Problem statement. By means of mathematical modelling it is investigated longitudinal forces of non-uniform bulk trains at various ways of braking. Various schemes of formation of the bulk trains, consisting of four-axised and eight-axised tanks with various level of incomplete filling of  transported liquid are considered. It is estimated the influence of level of filling of a copper of the tank by  liquid on longitudinal forces of trains at braking. For the decision of the given problem the trains made from 30 four-axised and 30 eight-axised  cars-tanks and one locomotive VL-8,  located in the head of a train were considered. For the estimation of longitudinal forces emergency and full service braking at speeds of movement 30 km/h and 60 km/h on a horizontal site of a way were considered. At mathematical modelling it was supposed that  tanks were filled by black oil in density ρ =0,99 t/m 3. Various variants of removal of the level   free surface of  liquid from the top internal surface of a copper of the tank were considered. The incomplete filling was accepted equal 0,4; 0,8; 1,2 metres. Scientific results. As a result of calculations diagrammes of distribution of the maximum longitudinal forces along the length of a train and brake ways for various schemes of formation and different level of  incomplete filling of  transported liquid have been received. Various braking of preliminary stretched and compressed trains are considered. Conclusions. The received results show that in need of driving the bulk non-uniform as cars-tanks (4- axised and 8- axised) trains their formation should be made with installation of eight-axised tanks in the first half of the structure.


How do politicians allocate public resources? Despite the extensive literature on distributive politics, we have limited micro-level evidence for why and under what circumstances politicians choose various allocation strategies. India's discretionary constituency development scheme (MPLADS) provides an excellent opportunity to study the spending choices of individual politicians. Drawing on an original dataset linking voting patterns across 227,507 villages in the 2009 general elections to MPLADS allocations 2009–2014, we find that politicians generally channel more projects and resources to villages that vote for them in higher numbers. We then leverage a natural experiment created by the delimitation (redistricting) of electoral boundaries in 2008 to provide causal evidence that spending choices are driven by short-term electoral incentives. Finally, we show that allocation patterns differ by the type of party that has brought a politician to power. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on heterogeneity in politicians' distributional choices.


In this paper, a goal programming model is proposed for general downlink channel assignment. Unlike many channel assignment schemes with quality of service (QoS) requirements constraints, QoS requirements are formulated as mathematical functions in the objective functions of our schemes. This approach allows greater flexibility for QoS formulation. With this formulation, when there is insufficient amount of resource, the proposed schemes can provide the compromise solutions more conveniently without explicit admission controls. As a result, resource can be allocated more efficiently according to this model. Based on this model, the channel swapping algorithm and the best-first-assign algorithm are proposed. Simulation results show that with the proposed algorithm, less channel resource is required to meet the client demand.


Sedentary behaviour has been associated with a myriad of medical conditions including obesity. This commentary addresses the relationship between sedentary behaviour and obesity within contemporary society. We demonstrate how high levels of sedentary behaviour may explain (at least in part) the increasing prevalence of obesity in society. Health promotion programs that address sedentary behaviour (in addition to other healthy lifestyle behaviours) is recommended to address the burden of obesity.


Adrenal ganglioneuroma is a very rare tumour of sympathetic nervous system that originate from neural crest sympathogonia which are completely undifferentiated cells of the sympathetic nervous system, constituting 20 to 30% of all Ganglioneuromas (GNs). GNs are generally asymptomatic and usually do not secrete hormones and most often detected incidentally on routine imaging tests during work up. The tumour could cause some complications, if it becomes large enough to press against the adjacent organs. Ganglioneuroma generally present as solitary mass which are painless and grow slowly. The common sites of GN are posterior mediastinum (41%), retroperitoneum (37%), adrenal gland (21%) and neck (8%). Histopathologically, ganglioneuroma is entirely composed of ganglion cells and schwannian stroma and does not contain neuroblasts, intermediate cells or mitotic figures. Preoperative diagnosis of GNs is difficult and cannot be made on radiological findings alone, thus histopathological examination is required in order to confirm the diagnosis of GN. Adrenal ganglioneuroma is a rare sympathetic tumour which originated from adrenal medulla. Prognosis is good after removal of the tumour, adjuvent therapy is not required and there is no recurrence. This report is of a rare case of adrenal ganglioneuroma in a 66-year- old male from Bihar came with complaints of bipedal oedema for seven days, white coloured urine and burning pain during micturition for three months. The patient was evaluated for chyluria, routine investigations were normal but ultrasound and Computed Tomography (CT) scan of abdomen revealed non-specific solitary right adrenal mass measuring 44.8×38.2 mm. Biochemical investigations showed increased catecholamines and metanephrines in plasma. The excised mass was sent for histopathological examination which showed features of adrenal ganglioneuroma and same was confirmed by immunohistochemistry.


In order to facilitate self-monitoring interventions designed by the Faculty of Computer Science Universitas Indonesia, a web-based self-monitoring tool was created. This paper aims to evaluate the tool regarding its usability and user-experiences prior to its wide adoption. The User-Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) and the System Usability Scale (SUS) were used to evaluate the self-monitoring tool. The tool was implemented in a Human-Computer Interaction course during odd semesters and the evaluations were taken by the participants of the course. The evaluation results were analyzed to help determine whether the tool needs to be enhanced or improved. Based the results, a new design of self-monitoring tool was developed using the interface design principles.


Trade and investment reforms in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) since the mid-1980s have boosted natural resource-based exports, underpinning recent economic growth. A high proportion of the proceeds from these exports accrue directly to the government. Over the 8 years preceding 2011, total government revenue increased from 11% to over 19% of gross domestic product, due almost entirely to revenues derived from mining and hydropower. The effect on the Lao people depends on how the government uses these revenues. This paper examines how the Lao PDR's export-led growth can be channeled into directions that deliver the greatest benefit to the Lao people.


The Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the x-ray component of NASA's Great Observatories, was launched early in the morning of 1999, July 23 by the Space Shuttle Columbia. The Shuttle launch was only the first step in placing the observatory in orbit. After release from the cargo bay, the Inertial Upper Stage performed two firings, and separated from the observatory as planned. Finally, after five firings of Chandra's own Integral Propulsion System--the last of which took place 15 days after launch--the observatory was placed in its highly elliptical orbit of approximately 140,000 km apogee and approximately 10,000 km perigee. After activation, the first x-rays focused by the telescope were observed on 1999, August 12. Beginning with these initial observations one could see that the telescope had survived the launch environment and was operating as expected. The month following the opening of the sun-shade door was spent adjusting the focus for each set of instrument configurations, determining the optical axis, calibrating the star camera, establishing the relative response functions, determining energy scales, and taking a series of `publicity' images. Each observation proved to be far more revealing than was expected. Finally, and despite an initial surprise and setback due to the discovery that the Chandra x-ray telescope was far more efficient for concentrating low-energy protons that had been anticipated, the observatory is performing well and is returning superb scientific data. Together with other space observations, most notably the recently activated XMM-Newton, it is clear that we are entering a new era of discovery in high-energy astrophysics.


Abstract We have started high precision photometric monitoring observations at the AIU Jena observatory in Großschwabhausen near Jena in fall 2006. We used a 25.4cm Cassegrain telescope equipped with a CCD-camera mounted piggyback on a 90cm telescope. To test the attainable photometric precision, we observed stars with known transiting planets. We could recover all planetary transits observed by us. We observed the parent star of the transiting planet TrES-2 over a longer period in Großschwabhausen. Between March and November 2007 seven different transits and almost a complete orbital period were analyzed. Overall, in 31 nights of observation 3423 exposures (in total 57.05h of observation) of the TrES-2 parent star were taken. Here, we present our methods and the resulting light curves. Using our observations we could improve the orbital parameters of the system.


ABSTRACT We cloned the rpoN (ntrA, glnF) gene encoding the alternate sigma factor ς54 from the opportunistic multihost pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosastrain PA14. A marker exchange protocol was used to construct the PA14rpoN insertional mutationrpoN::Genr. PA14rpoN::Genr synthesized reduced levels of pyocyanin and displayed a variety of phenotypes typical of rpoN mutants, including a lack of motility and the failure to grow on nitrate, glutamate, or histidine as the sole nitrogen source. Compared to wild-type PA14,rpoN::Genr was ca. 100-fold less virulent in a mouse thermal injury model and was significantly impaired in its ability to kill the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. In an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf infectivity assay, althoughrpoN::Genr exhibited significantly reduced attachment to trichomes, stomata, and the epidermal cell surface, did not attach perpendicularly to or perforate mesophyll cell walls, and proliferated less rapidly in Arabidopsisleaves, it nevertheless elicited similar disease symptoms to wild-typeP. aeruginosa PA14 at later stages of infection.rpoN::Genr was not impaired in virulence in a Galleria mellonella (greater wax moth) pathogenicity model. These data indicate that rpoN does not regulate the expression of any genes that encode virulence factors universally required for P. aeruginosa pathogenicity in diverse hosts.


This paper reports that carbon microcoils are grown through a chemical vapour deposit process, they are then embedded in silicone rubber, and manipulated to parallel with each other along their axes in the resulting composite. The impedance |Z| as well as phase angle θ of both the original carbon microcoil sheets and the aligned carbon microcoil/silicone rubber composites are measured. The results illustrate that carbon microcoils in different forms show different alternating current electric properties. The aligned carbon microcoils in the composites show stable parameters for f < 104 Hz but a sharp decrease in both |Z| and θ for frequencies > 104 Hz, which will also change as the carbon microcoils are extended. But, the original sheets have a pure resistance with their parameters stable throughout the entire alternating current frequency range investigated.


We reveal a set of novel decay topologies for the 125 GeV Higgs boson in supersymmetry which are initiated by its decay into a pair of neutralinos, and discuss their collider search strategies. This category of exotic Higgs decays is characterized by the collider signature: visible objects+E_{T}, with E_{T} dominantly arising from escaping dark matter particles. Their benchmark arises naturally in the Peccei-Quinn symmetry limit of the minimal supersymmetric standard model singlet extensions, which is typified by the coexistence of three light particles: singletlike scalar h_{1} and pseudoscalar a_{1}, and singlinolike neutralino χ_{1}, all with masses of ≲10  GeV, and the generic suppression of the exotic decays of the 125 GeV Higgs boson h_{2}→h_{1}h_{1}, a_{1}a_{1} and χ_{1}χ_{1}, however. As an illustration, we study the decay topology: h_{2}→χ_{1}χ_{2}, where the binolike χ_{2} decays to h_{1}χ_{1} or a_{1}χ_{1}, and h_{1}/a_{1}→ff[over ¯], with ff[over ¯]=μ^{+}μ^{-}, bb[over ¯]. In the dimuon case (m_{h_{1}/a_{1}}∼1  GeV), a statistical sensitivity of S/sqrt[B]>6σ can be achieved easily at the 8 TeV LHC, assuming σ(pp→Wh_{2})/σ(pp→Wh_{SM})Br(h_{2}→μ^{+}μ^{-}χ_{1}χ_{1})=0.1. In the bb[over ¯] case (m_{h_{1}/a_{1}}∼45  GeV), 600  fb^{-1} data at the 14 TeV LHC can lead to a statistical sensitivity of S/sqrt[B]>5σ, assuming σ(pp→Zh_{2})/σ(pp→Zh_{SM})Br(h_{2}→bb[over ¯]χ_{1}χ_{1})=0.5. These exotic decays open a new avenue for exploring new physics couplings with the 125 GeV Higgs boson at colliders.


The tin hydride-mediated cyclisation of a range of DL-serine-derived α-chloro amides 1 to form pyrrolidinones has been examined. The yield and stereoselectivity of the cyclisation process was found to be markedly affected by the nature of the substituent at the site of radical generation. Thus, radicals substituted at the α-position by methyl, phenyl, dichloro and sulfanylphenyl substituents underwent smooth cyclisation to give excellent yields (58–95%) of a mixture of diastereoisomeric pyrrolidinones while the hydrogen-substituted congener cyclised in only 31–38% yield. This procedure has potential application to pyrrolidinone/pyrrolidine natural product synthesis and, in particular, to the kainoid amino acids.


This article uses Axel Honneth's theory of Recognition to reflect upon current research that investigates non-traditional learners' experiences of the recognition of prior learning (RPL) in the Australian vocational education sector. More specifically, it considers how to support greater engagement with and completion of RPL processes by non-traditional learners who work within the community services industry. Data are gathered through a series of semi-structured interviews with nine RPL candidates, their workplace supervisors and assessors at three stages during the RPL process and thematic analysis is undertaken using constructivist grounded methodology. Preliminary findings indicate ontological purposes of RPL and intersubjective qualities and effects of the assessment. Honneth's theory of Recognition is used as a sensitising theory to provide an interpretive lens through which to view these findings, raising particular questions for how RPL assessment is understood and practiced with non-traditional learners.


The history of homeopathic medicine was focused on the present work since the first ideas historically described by Hypocrates, Galeno, Paracelsus and Hahnemann. We intended to give an idea of the evolution of medical sciences in general, including the gradual arise of ideas which led Hahnemann to create homeopathy.


We investigate the effects of cosmological expansion on the spectrum of small-scale structure on a cosmic string. We simulate the evolution of a string with two modes that differ in wavelength by one order of magnitude. Once the short mode is inside the horizon, we find that its physical amplitude remains unchanged, in spite of the fact that its comoving wavelength decreases as the longer mode enters the horizon. Thus the ratio of amplitude to wavelength for the short mode becomes larger than it would be in the absence of the long mode.


This paper calculates the environmental effects of the Attiki Odos (AOD) motorway investment expenditures in the Athens Metropolitan Area (AMA), Greece. The AOD is incorporated in the Trans-European Networks (TEN) and is a priority project aimed at developing the AMA. Input - output analysis is applied to assess the environmental impacts of the investments expenditures. More precisely, we apply the environmental input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA) method to estimate ex-post the environmental burden associated with the investment vector of AOD. In this context, we calculate each type of emission caused by the AOD investments expenditures (direct, indirect and induced), by sector of economic activity during the construction phase (1999-2004). The investment vector is assembled from figures calculated based on corporate data. Next, in order to estimate the impact of technological change on our estimates, we use ceteris paribus the 2005 input - output table, which expresses, in a nutshell, the production technology of 2005. The domestic input-output tables for 2000 and 2005 come from EUROSTAT. In this framework, the main finding of the paper is that technological change between 2000 and 2005, as expressed through each year's technical coefficients matrix, provided significant results with respect to total output and emissions. Roughly speaking, total output increased approximately by 7% and emissions decreased approximately by 19%.


There is a 3-aa insertion in the transmembrane (TM) domain of the p68gag-ros protein-tyrosine kinase encoded by avian sarcoma virus UR2 v-ros as compared with that of the protooncogene c-ros. The effect of this insertion on biological function and biochemical properties of v-Ros protein was investigated by deleting these 3 aa to generate the mutant TM1. This mutant has greatly reduced transforming, mitogenic, and tumorigenic activities despite the fact that the protein-tyrosine kinase activity and cell-surface localization of TM1 protein are unaffected. However, unlike UR2 protein, mutant TM1 protein becomes glycosylated, is differentially phosphorylated, and fails to induce tyrosine phosphorylation of a 88-kDa protein and a major substrate of insulin receptor, insulin receptor substrate 1. The TM1 protein is unable to associate with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and fails to promote association of insulin receptor substrate 1 with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. By contrast, tyrosine phosphorylation of Shc protein and phospholipase C gamma as well as interaction of Grb2 protein with Shc and SOS protein signaling components are unaltered in the TM1 infected cells. Our results show that the TM-domain sequence of p68gag-ros profoundly affects its function and substrate interaction. The mutant defines a signaling pathway including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, insulin receptor substrate 1, and possibly an 88-kDa protein that does not overlap the Ras pathway and is important for full transforming and mitogenic potency of v-ros protein-tyrosine kinase.


Speaker verification can be viewed as a task of modeling and testing two hypotheses: the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis. Since the alternative hypothesis involves unknown impostors, it is usually hard to characterize a priori. In this paper, we propose improving the characterization of the alternative hypothesis by designing two decision functions based, respectively, on a weighted arithmetic combination and a weighted geometric combination of discriminative information derived from a set of pretrained background models. The parameters associated with the combinations are then optimized using two kernel discriminant analysis techniques, namely, the kernel Fisher discriminant (KFD) and support vector machine (SVM). The proposed approaches have two advantages over existing methods. The first is that they embed a trainable mechanism in the decision functions. The second is that they convert variable-length utterances into fixed-dimension characteristic vectors, which are easily processed by kernel discriminant analysis. The results of speaker-verification experiments conducted on two speech corpora show that the proposed methods outperform conventional likelihood ratio-based approaches.


The authors' experience with 29 patients with blunt injuries who sustained massive transfusions exceeding four blood volumes in the initial posttraumatic 12 hours was reviewed. The overall mortality was 62 per cent. Only one patient survived when the amount of transfusions exceeded 50 units. The most common bleeding sites were abdominal and pelvic. Half of the dead succumbed within the first 24 hours. Of those who died, seven died from brain injury, six from multiple organ failure (MOF), and five from uncontrollable bleeding. Initial shock was observed in 55 per cent of patients. The high mortality of patients with massive transfusions and MOF related to the duration of shock strongly promote the importance of initial volume resuscitation.


Network tomography is a newly developing technology for network administrators to monitor, predict and diagnose their networks, which is applied to infer network internal parameters with end-to-end measurement under no participant and no help of internal network elements. Delay is one of important parameter in network internal performances, so the measure of delay performance is very necessary. The up-to-date algorithms on delay tomography are mainly Maximum Likelihood Estimate (MLE) and EM-MLE (Expectation Maximum) algorithm, but it is complex in their computation, especially when the size of network topology is large. So the method of moment was proposed to infer the delay performance of internal network. In contrast to other methods, it is simple in the computational complexity using the method of moment but its accuracy is not high. In this paper, an improvement is made on the method of moment, which tries to get higher accuracy in delay distribution inference.


The study aim to report three eyes of two patients with central retinal vein occlusion(CRVO) with treatment of interferon plus ribavirin in the two patients. Medical records of two cases that had central retinal vein occlusion retrospectively reviewed. This work was carried out in accordance to ethical guidelines of Declaration of Helsinki. The informed consent was obtained from the subjects. In three eyes of two patients ocurred CRVO. One of CRVO was nonischemic and two were ischemic CRVO. Patients were recieved interferon(INF) plus ribavirin for treatment hepatitis C. Central retinal vein occlusion is serious problem in patients who under treatment of INF plus ribavirin.


We have successfully developed a fabrication process of a silicon field emitter array with a gate insulator formed by Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ sidewall formation and subsequent thermal oxidation. This process overcomes some problems in the conventional fabrication, such as high etch rate, low breakdown field, and gate hole expansion arising from evaporation of gate oxide. Therefore, we could improve process stability and emission performance, and also reduce gate leakage current. The optimum process conditions were determined by process simulations using SUPREM-4. The turn-on voltage of the fabricated field emitters was approximately 38 V. An anode current of 0.1 /spl mu/A (1 /spl mu/A) per tip was measured for a 625-tip array at the gate bias of 80 V (100 V), and the gate current was less than 0.3% of the anode current at those emission levels. >


Camptothecin analogs, agents that target the intranuclear enzyme topoisomerase I, represent a promising new class of anticancer drugs for the treatment of childhood cancer. In preclinical studies, camptothecins, such as topotecan and irinotecan, are highly active against a variety of pediatric malignancies including neuroblastomas, rhabdomyosarcomas, gliomas, and medulloblastomas. In this paper, we review the status of completed and ongoing clinical trials and pharmacokinetic studies of camptothecin analogs in children. These and future planned studies of this novel class of cytotoxic agents are critical to defining the ultimate role of topoisomerase I poisons in the treatment of childhood cancer.


Virtual Reality (VR) has now emerged as a promising tool in many domains of therapy and rehabilitation (Rizzo, Schultheis, Kerns & Mateer, 2004; Weiss & Jessel, 1998; Zimand, Anderson, Gershon, Graap, Hodges, & Rothbaum, 2002; Glantz, Rizzo & Graap, 2003). Continuing advances in VR technology along with concomitant system cost reductions have supported the development of more usable, useful, and accessible VR systems that can uniquely target a wide range of physical, psychological, and cognitive rehabilitation concerns and research questions. What makes VR application development in the therapy and rehabilitation sciences so distinctively important is that it represents more than a simple linear extension of existing computer technology for human use. VR offers the potential to create systematic human testing, training and treatment environments that allow for the precise control of complex dynamic 3D stimulus presentations, within which sophisticated interaction, behavioral tracking and performance recording is possible. Much like an aircraft simulator serves to test and train piloting ability, virtual environments (VEs) can be developed to present simulations that assess and rehabilitate human functional performance under a range of stimulus conditions that are not easily deliverable and controllable in the real world. When combining these assets within the context of functionally relevant, ecologically enhanced VEs, a fundamental advancement could emerge in how human functioning can be addressed in many rehabilitation disciplines.


In this article we investigate the topological changes undergone by trajectory networks as a consequence of progressive geographical infiltration. Trajectory networks, a type of knitted network, are obtained by establishing paths between geographically distributed nodes while following an associated vector field. For instance, the nodes could correspond to neurons along the cortical surface and the vector field could correspond to the gradient of neurotrophic factors, or the nodes could represent towns while the vector fields would be given by economical and/or geographical gradients. Therefore trajectory networks are natural models of a large number of geographical structures. The geographical infiltrations correspond to the addition of new local connections between nearby existing nodes. As such, these infiltrations could be related to several real-world processes such as contaminations, diseases, attacks, parasites, etc. The way in which progressive geographical infiltrations affect trajectory networks is investigated in terms of the degree, clustering coefficient, size of the largest component and the lengths of the existing chains measured along the infiltrations. It is shown that the maximum infiltration distance plays a critical role in the intensity of the induced topological changes. For large enough values of this parameter, the chains intrinsic to the trajectory networks undergo a collapse which is shown not to be related to the percolation of the network also implied by the infiltrations.


Functional composites of carbon and gold nanoparticles create a hierarchical architecture that facilitates high enzyme loading. Subsequent immobilization of the multicopper oxidase, Trametes versciolor laccase, was optimal with dithiobis- (succinimidyl propionate), due to the formation of thiol bonds between the protein molecules and gold. The immobilized laccase catalyzed oxygen reduction, with an onset potential of ∼0.6 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), indicated effective orientation of the enzyme redox center to enable direct electron transport between enzyme and the composite electrode. Current densities in half-cell configurations provide scalable outputs of 50–80 µA/cm2 with the optimized electrode design. The methodology herein describes a rapid, facile preparation of gold-decorated carbon composite materials for use as electrode scaffolds that can be integrated into a range of bioelectronic devices.


Vacuum tube oscillators for radio frequency signals above 25 megacycles may be controlled with a high degree of precision by resonant lines, and at lower frequencies may be used to obtain a larger power output than is obtainable from crystal oscillators. The general principles of the design of concentric conductor lines and means for compensating temperature changes are discussed in this paper. Line controlled oscillators may be used with frequency multipliers, or to control oscillators at lower frequencies.


Digitization is apparent. Due to this, business processes are transforming. Particularly for risk management, the digital revolution introduces amendment. Fresh chances are provided, while on the other hand, uncharted threats arise. Hence, risk management needs to actively adapt and change. The purpose of this paper is to understand if digitalization affects risk management. Subsequently, the focus is emphasized in innovations. In contrast to one another and concerning to one another, risk management facilitation and challenges are discussed. Twenty articles in financial journals provide the foundation of this paper and show that many companies are consulting firms such as the Big Four KPMG or Deloitte on the potential impact of technological advances. There are preparations and accompaniments for the implementation of new technologies. According to this, the premise is that the trend toward digitalization streamlines and expedites risk identification and subsequent risk assessment. Along with a case study on the current situation involving the company "Vienna Energy," which is heavily covered in the media, a scientific literature search was conducted. The organization has been accused of poor risk management. The findings demonstrate that there is already adequate knowledge available, and many businesses are already aware of the advantages of new technologies. Digitalization has a huge impact on business processes and will result in risk management rationalization and change. Thus, this research can add new dimensions to the risk assessment process and, particularly, express the benefits and opportunities of non-analog methods.


Seventy-eight female basketball players from NCAA Division I to Division fIf, junior coIlege, and, high school varsity teams in the Northeast served as subjects. Subjects rdere administered the Test of Basketball Shooting Attentional Style (BBAS) and the Personal Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) in an attempt to predict basketball field goal shooting success. Internal consistency of the BBAS was calculated using Cronbach's (L95L) coefficient alpha analysis. Corrected alpha reliabilities for the seven attentional scales ranged from .52 (NEf) to .75 (OIT). Pearson product-moment correlation was utilized to assess the degree -of discreteness of the predictor variables. Pearson I values were in the direction expected, although some were slightly higher than expected. Field goal shooting percentdge, hence shooting success, was predicted from stepwise rnultiple regression analysis. The analysis revealed that the predictor variables accounted for 24* of the variance in field goal shooting success, a significant amount. Perceived ability alone explained 2oZ of field goal shooting variance. This supports the idea that athletesr perceptions of "Uifity often mediate many achievement behaviors. Inspection of the data revealed that effective performance during the course of a basketball game is predicted on remaining external (both broad and narrow) to select and act upon proper environmental cues. PREDICTION OF BASKETBALL FttELD GOAL SH00TING SUCCESS Thesis Presented to the FacultY of the Division of Hea1th, Physical Education, and Recreation Ithaca College In Partial Fulfillnent of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science


Abstract The World Heritage Square at Pécs is to be constructed in the framework of a program dedicated to developing the locations of the World Heritage. The aim is to rehabilitate the squares belonging to the World Heritage in the hope of increasing the attendance on a conceptual thinking. The study focuses on the marked areas with the purpose of connecting the Castle Wall and its walkway. The rehabilitation even extends to redesign the area in front of the Old Christian Mausoleum.


Personal identification based on radar gait measurement is an important application of biometric technology because it enables remote and continuous identification of people, irrespective of the lighting conditions and subjects' outfits. This study explores an effective time-velocity distribution and its relevant parameters for Doppler-radar-based personal gait identification using deep learning. Most conventional studies on radar-based gait identification used a short-time Fourier transform (STFT), which is a general method to obtain time-velocity distribution for motion recognition using Doppler radar. However, the length of the window function that controls the time and velocity resolutions of the time-velocity image was empirically selected, and several other methods for calculating high-resolution time-velocity distributions were not considered. In this study, we compared four types of representative time-velocity distributions calculated from the Doppler-radar-received signals: STFT, wavelet transform, Wigner–Ville distribution, and smoothed pseudo-Wigner–Ville distribution. In addition, the identification accuracies of various parameter settings were also investigated. We observed that the optimally tuned STFT outperformed other high-resolution distributions, and a short length of the window function in the STFT process led to a reasonable accuracy; the best identification accuracy was 99% for the identification of twenty-five test subjects. These results indicate that STFT is the optimal time-velocity distribution for gait-based personal identification using the Doppler radar, although the time and velocity resolutions of the other methods were better than those of the STFT.


Inflammation plays an important role in host defense against external stimuli such as infection by
pathogen, endotoxin or chemical exposure by the production of the inflammatory mediators that produced by
macrophage. Anti-inflammatory factor is important to treat the dangers of chronic inflammation associated with
chronic disease. This research aims to analyze the anti-inflammatory effects of Garcinia mangostana L. peel extract
(GMPE), α-mangostin, and γ-mangostin in LPS-induced murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) by inhibiting
the production of inflammatory mediators. The cytotoxic assay of G. mangostana L. extract, α-mangostin, and γ-
mangostin were performed by MTS (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-
2H-tetrazolium) to determine the safe and non-toxic concentration in RAW 264.7 for the further assay. The
concentration of inflammatory mediators (COX-2, IL-6, and IL-1β) were measured by the ELISA-based assay and
NO by the nitrate/nitrite colorimetric assay in treated LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. The inhibitory activity was
determined by the reducing concentration of inflammatory mediators in treated LPS-induced RAW 264.7 over the
untreated cells. This research revealed that GMPE, α-mangostin, and γ-mangostin possess the anti-inflammatory
effect by reducing COX-2, IL-6, IL-1β, and NO production in LPS-induces RAW 264.7 cells.


Among all their sensations, agents need to distinguish between those caused by themselves and those caused by external causes. The ability to infer agency is particularly challenging under conditions of uncertainty. Within the predictive processing framework, this should happen through active control of prediction error that closes the action-perception loop. Here we use a novel, temporally-sensitive, behavioural proxy for prediction error to show that it is minimised most quickly when variability is low, but also when volatility is high. Further, when human participants report agency, they show steeper prediction error minimisation. We demonstrate broad effects of uncertainty on accuracy of agency judgements, movement, policy selection, and hypothesis switching. Measuring autism traits, we find differences in policy selection, sensitivity to uncertainty and hypothesis switching despite no difference in overall accuracy.


A child with infant botulism became apneic and died while receiving ampicillin and gentamicin therapy. As aminoglycosides have been implicated in the induction and/or exacerbation of neuromuscular blockade, we used an animal model to test the hypothesis that aminoglycosides potentiate neuromuscular blockade of botulinum toxin. In the range of aminoglycoside doses utilized in these experiments, both gentamicin and tobramycin enhance neuromuscular impairment and death of botulinum toxin-exposed mice. These results support recently published clinical observations that aminoglycosides may potentiate neuromuscular weakness caused by botulinum toxin, and suggest that these antibiotics should be used with caution in suspected cases of infant botulism.


Internal combustion engine diagnostics using traditional methods of cylinder pressure signal processing limits the amount of information available about the combustion process. It is necessary to conduct research in order to obtain more precise information – increasing the combustion process diagnosis potential. One such suggestion is the use of an ionization signal and an attempt to link it to the flame development during combustion of gaseous fuels. The article attempts to identify such a relationship using a rapid compression machine due to optical access it provides to the combustion chamber. As a result of the research, the relationships between the ionization voltage (chemical and thermal) of the first combustion phase and the corresponding flame development rates were determined. A relatively high coefficient of determination value was obtained for both relations, which indicates the possibility of obtaining diagnostic information about the combustion process from the ionization signal.


Two specimen of concrete beam with recycled brick aggregate and a common reinforced concrete beam as contrast specimen were designed. The beams were simply supported, the width and height of the rectangle section of the beams was 150mm and 300mm, the span were 3m, reinforcement and loading method were the same. The replace ratio of mass of recycled clay brick aggregate to stone aggregate is 35%. MTS was used in the loading. Mechanical and flexural behavior of the beams was tested. Comparison and analysis were made on the stress of the reinforced bars and the deformation behavior of the beams. Results show that the bearing capacity of recycled aggregate concrete beam was lower than that of the reinforced concrete beam under the same condition, the recycled aggregate concrete beams own good ductility in flexural failure, but their bearing capacity and stiffness decreased slightly.


The role of clinical inertia in the treatment of patients with hypertension was assessed by evaluating health care providers' knowledge, attitudes, and clinical practices regarding hypertension management. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the Forsyth Medical Group in North Carolina. Participants were physicians (N = 18, 10 sites) and support staff (N = 20, 12 sites), who were surveyed in 2006. Physician and support staff questionnaires consisted of 29 and 15 items, respectively, and were administered by trained interviewers. Though most physicians (94%) cited familiarity with the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-7) guidelines and affirmed that hypertension management guidelines are relevant to their patients, no physicians interviewed routinely document patient hypertension management plans. Although 1 in 3 physicians cited the inability to devote enough time to patients for the discussion of hypertension management, physicians predominantly cited patient- and support-staff- related factors as most important to patients not attaining blood pressure (BP) goal. Patient lifestyle modification (89%), education (67%), and medication compliance (56%) were cited as the most important reasons for uncontrolled BP. Only one-third of physicians believe that clinical staff always obtain accurate BP measurements, and 61% believe that resistant hypertension is a reflection of inaccurate BP measurement. Many support staff claimed to be rushed when measuring patient BP, and 65% recommended BP competency training. Contradictions were evident between provider knowledge of hypertension management standards and how this knowledge is applied in clinical practice. Standardized collection of BP is critical to measuring clinical improvement in hypertension. Results are being utilized to develop clinical improvement initiatives including staff education and competency training.


Focusing on the period between the Revolution and 1820, this thesis argues that wealthy New Yorkers used taverns and hotels to try to advance their own vision for society. As important public spaces in a city whose explosive growth and chaotic daily life proceeded beyond anyone's control, public accommodations became a tool for elites to control their neighbors and to shape their city. Paternalist New Yorkers attempted to restrict the activity of lower-class taverns while cultivating themselves within exclusive taverns and coffee houses. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the hotel emerged through an evolutionary process. At first simply a new moniker, and eventually an architectural form and business model distinct from the tavern, the hotel reflected elite desires to cling to traditional social structures while simultaneously improving their new nation. Hotels thus embodied a central paradox of elite American ideology in the years of the early republic: a backwards-looking social conservatism accompanied a sense of national progress. After the egalitarianism of popular Revolutionary mobilization, wealthy New Yorkers manipulated cultural institutions, public spaces, and the city as a whole in order to preserve the old social order that legitimated their claim to governance.


The biomechanical properties of human Achilles tendon are described with a computer-controlled material-testing machine. With an optimized fixation device for the muscle-tendon-calcaneus system the rupture was intratendineal. The tendons were compared for different rupture speed (1000 mm/min vs 100 mm/min), sex and age ( < 35 years vs > 35 years). The tendons ruptured at 1000 mm/min had better results in terms of maximum rupture force, stiffness and tensile stress, while the results for elongation and energy were less good. None of these differences were statistically significant. Significant differences were found between the sexes: male tendons had higher maximum rupture force and stiffness and a larger cross-sectional area. In the younger tendons significantly higher tensile rupture stress and lower stiffness were found.


Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) is a widely used recreational drug that has recently been associated with a syndrome of hyperpyrexia, restlessness, rhabdomyolysis, and acute renal and hepatic failure and at least nine deaths have been reported in the United Kingdom.' There are no neuropathological reports of patients who died after taking ecstasy. A 30 year old man attended a "rave" party where he took ecstasy, heroin, and amphetamine. The next day he drank large amounts of alcohol and was found unconscious in a pool of vomit some hours later. He had a convulsion and was admitted to hospital. He was pyrexial (38 5°C), and remained so until his death five weeks later. Creatine kinase was 11 178 IU/l (normal < 300 IU/1) on admission and 3468 IU/l four days later. He remained comatose and had no hypertonia, but had occasional generalised muscle spasms. A chest infection was treated with antibiotics. No evidence of hepatic or renal failure or diffuse intravascular coagulopathy was found. Brain CT showed clearly defined low densities in the globus pallidus bilaterally. Postmortem examination showed bronchopneumonia, lung abcess, and pulmonary embolism. The brain weighed 1450 g after fixation. Coronal slices showed clearly demarcated bilateral necrosis of the globus pallidus (figure). There were small foci of necrosis in the white matter. Histological examination confirmed necrosis of the globus pallidus. There was intimal proliferation in large blood vessels without necrosis or inflammation. The substantia nigra was gliotic. There was mild astrocytic gliosis in the amygdala and hypothalamus. The cerebral white matter showed diffuse gliosis and spongy change without myelin debris or inflammation and sparing only the subcortical zones. Well defined foci of necrosis up to 0 5 cm in diameter were identified. The cerebral cortex, hippocampus, brainstem, and cerebellum were normal. A major problem in understanding the


ABSTRACT Selective macroautophagy/autophagy—with the help of molecular receptors—captures cargo for lysosomal degradation. Among the best-studied molecular receptors is SQSTM1/p62, a homo-oligomeric ubiquitin binding protein, which binds to both cargo and MAP1LC3B/LC3, a protein important for autophagosome biogenesis. Although the mechanisms underlying interaction of LC3 and SQSTM1 have been extensively studied, very little is known about the size or organization of soluble complexes formed between SQSTM1 and LC3 prior to phagophore (the autophagosome precursor) binding in live cells at the molecular level. To address this question, in the current study we use a combination of 2 microscopy-based approaches, FRET microscopy and confocal FRAP, to study the nanoscale properties of soluble SQSTM1 complexes and SQSTM1-LC3 complexes in living HeLa cells. We find that, independent of puncta, SQSTM1 oligomerizes to form very slowly diffusing complexes that contain multiple copies of SQSTM1 within FRET proximity of one another. Furthermore, we show that the interactions of soluble pools of LC3 and SQSTM1 can be readily detected by both FRAP and FRET. Finally, we uncover unexpected roles of SQSTM1's PB1 domain, a region of the protein involved in homo-oligomer formation, in complex formation. Taken together, these findings provide new insights into the nature of nanometer-sized protein complexes in the autophagy pathway.


The advent of mobile devices has revolutionized many aspects of the software lifecycle. Unlike Web applications, which delegate most of the business logic to the server and use the client side for the presentation logic, mobile apps are client intensive. Another crucial difference is that the client side of Web applications is typically written using a combination of platform-independent Web languages, whereas most mobile apps have native clients written in platform-specific languages. Though nativity hinders the portability of mobile apps across different platforms and even different devices inside the same platform, it enables smooth high-fidelity experience, high performance and compliance with the platform's UI style---requirements that can only be satisfied natively. The main cost, beyond the initial coding of a mobile app, is to maintain its different variants in the presence of updates. Indeed, mobile code is typically updated frequently, with bug fixes and new features integrated into each new version. In the enterprise setting, these new features often revolve around security, analytics and Mobile App Management (MAM). This paper presents Enceladus, an app-level instrumentation framework that addresses these high-maintenance costs by transparently enriching any mobile enterprise app with new analytics, security and MAM capabilities not otherwise present in the original app source code. With Enceladus, the mobile app lifecycle is significantly reduced because the instrumentation is visually configurable, and any change to the instrumentation policy can be pushed transparently without requiring a full app update.


Abstract: Research on knowledge application and program theory-driven evaluation are two types of activity associated with research which involve close collaboration between researchers-evaluators and stakeholders and also facilitate maximal use of research results. In this article, first we succinctly present theoretical models of knowledge application emphasizing the conceptual bases and strategic elements common to both approaches. Specifically we examine the crucial role of tacit knowledge and distinguish between the individual and organizational levels in the utilization of knowledge generated by research and evaluation. We examine and discuss the advantages of program theory-driven evaluation as a knowledge application strategy. We suggest that conceptual developments in the field of knowledge application research can also contribute to the advancement of program evaluation.


The response of the global climate-carbon cycle system to anthropogenic perturbations happens differently at different time scales. The unraveling of the memory structure underlying this time-scale dependence is a major challenge in climate research. Recently the widely applied α-β-γ framework proposed by Friedlingstein et al. (2003) to quantify climate-carbon cycle feedbacks has been generalized to account also for such internal memory. By means of this generalized framework, we investigate the time-scale dependence of the airborne fraction for a set of Earth System Models that participated in CMIP5 5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5); the analysis is based on published simulation data from CMIP-type experiments with these models. Independently of the considered scenario, the proposed generalization describes at global scale the reaction of the climate-carbon system to sufficiently weak perturbations. One prediction from this theory is how the timescale resolved airborne fraction depends on the underlying feedbacks between climate and carbon cycle. These feedbacks are expressed as time-scale resolved functions depending solely on analogues of the α, β, and γ sensitivities, introduced in the 10 generalized framework as linear response functions. In this way a feedback-dependent quantity (airborne fraction) is predicted from feedback-independent quantities (the sensitivities). This is the key relation underlying our study. As a preparatory step, we demonstrate the predictive power of the generalized framework exemplarily for simulations with the MPI Earth System Model. The whole approach turns out to be valid for perturbations up to about 100 ppm CO2 rise above pre-industrial level; beyond this value the response gets nonlinear. By means of the generalized framework we then derive the time-scale dependence 15 of the airborne fraction from the underlying climate-carbon cycle feedbacks for an ensemble of CMIP5 models. Our analysis reveals that for all studied CMIP5 models (1) the total climate-carbon cycle feedback is negative at all investigated time scales; (2) the airborne fraction generally decreases for increasing time scales; and (3) the land biogeochemical feedback dominates the model spread in the airborne fraction at all these time scales. Qualitatively similar results were previously found by employing the original α-β-γ framework to particular perturbation scenarios, but our study demonstrates that, although obtained 20 from particular scenario simulations, they are characteristics of the coupled climate-carbon cycle system as such, valid at all considered time scales. These more general conclusions are obtained by accounting for the internal memory of the system as encoded in the generalized sensitivities, which in contrast to the original α, β, and γ are scenario-independent. 1 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-101 Preprint. Discussion started: 19 July 2023 c © Author(s) 2023. CC BY 4.0 License.


Convinced by the predictive quality of artificial neural network (ANN) models in ecology, we have turned our interests to their explanatory capacities. Seven methods which can give the relative contribution and/or the contribution profile of the input factors were compared: (i) the 'PaD' (for Partial Derivatives) method consists in a calculation of the partial derivatives of the output according to the input variables; (ii) the 'Weights' method is a computation using the connection weights; (iii) the 'Perturb' method corresponds to a perturbation of the input variables; (iv) the 'Profile' method is a successive variation of one input variable while the others are kept constant at a fixed value; (v) the 'classical stepwise' method is an observation of the change in the error value when an adding (forward) or an elimination (backward) step of the input variables is operated; (vi) 'Improved stepwise a' uses the same principle as the classical stepwise, but the elimination of the input occurs when the network is trained, the connection weights corresponding to the input variable studied is also eliminated; (vii) 'Improved stepwise b' involves the network being trained and fixed step by step, one input variable at its mean value to note the consequences on the error. The data tested in this study concerns the prediction of the density of brown trout spawning redds using habitat characteristics. The PaD method was found to be the most useful as it gave the most complete results, followed by the Profile method that gave the contribution profile of the input variables. The Perturb method allowed a good classification of the input parameters as well as the Weights method that has been simplified but these two methods lack stability. Next came the two improved stepwise methods (a and b) that both gave exactly the same result but the contributions were not sufficiently expressed. Finally, the classical stepwise methods gave the poorest results. # 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.


Public trust in medical information is crucial for successful application of public health policies such as vaccine uptake. This is especially true when the information is offered remotely, by chatbots, which have become increasingly popular in recent years. Here, we explore the challenging task of human-bot turn-level trust classification. We rely on a recently released data of observationally-collected (rather than crowdsourced) dialogs with VIRA chatbot, a COVID-19 Vaccine Information Resource Assistant. These dialogs are centered around questions and concerns about COVID-19 vaccines, where trust is particularly acute. We annotated $3k$ VIRA system-user conversational turns for Low Institutional Trust or Low Agent Trust vs. Neutral or High Trust. We release the labeled dataset, VIRATrustData, the first of its kind to the best of our knowledge. We demonstrate how this task is non-trivial and compare several models that predict the different levels of trust.


This study was conducted to examine the effects of export changes on the output and employment in the manufacturing sector. Specifically, this study aimed to (1) measure the level of output generated due to changes in export to ASEAN 4;(2) estimate the level of employment generated due to changes in export to ASEAN 4.(3) analyze which country among ASEAN 4, namely Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore is the most important destination of Malaysian manufacturing exports.The period of study covers the time period 2000-2004. We employed the Input Output (IO) method since structural analysis deals with economic systems as defined by the set of industries and the relationships between them. However, multi-sectoral models are often limited: when studying economic systems empirically it is difficult to distinguish a priori the subset of basic or important relationships between industries. There are positive relationship for manufacturing export and output and employment. Export increased rapidly within this five years leading to output and emplyment growth of 23% and 37% respectively. Analysis in 2004 showed that spending of every RM1 of export to Indonesia generated output of RM1.28, while RM 1.26 was generated by Philippines, RM 1.25 by Thailand and RM1.23 by Singapore.


The Supreme Prophet (pbuh) is for all human beings, and for all times. According to the Holy Qur'an, this universalism of the Prospphet (pbuh) is not of much interest to most people. Some of the Prophet's addressees are followers of the heavenly religions. One of the mission of the Prophet (pbuh) is to engage peacefully and to use constructive dialogue with the followers of the heavenly religions. One should know how to treat the followers of the heavenly religions according to the teachings of the Holy Quran. Is it the principle of strife, conflict, and elimination, unless they believe; Or according to the Holy Quran, Muslims can coexist peacefully with followers of the heavenly religions. For the Holy Qur'an, the language of discourse between the heavenly religions is peaceful coexistence, constructive dialogue and cooperation based on common principles. In this study, the authenticity of peace and the constructive dialogue and peaceful coexistence of Islam with the followers of the heavenly religions are investigated in line with the universality of the Quranic teachings. The Holy Qur'an has considered peace and coexistence with other religions and nations as a fundamental principle in its constitutional system. Verses of the Holy Quran deny racism, coercion, false prejudice, and welcome peace, cooperation based on common principles, and peaceful dialogue, And while recognizing past prophets and scriptures, it respects the rights of minorities. Some of the Qur'an's strategies for securing peaceful coexistence with non-Muslims are as follows: Rejecting racism; Fighting the illusions of the superiority of the youth of other religions; Freedom of thought; A confession to the rights of minorities; Co-operation in International Affairs; Welcoming peace offer; Emphasis on international peace; Call for peaceful coexistence and common principles And a peaceful dialogue


Recent scholarship on fate and free will in ancient Judaism is characterized by a lack of precision with regard to the nature of these disputes. There is also some disagreement concerning the degree to which the disparate positions can be constructively compared with either Hellenistic philosophical approaches or later rabbinic theological ones. It is argued here that Josephus's brief typology of ancient Jewish disputes on this topic finds confirmation in other ancient Jewish literature, especially the Wisdom of Ben Sira, the sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls, and later rabbinic literature. Yet it is imperative to nuance Josephus's typology so as to avoid imposing Hellenistic philosophical systems onto ancient Jewish theological ones. These observations hold true especially when it comes to understanding the balance between fate and free will — the "compatibilism" — that characterizes the Pharisaic approach. It is rarely noticed that Josephus's accounts attribute to this group two distinct ways of balancing fate and free will. On the one hand, each of these two approaches finds distinct analogues within rabbinic literature, a fact that further confirms both Josephus's reliability and the productivity of comparing his accounts with later rabbinic traditions. On the other hand, neither of the two types of compatibilism attributed by Josephus to the Pharisees can be identified with Stoic compatibilism. Nonetheless, the term "compatibilism" remains the most appropriate term for distinguishing the Pharisaic compromises from the more extreme (but by no means uncomplicated) positions that seem to have characterized the Sadducees and Essenes in Josephus's day.


The formation of the hemostatic plug on areas of skin injury is characterized as a sequence of structure-forming processes ending in the formation of an impenetrable barrier. The morphology of this barrier is further elucidated by means of scanning- and transmission electron microscopy. Especially the fibrin coating of the injury shows a completely different formation than is deducible from the solely hemostaseologically orientated view of the formation of the hemostatic plug. These structure-forming processes are: activation of the intrinsic clotting system by means of explosion-like destruction of thrombocytes with an immediate formation of a fibrin clot within seconds after the injury. Later during the process the fibrin clot is then condensed and as a function of thrombocyte dependent retraction receives its final fibrin stabilisation and modellation towards an occluding plug. The very narrow net formation of fibrin fibers is interpreted as dependent on the destruction of thrombocyte pseudopodia using their round shape as a rail for fibrin fiber formation. Disturbances of clot formation of postmortal clots compared to vital clots are interpreted as functional thrombocytic distortions, especially of the thrombocytic energy metabolism. Extracorporal clotting of blood drops after extreme ischemia resemble fibrin structures and fibrin structure formation distortions of postmortal origin.


Complexity scientists often express the need for the development of a theory of complexity. One of the major problems on the way toward such a theory is the lack of a generally agreed on definition of complexity, In this article it is proposed that, whatever definition one might one day agree on, contextuality and radical openness are essential features of complexity, Both properties are clarified by means of an example and implications for a future theory of complexity are discussed.


Subject area

Change Management.

Study level/applicability

Postgraduate business courses, including MBA courses in change management and human resource management.

Case overview

This case study emphasises how important it is for organisations operating in today's turbulent and rapidly changing business environment to have an emergent approach to change. It focuses on the dilemmas faced by Hemmanth Singh, the newly appointed Managing Executive responsible for Mobile Commerce at Vodacom South Africa. Singh is responsible for the execution of the new strategy into financial services, the relaunch of M-Pesa into the South African market being the immediate task. The case sets the context for the relaunch of M-Pesa, and the reader is introduced to some of the limitations and challenges experienced by the company when trying to replicate a successful business model from one market to another, especially after an unsuccessful initial launch.

Expected learning outcomes

After reading and analysing the information contained in the case study and appendices, students should be able to evaluate the critical role that leadership needs to play when introducing and implementing a change initiative at an organisation that is stimulated by evolving external market conditions; understand the importance of adopting an emergent approach to change in current operating conditions; identify the factors that contribute to or hinder the creation and sustainability of an adaptive culture within an organisation; and appreciate the challenges of attempting to replicate a successful business model from one market into another.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email email@example.com to request teaching notes.


We study the spatially resolved properties of star-forming galaxies at redshift z ~ 2 - 3 on scales ~ 1 kpc using a combination of morphological and kinematic analyses in an effort to characterize the major mechanisms of galaxy formation in the young universe. Using a sample of 216 galaxies which have been spectroscopically confirmed to lie between redshifts z = 1.8 - 3.4 in the GOODS-N field we demonstrate that rest-UV morphology (as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope) is statistically uncorrelated with physical properties such as star formation rate and is therefore unable to support the hypothesis that the prevalence of irregular morphologies indicates a high major merger fraction. Further, we present a sample of 13 galaxies observed with the OSIRIS integral field spectrograph and the Keck laser-guide star adaptive optics system which demonstrate the prevalence of high velocity dispersions ~ 80 km/s and generally little in the way of spatially resolved velocity gradients, inconsistent with favored rotating disk models. We discuss the implications of these results for galaxy formation models, including gas accretion via cold flows and gravitational instability of early gas-rich galactic disks. There is some evidence for a trend towards stronger rotational signatures in galaxies with more massive stellar populations.


We observed a 32-fold increase in the spontaneous emission rate of InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) at 440 nm by employing surface plasmons (SPs) probed by time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. We explore this remarkable enhancement of the emission rates and intensities resulting from the efficient energy transfer from electron-hole pair recombination in the QW to electron vibrations of SPs at the metal-coated surface of the semiconductor heterostructure. This QW-SP coupling is expected to lead to a new class of super bright and high-speed light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that offer realistic alternatives to conventional fluorescent tubes.


The two-body pairwise E.G.E.P. (Extended Generalized Exponantial Potential) type Morse potential and volume dependent energy are assumed to represent the total energy of the Ba crystal. The parametrized potential is used to calculate the second- and third-order elastic constants Cij and Cijk, pressure derivatives of bulk moduli and Gruneisen parameter g . The phonon frequencies are also computed and plotted. The obtained results are compared with available experimental data and, in general, the agreement is good.


Abstract. The aim of the study is to confirm the importance of discriminate different types of slope movements for a better landslide susceptibility evaluation. The study was applied to the sample area of Calhandriz (11.3 km2) in the area North of Lisbon. Sixty shallow translational slides, 23 deeper translational movements and 19 rotational movements were selected for statistical analysis. Landslide susceptibility assessment was achieved using a data-driven approach: the Information Value Method (Yin and Yan, 1988). The method was applied both to the total set of considered landslides and to each type of slope movement, and the obtained success rates for the highest susceptibility classes are higher in the latter case. The different types of landslides are not equally conditioned by the considered instability factors. Information scores are higher for lithology, concordance between slope aspect and dip of the strata, and slope angle, respectively, for rotational movements, translational movements and shallow translational slides. The information value of the variables "presence of artificial cut (roads)" and "presence of fluvial channel" is systematically high for the three types of slope movement, pointing out the importance of both anthropogenic influence and bank erosion on slope instability in the study area. Different types of landslides have neither the same magnitude nor equal damaging potential. Furthermore, technical strategies to mitigate landsliding also depend on landslide typology. These are additional reasons to discriminate between different types of slope movements when assessing landslide susceptibility and hazard.


The biorelevant sulfur-containing Euphorbia diterpenes with scarce 5/7/6/3 premyrsinane- and 5/7/6 myrsinane-type backbones were easily constructed from naturally abundant lathyrane-type Euphorbia factor L3 by visible-light-triggered tandem thiol-ene click reaction/transannular cyclization and regioselective cyclopropane ring-opening. The selenide diterpene was also successfully obtained to verify the system universality. This concise synthesis route gives an efficient strategy for obtaining structurally diverse Euphorbia diterpenes under very mild conditions and provides a promising anti-HIV bioactive premyrsinane diterpene 3h.


To further remove mini-size nonmetallic inclusions and improve surface quality of stainless steel slab at No. 2 Steelmaking Plant of Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Company Limited, the flow field and temperature profile of molten stainless steel in an asymmetrical T-type single-strand continuous casting tundish with a capacity of 18–20 tons have been investigated by both hydrodynamic and mathematical simulations. The influences of height for low-wall of turbulence inhibitor, dam height, weir depth, distance between dam and weir, submerged depth of ladle shroud and casting speed on flow field in the tundish have been studied in a 1 : 3 reduced scale hydrodynamic model. The streamlines, velocity vector fields and temperature profiles are also mathematically simulated.The hydrodynamic modelling results indicate that height for low-wall of turbulence inhibitor, dam height and weir depth are three important structural parameters on flow field of molten stainless steel in the tundish. The optimization of the three parameters can improve dispersed plug zone and reduce dead zone effectively. Changing casting speed can improve turbulent flow, and thus reduce dead zone of molten stainless steel in the tundish. As a result, five groups of optimized structural parameters of the tundish have been recommended, which can reduce volume fraction of dead zone down to 15–30% and increase volume fraction of dispersed plug zone to more than 20%. In addition, it is verified that the optimized groups of structural parameters of the tundish can maintain their advantage at different casting speeds in a narrow range.The mathematical modelling results suggest that heat losses around the tundish must be considered in order to accurately simulate the streamline, velocity vector field and temperature profile. The calculated temperature drop of molten stainless steel between inlet and outlet of the tundish is about 4.4 K; the maximum temperature drop in the whole tundish is about 10 K. The modification of flow filed by changing structural parameters of the tundish can slightly affect temperature profile of molten stainless steel in the tundish.


We present two new key generation schemes for secure communication between a pair of mobile nodes (cell phones). Unlike existing algorithms, our scheme does not (a) store a key chain in the memory from a universal key space, (b) use key broadcast, (c) distribute selected keys to the network nodes, and (d) use database of keys for selecting keys for communication. Rather, the pair of nodes that want to communicate securely generate identical keys independently with the help of a head node. We show the behavior of these schemes through a simple analytical model.


Background

Neonate is any infants from the birth to 28 days. Most of the neonatal deaths occur in developing countries particularly in sub-Saharan African and south central Asian countries. The ability to predict Length of stay would be valuable to parents and families, clinicians and service providers. Timely Management and treatment of birth complication are important factors in reducing new born mortality.
Objective

The median Survival Recovery time and associated factors among admitted neonate in intensive care units of Dire Dawa Governmental Hospitals, East Ethiopia, 2019.
Methods

Facility based retrospective cohort study design was employed to assess recovery time and associated factors of neonate among a total of 499 selected 0–28 days of neonates from two public Hospitals and validated Checklist were used to assess data. Data were entered in to Epi-data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS window version 21.0. Descriptive data were presented by table and graph. To determine the associated factors, Cox regression model was computed with 95% CI and P-value < 0.05 level of significance. Ethical clearance was taken from Dire Dawa University research and technology interchange office and given for all concerned body.
Result

The overall median survival recovery time of neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care units of Dire Dawa public hospital was 7 Days with 95% CI (6.525–7.475). Among the neonates that admitted in neonatal intensive care units, neonates those who have weight < 2500 g had 1.648 times higher hazard risks to recovery compared to that neonates who have weight greater than or equal to 4000 g with [AHR 1.648 95% CI (1.246–2.179)]. Those neonates who were none intubated had 6.725 higher hazard risks compared to that of intubates neonates [AHR 6.725 95% CI (1.616–27.978)], and those neonates who were not supply oxygen continuously had 1.336 times low probability to for recovery [AHR 1.336 95% CI (1.030–1.733)]. But, the neonates admitted between 1–6 days after birth had 0.521 times higher probability for recovery compared to the neonate with those neonate admitted between 7–28 days of after birth [AHR 0.521 95% CI (0.355–0.763)].
Conclusion

Overall median survival recovery time was 7 Days and Birth weight of neonates, Oxygen supply, and Intubation and admission time of neonate between 1–6 days of after birth were factors that significantly associated with recovery time of neonates. Compared to the other study the recovery time of neonates in this study were short and better.


Of the many variants in the mandible, the retromolar foramen is the most important. The incidence of retromolar foramen was studied in a collection of 157 south Indian mandibles available at the department of Anatomy, St. John's Medical College, Bangalore. On each side of the mandible, the area behind the last molar tooth was inspected for the presence of retro molar foramen. Wherever present, their distance from the last molar tooth and their size if they were sufficiently large were measured with a sliding caliper to the nearest millimeter. Retromolar foramen were found to be bilateral in 8 mandibles (5.1%) and unilateral 20 [right: 9 (5.7%); left: 11 (7%)] mandibles. The diameter of the foramina was 2 mm on both sides.


In this paper, I derive and apply three univariate methods and one bi-variate method to estimate permanent and transitory components of the American output growth path during the 1790 to 2017 period. The results show that statistical tests give little support to the hypothesis of significant permanent growth rate changes (univariate methods). The "special century" (1870-1970, as defined by Gordon (2016)) exhibited more volatile permanent shifts in the output level compared to recent decades (bivariate method).


Human decisions in the social domain are modulated by the interaction between intuitive and reflective processes. Requiring individuals to decide quickly or slowly triggers these processes and is thus likely to elicit different social behaviors. Meanwhile, time pressure has been associated with inefficiency in market settings and market regulation often requires individuals to delay their decisions via cooling-off periods. Yet, recent research suggests that people who make reflective decisions are met with distrust. If this extends to external time constraints, then forcing individuals to delay their decisions may be counterproductive in scenarios where trust considerations are important. In three Trust Game experiments (total n = 1,872), including withinand betweensubjects designs, we test whether individuals trust more someone who is forced to respond quickly (intuitively) or slowly (reflectively). We find that trustors do not adjust their behavior (or their beliefs) to the trustee's time conditions. This seems to be an appropriate response because time constraints do not affect trustees' behavior, at least when the game decisions are binary (trust vs. don't trust; reciprocate vs. don't reciprocate) and therefore mistakes cannot explain choices. Thus, delayed decisions per se do not seem to elicit distrust.


In this paper, a balanced-to-unbalanced microstrip power divider based on branch lines with several stubs and one resistor is proposed. The functions of power dividing, frequency selectivity, isolation between output ports, and common-mode suppression can be realized at the same time. The even-odd-mode equivalent circuits combining with the standard S-parameters and the mixed-mode S-parameters are adopted to derive the analytical equations at the center frequency. One or two transmission zeros can be achieved to enhance the out-of-band suppression. The center frequency, bandwidth, isolation, common-mode suppression, and the frequencies of transmission zeros can be controlled by the design procedure. To verify the theoretical prediction, two fabricated prototypes are designed and compared. One gets 7.7% 1-dB bandwidth with 0.6-dB insertion loss and one transmission zero. The other gets 1-dB bandwidth of 5% with 0.7-dB insertion loss and two transmission zeros. The isolation and common-mode suppression for both prototypes are better than 15 and 20 dB within the whole passband, respectively.


Abstract The authors cover two general topics: basic engineering economics and risk analysis in this text. Within the topic of engineering economics are discussions on the time value of money and interest relationships. These interest relationships are used to define certain project criteria that are used by engineers and project managers to select the best economic choice among several alternatives. Projects examined will include both income- and service-producing investments. The effects of escalation, inflation, and taxes on the economic analysis of alternatives are discussed. Risk analysis incorporates the concepts of probability and statistics in the evaluation of alternatives. This allows management to determine the probability of success or failure of the project. Two types of sensitivity analyses are presented. The first is referred to as the range approach while the second uses probabilistic concepts to determine a measure of the risk involved. The authors have designed the text to assist individ...


Abstract The rise in the usage of wireless communication increases the cellular communication by the same rate. With the continuation of this situation, the density in data traffic has the potential to cause problems in the near future. Coping with spectral efficiency-energy efficiency trade-off using massive MIMO systems is considered to be a reasonable solution to this problem. In this paper, cellular communication simulations were performed in cases with different number of users, number of antennas and transmission power of massive MIMO systems and then non-dominated solutions are determined. Multi-objective bat algorithm has been used to make this process much shorter. At last stage, performance of this algorithm is compared with various intelligent optimization algorithms and with ideal non-dominated solutions. When the algorithms are compared with each other, it is seen that multi-objective bat algorithm has the best performance among them.


Specially-equipped wide-body commercial aircraft which are flying tropical and Southern Hemispheric routes are providing a new and unique source of meteorological data with a 100 km spatial resolution. Data have been gathered for the GATE, and the planning for a similar effort for the DST is in progress. These aircraft not only provide synoptic data in critical areas devoid of conventional data, but are, in effect, meteorological research platforms that can provide valuable information on mesoscale phenomena. By 1976 it is anticipated that there will be over 80 such aircraft flying global routes. These specially-equipped jets could also be effectively used for EGGE by providing the nucleus of a supplementary observing system for gathering world-wide meteorological data.


In the primary care office the evaluation of prostate related lower urinary tract symptoms (BPH-LUTS) in the male can be confusing. Are the symptoms, in fact, from the prostate or is there another etiology such as the bladder or medical conditions causing or contributing to the problems? If the cause is the prostate, how does the physician choose from the multitude of available treatment options and when is referral appropriate? The prevalence of BPH-LUTS is high and commonly encountered by the primary care physician (PCP). An understanding of the normal prostate is essential to identifying the patient when symptoms do occur. Then the evaluation and treatment of the affected patient can occur effectively and efficiently in the PCP setting. In this article we present the background information needed for the PCP to provide this evaluation of the patient with BPH-LUTS. We explain the various treatment options that are best suited for the individual which are based on symptom severity, sexual dysfunction and risk of progression. We also identify follow up parameters and reasons for referral.


Summary BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally immunized with inactivated bacteria for generation of monoclonal anti-S. Enteritidis antibody. The spleen cells of the highest responder animal at fifth immunization were used as the fusion partner of the mouse Sp2/0 myeloma cells. A total of 6 stable hybridomas secreting IgM and IgG isotype antibodies were obtained. These hybridomas were found to be reactive with three S. Enteritidis antigens having relative molecular weights of 73, 59 and 42kDa in Western blot analysis. The 59kDa molecule corresponds to the flagellin protein. From this preliminary study, it can be concluded that further investigations are necessary to obtain monoclonal hybrid cells secreting monoepitopic and monoisotypic antibody by subcloning of the parental hybridomas.


Experience with and acceptance of endovascular repair of arch vessel injuries continues to increase. This manuscript reports the case of a 65-year-oldman with a gunshot wound to the right supraclavicular area with a hematoma, pulsating mass and loss of neurological function of the right upper extremity. As he was hemodynamically stable, a computed tomography angiogram was performed and it demonstrated a 6 cm right subclavian/axillary artery pseudoaneurysm. The patient was taken to the angiogram/hybrid room and an arch angiogram was performed. A selective right subclavian angiogram was performed and a covered stent was deployed across the pseudoaneurysm and a completion angiogram showed complete exclusion with normal runoff to the upper extremity. In conclusion, penetrating subclavian/axillary artery trauma can be successfully managed with minimal morbidity via early utilization of endovascular covered stent therapy. A literature review suggests that the endovascular approach will soon be the standard of care for traumatic disruption of subclavian arteries.


Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) also known as heart and circulatory disease comprises all the illnesses of the heart and the circulatory system, namely coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, congenital heart disease or stroke. CVDs are, nowadays, one of the main causes of death. Indeed, this fact reveals the centrality of prevention and how important is to be aware on these kind of situations. Thus, this work will focus on the development of a decision support system to help to prevent these events from happening, centred on a formal framework based on Mathematical Logic and Logic Programming for Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, complemented with a Case Based Reasoning approach to computing that caters to the handling of incomplete, unknown or even self-contradictory information or knowledge.


In this work, intermittent contact resonance atomic force microscopy (ICR-AFM) was performed on high-aspect ratio a-SiOC:H patterned fins (100 nm in height and width from 20 to 90 nm) to map the depth and width dependencies of the material stiffness. The spatial resolution and depth sensitivity of the measurements were assessed from tomographic cross-sections over various regions of interest within the 3D space of the measurements. Furthermore, the depth-dependence of the measured contact stiffness over the scanned area was used to determine the sub-surface variation of the elastic modulus at each point in the scan. This was achieved by iteratively adjusting the local elastic profile until the depth dependence of the resulted contact stiffness matched the depth dependence of the contact stiffness measured by ICR-AFM at that location. The results of this analysis were assembled into nanoscale sub-surface tomographic images of the elastic modulus of the investigated SiOC:H patterns. A new 3D structure-property representation emerged from these tomographic images with direct evidence for the alterations sustained by the structures during processing.


The article analyzes construction of crypto-code designs (CCDs) on the basis of asymmetric Mac-Alice and Niederreiter crypto-code systems on elliptical (EC) and modified elliptic codes (MEC), which, in the conditions of post-quantum cryptography, allow to provide a guaranteed level of crypto stability, to counteract the modern Attacks and attack by V. Sidelnikov on the theoretical code schemes of McAlias and Niederreiter. Schemes of hybrid crypto-code designs constraction the lossy codes are addressed. Methods of constructing mechanisms of confidentiality and integrity of banking information resources under hybrid threats to security components (information security, cybersecurity, information security) are proposed. Using of a lossy code is suggested to this end. Lossy Code allow you to increase the speed of code changes by reducing the power of the field when causing damage to open text and reducing the amount of data transferred by causing harm to the cipher text. The methods of constructing unprofitable codes and approaches for use in hybrid KKK of McAlias and Niederreiter on modified elliptic codes are considered. Practical algorithms for the use of the MV2 mechanism in McAlias' CCD and Niederreiter's modified elliptic codes are proposed, which allows the implementation of the CCD hybrid scheme. The comparative results of the study of stability and power capacity with respect to their practical use in automated banking systems are presented.


ABSTRACT Occupational musculoskeletal disorders currently account for the largest proportion of the occupational illnesses in Korea. In this research, status of musculoskeletal disorders among the occupational illnesses was examined through workers' compensation claims data. Types and characteristics of musculoskeletal disorders were looked at other data set as well. The data sets included epidemiological investigation data reported by Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, and data collected from occupational disease surveillance reports and Korean occupational health-related scientific journals. Number of cases, incidence rate and insurance benefits for occupational musculoskeletal disorders in Korea are increasing every year. In addition, musculoskeletal disorders occurrence is shifted from large enterprises group to small-and-medium group, from manufacturing to service sector, and from production workers to office and professional workers. Although low back pain is still most common, its occurrence characteristics is gradually shifted from traumatic to cumulative while musculoskeletal disorders are somewhat seemingly moved from lumbar to upper limb body part. Musculoskeletal disorders were observed to be more diverse and prevalent in epidemiological investigations or surveillance data rather in workers' compensation claims data. Musculoskeletal disorders occurrence is related to demographic factors, occupational psychosocial factors, and ergonomic risk factors at workplace for which appropr iate preventive measures needed to be made accordingly. Keywords: Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders, Symptoms, Back Pain, Upper Extremity, Risk Factors


Like most fruit - fruit, breadfruit prone to browning after peels. This is due to oxidation by air, forming browning, which will result in the final result breadfruit flour for making good quality flour is white, and dry. Pyrophospat Sodium is an ingredient that can serve as a barrier to browning reactions, primarily as a metal Fastener and thus antioxidants Pyrophospat Sodium is very effective to prevent discoloration of foods during preparation or storage. The best results obtained from this research is the weight of 9 grams Sodium Pyrophospat soaking 21 minutes in which the resulting yield of 21.69%. While the best water content of 8.09% with the use of one gram of sodium Pyrophospat with immersion time for 9 minutes.


The purpose of this study was to describe social norms and salient social identities related to breastfeeding intentions among African American mothers in Washington, D.C. Five focus groups were held with 30 mothers who gave birth to a child between 2016 and 2019. Two coders conducted pragmatic thematic analysis. This study demonstrated that women hold different identities relevant to making infant feeding decisions, with mother being primary and race/ethnicity, age, and relationship status factoring into how they define themselves. Mothers drew their perceptions of what is common and accepted from family, friends, the "Black community," and what they perceived visually in their geographic area and heard from their health care providers. Mothers believed breastfeeding to be increasing in popularity and acceptability in African American communities in Washington, D.C., but not yet the most common or accepted mode of feeding, with some variability by socioeconomic status group. Implications for public health communication and social marketing are discussed.


The editorial by di Martino and colleagues1 asks whether there is a role for point-of care ultrasound in UK primary care (GP PoC-US), and we agree with the authors that the time is right to explore and develop its use. Quite apart from the advantages that an early practice-based scan can bring, many scans are requested on patients who are frail, for whom a trip to the local hospital can be a major undertaking. We are also aware of individuals living in residential care who have missed imaging appointments because of the failure of complex transport arrangements. The skills to carry out a safe ultrasound can be acquired by training, supervision, and practice, and form part of the training of some specialists. GPs, given our vital role in early diagnosis across multiple clinical disciplines, and the varied community settings in which we work, stand to benefit at least as much. We have set up a GP PoC-US training programme in Somerset, through a collaboration between the Radiology Department at Yeovil District Hospital and the GP practices who were involved in the Symphony Vanguard project (now collectively known as Symphony Healthcare Services). We chose four initial scans to learn, for their relative simplicity, and their clinical utility: DVTs, bladder scans (for retention and residual volume), abdominal scans for ascites, and chest ultrasound for pleural effusions. We adopted the Royal College of Radiologists' training guidelines, with logbooks to record scanning experience. A portable ultrasound machine was acquired and configured to be able to upload images to the hospital PACS server. Training has been delivered by a consultant sonographer and his team, with direct teaching, observing scans, scanning under supervision, and training in reporting. We are now also working with the local palliative care team to develop a community paracentesis service. We hope, through a process of audit and reflection, to contribute to the evidence that GP PoC-US is effective, safe, and of benefit to our community. One day it could be the 'new normal'.


Background Various immune-mediated diseases are associated with increased malignancy risks. However, the relationship between Behçet's disease (BD) and cancer remains unclear. We conducted a nationwide, population-based study to determine the risk of cancer in patients with BD. Methods Using National Health Insurance claims records, we collected data from 2402 patients diagnosed with BD between 2013 and 2014. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of overall and site-specific cancers in patients with BD in comparison with the general population were calculated. Results The risks of overall cancer (SIR, 3.54; 95% confidence interval, 2.35–5.11 in men and 2.17; 1.58–2.92 in women) and solid cancer (3.10; 1.94–4.69 in men and 2.13; 1.52–2.90 in women) were greater in patients with BD than in the general population. There were significantly increased risks for these solid cancers: colorectal (4.26; 1.38–9.94), liver (4.00; 1.09–10.25), bone/articular cartilage (55.66; 1.41–310.14), prostate (7.05; 1.45–20.60), and brain/central nervous system (28.32; 3.43–102.31) in men; and the lips/oral cavity/pharynx (13.97, 1.69–50.47), liver (12.78; 5.14–26.33), lungs (4.35; 1.18–11.13), other female genital organs (53.57; 1.36–298.49), and eyes (128.26; 3.24–714.59) in women. Patients with BD had a greater risk of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) than the general population did (65.72; 7.96–237.41 in men and 53.86; 11.11–157.40 in women), but not of hematological cancer. Conclusions Compared to the general population, Korean patients with BD had greater risks of overall cancer, some solid cancers, and MDS, but not of hematological cancer.