interactive discussions and presentations of cutting-edge research and practice.


Abstract
 Reykjavík, capital of Iceland, developed from a dispersed rural settlement to nucleated urban community during the last 250 years. Prior to the mid-18th century, Iceland was a rural society that lacked towns or even substantial villages, with seasonal market centers and elite manor farms managing economic activities for widely dispersed farms and seasonal fishing stations. This paper focuses on two downtown Reykjavík faunal collections as part of the urban development from the mid-17th century. The collections from Aðalstræti 10 and Tjarnargata 3c reflect some of the changes associated with increasing population density and specialized production in a more densely populated area. Some of the finds data and history of the town are incorporated into this text as well as a brief comparison of all the post-medieval downtown Reykjavik collections with the archaeofauna from the 18th-century layers from the former southern bishop's estate at Skálholt and also with that of the fishing farm Finnbogastaðir in the Westfjords. The substantial archaeofauna from Tjarnargata 3c and Aðalstræti 10 help identify the nature of these two sites and their role in the emerging town.


Many ocular pathologies, including retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration, result in vision loss because of aberrant neoangiogenesis. A common feature of these conditions is the presence of hypoxic areas and overexpression of the proangiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The prevailing current treatment, laser ablation of the retina, is destructive and only partially effective. Preventive and less destructive therapies are much more desirable. Here, we show that mice lacking c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) exhibit reduced pathological angiogenesis and lower levels of retinal VEGF production in a murine model of ROP. We found that hypoxia induces JNK activation and regulates VEGF expression by enhancing the binding of phospho-c-Jun to the VEGF promoter. Intravitreal injection of a specific JNK inhibitor decreases retinal VEGF expression and reduces pathological retinal neovascularization without obvious side effects. These results strongly suggest that JNK1 plays a key role in retinal neoangiogenesis and that it represents a new pharmacological target for treatment of diseases where excessive neoangiogenesis is the underlying pathology.


more of the problems. It is probably most suitable for students of a mathematical disposition, or those who already have a familiarity with themotivation and context for studying aspects of fluid flow. Students seeking a gentle introduction might struggle initially, but should eventually appreciate the solved problems and breadth and depth of the material. In fact, if universities are considering creating modern undergraduate courses in this area, as perhaps they should, this book might be a promising candidate for a supporting text.


3D printers with multiple extruders (or multiheaded printers) are common in the desktop fabrica tion community, but are primarily used for multicolor or multimaterial printing, using only one extruder at a time. What if these multiheaded desktop printers could also be used for simulta neous parallel printing? While this is a relatively unexplored direction, we argue that it deserves further investigation: a flexible, robust, and affordable parallel printing ecosystem could signifi cantly reduce fabrication time for many applications and further enhance the value of desktop rapid prototyping. We propose a research agenda to explore the development of a parallel printing pipeline, and summarize our observations from a preliminary investigation of simultaneous extrusion. We hope this vision will encourage and guide future research in developing hardware, firmware, and slicers to facilitate parallel 3D printing.


Accounting for the fact that users have different sequential patterns, the main drawback of state-of-the-art recommendation strategies is that a fixed sequence length of user-item interactions is required as input to train the models. This might limit the recommendation accuracy, as in practice users follow different trends on the sequential recommendations. Hence, baseline strategies might ignore important sequential interactions or add noise to the models with redundant interactions, depending on the variety of users' sequential behaviours. To overcome this problem, in this study we propose the SAR model, which not only learns the sequential patterns but also adjusts the sequence length of user-item interactions in a personalized manner. We first design an actor-critic framework, where the RL agent tries to compute the optimal sequence length as an action, given the user's state representation at a certain time step. In addition, we optimize a joint loss function to align the accuracy of the sequential recommendations with the expected cumulative rewards of the critic network, while at the same time we adapt the sequence length with the actor network in a personalized manner. Our experimental evaluation on four real-world datasets demonstrates the superiority of our proposed model over several baseline approaches. Finally, we make our implementation publicly available at https://github.com/stefanosantaris/sar.


Ewa Deskur-Smielecka Aleksandra KotlinskaLemieszek Sylwia Kropinska Katarzyna WieczorowskaTobis 1,2 1Chair and Department of Palliative Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland; 2Palliative Medicine Unit, University Hospital of Lord's Transfiguration, Poznan, Poland Background: Numerous medications used in older adults require dose modification or should be avoided in individuals with impaired kidney function. Purpose: To assess medical students' and physicians' knowledge of drug prescribing recommendations in older patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 30mL/min/1.73m. Patients and Methods: A survey comprising a list of 64 drugs conducted in 183 medical students (Students), and 138 post-graduate trainees in internal medicine (Physicians). The respondents were asked to classify each drug into one of three categories: 1) no renal precautions; 2) dose should be reduced; and 3) medication should be avoided. Results: A range of 16.9–68.3% students and 14.5–81.2% physicians correctly classified drugs in the category "No renal precautions." Drugs requiring dose reduction were correctly classified by 6–67.2% students, and 24.6–85.5% physicians. For drugs that should be avoided in subjects with eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73m, the range was 6–44.8% in the Students, and 8.7–76.1% in the Physicians. The Physicians did better than the Students by classifying five drugs that do not require renal precautions, 12 drugs requiring dose reduction, and six medications that should be avoided. The Students had a higher percentage of correct answers for seven drugs in the category "no renal precautions," and one drug requiring dose reduction. Conclusion: Medical students and post-graduate trainees in internal medicine have poor knowledge of drug prescribing recommendations in older patients with renal impairment.


War II, Christian businessmen such as J. Howard Pew embraced the industrial-military complex, aligning fundamentalist businessman with the needs of national defense. AlthoughKristin DuMez's Jesus and John Wayne more clearly links militarist, fundamentalist masculinity to twenty-first-century evangelicalism,5 Hammond deserves credit for locating this ideology in the prewar period, correcting those who define it as simply a backlash to the sexual revolution of the 1960s and '70s. If LeTourneau illustrates fundamentalists' fight to preserve U.S. capitalism, Hammond uses Club Aluminum president Herbert J. Taylor to demonstrate how Christian businessmen ("laymen") shaped evangelicalism. While Rotarians may know that Taylor created the "Four-Way Test" in a bid to save Club Aluminum in the 1930s, few people understand the degree to which his philanthropy shaped modern evangelicalism, including organizations such as Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, Young Life, and Fuller Theological Seminary. If Billy Graham was the face of modern evangelicalism, Hammond argues that Taylor, as a chief donor and the founding treasurer of the National Association of Evangelicals, steered its fiscal wisdom and salvation. Although I am not completely convinced Le Tourneau and Taylor were more important than twentieth-century ministers such as R. J. Rushdoony or Harold Ockenga, Hammond is right to direct our attention to the overlooked roles of businessmen in shaping modern evangelicalism, helping us understand the deep, intertwining roots of conservative politics, free market economics, and fundamentalism.


Purpose: To identify the consumer loyalty types in a retail segment of the Russian pharmaceutical market. Methods: A sociological study was conducted in pharmaceutical organisations of various forms of ownership, located in different administrative districts of Moscow (Russian Federation). This was done using a questionnaire developed in advance, and based on literature review. The survey involved 480 respondents selected in a simple random sampling. Results: All questionnaire filled out by the respondents were considered valid. Analysis of the loyalty parameters obtained during the study are as follows: (1) behavioural (repeated purchases), (2) emotional (subjective opinions and experience, sympathy, respect for the brand, etc) and (3) rational (utility assessment) components (4) consumer satisfaction, (5) the desire to buy again, (6) the ability to switch to competitors. They were allocated to four consumer segments. In the course of the study, one consumer segment identified a type of loyalty that had not been previously reviewed by other authors; therefore, a modified classification of the loyalty types was created. Under this classification, constancy, constancy imaginary, inconstancy, and migratory loyalties can be some types of loyalty. The identified socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents influenced the categorization of the loyalty type. Conclusion: A modified classification of loyalty types was created which serves as a parameter for segmentation of the respondents into four groups, with well-readable characteristics and the primary trends in making purchases.


Increasing Current Account Deficit  (CAD) of India has become a the biggest problem in the development of the Indian Economy.  And has become the world's third-largest current account deficit facing Country.  It's facing the danger to reach up to up to  $90 billion.  The main causes for high Current Account Deficit are : 1)      An unending appetite for gold, resulting in huge imports i.e. hundreds of tones of Gold has been imported against the precious and less stock of Foreign Currency .  This underlined that India is the world's biggest consumer of the Gold. 2)      It has played a major role in driving the rupee to a record low. 3)      India imported approximately 860mt.tones of gold in 2012. 4)      Gold and silver imports in April-October, 2013 declined by 12.86 per cent to USD 24 billion compared to USD 28 billion in the same period last year due to the restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India to control the gold imports. The RBI and Central government of Indiatrust that those measures would help to bring down current account deficit. However, the merchants association thinks it would be counterproductive. The RBI restriction would lead to shortage of gold in the domestic market and artificial price rise may take place as well the decline in gold price in international market would not be reflected in local market price because of the RBI order. There is a distinct possibility of gold price rising in domestic market also. These trends in turn would lead to smuggling, black marketing and hoarding of gold which is fatal to the Indian economy. If India can resolve those gold imports related problems, it could solve the country's economic problems, decline the current account deficit, appreciate the rupee and boost growth.


Twenty-seven species of calyptrate muscoids (Muscidae and Sarcophagidae) were collected from December 1993 to November 1994 with wind oriented traps (W.O.T.) baited with decomposing beef liver at the Rio de Janeiro Zoo. The most abundant species found were Musca domestica (57.84%), Peckia chrysostoma (28.16%), Ophyra aenescens (17.11%), Oxysarcodexia thornax (17.82%), Synthesiomyia nudiseta (13.05%), and Oxysarcodexia diana (14.52%).


This paper presents a novel approach to model TV signal due to airplane flutter phenomena. The three components of the modeling are based on 1) Bistatic radar cross sections (RCS) of an ellipsoid, 2) 3-dimensional geometry consideration technique to calculate the distance difference between direct and reflected waves due to airplane, and 3) Ray theory, based on physical and geometrical consideration. Unlike previous works, the model takes into account of realistic parameters such flying height, distance from the airport, flying angle, altitude, aircraft body type and others. The simulation results are then compared with measurement results at 60.75 MHz and 208.75 MHz. The results have shown good agreement between simulation and measurement patterns.


A new power divider, composed of a novel composite right/left-handed (CRLH) transmission line (TL) unit, is proposed. The properties of the power divider based on four CRLH TL unit cells are investigated theoretically. By adjusting the parameters of the capacitors and the inductors, the power divider shows perfectly symmetric power division at 5.13 GHz, return loss up to −24 dB, with the transmitted power being close to −3.1 dB. The phenomena are demonstrated by simulation results. Being compact in size and low-cost, the proposed power divider is very suitable for microwave and millimeter wave integrated circuits.


Abstract A description of the low-frequency (ap;10 to 30 days period) current fluctuations in the Strait of Georgia is presented. Velocity time series from four cyclesonde moorings and five current meter mooring, spanning the time interval from June 1984 until January 1985, are analyzed. Emphasis is placed on identifying the forcing mechanisms and determining the spatial structure of low-frequency flow. The nonlinear interaction of semidiurnal tidal constituents with bottom topography caused a near-bottom, low-frequency oscillation that was coherent over the span of the experimental array (ap;11 km). The tides were important elsewhere in the water column too, and altogether directly accounted for 37% of the low-frequency energy in the Strait. There is evidence of significant wind forcing. An empirical orthogonal function analysis of the vertical structure of the current fluctuations yields strong evidence for the existence of wind-forced Ekman spirals. Typically, the orthogonal modes that dominate the var...