While contemporary social workers (Johnson, 1998; Schorr, 1997; Weil, 1996) point to a revitalization of community based social work strategies over the past decade that promote the active engagement of residents in poor communities; these efforts have not been accompanied by research that presents clear measurable results (Itzhaky & York, 2002). This project contributes to existing research in community practice by exploring the relationships among citizen participation in neighborhood organizations, perceived organizational characteristics and effectiveness, and participants' personal and collective competencies, and sense of community. The current study is guided by prior research that demonstrates the problems and issues faced by residents in poor neighborhoods today, and the importance of citizen participation as a vehicle for community improvement. Furthermore, several theoretical perspectives were used to explain the nature of citizen participation: the ecological perspective, perceived control, collective efficacy, sense of community, and empowerment theory. A cross sectional, self-report survey design was used to examine citizen participation among participants (N = 124) in four neighborhood organizations in poor communities in Pittsburgh. Respondents' perceptions of their neighborhood organization's characteristics and effectiveness had a weak effect on their participation. However, the more positive respondents' perceptions of their neighborhood organization's characteristics and effectiveness, the greater their perceived effects from participation (i.e., increased personal and collective competencies and sense of community). Furthermore, the more respondents participated in their neighborhood organization, the greater their perceived effects from participation. Finally, the greater respondents' motivation for participation, the more involved they were in their neighborhood organization. The current study demonstrates the importance of social work practice interventions that focus on engaging citizens to improve their communities, and social work research that examines citizen participation in a community context. Social work strategies that analyze and understand the motivation of current and potential participants, and help to build community and organizational capacity, are important for facilitating citizen participation. Furthermore, social work researchers must work with practitioners to analyze interventions in ways that present clear measurable results, use more sophisticated research methodologies, and build a knowledge base upon which social work practitioners can guide their work in poor communities.


This paper introduces the theoretical and methodological basis of an analytical framework conceived with the purpose of bringing industrial ecology perspectives into the core of the underlying disciplines supporting analyses in studies concerned with environmental sustainability aspects beyond the product cycle in a supply chain. Given the pressing challenges faced by the food sector, the framework focuses upon waste minimization through industrial linkages in food supply chains. The combination of industrial ecology practice with basic LCA elements, the waste hierarchy model, and the spatial scale of industrial symbiosis allows the standardization of qualitative analyses and associated outcomes. Such standardization enables comparative analysis not only between different stages of a supply chain, but also between different supply chains. The analytical approach proposed contributes more coherently to the wider circular economy aspiration of optimizing the flow of goods to get the most out of raw materials and cuts wastes to a minimum.


Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) was planted during the reclamation process to reduce erosion and improve nitrogen content of the soil. However, since its establishment, E. umbellata has spread prolifically and control measures are difficult. The primary objective of this case study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various control methods on eradication of E. umbellata in varying degrees of infestation. A two- phase case study was conducted at The Wilds conservation center in Cumberland, OH. Phase 1 began in 2007-2008 to evaluate three treatments in areas with moderate cover (15-30%) of E. umbellata: mechanical removal, foliar herbicide, and dormant stem herbicide. Nine 200m 2 study plots were established with three replications of each treatment. Effectiveness of each treatment was evaluated in 2009 through tracking 225 individual shrubs. The foliar herbicide controlled 98% of E. umbellata; dormant stem herbicide achieved 71 % and the mechanical treatment controlled only 15 %. Statistical comparisons indicated the foliar and dormant stem herbicides were more effective (P = 0.0008) than mechanical removal. This suggests that foliar applications can be a reliable tool for control of E. umbellata in areas with a 15-30 % density level. Based on these findings, phase 2 of this study was initiated in 2010 to evaluate removal techniques in dense shrub infestations (95-100 %). Treatments included a combination of mechanical clearing then a chemical treatment of stumps to reduce re-sprouts. The fracture treatment was most effective during the second phase (63 %), when compared to the cut-stump (46 %) mechanical treatment (P = 0.004). Results demonstrate that a combined mechanical- chemical approach is efficient in dense infestations. Mechanical land clearing through fracture and re-sprout treatment appeared to be most effective in E. umbellata control and the most cost effective in dense cover; however replicated studies are needed to provide conclusive information about the fracture re-sprout treatment.


Direct radiographic magnification as a means of complementing diagnostic imaging is not a new concept.1 The technique has been used widely, but never applied generally because a "bigger" image was not necessarily a "better" image. The physics of direct roentgenographic imaging is a complex marriage of x-ray beam geometry and the physicochemistry of photon absorption within a cassette. Until the time of development of the Radiological Sciences Inc (RSI) x-ray tube, virtually all medical x-ray tubes depended on a hot tungsten filament as the initial source of electrons for the generation of x-ray photons (ie, since 1913, when Coolidge2introduced the first filament x-ray tube). Detail in magnification is adversely affected by imperfections in the beam source. The standard filament x-ray tubes usually produce two point sources and a trailing edge of radiation off their axes. The resultant images are blurred, and this blurring is amplified by magnification. Therefore, the


Abstract The main objective of this article is to investigate the interplay of simplicity and complexity in the phonological structure of Zezuru. The article argues that Zezuru affricates, prenasalised consonants (NCs) and velarised consonants (Cws) are subsegmentally complex segments which function as simple onsets. Treating them as heterosyllabic clusters suggests that they are complex onsets (CC) which presents challenges for the simple CV-syllable structure of the language. In order for these consonants to fit into the CV syllable template, they have to be analysed as complex consonants that occupy a single C-slot (simple onsets). The study considers phonological, morphological and distributional evidence and concludes that these consonants are best analysed as monosegments (one-root analysis) rather than heterosyllabic clusters. The argument that NCs are simple onsets is further supported by native speaker intuitions about syllabification. Complexity in phonology is thus not necessarily an overall tendency of the language but is defined per hierarchical level of phonological structure and in the case of Zezuru the syllable structure is simple, but the subsegmental representations are highly complex. This suggests that there is a trade-off between complexity at the subsegmental level and simplicity at the syllable level. The article scrutinises this interplay of simplicity and complexity in the complex consonants of Zezuru. Perhaps, the occurrence of highly complex consonants in Southern Bantu languages such as Zezuru is a result of obeying the cross-linguistic tendency to have a simple syllable structure.


ABSTRACT Understanding how spatial attributes of cities and neighborhoods induce cycling is relevant for urban planning and policy making. In this work, ordered logit and latent class models are specified and estimated to analyze how the built environment affects bicycle-commuting frequency. Data come from a survey to 1,487 people in the city of Santiago, Chile, including sociodemographic information, travel behavior patterns and place of residence and work. Using geographic information systems tools, the built environment was characterized with variables calculated for a 500-m-radius buffer around the residential and work locations of each individual. Two models are estimated, first an ordered logit model confirms that built environment variables effect on cycling is similar to what has been reported in the literature, with some new findings such as an increase in cycling when public transport accessibility is low and the role of built environment attributes at the destination. Second, a latent class ordered logit is used to identify two classes of neighborhood in term of their cycling patterns, as a function of their density, presence of cycling infrastructure and distance to the main activity center of the city. This result allows to map the class membership probabilities, potentially helping to identify neighborhoods that encourage cycling and providing relevant information for policy making and infrastructure decisions.


This paper introduces a new approach to the visualization of volumetric vector fields with an adaptive distribution of animated particles that show properties of the underlying steady flow. The shape of the particles illustrates the direction of the vector field in a natural way. The particles are transported along streamlines and their velocity reflects the local magnitude of the vector field. Further physical quantities of the underlying flow can be mapped to the emissive color, the transparency and the length of the particles. A major effort has been made to achieve interactive frame rates for the animation of a large number of particles while minimizing the error of the computed streamlines. There are three main advantages of the new method. Firstly, the animation of the particles diminishes the inherent occlusion problem of volumetric vector field visualization, as the human eye can trace an animated particle even if it is highly occluded. The second advantage is the variable resolution of the visualization method. More particles are distributed in regions of interest. We present a method to automatically adjust the resolution to features of the vector field. Finally, our method is scalable to the computational and rasterization power of the visualization system by simply adjusting the number of visualized particles.


This study examines how managers and coaches manage communication with athletes in team and individual sports. Communication is a process that requires a wide range of skills. We develop verbal and non-verbal communication in various ways. Communication is a critical element in the relationship between coaches and athletes in team and individual sports, and also between managers, referees, scorers, and other officials, yet there is little extant research in sport management that involves direct measures of Development Communication Management (DCM). In this study the researcher is looking for the process of communication which makes message interpretation more reliable. The researcher surveyed over 200 athletes and 14 head coaches in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) to find some foundations for DCM. To aid the development of communication management with team sports, individual sports, coaches, referees, scorers, and others to enhance the management performance of communication. We looked at ways in this study to increase and make progress in the DCM. The researcher found ways to improve the management of communication before, during and after the sport events. DCM needs to be organized inside the team, so the coaches and managers can communicate effectively with athletes, colleagues, referees, scorers and other officials. Data was collected using two questionnaires designed by the researcher – one for coaches and one for athletes -- that employed a 5.0 Likert scale. The researcher used MANOVA models to test for significant differences between coaches and athletes, between genders, team, and individual sports. The significance level was set at p^.05. This study found a significant difference between male and female athletes in terms of their use of special gestures or signs during games or competition. On average males were neutral to slightly in agreement regarding the use of special gestures or signs while females were in slight disagreement. With the results related to communication styles, on average female athletes indicated that visual communication is their fastest mode of communication. On the other hand, they indicate that they were in slight disagreement regarding the use of special gestures or signs. This apparent inconsistency was a potential opportunity for DCM. A natural recommendation is to increase the use of special signs and gestures for female athletes. The results from the present study indicate that there are marked differences in communication practices of coaches and athletes and between team and individual sports. The results suggest that to aid in the development of communication management within team sports, coaches and athletes should determine what the fastest mode of communication is. Rather than watching for a visual sign, an athlete may instead be listening for a verbal cue if their coach finds verbal communication to be faster than visual. In this way, the coaches and athletes can progress in DCM. Knowing the best time to communicate will lead to DCM as a coach or manager uses DCM whenever it is necessary and beneficial for the athletes to encourage and motivate the athlete to do their best during their event. There is a significant difference between team and individual athletes in terms of who they communicate with most frequently (p-value < .001). Athletes of team sports agreed that they communicate most with their coaches while athletes of individual sports agreed that they communicate most with their teammates (Turman, Paul; D 2008). However, there are no significant differences between male and female athletes in terms of who they communicate with the most. The researcher found that knowing the best communication development, style and timing between managers and coaches with athletes and officials in the WIAC can serve as a foundation for DCM principles and recommendations and can help promote the NCAA Division 3 conference.


The present book 'Solid Waste and River Ecology' elaborated the impact of solid waste dumping on the water quality of a river and its basic environmental settings. The book reveals the general water quality, physico-chemical parameters, nutrients and ions, fish diversity, solid waste generation, traffic volume, tourism and many aspects of ecology of Sahastradhara river. The book mainly deals with the impacts solid waste dumping and many anthropogenic activities on the water quality of Sahastradhara stream with special reference to physico-chemical parameters, and heavy metal concentration at various locations. Further, the text contents of book with case study research data will show the path for new researchers in the field of limnology, river and stream ecology and freshwater ecology. The book will be beneficial for scientists, environmentalists, limno-biologist, zoologists, agriculturists, aquatic ecologists, health scientists, nongovernment organizations, research students and serve as a reference to initiate the research in the field of river ecology and pollution.


The sliding microtubule model of ciliary motility predicts that cumulative local displacement (Δl) of doublet microtubules relative to one another occurs only in bent regions of the axoneme. We have now tested this prediction by using the radial spokes which join the A subfiber of each doublet to the central sheath as markers of microtubule alignment to measure sliding displacements directly. Gill cilia from the mussel Elliptio complanatus have radial spokes lying in groups of three which repeat at 860 Å along the A subfiber. The spokes are aligned with the two rows of projections along each of the central microtubules that form the central sheath. The projections repeat at 143 Å and form a vernier with the radial spokes in the precise ratio of 6 projection repeats to 1 spoke group repeat. In straight regions of the axoneme, either proximal or distal to a bend, the relative position of spoke groups between any two doublets remains constant for the length of that region. However, in bent regions, the position of spoke groups changes systematically so that Δl (doublet 1 vs. 5) can be seen to accumulate at a maximum of 122 Å per successive 860-Å spoke repeat. Local contraction of microtubules is absent. In straight regions of the axoneme, the radial spokes lie in either of two basic configurations: (a) the parallel configuration where spokes 1–3 of each group are normal (90°) to subfiber A, and (b) the tilted spoke 3 configuration where spoke 3 forms an angle (θ) of 9–20°. Since considerable sliding of doublets relative to the central sheath (∼650 Å) has usually occurred in these regions, the spokes must be considered, functionally, as detached from the sheath projections. In bent regions of the axoneme, two additional spoke configurations occur where all three spokes of each group are tilted to a maximum of ± 33° from normal. Since the spoke angles do not lie on radii through the center of bend curvature, and Δl accumulates in the bend, the spokes must be considered as attached to the sheath when bending occurs. The observed radial spoke configurations strongly imply that there is a precise cycle of spoke detachment-reattachment to the central sheath which we conclude forms the main part of the mechanism converting active interdoublet sliding into local bending.


This paper shows a successful system to translate security objects from one encoding schema to another. The problem is similar to the translation of official documents from one language to other: we need an official translator, with recognised right to certify, that the information s/he is giving on the translation corresponds exactly with the information contained in the original document. This function can only be given by a TTP (Trusted Third Party). This TTP has to be able to check the validity and authenticity of all the data included in the original document, and translate it to the other environment, signing the translation, to certify, not only the authenticity of the data, but also the signatory of the original document. Since this particular TTP is connecting users and applications of two different environments, we have defined it as a gateway, and this paper describes with detail its architecture and functional requirements. To be more precise, the general architecture of this kind of TTP has been particularised to the case of X.509 and EDIFACT PKI, and the details of the internal modules of the gateway in this particular implementation are also given.


8 The configurational changes that occur with temperature, and how these vary with 9 composition, affect the thermodynamic and transport properties of aluminosilicate melts but are 10 not well understood. We present here high-resolution Al and O NMR data on several calcium 11 aluminosilicate glasses along two silica isopleths crossing the metaluminous (SiO2-CaAl2O4) 12 join, prepared with varying quench rates and thus with fictive temperatures spanning 13 approximately 100 K. In all compositions, five coordinated aluminum increases with increasing 14 fictive temperature. For glasses along the 60 mol% SiO2 isopleth, NBO also increases with 15 increasing fictive temperature; this is less obvious for the glasses along the 30 mol% SiO2 16 isopleth. The data suggest the mixing of bridging oxygen contributes to the magnitude of the 17 observed temperature effect on NBO and continue to suggest the existence of multiple 18 mechanisms that generate NBO and Al. 19


Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection /Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has transitioned into a complex chronic condition in the United States. HIV/AIDS often occurs in socially disadvantaged persons with coexisting mental or behavioral health problems. Individuals among these populations commonly seek care and support from a variety of health care and social service providers. Community-based organizations (CBO's) are one example of social service providers often located in separate physical locations from medical treatment centers. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains several components to improve the coordination of healthcare providers and ultimately reduce costs. Medicaid Health Homes are a specific provision of the Affordable Care Act providing coordinated, comprehensive care among providers for persons with a combination of mental health, substance use, and chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS. Innovative models of care with a focus on coordination of HIV/AIDS services is important to the field of public health in order to retain individuals in treatment and reduce the viral load of HIV/AIDS in the community. States must receive approval for Medicaid Health Homes and develop operational definitions, and regulations. Proposed methods of implementation by states may influence the importance and viability of CBO's currently serving the HIV/AIDS population. This paper will explore the state plan amendments of New York, Alabama, and Wisconsin.


Chondrosarcoma arising from the spine is a rare malignant tumour, associated with a poor outlook due to inadequate excision in the majority of the cases. We report two cases arising from the cervical and the thoracic spine. Both survived 15 and eight years respectively. This condition carries with it a grave prognosis because of its proximity to the vital structures, making complete extirpation of the tumour frequently difficult if not impossible. Recent developments and progress in adjuvant radiation therapy has improved the prognosis significantly.


This article is concerned with understanding the relationship of philosophical languages of death with the social philosophy of Michel Foucault. Foucault's theoretical tools 'make sense' of languages of death in institutions such as care homes. While our responses to death and dying would seem to be very personal and therefore individually determined, they are, in fact, greatly influenced by the beliefs of individuals and "experts" who work in institutions providing care. Therefore, this article not only examines the limitations of bio-medicalized languages of death and dying, but importantly emphasises the importance of Foucault's conceptual tools to methodologically interrogate how death is managed in institutional care.


According to the Theory of Relativity the Universe is an amalgam of time and space containing matter; a four-dimensional spacetime continuum alleged as an analytic generalisation of the Theorem of Pythagoras from three dimensions. Spacetime is said to be curved by matter and undergoes rippling due to gravitational waves travelling at the speed of light. Points in spacetime are called 'events'. The distance between two events is called the spacetime interval, which is manifest as a distance formula, often called a metric or line-element, in terms of 'coordinates'. However, Minkowski-Einstein spacetime is not actually a four-dimensional continuum because it is self-referential via the speed of light.


ABSTRACT The human intestinal tract harbors a complex microbial ecosystem which plays a key role in nutrition and health. Although this microbiota has been studied in great detail by culture techniques, microscopic counts on human feces suggest that 60 to 80% of the observable bacteria cannot be cultivated. Using comparative analysis of cloned 16S rRNA gene (rDNA) sequences, we have investigated the bacterial diversity (both cultivated and noncultivated bacteria) within an adult-male fecal sample. The 284 clones obtained from 10-cycle PCR were classified into 82 molecular species (at least 98% similarity). Three phylogenetic groups contained 95% of the clones: theBacteroides group, the Clostridium coccoidesgroup, and the Clostridium leptum subgroup. The remaining clones were distributed among a variety of phylogenetic clusters. Only 24% of the molecular species recovered corresponded to described organisms (those whose sequences were available in public databases), and all of these were established members of the dominant human fecal flora (e.g., Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron,Fusobacterium prausnitzii, and Eubacterium rectale). However, the majority of generated rDNA sequences (76%) did not correspond to known organisms and clearly derived from hitherto unknown species within this human gut microflora.


Geoid is the fundamental geodetic infrastructure for rational use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology. For this reason, definition a "cm geoid" is an actual subject in all countries. Development of geoid modelling is based on geodetic, gravimetric and astrogeodetic techniques, which are maintained using the geopotential models produced by the combination of gravity measurements, astrogeodetic vertical deflections, GNSS/Levelling data, satellite gravity data, satellite altimetry data and the combination of these data. GNSS/Levelling geoid determination has great importance with regard to the transformation of GNSS-derived ellipsoidal height (h), into the orthometric height (H), which is used in engineering projects and determined by levelling. Instead of levelling, which is an expensive and time-consuming method, orthometric heights can be calculated by using a well-defined geoid models. These geoid models enable us to compute the geoid height (N), which is the difference between ellipsoidal and orthometric height values (N=h-H). Then orthometric heights can be computed using these geoid heights and known ellipsoidal heights. Therefore, this will reduce the measurement work in the basic land surveying to a great extent and make economic contribution. In geoid modelling several methods can be employed. Such a geoid model has been developed for the metropolitan area of Istanbul city. In this context, Istanbul GPS Triangulation Network (IGN) and the Istanbul Levelling Network (ILN) provided reliable data, ellipsoidal and orthometric heights, respectively. This study focuses on the development of Istanbul geoid model with soft computing techniques and its comparison with conventional interpolation algorithms used for modelling. For this purpose, geoid heights in Istanbul metropolitan area have been computed by soft computing methods, namely Adaptive Network based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and modeled by twelve different interpolation methods. For computations and modelling in the study area, homogenously distributed 1005 model and 178 test points were selected. These are the common points in IGN and ILN whose latitude, longitude, ellipsoidal heights and orthometric heights are known to construct ANFIS and ANN models in Istanbul. To construct these models in model and test points, latitude and longitude are taken as inputs and geoid heights are taken as outputs. The results obtained from ANFIS and ANN methods are quite satisfactory. The model derived orthometric heights were compared with the known orthometric heights for model and test points. The standard deviation has been obtained in ANFIS as ±4.3cm and ± 4.0cm for model and test areas, respectively. On the other hand, the standard deviation in ANN model are ±4 cm and 3.1 cm, for model and test areas, respectively. In addition, conventional interpolation methods as modified Sheapard's method, radial basis function, Kriging, Nearest neighbor, minimum curvature, inverse distance to a power and local polynomial yield better results than ANFIS and ANN in model and test areas. The others interpolation methods such as polynomial regression, moving average, triangulation with linear interpolation, natural neighbor and data metrics yield worse results than ANFIS and ANN in each area.


Ocular inserts of ofloxacin were prepared with objectives of reducing the frequency of administration, obtaining controlled release and greater therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of eye infections such as conjunctivitis, keratitis, corneal ulcers, etc. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) ofloxacin films were prepared by mercury substrate method. The ocular inserts were evaluated for drug-excipient interaction, physico-chemical characteristics, microbiological and in vitro and in vivo release studies. There was no interaction between drug and excipients as revealed by UV absorption and IR spectra of the pure drug, medicated and placebo formulations. The weight and thickness of the inserts were in the range of 57.3126.0 mg and 55.6-99.3 microns, respectively for different formulations; casting of ratecontrolling membrane increased the weight and thickness of the inserts. Tensile strength and percent elongation at break varied with the nature of rate-controlling membrane and film thickness. Moisture vapour transmission through films followed zero-order kinetics and decreased with increase in film thickness. The drug content varied from 99.53-99.86%. The method of exposure to UV radiation was used for sterilization of ocular inserts and no microbial growth was observed in any formulation during sterility testing by direct inoculation method. The influence of rate-controlling membrane of different polymers of ethyl cellulose (EC) and polymethacrylates (Eudragit RL100, Eudragit RS100) on release kinetics was studied. The drug release for prepared formulations with rate-controlling membrane of EC, Eudragit RS100 (ERS), Eudragit RL 100 (ERL) was found to be 85.80, 93.85 and 98.71%, respectively and followed zero-order kinetics. Ocular insert F3 with rate-controlling membrane of Eudragit RS100, when inserted into the eye of rabbit showed controlled release up to 24 hours. There was a good correlation between in vitro and in vivo release data. The developed formulation was effective against selected microorganism during in vitro antimicrobial efficacy studies. PVA-ofloxacin ocular inserts with ratecontrolling membrane of Eudragit RS100 are promising for controlled ocular delivery of ofloxacin.


It is hoped to establish the motives and intentions of Guernes in undertaking his poem, to evaluate his success in fulfilling his ambitions. Chapter one outlines the historical background to the dispute between Henry II and Thomas Becket; in composing this chapter no attempt has been made to exclude any historical details which may originate from Guernes' poem, or from works which Guernes may have consulted. The aim here is to give a balanced picture of events, and to this end modern historians as well as mediaeval sources have been consulted. This may lead to accusations of historical impurity in subsequent chapters, but it leaves the question of Guernes' sources open for discussion; this is a more important consideration in this study. Chapter two discusses the dating and sources of Guernes' poem, and considers the evidence and significance of the fragments of the first draft of the poem, recently discovered. Chapter three attempts to establish the intentions of the poet, by examining his own statements in the poem and attempting to establish to what degree they may be religious, devotional, panegyrical, historical or political. In chapters four to eight the poet's treatment of his material studied; chapters four, five and six are concerned predominantly with the figure of Thomas Becket, chapter seven with King Henry II and King Louis VII, chapter eight with the remaining figures in the poem. Where appropriate the poet's treatment is compared and contrasted with that of his sources, and with the surviving fragments of the first draft. Consideration is also given to Guernes' consciousness of his audience and to how this may have influenced his treatment of material. In chapter nine the poet's achievement and his success in fulfilling his stated ambitions are evaluated.


This booklet is produced within the Gfg2 project, a three year coordination action, funded by the 7th Framework Program of the European Commission under the Environment theme. Its mission is to better assess the value of Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS) for Global Environmental Earth Observation (GEEO) and GEOSS.


We propose a rapid-prototyping setup to minimize development cost and a structured-prototyping methodology to reduce programming effort. The general-purpose hardware consists of commercial DSP processors, bond-out versions of core processors, and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) linked to form a powerful, heterogeneous multiprocessor, such as the Paradigm RP developed within the Retides (Real-Time DSP Emulation System) Esprit project. Our Graphical Rapid Prototyping Environment (Grape-II) automates the prototyping methodology for these hardware systems by offering tools for resource estimation, partitioning, assignment, routing, scheduling, code generation, and parameter modification. Grape-II has been used successfully in three real-world DSP applications. >


Objective: This study was designed to investigate the main causes of diabetic foot ulcers and evaluate clinical efficacy and safety of different nursing interventions and care schemes for elderly patients.
Methods: Clinical data of 36 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients, aged between 75 and 83 years, who developed diabetic foot ulcers were retrospectively analysed. The pathogenesis and risk factors were investigated. Wound evaluation and bed preparation were implemented. Different dressing materials were selected during different stages. Nursing intervention and care delivery were administered for assessment of clinical efficacy and safety.
Results: All patients were followed up from 6 to 15 months with a mean duration of 9 months. Wound healing was achieved in 34 of all 36 cases (94.4%). The remaining 2 patients developed brown scars on wound surface, whereas they were unable to tolerate and undergo the surgery. Eventually, these 2 patients received chemical autolysis debridement combined with minimally invasive debridement to thoroughly eliminate necrotic tissues and scars.
Conclusion: The incidence of diabetic foot ulcers in DM patients is significantly higher compared with that of their counterparts. Individualized therapy is recommended for the elderly patients with diabetic foot ulcers, aiming to prevent the risk and progression of severe diabetic complications.


Abstract. Currently Russia faces great challenges in mapping its large transport system to characterize transport as an important sector of the national economy, as well as the country's place in the system of Eurasian corridors and the economic space of Eurasia as a whole. The Department of Cartography and Geoinformatics of the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University has been working on the creation of a spatial database and geo-information support to assess the state and functioning of the transport system of Russia.The concept of using a system approach and special geographic research is proposed. This concept includes the workflow from designing the GIS project architecture and database creation to thematic mapping and visualization of results in the form of a Geo-resource. The final goal of the project is creating the Internet geoinformation resource. The practical realization of the Geo-Resource is based on the development of a special mapping application integrated into the structure of the resource and connection of this application to Geo-Database as a main depository of spatial information.


The aims of the present study were: (1) to determine the anthropometric profile, body composition and somatotype of female basketball (B) and handball (H) players, (2) to compare the mean scores among sports and (3) to detect possible differences in relation to competition level. A total of 28 female athletes, all members of the Iranian national teams, participated in the present study. Anthropometric measures required for the calculation of body composition indexes and somatotype components were obtained according to the established literature. Although B and H group had homogeneity in somatotype characteristics (p<0.05). There was a significant difference somatotype characteristics among B and H group (p<0.001). Somatotype characterised as meso-endomorph in B group (3.6, 3.5, 2.4) and H athletes' somatotype was meso-endomorph (3.6, 4.7, 1.7). There is no significant difference of body mass index, waist to hip ratio (WHR), fat weight, fat percent, fat free weight, WHR and stature, weight and triceps skinfold thickness among B and H group. Anthropometric and body composition variables of elite female basketball and handball players were same. But they had different somatotype characteristics. Selection criteria, hours of training and sport-specific physiological demands during the game could explain the observed differences.


Some of the approaches to quantization in gravity theory concerning gravitationally bound systems are considered. Grades of quantization applicable to these systems have been classified in terms of quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and quantum geometrodynamics. Energy levels for the graviatom, Lemaitre's atom, quantum gravitational collapse have been calculated, and relationships for the masses of bound system components, as well as Universe's birth probabilities, are presented to exemplify the properties of gravitationally bound systems. Objects and processes in them have been analyzed to construct quantum models of compact astrophysical objects and the early Universe.


We propose a framework for anomaly detection in communication network logs along with automated extraction of human-readable annotations that explain the decision logic underlying each anomaly detection. For this purpose, we develop a machine learning methodology formulated in terms of a model comprised of an OR-combination of multiple Boolean logic based sentences. Each sentence is an empirically learned set of inequality conditions involving subsets of features. The feature set, which comprises the "alphabet" for human-readable annotations, is constructed using dynamic graph based spatio-temporal aggregation to extract human-understandable aggregates of network activity. These aggregates are constructed both in terms of computers (nodes in dynamic graph) and communications between computers (edges in dynamic graph). From the alphabet, the learned model identifies subsets of features that relate to each anomaly type and the combinations of conditions in terms of the feature subsets for detection of the specific anomaly type. Given a data point that the learned model detects as anomalous, the model identifies the specific features and their combinations related to the anomaly detection. These human-readable annotations provide a cyber-security analyst a transparent view into the decision logic underlying an anomaly detection.


ABSTRACT This article describes the development and uptake of two dual-language, culturally relevant picture books in five primary schools in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The purpose of the books was to disseminate agricultural and livelihood messages both at school and at home. Schools were provided with big-book versions as permanent school resources and asked to send small-book versions home to families to both support children's reading and encourage the uptake of the agricultural messages. Evaluations at two different time points showed that, although many teachers valued and used the books, some schools were reluctant to share the books with families. Teachers appreciated the dual-language text and culturally relevant pictures and stories, and many requested that more of these types of books be made available. For more effective book distribution, mobile phones and church networks should be used to distribute books to families and support obtained from school boards and provincial education departments of PNG.


ABSTRACT Objectives: The purpose of this study was to build on current understanding of Achilles tendon (AT) ruptures in football through the examination of lower extremity injury rates (IR) in the season prior to AT rupture. Methods: An online review was conducted to document AT ruptures in the National Football League (NFL) from the 2010–11 through 2016–17 seasons. Player-specific information was gathered through the online search, injury reports, or video analysis. Injury incidence was recorded for each season. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables. IRs per 1000 athlete-exposures with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were established. Injury rate ratios (IRR) with 95% CI were calculated to evaluate differences in IR with statistical significance established at p < 0.05. Results: From the 2010–11 to 2016–17 NFL seasons, 109 AT ruptures were identified. 36 athletes participated in the NFL the season prior and sustained a total of 40 injuries. Thirty-two (32/40, 80%) of the injuries involved the lower extremity. The most frequent body parts injured in the NFL season prior to AT rupture were the knee (n = 8, 22.5%), upper leg and thigh (n = 7, 17.5%), lower leg and shin (n = 5, 12.5%), and ankle (n = 5, 12.5%). The overall IR for the AT rupture group was not significantly different than the NFL group (IRR: 0.94, 0.68–1.31 95% CI, p = 0.73). The AT rupture group demonstrated a significantly increased rate of foot injuries compared to the NFL cohort (IRR: 2.58, 1.16–5.77 95% CI, p = 0.02). Conclusion: There was an increased identified incidence of AT ruptures in the NFL from 2010 to 2017 compared to AT ruptures reported from 1997 to 2002. There was no significant difference in lower extremity IR the season prior to AT rupture. Only foot injuries demonstrated an increased IR the season prior to AT rupture compared to an NFL cohort. Eleven athletes sustained 2 AT ruptures and all 11 players sustained the subsequent AT rupture to the contralateral limb.


In this dissertation, I argue that the City
of God provides a helpful framework for concerned citizens to
understand the dynamics that destroy political community. I explore
Augustine's claim that Rome's self-understanding (Romanitas) has
been shaped into a self-justifying, self-aggrandizing narrative by
self-interested citizens. Augustine shows how and why this is the
case through his polemic against idolatry, which he describes as
the source of injustice. Thus, I carefully
explore Augustine's psychology of idolatry and its three modes:
idolatry of the self, which he calls pride, idolatry of earthly
goods, which he calls lust, and idolatry of powers, or idolatry per
se. Together, he shows, these constitute the dynamic of the earthly
city that undermines genuine political community. Finally, because I read Augustine's City of God as a
recasting of Romanitas, re-contextualizing political life so that a
new kind of citizenship can arise, I examine this new citizenship,
characterizing it as prudent humanitas — a restorative force in
politics — one that reconstitutes and heals the political
community. I read this prudent humanitas as a development and a
fulfillment of themes of Classical, particularly Ciceronian
political thought, but one that overcomes the tensions that the
classical tradition could, at best, identify: the tension between
virtue and happiness, between the public good and the private good,
and between love of glory and love of truth. In short, in the City
of God, I find a timeless critique of political corruption that
serves as the foundation for a prudent yet deeply humane
citizenship.


Transmission spectroscopy with ground-based, high-resolution instruments provides key insight into the composition of exoplanetary atmospheres. Molecules such as water and carbon monoxide have been unambiguously identified in hot gas giants through cross-correlation techniques. A maximum in the cross-correlation function (CCF) is found when the molecular absorption lines in a binary mask or model template match those contained in the planet. Here, we demonstrate how the CCF method can be used to diagnose broadband spectroscopic features such as scattering by aerosols in high-resolution transit spectra. The idea consists in exploiting the presence of multiple water bands from the optical to the near-infrared. We have produced a set of models of a typical hot Jupiter spanning various conditions of temperature and aerosol coverage. We demonstrate that comparing the CCFs of individual water bands for the models constrains the presence and the properties of the aerosol layers. The contrast difference between the CCFs of two bands can reach ~100 ppm, which could be readily detectable with current or upcoming high-resolution stabilized spectrographs spanning a wide spectral range, such as ESPRESSO, CARMENES, HARPS-N+GIANO, HARPS+NIRPS, SPIRou, or CRIRES+.


A recent body of empirical research has documented a strong association between the level and volatility of the RER and economic growth. This research has relied on a variety of econometric techniques applied to large cross-country data sets. Although the documented positive effects of both RER competitiveness and stability on growth appear to be robust, it is still unclear what the mechanisms driving these associations are. Several explanations have been proposed, but their theoretical examination and empirical validation is still in an infant stage. I analyze the mechanisms that have been proposed and evaluate them in light of the documented empirical evidence. My reading is that two of them adjust to the empirical findings best: the financial globalization channel and the tradable-led growth channel. I conclude that since these mechanisms are not mutually exclusive, both might have some explanatory power.


ABSTRACT In the present study, black cumin oil in the rates of 0.00 % (the control), 0.10 %, 0.40 %, 0.70 %, 1.00 % and 1.30% was added to rainbow trout feed for 144 days. After the feeding process, trout were harvested and stored at 2 ± 1°C in ice, and changes in chemical, microbiological, and sensory parameters were examined periodically. According to sensory analyses, black cumin oil used in fish meat did not cause a perceptible sensory change for all groups. Chemical analyses showed that the addition of black cumin oil to fish feed led to higher total volatile basic nitrogen content in the fish flesh. During the storage period, the highest peroxide values were observed in the groups with 1.0% and 1.3% black cumin oil added, and the lowest were in the groups with 0.0% and 0.1% added oil. The highest microbial count value was observed in the control group.


Direct writing of metal features narrower than 100 nm is accomplished by scanning a focused ion beam over a substrate covered with a thin solid metalorg. film. A metalorg. cluster coordination compd. [Ir4(CO)11Br] [N(C2H5)4] is spun on an oxidized Si wafer from acetone soln. and the resulting layer is irradiated with a focused 20 keV Ga-ion beam. The partially decompd. irradiated film regions show a marked decrease of soly. in acetone. Developing by dissolving the nonirradiated parts of the surface hence leaves narrow lines of partially reacted metalorg. precursor. High temp. treatment of these lines, either in vacuum or in a reactive gas stream, completes the decompn. to quite pure Ir as is confirmed by micro-Auger anal. The lines with room temp. elec. resistivities as low as 400 mW cm were obtained at direct writing speeds of 40 mm s-1 to 0.8 mm s-1, which correspond to ion doses of 3.1 * 1016 ions/cm2 to 1.6 * 1015 ions/cm2, resp. The width of the metal lines decreases with decreasing ion dose in this range from 180 to 90 nm. The adhesion to the substrate increases with increasing ion dose. The thickness of the resulting Ir lines depends mainly on the thickness of the metalorg. precursor layer. The max. possible thickness of the [Ir4(CO)11Br] [N(C2H5)4] layer that can be used depends on the effective penetration depth of the ions in this layer.


: Antiplasminogen monoclonal antibody IV-1c (IV-1c) binds to Val 709-Gly 718 site of plasminogen (Pg) protease domain, which is far removed from the active site. Pg-IV-1c complex formation induces catalytic activity in proenzymes active site. Influence of IV-1c binding to plasmin (Pm) on Pm catalytic properties has not been investigated yet. Data on catalytic properties of Pm in equimolar Pm-IV-1c complex are presented. It was found that Pm and mini-Pm amidolytic and caseinolytic activity was twice as high as in Pm-IV-1c and mini-Pm-IV-1c complexes. 20 mM 6-AHA and 100 mM arginine did not influence this rise. The increase of amidolytic activity is connected with reduction of K(m) of S 2251 hydrolysis reaction for Pm and mini-Pm from 0.125 and 0.43 to 0.05 and 0.23 mM, correspondingly. Kcat remains almost the same. Fibrinolytic and fibrinogenolytic activity of Pm in Pm-IV-1c complex decreased to 20% of initial value alpha 2-Antiplasmin inhibited Pm activity in complex Pm-IV-1c by 80%. Pm-IV-1c complex did not activate free Pg, but activated equimolar Pg-IV-1c complex. Affinity of IV-1c to Pm and Pg was the same as C50 approximately 1.5 nM. Binding of Pm with IV-1c in a complex: a) leads to increase of Pm active site affinity to LMW substrates; b) causes steric hindrances for fibrin/fibrinogen access to Pm active site; c) proceeds with the same affinity for Pm and Pg, that indicates to invariable Val 709-Gly 718 site conformation after Pg transition in Pm.


. The objective of the paper was to carry out an analysis of non-agricultural business activity in the selected 100 ecological farms. Research was carried out within the project NCBiR [National for Research and Development] No NR 12 016510 "Innovative impact of technique and tech-nology and IT support of management on the production efficiency in ecological farms". The object of the research was to assess business activity in the aspect of the size and production trend and trac-tive force equipment. Activity was defined as a relation of the number of farms which carry out a particular activity to the total number of farms in a given analytical group. For analytical purposes the investigated farms were divided into four homogeneous groups. Acreage of arable land was the basic division criterion, determined based on commonly applied method of assessment of the stan-dard gross margin. On account of the activity trend, the highest activity was reported in one-trend farms, i.e. field plants production. Approx. two times lower activity was reported in in intensively organized two-trend units, which may result from the lack of free time. The biggest and the smallest farms proved the highest activity on account of mechanization services. The first, due to a lot of free time, the other due to better equipment.


The present case study addressed a practical problem of wall thickness attenuation during extrusion to produce a complex thin-walled hollow magnesium profile. A HyperWorks FEM software package was employed to aid in identifying the causes for the wall thickness attenuation. Recommendations were made to adjust the interspacing between the mandrels and the height of the welding chamber. The modified dies yielded much improved results in terms of velocity and hydrostatic pressure uniformity. The wall thickness of the extrudate predicted using FEM simulation was very close to experimental measurements. The case study demonstrated the feasibility of using FEM simulation as a useful tool to solve industrial problems encountered in the production of complex profiles.


This paper reports the effectiveness of metal-cladding (MC) winding technique employing a GdBCO tape with a micrometer-thick stainless-steel clad as experimentally compared with that of the partial insulation (PI) winding technique. The investigation included charge–discharge, sudden-discharge, and overcurrent tests. The charge–discharge and sudden-discharge tests showed that the charge/discharge process of the coil using the metal-clad GdBCO tape was considerably shorter than those of the PI coils, because the effective resistance of the MC coil was higher than those of the PI coils. Although the MC coil exhibited lower electrical stability than the PI coils did (when the current is high enough), the MC coil was virtually more stable than any fully insulated coil. This study confirms that the MC winding technique is promising for the development of electrically stable high-field magnets allowing relatively high rates of ramping up and down.


: This paper will review the anatomy, histology, immunology, bacteriology, indications, complications, and trends in modern tonsil and adenoid surgery. Information on tonsils and adenoids, both in their normal and abnormal states, has proliferated over the last two decades. A considerable variation in opinion remains on the subject. Historical fluctuations in the indications for tonsil and adenoid surgery have resulted in swings in the quantity of surgery performed. This paper will attempt to bring contemporary information together to provide reasonable guidelines for management of disease tonsils and adenoids.


Background Systemic and airway inflammation are recognised in COPDand reducing inflammation has been postulated to alter disease course1. Statins have pleiotropic effects including anti-inflammatory properties2. A study in asthma showed that statins reduced sputum macrophage levels3. We hypothesised that statins would reduce systemic (hs-CRP) and airway (exhaled nitric oxide: FeNO, sputum neutrophils and macrophages) inflammation in patients with COPD. Methods Clinically stable patients with confirmed COPD were recruited and randomised to either simvastatin 20mg od (active) or placebo for 6 weeks in a double blinded parallel group randomised controlled trial. Circulating hs-CRP and fasting lipids were measured in all subjects' pre- and post- treatment. 5-flow FeNO and induced sputum were performed in consenting patients where possible pre- and post-treatment. Primary analysis compared the six week change in each inflammatory marker between active and placebo groups. Results Patients were matched for age, sex, smoking and lung function; active: n = 33, placebo: n = 37. Compliance was good and the active group achieved total cholesterol reduction: between arms mean (95% CI): -1.1 (-1.3, -0.8)mmol/L, p < 0.001. Baseline median (IQR) hs-CRP was 3.09 (1.3–7.4)mg/l but there was no significant change after treatment between active and placebo: between arms mean (95% CI) 0.5(-3.2, 4.1)mg/l. Baseline sputum samples were obtained in n = 27 and 22/27 had neutrophilic sputum. Paired samples were obtained in 20 patients: active n = 8 and placebo n = 12 with no significant difference in change between treatment arms for sputum neutrophils or macrophages. FeNO was measured in 36 patients: active n = 17, placebo n = 19 with no significant difference in change between arms. Conclusions In this pilot RCT, despite significant lipid lowering, there was no demonstrable systemic or airway anti-inflammatory effect over 6 weeks with simvastatin 20mg od in patients with COPD. Baseline results showed a majority had neutrophilic sputum however only a small proportion had airway inflammation evaluation. Trial reference: NCT01151306 Supported by NIHR RfPB grant References Sin, DD, et al. AJRCCM 2004;170:760–765 Walsh, G. M Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine 2008;2(3):329–335 Hothersall, EJ, et al., Thorax 2008;63(12):1070–5


This volume seeks to study the connections between two well-studied epochs in Chinese history: the mid-imperial era of the Tang and Song era (ca.800-1270) and the late imperial era of the late Ming and Qing (1550-1900). Both eras are seen as periods of explosive change, particularly in economic activity, characterized by the emergence of new forms of social organization and a dramatic expansion in knowledge and culture. The task of establishing links between these two periods has been impeded by a lack of knowledge of the intervening Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). This historiographical "black hole" has artificially interrupted the narrative of Chinese history and bifurcated it into two distinct epochs. This volume aims to restore continuity to that historical narrative by filling the gap between mid-imperial and late imperial China. The contributors argue that the Song-Yuan-Ming transition (early 12th through the late 15th century) constitutes a distinct historical period of transition and not one of interruption and devolution. They trace this transition by investigating such subjects as contemporary impressions of the period, the role of the Mongols in intellectual life, the economy of Jiangnan, urban growth, neo-Confucian and local society, commercial publishing, comic drama and medical learning.


Isomeric fluorinated α‐bromoenones react with dinucleophilic β‐mercaptoalcohols in CH2Cl2 at room temperature in the presence of Et3N in a multistep process. Depending on the position of the CF3 group, different O,S‐heterocycles or non‐cyclic products were obtained. With 3‐bromo‐1,1,1‐trifluorobut‐3‐en‐2‐ones derivatives of 1,4‐oxathianes were formed, but isomeric 2‐bromo‐4,4,4‐trifluorobut‐2‐en‐1‐ones yielded 1,3‐oxathiolanes or non‐cyclic sulfides. The thia‐Michael addition is proposed as the initial step of the reaction, and the final heterocyclization is governed by the location of the CF3 group.


: The diffusion function of 25 MV Roentgen rays in a tissue-equivalent material was determined experimentally as a function of the size of the beam and of the depth into the material. In order to characterize the beam, the attenuation of the beam in various materials was previously investigated. The results of the investigation demonstrate the important contribution of diffused radiation to the dose when using very high energy radiation.


Copyright: ©Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. This license allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. Febrile Child and Fever without Focus Letter to Editor


We report the synthesis of composites based on freeze–dried LiMn1.95Si0.05O4 spinel. In order to improve the active material–electrolyte interface for better cyclability, three different additive materials were chosen: LiMn1.9Ga0.1O4, Al2O3 and Li3PO4. A morphologic examination of the composites demonstrated a good connection of the homogeneous primary particles about 50 nm in diameter and the different additive materials, especially when adding LiMn1.9Ga0.1O4 and Al2O3. The nature of the additives was confirmed by XPS and magnetic measurements. The electrochemical study revealed that LiMn1.9Ga0.1O4 is a suitable complement to LiMn1.95Si0.05O4. Due to the similar transport properties, the concurrence of both differently substituted spinels in the electrode material has a synergistic effect favoring the electrochemical response of the cathode composite.


The ability of certain oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPACs) to enhance the biomechanical properties of dentin involves collagen cross-linking of the 1.3-4.5 nm wide space via protein-polyphenol interactions. A systematic interdisciplinary search for the bioactive principles of pine bark has yielded the trimeric PAC, ent-epicatechin-(4β→8)-epicatechin-(2β→O→7,4β→8)-catechin (3), representing the hitherto most potent single chemical entity capable of enhancing dentin stiffness. Building the case from two congeneric PAC dimers, a detailed structural analysis decoded the stereochemistry, spatial arrangement, and chemical properties of three dentin biomodifiers. Quantum-mechanics-driven (1)H iterative full spin analysis (QM-HiFSA) of NMR spectra distinguished previously unrecognized details such as higher order J coupling and provided valuable information about 3D structure. Detection and quantification of H/D-exchange effects by QM-HiFSA identified C-8 and C-6 as (re)active sites, explain preferences in biosynthetic linkage, and suggest their involvement in dentin cross-linking activity. Mapping of these molecular properties underscored the significance of high δ precision in both (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. Occurring at low- to subppb levels, these newly characterized chemical shift differences in ppb are small but diagnostic measures of dynamic processes inherent to the OPAC pharmacophores and can help augment our understanding of nanometer-scale intermolecular interactions in biomodified dentin macromolecules.


In this innovative study of everyday charity practices in Jeddah, Nora Derbal employs a 'bottom-up' approach to challenge dominant narratives about state-society relations in Saudi Arabia. Exploring charity organizations in Jeddah, this book both offers a rich ethnography of associational life and counters Riyadh-centric studies which focus on oil, the royal family, and the religious establishment. It closely follows those who work on the ground to provide charity to the local poor and needy, documenting their achievements, struggles and daily negotiations. The lens of charity offers rare insights into the religiosity of ordinary Saudis, showing that Islam offers Saudi activists a language, a moral frame, and a worldly guide to confronting inequality. With a view to the many forms of local community activism in Saudi Arabia, this book examines perspectives that are too often ignored or neglected, opening new theoretical debates about civil society and civic activism in the Gulf.


Exploring contemporary theory and practice surrounding loss and bereavement for people with an Intellectual Disability (ID), this book brings together international contributors with a range of academic, professional and personal experience. This authoritative edited book looks at diverse experiences of loss across this population whether it be loss due to transition, the loss or death of others, or facing their own impending death. The book begins by offering theoretical perspectives on loss and compassion, bereavement, disenfranchised grief, spirituality, and psychological support. It then addresses contemporary practice issues in health and care contexts and explores loss for specific communities with ID including children, individuals with autism, those in forensic environments, and those at the end of life. Identifying inherent challenges that arise when supporting individuals with ID experiencing loss, and providing evidence and case studies to support best practice approaches, this book will be valuable reading for students, academics and professionals in the fields of disability, health


This article investigates Vodacom and MTN's brand positioning based on the perceptions of a group of LSM seven to ten respondents who are principal estate agents in Gauteng. An empirical study was conducted. The profile of the sample in terms of access to telecommunication-related services confirmed that of individuals in the LSM seven to ten groups with a skew towards LSM ten. As a minimum requirement for the target market brands in the category should be strongly associated with the statements market leader, local brand, technologically sophisticated brand, trusted brand, South African brand and prestigious/upmarket brand. At an overall level, Vodacom has established a more favourable brand positioning compared to MTN. However, both Vodacom and MTN have failed to establish a personal brand relationship with the target market.


This report describes the development of a coupled geochemical transport model for the Gatehampton abstraction site. The work was undertaken as part of the BGS science budget programme and represents an addition to the detailed groundwater flow modelling of the area around Gatehampton undertaken by (Hughes et al., 2005; Jackson et al., 2006a; 2006b). The model was created in PHAST with the aim to provide a tool for identifying the water sources at the Gatehampton abstraction boreholes and for investigating aquifer-river interactions at the site. At the same time, the ability of PHAST to simulate such site-scale problems was tested and this is the focus of this report. The resulting model is very simple, compared to the complexity of the simulated system, but it is able to reproduce the changes in groundwater chemistry that were observed between the abstraction site and borehole located upstream of the site at Wood Farm. Additional simulations, using an inverse mass balance modelling approach were included in the model development to help the identification of potential water sources. The results suggest that additional sources (e.g., anthropogenic/agricultural inputs) influence the groundwater chemistry and need to be considered in future simulations. However, these results are only preliminary and a number of steps need to be implemented to improve the model and to test the validity of the underlying model assumptions.


BACKGROUND Early diagnosis is critical for successful intervention before liver disease progresses to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. AIM To examine a novel biomarker for probing early liver disease quickly using an automated immunology system. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study. 140 patients at various stages of liver disease were randomly selected. The cohort consisted of patients who were treatment naive and currently undergoing therapy. We included patients with diverse liver disease etiologies. Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) levels in addition to different clinical parameters, co-morbidities and transient elastography results were collected and compared. RESULTS M2BPGi levels were significantly correlated with transient elastography for liver fibrosis staging across all disease etiologies. Statistically significant differences were observed in patients with F0-1; F2 and > F3 liver fibrosis. Further examination showed that M2BPGi levels were two-fold higher in F4 than F3 hepatitis C (HCV) patients. M2BPGi was observed to be etiology-specific and HCV patients had higher mean M2BPGi levels. We also observed significant correlations with aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index and fibrosis-4 index as well as HBV DNA levels. Mean M2BPGi levels for HBV patients with a viral load lower than 2000 IU/mL was 1.75-fold lower than those with a viral load greater than 2000 IU/mL. CONCLUSION M2BPGi was observed to be a good indicator of early liver disease in patients with different etiologies. Our results provide reference cut-offs for different causes of liver disease and demonstrated the utility of this marker for early disease monitoring. This is useful for remote regions in developing countries.


This essay contains an introduction and a translation of an account provided in Indonesian by Rully Mallay, a transgender community leader and activist at the Kebaya Foundation, a shelter for people living with HIV in the province of Yogyakarta. It describes the impact of restrictions imposed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and mobilization in response to it by those who identify as "waria" between February and September 2020. Waria played a pivotal role in mobilizing a community response in that city, providing support not only to their own community but also to other marginal groups impacted in similar ways. Harsh lockdown measures imposed to respond to COVID-19 disproportionately affected waria, cutting off access to economic and community support. This was particularly acute for the many waria without state-issued identity cards. Nevertheless, Rully expresses her hope that through the skills and adaptability they have demonstrated in their response to the public health emergency, they might achieve recognition and acceptance from Indonesian society.


This paper addresses the behavioural modelling of digital integrated circuit buffers for performance assessment of high-speed data links. A new modelling technique, with several important advantages is described. All the requirements of black-box identification are met: the approach relies exclusively on the observation of the external port voltages and currents, thus allowing the extraction of models that mimic the operation of real devices without insight on their internal structure. Furthermore, unlike the standard algorithms currently used in EDA tools, the method described in this paper provides a straightforward solution to modelling the input-output behaviour. Good model performance in overclocking conditions is an important advantage. The paper also investigates the possibility of accounting for power-supply voltage variations and provides a simple solution.


A point-space model of interregional trade is used to define market integration and to explore its implications for modeling spatial price relationships. This analysis indicates that spatial prices are related nonlinearly, contrary to much of the work on spatial price analysis which uses linear models. As an empirical example, corn market integration along the Mississippi River is examined during the Midwest flood of 1993. Higher transport costs during this period significantly reduced the extent of integration and thereby decreased excess demand shock transference across regions.


This paper concerns throughput-constrained parallel execution of synchronous data flow graphs. This paper assumes static mapping and dynamic scheduling of nodes, which has several benefits over static scheduling approaches. We determine the buffer size of all arcs to minimize the total buffer size while satisfying a throughput constraint. Dynamic scheduling is able to achieve the similar throughput performance as the static scheduling does by unfolding the given SDF graph. A key issue of dynamic scheduling is how to assign the priority to each node invocation, which is also discussed in this paper. Since the problem is NP-hard, we present a heuristic based on a genetic algorithm. The experimental results confirm the viability of the proposed technique.


We report the detailed gene expression of all subunits within the Kir2 and Kir3 inwardly rectifying K+ channel subfamilies in the developing rat. Using in situ hybridization, onset of expression and cellular distribution of transcripts in embryonic and postnatal rat brains as well as in peripheral tissues is evaluated. Beginning at embryonic day 13 (E13), except "forebrain" Kir2.3 subunits which are absent from the body and brain until E21, all subunits appear with distinct and mainly nonoverlapping expression patterns. During ontogenic development, expression in the CNS becomes more widespread, leading to widely overlapping mRNA patterns as observed in the adult rat. Subunits are mainly found in regions of the developing brain that are also positive in the adult. Most subunits, in particular Kir3.2 and Kir3.4, are expressed transiently in distinct brain nuclei during ontogeny. Appearance of Kir transcripts is not generally related to the progressive and recessive phases during neurogenesis, but rather regulated differentially for each subunit and any specific group of neurons. It is demonstrated for the first time that several subunits, and most abundantly Kir2.2, are present early in the peripheral nervous system, i.e., in dorsal root-, sensory cranial-, and sympathetic ganglia. Also, of all subunits Kir3.3 is ubiquitously expressed in the entire embryonic nervous system and throughout the body. In summary, analysis of ontogenic Kir channel expression helps deciphering the importance of Kir channels (as exemplified for the defective weaver Kir3.2 gene) during proliferation, differentiation, and synaptogenesis in the CNS.


Late-pregnant (18-20 days) and virgin rats were studied under anesthesia or while awake to investigate the effect of acute angiotensin II (ANG II) inhibition (with saralasin or captopril) on mean arterial blood pressure (AP) and renal hemodynamics. ANG II inhibition had no effect on AP in either anesthetized or awake virgin rats. Saralasin produced no effect on renal hemodynamics although with captopril small increases in renal plasma flow rate (RPF) and decreases in renal vascular resistance (RVR) occurred in virgins. In anesthetized pregnant rats, ANG II inhibition evoked marked decreases in AP. In some rats receiving saralasin, AP was only mildly depressed and RVR fell, leading to increases in glomerular filtration rate and RPF. In others, saralasin produced large decreases in AP, and indices of renal function became unmeasurable because of near cessation of urine flow. All late-pregnant anesthetized rats receiving captopril showed increased RPF irrespective of the magnitude of the fall in AP. In awake pregnant rats no effect on AP was seen with ANG II inhibition. Saralasin had no effect on renal hemodynamics although with captopril a small increase in RPF was observed. These data indicate that the stress of acute surgery and anesthesia produces a dependence of AP on ANG II in the pregnant but not the virgin rat. Under normal pregnant (awake) conditions, however, ANG II inhibition has no net effect on AP.


This study deals with the development of a printable composite material based on a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) matrix and carbonyl iron (Fe) particles, with controlled electromagnetic performance. More specifically, materials were simultaneous melt mixed and shaped under the form of filament with a diameter suitable for Fused Deposition Modeling. After reminding the potentialities of the printable PPS matrix, especially in terms of temperature resistance, microwave characterizations were performed on toroidal samples. The measured electromagnetic properties were compatible with absorption applications and compared to those of a commercial iron-filled PolyLactic Acid (PLA). Rectangular waveguide microwave loads were designed and fabricated by Fused Deposition Modeling with both materials. The PPS-Fe load has a volume that is 7 times lower than the PLA-Fe load due to a higher permittivity-permeability product and losses. Heat treatments demonstrated that no degradation is observed for the PPS-Fe load up to 180 ℃ while the PLA-Fe load is totally melted at 150 ℃. In the same time, it was observed that the maximum power supported by the PPS-Fe load is three times higher than the one supported by the PLA-Fe load. Finally, the temperature stability of the electromagnetic response of the PPS-Fe composite was demonstrated by measurements in the −70 ℃ to 140 ℃ temperature range. This new high temperature printable composite paves the way to the development of efficient, low-cost, low-weight, power and temperature stable absorbers for microwave applications.


This article provides an overview of the technology industry that has evolved to provide technology outsourcing services for community banks, and the risk management issues associated with outsourcing. The service provider industry is in a transition phase being brought about by changing economic fundamentals in banking and in information technology. These factors have contributed to significant consolidation among the technology companies that serve the banking industry, especially among technology firms offering core processing services. Accordingly, the array of firms serving the national and regional markets has changed significantly. The increasing reliance of banks on technology service providers to support core bank processes has led to heightened attention on the risks of new technologies. Awareness of the growing importance of these risks has led to development of a standardized framework for managing the risks related to technology outsourcing. Survey results that point to practices most widely followed by community banks are used to highlight current practices and regulatory guidance for managing technology risks.


In this paper we show how light emitting diodes (LEDs) can be used in conjunction with existing display technologies as a means for achieving ultra-rapid visual stimulus exposure durations. We review existing rapid visual display methods, and show how our apparatus overcomes the limitations inherent with each technique. Our apparatus, the LED tachistoscope, takes advantage of the fast-switching times and high-brightness capabilities of LEDs in order to present stimuli at previously unachievable durations as rapid as 1 ms. The rapid exposure durations are achieved by external LED backlight illumination of images on a liquid crystal display (LCD) after the components of the LCD have stabilized. This ensures that stimulus onset and offset are discrete. Furthermore, the fast-switching of the LEDs enables stimuli to be revealed for very rapid durations. The paper also describes studies in which the LED tachistoscope has already been applied, and offers suggestions for other possible applications. Interestingly, in our studies we show that the human visual system is very adept at extracting information with only very minimal stimulus exposure durations. Such studies have not been possible with existing display equipment. The LED tachistoscope opens up avenues for a variety of psychological and physiological experiments and provides a means for revealing the limits of human visual perception.


Principal component analysis (PCA) is an orthogonal transformation that seeks the directions of maximum variance in the data and is commonly used to reduce the dimensionality of the data. In image denoising, a compromise has to be found between noise reduction and preserving significant image details. PCA is a statistical technique for simplifying a dataset by reducing datasets to lower dimensions. It is a standard technique commonly used for data reduction in statistical pattern recognition and signal processing. This paper proposes a denoising technique by using a new statistical approach, principal component analysis with spatial adaptive technique This procedure is iterated second time to further improve the denoising performance, and the noise level is adaptively adjusted in the second stage. Single-sensor digital color cameras use a process called color demosaicking to produce full color images from the data captured by a color filter array (CFA). The quality of demosaicked images is degraded due to the sensor noise introduced during the image acquisition process. The conventional solution to combating CFA sensor noise is demosaicking first, followed by a separate denoising processing. This paper presents a principle component analysis (PCA) based spatiall-adaptive denoising algorithm, which works directly on the CFA data using a supporting window to analyze the local image statistics. By exploiting the spatial and spectral correlations existed in the CFA image, the proposed method can effectively suppress noise while preserving color edges and details. Experiments using both simulated and real CFA images indicate that the proposed scheme outperforms many existing approaches, including those sophisticated demosaicking and denoising schemes, in terms of both objective measurement and visual evaluation.


We have analyzed and modeled the failure probabilities of SRAM cells due to process parameter variations. A method to predict the yield of a memory chip based on the cell failure probability is proposed. The developed method is used in an early stage of a design cycle to minimize memory failure probability by statistically sizing of SRAM cell.


"Saijiki; Hyper-Reading Japanese" is a HyperCard application for the Macintosh DE, and is for students at the intermediate to advanced levels learning to read somewhat sophisticated Japanese essays by themselves. Saijiki means notes about yearly events and the nature of the seasons. The six essays in this program were selected from a collection of essays titled "Kotoba No Saijiki" (Saijiki of words) by Haruhiko Kindaichi (1973), an eminent linguist. The essays introduce Japanese culture, literature and nature as well as language. The computer program includes such features as kanji (Chinese characters) reading practice, multiple choice questions on comprehension and a pop-up dictionary with links to the essays. The program also has cultural illustrations and kanji stroke-order animations to make the study more interesting. The HyperCard system is interfaced with Kanji-Talk1, so that three types of Japanese characters (kanji, hiragana, and katakana2) are used. English is also used when necessary.


It was possible to locate the MATUYAMA/BRUNHES-boundary in the clay-pit of Karlich (middle Rhine). This change of magnetic polarity can be found in sediments of the "Ville-Interglacial-Komplex" which are covered by deposits of at least six glaciations. In all the other examined german sites the lacks in the sequences are too great in order to pinpoint the position of the MATUYAMA/BRUNHES-boundary. The correlation of the oldest pleistocene sediments with the MATUYAMA-epoch and its events could only be done on a trial basis, as the sediments are generally too coarse for magnetic measurements and pollenanalytic investigations. On the other hand the stratigraphic sequence of the studied beds is well established by the huge coal pits in the Ville area. It is possible to place the Tertiary/Quaternary-boundary on geobotanical basis with about 2 Mio. years BP because the change oif polarity from the Gauss- to the MATUYAMA-epoch (about 2,4 Mio. years BP) was formed in the highest Reuverium (C). The GAUSS-epoch is to connect with the middle till higher Pliocene (Brunssumium and middle Reuverium).


Introduction: Effective planning to improve medical issues via EMS is an essential need. This study aimed to evaluate the causes, variety and factors associated with patients' dispatch via Medical Emergencies from different townships of Ilam province to Ilam city or cities from the other provinces and by a practical suggestion helps to improve the emergency cares at the event place. Materials & methods: By a descriptive study all dispatched patients during March to August 2010 by Ilam province EMS were investigated consecutively. Demographic data and all information about causes and factors related to patients dispatch were collected via a valid questionnaire and finally the data were entered into the SPSS version16 and using descriptive tables and relevant tests were analysed. Findings: Totally 960 cases were referred to Ilam or other provinces during study project among which the highest figure (196 patients (20.4%)) was from Abdanan city and the least figure was from Ilam (59 (6.1%)) and 59% of patients was attributed to males. Also, the rates of patients from urban and rural areas were 73.1% and 26.3% respectively and 0.5% was among emigrants and visitors. 48% of referrals (449 patients) were due to accident and others were due to other different diseases and the highest rate of referrals (30.7) had surgical reasons and 22.9% was associated with cardiovascular diseases. In this study, the most patients' referrals (65.3%) were ordered by general medics and destination of 94% of referrals was Ilam city, inside the province. 97.3% of referrals was due to absent of relevant specialist and only 21.3% of referrals were due to emphasis of specialists upon the actual need of patients and the highest rate of referrals were due to lateral and unimportant reasons. Discussion & conclusions: The most patients' dispatches were due to absence of relevant specialist and the highest rate of referrals had surgical reasons; therefore, employment of specialists particularly surgeon and settlement of diagnostic tools such as sonography, radiology and CT scan can considerably reduce the number of dispatches. Also, the highest number of referrals was ordered by general medics, which reveals lack of enough specialists in Ilam townships and absence of a regular referral system in this province.


Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to give rise to derivatives of all the germ layers and hold therefore great promise for future applications like cell replacement therapies and drug screenings, for example. Pluripotent stem cells can be expanded indefinitely which leads to an almost unlimited source of cells. These unique characteristics allow for the biochemical study of developmental processes in vitro that are not feasible in vivo due to restricted cell numbers within one embryo. The recent derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from somatic cells unlocked a second source for pluripotent stem cells and fueled the hope for treatment of numerous diseases. But a comprehensive understanding of pluripotency per se is necessary to fully exploit the possibilities of these patient specific pluripotent stem cells while limiting the accompanying risks. This thesis focuses on different aspects of pluripotency in mouse and human pluripotent stem cells. The use of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) recombineering is a common practice to generate transgenic reporter cell lines that faithfully recapitulate the tissue specific expression profile of the gene of interest. We describe here the development of an efficient system for the generation of BAC-based targeting constructs. This system allows for the quick and straightforward generation of a BAC targeting vector and subsequent derivation of recombined BACs to that allows for the manipulation of the mammalian genome. This second part of this thesis concentrates on different aspects of the pluripotent stem cell state. Murine and human pluripotent stem cells show vast differences regarding their colony morphology, growth factor dependency and molecular characteristics and are therefore considered being in two different pluripotent stem cell states: naive and primed pluripotency respectively. We set out to analyze the influence of the growth factor environment on the outcome of the reprogramming event. We first focused on permissive mouse strains and showed that murine iPS cells from the B6/129 hyrbid strain derived under bFGF and ActivinA signaling are more similar to regular naive pluripotent stem cells then to primed pluripotent stem cells or EpiSCs. In a second set of experiments we analyzed the opposite scenario: the derivation of human pluripotent stem cells under naive pluripotent conditions. We used induction of pluripotency and showed that cells can be derived with characteristics of naive pluripotent stem cells regarding their morphology, growth characteristics and growth factor environment. These cells can facilitate homologous recombination and therefore allow the generation of transgenic human cell lines. The cell are not pluripotent but can be converted into primed pluripotent stem cells via an easy growth factor switch thereby allowing the derivation of transgenic hES like cells from patient derived somatic cells.


In networks supporting distributed multimedia, maximizing bandwidth utilization and providing performance guarantees are two incompatible goals. Heterogeneity of the multi-media sources calls for eeective congestion control schemes to satisfy the diverse Quality of Service(QoS) requirements of each application. These include admission control at connection set up, traac control at the source ends and eecient scheduling schemes at the switches. The emphasis in this paper is on traac control at the source end. Traac control schemes have two functional roles. One is traac enforcement as a supplement to the admission control policy. The other is shaping the input traac so that it becomes amenable to the scheduling mechanism at the switches for providing the required QoS guarantees. Studies on bursty sources have shown that burstiness promotes statistical multiplexing at the cost of possible congestion. Smoothing the traac helps in providing guarantees at the cost of bandwidth utilization. The need for a exible scheme which can provide a reasonable compromise between the utilization and guarantees is imminent. We present the design and performance study of a exible traac shaper which can adjust the burstiness of input traac to obtain reasonable utilization while maintaining statistical service guarantees. The performance of the traac shaper for bursty sources is studied using simulation.


Background and Aims In lupus nephritis (LN), complete remission (CR) or partial remission is associated with better patient and renal survival. Subjects who do not achieve a 25% reduction in proteinuria within 8 weeks of starting induction immunosuppression are unlikely to achieve even a PR. Voclosporin (VCS) is a novel CNI demonstrating less pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic variability and a potentially improved safety profile compared with other CNIs. Methods Entry criteria renal biopsy within 24 months (Class III; IV-S, IV-G (A) or (A/C); V, III/V, IV/V, ISN/RPS); urine protein:creatinine ratio (UPCR) ≥1.0 mg/mg (III/IV) or UPCR ≥1.5 mg/mg (V); serologic evidence of active LN; and eGFR >45 mL/min/1.73m2. AURION assessed the ability of biomarkers at 8 weeks to predict clinical response over 24 and 48 weeks when taking voclosporin (VCS) 23.7 mg po BID in combination with MMF (1–2 g/day) and reducing corticosteroid dose. We report 24 week data. Results In this study, 7/10 (70%) subjects achieved CR at 24 weeks. Of the 10 subjects that achieved a≥25% reduction in UPCR at 8 weeks, 80% were responders (61% reduction in UPCR over baseline) at 24 weeks. In addition, inflammatory markers such as C3, C4 and anti-dsDNA all continued to normalise to 24 weeks. Renal function remained stable. VCS was well-tolerated with no unexpected safety signals observed. Conclusions The results suggest that early response to therapy of VCS in combination with MMF may predict 24 week CR in the presence of low steroids in active LN. 48 week CR data will be presented at the meeting.


The circular rock stratum are inevitably encountered in underground mining engineering, which causes waste of resources and dynamic instability. Based on the elastic theory of curved beam and finite-difference computation, a displacement function is presented in polar coordinates for solving two partial differential equations with the boundary conditions in mixed type in elastic, isotropic and homogeneous rock. A semi-analytical elastic stress solution for circular rock stratum is obtained according to the governing equation and stress components in terms of displacement function. The variations of stress distribution with different influencing factors are analyzed, which may lead to a better understanding of the stability of circular rock stratum after coal extractions. Finally, this semi-analytical elastic stress solution is applied to the fold structure in No.2502 mining area and points out the dangerous sites during coal extractions, which provides the basis of construction and safety in coal mine engineering.


The perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was evaluated in monoculture and four associations with ovillo grass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in different proportions to maximize the yield of dry matter. The proportions in monoculture and the associations of perennial ryegrass, ovillo grass and white clover were: 100:00:00, 70:20:10, 50:00:50, 40:40:20 and 20:70:10, which distributed under a completely randomized block design with three repetitions. The yield of dry matter, botanical and morphological composition, leaf: stem and plant density ratio was evaluated. The association 50:00:50 exceeded 15% (3 671 kg MS ha-1) to the association 70:20:10. The perennial ryegrass contributed more to dry matter yield in autumn and winter, while the ovillo grass and white clover in spring and summer. Regardless of the association, plant density was 29, 25, 20 and 11 m-2 plants for autumn, winter, spring and summer, respectively, with an average plant loss of 62%. The contribution of each species in the botanical composition of the associations was variable during the study period. Perennial ryegrass contributed 46, 40, 29 and 14% in autumn, winter, spring and summer, observing a decrease as the evaluation time elapsed (p< 0.05). The association that obtained the best characteristics of the yield was 50:00:50% of perennial ryegrass, ovillo grass and white clover.


Paul's use of 1 Kgs 19:10-18 in Rom 11:2-6 has an important role in his proof that God has not cast off His people Israel. His main dependence is upon the Massoretic Text rather than the Septuagint. He makes a number of changes in his adaptation of the OT passage, none of which violates the meaning of the OT context. Despite apparent parallels between Elijah and Moses in the OT, the 1 Kings passage does not elevate Elijah to the level of Moses in God's plan. Rather it emphasizes the sovereignty of God at work to preserve a remnant. Paul's theological emphasis in Rom 11:2-6 is upon God's preservation of a remnant of Jews through grace, not human merit. Through this means He guards against the total loss of the people of Israel.


A new aptamer-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) system has been designed to detect Hg2+ that utilizes near-infrared (NIR)-to-NIR gold nanoparticle coated NaYF4:Yb,Tm,Gd up-conversion nanoparticles (AuNPs@NaYF4:Yb,Tm,Gd UCNPs) as probes. The AuNPs@NaYF4:Yb,Tm,Gd UCNPs were prepared and excited by near-infrared light (980 nm) which emitted at a near-infrared wavelength (808 nm) using an inexpensive infrared continuous wave laser diode. The AuNPs@NaYF4:Yb,Tm,Gd UCNPs were conjugated with Hg2+ aptamers. In the presence of Hg2+, the AuNPs@NaYF4:Yb,Tm,Gd UCNPs were brought into close proximity because of the formation of T–Hg2+–T base pairs. Then the luminescence enhanced because of the plasmon resonance effects. Based on this, a new SPR system was developed for the detection of Hg2+ that had high sensitivity and selectivity in the NIR region. This method was successfully applied to detect Hg2+ concentration in real samples.


The current report aims to provide insight into the different innovative solutions in waste processing. It outlines that the new technologies for solving the waste issue should be consistent with the current requirements for saving resources and minimizing the waste going to landfills. First, the paper discusses that one of the most serious challenges of the modern world is linked to the daily disposal of hundreds tonnes of waste. They are not only a national, but a global problem, the uncontrolled disposal and accumulation can cause serious pollution of the environment and lead to worsening health. That is why the issue of their effective management is of utmost importance. The report gives special attention to the global problem with waste collection and disposal that imposes an urgent need for innovations. Next, different innovative solutions in waste processing are also analyzed in the paper. A new, better model of waste management needs to be created and innovative methods (instruments) for disposal and treatment of municipal solid waste are needed. The author identifies that scientific progress allows for the implementation of new waste management technologies such as radio-frequency identification (RFID), GPS systems, underground waste treatment facilities, multistage waste recycling system, etc. Finally, on the basis of the analysis, recommendations for waste management on a global level are outlined. A conclusion is made that when choosing a new and effective waste management technology, the ecological (safety and ecological risks) and economic (efficiency, capital and operational expenses) factors should be considered.


In this paper, a bisection search method is proposed to tune the PI parameters of controllers in a restructured power system that operates under deregulation based on the bilateral policy scheme. The bisection method in mathematics is a root-finding approach which repeatedly bisects an interval and then selects a subinterval in which a root must lie for further processing. It is a very simple and rapidly converging method. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution a 3-area restructured power system with possible contracted scenarios under large load demand and area disturbances is assumed. The results evaluation shows that the proposed control strategy achieves good performance in comparison with conventional and robust controllers. Moreover, this newly developed solution has a simple structure, does not require an accurate model of the plant and is fairly easy to implement in comparison to other controllers, which can be useful for the real world complex power systems.


In this paper, we present a new upper bound on the minimum probability of error of Bayesian decision systems for statistical pattern recognition. This new bound is continuous everywhere and is shown to be tighter than several existing bounds such as the Bhattacharyya and the Bayesian bounds. Numerical results are also presented. >