Rollators/wheeled walkers are a commonly used mobility aid that are utilized by people with a wide array of mobility challenges such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and general loss of stability and control associated with aging or injury. The main benefit of walkers is that they are low cost, have a simple design, and allow users to maintain independence and continued physical activity. The largest concern with walker use is that accidents and improper use can cause falls. Falls can have serious repercussions such as broken bones, soft tissue damage, further loss of mobility, and increased fear. The focus of this research is a continuation of previous work focused on making walkers safer through understanding the use of assistive automation. Walkers with the addition of automation are termed Robotic Rollator (RR). A significant amount of research has been already done on RR. Two main strategies for RR research is either modifying existing manual rollators or creating a custom RR from the ground up. Each option has its difficulties. The modified rollators have the problem that commercial walkers have such a wide variation in designs that sensor readings may not be transferable from one model to another model. From experience on an earlier iteration of the WatkeRR project, force and odometry measurements can be significantly affected by flexing and sliding of the lightweight frames. For these reasons it was decided that a custom RR would be used. This prompted the development of the Waterloo Robotic Rollator (WatkeRR). The WatkeRR was built to be a platform for measuring and testing low-cost controls and sensors. The base frame is designed to be able to match existing dimensions of most, if not all, commercial rollators by adjusting to match height, width, handle position, and wheelbase. It was important that the controls and data collection systems are untethered to allow for use outside a lab. To make the project more accessible, the controls are modular and built on an open source control structure. The open source modular nature of the platform allows for parallel projects to be conducted at the same time. The following features are discussed: force sensing handles, modular caster wheels, wheel force loading, odometry, top-level human/WatkeRR control, Robot Operating System (ROS) integration/simulation, vision systems, and machine learning. Controlling the human/walker system is a challenging problem as the system can vary even during use. Change in the control of a walker is different for each user, including gripping, fatigue, injury, or walker type. The critical challenge of the control problem is the fact that the desired path of the user is not known. The data from a user can also vary depending on their physical and mental state. To be able to determine the desired path without direct input from the user three separate approaches can be utilized: 1) forces applied to the walker through the handles, 2) tracking position/pose of the user, and 3) iii detecting probable path to a known object. While the scope of determining user intent being larger than this thesis, a major focus will be on object detection. Determining what objects of interest are around a rollator allows for an insight into user intent. The use of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), a deep learning approach that has shown promise for object detection is a field that has recently been advancing rapidly. This advancement has enabled safer and more effective autonomous vehicles. The second part of this thesis focuses on enabling object detection on the WatkeRR and integrating into a larger control strategy. The challenges of CNN application to the WatkeRR is that it needs to be achieved with fewer sensors, lower cost components, and less processing power. The navigation of WatkeRR can be performed indoors or outdoors which, due to highly variable lighting conditions, can cause problems with a vision system. As well, moving in crowds is not as much of a well defined problem as moving on roads with a car. Only a few years ago, to train a CNN to detect even simple cases required days or weeks and access to a super computer. Now, top-level retraining on a commercial GPU can take a few minutes. This toplevel training utilizes existing inception network structures. My work covers methods for obtaining training data, comparisons to a wide array of different input data as well as a hierarchical structure for improving precision. A significant amount of current work on CNN is focused on black box approaches that can determine a large number of classes. The disadvantage of this is that training takes significantly longer and detection accuracy for specific classes can be lower. With the improved training data and the application of the proposed hierarchical structure being used to train an established network. You Only Look Once (YOLO) used for detecting and localizing a wide range of objects.The thesis concludes with a set of recommendations on how to utilize this network in the ROS and how it will be integrated into path planning.


Alan Paterson's latest masterwork has left no stone unturned. It is executed with the same breadth and depth but with even more attention to detail than his Law Lords  book. It will serve as a uniquely informative and thought-provoking reference work for generations of scholars. Very few academics have the guts and the energy to conduct empirical research, especially with elites. No-one has analysed the top court with Paterson's intelligence and insight. His painstaking work is humbling to the rest of us. This article therefore modestly offers a few reflections to mull over and points to watch in future. Every year, I take my class of American law students in to observe the Court and meet a different Justice and a judicial assistant, and to observe proceedings. I ask them to think about the following points and compare the UKSC in these respects with the US Supreme Court.


Public libraries are "accessible canons" for their communities. As part of their efforts to connect people and ideas, librarians purchase classic and bestselling books from "selective," "personal," "nonce," and other canons. They also create bibliographies, professional standards, and other tools that help shape reading habits. Thus libraries embody complex, ongoing processes of canon using and canon forming. This essay illustrates the canonical activities of American public libraries during the early years of the profession. It describes the American Library Association Catalog , local finding lists and accession records, and other primary sources that shed light on collection building during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Taking Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) as a case study, it presents statistics on library ownership during the author's lifetime from more than seven hundred communities across the United States. Tables focus on nine titles: The Innocents Abroad , Roughing It , The Gilded Age , The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , The Prince and the Pauper , Life on the Mississippi , Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court , and The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson . Statistical analysis reveals that "controversial" items such as Huckleberry Finn were widely available in Gilded-Age and Progressive-era public libraries, thus calling into question some assumptions about censorship of Twain's work. Also, library holdings of some titles varied by decade and geography, demonstrating that libraries implemented "national" and "recognized" canons unevenly. In sum, the essay shifts attention toward the operationalization of literary canons and provides empirical evidence of Mark Twain's presence in the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century literary landscape.


During recent times we are dealing with multiple medical complications occurring in a single pregnant woman. It is well known fact that insulin resistance is present during normal pregnancy and it is relatively diabetogenic state. In women with genetic predisposition, diabetes, hypertension and hypothyroidism complicate pregnancy resulting in increased maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. There was evidence in the literature regarding insulin resistance and gestational diabetes. This review analysed the literature regarding the association of diabetes, hypertension and hypothyroidism and found that there is a linkage between these three disorders in pregnant state and the insulin resistance develops by multiple molecular mechanisms both centrally and in peripheral tissues. The key mechanism is insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) which gets inactivated by serine phosphorylation and leads to hyperglycaemia which in turn leads to stimulation of beta cells of pancreas and leads to hyperinsulinaemia. Pancreas has thyroid hormone receptors and this stimulates the secretion of insulin leading hyperinsulinaemia. Hyperglycaemia leading to increase in free fatty acids and together with proinflammatory factors and reactive oxygen species causes endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. More studies are necessary to target insulin receptor to increase insulin sensitivity and prevent these disorders occurring together.


The minimum spatial resolution of optical systems in the diffraction limit is approximately the free space wavelength divided by twice the numerical aperture (NA) of the system. NA is defined as the product of the index of refraction at the focal point and the sine of the maximum convergence angle of the light. Resolution below the diffraction limit in air can be achieved with a solid immersion lens (SIL) by scanning a sample within the near field of a spot formed in a high refractive-index lens material in the manner of Mansfield and Kino (1990). This paper presents a technique for microfabricating high-NA SILs in silicon with diameters on the order of 10 μm. Silicon has a higher index than previously demonstrated SILs, and it transmits well in the mid-infrared and near-infrared wavelength ranges, making it an ideal choice for high-resolution thermometry and spectroscopy. However, traditional methods for manufacturing SILs are time consuming, labor intensive, and expensive and cannot typically be used to make lenses smaller than 1 mm in diameter. We review current microlens fabrication techniques and describe the fabrication process developed for this work. We include a method for lens formation using acetone vapor to reflow photoresist pillars that can be used to make aspherical as well as spherical lenses. Microlenses etched in single-crystal silicon with diameters on the order of 10 μm and NAs as high as 3.0 are shown. Wafer-scale fabrication offers the opportunity to integrate microlenses onto MEMs structures such as scanning probes for optical imaging, lithography, spectroscopy, and thermometry with high optical efficiency and spatial resolution.


In this study, we propose a novel method to estimate the effective earth radius factor (K factor) by using the propagation characteristics of two different frequencies in UHF band; the propagation characteristics can be measured over the seto inland sea (SIS). In the proposed method, it is assumed that the propagation losses are characterized by the Two-ray model in connection with both variations of K factor and sea level. If the propagation losses of two frequencies and the sea level are obtained, the value of K factor can be estimated in the reasonable range (1.0 < K < 3.0). This method provides to estimate the K factor without using a radiosonde. This paper shows the method of estimating the K factor from propagation losses of UHF band radio waves. And, based on the estimated K factor data, this paper newly evaluates the statistical characteristics of the K factor in the SIS region.


At congested highway interchanges, horizontal and vertical clearance requirements may dictate the use of narrow piers and shallow depth cap girders to accommodate the various roadways and overpasses. In situations such as this, the state of Texas uses horizontally curved steel plate girders as the bridge structural system, supported on integral steel cap girders at single column piers. Two bearings are used to connect the steel cap girder to the concrete pier. Owing to the narrow pier, unbalanced loading may produce a transverse overturning moment at the pier; the bearings resist this moment by developing a couple, with one bearing loaded in compression and one bearing loaded in tension. When the unbalanced loading is caused by truck traffic, which is cyclic, the bearing resisting the uplift is subject to fatigue loading. The standard connection used by the state of Texas is an in-house design that comprises a line rocker bearing, which accommodates the horizontal rotation, and embedded anchor bolts that are used to both resist potential uplift and to provide a positive connection from the cap girder to the pier. The behavior of this connection, however, is not well understood and the detailing is complex. The objectives of this research were to examine and categorize the behavior of the existing connection and to develop a new detail that is simpler and cost effective, and to develop design guidelines for steel reinforcement in the concrete pier cap. The research showed that the standard Texas Department of Transportation connection performs adequately with respect to horizontal rotation but that it cannot resist uplift because of the poor fatigue characteristics of threaded anchor bolts. While the fatigue problem may be mitigated by post-tensioning the uplift bearing, this option in not available for the standard connection. Two new connection details were developed, one to be used for situations in which uplift does not occur and one that is capable of resisting uplift. The new details replace the line rocker with a rolled wide-flange section, and the threaded anchor bolts are replaced with high-strength threadbar, which is specifically designed for post-tensioning. The new connections proved to be more cost effective than the standard connection. At the top of the concrete pier, a strut-and-tie model is recommended for designing the steel reinforcement to support the bearing loads.


We present an embedded software-based automatic calibration system for high-end digital still cameras. By using electronic shutter associated with charge-coupled device (CCD), the system can calibrate the characteristics of the sensor, the mechanical shutter, and the lens accurately. It has been built in several camera models and applied on a practical mass production line. The calibration time for each camera is less than 30 seconds and the calibrated cameras can get very high precision parameters for controlling image capture function.


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to assess the effects of static (SS) and dynamic stretching (DS) on vertical jump performance executed before, immediately after and at the end of the shooting phase (i.e., 15 min later), as to simulate the actual conditions preceding a match, in professional basketball players.

METHODS
Ten elite basketball players (age: 29±6.73 years, height: 194.67±7.75 cm, weight: 91±8.17 kg and BMI 23.8±7.91 kg.m-2) participated to the study. SS and DS protocols were administered during the first training session of the week, 48 hours after the championship match. Stretching protocols consisted in ~7 minutes of general warm-up phase followed by ~8 minutes of SS and DS, performed with a cross-over design., and ~15 minutes of a specific warm-up shooting phase (SP). Vertical jump tests consisted in counter movement jump (CMJ) and CMJ with arm swings (CMJas) and were performed immediately after the end of each stretching phase (preS, postS, postSP).

RESULTS
A significant decrease (P=0.05; η2partial=0.29) in jumping tests height occurred in CMJas, when performed after the SS (i.e., PostS). However, no significant differences in jumping performances, occurred after the general warm phase and the specific warm-up shooting phase, between the two stretching protocols.

CONCLUSIONS
These results would indicate that, overall, stretching routines either dynamic or static, performed before a basketball match are transient and affect only marginally leg muscles performance. Stretching routines, particularly the dynamic ones, may be useful to maintain muscle performance before a competition, provided that this latter begins shortly after.


Spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) has become one of the most practical power lithium-ion battery cathode materials due to its advantages of three-dimensional Li+ diffusion channel, higher potential window (3.5–5V), high-energy density (∼660 Wh/kg), and high-power density. In this manuscript, a hollow spherical LNMO material with large size and high crystallinity is prepared by a modified coprecipitation method using ethyl alcohol as a peptizator. Subsequently, the prepared LNMO material is further modified by an Al2O3 coating to improve its cycle stability. Results show that the initial discharge-specific capacity of LNMO material with 1 wt% Al2O3 coating is 133.7 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C rate, and the capacity retention rate is 97.7% after 100 cycles. The effective increase in the cycle life of the battery can be attributed to the uniform and dense Al2O3 coating on the surface of the material.


There is a recent perception in forensic science that all methods of analysis should approach the ''gold standard'' of DNA analysis. This paper will examine the potential for such an expectation to be met in the nascent forensic science sub-discipline of facial comparison. Turning to first principles of biology and genetics, and moving through to application of scientific knowledge in the forensic context in facial comparison and DNA profiling, the paper will critically consider the actual and potential degree of commonality between the two. The significance of biological function, the genetic basis of individual variation, statistical comparison, historical and contemporary empirical studies, Darwinian selection and environmental influences will be systematically considered— where known. Particular attention will be paid to the work of Alphonse Bertillon, especially as applied to faces. The significance of techniques in ''facial mapping'' will also be considered. The paper will conclude that facial comparison can never approach the rigor of forensic DNA analysis and will consider the degree to which the expectation that all forensic sciences can meet the gold standard of forensic DNA analysis is naive.


The EUV source is an impressive feat of engineering that provides 13.5 nm radiation by vaporizing tin droplets with a high power CO2 laser and focusing the photons produced in the resultant plasma into the scanner illumination system. Great strides have been made in addressing the many potential stability challenges, but there are still residual spatial and temporal dose non-uniformity signatures. Since even small dose errors can impact the yieldable process window for the advanced lithography products that are exposed on EUV scanners it is crucial to monitor and control the dose variability. Using on-board metrology, the EUV scanner outputs valuable metrics that provide real time insight into the dose performance. We have supplemented scanner data collection with a wafer based methodology that provides high throughput, high sensitivity, quantitative characterization of the EUV scanner dose delivery. The technique uses open frame EUV exposures, so it is exclusive of lithographic pattern imaging, exclusive of lithographic mask pattern and not limited by placement of metrology features. Processed wafers are inspected rapidly, providing 20,000 pixels of detail per exposure field in approximately one minute. Exposing the wafer on the scanner with a bit less than the resist E0 (open frame clearing dose) results in good sensitivity to small variations in the EUV dose delivered. The nominal exposure dose can be modulated by field to calibrate the inspection results and provide quantitative assessment of variations with < 1% sensitivity. This technique has been used for dose uniformity assessments. It is also being used for long term dose stability monitoring and has proven valuable for short term dose stability follow up investigations.


In the ascending aorta, atherosclerotic plaque formation, which is a risk factor for cerebrovascular events, most often occurs along the inner curvature. Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disease, but the predilection site for the aortic vessel degradation is probably flow dependent. To better understand the aortic flow and especially the complex flow patterns, the ascending aorta was scanned intraoperatively in patients undergoing heart surgery using the angle-independent vector velocity ultrasound method Transverse Oscillation (TO). The primary aim of the study was to analyze systolic backflow in relation to atherosclerosis. Thirteen patients with normal aortic valves were included in to the study. TO implemented on a conventional US scanner (ProFocus 2202 UltraView, BK Medical, Herlev, Denmark) with a linear array transducer (8670, BK Medical, Herlev, Denmark) was used intraoperatively on the ascending aorta in long axis view. The presence of systolic backflow, visualized with TO, was correlated to aortic atherosclerosis, to systolic velocities obtained with transesophageal echocardiography and cardiac output obtained with pulmonary artery catheter thermodilution, to gender, age, aortic diameter, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and previous myocardial infarctions (MI). Systolic backflow in the ascending aorta was present for 38% (n=5) of the patients. The location of the backflow was strongly associated to the location of the plaques (p<;0.005), and backflow was associated to high systolic velocities (p<;0.05). The other obtained parameters were not associated to systolic backflow. It was shown that systolic backflow is a common flow feature in the ascending aorta, and that backflow is associated to atherosclerotic plaques and systolic velocities. The study indicates that vector flow imaging using TO can provide important blood flow information in the assessment of atherosclerosis.


Introduction: Health insurance is one of the main non-life insurance sectors, which contributes nearly 29% of general insurance premium income. Almost every industry in the world has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and its associated lockdowns, including the Indian insurance industry, which makes a significant contribution to a nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and economic development.
Objectives: This review of literature aims to critically evaluate the performance of Indian health insurance companies along with examining various opportunities and challenges during the time of COVID-19 pandemic.
Method: The present study is a combination of both exploratory and descriptive literature review types and was entirely based on published secondary data. Literature searches were performed using Google Scholar, Research Gate, ProQuest, and Scopus databases for articles published between 2020 and 2022. The study also used various annual reports of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the internet, newspaper articles, and company websites for the study.
Results: Even though there was a lack of literature on this topic, 19 articles were identified for review based on the keyword search that most closely matched the topic of the study. The study assesses the effectiveness of various Indian health insurance companies using four key metrics: gross health premium income, incurred claim ratio, number of policies issued or covered and amount of claim paid. Results of the study have shown that as more people get health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a notable growth seen in the overall performance of the health insurance business.
Conclusion: Health insurers faced both opportunities and challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the imperative need to develop more customer-centric new products and services that enable them to provide a significant health insurance benefit to the large untapped population of the Indian market.
*((The paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Embracing Change & Transformation Innovation and Creativity 26-28 May 2022)


The intermediate representation (IR) forms the information exchanged among different passes of program compilation. The intermediate format proposed for extensibility and persistence is written in XML. In this way, the program transformations that were internal to the compiler become visible. The hierarchical structure of XML makes a natural representation for the abstract syntax tree (AST). A compiler can parse the program source into an IR, then output it as an XML document. Separated by orthogonal namespaces, other IRs are also presented in the same XML document, gathering program information such as dependence vectors, transforming matrices, iteration spaces dependence graphs and cache reuse distances. This XML document can be exchanged between the compiler and program visualizers for parallelism and locality.


INTRODUCTION
Viral hepatitis remains a major public health problem in the sub-Saharan region. Diagnosis is often made at an advanced stage after a long period with few or no symptoms. Late diagnosis impedes optimal management.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
All patients treated for documented chronic hepatitis B or C from January 2001 to December 2009 were identified and the cost of their treatment was estimated. Data examined included socioeconomic information, circumstances surrounding diagnosis, cost of work-up, cost of curative treatment (pegylated interferon + ribavirin for hepatitis C and lamivudine for hepatitis B), and overall cost of support.

RESULTS
The study included 146 patients (65 women, 81 men) with a mean age of 34 years. Hepatitis was type B in 89 patients, type C in 51, and type B/C coinfection in 6 patients. The estimated cost of work-up was 483 USD for type B and 507 USD for type C. The cost of curative treatment was 1569 USD for type B and 7842 USD for type C. The estimated cost of support was 407 USD. The total cost of management was 2459 USD for type B and 8757 USD for type C. Only 9 patients received optimal treatment, and it resulted in curing 3 of the 4 with hepatitis B and 4 of the 5 with hepatitis C. During treatment, progression to cirrhosis occurred in two patients, one with hepatitis B and one with hepatitis C.

CONCLUSION
Financial constraints frequently prevent patients in Gabon with hepatitis B and C from receiving optimal care. The creation of a national healthcare system in 2008 may lead to cost reductions and improve management of this disease in a predominantly young population.


The long period of reciprocal antagonistic co‐evolution between some insects and plant species led to the development of plant surface attributes that reduce insect attachment. These attributes serve as a defence against herbivores and nectar robbers or to prevent the escape of insects from traps of carnivorous plants. This chapter summarizes results of our previous experimental studies as well as numerous literature data on attachment‐mediated insect–plant interactions and shows the effect of plant surfaces on insect attachment. The role of different plant surface structures, such as idioblasts with a peculiar cell shape and orientation, trichomes, wet coverage, cuticular folds, three‐dimensional epicuticular waxes and their hierarchical combinations, in preventing insect attachment is demonstrated and their ecological and biomimetic implications are discussed.


This study aims to undertake the evaluation of performance of the websites of foreign origin chain hotels operating in India. The evaluation is done by incorporating the modified Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach on four perspectives: technical, user friendly, site attractiveness, and marketing effectiveness. A set of seventy eight parameters are used to examine the sample websites. Most of the sample hotel websites are found to be user-friendly and technically sound. More is needed to be done to make sample websites marketing effective and attractive. Numerous suggestions are proposed on the basis of the results derived to improve website services online focusing on proposed areas of website improvement leading to achieve business goals.


To characterize rabbit production systems, a study was conducted in five counties within four regions of Kenya with significant rabbit farming. These included: Rift valley (Nakuru county), Central (Kiambu and Nyeri counties), Eastern (Meru county) and Coast (Taita Taveta county). Data were obtained through a field survey, questionnaires and personal observations between August and September 2011. This study covered the key areas of rabbit production such as: General farm details, number of rabbits, breeds and breeding practices, housing, feeds and feeding practices, diseases and disease control, constraints to production and recommendations appertaining to the key production challenges. Results showed that rabbit production in Kenya was mainly small scale (84.8%) principally for income generation and home consumption (89.6%). The rabbit breeds kept included: New Zealand White (29%), Crossbreds (24%), Californian white (12%), Chinchilla (11.5%), Dutch (8%) Flemish giant (5.5%) and French lop (4%), with the main breeding stocks being selected from own stocks or from the neighboring farms (90%). The majorities (75%) of the rabbits on farms were owned by either the household heads or by the spouses as opposed to children as it had been recorded in the past. However, at the coastal region (Taita Taveta county), rabbits were mainly kept by young people (54%) (sons) in contrast to other counties such as central (Nyeri) where only 1.7% of rabbit owners were young. Majority of the farmers (76.7%) had encountered at least one rabbit disease/symptom at the farm in the six months preceding the study period. The main rabbit diseases included; diarrhea (21%), mange (13.3%), bloat (11%), ear canker (10.6%) and pneumonia (10%). Disease control measures were practiced by only 43% of the farmers due to un-availability of either veterinary drugs or information on rabbit diseases. The five most important challenges to rabbit farming were: Lack of market for rabbits (51%), inadequate husbandry knowledge (28%), lack of quality breeding stocks (15.5%), insufficient funds for expansion (11%) and lack of rabbit feeds (8.7%). In conclusion, small scale rabbit production system were predominant, aimed at home consumption and income generation. The main cited challenges to production were: Lack of market for rabbits, inadequate husbandry knowledge, lack of quality breeding stocks, insufficient funds for expansion and lack of rabbit feeds. In order to address these challenges, some farmer suggested intervention measures were recorded as follows: Better rabbit breeding stocks should be introduced to the farmers through registered breeders, farmers should be trained on proper rabbit husbandry practices, sensitization of the Kenyan population on the benefits of rabbit meat and rabbit production should be conducted, and last but not least, research on rabbit feeding and disease management should be intensified and facilitated so as to inform rabbit production practices.


The late Archean atmosphere was probably rich in biologically generated CH4 and may well have contained a hydrocarbon haze layer similar to that observed today on Saturn's moon, Titan. Here we present a detailed model of the photochemistry of haze formation in the early atmosphere, and we examine the effects of such a haze layer on climate and ultraviolet radiation. We show that the thickness of the haze layer was limited by a negative feedback loop: A haze optical depth of more than ∼0.5 in the visible would have produced a strong "antigreenhouse effect," thereby cooling the surface and slowing the rate at which CH4 was produced. Given this climatic constraint on its visible optical depth, the amount of UV shielding provided by the haze can be estimated from knowledge of the optical properties and size distribution of the haze particles. Contrary to previous studies [Sagan and Chyba, 1997], we find that when the finite size of the particles is taken into account, the amount of UV shielding provided by the haze is small. Thus NH3 should have been rapidly photolyzed and should not have been sufficiently abundant to augment the atmospheric greenhouse effect. We also examine the question of whether photosynthetically generated O2 could have accumulated beneath the haze layer. For the model parameters considered here, the answer is "no": The upper limit on ground level O2 concentrations is ∼10−6 atm, and a more realistic estimate for pO2 during the late Archean is 10−8 atm. The stability of both O2 and NH3 is sensitive to the size distribution and optical properties of the haze particles, neither of which is well known. Further theoretical and laboratory work is needed to address these uncertainties.


This thesis focuses on two separate, but related areas: the analysis of translation technique and the Greek texts of Daniel. Foremost in the research of Translation Technique (TT) in the Septuagint is the need for a model that is appropriate for the analysis of different ancient languages. In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on the features of literalism in a translation, but it is argued in this thesis that the focus on literalism is inadequate as a methodology for the analysis of TT. The contention of this thesis is that the analysis of TT should incorporate insights from modem linguistic research. Therefore, the main purpose of this thesis is to develop and apply such a model to the Old Greek (CG) and Theodotion (Th)versions of Daniel. The existence of two complete Greek versions of the book of Daniel that are closely related to the same Vorlage (at least in chapters 1-3 and 7-12), furnish ideal examples for the application of the methodology. Unfortunately, it is no straightforward matter to employ the OG of Daniel, because the available critical edition can no longer be regarded as reliable. The most important witness to the OG version of Daniel is Papyrus 967, and large portions of this manuscript have been published since the appearance of the critical edition of the OG of Daniel in 1954. Therefore, in order to analyze and compare the two Greek texts of Daniel, it is necessary to evaluate all of the variants of Papyrus 967 in order to establish a preliminary critical text of OG. Once a critical text is established the proposed methodology for translation technique is applied to selected passages in the OG and Th versions of Daniel. An analysis and comparison of TT in OG and Th makes it possible to: 1) characterize the TT employed by OG and Th in detail; 2) determine Th's relationship to OG, i.e. is it a revision or independent translation; 3) demonstrate how the Greek texts can be employed effectively for textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible. On the basis of the analysis of Th's text it is also possible to determine Th's relationship to the body of works, which exhibit a close formal correspondence to the Masoretic text, known as Kaige-Theodotion.


In 1992 the known southern limit of Aedes albopictus in Florida was in Lee County. Through oviposition surveillance, the distribution of Ae. albopictus was determined, and its frequency relative to Aedes aegypti and colonization pattern of areas previously occupied by Ae. aegypti were examined in Lee County. The data collected in the first year of surveillance demonstrate the ability of Ae. albopictus to rapidly and preferentially colonize large expanses of rural southwest Florida. Urban and suburban areas of the county showed slower colonization rates. In suburban areas, Ae. albopictus became the dominant container-breeding mosquito species, whereas it did not become dominant in urban areas. During the study period, Ae. albopictus did not displace Ae. aegypti in urban or suburban habitats. The southern limit of Ae. albopictus moved a distance of 8.1 km (5 mi.) in 6 wk to the southern border of the county.


Author(s): Verbiscar, Anthony J.; Banigan, Thomas F.; Gentry, Howard Scott | Abstract: Red squill has been used in rodent control for several hundred years but in the United States its use has decreased since the 1950s. However, there is now a recognized need for rodenticides with different kinds of toxic activity. Red squill is being investigated as an acute rodenticide and an economic crop for the southwestern states. Clones from a prior USDA collection have been assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography and selections are being propagated in California and Arizona. The major toxicant, scilliroside, is relatively fast acting, causing convulsions and death to rats and mice. This glycoside is also strongly emetic to humans, cats and dogs, affording a safety factor uncommon to high-toxicity rodenticides. Our chemical, processing, agronomic, and toxicological studies are a technical basis for further developing this potentially superior rodenticide.


Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after lung transplantation may result from ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). The innate immune response to IRI may be mediated by Toll‐like receptor and IL‐1‐induced long pentraxin‐3 (PTX3) release. We hypothesized that elevated PTX3 levels were associated with PGD. We performed a nested case control study of lung transplant recipients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from the Lung Transplant Outcomes Group cohort. PTX3 levels were measured pretransplant, and 6 and 24 h postreperfusion. Cases were subjects with grade 3 PGD within 72 h of transplantation and controls were those without grade 3 PGD. Generalized estimating equations and multivariable logistic regression were used for analysis. We selected 40 PGD cases and 79 non‐PGD controls. Plasma PTX3 level was associated with PGD in IPF but not COPD recipients (p for interaction < 0.03). Among patients with IPF, PTX3 levels at 6 and 24 h were associated with PGD (OR = 1.6, p = 0.02 at 6 h; OR = 1.4, p = 0.008 at 24 h). Elevated PTX3 levels were associated with the development of PGD after lung transplantation in IPF patients. Future studies evaluating the role of innate immune activation in IPF and PGD are warranted.


This customised data report contains estimated resident population (ERP) by single year of age by statistical area level 1 (SA1) in Queensland and Tweed Shire local government area for 2011.


This study examined the effectiveness of matrix-training procedures in teaching action + object utterances in both the receptive and expressive language modalities. The subjects were 4 developmentally delayed preschool boys who failed to produce spontaneous, functional two-word utterances. A multiple baseline design across responses with a multiple probe technique was employed. Subjects were taught 4-6 of 48 receptive and 48 expressive responses. Acquisition of a word combination rule was facilitated by the use of familiar lexical items, whereas subsequent acquisition of new lexical knowledge was enhanced by couching training in a previously trained word combination pattern. Although receptive knowledge was not sufficient for the demonstration of corresponding expressive performance for most of the children, only minimal expressive training was required to achieve this objective. For most matrix items, subjects responded receptively before they did so expressively. For 2 subjects, when complete receptive recombinative generalization had not been achieved, expressive training facilitated receptive responding. The results of this study elucidate benefits to training one linguistic aspect (lexical item, word combination pattern) at a time to maximize generalization in developmentally delayed preschoolers.


The photovoltaic (PV) generating system has high potential, since the system is clean, environmental friendly and has secure energy sources. There are two types of PV system, which are grid connected and standalone systems. In the grid connected photovoltaic system (GCPV), PV generator supplies power to the grid, whether or not the whole or a portion of the generated energy will be used to supply load demands. Meanwhile, the standalone photovoltaic system (SAPV) is used to fulfil a load demand that close to its point of use. These days, many researchers study in term of optimization sizing of photovoltaic system, in order to select optimum number of PV modules, inverter, battery storage capacity, and tilt angle. Based on that, this review aims to give explanations on approaches done by previous researchers in order to find ultimate combinations for design parameters. Moreover, the paper discusses on modelling of PV system components, which includes PV panels' output power estimation and battery system. Finally, simulation softwares that used as sizing tools in previous studies are reviewed and studied.


Action, experience and emotion are the focus when it comes to performactivity. In cultural studies, the performative turn has shifted the focus away from texts and structures to inquiries into actions performed and the bodily experiences involved in creating collective meaning. In the field of history terms such as "living history," "doing history" and "reenactment" have been established to characterize the experiential component of various practices of reviving, restaging and appropriating events from the past in the present. The phenomena in question include battle reenactments and reconstructions of the past in museums, computer games and theme-based tourist attractions. Precise definitions and exact terminological distinctions have yet to be established, however.
While research into the phenomena of living history has spread beyond the English-speaking world to include Western and Central Europe, it is still in its infancy in East-Central and Southeastern Europe. The workshop takes this as its starting point, inquiring into the specific forms of living history in this region. Apart from the description of individual phenomena, the varied analytical approaches to this field used by researchers in various disciplines will be presented and discussed at the workshop.
The aim of the workshop is to enable an intensive dialogue between researchers in various disciplines engaged in the description and analysis of living history in East-Central and Southeastern Europe.
The workshop is organised in cooperation with the German Historical Institute Warsaw (Deutsches Historisches Institut Warschau/ DHI).


This study aims to examine the relation of managerial ownership, institutional ownership, firm size, leverage, profitability and sales growth to earnings management. Earnings management as the dependent variable is measured by discretionary accrual using the Modified Jones Model. Purposive sampling method used for sampling and where 31 companies in the manufacturing category with the period 2010-2013 where selected as sample. The method of analysis used in this study is multiple regression analysis. The results shows that the managerial ownership, institutional ownership, leverage, and sales growth has significant effect on earnings management. Meanwhile, firm size, and profitability have no significant effect on earnings management.


Despite widespread conservation across the tree of life, little is known about how DNA methylation contributes to the evolution of complex traits. In particular, DNA methylation has been hypothesized to allow the evolution of highly flexible traits, such as sociality. We sought to better understand patterns of DNA methylation and its association between the expression of advanced social behavior across insects. DNA methylation in insects is widespread and found in social and solitary species from all orders, except Diptera (flies). Solitary species within Blattodea (cockroaches, termites) had the highest levels of DNA methylation. The presence/absence of underlying methyltransferases corroborates most patterns observed, but alternative DNA methylation pathways may exist. Furthermore, we found no evidence that supports evolutionary dependency between either advanced social behavior or division of labor and DNA methylation within insects using phylogenetically corrected comparisons. These results suggest that DNA methylation is not the driver of social behavior.


The hydrology of humid tropical regions such as South-east Asia is strongly affected by climatic phenomena having important periodicities ranging from hours to decades. This papers describes how temporal climatic features influence canopy hydrology, runoff processes and water quality in the humid tropics. Emphasis is given to hydrologcal studies from South-east Asia, a region impacted by cyclonic, convective and stratiform rainfall, strong diurnal cycles in net radiation, and rainfall cycles resulting from monsoons and the El Nino - Southern Oscillation. Understanding how natural climate cycles affect hydrology is a necessary precursor to understanding how man-made climatic changes might influence tropical water resources.


Abstract Subcortical band heterotopia (SBH), is a brain malformation defined by symmetrical and bilateral heterotopic gray matter bands localized deep within the white matter, between the cortex and lateral ventricles. SBH is the result of abnormal neuronal migration, with improper positioning of the cortical neurons. DCX gene (doublecortin), a microtubule-associated protein with essential roles in neuronal migration and differentiation during brain development, is one of the main contributors to the X-linked Lissencephaly spectrum pathogenesis (OMIM #300067). DCX variants are responsible for SBH in females and isolated lissencephaly in males. Herein, we present a 7-year-old girl with a de novo frameshift variant in DCX gene, unreported by date. The patient has focal complex seizures with onset at 23 months of age, fully controlled with medication, mild tremor and coordination impairment of fine movements and some learning difficulties, otherwise with normal development. The brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed the presence of thick SBH. Direct sequencing of DCX gene revealed a pathogenic heterozygous cytosine duplication in exon 3; this frameshift variant leads to a premature stop codon in position 164 (p.Gln160Profs*5). The variant type and its predicted consequence at protein level correlates with the severity of radiological findings. The clinical presentation of our patient is, however, milder than expected. Our research expands the mutational spectrum of DCX gene in SBH females and provides a detailed clinical and imagistic description of the patient. This paper highlights the utility of single gene sequencing as a first-tier diagnostic test of patients with gene-specific phenotypic features.


We have studied the low temperature phase diagram and water activities of the ammonium sulfate/maleic acid/water system using differential scanning calorimetry and infrared spectroscopy of thin films. Using the results from our experiments, we have mapped the solid/liquid ternary phase diagram, determined the water activities based on the freezing point depression, and determined the ice/maleic acid phase boundary as well as the ternary eutectic composition and temperature. We also compare our results to the predictions of the extended AIM aerosol thermodynamics model and find good agreement for the ice melting points in the ice primary phase field of this system; however significant differences were found with respect to phase boundaries, maleic acid dissolution, and ammonium sulfate dissolution.


Context: Laboratory-based biomechanical analyses of sport-relevant movements such as landing and cutting have classically been used to quantify kinematic and kinetic factors in the context of injury risk, which are then used to inform targeted interventions designed to improve risky movement patterns during sport. However, the noncontextual nature of standard assessments presents challenges for assessing sport-relevant skill transfer. Objective: To examine injury-risk biomechanical differences exhibited by athletes during a jump-landing task performed as part of both a standard biomechanical assessment and a simulated, sport-specific virtual reality (VR)-based assessment. Design: Observational study. Setting: Medical center laboratory. Participants: Twenty-two female adolescent soccer athletes (age = 16.0 [1.4] y, height = 165.6 [4.9] cm, and weight = 60.2 [11.4] kg). Interventions: The landing performance was analyzed for a drop vertical jump task and a VR-based, soccer-specific corner-kick scenario in which the athletes were required to jump to head a virtual soccer ball and land. Main Outcome Measures: Hip, knee, and ankle joint kinematic differences in the frontal and sagittal planes. Results: Athletes exhibited reduced hip and ankle flexion, hip abduction, and frontal plane ankle excursion during landing in realistic sport scenario compared with the standard drop vertical jump task. Conclusion: VR-based assessments can provide a sport-specific context in which to assess biomechanical deficits that predispose athletes for lower-extremity injury and offer a promising approach to better evaluate skill transfer to sport that can guide future injury prevention efforts.


This paper deals with a single-input multipleoutput biquadratic filter providing three functions (lowpass, high-pass and band-pass) based on voltage differencing differential input buffered amplifier (VD-DIBA). The quality factor and pole frequency can be electronically tuned via the bias current. The proposed circuit uses two VD-DIBAs and two grounded capacitors without any external resistors, which is suitable to further develop into an integrated circuit. Moreover, the circuit possesses high input impedance, providing easy voltage-mode cascading. It is shown that the filter structure can be easily extended to multi-input filter without any additional components, providing also all-pass and band-reject properties. The PSPICE simulation results are included, verifying the key characteristics of the proposed filter. The given results agree well with the theoretical presumptions.


One-dimensional (1D) microwave absorbers have been verified to have a predominant morphology due to their significant anisotropy, large surface area, and great dielectric attenuation compared to other microstructures. Consequently, in this research, novel 1D mesoporous MoO2/C heteronanowires have been designed through an in situ facile synthesis process. As well as their attractive morphology, building multiple interfaces for polarization between MoO2 and carbon, inducing dipole polarization of MoO2 and constructing conductive networks among nanowires endow the composites with outstanding dielectric dissipated properties, allowing excellent microwave absorption (MA) performance. Therefore, at the appropriate filling condition of 25 wt%, the MoO2/C nanowire-paraffin achieved a minimum reflection loss of −47.6 dB at 11.1 GHz and a bandwidth of 3.8 GHz in the range of 9.9–13.7 GHz with a thickness of 2 mm, thus it has the potential to be a lightweight candidate of microwave absorbing material.


— In this paper two set of edge-texture features is proposed such as Discriminative Robust Local Binary Pattern (DRLBP) and Discriminative Robust Local Ternary Pattern (DRLTP) for object recognition. The proposed DLBP and DRLTP are derived from the drawback of the Local Binary Pattern (LBP), Local Ternary Pattern (LTP) and Robust LBP (RLBP).The LBP code and the RLBP code are mapped in the same block .The proposed feature solves the problem of discrimination between a bright object against dark background and vice-versa. The proposed feature retains contrast information for representation of object contours the LBP, LTP and RLBP discards. By this proposed features the objects in the image can be further analyzed for the exact location of the object in the given image.


Applications dealing with railway traffic management have been usually modeled adopting classical technologies such as Operations Research and Constraint Programming. These technologies are suitable to model static situations where the information is complete, but they lack to cope with the dynamics and uncertainty of freight trains traffic management. The paper presents a new approach to the problem based on the Multi-Agent System technology CaseLP, a logic programming based environment for MAS prototyping, has been adopted to face a real case-study: the management of freight trains traffic along the railway line between the Italian stations of Milano and La Spezia. The research, conducted within the framework of the EuROPE-TRIS Project, has successfully demonstrated the advantages of the MAS approach to this field of application.


A dynamic post-analysis is presented for a sudden pipe break which occurTed in the main feed water ~ystem of the VVER 440 type PWR plant Loviisa 2 on February 25, 1993. A thermal hydraulic code TMOC, based on the method of characteristics, is first used to determine the induced rapid two phase fluid transients . The resulting pressure and momentum flux histories are then applied as an excitation in a nonlinear structural dynamic analysis which makes use of the general purpose finite element code ABAQUS. The permanent relative displacement of the broken pipe ends is finally compared with the value observed after the event. An underestimate of some 30% may for the most part be attributed to scant experimental data and uncertainties in boundary conditions. Assumptions regarding impact against a nearby beam structure and the dynamic stress-strain curve of the fenitic pipe material strongly affect this comparison.


This practice report shares the experiences of on-campus students enrolled in their second or third year of undergraduate business studies at Charles Sturt University, Australia as they moved to online study during the COVID-19 shutdowns. It details both the barriers and enablers to successful study the students identified. Barriers included loss of support networks, online fatigue, and technology connectivity. Enablers for success included empathic and understanding staff; clear directions; and, engaging, interactive delivery of the online learning activity. The report concludes with recommendations for future practice in assisting on-campus learners with the transition from a physical to a virtual learning environment. In particular, a strong teacher presence is recommended to foster the development of an engaged learning community where student-to-student interactions are facilitated and students feel supported and connected.


; ;OBJECTIVE: ; ; to assess the effectiveness of 2% papain gel compared to 2% carboxymethyl cellulose in the treatment of chronic venous ulcer patients. ; ; ; ;METHOD: ; ; randomized controlled clinical trial with 12-week follow-up. The sample consisted of 18 volunteers and 28 venous ulcers. In the trial group, 2% papain gel was used and, in the control group, 2% carboxymethyl cellulose gel. ; ; ; ;RESULTS: ; ; the trial group showed a significant reduction in the lesion area, especially between the fifth and twelfth week of treatment, with two healed ulcers and a considerable increase in the amount of epithelial tissue in the wound bed. ; ; ; ;CONCLUSION: ; ; 2% papain gel demonstrated greater effectiveness in the reduction of the lesion area, but was similar to 2% carboxymethyl cellulose gel regarding the reduction in the amount of exudate and devitalized tissue. Multicenter research is suggested to evidence the effectiveness of 2% papain gel in the healing of venous ulcers. UTN number: U1111-1157-2998 ; ;


Renewable-power-generating resources can provide unlimited clean energy and emit at most minute amounts of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, whereas fossil fuels are contributing to environmental pollution problems and climate change. The share of global power capacity comprising renewable-power-generating resources is increasing. However, due to the variability and uncertainty of wind resources, predicting the power output of these resources remains a key problem that must be resolved to establish stable power system operation and planning. In this study, we propose an ensemble prediction model for wind-power-generating resources based on augmented naïve Bayes classifiers. To select the principal component that affects the wind power outputs from among various meteorological factors, such as temperature, wind speed, and wind direction, prediction of wind-power-generating resources was performed using multiple linear regression (MLR) and a naïve Bayes classification model based on the selected meteorological factors. We proposed applying the analogue ensemble (AnEn) algorithm and the ensemble learning technique to predict the wind power. To validate this proposed hybrid prediction model, we analyzed empirical data from the wind farm of Jeju Island in South Korea and found that the proposed model has lower error than the single prediction models.


Carbon fiber powder (CFP) instead of the traditional glass fiber (cloth) was used to reinforce epoxy resin for rapid tooling. There are two obvious advantages: one is to utilize the waste materials, which is good for the protection of the environment; another is to simplify the producing process by cast molding. The filling amount and dispersing process of CFP was studied in this paper. The results show that when the amount of CFP was 10 wt%, and the ultrasonic time is more than 15 min, the CFP can be dispersed in the epoxy matrix uniformly, and the mechanical properties can meet the requirement of epoxy molding.


Emerged Quaternary marine features are numerous along the west coast of Newfoundland, although their distribution is patchy. They include wave-cut benches and cliffs, localized constructional forms such as beach ridges, bars, and deltas, and a discontinuous blanket of fossil-bearing marine sediments. These features reach progressively higher elevations toward the north; their positions in long east-west bays indicate a westerly component in the northward rise. The highest marine limit is very indistinctly recorded, but a lower strand line, cutting the latest glacial deposits, and rising northwestward, is well marked by wave-cut benches on weak rocks. Strand lines in intermediate positions are very weak, but wave-cut benches are well developed at present sea level. These facts indicate upwarping following deglaciation, the movement having been interrupted by one long pause and followed by another pause at present sea level. No unequivocal evidence of emergence was found along the western half of the south coast, although emergence may be recorded farther east. The northwestward rise of the marine features along the west coast is consistent with (though it does not prove) the hypothesis that part or all of Newfoundland was invaded by the Labrador ice sheet during the latest (presumably Wisconsin) glacial age and that the warping was caused principally by unloading of the crust by the Labrador ice sheet during the same glacial age. Evidence in two districts on the west coast indicates that at least part of the postglacial eustatic rise of sea level occurred while glacier ice was still actively present, and prior to at least part of the crustal warping.


OBJECTIVE
The proximity of the spinal cord to compressive metastatic lesions limits radiosurgical dosing. Open surgery is used to create safe margins around the spinal cord prior to spinal stereotactic radiosurgery (SSRS) but carries the risk of potential surgical morbidity and interruption of systemic oncological treatment. Spinal laser interstitial thermotherapy (SLITT) in conjunction with SSRS provides local control with less morbidity and a shorter interval to resume systemic treatment. The authors present a comparison between SLITT and open surgery in patients with metastatic thoracic epidural spinal cord compression to determine the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

METHODS
This is a matched-group design study comprising patients from a single institution with metastatic thoracic epidural spinal cord compression that was treated either with SLITT or open surgery. The two cohorts defined by the surgical treatment comprised patients with epidural spinal cord compression (ESCC) scores of 1c or higher and were deemed suitable for either treatment. Demographics, pre- and postoperative ESCC scores, histology, morbidity, hospital length of stay (LOS), complications, time to radiotherapy, time to resume systemic therapy, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were compared between groups.

RESULTS
Eighty patients were included in this analysis, 40 in each group. Patients were treated between January 2010 and December 2016. There was no significant difference in demographics or clinical characteristics between the cohorts. The SLITT cohort had a smaller postoperative decrease in the extent of ESCC but a lower estimated blood loss (117 vs 1331 ml, p < 0.001), shorter LOS (3.4 vs 9 days, p < 0.001), lower overall complication rate (5% vs 35%, p = 0.003), fewer days until radiotherapy or SSRS (7.8 vs 35.9, p < 0.001), and systemic treatment (24.7 vs 59 days, p = 0.015). PFS and OS were similar between groups (p = 0.510 and p = 0.868, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
The authors' results have shown that SLITT plus XRT is not inferior to open decompression surgery plus XRT in regard to local control, with a lower rate of complications and faster resumption of oncological treatment. A prospective randomized controlled study is needed to compare SLITT with open decompressive surgery for ESCC.


Parity (childbearing) significantly decreases a woman's risk of breast cancer (BCa). Two proposed mechanisms of parity-induced protection investigated herein are a reduction in mammary stem cells (MaSCs) or an increase in differentiation in the parous mammary gland. MaSCs are postulated to mediate BCa risk as they are long-lived allowing a greater chance of accumulating genetic mutations likely to facilitate a carcinogenic transformation. Thus, a reduction in MaSCs by pregnancy may equate to a reduced risk of BCa. In order to investigate this, I first set out to ensure the isolation method used was highly selective for MaSCs. Cells expressing the proposed stem cell marker Stem Cell Antigen 1 (Sca-1) were characterized, as preliminary data indicated its superior ability to enrich for MaSCs beyond that of classical markers (defined by heat-stable antigen (CD24) positivity and high expression of integrin alpha 6 (CD49f)). Then, analyses of DNA damage markers and in vitro repair responses were used to assess the carcinogen sensitivity of MaSCs following treatment with a chemical carcinogen. Finally, primary and serial mammary fat pad stem cell assays were used to assess MaSC numbers and activity following pregnancy. Sca-1 was found not to further enrich for MaSC activity with a higher selectivity than the classical markers of MaSCs, thus CD24+CD49fhi cells were assessed for carcinogen sensitivity and stem cell activity following pregnancy. CD24+CD49fhi MaSC-enriched cells were found to be susceptible to carcinogens but not reduced by parity. Rather, parity appears to reduce a rare subset of cells that display stem cell activity outside the classical CD24+CD49fhi MaSC-enriched population. The terminal differentiation of the mammary gland that occurs at pregnancy is believed to permanently alter the gene expression profile. Preliminary data indicated the cell-specific target of these gene expression changes by parity was the stromal fibroblasts. The gene expression changes suggested a reduction in proliferative ability. To confirm this, the in vitro proliferative rate of parous fibroblasts was assessed in comparison to age-matched nulliparous fibroblasts. To then see if this proliferative rate was capable of affecting the proliferation of adjacent BCa cells, fibroblasts were co-cultured with low and high grade BCa cells in 3D matrices. Finally the ability of the parous fibroblasts to regulate in vivo tumour formation was assessed by co-injecting fibroblasts and BCa cells into mice. Parity was observed to reduce the proliferative rate in primary cultures of fibroblasts in 50% of the batches isolated over the course of the study. When tested using in vitro 3D proliferation assays or in vivo tumour growth assays, the effect of the parous fibroblasts was equally variable. In contrast, nulliparous fibroblasts were shown to be capable of tumour-stimulating behaviour on several occasions, an effect not observed in their parous counterparts. Altogether this work shows that a non-classical stem cell within the CD24+CD49lo/med population is decreased with parity and parous mammary fibroblasts have a less tumour stimulatory phenotype. This work thus identifies two cell types to further explore with the long-term goal to develop preventative therapies mimicking parity protection against BCa.


HFC-134a, one of the representative hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used as a coolant gas, is a known greenhouse gas with high global warming potential. Catalytic decomposition is considered a promising technology for the removal of fluorinated hydrocarbons. However, systematic studies on the catalytic decomposition of HFC-134a are rare compared to those for other fluorinated hydrocarbon gases. In this study, Ga-Al2O3 and S/Ga-Al2O3 catalysts were prepared and the change in their properties post-acid treatment was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3-TPD), in situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The S/Ga-Al2O3 catalyst achieved a much higher HFC-134a conversion than Ga-Al2O3, which was ascribed to the promotional effect of the sulfuric acid treatment on the Lewis acidity of the catalyst surface, as confirmed by NH3-TPD. Furthermore, the effect of hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas produced by HFC-134a decomposition on the catalyst was investigated. The S/Ga-Al2O3 maintained a more stable and higher HFC-134a conversion than Ga-Al2O3. Combining the results of the stability test and characterization, it was established that the sulfuric acid treatment not only increased the acidity of the catalyst but also preserved the partially reduced Ga species.


JavaScript is a dynamically typed and object-based script- ing language with runtime evaluation. It has emerged as an important language for client-side computation of web applications. Previous stud- ies have shown differences in behavior between established JavaScript benchmarks and real-world web applications. However, there still remain several important aspects to explore. In this study, we compare the JavaScript execution behavior of four ap- plication classes, i.e., four established JavaScript benchmark suites, the first pages of the top 100 sites on the Alexa list, 22 different use cases for Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger, and finally, demo applications for the emerging HTML5 standard. Our results extend previous studies by iden- tifying the importance of anonymous and eval functions, showing that just-in-time compilation often decreases the performance of real-world web applications, and a detailed bytecode instruction mix evaluation.


This paper aims to demonstrate how Halliday's Functional Grammar (1985) may be used to illuminate educational questions, more specifically to illuminate the study of classroom discourse. Portion of a text from the lower primary school is examined. It is in fact drawn from a Morning News learning activity. It is argued that we can identify a "curriculum genre" in such a text, and that this has certain characteristic elements, giving it a particular schematic structure. These elements are identified, and two aspects of the functional grammar – namely, Theme and transitivity – are used with a view to proving the presence of the schematic structure. Through the examination, it is argued that the meanings children are constrained to make in the Morning News situation are of a limited kind, revealing a great deal about the limitations of much early childhood education.


Chronic itch is a burdensome clinical problem that often accompanies pathological dry skin-based conditions, such as atopic dermatitis, and systemic disorders, such as kidney diseases, with an unclear pathomechanism and treatments. One of the basic mouse models to investigate mechanisms of itch associated with dry skin is a mixture of acetone and ether followed by water. Animal studies using the acetone and ether followed by water model have revealed that many mediators and receptors, e.g. mas-related G protein-coupled receptor family, transient receptor potential, and chemokines, are responsible for itch and its hypersensitivity, supporting the hypothesis that dry skin-induced itch is a histamine-independent pathway. New insights have been acquired into the interplay between neurones and non-neuronal cells in the initiation, modulation, and sensitization of itch. Several thera-peutic options for itching have thus been developed. This review summarizes the updated pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies for itch in dry skin conditions.


Functional beverages can be a valuable component of the human diet with the ability to not only provide essential hydration but to deliver important bioactive compounds that can contribute to chronic disease treatment and prevention. One area of the functional beverage market that has seen an increase in demand in recent years are beverages that promote relaxation and sleep. Sleep is an essential biological process, with optimal sleep being defined as one of adequate duration, quality and timing. It is regulated by a number of neurotransmitters which are, in turn, regulated by dietary intake of essential bioactive compounds. This narrative review aimed to evaluate the latest evidence of the sleep promoting properties of a selection of bioactive compounds (such as L-theanine and L-tryptophan) for the development of a functional beverage to improve sleep quality; and the effectiveness of traditional sleep promoting beverages (such as milk and chamomile). Overall, the bioactive compounds identified in this review, play essential roles in the synthesis and regulation of important neurotransmitters involved in the sleep-wake cycle. There is also significant potential for their inclusion in a number of functional beverages as the main ingredient on their own or in combination. Future studies should consider dosage; interactions with the beverage matrix, medications and other nutraceuticals; bioavailability during storage and following ingestion; as well as the sensory profile of the developed beverages, among others, when determining their effectiveness in a functional beverage to improve sleep quality.


Water is life, and the threat of unsustainable means of potable water supplies has led to the reviews of various renewable energy sources to create a cleaner and more efficient solution for potable water supply. The aim of this study is to present a way in which the efficiency of stepped solar still can be increased. It is to increase the efficiency of solar still by increasing the amount of time that the solar still is directly perpendicular to the sunlight. The Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) light sensors for solar tracking are used to enhance the productivity. The results obtained indicate that the use of MEMS light sensors for solar tracking are used to makes a solar still to be predictable and it equally increases its efficiency in terms of distillate yield and overall performance.


This article develops themes that were outlined in a keynote presentation at the Seeking the Light, Sharing Our Gifts, Returning a New Way symposium for campus ministers at Catholic colleges and universities, held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on January 3-6, 2008. It proposes that collaboration among faculty, campus ministers, and student affairs professionals is essential to address students' cognitive, psychosocial, and spiritual development. The discussion demonstrates that such collaboration can and should be done within the Catholic mission of the institution. It argues that the traditional Catholic concept of "formation" is at the heart of the transformational learning called for by recent student affairs literature. Traditional formation requires a holistic approach, as do modern theories of learning and development. This article is grounded in classic and emerging student development literature and provides concrete examples.


An approach to identifying ground targets from sequential high-range-resolution (HRR) radar signatures is presented. A hidden Markov model (HMM) is employed to model the sequential information contained in multi-aspect target signatures. Dominant range-amplitude features are extracted via RELAX for dimension reduction. A new distance measure is incorporated into the HMM to allow a direct matching operation in the feature domain without requiring interpolation. The approach is applied to the dataset of ten MSTAR targets and is shown to yield an average identification rate of 90.3% using sequential information from 6 degree angular spans.


The purpose of the investigation to be reported here differs in one essential respect from the purpose of most statistical studies on problems of communication. We wish to state this difference from the beginning, in order to avoid misunderstanding of the methods used later on. Most communication problems are, broadly speaking, engineering problems; that is, they deal with the construction and evaluation of new methods of communication, using one's knowledge of "Nature," acquired elsewhere. Our problem is, broadly speaking, physical; we seek to improve our knowledge, or at least our description, of "Nature" by using models in which some statistical concepts, developed in the study of recent communication problems, are used side by side with such concepts of physics as were already used to solve older engineering problems. This difference of purpose will also explain an unessential character of this paper: the calculations are much simpler than in other papers of the symposium, because here one could choose the problems leading to simple theories by the present methods (but not by previous ones), whereas in other papers the problems were imposed.


Nitrogen-13 labeled L-glutamic acid was evaluated as an imaging agent for tumors involving bone. The enzymatically prepared labeled compound was administered intravenously to dogs with spontaneous tumors, and tumor uptake was determined with a gamma camera and rectilinear scanner. These tumors were well visualized with /sup 13/N-glutamic acid, and the results compared favorably with uptake studies performed on the same animals with /sup 99m/Tc-diphosphonate.


Objective To review the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, and place in therapy of rimegepant for treatment of migraine. Data Sources A comprehensive PubMed and Cochrane search (1985 to May 2020) was performed utilizing the keywords rimegepant, Nurtec, orally disintegrating tablet, migraine, migraine headache, migraine disorder, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and calcitonin gene-related peptide antagonist. Additional data were obtained from the references of identified articles, manufacturer's product labeling and website, ClinicalTrials.gov, and governmental sources. Study Selection and Data Extraction All English-language trials evaluating oral rimegepant were included for this review. Data Synthesis Rimegepant orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) is Food and Drug Administration approved for the treatment of migraine. According to data from 3 phase 3 randomized controlled trials, rimegepant has been shown to significantly improve freedom from pain at 2 hours after the dose and freedom from the most bothersome symptom 2 hours postdose. Additional outcomes improved include freedom from photophobia and phonophobia at 2 hours postdose and pain relief 2 hours after the dose. Adverse effects of rimegepant include nausea, urinary tract infection, and dizziness. Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice Orally disintegrating rimegepant provides a novel mechanism of action for the treatment of acute migraine. When patients experience inadequate relief from other therapies, have contraindications to triptans, or are unable to tolerate the adverse effects of triptans, rimegepant is a promising therapeutic option. Conclusion Rimegepant ODT is an efficacious migraine treatment option with a novel mechanism of action, convenient dosage form, and limited adverse effect profile.


Identifying the source of difficulties some patients experience after replacement dentures are made is an essential part of improving quality care should further treatment to assist the patient be considered necessary. This report examines the findings of a retrospective review of 181 patients' records following the provision of complete dentures by undergraduate dental students at the University of Otago School of Dentistry. Treatment was provided in 1998; the audit commenced in August 1999 to allow sufficient time for the records to include review appointments. Forty-eight patients (26.5 percent) were recommended to receive further replacement dentures to correct errors identified by the supervising clinician. Causation was broadly attributed to dissimilarities from patients' previous dentures (42 percent), occlusal factors (33 percent), and difficulties in establishing a functional denture-bearing area (11 percent). These findings were compared with a published analysis of denture faults identified during the clinical examination of patients referred to a specialist in dental prosthetics. Evidence suggests that the use of a clinical technique which incorporates information from previously successful dentures may be appropriate in the construction of replacement dentures.


Abstract Food ingestion is one of the most basic features of all organisms. However, obtaining precise—and high‐throughput—estimates of feeding rates remains challenging, particularly for small, aquatic herbivores such as zooplankton, snails, and tadpoles. These animals typically consume low volumes of food that are time‐consuming to accurately measure. We extend a standard high‐throughput fluorometry technique, which uses a microplate reader and 96‐well plates, as a practical tool for studies in ecology, evolution, and disease biology. We outline technical and methodological details to optimize quantification of individual feeding rates, improve accuracy, and minimize sampling error. This high‐throughput assay offers several advantages over previous methods, including i) substantially reduced time allotments per sample to facilitate larger, more efficient experiments; ii) technical replicates; and iii) conversion of in vivo measurements to units (mL‐1 hr‐1 ind‐1) which enables broad‐scale comparisons across an array of taxa and studies. To evaluate the accuracy and feasibility of our approach, we use the zooplankton, Daphnia dentifera, as a case study. Our results indicate that this procedure accurately quantifies feeding rates and highlights differences among seven genotypes. The method detailed here has broad applicability to a diverse array of aquatic taxa, their resources, environmental contaminants (e.g., plastics), and infectious agents. We discuss simple extensions to quantify epidemiologically relevant traits, such as pathogen exposure and transmission rates, for infectious agents with oral or trophic transmission.


One hundred and fifty strains of Staphyloccocus aureus were tested for mouse virulence. Eighteen strains killed mice in less than 120 h when 109 cells were injected intraperitoneally, while similar injections of 130 strains failed to kill. The known virulence of five strains for cattle agreed with their virulence for mice and the virulence of 11 strains for embryonated eggs correlated well with both murine and bovine virulence. Neither nuclease, fibrinolysin, and hemolysin production, nor mouse-plasma coagulase activity correlated well with virulence and none of the high-virulence strains were demonstrably encapsulated. Possession of both gelatinase activity and litmus milk reducing ability correlated well with virulence. Rapidity of growth in batch or continuous culture agreed completely with virulence for seven high- and seven low-virulence strains. The importance of a rapid growth rate for high virulence is indicated, and growth rate in vitro is predictive of virulence for embryonated eggs, mice, and c...


State-of-the-art meta reinforcement learning algorithms typically assume the setting of a single agent interacting with its environment in a sequential manner. A negative side-effect of this sequential execution paradigm is that, as the environment becomes more and more challenging, and thus requiring more interaction episodes for the meta-learner, it needs the agent to reason over longer and longer time-scales. To combat the difficulty of long time-scale credit assignment, we propose an alternative parallel framework, which we name "Concurrent Meta-Reinforcement Learning" (CMRL), that transforms the temporal credit assignment problem into a multi-agent reinforcement learning one. In this multi-agent setting, a set of parallel agents are executed in the same environment and each of these "rollout" agents are given the means to communicate with each other. The goal of the communication is to coordinate, in a collaborative manner, the most efficient exploration of the shared task the agents are currently assigned. This coordination therefore represents the meta-learning aspect of the framework, as each agent can be assigned or assign itself a particular section of the current task's state space. This framework is in contrast to standard RL methods that assume that each parallel rollout occurs independently, which can potentially waste computation if many of the rollouts end up sampling the same part of the state space. Furthermore, the parallel setting enables us to define several reward sharing functions and auxiliary losses that are non-trivial to apply in the sequential setting. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed CMRL at improving over sequential methods in a variety of challenging tasks.


Membrane type 1-matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is a known activator of latent MMP-2 (pro-MMP-2), and increased MMP-2 expression has been associated with tumor aggressiveness in prostate cancer. However, expression of MT1-MMP in human prostate tissue has not been described. We investigated the expression and immunolocalization of MT1-MMP and MMP-2 in the epithelial components of benign prostate epithelium, high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN), and prostate cancer. Tissue sections from the peripheral zone of 50 prostates (radical prostatectomy specimens) were chosen based on their containing benign glands, HGPIN, and prostate cancer glands. All 50 sections were immunostained for MT1-MMP and MMP-2 and were evaluated for staining pattern, uniformity, and intensity. Western blotting and gelatin zymography were done to confirm expression of MT1-MMP and activity of MMP-2, respectively. Comparisons were made between benign epithelium, HGPIN, and cancer. In benign glands, basal cells (BCs) uniformly stained intensely for MT1-MMP, whereas secretory cells (SCs) were rarely positive (P < 0.0001). Conversely in HGPIN, SCs showed consistent cytoplasmic staining (P < 0.0001). In cancer cells, staining was heterogeneous and varied from no staining to very intense staining in select glands. MMP-2 in normal tissue stained both BCs and the apical region of SCs, whereas in HGPIN, staining was observed in the SC in a predominantly cytoplasmic pattern. Similar to MT1-MMP, staining in cancer tissue for MMP-2 was heterogeneous; however, there was a significant association between the pattern of MMP-2 and MT1-MMP staining within the epithelial components of the cancer glands in individual specimens (P < 0.001). Finally, MMP-2 and MT1-MMP were confirmed to be expressed in the prostate tissues by gelatin zymography and Western blotting. In conclusion, we found that consistent changes in localization and intracellular distribution of MMP-2 and MT1-MMP were associated with the transition from benign prostate epithelium to HGPIN, suggesting that regulation of these enzymes is altered during the earliest stages of prostate cancer.


We present our approach for computer-aided social media text authorship attribution based on recent advances in short text authorship verification. We use various natural language techniques to create word-level and character-level models that act as hidden layers to simulate a simple neural network. The choice of word-level and character-level models in each layer was informed through validation performance. The output layer of our system uses an unweighted majority vote vector to arrive at a conclusion. We also considered writing bias in social media posts while collecting our training dataset to increase system robustness. Our system achieved a precision, recall, and F-measure of 0.82, 0.926 and 0.869 respectively.


The mathematical description of splitting and merging of flows is an important part of a detailed heat exchanger simulation model suitable for studying dynamic and static flow instabilities. This thesis considers one such description, the network models for fluid flow in junctions. Briefly described, these models consist of a one dimensional hyperbolic conservation law, the corresponding equation of state, coupling conditions and wave equations. In the present work, the generalized Riemann problem has been considered and thus each pipe section has a constant initial condition.The set of coupling conditions enables the construction of boundary conditions at the pipe-junction interface of each pipe section connected at a junction. They are defined such that the boundary condition of each section is related to the initial conditions of all the connected pipe sections. The wave equations relate the constructed boundary condition and the initial condition of a pipe section under the restriction that the constructed state must propagate into the section.This thesis mainly considers network models derived for the isothermal and isentropic Euler equations. A mandatory coupling condition is thus that mass is conserved at the junction. However, as the conservation laws consist of two equations, a second condition is needed. The choice of a momentum related coupling constant, H(, v), is common in the literature and has therefore been applied in this thesis as well. In particular, the proper selection of the coupling constant expression has been the main focus of the work.Both pressure and momentum flux have been commonly applied as momentum related coupling constant in network models presented in the literature. In this thesis, existence and uniqueness of solutions to the generalized Riemann problem have been proved for network models that apply the two different constants. The proof is restricted to sets of initial conditions that belong to the subsonic region. That is, the region where both the initial conditions and the solutions are subsonic.An investigation of the physical soundness of the solutions for a junction connecting three pipe sections revealed that none of the proposed coupling constants yield physical solutions for all subsonic flows at the pipe-junction interfaces. In particular, a duality was observed for isothermal flows. In the flow-ranges where pressure as coupling constant yields physical solutions, momentum flux yields unphysical solutions, and opposite. Unphysical solutions are characterised by the presence of energy production in a junction.The lack of physically sound solutions within the entire subsonic region lead to a search for an alternative coupling constant. As a result, the Bernoulli invariant has been suggested and existence and uniqueness of solutions to the corresponding generalized Riemann problem have been proved for sets of initial data that belong to the subsonic region. It has also been proved that the constant yields physically sound solutions for all subsonic solutions.A numerical implementation of three network models based on the isothermal Euler equations have been performed in addition to the theoretical investigation. The three different models applied pressure, momentum flux and Bernoulli invariant as momentum related coupling constant, respectively. Test cases for three different network layouts were derived, and corresponding numerical results presented. Each set of simulation results has been analysed with respect to physical soundness. All cases are seen to support the analytically based conclusion; only Bernoulli invariant as momentum related coupling constant yields physical solutions for all sets of initial conditions that belong to the subsonic region.


There was a period when André Bazin was considered by some to be a simplistic, naive thinker whose writings were only of historic interest. In 1974, Screen regular Colin MacCabe, in a widely influential article, characterized Bazin as "a theoretically naive empiricist, a kind of idiot of the family." How times have changed. In a new essay, MacCabe writes that Bazin realized that cinema creates a "complicated series of relationships between camera and setting" and concludes that Bazin was really a modernist, and so on the right side of history after all. Bazin, a modernist? I am not so sure. However, the sea change evidenced by MacCabe is symptomatic of the state of cinema studies as a whole: Bazin is back! This must be deeply gratifying to Bazin scholar and editor of Opening Bazin: Postwar Theory and Its Afterlife Dudley Andrew, who has been Bazin's leading advocate on the American side of the Atlantic for more than three decades.


In this review we describe a number of skin substitutes which are under development for advanced wound healing therapies and for use as animal alternative (in vitro assays). Skin tissue engineering is a multi-disciplinary subject which requires each construct to be specifically designed for its particular future application. We describe our choices made with regards to cell types, dermal matrix, the logistics of production and transport as well as the development of "patient and clinician friendly" protocols for application of novel wound healing therapies. Two skin substitutes have been developed for clinical applications: i) healing of therapy-resisistant chronic wounds and ii) improved scar formation in deep 3rd degree burns. We also describe a number of skin substitutes being developed in compliance with the 3Rs (reduction, refinement and replacement of test animals). One assay is aimed at wide spread implementation as a complete animal replacement and is an assay which may determine the potency of a sensitizing substance. Three other assays are specialized assays aimed at reduction and refinement of the use of test animals. These three assays represent human physiologically relevant wound healing and adverse scar models (hypertrophic and keloid scar). Such assays are aimed at testing novel therapeutics in the future and are considered to be far superior to current animal models since animals do not form adverse scars which are comparable to humans.


The aim of the research presented is to gain a better understanding of the processes underlying the persistent report of somatic, cognitive and affective symptoms (known as post-concussion syndrome, PCS) after a mild brain injury (mTBI), and to elucidate whether there are any replicable biological factors contributing towards this syndrome. The results demonstrate that although PCS-like symptoms are present to a similar degree in the non-head injured population, individuals with mTBI and persistent PCS have significantly worse working memory, attention and information processing speed performance. Individuals who suffer an MTBI but do not report continued PCS perform these cognitive tasks to the same level as non-head injured controls. Following on from this, the research presented evidence that individuals with greater PCS severity had greater white matter damage, and greater attention related activity during cognitive tasks. Metabolic differences were also observed in the prefrontal cortex of individuals with mTBI, with a reduction in creatine suggesting some residual energy impairment in chronic mTBI. Combining the structural, metabolic and functional MRI data, we suggested that the increased attentional regulation observed during cognitive tasks may be compensating for reduced working memory capacity and a variation in white matter transmission caused by the structural and metabolic changes after injury. This compensation may in turn underlie some PCS symptoms such as fatigue, headache and insomnia. Therefore, the research as a whole suggests that there may be a neurophysiological basis for persistent PCS.


We use data from the World Values Survey and the Work Orientations Survey to analyse the cyclical nature of work effort and attitudes to work effort. Our aim is to test two competing theories of labor effort, the labor hoarding view and the Shapiro and Stiglitz (1984) 'shirking model'. Self-reported work effort is found to be strongly procyclical, while attitudes to effort move slightly countercyclically. We provide evidence for the presence of labor hoarding by showing how the cyclicality of effort changes with the strictness of employment protection legislation. Finally, we document heterogeneity in effort cyclicality across occupations and individuals.


INTRODUCTION
The immediate identification of infectious tuberculosis and implementation of effective isolation measures, are a priority of the national policies for disease control.

OBJECTIVES
To identify clinical predictor's factors related with sputum smear-positive, in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis.

POPULATION AND METHODS
This was a retrospective study involving 289 patients admitted consecutively with the diagnosis of tuberculosis (ICD-9-CM: 010-018) through the emergency department of a Central Hospital. The study was conducted from January 1999 to December 2005.

RESULTS
216 patients (74.7%) were identified with pulmonary tuberculosis: mean age 40.3 (SD 16.1); 77.8% males. Of these 179 (82%) were smear-positive and 157 (54.5%) had human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection. Of the 37 patients with sputum smearnegative 18 (48.6%) had culture positive. The clinical factors that were better related with sputum smear-positive were: cough with sputum (p = 0.031) and classic chest radiograph patterns, parenchymal consolidation (p < 0.001) and cavitation (p = 0.002). HIV co-infection wasn't associated with a higher risk of infectious tuberculosis.

CONCLUSIONS
Respiratory symptoms and classic patterns on chest radiograph, were clinical factors better related with a higher probability of sputum smear-positive. In these patients it is a good clinical practice to propose immediate isolation measures even before the results of sputum smear.


textabstractIn April and May 2004, India went to the polls. Against all expectations, the ruling National Democratic Alliance did not win the election, but was replaced by a Congress party-led coalition, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The defeat was quite dramatic. Of the 543 seats in the Indian Lok Sabha, the NDA succeeded in capturing only 185 seats (from its previous 274), while the UPA (excluding the Left parties who support the government from outside) won 217 seats (from its previous meager 151).
 As soon as the verdict was announced, it was interpreted as a vote against the NDA's policies: its divisive communal policies pursued particularly in Gujarat but also elsewhere; its education policy of rewriting textbooks on India's history; its economic reform policies. This last interpretation was quite prominent. It was argued that the 2004 verdict should be seen as the vote of the rural poor against the urban-biased economic development model pursued by the NDA and several reform-oriented State governments


The present study attempted to explore the effect of cognitive and metacognitive strategy use and motivation on Iranian test takers' performance on multiple choice (MC) and constructed response (CR) tests of reading comprehension. Three hundred and sixty six students completed a cognitive and metacognitive strategy use questionnaire and a motivation questionnaire along with a MC and a CR form of a reading comprehension test. Independent-samples t-test showed that test takers' performance differed significantly on MC and CR forms of the reading comprehension test. The effect of cognitive and metacognitive strategy use and motivation on test takers' performance on MC and CR test was measured using structural equation modeling (SEM). It was found that cognitive strategy use had a significant direct effect on MC and CR but metacognitive strategy use had a significant indirect effect on MC and CR. The results also showed that motivation affected MC and CR both directly and indirectly. Another finding of the study was that performance on MC and CR tests of reading comprehension was equally affected by motivation and cognitive strategy use.