AIM: This in vitro study evaluated the effect of using a dental hypersensitivity treatment on the bond strength to dentin of etch-and-rinse and self-etching simplified adhesive systems. METHODS: 40 healthy molars were used. The crowns of teeth were removed at the dentinoenamel junction, and remaining roots were sectioned in the mesiodistal direction along their long axis, separating the buccal and lingual/palatal halves. The segments obtained were ground, keeping the buccal or lingual/palatal face turned downwards in order to flatten the surface and produce a standardized smear layer. Prepared specimens were randomly distributed into 4 groups (n=10), according to the combination of surface treatment with the desensitizing dentifrice Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief (Colgate Palmolive®) (test group - with dentifrice and control group - without dentifrice) and type of simplified bonding agent (etch-and-rinse and self-etching agents). Resin composite blocks were fabricated on the dentin surfaces, after application of bonding agents, and specimens were sectioned into rectangular stick-shaped specimens with cross-sectional area of approximately 0.8mm2. For microtensile bond strength tests, 4 sticks were randomly selected from the central region of specimens, and fixed to a universal test machine. Data were analyzed statistically by the Mann-Whitney U test (a=0.05). RESULTS: The bond strength obtained in the group without desensitizer (control) + etch-and-rinse agent was significantly higher compared with the other groups. Under both experimental conditions, the self-etching agent showed weak bond strength to dentin. CONCLUSIONS: Change in the dentin substrate by obliteration of tubules in the process of relieving dentinal sensitivity could reduce the bond strength of simplified etch-and-rinse and self-etching bonding agents.


An experimental study to evaluate bursting behavior in anchorage zone of the standard PSC I girders (span length: 30 m) has been carried out. The arrangement of bursting reinforcement in anchorage zone of the standard PSC I girders is considered to be designed without accurately reflecting the stress flows in the end zone of the PSC I girders caused by presstressing forces of the tendons. Also, due to excessive arrangement of the bursting bars, the workability of the girder is decreased greatly. In this study, three specimens with the same dimensions as the end zone of the standard PSC I girder are prepared and the experiment is carried out by applying PS forces. The bursting reinforcement of each specimen consists of 100 ㎜, 200 ㎜, and 300㎜ spacings, respectively. The experimental results show that the range of the PS forces to cause crack in the anchorage zone of the specimen are more than 1.6 times of the design PS forces. The bursting cracks occur in the vertical direction on the inside of all specimens. After applying 2.7 times of the design PS force, some of the transverse bursting reinforcements only in the specimen reinforced by 300 ㎜ spacing yielded. The experimental results show that the anchorage zone of the standard PSC I girders arranged by 300 ㎜ spacing of the bursting reinforcements which is the maximum spacing allowed in the road bridge design specifications, can be considered safe enough.


Abstract The theory of entrepreneurship, namely the entrepreneurial value creation theory, explains the entrepreneurial experience in its fullest form, from the entrepreneurial intention and the discovery of an entrepreneurial opportunity, to the development of the entrepreneurial competence, and the appropriation of the entrepreneurial reward (Mishra and Zachary 2014). The theory of entrepreneurship provides in sufficient detail the interiors of the entrepreneurial process using a two-stage value creation framework. In the first stage of venture formulation, the entrepreneur driven by a desire for entrepreneurial reward (i.e., entrepreneurial intention) leverages the entrepreneurial resources at hand to sense an external opportunity (cue stimulus) and effectuate the entrepreneurial competence that is sufficient to move to the second stage. Several ventures fail at this stage. In the second stage of venture monetization, the entrepreneur may acquire external resources such as venture capital or strategic alliance to effect growth. Investors face an adverse selection problem when entrepreneurial ability and venture quality are difficult to ascertain. Entrepreneurs may use incentive signals to secure a higher valuation offer from the investors. A business model design with embedded dynamic capabilities can reconfigure the entrepreneurial competence to create sustained value and appropriate the entrepreneurial reward.


Last December, The Italian National Institute of Statistics published some important data on cultural consumption in Italy. These include data on the use of library services (referred to the year 2015). From a quantitative point of view, the results that emerge are rather discouraging. They highlight a scenario whose fundamental trait is attributable to the small number of visitors to Italian libraries. In Italy only 15% of Italians declare that to have been in a library at least once in the 12 months prior to the interview. Going beyond the purely quantitative dimension and starting from the characteristics, motivations and actions of the 8 million people attending contemporary Italian libraries, the article describes the characteristics of three different ways of using the library.


Microplatelets and fibers that can be manipulated using external magnetic fields find potential applications as miniaturized probes, micromirrors in optical switches, remotely actuated micromixers and tunable reinforcements in composite materials. Controlling the surface chemistry of such microparticles is often crucial to enable full exploitation of their mechanical, optical and sensorial functions. Here, we report a simple and versatile procedure to directly magnetize and chemically modify the surface of inorganic microplatelets and polymer fibers of inherently non-magnetic compositions. As opposed to other magnetization approaches, the proposed non-aqueous sol–gel route enables the formation of a dense and homogeneous coating of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) on the surface of the microparticles. Such coating provides a suitable platform for the direct chemical functionalization of the microparticles using catechol-based ligands displaying high affinity towards iron oxide surfaces. By adsorbing for example nitrodopamine palmitate (ND-PA) on the surface of hydrophilic magnetite-coated alumina platelets (Fe3O4@Al2O3) we can render them sufficiently surface active to generate magnetically responsive Pickering emulsions. We also show that microplatelets and fibers coated with a uniform iron oxide layer can be easily manipulated using low magnetic fields despite their intrinsic non-magnetic nature. These examples illustrate the potential of the proposed approach in generating functional, magnetically responsive microprobes and building blocks for several emerging applications.


Cities represent large groups of people that share a common infrastructure, common social groups and/or common interests. With the development of new technologies current cities aim to become what is known as smart cities, in which all the small details of these large constructs are controlled to better improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. One of the important gears that powers a city is given by traffic, be it vehicular or pedestrian. As such traffic is closely related to all other activities that take place inside of a city. Understanding traffic is still a difficult process as we have to be able to not only measure it in the sense of how many people are using a particular path but also in analyzing where people are going and when, while still maintaining individual privacy. And all this has to be done at a scale that would cover most if not all individuals in a city. With the high increase in smartphones adoption we can reliably assume that a large part of the population in cities are carrying with them, at all times, at least one Wi-Fi enabled device. Because Wi-Fi devices are regularly transmitting signals we can rely on these devices to detect individual's movements unobtrusively without identifying or tracking any particular individual. Special sensors that monitor Wi-Fi frequencies can be placed around a city to gather data that can later be used to identify patterns in the traffic flows. We present a set of filters that can be used to minimize the amount of data needed for processing and without negatively impacting the result or the information that can be extracted from this data. Part of the filters we present can be deployed at the sensor level, making the entire system more scalable, while a different part can be executed before data processing thus enabling real time information extraction and a broader temporal and spatial range for data analysis. Some of these filters are particular to Wi-Fi but some of them can be applied to any detection system.


Causality plays a central role in human reasoning, in particular, in common human decision-making, by providing a basis for strategy selection. The main aim of the research reported in this thesis is to develop a new way to identify dynamic causal relationships between attributes of a system. The first part of the thesis introduces the development of a new data mining algorithm, called Dynamic Causal Mining (DCM), which extracts rules from data sets based on simultaneous time stamps. The rules derived can be combined into policies, which can simulate the future behaviour of systems. New rules can be added to the policies depending on the degree of accuracy. In addition, facilities to process categorical or numerical attributes directly and approaches to prune the rule set efficiently are implemented in the DCM algorithm. The second part of the thesis discusses how to improve the DCM algorithm in order to identify delay and feedback relationships. Fuzzy logic is applied to manage the rules and policies flexibly and accurately during the learning process and help the algorithm to find feasible solutions. The third part of the thesis describes the application of the suggested algorithm to a problem in the game-theoretic domain. This part concludes with the suggestion to use concept lattices as a method to represent and structure the discovered knowledge.


We used positron emission tomography (PET) and the 18-flourodeoxyglucose tracer to study cerebral effects of complementary acupuncture in Parkinson's disease. Five patients received scalp-acupuncture and Madopa, while the other five had Madopa only. PET scans before and after 5 weeks of complementary acupuncture treatment show increased glucose metabolisms in parietal, temporal, occipital lobes, the thalamus, and the cerebellum in the light-diseased hemisphere, and in parietal and occipital lobes of the severe-diseased hemisphere. No changes were observed in the Madopa-only group. Acupuncture in combination with Madopa may improve cerebral glucose metabolism in Parkinson's disease.


This paper assesses the implication of "ASEAN plus China" on ASEAN inter- and intra-trade. Based on secondary data analysis and survey of key literature, it shows a number of interesting findings. First, despite the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area, regions outside ASEAN are still the most important markets for individual member countries, for both export and import. Second, recent data show that after the United States, the European Union, and Japan, China tends to become ASEAN's largest trading partner; trade between China and ASEAN continues to increase, and its rate tends to accelerate. Third, based on various analytical approaches, the implementation of ASEAN plus China will most likely lead to trade diversion (TD), at least to some member countries. The paper concludes, therefore, that the ASEAN-China free trade zone will most likely generate higher trade volume between China and ASEAN at the cost of ASEAN intra-trade.


Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1 and recombinant platelet-derived growth factor-BB (rPDGF-BB) promoted an extensive, dose-dependent development of fibrous connective tissue when continuously delivered for 8 days by mini-osmotic pumps implanted subcutaneously in adult guinea pigs. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that TGF-beta 1 and rPDGF-BB stimulated dose-dependent increases in the dry weight, and protein, DNA, collagen, and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) contents of the fibrous connective tissue capsule that enveloped the pumps. The GAG/DNA mass ratio was markedly elevated by TGF-beta 1, but the collagen/DNA, protein/DNA, and collagen/protein ratios were not significantly increased. In contrast, rPDGF-BB generally decreased these mass ratios. Histological analyses suggested that this was due to the fact that rPDGF-BB induced a very cellular response with a marked influx of neutrophils and fibroblasts. TGF-beta 1 induced significantly less cellular response, which consisted primarily fibroblasts and macrophages. These results indicated that rPDGF-BB and TGF-beta 1 induced connective tissue deposition in vivo in a dose-dependent fashion, although the cellular nature of the responses as well as the structural composition of the extracellular matrices were clearly distinguishable between the two growth factors.


This research aims to explain the problem of main agents of visual recognition at the modern picture images, perception of technology and visual system in modern picture images based on the theory of Paul Virilio. Advancement in technical environment makes revolutionary change of the relations between main agents of visual recognition and picture images. This mechanism is very important analytical concept as the process which is composed main agents of visual recognition that indiscriminately accepts excessive picture images in recent years. Paul Virilio look into the speed acceleration by technology as the characteristic in Dromology. This study tries to make clear the theoretical relations between speed, visual system and power. There are three kinds of revolution of dromology in his theory. He contemplaters his theory based on the phenomenology through advanced transporter, the revolution of real time electronic media and the transplant revolution. There is a similar phenomenon of the transplant revolution and cultural eschatology in the movie 〈The Final Cut〉 and the drama 〈Black Mirror〉 as his point of view. This texts shows us the distorted benefits ot the digital technology to human being and society. Paul Virilio has claimed about speed, visual machine, transplant revolution, colonization, that are shown and played key role in this texts. Paul Virilio and this texts are shown that ventilation of our situation and ethical question about natural human being. Ultimately, he insists that human being can control the speed against the growth of science. And then this study has tried to draw the clue about how to overcome the status of dependence on technology and techno phobia by considering their self-control.


This paper is part of a series of studies addressing the dynamics of the West African summer monsoon at intraseasonal time scales between 10 and 90 days. The dominant mode of 25-90-day convective variability in the African monsoon was investigated, starting from previous results involving the excitation of dry equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves by a negative diabatic heat source located over the warm pool. This evolution is consistent with a significant contribution by a convectively coupled equatorial Rossby wave and the MJO. On the other hand, convectively coupled Kelvin waves as well as the dry Kelvin wave signal have a very weak impact. However, there is more to the global control of the African summer monsoon than convectively coupled wave dynamics. The active/break cycle of the Indian monsoon, controlled by a northward-moving dipole of diabatic heating in the Indian sector, can also influence the African monsoon through atmospheric teleconnections. Simulations performed with a dry primitive equation model show that this influence may be transferred through the northern Indian heat source, which excites a Rossby cyclonic circulation propagating westward over North Africa that is cut off by the northward arrival of the equatorial Indian heat source and the associated intrusion of an anticyclonic ridge. Low-level westerly winds and moisture advection within the ITCZ consequently increase over Africa. The mean time lag between an active phase over India and over Africa is about 15-20 days.


Blebs resulting from glaucoma filtration surgery tend to result in lower intraocular pressure and to be associated with fewer complications when they are diffuse and spread over the globe rather than localized to the area over the scleral flap. One way to achieve this type of bleb morphology is by applying the antimetabolite to a larger area than the one usually used in the past, in which the antimetabolite was placed only over the area of the scleral flap. In this article, the authors present a safe and inexpensive technique, which consists of using sponges with long, colored tails. This allows applying antimetabolite as far under the Tenon's capsule as desired without the risk of losing the sponges in the sub-Tenon's space.


We present a novel client-driven multiview video streaming system that allows a user to watch 3D video interactively with significantly reduced bandwidth requirements by transmitting a small number of views selected according to his/her head position. The user's head position is tracked and predicted into the future to select the views that best match the user's current viewing angle dynamically. Prediction of future head positions is needed so that views matching the predicted head positions can be prefetched in order to account for delays due to network transport and stream switching. The system allocates more bandwidth to the selected views in order to render the current viewing angle. Highly compressed, lower quality versions of some other views are also prefetched for concealment if the current user viewpoint differs from the predicted viewpoint. An objective measure based on the abruptness of the head movements and delays in the system is introduced to determine the number of additional lower quality views to be prefetched. The proposed system makes use of multiview coding (MVC) and scalable video coding (SVC) concepts together to obtain improved compression efficiency while providing flexibility in bandwidth allocation to the selected views. Rate-distortion performance of the proposed system is demonstrated under different experimental conditions.


The Minority Game (MG) is a prototypical model for an agent-based complex adaptive system. In MG, an odd number of heterogeneous and adaptive agents choose between two alternatives and those who end up on the minority side win. It is known that if $N$ agents play MG, they self-organize to a globally efficient state when they retain the memory of the minority side for the past $m \sim \log_2(N)$ rounds (Challet & Zhang 1997). However, the global efficiency becomes extremely low when the memory of the agents is reduced i.e, when $m << \log_2(N)$. In this work, we consider an MG in which agents use the information regarding the exact attendance on a side for $m$ previous rounds to predict the minority side in the next round. We show that, when employing such strategies, independent of its size, the system is always in a globally efficient state when the agents retain two rounds of information ($m=2$). Even with other values of $m$, the agents successfully self-organize to an efficient state, the only exception to this being when $m=1$ for large values of $N$. Surprisingly, in our model, providing the agents with a random $m=1$ fake history results in a better efficiency than real histories of any length.


In silico prediction of cardiotoxicity with high sensitivity and specificity for potential drug molecules can be of immense value. Hence, building machine learning classification models, based on some features extracted from the molecular structure of drugs, which are capable of efficiently predicting cardiotoxicity is critical. In this paper, we consider the application of various machine learning approaches, and then propose an ensemble classifier for the prediction of molecular activity on a Drug Discovery Hackathon (DDH) (1st reference) dataset. We have used only 2-D descriptors of SMILE notations for our prediction. Our ensemble classification uses 5 classifiers (2 Random Forest Classifiers, 2 Support Vector Machines and a Dense Neural Network) and uses Max-Voting technique and Weighted-Average technique for final decision.


This study is based on the idea :Development of Desi Sarson from Brassica Campestris:. The indegenious germplams of Brassica Campestris was improved through modern molecular and conventional breeding techniques. In conventional breeding the Brassica campestris cultivars were crossed with Brassica napus varieties and the offsprings were then evaulated for genetic diversity through molecular (RAPD and SSR) markers.


1. Tyrosine aminotransferase activity in the liver increased about fourfold after 9h, on exposure of rats to stress of low pressure. 2. The phenylalanine hydroxylase activity increased about 60% on exposure for 24h or more. 3. An environmental pressure decrease of about 0.033 MN/m2 is needed to increase the activity of tyrosine aminotransferase. 4. Adrenalectomy completely abolished the increase in activity of tyrosine aminotransferase obtained on exposure to low pressure. 5. Treatment with cycloheximide or actinomycin D prevented the increase in activity of tyrosine aminotransferase. 6. Treatment with cycloheximide at the early part of exposure to stress prevented the increase in activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase obtained after 24h.


Memories of Underdevelopment was the first great international success of Cuban cinema. The film provides a complex portrait of Sergio, a disaffected bourgeois intellectual who remains in Havana after the Revolution, suspended between two worlds. He can no longer accept the values of his family's reactionary past and yet boredom and the conditioning of his early life prevent him from committing himself to the new revolutionary society. Sergio's story is played out in the turbulent period of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the 1962 missile crisis, events he can only watch on his television screen or from his apartment balcony. The film, initially banned by the U.S. government as part of its trade quarantine of Cuba, was shown here five years after its original release. But American critics responded enthusiastically to it and the National Society of Film Critics bestowed an award on its director. This double volume includes the complete continuity script of Memories, as well as the complete novel, Inconsolable Memories, upon which the film is based. An interview with Alea is reproduced here, as well as documentation of the political controversy that surrounded the film in this country. Michael Chanan's introduction places the film in the context of Cuban political and cultural history. The volume also includes a biographical sketch of Alea, a chronology of the Cuban Revolution, reviews, commentary, a filmography, and a bibliography. Michael Chanan lives in England, where he teaches and writes on film. He is the author of The Cuban Image: Cinema and Cultural Politics in Cuba.


Dopamine D2 receptors (Rs) and adenosine A2ARs are coexpressed on striatopallidal neurons, where they mediate opposing actions. In agreement with the idea that D2Rs tonically inhibit GABA release from these neurons, stimulation-evoked GABA release was significantly greater from striatal/pallidal slices from D2R null mutant (D2R−/−) than from wild-type (D2R+/+) mice. Release from heterozygous (D2R+/−) slices was intermediate. However, contrary to predictions that A2AR effects would be enhanced in D2R-deficient mice, the A2AR agonist CGS 21680 significantly increased GABA release only from D2R+/+ slices. CGS 21680 modulation was observed when D2Rs were antagonized by raclopride, suggesting that an acute absence of D2Rs cannot explain the results. The lack of CGS 21680 modulation in the D2R-deficient mice was also not caused by a compensatory downregulation of A2ARs in the striatum or globus pallidus. However, CGS 21680 significantly stimulated cAMP production only in D2R+/+ striatal/pallidal slices. This functional uncoupling of A2ARs in the D2R-deficient mice was not explained by reduced expression of Gs, Golf, or type VI adenylyl cyclase. Locomotor activity induced by the adenosine receptor antagonist caffeine was significantly less pronounced in D2R−/− mice than in D2R+/+ and D2R+/− mice, further supporting the idea that D2Rs are required for caffeine activation. Caffeine increased c-fos only in D2R−/− globus pallidus. The present results show that a targeted disruption of the D2R reduces coupling of A2ARs on striatopallidal neurons and thereby responses to drugs that act on adenosine receptors. They also reinforce the ideas that D2Rs and A2ARs are functionally opposed and that D2R-mediated effects normally predominate.


Coriaria nepalensis, Pteridium aquilinum var. latiuscukum, Imperata cylindrical var. major, and Quercus fabric were used as mulching materials to study their effects on the rhizosphere soil microbial population and enzyme activity and the tree growth in poplar plantation. The results showed that after mulching with test materials, the populations of both bacteria and fungi in rhizosphere soil were more than those of the control. Of the mulching materials, I. cylindrical and Q. fabric had the best effect, with the numbers of bacteria and fungi being 23.56 and 1.43 times higher than the control, respectively. The bacterial and fungal populations in rhizosphere soil increased with increasing mulching amount. When the mulching amount was 7.5 kg m(-2), the numbers of bacteria and fungi in rhizosphere soil were 0.5 and 5.14 times higher than the control, respectively. Under bio-mulching, the bacterial and fungal populations in rhizosphere soil had a similar annual variation trend, which was accorded with the annual fluctuation of soil temperature and got to the maximum in July and the minimum in December. The urease and phosphatase activities in rhizosphere soil also increased with increasing mulching amount. As for the effects of different mulching materials on the enzyme activities, they were in the order of C. nepalensis > P. aquilinum > I. cylindrical > Q. fabric. The annual variation of urease and phosphatase activities in rhizosphere soil was similar to that of bacterial and fungal populations, being the highest in July and the lowest in December. Bio-mulching promoted the tree height, DBH, and biomass of poplar trees significantly.


Numerous studies have shown that microRNA (miRNA) serves as key regulatory factors in the origin and development of cancers. However, the biological mechanisms of miRNAs in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) are still unknown. It is necessary to construct an effective miRNA‐clinical model to predict the prognosis of KIRC. In this study, 94 differentially expressed miRNAs were found between para‐tumor and tumor tissues based on the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Seven miRNAs (hsa‐miR‐21‐5p, hsa‐miR‐3613‐5p, hsa‐miR‐144‐5p, hsa‐miR‐376a‐5p, hsa‐miR‐5588‐3p, hsa‐miR‐1269a, and hsa‐miR‐137‐3p) were selected as prognostic indicators. According to their cox coefficient, a risk score formula was constructed. Patients with risk scores were divided into high‐ and low‐risk groups based on the median score. Kaplan–Meier curves analysis showed that the low‐risk group had a better survival probability compared to the high‐risk group. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of the miRNA model was 0.744. In comparison with clinical features, the miRNA model risk score was considered as an independent prognosis factor in multivariate Cox regression analysis. In addition, we built a nomogram including age, metastasis, and miRNA prognostic model based on the results of multivariate Cox regression analysis. The decision curve analysis (DCA) revealed the clinical net benefit of the prognostic model. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) results suggested that several important pathways may be the potential pathways for KIRC. The results of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis for the target genes of 7 miRNAs revealed that miRNAs may participate in KIRC progression via many specific pathways. Additionally, the levels of seven prognostic miRNAs showed a significant difference between KIRC tissues and adjacent non‐tumorous tissues. In conclusion, the miRNA‐clinical model provides an effective and accurate way to predict the prognosis of KIRC.


Under a broad comprehension of
Software Engineering, it is preferred the term software life cycle instead of
just software production. The reason is that cycle starts at software conception
and stops when the software is relegated. Given contemporary companies' market
strategies of focusing on their competitive advantages, most of them have
externalized their software production to outsourced services. Therefore, the
call for software tenders has become a common step in the software life cycle.
In this paper, we present a tool which aids non-experts to specify call for
software tenders. The motivation was Chile situation of most of rural and
semi-urban city halls which do not have engineering teams to build call for
software tenders. We describe the problem in terms of lack of competitiveness
and empty biddings generated by low quality calls for tenders. As a second
step, we show the technical considerations to develop the proposed tool and its
features. We include an initial tool perception from a first group of users.


Conventional Fe-C-Si alloy cast iron shows good properties at low temperature but at high temperature its properties decrease very sharply. So, to protect this behaviour of cast iron, Si was replaced by Al, since both elements have similar graphitizing effect. In the present study, two types of cast iron, Fe-C-Si and Fe-C-Al, were cast in cold set resin bonded sand mould. After casting, the microstructures were studied using standard metallographic techniques. The wear tests were conducted using "CSM High Temperature Tribometer" following pin-on-disk method at 25 °C, 100 °C, 200 °C and 300 °C. The worn tracks were characterized using optical profilometer, SEM etc.. The results show that abrasive type wear was observed in both types of cast iron and always the Fe-C-Al cast has low wear rate compared to Fe-C-Si. However, after at 100 °C temperature, the wear resistance of Fe-C-Si cast iron starts to decrease whereas at lower temperature, it remains almost unchanged. The wear rates for Fe-C-Si alloy cast iron are 12.42, 16.51, 46.75 and 98.87x10-5mm3/N/m whereas the wear rates for Fe-C-Al cast iron are 3.32, 4.23, 4.40 and 8.15x10-5mm3/N/m at 25 °C, 100 °C, 200 °C and 300 °C, respectively.


We propose a transmitter beamformer design technique for a spectrum-sharing network with mixed quality-of-service requirement. In particular, the proposed algorithm has the ability to jointly design multiple beamformers, so that a specific subset of users attains certain target signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios (SINRs) whereas the SINRs of the remaining users are balanced subject to multiple linear constraints. The design framework considered is applicable to both the overlay cognitive radio network (CRN) and the underlay CRN; however, the algorithm is described for the example of an underlay CRN to include a very general mathematical framework. We maximize the worst-case users' SINR of a particular set of users while satisfying the target SINRs of the remaining users subject to the total transmission power and the interference leakage constraints. This algorithm is solved using the uplink-downlink duality and subgradient method. The condition for convergence is analytically derived. The simulation results are provided to validate the optimality and the convergence of the proposed algorithm.


Abstract : The magnitude of the victory by the Venezuelan opposition in the December 6, 2015, congressional elections surprised many in the country, and in the region, who had expected that the government of Nicolas Maduro would use its control over much of the media, most of the economy, the electoral authority and the repressive apparatus of the state to reduce the opposition margin of victory, if not engage in large scale electoral fraud to change the results entirely. The enormous opposition victory gave the Unified Democratic Table (MUD) coalition 112 of the167 seats in Venezuelas national assembly, and with it, a 2/3 supermajority which, at least according to the constitution, could allow it to pass legislation over President Maduros veto, remove judges, and force the removal of ministers. (footnote 2) The victory unleashed a wave of euphoria in the region by opponents of Maduro and his populist socialist government, and more broadly, those frustrated with the abysmal and deteriorating conditions in the country, including widespread shortages of food, medicines, and basic goods, rampant crime, government corruption, and narcotrafficking, to name a few. In the context of Latin America more broadly, the opposition victory has been interpreted in the context of the November 22 election of conservative Mauricio Macri to the presidency of Argentina, the announcement by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa that he will not run for a fourth term, the economic crisis in Brazil with the looming impeachment of its president Dilma Rousseff, and the rapprochement between Cuba and the United States, as a trend away from leftist populism across the region. (footnote 3)


It was observed that for some proteins the best crystals for X-ray diffraction have been obtained at supersaturation ratios of ca 2.5-3 (in experiments without seeding). It was then noticed that under certain conditions specific to the protein such values are close to a local minimum of the critical radius for nucleation. A relation between the two observations is proposed.


Failure to locate and disinfect all the root canals maybe a major reason for endodontic failure. A rare variant morphology of maxillary premolar has three separate roots with three root canals. The aim of this article is to report diagnosis and endodontic treatment of a maxillary first premolar with three roots and canals using reciprocating rotary instrumentation technique completed in single sitting. This paper also reports the presence of an associated three rooted second premolar in the same patient.


Manganese is one of important metal for many sector of many industries such as steel industries, chemical industries, battery industry and many other. Natural resources of manganese ore are decrease in order that many industries try to take manganese from lowgrade manganese ore but they cannot find the effective procedure. Leaching is a hydrometallurgical process which is an effective metal extraction from low grade metal sources with low processing cost and relatively low pollutants in order that solvent which used in this study was organic acid to reduce pollutants of this process. In this study, selectivity from leaching result from kulonprogo's lowgrade manganese ore with organic acid such as oxalic acid, acetic acid and citric acid were investigated. It was determined that acetic acid was more selective with mangan metal about 76,08 % than other acid whereas oxalic acid was more selective with iron metal about 43,21 % than other acid whereas citric acid was more selective with calcium metal than other acid about 54,96 %. This study in same condition operation such as pH, Temperature, particle size, solid-liquid ratio and stirring speed.


Learning outcomes
To appreciate the importance of carefully carving out a unique target group of customers and differentiating the offerings by establishing a brand born on the internet. To appreciate the criticality of balance between growth and quality. To appreciate the entrepreneurial dilemma of growth vs control while making difficult business growth choices. To analyse the alternative growth options in the context of the Su and Ta's concerns and offer decision choices to go with the organizational ethos and business goals.

Case overview/synopsis
Three years back in Mumbai, India, Sujata and Taniya took a decision to quit their well-paying jobs and launch Suta, their small yet dynamic entrepreneurial venture of smart office wear for women. Sales had grown rapidly from INR 1.5 crore in 2016 to INR 5 crore in 2018. In March 2019, they found themselves at a crossroads: Should they bring in investors to accelerate their plans for growth and risk losing control or depend on organic growth? That would mean depending on operational cash flows to scale their business at a pace that would ensure that they did not compromise the quality of their operations, products and hence customer experience. The sisters had nurtured Suta's brand image in the minds of their customers, through distinctive designs, quality processes, exemplary customer service and experience. All this through a strong yet responsible supply chain that nurtured weavers in rural India. They wanted both the brand and the many weavers who were dependent on them for work and livelihood, to grow. They had seen enough examples where the pursuit of growth had resulted in the quality of product and customer service suffering, along with employee attrition and process failures. They were very apprehensive of adopting the greedy for growth model through investor funding that many start-ups had followed and which eventually compromised their customer experience. The question clearly was not if they should grow, but how should they grow.

Complexity academic level
This case is designed for use at the postgraduate level in courses on entrepreneurship, business strategy, strategic management and strategic marketing, as well as in executive management programs. It can be used at the beginning of a course or toward the middle, to set the context for the course. The case will help instructors focus on the unique situation of a company "born on the internet," which has to manage the current growing business while making a choice for growth in an emerging market where e-commerce channel is rapidly becoming popular.

Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code
CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.


We describe the observation and confirmation of nine new strong gravitational lenses discovered in Year 1 data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We created candidate lists based on (i) galaxy group and cluster samples, and (ii) photometrically selected galaxy samples. We selected 46 candidates through visual inspection and then used the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph(GMOS) at the Gemini South telescope to acquire a spectroscopic follow-up of 21 of these candidates. Through an analysis of these spectroscopic follow-up data, we confirmed nine new lensing systems and rejected two candidates, and the analysis was inconclusive on 10 candidates. For each of the confirmed systems, our report measured spectroscopic properties, estimated source image–lens separations, and estimated enclosed masses as well. The sources that we targeted have an i-band surface brightness range of $i_{\rm SB} \sim 22\!-\!24\, {\rm mag}\,{\rm arcsec}^{-2}$ and a spectroscopic redshift range of zspec ∼ 0.8−2.6. The lens galaxies have a photometric redshift range of zlens ∼ 0.3−0.7. The lensing systems range in source image–lens separation from 2 to 9 arcsec and in enclosed mass from 1012 to 1013 M⊙.


An approximate solution for the Rayleigh wave dispersion in materials covered with a thin film of a different material is developed. The boundary condition determinant is expanded in powers of kh, where k is the wavenumber of the surface wave, and h is the film thickness. As long as kh<<1 expansions to the first order in kh can give Rayleigh wave velocities in very good agreement with numerical calculations based on the complete determinant. The method has been worked out for propagation in high-symmetry directions of various symmetries of substrate and film, including isotropic, cubic, tetragonal, hexagonal and orthorhombic cases. Considerable simplification of the mathematical expressions are obtained as compared to calculations from the complete determinant. Numerical results for various systems are given to illustrate the accuracy of the method.


The creation of inter-organizational workflow implies the coalition of partners' efforts and resources in order to achieve a set of common objectives and goals. However, this openness may cause a huge damage to the participating entities due to security breaches. The risk of unsuccessful collaboration should be well studied. Thus, the key for successful collaboration is to select the appropriate collaborators based on specific security criteria for each outsourced task. In this sense, several criteria have to be considered, among them: trust and reputation level, policy similarity level, security level and privacy compliance level. The proposed security based partner selection approach allows us to rank participating entities in the collaboration based on the main security criteria in order to assign each task to the suitable partner with the most appropriate and efficient way.


Background: Impaired coronary flow reserve (CFR) is an early manifestation of coronary artery disease (CAD), even in vessels free of angiographic stenosis. The aim of this analysis is to determine the differential role peak myocardial blood flow (MBF) or noninvasive CFR in predicting future events. Methods: We included 3,003 consecutive patients with known or suspected CAD (mean age 61±11years, 42% females) who underwent rubidium-82 rest/stress positron emission tomography (PET) for clinical indications. Rest and peak MBF were calculated with factor analysis and a 2-compartment kinetic model and were used to calculate CFR. Patients were followed up for a median duration of 1.4 years (interquartile range, 0.5-1.8 years) for the incidence of cardiac death or myocardial infarction. (CDMI). Multiple Cox regression models were used to determine the prognostic value of peak MBF and CFR and the incremental value of peak MBF over CFR. Results: The included cohort has prevalence of CAD risk factors: Diabetes (60%), hypertension (87%) and dyslipidemia (85%). A total of 40% patients had evidence of perfusion defects (Sum stress score>3). After a median follow up duration of 1.4 years, 140 patients (4.7%) experienced CD/MI. In multivariate Cox regression adjusted for Duke clinical risk score, resting ejection fraction and SSS, both CFR (Hazard Ratio 0.70, 95% CI 0.54 -0.89, p=0.005) and peak MBF (Hazard Ratio 0.71, 95% CI 0.57 -0.89, p=0.003) were independent predictors of CDMI. (Adding peak MBF added incremental prognostic value over CFR. (Area under the curve increased from 0.776 to 0.793, p=0.021). Conclusion: Noninvasively measured MBF and CFR are independent predictors of CDMI in patients with known or suspected CAD. Peak MBF adds incremental prognostic value over noninvasive CFR.


Deep learning has achieved great success in the past few years. However, the performance of deep learning is likely to impede in face of non-IID situations. Domain generalization (DG) enables a model to generalize to an unseen test distribution, i.e., to learn domain-invariant representations. In this paper, we argue that domain-invariant features should be originating from both internal and mutual sides. Internal invariance means that the features can be learned with a single domain and the features capture intrinsic semantics of data, i.e., the property within a domain, which is agnostic to other domains. Mutual invariance means that the features can be learned with multiple domains (cross-domain) and the features contain common information, i.e., the transferable features w.r.t. other domains. We then propose DIFEX for Domain-Invariant Feature EXploration. DIFEX employs a knowledge distillation framework to capture the high-level Fourier phase as the internally-invariant features and learn cross-domain correlation alignment as the mutually-invariant features. We further design an exploration loss to increase the feature diversity for better generalization. Extensive experiments on both time-series and visual benchmarks demonstrate that the proposed DIFEX achieves state-of-the-art performance.


This research examines the use of modified Lyot coronagraphs with monolithic and segmented infrared telescopic systems for imaging nonsolar planets. These systems are investigated with the aim of reducing the effects of stellar diffracted energy on the planet image in the final image plane. A square telescope objective is best for this purpose. The associated coronagraph is composed of a cross-shaped apodizer in the first focal plane and either a square Lyot stop or circular corner Lyot stops in the corners of the pupil plane. We examine the consequences of segmenting the aperture and the effects of various segment spacings and random piston and tilt errors of the individual segments. A system to correct for the misalignments is proposed.


Nematode lungworm burdens are difficult to evaluate of necropsy. The recovery of protostrongylid worms was achieved by three different post-mortem quantification techniques. Perfusion of the lungs under watertap pressure was successful in washing out Protostrongylus rufescens and Cystocaulus ocreatus but not Muellerius capillaris and Neostrongylus. Incubation of the lungs by pepsin and hydrochloric acid solution prior to perfusion helped to recover trapped Muellerius and Neostrongylus. Worm nodules were classified into type A, B and C, on increasing calcification process. Examination of these nodules showed that 75 to 80% of type A and B contained a parasite. Worms recovered by perfusion added to the sum of type A and B nodules were used to construct formula for quantifying the total lungworm burdens from naturally infected goat lungs and may provide a reasonable basis for assessing anthelmintic efficacy.


Abstract Depression is one of the most worrying diseases nowadays. The study had three main purposes: 1) to identify the prevalence of depressive symptomatology in 7–10 year olds, exploring differences according to gender and age; 2) to analyze the consistency between self-reports and teacher reports; and 3) to explore the relationship between depression and academic performance. Regarding the methodology, the sample comprised 420 students aged between 7 and 10 years from the Basque Country (53.3% boys, 46.7% girls). With a descriptive, comparative and correlational design, 4 assessment instruments were used. Results from the self-reports showed a depression rate fluctuating between 4.6% and 4.8% (clinically significant), and between 4.3% and 5% (moderate depression). However, prevalence rates from teacher reports varied between 0.2% and 3.6% (clinically significant) and between 4.6% and 7.7% (moderate depression). The consistency rate between self-reports and teacher reports was small. Differences according to gender varied depending on the instruments used and depression was higher in boys (BASC, d = .23; SPECI d = .36). Symptomatology did not increase with age. Depression correlated negatively with academic performance (self-reported depression: CDS-T r = –.12, SPECI r = –.17; depression reported by teachers: CDS-T r = –.24, SPECI r = –.50). The importance of training teachers to better identify child depression is discussed, as well as the relevance of developing prevention programs.


This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary energy level on daily gain of Madura cattle and their blood metabolites (glucose and blood urea). Twelve (12) male Madura cattle aged at 2 years old, 156.27 + 6.92 kg (CV 4.43%) of body weight were used in this study which was assigned to completely randomized design for three feeding treatments (low, middle and high energy contents) and four replications. The daily gain was measured for 90 days, while the blood metabolites were measured at the middle of experiment. Results showed that dietary energy levels did not affect (P>0.05) average daily gain, dry matter intake, dry matter digestibility, energy intake and feed conversion ratio. Blood glucose and blood urea concentration were ranged at 67-75 and 35-50 mg/dL, respectively, while feed energy efficiency reached 0.145 MJ/g ADG. In conclusion, high-level energy could not provide better performance in Madura cattle because of a limitation factor on the DMI.


van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions formed by two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted tremendous attention due to their excellent electrical/optical properties and device applications. However, current 2D heterojunctions are largely limited to atomic crystals, and hybrid organic/inorganic structures are rarely explored. Here, we fabricate the hybrid 2D heterostructures with p-type dioctylbenzothienobenzothiophene (C8-BTBT) and n-type MoS2. We find that few-layer C8-BTBT molecular crystals can be grown on monolayer MoS2 by vdW epitaxy, with pristine interface and controllable thickness down to monolayer. The operation of the C8-BTBT/MoS2 vertical heterojunction devices is highly tunable by bias and gate voltages between three different regimes: interfacial recombination, tunneling, and blocking. The pn junction shows diode-like behavior with rectifying ratio up to 105 at the room temperature. Our devices also exhibit photovoltaic responses with a power conversion efficiency of 0.31% and a photoresponsivity of 22 mA/W. With wide material combinations, such hybrid 2D structures will offer possibilities for opto-electronic devices that are not possible from individual constituents.


A case involving a 50-year-old woman (height, 155 cm; weight, 79.6 kg), who was undergoing home oxygen therapy (3.5 L/min), with an oxygen saturation (SpO2) of approximately 91% due to pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) with mixed connective tissue disease, is reported. The patient developed coronavirus disease 2019- (COVID-19-) related respiratory failure, with an SpO2 of 78% on oxygen inhalation (3.5 L/min) and was admitted to the authors' hospital. In accordance with remdesivir, dexamethasone, and heparin treatment, high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy was selected to avoid intubation. At an initial HFNC setting of 70% oxygen with a flow rate of 50 L/min, SpO2 improved to 92% and her subjective symptoms improved. She was weaned from HFNC on day 5 of admission (day 14 of COVID-19 onset) and discharged home on day 14 of admission. In patients with PAH, the beneficial effects of HFNC to avoid endotracheal intubation were evident in avoiding hemodynamic instability and worsening respiratory failure.


Laughter is good for physical as well as mental health. We need to laugh more and seek stress reducing humor in our everyday lives. Laughter is the human gift for coping with stress and for survival. The elation that is felt while laughing is a great way of combating the physical effects of stress. When we laugh, our body relaxes and endorphins (natural painkillers) are released into the blood stream. When stress exceed it tends to produce various health problems. The physical health benefit of laughter yoga includes lowers stress hormones, decreases pain, relaxes muscles, prevents heart disease and boosts immunity. Mental health benefits includes it adds joy and zest to life, improves mood. Socially it strengthens relationships, enhances teamwork and promotes group bonding. Laughter is a reaction to certain stimuli, fundamentally mild stress, which serves as an emotional balancing mechanism of an individual, and acts as a best medicine to reduce the stress.


We investigate active droplets that form at the expense of a chemical fuel in aqueous buffer and vanish autonomously. Dynamic light scattering reveals the scattered intensity, the hydrodynamic radius, and the width of the size distribution with high precision as well as high temporal and spatial resolutions. Comparing the resulting time-dependent behavior of the droplet characteristics with the time-dependent concentration of the anhydrides, the roles of the chemical reaction cycle and of colloidal growth processes are elucidated. The droplet sizes and lifetimes depend strongly on the hydrophobicity of the precursor, and the growth rate is found to correlate with the deactivation rate of the product.


Cisplatin is a highly effective cancer chemotherapy agent. However, acquired resistance currently limits the clinical utility of this drug. The human high affinity copper importer, hCtr1, and its yeast and murine orthologues have been shown to mediate the uptake of cisplatin. This transporter is located at the plasma membrane under low copper conditions, and excess copper concentrations stimulate its endocytosis and degradation. In this study we further examined the link between cisplatin and hCtr1 by examining whether cisplatin can also stimulate the endocytosis and degradation of hCtr1. The steady-state location of hCtr1 and its endocytosis from the plasma membrane were not altered by cisplatin treatment. Unexpectedly, cisplatin treatment of a cell line expressing hCtr1 revealed the time- and concentration-dependent appearance of a stable hCtr1 multimeric complex, consistent with a homotrimer, which was not observed following copper treatment of these same cells. Mutagenesis studies identified two methionine-rich clusters in the extracellular amino-terminal region of hCtr1 that were required for stabilization of the hCtr1 multimer by cisplatin, suggesting that these sequences bind cisplatin and form crosslinks between hCtr1 polypeptides. Treatment with the metal chelator dimethyldithiocarbamate disassembled the hCtr1 multimer following cisplatin exposure, suggesting that platinum was an integral component of this complex. These studies provide the first evidence for a direct interaction between cisplatin and the hCtr1 protein and establish that cisplatin and copper have distinct biochemical consequences on this transporter.


Not dissimilar to many other countries, migration in Russia has a pronounced age-dependent pattern with the peak intensity at the age when people obtain a professional education. In this paper, we analyze migration intensity at student age (17–21) using three sources of demographic data with due regard for their key opportunities and limitations. We compare the migration attractiveness of Russian regions in three ways: (1) applying APC analysis to registration data, separately for two periods: 2003–2010 and 2011– 2013; the reason for sampling these two periods is because there was a significant change in the migration statistics collection practices in 2011; (2) using the age-shift method to analyze the data of the 2002 and 2010 Russian Censuses; we offer a way to refine the census data by discarding the non-migration-related changes in the age-sex structure; (3) using information about the average ratio of full-time university enrolments to the number of high school graduates in the academic years 2012/13 and 2013/14 across the regions. Based on the four indicators of migration intensity (intercensal estimates, statistical records for the two periods, and the graduate-enrolment ratio), we develop a ranking of the regions of Russia in migration attractiveness for young adults. A position in this ranking depends not only on the level of higher education development in a region but also on the consistent patterns of interregional migration in Russia. The regions in the European part of the country have a much higher chance of attracting student migrants.


A novel method based on ant colony optimization (ACO), algorithm for solving the ill-conditioned linear systems of equations is proposed. ACO is a parallelized bionic optimization algorithm which is inspired from the behavior of real ants. ACO algorithm is first introduced, a kind of positive feedback mechanism is adopted in ACO. Then, the solution problem of linear systems of equations was reformulated as an unconstrained optimization problem for solution by an ACO algorithm. Finally, the ACO with other traditional methods is applied to solve a kind of multi-dimensional Hilbert ill-conditioned linear equations. The numerical results demonstrate that ACO is effective, robust and recommendable in solving ill-conditioned linear systems of equations.


Tribulus terrestris is one of the medicinal plants that have various benefits such as diuretic (urine laxator), increase testosterone levels, restore vitality and increase fitness. The obstacles of this plant cultivation conventionally are relatively low percentage of germination, small seed form and cultivation that depends on a particular season. Plant propagation by using seeds in vitro is a solution that can be used to reproduce this plant. This study aims to determine the growth response of T. terrestris in response of IBA and BAP growth regulator application in vitro. This study used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) arranged factorially. The first factor is the concentration of IBA and the second factor is the concentration of BAP. The result of the observation was analyzed by the analysis of the F-test at 10% level. If there is a significant difference, further analysis using DMRT at 10% level, if not then analyzed descriptively. The results showed that there was an interaction of 1 ppm IBA + 1 ppm BAP resulted in the highest shoot height and the highest number of roots, the interaction of 1 ppm IBA + 1 ppm BAP and 1.5 ppm IBA + 2 ppm BAP brought the fastest periode root emergence. The application of single IBA treatment did not have a significant effect on the growth of T. terrestris, application of 0.5 ppm IBA combined 2 ppm BAP can induce the longest root length. The application 1 ppm BAP can induce the fastest shoot emergence, fastest leaf emergence, and highest number of leaves.


SUMMARY Research background Gallic acid is a polyphenol with antioxidant and antitumor activities; however, its use as a nutraceutical or drug is hindered by its low bioavailability. Zein is a natural protein found in corn and has been applied as nanoparticle drug carrier. In this study, zein nanoparticles were obtained and stabilized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) as gallic acid carriers. Experimental approach Nanoparticles were obtained by the liquid-liquid method and characterized in terms of mean size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, morphology, solid-state interactions and encapsulation efficiency/drug loading. The stability of nanoparticles was evaluated in simulated gastrointestinal fluids and food simulants, and the antioxidant activity was determined by the scavenging of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. Results and conclusions Zein nanoparticles containing gallic acid were obtained and stabilized only in the presence of PEG. Under optimal conditions, nanoparticles with mean size <200 nm, low polydispersity index (<0.25) and negative zeta potential (−20 mV) were obtained. The gallic acid encapsulation efficiency was about 40%, loading about 5%, and it was encapsulated in an amorphous state. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) did not identify chemical interactions after gallic acid nanoencapsulation. Zein nanoparticles were more prone to release the gallic acid in gastric than intestinal simulated medium; however, more than 50% of drug content was protected from premature release. In food simulants, the gallic acid release from nanoparticles was prolonged and sustained. Moreover, the nanoencapsulation did not reduce the antioxidant activity of gallic acid. Novelty and scientific contribution The results show the importance of PEG in the formation and its effect on the properties of zein nanoparticles obtained by the liquid-liquid dispersion method. This study indicates that PEG-stabilized zein nanoparticles are potential carriers for oral intake of gallic acid, preserving its antioxidant properties and enabling its use in the pharmaceutical and food industries.


The increasing significance of digital twin technology across engineering and industrial domains, such as aerospace, infrastructure, and automotive, is undeniable. However, the lack of detailed application-specific information poses challenges to its seamless implementation in practical systems. Data-driven models play a crucial role in digital twins, enabling real-time updates and predictions by leveraging data and computational models. Nonetheless, the fidelity of available data and the scarcity of accurate sensor data often hinder the efficient learning of surrogate models, which serve as the connection between physical systems and digital twin models. To address this challenge, we propose a novel framework that begins by developing a robust multi-fidelity surrogate model, subsequently applied for tracking digital twin systems. Our framework integrates polynomial correlated function expansion (PCFE) with the Gaussian process (GP) to create an effective surrogate model called H-PCFE. Going a step further, we introduce deep-HPCFE, a cascading arrangement of models with different fidelities, utilizing nonlinear auto-regression schemes. These auto-regressive schemes effectively address the issue of erroneous predictions from low-fidelity models by incorporating space-dependent cross-correlations among the models. To validate the efficacy of the multi-fidelity framework, we first assess its performance in uncertainty quantification using benchmark numerical examples. Subsequently, we demonstrate its applicability in the context of digital twin systems.


The purpose of this analysis is to document the Quality As.surance (QA) classification of the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) site fire protection system structures, systems and components (SSCs) performed by the MGR Safety Assurance Department. This analysis also provides the basis for revision of YMP/90-55Q, Q-List (YMP 1998). The Q-List identifies those MGR SSCs subject to the requirements of DOE/RW-0333P7 ''Quality Assurance Requirements and Description'' (QARD) (DOE 1998b).


Museum narratives, like other forms of narrative, are developed from an underlying conceptualization of events that can be referred to as the story. Storyscope is a web-based environment for constructing and exploring museum narratives and their underlying concepts. Storyscope aligns with a formal model of story and narrative specialized for a museum context called the curate ontology. This paper will explore the plot-reasoning component of Storyscope that provides intelligent support for the selection of events within the story and their interconnection as a coherent structure to be told within the narrative. Plot reasoning uses both internal knowledge and external information sources, such as Freebase and Factforge, to propose events that can be used to incrementally develop storylines and to emplot a museum narrative. The approach taken uses the notions of setting and theme to search and rank events in terms of their relevance to the developing storyline. This paces the expansion of the story in each step, ensures that the story develops in a direction that is of interest to the author and helps to maintain narrative cohesion, an important goal of story-building. Plot development is also supported by methods for clustering events into related plot elements and by using information from Freebase to propose different types of influence relations between story events.


Positive and normative claims that artificial intelligence (AI) will or should lead to adoption of a universal basic income policy (UBI) remain insufficiently empirically grounded to merit serious consideration. Long-term trends in individual/familial income portfolio adjustment (IPA) to business, economic, and technological change (BETC) point to continued incremental changes in the ways that individuals/families achieve life goals, not a fundamental structural break necessitating radical policy changes that may not be desirable in any event. Moreover, if AI proves a more rapid disruptor than anticipated, UBI-like payments can be made quickly, as recent bailouts and fiscal stimuli demonstrate.


The intrinsic defense mechanisms of plants toward pathogenic bacteria have been widely investigated for years and are still at the center of interest in plant biosciences research. This study investigated the role of the AtbZIP62 gene encoding a transcription factor (TF) in the basal defense and systemic acquired resistance in Arabidopsis using the reverse genetics approach. To achieve that, the atbzip62 mutant line (lacking the AtbZIP62 gene) was challenged with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst DC3000) inoculated by infiltration into Arabidopsis leaves at the rosette stage. The results indicated that atbzip62 plants showed an enhanced resistance phenotype toward Pst DC3000 vir over time compared to Col-0 and the susceptible disease controls, atgsnor1-3 and atsid2. In addition, the transcript accumulation of pathogenesis-related genes, AtPR1 and AtPR2, increased significantly in atbzip62 over time (0–72 h post-inoculation, hpi) compared to that of atgsnor1-3 and atsid2 (susceptible lines), with AtPR1 prevailing over AtPR2. When coupled with the recorded pathogen growth (expressed as a colony-forming unit, CFU mL−1), the induction of PR genes, associated with the salicylic acid (SA) defense signaling, in part explained the observed enhanced resistance of atbzip62 mutant plants in response to Pst DC3000 vir. Furthermore, when Pst DC3000 avrB was inoculated, the expression of AtPR1 was upregulated in the systemic leaves of Col-0, while that of AtPR2 remained at a basal level in Col-0. Moreover, the expression of AtAZI (a systemic acquired resistance -related) gene was significantly upregulated at all time points (0–24 h post-inoculation, hpi) in atbzip62 compared to Col-0 and atgsnor1-3 and atsid2. Under the same conditions, AtG3DPH exhibited a high transcript accumulation level 48 hpi in the atbzip62 background. Therefore, all data put together suggest that AtPR1 and AtPR2 coupled with AtAZI and AtG3DPH, with AtAZI prevailing over AtG3DPH, would contribute to the recorded enhanced resistance phenotype of the atbzip62 mutant line against Pst DC3000. Thus, the AtbZIP62 TF is proposed as a negative regulator of basal defense and systemic acquired resistance in plants under Pst DC3000 infection.


Roots have a fundamental role in plant growth and adaptation to different environments. Diversity in root morphology and architecture enables plants to acquire water and nutrients in contrasting substrate conditions, resist biotic and abiotic stress, and develop symbiotic associations. At its most fundamental level, morphology is determined by discrete changes in tissue patterning. Differences in the number and arrangement of the cell layers in the root can change tissue structure, as well as root length and girth, affecting important productivity traits. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling variation in developmental patterning is an important goal in biology. The ground tissue (GT) system is an ideal model to study the genetic basis of morphological diversity because it displays great interspecific variability in cell layer number. In addition, the genetic circuit controlling GT patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana has been well described, although little is known about species with more complex root anatomies. In this review, we will describe the Arabidopsis model for root radial patterning and present recent progress in elucidating the genetic circuitry controlling GT patterning in monocots and the legume Medicago truncatula (Mt), species that develop roots with more complex anatomies and multilayered cortex.


MON-LB58 Abstract Background and objective:Hypercortisolism is the hall mark of ACTH Cushing's syndrome, which is a benign ACTH secreting tumor resulting in high morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis is based on an elevated serum ACTH, elevated 24h urinary cortisol or a non-suppressible ACTH after dexamethasone suppression test. Confirmation of ACTH hypersecretion is followed by localization of the adenoma which can be pituitary in origin or peripheral. Dynamic MRI of the pituitary gland is the gold standard for diagnosis of pituitary tumors, and contrast enhanced CT scan is the gold standard for ectopic lesions which are usually lung tumors. The localization of the lesion is often a challenge because conventional MRI fail to show pituitary lesions and sometimes requiring inferior petrosal sinus sampling to confirm pituitary origin. Transsphenoidal surgery is the treatment of choice for Cushing's disease, even without MRI evidence of pituitary tumors, if pituitary origin is confirmed by inferior petrosal sinus sampling. This causes increase in the incidence of treatment failure and complications. Thus, the diagnosis of Cushing's disease urges exploring new diagnostic modalities. In our study we test the sensitivity of 11C methionine PET CT together with dynamic pituitary MRI in localization of ACTH dependent Cushing's disease. Materials and methodsThis is an interventional, prospective study, forty-one subjects: newly diagnosed ACTH dependent Cushing's Syndrome (n=29). (indicated by non-suppressible ACTH on dexamethasone suppression test) or persistent hypercortisolism following transsphenoidal surgery (n=12). 11C methionine PET CT was done in all cases in addition to dynamic pituitary MRI. All patients underwent 11 C-methionine PET-CT in addition to dynamic pituitary MRI This allowed us to determine whether suspected adenomas seen on structural imaging exhibited focal tracer uptake on functional imaging.Inclusion Criteria:• Aged 18 years old or over• Patient with a diagnosed Cushing's disease confirmed by non-suppressible ACTH on dexamethasone suppression test.• Patient with persistent ACTH dependent Cushing's disease following transsphenoidal surgery.• Patient not enrolled in other interventional studies.Exclusion Criteria:• Contraindication to MRI• Pregnant woman, breastfeeding RESULTS:Patients with newly diagnosed ACTH dependent Cushing: 24 out of 29 of the cases showed adenoma on dynamic MRI of the pituitary; 5 out of 29 cases failed to showed any lesions on dynamic MRI of the pituitary; Inferior petrosal sampling was done and confirmed pituitary origin in 4 out of 5 and 1 out of 5 was found to have ectopic ACTH secretion. In patients with persistent hypercortisolism following transsphenoidal surgery; 3 out of 12 of the cases showed adenoma on dynamic MRI of the pituitary and 7 out of 12 cases failed to showed any lesions on dynamic MRI of the pituitary and inferior petrosal sampling was done and confirmed pituitary origin in all 12 cases. All 41 cases underwent 11C methionine PET CT scan; 39 patients showed tracer uptake on 11c methionine PET CT scan in the pituitary area, 36 of which had unilateral asymmetrical tracer uptake. All 40 subjects with suspected pituitary lesions were confirmed to be of pituitary origin by histopathological examination of biopsies taken intraoperatively.CONCLUSIONS11C methionine PET CT has proven to be of very high sensitivity in detecting ACTH secreting adenomas, further studies should be done on a larger scale as this modality can address the pitfalls in localization of ACTH secreting lesions.


Quantitative data provided by flow cytometers are as yet not fully exploited due to the lack of standardization. However, fluorescence standardization systems are now available which allow the measurement of antigen density on a routine basis and the present review focuses on the interest of such quantitative techniques for the monitoring of haemopoietic malignancies. Antigen quantitation: (i) permits a more objective characterization of positivity, especially in the case of weakly expressed antigens; (ii) facilitates the analysis of complex populations, since certain antigens are expressed at different levels on different cell subsets; (iii) provides new data contributing to a more precise definition of cell differentiation; (iv) is of value to ascertain malignancy from the detection of aberrant antigen densities on putative neoplastic cells; (v) provides additional parameters suitable for the evaluation of residual disease and for the monitoring of immunological therapeutic regimens; (vi) contributes to prognosis. Quantitation of antigen densities should therefore be included in the routine study of haemopoietic malignancies.


Contemporary Nordic architecture is shaped by its relationships with the global architectural practice and its material and cultural ties to the regional context. This essay investigates the specificities of mountain and rural architecture in the Nordic countries over the last two decades, with case studies from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. Due to their proximity to the Arctic Circle, the living conditions in these territories are very close to those in the Alpine regions, despite the lower elevation.
The essay analyses several factors that are currently at play when it comes to the architectural practice in the North: the relationship between landscape and tourism, the reuse of 20th century rural heritage, the resilience of traditional building techniques, and the clashes between local territories, extractive policies, and colonial power.


We investigated recent trends and patterns of intra-regional trade, focusing on the automobile and automobile parts industries in the ASEAN-4 countries. Looking at the intra-ASEAN auto parts trade in detail, we found that although the Grubel-Lloyd intra-industry trade (IIT) index showed a steady trend in the ASEAN region and other regions, the level of the index is considerably lower in ASEAN than in NAFTA and MERCOSUR. On the other hand, vertical IIT showed a rapid increase while horizontal IIT remained at a very low level in ASEAN, which is one of the conspicuous characteristics for the region. Moreover, we found that Thailand was the largest exporter and importer of automobile parts in ASEAN and that engines and engine parts were the major components traded among the ASEAN-4 countries. Most intra-industry trade in the region, however, was concentrated in miscellaneous automobile parts. Our econometric investigation on the determinants of IIT revealed that for the AFTA countries, increasing market size, the decreasing difference in market size, and the increasing size of the automotive industry were major sources of IIT growth. However, the estimated coefficients on the AFTA dummy were not significant in many of the equations, suggesting that the regional FTA has not contributed to IIT growth in the AFTA countries. JEL classification: F14; L62


Negative bias temperature instabilities (NBTI) are commonly observed in p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices when exposed to negative gate voltages at elevated temperatures. We present a brief overview of NBT stress- induced threshold voltage instabilities in p-channel vertical double-diffused MOS field-effect transistors (VDMOSFETs). NBT stress-induced threshold voltage shifts are fitted using different models to estimate the device lifetime and to discuss the impacts of stress conditions, failure criterion, extrapolation model, and intermittent annealing on lifetime projection. The stretched exponential equation is found to provide excellent fit to experimental data for the later stress phases and thus allows an accurate estimation of device lifetime for the lowest stress voltage applied, which justifies the use of this or some other suitable fitting equation. The realistic failure criterion for devices and experimental conditions used in our studies is found to fall in the 100 - 150 mV range. The lifetime estimates are found to strongly depend on the model used for extrapolation to normal operating conditions. The 1/VG model is shown to provide much faster output since it appears to allow the use of higher stress voltages while still yielding rather accurate lifetime estimates. Intermittent annealing does not seem to have any significant impact on device lifetime.


The chapter explores "Mesopotamian mathematics," which arose in the late fourth millennium bce, alongside a logographic script, both of which served in accounting. Writing, accounting, and calculation were in the hands of the manager-priests of the temples, who used the techniques to calculate and control land distribution to high officials, rations in kind to workers, and ingredients necessary for products such as beer. Mathematical texts include problems that seem practical but which would never occur in actual scribal work: their function was to display professional identity by exploiting a professional tool. The place-value system was created to simplify accurate calculations. Central to Old Babylonian mathematics were problems concerned with the properties of the sexagesimal system, as well as "algebraic" problems based on a set of four problems about rectangles with a given area, and some linear constraint. Such geometrical riddles have left traces in the pseudo-Heronian Geometrica collections and in medieval Islamic and Indian practical geometry and are likely to have inspired Euclid's Elements II.


In this paper we describe de application of a modeling framework, the so-called Conceptual Model Decomposing Value for the Customer (CMDVC), in a Footwear Industry case study, to ascertain the usefulness of this approach. The value networks were used to identify the participants, both tangible and intangible deliverables/endogenous and exogenous assets, and the analysis of their interactions as the indication for an adequate value proposition. The quantitative model of benefits and sacrifices, using the Fuzzy AHP method, enables the discussion of how the CMDVC can be applied and used in the enterprise environment and provided new relevant relations between perceived benefits (PBs).


ABSTRACT Throughout the Second World War, the Luftwaffe attacked Norwich on various occasions. The impact this had on the city was recorded visually on the 'Norwich Bomb Map'. This cartographic depiction, however, only records a single 'horizontal' component of the aerial 'battlescape'. In reality, the aerial battlefield comprised a combination of Norwich's air defences and the flightpaths of the Luftwaffe bombers, which existed in three-dimensional space. As other scholars have developed methodologies for reconstructing anti-aircraft 'fire domes', this article will combine these concepts with a new approach that reconstructs historic flightpaths to give a three-dimensional overview of Norwich's 'Gun Defended Area'. By examining all components of Norwich's airspace, this article will demonstrate the importance of considering the vertical component of a battlescape.


This is an interview-based study of 102 families and their observations of the last weeks and days of a dying family member. Forty-one families reported hearing about "visions," "hallucinations," or "dreams" from their dying loved one before their death. Of these 41 mixed cases, 37 cases demonstrated classic features of deathbed visions—reports of seeing dead relatives or friends communicating to the dying person. This article reports a content analysis of these 37 cases in order to identify the major psychosocial themes that seem to be conveyed by these kinds of experiences. Six major themes are identified. These themes are: support, comfort, companionship, reunion, prognosis, and choice and control. Implications of these themes are discussed in relation to their role in providing significant support for the psychological morale and social well being of dying people.


In this study, quadrature-polarization (quad-pol) RADARSAT-2 data at steep (25o) and shallow (40o) incidence angles were acquired during the 2008 season, imaging 13 corn and soybean fields. The leaf area index (LAI) was derived from optical imagery, and volumetric soil moisture was measured coincident with each overpass. Many synthetic aperture radar (SAR) parameters were significantly correlated with derived corn and soybean LAI. The highest correlations were observed for parameters sensitive to volume scattering (HV, LL, and RR backscatter, pedestal height, and the Freeman–Durden volume-scattering parameter) at the steeper angle. For corn, the minimum correlation coefficient was 0.95. For soybeans, the coefficients were between 0.83 and 0.86. Sensitivity to LAI was lost late in the season, when the derived LAI exceeded 3.0 m2m−2. The derived LAI and the measured soil moisture were used to model several radar parameters (HV backscatter, pedestal height, and the Freeman–Durden volume-scattering parameter) using the water-cloud model. Early in the season, the SAR response was primarily affected by the vegetation, but soil moisture was also an important contributor. When the derived LAI exceeded 1, soil-moisture contributions became minimal. The water-cloud model adequately simulated SAR responses as the canopy developed and LAI increased, demonstrating the potential of polarimetric SAR data for monitoring indicators of crop productivity.


Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) is a native insect that defoliates needleleaf trees, especially balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and spruces (Picea spp.), in northern North America. Spruce budworm can defoliate millions of hectares of forest during an infestation, depressing regional economies that depend on the timber industry. Ecosystems, though, can benefit from spruce budworm because outbreaks rejuvenate the forest, maintaining optimal levels of primary production, and thereby carbon sequestration. Although many ecologists, entomologists, geographers, and resource managers have studied the effects of spruce budworm on spruce–fir forests throughout the region, no single explanation of what causes the number of insects in a forest to rise and fall is universally accepted. Spruce budworm populations can reach 'outbreak' levels, or densities high enough to defoliate and kill balsam fir and spruce on a landscape scale, on average every 30–40 years. We review the biology of spruce budworm, the processes that scientists follow to reconstruct spruce budworm outbreaks, the leading hypothesis to explain population dynamics and outbreak events, and the complexity of forecasting possible future trends of populations and distributions of spruce budworm. Reconstructions of past outbreaks help us understand their severity, frequency, and spatial synchrony, which might be linked in complex ways to climate, forest, and stand characteristics. Future spruce budworm dynamics are difficult to predict because the insect is part of a complex food web. In the coming decades, spruce budworm probably will survive climate change because it is adapted to a wide range of temperatures and precipitation amounts.


Linear regression with shuffled labels and with a noisy latent design matrix arises in many correspondence recovery problems. We propose a total least-squares approach to the problem of estimating the underlying true permutation, and provide an upper bound to the normalized Procrustes quadratic loss of the estimator. We also provide an iterative algorithm to approximate the estimator and demonstrate its performance on simulated data.


Background : Medication adherence is important to help prevent relapse for patients with schizophrenia who need long term care. Purpose : To determine factors related to medication adherence among patients with schizophrenia in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Method : A cross-sectional study was conducted at the outpatient department of the West Java Province Mental Hospital in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Individuals were assessed using the Bahasa versions of Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS), Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side-Effect Rating Scale (LUNSERS), and Symptom Severity Scale of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder 5 th edition (SS-DSM5) instruments. Bivariate analysis was applied to determine the factors related to medication adherence. Result : A total of 88 patients with schizophrenia were enrolled. The prevalence of medication adherence was 64.8%. By using Chi-square test, the results revealed that factors significantly associated with medication adherence were medication side effects (χ 2 = 8.417, p < .01), and severity of symptoms (χ 2 = 5.771, p < .05). Conclusion : The health care providers should provide clear information to patients and caregivers regarding common side effects of antipsychotics. Enhance the ability of caregivers to identify symptoms of schizophrenia in order to improve patients' health status and reduce relapse .


Writing in Antiquity was an eminently collective process, a process in which the modern categories of author, scriptor, editor and lector often superpose and merge. Valuing this decisive parameter of any communication in the 1st century, the present study aims, following others, to reopen the exegetical file of the authorship of Pauline letters. Defending the hypothesis of a participative composition of the latter, it is in particular the use of the "I" in Paul that is under revision and reassessed. More precisely, the article demonstrates that, in the proto-Pauline writings, it is less a question of an early author's consciousness than the construction of a posture of personal authority.


Stem cell niches are defined as the microenvironments where stem cells home, receiving stimuli defining their fate. In vertebrates, stem cell niches are stable and physically confined compartments. Botryllus schlosseri is an invertebrate colonial chordate where temporary stem cell niches have been identified in adult individuals that are cyclically resorbed and replaced by a new generation of clonal zooids. B. schlosseri also displays remarkable regenerative abilities, being capable of whole-body regeneration, but the cellular source of these processes is still unknown. Here we identified by means of a high-resolution morphological characterization a new putative stem cell niche in the ampullae of the circulatory system acting as a stem cell source during asexual reproduction. Stem cells of the ampullae travel via the circulatory system and contribute to the development of several organs and could explain where stem cells contributing to whole-body regeneration are stored. The ampullae niches are stable during the life cycle and regeneration of B. schlosseri, while additional niches of the zooid are dynamically established and colonised by circulating stem cells. Our results reveal an unprecedented dynamicity of stem cell niches in highly regenerative invertebrates.


Institutions (including regulations) are constitutive elements of innovation systems, and therefore cornerstones of innovation policy. Focusing on (soft and hard) regulation, the paper identifies the most salient regulatory areas from the perspective of the innovation system. When asking about the effects of regulation on innovation, the paper argues that there are three key issues that need careful empirical analysis; namely, whether regulation is effective and efficient in terms of reducing uncertainty and generating incentives, whether it is able to generate ultimately wider social benefits for the innovativeness of the society at large; and the extent to which regulation is adapting to new (social, economic and technological) contexts and is socially legitimate and accepted. These are potentially the three problems that innovation policy needs to address in this area. This provides guidance for the design and re-design of innovation policy, so that policy makers may analyse empirically the social dynamics actually generated by regulation rather than simply assuming deductively their effects.


"A Monastery in Time" is the first book to describe the life of a Mongolian Buddhist monastery - the Mergen Monastery in Inner Mongolia - from inside its walls. From the Qing occupation of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through the Cultural Revolution, Caroline Humphrey and Hurelbaatar Ujeed tell a story of religious formation, suppression, and survival over a history that spans three centuries. Often overlooked in Buddhist studies, Mongolian Buddhism is an impressively self-sustaining tradition whose founding lama, the Third Mergen Gegen, transformed Tibetan Buddhism into an authentic counterpart using the Mongolian language. Drawing on fifteen years of fieldwork, Humphrey and Ujeed show how lamas have struggled to keep Mergen Gegen's vision alive through tremendous political upheaval, and how such upheaval has inextricably fastened politics to religion for many of today's practicing monks. Exploring the various ways Mongolian Buddhists have attempted to link the past, present, and future, Humphrey and Ujeed offer a compelling study of the interplay between the individual and the state, tradition and history.


This research aims to describe and analyse the factors that influence the academic results of \ the students of the Bidikmisi recipients. The research hypothesis: (1) There is an influence of parents' education levels towards the students' academic results, (2) There is an influence of parents income on the students' academic results, (3) There is a correlation between the needs for achievement to the students' academic results, (4) There is an effect between parents' educational background and the need for achievement. (5) There is an influence on parents' income towards the need for achievement. (6) There is an influence of parents' education, parents' income and the need for achievement towards the students' academic results, whether as a whole factor or only partial. The Population are all active students of the recipient of bidikmisi, the scholarship provided by the government for students from underprivileged families, since the school year of 2015 to 2018 which amounted to 79 people. Samples were taken randomly and proportionally totalling up to 68 people. Research instrument is a closed poll with Likert scale which previously carried out the validity and reliability tests for the variable of the need for achievement. While the income of parents and study results variables are conducted by documenting. The research method is carried out with a surveying technique and a quantitative descriptive and inferential approach. The data analysis techniques used are the correlational and regression. Data analysis results show: (1). Parents' education is positively and significantly related to the students' academic outcomes and can be explained by the parents' educational background variant with a correlation of r = 0.312 or r 2 = 0097 or 0.97%, and effecting as much as 0.387 or 38.7% if other factors are constant. (2) p y2 = 0,710 g 0 with t count = 3,182 and t tab.05(57) = 1,67pointing out that t count g t tab atau 5,110 g 1,67., and is correlated to ry 1 =0,95 atau r 2 =0.099 or = 0,09% (3) the need for achievement has a positive and significant effect on student academic outcomes and can be explained by the achievement variantand has a correlation as much as ry 3 =0,749 or r 2 =0.561and has an influence of 0.749 or 74.9% if other factors are constant (fixed). (4) Parents' education affects positively but is not necessarily significant to the need for achievement, and has a correlation of ry 1.3 =0,087 or r 2 =0.008 or = 0,8%; (5) The parents' income positively affects but is not significant to the need for achievement, and has a correlation of ry 2.3 =0,114 or r 2 =0.013 or = 1,3%; (6) Parent's education, parent's income and, the need for achievement joint together have a positive and significant impact on the students' studying results and have a correlation of R=0,791 or R 2 =0.626 or = 62,6%, or students' academic results can be determined by the need for achievement when the parents' educational factor and parents' income are 2 constant. Partially, parents' income cannot explain the students academic results when parents' education is not constant.


This thesis is an examination of the role, experiences and contribution of the volunteers who fought in the British Battalion of the 15 International Brigade, in Spain's civil war of 1936-1939. The study analyses the composition of the British contingent, particularly their social, economic and political background, but also other aspects, such as their age and geographical origin. It examines the motivations of the volunteers, using the wealth of memoir and interview material, to explain why almost two and a half thousand men and women left Britain to fight 'in a far away country.' The volunteers' experiences within Spain are traced, from the 'first few' who fought with the multifarious militia units in the defence of Madrid in the autumn and winter of 1936, to the creation and development of the International Brigades, into which these volunteers and the later arrivals were integrated in early 1937. The role of the volunteers in the battles around Madrid of 1936-1937, and the battles of Aragon in 1937-38, is examined in particular detail. The narrative strand of the thesis concludes with an examination of the brutal experiences of the British captured and imprisoned by the Rebels during the war. Finally, the thesis discusses some of the more contentious issues surrounding the role of the volunteers in the British Battalion in Spain. The organisation of the brigades and the role of the Comintern, and the maintenance of discipline, desertions, and the execution of volunteers are all examined closely. The study concludes that discipline was indeed tough in the International Brigades, particularly as all the members of the battalion were, after all, volunteers. However, it is argued that, in the main, this discipline was driven by military, rather than political necessity, and recent studies have over-played the extent of 'Stalinist' control within the battalion.


Saffron is the world's second most costly spice, with numerous advantages of culinary, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and medical fields. There is an inadequate awareness of how Crocus sativus L. (Family Iridaceae) which produces the spice saffron from the filaments that grow inside the flower, can possibly treat cancer. Since, cancers are regarded as a devastating disease in today's world, anticancer and antioxidant properties of secondary metabolites available in saffron will be highly invaluable. The present review focuses on investigating on the role of crocin, crocetin and safranal in cancer treatments, which are the main secondary metabolites of C. sativus, and evaluating the various methods of extracting, isolating and analysing them. The review conducted using subjective indexed journal articles that were published over the past ten years. Out of the available data, it found that crocin would be quite beneficial in healing cancer without revealing any adverse effects. Crocin showed immense potential in curing a wide range of cancer types, mainly prostate and lung cancers, by eliminating cancer cells through apoptosis and inhibiting tumour invasion. There were a limited number of researches conducted using crocetin and safranal. However, they will approve for cancer treatments shortly. Crocetin was widely employed as a chemo-preventive and anti-inflammatory medication for pancreatic and breast cancer treatments. It has recently been utilized only for treatments of few types of cancers. Only one publication recorded in the recent ten years, as the usage of safranal in cancer treatment, which was against leukaemia. Moreover, secondary metabolite analysis techniques including spectrophotometry and chromatography utilized effectively, whereas predominantly improved extraction techniques including ultrasound-assisted extraction, emulsion liquid membrane, high hydrostatic pressure extraction. The analysis affirmed that, microwave[1]assisted extraction (80±1%) followed by low-pressure liquid chromatography (99.04±0.01%) showed optimum recovery of crocin. Whereas for safranal, microwave-assisted extraction (15.9±0.1%) and ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry preferred methods. The analysed data will be useful for future studies that focus on the analysis of saffron secondary metabolites and potentiality in cancer treatments to provide the researchers with a wide range of alternatives for carrying out the processes of curing cancers.
Keywords: Anticancer, Crocin, Crocetin, Safranal, Saffron


For the total cost of the inventory without backorder model, if we fuzzify the order quantity, the total demand, the cost of storing and the cost of placing an order as fuzzy numbers then we can obtain the fuzzy total cost. In this paper, we apply the signed distance method to defuzzify the fuzzy total cost and then solve the optimal order quantity.


This report deals with the test of a series of 5-halogenated derivatives of ara-UTP for the inhibition of DNA polymerase gamma and viral reverse transcriptase. The compounds newly synthesized and tested were; ara5-FUTP, ara5-C1UTP, ara5-BrUTP and ara5-IUTP. The results were: 1) All these compounds were inhibitory to DNA polymerase gamma and reverse transcriptase. The mode of inhibitions was, in all cases, competitive against dTTP. 2) Ki values for these inhibitors with DNA polymerase gamma were lower than those with reverse transcriptase. 3) Ara5-ClUTP was less inhibitory to reverse transcriptase than other derivatives.


Intelligent transport systems are accepted as an integral part of the transport system. They have high potential in reducing the carbon footprint of traffic while improving efficient and safe transport. The calculation of CO 2 emissions arising from the transport sector incorporating the impact of ITS is a challenging task. A systematic assessment methodology will support developers, public authorities and investors in ITS solutions to make sound decisions based on comparable and transparent impact estimates. As the basis for such an assessment, the fragmentation of traffic in underlying processes is suggested. These processes can be divided into transport demand related processes and driver behaviour and vehicle related processes. Together these processes lead to traffic flow. Transport processes are influenced by various factors. Both the processes itself and the factors influencing them can be affected by ITS. A systematic analysis of the potential effects of ITS on all these levels is the prerequisite for choosing a suitable modelling approach to quantify the effects. It also ensures the transparency of the modelling process by elucidating the required model sensitivities. The details of such an approach and its context from user need to a standardised assessment methodology for ITS is described. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2015.