Sr1-xNdxFe12O19 ferrites were Synthesized via sol–gel and self-combustion methods with Fe(NO3)3·9H2O,Sr(NO3)2 and citric acid. The as-synthesized powder was studied by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) were applied to investigate the structure and magnetic properties. The powder was synthesized in different calcination temperature and doping content of Nd2O3. The experiment reveals that the magnetic properties of Nd3+ doped ferrites are less sensitive to calcination temperature comparing with no doping ferrites. The coercivity (Hcj) of Nd3+ doped ferrites reach 423.96 kA·m-1.


vious 2 weeks during which they (1) could not perform work or other activities (n1⁄4 252), and (2) required informal caregiver assistance (n1⁄4 247). Data were collected at baseline and at the end of the treatment phase. Mean productive time lost and caregiver time values were analyzed based on clinically meaningful changes in FACT Fatigue scale scores (>1⁄4 3 point change in FACT Fatigue scale score; Cella, 2002) and statistically compared using a t-test. As Hb increased, there was a corresponding improvement in FACT Fatigue scale scores. Patients with clinically meaningful improvements in fatigue reported significantly greater reductions in productive time lost (mean [95% CI]): 3.9 ( 9.6, 1.8) vs 6.7 ( 1.8, 15.2), p1⁄4 0.041) and caregiver time (mean [95% CI]): 1.5 ( 5.7, 2.7) vs 6.3 (1.4, 11.1), p1⁄4 0.018) compared to patients who did not exhibit clinically meaningful improvement (<3 point change in FACT Fatigue scale score). These findings provide support for the conclusion that the reduction of fatigue in anemic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy is associated with both improved ability to meet family needs and less reliance on caregiver assistance.


The study evaluated the efficiency and interactive of tillage practices, cropping systems and organic inputs (soil moisture conservation techniques) on soil moisture retention in semi-arid Yatta sub-county between October 2012 and February 2013 short rain season (SRS) and March to August 2013 long rain season (LRS). The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with a split-split plot arrangement. Main plots were; tillage practices (TP); Oxen plough (OP), tied ridges (TR) and furrows and ridges (FR). The Split-plots were; cropping systems (CS); mono cropping (MC), intercropping (IC) and crop rotation (CR) while the split-split plots were organic inputs; farmyard manure (FYM), Minjingu Rock Phosphate (MRP), combined MRP and FYM (MRP+FYM) and control. Sorghum and sweet potatoes were grown as intercrops or in rotation with Dolichos (Dolichos lablab) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Soil samples were taken at 0-30 cm depth at the start of the experiment and maturity of test crops for determination of soil moisture content (expressed as percentage) and efficiency of soil moisture conservation techniques. Significant (p≤0.05) increased in soil moisture content was recorded, across deasons, in TR with IC of dolichos and application of FYM (7.53% and 7.88%) for sorghum and sweet potato plots respectively. For enhanced efficiency of soil moisture conservation in the semi-arid Yatta district, TR with an intercrop of dolichos and sorghum and/or dolichos and sweet potato with application of FYM +MRP would be the soil moisture conservation technique of choice.


Abstract In recent decades, many universities have been moving in the direction of a more hierarchical and centralised structure, with top-down planning and reduced local autonomy for departments. Yet, the management literature over this period has stressed the numerous benefits of flatter organisational structures, decentralisation and local autonomy for sections or departments. What might explain this paradox? And why have academics remained strangely quiet about this, meekly accepting their fate? This proposition paper critically examines the dangers of centralised top-down management, increasingly bureaucratic procedures, teaching to a prescribed formula, and research driven by assessment and performance targets, illustrating these with a number of specific examples. It discusses a number of possible forces driving these worrying developments, and concludes by asking whether academics may be in danger of suffering the fate of the boiled frog.


Climate change and its effects on agriculture will impact global food security. Rice (Oryza sativa L.), the major staple crop of the world, is subjected to substantial environmental constraints and criticism because of its role in climate change; methane emission under irrigated ecosystem. Mitigation of methane is the way forward for sustainable and eco-friendly rice production. Limiting area and production of rice may not be a feasible option as majority of the Asian population depends on rice. An urgent and integrated research approach to understand the mechanisms and interactions involved in methane release through rice plant is required to design viable mitigation technologies. Genetics of methane emission must be studied in detail, along with agronomic and management practices to obtain the precise information to elucidate the inheritance of related traits. Crop improvement interventions are required to identify contributing traits to methane emission, with subsequent deployment in plant breeding. Identification of rice cultivars with high-yield levels and traits contributing to low methane production represents an economic approach. Focus of breeding needs a shift towards adaptation to new production systems that can sustain effects of climate change. Low methane emitting varieties suitable to water management practices are more promising. This can be manifested in simultaneous achievement of global food security and mitigation of emissions without radical changes in the agronomic practices for the rice ecosystem. In this Review, an account of methane emission studies from rice and impact of crop growth stages as well as traits are outlined. The genotypic variation reported in Oryza spp for methane emission and breeding approaches for development of low methane emitting varieties are discussed.


Controllability is the ability of a process to achieve acceptable performance, and in this thesis we use controllability analysis in the design of buffer tanks, feedforward controllers, and multivariable controllers such as model predictive control (MPC).There is still an increasing pressure on the process industry, both from competitors (prize and quality) and the society (safety and pollution), and one important contribution is a smooth and stable production. Thus, it is important to dampen the effect of uncontrolled variations (disturbances) that the process may experience.The process itself often dampens high-frequency disturbances, and feedback controllers are installed to handle the low-frequency part of the disturbances, including at steady state if integral action is applied. However, there may be an intermediate frequency range where neither of these two dampens the disturbances sufficiently. In the first part of this thesis we present methods for the design of buffer tanks based on this idea. Both mixing tanks for quality disturbances and surge tanks with "slow" level control for flow-rate variations are addressed.Neutralization is usually performed in one or several mixing tanks, and we give recommendations for tank sizes and the number of tanks. With local PI or PID control, we recommend equal tanks, and give a simple formula for the total volume. We also give recommendations for design of buffer tanks for other types of processes. We propose first to determine the required transfer function to achieve the required performance, and thereafter to find a physical realization of this transfer function.Alternatively, if measurements of the disturbances are available, one may apply feedforward control to handle the intermediate frequency range. Feedforward control is based mainly on a model, and we study the effect of model errors on the performance. We define feedforward sensitivities. For some model classes we provide rules for when the feedforward controller is effective, and we also design robust controllers such as μ -optimal feedforward controllers.Multivariable controllers, such as model predictive control (MPC), may use both feedforward and feedback control, and the differences between these two also manifest themselves in a multivariable controller. We use the class of serial processes to gain insight into how a multivariable controller works. For one specific MPC we develop a state space formulation of the controller and its state estimator under the assumption that no constraints are active. Thus, for example the gains of each channel of the MPC (from measurements to the control inputs) can be found, which gives further insight into to the controller. Both a neutralization process example and an experiment are used to illustrate the ideas.


The four pillars of material science and engineering namely structure, processing, properties and performance form the so-called material paradigm. At the heart of the material paradigm is materials characterization, which is used to measure and identify the relationships. Materials Characterization typically reconstructing the conditions giving rise to a measurement, a classic inverse problem. The solutions of these inverse problems are under or over determined and not unique. The solutions of these inverse problems can be greatly improved if accurate forward models exist for these characterization experiments. In this thesis, we will be focusing of developing forward models for electron diffraction modalities. Specifically, four different forward models for electron diffraction, namely the Electron Backscatter Diffraction, Electron Channeling Patterns, Precession Electron Diffraction and Transmission kikuchi Diffraction modalities are presented. Further, these forward models are applied to important materials characterization problems, including diffraction pattern indexing using the dictionary approach and forward model based orientation refinement. Finally, a novel pole figure inversion algorithm using the cubochoric representation and model based iterative reconstruction is also presented.


Limulin, a sialic-acid-binding and phosphorylethanolamine-binding hemagglutinin in the hemolymph plasma of the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), is a hemolytic C-reactive protein [Armstrong, P.B., Swarnakar, S., Srimal, S., Misquith, S., Hahn, E.A., Aimes, R. T. & Quigley, J.P. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 14717-14721]. We have now identified three types of C-reactive protein in the plasma of the Japanese horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus), based on different affinities against fetuin-agarose and phosphorylethanolamine-agarose determined by quantitative precipitin assays using fetuin and an artificial phosphorylethanolamine-protein conjugate. Partial amino acid sequences of the isolated C-reactive proteins identified homologous proteins which were named Tachypleus tridentatus CRP-1 (tCRP-1), tCRP-2 and tCRP-3, each of which possibly constitute isoprotein mixtures. tCRP-2 and tCRP-3, but not tCRP-1, agglutinated mammalian erythrocytes. tCRP-1, the most abundant C-reative protein in the plasma, exhibited the highest affinity to the phosphorylethanolamine-protein conjugate but lacked both sialic-acid-binding and hemolytic activities. tCRP-2 bound to both fetuin-agarose and phosphorylethanolamine-agarose, and exhibited Ca2+-dependent hemolytic and sialic-acid-binding activities, suggestive of limulin-like properties. Furthermore, tCRP-2 exhibited a higher affinity to colominic acid, a bacterial polysialic acid. By contrast, tCRP-3 shows stronger hemolytic, sialic-acid-binding and hemagglutinating activities than tCRP-2. tCRP-3 has no affinity to phosphorylethanolamine-agarose, phosphorylethanolamine-protein conjugate and colominic acid. This suggests tCRP-3 is a novel hemolytic C-reactive protein lacking a common characteristic of phosphorylethanolamine-agarose binding affinity. Twenty-two clones of tCRPs with different deduced amino acid sequences were obtained by PCR using oligonucleotide primers based on the N-terminal and C-terminal sequences of tCRPs and with templates including genomic DNA and cDNA of hemocytes or hepatopancreas derived from one individual. The translation products of the tCRP clones possess high molecular diversity which falls into three related groups, consistent with classification based on their biological activities. Only tCRP-3 contained a unique hydrophobic nonapeptide sequence that appears in the transmembrane domain of a major histocompatibility complex class I heavy chain of rainbow trout, suggesting the importance of the hydrophobic patch to the hemolytic activity of tCRP-3. The structural and functional diversities of tCRPs provide a good model for studying the properties of innate immunity in invertebrates, which survive without the benefit of acquired immunity.


Skin is the largest organ of the body and injury to this organ is frequently exceptionally serious which should be dealt with. Skin transplantation is the most customary strategy utilized on account of harmed skin however it has a few restrictions. 3D bioprinting is a novel system for the age of human tissues. It includes the layer-by-layer affidavit of biomaterials on the harmed region and recovery of lost tissue. In skin bioprinting, utilitarian skin substitutes are created. In bioprinting, bio-inks and biomaterials are utilized to make tissue frameworks. Distinctive bioprinting procedures are utilized in the printing of human tissues. A few methodologies are utilized in skin bioprinting for example in situ and ex vivo. Both these methodologies vary just in the site of development. Specialists have made a few examinations on skin bioprinting. In this review, we will talk about various bioprinting procedures, the choice of cells in bioprinting and various wellsprings of bio-inks.


Family Forest Owners Satisfaction with Timber Transactions Jeff Lee Forest industries in the eastern U.S. rely heavily on family forest owners to supply fiber needs for their mills. As of 2017, 79 percent of West Virginia is classified as forestland and of this roughly 86.5 percent is privately owned. With such a heavy reliance on wood from private forest lands, family forest owner satisfaction is extremely important if companies want to continue harvesting or working with these landowners in the future. Timber transactions are complex. No two timber transactions are exactly the same. They often involve many different parties apart from the landowner. Site conditions, land cover, and landowner goals all are major factors that influence the outcome of a timber harvest. A timber harvest can leave a property completely transformed. For better or worse the property will not be the same as before the harvest. Timber harvests are common in West Virginia many lack the use of a forester. Without a forester, landowners are likely at a competitive disadvantage when negotiating timber contracts and accomplishing their goals and future of their properties. The goal of this study was to explore ways to alleviate common pitfalls that lead to legal or financial issues that are associated with timber transactions. We carried out a mail-based survey to landowners who had recently harvested timber from their West Virginia properties. In this paper, we explore the relationships between landowner satisfaction with a harvest, their property attributes, management goals, and the types of professional assistance they received during their timber transaction. Many attributes selected to represent conditions and events during timber transactions were found to be significantly related to the overall satisfaction of landowners following timbering operations. The adequacy of several of the attributes were used as indicators of landowners' perception of service quality. Having a forestry professional assist with the timber sale enhanced the likelihood that landowners would be satisfied with timbering outcomes.


A network of particle detectors located at middle to low latitudes known as SEVAN (Space Environmental Viewing and Analysis Network) is being created in the framework of the International Heliophysical Year (IHY-2007). It aims to improve the fundamental research of the particle acceleration in the vicinity of the Sun and space environment conditions. The new type of particle detectors will simultaneously measure the changing fluxes of most species of secondary cosmic rays, thus turning into a powerful integrated device used for exploration of solar modulation effects. Ground-based detectors measure time series of secondary particles born in cascades originating in the atmosphere by nuclear interactions of protons and nuclei accelerated in the galaxy. During violent solar explosions, sometimes additional secondary particles are added to this "background" flux. The studies of the changing time series of secondary particles shed light on the high-energy particle acceleration mechanisms. The time series of intensities of high energy particles can also provide highly cost-effective information on the key characteristics of interplanetary disturbances. The recent results of the detection of the solar extreme events (2003–2005) by the monitors of the Aragats Space-Environmental Center (ASEC) illustrate the wide possibilities provided by new particle detectors measuring neutron, electron and muon fluxes with inherent correlations. We present the results of the simulation studies revealing the characteristics of the SEVAN networks' basic measuring module. We illustrate the possibilities of the hybrid particle detector to measure neutral and charged fluxes of secondary CR, to estimate the efficiency and purity of detection; corresponding median energies of the primary proton flux, the ability to distinguish between neutron and proton initiated GLEs and some other important properties of hybrid particle detectors.


1-(7-Ethylbenzofuran-2-yl)-2-tert.-butylamino-1-hydroxyethane hydrochloride (bufuralol) is a non-selective beta-adrenoceptor blocking agent which closely resembles propranolol in its properties, including potency. Bufuralol is devoid of alpha-adrenoceptor blocking activity but possesses beta-adrenoceptor agonist activity. beta-Adrenoceptor blocking activity resides mainly in the (-)-isomer though membrane stabilising properties are associated with both optical isomers.


We have used the Submillimeter Array (SMA) at 860 µm to observe the brightest sources in
the Submillimeter Common User Bolometer Array-2 (SCUBA-2) Cosmology Legacy Survey
(S2CLS). The goal of this survey is to exploit the large field of the S2CLS along with the
resolution and sensitivity of the SMA to construct a large sample of these rare sources and to
study their statistical properties. We have targeted 70 of the brightest single-dish SCUBA-2
850 µm sources down to S850 ≈ 8 mJy, achieving an average synthesized beam of 2.4 arcsec
and an average rms of σ860 = 1.5 mJy beam−1 in our primary beam-corrected maps. We
searched our SMA maps for 4σ peaks, corresponding to S860 6 mJy sources, and detected
62, galaxies, including three pairs. We include in our study 35 archival observations, bringing
our sample size to 105 bright single-dish submillimetre sources with interferometric followup.
We compute the cumulative and differential number counts, finding them to overlap with
previous single-dish survey number counts within the uncertainties, although our cumulative
number count is systematically lower than the parent S2CLS cumulative number count by
14 ± 6 per cent between 11 and 15 mJy. We estimate the probability that a 10 mJy singledish
submillimetre source resolves into two or more galaxies with similar flux densities to
be less than 15 per cent. Assuming the remaining 85 per cent of the targets are ultraluminous
starburst galaxies between z = 2 and 3, we find a likely volume density of 400 M yr−1
sources to be ∼ 3+0.7 −0.6 × 10−7 Mpc−3. We show that the descendants of these galaxies could be
4 × 1011 M local quiescent galaxies, and that about 10 per cent of their total stellar mass
would have formed during these short bursts of star formation.


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An astonishing 99.6% of our Universe is dark. Observations indicate that the Universe consists of 70% of a mysterious dark energy and 25% of a yet-unidentified dark matter component, and only 0.4% of the remaining ordinary matter is visible. Understanding the physics of this dark sector is the foremost challenge in cosmology today. Sophisticated simulations of the evolution of the Universe play a crucial task in this endeavor. This movie shows an intermediate stage in a large simulation of the distribution of matter in the Universe, the so-called cosmic web, accounting for the influence of dark energy. The simulation is evolving 1.1 trillion particles. The movie shows a snapshot of the Universe when it was 1.6 billion years old.


The objective of this paper is to identify constraints hindering collaboration among stakeholders for agricultural innovation system in the North West Province of South Africa. A total sample size of 205 respondents is selected for the study. The study first identifies the characteristics of stakeholders involved in the agricultural innovation system in the North West Province. Data are collected through a structured questionnaire on personal characteristics and constraints hindering collaboration in agricultural innovation system among stakeholders. The data are subjected to analysis using the Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS). Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, percentages and one way ANOVA are used for analysis. The results revealed that gender has an influence on the adoption of agricultural innovation in the North West Province; farming decisions are dominated by men rather than women, extension agents (65%), researchers (68%), farmers (51%), input dealers (73%) and marketers (70%). One way analysis of variance results shows no difference in constraint among AIS stakeholders in North West Province. The F value for constraint shows that there is no significant difference among stakeholders in the North West Province.


What role do domestic audience costs play across different types of foreign policy threats issued? Research on domestic audience costs—the domestic penalty a leader would face for making foreign threats and then backing down--provides direct evidence for the existence of audience costs for leaders who back down from hard power foreign policy threats, such as the threat to use militarized force. This thesis tries to understand the role of domestic audience costs across different foreign policy tools. Following Tomz (2007), I designed questionnaires that depict four different scenarios of hard and soft power foreign policy crises in the Turkish context. My findings indicate that Turkish citizens hold a leader more accountable for following up on threats regarding foreign policy tools of economic sanctions and border blockades. The public is less willing to punish reneging from both a more hard power tool--militarized force, and a softer foreign policy tool--the extension of foreign aid. These findings suggest that the level of audience costs differs across different foreign policy tools. In addition, I found that Turkish national security, international reputation, and its relationship with neighbors are important factors to Turkish respondents when making a decision about how the prime minister handled the situation. On the other hand, establishing Turkey's leadership in its region was found to be the least important factor. Finally, evidence suggests that the main source of audience costs for the Turkish public emanate from their concern regarding national security and the international reputation of the country.


Food spoilage organisms were isolated using standard procedures on Nutrient Agar, Cetrimide Agar and Pseudomonas Agar Base (supplemented with CFC). The samples were categorized as animal products (raw fish, egg, raw chicken, corned beef, pasteurized milk) and plant products (vegetable salad, water leaf ( Talinium triangulare ), boiled rice, tomatoes and pumpkin leaf ( Teifairia occidentalis ).They were characterised as Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Burkholderia pseudomallei, Serratia rubidaea, Corynebacterium pilosum, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus mycoides , Bacillus laterosporus, Bacillus laterosporus , Serratia marcescens, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus macerans, Alcaligenes faecalis and Alcaligenes eutrophus. Preliminary screening for biosurfactant production was done using red blood haemolysis test and confirmed by slide test, drop collapse and oil spreading assay. The biosurfactant produced was purified using acetone and the composition determined initially using Molisch's test, thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The components were found to be ethanol, amino acids, butoxyacetic acid, hexadecanoic acid, oleic acid, lauryl peroxide, octadecanoic acid and phthalic acid. The producing organisms grew readily on several hydrocarbons such as crude oil, diesel oil and aviation fuel when used as sole carbon sources.  The purified biosurfactants produced were able to cause emulsification of kerosene (19.71-27.14%) as well as vegetable oil (16.91-28.12%) based on the emulsification index. This result suggests that the isolates can be an asset and further work can exploit their optimal potential in industries.


A new approach is developed for identifying suitable reaction coordinates to describe the progression of rare events in complex systems. The method is based on the forward flux sampling (FFS) technique and standard least-square estimation (LSE) and it is denoted as FFS-LSE. The FFS algorithm generates trajectories for the transition between stable states as chains of partially connected paths, which can then be used to obtain "on-the-fly" estimates for the committor probability to the final region, p(B). These p(B) data are then used to screen a set of candidate collective properties for an optimal order parameter (i.e., reaction coordinate) that depends on a few relevant variables. LSE is used to find the coefficients of the proposed reaction coordinate model and an analysis of variance is used to determine the significant terms in the model. The method is demonstrated for several test systems, including the folding of a lattice protein. It is shown that a simple approximation to p(B) via a model linear on energy and number of native contacts is sufficient to describe the intrinsic dynamics of the protein system and to ensure an efficient sampling of pathways. In addition, since the p(B) surface found from the FFS-LSE approach leads to the identification of the transition state ensemble, mechanistic details of the dynamics of the system can be readily obtained during a single FFS-type simulation without the need to perform additional committor simulations.


The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the factors of risk involved in Health Insurance among the working class in India . The study is the result of 93 samples taken on various factors from the working class in Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati. There are various factors of Risk involved in Health Insurance business which has direct impact on the Insured viz., Solvency Margin of an Insurer, Increasing Claims, Dependant's coverage, Tax Concessions and withdrawals, Discounts in premiums.  It is aimed at Solvency of Insurer in a various category of insurance, establishing the relations between Annual Income and Investment in Health Insurance, the role of TPA and Insurer, Cost escalation and Decrease in Discounts and Insurance under High Risk category viz., Senior Citizens and those who require nursing support including Down Syndrome.


The recent reform of the Italian Constitution had a prominent impact on the regulation of the energy sector. The legislative power in this sector was formerly held by the central State and is now shared by State and local authorities (Regions). In this paper we will discuss and evaluate the new legislative power in the energy sector. We wish to analyse the differences between the old and the new system and whether the reforms, through their deeper involvement with local authorities, will lead to an improved government. It is important to stress the need for a timely co-ordination between the different levels of government. The negative externalities of the production and transportation of energy can be best considered if local authorities are involved in the decision making process. However, this greatly increases transaction costs.


Over the past several decades, research on the action of bioactive constituents of plants (ie, phytochemicals) has focused predominantly on their cancer-preventive properties. Evidence for a protective role for vegetables is strongest and most consistent for vegetables in the Cruciferae (Brassicaceae) plant family, such as broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.1–4 Cruciferous vegetables are characterised by a unique phytochemistry: their high content of the sulfur-containing glucosinolates or β-thioglucoside N -hydroxysulfates with a side chain and sulfur-linked β-d-glucopyranose moiety.5 Hydrolysis of glucosinolates by a β-thioglucosidase (myrosinase), either in the plant or by gut bacteria, results in the formation of biologically active compounds such as isothiocyanates and indoles.6 These bioactive compounds are hypothesised to be responsible for the chemoprotective effects conferred by a high cruciferous vegetable intake.

Isothiocyanates may exert their protective effects through several distinct mechanisms. Of the isothiocyanates, sulforaphane, which is found in broccoli and broccoli sprouts at particularly high levels, has been the most extensively studied. Considerable attention has focused on sulforaphane as a "blocking" agent—that is, its ability to modulate the nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) pathway.7 Sulforaphane reacts with specific thiol groups on Keap1, promoting Nrf2 dissociation from Keap1, and allowing subsequent activation of antioxidant response element (ARE)-driven gene expression of phase II biotransformation enzymes (glutathione S -transferases, UDP-glucuronosyltransferases, etc.).7 However, sulforaphane acts by other mechanisms too. It induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in cancer cells, …


1. When bone homogenates were fractionated according to the scheme developed for liver by de Duve, Pressman, Gianetto, Wattiaux & Appelmans (1955), all the enzymes assayed except cytochrome oxidase were found to occur partly in soluble and partly in particulate fractions. Among the particle-bound enzymes, the highest specific activity was found in the heavy-mitochondrial fraction for cytochrome oxidase, in the microsomal fraction for alkaline phenylphosphatase and in the light-mitochondrial fraction for eight acid hydrolases and for catalase. 2. Combined heavy-mitochondrial and light-mitochondrial fractions were subfractionated by isopycnic centrifugation in density gradients of sucrose or glycogen. In the various systems tried, cytochrome oxidase showed a relatively narrow distribution range with a sharp peak; the acid hydrolases and catalase showed flat and irregular distribution patterns, differing slightly in shape from one enzyme to the other. However, it was not possible to achieve a marked separation between the various enzymes under study. 3. It is concluded from these results that the acid hydrolases belong to special cytoplasmic particles, probably lysosomes, and that these particles are physically and enzymically heterogeneous. Catalase appears to be non-mitochondrial and could also belong to the lysosomes; but the possibility of an association with another type of particle must be kept in mind in view of what is known of liver catalase. Alkaline phenylphosphatase is largely attached to microsomal elements.


The effects of calcitonin (CT) administration on calcium (Ca) concentrations in plasma and skeletal muscle as well as the calpain activity of skeletal muscle were examined in young growing male rats treated with corticosterone (CTC). The rats received subcutaneous injections of CTC (S mg/100g body weight/day), or both CTC and CT (100m unit/100g body weight/day) for four days. Control rats received placebos. The rats were sacrificed 24h after the final injections, and blood was taken followed by dissections to remove gastrocnemius and extensor digitorum longus muscles. Plasma Ca concentration was increased and muscle Ca concentration and its calpain activity tended to be increased by CTC. The CTC-induced increases in muscle Ca concentration and its calpain activity were significantly minimized by the simultaneous injection of CT. However, CTC-induced hypercalcemia was not minimized by CT. The present observations indicate that CT decreases Ca concentration in skeletal muscle cell and its calpain activity, followed by a suppression of muscle proteolysis in rats treated with CTC.


A new term was introduced in 2005 from the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America (ATS/IDSA): health-care associated pneumonia (HCAP) which seems to have been established in Greek medical society. Patients who are included in this subcategory of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) present increased rates of multi-drug resistant pathogens and as a result the initial empirical antibiotic treatment is often ineffective. This could be the cause of increased mortality and so, it is advised to provide broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment that covers multi-drug resistant pathogens. However there are many studies that object to this category and prove that the broad-spectrum management leads to overtreatment, resistance and increased mortality. In this review we refer to these studies leading to the questioning of this subcategory. It seems that the classic triad can include all pneumonia categories. However, there is certainly the need to include also new conditions that concern the great increase of elderly patients and the need for evaluation of the functional status and the aspiration that were not till now taken into account.


A method is presented for quantum-mechanical ballistic transport calculations of realistic two- and threedimensional open devices that may have any shape and any number of leads. Observables of the open system can be calculated with an effort comparable to a single calculation of a suitably defined closed system. The method is based on a previously developed scheme for calculating transmission functions, the contact block reduction method, and is shown to be applicable to the density matrix, the density of states, and the local carrier density. The electronic system may be characterized by a single or multiband Hamiltonian. We illustrate the method for the four-band GaAs hole transport through a two-dimensional three-terminal T-junction device and for the electron tunneling through a three-dimensional InAs quantum dot molecule embedded into an InP heterostructure.


Root crops are important in developing countries, where food supplies are frequently marginal. Increases in atmospheric CO{sub 2} usually lead to increases in plant growth and yield, but little is known about the response of root crops to CO{sub 2} enrichment under field conditions. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of CO{sub 2} enrichment on growth and yield of field-grown sweetpotato. Plants were grown in open-top chambers in the field at four CO{sub 2} levels ranging from 354 (ambient) to 665 {mu}mol mol{sup {minus}1} in two growing seasons. Shoot growth was not affected significantly by elevated CO{sub 2}. Yield of storage roots increased 46 and 75% at the highest CO{sub 2} level in the 2 yr. The yield enhancement occurred through increases in the number of storage roots in the second year. Storage-root/shoot ratios increased 44% and leaf nitrogen concentrations decreased by 24% at the highest CO{sub 2} level. A comparison of plants grown in the open field to plants grown in open-top chambers at ambient CO{sub 2} concentrations indicated that open-top chambers reduced shoot growth in the first year and storage-root yield in both years. These results are consistent with the majority of CO{sub 2}-enrichment studies donemore » on pot-grown sweetpotato. 37 refs., 2 figs., 5 tabs.« less


The gender pay gap of higher paid women working in traditionally male-dominated sectors has received less analysis in equal pay research than low paid, female-dominated and undervalued women's work. This article explores equal pay from the perspectives of female engineers, well paid women working in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sector in New Zealand, who perform work of the same or like nature to male engineers but who are paid less for doing so. It explores the gender pay gap against the complex intersections of labour market de-regulation, family demands, work and the 'cost of being female' that women in engineering must constantly navigate. The research uses quantitative pay data in the sector disaggregated by gender, and new qualitative data from focus groups and interviews with 22 female engineers. It finds a surprising lack of transparency around pay and remuneration in the sector at the individual level which negatively impacts on women. The article concludes by recommending new public policy initiatives for equal pay in sectors like engineering, where individualised negotiation and bargaining is embedded in neo-liberalism.


Multicore optical fibre can be used to implement multidimensional optical fibre sensors. In this paper, an array of four multiplexed FBGs is inscribed in a multicore optical fibre in order to obtain a multipoint curvature sensor. An improved FBG inscription technique is used in order to mitigate the several issues that arise during the inscription of FBGs in this kind of optical fibres. The optical fibre sensor is described and theoretically analysed in order to obtain the magnitude and direction of the curvature and also the strain produced by external forces.


Within this application for funding the Lincoln Trail Health Department proposes an evidenced based intervention for implementation into two high schools in the Hardin County with the long term goals of decreasing the rate of sexually transmitted infections in the county. The LTHD based in Elizabethtown, Kentucky services six counties in central Kentucky. The community health needs assessment and community health improvement plans for the county highlighted the problem of sexually transmitted infections in the community. The Centers for Disease Control also produces data about the higher rate of STIs in Hardin county in respect to Kentucky and the US overall and the age at highest risk for STIs in the nation (those aged 15-24). The LTHD will implement the program ALL4YOU2! Into freshman Health/PE classes at the schools identified. ALL4YOU2! uses a variety of interacting and engaging strategies to deliver an evidence based program aimed at reducing rates of STIs and unintended pregnancy by reducing the number of students who have unprotected sex in addition to changing attitudes, beliefs, and perceived norms around sexual risk takings. Implementing the program in the freshman class will hit those at highest risk for STIs in a setting where they are easy to access. Short term goals of the program will be related to lesson content and will be reducing frequency of unprotected intercourse, increasing knowledge of correct condom use, knowledge and risk perceptions about STIs, and communication skills among participants. Nancy Turner, MPH and director of the LTHD will act as program director, Cortney Gandy, MPH and director of community health services at the LTHD will lead the rest of the program staff in the 6-month planning period, implementation, data collection, and evaluation of the program.


Non-functional retroperitoneal paragangliom is a rare tumour.
They are usully asymptomatic until attainning a remarkable size and discovered incidentally. We present two clinical cases.
Case 1
A 54 year old man with right abdominal pain referred to our department. Blood pressure and others parameters were normal. Abdominal CT scan and RM revealed a ring-enhanced retroperitoneal encapsulated mass 4x3 cm in diameter located between the inferior vena cava (IVC) and aorta compressing the IVC. Total laparoscopic resection of the tumour was performed without complications. The istology revealeded an extra-adrenal paraganglioma. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells were positive for neuron specific enolase (NSE), synaptophysin, chromogranin A and S100 protein. The patient is desease-free after one year.
Case 2
A retroperitoneal rigth, hypervascularized mass of 7x5 cm in diameter was found incidentally in a 74-year-old asymptomatic man during a screening echography. CT and MR imaging confirmed a homogeneous, encapsulated mass of about 10 cm in size, with necrotic central area, located between the right renal vein and the IVC deplacing frontally the duodenum. Echoendoscopy with fine needle biopsy of the mass was done without diagnosis. Total resection of the mass was performed through a transabdominal approach. It was diagnosed an extra-adrenal paraganglioma with low grade. Immunohistochemically was similar to other case. Any recurrence was found after 6 months.
We can recommend laparoscopic exploration for suspected extraadrenal mass to identify extension of the disease and estimate resectability and to perform a radical surgery.


Background The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) according to ultrasonography (US) characteristics in thyroid nodules 4 cm and larger. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the cases of 263 patients who underwent thyroid surgery for thyroid nodules larger than 4 cm between January 2001 and December 2010. Results The sensitivity of US-FNAB was significantly higher in nodules with calcifications (micro- or macro-) than those without (97.9% vs. 87.% P<0.05). The accuracy of US-FNAB was higher in large thyroid nodules with US features suspicious of malignancy, such as a solid component, ill-defined margin, hypoechogenicity or marked hypoechogenicity, or any calcifications (micro- or macro-) compared to thyroid nodules with none of these features. Furthermore, the accuracy improved as the number of these features increased. The overall false negative rate (FNR) was 11.9%. The FNR of thyroid nodules that appeared benign on US, such as mixed nodules (7.7%) or nodules without calcification (9.8%), trended toward being lower than that of solid nodules (17.9%) or nodules with any microcalcification or macrocalcification (33.3%). In nodules without suspicious features of malignancy, the FNR of US-FNAB was 0% (0/15). Conclusion We suggest individualized strategies for large thyroid nodules according to US features. Patients with benign FNAB can be followed in the absence of any malignant features in US. However, if patients exhibit any suspicious features, potential false negative results of FNAB should be kept in mind and surgery may be considered.


Patients with unilateral neglect of the left side bisect physical lines to the right whereas individuals with an intact brain bisect lines slightly to the left (pseudoneglect). Similarly, for mental number lines, which are arranged in a left-to-right ascending sequence, neglect patients bisect to the right. This study determined whether individuals with an intact brain show pseudoneglect for mental number lines. In Experiment 1, participants were presented with visual number triplets (e.g., 16, 36, 55) and determined whether the numerical distance was greater on the left or right side of the inner number. Despite changing the spatial configuration of the stimuli, or their temporal order, the numerical length on the left was consistently overestimated. The fact that the bias was unaffected by physical stimulus changes demonstrates that the bias is based on a mental representation. The leftward bias was also observed for sets of negative numbers (Experiment 2)—demonstrating not only that the number line extends into negative space but also that the bias is not the result of an arithmetic distortion caused by logarithmic scaling. The leftward bias could be caused by a rounding-down effect. Using numbers that were prone to large or small rounding-down errors, Experiment 3 showed no effect of rounding down. The task demands were changed in Experiment 4 so that participants determined whether the inner number was the true arithmetic centre or not. Participants mistook inner numbers shifted to the left to be the true numerical centre—reflecting leftward overestimation. The task was applied to 3 patients with right parietal damage with severe, moderate, or no spatial neglect (Experiment 5). A rightward bias was observed, which depended on the severity of neglect symptoms. Together, the data demonstrate a reliable and robust leftward bias for mental number line bisection, which reverses in clinical neglect. The bias mirrors pseudoneglect for physical lines and most likely reflects an expansion of the space occupied by lower numbers on the left side of the line and a contraction of space for higher numbers located on the right.


The notch tensile strength (NTS) of Ti15V3Cr3Sn3Al (Ti-15-3) aged at temperatures ranging from 426 to 600°C was determined at elevated temperatures, and correlated to microstructure. Notch tensile tests were conducted in laboratory air at the room temperature, 150, 300 and 450°C. The base metal specimen aged at 426°C formed elongated i precipitates interlocked in a basket-weave like structure and then had peak hardness but inferior notch tensile strength at room temperature due to the trans-granular quasi-cleavage fracture seperated along the i/¢ interface in the aged specimen. As the aging and test temperature increased, the coarse Widmanstatten i in the specimen aged at 540°C was facilitated to perform high NTS owing to crack deflection or microcrack formation in Ti-15-3 alloy under 300°C, while the improved ductility and notch blunting of the specimen aged at 426°C reduced the notch brittleness and resulted in a remarkably improved NTS tested at 450°C. The NTS of the specimen aged at 426°C was much higher than that of the other aged specimen tested at 450°C. This result suggested that the basket-weave-like structure was more resistant to the softening of substance than the coarse Widmansttaten structure at 450°C. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2012306]


Low energy efficiency, energy shortage and energy related environmental issues are the important limiting factors for the development of China. As a developed province, high economic growth has had huge implications for great energy consumption and produced significant air pollutants in Shandong. REPI model is introduced to analyze the evolution of the performance of energy consumption, emissions of SO2, soot and industrial dust in Shandong over the past 12 years. Energy saving index of Shandong kept going up since 1997 and surpassed 1 in 2002, which means the obvious decrease of energy efficiency. SO2 saving index was greater than 1 in 1997-2002 then less than 1 in 2003-2008, which shows SO2 control in Shandong is significant. The saving index of soot and industrial dust kept much less than 1, which means the reduction of these two air pollutants are much better than China average level in the study period. Though the saving indexes of SO2, soot and industrial dust are all less than 1 after 2002, which show the reduction of these pollutants are above China average level, we should still be aware for the massive emissions of these pollutants. To balance economic development, energy saving as well as pollutants reduction, Shandong is faced with huge pressure.


Regulations in the pre-Sarbanes–Oxley era allowed corporate insiders considerable flexibility in timing their trades and engaging in stealth trading, for example, by executing several trades and reporting them jointly after the last trade. We document that even these lax reporting requirements were frequently violated and stealth trading was common. Event study abnormal returns are larger after reports of stealth trades than after reports of otherwise similar non-stealth trades. Our results imply that delayed reporting impedes the adjustment of prices to the information revealed by insider trades. They lend strong support to the more stringent reporting requirements established by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act.


Based on the partial derivative of working space function, define the integral field of serial mechanism and parallel mechanism and serial-parallel mechanism respectively, judge conditions of singularityity including dead point and limit point with one and two and three input parameters obtained. Define the coupling degree of each input variable of mechanism use the second-order partial derivative of working space function, decoupling property between input variable identified by judging the coupling degree equal zero or not. Based on the realtionship between working space function and input variables, as well as relationship between input variables and time, three new index to weigh the kinematical properties of mechanism defined, positioning accuracy influence factor and dynamic response influence factor and sensitivity influencefactor included, its physical meaning and computation process presented as well, new direction provided for the research of kinematical properties of mechanism.


This project entitled "Comparative analysis of advanced Face Recognition Techniques", it is based on fuzzy c means clustering and associated sub neural network. It deals with the face is a complex multidimensional visual model and developing a computational model for face recognition is difficult. In this paper, it represents a method for face recognition base on similar neural networks. Neural networks (NNs) have been widely used in various fields. However, the computing effectiveness decreases rapidly if the scale of the NN increases. In this paper, a new method of face recognition based on fuzzy clustering and parallel NNs is proposed. The face patterns are divided into several small-scale neural networks based on fuzzy clustering and they are combine to obtain the recognition result. The facial feature vector was compared by PCA and LDA methods. In particular, the proposed method achieved 98.75% recognition accuracy for 240 patterns of 20 registrants and a 99.58% rejection rate for 240 patterns of 20 nonregistrants. Experimental results show that the performance of our new face-recognition method is better than those of the LDA based face recognition system.


The 2005 World Summit was announced as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the United Nations so as to provide it with the institutional and policy tools needed to meet the challenges and threats to peace and security in contemporary world. But the Summit was also meant to be a crucial test for the EU common foreign policy and for the state of transatlantic relations. As a matter of fact the success of any UN Reform could be hardly envisaged without the capacity of EU Member States to advance common and consensus-gathering positions andwithout bridging the gap between US and EU strategic visions on multilateralism and global governance. In order to discuss whether in New York an historic occasion has been seized or rather lost, a group of distinguished scholars and high level diplomats was convened in Florence at the joint invitation of IAI, EUI and UNICRI in the aftermath of the World Summit. This Working Paper reports the debate held at the international conference and offers a first assessment of the main outcomes of the Summit while drawing the future perspectives of the UN reform process. It is submitted that the Summit has fallen short of the historical UN reform the Secretary General had hoped for, but nonetheless it records some positive advancements. This is especially the case of those issues where a transatlantic agreement was reached, such as the decision to establish a Peace Building Commission for post-conflict reconstruction, the establishment of a Human Right Council and of a Democracy Fund to strengthen the countries' capacity to implement the principles of democracy and the express endorsement of the newguiding concept of responsibility to protect the victims of severe violations of human rights.In other fields, achievements have to be measured against the ambiguity of the final text and room is left to further negotiations. For instance, the key concept of human security, which have been launched in the Report of the High Level Panel's on Threats, Challenges and Changes (A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility), is endorsed but watered down to some very generic statement and a clear commitment to discuss further the notion in the General Assembly. Similarly, the historic decision to set up a new Human Right Council fails in addressing all the relevant features of the new organ (compositions, status, powers and relationship with existing organs and procedures) which are left to further negotiations in the General Assembly. A final evaluation remains therefore controversial. Lack of progress has to be recorded in core policy areas. In the field of development and environment the outcome document simply restates principles and commitments already affirmed. In the field of peace and security, no significant progresses were made in providing a global framework to combat terrorism nor specific commitments on disarmament and non-proliferation were assumed. In the highly-politicised issue of Security Council Reform, the division among EU member states did not help to reach a compromise solution. However, as a test for the EU capacity to act jointly and effectively on the international level, the World Summit has yielded positive results. The EU member States succeeded in putting their political weight behind a proactive attitude throughout the process, in pursuit of a number of clear objectives. On many issues, Europe may take the lead of the reform process, building on its own experience in promoting a lasting peace, protecting human rights and fostering development. Its commitment to an effective multilateralism attempts to promote a successful global governance without yielding to the temptation of unilateral drifts. No matter how determined and powerful, a single State or group of virtuous States cannot face the threats and challenges of a global world alone. In its endless opposition to unilateralism, multilateralism is mandated by the need for an effective global governance. For many, respect – and maybe with the exception of the field of global economic governance – the UN remains a viable and irreplaceable institution. In this regard, the foremost achievement of the World Summit is precisely the fact that all the members of the UN have restated the central role of the Organization in providing global governance and have committed themselves to strengthening its effectiveness.


This paper analyzes the impact of the definition of part-time sick leave (PTSL) when analyzing the effect of PTSL on employees' probability to fully recover lost work capacity. Using a random sample of 3,607 employees, we estimate an econometric model that aims to answer the hypothetical question of what happens to an employee who has lost his/her work capacity if he/she instead of continuing to be sicklisted full time starts working some hours. The estimated treatment parameters vary across definitions, yet all results show that, regardless of the timing of the intervention, PTSL had a positive effect on the probability of full recovery of lost work capacity one year after the spell started. Moreover, the most attractive definition shows the highest impact: About 48% of those with a reduced degree of sick leave from full time to part time during the spell were recovered about one year after the spell started, and only about 6% of them would have been better off had they remained on full-time.


The changing shape of sustainability governance has been a key academic and policy concern in the past two decades, as part of a wider debate on the interactions between public and private authority in governing the economy, society, and the environment. In this article, we contribute to these debates by examining how these interactions operate locally and across jurisdictions in three conservation and development initiatives in Tanzania and what impact they have on the functional quality of sustainability governance. We fi nd that clear division of responsibilities, coupled with material incentives for communities and equal and transparent distribution of bene fi ts, are key positive contributors to functional quality. These factors underpin the complementary interactions (collaborative at the local level; institutional layering across jurisdictions) that are needed to successfully negotiate and implement the compromises needed to balance conservation and development goals. We also fi nd that competitive dynamics are harmful to functional quality, especially those taking the form of local institutional duplication and of dominance by central government across jurisdictions. These tend to appear especially when sustainability initiatives involve multiple stakeholders with wide discrepancies in resources, interests, and power, which leads to compromises determined in a top-down manner.


As an important clean energy source, the scale and quantity of wind power have steadily increased under the background of global change. The construction and operation of wind power facilities have massive impacts on grassland microclimates. However, the effect of wind power operation on the plant community composition is still unclear. To investigate this issue, we selected wind farms in 6 meadow grasslands and 6 typical steppes in the central region of Inner Mongolia, the province with the largest scale of grassland wind power operations in China. At these sites, we conducted field sample surveys to obtain species information, measure plant biomass, calculate plant diversity, and take soil samples to determine soil nutrients. The results showed that wind power operation significantly reduced the dominance of
 Poaceae
 and
 Cyperaceae
 plants in both types of grasslands and significantly increased the Shannon diversity of meadow grasslands. The inconsistent responses at each experimental site led to a nonsignificant overall effect of wind power operation on the plant beta diversity. In addition, wind power operation significantly increased plant biomass in meadow grasslands. Wind power operation did not change the soil total carbon, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, or nitrate nitrogen. On the basis of the results, we suggest strengthening the long-term monitoring of temperate grassland plant community composition in wind farms, and replanting of community-building species could be done at appropriate times.


The trend in the electric power system is to move towards increased amounts of distributed resources which suggests a transition from the current highly centralized to a more distributed control structure. In this paper, we propose a method which enables a fully distributed solution of the DC Optimal Power Flow problem (DC-OPF), i.e. the generation settings which minimize cost while supplying the load and ensuring that all line flows are below their limits are determined in a distributed fashion. The approach consists of a distributed procedure that aims at solving the first order optimality conditions in which individual bus optimization variables are iteratively updated through simple local computations and information is exchanged with neighboring entities. In particular, the update for a specific bus consists of a term which takes into account the coupling between the neighboring Lagrange multiplier variables and a local innovation term that enforces the demand/supply balance. The buses exchange information on the current update of their multipliers and the bus angle with their neighboring buses. An analytical proof is given that the proposed method converges to the optimal solution of the DC-OPF. Also, the performance is evaluated using the IEEE Reliability Test System as a test case.


RAPE IN PRISON: A HIDDEN EPIDEMIC by Mark L. Wefers University of New Hampshire, December, 2011 America's prisons are filled. The war on crime has created a bulging prison system. Inside the jails and prisons, crime especially rape occurs every day. Traditionally, the rape of prisoners in the American prison system was either ignored or the subject of bad jokes. Recently, serious inquiry has begun into the incidence of sexual assault behind prison walls. This study examines prison rape. Using data generated as a result of the Prison Rape Elimination Act, along with statistics from national databases and testimony from victims of prison rape and their advocates, this study suggests that the incidence of rape in prison in this country is significantly higher than the occurrence of sexual assault on the street; that prison rapists and victims are not defined by gender; that prison rape can be a serial crime; and that this epidemic has profound and enduring consequences for its victims and society.


The commercial cultivation of highbush blueberry in Latvia was successfully started during the last 20 years. In 2018, there was an estimated 280 ha of highbush blueberries planted in Latvia with increasing annual hectarage. In general, blueberry is a highly specialized crop that has definite soil agrochemical and climatic requirements: it has low nutrient needs and is sensitive to excessive nutrient levels in the soil. However, balanced and precise mineral nutrition is essential for producing high and quality yield. The study was conducted in the producing planting of highbush blueberry, cultivar 'Patriot', during the vegetation season of 2018. The research was carried out to determine the effect of foliar fertilization with micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mo, B) on the productivity, the content of mineral elements in leaves and photosynthesis of blueberries. Field experiment design included foliar fertilizer treatments 0 to 3 times per season. In general, our results revealed that foliar sprays with micronutrients had a positive effect on the berry yield, parameters of photosynthesis and microelement content in leaves of highbush blueberry. It was determined that the application of the foliar fertilizer 4 times per season provided the highest berry yield (134% compared to control) and the highest photosynthetic activity of plants. Our study suggests that correct foliar fertilization can optimize the content of Fe, Zn and B in blueberry leaves.


There has been growing awareness and debate across the research community that standalone stated preference experiments may tend to provide biased willingness to pay estimates as a result of the so called "focus effect". As a result, researchers have come up with alternative ways of mitigating this which include "masking" and "packaging" approaches. In masking, the subject of interest is made part of a broader subject and respondents are slowly made aware of and drawn to the subject before the regular SP experiment(s). The idea here is that a "truer" value is obtained through having the issue under review explored in its broader context. However, this can then lead to another issue which concerns the appropriate evaluation of a range of issues when there are two or more stated preference exercises involved. The concern here is that if price is included in both (or more) exercises then the monetary valuations obtained from each exercise will potentially be derived as if those were the only issues being explored and valued. If the respondent had known, it is argued, that there were more issues to evaluate then s/he might have responded differently and "held back" some monetary resource. A key methodology to help counteract this has become known as the packaging approach whereby an additional SP experiment is carried out to scale across the different stated preference exercises. The approach works by showing packages of improvements from the so called "lower level" exercises where all the attributes are either, for instance, "on" or "off". The estimates of the packs are then used to factor the individual estimates from the regular lower level experiments. There is, however, no clear indication on how this package is to be dealt with. One approach is to use at least one variable as a common variable (generally the cost variable) across all the stated preference experiments (regular and package) and use it as linking variable in the analysis. The disadvantage of this approach is that the exercises are overloaded unnecessarily with repetitions of the common variable. This has significance when dealing with a large number of attributes that are divided into multiple SP experiments. On the other hand, some practitioners feel uneasy if price only gets included at the overall package level. This paper presents the results from experiments designed to test the effectiveness and potential differences of the package experiment being conducted with and without the linking variable.


In a previously published multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled trial of more than 500 intensive care unit patients involved in conflicts over treatment decisions, ethics consultations were found to be helpful in resolving the conflicts and reducing nonbeneficial treatments. The intervention received favorable reviews by 80% of patient surrogates and more than 90% of physicians and nurses. Nevertheless, several participants in the ethics consultation process expressed dissatisfactions with the intervention. In this paper, we report our efforts to determine the factors associated with these negative responses in hopes that we might provide insights of future use to ethics consultants.We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Jeffrey Blustein, Kathleen B. Briggs, Ronald Cranford, Glen I. Komatsu, and Ernle W.D. Young to the original randomized controlled trial phase of this research. Grant support came from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 1 R01 HS10251.


Nonpharmacological interventions are important in providing care for Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. However, there is limited evidence related to their impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We aimed to examine the effectiveness of nonpharmacological interventions for improving the HRQOL of PD patients. Articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to 2015 were searched through electronic searching, computerized author searching, and footnote chasing. A meta-analysis was performed using the RevMan 5.3 program. Overall, effect size for the studies (n = 18) was −4.17 with 95% confidence interval (CI) from −7.63 to −0.70 (Z = 2.36, p = .02), indicating positive effects of nonpharmacological interventions on HRQOL. In subgroup analysis regarding the intervention types, the effect size of exercise programs was −5.73 with 95% CI of −11.36 to −0.10 (Z = 2.00, p = .05). Thus, nonpharmacological interventions, and particularly exercise programs, were effective in improving the HRQOL of PD patients.


Session-based remote management systems, e.g., customer premises equipment (CPE) WAN management protocol (CWMP), have predictable task counts in a session and each CPE only accesses its own data. When the systems are used in large-scale environments, a static load balancing (LB) policy can be applied with fewer session migrations. Nevertheless, unexpected crash events, e.g., software bugs or improper management, would cause the LB policy to be reassigned so as to degrade the system performance. A self-learning predictor (SLP) is thus proposed in this work to predict unexpected crash events and to achieve a better system performance in terms of resource usage and throughput. Specifically, the SLP records and monitors all crash patterns to evaluate the system stability. Moreover, the relation flags and probabilities of all crash patterns are dynamically updated for quick comparisons. If the SLP finds the current pattern is similar to a crash pattern, a migration request is raised to the load balancer to prevent performance degradation caused by the incoming crash. The simulation results indicate that a better system performance is obtained in a large-scale environment with the proposed SLP, especially as the number of servers in each cluster node increases.


BACKGROUND
Interleukin (IL)-10 is a pleiotropic cytokine released from various cells, including T cells. Although IL-10 is suggested to inhibit allergic responses, its role in asthma remains uncertain. The purpose of the present study was to compare the profile of IL-10 in circulating T cells from stable atopic asthmatics, atopic nonasthmatics and healthy controls.

METHODS
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated, stained with anti-CD3 and CD4/CD8 antibodies, and then processed for intracellular IL-10 detection by flow cytometry.

RESULTS
A kinetic study in healthy controls showed that stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and ionomycin significantly increased the frequencies of IL-10-producing CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells. Without stimulation, the frequencies of IL-10-producing CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+cells were significantly higher in asthmatics than in healthy controls, while a similar trend was observed in atopic nonasthmatics. Stimulation for 24 h significantly increased IL-10-producing CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+cells in healthy controls and atopic nonasthmatics, but not in asthmatics.

CONCLUSIONS
The frequency of IL-10-producing T cells is increased in the circulation of stable atopic asthmatics compared with normal controls. The lack of enhancement in their frequency by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and ionomycin in asthmatics suggests that the circulating T cells of asthmatic subjects are maximally stimulated with regards to IL-10 production; alternatively, IL-10 production by T cells from asthmatics may be regulated differently than T cells from other subjects.


A novel concept of two-step austempering in a magnetic field has been conceived by this investigator. This twostep process involves first quenching the alloy to a lower temperature after austenitizing and then immediately rising the temperature of the quenching media to a higher temperature and the whole austempering process is carried out in the presence of a high magnetic field. In this investigation, Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) was processed by this novel two-step austempering process in a high magnetic field of 20 Tesla. The microstructure and the mechanical properties of the ADI processed in a magnetic field has been characterized and compared with ADI processed by conventional process. The results of this investigation indicate significant improvement in the mechanical properties of ADI when Austempered in a high magnetic field. Both yield and tensile strengths were higher in the samples processed in the presence of a magnetic field. Very fine grain ferrite and austenite was obtained in the microstructure. The ferrite content was also significantly higher.


A detailed review of records and documentation considered more than 100 technology evaluations performed in conjunction with coverage decisions by the Medicare program and by a major Blue Cross/blue Shield plan. Medicare evaluations were highly structured, synthesizing thorough literature reviews, recommendations from the National Institutes of Health and other governmental agencies, and information solicited from medical specialty societies and independent practitioners; however, the material supplied by nongovernmental sources seldom influenced the coverage recommendations. In contrast, the Blue plan's evaluations were based largely on presentations and discussions at advisory committee meetings, after receiving informational inputs that were more limited than those used in Medicare evaluations. The fraction of technologies recommended for coverage was slightly over 50% for each carrier. If information was strongly positive about either a technology's safety, its effectiveness, or both, then coverage was nearly always recommended. Still, the carriers differed significantly in the stage of development of the practices evaluated and in their willingness to make a coverage decision in the face of both safety and effectiveness data that were regarded as tentative. Because coverage decisions, and the speed with which they are conducted, may be crucial to the rate of a technology's diffusion--and possibly even to the rate of innovation--the authors conclude that it is important to understand clearly the process by which this type of technology assessment is performed.


Probably the one pianistic skill most desired by those who have studied piano or plan to study piano is the ability to sightread. This need and desire for sightreading skill is ably discussed in the opening chapter of Mr. Laurence's book. Despite the many books and articles written on the necessity of establishing good sightreading habits, many piano teachers continue to disregard their importance. The reasons may include lack of time at the private lesson or lack of knowledge of how to go about the actual teaching of the necessary habits to be established. The author of this book contends that the majority of piano teachers have concentrated upon the hands, the ears, and the mind, but have overlooked the eyes. With this in mind, he thoroughly explains and discusses adequate training in vertical reading combined with horizontal reading. The book has two main sections, the first being a detailed study of this particular aspect of reading. Results of actual surveys and experiments in remedial reading made by the author are included. This section closes with a discussion of the necessity for developing certain primary skills as a prerequisite to good sightreading. Since the author emphasizes the need for developing these fundamental skills "until they become second nature" before one can begin to work at the specific drills suggested, it might have been better to have preceded the the discussion of vertical reading with this excellent


ABSTRACT Background: High quality tertiary teaching is important for maximising the impact of tertiary education for students, employers and society, as well as for institutional reputation and accountability. Varied interpretations exist regarding what counts as 'innovative' tertiary teaching. Purpose: This study sought to explore the deeper drivers of motivations of tertiary educators to initiate and implement teaching innovations. Method: Drawing from the data from semi-structured interviews from a wider study into innovative teaching in a tertiary education institution in Aotearoa New Zealand, we analysed the rationale of 13 expert tertiary educators for teaching in novel ways. The framework for analysis was based on Self-Determination Theory: data were analysed in relation to three basic psychological needs known to impact on motivation and wellbeing – competence, autonomy and relatedness. Findings: Our analysis suggests that tertiary educator motivation to innovate in their teaching is related to feelings of all three needs. Findings suggest that innovative pedagogical change was linked to educators' need for feelings of competence in relation to subject area content, pedagogy and developing student competence. Enhancing autonomy for the educators themselves, or for their students, was also an important factor motivating innovative practice. Developing relatedness between students, between themselves and students, and between students and society were reported as motivations for innovative teaching. Some teaching innovations were motivated by the educator's desire for greater personal or student wellbeing. Conclusions Educators' motivations for being innovative in their tertiary pedagogical practice encompassed content, pedagogical, personal and social dimensions. None reported that their innovation was motivated by institutional policy or expectations. The reported challenges to innovative teaching practice, including institutional structures and processes, lack of access to specific technologies, and the time needed to develop and implement changed practice, indicate that educators must be strongly committed to making change in their practice to sustain the effort required.


An investigation was carried out using 43 rice genotypes including 30 hybrids and 13 parents for grain yield and kernel characters to understand the association among yield components and their direct and indirect influence on the grain yield. Analysis of variance revealed considerable variability among the genotypes for all the characters. The correlation analysis indicated that grain yield was significantly associated with number of productive tillers per plant, kernel breadth, hundred grain weight and number of filled grains per panicle. Results of path-coefficient analysis revealed that days to 50% flowering had the highest positive direct effect on grain yield followed by panicle length, kernel L/B ratio, hulling percentage and number of productive tillers per plant. Hence, selection based on these traits could help to bring simultaneous improvement of yield, yield attributes and kernel characters.


The poor results of conventional total hip replacement in young and active patients have led to a renewed interest in alternative interventions and bearing material combinations. Con-temporary metal-on-metal resurfacing of the hip has emerged as an attractive option. This procedure utilises a low wear producing bearing which minimises the risk of periprosthetic osteolysis, preserves femoral bone stock should subsequent procedures become necessary, and, due to the increased stability and range of motion, allows the rapid resumption of an active lifestyle. We describe the development of the DuromTM metal-on-metal hip resurfacing and report the preliminary results of the first 100 consecutive cases.


The study purposes to investigate the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in Turkey using annual data covering the period 1990–2014. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is applied and the findings suggest existence of a long run relationship among the variables. The ARDL long run estimation results discovered that renewable energy consumption has a positive and significant effect on economic growth. The results from the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) reveals that there is a unidirectional causality flowing from economic growth to renewable energy consumption without feedback. This findings bring a fresh perspective for policy makers for long run and sustainable economic development in Turkey.


Rhizosphere microbial communities are important for phytoremediation, plant nutrition, health and
metabolism. Many factors, including plant species, pH and nutritional factors influence rhizosphere micro-
biology. In this study, we analysed the effects of different forms of nitrogen on the structures of rhizosphere
microbial communities of E. crassipes. Using a conventional culture method with special media, bacteria, acti-
nobacteria and molds were cultured. We found that the numbers of bacteria were largely similar across the three
culture conditions, while the numbers of actinobacteria and molds from the rhizosphere of E. crassipes cultured
in NH4Cl solution were two orders of magnitude higher than those from the rhizospheres of plants cultured in
distilled water and KNO3 solution. Using a culture-independent method of polymerase chain reaction-denaturing
gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) of 16S rDNA, we found that the form of nitrogen could influence the
components of the rhizosphere microbial community. Pseudoxanthomonas, Enterobacter and Citrobacter were
present in all of the samples cultured under the three different experimental conditions. The genus Reyranella
was found only in samples cultured in KNO(3) solution; Acinetobacter and Streptomyces were unique to samples
cultured in NH(4)Cl solution, and Pseudomonas, Pseudacidovorax and Methylosinus were found only in samples
cultured in distilled water. Pseudoxanthomonas and Acidovorax were the dominant genera in the rhizosphere
microbial community of E. crassipes cultured in KNO(3) solution, while Novosphingobium was the dominant
genus in the sample cultured in a nitrogen-deficient medium. Our results provide a theoretical foundation for
using E. crassipes as a phytoremediation plant and controlling the widespread distribution of E. crassipes around
the world using principles of nutrient metabolism.


Lightweight convolutional neural networks (e.g., MobileNets) are specifically designed to carry out inference directly on mobile devices. Among the various lightweight models, depthwise convolution (DWConv) and pointwise convolution (PWConv) are their key operations. In this paper, we observe that the existing implementations of DWConv and PWConv are not well utilizing the ARM processors in the mobile devices, and exhibit lots of cache misses under multi-core and poor data reuse at register level. We propose techniques to re-optimize the implementations of DWConv and PWConv based on ARM architecture. Experimental results show that our implementation can respectively achieve a speedup of up to 5.5× and 2.1× against TVM (Chen et al. 2018) on DWConv and PWConv.


Abstract : Very little published evidence exists about the impact of the Capability Maturity ModeiSm (CMM) or CMM-based appraisals on subsequent software process improvement and organizational performance. A few credible case studies do exist, but it is uncertain how widely their results apply. We present evidence here from a much broader cross section of software organizations. Our results suggest that process maturity does indeed pay off in better product quality, ability to meet schedule commitments, and other indicators of organizational performance. The vast majority of survey respondents also report that their appraisals proved to be highly accurate and useful in guiding their subsequent process improvement efforts. Not all organizations have been equally successful, however, and improvement often takes longer and costs more than expected. We identify several factors, most of them under management control, that distinguish more successful from less successful organizations.


We often enjoy the benefits of connecting with nearby, domesticated nature -- a city park, a backyard garden. But this book makes the provocative case for the necessity of connecting with wild nature -- untamed, unmanaged, not encompassed, self-organizing, and unencumbered and unmediated by technological artifice. We can love the wild. We can fear it. We are strengthened and nurtured by it. As a species, we came of age in a natural world far wilder than today's, and much of the need for wildness still exists within us, body and mind. The Rediscovery of the Wild considers ways to engage with the wild, protect it, and recover it -- for our psychological and physical well-being and to flourish as a species. The contributors offer a range of perspectives on the wild, discussing such topics as the evolutionary underpinnings of our need for the wild; the wild within, including the primal passions of sexuality and aggression; birding as a portal to wildness; children's fascination with wild animals; wildness and psychological healing; the shifting baseline of what we consider wild; and the true work of conservation.


: A rationale is presented for a hearing aid prescription. Once the choice of ear(s) to be fitted is determined and whether air or bone conduction fitting is appropriate, output and gain-frequency response characteristics are prescribed on the basis of audiometric test data. The specific prescription data for ouptut are based on uncomfortable loudness levels, and gain-frequency response data are based on a formula that was determined by imposing typical speech parameters over a given hearing loss. A hearing aid prescription is not only intended to predict amplification needs but, just as important, it also provides a method for testing the results of those predictions.


This paper addresses a scenario where a smart environment drives a proactive robot to motivate the elderly in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The robot is in charge to trigger a vocal interaction with the person by proposing a suggestion that is polite and persuasive. We focus on the representation of sentences based on some attributes and, through spatial and temporal reasoning, we classify them over time. In an ontology, attributes are used to classify sentences and decide if the robot should start an interaction, and with which sentence. We present a preliminary implementation of the system, and we show that it is suitable for undertaking an iterative development process guided by domain experts toward a polite and persuasive virtual coaching.


Spiking neural networks (SNNs) that mimic information transmission in the brain can energy-efficiently process spatio-temporal information through discrete and sparse spikes, thereby receiving considerable attention. To improve accuracy and energy efficiency of SNNs, most previous studies have focused solely on training methods, and the effect of architecture has rarely been studied. We investigate the design choices used in the previous studies in terms of the accuracy and number of spikes and figure out that they are not best-suited for SNNs. To further improve the accuracy and reduce the spikes generated by SNNs, we propose a spike-aware neural architecture search framework called AutoSNN. We define a search space consisting of architectures without undesirable design choices. To enable the spike-aware architecture search, we introduce a fitness that considers both the accuracy and number of spikes. AutoSNN successfully searches for SNN architectures that outperform hand-crafted SNNs in accuracy and energy efficiency. We thoroughly demonstrate the effectiveness of AutoSNN on various datasets including neuromorphic datasets.


This research guide organizes Shapiro Library resources covering an extensive body of leadership literature to examine the critical role ethics plays in leadership.


depict what three historians (Abbot, Morgan. and Wood) believe to be the lasting "linagcs of the Man." tiiggcnbothani points out that each essay "clcals with ii challenge that Washington faced iind overcame" (8). These challenges includccl cnhancing his family's accomplishments, especially by his military prowess, freeing Iiiirisell liom serious indebtedness, continuing his lifelong renovations of Mt. Vernon, arid manumitting his slavcs in his will. More ftumiliar and very important were the challcriges successfully met as commanderin-chief of the revolutionary army and as prcsidcnt. Of particular importance to the nation's future werc Washington's commitmcnts to civilian control of the military, to incorporation of western lands on an equal looling with seaboard states, to ratification of the Constitution, and to the establishment of lasting precedents for the executive branch. Wxhington also prcserved thousands of manuscripts tor historians t o evaluate. (;coI;se Washington Reconsidcued is the first anthology of recent scholarship in over three decades that grapples with our most well known but somewhat unknowable founding I'alher. I t is ii valuable contribution for students of the revolutionary era to ponder.


A recent clinical study found that diagnosing and classifying thoracolumbar fractures using a portable smartphone is as reliable as using a workstation-based picture archiving communication system (PACS) (1). This reliability is comparable to studies of reliability based on the use of PACS work-stations only (2). Substantial agreement for the AO and the Denis classifications was found. The AOspine thoracolumbar spine Injury classification system (AO-TLICS) strongly influences management, with fractures scoring more than five points considered surgical candidates (3); fractures classified as B2 fractures would score 6 points, B3 score 7 points, and C score 8 points ( Figure 1 ). Unsurprisingly, a statistical correlation is seen between the agreement of fracture management and the grading of fracture severity using the AO-TLICS quantification score.


Abstract To explain why English compounds generally avoid internal inflectional suffixation (e.g., key-chain rather than keys-chain), linguists have often invoked the Level Ordering Hypothesis, that is, that particular types of morphology, in this case inflectional suffixation, are derivationally ordered after compounding. However, a broad range of counter-examples and conceptual objections to Level Ordering have emerged. We propose an alternative account, based on the observation that certain English inflectional suffixes are more perceptible than others (-ing > -s > -ed), and that these suffixes are less crucial to lexical access and recovery of meaning than corresponding root-final segments. This proposal was tested in perception and production experiments. In the perception experiment, compounds with a nonsense word as modifier (e.g., dacks van, dacked van) were auditorily presented to native English speakers, who were asked to spell what they heard. The participants omitted significantly more -ed than -s or -ing. In the production experiment, native English speakers read these compounds. The speakers dropped significantly more -ed than -s or -ing. Furthermore, they dropped more of these sounds when they were spelled as affixes than as part of the root (e.g., dacked van vs. dact van). These results suggest that English speakers' avoidance or inclusion of inflection in compounds is based not on Level Ordering but on perceptibility, as well as the status of the consonant as an affix. We further present a formal analysis capturing these factors in terms of Steriade's Licensing-by-Cue proposal.


A rack on $[n]$ can be thought of as a set of maps $(f_x)_{x \in [n]}$, where each $f_x$ is a permutation of $[n]$ such that $f_{(x)f_y} = f_y^{-1}f_xf_y$ for all $x$ and $y$. In 2013, Blackburn showed that the number of isomorphism classes of racks on $[n]$ is at least $2^{(1/4 - o(1))n^2}$ and at most $2^{(c + o(1))n^2}$, where $c \approx 1.557$; in this paper we improve the upper bound to $2^{(1/4 + o(1))n^2}$, matching the lower bound. The proof involves considering racks as loopless, edge-coloured directed multigraphs on $[n]$, where we have an edge of colour $y$ between $x$ and $z$ if and only if $(x)f_y = z$, and applying various combinatorial tools.


The Shuibuya Dam is the highest concrete faced rockfill dam (the height is 233m) in the world. The dam site is located in Enshi Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei province, china. The reservoir level is a maximum of 400m. When the dam was partially completed, water impoundment was started. On May 10, 2007, when the reservoir level achieved at 289m, a landslide located on the bank of Modao-he River moved rapidly, a tributary of the Qingjiang River. 14 houses collapsed and moved into the river, but nobody was killed due to timely geological prediction. For the purposes of landslide disaster mitigation in the reservoir areas and identification of landslide movement and deformation caused by the change of reservoir level, some researches were conducted, such as geological exploration, some soil tests and numerical simulation and monitoring system. In this paper, the causes of landslides and slope failure mechanism and the stability of slope were simulated by using DDA method and FLAC3D for the different reservoir's level.


Soybean isoflavones (genistin, daidzin, glycitin, and their malonyl forms and aglucons) are thought to be responsible for the astringent taste of soyfoods. Generally, HPLC with a methanol and water elution gradient is used for isoflavone quantification, but capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has been used more recently to separate several flavonoids in plant extracts. We present the results of CZE analysis of isoflavones in soybean extracts. Conditions for separation by using CZE were optimized for analysis of soybean isoflavones. We compared the results of extraction at different temperatures and with different compositions of solvent. Total extraction of isoflavones was not affected by temperature but was affected by composition of the solvent. Malonyl forms of isoflavones were thermally unstable. We analyzed the isoflavone content of different varieties of soybean seeds sown on different dates. Total isoflavone content varied among different varieties and with sowing dates. Interactions between the variety and the sowing date also affected isoflavone composition. We conclude that the variety of soybean seed and environmental growing conditions, such as sowing date, can contribute to seed quality by reducing its isoflavone content, modifying its isoflavone composition, or both.


AIMS
To assess the absolute bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and metabolism of beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) in man following intravenous, oral, intranasal and inhaled administration.

METHODS
Twelve healthy subjects participated in this seven-way cross-over study where BDP was administered via the following routes: intravenous infusion (1000 microg), oral (4000 microg, aqueous suspension), intranasal (1344 microg, aqueous nasal spray) and inhaled (1000 microg ex-valve, metered dose inhaler). The contribution of the lung, nose and gut to the systemic exposure was assessed by repeating the inhaled, intranasal and oral dosing arms together with activated charcoal, to block oral absorption. Blood samples were collected for 24 h postdose for the measurement of BDP, beclomethasone-17-monopropionate (B-17-MP) and beclomethasone (BOH) in plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTS
Intravenous administration of BDP (mean CL 150 l h-1, Vss 20 l, t(1/2) 0.5 h) was associated with rapid conversion to B-17-MP which was eliminated more slowly (t1/2 2.7 h). In estimating the parameters for B-17-MP (mean CL 120 l h-1, Vss 424 l) complete conversion of BDP to B-17-MP was assumed. The resultant plasma concentrations of BOH were low and transient. BDP was not detected in plasma following oral or intranasal dosing. The mean absolute bioavailability (%F, 90% CI; nominal doses) of inhaled BDP was 2% (1-4%) and not reduced by coadministration of charcoal. The mean percentage F of the active metabolite B-17-MP was 41% (31-54%), 44% (34-58%) and 62% (47-82%) for oral, intranasal and inhaled dosing without charcoal, respectively. The corresponding estimates of nasal and lung absorption, based on the coadministration of charcoal, were < 1% and 36% (27-47%), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Unchanged BDP has negligible oral and intranasal bioavailability with limited absorption following inhaled dosing due to extensive (95%) presystemic conversion of BDP to B-17-MP in the lung. The oral and intranasal bioavailabilities of the active metabolite B-17-MP were high and similar, but direct absorption in the nose was insignificant. The total inhaled bioavailability of B-17-MP (lung + oral) was also high (62%) and approximately 36% of this was due to pulmonary absorption. Estimates of oral bioavailability and pulmonary deposition based on total BOH were approximately half those found for B-17-MP.


Over the last decade, it has been noticed that microbial pathogens and pests deliver small RNA (sRNA) effectors into their host plants to manipulate plant physiology and immunity for infection, known as cross kingdom RNA interference. In this process, fungal and oomycete parasite sRNAs hijack the plant ARGONAUTE (AGO)/RNA-induced silencing complex to post-transcriptionally silence host target genes. We hereby describe the methodological details of how we recovered cross kingdom sRNA effectors of the oomycete pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis during infection of its host plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This Bio-protocol contains two parts: first, a detailed description on the procedure of plant AGO/sRNA co-immunopurification and sRNA recovery for Illumina high throughput sequencing analysis. Second, we explain how to perform bioinformatics analysis of sRNA sequence reads using a Galaxy server. In principle, this protocol is suitable to investigate AGO-bound sRNAs from diverse host plants and plant-interacting (micro)organisms.