Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the importance of different sonographic findings in the detection of the morbidly adherent placenta (MAP) among pregnant women and then to assess the correlation between delivery complications and ultrasonographic findings. Materials and Methods: This analytical and prospective study was conducted on 150 pregnant women with a previous history of a cesarean section from 2015 to 2017. The sonographic findings included the location of the placenta, retroplacental aliasing, bulging toward the bladder, lacuna, and the lack of sonolucent area behind the placenta. Finally, these patients were followed until delivery and their complications were assessed as well. Results: Of 150 previous cesarean sectioned patients, 101 (67.3%) cases had not sonographic findings of MAP. No morbidity was found in those with no sonographic findings of MAP. Fifty-nine pregnant mothers had the sonographic criteria of MAP prior to delivery, of whom 39 (80%) patients had MAP during the cesarean section. In 39 patients with confirmed MAP, 27 cases underwent a hysterectomy and 12 received special procedures for uterus reservation. In addition, 8 cases had bladder rupture, 25 cases experienced ICU hospitalization, and 33 cases needed a blood transfusion. Of these 39 confirmed MAP, 31 (79.48%) and 8 patients (20.51%) had previa and an anterior placenta without previa, respectively. Finally, no mortality was reported in the current study. Conclusions: In general, the most important sonographic factors on predicting MAP were the location of placenta, the aliasing and bulging while lacuna and the lack of sonolucent area had less value. The results demonstrated 93%, 100%, 90%, 79.59%, and 100% accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, as well as positive and negative predictive values for the prediction of MAP by ultrasonography, respectively.


Introduction Integration of public health and medical education has been thought to have an important role in medical students' training. Shiraz University of Medical Sciences has developed an MD/MPH dual degree educational program for the talented volunteer students. The aim of this study was to assess the students' viewpoints about various aspects of Shiraz MD/MPH program. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on Shiraz undergraduate medical students, who were enrolled in MD/MPH program. A self-structured questionnaire in Persian consisting of 4 parts was used; it included demographic factors including 16 questions which evaluated the students' perspective of the goals, content, skill development, applicability and meeting their expectations; 7 questions evaluating the self-reported increase of knowledge; and 3 multiple choice questions to assess the students' motivations and opinions on the impact of the program on their future career. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis. Results All MD/MPH students (89) with a mean age of 21.4±1.34 participated in this study. Forty one of the students (46.1%) were male and 48 (53.9%) female. Overall, 86.1% of them had positive views about the goals of the program; also, 83.5%, 81.2% and 81.9% of them reported a positive viewpoint about the contents, the applicability and development of specific skills, and meeting their expectations, respectively. The students' most frequent motivation was "learning how to research systematically" (73%). The majority of the students reported this program to be moderately to highly effective in increasing their knowledge in the provided courses. Conclusion The students had a positive view about almost all of the aspects of the MD/MPH program; this may be indicative of the program being successful in delivering the goals, increasing the students' knowledge and skills, and meeting their expectations to date. Students' enthusiasm for the educational program may lead to their motivation for better learning and thus in the program's success.


When studying large-scale networks, including the Web and computer networks, it is first necessary to collect appropriate data. There is a large body of literature on web crawling and network sampling in general; however, this work typically assumes that a query on a node either reveals all edges incident to that node (in the case of an undirected graph) or all edges outgoing from that node (e.g., in the case of a web crawler). There is relatively little work on sampling directed networks where incoming and outgoing edges may be obtained with separate queries. This type of sampling is relevant to networks like Twitter, in which the 'Friends' and 'Follower' connections are reciprocal relationships (i.e., if A is a follower of B, then B is a friend of A). In this paper we present Predicted Max Degree Sampling (PMD), a new method of sampling a directed network, with the objective of maximizing the total number of nodes observed. We consider two types of crawling, corresponding to the scenarios in which there is or is not a limit on the number of nodes returned by a query. We compared PMD against three baseline algorithms with three real networks, and saw large improvements vs. baseline sampling algorithms: With a budget of 2000, PMD found 15% to 170.2% more nodes than the closest baseline algorithm for the different datasets considered.


In the first part of our paper, we construct a cyclic hypergroup of matrices using the Ends Lemma. Its properties are then, in the second part of the paper, used to describe the symmetry of lower and upper approximations in certain rough sets with respect to invertible subhypergroups of this cyclic hypergroup. Since our approach is widely used in autonomous robotic systems, we suggest an application of our results for the study of detection sensors, which are used especially in mobile robot mapping.


PURPOSE
To evaluate longer term histological changes of extraocular muscles induced by bupivacaine toxicity.

METHODS
The superior rectus and inferior rectus of white rabbits were injected with 0.4 mg of agent in 0.3 ml of bupivacaine., Then, histological changes of these rectus muscles were examined at 1,2,4 and 8 weeks after injection.

RESULTS
Bupivacaine injection induced myotoxic changes in both orbital and global layers. Regenerating myofibers were found at 1 week after injection. These changes were reduced by 4 weeks post injection. At 4 weeks increasing muscle fiber size in both orbital and global layer were seen. There was no scar formation after 8 weeks post injection.

CONCLUSIONS
Extraocular muscle bupivacaine injection can cause acute myonecrosis followed with regeneration. After 8 weeks the muscles recovered with arranged myofibers almost at normal level. However we found increased myofiber diameter at 4 weeks after injection which was remained stable until 8 weeks post injection, Further investigation about functional change in these muscles is needed to facilitate application of this methodology.


Free-return policies are a critical aspect of online retailing, since they encourage consumers to purchase even when product fit (e.g., regarding size and taste) is not certain. Scholars usually explain the appeal of such policies in terms of increasing consumers' net utility. In contrast, we argue that free-return policies actually discourage deliberate thinking by making the reversal of shopping decisions (i.e., product returns) less consequential. This paper takes the dual-process theory of thinking and knowing as a starting point and examines the effect of free returns on purchase decisions. We posit that free-return policies reduce shoppers' motivation to deliberate; thus consumers are led to economize on analytical information processing and to rely more on another driver of preferences: affect. A series of four controlled experiments supports our related hypotheses and yields several implications for product choice. As compared with costly returns policies, a policy of free returns results in consumers selecting more quickly, recalling less information, shifting their preferences to affect-laden products, and ordering more of the same product. These findings offer insight — on the current debate over the usefulness of providing prepurchase information — that retailers can leverage to improve supplied information and thereby minimize the volume of product returns.


Amorphous-core multivibrator bridge circuit systems were studied in single-core and in double-core systems. When the length of the amorphous wire is varied in the range 80 mm to 10 mm, the one-core system detection sensitivity showed small variation in the range 8.5 mV/Oe to 7 mV/Oe, while in the two-core case the sensitivity was high and the variation was 110 mV/Oe to 22 mV/Oe. Zero drift at amorphous wire length of 10 mm is very marked in the one-core system, but magnetic annealing results in stability being reached within 80 min after the power is turned on. In the two-core case stability is reached with 10 min after power is supplied.


The purpose of this study was to elucidate the enzymic program and nucleotide pattern of a chemically induced, transplantable sarcoma and to compare the biochemical makeup with that of normal and differentiating skeletal muscle in the rat. The activities of 28 key enzymes of pyrimidine, purine, and carbohydrate metabolism were determined in the 100,000 x g supernatant fluid or in purified extracts. The concentrations of the adenosine, guanosine, uridine, and cytidine mono-, di-, and triphosphates were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography of samples prepared by the freeze-clamp method. The results of enzymic and metabolite assays were given in nmol/hr/mg protein and nmol/g, respectively, and for com parability were also expressed as percentages of the muscle of adult rat as the reference normal tissue in this study. These percentages denote that the activities in sarcoma or in differ entiating muscle were higher or lower than those in the muscle of adult rats. In pyrimidine metabolism, the specific activities of cytidine diphosphate reducÃ-ase, cytidine triphosphate synthetase, and thymidine kinase increased in the sarcoma 60-, 78-, and 80fold over those of the muscle. The activities of the key glycolytic enzymes, hexokinase and phosphofructokinase, increased 7and 3-fold, whereas that of pyruvate kinase decreased to 35%. The activities of glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-diphosphatase declined to 42 and 48%, respectively. The activ ities of enzymes involved in pentose phosphate production and utilization increased, with that of the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase being elevated 288-fold. The activity of galactokinase was unchanged, whereas that of uridine diphosphoglucose pyrophosphorylase decreased to 22%. In purine metab olism, the activities of the first three enzymes of guanosine triphosphate biosynthesis, inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase, guanosine monophosphate synthetase, and guanosine monophosphate kinase, increased 22-, 2-, and 5-fold, respec tively. In contrast, the activities of adenylosuccinate lyase and adenosine monophosphate deaminase decreased to 28 and 42%. The activities of adenosine deaminase and kinase in creased 1.8and 3.5-fold. The activity of the rate-limiting enzyme of de novo inosine monophosphate biosynthesis, amidotransferase, increased 13-fold, whereas that of the ratelimiting purine-catabolic enzyme, xanthine oxidase, decreased to 54%. In the sarcoma, the concentrations of adenosine tri-, di-, and monophosphate decreased to 24, 49, and 76%. In contrast, the pools of guanosine tri-, di-, and monophosphate increased 9to 11-fold, and those of the uridylates were also elevated 1This investigation was supported by USPHS Grants CA-13526, CA-05034. and CA-10792. 2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed. Received July 22, 1982; accepted December 3, 1982. 4.5to 12-fold. The cytidine triphosphate concentration in creased 17-fold. In the muscle, the concentrations of cytidine diphosphate, inosine monophosphate, and xanthosine monophosphate were too low for the sensitivity of our method to detect, but these pools were well measurable in the sarcoma. The enzymic program of sarcoma was distinguished from that of the muscle of 6-day-old rats by the quantitatively more pronounced alterations in the sarcoma. The activities of uridine phosphorylase, hexokinase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and adenosine deaminase were higher in sarcoma but were lower or not significantly altered in 6-day-old muscle as compared to activities of adult muscle. The activities of aden osine monophosphate deaminase and xanthine oxidase de creased in sarcoma, whereas they were unchanged or in creased, respectively, in 6-day-old muscle. In the sarcoma, important segments of alterations in enzymology of carbohydrate, purine, and pyrimidine metabolism were identified that proved to be a program shared with that observed in chemically induced and virus-derived transplantable rat and avian hepatocellular carcinomas and in primary human liver, kidney, and colon neoplasms. There were also sarcoma-specific markers in the enzymic programs and nu cleotide patterns that readily distinguish this tumor from other examined neoplasms. The present investigation revealed a formidable biochemical capacity for replication in the sarcoma cells. These biochemical studies also point out possible targets in the strategy of anticancer drug treatment of sarcoma.


In this numerical study, we looked into effects of different boundary variations on the flow dynamics of Rayleigh-B´enard convection. These simulations were done using finite differences on a Cartesian grid for Ra = 106, 108, P r = 1, 10. By adding locally heated spots, so called hot spots, we tried to simulate roughness elements, and possibly position or influence the large scale circulation. For different configurations of these hot spots, we saw no significant effect on the flow dynamics. From this work we saw no observable proof that hot spots can act as surrogate roughness. The next step was to add physical roughness, by using the immersed boundary method. Again, single and even small sets of roughness elements, which were slightly higher than twice the thermal boundary layer thickness, did not influence the large scale circulation in a reproducible way. Placing periodic 1D and 2D wavy patterns had a significant effect on the heat transfer rate of the system. The last part of this thesis focuses on the distribution of equally sized conducting and insulating areas on the top wall boundary and their effect on the flow quantities. When dividing both areas only in two segments, N u is approximately 2/3 of the homogeneous case. However, by maximizing the number of segments, N u raises to almost the complete homogeneous case. In a spectral analysis, we showed that the distribution of these areas is indistinguishable outside the thermal boundary layer.


Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are lysosomal storage disorders characterized by progressive accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in various tissues. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for several MPSs is available to date. However, the efficacy of ERT is limited, in particular in compartments such as bone, cartilage, the brain, and the eyes. We selected a rodent model of an MPS, with no central nervous system storage, to study the impact, on systemic features of the disease, of various stable levels of exogenous enzymes produced by adeno-associated viral vector (AAV)-mediated liver gene transfer. Low levels (6% of normal) of circulating enzyme were enough to reduce storage and inflammation in the visceral organs and to ameliorate skull abnormalities; intermediate levels (11% of normal) were required to reduce urinary GAG excretion; and high levels (>or=50% of normal) rescued abnormalities of the long bones and motor activity. These data will be instrumental to design appropriate clinical protocols based on either enzyme or gene replacement therapy for MPS and to predict their impact on the pathological features of MPS.


As sensors become ever more prevalent, more and more information will be collected about each of us. A longterm research question is how best to support beneficial uses while preserving individual privacy. Presence systems are an emerging class of applications that support collaboration. These systems leverage pervasive sensors to estimate end-user location, activities, and available communication channels. Because such presence data are sensitive, to achieve wide-spread adoption, sharing models must reflect the privacy and sharing preferences of the users. To reflect users' collaborative relationships and sharing desires, we introduce CollaPSE security, in which an individual has full access to her own data, a third party processes the data without learning anything about the data values, and users higher up in the hierarchy learn only statistical information about the employees under them. We describe simple schemes that efficiently realize CollaPSE security for time series data. We implemented these protocols using readily available cryptographic functions, and integrated the protocols with FXPAL's myUnity presence system.


This paper aims to show that there is a business case for social responsibility. The methodology descriptive and literature review, no firms who embrace the proposal for a new approach and a quantitative method is not feasible. The firm operates within a world that is complex. In addition, this world evolves and the interactions within it gave place to emergent comportments.I propose that the interactions between firms and agents external to them, the interdependence between them, and the networks of agents can result in emergent outcomes that benefit the community, preserve the environment, can fight social exclusion, providing innovation and sustainably and at the same time create greater value for all involved entities. Keywords Corporate social responsibility, Business case, Value creation, Complex systems.


Spatial structures often embody generative systems. Both analog (physical modeling) as well as computational methods have been uses to explore the range of design possibilities. Whereas many of the favored physical modeling techniques, such as soap films or catenary nets, inherently generate forms based on certain performative properties, many of the parametric form generating computational methods derive form based solely on geometry, detached from physical performance. ParaGen has been developed as a tool to explore parametric geometry based on aspects of performance. Within the cyclic structure of a genetic algorithm, it incorporates parametric geometry generation, simulation for performance evaluation, and the ability to sort and compare a wide range of solutions based on single or multiple objectives. The results can be visually compared by teams of designers across a graphic web interface which includes the potential for human interaction in parent selection and breeding of further designs. The result is a tool which allows the exploration of the generative design space based on performance as well as visual criteria.


The novel free-form deformation (FFD) technique presented in the paper uses scalar fields definedby skeletons with arbitrary topology. The technique embeds objects into the scalar field by assigning a field value to each point of the objects. When the space of the skeleton is changed, the distribution of the scalar field changes accordingly, which implicitly defines a deformation of the space. The generality of skeletons assures that the technique can freely define deformable regions to produce a broader range of shape deformations.


An empirical methodology is developed for statistically testing the hedging effectiveness among competing futures contracts. The presented methodology is based on the encompassing principle, widely used in the forecasting literature, and applied here to minimum variance hedging regressions. Intuitively, the test is based on an alternative futures contract's ability to reduce residual basis risk by offering either diversification or a smaller absolute level of basis risk than a preferred futures contract. The methodology is also easily extended to cases involving multiple hedging instruments and general hedge ratio models. The methodology is demonstrated by evaluating the hedging effectiveness of Chicago Board of Trade's (CBOT) corn futures versus the Minneapolis Grain Exchange's National Corn Index (NCI) futures. The results indicate that the NCI futures encompass the CBOT futures for hedging country-level corn price risk in North Central Iowa; but, the NCI and CBOT futures are complementary in hedging terminal-level corn price risk at the U.S. Gulf.


This paper discusses the ways in which photography was used for data generation in a 9-month qualitative study on a mixed-age elementary school classroom. Through a review of the research literature in anthropology, sociology, and education, and an analysis of the research data, the usefulness of photography for educational research with young children was examined. Observations and findings from working with the class of 40 children aged 6 to 9 years show the 4 ways photography functioned as a research tool: (1) to overview the setting; (2) to create in-depth diachronic views of the classroom; (3) to offer children the chance to express their own ideas through a visual medium (photographs they took with inexpensive cameras); and (4) to elicit responses during photo-interviews with 8 children. More than 200 photographs were taken and collected during the 9 months. (Contains 17 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.


The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has recently detected a population of globular clusters (GCs) in high-energy (HE) gamma-rays. Their spectral properties and energetics are consistent with cumulative emission from a population of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) hosted by these clusters. For example, the HE spectra exhibit fairly hard power-law indices and cutoffs around a few GeV, typical of pulsed spectra measured for the gamma-ray pulsar population. The energetics may be used to constrain the number of visible MSPs in the cluster (N_vis), assuming canonical values for the average gamma-ray efficiency and spin-down power. This interpretation is indeed strengthened by the fact that the first gamma-ray MSP has now been identified in the GC NGC 6624, and this MSP is responsible for almost all of the HE emission from this cluster. On the other hand, it has been argued that the MSPs are also sources of relativistic leptons which may be reaccelerated in shocks originating in collisions of stellar winds in the cluster core, and may upscatter bright starlight and cosmic microwave background photons to very high energies. Therefore, this unpulsed component may give an independent constraint on the total number of MSPs (N_tot) hosted in the GC, for a given cluster magnetic field B and diffusion coefficient k_0. Lastly, the transport properties of the energetic leptons may be further constrained using multiwavelength data, e.g., to infer the radial dependence of k_0 and B. We present results on our modeling of the pulsed and unpulsed gamma-ray fluxes from the GC Terzan 5.


Mobile app developers often include third-party Software Development Kits (SDKs) in their software to externalize services and features, or monetize their apps through advertisements. Unfortunately, these development practices often come at a privacy cost to the end user. In this paper, we discuss the privacy damage that third-party SDKs can cause to end users due to limitations present in today's mobile permission models, and the overall lack of transparency in the ecosystem. We combine static, dynamic and manual analysis of the SDKs embedded in the top 50 Google Play store's applications to develop a taxonomy of hird-party libraries. We also provide insights about their data collection, and transparency issues.
We also discuss different ways to tackle current challenges, like increasing developer's awareness or changing the permission model of mobile phone to clearly state the purpose of permissions and to separate permissions requested by the app itself and third-party libraries, as well as mechanisms to ease certification and regulatory enforcement efforts.


Abstract What factors influence the ways in which people resolve ambiguity? In English, two contrasting perspectives are implicit in deictic temporal expressions: the Moving Time metaphor conceptualizes time as moving forward towards the ego and the Moving Ego metaphor conceptualizes the ego as moving forward towards the future (Clark 1973). We examine the ambiguity arising from these two conceptualizations, claimed to be equally likely in a "neutral" context (Boroditsky and Ramscar 2002). Whereas previous studies have demonstrated that exposure to a spatial situation related to one interpretation may influence the resolution of the ambiguity (e.g. Boroditsky 2000; Nunez 2007), we focus on the lifestyle and personality factors of the participants as potential additional influences on ambiguity resolution in the interpretation of temporal metaphors. Experiment 1 asks whether lifestyle might influence an individual's approach to time and resulting resolution of temporal ambiguity, comparing preferred responses from two groups of participants with very different demands on the structuring of time: university students and administrators. We observed a difference between the two groups, with administrators more frequently adopting the Moving Time perspective and students, the Moving Ego perspective. Experiment 2 examines personality-related differences, focusing specifically on individual differences in procrastination (Lay 1986) and conscientiousness (John 1990). We observed a significant effect with participants who adopted the Moving Ego perspective reporting higher procrastination scores and lower conscientiousness scores than participants who adopted the Moving Time perspective. Experiment 3 investigates further personality-related differences, focusing specifically on individual differences in extroversion (John 1990). We observed a relationship between extroversion and disambiguation responses, with participants who adopted the Moving Ego perspective evidencing higher levels of extroversion. Taken together, the results from these three studies suggest that individual differences in lifestyle and personality may influence people's perspectives on the movement of events in time and their concomitant interpretation of temporally ambiguous utterances, precluding a universal "neutral" context within which language is interpreted.


Studies have shown that Wushu training can induce the slow wave activity rhythm of cerebral with high amplitude, which is beneficial to people's physical and mental health and stable nerves. In order to further explore the influence of Wushu training on the human brain electrical nerve, according to the theoretical design experiment for the influence of the head down tilt on the brain electrical activity, the EEG data of the shooting athletes after handstand training of Wushu and the Taijiquan training are obtained. The experimental data show that there are significant differences in the power value of α and β frequency band of the cerebral nerve, the index of EEG coherence function, the comprehensive index of EEG after the handstand training and the posture of sitting. The indexes of the athletes' EEG are significantly higher than those before the handstand training, indicating that the handstand training of Wushu has a positive effect on the human brain electricity. After the Taijiquan training, the power value of the slow wave of athletes' brain nerve (δ, θ wave) decreased, the power value of the fast wave (β wave) increased, indicating that Taijiquan training helps the coordination operation of the brain on both sides of the body.


BACKGROUND
Cross talk between peripheral nociceptors belonging to the transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor subtype-1 (TRPV1) and ankyrin subtype-1 (TRPA1) family has been demonstrated recently. Moreover, the intravenous anesthetic propofol has directly activates TRPA1 receptors and indirectly restores sensitivity of TRPV1 receptors in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons. Our objective was to determine the extent to which TRPA1 activation is involved in mediating the propofol-induced restoration of TRPV1 sensitivity.

METHODS
Mouse DRG neurons were isolated by enzymatic dissociation and grown for 24 h. F-11 cells were transfected with complementary DNA for both TRPV1 and TRPA1 or TRPV1 only. The intracellular Ca concentration was measured in individual cells via fluorescence microscopy. After TRPV1 desensitization with capsaicin (100 nM), cells were treated with propofol (1, 5, and 10 μM) alone or with propofol in the presence of the TRPA1 antagonist, HC-030031 (0.5 μM), or the TRPA1 agonist, allyl isothiocyanate (AITC; 100 μM); capsaicin was then reapplied.

RESULTS
In DRG neurons that contain both TRPV1 and TRPA1, propofol and AITC restored TRPV1 sensitivity. However, in DRG neurons containing only TRPV1 receptors, exposure to propofol or AITC after desensitization did not restore capsaicin-induced TRPV1 sensitivity. Similarly, in F-11 cells transfected with both TRPV1 and TRPA1, propofol and AITC restored TRPV1 sensitivity. However, in F-11 cells transfected with TRPV1 only, neither propofol nor AITC was capable of restoring TRPV1 sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS
These data demonstrate that propofol restores TRPV1 sensitivity in primary DRG neurons and in cultured F-11 cells transfected with both the TRPV1 and TRPA1 receptors via a TRPA1-dependent process. Propofol's effects on sensory neurons may be clinically important and may contribute to peripheral sensitization to nociceptive stimuli in traumatized tissue.


This article analyses practices of transnational care and the lives of male asylum seekers and refugee families in the context of increasingly restrictive border and migration regimes. Research on transnationalism, transnational families, and care among forced migrants has emphasised the importance of the institutional context in transnational care and family relations across borders. This article contributes to the extant literature by examining how bureaucratic bordering – within nation states and beyond – restricts the possibilities of refugees in providing care to their family members and reuniting. The article also examines the struggles experienced by male refugees at bureaucratic borders. These struggles reveal a central dimension to transnational care that relates to the bureaucracy of visas and residence permits. The article highlights the importance of temporality and examines how the lives of refugee families are affected by extended and bureaucratically induced waiting. The article is based on ethnographic research conducted on Iraqi and Afghan asylum seekers in Finland in 2017–2019 and focuses on three asylum seekers in particular – namely, Amal, Sajed, and Yasin.


Introduces a new approach for the selection of RBF kernel centers and their effective widths. RBF centers are divided into two sets and are placed strategically to maximize the classification capability of RBF networks. The first set is located near class boundaries at locations specified by a set of boundary-preserving patterns. The second set of RBF centers is represented by cluster centers using the k-means clustering algorithm. The widths of RBF kernels in both sets are selected so as to minimize the amount of overlap between different class regions. The merits of the authors' approach are validated using a speaker-independent vowel recognition problem.<<ETX>>


The characteristics of complex social systems often cannot be predicted from exploring individual agonistic interactions in isolation. In a series of models, this study linked the decision-making processes that govern dyadic interactions with the emergent properties of hierarchical structures in social groups. Contrary to the intuitive expectation that resolution of ambiguities in fighting between closely matched opponents effectively promotes the formation of a social hierarchy, engagement in contests with opponents of dissimilar status lead to a faster emergence of hierarchical structures. The increased certainty of outcome in such asymmetric contests both reinforced the previously established dominance, and allowed for an indirect resolution of existing ambiguous relationships. High-return fights also resulted in a more rapid hierarchy formation, while escalating in fights decreased the costs of maintaining hierarchical relationships and increased their stability.


The authors describe symmetric convolution and its use for the nonexpansive implementation of multirate filter banks for images. Symmetric convolution is a formalized approach to convolving symmetric FIR (finite impulse response) filters with symmetrically extended data. It is efficient because the discrete sine and cosine transforms can be used to perform the convolution as a transform-domain multiplication. The authors explain how to use symmetric convolution to implement a multiband filter bank for finite-length data that restricts the number of samples in the subbands but still gives perfect reconstruction.<<ETX>>


Background: Despite the increasing use of high flow nasal cannula oxygenation systems (HFNC) in clinical practice, little is known about its role in all cause respiratory failure as compared to traditional non-invasive ventilation (BiPAP). Furthermore, the effect of HFNC on mortality is unknown. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 49,853 patients with respiratory failure treated with non-invasive respiratory support (HFNC or BiPAP) and/or invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) between 2017 and 2018. Results: Patients initially treated with HFNC who underwent subsequent intubation and IMV had a higher mortality rate as compared to patients who were initially treated with BiPAP and underwent subsequent intubation and IMV (34.8% vs 26.3%, p < 0.0001, OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.26,1.76). Patients first treated with HFNC who underwent subsequent intubation and IMV had a significantly increased mortality compared to patients who underwent immediate intubation and IMV (34.8% vs. 21.5%, p ≤ 0.0001, OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.67, 2.27). Stratified based on ICD-10 diagnosis, patients with a diagnosis of COPD exacerbation or heart failure treated with HFNC and subsequent intubation and IMV had higher mortality as compared to those treated with immediate IMV alone. This trend did not hold true for patients with a diagnosis of pneumonia. Conclusion: In a real-world retrospective analysis, use of HFNC was associated with increased mortality as compared to BiPAP and IMV alone. Further study is needed to confirm these associations.


Objectives Understanding the factors causing nonurgent visits to the pediatric emergency departments (PED) is essential for developing effective interventions. Sociodemographic factors might have a direct effect, or they might be associated with other potential causal factors such as access, perceived severity, and convenience. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the factors that might have an effect on nonurgent PED visits and parental overestimation of emergency severity. Methods Data of a total of 974 patients who have been administered to the PED of a district state hospital were collected with a cross-sectional, self-administered survey. Level 5 was accepted as nonurgent cases according to the Pediatric Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale. Parents' assessment of their child's emergency status was assessed along with the age and sex of the child, the number of children, presence of a chronic illness, presence of fever, admission time, parental age, education status and occupation, transportation method, and living distance to emergency department. Results Sixty-eight percent of visits were nonurgent. Among these visits, 51.6% were perceived as urgent, and 11.5% as extremely urgent by the parents. We identified that infancy age group (P = 0.001), father's unemployment status (P = 0.038), presence of a chronic disease (P = 0.020), and a previous visit to the PED in the last week (P = 0.008) are associated with urgent visits. Having a fever (P = 0.002), younger mother (P = 0.046) and father age (P = 0.007), mother not having an income (P = 0.034), and father's lower level of education (P = 0.036) increased the likelihood of overestimating the emergency severity. Conclusions Nonurgent visits constitute most of the PED admissions. Several factors were found to be associated with nonurgent visits either by causing a direct effect or by indirectly impacting the perceived severity. Health literacy–based interventions targeting common symptoms like fever and especially younger parent groups might be beneficial in lowering the patient burden of PEDs.


In this paper, a predictive torque control (PTC) algorithm is introduced for controlling an induction motor (IM) fed by a bidirectional quasi Z-source inverter (BQZSI). A torque, stator flux and capacitor voltage magnitudes control algorithm evaluates a cost function, based on a simple discrete models of the IM and the BQZSI, for each BQZSI available switching state. The voltage vector with the lowest torque, a stator flux and capacitor voltage magnitude errors is selected to be applied in the next sampling interval. The proposed PTC algorithm, with its single structure, can control both sides of the BQZSI to optimize the motor performance with an extremely simple and versatile control algorithm and without any dynamic response limitation caused by the cascaded control structure. A high degree of flexibility is obtained with the proposed control technique due its online optimization algorithm. This paper proposed a new adjustable speed drive system based on a three-phase BQZSI feeding an induction motor. Where, the interesting advantages of the PTC algorithm are combined by the advantages of one of the most interesting power electronics converters, the BQZSI. Simulation results for a 4 kW IM are presented to validate the new proposed electrical drive system.


Psoriasis is a common, debilitating systemic inflammatory disorder that is characterised by sharply demarcated, thick, erythematous scaly skin plaques. Such plaques commonly appear on skin that is subjected to repeated tensile trauma, such as elbows, knees and flexures. The mechanism by which these inflammatory lesions are spatially restricted is not known and yet knowledge of this could be of critical importance for our understanding of this disease. Chemokines are the principal regulators of leukocyte migration and play a critical role in the initiation and maintenance of inflammation. The atypical chemokine receptor ACKR2 (formerly D6) binds inflammatory CC-chemokines, but does not signal upon ligand binding; instead ACKR2 internalises and helps degrade such chemokines, after which it continues to cycle back to the cell surface. ACKR2 acts, through this mechanism, as a high-capacity scavenger of chemokines, and plays an important role in regulating inflammation. It is known that ACKR2 expression is high in unaffected skin in patients with psoriasis (remote from inflammatory plaques) and concurrently deficient in the plaques themselves. Additionally, human studies have shown that simple skin trauma in psoriasis patients causes a reduction in cutaneous ACKR2 expression at the site of trauma. However, the functional significance and the molecular mechanism by which it occurs are not understood. This thesis explored the role of ACKR2 in the spatial restriction of psoriasiform inflammation and the molecular mechanisms for its differential regulation. Through the use of disease relevant mouse models, primary human cell cultures and novel cell migration assays, the results presented here show that localised psoriasiform inflammation upregulates ACKR2 in remote tissues through the systemic release of cytokines. This remotely upregulated ACKR2 expression protects tissues from the further spread of inflammation. This protective effect is mediated by stromally expressed ACKR2 that acts to control inflammatory T-cell positioning within the skin. Tensile trauma of keratinocytes however, acted to reduce ACKR2 expression in the context of inflammation, which in turn provides a novel mechanism for the well-characterised phenomenon that occurs in psoriasis (and a range of skin condition) termed 'koebnerisation'. Koebnerisation refers to the phenomenon by which relatively simple skin trauma induces the development of disease-specific skin lesions. Furthermore, this thesis defines novel disease-relevant regulators of ACKR2 expression. In silico analyses identified psoriasis-associated microRNAs that bound to the 3'-UTR of ACKR2, and reduced its expression at transcriptional and protein level. Importantly, trauma of keratinocytes induced ACKR2 downregulation concurrent with a substantial and significant increase in the expression of the identified ACKR2 targeting microRNAs. Together, this thesis defines a novel mechanism by which ACKR2-mediated regulation of chemokine function, cutaneous trauma, microRNAs and systemic cytokines, co-ordinately modulate the predisposition of remote tissue sites to the development of new lesions. Importantly, the results presented here have profound implications for how spatial restriction is imposed on inflammation. The data also highlight therapeutic ACKR2 induction as a plausible novel strategy for the limitation and treatment of psoriasiform- and potentially other forms of inflammation.


The paper to be presented discusses the results of a study of blind students' access to museums through the web and in person. It forms part of a greater study of blind visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, conducted during a Fulbright Fellowship at the museum in 2011. The research project was conducted through participant observation and interviews with organized groups, classes and individual visitors of all ages and had lived as an impaired person for a significant proportion of their lives. The main aim of the research was to understand: the problems these visitors encountered when trying to gain access to the museums; how they understood paintings or other non-tactile exhibits their understanding of visual culture, and whether visitors who are born blind relate to exhibits and the museum differently from those who become blind later in life. This paper focuses on case studies of three students at the California school for the blind. All were native to California and had lost their sight in childhood after having severe visual impairments previously. Two students never visited an art gallery or a museum in person but all three had accessed information about museums, downloaded pictures for projects and even conducted virtual tours of museums via the web. The school students had also had a broad experience of the visual arts at school and through their home environments, and all three elected to take art classes at school. The students' case studies showed that they related to museums, exhibits and visual culture as an abstract concept as they had little experience of experiencing art works in a real environment. Unlike the adults who participated in the study of The Metropolitan (to be published elsewhere), these students also held the institution of the museum in lower esteem or as a "palace of high culture". They also appeared to regard the use of artifacts as a more mundane, educational exercise than older blind people, regardless of whether they had lost their sight in childhood or later on.


This paper traces experiences of the Royal Thai Armed Forces in un peacekeeping missions. A relatively small troop contributor at first, Thailand later took a high-profile role in the un operations in East Timor during 1999–2005, and has continued since then to support several un peacekeeping forces. The paper first discusses the rationales, development, and current status of Thailand's contributions. It then goes on to explore how, and to what extent, tasks and duties assigned under the un peacekeeping framework to the dispatched forces, as well as experiences and lessons the Thai armed forces gained from their participation in missions, contribute to the diffusion of norms and the development of functional competencies relating to peacekeeping and human security protection within the Thai military. The paper finds that while the dispatched forces received invaluable benefits in terms of prestige, economic rewards and learning experiences from the peacekeeping operations under the un command, including approaches to humanitarian assistance during the time of acute conflict and monitoring human rights violations, the human security norm underlying these functional competencies has yet to be fully internalized by the military as an institution. Yet, there are some areas, especially in civil-military affairs where competencies developed from the internal security operations and international peacekeeping operations can be mutually reinforcing.


A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty
of Education, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the
degree of Master of Education.


It is widely accepted that excess salt intake is a risk factor for development of hypertension [1,2]. Current research also supports the idea that adverse conditions during pregnancy can affect progeny postnatal health, both immediately after birth and for the remainder of their lives [3,4]. The purpose of this mini review is to discuss the effects of a gestational high-salt diet on renal development and programming of the renin-angiotensin system in the fetus and how these changes increase the offspring's incidence of hypertension and renal disease later in life. After reviewing a large body of evidence collected from and related to maternal high-salt diet experiments, it is proposed that high salt (HS) diet during pregnancy causes an increased prevalence of hypertension in offspring due to {A} an overall increase in blood pressure resulting from absence of appropriate modulation of plasma renin activity in response to changes in salt concentration, {B} an increased pressor response to angiotensin II, and {C} a decrease in the number of glomeruli per kidney. (Figure 1) provides a summary of the pathophysiological changes in the fetus caused by maternal high HS diet, and how these changes lead to an increase in the rate of disease risk in offspring.


There is a considerable amount of literature examining at which point developers should proceed with large developments. However, in many urban centres the growth of the apartment market is a relatively new phenomenon, especially in downtown areas previously dominated by office and retail development. While previous investigations have developed frameworks under which developers are likely to build and lease space in downtown areas, apartment markets in these centres carry considerably more risk. This is due, in part, to the large number of potential buyers and the diversity of the potential buyers, consisting of both owner-occupiers and investors. Also, there is no past pricing track record, or very little pricing track record, on which developers can base their development decision. Much of the existing literature focuses on price as a trigger for increased development activity and on the strategic advantage of a developer acting before other developers. As detailed price information was virtually non-existent when the first apartment developments took place in these urban centres, these models may have limited application in describing the decision heuristics that developers use in deciding when to build and what to build, particularly when there are few, if any, competing developers. Structured interviews are conducted to assess how developers viewed the risk profile of apartment development in downtown locations vis-‡-vis alternative development options such as offices and retail. Conclusions on how these decision frameworks affect more general models of development behaviour are examined.


1. Rats were infused in vivo with [U-(14)C]glycine for periods of 2-6h, during which time the specific radioactivity of the free glycine in plasma and tissue approached a constant value. 2. Free serine also became labelled. The ratio of specific radioactivity of serine to that of glycine in the protein of liver, kidney, brain, jejunum, heart, diaphragm and gastrocnemius muscle was closer to the ratio in the free amino acid pool of the tissue than that of the plasma. 3. The kinetics of incorporation of [(14)C]glycine and [(14)C]serine into the protein of gastrocnemius muscle further suggested that the plasma free amino acids were not the immediate precursors of protein. 4. Infusion of rats with [U-(14)C]serine resulted in labelling of free glycine. The ratio of specific radioactivity of glycine to serine in the protein of liver, kidney, brain, jejunum and heart again suggested incorporation from a pool similar to the free amino acid pool of the tissue. 5. Rates of tissue protein synthesis calculated from the incorporation into protein of both radioactive glycine and serine, either infused or derived, were very similar when the precursor specific radioactivity was taken to be that in the total free amino acids of the tissue. Except for gastrocnemius muscle and diaphragm during the infusion of radioactive serine, the rates of tissue protein synthesis calculated from the specific radioactivity of the free glycine and serine in plasma differed markedly.


Society today cannot run without software and by extension, without Software Engineering. Since this discipline emerged in 1968, practitioners have learned valuable lessons that have contributed to current practices. Some have become outdated but many are still relevant and widely used. From the personal and incomplete perspective of the authors, this paper not only reviews the major milestones and areas of interest in the Software Engineering timeline helping software engineers to appreciate the state of things, but also tries to give some insights into the trends that this complex engineering will see in the near future.


ABSTRACT An organization's capability to build, handle and exploit relationships and learn from these relations, defined here as relational capabilities, is increasingly important in a networked economy and in innovation activities. The paper introduces a framework that helps understand and analyse the relational capabilities of various organizations engaged in innovation activities. Based on theoretical discussion and empirical analysis the paper argues that the literature on organizational level capabilities and relational capabilities would benefit from deeper integration with the systems of innovation perspective. The empirical findings from three Finnish regions indicate that relational capabilities become particularly relevant in research–business–government cooperation contributing to innovation in the field of bioeconomy. Relational capabilities embedded in an organization's capability configurations can boost the efficient use of that organization's resources, bring greater flexibility, a chance to create value in networks and support renewal and innovation. Missing or underdeveloped relational capabilities may also hinder an organization's ability to tap into the economic opportunities that arise leading to failures at the regional and system level thus hampering the transition towards a bioeconomy.


A dynamic and efficient capital market is a vital and indispensable part of a nation's financial infrastructure. Indian stock market is the fourth best-performing market in the world. Retail investors account for nearly 97 per cent of total investors in Indian mutual funds accounting for nearly 47 million investor accounts. Resolution of securities market dispute could result in lowering the cost of equity/capital in the country. Secondly, dispute resolution platform provide a feedback mechanism of the regulation in the securities industry- which regulation is working, not working but needs fine-tuning. It is in this context, we examine the role and efficacy of SEBI's SCORES securities dispute resolution system using the widely used three attributes of a good dispute resolution system: accessibility, efficiency and fairness As far as the first criteria are concerned- accessibility to investors- SCORES fare very well. It is overzealous in accepting customer complaints. On the flip side, given the overtly inclusiveness of the SCORES system, it has the potential to create a number of ― hard-to-solve‖ cases with weak information set which can impact adversely the reputation of the regulator. SEBI's SCORES model is a unique model and could be characterized as ‗advocacy model' with investors interest in the forefront. As far as the second attribute is concerned, viz., efficiency, SCORES system also fares favorably. The redressal rate at 96 per cent in recent years is one of the highest among regulators world-wide. Similarly, the time taken also scores positively (less than a year). Most of the cases get resolved in the initial stages itself. To improve the re-dressal rate further, it is recommended that an active mediation role as opposed to conciliation rule may be played by the regulator.


Changes occurring during evolution in the cis-regulatory landscapes of individual members of multigene families might impart diversification in their spatiotemporal expression and function. The archetypal member of the echinoid hbox12/pmar1/micro1 family is hbox12-a, a homeobox-containing gene expressed exclusively by dorsal blastomeres, where it governs the dorsal/ventral gene regulatory network during embryogenesis of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Here we describe the inventory of the hbox12/pmar1/micro1 genes in P. lividus, highlighting that gene copy number variation occurs across individual sea urchins of the same species. We show that the various hbox12/pmar1/micro1 genes group into three subfamilies according to their spatiotemporal expression, which ranges from broad transcription throughout development to transient expression in either the animal hemisphere or micromeres of the early embryo. Interestingly, the promoter regions of those genes showing comparable expression patterns are highly similar, while differing from those of the other subfamilies. Strikingly, phylogenetic analysis suggests that the hbox12/pmar1/micro1 genes are species-specific, exhibiting extensive divergence in their noncoding, but not in their coding, sequences across three distinct sea urchin species. In spite of this, two micromere-specific genes of P. lividus possess a TCF/LEF-binding motif in a similar position, and their transcription relies on Wnt/β-catenin signaling, similar to the pmar1 and micro1 genes, which in other sea urchin species are involved in micromere specification. Altogether, our findings suggest that the hbox12/pmar1/micro1 gene family evolved rather rapidly, generating paralogs whose cis-regulatory sequences diverged following multiple rounds of duplication from a common ancestor.


Amines, especially long chain tertiary alkylamines, are industrially useful compounds with a relatively high commercial value. They are currently synthesised by a variety of multi-step processes, but a simple "one pot" catalytic synthesis is a highly desirable alternative with considerable potential advantages over existing methods. This thesis is concerned with possible routes to alkylated amines via amination of alkenes promoted by transition metals. The chemistry of transition metal alkene complexes relevant to amination of the alkene, is reviewed in detail. A search is made for complexes suitable for use as models with which to study the catalytic process. In an attempt to minimise nucleophilic attack at the metal centre, but maximise attack at coordinated alkenes, attempts were made to synthesise complexes containing strongly σ-donating anionic groups. In this context, reactions of palladium compounds with the dianion of N,N'-diphenyloxamide (PhNCOCONPh) are reported, which relate to the synthesis of previously unknown palladium alkene complexes. Also reported are some attempted reactions of amines with known metal alkene complexes.


Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of methyl lactate (ML) to methyl propionate (MP) was performed with various base-metal supported catalysts. A high yield of 77 % MP was obtained with bimetallic Fe-Ni/ZrO2 in methanol at 220 °C and 50 bar H2 . A synergistic effect of Ni increased the yield of MP significantly when using Fe-Ni/ZrO2 instead of Fe/ZrO2 alone. Moreover, the ZrO2 support contributed to improve the yield as a phase transition of ZrO2 from tetragonal to monoclinic occurred after metal doping giving rise to fine dispersion of the Fe and Ni on the ZrO2 , resulting in a higher catalytic activity of the material. Interestingly, it was observed that Fe-Ni/ZrO2 also effectively catalyzed methanol reforming to produce H2 in situ, followed by HDO of ML, yielding 60 % MP at 220 °C with 50 bar N2 instead of H2 . Fe-Ni/ZrO2 also catalyzed HDO of other short-chain alkyl lactates to the corresponding alkyl propionates in high yields around 70 %. No loss of activity of Fe-Ni/ZrO2 occurred in five consecutive reaction runs demonstrating the high durability of the catalyst system.


Background: Menstrual hygiene is very important aspect for adolescent girls and proper menstrual hygiene has not been sufficiently addressed in developing countries including Nepal. This study aimed to assess the knowledge on menstruation and menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls.
Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent girls studying in selected schools of Chitwan district. A total 193 girls who had menstrual flow experience for at least three consecutive menstrual cycles were selected as sample using the consecutive sampling technique. Data were analyzed in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Most of the girls knew about menstruation as physiological process, normal age of menstruation, and causes of menstruation as hormonal change. Overall, 66.8% of girls had adequate level of knowledge on menstruation. Regarding practice, 94.8% cleaned their genitalia properly, 93.8% used the sanitary pads, and 97.4% wrapped and disposed the pads in dustbin after use. Overall, 72.5% of girls had good level of menstrual hygiene practices. Adolescent girl's age and grade, and occupation status of their father were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with menstrual hygiene practice. Further, significant positive relationship found between knowledge on menstruation and menstrual hygiene practice.
Conclusions: One third of adolescent girls have inadequate knowledge on menstruation and one fourth have poor menstrual hygiene practice. Therefore, an awareness and advocacy programs on menstruation and menstrual hygiene practices are needed for the adolescent girls to safeguard themselves against reproductive tract infections.


This paper describes a diagramming notation called the polygraph diagram. This notation was developed as part of the Hawaii Marine Science Studies (HMSS) high school curriculum by members of the Curriculum Research and Development Group at the University of Hawaii. A polygraph diagram is a way to create a 2-dimensional, holistic representation of multiple variables that use more than one unit of analysis. A central feature of the polygraph diagram is that each scale is independent of the others. Each scale uses the unit of analysis appropriate to the characteristic (e.g. counts, lengths, or mass data). This paper both illustrates the construction of polygraph diagrams as well as shows how the resulting footprint facilitates classification situations encountered by fisheries biologists.


Face recognition is one of the most successful applications of image analysis and understanding and has gained much attention in recent years. Existing systems for face recognition generally consist of a detection and a recognition module. In addition there are systems for categorization and analysis of human faces. On the basis of a complete survey of existing methods, we present in this dissertation a modular system for recognition, classification and analyses of faces. We show the usage of this extended system in the field of smart advertising.

Various methods for face recognition were proposed and research groups report different and often contradictory results when comparing them. Researchers often test their methods on different databases, even their own private databases; they use even different training sets, normalization and comparison techniques, which also has an influence on the accuracy of the recognition. One of the aims of this dissertation is to present an independent, comparative study of the four most popular methods for face recognition (PCA, LDA, ICA and Gabor wavelets) under the same working conditions regarding normalization and algorithm implementation. Tests are done on two standard face databases: FERET and AR. We systematically test different normalization processes and all possible distance metrics for features comparison. For the case of a closed-set identification, we test the face recognition methods in combination with all possible distance metrics for the best match (rank 1) and for higher ranks on the standard test sets. We conclude that the metric showing the best results at rank one did not always yield the best results at higher ranks and that no particular method-metric combination is the best across all standard test sets, however we can choose an appropriate combination for a specific task.

Because the normalization preprocessing is often different and not clearly defined among different reported research tests, we test how different normalization methods influence the performance of different face recognition systems. We also test how masking different parts of the face influences the recognition to find out which part of the face is the most significant for recognition.

We use the optimal combinations of methods and metrics to build the hybrid systems in a serial and a parallel manner. Hybrid systems are becoming very important also in biometrics. Most popular systems are multi-modal biometric systems which use fusion to combine more biometrics samples. In this case, we design the hybrid system to work with different recognition methods on the same biometric data. The results on the same standard databases show that with the right combination of methods we can get a better performance and lower time complexity of the face recognition system.


One Indonesian individual without detectable plasma alpha3-fucosyltransferase activity was identified with three point mutations, 730C>G (L244V), 907C>G (R303G), and 370C>T (P124S), in the coding region of one FUT6 allele. Another individual, expressing weak plasma alpha3-fucosyltransferase activity, had the 907C>G together with the 370C>T mutation, but did not have the 730C>G mutation. PCR-RFLP analyses of complete families confirmed the segregation of these alleles and illustrated the existence and inheritance of the [370C>T; 907C>G] mutated allele in three additional families. Altogether, this allele was found heterozygously in nine Indonesian and two Swedish individuals, all with detectable plasma alpha3-fucosyltransferase activities. The FUT6 allele with the three mutations (370C>T; 730C>G; 907C>G) was identified heterozygously in only two Indonesian individuals, both having the inactivating 739G>A mutation in the other allele and both lacking plasma alpha3-fucosyltransferase activity. Enzyme studies made on transiently transfected COS-7 cells demonstrated that the combination of the 370C>T, 730C>G and 907C>G mutations decreased the V(max) by more than 80%, but caused no obvious change of the apparent K(m) values for GDP-fucose and Gal-N-acetyllactosamine. In comparison, chimeric constructs with the isolated 730C>G or 907C>G mutations decreased the V(max) values by about two thirds and one third, respectively.


It hardly seems possible that messages "out of Zebulun," pieces of counterpoint to the book review section, have been appearing in these pages for nearly six years. There has been, it is true, due to various circumstances, a recent hiatus of almost a year. But during that time it seems that little has changed. If we may believe the pundits, God is dead; the main concern of nations is not conciliation but the Gross National Product; the new culture is painfully coming to birth; episodes of the past are greeted with a ghost of a smile; the gulf between the generations widens, and the dwindling number of our citizens over 40 are increasingly suspect; the space race continues; new cars have appeared upon the shrines of the Western nations' secular cathedrals, the automobile showrooms. Meanwhile Medicine, in the van of technological achievement, is busy putting its house in order and


Presented is a nonlinear controller design methodology for a class of regulating systems subjected to quantitative time domain constraints. The output performance specification is an allowable time domain tolerance and the system experiences actuator saturation. The controller design is executed in the frequency domain and is applicable when the frequency response of a linear design cannot satisfy the gain and phase characteristics required by quantitative time domain specifications. A describing function (DF) approach, automated by the Volterra Series, facilitates the nonlinear controller design. The resulting gain and phase distortions associated with the DF of the dynamic nonlinear element are used to achieve the desirable open loop gain and phase characteristics identified by the time domain constraints. The design methodology is illustrated on the idle speed control of a Ford 4.6L V-8 fuel injected engine. The engine input is the by-pass air valve and the regulated output is engine speed. The power steering pump generates the nonmeasureable external torque load.


Good surface finish is one of the important demands from the outputs of a cylindrical grinding machine. Also it is expected that dimensional accuracy, including accuracy in roundness, is fine in traverse cut cylindrical grinding. Now, like any other machine tool, cylindrical grinding machines also do vibrate, and vibration will affect accuracy and surface finish of the parts produced in grinding. The analysis of vibration in cylindrical grinding is then very much important. In the present study some aspects of vibration – behavior of cylindrical grinding machine have been experimented and analyzed. The process parameters have been varied and vibration signals have been measured in different directions by positioning an accelerometer at tail stock of the machine. The data have been analyzed through various statistical techniques to identify and predict vibration at given combinations of process parameters. The results and analysis of data give useful idea about dynamic performance of cylindrical grinding machine in traverse cut cylindrical grinding operation.


Summary: 14C-Labelled Cochliobolus victoriae conidia incubated at 2 °C or 22 °C released a glucose-rich exudate, primarily during the first 30 min after wetting. There was no evidence that this exudate was required for germination. Conidia first incubated for 2-8 h on soil or in a model system imposing fungistasis (where exudation occurred), and then transferred to germination-conducive conditions, germinated as rapidly as conidia held constantly in a conducive environment. Exudate applied exogenously did not consistently stimulate germination, and uptake of 14C-labelled exudate was not detected before germ tubes emerged. Germination was not stimulated by brief exposures to glucose during the period of greatest exudate release, and glucose oxidase did not reduce germination. The results suggest that the initial loss of the glucose-rich exudate cannot directly account for the inhibition of germination of nutrient-independent propagules in soil.


The rise of foreign fighters is increasingly becoming an issue of global significance. Numerous figures suggest that over 20000 foreign fighters have joined the fight in Syria and Iraq in the four first years of conflict (Neumann, 2015).  Between 2014 and 2015, deaths in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations escalated from 77 to 577, half of them committed by the Islamic State (IS) (Institute for Economics and Peace, 2016:40). Australia's concern for its national security has led to substantial developments in enacting severe counter-terrorism laws, such as the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Act 2014 (Cth) ('the Foreign Fighters Act'). Given the undeniable intrusion of counter-terrorism laws into human rights, this paper will evaluate and question the necessity and proportionality of this new Act and in particular, the introduction of the 'declared areas' offence in sections 119.2 and 119.3 of the Criminal Code. This offence criminalizes entering or remaining in 'declared areas' in certain foreign locations with a very limited list of exemptions (Williams, 2014:1). This paper will argue that this offence is likely to impermissibly infringe upon the right to freedom of movement, which can only be restricted in very few cases. Accordingly, the main question of this paper is; 'to what extent is justified and proportionate the infringement on the freedom of movement placed by the 'declared areas' offence created by the 'Foreign Fighters Act'?' Finally, the author will advocate that to guarantee it's compliant with its international human rights obligations, the Australian Government must rely upon the independent assessment and recommendations of review bodies.


Communicative competence was understood as the underlying systems of
knowledge and skill required for communication. It is importance to stress that
communicative competence refers to both knowledge and skill in using this
knowledge when interacting in actual communication.
Knowledge refers to what one knows (consciously and unconsciously)
about the language and about other aspects of communicative language use; skill
refers to how well one can perform this knowledge in actual communication.
Realizing that either participants or the announcers do not comprehend the
communicative competence, therefore they need strategy to convey their
messages. Here, communication strategy is the appropriate one to bridge the gap
between the speakers and the announcers.
The strategy used by the announcers and the participants in making
conversation includes message abandonment, topic avoidance, appeal to the
authority, language switch and changing code.
In this study, the objects chosen are the radio announcers who make
conversation with the participants in a radio English program of IMELDA FM
which is called 'happy hour'. The method used is qualitative (study case) and
emphasized on the description of the conversations. In order to collect the data, I
record the conversation using tape recorder and blank cassettes and then the data
is analyzed by classifying them into message abandonment, topic avoidance,
appeal to the authority, language switch, and changing code.
The framework used is Mujianto's framework. The results indicated that
the announcer and the participants of 'happy hour' program have tried to apply
communication strategy in conversation.
I hope by learning the communication strategy, the English Speakers of
Indonesia particularly and the learners of English in general, can communicate in
English well.


Industrial agriculture has promoted the expansion of monocrops around the world, aided by the circulation of highly standardized plant varieties. However, given the adverse environmental effects of this agricultural approach (such as genetic erosion) and the challenges posed by climate change, some biotech companies are trying to complexify industrial agriculture's relationship to "place". They are beginning to consider local particularities in the design of seed products. Focusing on the experience of an Argentinian biotech company, this article explores the creation of microbial seed treatments that claim to be "region-specific" and whose production is mediated by novel meta-genomic techniques. Through the notions of association and mediation, the article reflects on the diverse meanings of region-specificity (geographical, environmental, relational) that are mobilized in the creation of these products. In this way, the article highlights the role of computational technologies, plants, and microorganisms in the shaping of scientific and corporate meanings of place.


The synthesis of dimethyl carbonate by the reaction of methanol with carbon dioxide in the presence of metal alkoxides and metal carboxylates was studied. The best results have been achieved with Ti(IV) and Sn(IV) alkoxides which at 130 to 180 °C and low CO2 pressures yield dimethyl carbonate in 30 to 100 mole % or 40 to 130 mole % yields with respect to the metal alkoxides, depending on the carbon dioxide (gaseous and solid one, respectively). The yields can be further increased up to 70 - 190 mole % and 90 - 270 mole %, respectively, by the use of chemical scavengers of the reaction water.


The standard cameras are designed to truthfully mimic the human eye and the visual system. In recent years, commercially available cameras are becoming more complex, and offer higher image resolutions than ever before. However, the quality of conventional imaging methods is limited by several parameters, such as the pixel size, lens system, the diffraction limit, etc. The rapid technological advancements, increase in the available computing power, and introduction of Graphics Processing Units (GPU) and Field-Programmable-Gate-Arrays (FPGA) open new possibilities in the computer vision and computer graphics communities. The researchers are now focusing on utilizing the immense computational power offered on the modern processing platforms, to create imaging systems with novel or significantly enhanced capabilities compared to the standard ones. One popular type of the computational imaging systems offering new possibilities is a multi-camera system. This thesis will focus on FPGA-based multi-camera systems that operate in real-time. The aim of themulti-camera systems presented in this thesis is to offer a wide field-of-view (FOV) video coverage at high frame rates. The wide FOV is achieved by constructing a panoramic image from the images acquired by the multi-camera system. Two new real-time computational imaging systems that provide new functionalities and better performance compared to conventional cameras are presented in this thesis. Each camera system design and implementation are analyzed in detail, built and tested in real-time conditions. Panoptic is a miniaturized low-cost multi-camera system that reconstructs a 360 degrees view in real-time. Since it is an easily portable system, it provides means to capture the complete surrounding light field in dynamic environment, such as when mounted on a vehicle or a flying drone. The second presented system, GigaEye II , is a modular high-resolution imaging system that introduces the concept of distributed image processing in the real-time camera systems. This thesis explains in detail howsuch concept can be efficiently used in real-time computational imaging systems. The purpose of computational imaging systems in the form of multi-camera systems does not end with real-time panoramas. The application scope of these cameras is vast. They can be used in 3D cinematography, for broadcasting live events, or for immersive telepresence experience. The final chapter of this thesis presents three potential applications of these systems: object detection and tracking, high dynamic range (HDR) imaging, and observation of multiple regions of interest. Object detection and tracking, and observation of multiple regions of interest are extremely useful and desired capabilities of surveillance systems, in security and defense industry, or in the fast-growing industry of autonomous vehicles. On the other hand, high dynamic range imaging is becoming a common option in the consumer market cameras, and the presented method allows instantaneous capture of HDR videos. Finally, this thesis concludes with the discussion of the real-time multi-camera systems, their advantages, their limitations, and the future predictions.


Advancement of understanding the etiology and treatment of epilepsy has largely depended on the use of acute and chronic animal models. An alternative approach, which is being increasingly used by a select number of laboratories worldwide, is to make functional mechanistic studies in brain slices of living human tissue, resected during surgery for drug resistant epilepsies. Pharmacoresistant epilepsy is a major clinical problem with a significant proportion of patients not receiving any symptomatic benefit from available anti-epileptic drugs. Animal models of epilepsy have dominated the landscape with regard to research and development, however they have failed to deliver new agents that would provide seizure control in patients with drug refractory epilepsy. Moreover, these models have considerable issues with respect to validity and animal welfare considerations. A compelling alternative is the use of live human epileptic tissue which recapitulates a number of key features of refractory epilepsy. The use of live epileptic human tissue offers unprecedented opportunities to understand the mechanisms associated with difficult to treat epilepsy whilst also permitting studies of efficacy of novel agents that are being developed to alleviate epilepsy in drug resistant patients.


Background 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/ computed tomography (CT) imaging demands guidelines to safeguard sufficient image quality at low radiation exposure. Various FDG dose regimes have been investigated; however, body weight-adapted dose regimens and related image quality (IQ) have not yet been compared in the same patient. Purpose To investigate the relationship between FDG dosage and image quality in PET/CT in the same patient and determine prerequisites for low dosage scanning. Material and Methods This study included 61 patients undergoing a clinically indicated PET/CT imaging study and follow-up with a normal (NDS, 5 MBq/kg body weight [BW]) and low dosage scanning protocol (LDS, 4 MBq/kg BW), respectively, using a Discovery VCT64 scanner. Two blinded and independent readers randomly assessed IQ of PET using a 5-point Likert scale and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the liver. Results Body mass index (BMI) was significantly lower at LDS (P = 0.021) and represented a significant predictor of SNR at both NDS (P < 0.001) and LDS (P = 0.005). NDS with a mean administered activity of 340 MBq resulted in significantly higher IQ (P < 0.001) and SNR as compared with LDS with a mean of 264 MBq (F-value = 23.5, P < 0.001, mixed model ANOVA adjusted for covariate BMI). Non-diagnostic IQ at LDS was associated with a BMI > 22 kg/m2. Conclusion FDG dosage significantly predicts IQ and SNR in PET/CT imaging as demonstrated in the same patient with optimal IQ achieved at 5 MBq/kg BM. PET/CT imaging at 4 MBq/kg BW may only be recommended in patients with a BMI ≤ 22 kg/m2 to maintain diagnostic IQ.


Since 2007, the University of Arizona (UA) has managed a modest amount of research, primarily focusing on ecohydrology, at Biosphere 2, the massive, enclosed facility in the Arizona desert. Now the university, aided by two major gifts last week, is pushing ahead with plans to revive the scientific fortunes of Biosphere 2. On 1 July, the real estate development company that owned the 16-hectare campus donated it and the iconic buildings to UA. At the same time, financier—and longtime Biosphere patron—Edward Bass announced he would chip in $20 million by October to support operations and research.


In this study, we performed a molecular phylogenetic analysis of six bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV) field strains detected from Japanese beef calves kept on a farm in Saga prefecture, a southwest part of Japan, from 2017 to 2020. The phylogenetic analysis based on a partial B2L gene (554-nt) showed that these field strains were divided into two lineages, a lineage (A-lineage) constructed by a Saga strain and strains obtained from various regions of Japan and the world, and other lineage (B-lineage) constructed by five Saga strains and strains obtained from France, USA and Iwate prefecture (a north part of Japan). Furthermore, a Saga field strain named BPSV_SAGAbv2 and strains obtained from USA and Iwate prefecture belonged to a sub-lineage blanched from B-lineage. This is the first report elucidating molecular epidemiological characters of field BPSVs obtained from Saga prefecture. The existence of the multiple lineages was thought to be related to a history of calf introduction from various regions of Japan into Saga prefecture.


In order to improve the heat-insulating capability of the refuge chamber's shell and reduce energy consumption of the cooling system, the horizontal cylindrical mobile refuge chamber for coal mine was taken as the research object. By selecting two connection types between the inner shell and the outer shell for calculation, which were direct connection type and indirect connection type, and comparing these with the connectionless heat transfer, the heat transfer process in the refuge chamber subjected to thermal loadings of constant temperature was respectively discussed with numerical analysis method. Effect of heat bridges to heat transfer of the refuge chamber's shell was analyzed. The analysis results showed that the average heat flux through direct connection heat bridge and indirect connection heat bridge had respectively increased by 668% and 30% than that of the connectionless heat transfer. The influencing scope of the former was larger than the latter's. And more heat entered the refuge chamber through the direct connection heat bridge. Therefore, the indirect connection type should be used in the design of the refuge chamber's shell.


Hillslope hydrological dynamics, particularly subsurface flow (SSF), are highly variable and complex. A profound understanding of factors controlling this variability is needed. Therefore we investigated the relationship between variability of shallow water table dynamics and various hillslope characteristics. We ask whether measurable hillslope properties explain patterns of subsurface flow variability. To approach this question, shallow water table dynamics of three adjacent large-scale hillslopes were monitored with high spatial and temporal resolution over 18 months. The hillslopes are similar in terms of topography and parent material, but different in vegetation cover (grassland, coniferous forest, and mixed forest). We expect vegetation to be an important driver of water table dynamics at our study site, especially given the minor differences in topography. Various hillslope properties were determined in the field and via GIS analysis: common topography descriptors, well depth, soil properties via slug tests, and several vegetation parameters. Response variables characterizing the water table response per well were calculated for different temporal scales (entire time series, seasonal scale, event scale). Partial correlation analysis and a Random Forest machine learning approach were carried out to assess the explainability of SSF variability by measurable hillslope characteristics. We found a complex interplay of predictors, yet soil properties and topography showed the highest single explanatory power. Surprisingly, vegetation characteristics played a minor role. Solely throughfall and canopy cover exerted a slightly stronger control, especially in summer. Most importantly, the examined hillslope characteristics explained only a small proportion of the observed SSF variability. Consequently there must be additional important drivers not represented by current measurement techniques of the hillslope configuration (e.g. bedrock properties, preferential pathways). We also found interesting differences in explainability of SSF variability among temporal scales and between both forested hillslopes and the grassland hillslope.


Genetically encoded signaling proteins provide remarkable opportunities to design and target the expression of molecules that can be used to report critical cellular events in vivo, thereby markedly extending the scope and physiological relevance of studies of cell function. Here we report the development of a transgenic mouse expressing such a reporter and its use to examine postsynaptic signaling in smooth muscle. The circularly permutated, Ca2+-sensing molecule G-CaMP (Nakai, J., Ohkura, M., and Imoto, K. (2001) Nat. Biotechnol. 19, 137-141) was expressed in vascular and non-vascular smooth muscle and functioned as a lineage-specific intracellular Ca2+ reporter. Detrusor tissue from these mice was used to identify two separate types of postsynaptic Ca2+ signals, mediated by distinct neurotransmitters. Intrinsic nerve stimulation evoked rapid, whole-cell Ca2+ transients, or "Ca2+ flashes," and slowly propagating Ca2+ waves. We show that Ca2+ flashes occur through P2X receptor stimulation and ryanodine receptor-mediated Ca2+ release, whereas Ca2+ waves arise from muscarinic receptor stimulation and inositol trisphosphate-mediated Ca2+ release. The distinct ionotropic and metabotropic postsynaptic Ca2+ signals are related at the level of Ca2+ release. Importantly, individual myocytes are capable of both postsynaptic responses, and a transition between Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release and inositol trisphosphate waves occurs at higher synaptic inputs. Ca2+ signaling mice should provide significant advantages in the study of processive biological signaling.


The research of software homologous detection is more important under the situation that the software market flourishes. Most of current detection tools are based on text which ignores the syntax structure of program codes, a few tools based on syntax structure are not good enough. CodeCompare the homologous detection system in this paper combines compare methods of text, Token, and abstract syntax tree using improved LCS algorithm as string comparison algorithm, which can detect the homologous of software more accurately and comprehensively. The comparison based on abstract syntax tree considers and analyses the syntax structure of program codes, achieves the detection on syntax aspect. Compared to other detect tools, CodeCompare includes more code plagiarizer methods, can detect more effectively.


Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, perhaps the most influential of all German philosophers, made one of the last great attempts to develop philosophy as an all-embracing scientific system. This system places Hegel among the \u201cclassical\u201d philosophers - Aristotle, Aquinas, Spinoza - who also attempted to build grand conceptual edifices. In this study, available for the first time in paperback, Howard P. Kainz emphasizes the uniqueness of Hegel's system by focusing on his methodology, terminology, metaphorical and paradoxical language, and his special contributions to metaphysics, the philosophy of nature, philosophical anthropology, and other areas. Kainz focuses on Hegel's system as a whole and its seminal ideas, making generous use of representative texts. He gives special attention to the interrelationship between dialectical methodology and paradoxical propositions; the prevalence of metaphor in the philosophy of nature; and the close interrelationship between Christian doctrine and Hegelian speculation. A rich array of diagrams and tables further elucidates Kainz's analyses. An ideal text for the student of philosophy coming to Hegel for the first time, G. W. F. Hegel provides the reader with useful insights into Hegel's work and illuminates Hegel's enduring significance in the late twentieth century.


: The study presented in this paper is aimed at identifying the role of city-forming enterprises in solving problems of single-industry towns. As empirical data, we used the results of a content analysis of Internet sites of monotowns, an analysis of the comprehensive investment plans, statistical data and social reports of several core enterprises. The article shows activities of core enterprises on the territories of their presence aimed at creation of conditions for business development, and creation of new jobs in non-core industries. This allows one to diversify the labour market of monocities and to reduce tensions on the labor market. Promising directions, supported by core enterprises, include diversification of their own production, professional orientation of youth, training and retraining of the population, and the development of social entrepreneurship. The study has brought about several models, which promote the comprehensive development of the territories of monotowns. The emphasis of the work is on the need to involve the local community to implement plans and programs of city-forming enterprises for the development of their territories of presence.


Asian American (AA) students in academically high-performing schools are thought to represent a high-risk but underidentified group for mental health need and potential suicide risk. Previous data indicate that internalizing mental health needs among AA students are more likely to go unmet compared with other racial/ethnic groups. This is the first study to examine disparities in rates of follow-up mental health services (MHS) for AA students assessed for suicide risk in schools. We examined rates of parental consent for MHS and ultimate linkage to care following risk assessments for students in an ethnically diverse, high-performing school district. Findings indicated that AA students were underrepresented among suicide risk assessments compared with their district enrollment. Although female students were more often referred for suicide risk assessments, AA boys appeared at heightened risk compared with boys from other racial/ethnic groups at the elementary and middle school levels. In terms of rates of MHS receipt, 43.4% of AA students and 57.1% of Latino students received new or ongoing MHS following risk assessment. Multinomial logistic regressions revealed racial/ethnic disparities in parental consent and linkage to care, such that AA students were at significantly higher risk of having parents decline MHS (relative risk ratio = .26, p < .001) and having no initiation of MHS following risk assessment (relative risk ratio = .55, p < .01) compared with Latino students. Potential barriers to parental consent and aftercare for AA families are discussed, highlighting the need for implementation strategies to reduce racial/ethnic disparities for youth at risk of suicide.


The core-nanoshell composite materials doped with Nd were prepared by a solid-state reaction method. The core is magnetic fly-ash hollow cenosphere, and the shell is the nanosized ferrite doped with Nd. The thermal decomposition process of the sample was investigated by TG- DTA. The morphology and composition of the composite materials were investigated by the X-ray diffraction analysis ( XRD ), scanning electron microscope ( SEM ) and energy disperse spectroscopy ( EDS ). The results of vibrating sample magnetometer ( VSM ) analysis indicated that the exchange-coupling interaction happens between ferrite of magnetic fly-ash hollow cenosphere and nanosized ferrite coating. The exchange-coupling interaction enhances magnetic loss of composite materials. The results show that doped with Nd can enhance the coercivity too, so the magnetic properties could be promoted further. The magnetic properties of the core-nanoshell composite material are better than that of single-phase.


In this study it was proposed to investigate the effect of altitude and aspect on anatomical properties, wood density, and mechanical properties of Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) growing in Sinop, Turkey. Five altitude steps (0-200, 200-400, 400- 600, 600-800, and 800-1000 m) and two aspect groups (north and south) were created in the research area. A total of 20 trees were cut from each altitude step and the north and south aspects. To determine the anatomical properties of wood, permanent slides were prepared and Schultze's method was used for measurement of fibers. Wood density and mechanical properties were examined according to appropriate standards. As the altitude increased, the diameter of vessels narrowed, the number of vessels in 1 mm 2 increased, and the vessel length and fiber length decreased. It was determined that trees growing in the third altitude step (400-600 m) had the highest density values, and those in first altitude step (0-200 m) had the lowest density values. Additionally, most of the mechanical properties and hardness values of the wood were lowest in the first altitude step (0-200 m), while these values were highest in the third altitude step (400-600 m). When using categories of Oriental beech wood in the forest products industry, the altitude factor should be taken into consideration more than the aspect factor. Knowledge of anatomical, physical, and mechanical properties of Oriental beech wood according to altitude and aspect can be useful in forest products industry.


Impartial Solitaire Clobber is a one-player version of the combinatorial game Clobber, introduced by Albert et al.  in 2002. The initial configuration of Impartial Solitaire Clobber is a graph, such that there is a stone placed on each of its vertex, each stone being black or white. A move of the game consists in picking a stone, and clobbering an adjacent stone of the opposite color. By clobbering we mean that the clobbered stone is removed from the graph, and replaced by the clobbering one. The aim is to make a sequence of moves leaving the minimum number of stones on the graph; this number is called the reducibility value of the configuration. As any one-player game, Solitaire Clobber is essentially an optimization problem, whose resolution may give bounds on the two-player version of the game. As an optimization problem, Solitaire Clobber can be considered as a constrained version of the underlying optimization problem related to Hamiltonian path. This enables to show that Solitaire Clobber is NP-hard. Solitaire Clobber was already studied in various graph structures, including paths, cycles, trees, and Hamming graphs. In this paper we investigate the problem in complete multipartite graphs. In particular, we give a linear-time algorithm computing the reducibility value of any configuration in complete multipartite graphs. We also address some extremal questions related to Solitaire Clobber in general graphs.


The continued development of the industry is currently making the industry players must do a variety of things in order to survive in the competition .
Manufacturing companies are continuously trying to improve its products and repair in the form of quality , quantity production , delivery on time in order to give satisfaction to the consumer . Real effort in the production of goods is to reduce the waste that has no added value in many ways , including the provision of raw materials , materials traffic , operator movement , the movement of equipment and machinery , wait for the process , re-work and repair . The main idea is the achievement of overall production efficiency by reducing waste (waste) which in turn is increasing the competitiveness .
PT . Tunas Baru Lampung is a manufacturing company engaged in the production of cooking oil , were observed can be seen in pembutan there are waste cooking oil ( waste) . This waste include activities waiting ( waiting ) at the work station to work station next one so much time wasted in the production process , and the iventories in this material excess inventory resulting wrok In Process is too much on the machining process so needing space more for the rest
of the storage material Lean is a systematic approach to waste ( waste) in various processes continuously ( continuous ) to optimize the flow of the value stream to eliminate all forms of waste ( waste) as well as increase the value -added ( value added ) in order to provide the results of a quality product to consumers . While Lean
Thinking aims to improve perfomansi , the advantages of Lean thinking is the focus on the reduction of waste where the waste itself is one of the inhibitors increased perfomansi . So waste ( waste) as something that does not add value .
The main idea is the achievement of overall production efficiency by reducing waste ( waste) which ultimately is to increase the productivity of the company in order to obtain a greater yield.

Keywords: Waste, Lean Thinking.