Technological progress is the main driver of labor productivity in manufacturing industries. But it is capital accumulation that makes such progress possible. In the early 21st century, China's manufacturing entered a process of capital deepening, in which labor productivity improvement is based on the increase of per capita assets. Capital accumulation in technical industries has created higher labor productivity and enabled phenomenal growth of new technology industries, contributing to the rapid and all-round growth of manufacturing industries as a whole. This is the real premise of China's sustained economic growth over the past ten years.


We present a new model for deterministic-by-construction parallel programming that generalizes existing singleassignment models to allow multiple assignments that are monotonically increasing with respect to a user-specified partial order. Our model achieves determinism by using a novel shared data structure with an API that allows only monotonic writes and "threshold" reads that block until a lower bound is reached. We give a proof of determinism for our model, discuss ways to express existing deterministic parallel models using it, and describe how to extend it to support a limited form of nondeterminism that admits failures but never wrong answers.


Real-world brain imaging by EEG requires accurate annotation of complex subject-environment interactions in event-rich tasks and paradigms. This paper describes the evolution of the Hierarchical Event Descriptor (HED) system for systematically describing both laboratory and real-world events. HED version 2, first described here, provides the semantic capability of describing a variety of subject and environmental states. HED descriptions can include stimulus presentation events on screen or in virtual worlds, experimental or spontaneous events occurring in the real world environment, and events experienced via one or multiple sensory modalities. Furthermore, HED 2 can distinguish between the mere presence of an object and its actual (or putative) perception by a subject. Although the HED framework has implicit ontological and linked data representations, the user-interface for HED annotation is more intuitive than traditional ontological annotation. We believe that hiding the formal representations allows for a more user-friendly interface, making consistent, detailed tagging of experimental, and real-world events possible for research users. HED is extensible while retaining the advantages of having an enforced common core vocabulary. We have developed a collection of tools to support HED tag assignment and validation; these are available at hedtags.org. A plug-in for EEGLAB (sccn.ucsd.edu/eeglab), CTAGGER, is also available to speed the process of tagging existing studies.


Abstract. Air pollutant emissions from open biomass burning (OBB) in the
Yangtze River Delta (YRD) were estimated for 2005–2015 using three
(traditional bottom-up, fire radiative power (FRP), and constraining)
approaches, and the differences among those methods and their sources were
analyzed. The species included PM10, PM2.5, organic carbon (OC),
elemental carbon (EC), CH4, non-methane volatile organic compounds
(NMVOCs), CO, CO2, NOx, SO2 and NH3.
The interannual trends in emissions with FRP-based and constraining methods
were similar to the fire counts in 2005–2012, while those with the
traditional method were not. For most years, emissions of all species
estimated with the constraining method were smaller than those with the
traditional method except for NMVOCs, while they were larger than those with
the FRP-based method except for EC, CH4 and NH3. Such
discrepancies result mainly from different masses of crop residue burned in
the field (CRBF) estimated in the three methods. Chemistry transport modeling
(CTM) was applied using the three OBB inventories. The simulated PM10
concentrations with constrained emissions were closest to the available
observations, implying that the constraining method provided the best
emission estimates. CO emissions in the three methods were compared with
other studies. Similar temporal variations were found for the constrained
emissions, FRP-based emissions, GFASv1.0 and GFEDv4.1s, with the largest and
the lowest emissions estimated for 2012 and 2006, respectively. The temporal
variations in the emissions based on the traditional method, GFEDv3.0, and
the method of Xia et al. (2016) were different. The constrained CO emissions
in this study were commonly smaller than those based on the traditional
bottom-up method and larger than those based on burned area or FRP in other
studies. In particular, the constrained emissions were close to GFEDv4.1s
that contained emissions from small fires. The contributions of OBB to two
particulate pollution events in 2010 and 2012 were analyzed with the
brute-force method. Attributed to varied OBB emissions and meteorology, the
average contribution of OBB to PM10 concentrations in 8–14 June 2012
was estimated at 37.6 % (56.7 µg m−3), larger than that
in 17–24 June 2010 at 21.8 % (24.0 µg m−3). Influences
of diurnal curves of OBB emissions and meteorology on air pollution caused by
OBB were evaluated by designing simulation scenarios, and the results
suggested that air pollution caused by OBB would become heavier if the
meteorological conditions were unfavorable and that more attention should be
paid to the OBB control at night. Quantified with Monte Carlo simulation, the
uncertainty of the traditional bottom-up inventory was smaller than that of
the FRP-based one. The percentages of CRBF and emission factors were the main
source of uncertainty for the two approaches. Further improvement on CTM for
OBB events would help better constrain OBB emissions.


Background: The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Vietnam is concentrated in subgroups of the population, including men who have sex with men (MSM). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a viable strategy for HIV prevention, but knowledge about and preferences for PrEP delivery among Vietnamese MSM are not well understood. Methods: In 2015, an online survey was conducted with recruitment via social networking websites for MSM and peer recruitment. A description of daily oral, long-acting injectable, and rectal microbicide formulations of PrEP was provided to participants. Participants were asked about their prior awareness of and interest in PrEP, and ranked their most preferred PrEP modality. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess factors associated with having heard of PrEP and preference for each PrEP modality. Results: Of 548 participants who answered demographic and PrEP-related questions, 26.8% had previously heard of PrEP and most (65.7%) endorsed rectal microbicides as their most preferred PrEP delivery modality. Commonly-cited perceived barriers to uptake of PrEP included concern about side-effects, perception about being HIV positive, and family or friends finding out about their sexual behaviour. In multivariable models, older participants less often endorsed rectal microbicides (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.95 per year, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.91-0.99) and more often endorsed long-acting injectables (AOR 1.08 per year, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.14) as their preferred PrEP modality. Participants who were willing to pay more for PrEP less often endorsed rectal microbicides (AOR 0.81, 95% CI 0.72-0.92) and more often endorsed long-acting injectables (AOR 1.17, 95% CI 1.01-1.35) and daily oral pills (AOR 1.16, 95% CI 1.00-1.35) as their preferred form of PrEP. Conclusions: A variety of PrEP modalities were acceptable to MSM in Vietnam, but low knowledge of PrEP may be a barrier to implementation.


In 2018, a system of large-size triple-GEM demonstrator chambers was installed in the CMS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The demonstrator's design mimicks that of the final detector, installed for Run-3. A successful Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of the collision-induced background hit rate in this system in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV is presented. The MC predictions are compared to CMS measurements recorded at an instantaneous luminosity of 1.5 ×1034 cm-2 s-1. The simulation framework uses a combination of the FLUKA and GEANT4 packages. FLUKA simulates the radiation environment around the GE1/1 chambers. The particle flux by FLUKA covers energy spectra ranging from 10-11 to 104 MeV for neutrons, 10-3 to 104 MeV for γ's, 10-2 to 104 MeV for e±, and 10-1 to 104 MeV for charged hadrons. GEANT4 provides an estimate of the detector response (sensitivity) based on an accurate description of the detector geometry, the material composition, and the interaction of particles with the detector layers. The detector hit rate, as obtained from the simulation using FLUKA and GEANT4, is estimated as a function of the perpendicular distance from the beam line and agrees with data within the assigned uncertainties in the range 13.7-14.5%. This simulation framework can be used to obtain a reliable estimate of the background rates expected at the High Luminosity LHC.


Compulsory schooling in Sweden was introduced in 1842. However, its meaning has changed over time, both in terms of who it applies to, how long it applies and how it can or should be implemented. During the 2000s, compulsory schooling has become synonymous with the obligation to be present in school and attend class. There are students who for medical, mental and social reasons can not go to school and fulfill their school obligation. In order to ensure that these students receive the education they are entitled to, a new chapter was introduced in 2020 in the Swedish Education Act, enabling distance learning. The purpose of the article is to learn more about how the educational policy framework of school attendance and everyone's right to education can affect the meaning of compulsory schooling, and how this discursive change can have consequences for students, schools, and society. To achieve this, government policy texts on distance education and school attendance published in 2017-2021 are analyzed. The consequences that are perceived to follow from teaching beyond the school area are also discussed here. One consequence that is highlighted is that the school's democracy mission ends up in danger. The analysis is inspired by Carol Lee Bacchi's approach WPR (What's the Problem Represented to be).


An important element in considering school finance policies is that households are not passive but instead respond to policies. Household behavior is especially important in considering how households affect the spatial structure of metropolitan areas where different jurisdictions incorporate bundles of advantages and disadvantages. This paper adds richness to existing urban models by incorporating multiple workplace locations, alternative public services by jurisdiction (school qualities), and voter-determined school expenditure. In our general equilibrium model of residential location and community choice, households base optimizing decisions on commuting costs, school quality, and land rents. The resulting equilibrium has heterogeneous communities in terms of income and tastes for schools. This basic model is used to analyze a series of conventional policy experiments, including school district consolidation and district power utilization. The important conclusion within our range of simulations is that welfare falls for all families with the restrictions on choice that are implied by these approaches.


In residential and light commercial construction in the United States, heating and cooling ducts are often located outside the thermal or pressure boundary of the conditioned space. This location is selected for aesthetic and space requirement reasons. Typical duct locations include attics, above dropped ceilings, crawlspaces, and attached garages. A wide body of literature has found that distribution system conduction and air leakage can cause 30-40% energy losses before cooling and heating air reaches the conditioned space. Recent innovative attempts at locating ducts in the conditioned space have had mixed results in terms of improving duct efficiency. Some of these strategies include cathedralizing attics (sealing and insulating at the attic roofline) and locating ducts in interstitial spaces. This paper reviews modeling studies that suggest substantial savings could be realized from these strategies and presents field measurements which reveal that construction planning and execution errors can prevent these strategies from being widely applied or from being effective when they are applied. These types of problems will need to be overcome for effective integration of ducts into the conditioned space.


Plants display a wide range of chemical defences that may differ in effectiveness against generalist and specialist insect herbivores. Host plant‐specific secondary chemicals such as glucosinolates (GS) in Brassicaceae typically reduce the performance of generalist herbivores, whereas specialists have adaptations to detoxify these compounds. The concentration of glucosinolates may also alter upon herbivory, allowing the plant to tailor its response to specifically affect the performance of the attacking herbivore. We studied the performance of three Lepidoptera species, two specialists [Pieris rapae L. (Pieridae), Plutella xylostella L. (Yponomeutidae)] and one generalist [Mamestra brassicae L. (Noctuidae)], when feeding on eight cultivars of Brassica oleracea L. and a native congener (Brassica nigra L.) and related this to the GS content. We tested the hypotheses (i) that a generalist herbivore is more affected by high GS concentrations, and (ii) that generalist feeding has a stronger effect on GS levels. Although performance of the three herbivores was different on the B. oleracea cultivars, M. brassicae and P. xylostella had a similar ranking order of performance on the eight cultivars. In most of the cultivars, the concentration of indole GS was significantly higher after feeding by P. rapae or M. brassicae than after P. xylostella feeding. As a consequence, the total concentration of GS in the cultivars showed a different ranking order for each herbivore species. The generalist M. brassicae performed equally well as the specialist P. xylostella on cultivars with high concentrations of GS. Our findings suggest that secondary metabolites other than GSs or differences in nutrient levels affect performance of the species studied.


In several papers, Petr Koťátko defends an "ontologically modest account of fictional characters". Consider a position (which I have been defending) that is anything but ontologically restrained: positing fictional characters like Andrei Bolkonsky in War and Peace as abstract artifacts. I will argue, first, that such a position turns out to offer a nice fit with Petr Koťátko's proposal about narrative fiction, one that fares better than an alternative pretense-based theory that doesn't posit Bolkonsky as existing in any sense. Second, I will explore a recent challenge by Jeffrey Goodman—which I will call the inadvertent creation challenge—that is originally posed for those who hold that fictional characters and mythical objects alike are abstract artifacts. The crux of the challenge is this: if we think that astronomers like Le Verrier, in mistakenly hypothesizing the planet Vulcan, inadvertently create an abstract artifact, then the "inadvertent creation" element turns out to be inescapable yet theoretically unattractive. Third, based on considerations about actually existing concrete objects being featured in fictional works (as Napoleon is in War and Peace), I argue that regardless of where one stands on mythical objects, admitting fictional characters as abstract artifacts is enough to give rise to the inadvertent creation challenge; yet this very set of considerations serves to undermine the challenge, indicating that inadvertent creation is not nearly as worrisome after all as Goodman is suggesting. Taking fictional characters (and mythical objects) to be abstract artifacts therefore remains a viable option.


Fungicides
which are not easily degradable have the greatest adverse effects on soil
microbes. These pesticides negatively affect the growth and multiplication of
fungi and bacteria and consequently cause the disturbance of the natural soil microbial
balance. In this study two fungicide tolerant isolates of rhizobia; clover
isolate (TA1) and peanut isolate (8) were assessed in their capacity to degrade
Vitavax and Rizolex. The performance of these isolates in fungicides
degradation was tested using the colorimetric assay for Rizolex and the HPLC
analysis for Vitavax to detect the degradation products. Using HPLC analyses,
the control sample showed specific peak indicating the Vitavax presence in the
medium. The specific peak did not change in the control samples throughout the
experiment.With the strainTA1 the specific peak of the Vitavax fungicides
started to reduce as the incubation time goes on. The Vitavax fungicide did not
degrade completely after 240 hours of incubation with rhizobial isolate. The
Rizolex used in this study contained blend of Thiram (active ingredient of
Rizolex) and Tolcofs methyl fungicides in 1:1 ratio. The biodegradation of
Rizolex in the liquid media showed the formation of two new intermediates which
were released into the medium indicating the degradation of the tested
fungicide by peanut rhizobial isolate No. 8 in 48 hrs of incubation 45% of this
compound was degraded. This work shows that the selection of fungicides
tolerant rhizobial strains is important to protect the rhizobial inoculants
from the toxic effect of the pesticides.


This study looks into the identity of brown female artists living in the post-colonial society of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan today. It examines the role, status, and ideals of a handful of women artists and educators from the '80s, mostly members of the Women Action Forum, who have helped define the current identity of Pakistani women by initiating feminist debates. The concept of feminism in post-colonial society is multidimensional and needs to be explored to combat the misconstrued and imposed identity of Pakistani women as miserable, second-grade citizens of the third world. Dominant religions and cultural practices in this region designate woman to a distinct status in society. In Islam, women are seen as the followers of Fatima—the leader of all Muslim women in paradise—and are ranked amongst the greatest humans (Qutbuddin, 2006, 249) while Hinduism considers them as devis—divine beings (Pintchman, 2011). With this socio-cultural mind set and confirming the persuasive relationship between feminist aesthetics and feminist theory as proposed by Hilde Hein (1999), we analyse works of selected female artists and aim to understand the current wave of feminism here. The investigation adopts ethnographic methods of research along with established approaches to historiography that involve discussing, collecting, documenting, digitizing and analysing the information.


Manufacturing of steel components is often done at high temperatures (HT) posing a serious challenge to components such as forming tools. Thermal spray coatings provide a cost-effective solution for surface protection under HT, corrosive environments and severe wear conditions. Thermally sprayed coatings based on cubic hard materials such as TiC and TiCN can provide an alternative to widely used Cr3C2-NiCr. While the latter possess a superb oxidation resistance and wear resistance at HT, they are prone to degradation in the presence of Mn, an element commonly alloyed in many modern steel grades such as TWIP (twinning-induced plasticity steel). In this study, a (Ti,Mo)(C,N)-29% Ni hardmetal feedstock powder was prepared by agglomeration and sintering. Coatings were deposited using a high velocity air-fuel (HVAF) spray process. The coating was benchmarked against a standard Cr3C2-NiCr coating obtained with the same spray process. Our work comprises analyses of the feedstock powder along with the resulting coating microstructure after deposition and heat treatment. Further, the HT sliding behavior against TWIP steel using a HT pin-on-disc tribometer at 700°C was investigated. The results showed a clear benefit of the TiCN-based coating, with almost no wear detected, while the Cr3C2-coating showed a significant wear loss. Based on these results, the TiCN-based coating is regarded as potential solution for prospective forming applications of modern high Mn steels, such as TWIP.


This article examines Ding Ling's 丁玲 (1904–86) practice of intertextuality in her famous 1927 story "Shafei nüshi de riji" 莎菲女士的日記 (Miss Sophia's Diary) by means of the Bakhtinian concept of dialogism. Sophia's diary is in dialogue with a plethora of texts she has read or encountered before. Ding Ling uses these intertexts to shed light on Sophia's negotiations with the New Woman's identity, as well as with the medium of the written word. At the same time, Sophia's diary is perennially in dialogue with anticipated readers or interlocutors. The story's thematization of reading is inseparable from the motifs of looking and gazing: just as Sophia is constantly preoccupied with how people look at her, she is anxious about how her diary will be read. Thus, her diary has an inherently dialogical stance as Sophia flirts with different intertextual ways of defining herself, always implicitly in contention with others who might view or read her otherwise. The article ends by reflecting on the resonances between Sophia's textual flirtations and the story's depictions of erotic desire, suggesting that the idea of promiscuity emerges as a figure for the practice of intertextuality during the May Fourth period.


The present study investigates the impact of therapist experience treating clients on outcomes for future clients with similar demographic and clinical characteristics. Prior research has consistently failed to demonstrate that therapists with more experience (i.e. years of experience working with patients) are more effective than therapists with less experience. However, the literature is often criticized for failing to control for variables such as the amount and type of patients treated across therapist comparisons. The samples for the current study are taken from a larger national sample of 2366 outpatients receiving psychotherapy from across 92 therapists. The overall sample includes 83 matched pairs of patients across 83 of the 92 original therapists. Results indicate that therapists may be able to use prior experience with a patient to enhance future outcomes as long as latter patients are clinically and demographically similar and enter treatment shortly after the initial patient. Implications for how therapists are trained and use experience are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Often in the universe of Doctor Who, our best means for understanding the Doctor is through the lens of his companion. Almost always present, the role of the companion is a central narrative of the Doctor. Furthermore, a comprehension of the role of the companion is essential in an effort to understand the motivation and nature of the Doctor. In this paper I argue that the relationship between the Doctor and his companion corresponds to that of Christ and Christian, especially in regards to issues of faith and doubt. This is seen through the arc of character development of each companion, especially in his or her moments of confusion and frustration with the antics of the Doctor. We will also find some relief, if not resolution, through concepts of faith given by Tillich. Though the exploration of the Doctor as a Soteriological actor have been drawn, this article addresses the interplay of Doctor as Soter and that of a Companion who may vacillate between dedication and confusion. Such an exploration will give us unique tools for understanding both individual and collective relationships with the Doctor and insight into the often counterintuitive decision to embark on a mystifying journey.


ABSTRACT In this paper I discuss the interdisciplinarity of computational communication science. I draw on my own experiences leading a multi-disciplinary lab that broadly studies multimodal communication. Scholars are increasingly using text-as-data methods for social science inquiry, driving a need for more training and professionalization of computational political communication as a sub-field. Text-as-data methods are largely borrowed from other disciplines such as linguistics and computer science, but sustained, institutionalized collaboration between scholars in different departments is still somewhat rare. Using the concept of cohesion as an example, I describe how multiple disciplines interpret and operationalize the same term in different ways. Finally, I provide a list of challenges and lessons learned, including the logistics of running a lab, communicating and publishing across disciplines, implications of authorship sequence, and maintaining your own research profile while collaborating. I conclude by discussing the role of meaningful mentorship and future directions for interdisciplinary text analysis research.


The elemental partitioning characteristics of advanced single crystal Ni-base superalloys containing additions of both Pt and Ru have been investigated using atom probe tomography. Detailed microanalysis revealed Ru additions partitioned preferentially to the disordered matrix, whereas Pt additions tended to partition to the ordered intermetallic γ′ precipitates. The partitioning characteristics of three nominally similar alloys with systematic variations in the levels of Cr, Ru and Pt were investigated. For this particular set of experimental alloys, minor changes in the partitioning characteristics of the constituent elements could be attributed to additions of Cr and Ru. The preferential site occupancy of Pt within the L12 lattice was also statistically quantified with ALCHEMI (atomic site location by channelling enhanced microanalysis). In contrast to the atomic partitioning characteristics of Ru, Pt exhibited a tendency to occupy the Ni sublattice sites in the γ′ structure.


Can J Psychiatry. 2009;54(2):76-77. Dr David Healy raises 3 main points that require rebuttal: * antidepressants are associated with an increased risk of suicide in pediatric populations; * antidepressants are not effective; and * antidepressants offer no protection against suicide as per pharmacoepidemiologic studies. Efficacy of Antidepressants A recent meta-analysis shows that antidepressants are more likely than placebo to result in clinical improvement in depressed children and adolescents, with a number needed to treat (NNT) of 10.1 As Dr Healy notes, the placebo rate is high in these studies, and greater efficacy is found in studies that used fluoxetine, had fewer sites, and empanelled participants of greater severity.2 Exemplar of these characteristics is the Treatment of Adolescent Depression Study, which showed a risk difference of 27% between fluoxetine and placebo (NNT = 4), a moderate-to-large effect. Risk of Suicidality and Completed Suicide in Pediatric Populations Meta-analyses show that there is a higher rate of suicidal events in pediatric patients treated with antidepressants, compared with those treated with placeboes; such events include increases in suicidal ideation, suicidal threats, and attempts, but not in deaths by suicide in 4300 participants.1 The most parsimonious explanation is that antidepressants in pediatric populations are not associated with completed suicide. While it is possible, as suggested by Dr Healy, that suicides occurred that were not reported, one cannot base clinical guidelines and policy on this possibility in the absence of concrete evidence. A Protective Effect of Antidepressants Against Suicide? Pharmacoepidemiologic studies show an association between increased use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and a decline in the suicide rate. The simplest explanation for these findings is that greater detection and treatment of depression with antidepressants protects against completed suicide. This should be true even if, as suggested by Dr Healy, the suicidogenic effect of antidepressants only occurs in those 20% who are initiating antidepressants. Moreover, the highest risk period for a suicide attempt is in the month prior to initiation of an antidepressant, not afterwards, which contradicts Dr Healy's supposition.3 While pharmacoepidemiologic studies are correlative and not experimental, quasi-experimental studies in Sweden and Hungary showed a decrease in deaths by suicide in regions where general practitioners underwent extensive training in detection and pharmacological treatment of depression, compared with control regions where general practitioners did not receive extra training.4,5 A Favourable Risk-Benefit Ratio for Pediatric Antidepressants The NNT for antidepressant treatment of pediatric depression is 10, whereas the number needed to harm regarding suicidal events is 121, which means that 12 times more people will benefit from antidepressants than will experience a suicidal event. …


: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a major cause of global disability and improving management is essential. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a promising treatment for chronic pain but has not been modified for physical therapy. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared physical therapy informed by ACT (PACT) against standard care physical therapy for patients with CLBP. Patients with CLBP (duration ≥ 12 weeks, mean 3 years) were recruited from physical therapy clinics in 4 UK public hospitals. The Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) at 3 months' postrandomization was the primary outcome. Two hundred forty-eight participants (59% female, mean age = 48) were recruited and 219 (88.3%) completed measures at 3 and/or 12 months' follow-up. At 3 months, PACT participants reported better outcomes for disability (RMDQ mean difference = 1.07, p = .037, 95% CI = (cid:2) 2.08 to (cid:2) .07, d = .2), Patient Specific Functioning (p = .008), SF12 physical health (p = .032), and treatment credibility (p < .001). At 12 months' follow-up, there were no significant differences between groups. PACT was acceptable to patients and clinicians and feasible to deliver. therapists incorporated psychological principles successfully and treatment was delivered with high ( ≥ 80%) fidelity. Our results may inform the management of CLBP, with potential benefits for patients, health care providers, and society. Perspective: Psychologically informed physical therapy has great potential but there are challenges in implementation. The training and support included in the PACT trial enabled the intervention to be delivered as planned. This successfully reduced disability in the short but not long term. Findings could inform physical therapists' treatment of CLBP. is term for group by time, the baseline level of the outcome variable and indicator variables for center, as this was a stratification factor in the randomization. Residual diagnostics indicated heteroscedasticity for RMDQ. Standard errors that are robust to violations of the normality and homoscedasticity assumption were estimated by bootstrapping with 1,000 replications. Treatment effects were converted into standardized mean differences as Cohen's d to allow comparison of effect sizes across outcomes. Costs associated with delivering PACT and UC were estimated using a combination of actual resource used, derived from logs kept by the physical therapists and NHS Executive reference costs for 2015/16.


Wherever international commerce flows in world politics, military power often flows with it - sometimes as a protector of commerce, sometimes as its promoters and sometimes as a tool of aggression against it. How are military power and international trade related? Do military power and commerce expand together or does military power decline as commerce (and perhaps interdependence) increases? Does this relationship vary across countries and, if so how? Power, Conflict and Trade is a study of the relationship between military power and international commerce among the Great Powers prior to World War I. After building an argument for a direct relationship between military power and commerce - one grounded in a mercantilist view of state power- and exploring their numerous connections, the book estimates models of the relationship among the Great Powers and explores a great deal of their commercial and military data, all of which is situated in the context of their mutual rivalries. Another question investigated is whether the peacetime conflicts and rivalries of the Great Powers affected their trade relations adversely. There is strong support for the argument that military power and commerce move together in world politics, though there is evidence for an inverse relationship as well.


The role of visual input during reaching and grasping was evaluated. Groups of infants (5, 7, and 9 months old) and adults reached for an illuminated object that sometimes darkened during the reach. Behavioral and kinematic measures were assessed during transport and grasp. Both infants and adults could complete a reach and grasp to a darkened object. However, vision was used during the reach when the object remained visible. Infants contacted the object more often when it remained visible, though they had longer durations and more movement units. In contrast, adults reached faster and more precisely during transport and grasp when the object remained visible. Thus, continuous sight of the object was not necessary, but when it was available, infants used it for contacting the object whereas adults used it to reach and grasp more efficiently.


Remarkable defect annealing in both p-type and n-type InP following 1-MeV electron irradiation has been observed at room temperature, resulting in the recovery of InP solar cell properties. The room-temperature annealing characteristics of radiation-induced defects in InP were studied by measuring InP solar cell photovoltaic properties in conjunction with deep-level transient spectroscopy. The recovery of InP solar cell radiation damage is found to be due mainly to the room-temperature annihilation of radiation-induced recombination centers such as an H4 trap (Ev+0.37 eV) in p-InP. Moreover, the room-temperature annealing rate of radiation-induced defects in InP was found to be proportional to the 2/3 power of the carrier concentration. Additionally, a model has been considered in which point defects diffuse to sinks through impurities so as to annihilate and bind with impurities, thus forming point defect-impurity complexes.


The mushroom-like electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) structure combined with a choke structure is applied to improve the transmit-receive (T/R) isolation of two X-band large antenna arrays. The basic idea presented is to suppress the surface wave propagation between the T/R arrays by utilizing EBG walls formed through a vertical configuration of the EBG cells, so as to improve the T/R isolation. The isolation level of the arrays with the EBG walls and a metal choke is measured and compared to other isolation methods applied. The experimental results show that by using this combined structure, the isolation level can be improved by at least 30 dB in the radar's operation band, which shows its high efficiency.


Cytogenetic studies were conducted on Mugil trichodon from Margarita Island, Venezuela. The species showed a karyotype 2n=48 with entirely acrocentric chromosomes (Arm number, NF=48). Chromosomes gradually decreased in size and did not allow a clear distinction of homologues, except for one marker pair, which showed a conspicuous secondary constriction. C-banding showed heterochromatic blocks restricted at the centromeric regions of all the chromosomes. Some were more obvious than others, with the exception of the chromosome pair that had a secondary constriction with entirely heterochromatic short arms. Sequential staining with Giemsa and AgNO3 demonstrated the conspicuous secondary constrictions corresponding to the NORs, and these had significant intraindividual size variations between both homologous chromosomes. The data obtained here support the contention that Mugilidae have a conservative chromosome macrostructure and reinforce the hypothesis that small structural chromosome rearrangements involving active NOR sites are the main cause of the karyotypic diversification seen in this group.


: State-of-the-art approaches for sarcasm detection in social media combine lexical clues with contextual information surrounding the potentially sarcastic posting including author information. This article presents detailed methods for performing contextualizing sarcasm detection on Twitter, including data extraction, feature engineering and classification model settings. I reproduce the state-of-the-art results reported by Bamman and Smith (2015).


1. The utilization of [1,5-(14)C(2)]citrate by lung slices and cell cytosol preparations, and the activities of liver and lung cytosol citrate-cleavage enzyme (EC 220.127.116.11), l-malate-NAD oxidoreductase (malate dehydrogenase, EC 126.96.36.199) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (EC 184.108.40.206) were examined in normal and starved rats. 2. Lipogenesis from citrate was decreased by approx. 70% in both the phospholipid and neutral lipid fractions of lung slices from starved rats as compared with fed controls. 3. Incorporation of citrate by lung cytosol preparations into fatty acids was decreased by approx. 35% in the starved rats. The apparent inhibition by avidin of fatty acid synthesis was overcome partially by preincubation of lung cytosol preparations with biotin. These results are consistent with the presence in lung tissue of the malonyl-CoA pathway for fatty acid synthesis. 4. Lung citrate-cleavage enzyme activity decreased in rats that had been starved for 72h whereas malate dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activities remained unchanged. The results suggest that the pattern of utilization of lipid precursors by rat lung may be altered during various nutritional states.


Background and Objective: Bacterial meningitis is an important cause of mortality and longterm neural morbidity. Immediate diagnosis and treatment are necessary in appropriate time. This study was designed in Afzalipour Hospital in Kerman to evaluate meningitis causes, frequency and CSF laboratory changes. Patients and Methods: In this retrograde descriptive study from September 2003 to September 2005, documents of all the hospitalized patients with diagnosed meningitis in Afzalipour Hospital of Kerman, southeast of Iran were studied. Results: During this period, 126 patients were hospitalized . The age average was 15.2 ± 5.2 yr. Males were more than females (69% vs 31%) & 64% were children. Majority of patients were admitted in winter (42.9%) followed by spring (31%). 9.5% had viral meningitis. 89.5% of patients with bacterial meningitis had negative CSF culture . Positive culture included 6 cases of H.influenzae type B , 3 cases of pneumococcal and 3 cases of meningococcal. Average level of glucose in CSF in positive culture group was less than negative culture group (22.5mg/dl vs 53.5mg/dl) . All positive culture patients had pro>100mg/dl and WBC>1000/mm3. Conclusion: 10.5% of patients had positive culture, which might suggest that there were some errors in microbial cultures done in this hospital. More prevalence of meningitis in children was similar to other studies. The most common cause was H.influenzae , so Iranian children vaccination should be considered.


Background: The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is increasing due to changes in lifestyle and dietary
habits. The aim of this study was to compare the serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D between patients
with bronchial asthma and the healthy control group.

Patients and Methods: In this case-control study, 45 patients with asthma and 45 healthy subjects were
enrolled and the level of serum 25 (OH) vitamin D was measured in both groups. In addition, a welltrained
observer assessed airway reversibility, peak flowmetry and spirometry in the participants. The
data were statistically analyzed using t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and chi-square test
with Stata software (version 11).

Results: The mean age (±SD) of participants were 49.06 ±16.43 and 46.13 ±16.10 years in case and
control groups, respectively (P=.394). The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was high in both groups
(69% in case and 65.5% in control groups). The mean (±SD) serum 25 (OH) vitamin D was 16.24
(±14.98) ng/ml in case group and 17.70 (±16.07) ng/mL in control group (P=.657). We found a positive
correlation between the levels of vitamin D and the amount of FEV1 (r=0.2).

Conclusions: According to the present study, the mean serum levels of vitamin D differences were not
statistically significant between asthmatic patients and control group. However, the results of this study
showed a positive relationship between forced expiratory volumes in first second (FEV1) and vitamin D
levels


Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and its agonists have been known to directly affect steroid hormone production in human granulosa cells. In this study, we examined effects of GnRH on Ca2+ mobilization, protein kinase C activity and steroidogenesis of human granulosa cells. Human granulosa cells were harvested by aspiration of follicles during oocyte retrieval for IVF. Test substances, that is, GnRH agonist ([D-Ser(TBu)6]-LHRH-EA), 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), A23187, 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7) and nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) were added to HTF medium with human granulosa cells. At the end of a 5-h incubation period, progesterone and estradiol in the medium were extracted and measured. GnRH agonist (10(-9)M and 10(-8)M) significantly stimulated (P < 0.05) progesterone and estradiol accumulation in the medium. TPA (10(-7)M, 10(-8)M and 10(-9)M) also significantly stimulated (P < 0.05) progesterone accumulation. A23187 (10(-6)M) significantly stimulated progesterone accumulation (P < 0.05) and significantly enhanced (P < 0.05) the stimulatory effect of TPA on progesterone production. H-7 (10(-3)M, 10(-4)M and 10(-5)M) and NDGA (10(-3)M, 10(-4)M and 10(-5)M) significantly inhibited (P < 0.05) the effect of GnRH agonist on progesterone and estradiol production by the granulosa cells. The granulosa cells were loaded with 4 microM Fura 2-AM, and the ratio of the intensities of fluorescent emission at 510 nm with excitation at 340 and 380 nm was calculated at 100-ms intervals. GnRH agonist (10(-7)M and 10(-6)M) increased (P < 0.05) [Ca2+]i significantly as compared with the control. These results suggested that the effects of GnRH on progesterone and estradiol production in human granulosa cells were mediated partially by calcium mobilization and partially by C-kinase activity, and protein kinase C, [Ca2+]i and lipoxygenase were suspected of being important intracellular messages for GnRH in human granulosa cells.


PET/MR is a hybrid imaging modality that enables simultaneous acquisition of PET and MR images, and fuses functional or metabolic information obtained using PET and superior soft tissue contrast acquired using MR. Although PET has mostly been used for oncologic indications, PET/MR has significant potential for evaluating cardiac diseases. 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/MR can evaluate not only inflammation and myocardial glucose metabolism, but also cardiac function, tissue edema, and myocardial fibrosis, simultaneously. Furthermore, using specific PET tracers, PET/MR enables the evaluation of various cardiac diseases. Although there are several technical issues that remain to be solved, PET/MR is a key modality for evaluating the pathophysiology of cardiac diseases.


Research in public health has recently tended to take a more global perspective when considering the individual patient. In addition to a measure of functional status, the integration of the disease into the daily life of the individual, or his quality of life is what is being evaluated. This concept, while relatively recent (10-15 yrs), is the result, in part, of changes in the diagnosis and treatment of patients, particularly those with chronic and severe diseases. In clinical trials, what is sought is a measurement of change in the level of well being during the evolution of an illness or of the different levels that exist between two groups. The validation of a scale of this type requires both a qualitative and a quantitative phase with attention being paid to the methodological issues in scale development Specific statistical techniques are used to modify evolving versions. The adaptation of an existing scale into another language requires a rigorous qualitative phase before the quantitative phase is begun.


A low-temperature co-fired composition with sintering temperature of <900 °C was developed using rare earth derived borate glass (La2O3-B2O3-TiO2) and a conventional BNT (BaONd2O3-TiO2) ceramic. The sintering behavior, phase evaluation, sintered morphology, and microwave dielectric properties were investigated. It was found that increasing the sintering temperature from 750 to 850°C leads to increases in shrinkage, densities and microwave dielectric properties (≈ 20 for εr and >8000 for Q*f0). However, after 850 °C , the values of these properties decreased. It is suggested therefore that this new composite has good potential as a new candidate for low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) materials.


The covalent attachment of ubiquitin to a variety of cellular proteins (ubiquitination) is a common post-translational modification in eukaryotic cells. Little is known about the function of these modifications in either the normal or the pathological state. The characteristics of ubiquitination in the nucleus, the cytoplasm, and on the plasma membrane are reviewed and discussed here. Also reported are studies on the enzymes which metabolize ubiquitin, using the ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis system as a model. Four enzymes which specifically recognize ubiquitin and hydrolyze carboxyl-terminal derivatives of ubiquitin have been partially purified from bovine thymus. These are thiol-containing proteases which will also release ubiquitin from ubiquitin-protein conjugates. The presence of these deconjugating enzymes and the proteases in the cytoplasm suggests that there is a partition of conjugates between proteolysis and deconjugation. To study the factors which determine the relative rates of proteolysis versus deconjugation, we have developed a general method of synthesizing large amounts of pure ubiquitin-protein conjugates. The structure/function relationships of ubiquitin have been probed by chemically modifying ubiquitin and examining its activity in the protein degradation system. These studies have identified regions of the ubiquitin molecule which are recognized by the enzymes of the proteolysis system, established that the molecule can be altered and used as a probe of such systems and will guide the design of site-directed mutant ubiquitins in order to more fully define the recognition sites on the ubiquitin molecule. It is likely that studies of these types will lead to an understanding of the molecular interactions required for proper ubiquitin function and allow design of drugs which could be useful in understanding the role of ubiquitination and its importance in normal and pathological states.


Acylcarnitines are intermediates of fatty acid oxidation and accumulate as a result of a metabolic defect. Accumulation of palmitoylcarnitine (palcar), a long-chain acylcarnitine, has been observed in diabetes mellitus type II, obesity and kidney cancer. Certain dietary intervention studies have been shown to reduce serum and urinary levels of acylcarnitines.
It was shown that palcar accumulates in prostate cancer tissue, possibly indicative of the metabolic changes associated with cancer development, but that palcar at high
concentrations may have activities that could be associated with cancer development. Through the use of cancerous (PC3, DU145) and non-cancerous (PNT1A, BPH) cell models, it was shown that high levels of palcar could induce gene expression of the inflammatory cytokine IL-6, and induce its secretion in PC3 cells. This was associated with the rapid influx of Ca2+. Through the use of various metabolic inhibitors, it was shown that Ca2+ influx includes the activation of G-protein coupled receptors, L-type Ca2+ channels and PI3K pathway. However, it was shown through the use of global gene arrays that lower levels of palcar with uncorrected P value induced many changes in gene expression in PNT1A cells. A comparison with the global changes induced by DHT, an androgen linked to prostate cancer progression, revealed a significant overlap in activity between palcar and DHT, suggesting that palcar may have a potential role in promoting cancer progression. In PC3 cells through the use of real time RT-PCR palcar was shown to induce glycolysis.
In conclusion, it is suggested that palcar may represent a potential biomarker of the metabolic dysfunction associated with prostate cancer. At physiological levels palcar had no effects on the prostate cancer cells, however, at high levels palcar drive tumour development through inducing key inflammatory cytokine and inducing changes in gene expression associated with glycolysis.


Software evolution is characterized by inevitable changes of software and increasing software complexities, which in turn may lead to huge costs unless rigorously taking into account change accommodations. This is in particular true for long-lived systems in which changes go beyond maintainability. For such systems, there is a need to address evolvability explicitly during the entire lifecycle. Nevertheless, there is a lack of a model that can be used for analyzing, evaluating and comparing software systems in terms of evolvability. In this paper, we describe the initial establishment of an evolvability model as a framework for analysis of software evolvability. We motivate and exemplify the model through an industrial case study of a software-intensive automation system.


Human interaction is never flawless. Even the best relationships produce tension and at times, unpleasant emotions. Since organizations are comprised of people, all organizations generate emotional pain as part of the process of doing business: producing new products on tight deadlines, setting benchmarks for performance, creating budgets, crafting company policies, and so on. Getting the job done is rarely painless. But when emotional pain goes unmanaged or is poorly handled, it can negatively affect both employees and the bottom line - in essence, it becomes toxic.In "Toxic Emotions at Work and What to Do About Them", Peter J. Frost argues that the way an organization responds to pain determines whether it remains toxic or becomes generative, whether it endures as a debilitating poison or is transformed into a force for healthy organizations. According to Frost, when ignored, toxic emotions betray employees' hopes, bruise their egos, reduce their enthusiasm for work, and diminish their sense of connectedness to their company's community and goals. Compassionate responses to pain, on the other hand, encourage those who are suffering to effect constructive changes in their work lives. Despite their powerful role in employee performance, toxic emotions are rarely addressed by organizations. Instead, most companies respond to pain informally and unconsciously through self-selected individuals whom Frost calls 'toxin handlers'.Typically a senior manager or someone with a high emotional intelligence capacity, toxin handlers soften the blow of emotional pain for others, but over the course of time, absorb much of the pain they handle to their own detriment. They are often unrecognised, unrewarded, and poorly supported by their organizations. And, while they often provide a temporary relief from the symptoms of toxic organizational pain, toxin handlers alone are unable to eradicate toxic emotions for the long-term."Toxic Emotions at Work and What to Do About Them" suggests that handling toxic emotions effectively is an important, though unrecognised set of competencies that must be understood and embraced - not only by toxin handlers, but by leaders, managers, and the organization as a whole. Through rich examples of how individuals and organizations have managed emotional pain successfully, Frost describes the key skills necessary to cope with emotional pain and to manage it effectively, and offers concrete courses of action for organizations to institutionalize compassion in the face of emotional pain.


: Data obtained through a survey questionnaire show that on starting the internship, about half of the University of Brasilia medical graduates expressed a preference for primary care activities and predominant interest in assuming responsibility for patient care. Career aims and choice stability seem to be affected in various ways by personality, academic, and demographic factors. There is no evidence of a prevailing influence of the educational setting on the final pattern of career choice, notwithstanding the indications that the teaching model adopted may influence the development of the choice.


Endozepines are endogenous ligands for the benzodiazepine receptors and also target a still unidentified GPCR. The endozepine octadecaneuropeptide (ODN), an endoproteolytic processing product of the diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI) was recently shown to be involved in food intake control as an anorexigenic factor through ODN-GPCR signaling and mobilization of the melanocortinergic signaling pathway. Within the hypothalamus, the DBI gene is mainly expressed by non-neuronal cells such as ependymocytes, tanycytes, and protoplasmic astrocytes, at levels depending on the nutritional status. Administration of ODN C-terminal octapeptide (OP) in the arcuate nucleus strongly reduces food intake. Up to now, the relevance of extrahypothalamic targets for endozepine signaling-mediated anorexia has been largely ignored. We focused our study on the dorsal vagal complex located in the caudal brainstem. This structure is strongly involved in the homeostatic control of food intake and comprises structural similarities with the hypothalamus. In particular, a circumventricular organ, the area postrema (AP) and a tanycyte-like cells forming barrier between the AP and the adjacent nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) are present. We show here that DBI is highly expressed by ependymocytes lining the fourth ventricle, tanycytes-like cells, as well as by proteoplasmic astrocytes located in the vicinity of AP/NTS interface. ODN staining observed at the electron microscopic level reveals that ODN-expressing tanycyte-like cells and protoplasmic astrocytes are sometimes found in close apposition to neuronal elements such as dendritic profiles or axon terminals. Intracerebroventricular injection of ODN or OP in the fourth ventricle triggers c-Fos activation in the dorsal vagal complex and strongly reduces food intake. We also show that, similarly to leptin, ODN inhibits the swallowing reflex when microinjected into the swallowing pattern generator located in the NTS. In conclusion, we hypothesized that ODN expressing cells located at the AP/NTS interface could release ODN and modify excitability of NTS neurocircuitries involved in food intake control.


This paper reports an investigation into the leakage current harmonic components of 45 units of glass insulator samples. The insulator units comprise 5 groups of insulators: new insulators and naturally field-aged insulators with different ageing periods->30, 20, 15, and <;10 years from a 132 kV transmission line. Experiments were conducted at different electrical stresses (0.17, 0.24, and 0.34 kV/cm) and salt-fog conductivities (900 and 1500 μS/cm). The results suggest that the insulator samples' leakage current (LC) waveform and the total harmonic distortion (THD) correspond well with degree of ageing. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis performed on the stored waveforms showed a strong correlation between the ratio of the third to fifth harmonic amplitudes with the degree of ageing and in-service period of the naturally field-aged insulators. Furthermore, this investigation revealed a pattern between the groups of insulator samples in respect to their ageing. These findings were further validated with traditional Dielectric Dissipation Factor tests carried out on the insulators, and the results also correlated well with the samples' degree of ageing as well as service period. In addition, neural networks were trained to recognize the insulator samples' degree of ageing. This study found that, alternative to the diagnosis of insulator ageing through the measurement of loss angles or tangent delta, LC harmonics can be used as diagnostic tools and for the on-line monitoring of in-service aged transmission line ceramic glass insulators based on odd harmonics and third to fifth harmonic ratios.


Drawing on a popular Catholic online forum in Poland, this study examines the interaction between top-down (traditional institutional) and bottom-up (informal expert) forms of religious authority. In adapting Campbell's concept of online religious authority, this study shows that both forms of authority emerge in varying contexts and have distinct yet mutually supplementary functions. Top-down authority occurs  as topic and background of discussions and appears mostly through references to religious doctrine. Informal experts in turn emerge from the group of most active users and gain their status through the recognition of fellow patrons for their expertise, experience and interpretation skills. The aim of the latter is less to undermine or replace traditional religious authority than to intervene in those areas where the institutional representation of the Church fails or disappoints fellow believers.


The White Paper "Framework for a Fairer Future – the Equality Bill"1 states that the
government's commitment to equality is:
a. Necessary for the individual
b. Necessary for society
c. Necessary for the economy
It states that it is time to "declutter the law" – over the 40 years that discrimination
legislation has been evolving it has become very complex, and has been described
as a "proverbial dog's breakfast, with significant differences between the strands,
and even differences within the strands, depending on whether the provisions relate
to areas falling within the scope of one of the new Directives"2 . There are now nine
major pieces of legislation and around 100 statutory instruments, not to mention the
guidance and codes of practice that accompany them.
It also states that it is time to strengthen the law, quoting the following disturbing statistics


Pop-up messages utilized by gambling operators are normally presented to gamblers during gambling sessions in order to prevent excessive gambling and/or to help in the appraisal of maladaptive gambling cognitions. However, the effect of such messages on gambling behavior and gambling cognitions has not previously been synthesized quantitatively. Consequently, a meta-analysis estimating the efficacy of pop-up messages on gambling behavior and cognitions was conducted. A systematic literature search with no time constraints was performed on Web of Science, PsychInfo, Medline, PsychNET, and the Cochrane Library. Search terms included "gambling," "pop-up," "reminder," "warning message," and "dynamic message." Studies based on randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental designs and pre-post studies reporting both pre- and post-pop-up data were included. Two authors independently extracted data using pre-defined fields including quality assessment. A total of 18 studies were included and data were synthesized using a random effects model estimating Hedges' g. The effects of pop-ups were g = 0.413 for cognitive measures (95% CI = 0.115–0.707) and g = 0.505 for behavioral measures (95% CI = 0.256–0.746). For both outcomes there was significant between-study heterogeneity which could not be explained by setting (laboratory vs. naturalistic) or sample (gambler vs. non-gamblers). It is concluded that pop-up messages provide moderate effects on gambling behavior and cognitions in the short-term and that such messages play an important role in the gambling operators' portfolio of responsible gambling tools.


Efficient high-throughput (HT) compression algorithms are paramount to meet the stringent constraints of present and upcoming data storage, processing, and transmission systems. In particular, latency, bandwidth and energy requirements are critical for those systems. Most HT codecs are designed to maximize compression speed, and secondarily to minimize compressed lengths. On the other hand, decompression speed is often equally or more critical than compression speed, especially in scenarios where decompression is performed multiple times and/or at critical parts of a system. In this work, an algorithm to design variable-to-fixed (VF) codes is proposed that prioritizes decompression speed. Stationary Markov analysis is employed to generate multiple, jointly optimized codes (denoted code forests). Their average compression efficiency is on par with the state of the art in VF codes, e.g., within 1% of Yamamoto et al.'s algorithm. The proposed code forest structure enables the implementation of highly efficient codecs, with decompression speeds 3.8 times faster than other state-of-the-art HT entropy codecs with equal or better compression ratios for natural data sources. Compared to these HT codecs, the proposed forests yields similar compression efficiency and speeds.


This thesis presents a study of the speech of Welsh-English bilinguals to determine
the extent and manner of the structural influence of English on Welsh, specifically
the phenomenon of convergence, which is described as the increase in frequency of
use of a construction (e. g. word order) In one language due to the prevalence of
that construction in another language with which its speakers are in contact.
I take two approaches to measure convergence, using Welsh-English
conversational data which were specially-collected for a 40 hour corpus. First, I
adapt the Matrix Language Frame model (Myers-Scotton 2002), usable to Identify
the language from which clause morphosyntax is sourced, to identify convergence.
I propose the concept of a dichotomous Matrix Language, which is where there is
conflicting evidence for which language provides clause structure. In testing the
model on speech from six speakers, I find that, with few exceptions, Welsh is the
source of the structure In the majority of clauses analysed. I Interpret this to show
that word-order convergence In these data Is limited Insofar as using the Matrix
Language Frame model indicates.
Second, I analyse the speech of 28 bilinguals for evidence of the deletion of
the initial auxiliary verb in periphrastic constructions Involving an auxiliary form of
bod `be' and a 2"d person singular pronominal subject ti. Auxiliary deletion (AD) in
such clauses results In a clause-initial subject, which I compare to English SVO
word-order. I find that AD In such contexts Is very common In these data, and is
also found In clauses with a different subject. Analysis of age variation In the data
Indicates that AD In Welsh has become more common In recent years. I propose
that an Increase to subject-initial clauses In Welsh may be a change in progress,
which I Interpret to be in part due to convergence to English.


This paper focuses on providing sustainable irrigation opportunities to socially and historically disadvantaged farmers (SHDFs). The ability to provide steady production capacity through the use of renewable energy sources and microirrigation is innovative, in that it demonstrated how to develop and utilize a sustainable irrigation system in both energy and water conservation. This venture is also innovative in that it sought to provide SHDFs with irrigation in a state in which irrigation in agriculture is minimal, while at the same time, offsetting the energy costs that normally accompany irrigation. Several farmers are profiled in their participation in the irrigation program. The lessons learned will provide a starting point for a more permanent research, educational, and outreach partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and SHDF clientele. This relationship will lead to further strengthening the relationships between Tuskegee University and both participating farmers and USDA agencies.


Acquiring the information for rural settlement timely and accurately has an important significance for construction and development of rural areas. The development of remote sensing technology provides advanced means of the acquirement of the information of settlement. The study of extracting rural settlement information from Quickbird images in Xindu district, Chengdu City, P.R.of China was discussed here. Firstly, The Quickbird images such as panchromatic image and multi-spectral images were processed by geometric correction, enhancement and fusion. Secondly, the homogeneous image objects were formed by using multi-scale segmentation technology based on knowledge. Thirdly, the features such spectral feature, spatial relationship feature, texture feature and geometric feature of the image objects were obtained for each image object by using feature calculation. Fourthly, the feature knowledge of rural settlement unit and its component were obtained by using knowledge discovering. Finally, the rural settlement unit and its component information were extracted by matching the features with the feature knowledge of rural settlement unit and its component based on reasoning. It was shown that the rural settlement unit and its component information can be effectively extracted from Quickbird images by using our proposed method in this paper.


This paper presents survey-based evidence on the "fair" compensating wage differentials for insecurity of employment and lack of work-life balance (WLB). We present facts about individual perceptions of the desirable compensating differentials and then estimate the effects of working hours and wages on job satisfaction. The fair wage premiums for insecurity of employment and lack of WLB are both around 10% to 20%. The actual relative wages of nonstandard workers seem to be lower than those in the hedonic equilibrium. If "short-hour regular jobs" are characterized by both strong employment protection and WLB, the relative wage discount of 10% to 20% coincides with the average worker's perception of fairness. Working hours have a negative effect on job satisfaction and the wage level has a positive effect on job satisfaction, but the magnitudes of the effects differ between male and female workers. In order to achieve diversity of working styles, work schedule flexibility should be accompanied by a wage adjustment, which would contribute to the adoption and diffusion of WLB practices.


With the rapidly increasing population and the associated decline in landholding sizes, the government of Kenya has realized that agricultural extensification is no longer possible for most parts of the country. Consequently, development and promotion of land-augmenting technologies such as inorganic fertilizers and improved seeds have been pursued as the most viable alternatives towards increasing agricultural productivity. However, adoption of farm technologies in the country remains low among smallholders and widely varying across regions. Moreover, even where these improved technologies have been well adopted, productivity has stagnated for most crops. Thus, this thesis sought to analyse factors that influence adoption of improved farm technologies, measure technical efficiency and establish factors that influence its variation across households, and estimate the effects of adoption of improved technologies on crop yields among the smallholders. To address the first objective, inter-dependence of inorganic fertilizer and improved maize varieties adoption decisions was examined. For the second objective, data envelopment analysis was used to compute the technical efficiency scores. Tobit model was then used to establish the factors that influence interhousehold variation in technical efficiency. In response to the third objective, yield differences were examined among complete, partial and non-adopters of inorganic fertilizer and improved maize varieties using combined Differencein-Differences and Propensity Score Matching. Overall, the thesis makes contribution in terms of both literature and methodology. Results showed that adoption decisions on related technologies were interdependent. Such decisions were also influenced by farmer characteristics, plotlevel factors and market imperfections. The smallholders were found to be technically inefficient, producing only 60 per cent of the possible output. Great inter-household variations in technical efficiency existed, influenced by farmer characteristics, production environment and production risks. Inorganic fertilizers and improved maize varieties were found to increase yields especially if adopted as a package and if farmers were more efficient. Policy implication of these findings is that the government, the technology developers and the development partners should have a two-pronged approach in scaling up yields among the smallholders. Foremost, they have to implement incentives to accelerate complete adoption of these technologies. Easing market imperfections would be an important step towards this. Second, they should address the constraints to farmer efficiency. Viable alternatives include improving transport and marketing infrastructure, encouraging the smallholders to supplement inorganic fertilizer with manure, enhancing irrigated agriculture, advising smallholders to keep optimal plot sizes, and entrenching secure land tenure.


We analyze the long-term effects on the car fleet and welfare distribution of three car-related policy instruments intended to reduce CO2 emissions: increased fossil-fuel taxes, an intensified bonus-malus system for new cars, and increased mandated biofuel blending. The effects on the car fleet are analyzed in terms of energy source, weight, and CO2 emissions. Distributional effects are analyzed in terms of income and geographical residence areas. The increased fuel taxes reduce CO2 emissions by 36%, mainly through less driving of fossil-fuel cars. The intensified bonus-malus system for new cars reduces CO2 emissions by 5%. Both these policies shift the car fleet toward increased shares of electric vehicles and increased average weight. Increased mandated biofuel blending has no estimated effect on the car fleet unless prices increase differently from in the reference scenario. The two first policy instruments are weakly progressive to slightly regressive over most of the income distribution, but barely regressive if the highest income group is also included. The fraction of each population group incurring substantial welfare losses is higher the lower the income group. In the geographical dimension, for all policies the rural areas bear the largest burden, small cities the second largest burden, and large cities the smallest burden. The burden in the long term versus the short term is lower for high-income earners and urban residents.


BACKGROUND
Incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after thoracotomy has not been widely studied. DVT is a frequent complication in major surgery involving abdominal and pelvic areas and lower extremities. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the rate of postoperative DVTs after surgery of the lung.

METHODS
In this prospective study with 25 patients undergoing thoracotomy both legs were studied with venous duplex imaging (VDI) preoperatively and on the second postoperative day. Clinically manifest thromboembolic events during one-month postoperative period were reviewed from the patients' records. DVT prophylaxis included compression stockings and early mobilization without low-molecular weight heparin.

RESULTS
Frequency of postoperative DVTs was 4%. There were no clinically manifest thromboembolic events during one-month postoperative period. In 8% of the patients an old DVT was found preoperatively.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on this material, incidence of DVT is low after thoracotomy. Early mobilization and the use of compression stockings may be a sufficient form of prophylaxis in these patients. The relatively small sample size and the use of ultrasound as a screening method should be noted in judging the results.


Impact investing is gaining substantial traction globally and in sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast to conventional investors, impact investors not only seek financial returns, but also measurable, positive social and environmental impact. A growing number of impact investments have been observed in the region in recent years, particularly in water purification infrastructure. This study sought to identify the primary barriers and opportunities that impact investors face in this sector. Semi-structured personal interviews were conducted with 20 experts in the South African impact-investment value chain and water provision system. Participants identified more barriers than opportunities and were mainly concerned about the lack of lifecycle support, the possibility of political interference and low financial return expectations. Interviewees did, however, acknowledge the potential influence that these investments have on local communities and economies. Experts were of the opinion that the best opportunities are found in decentralised water purification infrastructure, especially where it involves innovation at a convergence of sectors. As the public funding gap in South Africa is likely to grow in future, innovative deal structures and government support will become even more important. Keywords: impact investing, barriers, opportunities, water purification infrastructure, investment ready deals, political interference


The Weil-Felix reaction test performed on the blood sera of healthy persons in Aioi village which had been affected with "Umayado-Disease" and 51 other cities, towns and villages in Kagawa Prefecture revealed as follows: 1) The aggultination titer against the OXK strain on the blood sera of healthy persons in Aioi village is remarkably higher as compared with that in other areas in Kagawa prefecture. This fact shows that the inhabitants of Aioi village are constantly exposed to a danger of the infection of this disease. 2) The strength of the OXK reaction observed in Aioi village seems to be varied according to lacalities; i.e., it is higher at the localities nearer the mountaineous area. In other words, the possible extent of this disease's infection is inversely propotional to the geological elevation of land. 3) My observation on the amount of the antigen produced against the OXK strain shows that the possible extent of the infection of this disease is expecially remarkable at Umayado and Sakamoto. 4) The antigen titer against the OXK strain in healthy persons in Aioi village always changes according to the seasons of the year. For instance, it is constantly higher in autumn, and in spring it drops lower. In view of this fact, it is possibly understood that this disease prevails chiefly in summer-time. 5) With the people in Kagawa prefecture as a whole, the strength of the OX19 reaction becomes higher among the people westward, and lower eastward. This is in coincidence with the conditions of the prevalence of fleck fever in this prefecture. 6) The strength of the OXK reaction, with the people of Kagawa prefecture as a whole, is higher in the easten part of the prefecture, including Aioi village, and in the western part the antigen against the OXK strain has hardly been discovered so far.


This is a sample survey (743 questionnaires) conducted in the months from April to November 2009 in ten pre-selected public schools located in eight districts of the city of Caxias. The students' knowledge of viral leishmaniasis (VL) and its transmission and prevention was evaluated through closed questionnaires. The results showed changes with the highest percentage of correct answers for answers about the transmission of disease and the symptoms of VL in humans and dogs after the campaign. However, educational campaigns are necessary measures to strengthen public participation in combating VL since before the educational work the majority of students stated that the disease was prevented by avoiding contact with sick dogs, however, after the campaign they stated that they avoid accumulations of trash. The research may serve as input to orient further educational actions of local teams for the control of VL.


Senescence marker protein 30 (SMP 30) is preferentially expressed in the liver. One of its remarkable functions is the protection of cells against various injuries by enhancement of membrane calcium‐pump activity. We analyzed the role of SMP 30 in hepatocyte proliferation. SMP 30 expression was decreased initially, then increased along with hepatic regeneration, after carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration. SMP 30 expression was decreased in the necrotic phase and then gradually increased. Its increase was slightly delayed just after the mitotic phase. These results lead us to speculate that mitoses of hepatic cells induce enhanced SMP 30 expression. In contrast, administration of lead nitrate (LN) as a hepatic mitogen induced a more stable increase of SMP 30 expression. To estimate the effect of SMP 30 on cell proliferation, we evaluated hepatic mitosis in wild‐type and SMP 30‐deficient knockout (KO) mice after CCl4 administration. We found an increase in mitotic numbers in hepatocytes of KO mice. This result suggests that SMP 30 has a suppressive effect on cell proliferation. Suppressive activity of SMP 30 cDNA was shown in cultured hepatoblastic cells. Our results suggest that SMP 30 performs a regulatory function in liver regeneration.


This paper studies how the political influence of consumer groups and firms affects the behavior of state regulators and in turn the effectiveness of federal policies. We employ a unique granular data set for U.S. local telephone markets to examine empirically differences in state and intrastate characteristics that identify regulators' pricing decisions with competition and heterogeneous consumers. Results show that state regulators take into account the overall structure of prices within a state when setting prices for a particular service in specific regions. We find that state regulators consider the direct and opportunity cost of service provision when setting prices, and follow a "share the pain" method of dealing with higher rural costs by increasing all prices across the state. In addition, they use federal universal service subsidies to reduce urban business prices rather than to reduce prices in the rural wire centers to which they are targeted. Removal of local entry barriers and incumbent line-of-business restrictions is associated with a 20 percent decrease in urban business prices and almost a six percent increase in urban residential prices.


Consolidation coefficient (Cv) is a key parameter to forecast consolidation settlement of soft soil foundation as well as in treatment design of soft soil foundation, especially when drainage consolidation is used in foundation treatment of soft soil.

 In this study, the main objective is to predict accurately the consolidation coefficient (Cv) of soft soil using an artificial intelligence approach named Random Forest (RF) method. In addition, we have analyzed the sensitivity of different combinations of factors for prediction of the Cv.

 A total of 163 soil samples were collected from the construction site in Vietnam. These samples at various depth (m) were analyzed in the laboratory for the determination of clay content (%), moisture content (%), liquid limit (%), plastic limit (%), plasticity index (%), liquidity index (%), and the Cv for generating datasets for modeling. Performance of the models was validated using Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Correlation Coefficient (R) methods. In the present study, various combinations of soil parameters were applied and eight models were developed using RF algorithm for predicting the Cv of soft soil.

 Results of model's study show that performance of the models using different combinations of input factors is much different where R value varies from 0.715 to 0.822.

 Present study suggested that RF model with appropriate combination of soil properties input factors can help in better and accurate prediction of the Cv of soft soil.


This paper presents our theoretical perspective over health management, particularly on managerial and health work. To face the complex problems related to public health services management and health care quality - important challenges of Brazilian Sanitary Reform - we study the group/inter-subjective and unconscious characteristic of organizational processes, which has important effects over health services dynamics and their quality. For this purpose, we attempt to articulate three theoretical perspectives:(1) the French Psycho sociology approach on organizations and contemporary society; (2) the psychoanalytical theory on inter-subjective and group processes; and (3) the Work Psychodynamics, which focuses the relations between pleasure and suffering in work processes. Through this research process, we explore links and mediations among psychic, inter-subjective, group and social realities that are present in health organizations, managerial work and health work. Also, limits and possibilities these mediations set to leadership, cooperation, collective projects and health care quality are identified.


The definition of the family Evaniidae is revised and Cretevaniidae are synonymised with Evaniidae based on evidence derived from recently described Mesozoic taxa and a new genus and species, Lebanevania azari, described here from Lebanese amber. A fore leg with a long trochanter and a 12-segmented antenna are autapomorphies of the new genus. A large, high and wide head and a high and short mesosoma are derived characters shared with other Evaniidae. The new genus also has complete fore wing venation and lacks a tubular petiole, which are ground plan features of the Evanioidea. A cladistic analysis of fossil and extant members of the superfamily Evanioidea and notes on fossil taxa are presented.


The classical example for thermally driven turbulence is Rayleigh-Benard (RB) flow, i.e., flow in a box heated from below and cooled from above. In this thesis three aspects of RB convection are studied: I - High Rayleigh Ra number thermal convection, II – Rotating RB convection, and III - 2D RB convection. We showed that high Ra number direct numerical simulations (DNS) are in good agreement with experimental results up to Ra = 2•1011, when the used numerical resolution is sufficient. When a simulation is underresolved the measured heat transport is too high, due to insufficient dissipation of the plumes close to the sidewall. This effect explains the difference observed between experiments and earlier DNS. Subsequently, we performed a DNS at Ra = 2•1012. The result is in good agreement with the experimental results of Ahlers et al. and Niemela et al. while there is a visible difference with the measurements of Chavanne et al.. The DNS do not show any increase in Nu/Ra1/3, neither due to Prandtl Pr number effects, nor due to a constant heat flux boundary condition at the bottom plate instead of constant temperature boundary conditions.

We demonstrated that the onset of heat transport enhancement in rotating RB convection occurs with a sharp transition, which coincides with a transition between two different turbulent flow states, one dominated by a large convection roll in the whole cell for weak rotation, and one dominated by local vertically-aligned vortices for strong rotation. We showed that this sharp transition is caused by the finite size of the system and that the rotation rate at the onset of heat transport enhancement strongly depends on the aspect ratio.

We analyzed the spontaneous flow reversals of the large scale circulation (LSC) in 2D RB with flow visualization experiments and DNS. For intermediate Pr there is a diagonal LSC and two smaller secondary rolls in the two remaining corners diagonally opposing each other. These corner flow rolls play a crucial role for the large scale wind reversal: They grow in kinetic energy and thus also in size thanks to plume detachments from the boundary layers up to the time that they take over the main diagonal LSC, thus leading to reversal.


Nutrient trading systems are increasingly common elements of water pollution control programs. Participants in these programs often appear to be economically irrational since programs can drive regulatory overcompliance, while promoting few transactions. We examine this behavior through a case study of a nitrogen trading program in the rapidly urbanizing Neuse River basin, North Carolina (USA). Program analysis, meeting observations, and a series of semistructured interviews with wastewater dischargers (point sources) revealed factors promoting overcompliance by the Neuse River Compliance Association (NRCA). In particular, overcompliance and low trading volume in the NRCA can be explained by participant hedging against uncertainty in the region's future population growth and land-use change. Public sector participants in high-growth areas are likely to engage in high levels of information sharing and collaborative abatement activities. This work has implications for water-quality trading program design, particularly those involving public sector participants concerned about undercompliance due to future growth.


ABSTRACT In this study, we designed an impedimetric immunosensor by modification of disposable ITO-PET (indium tin oxide-polyethylene terephthalate) electrode surface with 3-glycidoxypropyltriethoxysilane (3-GOPE). 3-GOPE silanization agent generates a suitable platform on the ITO-PET working electrode surface for antibody immobilisation and allows a wide determination range for analyte concentrations with the fabricated biosensor. All immobilisation processes, investigation of optimum parameters and characterisation studies of the developed immunosensor were evaluated and followed by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV). Furthermore, the interactions between anti-parathyroid hormone (anti-PTH) and Parathyroid hormone (PTH) were simultaneously analysed with the Single Frequency Impedance (SFI) technique. All parameters which affect the biosensor response were optimised. A great wide concentration range (1 fg mL−1-2500 fg mL−1) and ultra-low detection limit (0.89 fg mL−1) were obtained under optimum conditions. Moreover, the impedimetric biosensor allowed high sensitivity in the detection of PTH in human serum. It was proved that the fabricated biosensor system has some advantages such as long-term storage life, very low limit of detection, ability to detect the PTH concentrations at femtogram level (1 fg mL−1- 2500 fg mL−1), excellent reproducibility and repeatability, reusability and ultra-high sensitivity.


After the globalization of Indian's economy in the year 1991, the telecommunication industry remained one of the most booming sectors among other major industries in India. In recent year's dramatic and rapid changes are seen in the field of telecommunications. In the past few years in India, both foreign and domestic companies occupy the cellular market and offer a large number of services to the people. Consumers may be defined as "anyone engaged in evaluating, acquiring, using, or disposing of the services," which he expects will satisfy his wants. A Marketing program cannot be made by ignoring consumer preferences. The Marketer may not be able to achieve their ultimate objectives ignoring consumer preferences. Knowing more and more about the consumers, helps the producer to produce the products in such a trendy manner, and also to give satisfaction to them. The main aim of this paper is to study on the Subscriber's Satisfaction towards Jio Network with Special Reference to Tiruchirapalli City. A descriptive study was made on the primary data, which is collected from one hundred and twenty-five respondents based on judgmental sampling. Around one hundred and twenty-five respondents were given a questionnaire, and one hundred and three were found to be fully usable for analysis. The Questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Likert five-point scaling was given to customers for evaluating their Satisfaction towards Jio Network. IBM SPSS Statistic version 20.0 was used for the analysis, and the following tools were administered 1) Reliability Test 2) Factor Analysis and 3) Multiple Regression 4) Correlation. The reliability test was made, and the obtained coefficient alpha value (Cronbach's alpha) was 0. 0.937, and hence the data is satisfactory reliability. Factor analysis was used to test whether all the factors we have chosen for the analysis are appropriate for the study, and Multiple Regression was used to find the percentage variation in the overall level of Subscriber's Satisfaction towards Jio Network. In correlation, we can asses how well the sample data correlates with the population proportions specified by the hypothesis.


There has been an increasing use of Internet as an information source and also as a new channel for business-to-business and business-to-consumer communication. This has lead to an increasing need for understanding web traffic and especially a growing need for analyzing this traffic, which demands new analysis tools. The objective for this study was to create an application framework for visualizingXML-formatted data representing web traffic reports. Visualization in two dimensions is created by using Batik, a Java ™ toolkit with the purpose of transforming a well formed XML document into a SVG document and then transcode this into an image format supported by today's web browsers.Visualization in three dimensions is created by using the Java3D API. In order to create an aesthetically well-balanced graph in three dimensions representing a model of the web traffic on a site, the framework uses a layout algorithm called Graphical Embedder (GEM). This is a force-directed algorithm which uses physical analogy to model the graph. GEM emphasises the spring force approach combined with simulated annealing and the detection of oscillations and rotations. The design of the framework is built up using J2EE techniques. At the front-end this application framework uses JSP and Applet showing the graph for a customer using this service. At the back-end the framework uses Servlets combined with a Filter.


First published in 1992, CEPS has elected to republish this paper some 17 years later in its entirety, given its continued relevance to the EU's struggle to reform its system of financial supervision in the wake of the financial crisis. A special Foreword by Daniel Gros explains the foresight of Sydney Key and places her analysis in the context of 2009.

In April 1992, the European Commission proposed a directive on deposit protection schemes that used a modified home-country approach for branches of banks from other member states and involved a limited amount of harmonisation. The member states had urged the Commission to propose a home-country deposit insurance directive, primarily because of the shift to home-country supervision and regulation of EU branches mandated by the Second Banking Directive. This paper attempts to identify and analyse the major issues facing the member states as they seek agreement on the Commission proposal.


The adsorption capacity of Fluometuron, Prometryne, Sencor, and 2,4-D by 48 local soils was determined spectrophotometrically. The mean adsorptivities of the four herbicides by these soils were as follows: Prometryne 37.0 percent, Sencor 23.0 percent, Fluometuron 22.6 percent, and 2,4-D 12.4 percent. The results indicated that organic matter content was the factor most highly correlated with adsorption of these herbicides by the 48 soils. Cation exchange capacity was found to correlate significantly with adsorption of Fluometuron, Prometryne, and Sencor. Such was not the case with 2,4-D. Correlation between clay content and adsorption of Fluometuron and Sencor was statistically significant. In contrast, no significant correlation was noted between clay content and adsorption of Prometryne and 2,4-D.


The electrical and optical characteristics of a high-power UV light emitting diode (LED) (365 nm wavelength) were evaluated under pulsed operating conditions at current amplitudes several orders of magnitude beyond the LED's manufacturer specifications. Geared towards triggering of photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs) for pulsed power applications, measurements were made over varying pulse widths (25 ns-100 μs), current (0 A-250 A), and repetition rates (single shot-5 MHz). The LED forward voltage was observed to increase linearly with increasing current (∼3.5 V-53 V) and decrease with increasing pulse widths. The peak optical power observed was >30 W, and a maximum system efficiency of 23% was achieved. The evaluated LED and auxiliary hardware were successfully used as the optical trigger source for a 4H-SiC PCSS. The lowest measured on-resistance of SiC was approximately 67 kΩ.


In this paper, two high-voltage charge pumps (CPs) are introduced. In order to minimize the area of the pumping capacitors, which dominates the overall area of the CP, high-density capacitors have been utilized. Nonetheless, these high-density capacitors suffer from low breakdown voltage, which is not compatible with the targeted high-voltage application. To circumvent the breakdown limitation, a special clocking scheme is used to limit the maximum voltage across any pumping capacitor. The two CP circuits were fabricated in a 0.6- μm CMOS technology with poly0-poly1 capacitors. The output voltage of the two CPs reached 42.8 and 51 V, whereas the voltage across any capacitor did not exceed the value of the input voltage. Compared with other designs reported in the literature, the proposed CP provides the highest output voltage, which makes it more suitable for tuning MEMS devices.


In this work, we focus our attention on chemical reactions confined within carbon nanotubes. As a result of the confinement within carbon nanotubes, novel physical and chemical properties are found for the confined materials. We consider the feasibility of proton transfer inside carbon nanotubes. To do that, we have chosen formamide as the simplest real model for exhibiting the tautomerization in DNA. We have used the quantitative structure–property relationship method, based on geometry optimization and quantum chemical structural descriptors, to illustrate the potential of using the confined space inside carbon nanotubes, which will provide comprehensive information about carbon nanotubes. All calculations have been carried out using density functional theory quantum calculations with the B3LYP functional. The geometries optimized by the Gaussian program were transferred to the computer software DRAGON to calculate pertinent descriptors that could be used in the quantitative structure–property relationship model.


Objective: The purpose of the presented study was to describe the proximate chemical composition and content of biologically active components in leaves of two quinoa cultivars (Salcedo and Altiplano) produced in Peru. Methodology: This study conducted by means of different analytical methods. It is describe changes of different phenological stages in relation to nutritional composition, pigment contents, polyphenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity of plant extract evaluated by standard methods of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2 -azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) assay and the correlation between mean antioxidant index scores were also analyzed. Results: The results presented no considerable variations. However, the ash content for Altiplano and Salcedo leaves was 2.8 and 3.6%, respectively. The total pigment content is much higher in the Salcedo leaves (4816.77 μg gG1 dry weight) when compared with Altiplano leaves (2662.92 μg gG1 dry weight). The total polyphenol and total flavonoid contents is similar in both samples for Salcedo (10.55 mg GAE gG1 and 8.69 mg rutin gG1) and Altiplano (10.72 mg GAE gG1 and 9.14 mg rutin gG1), respectively. The antioxidant activity as measured by DPPH and ABTS, expressed as Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC), evaluated in Altiplano was higher than that found in Salcedo. The antioxidant potency composite index was 16.32 and 11.95, respectively. The antioxidant potency showed the positive correlation coefficients with phenolics (r2 = 0.6575), flavonoids (r2 = 0.3896) and the correlation between phenolics and flavonoids (r2 = 0.6744). Conclusion: These results indicated promising perspectives for the leaves of two quinoa cultivars (Salcedo and Altiplano) that are excellent resources of bioactive components and can be used in the food industry as infusions.


and repaired, producing new combinations of alleles, occurs in nearly all multicellular organisms and has important implications for many evolutionary processes. The effects of recombination can be good , as it can facilitate adaptation, but also bad when it breaks apart beneficial combinations of alleles, and recombination is highly variable between taxa, species, individuals and across the genome. Understanding how and why recombination rate varies is a major challenge in biology. Most theoretical and empirical work has been devoted to understanding the role of recombination in the evolution of sex—comparing between sexual and asexual species or populations. How recombination rate evolves and what impact this has on evolutionary processes within sexually reproducing organisms has received much less attention. This Theme Issue focusses on how and why recombination rate varies in sexual species, and aims to coalesce knowledge of the molecular mechanisms governing recombination with our understanding of the evolutionary processes driving variation in recombination within and between species. By integrating these fields, we can identify important knowledge gaps and areas for future research, and pave the way for a more comprehensive understanding of how and why recombination rate varies.