*Corresponding Author: Muhammad Modi Lakulu Email: email@example.com Abstract: The researchers agreed on the potential of the mobile government as a new channel of communication between the government and citizens if the mobile government eliminates the traditional organizational structure of government, thus changing the way information is exchanged between them, and provide government services in a transparent manner at anytime and anywhere. For the education sector, mobile education initiatives must be successful in educational institutions must choose the appropriate technology in proportion to its infrastructure to conserve resources and reduce the stress of change. Therefore, this research seeks to present the most important factors of success explored by researchers in their studies, using different research methods in different countries, and trying to classify these factors from the perspective of the government and citizens. The methodology used in this research is to review the literature on the success of mobile government from a government perspective, in order to determine the success factors adopted by each study, and then categorize the success factors according to the degree of their impact on the successful implementation of the mobile government. The final stage is a model proposal for mobile government success.


The theory of pulse-coupled oscillators provides a framework to formulate and develop self-organizing synchronization strategies for wireless communications and mobile computing. These strategies show low complexity and are adaptive to changes in the network. Even though several protocols have been proposed and theoretical insight was gained there is no proof that guarantees synchronization of the oscillator phases in general dynamic coupling topologies under technological constraints. Here, we introduce a family of coupling strategies for pulse-coupled oscillators and prove that synchronization emerges for systems with arbitrary connected and dynamic topologies, individually changing signal propagation and processing delays, and stochastic pulse emission. It is shown by simulations how unreliable links or intentionally incomplete communication between oscillators can improve synchronization performance.


: Now that the neurotransmitter serotonin modulates the immune system cells, and its main sources for antigenpresenting cells and lymphocytes are enterochromaffin cells of the gut, peripheral nerves, platelets and mast cells in case of inflammation. Immune cells uptake serotonin because they express receptors for this monoamine and intracellular serotonin transporters. The dendritic cells have a mechanism to transfer serotonin to T lymphocytes during antigen presentation. The macrophages and T cells have the ability to serotonin synthesis. Serotonin can influence mobility and proliferation of lymphocytes, phagocytosis, cytolytic properties, synthesis of chemokines and cytokines. Diversity of immunomodulating effects of serotonin is determined by heterogeneity of serotoninergic receptors. Immunomodulating action of serotonin is evidence of the close relationship between nervous and immune systems.


textabstractThis article explores the investigative methods used by corporate security within organisations concerned about prop- erty misappropriation by their own staff and/or others. The research methods are qualitative: interviews, observations and case studies carried out between October 2012 and November 2015. The findings include that, even though corporate investigators do not have the formal investigative powers enjoyed by police and other public agencies, they do have multiple methods of investigation at their disposal, some of which are less used by public investigative agencies, for example the in-depth investigation of internal systems. Corporate investigators also rely heavily on interviews, the investigation of documentation and financial administration and the investigation of communication devices and open sources. However, there are many additional sources of information (for example, site visits or observations), which might be available to corporate investigators. The influences from people from different backgrounds, most notably (forensic) accountants, (former) police officers, private investigators and lawyers, together with the creativity that is necessary (and possible) when working without formal investigative powers, make corporate security a diverse field. It is argued that these factors contribute to a differentiation between public and private actors in the field of corporate security.


Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymer networks that are able to retain large amounts of water. They generally exhibit excellent biocompatibility and are accordingly of interest for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications such as systems for the controlled delivery of biologically active agents. Hydrogels are networks that can be physically crosslinked by non-covalent interactions and/or chemically crosslinked by covalent bonds. Both approaches have been used in recent years for the preparation of hydrogels that can be applied under physiological conditions. Of special interest are biodegradable injectable hydrogels, also called "in situ" forming hydrogels. These gels are formed at the injection site after the introduction of fluid precursors in a minimally invasive manner. "In situ" forming hydrogels offer several advantages over implantation of pre-shaped devices. There is no need for surgical procedures and their initially flowing nature ensures proper shape adaptation as well as a good fit with the surrounding tissue. Moreover, cells or biologically active agents can be easily incorporated in the injectable fluid.
Hydrogel based controlled drug delivery systems can potentially be used to address a number of issues that are encountered in conventional drug delivery, such as poor control of local or systemic drug concentration and the low solubility of many therapeutic agents in biological fluids. Most physically and chemically crosslinked biodegradable hydrogels that have been applied as controlled drug delivery systems are based on linear amphiphilic block copolymers of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and aliphatic polyesters. Star block copolymers offer various advantages over linear polymers, such as increased solubility in aqueous media and a higher concentration of functional end groups. Starting from an 8-armed PEG block we designed and explored different block copolymers composed of outer poly(lactide) (PLA) or poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) blocks, for the preparation of physically or chemically crosslinked injectable hydrogels. The gelation and hydrogel degradation mechanisms involved were investigated in detail and their potential as systems for the controlled delivery of biologically active agents was evaluated.


This paper examines the phenomenon of mathematics anxiety in contemporary college and university students. Forms of math anxiety range from moderate test anxiety to extreme anxiety including physiological symptoms such as nausea. For each of several types of math anxiety, one or more case studies is analyzed. Selected strategies for coping with math anxiety are included. Some students' own ideas are presented along with analysis from leading experts in the subject of math anxiety. ********** Math anxiety is an extremely common phenomenon among college and university students today. Steven G. Krantz describes an extreme form of this syndrome: "Math anxiety is an inability by an otherwise intelligent person to cope with quantification, and more generally, mathematics. Frequently the outward symptoms of math anxiety are physiological rather than psychological. When confronted with a math problem, the sufferer has sweaty palms, is nauseous, has heart palpitations, and experiences paralysis of thought ... this quick description does not begin to describe the torment ..." (Krantz, 1999). Of course, most college students don't experience this level of terror. Many do, however, suffer from the problem in some form or other. Approximately 85% of this author's students who take introductory mathematics classes claim to feel at least mild math anxiety, according to surveys administered during the first week of the semester. Most teachers of mathematics would agree that math anxiety stems primarily from students' fears of failure and feeling of inadequacy. In most cases, math anxiety is not extreme or overwhelming, yet it continues to haunt most students throughout their mathematical careers. Although no classification can be entirely precise, this paper will attempt to classify and analyze different classes of students affected by the syndrome. Perhaps the mildest variation of math anxiety is moderate test anxiety. Very frequently students report that they understand their mathematics class quite well during ordinary classes and while doing homework assignments, but panic and fail to realize their potential during exams. In one student's words, "I feel confident when the professor is reviewing ... I think to myself, 'I got this stuff, this is easy'. But when it comes to me taking the test, I somehow forget most of the concepts that I had known so well. This causes me to panic". Certainly the most common form of math anxiety is the moderate and intermittent variety found in a student who has mixed feelings towards the subject. A classic case is "Jason," who writes: "Throughout my mathematics experiences I have come to find that I have math anxiety. What I mean by this is that I am not thrilled about math and quite frankly it frustrates me. Don't get me wrong. I like math when I get the right answers but when I don't it's another story. Math is one of the most important things you can learn in life but the hard part is learning it and remembering it. All the formulas and methods to do different kinds of problems are mind boggling. I would have to say that the most frustrating thing about math is doing a long problem. A math problem that has many equations and answers which takes a long time such as a word problem. The worst is when you do everything right except one little part in the beginning and it messes up the whole problem." Often math anxiety starts at a young age. If a student has a single insensitive math teacher, that can create a recurring anxiety problem which may be difficult to overcome. Jessica is typical of a large number of students, in that she is haunted by memories of one particular mathematics class that she took long ago. Jessica describes her experience: "My math anxiety started because of a teacher that I had for math in the third grade. …


This paper explores the challenges posed by sex and gender for epidemiologists as they try to integrate sex and gender concerns into their work in more appropriate and effective ways. The first challenge is one of conceptual clarification with considerable confusion still surrounding the use of the terms sex and gender themselves. The second challenge is to develop a broader understanding of the links between biological sex and health. The third challenge is to create a more comprehensive understanding of the ways in which social gender shapes the health of both women and men. The fourth challenge is to ensure that all research designs are both sex and gender sensitive. And the final challenge is to find a strategy for integrating findings on both sex and gender into wider equality agendas. This paper will examine each of these challenges in turn.


This book describes methods for calculating magnetic resonance spectra which are observed in the presence of random processes. The emphasis is on the stochastic Liouville equation (SLE), developed mainly by Kubo and applied to magnetic resonance mostly by J.H. Freed and his co-workers. Following an introduction to the use of density matrices in magnetic resonance, a unified treatment of Bloch-Redfield relaxation theory and chemical exchange theory is presented. The SLE formalism is then developed and compared to the other relaxation theories. Methods for solving the SLE are explained in detail, and its application to a variety of problems in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is studied. In addition, experimental aspects relevant to the applications are discussed. Mathematical background material is given in appendices.


Applied mechanics is a branch of the physical sciences that describes the response of bodies (solids and fluids) or systems of bodies to external forces. It deals with the basic concepts of force, moment and its effects on the bodies at rest or in motion. It helps engineers or engineering students to understand how different bodies behave under the application of different types of loads. Mechanics can be broadly divided into two branches as called Statics and Dynamics. Statics deals with the bodies at rest whereas dynamics involves studies related to bodies in motion. In particular, the major emphasis of a dynamics course is to provide the details of the principles of applied mechanics or physics with the studies of motion of objects caused by forces or torques. It is an important course to develop a method of stripping a problem to its essentials and solving it in a logical, organized manner. In our institution, we offer a one-quarter long Dynamics class for Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) curriculum. This course teaches several topics of solving dynamics problems that belong to Kinematics in Rectilinear & Angular Motions, Plane Motion, Kinetics, Work & Energy, and Impulse & Momentum. This course is designed for the MET students, who are more "hands-on" and have mathematical knowledge up to Calculus II. However, the prerequisite of this course is Tech Statics, not Calculus II. On the other hand, the prerequisites of Tech Statics are Physics and Pre-Cal-II. Therefore, MET students enrolled in Dynamics course solve problems using algebra rather than using calculus. As a whole, this course becomes challenging to convey different concepts of dynamics to our students within 10 weeks' time frame. To facilitate the overall learning, the course instructors solve different interesting realistic dynamics problems, besides solving the conventional problems from the text book. Solving these realistic dynamics problem helps our students to enhance their conceptual understanding, and motivate them to pursue further in subsequent chapters. The paper presents in details several interesting problems related to different chapters and how they are linked to convey the targeted message related to course objectives. The paper also presents how different topics taught in this class fulfill the targeted course objectives, which are mapped with ABET Engineering Technology criteria. While a course in Dynamics could be a common offering in many universities, the authors of this paper presents the pedagogical approaches undertaken to successfully teach or implement the course objectives to the undergraduate engineering technology students.Copyright © 2016 by ASME


Urine specimens from 134 women with acute, uncomplicated urinary tract infection at three medical centers were examined by the antibody-coated bacteria (ACB) assay. Patients with negative assays (suggesting bladder infection alone) were randomized to receive either a single 3-g oral dose of amoxicillin trihydrate or conventional ten-day courses of sulfa-methoxazole-trimethoprim or oral ampicillin sodium. Comparable results were obtained with the three regimens for ACG-negative infection: 90% eradication of the original organism with single-dose amoxicillin, 100% with sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and 96% with ampicillin. The overall incidence of ACB positivity was 32.1%, ranging from 8% to 63% at the three institutions. This difference seemed to be related to the ease of access to medical care: women with easy access having low rates of ACB positivity and those with poor access having high rates.


Background: Eosinophilic bronchitis is a condition characterised by a corticosteroid responsive cough, sputum eosinophilia, and normal tests of variable airflow obstruction and airway responsiveness. We performed a detailed comparative immunopathological study to test the hypothesis that the different airway function in patients with eosinophilic bronchitis and asthma reflects differences in the nature of the lower airway inflammatory response. Methods: Exhaled nitric oxide was measured and induced sputum, bronchoscopy, bronchial wash (BW), bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and bronchial biopsy were performed in 16 subjects with eosinophilic bronchitis, 15 with asthma, and 14 normal controls. Results: Both eosinophilic bronchitis and asthma were characterised by an induced sputum, BW and BAL eosinophilia, an increased number of epithelial and subepithelial eosinophils, and increased reticular basement membrane thickness. The median concentration of exhaled nitric oxide was higher in those with eosinophilic bronchitis (12 ppb) or asthma (8.5 ppb) than normal controls (2 ppb) (95% CI of the difference 5 to 16, p<0.0001 and 2 to 11.3, p=0.004, respectively). There were no group differences in epithelial integrity or the number of subepithelial T lymphocytes, mast cells or macrophages. Conclusion: With the exception of our previously reported association of smooth muscle mast cell infiltration with asthma, the immunopathology of eosinophilic bronchitis and asthma are similar which suggests that eosinophilic airway inflammation, increased exhaled nitric oxide, and increased basement membrane thickening are regulated independently of airway hyperresponsiveness.


The time-time component of the gluon propagator in the Coulomb gauge is believed to provide a long-range confining force. We give the result, including finite parts, for the D00 propagator to order g2 in the Coulomb gauge.


Tenant of the House is the title of Wale Okediran's most recent novel. It is arguably the most popular of his ten or more novels to date, and it details in fictive form the corruption and political intrigue of the lower chamber of the Nigerian National Assembly, to which Okediran himself was a personal witness as a member of the chamber. Years before he became a tenant of the house, Okediran had fielded questions on his views on creative writing within the context of African literature.


Charles Dickens was a reformer who sought to reform economic conditions. Convinced that the reforms proposed by the economists of his day would not benefit those victimized by the Industrial Revolution, he also sought to reform economics. Dickens' prime targets were McCulloch, Malthus, and Nassau Senior. Reviewing Dickens's efforts at social reform, Chesterton made the distinction between pessimistic reformers, who describe how bad people are under bad conditions, and optimistic reformers, who describes how good people are under bad conditions. The author draws similar parallels between mainstream economists and social economists.


In order to reveal the nature of the stress corrosion of Ti theoretically, the a tomic cluster model of α-Ti and the crack formed by dislocation accumulation wa s set up. The electronic structure parameters (Fermi energy level, structure ene rgy, surface energy, cluster energy and environment-sensitive embedding energy) of α-Ti and the crack were calculated by using the recursion method. The calcul ated results show that the environment-sensitive embedding energy of H atoms in the region of crack is smaller than that in the perfect area of α-Ti, so H atom s are apt to segregate at the crack. The positive cluster energy of H atoms in t he region of the crack in Ti metal shows that H atoms can not form cluster and h ave the tendency of forming ordered phases (hydrides). When H atoms accumulate o n the surface of the crack, they reduce the surface energy of the crack, making the crack propagation easier. The Fermi energy of the tip of crack is higher th an that in other areas, so electrons move to the perfect region of α-Ti from th e tip of crack, leading to the formation of the potential difference between the crack tip and the perfect region of α-Ti, then the dissolution-corrosion proce ss of crack tip as anode occurs under the action of the electrolyte.


The design of the low power fully integrated frequency synthesizer for IEEE 802.15.4a standard is presented. This work focuses on the VCO and the programmable frequency divider designs; which are the tuning range, power consumption and the speed limitation blocks of the frequency synthesizer. A novel low power, wideband, load-independent VCO architecture is introduced. The key feature of the VCO is the LC tank which is isolated from external parasitic load. Further, a low power programmable frequency divider based on the triple modulus prescalers is proposed. The triple modulus prescaler realizes three modes (N/N±1) via the phase switching between the output signals of the master/slave ECL divide-by-two stage. The novel N-1 mode is achieved by modifying the phase selector control logic. In addition, the 50% duty cycle baseband clock is derived from the divider chain. The frequency of the baseband clock is equal to 499.2 MHz, regardless of the chosen channel. The measured power dissipation of the proposed frequency synthesizer is equal to 37.7 mW from the supply voltage of 2.6 V. The measured phase noise is better than -85 dBc/MHz at 1 MHz offset frequency and reference spurs is not higher than -61.8 dBc within whole available channels.


The purpose of the present study was to compare lower limb alignment at initial ground contact between groups with normal and abnormal hip rotation range of motion. Male (n=8) and female (n=8) subjects performed an maximal drop jump diagonal side cut task ten to the left and ten to the right. Lower limb alignment was assessed through knee angle, hip angle, ankle angle, thigh rotation and shank rotation at initial foot contact. One significant difference was reported between groups for the knee angle variable on the non dominant side. This indicates that the only the knee angle variable is affected by unbalanced hip rotation range of motion and on the non-dominant side.


Vitiligo is a frequent skin disease that affects 1% of the population. It presents depigmented macules resulting from a gradual loss of melanocytes in the epidermis. In most cases, the diagnosis is made by clinical examination. Skin biopsies are performed when it is necessary to compare it with other hypomelanosis. Histopathological diagnosis of vitiligo is often difficult in hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) stained sections. There are a few studies on the improvement of diagnostic quality in vitiligo. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of immunohistochemical markers, such as S-100 protein, human melanoma black-45 (HMB-45) and Melan-A, in the early diagnosis of clinically suspected or doubtful cases of vitiligo. Materials and methods: Histological sections of biopsies from healthy and affected skin areas from 10 patients clinically suspected of vitiligo. The samples were stained with H&E, S-100 protein, HMB-45 and Melan-A methods. Counterstaining with Giemsa was applied as a technical modification to differentiate melanin from immunolabelling. RESULTS: Six cases with recent clinical manifestation showed lymphocyte infiltrates, such as interface dermatitis, in the affected skin in the H&E staining technique. S-100 protein, HMB-45 and Melan-A staining marked the basal layer melanocytes of the healthy skin and S-100 protein antigen evidenced Langerhans cells. Melanocytes were absent or less frequent in affected skin areas in comparison with normal skin. S-100 protein showed a larger number of Langerhans cells, what is a common feature of vitiligo lesions. Conclusion: Immunohistochemistry may be used as an auxiliary technique for the diagnosis of suspected vitiligo cases.


Background: Electronic medical records (EMRs) offer a promising approach to mapping and documenting the complex information gathered in paediatric palliative care (PPC). However, if they are not well developed, poorly implemented EMRs have unintended consequences that may cause harm to patients. One approach to preventing such harm is the involvement of users in the participatory design to ensure user acceptance and patient safety. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the acceptance of a novel patient chart module (PCM) as part of an EMR from the perspective of potential users in PPC and to involve these professionals in the design process. Methods: A qualitative observational study with N = 16 PPC professionals (n = 10 nurses, n = 6 physicians) was conducted, including concurrent think aloud (CTA) and semi-structured interviews. A structured content analysis based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology was applied. Results: The results can be summarized in terms of general observations, performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions, all of which are likely to have a positive influence on acceptance of the PCM from the user perspective in the context of PPC. Conclusions: The involvement of users in the development of EMRs is important for meeting the requirements in PPC. Further software adaptations are necessary to implement these requirements.


This paper proposes advanced control of a three-phase three-level neutral-point-clamped pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) converter connecting a permanent-magnet synchronous generator to a grid. The control scheme is mainly based on active and reactive power loops and contains the following additional blocks: virtual flux and filter-capacitor voltage estimators for sensorless operation, active damping (AD) of possible resonances in the LCL filter that connects the converter to the grid, and a PWM modulator with dc-link voltage balancing and minimization of switching losses. It is shown that the proposed control method exhibits several features such as sensorless operation, robust algorithm, minimization of switching losses, and simple tuning procedure of AD. The simulation and experimental results have proven an excellent performance and verified the validity of the proposed system.


orb encodes one of the two fly CPEB proteins. These widely conserved proteins bind to the 3′UTRs of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and activate or repress their translation. We show here that a positive autoregulatory loop driven by the orb gene propels the specification of oocyte identity in Drosophila egg chambers. Oocyte fate specification is mediated by a 3′UTR-dependent mechanism that concentrates orb mRNAs and proteins in one of the two pro-oocytes in the 16-cell germline cyst. When the orb 3′UTR is deleted, orb mRNA and protein fail to localize and all 16 cells become nurse cells. In wild type, the oocyte is specified when orb and other gene products concentrate in a single cell in region 2b of the germarium. A partially functional orb 3′UTR replacement delays oocyte specification until the egg chambers reach stage 2 of oogenesis. Before this point, orb mRNA and protein are unlocalized, as are other markers of oocyte identity, and the oocyte is not specified. After stage 2, ∼50% of the chambers successfully localize orb in a single cell, and this cell assumes oocyte identity. In the remaining chambers, the orb autoregulatory loop is not activated and no oocyte is formed. Finally, maintenance of oocyte identity requires continuous orb activity.


The clinical, biochemical, and pathological features of an unusual expression of infantile spongy degeneration of the central white matter are presented with emphasis on neuropathological observations. The topographical distribution of the spongy change along with the observed defect in myelination were such as to suggest an arrest in development of the white matter in late foetal life. Of additional interest, in the present case, is the observed deposition of glycogen in the brain, heart, and liver along with a markedly fatty liver. Our findings are compared with those in other cases of so-called spongy degeneration, as well as with certain of the aminoacidurias and, as a consequence, we wish to suggest that the basic pathogenetic factor probably lies in a disturbance of the biochemical energy supply system rather than in a disorder of myelin lipid metabolism per se.


Background Antibodies against glycine receptors (GlyR Ab) have been strongly linked to progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus (PERM). Their association with other neurological disorders is poorly understood. Methods We looked retrospectively at all patients who were tested for (GlyR Abs) in the Walton Centre between 2010–2014. Results 138 patients were tested. The pre-test diagnoses (n) were transverse myelitis (34), NMO (22, (7 AQP4 IgG+ve and 15 AQP4 IgG-ve), optic neuritis (17), MS (22), ADEM (4), other atypical demyelination (4), encephalitis (11), epilepsy (4), dementia (4), parkinsonism (3), functional disorders (3) and others (10). 53.6% (74) had a relapsing course 6/138 (4%) were positive for GlyR Ab. The diagnoses (n) were optic neuritis (2) one of which was AQP4 IgG+ve, NMO-AQP4-IgG negative (1), transverse myelitis (1), tumefactive demyelination (1) and undiagnosed spastic ataxic syndrome with normal imaging (1). 5/6 had a relapsing course and are on immunosuppressants. Conclusion Antibodies against GlyR are not common and seem to be associated with some non-PERM inflammatory CNS diseases, with a relapsing course. Larger studies are required to understand the clinical and prognostic significance of these early findings.


THE problem of the spinning nose dive has been the subject of much experimental work in recent years. These researches have been chiefly prompted by the fact that the spin has existed as a potential source of danger since the earliest days of flying. Innumerable accidents have been caused by machines getting into a spin near the ground, generally as a result of engine failure while climbing steeply. Modern tendencies in design have also led to certain types of aeroplane being unable to recover from prolonged spins under adverse conditions of loading. Accordingly, the immediate object of this work is to gain a sufficient knowledge of the principles underlying the motion to enable designers to produce aeroplanes which will not fall into an involuntary spin, however careless or inexperienced the pilot may be; and further, to ensure that an immediate recovery from any spinning motion will be possible without an undue loss of height. There is a growing body of opinion that the spin is no longer necessary as a tactical manoeuvre for fighting aircraft. The ultimate object of research on spinning may thus be the evolution of an aeroplane which will not be capable of spinning in any circumstances.


Privacy has been a central concern of ubiquitous (pervasive) computing. Although the boundary between privacy and publicity dynamically moves depending on the context in which the issue is considered, access control, which is one of the most fundamental functionality constituting ubiquitous computing, is required to support perfect privacy, that is, anonymity and unlinkability. This paper presents a concrete protocol for anonymous access control that supports compliance to the distributed trust management model introduced by Blaze et al, efficiency for continual verification and provable security. In addition, the protocol is based on a practical trust model that models the heterogeneous structure of trust in the real world. The model defines a service provider, a service appliance, users and a device that users carry or wear as independent players, and further assumes that trust between them is independently established only based on their arbitrary mutual agreements.


The aim of this research is to discuss the students' perceptions towards the implementation of automated system to help the organization to manage records and documents. The number of students who registers for practical/industrial training has increased every semester, therefore the amount of data to be recorded has also increased. In the search of systematic and cost effective ways of managing the information, there is a need to overcome the problem of filling the system manually. In consequence, this study would examine whether the development of automation system has significantly made the data management more efficient and effective (data collection, data storage and data retrieval). From the evaluation, students' perceptions towards its implementation were analysed where 200 questionnaires were distributed among students of various programmes in Universiti Teknologi MARA Sarawak. The returned questionnaires were then analyzed using SPSS (Version 17). From the findings, it can be concluded that the implementation of such application could really contribute to the improvement of the information resources of the practical/industrial attachment students. This further ensures that the connection between the practical training coordinator and the students is uninterrupted. Apart from that, a good industrial relationship (between the management and organisation) can also be established. The research outcome indicated positive perceptions and responses from the students regarding the development of the application. Thus, the implementation of the proposed system should be considered to be used continuously as an automated information delivery tool.


Abstract Health care providers should be aware of information available on the Internet to ensure proper patient care. The current analysis assesses the reliability, quality, and readability of internet information describing rhytidectomy. Previously validated survey instruments to assess the reliability, quality, and readability of online websites describing rhytidectomy were used. An internet search using Google with the search term "facelift" was conducted. The first 50 search results were reviewed, and 36 were deemed appropriate to be included in this analysis. Websites were divided based on type of authorship into professional organization, academic, physician based, and unidentified. The validated DISCERN instrument was used to determine reliability, quality, and overall rating of each site. The Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) and Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) were used to measure readability. A 1 to 3 point scale was used to rate websites, with a higher number indicating a website that possessed either greater reliability or greater quality. Mean scores for reliability ranged from 1.7 (±0.99) in the academic group to 2.0 (±0.12) in the unidentified group. Mean scores for quality ranged from 1.5 (±0.13) in the unidentified group to 1.7 (±0.38) in the physician-based group. The highest overall rating was 1.4 (±0.22 and ± 0.31, respectively) in the unidentified and physician-based groups. The lowest overall rating was 1 (±0.58) in the academic group. FRESs ranged from 21.6 to 74.6. FKGLs ranged from 6.9 to 13.9. Information available online regarding rhytidectomy may be significantly deficient in reliability, quality, and readability. These deficiencies are present in articles with all types of author affiliations. This underscores the clinicians' duty to provide patients with high-quality information at an adequate level of comprehension.


Civil wars often force people to leave their homes. Displaced populations run higher risk in terms of disease, hunger and death, something that is well-documented. They leave their land, cattle and other assets behind for an uncertain existence in a refugee camp or depend on relatives or friends. But what happens when they return back home? This paper investigates the food security and poverty of formerly displaced persons and their household. Using the 2006 Core Welfare Indicator Survey for Burundi we compare their food intake and their level of expenses with that of their non-displaced neighbours. We test whether it is the duration of displacement that matters for current welfare or the time lapsed since returning. We use log-linear and ordered probit models as well as propensity score matching. We find that the individuals and households who returned home just before the time of the survey are worse off compared to those who returned several years earlier. It takes 8 to 10 years after return before the level of welfare of the displaced converges to that of the non-displaced. The duration of displacement seems not to matter. On average, the formerly displaced have 20% lower expenses per adult equivalent compared to the non-displaced, 15% lower food expenses but only 6 % lower calorie intake, showing that the formerly displaced consume relatively more high calorie products. The formerly displaced also report more children with a smaller size at birth. Despite international, government and NGO assistance, the welfare of recent returnees is lagging seriously behind in comparison with the local non-displaced populations.


Aluminum is one of the most common metal elements in the earth's crust. It is not an essential element for life and has commonly been thought of as a rather inert and insoluble mineral. Therefore, it has often been regarded as not posing a significant health hazard. In consequence, aluminum-containing agents been used in many food processing steps and also in removal by flocculation of particulate organic matter from water. In recent years, acid rain has tended to mobilize aluminum-containing minerals into a Q2 more soluble form, ionic Al3+, which has found their way into many reservoirs that constitute residential drinking water resources. As a result, the human body burden of aluminum has increased. Epidemiological studies suggest that aluminum may not be as innocuous as was previously thought and that aluminum may actively promote the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Epidemiological data is strengthened by experimental evidence of aluminum exposure leading to excess inflammatory activity within the brain. Such apparently irrelevant immune activity unprovoked by an exogenous infectious agent characterizes the aging brain and is even more pronounced in several neurodegenerative diseases. The causation of most of these age-related neurological disorders is not understood but since they are generally not genetic, one must assume that their development is underlain by unknown environmental factors. There is an increasing and coherent body of evidence that implicates aluminum as being one such significant factor. Evidence is outlined supporting the concept of aluminum's involvement in hastening brain aging. This acceleration would then inevitably lead to increased incidence of specific age-related neurological diseases. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.


The purpose of this study was to investigate research trends of subject matter in clothing construction field in clothing and textiles and to suggest the information for the future directions for fashion business and research. 2737 articles with clothing and textiles subject matter, 350 articles with clothing construction field in the Journal of Korean Society of Costume and Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles from 2001 through 2010 were analyzed. The major conclusions of the study are as follows: 1. Clothing construction field took 12.8% with 350 articles in the researches of the Journal Publications in 2000s. 2. Clothing construction field showed more proportions in the latter half of the decade. 3. Clothing construction field were classified into 5 topics : topic of basic pattern and pattern for apparel, topic of body types, topic of functionality of clothing and protective clothing, topic of size system of apparel, topic of sewing and manufacturing process. 4. In clothing construction field, topic of basic pattern and pattern for apparel took the most proportions. 5. Topic of body types, topic of functionality of clothing and protective clothing, topic of size system of apparel, topic of sewing and manufacturing process were followed.


Palladium (Pd)-based catalysts with maximum utilization of the Pd atoms are attractive for hydrogenation reactions and conserving Pd resources. Herein, the highly dispersed Ni nanoparticle (NP)-modified mesoporous N-doped carbon (Ni/mCN) was successfully prepared by pyrolyzing a mixture of polyacrylonitrile, melamine and Ni(NO3)2·6H2O. Then, the resulting Ni/mCN material with highly dispersed metallic Ni NPs was treated with Pd(AcO)2, and Pd2+ was spontaneously reduced to metallic Pd by the Ni NPs, affording the PdNi NP-based catalyst (PdNi/mCN). The spontaneous reduction process deposits most of the Pd atoms on the surface of the Ni NPs, thus allowing for the maximum utilization of the noble metal Pd. The prepared mesoporous N-doped carbon support can not only provide more surface area to adsorb reaction substrates, but also enhances the accessibility of the active sites of PdNi NPs. The prepared PdNi/mCN nanocatalyst shows a very high catalytic activity for the transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes using formic acid as the reductant under ambient conditions in aqueous solution, as compared to other Pd-based catalysts, probably because of the highly dispersed PdNi NPs and the maximum utilization of the Pd atoms, as well as the superior structure of mCN. Moreover, the PdNi/mCN nanocatalyst exhibits excellent recyclability and reusability, and the catalytic activity does not obviously decrease after ten reaction cycles. Therefore, we believe that this study should open a new frontier in the preparation of porous N-doped carbon-supported catalysts with maximum utilization of the noble metals for green and sustainable catalysis.


In this paper, a multiplexer and demultiplexer which use microcavities for coupling waveguides are proposed. Having identical central frequency for both devices, the introduced channels in photonic band gap are super narrowband and the spacing between them and their FWDMs are suitable for CWDM system applications. The output powers of distinguished ports are all more than 85 and 80 percent for de-multiplexer and multiplexer, respectively. In this paper, FDTD method has been used for simulations.


We report a previously healthy 36-year-old mole who developed a pulmonary syndrome caused by Hantavirus infection. He was admitted to an intensive care unit in shock and respiratory failure and died four hours after admission. Blood cultures were positive for Staphylococcus aureus. This patient could be an index case that shows, for the first time, an association of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome with Staphylococcus aureus infection similar to what happens with other viruses.


Introduction: Recently the idea of "Orthobiologics" leads to development of less invasive procedures and accelerated treatments which enhances functional recovery of musculoskeletal disorders. The desired therapeutic effect of autologous platelet rich plasma is facilitated by the ability of IL-1-Ra to limit the destructive inflammatory intra-articular (IA) actions of IL-1β. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and functional outcome of autologous PRP injection and homologous platelet lysate to reduce pain, improve joint function and enhance quality of life in patients with early knee osteoarthritis and to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of PRP and homologous platelet lysate. Material and Methods: A total of 121 cases of early osteoarthritis were equally divided into PRP and homologous platelet lysate group. Each patient in both groups has been given ultrasound guided PRP and homologous platelet lysate on day 0, at the end of 4 weeks and 8 weeks and all the patients were followed for up to one year. Treatment outcome measures were assessed at each visit using VAS and WOMAC scores. Results: A statistically significant improvement is observed with VAS and WOMAC score in knee osteoarthritis patients over 12 months with greater advantages over homologous platelet lysate. The overall reduction of pain and enhanced joint function was observed within 1 week, 3 months and 12 months after the initial injection. Conclusion: Homologous platelet lysate has the potential to offer chondroprotective and molecular approach in treating pain and functionality in patients with mild and moderate knee osteoarthritis with greater advantages over autologous platelet rich plasma.


This paper reviews the statistical properties of the model used to obtain estimates of the prevalence and severity of poverty-linked food insecurity and hunger in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has annually sponsored data collection efforts to obtain information on food insecurity and hunger since 1995. The assessment of household food insecurity is based on a one-parameter logistic item response model, also referred to as a Rasch model, and applied to a series of 18 questions reported in the Current Population Survey Food Security Module. The paper was used as the basis for discussions concerning future directions of research on the food insecurity measure. This report was originally released in July 1999.


ABSTRACT In this paper, we investigate two-sided bounds for the small ball probability of a mixed fractional Brownian motion with a general deterministic trend function, in terms of respective small ball probability of a mixed fractional Brownian motion without trend. To maximize the lower bound, we consider various ways to split the trend function between the components of the mixed fractional Brownian motion for the application of Girsanov theorem, and we show that the optimal split is the solution of a Fredholm integral equation. We find that the upper bound for the probability is also a function of this optimal split. The asymptotic behaviour of the probability as the ball becomes small is analysed for zero trend function and for the particular choice of the upper limiting function.


Idiopathic epiretinal membrane or preretinal macular fibrosis is a common entity in patients older than age 50 years. Although not common, idiopathic epiretinal membranes are also found in children and adolescents. We report a case of spontaneous peeling of an idiopathic epiretinal membrane in a child. Report of a Case. —An 8-year-old boy presented with blurred vision in the right eye. On initial examination the best corrected visual acuity was 20/60 OD and 20/20 OS. There was no ocular history of inflammation, infection, trauma, or surgery. Fundus examination revealed a dense epiretinal membrane centered over the macular region, causing significant macular pucker (Fig 1). There was no evidence of a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). The left eye was normal. A diagnosis of idiopathic epiretinal membrane was made and the patient was treated conservatively. On follow-up examination 3 months later, visual acuity had improved to 20/20 OD. Fundus examination revealed


Grafting of 4-vinyl pyridine (4-VP) and 2-methylpropenoic acid (MPA) onto poly (ethylene terephthalate) fibers (PET) was achieved via chemical grafting technique. A new fibrous adsorbent was used to the removal of rhodamine B (RB) and methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions through batch sorption method. The influence of pH, graft yield, removal time and initial concentration were investigated to study the adsorbing effect of 4-VP and MPA grafted PET fibers (4-VP/MPA-g-PET). The optimum pH values for RB and MB were found to be 12 and 10 respectively. The maximum adsorption capacities of grafted PET fibers were found to be 45.28 mg g-1 for RB and 56.72 mg g-1 for MB at 250 ppm. Almost all adsorbed dyes were eluted by acetic acid in methyl alcohol. Ten removal-desorption cycles indicated that the reactive fibers were favourable for use it again without a notable change in removal capacity. Consequently, the 4-VP/MPA-g-PET fibers have demonstrated potential as an effective adsorbent for the extremely effective removal of cationic dyes from aqueous media


Collisions between two nuclei have been modeled by numerical solution of classical approximations to the equations of motion of the constituent nucleons. For the reaction Nb(400 MeV/u) + Nb, a correlated sidewards emission of nucleons is observed. This is attributed to the repulsive short-range component of the nucleon-nucleon potential. A strong dependence of the flow angle on the impact parameter is observed, in accord with recent experimental results.


This thesis investigates how content-based indexing and retrieval systems can be used to analyse digital video. We focus particularly on the challenge of applying colour-analysis methods to large amounts of heterogeneous television broadcast video.

Content-based systems are those which attempt to automatically analyse image or video documents by identifying and indexing certain features present in the documents. These features may include colour and texture, shape, and spatial locations.

Digital video has become hugely important through the widespread use of the Internet and the increasing number of digital content providers supplying the commercial and domestic markets. The challenge facing the indexing of digital video information in order to support browsing and retrieval by users, is to design systems that can accurately and automatically process large amounts of heterogeneous video. The basic segmentation of video material into shots and scenes is the basic operation in the analysis of video content.

Although many published methods of detecting shot boundaries exist, it is d ifficult to compare and contrast the available techniques. This is due to several reasons. Firstly, full system implementation details are not always published and this can make recreation of the systems difficult. Secondly, most systems are evaluated on small, homogeneous sequences of video. These results give little indication how such systems would perform on a broader range of video content types, or indeed how differing content types can affect system performance.

As part of an ongoing video indexing and browsing project, our research has focused on the application of different methods of video segmentation to a large and diverse digital video collection. A particular focus is to examine how different segmentation methods perform on different video content types. With this information, it is hoped to develop a system capable of accurately segmenting a wide range of broadcast video.

Oilier areas addressed in this thesis include an investigation of evaluation methods for digital video indexing systems, and the use of adaptive thresholds for segmentation of video into shots and scenes.


In an earlier paper, we showed that the causal boundary of any homogeneous plane wave satisfying the null convergence condition consists of a single null curve. In Einstein–Hilbert gravity, this would include any homogeneous plane wave satisfying the weak null energy condition. For conformally flat plane waves such as the Penrose limit of AdS5 × S5, all spacelike curves that reach infinity also end on this boundary and the completion is Hausdorff. However, the more generic case (including, e.g., the Penrose limits of AdS4 × S7 and AdS7 × S4) is more complicated. In one natural topology, not all spacelike curves have limit points in the causal completion, indicating the need to introduce additional points at 'spacelike infinity'—the endpoints of spacelike curves. We classify the distinct ways in which spacelike curves can approach infinity, finding a two-dimensional set of distinct limits. The dimensionality of the set of points at spacelike infinity is not, however, fixed from this argument. In an alternative topology, the causal completion is already compact, but the completion is non-Hausdorff.


Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a common neonatal gastrointestinal disease with multifactorial etiology among the neonates. We aimed to provide descriptive information about the current prevalence of necrotizing enterocolitis and evaluate the total parenteral nutrition management against the treatment outcomes and clinical complications.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional observational study was carried out on necrotizing enterocolitis cases in Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital (HUSM), Kelantan, Malaysia. Study frame was a five-year retrospective review from January 2003 till August 2007. Universal sampling was employed to collect the data from medical profiles. Ethical approval was made with Ministry of Health, Malaysia and data was analyzed by using SPSS 12®.
Results: By the end of the study period, 46 patients were selected. Majority of the patients were Malays 44 (95.6%) patients. This is followed by Chinese 1 (2.2%) patient and 1 (2.2%) others. Gender distribution was found equally susceptible 22 (47.8%) females and 24 (52.8%) were males. We found that majority 39 (84.8%) of neonates were under the range of ≤ 2500 g. The majority received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) 15 (32.6%) neonates received TPN for more than 14 days, followed by 11 (23.9%) between 6-8 days. Significant relationships were found between gestation age and duration of TPN (<0.001), between birth weight and complication (0.041) and between necrotizing enterocolitis cases and outcomes (0.005).
Conclusion: Providing TPN is wrought with unique potential risks and complications to these fragile infants and calls for a diligent interdisciplinary team approach.


The aim of present study to demonstrate traumatic dental injuries in the permanent incisor teeth among 812 years old children treated in Al-Salam Health Center Specialist Dental Center/ Kirkuk city. 387 children were reviewed and only patients with traumatic dental injuries were taken. Type of tooth injury was classified according to modified Ellis and Davey crown fracture. Data on age, gender, number of injured teeth and type of injury were also collected from the dental records for the period 20018-2019. Records of 387 examined children showed that the traumatic dental injury was 8% (31). Of those 84 patients, 67.7% (21) were boys and 32.3% (10). Single tooth injury was found in 77.4% of the cases, while 22.6% had two teeth injury. The most frequent injuries were class II crown fracture (48.5%; N=15), followed by class III (35.5% N=10), class IV (9.6% N=3) and class I (6.4% N=2) respectively. It's concluded from present study that the prevalence of dental trauma is relatively low in Kirkuk city.


Objective To evaluate the evidence surrounding the use of combinations of paracetamol and ibuprofen in the treatment of fever. Design Systematic narrative review of randomised controlled trials using the UK Economic and Social Research Council guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis. Setting Inpatient, outpatient and home care. Patients Children with fever. Main outcome measures The effect of combination treatments of paracetamol and ibuprofen on fever and comfort, and identification of side effects. Results Seven studies were identified, six of which provided useful data for the evaluation of the effect of treatment on temperature. Overall these studies showed limited benefit from the combined treatment until around 4 h, after which there was a statistically but only marginally clinically significant benefit. Two studies contained data directly relating to comfort; these suggest a marginal benefit from the combined treatment, but the clinical significance of this was limited. There was no evidence of greater side effects or toxicities associated with the combined treatment. However, it is important to note that these studies were small, short term, and not conducted in the normal setting in which these treatments are given. Conclusions There is little evidence of any benefit or harm from the combined treatment compared with the use of each drug alone. In the absence of such benefit, there is little to recommend the unnecessary use of polypharmaceutical methods to treat a symptom that does not require treatment, when effective monotherapies exist.


Robotics education at the undergraduate level is most effective as a coupling between theoretical concepts and tangible experiments. Making this connection effective requires a pragmatic way of applying the traditional robotic material to exciting laboratory exercises. A course recently offered in Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, simply titled "Introduction to Robotics," utilizes an open-architecture robotic arm to give students hands-on experience with topics that they encounter in lecture. None of the experiments conducted in this course are wholly novel; however, the use of an open-architecture hardware or software system enables the instructor to rapidly prototype lab exercises with minimal effort. This column will give an overview of the apparatus and experiments used for this course.


Spinal muscular atrophy is an autosomal-recessive neuromuscular disorder, causing progressive proximal weakness and atrophy of the voluntary muscles. More than 96% of the spinal muscular atrophy patients show a homozygous absence of exons 7 and 8, or exon 7 only, in SMN1, the telomeric copy of the SMN gene. We report a young male patient with neurogenic symptoms and sparse muscle fiber atrophy, suggestive of a mild form of type III spinal muscular atrophy. He was found to be a carrier of intragenic mutations in both copies of the SMN gene, exhibiting a homozygous duplication of exons 7 and 8 in SMN1 and a homozygous deletion of exon 8 as well as a heterozygous deletion of exon 7 in SMN2. However, an intact full-length SMN1 complementary deoxyribonucleic acid was identified, and SMN protein levels in a muscle specimen were identical to that of a healthy control, formally excluding the diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy III.


Recanalization of occluded coronary arteries is the aim of percutaneous interventions with acute myocardial infarction. Moreover, chronic coronary occlusion is a common finding during diagnostic coronary angiography and is often a contributing factor in the choice of revascularisation by surgery rather than by percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). An occluded coronary artery with some degree of collateral supply is functionally comparable to a severe coronary stenosis. Therefore, recanalization of chronic occluded coronary arteries results in less angina and often in improvement of left ventricular function. Success is limited in particular in longer lasting occlusions. Characterization of lesions, where recanalization can performed successfully is warranted. We correlated primary success rates of attempted coronary recanalizations with localisation of lesions and procedural characteristics. We analyzed records of 124 consecutive patients, who underwent attempted coronary recanalization of chronically occluded coronary arteries at our institution in 1998. Revascularisation was successful in 84 (64 male, 20 female) of 124 (92 male, 32 female) patients. Therefore, success rate was 67.7% (69.9% in men, 62.5% in women, p = 0.42). Target vessel was the left anterior descending artery (LAD) in 49 cases. Success rate in the LAD did not differ significantly from that in "non-LAD"-vessels (65.3% versus 69.3%; p = 0.35). Successful recanalizations were performed using only one guide-wire in 77.3%. More than one guide-wires were used during procedures without success in 44.5% and exceeded use in successful interventions (p < 0.05). Procedures, failing to be successful after an attempt with a first guide-wire, could be performed successfully using at least a second wire in 50%. Coronary stenting after recanalization has been performed in 84.4% in the LAD and in 59.7% in non-LAD vessels (p < 0.01). Success rate of attempted recanalizations of chronic occluded coronary arteries in unselected patients is high. Most procedures can be performed successfully using only one guidewire. Additional use of other wires can increase success rates in procedures with primary failure to pass the occlusion. Stenting has been performed in three out of four patients with successful recanalization of chronically occluded coronary arteries.


: Photochemical activation of nickel-azido complex 2 [Ni(N 3 )(PNP)] (PN H P = 2,2 ' -di(isopropylphosphino)-4,4 ' ditolylamine) in neat benzene produces diamagnetic complex 3 [Ni(Ph)(PN P N H )], which is crystallographically characterized. DFT calculations support photoinitiated N 2 -loss of the azido complex to generate a rare, transient Ni IV nitrido species, which bears significant nitridyl radical character. Subsequent trapping of this nitrido through insertion into the Ni ¢ P bond generates a coordinatively unsaturated Ni II imidophosphorane P = N donor. This species shows unprecedented reactivity toward 1,2-addition of a C ¢ H bond of benzene to form 3 . The structurally characterized chlorido complex 4 [Ni(Cl)-(PN P N H )] is generated by reaction of 3 with HCl or by direct photolysis of 2 in chlorobenzene. This is the first report of aromatic C ¢ H bond activation by a trapped transient nitrido species of a late transition metal. 4 are very similar to those observed for 3 (Figure 3). Deprotonation of 4 with lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) in the presence of benzene did not result in arene C ¢ H activation. We are currently exploring the reactivity of 3 and 4 , both to understand the unique structural features of these species and to deduce whether the parent iminophosphorane P = NH unit shows promising ligand reactivity. In summary, we herein report the first example of a trapped transient nickel nitrido species, making use of a well-defined Ni II (PNP) platform. Irradiation of the nickel-azido precursor generates a nickel nitrido, which has significant nitridyl radical character, that is efficiently trapped by insertion of the nitrogen into a Ni ¢ P bond. This trapped intermediate undergoes follow-up intermolecular C ¢ H bond activation of aromatic solvent, with the activated exogenous phenyl fragment incorporated in the final complex 3 , which bears a unique tridentate phosphino-amido-iminophosphor-ane PN P N H ligand in the coordination sphere of Ni II . DFT calculations support the intermediacy of a rare transient formal Ni IV nitrido species and subsequent 1,2-addition of the C ¢ H bond. Substitution of the Ph-ligand for Cl is facile, generating 4 , which is likely amenable to follow-up chemistry.


This study explores how the Indian Summer Monsoon rainfall simulations are affected by the mathematical representations of the planetary boundary and microphysics parameterizations at a gray zone resolution. The monsoon is simulated with the Weather Research and Forecast model at a 9 km horizontal resolution over South–East Asia for three different years, chosen to represent early, normal, and delayed monsoon onset. Changing the boundary layer from a hybrid to a local scheme dramatically impacts the monsoon simulation, reducing around 40% in total rainfall. In contrast, changing the microphysics scheme has a less pronounced impact (5%) on the precipitation but still induces regional variations. To assess how physical parameterization changes affect South Asia's rainfall, we evaluate their impact on both the energy and moisture budgets over the subcontinent. It is revealed that local changes in evaporation do not directly drive changes in precipitation. Instead, changes in the regional distribution of the energy sources and sinks modify the atmospheric circulation, which affects the distribution of rainfall. In particular, the boundary layer changes can substantially increase the latent heat flux, strengthening the monsoon. In the tropics, overturning circulation that exports energy is tied to a net inflow of water. Thus, the intensification of the monsoonal circulation results in an enhanced water inflow and increased rainfall.


one class classification is justified when objects from one class only, the  target class, are available. This is different from the traditional classification problem, which tries to distinguish between two or more classes with the training set containing objects from all of them. We propose a method for one-class classification based on Gini's transvariation probability between a group and a constant. We explore one-class classification application in recognizing adulterated Olive Oil whereas only the spectrum of Pure Olive Oil is well-known. The method is employed on dimensionally reduced data through Sparse Principal Component analysis.


Modern Muslim Societies are facing many contemporary challenges since one Hundred Years; it is because of regime Western civilization. Muslims are facing Political, Economical, Social & civilization Problems. We can get prestige by inviting non-Muslims to Islām. Knowledge is a Power that can Defeat other civilizations. We should try to combine for this purpose. Scholars of Relīgion & Politics should be on one stage. All propaganda of the orientalists must be rejected. They should not be allowed to disturb Muslims Countries. Muslim should live peacefully, like a family. Muslims should ignore Sectarianism in religion. It is Very Dangerous for Nations. Allah Says in Qur'ān: All Should Catch Rope of Allah Strongly & Should Not Be Divided. Holy Prophet Says: "Believers are like a Building, They Make Strong to one another. Most of Muslim countries are combined geographically but they are not United physically they Believe in One Allah, One Rasool & one Kaaba, inspire of this are divided in different ways. They should Follow Holly Prophet (PBUH) in all their life. In this way, their all problems will be solved.


In this paper, we consider optimal low-rank regularized inverse matrix approximations and their applications to inverse problems. We give an explicit solution to a generalized rank-constrained regularized inverse approximation problem, where the key novelties are that we allow for updates to existing approximations and we can incorporate additional probability distribution information. Since computing optimal regularized inverse matrices under rank constraints can be challenging, especially for problems where matrices are large and sparse or are only accessable via function call, we propose an efficient rank-update approach that decomposes the problem into a sequence of smaller rank problems. Using examples from image deblurring, we demonstrate that more accurate solutions to inverse problems can be achieved by using rank-updates to existing regularized inverse approximations. Furthermore, we show the potential benefits of using optimal regularized inverse matrix updates for solving perturbed tomographic reconstruction problems.


The objective of the present investigation was to establish potential of commercially available soy polysaccharide (Emcosoy®) for colon drug delivery. The soy polysaccharide–ethyl cellulose films were fabricated and characterized. The effect of the pectinase enzyme on the tensile strength and surface morphology of the film was evaluated. The permeation of chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM), a model hydrophilic drug from pectinase enzyme treated and untreated films was measured in pH 7.4 buffer. The soy polysaccharide–ethyl cellulose films were also incubated with Lactobacillus sp. culture for a specific duration, and effect on the CPM permeation was evaluated. The CPM capsules were coated with the soy polysaccharide–ethyl cellulose mixture, and Eudragit S100 was applied as a secondary coat. The coated CPM capsules were radiolabelled, and their in vivo transit was evaluated in human volunteers on oral administration. The pectinase enzyme had a significant influence on the tensile strength and surface morphology of the soy polysaccharide–ethyl cellulose films. The permeability of pectinase enzyme-treated and Lactobacillus sp.-treated films was significantly higher than that of untreated films. The CPM capsules were coated with the soy polysaccharide–ethyl cellulose mixture and Eudragit S100 and were successfully radiolabelled by a simple method. Gamma scintigraphic studies in human volunteers showed that the radiolabelled capsules maintained integrity for at least 9 h after oral administration. Thus, the soy polysaccharide has a potential in colon drug delivery.


There is increasing pressure on the pipeline industry to be able to demonstrate that its asset management and engineering capability management are at a satisfactory level. This is needed to give policymakers, regulators and industry stakeholders confidence in the safety and environmental sustainability of petroleum pipelines.
 Regulators, in particular, are seeking assurance from pipeline owner/operators that they have capable pipeline engineers designing, constructing, operating and maintaining petroleum pipelines. At present, there are no generally accepted approaches to recognising and developing pipeline engineering capability.
 The paper will discuss three levels of capability recognition as: (1) registration – as pipeline engineers (not just in mechanical, civil or chemical engineers (overall standing level)) – (2) qualification (sub-discipline/job level) and (3) competency (task level). The most granular and useful of these is competency. This is because it is at the level that is most immediate: the task at hand.
 Competency, the combination of knowledge and experience that leads to expertise, is increasingly seen as the best practice basis for learning, particularly for professionals. Significantly, once competencies have been defined in competency standards, they can become the building blocks used to define the requirements for both registration and qualification.
 The Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA) has developed a comprehensive competency system for both onshore and offshore sectors. There are 226 onshore competency standards and 57 offshore competency standards describing, in a succinct format, what is required to be competent.
 The succinct format of the competency standards avoids the pitfalls of many other systems of competency description, providing enough information to be clear about what is required without unnecessary complexity. In addition to the detailed competency standards, the competency system has tools, resources and a progressive rating scale that make competency standards accessible and easily used. The competency system is characterised by such flexibility that, to date, APGA has identified 15 applications, all of which will add value to engineers and the companies that employ them.
 The paper will explain, in detail, APGA's Pipeline Engineer Competency System, how it works and how it can provide the building blocks for a wide range of tasks that support the training, development and recognition of pipeline engineers' capabilities, including defining the requirements for registration and qualification.
 The paper will provide case studies, based on the APGA Competency System, showing how it can be used to create requirements for qualifications and registration and to design in-house training and development plans.


ABSTRACT Only three pathogenic bacterial species, Salmonella enterica, Clostridium perfringens, and Listeria monocytogenes, are able to utilize both ethanolamine and 1,2-propanediol as a sole carbon source. Degradation of these substrates, abundant in food and the gut, depends on cobalamin, which is synthesized de novo only under anaerobic conditions. Although the eut, pdu, and cob-cbi gene clusters comprise 40 kb, the conditions under which they confer a selection advantage on these food-borne pathogens remain largely unknown. Here we used the luciferase reporter system to determine the response of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium promoters P eutS , P pocR , P pduF , and P pduA to a set of carbon sources, to egg yolk, to whole milk, and to milk protein or fat fractions. Depending on the supplements, specific inductions up to 3 orders of magnitude were observed for P eutS and P pduA , which drive the expression of most eut and pdu genes. To correlate these significant expression data with growth properties, nonpolar deletions of pocR, regulating the pdu and cob-cbi genes, and of eutR, involved in eut gene activation, were constructed in S. Typhimurium strain 14028. During exponential growth of the mutants 14028ΔpocR and 14028ΔeutR, 2- to 3-fold-reduced proliferation in milk and egg yolk was observed. Using the Caenorhabditis elegans infection model, we could also demonstrate that the proliferation of S. Typhimurium in the nematode is supported by an active ethanolamine degradation pathway. Taking these findings together, this study quantifies the differential expression of eut and pdu genes under distinct conditions and provides experimental evidence that the ethanolamine utilization pathway allows salmonellae to occupy specific metabolic niches within food environments and within their host organisms.


The streams in a watershed form a hierarchical network system. From the perspective of the river continuum, this classification system is the result of gradual increase in traffic. This study analyzed the riparian species richness, diversity and environmental factors along a six-order hierarchical mountain river in the Donghe watershed, China. A total of 34 sampling sites were sampled to study the spatial distribution of riparian plants among different stream orders. The results showed: Environmental factors among stream orders had significant differences. Among stream order, species richness showed remarkable differences. The species richness rose firstly and dropped afterwards except for tree species richness; tree species richness decreased while stream order increased. The same is true for shrub quadrat species richness. Shannon-Wiener diversity, Simpson dominance and Pielou uniformity showed significant difference among stream orders; Shannon-Wiener diversity rose firstly then dropped afterwards. For integrated environmental factors and community characteristics, we found the changes of stream orders had a significant impact on riparian habitats and riparian vegetation. Further analysis showed that riparian vegetation experienced different types and degrees of disturbance in different stream orders. This meant that a hierarchical management strategy should be applied to riparian vegetation management.


It is well established that obesity and diabetes contribute to increased cardiovascular complications in humans. Many feel that the increased prevalence of heart disease in obese or diabetic patients can be attributed to increased atherosclerotic lesions caused by hyperglycemia, hyperlipoproteinemia, hypertension, obesity, and hyperinsulinemia. However, more recent data indicate there may be a specific diabetic cardiomyopathy not associated with coronary artery disease that may explain some of the increased mortality and morbidity seen in diabetics (Crepaldi and Nosandini, 1988; Fein and Sonnenblick, 1985). Knowledge of the heart and cardiovascular system in genetic animal models of obesity and diabetes is limited (Chobanian et al., 1982; McCune, 1989). Various combinations of risk factors may cause different heart problems, with obesity and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) combined with hypertension probably causing the most deleterious effects on the heart. The use of animal models with obesity, diabetes, or both conditions, combined with other risk factors, may clarify what each component contributes to the cardiovascular disease. This report summarizes some of the current information on the cardiovascular and diabetic complications found in the SHHF/Mcc-cp rat model, which exhibits obesity, NIDDM, and congestive heart failure (CHF). rats heterozygous for the cp gene) (Koletsky, 1975) to SHR/N (spontaneously hypertensive) rats. We obtained the rats after the seventh backcross. The only other SHR/ N-cp rats currently available are from the fourteenth backcross (Michaelis et al., 1986) and may have divergence in as many as 20 percent of their genes from our substrain, now designated SHHF/Mcc-cp. This colony exhibits the following traits: hypertension (100 percent), obesity (25 percent), and CHF (100 percent in recent sibships). Obesity is expressed as an autosomal recessive (cp/cp) trait, and hypertension is multifactorial (Yen et al., 1974). The CHF trait has been maintained through at least 15 generations. The colony is closed, but it has not been completely brother x sister mated. The incidence of CHF has increased with inbreeding, and the onset of CHF seems to be occurring at an earlier age. The mode of inheritance of the CHF is probably multifactorial, much like hypertension. The majority of the lean animals that died of CHF were heterozygous for the obesity trait (+/cp). It is possible that the presence of the cp gene on this genetic background is required for the expression of the CHF or at least for the earlier age of onset of CHF. We have been successful in getting our obese male rats to breed (McCune et al., 1989); therefore, all of their lean offspring will carry the cp gene. A homozygote lean (+/+) line is also being bred, and their offspring will be compared for incidence of CHF with the heterozygote lean parents.


OBJECTIVE
Noninvasive diagnosis of atrophic gastritis would help to identify individuals at increased risk of gastric carcinoma. In the present study, we evaluated the utility of a serological panel combining pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17, and anti-Helicobacter pylori antibodies (Gastropanel) as a screening method for atrophic gastritis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The serological panel was evaluated in 56 patients divided in two groups: group 1 consisted of 47 patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia and group 2 was composed of nine consecutive patients with gastric carcinoma. In all patients, we performed endoscopy with biopsies of the gastric antrum and body. Levels of pepsinogen I and II, gastrin-17, and anti-H. pylori antibodies were determined through a specific EIA test (Biohit plc, Helsinki, Finland) in fasting serum samples.

RESULTS
Atrophic gastritis was significantly more frequent in patients with gastric carcinoma than in those with dyspepsia (56 vs 6%; p = 0.0015). Agreement between the Gastropanel and gastric histology was good (kappa = 0.68). The sensitivity and specificity of the Gastropanel in the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis was 87.5% and 100%, respectively. However, the Gastropanel would not have detected four of the nine cases of gastric carcinoma, since these tumors arose in stomachs with nonatrophic mucosa.

CONCLUSIONS
Gastropanel is a useful noninvasive method for the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis. However, its utility as a screening method is limited by cases of gastric carcinoma that arise in stomachs without atrophic mucosa.


Managerial skills would determine survival and competitiveness of small and medium enterprises. Unfortunately, evidence on managerial skills of the Malaysian Indigenous entrepreneurs is hardly found. Drawing on the literature flaw, this study attempts to identify the level of managerial skills of the small Indigenous entrepreneurs. A sample of 250 respondents was selected for a survey in Kelantan and the Klang Valley. Due to several constraints, only 200 respondents completed and returned the questionnaire for analysis. Using descriptive and bivariate statistics, it was confirmed that managerial skills of the entrepreneurs in management, finance and marketing are satisfactorily high irrespective of geographical areas. Since this study does not relate managerial skills and firm performance, future studies should consider this aspect for better understanding of the entrepreneur group.


In these days, a single search on Google Scholar using the expression Internet of Things (IoT) brings almost 3 520 000 results. Since 1999, when Kevin Ashton used the expression Internet of Things for the first time as the title of a presentation he made at Procter & Gamble, it has received more and more attention from academics, IT experts, the popular press, and the companies in general. All this attention is due to the fact that the IoT technologies are transforming the way in which companies work and do business. Two of the promising domains of the IoT technology are intelligent building and workplace management. In these days, the workstation became the second companies' largest expense just after the payroll. Therefore, the development and implementation of IoT technology contribute to the optimization of buildings (energy saving, temperature, and air conditioning control, etc.) and workplaces (occupation rates, etc.), and has the potential to change the major patterns of the corporate real estate. As a result, integrating IoT technology in the workplace management is a strategic challenge in order to create value for the company through supporting strategic decisions, investments and workers' productivity. The purpose of this work is to review the literature dedicated to IoT and workplace management, in order to identify relevant issues and knowledge concerning the relationship between the IoT technologies (e.g. RFID, sensor, actuator, smart item) and a building on the optimization of the workplace and the productivity of its occupants. The literature review is the best approach to the appropriation of a subject once it allows using the ideas developed in the literature to justify a particular approach to the topic, the selection of methods and demonstration of the relevance and possible contributions (Hart, 1998). This work will also present a discussion of future research directions and the principal challenges related to the IoT and workplace productivity.Purpose: A paper review of well-known journals publishing research on the subject "IoT and workspace management" from the last 10 years.Design/methodology/approach: We will follow the approach proposed by Levy and Ellis (2006) to conduct an effective literature review. We also will lean on the work of Mishra et al. (2016) that identified the most relevant authors on the IoT literature in order to identify those studies/authors relating IoT technology and workspace productivity.


Recent research has highlighted the role of relational inductive biases in building learning agents that can generalize and reason in a compositional manner. However, while relational learning algorithms such as graph neural networks (GNNs) show promise, we do not understand how effectively these approaches can adapt to new tasks. In this work, we study the task of logical generalization using GNNs by designing a benchmark suite grounded in first-order logic. Our benchmark suite, GraphLog, requires that learning algorithms perform rule induction in different synthetic logics, represented as knowledge graphs. GraphLog consists of relation prediction tasks on 57 distinct logical domains. We use GraphLog to evaluate GNNs in three different setups: single-task supervised learning, multi-task pretraining, and continual learning. Unlike previous benchmarks, our approach allows us to precisely control the logical relationship between the different tasks. We find that the ability for models to generalize and adapt is strongly determined by the diversity of the logical rules they encounter during training, and our results highlight new challenges for the design of GNN models. We publicly release the dataset and code used to generate and interact with the dataset at this https URL.


The paper draws on five case studies to explore potential benefits and barriers to horizontal networking to promote impact assessment of microfinance. The papers main aim is to stimulate further discussion of this issue. But some tentative conclusion are drawn about factors likely to contribute towards success. In particular, experience from Honduras suggests that network organisations can work most effectively when they facilitate wider use of IA activities already piloted by a lead member of the network.


Electronic Voting Machine or EVM is generally used to count the poll result at the time of vote. In EVM generally a counting part is available where the counting are done and the count value is stored in the memory. In this paper, the design of the Wireless EVM has been proposed where the counting will be done in a remote section to avoid the fault or error caused by the several problems such as wrong button press, wrong counting, theft caused by the Stationary EVM. The data will be transferred from the EVM machine through a transmitter and this signal will be caught up by the receiver of the Counting module. The count will be shown at the display side as per preference that is the real time display cab ne turned off during the poll time. In this device, the voter cannot press the poll button of their preference twice as the device will be deactivated after single press. That is why the design proposed in this paper is of reduced error and works efficiently.


Prunig is a key element of fruit production technology and is affected by a number of subjective factors. Putting research findings into practice is often hindered by bad and harmful habits that make plantations and trees heterogenious in terms of growth and fruiting features, which can even lead to significant financial losses. Having identified this challenge, in this publication we aim to present some guidelines for those who are open to new ways and believe in the power of innovation. The 21st century is undoubtedly the century of unstoppable IT innovations filtering through into our everyday lives. The fact that our project is based on IT innovations is not only essential due to the subject matter itself but also because it makes it easier to address younger generations. Whichever tool they choose to use (smartphone, tablet, laptop), all registered students have access to our web contents, making it super easy for them to practice pruning techniques. Students don't just read texts in our training materials but have access to a pool of pictures and images to illustrate the different procecces and phenomena. All the different phrases have explanations against them, so anyone can understand the ins and outs of why and how to prune or remove the different crown parts (5-year-old and above crown parts, 2–4-year old parts or 1-year-old parts) to achieve specific results, whether it be apple, pear or cherry trees etc. Our database comprises thousands of pictures that will walk you through the entire fruit tree pruning process, without you even having to leave your desk. There is an old proverb that also applies to pruning: "The wise man learns from the mistakes of others, the fool has to learn from his own". Our program aims to help students by presenting a number of bad examples along with their corrections as well as photos of ideal ways to prune multiple different crown shapes. Using our web-based tool eliminates time and space limitations, i.e. you can access our interactive contents to gain or extend your pruning skills, irrespective of the pruning time and location.


Textureless and geometric discontinuities are major problems in state-of-the-art dense image matching methods, as they can cause visually significant noise and the loss of sharp features. Binary census transform is one of the best matching cost methods but in textureless areas, where the intensity values are similar, it suffers from small random noises. Global optimization for disparity computation is inherently sensitive to parameter tuning in complex urban scenes, and must compromise between smoothness and discontinuities. The aim of this study is to provide a method to overcome these issues in dense image matching, by extending the industry proven Semi-Global Matching through 1) developing a ternary census transform, which takes three outputs in a single order comparison and encodes the results in two bits rather than one, and also 2) by using texture-information to self-tune the parameters, which both preserves sharp edges and enforces smoothness when necessary. Experimental results using various datasets from different platforms have shown that the visual qualities of the triangulated point clouds in urban areas can be largely improved by these proposed methods.


The technological innovations have always proved the impossible possible. Humans have all the time obliterated barriers and set records with astounding regularity. However, there are issues springing up in terms of complexity and sustainability in this context, which we were ignoring for long. Today, in every walk of life, we encounter complex systems, whether it is the Internet, communication systems, elec- trical power grids, or the financial markets. Due to its unpredictable behavior, any creative change in a complex system poses a threat of systemic risks. This is because an innovation is always introducing something new, introducing a change, possibly to solve an existing problem, the effect of which is nonlinear. Failure to predict the future states of the system due to the nonlinear nature makes any system unsustainable. This necessitates the need for any development to be sustainable by meeting the needs of people today without destroying the potential of future generations to meet their needs. This chapter, which studies systems that are complex due to intricateness in their connectivity, gives insights into their ways of emergence and the nonlinear cause and effects pattern the complex systems use to follow, effectively paving way for sustainable innovation.


This research aims to describe the experience of subjective well-being and self-assessment of dietary practices in university students in southern Chile. The sample was made up of 40 students of both genders, enrolled in undergraduate programs at a Chilean state university. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview. The results show that these university students are mostly satisfied with life, and spending time with family and friends, maintaining a good academic performance, having time for themselves and achieving their goals and objectives are reported as elements that make them happy. As to the assessment made by the participants about their current food-related life, more than half of the respondents reported dissatisfaction, while their degree of happiness when they eat is in relation to pleasurable sensations, social contact during the meal and meeting basic needs. This study explores issues on eating habits and well-being rarely addressed in Latin American university population so far, suggesting that interventions and strategies on healthful eating for this population must transcend nutrition information and take into account motivation and social factors that influence students' food choices.


EDITOR'S NOTE: This is 1 of 4 papers reporting on the results of an SETAC technical workshop titled "The Nexus Between Ecological Risk Assessment and Natural Resource Damage Assessment Under CERCLA: Understanding and Improving the Common Scientific Underpinnings," held 18–22 August 2008 in Montana, USA, to examine approaches to ecological risk assessment and natural resource damage assessment in US contaminated site cleanup legislation known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Although ecological risk assessments (ERAs) and natural resource damage assessments (NRDAs) are performed under different statutory and regulatory authorities, primarily the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), as currently practiced, the activities typically overlap. ERAs performed as part of the response process (typically by the US Environmental Protection Agency [USEPA]) should be closely coordinated with the natural resource trustees' (trustees') NRDAs. Trustees should actively participate in the early stages of the remedial investigation (RI) and work with USEPA, including the potentially responsible parties (PRPs), when appropriate, to coordinate NRDA data needs with those of the RI. Close coordination can present opportunities to avoid inefficiencies, such as unnecessary resampling or duplicate data gathering, and provide the opportunity to fulfill both process requirements with a few well-designed investigations. Early identification of opportunities for practical combined assessment can save money and time as the restoration process proceeds and facilitate a cooperative resolution of the entire site's CERCLA liability. The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) convened an invited workshop (August 2008) to address coordination between ERA and NRDA efforts. This paper presents the findings and conclusions of the Framework Work Group, which considered technical issues common to each process, while mindful of the current legal and policy landscape, and developed recommendations for future practice.


Although satellite imaging is widely used today, an airborne survey system is still more efficient and effective under certain circumstances. Airborne survey can successfully detect and transmit target information in real time that is useful and critical for related agencies, such as environmental management, natural-disaster monitor and control, etc. Using a real-time synthetic-aperture-radar image processing approach based on a distribution system, image data are synchronized with a global positioning system; a satellite-communication system of data transmission is designed and implemented; and a novel image-compression method, which is wavelet-based, is developed. The main idea of the proposed system is based on a function-distribution personal computer (PC) system: Data preprocessing, post processing, and extraction of images, data processing, image display, and image printing, are performed by different PCs. The method of image transmission proposed here is based on the satellite communication system. The proposed system has the advantage of low cost (both hardware prototype and maintenance) and rapid processing speed (only in several seconds; the disaster images from the air are processed and transmitted to the Disaster Reduction Center and to other users by the satellite communication system). The system has been applied to a real-time disaster monitor (such as a forest fire, a flood, etc.), real-time target tracking, large-scale topographic mapping, environmental survey, etc.


Acute retrobulbar neuritis occurred 24 days after an episode of Herpes zoster ophthalmicus in an otherwise healthy, 19-year-old man. Profound visual loss with consecutive optic atrophy ensued. Neurologic evaluation was normal and supported the presumptive diagnosis of parainfectious Herpes zoster retrobulbar neuritis.


We study optimal long-run capital taxation in a closed economy with heterogeneity in agents' time-discount factors where borrowing is allowed but restricted by a collateral constraint. Financial frictions distort intertemporal optimization margins and the tax system serves a dual role: first, it is used to finance government consumption; second, it serves to alleviate the distortions arising from the binding collateral constraint. The discrepancy between the private and the social discount factors pushes for a subsidy on capital, while the discrepancy introduced by the collateral constraint pushes for a tax in the long-run. When consumption smoothing motives are muted, the two effects counter-balance each other and the tax is zero. With finite elasticity of intertemporal substitution, the second discrepancy dominates and the tax on capital income is positive in the long-run.


In order to understand the strength and type of interactions involved in ternary solutions, the effect of solute or cosolute concentration and temperature is needed, as an understanding of these interactions is helpful in biochemical and biophysical chemistry. In this regard, we have studied the volumetric and ultrasonic properties of one of the most important vitamins, i.e., ascorbic acid, in water and in the presence of newly synthesized protic ionic liquid (1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-en-8-ium trifluoroacetate) at temperatures of 293.15–328.15 K and at atmospheric pressure. The experimentally measured density and speed of sound data were used to calculate apparent molar volume and isentropic compressibility, infinite dilution partial molar volume, and partial molar isentropic compressibility. Volume of transfer (ΔtV2° and ΔtK°s,2), expansion coefficients, pair and triplet volumetric interaction coefficients were also evaluated and discussed in terms of various interactions occurring between ascorbic...


Abstract. Among glacier instabilities, collapses of large parts of low-angle glaciers are a striking, exceptional phenomenon. So far, merely the 2002 collapse of Kolka Glacier in the Caucasus Mountains and the 2016 twin detachments of the Aru glaciers in western Tibet have been well documented. Here we report on the previously unnoticed collapse of an unnamed cirque glacier in the Central Andes of Argentina in March 2007. Although of much smaller ice volume, this 4.2±0.6×106 m3 collapse in the Andes is similar to the Caucasus and Tibet ones in that the resulting ice avalanche travelled a total distance of ∼2 km over a surprisingly low angle of reach (∼5∘).


Introduction to special issue on political debate

 This special issue is dedicated to the retirement of former editor in chief of the Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing Ton van Haaften. It presents an investigation of some aspects of the communicative activity type 'political debate' from both a discourse and a historical angle. A special focus is put on Dutch parliamentary debate, of which it is shown that its norms and conventions originate from nineteenth century parliamentary discussions on how to conduct such a debate. Ever since, the strategy of attacking politicians personally has both been employed for rhetorical purposes and fiercely criticized. It was also the (late) nineteenth century when a rhetorical style was introduced in politics, i.e. by former pastor and politician Abraham Kuyper, whose famous 'Maranatha' speech to his followers is analyzed for its rhetorical features. Today, even more than in Kuyper's days, politicians claim to speak on behalf of 'the people'. An inventory of the ways in which populist politician Geert Wilders presents his appeals to the people shows four stylistic features that may have a strategic function.