An experiment was performed at the Alzamora Experiment Farm of the Mayaguez Campus, University of Puerto Rico, to evaluate the effect of light intensity on the growth and flowering of spiny coriander, Eryngium foetidum L. The study was divided in two phases: 1) the seedling phase, which lasted from seeding to the first harvest, and 2) the second phase, from the first to the second harvest. All plants were placed under cover of transparent polyethylene. Three of the treatments were covered by Saran plastic with different densities to reduce light intensity to 47, 63, and 73%. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. A significant delay in flowering was observed in plants grown at 63 and 73% shade. An increase was observed in fresh weight of leaves of plants grown at 63 and 73% shade levels vs those in full sunlight. Plants grown under shade had fewer inflorescences with lower fresh weight than plants grown under full sunlight. No significant differences were found on leof number between plants grown at different light intensities. Leaf chlorophyll content of spiny coriander increased in plants grown under low light intensities.


Companies that freeze defined benefit pension plans save the equivalent of 13.5 percent of the long-horizon payroll of current employees. Furthermore, firms with higher prospective accruals are more likely to freeze their plans. Cost savings would not be possible in a benchmark model in which i) all workers receive compensation equal to their marginal product and ii) workers value equally all identical-cost forms of pension benefits. We find evidence consistent both with firms' reneging on implicit contracts to provide workers with high pension accruals later in their careers and with shifts in employee valuation of different forms of retirement benefits.


This article reviews the current literature pertaining to those who engage in child pornography offending. The basic characteristics of online child pornography offenders (CPOs) and related typologies are briefly presented prior to reviewing the comparative literature pertaining to CPOs and child contact sexual offenders. In general, CPOs have been found to be relatively high functioning and generally pro-social individuals with less extensive and diverse offending histories than contact offenders. CPOs also display high levels of sexual pre-occupation, deviant sexual interests, and deficits in interpersonal and affective domains that surpass those of contact offenders. Although further research is required to replicate and clarify preliminary findings, the available evidence indicates that existing sexual offender risk assessment tools and treatment programs are not suitable for use with CPOs, and thus require revision and empirical evaluation prior to widespread use among this population. The article concludes with implications for clinical practice and directions for future research.


One of the most critical issues concerning orthopedic implants is the risk of chronic inflammation, which poses a threat to the bone healing process. Osteo-immunomodulation plays a pivotal role in implant technology by influencing proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses, ultimately promoting bone healing. This study aims to investigate the morphology-dependent osteo-immunomodulatory properties of a hydroxyapatite (HA)/plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO)-coated WE43 alloy. In this context, following the PEO process with various operational parameters (duty cycles of 50-40, 50-20, 70-40%, and frequencies of 0.5, 0.8, and 1 kHz), a layer of HA was applied as the top coating using a straightforward hot-dip process. The results revealed the formation of the PEO layer with distinct morphologies and pore sizes, depending on the operational parameters. Specifically, a uniform PEO coating with small pore sizes (5.2-5.3 μm) led to the creation of plate-like HA particles, while a random-like HA structure formed on nonuniform surfaces with large pores (7.0-11.1 μm) of PEO. Moreover, it was observed that the plate-like HA coating exhibited higher adhesion strength than the random one (classified as class 2 vs class 3 based on cross-cut standards). Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization studies confirmed a substantial increase in the polarization resistance (680 kΩ) and total impedance (48 559.6 Ω) for the plate-like HA/PEO as compared to the substrate (an increase of 1511-fold and 311-fold, respectively) and the random HA/PEO samples (an increase of 85-fold and 18-fold, respectively). In addition, compared to random HA coatings, there was a significant enhancement in the viability (150% control vs 96% control), proliferation, and differentiation of MG63 cells when exposed to plate-like HA coatings. Moreover, surface morphology and chemistry pronouncedly impacted macrophages' viability, morphology, and phenotype. Notably, plate-like HA coatings resulted in a higher upregulation of BMP-2 and TGF-β than proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and M-CSF), indicating a polarization of macrophage type 1 (M1) toward type 2 (M2). In summary, the bilayer HA/PEO coating exhibited remarkable osteo-immunomodulatory activity, making it highly appealing for use in bone implant applications.


Over the last 200 years Australia has suffered the greatest rate of mammal species extinction of any continent. This demands extensive biodiversity research, but unfortunately has been hampered by poor documentation of Australia's native species at the time of European colonization. Late-Holocene fossil mammal assemblages preserved in caves, rockshelters and surface lag deposits from deflated sand dunes can provide a more complete understanding of pre-European ecological conditions than can be developed from our knowledge of present biodiversity. In South Australia, few regions have experienced greater landscape modification and biodiversity loss than Yorke Peninsula. We investigate the composition, richness, evenness and age of two owl accumulations from southeastern and southwestern Yorke Peninsula and contrast them with a surface lag deposit assemblage probably accumulated by humans. We then examine the pre-European biogeography of the fauna recovered. The three assemblages have similar species richness, but differ dramatically in composition and evenness. The biases imposed by differing accumulation agents can explain compositional differences between owl and human assemblages, but not the differences between the respective owl accumulations. We argue that key substrate differences – one area is dominated by sand and the other by calcrete – have favoured distinct vegetation communities that fostered distinctly different mammal assemblages from which raptors accumulated prey. The ecological requirements of the extant mammals appear to be reflected in the fossil assemblages, providing support for the application of uniformitarian principles and confidence in the relevance of late-Holocene fossil assemblages to modern conservation and natural resource management.


Abstracts, Oral Presentations for Qualitative Methods Conference, May 2016s, Oral Presentations for Qualitative Methods Conference, May 2016 Doing Collaborative Research: The Good, the Bad, and the Politics Simon Adam, University of Toronto While the importance of collaborative research and collaborative discovery cannot be understated, what accompanies such work can be a myriad of difficulties for the researcher and a number of barriers for ''the researched.'' What are the rich possibilities of discovery that can be achieved by doing collaborative research? What are some inherent barriers in collaborative research work? How can an ethical review process become an institutionalized political process? How do institutional political interests trump those of discovery, knowledge production, and progress? In this presentation, I offer some answers to these questions and pose further ones for critical thought. I report on a current research project—an institutional ethnography—which involves several educational institutions (and at one point, a hospital). The very obstacles—the institutional ''red tape''—and its implications for doing collaborative research are the focus of this presentation. The Transaction ''X-Ray'': Refreshing the Parts Other Peers Cannot Reach! Alan Aitken, Glasgow Caledonian University Robert Paton, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow Penetrating potentially sensitive areas for interviewees and, subsequently, aggregating interview outputs in a manner that avoids the effects of decontextulisation and decomposition are issues commonly faced by qualitative researchers. This paper, whose title is unashamedly borrowed from a long-running UK beer advert, presents a research method that seeks to overcome these issues. Using a web-based contemporary update of DiaryDiary Interview techniques, the researchers were able to penetrate the commercial sensitivity associated with the longitudinal study of presales interactions between business-tobusiness (B2B) buyers and sellers. The research methodology develops well-established techniques associated with qualitative content analysis to examine individual interactions and subsequently utilises an innovative graphical method of aggregation to present a nuanced view of groups of transactions that share common characteristics. The resulting transaction ''X-rays'' are used to explore emergent themes by comparing and contrasting X-rays across data sets. Although developed within the specific context of B2B negotiation, the authors contend that the methodology has significant crossdiscipline potential. Applications suited to the method may include any context in which researchers seek to develop a deeper and more complete understanding of the interviewee than can be achieved by comparable techniques. The methodology is particularly suited to situations in which interviewees, although happy to participate in the interview process, may not respond to direct questioning for reasons of personal sensitivity. In this regard, presenting aggregated results in the form of transaction ''X-rays'' further gives assurance of inter-


A compilation of theoretical values of the lateral-stability derivatives for wings at supersonic speeds is presented in the form of design charts. The wing plan forms for which this compilation has been prepared include a rectangular, two trapezoidal, two triangular, a fully-tapered swept-back, a sweptback hexagonal, an unswept hexagonal, and a notched triangular plan form. A full set of results, that is, values for all nine of the lateral-stability derivatives for wings, was available for the first six of these plan forms only. The reasons for the incompleteness of the results available for other plan forms are discussed.


Change orders have been widespread in both the private and public construction sectors. In particular, in the case of G2B (Government to Business) contracts, adjustment of contract price and/or schedule extension is a frequent occurrence due to change orders. To uncover the causes of change orders and suggest an appropriate strategy, this study analyzed 296 cases of change orders in military facility construction projects from 2008 to 2010. The analysis revealed that the major causes of change orders are users' additional requirements (28.38%), a change of finishing materials (23.99%), and change of footing type (17.57%), in that order. Building on the results of this analysis, the authors suggest plans for practical improvements. Specific recommendations include 1) reflect user requirements at the early stage, 2) minimize the use of additional budget due to change orders, and 3) reduce the process and time for contract amendment, among others. The results of this study may provide significant implications to those involved in military construction projects, particularly project owners (i.e., the Ministry of Defense) and contractors.


The role of a shipping service company is very important to the development of the society and lifestyle of today, the role as a media distribution of goods. With the delivery service is very easy for consumers to fulfill their needs, but it can save time and also make consumers feel happy things can be done easily. The purpose of this research is to know the influence of Experiential Marketing, E-Service Quality (Web based Tracking System) and trust in customer satisfaction in service users J&T Express in Pasuruan whose results can be used as an evaluation of J&T Express to improve its performance. The population in this research is a customer who has been delivering goods at J&T Express in Pasuruan. The number of samples in this study used Machin formula and was found to be 132 respondents or a service user of J&T Express in Pasuruan. The results of this study show that Experiential Marketing, E-Service Quality and trust have a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction, so that J&T Express is expected to develop and as well as maintain Experiential Marketing, EService Quality and customer confidence so that later to increase customer satisfaction.


This paper assesses the relationship between institutions, output, and productivity, when official output is corrected for the size of the shadow economy. Our results confirm the usual positive impact of institutional quality on official output and total factor productivity, and its negative impact on the size of the underground economy. However, once output is corrected for the shadow economy, the relationship between institutions and output becomes weaker. The impact of institutions on total ("corrected") factor productivity even becomes insignificant. Differences in corrected output must then be attributed to differences in factor endowments. These results survive several tests for robustness.


Background: The number of intraepithelial lymphocytes in the duodenum was determined 30 years ago, the suggested normal upper limit being 40 lymphocytes per 100 epithelial cells. Methods: Duodenal mucosa was analysed from 18 healthy individuals and 56 consecutive patients biopsied because of epigastralgia (17 cases), diarrhoea (10 cases), oesophagitis (10 cases), iron‐deficiency (9 cases) and B12‐deficiency (10 cases) showing normal histology, along with 10 cases of active coeliac disease. The biopsies were fixed in 4% formalin overnight and embedded in paraffin. Three micrometre thick sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin and CD3. At least 300 epithelial cells were counted, the number of intraepithelial lymphocytes was given as the mean/100 epithelial cells. Extensive statistical analyses were performed. Results: In the healthy individuals the mean number (s) of intraepithelial lymphocytes/100 epithelial cells was 10.8 (2.6) and 13.2 (3.8) in H&E and CD3 stained sections, respectively. The upper limit of the confidence interval for CD3 staining was 29. There was no significant difference between normal individuals and the clinical groups, with the exception of coeliac disease. Conclusion: Two‐step analysis of intraepithelial lymphocyte‐determination is suggested: (a) semiquantitative estimate on H&E‐stained sections (normal ratio of 1:5 between lymphocytes and enterocytes; upper normal limit 20 lymphocytes) and (b) CD3‐staining and counting if intraepithelial lymphocytosis is suspected. The upper normal range of intraepithelial lymphocytes is set at 25 CD3+ lymphocytes/100 epithelial cells. Values between 25 and 29 are regarded as 'borderline' and 30 or more represent pathologic intraepithelial lymphocytosis in the duodenum.


Abstract In industrial economies schooling produces positive non-market returns but do traditional forms of human capital also produce such returns, and do schooling and traditional human capital act as complements or substitutes in their association with well-being? Drawing on data from 450 adults (16+ years of age) from an indigenous Amazonian society in Bolivia, we estimate the association between traditional plant knowledge and nutritional status as measured by body-mass index. After conditioning for many covariates, we find that doubling an adult's traditional knowledge is associated with a mean improvement in BMI of 6.3 per cent; the association is stronger for unschooled adults and for those living far from the market town. Though schooling bore a negative association with traditional knowledge, those two forms of human capital had independent associations with BMI. The analysis suggests that schooling does not necessarily undermine the accumulation of traditional knowledge.


Background: We did a bibliometric study on the scientific publications on second-generation antipsychotic drugs (SGA) in Hong Kong.
Methods: With the EMBASE and MEDLINE databases, we chose those English articles from Hong Kong. We used bibliometric indicators of Price's law for the increase of scientific literature, and of Bradford's law for dispersion of papers. We also calculated the participation index of the different countries. Then, we correlated those bibliometric information with some social and health data (such as total per capita expenditure on health and gross domestic expenditure on research and development) of Hong Kong.
Results: Forty-four original papers were published between 1993 and 2011. Our results indicated non-fulfilment of Price's law (correlation coefficient r=0.5597 after exponential adjustment vs.r=0.6725 after linear adjustment). Those most widely studied SGA were clozapine (18 papers), risperidone (11 papers), and olanzapine (4 papers). Division into Bradford zones yielded a nucleus occupied by Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology (4 articles) and Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (4 articles). A total of 30 different journals were published.
Conclusion: The SGA publications in Hong Kong are still too few to confirm an exponential growth of scientific papers.


Knowledge of the distribution and biology of the ragfish, Icosteus aenigmaticus, an aberrant deepwater perciform of the North Pacific Ocean, has increased slowly since the first description of the species in the 1880's which was based on specimens retrieved from a fish monger's table in San Francisco, Calif. As a historically rare, and subjectively unattractive appearing noncommercial species, ichthyologists have only studied ragfish from specimens caught and donated by fishermen or by the general public.
Since 1958, I have accumulated catch records of >825 ragfish. Specimens were primarily from commercial fishermen and research personnel trawling for bottom and demersal species on the continental shelves of the eastern North Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and the western Pacific Ocean, as well as from gillnet fisheries for Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus spp., in the north central Pacific Ocean. Available records came from four separate sources: 1) historical data based primarily on published and unpublished literature (1876–1990), 2) ragfish delivered fresh to Humboldt State University or records available from the California Department of Fish and Game of ragfish caught in northern California and southern Oregon bottom trawl fisheries (1950–99), 3) incidental catches of ragfish observed and recorded by scientific observers of the commercial fisheries of the eastern Pacific Ocean and catches in National Marine Fisheries Service trawl surveys studying these fisheries from 1976 to 1999, and 4) Japanese government research on nearshore fisheries of the northwestern Pacific Ocean (1950–99). Limited data on individual ragfish allowed mainly qualitative analysis, although some quantitative analysis could be made with ragfish data from northern California and southern Oregon.
This paper includes a history of taxonomic and common names of the ragfish, types of fishing gear and other techniques recovering ragfish, a chronology of range extensions into the North Pacific and Bering Sea, reproductive biology of ragfish caught by trawl fisheries off northern California and southern Oregon, and topics dealing with early, juvenile, and adult life history, including age and growth, food habits, and ecology. Recommendations for future study are proposed, especially on the life history of juvenile ragfish (5–30 cm FL) which remains enigmatic.


Fermi momentum of nucleon particles always larger than QCD scale which makes the gross picture quark and gluon substructure. At some temperature, nuclear matter possesses nucleons as well as thermal radiations. At thermal equilibrium, hadron density is a function of chemical potential and Bessel function of second order. The first order phase transition in QGP is a liquid-gas type transition which is strongly to weakly coupled QGP transition. At some weakly couped limit, shear viscosity to entropy ratio is very large, it implies the strong elliptical and radial flow of quark gluon plasma Received date: 11/03/2017 Accepted date: 27/09/2017 Published date: 29/09/2017


Environmental issues have played a role in higher education since at least the 1970s, beginning with a focus on sustainability and most recently addressing the climate crisis. Concomitant with the rise in higher education sustainability initiatives have been the rise of higher education sustainability assessments (HESAs), serving as tools for benchmarking, self-assessment, and comparisons. The STARS assessment is the most ubiquitous HESA in North America. The present research employed stakeholder theory to investigate what factors are associated with institutional and political factors affect STARS ratings. Using a multilevel model of local- and state-level variables, the results indicated that measures of local partisanship have little to no influence while state sustainability targets have small effects on STARS ratings. Furthermore, the results reaffirmed past research that indicated institution-level stakeholders (e.g., faculty, students, staff) and institutional characteristics such as finances play a larger and more critical role in institutional sustainability.


The present study was designed to evaluate the protective potential of vitamin E, if any, in attenuating the toxic effects induced by acute methomyl treatment in rats. Male Wistar rats, weighing between 230 and 250 g, received either a single oral dose of 9 mg/kg of methomyl, vitamin E alone injected intraperitoneally on alternate days (4 injections) at 50 mg/kg body for 1 week prior to methomyl treatment, or both methomyl plus vitamin E given in a similar manner. The effects of different treatments were studied on lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH) and antioxidant enzymes, which included superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-s-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) and catalase and various hematological parameters, including total leucocytes count (TLC), differential leukocyte count (DLC), hemoglobin, platelets counts, red cell counts, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Acute 24-h treatment to rats resulted in a significant increase in the LPO. GSH levels and the activities of catalase, GST, and GSHPx were found to be significantly decreased following methomyl treatment. A significant elevation in the activity of SOD and in TLC was also observed after 24 h of methomyl treatment. Further, a significant increase in the neutrophils and eosinophil counts was also observed. However, lymphocytes showed a significant decrease following methomyl treatment. SEMs showed significant morphological changes following methomyl treatment. Vitamin E pretreatment to methomyl-treated rats effectively normalized the levels of LPO and GSH. Vitamin E could also significantly elevate the activity of catalase, increase platelets counts and TLC, and normalized the activities of SOD and GSHPx. Vitamin E pretreatment improved the morphology of the red blood cells. The study concludes that vitamin E affords protection in methomyl-induced toxicity in the rat.


Over recent decades many health care organisations have 'modernised' their management accounting systems by using the balanced scorecard (BSC). However, public health care involves multi-dimensional goals and resolving conflicts of interest. The question is whether a management control system based on measurements is suitable in a health care context. Light can be shed on this question using a study of the application of a BSC over a ten-year period at Hogland Hospital. The study shows that the BSC and measurements of output and behaviour became a way of approaching unanswered questions about processes and quality development. Medical professionals with management responsibility, in co-operation with medical professionals responsible for different specialities, determined measures and targets and the measurements were integrated into activity processes and affected activities.


Pyroxenes ((Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn)2Si2O6) belong to the most abundant rock forming minerals that make up the surface of rocky planets and moons. Therefore, sputtering of pyroxenes by solar wind ions has to be considered as a very important process for modifying the surface of planetary bodies. This is increased due to potential sputtering by multiply charged ions; to quantify this effect, sputtering of wollastonite (CaSiO3) by He2+ ions was investigated. Thin films of CaSiO3 deposited on a quartz crystal microbalance were irradiated, allowing precise, in situ, real time sputtering yield measurements. Experimental results were compared with SDTrimSP simulations, which were improved by adapting the used input parameters. On freshly prepared surfaces, He2+ ions show a significant increase in sputtering, as compared to equally fast He+ ions. However, the yield decreases exponentially with fluence, reaching a lower steady state after sputtering of the first few monolayers. Experiments using Ar8+ ions show a similar behavior, which is qualitatively explained by a preferential depletion of surface oxygen due to potential sputtering. A corresponding quantitative model is applied, and the observed potential sputtering behaviors of both He and Ar are reproduced very well. The results of these calculations support the assumption that mainly O atoms are affected by potential sputtering. Based on our findings, we discuss the importance of potential sputtering for the solar wind eroding the lunar surface. Estimated concentration changes and sputtering yields are both in line with previous modeling for other materials, allowing a consistent perspective on the effects of solar wind potential sputtering.


Abstract : An ongoing activity undertaken by the Situation Analysis Support Systems (SASS) Group in the Decision Support Systems (DSS) Section at Defence Research & Development Canada (DRDC) - Valcartier is the investigation of advanced concepts of data fusion and sensor management processes, and their adaptation and integration. These concepts could apply to the current Halifax Class frigates Above Water Warfare (AWW) sensor suite, as well as its possible future upgrades, in order to improve its performance against predicted future threats. As part of this exploration, a comparative study of the commonly used track-level fusion techniques/algorithms is reported here. In developing data fusion systems for surveillance and tracking purposes, the selection of such techniques and/or algorithms is a fundamental conceptual issue. For any given sensor suite configuration, there can be many different ways to combine data from the sensors into global tracks, and various trade-offs are generally required for the selection of the appropriate data fusion architecture, since each approach has its benefits and disadvantages. The considered methods are compared through the target tracking problem that presents both of the independent and correlated source fusion problems.


This book is one in a series dealing with alternatives to industrial society. Called 'Ideas in Progress', the series includes books on a wide range of contemporary issues, particularly those relating to capitalism and conservation. In the present volume, current attitudes towards and ideas about the third big 'C' are brought under scrutiny. It is claimed that the book is iconoclastic, exploding the myths and exposing realities about cancer. To a certain extent this is so, but the tone of the book left this reviewer with the strong impression that, rather than being true cleansers of the temple, the authors have merely knocked down one set of images and replaced themby another. The book contains many useful data. Of particular interest is the fact that the overall death rate from cancer is remarkably constant throughout the world. It is pointed out that although there is, for example, a high incidence of oropharyngeal carcinoma in India this is compensated by low rates for other cancers. The inference drawn from this and parallel data is that cancer is a herd phenomenon. It is a fact oflife, and needs to be accepted as such in the same way as ageing. Because it is inevitable for a proportion of the population to develop cancer, there is no need for guilt in the heavy smoker who develops lung cancer or the happy lover who contracts cancer of uterine cervix. And before you can say 'Kothari and Mehta', epidemiological studies are dashed into pieces and the study of carcinogens trampled under foot. As cancer cannot be caused, it cannot be prevented (but could its onset be delayed?); therefore adopt a que sera sera attitude. It is perhaps not without significance that this book with its relatively fatalistic approach to life, disease and death, comes from the home of Hinduism. Yet it is reasonable that the overoptimistic 'with a bit more effort/time/money' western oncologist should occasionally be given a full frontal exposure to what in places amounts to therapeutic nihilism. Is the one billion dollars spent annually on cancer research in the USA money well spent? It is not only the authors who express doubts about this. It is right that over enthusiastic surgeons should be restrained from extensive mutilating operations of limited benefit to the patient and clinical oncologists should be asked to think twice before recommending chemotherapy with equally devastating effects on the patient's joie de vivre. But to bolster one's plea with a quotation by a doctor who, in 32 years experience, has never seen a patient completely cured ofcancer is overstating the case. There is, however, much wisdom between overstatements, but I have the strong impression that the nonprofessional reader will end up with as frightening an image of cancer as he began with the same devil but with a different selection of horns. To claim, on the basis of a herd phenomenon that cancer can be understood is naive, and to discourage treatment is to oversimplify. Moreover, to think that a mere recitation of the facts (as seen by the narrator) will cure people of their dread of cancer is to deny one aspect of our humanity. We all have an innate fear of death and, since time immemorial, man has focused his fears and anxieties on one disease or group of diseases. In the past, leprosy was prominent in this respect; now it is cancer. If cancer becomes 'acceptable', it will not remove man's fear of death; the mantle will, quite simply, be fitted round the shoulders ofyet another disorder.


ABSTRACT Sulfur-doped carbon nanotubes (SCNT) with high sulfur contents have been prepared using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from sulfur powder, acetylene gas and Fe/CaCO3 (as catalyst). In this regard, various growth's temperatures were examined to investigate its effects on the structure and the sulfur content of prepared SCNT. The best condition was obtained at 700°C and using 4 g of sulfur powder. The product was characterized using FE-SEM and EDS, which showed rode-like SCNT with about 40 nm diameter and 10.75% sulfur content. Moreover, TEM, Raman and XPS analyses were employed to obtain more details related to the product. The XPS results confirmed the presence of sulfur atoms, which covalently incorporated in the carbon framework. Finally, the catalytic ability of the product in oxygen evolution reaction was examined and the results showed high stability and low oxygen production rate for this product.


Abstract The prevention discourse in all its forms has tended to ignore or at least downplay the epistemic problems with prevention. Forecasting political violence is not as easy as the debate on early warning often assumes. Effectively forestalling political violence and mass atrocities is much more difficult than the often used rhetoric of a 'tool box' implies, which creates the impression that one knows what works. An evidence-informed prevention policy needs to be aware of the limits of our knowledge, but at the same time knowledgeable of what social science research can provide – even if the results are provisional, often controversial and fraught with methodological problems.


A review of the literature on interferons was conducted and possible roles in neuropsychiatric disorders with affective disturbances are assessed. Interferons and interferon receptors are present in the limbic system where they appear to exert physiological effects pertinent to affect, most potently when levels rise during CNS infections. Interferons interact closely with cytokines and nitric oxide, signaling molecules implicated in depression. Results from knock-out mice suggest a role for interferon-gamma in moderating fear and anxiety, while other lines of evidence point to a role in arousal and circadian rhythms. The interferon-alpha receptor deploys an arginine methyltransferase affecting RNA editing and splicing, which seem to be disrupted in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe), an effective antidepressant, may owe its effects in the latter disorders in part to variations in the strength of interferon-alpha signaling impacting RNA processing. Antiviral effects of interferons are of interest in lieu of viral theories of affective disorders. Finally, the relative levels of interferons gamma and alpha might play important roles in neural, and glial, development, as well as the dialog between the CNS and the immune system.


This thesis is concerned with the production of evaporation neutrons in neutron monitors by the charged particle components of the cosmic radiation at sea level and their detection. The evaporation neutron detection efficiency of a modified I6Y - type monitor is measured using a novel technique which uses stopping negative muons as a source of neutrons, and the result is compared with that expected from previous measurements of other monitors. Use is made of this result in an experimental study of neutron production by unaccompanied cosmic ray protons, pions and muons in the momentum range 1-30 GeV/c. The experiment has, employed an air-gap magnet spectrograph in conjunction with the monitor, and the results of this study are compared with previous work. They confirm previous findings that the yield of evaporation neutrons in monitors from protons and pions is significantly overestimated by the only available theoretical model, and suggestions, are made to account for this discrepancy. Within fairly large statistical errors, the measured neutron production by fast muons agrees with the theoretical predictions. An examination is made of the possibility of using a neutron monitor in conjunction with an air shower detection array to measure the changes in slope of the nuclear active particle (NAP) energy spectrum in extensive air showers (HAS) of energy l0(^17)eV at sea level which may arise due to primary particles of different atomic mass number and fluctuations in the longitudinal development of proton induced showers. Using NAP spectra predicted by a mathematical model of the EAS development it is found that monitors of conventional design are unlikely to be sensitive to these changes although the total neutron yield per shower could be used as a measure of the expected differences in the NAP flux.


In the last few decades, prestressed concrete has been rapidly used in bridge engineering due to the enormous development in the construction techniques and the increasing need for long span bridges. High strength concrete has been also more widely spread than the past. It currently becomes more desirable as it has better mechanical properties and durability performance. Major defect of fully prestressed concrete is its low ductility; it may produce less alarming signs than ordinary reinforced concrete via smaller deflection and limited cracking. Therefore, partially prestressing is considered an intermediate design between the two extremes. So, combining high strength concrete with partial prestressing will result in a considerable development in the use of prestressed concrete structures regarding the economical and durability view points. This study presents the results of seven partially prestressed high strength concrete beams in flexure. The tested beams are used to investigate the influence of concrete compressive strength, prestressing steel ratio and flange width on the behavior of partially prestressed beams. The experimentally observed behaviors of all beams were presented in terms of the cracking load, ultimate load, deflection, cracking behavior and failure modes.


Previous studies demonstrated that embryonic exposure to ethanol (EtOH) promoted a reduction in brain mass, a reduction in brain neuron densities, and a reduction in membrane long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in embryonic chick brains. These EtOH-induced reductions in brain membrane PUFAs may be the result of lipid peroxidation because embryonic exposure to exogenous alpha- or gamma-tocopherol partially attenuated EtOH-induced reductions in membrane PUFAs. In this paper, we report that embryonic exposure to exogenous alpha- or gamma-tocopherol attenuated EtOH-induced decreases in endogenous levels of alpha-tocopherol in both embryonic chick brains and liver. Embryonic exposure to exogenous alpha- or gamma-tocopherol also partially attenuated EtOH-induced reductions in brain neuron densities within the cerebral hemispheres of embryonic chick brains. Finally, embryonic exposure to exogenous alpha- or gamma-tocopherol also partially attenuated EtOH-induced reductions in long-chain PUFAs in 2-day old neonatal chick brains.


In order to prepare a multifunctional magnetic material combining spin crossover together with single-molecular magnetism, co-crystallization of Fe(ii) and Co(ii) complexes of the pyridine derivative of cyclam (Py2-C = 1,8-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) was performed. Complexes with the general formula [MII(Py2-C)](ClO4)2·H2O (MII = Fe (1), Co (2) or Fe0.4Co0.6 (3)) were prepared and thoroughly characterized. Based on X-ray molecular structures, they formed octahedral complexes with cis-arrangement of the coordinated pyridine moieties. Magnetic data revealed that the Fe(ii) complex 1 shows complete SCO with the transition temperature T1/2 = 141 K, which is preserved also in the mixed Fe/Co system 3 (T1/2 = 128 K). Co(ii) complex 2 behaves as a field-induced single-molecule magnet as well as the mixed system 3 with a direct and phonon bottleneck relaxation process, respectively. This is the first example of such Fe/Co solid solution providing SCO in combination with field-induced SMM properties. Unfortunately, the light-induced excited spin-state trapping (LIESST) effect was not observed either for the Fe(ii) complex 1 or the mixed system 3 and thus, the effect of SCO on SMM properties at low temperature could not be investigated in detail. Nevertheless, the obtained results clearly document the success of the solid solution methodology for the preparation of multifunctional magnetic materials.


Most of the existing mobile learning environments for supporting field trip activities are limited to specific domains or contents and do not support authoring. We present a framework for planning and conducting field trips with mobile devices called LEMONADE, which provides full cycle support for authoring and conducting field trips, as well as for post-trip reporting and reflection activities. LEMONADE includes a generic graph-based language for authoring field trip tasks and for querying and presenting field trip results. It is fully integrated in the graph-based modelling environment FreeStyler, allowing the students' results to be flexibly used in follow-up activities.


OBJECTIVE
To find vertebral metastases with high risk of symptomatic malignant spinal cord compression (MSCC), features of vertebral metastases caused motor deficits of the lower extremities were examined.

METHODS
From 2004 through 2006, 78 patients with metastases of the thoracic and/or the cervical spine were treated with radiation therapy (RT). Of these, 86 irradiated lesions in 73 patients were evaluable by magnetic resonance imaging and/or computed tomography at the initiation of RT and were reviewed retrospectively in this study. Twenty-eight patients (38%) had motor deficits at the initiation of RT. Assessed factors were age, sex, primary disease (lung, breast, digestive system and other cancer), lamina involvement, main level of tumor location and vertebral-body involvement.

RESULTS
Incidence of motor deficits at the initiation of RT was 55% for lesions with lamina involvement and 5% for lesions without lamina involvement (P < 0.0001). Incidence of motor deficits was 15% for lesions located mainly in the cervical spine and/or the upper thoracic spine (Th1-4), 54% for lesions located mainly in the middle thoracic spine (MTS) (Th5-8) and 30% for lesions located mainly in the lower thoracic spine (Th9-12) (P = 0.0095). Age, sex, primary disease and vertebral-body involvement were not statistically significant factors for incidence of motor deficits due to MSCC (P > 0.9999, P = 0.7798, P = 0.1702 and P = 0.366, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
Vertebral metastases with lamina involvement tended to cause symptomatic MSCC. Latent development of MSCC occurred more frequently in the MTS compared with other levels of the thoracic and the cervical spine.


In this paper we investigate the achievable capacity of a UTRA-like Time Division Duplex (TDD) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system employing Loosely Synchronized (LS) spreading codes. The family of operational CDMA systems is interference limited, suffering from Inter-Symbol-Interference (ISI), since the orthogonality of the spreading sequences is destroyed by the frequency selective channel. They also suffer from Multiple-Access-Interference (MAI) owing to the non-zero cross-correlations of the spreading codes. By contrast, the family of LS codes exhibits a so-called Interference Free Window (IFW), where both the auto-correlation and cross-correlation of the codes become zero. Therefore LS codes have the promise of mitigating the effects of both ISI and MAI in time dispersive channels. Hence, LS codes have the potential of increasing the capacity of CDMA networks. This contribution studies the achievable network performance in comparison to that of a UTRA-like TDD/CDMA system using Orthogonal Vari- MSO able Rate Spreading Factor (OVSF) codes.


This paper addresses the use of a normal language developmental model for clinical intervention with children using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. Possible applications of the model are described. The specific dilemmas and unique concerns faced in adapting a developmental model for children with AAC systems are considered. Two areas of normal language development, individual style and displaced talk, are explored and illustrations of the use of this information for generating intervention programs are offered.


We represent recreational demand for land in a CGE framework and apply it to investigate the potential of second generation biofuels production under possibilities of land use conversion from natural areas to agricultural land in the U.S, considering the recreational value of forests. We introduce recreational benefits of natural forests through "household" production sectors for hunting and fishing, for wildlife viewing in reserved areas, and wildlife viewing in other forest areas, based on extensive data available in the U.S. about those activities. We test the model assessing the land use changes and welfare impacts from a U.S. climate policy scenario. The new approach resulted in similar land use change as earlier work where land conversion was limited by an elasticity based on observed land supply response. The advantage of the new approach built here using recreation data is that it provides an obviously improved measure of welfare cost of policies that lead to land use change, because the preservation value of the land offsets the increased cost of the policy due to the restriction on use. The results are sensitive to the representation of people's willingness to substitute other inputs for natural land in their recreation experience, parameter not being well investigated empirically. The main contribution of the paper is not for its insights on biofuels potential but for the improved representation of welfare changes from models where the land supply response limits conversion.


The research was conducted in Bajo Tilamuta Village, Boalemo Regency,Gorontalo Province. Marketing is one of the most important activities in the marketing of Bajo Desa seafood in Boalemo, because one of the obstacles faced is the availability of water infrastructure. In Bajo Village, which happens to be in the Lemito area, Boalemo Regency has high fisheries potential, such as cucumbers and sea pearls, Mapei, Japan. The purpose of this research is to study the economic situation of the Bajo Tilamuta community in Boalemo Village who are fishermen who live, produce and sell. The results of this study provide information that sea cucumbers are classified as having good marketing efficiency and effective marketing if the marketing efficiency of shellfish, mapei and japing is not high.


Economic and environmental concerns will slow down the expansion of the transmission system in many countries. The addition of new transmission lines will be few and far between. The de-regulation of the power supply will introduce new power flow patterns on the bulk transmission systems. The net result is that the power systems will operate much closer to their transfer limits and operate there much longer time than has been necessary. The risk for voltage collapse determines the transfer limits in many bulk transmission systems. The accurate determination of the transfer limits will be an increasingly important task to maintain the operational security and economic operation of the power system. Many studies have shown the importance of the load representation in voltage stability analysis. Static load models are not accurate enough for capturing the dynamics of the network. Therefore dynamic load models are needed even if voltage collapse, in many cases, is a slow phenomenon. iii Due to the large amount of electric heating loads in Sweden and its effect on voltage stability, Hill and Karlsson have proposed a load model with exponential recovery. The model is expressed as a set of nonlinear differential equations, where the real and reactive load powers have a nonlinear dependency with voltage. The standard dynamic active load model is characterized by three parameters, steady state load-voltage dependence, transient load-voltage dependence and a load-recovery time constant. The same applies to reactive load. As an extension of the mentioned work, the present author proposes an automatic method for the determination of parameters in standard dynamic load models. The dynamic set of nonlinear equations has been linearised and the problem has been reduced to a linear identification problem. The Least Squares criterion is used for minimizing the error function between measured and simulated data. Field measurements from continuous normal operation at the 20 kV and 50 kV-level from a substation in the South East of Sweden have provided over 1 GByte of data covering all seasons during the time period July 2001-June 2002. The determination of the load parameters based on this data has resulted in valuable information. The parameters' time-varying characteristic and their dependency with weather and season of the year have been studied; there is correlation between the active and reactive recovery time constants, and between them and the corresponding steadystate characteristic of the load. Strong dependency of the transient active and reactive characteristic of the load with the temperature has been found. Furthermore, some unexpected deviations in the reactive load parameters have led to a new representation of the reactive load. The reactive power level, which was previously used as normalization factor, is inappropriate. If instead apparent power level is used, the variability in the parameters that describe the reactive load response is drastically reduced. (Less)


Aims Coronary stent deployment is a major advance in percutaneous treatment of ischaemic heart disease, but 10–40% of patients still develop angiographic restenosis by 6 months due to neointimal hyperplasia. Patient-specific factors, including genetic factors, can contribute to this process. We have conducted a prospective study to examine the involvement of genetic risk factors (eNOS, ACE, MMP-3, IL-6, and PECAM-1) in restenosis following coronary stent deployment.

Methods and Results A total of 226 patients who underwent elective and successful coronary artery stenting to de novo lesions in native coronary arteries were studied. Two hundred and five (90·7%) patients were restudied by coronary angiogram at 6 months and the stented lesions were assessed using an automated quantitative angiography system. Genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction enzyme digestion. Restenosis rate, defined as ≥50% diameter stenosis, was 29·3%. The overall genotype frequency distributions were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium for all variants. Carriers of the 298Asp allele of the eNOS Glu298Asp polymorphism showed a higher frequency of restenosis with an odds ratio of 1·88 (95%CI: 1·01–3·51, P =0·043) compared to 298Glu homozygotes. Carriers of the –786C allele of the eNOS –786T>C polymorphism also showed a higher frequency of restenosis with odds ratio of 2·06 (95%CI: 1·08–3·94, P =0·028). These effects were essentially additive and were independent of other classical risk factors. Other studied genes did not show significant association with coronary in-stent restenosis.

Conclusion In patients with coronary artery disease, the possession of the 298Asp and –786C variants of the eNOS gene are a risk factor for coronary in-stent restenosis, demonstrating the importance of the nitric oxide system in restenosis. Copyright 2002 The European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


Increasing popularity of mobile route planning applications based on GPS technology provides opportunities for collecting traffic data in urban environments. One of the main challenges for travel time estimation and prediction in such a setting is how to aggregate data from vehicles that have followed different routes, and predict travel time for other routes of interest. One approach is to predict travel times for route segments, and sum those estimates to obtain a prediction for the whole route. We study how to obtain optimal predictions in this scenario. It appears that the optimal estimate, minimizing the expected mean absolute error, is a combination of the mean and the median travel times on each segment, where the combination function depends on the number of segments in the route of interest. We present a methodology for obtaining such predictions, and demonstrate its effectiveness with a case study using travel time data from a district of St. Petersburg collected over one year. The proposed methodology can be applied for real-time prediction of expected travel times in an urban road network.


This paper proposes and evaluates the application of support vector machine (SVM) to classify upper limb motions using myoelectric signals. It explores the optimum configuration of SVM-based myoelectric control, by suggesting an advantageous data segmentation technique, feature set, model selection approach for SVM, and postprocessing methods. This work presents a method to adjust SVM parameters before classification, and examines overlapped segmentation and majority voting as two techniques to improve controller performance. A SVM, as the core of classification in myoelectric control, is compared with two commonly used classifiers: linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural networks. It demonstrates exceptional accuracy, robust performance, and low computational load. The entropy of the output of the classifier is also examined as an online index to evaluate the correctness of classification; this can be used by online training for long-term myoelectric control operations.


We report on the growth and characterization of a new Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor (DMS) heterostructure that presents a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas (2DEG) with a carrier density $n \sim 1.08 \times 10^{12} cm^{-2}$ and a mobility $\mu \sim 600 cm^{2} / (Vs)$ at T $\sim$ 4.2K. As far as we know this is the highest mobility value reported in the literature for GaMnAs systems. A novel technique was developed to make Ohmic contact to the buried 2DEG without destroying the magnetic properties of our crystal.


Attention-related modulation (AM) of the somatosensory responses of single neurons has been demonstrated in the cerebral cortex and medullary dorsal horn, but not in the ventrobasal thalamus. The somatically evoked activity was recorded of single units in the ventral posterior lateral thalamus (VPL) of awake monkeys while they detected the termination of task-relevant somatic or visual stimuli. Eighteen of 56 somatically responsive VPL neurons are reported that were recorded for enough time for a complete analysis of their responses during both the visual and somatic attention tasks. All neurons were spontaneously active and responded either to innocuous cutaneous (13/18) or deep (5/18) stimuli. Seven neurons (7/18, 38.8%) showed AM of somatosensory responsiveness. Two cells (2/7, 28.6%) showed AM only during the visual task, two others (2/7, 28.6%) only during the somatosensory task, and three cells (3/7, 42.8%) showed AM during both tasks. All five cells showing AM during the somatosensory task had enhanced responses to the task-relevant somatic stimulus. In contrast, the somatosensory responses of all five cells showing AM during the visual task were reduced. It is concluded that selective attention is associated with a modality specific modulation of the somatosensory responses of a sub-population of neurons within the primate VPL nucleus.


The production of proteins from their respective genes is a tightly regulated process that helps cells conserve energy while ensuring they have the raw materials needed to perform basic life processes. The expression of any particular gene can be controlled by various mechanisms, including the actions of transcription factors and repressors, and epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation or chromatin remodelling. In addition, many eukaryotic genomes, from plants to humans, appear to have another regulatory trick at their disposal: ''gene expression neighbourhoods''—areas in which genes that are close together tend to have similar expression profiles. Many researchers have proposed that the organization of these neighbourhoods might be important for the coordinated expression of the genes that reside within them. In a new study, Meadows et al. have tested this theory in the fruitfly Drosophila by disrupting several gene expression neighbourhoods that contain testis-specific genes. Their results undercut the notion that gene expression neighbourhoods may play a regulatory role. Several gene expression neighbourhoods have been shown to be evolutionarily conserved among species, raising the possibility that there is some selective advantage to keeping these genes together in the genome. In Drosophila, at least 20% of all genes seem to be clustered into neighbourhoods, and one study concluded that around 45% of genes that are expressed exclusively in the testes were found in testis-specific gene expression neighbourhoods. Might this clustering into neighbourhoods somehow facilitate the coordinated expression of genes that have similar expression profiles? To find out, Meadows et al. generated targeted chromosomal inversions in the fly genome to split up specific gene expression neighbourhoods populated by testis-specific genes. They then used microarray analysis to compare the expression of the genes found in the affected neighbourhoods in flies carrying the inversions with otherwise genetically identical flies that did not carry the inversions. Perhaps surprisingly, the authors found no significant differences in gene expression between the flies with the inversions and those without. Even though the testisspecific genes no longer occupied the same neighbourhood (and thus were no longer clustered in the same way as in the wildtype genome), their expression patterns were normal. This finding was consistent whether the authors measured gene expression in the whole flies or in just the testes. They also generated flies with an inversion in an embryo expressed gene neighbourhood and again found no significant effect on gene expression, suggesting that the lack of effect of the inversions was not confined to sexually dimorphic genes or to the testis-specific genes themselves. One effect of gene clustering might be to ensure that genes are physically close together in the nucleus, perhaps bringing them under the influence of common factors that might affect their transcription. To investigate whether the clustered genes were physically separated in the nucleus by the chromosomal inversions, the authors used fluorescent markers to measure the distance between the genes. Genes that came from the same neighbourhood, but which were split apart by an inversion, were significantly further apart in the nucleus than the same genes in wild-type flies, which suggests that colocalization in the nucleus did not overcome the effects of the inversions. Meadows et al. have shown that, at least in Drosophila and at least for certain clusters of genes, the existence of gene expression neighbourhoods is not necessary for the correct and coordinated expression of genes that have the same expression profiles. These findings suggest that one shouldn't assume that genes inhabit the same neighbourhood for a reason. Why these clusters have weathered the passage of evolutionary eons, however, remains an open question. It may well be, the authors suggest, that the evolutionary advantage of neighbourhoods might lie in more subtle effects, which await the creation of more powerful tools to reveal their purpose.


In this paper we present proposals of some basic synchronous fuzzy circuits which are of help in the design of fuzzy processors. Our proposal is a compromise between a digital and an analog solution. We discretize the degrees of membership and make each elementary operator regenerate the valid levels We thus obtain circuits which virtually make no mistakes, regardless of the number of cascading stages and retroactions. So these circuits exhibit high noise immunity. This means that these "fuzzy-gates" are robust. As the fuzzy-gates proposed use a CMOS technology similar to that of the digital approach, they share the performance of the latter as far as dissipated power is concerned.


For the purpose of nondestructively evaluating the structural health of a pipe system that is used to transport a fluid or gas, it has gained significant interests to identify the characteristics of ultrasonic Lamb waves that can propagate a long distance with a small spatial decay rate, enabling to scan a long pipe section with a single array measurement. Thus, it is here proposed to develop a hybrid analytical/two-dimensional finite element method (2-D HAFEM) to analyze the Lamb wave propagation characteristics in composite pipes with arbitrary cross-sectional shapes. In this method, a pipe is modeled by using a 2D finite element approximation in the cross-sectional directions while an analytical wave solution is assumed in the axial direction. Thus, it makes possible to use a small number of finite elements even for ultrasonic frequency analyses in a computationally efficient manner. In order to validate the proposed method, the HAFEM-predicted dispersion curves of a homogeneous, hollow cylindrical pipe are compared with analytical solutions. It is shown that the 2-D HAFEM results agree well with the analytical solutions.


Retention is a major factor in an institution's credibility and financial stability. A greater emphasis is being placed on retention and attrition in higher education in the United States. While lack of persistence behavior and withdrawal are problems with all undergraduate students, this is particularly the case for African-American students. The barriers to minority student retention continue to be: the cost of education, isolating campus environments, a lack of peer and faculty engagement, inadequate math and science preparation, heavy work schedule hours versus class preparation. To minimize the impact of this disturbing trend of students not pursuing an engineering or technology degree, a priority must be set to generate student interest in graduation with these degrees. The objectives of this paper are: (1) to define an effective retention program, (2) to discuss general retention strategies, (3) to identify challenges or barriers to overcome a lack of retention of engineering and technology students, (4) to discuss retention strategies used at an HBCU or Southern University (SU), and (5) to provide recommendations for improvement of retention in the College of Engineering at SU.


In this letter, highly nonlinear birefringent soft glass photonic crystal fiber is presented and analyzed using the full vectorial finite-difference method. The suggested design has a central hole infiltrated with a nematic liquid crystal (NLC). The reported design offers high birefringence of 0.042 at the operating wavelength 1.55 μm with low losses for the two polarized modes. In addition, high nonlinearities of 425.5 W-1 km-1 and 470.8 W-1 km-1 are achieved for the quasi-transverse electric (TE) and quasi-transverse magnetic (TM) modes, respectively, at the operating wavelength of 1.55 μm.


We investigate the effect of exposure to ethnic minorities on the majority's preferences with regard to that group using individual-level panel data from the Netherlands. The data combine ethnic preferences with administrative data on refugee facilities. The study period is marked by a sudden inflow of refugees in some neighborhoods. We find that individuals living close to refugee facilities developed a more positive attitude toward ethnic minorities and became less inclined to support anti-immigration parties. Preferences of individuals living farther away remained unchanged. An investigation of channels suggests that the local effect is due to contact between residents and refugees. JEL Codes: J15, R23, D91, C23


Invasion of gamba grass in Northern Territory increases fire fuel and bushfire smoke. Increase in bushfire smoke decreases air quality and have negative health impacts. The aim of this study is to assess people's willingness pay in order to control bushfire smoke and reduce its health risks. We also aim to assess what part of their willingness to pay is derived from altruism. To do this, we form two versions of a survey. The first version aims to assess willingness to pay which may consist of both altruism and personal benefits. The framing tells the respondents to assume that increases in bushfire smoke will affect their own personal health. In the second version of the survey that aims to assess only altruism, respondents will be limited to those who do not have asthma. We tell these respondents that increase in bushfire smoke will only affect people with asthma. Visual aides were used to enhance risk comprehension. Results showed that analysing altruistic value is important when valuing environmental assets. Altruistic value of statistical life is calculated at $5000,000. We showed that distinguishing paternalistic and non-paternalistic altruism is important.48% of WTP was non-paternalistic altruism. Paternalistic altruism is estimated at $2600,000.


Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) is a well established clinical imaging technique for the diagnostic and prognostic workup of coronary artery disease, and it has been the mainstay of cardiovascular radionuclide applications for decades. The field of cardiovascular imaging, however, is changing. Several alternative imaging methodologies for non-invasive assessment of perfusion have emerged. At the same time, nuclear imaging technology has progressed significantly towards higher sensitivity and resolution, and novel, highly specific radiotracers have been introduced. These developments are indicators of a steady evolution of nuclear cardiology beyond the assessment of myocardial perfusion, towards characterisation of molecular events on the tissue level. As such, radiotracer techniques will take a leading role in the emerging paradigm of personalised medicine, where preventive/therapeutic strategies are based on individual disease biology.

Since its introduction around 35 years ago,w1 MPS has evolved into a robust, well established clinical tool to assess myocardial perfusion for diagnosis and prognosis in patients with known or suspected ischaemic heart disease.

### Myocardial perfusion SPECT

Tl-201 was the first myocardial perfusion radiotracer, which became commercially available in 1977.w2 In the early 1980s, Tc-99m labelled perfusion tracers (Tc-99m-sestamibi and -tetrofosmin) were introduced to overcome some limitations of Tl-201.w3–5 The higher energy of emitted gamma rays (140 keV vs 69–83 keV) reduces attenuation and scatter artefacts, resulting in better image quality. The shorter radioactive half-life (6 h vs 72 h) allows for administration of higher tracer doses with less radiation exposure. Of note, the molecular characteristics determining myocardial uptake and retention of these tracers (Na/K-ATPase for Tl-201, mitochondrial binding for sestamibi and tetrofosmin)—which are proportional to myocardial blood flow within most parts of the physiologic flow range, but underestimate true flow in the higher flow range—are well understood.w6 w7

The diagnostic performance of MPS has been assessed extensively. A recent study of 2560 …


The importance of responsibility in the clinical practice is derived from the transcendency of what they affect (life and health) and the risk implicit to it. The clinical performance does not require curing. The obligations that are derived from them are means and not results. It is also not correct to associate error and responsibility. Responsibility of the professional may be claimed by civil, patrimony, corporative, disciplinary and penal routes based on the reasons and according to who is making the claim. These claims may be presented individually or jointly based on whether the modality of the professional practice is free or carried out by others, whether in public health or private health care. The professional has different alternatives to respond to the possible lawsuits that are presented, both penal and civil action or protection have the common problem of the difficulty of proof.


Baptisia tinctoria (Wild indigo; Fabaceae) has long tradition of use in Indian systems of medicine for the treatment of depression. This investigation deals with the evaluation of the antidepressant activity of various extracts and fractions of B. tinctoria roots and estimation of the content of bioactive principle using thin-layer chromatography densitometry. Roots of B. tinctoria were successively extracted to obtain n-hexane, chloroform, methanol and water extracts. The chloroform, methanol and water extracts were screened for antidepressant activity at doses of 200 or 400 mg/kg, p.o., in mice subjected to forced swim test. Methanol extract showed significant activity at a dose of 400 mg/kg. The methanol extract was further fractionated successively to obtain ethyl acetate and 1-butanol fractions. Antidepressant activity of these fractions was assessed using forced swim test at the doses of 90 and 80 mg/kg, p.o., respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction showed significant antidepressant activity at the dose of 90 mg/kg in mice. Further, specific antidepressant activity without psychostimulant effects of bioactive methanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction was confirmed through evaluation of locomotor behaviour in mice using open field test. Phytochemical screening showed the presence of flavonoids as major class of phytoconstituents in the methanol extract. Comparative thin-layer chromatography fingerprint studies confirmed the presence of hesperitin in methanol extract. Hesperitin was used as a chemical marker to standardize B. tinctoria roots using validated thin-layer chromatography densitometric method and the content of hesperitin was found to be 0.0085% w/w.


The role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the phosphorylation of myosin light chain 2 (MLC2) in adult rat heart cells has been investigated. PKC-mediated phosphorylation of MLC2 in adult rat cardiac myofibrils in vitro occurs with a stoichiometry (0.7 mol of phosphate/mol of protein) similar to that mediated by myosin light chain kinase (MLCK). Two-dimensional tryptic phosphopeptide mapping of MLC2 following phosphorylation by PKC or MLCK in vitro yields the same major phosphopeptides for each protein kinase. These sites are also 32P-labelled in situ when isolated cardiomyocytes are incubated with [32P]P(i). 32P labelling of MLC2 in cardiomyocytes is increased by 5-fold in 10 min upon incubation with the phosphatase inhibitor calyculin A, demonstrating the existence of a rapidly turning over component of MLC2 phosphorylation in these cells. 32P label is completely removed from MLC2 when myocytes are exposed to 2,3-butanedione monoxime, an inhibitor of cardiac contraction known to desensitize the myofilaments to activation by Ca2+. 32P labelling of MLC2 is also decreased by 50-100% following exposure to the PKC-selective inhibitors calphostin C and chelerythrine, suggesting that PKC, and not MLCK, is primarily responsible for incorporation of rapidly turning over phosphate into MLC2 in situ. Taken together, these data implicate PKC in the phosphorylation of MLC2 in heart cells and support the hypothesis that phosphorylation of cardiac MLC2 has a role in determining myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity.


Starting from aromatic diamines, a series of bismaleimides (BMIs) and maleimide-terminated structural resins were prepared in solution and characterized. Maleimide-terminated resins were prepared through Michael addition reaction with 3/2 molar ratio of bismaleimide and aromatic diamine as reactants. The structural analysis was performed by FTIR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Thermal properties are investigated by TGA, DTA, and DSC. Number-average molecular-weights of the resins were determined by cryoscopy. The presence of methylene (CH2) and ether (O) groups in the starting materials affect the reactivity and the degree of chain extension of the resins. From the viscosity measurements it was also found that thermal polymerization of BMIs could be taking place together with the Michael addition. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Numerical algorithms and heuristic logic for the accurate and robust linearization of nonlinear dynamic system models are given. The numerical algorithms deal with cases in which the system nonlinearities are differentiable (possess a Taylor series expansion), and the logic handles a variety of anomalous situations. New conventional methods and algorithms for linearization, as well as an expert system to aid the control engineer in determining linearized models for nonlinear systems, have been obtained. Included are an approach that minimizes the effects of truncation and round-off errors incurred through numerical differentiation and techniques for accurately identifying certain discontinuities in the mathematical description of a nonlinear system, as well as other problems that make linearization difficult or meaningless.<<ETX>>


BACKGROUND
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is a crop that is very sensitive to herbicide contamination owing to its short growing season. The use of long-residual herbicides and non-woven fabric coverings could therefore influence pendimethalin concentrations in soil and lettuce.

RESULTS
The pendimethalin half-life in soil ranged between 18 and 85 days and was mainly affected by season (i.e. weather), and especially by soil moisture. Pendimethalin degradation in soil was slowest under dry conditions. A longer pendimethalin half-life was observed under the non-woven fabric treatment, but the effect of varying application rate was not significant. Pendimethalin residue concentrations in lettuce heads were significantly influenced by pendimethalin application rate and by non-woven fabric cover, especially at the lettuce's early growth stages. The highest pendimethalin concentration at final harvest was determined in lettuce grown on uncovered plots treated with pendimethalin at an application rate of 1200 g ha-1 (7-38 µg kg-1 ). Depending on growing season duration and weather conditions, pendimethalin concentrations in lettuce grown under non-woven fabric ranged from 0 to 21 µg kg-1 .

CONCLUSION
Use of transparent non-woven fabric cover with lettuce can help to reduce application rates of soil herbicides and diminish the risk of herbicide contamination in the harvested vegetables. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.


A new kind of thermal contrast, called "filtered contrast" is presented, which allows detecting and characterizing material defects using active thermography under some assumptions on physical and thermal parameters of materials. In opposition to known definitions of the thermal contrast, knowledge about defect-free area is not necessary and this contrast is less sensitive to nonuniformity of heat disposal to the material surface. The measurements were performed on an experimental setup equipped with a ThermaCAM PM 595 infrared camera and frame grabber. The step heating was chosen as heat excitation. The results demonstrate usefulness of the 1-D model of heat transfer used for determination of depth of subsurface defects. The influence of the parameter of the smoothing filter, required for filtered contrast implementation, thermal parameters of the tested material and defect on expanded uncertainty of determination of defect depth is also presented. Due to significant complexity of the model of heat transfer the conditions for the "law of propagation of uncertainty" were not fulfilled and a numerical method, i.e. Monte Carlo simulation is applied for the propagation of distributions.


In this paper we investigate the architecture of a MathML formatting engine based on an abstraction of the TEX box primitives. This engine is carefully designed so that the TEX-dependent formatting rules are isolated from the independent ones and is capable of achieving TEX-comparable output quality when used in conjunction with TEX fonts. We show how the formatting rules presented in Appendix G of the TEXbook can be easily adapted for MathML formatting, and how the semantically-rich MathML markup simplifies the rules themselves.


With the development of the mobile networks, mobile payment provides a convenient way for the transactions in e-commerce. in this paper, we propose an efficient mobile payment model and its two applications. in the proposed model, mobile operator provides the mutual authentication and anonymity between a merchant and a customer. Because mobile operator is a credible center on mobile networks, the merchant and the customer can authenticate with each other through mobile operator. Based upon the proposed model, the customer can securely and efficiently complete the payments in the mobile environments. Unlike the previous protocols, the proposed protocol does not require a trusted third-party center for transactions. It makes the mobile payments easier to implement. Furthermore, the communications between the customer and the merchant can be also greatly reduced.


Providing an introduction to isogeometric methods with a focus on their mathematical foundations, this book is composed of four chapters, each devoted to a topic of special interests for isogeometric methods and their theoretical understanding. It contains a tutorial on splines and generalizations that are used in CAD parametrizations, and gives an overview of geometric modeling techniques that can be used within the isogeometric approach, with a focus on non-tensor product splines. Finally, it presents the mathematical properties of isogeometric spaces and spline spaces for vector field approximations, and treats in detail an application of fundamental importance: the isogeometric simulation of a viscous incompressible flow. The contributions were written by Carla Manni and Hendrik Speelers, Vibeke Skytt and Tor Dokken, Lourenco Beirao da Veiga, Annalisa Buffa, Giancarlo Sangalli and Rafael Vazquez, and finally by John Evans and Thomas J.R. Hughes.


The motivation for the work presented in this thesis is to retrieve profile
information for the atmospheric trace constituents nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
and ozone (O3) in the lower troposphere from remote sensing measurements.
The remote sensing technique used, referred to as Multiple AXis Differential
Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS), is a recent technique that
represents a significant advance on the well-established DOAS, especially for
what it concerns the study of tropospheric trace consituents.
NO2 is an important trace gas in the lower troposphere due to the fact that
it is involved in the production of tropospheric ozone; ozone and nitrogen
dioxide are key factors in determining the quality of air with consequences,
for example, on human health and the growth of vegetation. To understand
the NO2 and ozone chemistry in more detail not only the concentrations at
ground but also the acquisition of the vertical distribution is necessary. In
fact, the budget of nitrogen oxides and ozone in the atmosphere is determined
both by local emissions and non-local chemical and dynamical processes (i.e.
diffusion and transport at various scales) that greatly impact on their vertical
and temporal distribution: thus a tool to resolve the vertical profile
information is really important.
Useful measurement techniques for atmospheric trace species should fulfill
at least two main requirements. First, they must be sufficiently sensitive to
detect the species under consideration at their ambient concentration levels.
Second, they must be specific, which means that the results of the measurement
of a particular species must be neither positively nor negatively
influenced by any other trace species simultaneously present in the probed
volume of air. Air monitoring by spectroscopic techniques has proven to be
a very useful tool to fulfill these desirable requirements as well as a number
of other important properties. During the last decades, many such instruments
have been developed which are based on the absorption properties of
the constituents in various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging
from the far infrared to the ultraviolet. Among them, Differential Optical
Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) has played an important role.
DOAS is an established remote sensing technique for atmospheric trace
gases probing, which identifies and quantifies the trace gases in the atmosphere
taking advantage of their molecular absorption structures in the near
UV and visible wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (from 0.25 μm
to 0.75 μm). Passive DOAS, in particular, can detect the presence of a trace
gas in terms of its integrated concentration over the atmospheric path from
the sun to the receiver (the so called slant column density). The receiver
can be located at ground, as well as on board an aircraft or a satellite platform.
Passive DOAS has, therefore, a flexible measurement configuration
that allows multiple applications.
The ability to properly interpret passive DOAS measurements of atmospheric
constituents depends crucially on how well the optical path of light
collected by the system is understood. This is because the final product of
DOAS is the concentration of a particular species integrated along the path
that radiation covers in the atmosphere. This path is not known a priori and
can only be evaluated by Radiative Transfer Models (RTMs). These models
are used to calculate the so called vertical column density of a given trace
gas, which is obtained by dividing the measured slant column density to the
so called air mass factor, which is used to quantify the enhancement of the
light path length within the absorber layers.
In the case of the standard DOAS set-up, in which radiation is collected
along the vertical direction (zenith-sky DOAS), calculations of the air mass
factor have been made using "simple" single scattering radiative transfer
models. This configuration has its highest sensitivity in the stratosphere,
in particular during twilight. This is the result of the large enhancement in
stratospheric light path at dawn and dusk combined with a relatively short
tropospheric path.
In order to increase the sensitivity of the instrument towards tropospheric
signals, measurements with the telescope pointing the horizon (offaxis
DOAS) have to be performed. In this circumstances, the light path in the
lower layers can become very long and necessitate the use of radiative transfer
models including multiple scattering, the full treatment of atmospheric
sphericity and refraction.
In this thesis, a recent development in the well-established DOAS technique
is described, referred to as Multiple AXis Differential Optical Absorption
Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS). The MAX-DOAS consists in the simultaneous
use of several off-axis directions near the horizon: using this configuration,
not only the sensitivity to tropospheric trace gases is greatly improved,
but vertical profile information can also be retrieved by combining the simultaneous
off-axis measurements with sophisticated RTM calculations and
inversion techniques.
In particular there is a need for a RTM which is capable of dealing with
all the processes intervening along the light path, supporting all DOAS geometries
used, and treating multiple scattering events with varying phase
functions involved. To achieve these multiple goals a statistical approach
based on the Monte Carlo technique should be used. A Monte Carlo RTM
generates an ensemble of random photon paths between the light source and
the detector, and uses these paths to reconstruct a remote sensing measurement.
Within the present study, the Monte Carlo radiative transfer
model PROMSAR (PROcessing of Multi-Scattered Atmospheric Radiation)
has been developed and used to correctly interpret the slant column densities
obtained from MAX-DOAS measurements.
In order to derive the vertical concentration profile of a trace gas from
its slant column measurement, the AMF is only one part in the quantitative
retrieval process. One indispensable requirement is a robust approach to
invert the measurements and obtain the unknown concentrations, the air
mass factors being known. For this purpose, in the present thesis, we have
used the Chahine relaxation method.
Ground-based Multiple AXis DOAS, combined with appropriate radiative
transfer models and inversion techniques, is a promising tool for atmospheric
studies in the lower troposphere and boundary layer, including the retrieval of
profile information with a good degree of vertical resolution. This thesis has
presented an application of this powerful comprehensive tool for the study of
a preserved natural Mediterranean area (the Castel Porziano Estate, located
20 km South-West of Rome) where pollution is transported from remote
sources.
Application of this tool in densely populated or industrial areas is beginning
to look particularly fruitful and represents an important subject for future
studies.


The city of Athens underwent a rapid expansion that initiated in the 1950s and 1960s because of the transition from the agricultural to the industrial economy. Today, the capital of Greece is undergoing different transformations due to the shift from the industrial to the postindustrial and informational era. These observations could lead us to question the future of the city of Athens and of the Attica territory as a whole and could make us realize the potentialities of the drosscape within the Attica basin. Dross is the residual of the urban processes, the left-over, in other words the waste landscapes of the territory. The thesis attempts to confront the problem of wastelands, drosscape and brownfields and research for new tools to deal with them. The thesis is design-oriented and as a project attempts to transmit knowledge by integrating the different scales of city and territory. The main research question investigated is: «How can we re-use the waste landscapes of the Attica basin by combining the needs of both the metropolitan and the local scale? ». The analysis aimed at identifying the dross areas while looking at the factors contributing to their formation and trying to predict the future waste landscape within the specific territory of Athens. By looking at the drosscapes as a potential for the city, the design used the method of scenarios in order to investigate potentialities and risks.


Following the 1898-1899 invasion and the establishment of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, Sudan enjoyed a predictable but shortrun spurt of growth as a result of improvements to the basic conditions for economic activity. The relative absence of conflict, a reduction in the dislocation of the population caused by war, and the development of transport infrastructure and the provision of services all helped to stimulate the economy. Between 1901 and 1914, exports increased 282% and imports increased 246%; the area under cultivation in Sudan went from 1,000,000 feddans in 1904 to 2,100,000 feddans in 1913, an increase of 110%. Between 1901 and 1905, annual Sudan exports grew by an average of 6.5% per year as compared to the annual average growth of "crown colonies" trade of 1.2% per year. Between 1906 and 1910, Sudan exports grew by an annual average of 29.2% compared to an annual average growth in trade of 7.0% amongst the crown colonies, though between 1911 and 1913 Sudan export growth stalled at 3.2% annually, compared to a 9.3% increase in overall annual colonial trade. The subsequent dip in annual average growth can be attributed to the economy reaching a fuller capacity. Thus, by 1913-1914, the growth in exports - made up exclusively of agricultural produce and dominated by gum - began to choke off.Convinced that unaided private enterprise could not deliver capital investment or further economic growth, the Sudan government began to work closely with the Sudan Plantations Syndicate, a British based company, to develop plantation cotton-growing in the Gezira region (the area of land between the White and the Blue Niles, just south of their confluence at Khartoum). Following World War I, which interfered with the plans for development, the construction of the dams and canals required to irrigate the Gezira resumed, culminating in the opening of the Gezira Scheme in 1924-1925. The scheme was a considerable technical achievement. It transformed the landscape in the Gezira region and, by importing labor, introducing tenant farmers, and changing the use of land, the scheme transformed a section of Sudanese society and created one of the defining institutions of colonialism in Sudan. The management of the scheme was carried out by the Sudan Plantations Syndicate who held a monopoly concession. Cultivation was carried out by tenant farmers who worked under the supervision of the syndicate's officials. The Sudan government provided irrigation services. Together, these three made up the "partners" of the Gezira Scheme, each entitled to a share of the profits - 40% each to the tenants and the government; 20% to the syndicate. The syndicate and the government were to work closely together, leading Reginald Wingate to comment that "for a Government and a syndicate to combine on co-operative principles, and for a syndicate to become, in some respects, a Government Department, is an entirely new departure." The Gezira scheme was run on this basis until 1950. As such it represents the only major attempt made by the Sudan government to intervene in the economy to foster growth.Ultimately economic development in Sudan during the Condominium was not widespread. The developmental effort was narrowly concentrated on cotton-growing in the Gezira region, and even there the wider benefits for Sudanese society have been questioned. The government's contribution to economic underdevelopment is important and any assessment has to take into account both the long-run structural changes brought about (such as the Gezira Scheme itself) and the record of policymaking over time. The verdicts of historians have not been positive. Martin Daly concludes that the officials of the Sudan Political Service showed "[d]isdain for development" - a withering criticism. GN. Sanderson reaches a similar conclusion. Yet at the time of the opening of the Gezira Scheme in the mid- 1920s, there was a positive optimism among officials and luminaries in Sudan, and they tended to be of one voice in praise of the cooperative/corporative nature of the partnership between tenant farmers, government, and business. …


AIM
Evaluation of spiral-CT and CT-angiography for imaging of venous and arterial coronary bypass grafts during the early postoperative period.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
In 198 patients suffering from coronary heart disease, 583 aortocoronary venous grafts (ACVG), 70 arterial grafts and 24 jumped grafts were investigated 9-15 days following coronary surgery. In 57 patients the results were compared to arterial DSA and reconstructive CT-angiography.

RESULTS
At arterial DSA 93% of ACVG and 100% of arterial grafts were patent. Spiral-CT demonstrated 104 of 105 ACVG (99%) and 20 of 29 arterial grafts (69%) correct patent. All occluded ACVG (n = 8) were detected. 90% of ACVG but only 32% of arterial grafts were visualised completely over long segments. Imaging of jumped grafts was insufficient. In CT-angiography artificial vessel stenoses impaired correct visualisation of graft morphology.

CONCLUSIONS
Spiral-CT allows sufficient differentiation of patent and obstructed ACVG during the early postoperative period. Diagnostic of arterial grafts is of lower accuracy. For CT angiography of venous and arterial coronary grafts further improvements are necessary.


We consider the deformation potential mechanism of the electron-phonon coupling in metal films and investigate the intensity of the associated heat transfer between the electron and phonon subsystems. The focus is on the temperature region below dimensional crossover $T<T^{\ast}$ where the thermally relevant vibrations are described in terms of a quasi-two-dimensional elastic medium, while electron excitations behave as a three-dimensional Fermi gas. We derive an explicit expression for the power $P\left( T\right) $ of the electron-phonon heat transfer which explains the behavior observed in some experiments including the case of metallic film supported by an insulating membrane with different acoustic properties. It is shown that at low temperatures the main contribution is due to the coupling with Lamb's dilatational and flexural acoustic modes.


In the United States as a whole, 21.4% of the families have incomes below $3,000 while in Michigan, only 15.7% fall below this line. Poverty in Michigan is definitely not as severe as that which exists in many states of the deep South and in Appalachia. In Michigan, there are about 314,000 families or 1,256,000 people who have incomes or live in families with incomes below $3,000 per year. The poor exist in every county of every state. Poverty for the purposes of discussion was defined as existing when a family of four had an income of $3,000 or less. Seven hypotheses describing the relationship between lack of resources and poverty were considered. One of these is the relationship between poor educational systems and low income. This relationship was the main focus of the last part of the paper. Since the author of this paper did not feel that one variable could adequately explain all poverty, he stated how the relationship between low income and poor educational system fit into a circular description of the causes of poverty. Issues discussed which are relevant to the education of the poor and that are likely to cause problems when implementing any program in this area are as follows: 1. Are those left behind the less able and intelligent? 2. There is some doubt about the ability of compensatory education to do the job, the results have been discouraging to date. 3. Should the nation educate the boxed in or should they be put on income maintenance programs? 4. Should the nation through education programs force upon people ideas they don't want to accept?


Identification of sleep stages is a fundamental step in clinical sleep analysis. Existing automatic sleep staging systems ignore two major issues: 1) Most of existing automatic sleep staging systems are using numerical classification methods without involving medical knowledge. These kinds of systems are not yet understood and accepted by physicians. 2) Individual variability sources are ignored. However, individual variability is observed in many aspects of sleep research (such as polysomnography recordings, sleep patterns, and sleep architecture). In this paper, a hybrid expert system is proposed to mimic the decision-making process of clinical sleep staging in accordance with the medical knowledge by using symbolic fusion. To formalize the medical guideline and knowledge, thresholds are used for translating the sleep events into symbols and the sleep event's threshold dependencies are analyzed for fully understanding the thresholds dependencies among different sleep stages and subjects. Meanwhile, the differential evolution algorithm is adopted to automate the setting-up of thresholds that are used in the symbolic fusion model and to provide personalized thresholds, which allows taking the individual variability into consideration. The robustness and clinical applicability of the proposed system are evaluated and demonstrated on a clinical dataset. The dataset is composed of 16 patients (nine males and seven females) and scored by physicians. Only 5% of the dataset is used for the training process to obtain the personalized thresholds. Then, these personalized thresholds are passed to the classification process, and the overall accuracy on the identification of five sleep stages reaches 80.09%. Using a small dataset for the training process, the proposed system not only drastically reduces the training set but also achieves favorable results compared with most of the existing works.


The purpose of this paper is to propose an economic production quantity (EPQ) inventory model considering imperfect items and probabilistic demand for a two-echelon supply chain. The production process is imperfect and the imperfect quality items are removed from the lot size. The demand rate of the inventory system is random and follows an exponential probability density function and the demand of the retailers is depending on the initiatives of the sales team.,Two approaches are examined. In the non-collaborative approach, any member of the supply chain can be the leader and takes decisions to optimize the profits, and in the collaborative system, all members make joint decisions about the production, supply, sales and inventory to optimize the profits of the supply chain members. The calculus approach is applied to find the maximum profit related to the members of the supply chain.,A numerical example is presented to illustrate the performance of the EPQ model. The results show that collaborative approach generates greater profits to the supply chain and the market's demand represents the variable behavior and uncertainty that is generated in the replenishment of a supply chain.,The new and major contributions of this research are: the inventory model considers demand for products is random variable which follows an exponential probability distribution function and it also depends on the initiatives of sales teams, the imperfect production system generates defective items, different cycle time are considered in manufacturer and retailers and collaborative and non-collaborative approaches are also studied.


Historian Nathan Kozuskanich claims that the Second Amendment - like the arms provision of the 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution - is only a guarantee of a right of individuals to participate in the militia, in defense of the polity. Kozuskanich's claim about the Second Amendment is based on two articles he wrote about the original public meaning of the right to arms in Pennsylvania, including the 1776 and 1790 Pennsylvania constitutional arms guarantees. Part I of this Article provides a straightforward legal history of the right to arms provisions in the 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution and of the 1790 Pennsylvania Constitution. We examine Kozuskanich's claims about constitutional language and history.Part II investigates Kozuskanich's analysis of Quakers who objected to serving in the militia. According to Kozuskanich, the Quaker's protests against being forced to "bear arms" in the militia demonstrate that "bear arms" is exclusively a military term; therefore the "right to keep and bear arms" is only about owning and carrying militia weapons.But as it turns out, the Quakers were not as pro-gun as Kozuskanich acknowledges. Some Quakers refused to use firearms for personal defense, or even to carry arms ornamentally. Moreover, a review of Kozuskanich's citations of writings by Quakers and other pacifists reveals that not a single one expressed any willingness to possess arms outside the militia. Several of the cited sources have nothing to do with pacifists' arms.Finally, Part III looks at some astonishing assertions made by Kozuskanich that cast doubts about the accuracy of his characterization of the work of other scholars.


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