The key controlling factor in the effective energy conversion of coal to combustible gases during the UCG process is the behaviour of the pyrolysed char in the reduction zone of the UCG cavity, which has not been published in available academic literature. This study investigates the impact of the operating parameters during the reduction zone of UCG using a bespoke high pressure high temperature rig which was developed as part of this research work. This rig, operating at temperatures of up to 900 oC and at pressures up to 5.0 MPa, simulates the UCG process including each UCG zone individually for a broad range of underground conditions to a depth of 500 m. Carbon dioxide and steam were used as the primary reductants with char derived from dry steam coal and anthracite sample. Carbon dioxide and steam were injected at a variety of pressures and temperatures, plus at a range of relative H2O/CO2 proportions. The composition of the resulting product gas of both coals was measured and subsequently used to calculate carbon conversion (X), carbon conversion of combustible gases ( ), cold gas efficiency (CGE) and low heating value (LHV) of the product gas.
Optimal operating conditions were determined for the dry steam coal and anthracite that produced the best gas composition both at atmospheric and elevated pressure and are unique for each UCG system. A shrinking core model was employed to describe the behaviour of the pyrolised char to determine the activation energy and pre-exponential factor at atmospheric pressure for both coals. The evolution of the volatile matter of both coals and its contribution to the overall UCG performance was also determined. An optimum H2O/CO2 ratio was determined for both coals which enhanced the gasification rate of both coal chars up to the ratio of 2:1, above this ratio the effect saturated for both coals.
It was shown that pressure increases the reduction-gasification process of the chars which suggests that there is an optimum operating pressure which produces a peak in carbon conversion, CGE and LHV for the product gas over the conditions tested that differs for each coal. Therefore UCG projects aiming at reaching higher pressures will not achieve an increase in the output, unless there are some new effects occurring above 4.0 MPa. Pressure enhances the gas solid reactions and almost doubles the max carbon conversion ( of combustible gases achieved at elevated pressure compared to that at atmospheric pressure. A shrinking core model was modified to take into account the effect of total pressure to the gasification rate of dry steam coal at 900 oC and pressures ranging from 0.7 to 1.65 MPa. Reaction constants for various pressures at 900 oC were determined for both coal chars.
Analysis of data shown that typical UCG operations on low rank coals provides a combustible product gas that relies heavily on releasing the volatile matter from the coal and does not depend on the carbon conversion of char to gas which justifies the high CGE and LHV of the product gas found in the field trials. It was found that carbon conversion X is not significantly affected by the type of coal and that the carbon converted during UCG is between approximately 45% for high rank coals up to 55% for low rank coals. Experimental results were used to calculate the output, size and UCG model of a potential power plant which produced realistic solutions and proves that high rank coals can be suitable for UCG projects. Anthracite can produce almost the same amount of combustible gases as the dry steam coal operating under specific conditions but with a lower CGE and LHV which suggests that anthracite may be found to be more suitable for producing hydrocarbons with UCG than energy.


Background As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has made a tremendous impact on medical education and healthcare institutions, we aimed to measure effects of online classes on medical students' comprehension in comparison with attending campus classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional survey has been conducted between September 2020 and June 2021 in the western region of Saudi Arabia. The Convenience sampling technique was conducted to collect the data from medical students in their basic and clinical years, using a questionnaire that involved 45 multiple-choice and multiple-answer questions. Results Out of 3700 questionnaires, 922 completed the questionnaires from 11 different medical schools. Umm AL-Qura University had the highest response rate with 232 responses (25.2%), followed by King Abdulaziz University with 186 responses (20.2%). The majority of institutions preferred Blackboard and Zoom as platforms for e-learning. A total of 355 (38.5%) believed that it resulted in higher academic achievement, whereas 555 (60.2%) of students believed the limitation of clinical access was one of the biggest disadvantages of e-learning. Overall, 518 (56.2%) of students did not want to continue using e-learning on its own in the future. Whereas 668 (72.5%) wished to keep using e-learning in combination with traditional learning. Conclusion According to our findings, advantages of e-learning vary among students. Most of the students thought e-learning to be an interactive system that provides a learning opportunity. In contrast, many of the students believed that there were many disadvantages regarding online teaching methods.


This year has been declared the International Year of Soils by the 68th UN General Assembly with the theme "Healthy Soils for a Healthy Life." I am particularly pleased with the theme because this is a message that we in the organic sector have been spreading for more than 70 years, and at first we were ridiculed. Now there is a huge body of science showing that what we observed in our farming systems is indeed correct. "Organic farming" became the dominant name in English-speaking countries for farming systems that eschew toxic, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers through J.I. Rodale's global magazine Organic Farming and Gardening, first published in the United States in the 1940s. Rodale promoted this term based on building soil health by the recycling of organic matter through composts, green manures, mulches and cover crops to increase the levels of soil organic matter (SOM) as one of the primary management techniques. Numerous scientific studies show that SOM provides many benefits for building soil health such as improving the number and biodiversity of beneficial microorganisms that provide nutrients for plants, including fixing nitrogen, as well as controlling soilborne plant diseases. The decomposition of plant and animal residues into SOM can provide all the nutrients needed by plants and negate the need for synthetic chemical fertilizers, especially nitrogen fertilizers that are responsible for numerous environmental problems. SOM improves soil structure so that it is more resistant to erosion and is easier to till, resulting in lower energy use and less greenhouse gas output. Soils with good SOM levels are more efficient at absorbing rainwater and storing it for plants to use in dry periods. Studies show that organic systems get around 30 percent higher yields in periods of drought than conventional systems due to the increase of SOM and its ability to capture and store water for crops. SOM is composed largely of carbon that is captured as CO2 from the air by plants through photosynthesis. Published, peer-reviewed metastudies show that organic farming systems are superior to conventional systems in capturing CO2 from the atmosphere (the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change) and sequestering it into the ground as SOM.


With decreasing cost of biomedical technologies, the scale of the genetic and healthcare data have exponentially increased and become available to wider audiences. Hence, privacy of patients and study participants has garnered the attention of researchers and regulators alike. Availability of genetic and health care information for uses not anticipated at the time of collection gives rise to privacy concerns such that people suffer dignitary harm when their data is used in ways they did not desire or intend, even if no concrete economic damage results. In this workshop, we explore the issues surrounding data use to advance human health from a privacy perspective. Broadly this field can be considered in two encompassing areas: (1) Ethics and regulation of privacy: The ethical and regulatory frames through which we can consider privacy, the existing regulations regarding privacy and what is on the horizon, and implementation of such ethical considerations for data with the new Common Rule. (2) Approaches to ensuring privacy using technology: The technologies that allow responsible use and sharing of data such as encryption and the quantification of privacy leakages in publicly available data through privacy attacks for better risk-assessment tools.


Weakly electric fish use electric organ discharge (EOD) and their electroreceptors to identify prey, explore their surroundings, and communicate with other members of the same species. They are specialized in active electrolocation using a self-generated electric field, and they can sense distortion of their self-generated electric field caused by a target object. Electric fish have many electrosensors on the surface of their body, and the sensor readings from the electroreceptors form an electric image. A correlation exists between features of the electric images and characteristics of a target object. In estimating the location of a target object, the intensity, width, and slope of the electric image must be considered. In this article, we suggest that periodic EOD signals are helpful to extract localization features from noisy electrosensory signals. Cross-correlation between an efference copy signal and sensory signals in the waveform can produce filtered signals in the temporal domain. For a biomimetic fish robot, we can use two-phase filtering: noise-filtering with cross-correlation in the temporal axis and additional filtering in the rostrocaudal spatial axis. This spatiotemporal filtering can effectively remove noise, thus making it possible to obtain accurate localization features of a target object in an underwater environment.


Forest certification provides a means by which producers who meet stringent sustainable forestry standards can identify their products in the marketplace, allowing them to potentially receive greater market access and higher prices for their products. An examination of the ways in which certification may contribute to biodiversity conservation leads to the following conclusions: 1) the process of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certification generates improvements to management with respect to the value of managed forests for biodiversity. 2) Current incentives are not sufficient to attract the majority of producers to seek certification, particularly in tropical countries where the costs of improving management to meet FSC guidelines are significantly greater than any market benefits they may receive; available incentives are even less capable of convincing forest owners to retain forest cover and produce certified timber on a sustainable basis, rather than deforesting their lands for timber and agriculture. 3) At present, current volumes of certified forest products are insufficient to reduce demand to log high conservation value forests. If FSC certification is to make greater inroads, particularly in tropical countries, significant investments will be needed both to increase the benefits and reduce the costs of certification. Conservation investors will need to carefully consider the biodiversity benefits that will be generated from such investments, versus the benefits generated from investing in more traditional approaches to biodiversity conservation.


People surviving spinal cord dysfunction with tetraplegia (SCDT) are returning earlier to their communities with the assistance of long-term health care providers (LTHP). However, the prevalence of rehospitalization following rehabilitation of persons with spinal cord dysfunction is high, with rates ranging from 19% to 57%. Rehospitalization is costly, both financially and personally, and may be preventable. Current literature suggests that education of the LTHP is essential to prevent rehospitalization of persons with SCDT. The Health Maintenance Education program was developed to optimize individual and societal outcomes of persons with SCDT through improvement of long-term health care. An educational program was designed for persons with SCDT and their LTHP; namely, community health nurses (registered nurses, licensed practical nurses), home health aides, personal care assistants, and family care providers. The program included three distinct educational phases, including a 1-day workshop, a collaborative home visit, and ongoing support and follow-up for 1 year. Satisfaction surveys indicated favorable responses to the overall program. Individual results of the program include improved knowledge, acquired resources, and updated equipment for the person with tetraplegia and the caregiver. Educational materials related to the management of persons with SCDT were provided to home care agencies for education of employees.


Fracture healing is a biologically optimized process. Despite the expectation of unimpaired healing, approximately 5% to 10% of the 7.9 million fractures sustained annually in the United States have difficulty achieving union. Not only does this cause morbidity for patients, but also enormous healthcare and socioeconomic costs. Hence, there is a compelling need to find novel therapies to enhance fracture healing. In this article, we summarize current data on therapies to enhance skeletal healing and review their suggested biologic functions, proposed clinical applications, and known efficacies.


AbstractAs many as 1 in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care in wealthy countries. The risk of health care–associated infection in some developing countries is as much as 20 times higher. In response, in many global regions, increased attention has turned to the implementation of a broad program of safety research, encompassing a variety of methods. Although important international ethical guidelines for research exist, literature has been emerging in the last 20 years that begins to apply such guidelines to patient safety research specifically. This paper provides a review of the literature related to ethics, oversight, and patient safety research; identifies issues highlighted in articles as being of ethical relevance; describes areas of consensus regarding how to respond to these ethical issues; and highlights areas where additional ethical analysis and discussion are needed to provide guidance to those in the field.


The current standard image-compression approaches rely on fairly simple predictions, using either block- or wavelet-based methods. While many more sophisticated texture-modeling approaches have been proposed, most do not provide a significant improvement in compression rate over the current standards at a workable encoding complexity level. We re-examine this area, using example-based texture prediction. We find that we can provide consistent and significant improvements over JPEG, reducing the bit rate by more than 20% for many PSNR levels. These improvements require consideration of the differences between residual energy and prediction/residual compressibility when selecting a texture prediction, as well as careful control of the computational complexity in encoding.


The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how the economic return of a software investment can be assessed and managed. This topic has been studied in research and has been a concern for firms making software investments. In order to study this we need a model of the underlying factors affecting the economic return. Assessing and managing the return of a software investment is been argued to be difficult due to specific economic characteristics of a software investment, i.e. high degree of intangible consequences and uncertainty about the total investment cost. Given these characteristics it is has been concluded that it is difficult to derive a return function. In this dissertation we question this conclusion and propose a comprehensive model to assess and manage the intangibles and the underlying uncertainty. The model is deduced from general assumptions of the economic behavior of the firm. To develop the model we analyze the relevance of intangibles in relation to the economic purpose of making a software investment. Based on this a new way of deriving a cash flow function for a software investments is defined. Further it is analyzed how the underlying uncertainty of a software investment can be managed. The analysis uses a quantitative approach and methods from financial economics. It includes how the application of a real option and portfolio approach can reduce the uncertainty in a software investment and the role of efficient software platforms. The relation between software platforms and the opportunity to create different types of real options for future development is inferred from empirical studies. The studies in this dissertation show how a managerial view on a software investment corresponds with the overall economic goal of the firm. They also show how a strategic value of a software investment can be created, assessed and managed.


Introduction
During the last decades interest in organic production of seed specially for medicinal plants take into consideration because of higher quality of organic products (Hermes, 2010). Seed germination is one of the principal stages in the plant life cycle and seeds with higher quality and vigour resulted in more pronounced seedlings growth and development. Therefore, investigation of agronomic practices specially nutrient management in the field is important because of its effective role in the promotion of plant growth, yield and consequently seeds with good quality criteria.
Materials and methods
In order to investigate seed quantitative and qualitative criteria of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.), isabgol (Plantago ovate Forsk.) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) under application of organic fertilizers including cow manure, spent mushroom compost, municipal waste compost and control, an experiment was conducted in a complete randomized block design with three replications at Agricultural Research Station of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, during two growing season of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Consequently, their seed quality criteria were evaluated in a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications in Laboratory of Seed Technology at College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran. Criteria such as biological and seed yield, harvest index, 1000- seed weight, length, width and diameter of seed, seed germination percentage and rate, seed vigour index, length and weight of seedling were investigated.
Results and discussion
Results indicated that organic fertilizers caused a significant increase in seed yield and biological yield in which spent mushroom compost had the highest effect on mentioned criteria compared to control in both years of experiment. Harvest index was not affected by fertilizers in isabgol and black cumin in both years while showing a significant effect in fennel. Application of spent mushroom composts in the first year of experiment and municipal waste compost in the second year of the experiment affected 1000- seed weight of isabgol and black cumin, respectively. Also, seed germination percentage and rate, seedling length and weight and seed vigour index were affected by organic fertilizers in three studied species, in which cow manure performed better and caused the highest amount of seed criteria compared to control. Based on the results, application of cow manure, spent mushroom compost and municipal waste compost resulted in an increase of 43.75, 26.62 and 10.3 % in seed vigour index in comparison with control, respectively. Non-application of organic fertilizers caused 23.5, 17.66 and 8.48% reduction of mean seedling length compared to using cow manure, spent mushroom compost and municipal waste compost, respectively. Also, seedling dry weight had a similar trend like seedling length. Interaction effect of species and organic inputs affected seed length significantly, in which, spent mushroom compost caused the highest amount of seed length in studied species. Fennel seeds by using spent mushroom compost showed the highest seed length (6.19 mm) among different studied species and organic inputs. It seems black cumin, isabgol and fennel under organic nutrition showed more pronounce growth and yield in which resulted in production of seeds with higher vigour and germination criteria. Probably adequate balance of nutrients in seeds caused better growth of seedlings and consequently increased their length and dry weight compared to non application of organic fertilizers.
Conclusion
In general, the results of this experiment revealed that application of organic fertilizers such as cow manure, spent mushroom compost, municipal waste compost promoted both yield and seed quality characteristics of three studied species, black cumin, isabgol and fennel, which seems a promising result in production of organic medicinal plants.
Acknowledgments
This project was supported by the fund provided by the vice chancellor for research and technology of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad for which the authorsare thankful.


Worldwide, rivers continue to be dammed to supply water for humans. The resulting regulation of downstream flow impacts on biogeochemical and physical processes, potentially affecting river and estuarine productivity. Our study tested the hypothesis that primary production in the downstream freshwater reaches of a dammed river was less limited by light and nutrients relative to downstream estuarine primary production. In a tropical dryland Australian river estuary, we found that water-column primary productivity was highest at freshwater sites that had lowest light attenuation. Nitrogen may also have limited primary productivity. Below the freshwater zone was a region of macrotidal mixing with high concentrations of suspended soil particles, nutrients and chlorophyll a, and lower but variable primary productivity rates. Light controlled productivity, but the algal cells may also have been osmotically stressed due to increasing salinity. Further downstream in the estuary, primary productivity was lower than the freshwater reaches and light and nutrient availability appear to be a factor. Therefore the reduced magnitude of peak-flow events due to flow regulation, and the resulting decrease in nutrient export, is likely to be negatively impacting estuarine primary production. This has implications for future development of dams where rivers have highly seasonal flow.


This paper presents problems of the accuracy of earth fault loop impedance measurement in a network with operating loads. The classical measurement methods and meters used in practice cause measurement errors in a network with operating loads that may exceed permissible level. The most dangerous are negative errors, as in the case of line-to-earth fault, the automatic disconnection of supply may not occur and a risk of electrocution exists. Errors due to operating loads can be eliminated using the new method. Analysis of the measurement errors according to the new method is described. The results of analysis indicate that the effect of the operating load is eliminated. The new earth fault loop impedance meters can have wide application in the low-voltage systems.


The rapid growth of computer technologies and the ad-vent of the World Wide Web have increased the amount and the complexity of multimedia information. A content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system has been developed as an ef-ficient image retrieval tool, whereby the user can provide their query to the system to allow it to retrieve the user's desired image from the image database. However, the tradi-tional relevance feedback of CBIR has some limitations that will decrease the performance of the CBIR system, such as the imbalance of training-set problem, classification prob-lem, limited information from user problem, and insuffi-cient trainingset problem. Therefore, in this study, we pro-posed an enhanced relevance-feedback method to support the user query based on the representative image selection and weight ranking of the images retrieved. The support vector machine (SVM) has been used to support the learn-ing process to reduce the semantic gap between the user and the CBIR system. From these experiments, the proposed learning method has enabled users to improve their search results based on the performance of CBIR system. In addi-tion, the experiments also proved that by solving the imbal-ance training set issue, the performance of CBIR could be improved.


In this paper, based on the theory of double layered vibration isolation, the finite element dynamic model of floating raft vibration isolation system has been established for the project of vibration and noise control in a heat exchange station. The dynamic model of single pump is simplified an elastic cylinder based on the principle of equivalent parameters, and the elastic raft frame is used of steel structure. The dynamic characteristics of the system is analyzed by used of ANSYS with SOLID45 unit and COMBIN14 spring-damper unit, which provide an important basis for the engineering design of floating raft isolation system with pumping units.


The concept of leadership is versatile, and its interpretation varies in every field. For some, an example of a leader is a student who chooses to spend his or her time researching and addressing certain larger issues,such as the college mental health problem (Aller, 2017). For others, an individual might stand as a representation of the essence of leadership as Arthur Henry King does for Gardner and Christian(2017). Some aspects of these interpretations are consistent no matter the context, including the idea that a leader is inspirational. That being said, a few interpretations of the word "leadership" are accepted across the board. In this essay, I will discuss some people who possessed exemplary leadership qualities and how they changed history through their writing. It is my belief that the most influential leaders do not seek to attain followers, but to inspire conversation for change.


European statistical data (2015) show that the employment rates of graduates aged 20-34 are lowest for those in search of their first job. This may reflect not only issues related to job market fluctuation, but also difficulties in matching educational outcomes and labour market needs, which is an issue known to be a key component of the Europe 2020 strategy. In Romania, the transition to competence-based curricula and an increasing number of university partnerships with companies have contributed to raise student employability. However, there are multiple signals that there seems to be an important skills gap that makes transition to work difficult and costly for both employees and employers. In this respect, the authors' research on professional and transversal competences within technology-based blended learning environments, personal observation, discussion with students and colleagues from the industries, as well as a growing number of studies on success factors in higher education, career and life during the 21st century, have revealed the need for a complex mindset that includes cognitive and non-cognitive skills. It is also known that, in spite of agreeing on a certain set of core professional and transversal competences, higher education institutions and employer value differently these factors. Increased attention has been paid to modalities to develop social-emotional and affective skills (SEA), which are said to favour academic and career success. The major categories include: approach to learning, intrapersonal skills and social skills. The present study is based on the assumption that contextual learning may be a useful addition to the blended learning environment in place so as to help identifying which SEA skills are more important for career readiness and creating premises for their implementation. For this purpose, we created a non-formal learning context (workshop) bringing together students, teachers and IT professionals with the aim of raising students' awareness of models of organizational and work culture and practitioners' view on future employees' essential competences needed for an efficient and smooth integration on the job market. Then, the impact of the event was surveyed with the help of a questionnaire applied at the end of the event. The results of data analysis are expected to provide suggestions to align and supplement skills needed by graduates with existing curricular provisions. Additionally, it could indicate directions for further exploration of the role and value of non-cognitive skills for all actors involved and blended learning solutions to improve them.


The major objectives of this paper are: (1) to review the pros and cons of the scenarios of past anthropogenic land cover change (ALCC) developed during the last ten years, (2) to discuss issues related to pollen-based reconstruction of the past land-cover and introduce a new method, REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites), to infer long-term records of past landcover from pollen data, (3) to present a new project (LANDCLIM: LAND cover – CLIMate interactions in NW Europe during the Holocene) currently underway, and show preliminary results of REVEALS reconstructions of the regional land-cover in the Czech Republic for five selected time windows of the Holocene, and (4) to discuss the implications and future directions in climate and vegetation/land-cover modeling, and in the assessment of the effects of human-induced changes in land-cover on the regional climate through altered feedbacks. The existing ALCC scenarios show large discrepancies between them, and few cover time periods older than AD 800. When these scenarios are used to assess the impact of human land-use on climate, contrasting results are obtained. It emphasizes the need for methods such as the REVEALS model-based land-cover reconstructions. They might help to fine-tune descriptions of past landcover and lead to a better understanding of how long-term changes in ALCC might have influenced climate. The REVEALS model is demonstrated to provide better estimates of the regional vegetation/land-cover changes than the traditional use of pollen percentages. This will achieve a robust assessment of land cover at regionalto continental-spatial scale throughout the Holocene. We present maps of REVEALS estimates for the percentage cover of 10 plant functional types (PFTs) at 200 BP and 6000 BP, and of the two open-land PFTs "grassland" and "agricultural land" at five time-windows from 6000 BP to recent time. The LANDCLIM results are expected to provide crucial data to reassess ALCC estimates for a better understanding of the land suface-atmosphere interactions.


Abstract Tsaregorodtsevite [N(CH3)4][Si2(Si0.5Al0.5)O6]2 is a unique feldspathoid with a tetramethylammonium (TMA+) organic cation in an ordered, sodalite-like framework of orthorhombic symmetry (I222) with a = 8.984(3), b = 8.937(2), and c = 8.927(2) Å . Here, 13C cross polarization MAS and 1H MAS NMR spectra give direct evidence that the organic material in the cavities in tsaregorodtsevite is TMA+. The 27Al and 29Si MAS NMR spectra, and XRD data show that the framework is well ordered with Si in the T1 and T2 sites and both Si and Al in the T3 site. Upon heating, the colorless tsaregorodtsevite crystals change color becoming yellow, then brown, and finally black. In this study 1H, 13C, 27Al, and 29Si MAS NMR, powder XRD, and electron microprobe analyses are used to investigate the structural changes in tsaregorodtsevite on heating. The cell dimensions and T-O bond lengths decrease, and there are two phase changes. At 690 °C, the TMA+ molecule breaks down to form aromatic rings and acidic groups, possibly including benzene and the pyridinium ion, with ammonia and other gases produced. The Al-Si framework changes slightly to give a less well-ordered tetragonal structure (I422), with a = 8.925(1), c = 8.908(1) Å , and a small amount of Al enters a separate phase. After heating at 970 °C, the organic material has further broken down with little C and H visible by NMR spectroscopy. The Al-Si framework forms at least two new phases: one with a cubic crystalline structure (I432) with a = 8.817(3) Å , and an amorphous aluminosilicate phase. There is a small residue of the initial structure even after heating for one hour at over 900 °C.


We generalize analysis of competition among newsvendors to a setting in which competitors possess asymmetric information about future demand realizations, and this information is limited to knowledge of the support of demand distribution. In such a setting, traditional expectation-based optimization criteria are not adequate and therefore we focus on the alternative criterion used in the robust optimization literature: the absolute regret minimization. We show existence and derive closed-form expressions for the robustoptimization Nash equilibrium solution for a game with an arbitrary number of players. This solution allows us to gain insight into the nature of robust asymmetric newsvendor competition. We show that the competitive solution in the presence of information asymmetry is an intuitive extension of the robust solution for the monopolistic newsvendor problem, which allows us to distill the impact of both competition and information asymmetry. In addition, we show that, contrary to the intuition, a competing newsvendor does not necessarily benefit from having better information about its own demand distribution than its competitor has.


Application running on wireless terminals and providing interaction techniques through a graphical user interface requires a high communication rate. Commonly such a user interaction involves just navigation within image space over a raster image. The interaction is supported mainly by the interface objects such as the usual buttons and menus. The paper presents the research and the experimental results on the interaction and navigation techniques through the application space, which is actually the real object space. The experiments concern with the interaction by street network at various levels of details, and the adaptive selection accuracy of the user cursor. The work is an extension of the TUGIS platform to support the development of LBS applications. The purpose is to provide all the functionality of the TUGIS system, adapted to the very specific and restricted context of the wireless mobile platforms. For this purpose, new interaction modes have been researched, as well as ways to transfer data more efficiently and economically. Some practical tests on smart phone are presented as well.


One-point and two-point exponential functions have been developed and proved to be very effective approximations of structural response. The exponential has been compared to the linear, reciprocal and quadratic fit methods. Four test problems in structural analysis have been selected. The use of such approximations is attractive in structural optimization to reduce the numbers of exact analyses which involve computationally expensive finite element analysis.


This dissertation uses the case of Participatory Budgeting (PB) in Brazilian municipalities from 1989-2008 to evaluate the motivations for and effects of citizen participation in local budgetary decisions. Policies permitting citizen participation in local politics are being promoted around the world as a wholesale solution to a variety of problems, ranging from corruption, to voter apathy, to inequality. In the Brazilian case, the specific purposes of PB are improving public services and increasing citizen involvement in decision-making, and the policy is generally popular among citizens. In light of these dual demands, I argue that there are two potential theories derived from literature on voting, and democratic theory more broadly, that can explain the widespread popularity of participatory budgeting: (1) PB is popular because it provides instrumental material benefits, such as improved public services to citizens; and (2) PB is popular because it provides intrinsic benefits: the act of participating (or having the option to participate) is itself valuable to citizens. I begin by testing these competing theories of intrinsic and instrumental motivation for participation using subjective survey data from Porto Alegre--the flagship case of PB both in Brazil and around the world. I find that participants are fairly evenly divided between these two motivations, however the distribution is dependent on demographics: those with high socioeconomic status are much more likely to participate for intrinsic purposes than instrumental ones. In the second part of the dissertation, I use objective quantitative measures to systematically test the instrumental effects of Participatory Budgeting on spending patterns, public service provision, and human welfare in all 562 Brazilian municipalities over 50,000 residents, 25 percent of which implemented Participatory Budgeting at some point between 1992 and 2008. After correcting for endogeneity, I find that while PB does produce a change in spending patterns, it does not produce a corresponding change in service provision or welfare. Together, these findings suggest that while instrumental benefits may be lacking, PB should not be summarily dismissed as a result. It was adopted to address to two related demands from citizens : (1) improved public services, particularly for poor citizens; and (2) opportunities for citizens to be involved in municipal decision-making. It could be that success in one of these areas is sufficient to justify its popularity


Endothelial dysfunction is an early event in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and its associated cardiovascular morbidities. Endothelial microparticles (EMPs) are endothelium-derived sub-micron vesicles that are released in response to diverse stimuli. Our study aims to investigate the effect of EMPs on endothelial cell function/dysfunction focusing on the Akt/eNOS signalling pathway and lipid-induced oxidative stress. EMPs were generated in vitro using TNFα-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Flow cytometry was used to quantify the generated EMPs. HUVECs were cultured in M199 and treated with and without 100 µM palmitate in the presence or absence of 105 and 106 EMPs. Nitric oxide bioavailability in EMPs and HUVECs was measured using DAF-2. H2DCF-DA was used to quantify reactive oxygen species (ROS). Lipid peroxidation and activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase were determined by colorimetric assays, while RT-PCR and western blotting were used to assess eNOS, Akt and NOX4 expression. Analysis of the NO production suggests that EMPs carry a functional eNOS. Palmitate stimulation evoked oxidative stress and reduced activity of the antioxidant enzymes as well as A23187-stimulated NO production in HUVECs. RT-PCR and western blotting demonstrated a marked decrease in eNOS and Akt and increased NOX4 expression in palmitate-treated endothelial cells. EMPs protected against the palmitate-induced endothelial dysfunction through attenuation of oxidative stress and positive regulation of Akt/eNOS signalling, leading to an increased NO production. In conclusion, our data strongly suggest that EMPs express a functional eNOS and are effective in protecting endothelial cells against lipid-induced dysfunction.


Several significant uranium discoveries have been made since 1953 along the front range of Colorado. Uranium ore has been found both in Precambrian rocks and sedimentary rocks. The Precambrian rocks consist of metasediments and intrusive batholithic granites. The sediments range from Pennsylvanian to Tertiary in age. Uranium ore is found in the upper (Muddy) sandstone member of the Dakota formation in close association with asphalt, pyrite, and ilsmenite (molybdenum oxide) and is controlled by a west dipping strike-slip fault. The ore body occupies a position adjacent to and in the footwall side of the fault, and traces of uranium are found on the hanging wall side. Uranium is also found in the lower sandy portion of the Dakota shale.The uraninite is believed to be a primary ore of hydrothermal origin. It is further suggested that uranium-bearing hydrothermal solutions originated in the Precambrian complex and migrated eastward along the Golden thrust fault. The Golden thrust fault, which underlies the area, therefore served as a conduit for the solutions. The solutions then migrated into minor shear zones that intersect the main Golden thrust fault, and where these minor faults traversed permeable sandstone, the solutions impregnated the sandstone. Uranium was then precipitated from the hydrothermal solutions when favorable conditions for deposition, such as asphaltum, were encountered.


Background Since the pioneering work of Jacobson and Suarez, microsurgery has steadily progressed and is now used in all surgical specialities, particularly in plastic surgery. Before performing clinical procedures it is necessary to learn the basic techniques in the laboratory. Objective To assess an animal model, thereby circumventing the following issues: ethical rules, cost, anesthesia and training time. Methods Between July 2012 and September 2012, 182 earthworms were used for 150 microsurgical trainings to simulate discrepancy microanastomoses. Training was undertaken over 10 weekly periods. Each training session included 15 simulations of microanastomoses performed using the Harashina technique (earthworm diameters >1.5 mm [n=5], between 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm [n=5], and <1.0 mm [n=5]). The technique is presented and documented. A linear model with main variable as the number of the week (as a numeric covariate) and the size of the animal (as a factor) was used to determine the trend in time of anastomosis over subsequent weeks as well as differences between the different size groups. Results The linear model showed a significant trend (P<0.001) in time of anastomosis in the course of the training, as well as significant differences (P<0.001) between the groups of animal of different sizes. For diameter >1.5 mm, mean anastomosis time decreased from 19.6±1.9 min to 12.6±0.7 min between the first and last week of training. For training involving smaller diameters, the results showed a reduction in execution time of 36.1% (P<0.01) (diameter between 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm) and 40.6% (P<0.01) (diameter <1.0 mm) between the first and last weeks. The study demonstrates an improvement in the dexterity and speed of nodes' execution. Conclusion The earthworm appears to be a reliable experimental model for microsurgical training of discrepancy microanastomoses. Its numerous advantages, as discussed in the present report, show that this model of training will significantly grow and develop in the near future.


Chip multiprocessors with few to tens of processing cores are already commercially available. Increased scaling of technology is making it feasible to integrate even more cores on a single chip. Providing the cores with fast access to data is vital to overall system performance. When a core requires access to a piece of data, the core's private cache memory is searched first. If a miss occurs, the data is looked up in the next level(s) of the memory hierarchy, where often one or more levels of cache are shared between two or more cores. Communication between the cores and the slices of the on-chip shared cache is carried through the network-on-chip(NoC). Interestingly, the cache and NoC mutually affect the operation of each other; communication over the NoC affects the access latency of cache data, while the cache organization generates the coherence and data messages, thus affecting the communication patterns and latency over the NoC.

This thesis considers hybrid packet/circuit switched NoCs, i.e., packet switched NoCs enhanced with the ability to configure circuits. The communication and performance benefit that come from using circuits is predicated on amortizing the time cost incurred for configuring the circuits. To address this challenge, NoC designs are proposed that take advantage of properties of the cache traffic, namely temporal locality and predictability, to amortize or hide the circuit configuration time cost.

First, a coarse-grained circuit configuration policy is proposed that exploits the temporal locality in the cache traffic to periodically configure circuits for the heavily communicating nodes. This allows the design of a locality-aware cache that promotes temporal communication locality through data placement, while designing suitable data replacement and migration policies.

Next, a fine-grained configuration policy, called Deja Vu switching, is proposed for leveraging predictability of data messages by initiating a circuit configuration as soon as a cache hit is detected and before the data becomes available. Its benefit is demonstrated for saving interconnect energy in multi-plane NoCs.

Finally, a more proactive configuration policy is proposed for fast caches, where circuit reservations are initiated by request messages, which can greatly improve communication latency and system performance.


We show that if a strictly positive joint probability distribution for a set of binary random variables factors according to a tree, then vertex separation represents all and only the independence relations encoded in the distribution. The same result is shown to hold also for multivariate strictly positive normal distributions. Our proof uses a new property of conditional independence that holds for these two classes of probability distributions.


Human-agent interaction for learning with instruction canbe viewed on a continuum of instructor/agent control. At one extreme are systems that learn by instructor-driveninteractions, such as learning by demonstration, examples,or imitation. The other extreme of the continuum isoccupied by systems where instructor interaction is limited to responding to the questions posed by the agent or toproviding feedback on agent's performance. There are advantages to an approach that explores a mixed-initiative instructional dialog. We describe an approach to mixed-initiative interaction based on collaborative discourse theory that allows Soar agents to learn from situated instruction.


The 'Txt2Stop' SMS messaging programme has been found to double smokers' chances of stopping. It is important to characterise the content of this information in terms of specific behaviour change techniques (BCTs) for the purpose of future development. This study aimed to (i) extend a proven system for coding BCTs to text messaging and (ii) characterise Txt2Stop using this system. A taxonomy previously used to specify BCTs in face-to-face behavioural support for smoking cessation was adapted for the Txt2Stop messages and inter-rater reliability for the adapted system assessed. The system was then applied to all the messages in the Txt2Stop programme to determine its profile in terms of BCTs used. The text message taxonomy comprised 34 BCTs. Inter-rater reliability was moderate, reaching a ceiling of 61% for the core program messages with all discrepancies readily resolved. Of 899 texts delivering BCTs, 218 aimed to maintain motivation to remain abstinent, 870 to enhance self-regulatory capacity or skills, 39 to promote use of adjuvant behaviours such as using stop-smoking medication, 552 to maintain engagement with the intervention and 24 were general communication techniques. The content of Txt2Stop focuses on helping smokers with self-regulation and maintaining engagement with the intervention. The intervention focuses to a lesser extent on boosting motivation to remain abstinent; little attention is given to promoting effective use of adjuvant behaviours such as use of nicotine replacement therapy. As new interventions of this kind are developed it will be possible to compare their effectiveness and relate this to standardised descriptions of their content using this system.


The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has performed systematic measurements of phi meson production in the K+K- decay channel at midrapidity in p + p, d + Au, Cu + Cu, and Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. Results are presented on the phi invariant yield and the nuclear modification factor R-AA for Au + Au and Cu + Cu, and R-dA for d + Au collisions, studied as a function of transverse momentum (1 < p(T) < 7 GeV/c) and centrality. In central and midcentral Au + Au collisions, the R-AA of phi exhibits a suppression relative to expectations from binary scaled p + p results. The amount of suppression is smaller than that of the pi(0) and the. in the intermediate p(T) range (2-5 GeV/c), whereas, at higher p(T), the phi, pi(0), and. show similar suppression. The baryon (proton and antiproton) excess observed in central Au + Au collisions at intermediate p(T) is not observed for the phi meson despite the similar masses of the proton and the phi. This suggests that the excess is linked to the number of valence quarks in the hadron rather than its mass. The difference gradually disappears with decreasing centrality, and, for peripheral collisions, the R-AA values for both particle species are consistent with binary scaling. Cu + Cu collisions show the same yield and suppression as Au + Au collisions for the same number of N-part. The R-dA of phi shows no evidence for cold nuclear effects within uncertainties.


Entrepreneurs tend to have emotional fluctuations in entrepreneurial process because of the incredible uncertainties embedded in the process (Judge and Douglas, 2013). The negative emotions such as stress, fear of failure and hopelessness may arouse and exert detrimental effects on entrepreneurs. Besides, there are also positive EEs (entrepreneurial emotions) such as satisfaction, passion, hopefulness and self-assurance. The relation between faith and EEs has been indicated in some research works (e.g. Bellu and Fiume, 2007; Tombaugh et al., 2011). With a further literature review, we found the gap between the two fields- FAW (faith at work) and EEs. Accordingly, we came up with our research purpose which is to explore the influence of faith on EEs at the individual level. In order to fulfill the research purpose, a qualitative study based on abduction is conducted. Empirical data is collected from seven entrepreneurs from Sweden in the form of semi-structured interviews. Bycombining the Four E's model – four integrated dimensions of faith manifestation with seven identified EEs from the literature, the empirical research is conducted. Our empirical findings confirmed the theories, and additional findings are acquired regarding EEs. The outcome indicates the positive impact of faith on EEs. More specifically, faith orientation in entrepreneurial process does not only promote positive emotions such as satisfaction, passion and altruistic love, but also helps overcome the negative emotions such as stress, fear of failure and doubts or withdraw their negative effects. It comes to the conclusion that faith-oriented entrepreneurs tend to have a stable state of their emotions during entrepreneurial process.


Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging medical imaging technology that can generate high resolution, cross-sectional images of tissue in situ and in real time. Although endoscopic OCT has been used successfully to identify certain pathologies in the gastrointestinal tract, the resolution of current endoscopic OCT systems has been limited to 10-15 microm for in vivo studies. In this study, in vivo imaging of the rabbit gastrointestinal tract is demonstrated at a three-fold higher resolution (< 5 microm), using a broadband Cr(4+):Forsterite laser as the optical light source. Images acquired from the esophagus, trachea, and colon reveal high resolution details of tissue architecture. Definitive correlation of architectural features in OCT images and histological sections is shown. The ability of ultrahigh resolution endoscopic OCT to image tissue morphology at an unprecedented resolution in vivo advances the development of OCT as a potential imaging tool for the early detection of neoplastic changes in biological tissue.


There is currently a growing interest in two concepts and practices related to open innovation and absorptive capacity, in particular with regard to the role played by individuals. This requires a deeper understanding of these concepts because the fundamental basis of any open innovation process is intrinsically linked to the absorptive capacity of an organization, regardless of the degree of openness adopted by innovative firms. This research aimed to understand in depth how these companies deal with different levels of absorptive capacity, since it is a variable that can impact open innovation processes. The cosmetic industry was chosen for its relevance in the Brazilian economic context, and also because it is deeply involved with innovation due to its characteristics of launching new products at every season of the year.. Also, the industry has been little explored by researchers. The findings indicate that the Brazilian market leading companies have a greater tendency to seek for external knowledge but also make use of knowledge from internal R&D, while others focused more on the internally produced knowledge. Assimilation is easiest in companies that invest in people´s training or in those that select people with better abilities and qualification, which are large companies. The more open practices are, the more efforts are required, indicating greater complexity in management, and higher level of demand for absorption capacity. It has been confirmed a significant relationship between the concepts (i.e. greater intensity of open innovation suggest a greater commitment for absorptive capacity). More open companies have shown higher levels of absorption capacity, where the knowledge acquired externally are usually assimilated and related to existing knowledge.


ABSTRACT This paper examines how care-giving to adults and/or children and care-receiving is associated with the health and wellbeing of older people aged 50+ in rural South Africa. Data used are from a cross-sectional survey adapted from World Health Organization's Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) conducted in 2009/10 in rural South Africa. Bivariate statistics and multivariate logistical regression were used to assess the relationship between care-giving and/or care-receiving with functional disability, quality of life or emotional wellbeing, and self-rated health status, adjusted for socio-demographic factors. Sixty-three per cent of 422 older people were care-givers to at least one young adult or child; 27 per cent of older people were care-givers due to HIV-related reasons in young adults; 84 per cent of participants were care-recipients mainly from adult children, grandchildren and spouse. In logistic regressions adjusting for sex, age, marital status, education, receipt of grants, household headship, household wealth and HIV status, care-giving was statistically significantly associated with good functional ability as measured by ability to perform activities of daily living. This relationship was stronger for older people providing care-giving to adults than to children. In contrast, care-givers were less likely to report good emotional wellbeing; again the relationship was stronger for care-givers to adults than children. Simultaneous care-giving and -receiving was likewise associated with good functional ability, but about a 47 per cent lower chance of good emotional wellbeing. Participants who were HIV-infected were more likely to be in better health but less likely to be receiving care than those who were HIV-affected. Our findings suggest a strong relationship between care-giving and poor emotional wellbeing via an economic or psychological stressor pathway. Interventions that improve older people's socio-economic circumstances and reduce financial hardship as well as those that provide social support would go some way towards mitigating this relationship.


A case-control study was conducted to identify risk factors for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) in renal transplant recipients. Eleven cases of PCP were matched with 22 controls. Cases occurred a median of 18 months after transplantation, and none of the recipients was receiving prophylaxis. Univariate analysis showed that graft rejection, duration of steroid use, use of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors and lymphocytopenia at the time of prophylaxis discontinuation were risk factors for PCP. In the multivariate model, only graft rejection (OR 8.66, p 0.017) remained significantly associated with PCP. In patients with a history of graft rejection, PCP prophylaxis should be maintained, especially among those with lymphocytopenia.


Text style transfer is usually performed using attributes that can take a handful of discrete values (e.g., positive to negative reviews). In this work, we introduce an architecture that can leverage pre-trained consistent continuous distributed style representations and use them to transfer to an attribute unseen during training, without requiring any re-tuning of the style transfer model. We demonstrate the method by training an architecture to transfer text conveying one sentiment to another sentiment, using a fine-grained set of over 20 sentiment labels rather than the binary positive/negative often used in style transfer. Our experiments show that this model can then rewrite text to match a target sentiment that was unseen during training.


Background: Characteristics of patients undergoing outpatient evaluation for advanced cardiac therapies are largely unknown. Objective: To describe demographics, baseline quality of life, and frailty of patients undergoing evaluation for advanced therapies at the time of presentation for evaluation in an outpatient cardiac palliative care clinic and examine key quality of life differences across patients. Design: Retrospective chart review to report baseline demographics and quality of life. Settings/Subjects: Patients at a large academic medical center in the United States referred for advanced cardiac therapies in 2021. Measurements: Depression and anxiety were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; quality of life was measured using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative care (FACIT-Pal) tool; and frailty was measured using the Fried Frailty Phenotype. Differences in quality of life by disease etiology, demographic characteristics, and frailty were assessed. Results: Fifty-four patients were seen in the outpatient cardiac palliative care clinic for advanced therapy evaluation. Most were Caucasian (80%) and male (74%). Patients traveled an average of 61 minutes to the clinic. All but five lived in a rural, medically underserved, or health professional shortage area. Forty percent scored abnormal or borderline abnormal for anxiety; 22% scored abnormal or borderline abnormal for depression. The FACIT-Pal mean score was 129 (standard deviation 23), with emotional and functional well-being domains contributing most to poor quality of life. Seventy-one percent were frail. Patients with a nonischemic etiology had a 3.32 times higher rate of anxiety than nonischemic patients (95% confidence interval = 1.05-10.54, p = 0.041). Conclusion: As patients undergoing transplant evaluation have high levels of depression, anxiety, and frailty, interdisciplinary care teams will be needed to properly manage the needs of this complex population. These results can inform efforts to integrate palliative care into advanced cardiac therapy and improve patients' experiences.


Episiotomy, one of the causes of perineal trauma, is one of the world's leading obstetric surgical practices that have increased significantly during the 20th century. The American Gynecology and Obstetric Union (2016) does not recommend the routine application of episiotomies during spontaneous vaginal deliveries and recommends it in cases where a rapid delivery of the fetus is required, in operative vaginal deliveries and in shoulder dystocia cases. In current studies, the episiotomy frequency in the world varies between 50% and 95% for nulliparas and 6-20% for multiparas. In our country, studies on the frequency of episiotomy are limited, but the application frequency of episiotomy is 90-99% for nulliparas and 50% -75% for multiparas in those studies. Today, much current evidence suggests that limited episiotomy is more protective than routine episiotomy in terms of perineal trauma. In this respect, there are various applications in the literature aimed at reducing the incidence of perineal trauma. These applications include perineal massage, warm application to the perineum, birth positions, hand maneuvers and push out. These methods are methods that reduce perineal trauma. The practitioners of these methods are midwives and obstetric and gynecological nurses who have a very important role and responsibility at/ during the vaginal birth. For this reason, this review study was carried out in order to increase the sensitivity to the subject and to guide health professionals by drawing attention to the alternative methods in order to reduce perineal traumas such as episiotomies and lacerations in accordance with the related current literature.


The junction line entering is the common flaw that has often arisen in the resistance welding, especially within the resistance seam welding for the high-temperature alloys. It decreases the effective nugget diameter and reduces the tensile-shear strength of welding joint. Stress concentration can be easily created in the junction line entering under moving loading, which induces crack formation and thus seriously affects the welding quality. Owing to the plenty of factors effect on the junction line entering as well as big difficulties for experiment and the high failure rates,junction line entering has the great significance for the stability of welding quality to study its forming and protective measure. The junction line entering for the high-temperature alloy GH163 was studied through the seam welding as follows: surface conditions, welding variables, and agitation force. Some reasonable solutions for entering were provided.


Detecting subtle indicators of trustworthiness is highly adaptive for moving effectively amongst social partners. One powerful signal is gaze direction, which individuals can use to inform (or deceive) by looking toward (or away from) important objects or events in the environment. Here, across 5 experiments, we investigate whether implicit learning about gaze cues can influence subsequent economic transactions; we also examine some of the underlying mechanisms. In the 1st experiment, we demonstrate that people invest more money with individuals whose gaze information has previously been helpful, possibly reflecting enhanced trust appraisals. However, in 2 further experiments, we show that other mechanisms driving this behavior include obligations to fairness or (painful) altruism, since people also make more generous offers and allocations of money to individuals with reliable gaze cues in adapted 1-shot ultimatum games and 1-shot dictator games. In 2 final experiments, we show that the introduction of perceptual noise while following gaze can disrupt these effects, but only when the social partners are unfamiliar. Nonconscious detection of reliable gaze cues can prompt altruism toward others, probably reflecting the interplay of systems that encode identity and control gaze-evoked attention, integrating the reinforcement value of gaze cues.


Banking sector of any economy is said to be the lifeline of that country. Banking is the core of the economy. It is the most important part of the financial system of that economy that plays a vital role in its functioning and in the overall progress and development of the economy.A smooth, stable and efficient banking sector is very important to increase the level of the economy in the country. The forces such as liberalization and globalization have influenced the banking sector of India in a very strong manner. These forces also effect the functioning of the banking sectors. To overcome the impact of such reforms various strategies have been adopted by the banks. In this competitive world, every manager, investor, shareholders of the banks are focusing on the financial position of the banks in the hope of gaining profits as well as for the survival of the banks in the long run. For achieving the purpose, Banks nowadays are going through various changes in the forms of corporate restructuring etc.The objective of this paper is to analyse the financial performance of the State Bank of India. For this, the Camel Approach has been used which focuses on the parameters such as Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Management Quality Ratios, Earnings Ratios and Liquidity Ratios. The Camel Approach indicates the factors that are performing very well and those factors also whose performance should be improved. This paper is an attempt that has been made to identify the actual position as well as the strength of the State Bank of India so that it could help the investors in making decisions for their investment.


Saccharomyces Cereviceae which amobil at media in order to . Amobilisasi is cell which allocation at certain place so that the detachable cell from product and can be used recuring. Process oil intake from coconut mink of coconut can be conducted with a few the way of , that is : rendering, pengepresan , ferment . At our research process oil intake conducted by ferment use microbe repeatedly with stable activity
This research aim to : determining best condition of amobilisasi Saccharomyces cereviceae anddetermine stability of cell amobil , in order to can be used repeatedly .
methodologies of this Research is started from coconut mink of coconut soaked during two clock happened by two coat that is skim and cream . Cream of coconut mink 100 ml included into bottle of ferment enhanced by starter of cell of amobil Saccharomyces cereviceae of according to peubah ( 2,4,6,8, 10 ml ), later;then ferment at pH = 4,5, during 24 clock , atcolumn temperature
After analysed a best result of ferment obtained from starter addition 10 ml and 1 times the cell amobil usage with result sbb: obtained by a oil volume = 44 ml % FFA = 0,3 , lathering number = 252,45 , number iodium = 8,63 , and the peroxide number = 0 . And at cell amobil Saccharomyces cereviceae usage = 5 times its stability can be taken care of equal to = 88,63%.
Keyword : Ferment , Saccharomyces Cereviceae amobil, Cream of coconut mink coconut, Palm oil .


In the original audit (1998–2001) medical, nursing, social and resource issues contributing to long stay paediatric admissions (>100 days) were identified. 11 children were found with stays in excess of 100 days (4505 bed days) with an estimated cost of £1.5 million. It was also shown that, over time, social and resource factors became the predominant reasons preventing children's discharge, rather than medical or nursing issues. As a result our Trust developed a services package aimed at facilitating early discharge and maintaining home placements for children with complex needs, including a Transitional Care Team, which provides care within the hospital based Transitional Care Unit and community settings. Additionally, there is a Community Paediatric Nursing Team who facilitate care packages, respite and competency based training for those involved in the children's care. Furthermore, there is a dedicated community paediatrician with expertise in palliative care. We have repeated the audit 10 years later. Only 5 children stayed over 100 days resulting in 625 bed days (mean 125). This was an 86.1% reduction in bed days for patients staying greater than 100 days. Case note review suggests that in 80% (4/5) of these cases the primary reason for prolonged hospitalisation was the child's intensive medical and nursing needs. In addition the 4 children, for whom service involvement documentation was available, had active involvement from our new services. We believe this audit confirms our impression that development of expert community based care has significantly contributed to shortening stays for our most complex and vulnerable children.


Background: The results of the Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial showed positive benefits from blood pressure-lowering treatment in those aged 80 and over. Method: An analysis by the pre-specified subgroups [age, sex, history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and initial SBP] was performed. The Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 3845 participants aged 80 and over with SBPs of 160–199 mmHg and diastolic pressures below 110 mmHg recruited from Europe, China, Australasia and Tunisia. Active treatment was indapamide sustained-release 1.5 mg with the addition of perindopril 2–4 mg as required to reach a target blood pressure of less than 150/80 mmHg. Results: For total mortality, benefits were consistent: men [hazard ratio 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62–1.11], women (hazard ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.66–0.99), those aged 80–84.9 (hazard ratio 0.76, 95% CI 0.60–0.96), those aged 85 and over (hazard ratio 0.87, 95% CI 0.64–1.20), those with a history of CVD (hazard ratio 0.76, 95% CI 0.48–1.20) and those without (hazard ratio 0.81, 95% CI 0.65–0.99), and similarly across a range of baseline SBPs. The point estimates for cardiovascular mortality, strokes, heart failure and cardiovascular events were all in favour of benefit. In the per-protocol analysis, strokes were reduced by 34% (P = 0.026), total mortality by 28% (P = 0.001), cardiovascular event by 37% (P < 0.001) and heart failure by 72% (P < 0.001). Conclusion: In hypertensive patients aged 80 or more, treatment based on indapamide (sustained-release) 1.5 mg showed consistent benefits across pre-specified subgroups including those without established CVD (the majority), supporting the need for treatment even at this advanced age. There were too few aged 90 or over to determine benefit from treatment at extreme age.


High-definition fluoroscopic imaging is required to perform endovascular procedures safely and precisely, especially in complex cases, resulting in longer procedures and increased radiation exposure. This is of importance for training institutions as trainees, even with sound instruction in as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) principles, tend to have high radiation exposures. Recently, there was an upgrade in the imaging system allowing for comparison of radiation exposure to patients and providers. We performed an analysis of consecutive endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and superficial femoral artery (SFA) interventions in the years 2013 to 2014. We recorded body mass index (BMI) and fluoroscopy time (FT) and subsequently matched 1:1 based on BMI, FT, or both. We determined radiation dose using air kerma (AK) and also recorded individual surgeons' badge readings. Allura Xper FD20 was upgraded to AlluraClarity with ClarityIQ. We identified a total of 77 EVARs (52 pre and 25 post) and 134 SFA interventions (99 pre and 35 post). Unmatched results for EVAR were BMI pre 26.2 versus post 25.8 (kg/m2, P = .325), FT 28.1 versus 21.2 (minutes, P = .051), and AK 1178.5 versus 581 (mGy, P < .001), respectively. After matching, there was a 53.2% reduction in AK (846.1 vs 395.9 mGy; P = .004) for EVAR. Unmatched results for SFA interventions were BMI pre 28.1 versus post 26.6 (P = .327), FT 18.7 versus 16.2 (P = .282), and AK 285.6 versus 106.0 (P < .001), respectively. After matching, there was a 57.0% reduction in AK (305.0 vs 131.3, P < .001). The total deep dose equivalent from surgeons' badge readings decreased from 39.5 to 17 mrem (P = .029). Aortic and peripheral endovascular interventions can be performed with reduced radiation exposure to patients and providers, employing modern fixed imaging systems with advanced dose reduction technology. This is of particular importance in the light of the increasing volume and complexity of endovascular and hybrid procedures as well as the prospect of decades of radiation exposure during training and practice.


This paper describes a cross-version compiler validator and measures its effectiveness on the CLR JIT compiler. The validator checks for semantically equivalent assembly language output from various versions of the compiler, including versions across a seven-month time period, across two architectures (x86 and ARM), across two compilation scenarios (JIT and MDIL), and across optimizations levels. For month-to-month comparisons, the validator achieves a false alarm rate of just 2.2%. To help understand reported semantic differences, the validator performs a root-cause analysis on the counterexample traces generated by the underlying automated theorem proving tools. This root-cause analysis groups most of the counterexamples into a small number of buckets, reducing the number of counterexamples analyzed by hand by anywhere from 53% to 96%. The validator ran on over 500,000 methods across a large suite of test programs, finding 12 previously unknown correctness and performance bugs in the CLR compiler.


Holography, with its stunning 3-D realism and its expressive potential, in the 1970s and 1980s seemed poised to become the next step in the evolution of visual display. Yet apart from certain specialized niches, display holograms are perhaps more rarely encountered in everyday life than they were 20 or 30 years ago. But the recent resurgence of interest in 3-D video for entertainment applications has underlined the limitations of left/right stereoscopic imaging and created a desire for more natural 3-D imagery in which no glasses are required and all perceptual cues to depth are provided in a consistent fashion. Could holographyVwhose transition from darkroom to digital has taken some years longer than that of photographyVcapitalize on this opportunity? In this paper, I examine digital developments in holographic printing, holo- graphic projection, and holographic television, and explore connections between holographic imaging and areas such as integral imaging and telepresence.


Water is a precious resource that is under threat from a number
of pressures, including release of toxic compounds that can have damaging
effect on ecology and human health. The current methods of water quality
monitoring are based on sample collection and analysis at dedicated
laboratories. This can provide an incomplete picture of the status of the water
body as pollution events can be missed. Recently, electrochemical based methods
have attracted a lot of attention for environmental sensing owing to their
versatility, sensitivity and compatible integration with cost effective, smart
and portable readout systems. In the present work, we report on the fabrication
and characterization of platinum interdigitated microband electrodes arrays,
and their application for trace detection of copper. Using square wave voltammetry
after acidification with mineral acids, a limit of detection of 0.8 μg/L was
achieved. Copper detection was also under taken on river water samples and
compared with standard analytical techniques. The possibility of controlling
the pH at the surface of the sensors – thereby avoiding the necessity to add
mineral acids – was investigated. By applying potentials driving the water
splitting reaction at one comb on the sensors electrode (the protonator), it
was possible to lower the pH in the vicinity of the sensing electrode.
Detection of standard copper solutions down to 5 μg/L using this technique is
reported. This reagent free method of
detection opens the way for autonomous, in situ monitoring of pollutants in
water bodies.


Madelung's disease (MD) or Multiple Symmetric Lipomatosis is a condition characterized by the accumulation of unencapsulated adipose tissue deposited symmetrically around the neck and upper trunk (type I - most common form). Its etiology is still unclear, but it is clearly associated with chronic excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Physical deformities lead the patient to seek medical care, along with possible symptoms of cervical involvement such as reduced mobility and respiratory disorders. Multiple Symmetric Lipomatosis diagnosis is clinical and can be complemented with imaging to rule out other diagnostic hypotheses and assess the extent of involvement. Treatment can be performed in two ways: clinical or surgical (lipectomy or liposuction). We report the case of a patient with Multiple Symmetric Lipomatosis type I surgically treated with both techniques: cervical lipectomy and abdominal liposuction. The patient evolved satisfactorily, with a reduction in complaints and no recurrences so far. ABSTRACT técnicas: lipectomia e lipoaspiração


Background Molecular biomarkers are promising tools to be routinely used in clinical psychiatry. Among psychiatric diseases, major depression disorder (MDD) has gotten attention due to its growing prevalence and morbidity. Methods We tested some peripheral molecular parameters such as serum mature Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (mBDNF), plasma C-Reactive Protein (CRP), serum cortisol (SC), and the salivary Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR), as well as the Pittsburgh sleep quality inventory (PSQI), as part of a multibiomarker panel for potential use in MDD diagnosis and evaluation of disease's chronicity using regression models, and ROC curve. Results For diagnosis model, two groups were analyzed: patients in the first episode of major depression (MD: n = 30) and a healthy control (CG: n = 32). None of those diagnosis models tested had greater power than Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-6. For MDD chronicity, a group of patients with treatment-resistant major depression (TRD: n = 28) was tested across the MD group. The best chronicity model (p < 0.05) that discriminated between MD and TRD included four parameters, namely PSQI, CAR, SC, and mBDNF (AUC ROC = 0.99), with 96% of sensitivity and 93% of specificity. Conclusion These results indicate that changes in specific biomarkers (CAR, SC, mBDNF and PSQI) have potential on the evaluation of MDD chronicity, but not for its diagnosis. Therefore, these findings can contribute for further studies aiming the development of a stronger model to be commercially available and used in psychiatry clinical practice.


Despite a wide range of studies and medical progress, it seems that we are far from significantly mitigating the problem of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The problem has major social and behavioral components. Developing innovative and effective policies requires a broad scope of analysis and consideration of the highly interconnected social, behavioral, and medical variables. In this article, we take a systems approach and offer an illustrative causal loop diagram which includes individual and social dynamics. Based on the map, we discuss 5 major barriers for effective interventions in PTSD. These barriers work as vicious cycles in the system, reduce effectiveness and therefore value of PTSD treatment. We also discuss policy implications of this perspective.


Experiments were performed to reveal some of the computational properties of the human motor memory system. We show that as humans practice reaching movements while interacting with a novel mechanical environment, they learn an internal model of the inverse dynamics of that environment. Subjects show recall of this model at testing sessions 24 hours after the initial practice. The representation of the internal model in memory is such that there is interference when there is an attempt to learn a new inverse dynamics map immediately after an anticorrelated mapping was learned. We suggest that this interference is an indication that the same computational elements used to encode the first inverse dynamics map are being used to learn the second mapping. We predict that this leads to a forgetting of the initially learned skill.


Cosmic-ray (CR) particles propagating in the Galaxy interact in the interstellar medium with gas, losing energy and producing secondary particles via inelastic losses and fragmentation. Observations of the secondaries can be used to constrain the origin and propagation of the CRs, and may also provide signatures of new physics. To date CR propagation models have used the 2D Galactocentric cylindrical symmetry approximation for the spatial distribution of the interstellar gas. This is partly due to difficulties in uniquely determining its true 3D structure. In this contribution a method for determining the 3D spatial distribution of interstellar gas is described and first results using it to develop models that can be used in CR propagation codes like GALPROP are given. Implications for analysis of CR and γ-ray data using 3D spatial models for the interstellar gas are also discussed.


As computation-intensive tasks such as deep learning and big data analysis take advantage of GPU based accelerators, the interconnection links may become a bottleneck. In this paper, we investigate the upcoming performance bottleneck of multi-accelerator systems, as the number of accelerators equipped with single host grows. We instrumented the host PCIe fabric to measure the data transfer and compared it with the measurements from the software tool. It shows how the data transfer (P2P) helps to avoid the bottleneck on the interconnection links, but multi-GPU performance does not scale up as expected due to the control messages. We quantify the impact of host control messages with suggestions to remedy scalability bottlenecks. We also implement the proposed strategy on Lulesh to validate the concept. The result shows our strategy can save 59.86% time cost of the kernel and 13.32% PCIe H2D payload.


. The article describes and analyses connections established between Roman Jakobson's scholarly legacy and the topic of translation in a selection of academic reference works. The aim in doing so is twofold: first, to look beyond the conventionalised image of Jakobson as an influential scholar for several disciplines, such as translation studies, linguistics and semiotics, and to provide an overview of the actual reception of his ideas on the level of general academic knowledge as presented by scholarly reference works in these fields. Another aim is to find out whether and how Jakobson's ideas on translation are seen to relate to his other ideas concerning language and communication. It appears that — while there also exist some differences field-wise as well as among individual reference works — the general reception of Jakobson is based predominantly on just two of his articles (out of his overall legacy of several hundred works) and to a large extent ignores the inner logic of Jakobson's thought as it manifests in his different works (i.e. there are few connections made between his ideas expressed in his different works).


Substantial controversy has surrounded the premise that semantic information may
make an important contribution to the development and function of fast and efficient
word recognition. This debate has been fuelled by the alternative explanations of
semantic processing offered by the two major models of word recognition (Parallel
Distributed Processing, PDP and Dual Route Cascade, DRC). Whilst some data has
indicated facilitative effects of semantic information for all reading abilities and word
types, other data suggests that these are restricted to people with poor decoding skills
and to conditions where word recognition is more difficult, such as for low frequency
words. Large variation in the age groups used to explore semantic effects has
substantially contributed to the mixed findings in the literature, as have results from
studies examining reading acquisition when compared to studies examining word
recognition processes. The current series of experiments aimed to reconcile these
discrepancies by a) investigating the contribution of specific forms of semantic
information to the word learning of beginning readers and b) examining whether
semantic information affects orthographic and phonological decisions in beginning
readers.
In Experiment 1, Grade 1 children (n = 77, Mage= 6 years, 6 months) of
varying decoding abilities were trained to read non-words with support from different
forms of semantic information (high meaning, low meaning, high imageability, low
imageability). The results showed that high meaning stimuli produced an accuracy
advantage over all other semantic stimuli for decoders of good and average ability.
However, poor decoders received equal benefit from high and low meaning stimuli,
with both producing an accuracy advantage over the image stimuli. Although
facilitation effects were evident for reaction time performance overall, these did not
differ as a function of decoding ability. Experiment 2 investigated whether the
facilitative effects of semantics for word learning were also present when this
information was used to prime lexical decisions. New high and low meaning and high
imageability stimuli were developed and the low imageability condition was replaced
with a non-semantic control condition. A new group of Grade 1 readers (n = 61, Mage
= 6 years, 9 months) responded to word and pseudo homophone pairs, preceded by the
presentation of the semantic primes. Semantic facilitation effects were consistent with
those found in Experiment 1, however, these varied between accuracy and reaction
time measures. For good and average decoders, semantic facilitation effects were
restricted to reaction time advantages, whereas poor decoders received a performance
benefit for accuracy only.
Experiment 3 aimed to extend these results by investigating whether semantic
priming effects could also be found for a phonological decision task and whether
performance effects for both tasks differed as a function of word frequency. A new
group of Grade 1 readers (n = 45, Mage= 6 years, 9 months) responded to the lexical
decision task and to a phonological decision task, created by replacing previous words
with pseudoword and pseudohomophone pairs. Sets of high and low frequency words
and associated semantic primes were developed for each task, maintaining meaning
and control conditions only. The results for the lexical task were consistent with those
of Experiment 2 and showed that the contribution of high and low levels of semantic
information differed depending on the frequency of the words presented. Findings for
the phonological task indicated that although performance was not affected by the
frequency manipulation, semantic priming effects for good and average decoders
were similar to those in Experiments 1 and 2. In contrast, performance data failed to
show semantic priming effects for poor decoders.
Overall, the results of these studies suggest that the presentation of meaning
related information can facilitate both word learning and children's ability to
recognise words based on orthographic and phonological knowledge. The semantic
facilitation effects support previous research findings, however, they indicate that the
influence of semantic information can extend to readers of good decoding ability and
the processing of high as well as low frequency words. The findings do not fit neatly
with current models of word recognition, however, they show predominant support
for the PDP model in which semantic processing is integral. The results indicate that
beginning readers could benefit from reading instruction methods that provide
specific semantic information and that optimal results will be achieved when this
information is meaning-based rather than image-based and of a level suitable to the
decoding ability of the reader.


The properties of transducer materials operating at high frequencies determine the level of performance which is achievable. Selection of the appropriate material can be made based on the transducer size and frequency. The properties of a number of piezoceramic materials have been experimentally determined by measuring the electrical impedance of air-loaded resonators whose thickness corresponds to resonance frequencies from 10 to 100 MHz. Materials measured include commercially available high dielectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and lower dielectric modified lead titanate (PT) ceramics, as well as materials which have been designed or modified to result in improved properties at high frequencies. Conclusions regarding the influence of the microstructure and composition on the frequency dependence of the properties are made based on the calculations and microstructural analysis of each material. Issues which affect transducer performance are discussed in relation to the measured properties. For larger area transducers the use of a lower dielectric constant material results in better electrical matching between the transducer and standard 50 /spl Omega/ electronics. KLM model simulations show improved performance for transducers which are electrically matched.


We present a joint analysis of newly acquired gravity and teleseismic data in the North Tanzanian Divergence, where the lithospheric break-up is at its earliest stage. The impact of a mantle upwelling in more mature branches of the East African Rift has been extensively studied at a lithospheric scale. However, few studies have been completed that relate the deep-seated mantle anomaly detected in broad regional seismic tomography with the surface deformation observed in the thick Archaean Pan-African suture zone located in North Tanzania. Our joint inversion closes the gap between local and regional geophysical studies, providing velocity and density structures from the surface down to ca. 250  km depth with new details. Our results support the idea of a broad mantle upwelling rising up to the lithosphere and creating a thermal modification along its path. However, our study clearly presents an increasing amplitude of the associated anomaly both in velocity and density above 200 km depth, which cannot be solely explained by a temperature rise. We infer from our images the combined impact of melt (2–3 per cent), composition and hydration that accompany the modification of a thick heterogenous cratonic lithosphere are a response to the hot mantle rising. The detailed images we obtained in density and velocity assert that Archaean and Proterozoic units interact with the mantle upwelling to restrict the lithosphere modifications within the Magadi–Natron–Manyara rift arm. The composition and hydration variations associated with those units equilibrate the thermal erosion of the craton root and allow for its stability between 100 and 200  km depth. Above 80 km depth, the crustal part is strongly affected by intruding bodies (melt and gas) which produces large negative anomalies in both velocity and density beneath the main magmatic centres. In addition to the global impact of a superplume, the velocity and density anomaly pattern suggests a 3-D distribution of the crust and mantle lithospheric stretching, which is likely to be controlled by inherited fabrics and enhanced by lateral compositional and hydration variations at the Tanzanian craton-orogenic belt boundary.


Helium cooled Gas Fast Reactors (GFR) are designed for producing energy more efficiently and improving safety features such as a total retention of fission products (Xe, I, Cs). This study deals with the diffusion of xenon in refractory liners dedicated to the retention of fission products produced in GFR fuels. The material (W, Mo, W-Re, Mo-Re) will be located in the heart of the nuclear fuel element, where the operating temperature is in the 1000°C- 1600°C range. For the investigation of thermally activated rare gas behaviour, a γ-spectrometry analysis experiment has been performed on the 133Xenon implanted refractory liner. Preliminary results on the 133Xenon release at 1600°C from a tungsten single crystal is presented. In spite of the low concentration of implanted gas (~ppm) and simple microstructure, the prevailing mechanism appears to be complex. One and two dimensional diffusion models are used to characterize or discriminate the highlighted phenomena: burst release, diffusion and trapping of rare gas atoms.


This article describes the processes, challenges, and outcomes of a project undertaken by Kansas State University (K-State) Libraries and a global community of researchers. The project, initiated by librarians in the newly created Faculty and Graduate Services Department, involved collaboration with a K-State agronomist. The initial concept was to create an open access database of croplands research submitted by researchers from the Global Research Alliance Croplands Research Group, a consortium of over 30 countries. Due to the project's complexity, it was determined that a more manageable approach would be to pilot the project by including research from only the United States and Australia to resolve problems before scaling up to include all 34 countries in the GRA Croplands Research Group.


In order to complete the design of any structure, an adequate simulation of its construction process is required. This simulation tries to guarantee that the structure can be built safely, that is to say that safety thresholds are not exceeded during the construction stages. In the case of cable-stayed bridges, simulation procedures must be prepared to deal with the computational difficulties derived from their statically redundancy.

Traditionally, the simulation of the construction process of a cable-stayed bridge is carried out from two alternative simulation approaches: the Backward and the Forward approach. In these two methods structural changes produced during erection are successively added to the preceding (forward simulation) or the following (backward simulation) construction stage. This superposition of stages is the main trade off of these methods because it increases the computation time. Furthermore, these approaches do not enable the direct simulation of intermediate construction stages.

To solve these problems the Direct Algorithm (DA) is presented in this work to deal with the simulation of the construction process of cable-stayed bridges built on temporary supports. To speed up the computation, this algorithm takes advantage of the unstressed length of the stays concept. This assumption enables an innovative direct simulation of the construction process that does not require the superposition of stages. The DA is indicated for optimization processes and simulation of changes in the tensioning process of cable-stayed bridges. Furthermore, the DA is so simple that it can be implemented in any computer software.


This is a study that aims to look at the violence occurring in Sudan and Libya in 2011. It asks the question why there was an intervention in the latter case but not the former. The analysis will use an integrated theoretical framework, looking at national interests, power balance and international norms to explain the behavior and decision-making of states in these particular cases. The fact that so little has been done or said about the conflict in Sudan is troubling, and deserves an explanation, especially considering the very different reaction to similar situations like Libya at the time. This study uses a comparative method to map the differences and similarities between the two cases using both statistical numbers and facts, as well as a content analysis to examine the discourse and media coverage on the two conflicts. The analysis may seem very broad and complex, but the same can be said about world politics in general. It is a very complex thing, and sometimes a complex explanation is required. Very rarely is there just one answer to a question like this, but many different perspectives that are often equally legitimate and important to consider. This is the basis of the method used in this study, to use different perspectives to give a clearer overall image of why states act as they do, and why they make the decisions that they make.


Background: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is considered as the most life-threatening pandemic disease during the last decade. The individual nutritional status, though usually ignored in the management of COVID-19, plays a critical role in the immune function and pathogenesis of infection. Accordingly, the present review article aimed to report the effects of nutrients and nutraceuticals on respiratory viral infections including COVID-19, with a focus on their mechanisms of action. Methods: Studies were identified via systematic searches of the databases including PubMed/ MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar from 2000 until April 2020, using keywords. All relevant clinical and experimental studies published in English were included. Results: Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is common in severe respiratory infections and should be considered in the management of COVID-19 patients. On the other hand, obesity can be accompanied by decreasing the host immunity. Therefore, increasing physical activity at home and a slight caloric restriction with adequate intake of micronutrients and nutraceuticals are simple aids to boost host immunity and decrease the clinical manifestations of COVID-19. Conclusion: The most important nutrients which can be considered for COVID-19 management are vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, zinc, and probiotics. Their adequacy should be provided through dietary intake or appropriate supplementation. Moreover, adequate intake of some other dietary agents including vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, alpha linolenic acid and phytochemicals are required to maintain the host immunity.