This study aims to develop a model of teaching and learning devices of Natural Science subject for primary schools. The devices include curriculum, syllabus, lesson plan, instructional media, and evaluation devices. To achieve the objective, this research applied research and development adopted from Thiagarajan's 4-D model (1974) with modification. The development consists of four steps: define, design, develop, and disseminate. In developing the teaching and learning devices, this study applied problembased learning approach by introducing the students to the real problems with five stages; the stages are (a) orient the students to the problem, (b) organize the students to learn, (c) guide the individual research or groups, (d) develop and present the results, and (e) analyze and evaluate the problem-solving process. State Primary school 12 Baruga Kendari, Indonesia was chosen as a place of research. The data were collected through documentation, observation, interviews, and testing. The data were analyzed descriptive qualitatively and quantitatively. The result of the research shows that the process of developing of the teaching and learning model (on Natural Science subject) with problembased approach consists of several steps; they are identification, needs analysis, design, development, and evaluation (final revision). The teaching and learning devices developed are valid and appropriate to use. The learning devices are effective to be used because of three main reasons: (1) achieving criteria existed above the minimum mastery criteria; (2) the experiment class test results were significantly higher than the control class test results; (3) the developed devices model has met the criteria of practicality.


Use of multispectral satellite data to predict arthropod-borne disease trouble spots is dependent on clear understandings of environmental factors that determine the presence of disease vectors. A blind test of remote sensing-based predictions for the spatial distribution of a malaria vector, Anopheles pseudopunctipennis, was conducted as a follow-up to two years of studies on vector-environmental relationships in Belize. Four of eight sites that were predicted to be high probability locations for presence of An. pseudopunctipennis were positive and all low probability sites (0 of 12) were negative. The absence of An. pseudopunctipennis at four high probability locations probably reflects the low densities that seem to characterize field populations of this species, i.e., the population densities were below the threshold of our sampling effort. Another important malaria vector, An. darlingi, was also present at all high probability sites and absent at all low probability sites. Anopheles darlingi, like An. pseudopunctipennis, is a riverine species. Prior to these collections at ecologically defined locations, this species was last detected in Belize in 1946.


Based on long time engineering research and dedicated collaborations with industry, a new welding software, SORPAS, has been developed for simulation of resistance projection and spot welding processes applying the powerful finite element method (FEM). In order to make the software directly usable by engineers and technicians in industry, all of the important parameters in resistance welding are considered and automatically implemented into the software. With the specially designed graphic user interface for Windows, engineers (even without prior knowledge of FEM) can quickly learn and easily operate and utilize the software. All industrial users, including welding engineers from DaimlerChrysler, Volkswangen, PSA Peugeot Citroen, VOLVO, Siemens, ABB and so on, have started using the software just after taking a one-day training course. With the user-friendly facilities for flexible geometric design of work pieces and electrodes as well as process parameter settings similar to real machine settings, the software has been readily applied in industry for supporting product development and process optimization. After simulation, the dynamic process parameters are graphically displayed. The distributions of temperature, current, stress and deformation in the materials are displayed in color, which can be animated like slow-motion video. The software has been extensively verified and today applied in various industries including automotive, electronics and other metal processing industries as well as welding equipment manufacturers.


This study was conducted to detect and analyse the presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae associated with a nosocomial outbreak at a Croatian hospital. During 2007, 162 K. pneumoniae isolates with reduced susceptibility to third-generation cephalosporins were collected from various hospital units and patient specimens. Most of the strains were isolated from urine (61 %), followed by blood cultures (13 %), wound swabs (13 %), tracheal aspirates (5 %), intra-abdominal abscess aspirates (4 %), intravascular catheters (3 %) and cerebrospinal fluid (1 %). Medical wards were the most important source of the isolates (46 %); 21 % of the isolates originated from surgical intensive-care units. All patients had infections acquired during their stay in hospital. No community-acquired infections were reported. Sixty of these isolates were chosen for further analysis. A double-disc synergy test (DDST) was used to detect ESBLs. MICs were determined by the broth microdilution method according to CLSI guidelines. The transferability of ceftazidime resistance was tested by conjugation (broth mating method). PCR was used to detect alleles encoding ESBL enzymes. Plasmids encoding ESBLs were extracted with the Macherey Nagel Mini kit according to the manufacturer's recommendations. The genotypes of the strains were compared by analysis of banding patterns generated by PFGE of XbaI-digested genomic DNA. ESBLs were found by DDST in all isolates. All strains were resistant to cefuroxime, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, aztreonam, piperacillin/tazobactam and ciprofloxacin. There was variable susceptibility/resistance to cefepime and gentamicin. No resistance to ceftazidime/clavulanate and carbapenems was observed. Only six strains transferred resistance to an Escherichia coli recipient strain, with low frequency. All isolates yielded an amplicon of 545 bp with consensus MA primers. Multiplex PCR was positive for group 1 CTX-M beta-lactamases. Sequencing of selected amplicons revealed the presence of bla(CTX-M-15), with coding regions containing identical nucleotide sequences. Similarly to isolates from India, our isolates contained the ISEcpI insertion sequence located upstream of the bla(CTX-M-15) gene, which has recently been demonstrated to mobilize 3'-adjacent genes to transfer between DNA replicons. The isolates contained a large plasmid of approximately 150 kb. The isolates were assigned to five clusters (>85 % similarity), which contained subclusters. The results of this work provided insights into the molecular epidemiology of the spread of ESBLs in K. pneumoniae involved in an outbreak at a Croatian hospital. The hospital antibiotic policy resulted in ceftriaxone being the most heavily prescribed third-generation cephalosporin, which might be expected to select for cefotaximases such as CTX-M-15.


This study examined the psychometric equivalence of paper-and-pencil and Internet formats of key questionnaires used in couple research. Self-report questionnaires assessing interpersonal constructs (relationship satisfaction, communication/ conflict management, partner support, emotional intimacy) and intrapersonal constructs (individual traits, psychological symptoms, contextual influences) were administered to young adults in committed dating relationships. The same measures were administered twice via paper-and-pencil and/or Internet methods over a 2-week period. Method order was counterbalanced among participants, and temporal stability was controlled. Intrapersonal and interpersonal measures generally remained reliable when administered online and demonstrated quantitative and qualitative equivalence across methods. The implications of online administration of questionnaires are discussed, and specific recommendations are made for researchers who wish to transition to online data collection.


The 4D RecOnstructiOn using Spatial and TEmpo- ral Regularization method is a recent 4D cone beam computed tomography algorithm. 4D ROOSTER has not been rigorously proved to converge. This paper aims to reformulate it using the Chambolle & Pock primal-dual optimization scheme. The convergence of this reformulated 4D ROOSTER is therefore guaranteed.


When they were discovered in 1999, the 16 vitamins cartels were probably the largest, most harmful, and harshest sanctioned international cartels of the late 20th century. Still today, the vitamins cartels are cited by antitrust authorities as the outstanding example of an enforcement action likely to deter cartel formation; this episode is also often mentioned by other legal experts as an egregious example of cartels subject to supra-optimal penalties. This paper summarizes the structural conditions and price effects of the global vitamins conspiracy and analyzes the deterrence power of world-wide monetary penalties paid by the corporate members of these cartels.1 The paper concludes that only in North America did monetary antitrust penalties exceed the monopoly profits of the vitamins cartel, principally because of huge private settlements. Penalties in the EU were a small percentage of European overcharges, and penalties in the rest of the world were negligible. On a global basis, deterrence was sup-optimal for three major reasons: low penalties outside North America, delays in the collection of fines and private settlements (i.e., the absence of court-awarded prejudgement interest), and the low probability of discovery of hidden cartels. Superseded by SSRN Working Paper 1105338 and summarized in my book Global Price Fixing (2nd edition 2007).


Recently, there has been a huge interest in multiresolution representations that also perform a multidirectional analysis. The Shearlet transform provides both a multiresolution analysis (such as the wavelet transform), and at the same time an optimally sparse image-independent representation for images containing edges. Existing discrete implementations of the Shearlet transform havemainly focused on specific applications, such as edge detection or denoising, and were not designed with a low redundancy in mind (the redundancy factor is typically larger than the number of orientation subbands in the finest scale). In this paper, we present a novel design of a Discrete Shearlet Transform, that can have a redundancy factor of 2.6, independent of the number of orientation subbands, and that has many interesting properties, such as shift-invariance and self-invertability. This transform can be used in a wide range of applications. Experiments are provided to show the improved characteristics of the transform.


The trend towards competition in the electricity sector has led to efforts by the research community to develop decision and analysis support models adapted to the new market context. This paper focuses on electricity generation market modeling. Its aim is to help to identify,classify and characterize the somewhat confusing diversity of approaches that can be found in the technical literature on the subject. The paper presents a survey of the most relevant publications regarding electricity market modeling, identifying three major trends: optimization models,equilibrium models and simulation models. It introduces a classification according to their most relevant attributes. Finally,it identifies the most suitable approaches for conducting various types of planning studies or market analysis in this new context.


The incidence of production and biological activity of various extracellular factors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from leukaemic and non-leukaemic patients were investigated. A panel of 157 isolates was constructed from blood of leukaemic (Group I), and other body sites of the same patients (Group II), and from various specimens of non-leukaemic patients (Group III). Most strains produced pyocyanin. Cross infection between patients was not a significant problem. The incidence of protease production was high (94%) and there was no significant quantitative difference between strains. Protease production was inhibited by plasma a2 macroglobulin but urine was not inhibitory for the enzyme. Protease activity was demonstrated with fibronectin by a specific ELISA. Complement degradation, particularly C3, was also demonstrated by gel electrophoresis and immunoglobulins IgG, M and A were destroyed by HPLC purified alkaline protease. The molecular weight of alkaline protease was found to be 36 kd and that of elastase to be 22 kd. All isolates produced a cytotoxin in plasma active on polymorphonuclear (PMN) leucocytes. Cytotoxic proteins purified by FPLC exhibited a wide range of molecular weights. Various ELISA assays were developed for the detection of exotoxin A production. The incidence of toxin was similar in each group. Exotoxin A was rare in urines from infected patients, but was frequent in serum especially from chronic infections. Exotoxin A levels in sera of leukaemic patients was low. Antibody to exotoxin A was also low and anomalous results were obtained. Haemolytic activity was universal for all isolates and much of this was due to heat-stable glycolipid. A hypothetical model of interaction between exotoxin A production and cytotoxin is proposed in which the cytotoxin of P. aeruginosa cause lysis of leucocytes with the resultant release of leucocyte elastase enzyme which is highly active on exotoxin A. Neutropenic patients lack target cells for cytotoxin and thus exotoxin A activity is unchecked.


Abstract Social workers' perceptions of their supervisors' dispositional goal orientations towards learning and performing act as powerful situational influences—in interaction with their own goal orientations— to affect social workers' job satisfaction. Social workers perceiving their supervisors' goal orientation to align with their own will experience greater job satisfaction. Supervisors cognizant of supervisees' goal orientations are more able to provide individually motivating tasks, support, and rewards. Such inquiry offers a promising direction for improving the work conditions of social workers. An increase in job satisfaction should be correlated with an increase in improved client outcomes and reduction in social worker turnover.


Introduction Neonatal septicaemia is life-threatening emergency that demands urgent management and leading cause of neonatal mortality accounting nearly half of all neonatal deaths. Blood culture is gold standard method for diagnosis but changing pattern of organisms and frequent emergence of resistant bacteria causes difficulty in treatment. Non-specificity of symptoms creates difficulty in diagnosis of infections in the early stage. Present study was conducted with the objectives of isolation of bacteria from blood, their sensitivity and resistance pattern, correlation of maternal and fetal risk factors. Methods Study was conducted in tertiary care centre on 210 cases of clinically diagnosed neonatal septicaemia admitted in NICU. Blood culture was done in all cases by conventional three subculture method and antibiotic sensitivity was done by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion. All cases were studied for maternal & fetal risk factors. Results Blood culture was positive in 49.05% cases. Klebsiella Pneumoniae was frequently isolated pathogen (63.11%), followed by Escherichia coli (12.62%) and Staphylococcus aureus (10.68%). Gram negative isolates from enterobactericeae were 100% sensitive to imipenem followed by amikacin and cefotaxime. S aureus isolates were 100% sensitive to vancomycin followed by amikacin and cloxacillin. The commonest maternal risk factors were muconium stained amniotic fluid (42.72%), premature rupture of membrane (33%), History of fever (20.39%). Fetal risk factors commonly present were 79.61% low birth weight, 67.96% neonates were preterm and birth asphyxia (65.05%). Conclusion There is a need of continuous surveillance of the bacteriological profile and antimicrobial sensitivity pattern of neonatal septicaemia in each and every NICU.


NaSi-1 is a Na-sulfate cotransporter expressed on the apical membrane of the renal proximal tubule and plays an important role in sulfate reabsorption. To understand the molecular mechanisms that mediate the regulation of NaSi-1, we have isolated and characterized the mouse NaSi-1 cDNA (mNaSi-1), gene (Nas1), and promoter region and determined Nas1 chromosomal localization. The mNaSi-1 cDNA encodes a protein of 594 amino acids with 13 putative transmembrane segments, inducing high affinity Na-dependent transport of sulfate in Xenopus oocytes. Three different mNaSi-1 transcripts derived from alternative polyadenylation and splicing were identified in kidney and intestine. The Nas1 gene is a single copy gene comprising 15 exons spread over 75 kilobase pairs that maps to mouse chromosome 6. Transcription initiation occurs from a single site, 29 base pairs downstream to a TATA box-like sequence. The promoter is AT-rich (61%), contains a number of well characterized cis-acting elements, and can drive basal transcriptional activity in opossum kidney cells but not in COS-1 or NIH3T3 cells. We demonstrated that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 stimulated the transcriptional activity of the Nas1 promoter in transiently transfected opossum kidney cells. This study represents the first characterization of the genomic organization of a Na-sulfate cotransporter gene. It also provides the basis for a detailed analysis of Nas1 gene regulation and the tools required for assessing Nas1 role in sulfate homeostasis using targeted gene manipulation in mice.


Article history: Received 15 January 2014 Received in revised form 19 April 2014 Accepted 24 April 2014 Available online 5 May 2014


Background: Approximately 47000 pregnancy related deaths occur due to complication of unsafe abortion. To correct this Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had appointed the expert group for MTP Act and amend it to enable increased access to safe abortion services for all women. The WHOs preferred methods to safely and effectively terminate pregnancy during the first trimester of pregnancy are vacuum aspiration and medication abortion. Objectives: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of MVA and EVA in first trimester pregnancy termination. Methods: Study includes cases of pregnancy with less than or equal to 12 weeks of gestation. After receiving consent, cases allocated in two groups Group A followed Manual Vacuum Aspiration while Group B followed Electric Vacuum Aspiration. Each group contains 75 cases. During these procedures, relation of uterine size, blood loss, post-operative pain score, complications were noted and compared between two procedures. Results: The average blood loss was significantly higher in MVA group in more than 10 weeks of gestation. MVA is comparatively less painful than EVA. There is no major difference in complications. Conclusion: MVA is best suited for infra-structure in rural areas and is very useful in poor resource setting hence It is best suited for rural setting, where there is an unmet need for abortion services. Key words: Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA), Electric Vacuum Aspiration (EVA), Medicaltermination of pregnancy


In the past, organisations could concentrate on their internal capabilities, emphasising product
performance and technology innovation. Organisations that did not understand their customers' needs eventually found that competitors could make inroads by offering products or services better aligned to their customers' preferences. Many Facilities Management organisations today have a mission focused on the customer, and how the organisation is performing its customers' perspective has become a priority for the organisational management. How the FM organisation is performing through the eyes of its customers has therefore become a priority issue for facilities managers. This captures the ability of the organisation to provide quality goods and services, the effectiveness of their delivery, and overall customer service and satisfaction. It places importance on the organisation's ability to achieve its vision, and how it wants to be seen by its customers. This paper will discuss some of the important FM customer related processes and mechanisms associated with its measurement identified through a series of case studies carried out as part of a major research study


A very important scientific advance was the identification of HIV as a causative agent for AIDS.
HIV infection typically involves three main stages: a primary acute infection, a long asymptomatic
period and a final increase in viral load with a simultaneous collapse in healthy CD4+T cell count
during which AIDS appears. Motivated by the worldwide impact of HIV infection on health and
the difficulties to test in vivo or in vitro the different hypothesis which help us to understand the
infection, we study the problem from a control theoretic perspective. We present a deterministic
ordinary differential equation model that is able to represent the three main stages in HIV infection.
The mechanism behind this model suggests that macrophages could be long-term latent reservoirs
for HIV and may be important in the progression to AIDS. To avoid or slow this progression to
AIDS, antiretroviral drugs were introduce in the late eighties. However, these drugs are not always
successful causing a viral rebound in the patient. This rebound is associated with the emergence of
resistance mutations resulting in genotypes with reduced susceptibility to one or more of the drugs.
To explore antiretroviral effects in HIV, we extend the mathematical model to include the impact
of therapy and suggest different mutation models. Under some additional assumptions the model
can be seen to be a positive switched dynamic system. Consequently we test clinical treatments
and allow preliminary control analysis for switching treatments. After introducing the biological
background and models, we formulate the problem of treatment scheduling to mitigate viral escape
in HIV. The goal of this therapy schedule is to minimize the total viral load for the period
of treatment. Using optimal control theory a general solution in continuous time is presented for
a particular case of switched positive systems with a specific symmetry property. In this case the
optimal switching rule is on a sliding surface. For the discrete-time version several algorithms based
on linear programming are proposed to reduce the computational burden whilst still computing the
optimal sequence. Relaxing the demand of optimality, we provide a result on state-feedback stabilization
of autonomous positive switched systems through piecewise co-positive Lyapunov functions
in continuous and discrete time. The performance might not be optimal but provides a tractable
solution which guarantees some level of performance. Model predictive control (MPC) has been
considered as an important suboptimal technique for biological applications, therefore we explore
this technique to the viral escape mitigation problem.


Summary:
 Gilbert Westacott Reynolds (1895–1967) was the doyen of Aloe students from 1930 to 1966. The first bibliography of his work is provided. It lists a total of 122 publications on the genus, of which 8 are books, the major ones being The Aloes of South Africa (1950, with three later editions) and The Aloes of Tropical Africa and Madagascar (1966). He published 73 papers in the Journal of South African Botany in which species were revised and new ones described. He named 83 new species and 19 new varieties: these 102 names account for c.11% of new epithets published in Aloe since 1753, making him the most prolific publisher of such names of all time. It is emphasized that Reynolds aimed to illustrate his publications with high quality photos and a previously unpublished proof plate is included as an example of his work. He published a series of travelogues from which brief extracts with commentaries are included. Notes are also provided on some of his major collaborators for his studies in tropical Africa and on his commemorations and awards.


e propose a deformable surface parameterization that is generic and lets us automatically build registered shape databases. This allows us to directly derive low-dimensional shape models using a simple dimensionality reduction technique. This addresses one of the biggest difficulties in example-based shape modeling: Building the required database, which is often a difficult and painstaking process. We incorporate the resulting models into a monocular tracking system that we use to capture the complex deformations of objects such as sheets of papers or expanding balloons from single video sequences.


Solving optimization tasks based on functions and losses with a topological flavor is a very active, growing field of research in data science and Topological Data Analysis, with applications in non-convex optimization, statistics and machine learning. However, the approaches proposed in the literature are usually anchored to a specific application and/or topological construction, and do not come with theoretical guarantees. To address this issue, we study the differentiability of a general map associated with the most common topological construction, that is, the persistence map. Building on real analytic geometry arguments, we propose a general framework that allows us to define and compute gradients for persistence-based functions in a very simple way. We also provide a simple, explicit and sufficient condition for convergence of stochastic subgradient methods for such functions. This result encompasses all the constructions and applications of topological optimization in the literature. Finally, we provide associated code, that is easy to handle and to mix with other non-topological methods and constraints, as well as some experiments showcasing the versatility of our approach.


This paper aims to analyze the relationship between financial development and eco nomic growth in Latin American countries with higher per capita GDP . To do this, a regression model for panel data is used. The results of several econometric tests show that models that best fit the data are those with fixed effects and instrumental variables; however, there is no clear evidence that financial development leads to economic growth, which may indicate that in order to explain this linkage it is essential to consider other variables such as macroeconomic stability and institutional strength.


Water polo was originally developed in the British Isles. The colloquial term "aquatic football" was quickly adopted in many countries and their sport systems. With the adoption of the first rules (1929) the development of technique and tactics was intensified, and the philosophy of the game itself deepened. An important development factor was the founding and the work of the International Swimming Federation (FINA, 1908) and its water polo board (1929), as well as the affirmation through the Olympic Games program (Paris, 1900), European (Budapest 1926) and World Championships (Belgrade 1973). Water polo appeared in Serbia at the beginning of the last century, when the students from Sombor who studied in Budapest "transferred" the essence and the appeal of this game to Serbia. The students - the players of Sombor sports society won the first Kingdom of Yugoslavia National Championship in water polo held in Bled (1921). The primacy was quickly obtained by the teams from the sea coast, primarily the "WPC Jug" from Dubrovnik, and from the 1960s also the teams from the continental part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, primarily Partizan and Mladost. The water polo organization played a significant role in the development of water polo in the SFRY and ensured the conditions for the development of "the Yugoslav school of water polo". The successes of the national team and the clubs during the period of the SFRY, continue in today's Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia. The national independence of the Republic of Serbia (2006) did not affect the national team's results. The teams of the Serbian Water Polo Federation, from 2006 to 2016 have accomplished extraordinary sports results, and today, at the end of 2020, the Serbian senior national team is ranked first on the FINA's list of national teams. This paper addresses the golden decade of Serbian water polo (2006-2016). It aims at analysing the factors considered to have influenced the development of the water polo game, primarily, the players - their talent and hard work, coaches, the efficient national organization, sports officials, science and scientific methods… all of them who together encourage the improvement and development of the water polo game through individual contribution - the Serbian players' ethos.


The Family Center is an alternative educational program available by choice to pregnant teen-agers enrolled in Arlington County VA schools. Students enter the program at various stages of pregnancy and remain until six weeks after delivery. Data from these students were collected for two academic years from clinical interviews in order to describe several characteristics of these pupils with multiple health care needs. (authors)


Human rights policies and practices in the People's Republic of China have repeatedly been criticized for falling short of international standards. Although China has signed the international covenant on civil and political rights, so far it has ratified only the international covenant on economic, social, and cultural rights, despite repeated urgings by the international community. China's performance even under the agreements to which it is bound remains a subject of frequent criticism.1 While China's compliance with international human rights standards seems highly problematic, its human rights record can be explained at least in part by reference to China's divergent interpretations of these standards based on factors of local legal culture. The paradigm of "selective adaptation" explains much about the ways in which international legal standards are interpreted and applied in light of local legal cultural norms in China.2 As well, China's compliance with its international human rights commitments may be understood by reference to factors of institutional performance. The paradigm of institutional capacity explains the ways that conditions of perspective, identity, and organization affect the performance of governance institutions. As an alternative to normative analysis of human rights violations, the cultural and structural dimensions of selective adaptation and institutional capacity explain much about China's human rights policies and practice.LEGAL CULTURE AND SELECTIVE ADAPTATIONLegal culture analysis permits appreciation of the tensions between the globalized systems of liberal legal norms, from which many international human rights standards derive, and deeply embedded systems of local norms and values. China's legal reform project represents in significant part an effort to adapt selectively foreign models of law and governance drawn largely from the liberal tradition.3 This involves questions about the potential for normative community between Chinese legal culture and the foreign models China is seeking to apply to its development project. Proceeding from tenets about human equality and natural law, liberal political and legal norms stand generally for the proposition that government should be an agency of popular will.4 Such agency requires accountability, from political leaders through democratic elections and from administrative agencies acting within the limits of lawfully delegated authority. Responsible agency is thus a typology by which regulators and their political superiors are accountable to the subjects of regulation, and as a result are expected to exercise regulatory authority broadly in accordance with norms of transparency and the rule of law. Thus, the accountability of political and administrative agents may be described in terms of their responsibility to society. In contrast, norms of governance in China suggest a typology of patrimonial sovereignty, by which regulators are accountable primarily to their bureaucratic and political superiors, and as a result have few obligations to heed the subjects of rule in the process or substance of regulation. Under the dynamic of patrimonial sovereignty, political leaders and administrative agencies have responsibility for society but are not responsible to it. This helps to set an ideological context by which protection of individual human rights is relegated to secondary status, behind the primacy of the state.Tensions between responsible agency and patrimonial sovereignty affect compliance with international human rights standards through the dynamic of selective adaptation, by which non-local institutional practices and organizational forms are mediated by local norms. While parties to international human rights treaties accept compliance obligations upon ratification, as a practical matter interpretation and application of specific international human rights standards will depend on a degree of commonality between the sodocultural norms underlying these standards and local norms. …


Lessons cover all four skill areas as well as grammar and vocabulary. Each unit ends with a DVD lesson based around an extract from a BBC programme which provides a springboard for meaningful speaking and writing tasks. Models of authentic English are also provided through interviews filmed on the street by the BBC. ActiveBook is the Students' Book in digital format with integrated audio and video from the course and includes: Easy navigation of the Students' Book pages with zoom facility Video and audio available at the touch of a button BBC programme clips that can be played in a DVD player or computer Video Podcasts with accompanying worksheets


Distributed data aggregation is an important task, allowing the decentralized determination of meaningful global properties, which can then be used to direct the execution of other applications. The resulting values are derived by the distributed computation of functions like Count, Sum, and Average. Some application examples deal with the determination of the network size, total storage capacity, average load, majorities and many others. In the last decade, many different approaches have been proposed, with different trade-offs in terms of accuracy, reliability, message and time complexity. Due to the considerable amount and variety of aggregation algorithms, it can be difficult and time consuming to determine which techniques will be more appropriate to use in specific settings, justifying the existence of a survey to aid in this task. This work reviews the state of the art on distributed data aggregation algorithms, providing three main contributions. First, it formally defines the concept of aggregation, characterizing the different types of aggregation functions. Second, it succinctly describes the main aggregation techniques, organizing them in a taxonomy. Finally, it provides some guidelines toward the selection and use of the most relevant techniques, summarizing their principal characteristics.


Adult-onset autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is caused by mutations in either the PKD1 or PKD2 gene, leading to malfunction of their gene products, polycystin 1 or 2. Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) expression and activity are increased in PKD1 mutant renal epithelial cells. Here we studied the effect of ACY-1215, a specific HDAC6 inhibitor, on cyst growth in ADPKD. Treatment with ACY-1215 slowed cyst growth in a mouse model of ADPKD that forms massive cysts within 3 wk after knockout of polycystin 1 function. It also prevented cyst formation in MDCK.2 cells, an in vitro model of cystogenesis, and in an ADPKD cell line derived from the proximal tubules from a pkd1-/-.mouse (PN cells). In PN cells ACY-1215 also reduced the size of already established cysts. We found that ACY-1215 lowered cAMP levels and protein expression of adenylyl cyclase 6. Our results suggest that HDAC6 could potentially serve as a therapeutic target in ADPKD.


The removal of chromium (VI) from aqueous solutions by activated alumina has been investigated as a function of solution pH, initial chromium concentration, adsorbent dose of activated alumina and temperature. The pH and the adsorbent dose of activated alumina are the most significant parameters affecting chromium (VI) adsorption. The chromium concentrations were analyzed by reaction with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide. This method has been validated according to the French standard XPT-90-210. In order to optimize the effect of the main parameters and their mutual interaction for the adsorption process, a full factor design of the type nk has been used. Thus, the total number of trial experiments needed for an investigation is 24. The Freundlich and Langmuir models have been applied and the equilibrium adsorption data were found to best fit the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherm. A comparison of kinetic models applied to the adsorption of chromium (VI) on activated alumina was evaluated for the first-ord...


There is little similarity between asbestos, HIV, and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. However, their histories illustrate the three keys for effective detection and control of disease: clinical identification, laboratory detection, and public response. In diseases where all elements of this three-step framework were in place, the time from initial observation to appropriate public response tended to occur quickly. For example, in late November 2002, an atypical pneumonia that ultimately came to be known as severe acute respiratory syndrome made its appearance in China and a few other countries in East Asia. Once the World Health Organization was notified in February 20031, a massive coordinated response was deployed. The causative agent was identified within two weeks2 and the disease was halted by effective quarantine in 42 days3.


In the indigenous system of medicine in India, the plant Aerva javanica commonly termed as Tella burga is claimed to be useful for various ailments, and one such use is for the treatment of renal calculi. The major purpose of this study is to investigate the potential activity of Aerva javanica in the treatment of renal calculi. Urolithiasis is the process of development of crystal in the urinary tract. Wistar rats were taken and they are divided into nine groups. The first group used as normal and remaining groups received ethylene glycol 0.75% by orally for 28days. Second group received ethylene glycol Group-III received cystone (750mg/kg) till 28th day. Groups IV, V, VI and VII, VIII and IX served as preventive regimen received Aerva javanica aqueous extract, methanolic extract and ethyl acetate extract (200mg/kg and 400mg/kg) per oral respectively from 1st day till 28th day. On the 28th day of experiment animals were housed in metabolic cages and 24 hours urine samples and serum samples were collected. The urine was subjected to microscopical study to observe the crystals. The parameters monitored in the present study are uric acid, creatinine, sodium, potassium, magnesium oxalates and calcium in urine and serum samples. Ethylene glycol feeding resulted in hyperoxaluria as well increased renal excretion of calcium and oxalates. Treatment with aqueous, methanol and ethyleacetate extract of Aerva javanica roots significantly reduced the elevated urinary oxalate, showing a regulatory action on endogenous oxalate synthesis. The increased deposition of stone forming constituents in the serum and urine of calculogenic rats was also significantly lowered


There has been interest recently on particle physics models that may give rise to sharp gamma ray spectral features from dark matter annihilation. Because dark matter is supposed to be electrically neutral, it is challenging to build weakly interacting massive particle models that may accommodate both a large cross section into gamma rays at, say, the Galactic center, and the right dark matter abundance. In this work, we consider the gamma ray signatures of a class of scalar dark matter models that interact with Standard Model dominantly through heavy vector-like fermions (the vector-like portal). We focus on a real scalar singlet S annihilating into lepton-antilepton pairs. Because this two-body final-state annihilation channel is d-wave suppressed in the chiral limit, σfv∝v4, we show that virtual internal bremsstrahlung emission of a gamma ray gives a large correction, both today and at the time of freeze-out. For the sake of comparison, we confront this scenario to the familiar case of a Majorana singlet annihilating into light lepton-antilepton pairs, and show that the virtual internal bremsstrahlung signal may be enhanced by a factor of (up to) two orders of magnitude. We discuss the scope and possible generalizations of the model.


Both Scotland and South Africa recognize a requirement of excusable mistake in the context of the condictio indebiti, the action for the recovery of mistaken payments. Since the law of unjustified enrichment in both jurisdictions is essentially civilian in origin, this resemblance is unsurprising. However, the requirement has in fact evolved very differently in each of these jurisdictions. While Scottish law demonstrates the relatively orderly and linear development of the excusability requirement from its origins in Roman law, the influence of the ius commune remedy of restitutio in integrum on the South African condictio indebiti has been a decisive factor in the progressive strengthening of this requirement in South African law. Drawing on Scottish and South African case law, this article identifies three distinct ways in which the concept of 'excusable mistake' can be understood, dubbed careless mistake, blameless mistake and justifiable mistake. Each of these versions of the requirement is evaluated, first, according to whether it is compatible with the principles underlying the condictio indebiti and, secondly, according to whether it is supported by any compelling argument of policy or equity. It is concluded that whereas the version of the requirement dominant in modern Scottish law is defensible as a matter of principle, any role which it might play as a mechanism for protecting the security of receipts is largely obviated by the defence of change of position or loss of enrichment. The second and third versions of the requirement, however, are found to be wholly incompatible with the principles underlying the condictio: whereas the second rests on an inappropriate analogy between mistake as a reason for restitution and mistake as an excuse for wrongful conduct, the third rests on a conception of the condictio indebiti - as a form of equitable intervention based on of the unconscionable conduct of the recipient - which is entirely alien to the principled basis of the action.


In eye-tracking-based reading behavior research, gaze sampling errors often negatively affect gaze-to-word mapping. In this paper, we propose a method for more accurate mapping by first taking adjacent horizontally progressive fixations as segments, and then classifying the segments into six classes using a random forest classifier. The segments are then reconstructed based on the classification, and are associated with a document line using a dynamic programming algorithm. The combination of segment-to-line mapping and transition classification achieved 87% mapping accuracy. We also witnessed a reduction of manual annotation time when the mapping was used as an annotation guiding tool.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) surgery is an effective, safe and satisfactory treatment option for medication-refractory erectile dysfunction. Postoperative complications include infection, mechanical failure, erosion, and pain. Current literature suggests the need for a better approach to postoperative pain management after IPP surgery. Furthermore, targeted pain management strategies for diabetic patients have been suggested in the non-urologic literature, as several clinical studies have demonstrated that postoperative pain is different in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a difference in postoperative pain after IPP placement in diabetics. METHODS: This is a single-institution retrospective review of 173 primary three-piece IPP prosthesis cases performed between 2014 and 2017. The main outcome measure was the number of 30-day postoperative emergency room and unplanned clinic visits specifically for significant pain. T-test was used for mean assessment and chi-square analysis was used for proportion assessment. P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. The top HgbA1C quartile (with values greater than or equal to 8) was compared to the other quartiles, for a total of 30 (23%) and 98 (77%) patients, respectively. RESULTS: Diabetes was present in 92 (54.4%) patients and 96% of these were in the top HgbA1C quartile. Significant postoperative pain was more common in these patients (41% versus 13%, p = 0.047) and resulted in more unplanned 30-day post-operative visits (27% versus 11%, p = 0.042). These patients were more likely to be managed with a combination of opiates and gabapentin (30% versus 14%, p = 0.05). There were no statistical differences in age in diabetics and non-diabetics (mean 59 versus 61, p= 0.193). Hispanic and African-American patients represented 87% of the poorly controlled diabetics compared to only 13% of white patients (p <0.001). Poorly controlled diabetics had more medical comorbidities (p < 0.001). There were no differences in intra- or postoperative surgical complications in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Significant pain after IPP surgery was statistically higher in diabetics in the top HgbA1C quartile, which resulted in more unplanned 30-day post-operative visits. Approximately 90% of diabetics with HgbA1C greater than 8 were African-American and Hispanic patients. Patients with significant postoperative pain were managed with a combination of opioids and gabapentin. Future studies are required to optimize pain management in diabetics following IPP placement. Source of Funding: none


Background: The problems of increased maternal morbidity and mortality in the developing countries like Nigeria have been associated with attitudes and socio-cultural practices of women during pregnancy and childbirth. Knowledge, culture and experience determine expectation of pregnancy and childbirth outcomes. Social cultural practices reflect attitudes, belief held by people for generations. Every social group worldwide has unique cultural practices and beliefs, whether beneficial or harmful. Harmful practices like food restriction and traditional practices during pregnancy may result to maternal malnutrition and poor maternal health. Women with these health conditions could have babies with low birth weight, neonatal deaths and still births. This study aimed to assess the attitudes and socio-cultural practices that affect the outcome of pregnancy and childbirth. It is also aimed to identify the extent to which Social Support and SelfEfficacy perceptions influence cultural practices. Materials and method: Sample for the study was made up of 405 women who have delivered babies a year prior to the study. Moniya is made up of seven villages. Five villages were randomly selected for study. Systematic sampling was adopted. In each of the 5 villages studied, every third household was sampled and all the women who have had children a year prior to the study was included. Two instruments, questionnaire and focus group discussion were used for data collection. Four women of childbearing age vast with knowledge of pregnancy related risk factors were trained as interviewers. Data were analyzed with the use of EPIINFO (version 6.0). Positive attitudes to keep healthy, like attending antenatal (ANC) regularly, eating high protein foods and vegetables were emphasized. Results: An important finding from the Focus Group Discussion(FGDs) was that majority of the pregnant women avoided eating bush meat "To avoid having deformed babies" that looks like animals. Green vegetables for the common belief that eating such might cause their babies to hiccough, gasp during breast feeding and Plantain delayed closure of fontanel respectively. Results also showed that 27(6.6%) with no formal education and 168(41.5%) who completed secondary education registered and regularly attended ANC. These showed that the more educated the pregnant women were, the more they registered and attended the ANC. Conclusion: From the findings of the study periodic health education of pregnant women on how to minimize unhealthy cultural practices is recommended.


In wartime Japan's bid for conquest, humanity suffered through one of its darkest hours, as a hidden genocide took the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Cloaked in secrecy and protected under the banner of scientific study, the best and brightest of Japan's medical establishment volunteered for a major initiative in support of the military that involved the systematic murder of Chinese civilians. With the help of the United States government, they were allowed to get away with it. Based on important original research, this book reveals as never before the full extent of this crime, in a story that is as compelling as it is terrifying. Beginning in 1931, the military of Imperial Japan came up with a new strategy to further the nation's drive for expansion: germ warfare. But they needed help to figure out how to do it. So they recruited thousands of doctors and research scientists, all of whom accepted willingly, in order to develop a massive program of biological warfare that was referred to as "the secret of secrets." This covert operation consisted of horrifying human experiments and germ weapon attacks against people whose lives were seen as expendable, including Chinese men, women, and children living in Manchuria and other areas of Japanese occupation. Even American POWs were targeted. At the forefront of this disturbing enterprise wasan elite organization known as Unit 731, led by Japan's answer to Joseph Mengele, Dr. Shiro Ishii. Under Ishii'sorders, captives were subjected to deeds that strain the boundaries of imagination. Men and women were frozen alive to study the effects of frostbite. Others were dissected without anesthesia. Tied to posts, victims were infected with virulent strains of anthrax and other diseases. Entire cities were aerially sprayed with fleas carrying bubonic plague. All told, more than five hundred thousand people died. Yet after the war, U.S. occupation forces under General Douglas MacArthur struck a deal with the doctors of Unit 731 that shielded them from accountability for their atrocities. In this meticulously documented work, Daniel Barenblatt has drawn upon startling new evidence of Japan's germ warfare program, including firsthand accounts from both perpetrators and survivors. Authoritative, alarming, and gripping from start to finish, A Plague upon Humanity is a powerful investigation that exposes one of the most shameful chapters in human history.


Female patients have been shown to have a different risk profile and increased adverse events after coronary bypass grafting (CAB). The objective was to create a risk profile based on gender and look at outcomes in propensity matched groups with similar factors differing by gender. From May 2001 to December 2006, 976 patients underwent isolated CAB. Univariable analysis created a risk profile for female and male patients. Multivariable logistic regression was used to develop independent predictors of mortality. Propensity matching for the most predictive variables of adverse was used to create matched sets of 269 male and female patients to analyze outcomes independent of these variables. Of the 976 patients 31.7% were female. Of the 19 preoperative risk factors analyzed, diabetes, hypertension, older age, higher body mass index (BMI), African-American race were more predictive of female gender. Males had more smokers and acute myocardial infarction within seven days before surgery. Independent predictors of mortality were female gender (P=0.01), diabetes (P=0.02), increased age (P=0.02), acute MI <7 days (P=0.003). Propensity matching (for smoking, diabetes, hypertension, MI <7 days, age, BMI and race) still showed increased in-hospital complications and mortality for female patients. Female patients undergoing CAB have a different risk profile and have a higher incidence of adverse outcomes including death, which are not mitigated by careful matching with male patients.


Paxman recently held its first 'Smart Scalp Cooling Symposium' at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Huddersfield on the 16 May 2013. This animation is created to demonstrate the concept design and development enabled the team to create a unique Cap design solution for scalp cooling cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in preventing the trauma of hair loss. This resulted in significant improvements to the cap using anthropometric data, 3D head scanning and 3D modeling for a novel system for cap production. Working closely with a major silicon manufacturer a new manufacturing system for the production of the world's first disposable scalp cooling cap was developed completed. The system reduce cap production cost and allows mass quantity product for a global marketplace. The new design also offers better user experience through improved comfort and fit and heat conductivity. The project covers prototype manufacture using 3D laser sintering technology. The product shall be protected by world patent cover and is subject to Non-Disclosure agreements.


ABSTRACT Agricultural field boundary information is important and often required for the geosciences and the agricultural sector. In this paper, a novel method is developed to extract sub-boundaries within the permanent boundaries of agricultural land parcels from high-resolution optical satellite imagery using an improved cluster-based snake model. The method takes the advantage of the results of an automatic fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering and edge detection to compute external forces for an improved gradient vector flow (GVF) snake model. The GVF snake algorithm is improved by using an automatic seeding model based on clustering results and image moment functions. To seed the improved GVF algorithm, an ellipse is automatically delineated for each cluster within agricultural parcel by utilizing image moment functions (in particular silhouette moments). The GVF snake model is then implemented for each seed, one seed at a time. Active contours tend to have curve shapes rather than straight lines due to their structure that consists of several connected nodes within each contour. Therefore, the final accurate results are obtained after performing a three-stage line simplification operation. The experiments of the method were conducted on 20 test fields in a study area located near to the town of Karacabey, Turkey, using the 4-m resolution IKONOS multispectral (xs) image, the 2.44-m resolution QuickBird xs image, and the 0.61-m resolution QuickBird pan-sharpened (PS) image. Experimental results demonstrate that using both the clustering and edge detection results as external forces for the improved GVF snake model increases the accuracy of the results. In addition, the developed method showed a fairly good performance in extracting sub-boundaries for the fields comprising crops with an inherent high inner heterogeneity, such as rice and corn. The method can potentially be applied in the extraction of within-field sub-boundaries from high-resolution satellite imagery in agricultural areas.


The Palaung (or Ta'ang), whose languages belong to the Austroasiatic family, live on mountain slopes and ridges in Shan State, adjacent Yunnan, and northern Thailand. In addition to the Burmese term 'Palaung' (perhaps itself connected to Blang and Bulang, names of another Austroasiatic group), insiders and outsiders have used a number of other names to refer to all or some of the Palaung. Besides the names Kojima outlines in his article in this Focus, the Burmese refer to the Samlong as 'Shwe' (Burmese for 'gold'), and the Rucing as 'Ngwe' (Burmese for 'silver'). These terms have their origins in the decorations on women's clothing. The Rumai are sometimes called 'Black Palaung', as the cloth of the women's dresses is mainly black. In terms of language, these three names also indicate varieties that are not immediately mutually intelligible.


As dog red blood cells are shrunken in vitro, their sodium permeability increases progressively. Some new features of this volume-responsive transport process are described. Retardation of sodium movements in shrunken cells occurs when chloride is replaced by the more conductive anions: nitrate or thiocyanate. Micromolar concentrations of amiloride or quinidine inhibit the increment of sodium flux associated with a reduction in cell volume. In the presence of a large outwardly directed sodium gradient, dog red blood cells can progressively alkalinize the medium in which they are suspended. This pH change is stimulated by cell shrinkage, reversed by cell swelling, retarded when chloride is replaced by nitrate or thiocyanate, and inhibited by micromolar concentrations of amiloride or quinidine. The similarities between the shrinkage-associated sodium flux and the alkalinization phenomenon suggest that the mechanism responsible for increased sodium permeability in shrunken cells can be made to operate as a sodium-hydrogen exchanger.


This paper describes a three-phase AC/DC power converter involving a simple rectifier topology, which operates in PFC mode. This topology is close to another known, i.e. the VIENNA one. Two coils are involved in each phase. This permits to get a "Double Boost Effect" and improves the rectifier features. The mains currents are under control of three analog self-oscillating controllers. Simulations and experimental results illustrate the operation of the single and three phase rectifiers.


In this chapter, the behavior of hydrogen (H) atoms in polycrystalline silicon (poly‐Si) thin film is investigated in detail in order to evaluate and improve the quality of hydrogenated poly‐Si thin films. Hydrogenation drastically improves the Hall effect mobility, whereas excessive hydrogenation tends to degrade it. The catalytic method is useful to inhibit excessive hydrogenation and damage suffered by the electric‐field acceleration of charged particle. The H‐termination of the dangling bonds at grain boundaries can be observed indirectly or directly by chemical etching and Raman microscopy. This H‐termination appeared as the 2000 cm ‐1 local vibrational mode (LVM) in Raman spectra. The breaking of the Si–Si bonds by hydrogenation was detected as the 2100 cm ‐1 LVM. In addition, the defects generated in the plasma process exhibit multiple fine LVMs after hydrogenation. Moreover, we investigated the hydrogenation of low‐temperature (LT) poly‐Si thin‐film transistors (TFTs) from the perspective of the gettering phenomenon. The most important parameter for effective hydrogenation using H gas annealing is the rate of cooling from 400°C.


ABSTRACT
ObjectivesTo examine the risk of abuse and neglect for children with different types of disabilities taking into account other existing adversities, including socioeconomic disadvantage, parental mental health issues, etc.
ApproachPopulation based record linkage study of all children born between 1990-2010 utilising the Western Australian Register of Developmental Anomalies, the Intellectual Disabilities Exploring Answers database, Health data and Child Protection data.
ResultsAfter taking into account existing adversities intellectual disability was associated with the highest risk of a child maltreatment allegation and entering out-of-home care. Further results include risk by level of intellectual disability and causes of disability.
ConclusionDifferent disabilities are associated with differing risk of child maltreatment and child protection involvement. Groups that are considered at higher risk require services to identify and address the support needs of this group and determine how prevention and early intervention can lower the risk for child abuse and neglect in this vulnerable group.


To further improve the bioactivity of Ti6Al4V alloy and to accelerate bone growth, the porous TiO2 coating containing calcium and phosphate prepared on Ti6Al4V alloy substrate using micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technique was treated in 5M NaOH aqueous solution at 60 °C for 24 h and followed by a heat treatment at 400 °C for 1 hour (termed as MAONH). The experimental results showed that Ca2+ and P5+ easily precipitated on the MAONH coating and formed a thicker apatite film. The reason could be ascribed to hydrolysis of CaTiO3, which resulted in appearance of large numbers of Ca2+ and OH- ions within coating.


Among postimpressionist painters, Van Gogh, Seurat, Cezanne, and Gauguin produced a remarkable body of work that responded to a cultural and spiritual crisis in the avant-garde world - influences that pushed them toward an increasing reliance on science, literature, and occultism. In "Revelation of Modernism", renowned art historian Albert Boime reappraises specific works by these masters from a perspective more appreciative of the individuals' inner conflicts, offering the art world a new understanding of a period fraught with apocalyptic fears and existential anxieties.Building on the seminal observations of Sven Lovgren from a half-century ago, Boime rejects popular notions of "art for art's sake" and rethinks an entire movement to suggest that history, rather than expressive urge, is the driving force that shapes art. He reconsiders familiar masterpieces from a fresh perspective, situating the art in the contexts of history both real and speculative, of contemporary philosophy, and of science to depict modernism as a development that ultimately failed.Boime expands on what we think we know about these figures and produces startling new revelations about their work. From the political history of Seurat's Parade de cirque to the astronomical foundations of Van Gogh's Starry Night, he draws analogies between literary sources and social, personal, and political strategies that have eluded most art historians. He offers a richer and more complex vision of Cezanne, considering the artist as an "Old Testament" figure in search of the Promised Landscape. And he provides a particularly detailed look at Gauguin - on whom Boime has never previously published - that takes a closer look at the artist's The Vision after the Sermon and its allusions to Eliphas Levi's writings, sheds light on the sources for From whence do we come?, and offers new thoughts about Gauguin's various self-portraits.Boime's latest contribution further testifies to his status as one of our most important living art historians. As entertaining as it is eloquent, "Revelation of Modernism" is a bold and groundbreaking work that should be required reading for all who wish to understand the contradictory origins and development of modernism and its role in history.


Nanoparticles are heavily researched for environmental applications, such as photocatalytic water treatment, however practical separation of nanoparticles from colloidal dispersions remains a critical challenge. Here, we demonstrate a new approach to nanoparticle recovery, combining the advantages of flocculation with magnetic separation to enable simple collection of non-magnetic nanoparticles. Flocculant polymers were coated onto magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2) to prepare reusable magnetic flocculants (MFs). When added to colloidal nanoparticle dispersions, MFs aggregate with the suspended nanoparticles to form magnetically responsive flocs, which upon separation can be reversibly deflocculated for nanoparticle release, and reused in a closed loop process. High separation efficiency was attained in a variety of nanoparticle suspensions, including Au, Ag, Pd, Pt, and TiO2, stabilized by different coatings and surface charge. The MFs were shown to be recyclable for photocatalytic treatment of naphthenic acids in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) and selenate in flue gas desulfurization wastewater (FGDW). Magnetic flocculation thus represents a general platform and alternative paradigm for nanoparticle separation, with potential applications in water treatment and remediation of nanoparticle pollution. Furthermore, given that flocculant chemicals can be recovered and reused in this process, magnetic flocculation may also serve as an environmentally sustainable solution to conventional flocculation challenges.


The effects of low root temperature on growth and root cell water transport were compared between wild-type Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and plants overexpressing plasma membrane intrinsic protein 1;4 (PIP1;4) and PIP2;5. Descending root temperature from 25°C to 10°C quickly reduced cell hydraulic conductivity (Lp) in wild-type plants but did not affect Lp in plants overexpressing PIP1;4 and PIP2;5. Similarly, when the roots of wild-type plants were exposed to 10°C for 1 d, Lp was lower compared with 25°C. However, there was no effect of low root temperature on Lp in PIP1;4and PIP2;5-overexpressing plants after 1 d of treatment. When the roots were exposed to 10°C for 5 d, Lp was reduced in wild-type plants and in plants overexpressing PIP1;4, whereas there was still no effect in PIP2;5-overexpressing plants. These results suggest that the gating mechanism in PIP1;4 may be more sensitive to prolonged low temperature compared with PIP2;5. The reduction of Lp at 10°C in roots of wild-type plants was partly restored to the preexposure level by 5 mM Ca(NO3)2 and protein phosphatase inhibitors (75 nM okadaic acid or 1 mM Na3VO4), suggesting that aquaporin phosphorylation/dephosphorylation processes were involved in this response. The temperature sensitivity of cell water transport in roots was reflected by a reduction in shoot and root growth rates in the wild-type and PIP1;4-overexpressing plants exposed to 10°C root temperature for 5 d. However, low root temperature had no effect on growth in plants overexpressing PIP2;5. These results provide strong evidence for a link between growth at low root temperature and aquaporin-mediated root water transport in Arabidopsis.


The purpose of this paper is to present empirical evidence about the relationship between the characteristics of Six Sigma projects, as drivers of innovation, and financial performance at organisational and operational levels. The findings were obtained through the analysis of 83 projects of a big automobile corporation, carried out in its industrial plants operating in North America, Europe, and South America. Statistical treatments were performed to analyse the occurrence of several project characteristics, such as areas focus, innovativeness of change, tools used, and average duration of the project. There was an indication that longer Six Sigma projects that involve more people are those that produce the best financial results. Statistical evidence was obtained to affirm that Six Sigma enhances the capacity to address incremental innovation, and that the adoption of Six Sigma impacts directly on financial performance. There is no statistical evidence that Six Sigma enhances the capacity to address radical innovation and that the number of tools used affects the project's financial result. Most of the projects studied presented basically incremental innovations; however, radical projects have a greater financial impact when applied to the design and redesign of new products and processes.


This paper answers questions raised about our use of the Wall Street Journal in an earlier paper in which we estimated the effect of changes in the federal funds rate target -- the Federal Reserve's policy instrument -- on market interest rates in the 1970s. In that paper we found that changes in the funds rate target caused large movements in short-term interest rates and smaller but significant movements in longer-term rates.


The 80-m-thick Egan Formation preserves sediment deposited during the younger of two episodes of glaciation recorded in the Neoproterozoic succession of the Kimberley region, northwestern Australia. Like many terminal Proterozoic glaciations recorded in Australia and elsewhere, the glacial strata of the Egan Formation are associated with carbonate rocks of likely warm-water affinity, but they are sedimentologically distinct from the marker "cap carbonate" horizons that overlie glacial strata in other Neoproterozoic successions. The carbonate strata comprise a wide range of facies indicative of shallow-water patch reef, shoal, and lagoonal deposition. Detailed facies analysis of the Egan Formation indicates interruption of the carbonate system by glaciation and subsequent resumption of warm-water conditions. This sedimentological analysis allows a reassessment of the regional stratigraphic correlations proposed for the Egan Formation, which is here considered to record a glacial event younger than the widespread Marinoan glaciation of central and South Australia and, therefore, a speculated third global glaciation in terminal Proterozoic time.


SUMMARY We conducted an epidemiological, observational cohort study to determine the incidence and complications of acute otitis media (AOM) in children aged <6 years. Data on physician-diagnosed AOM were collected from retrospective review of medical charts for the year preceding enrolment and then prospectively in the year following enrolment. The study included 5776 children in Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. AOM incidence was 256/1000 person-years [95% confidence interval (CI) 243–270] in the prospective study period. Incidence was lowest in Italy (195, 95% CI 171–222) and highest in Spain (328, 95% CI 296–363). Complications were documented in <1% of episodes. Spontaneous tympanic membrane perforation was documented in 7% of episodes. Both retrospective and prospective study results were similar and show the high incidence during childhood in these five European countries. Differences by country may reflect true differences and differences in social structure and diagnostic procedures.


To help alleviate issues of free-riding and conflicts in team projects, this study proposes the systematic incorporation of project management methods to introduce a process-oriented approach to and a critical praxis in team projects. We examined how the systematic use of project management methods influenced students' performance in team projects. The findings demonstrate that such an approach enables the documentation and evaluation of and reflection on both individual and team work. Our findings indicate that project management tools enhance team member accountability and help reduce free-riding.


As more and more societies are transforming into cashless economies, questions about the social nature of this transformation are arising. With this paper we present specific insights into the process of the institutionalization of cashlessness in Poland. The paper elaborates the concept that the institutional field of cashlessness emerges with the gradual expansion of interaction structure, solidification of interests, articulation of ideas and finally the creation of sanctions and norms. The paper presents the cashlessness' institutionalization from the perspective of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). To reach our objectives, we have used empirical data collected in SMEs' sector research in Poland – 74 individual in-depth interviews with SMEs owners. The analysis is grounded in the qualitative research design and the theory of neo-institutionalism. We show that the complex impact of interlocked social interactions, financial sanctions, narrations, and norms are creating the matrix for SMEs' decision whether to implement cashless payments into their business.


DNA sequences for the gene encoding mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I in a group of rodents (pocket gophers) and their ectoparasites (chewing lice) provide evidence for cospeciation and reveal different rates of molecular evolution in the hosts and their parasites. The overall rate of nucleotide substitution (both silent and replacement changes) is approximately three times higher in lice, and the rate of synonymous substitution (based on analysis of fourfold degenerate sites) is approximately an order of magnitude greater in lice. The difference in synonymous substitution rate between lice and gophers correlates with a difference of similar magnitude in generation times.


Absence of lysosomal acid lipase activity in the liver is described in cholesterol ester storage disease and Wolman's disease. This enzyme deficiency may result in the excess hepatic cholesterol ester found in both conditions. However, clinical, genetic, and histopathologic differences suggest that the two conditions are separate diseases not completely explained by deficient enzyme activity.


A significant sample of $p^{\uparrow}p\to p\pi^0 X$ events has been observed at STAR in $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV transversely polarized $pp$ collisions, where an isolated $\pi^0$ is detected in the forward pseudorapidity range $2.65<\eta<3.9$ along with the forward-going proton $p$, which scatters with a near-beam forward pseudorapidity into Roman Pot detectors. The sum of the $\pi^0$ and the scattered proton energies is consistent with the incident proton energy of 100 GeV, indicating that no further particles are produced in this direction. It is postulated that the forward incident proton may have fluctuated into a $p+\pi^0$ system, with an angular momentum correlated with the initial proton spin. The backward-going proton interacts with the $p+\pi^0$ system, which then separates such that the $\pi^0$ has a transverse momentum of ${\sim}2$ GeV/$c$ and the proton has a transverse momentum of ${\sim}0.2$ GeV/$c$, while the backward proton shatters into the remaining particles $X$. Correlations between the $\pi^0$ and scattered proton will be presented, along with single-spin asymmetries which depend on the azimuthal angles of both the pion and the proton. This is the first time that spin asymmetries have been explored for this process, and a model to explain their azimuthal dependence is needed.


This chapter examines the political economy of education in Malaysia from a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing upon a textual analysis of parliamentary debates and decomposition analysis of census data and regression analysis attitudinal survey conducted in 2007. It argues that the well-known New Economic Policy (NEP) of ethnic affirmative action that Malaysia has pursued since 1971 represented a qualitative shift from viewing education as instrumental to ethnic harmony for primarily political reasons—through its socially integrative potential—to primarily economic reasons—rectifying economic inequalities between ethnic groups. Age cohort analysis and decomposition of labour market segregation, however, suggests that while the NEP was successful in this latter goal in the first decade of its operation, it was less successful in subsequent years and that by the year 2000, occupational segregation had returned to 1970 levels but that this level of segregation was much more linked to ethnic educational differentials than in 1970. The final section examines how the socially integrative potential of education has fared since the inception of the NEP. Based on survey analysis, this section demonstrates that the more ethnically segregated the respondents' educational experience, the less positive their attitudes toward other ethnic groups. The paper concludes that while the NEP may have had short term success in reducing educational disparities, it has left a legacy of educational and occupational segregation that is impacting negatively on ethnic relations in the country.


This unique, bestselling series now incorporates over 25 titles. Features quotes gathered over the years from family, friends and the artists themselves giving the reader a personal insight into their music and world. Fully illustrated throughout with black and white photographs.


Sugar cane waste was used as substrates for the production of cellulase enzyme usingAspergillus niger and Tricoderm aviride. From the fermentation studies, sugar cane waste gave the best result with an enzyme activity value of (using A. niger and T. aviride) 2.7 and 2.6 IU/ml respectively. It gave the maximum enzyme activity at about the 10 days of cultivation, suggesting that is the optimum time when the enzyme may be harvested. The fermentation experiments were performed in solid stat fermentation (SSF). Incubation time and initial pH of fermentation medium watts optimized with simultaneous mixed culture. It was revealed that the sugar cane waste at pH = 4.5 and 40°C A. niger (37°C for T. viride) was the best source of carbon for the enhanced production of cellulase in the compatible culture experiments. Based on the reported results, it may be concluded that sugar cane waste can be a potential substrate for production of cellulase, incorporation of culturing A. niger or T. viride. The aim of this work is to produce cellulase from sugar cane waste and reduce the pollution.

 Key words: Aspergillus niger, cellulase, culture, sugar cane waste.


Eclipta grows aggressively in containers and can outcompete nursery crops for water, nutrients, and light. Plants flower in as little as five weeks after germination and produce thousands of seeds over the course of a growing season, and stem fragments left on the soil or media surface following hand-weeding or cultivation can root and reproduce vegetatively. This 4-page fact sheet describes the plant, its biology, and recommendations for physical, cultural, and chemical control. Written by Chris Marble, Shawn Steed, and Nathan S. Boyd, and published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, January 2015. (Photo: Annette Chandler, UF/IFAS)
ENH1251/EP512: Biology and Management of Eclipta (Eclipta prostrata) in Ornamental Crop Production (ufl.edu)


CsA, FK-506, and rapamycin are microbial products with potent immunosuppressive properties that result primarily from a selective inhibition of T lymphocyte activation. Although chemically unrelated, CsA and FK-506 affect a similar subset of calcium-associated signaling events involved in the regulation of lymphokine gene expression, activation-driven T-cell death and exocytosis. Rapamycin has structural similarity with FK-506 but suppresses T-cell activation at a different level, mainly through inhibition of proliferation induced by growth-promoting lymphokines. CsA interacts with an abundant 17 kDa protein, termed cyclophilin, that possesses peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) activity. Additional, minor cyclophilin-like molecules have been identified. Both FK-506 and rapamycin interact with FKBP, a 12 kDa protein, which, although unrelated to cyclophilin, is also abundant and ubiquitous, has a similar enzymatic activity, and is a member of a larger family of FKBPs. All three immunosuppressants inhibit the PPIase activity of their respective binding proteins. However, nonimmunosuppressive analogs of CsA and FK-506 are also inhibitory, indicating that inhibition of PPIase activity is not directly implicated in immunosuppression. Moreover, only a small fraction of the cellular pool of the major forms of cyclophilin or FKBP needs to be occupied by the drugs in order to achieve maximal immunosuppression. These observations suggest that complexes formed between the drugs and their major binding proteins may affect the function of other, unidentified, molecules or, alternatively, that minor binding proteins may play a role in the drugs' action. Further characterization of the biochemical processes altered by CsA, FK-506, and rapamycin should yield important insights into the signal transduction pathways involved in T-cell activation and should help in the development of novel immunosuppressive agents.


Replication of the main chromosome in the halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii was recently reported to continue despite deletion of all active replication origins. Equally surprising, the deletion strain grew faster than the parent strain. It was proposed that origin‐less H. volcanii duplicate their chromosomes via recombination‐dependent replication. Here, we recall our present knowledge of this mode of chromosome replication in different organisms. We consider the likelihood that it accounts for the viability of H. volcanii deleted for its main specific replication origins, as well as possible alternative interpretations of the results. The selective advantages of having defined chromosome replication origins are discussed from a functional and evolutionary perspective.


Abstract Experimental evidence suggests that citizens' judgments of service quality often rely on prior beliefs about providers' characteristics, such as racial stereotypes. Such a biased judgment process prevents the public from understanding performance information accurately and choosing high-quality service providers. To address this, we studied the relation between performance information and the evaluation mode and proposed that presenting information jointly (joint evaluation) rather than separately (separate evaluation) may help people avoid stereotyping and consider actual performance. We compared people's perceived performance and preferences through the separate and joint evaluation modes (SE and JE) in three online experiments (N > 2,000), and obtained similar results in all studies: Subjects used racial stereotype to evaluate school performance in the SE condition, but such stereotyping decreased in the JE condition. Our findings provide an effective tool to de-stereotype performance evaluations, which also has implications for other public management research areas in reducing stereotyping behaviors.


This paper is concerned with the detection and characterization of impact damage in stiffened composite panels using elliptical triangulation method and high frequency Lamb waves. Laminated composite materials, used in many aerospace and aircraft structures, often contain a variety of hidden internal flaws which occur during manufacturing and processing of the material or while the structure is subjected to service loads. In order to avoid quick failure of structural components, a special attention was given to the damage detection in complex structures. More specifically, structural health monitoring based on the vibration of structures has been at the focus of attention of many researchers in order to obtain very efficient damage detection techniques. In this way, few nondestructive techniques based on measurement of Lamb waves were developed. On the same approach is based the elliptical triangulation method presented in this paper. Through the calculation of the Time of Flight of the signals and the knowledge of the actuator-sensor positions, the method allows to identify position and dimension of the damage. The effectiveness of the elliptical triangulation method was highlighted through a preliminary numericalexperimental correlation on flat plates. Subsequently, the method is applied to a stiffened structures in composite material affected by the impact damage. Upon the numerical characterization of the damage entities generated by low-velocity impacts at 15J and 30J on the stiffened structures, the waves propagation analysis were performed on both undamaged and damaged structures. The feasibility of the ellipse triangulation method on the evaluation of the position and the damaged area on complex structures realized in composite material has been characterized. The potential applications of the methods in developing health monitoring systems in defects-critical structures and in complex composite material structures are discussed.


Reasonable task planning is the key technique to improve cooperation quality and the design efficiency in collaborative design. This paper proposes the concept of Task Precedence Graph (TPG) as the basis of visual task-driven for cooperative task design and task communication. Some constraint transformation rules have been abstracted through the analysis of constraint information, followed which the transformation algorithm based on coupling has been put forward for generation of TPG as well. The collaborative design flow is driven by the visual form of TPG, emphasizing the influence of collaborative design environment on designers. The visual task-driven mode has been verified by a collaborative design system that is applied in domains like Die design and Sofa design, confirming the effectiveness of the mode on task planning and design organization.


Rationale In type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM) there is increased risk of bradyarrhythmias as a result of dysfunction of the sinoatrial-node/the primary pacemaker of the heart. We showed that streptozocin (STZ)- induced T1DM rats had decreased in-vivo heart rate (1). The aim of this study was to investigate the cellular basis of T1DM on the sinoatrial-node using the STZ rat model. Methods Diabetes was induced with STZ in male Wistar rats as previously described (1). Extracellular potential and whole cell patch clamp recordings were used. Protein expression was investigated using immunohistochemistry. The research was conducted in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use for Laboratory Animals in UAE and UK. Results Compared to controls, diabetic rats showed higher heart-to-body weight ratio (16%) and blood glucose (428%) (n = 32, P < 0.05) and ex-vivo beating rate of the sinoatrial-node preparation was reduced by 17% (n = 4, 305 vs 252 bpm, P < 0.05). Application of ryanodine (2 µM, n = 3 preparations) caused irregular beats/arrhythmias. Funny/pacemaker current was measured in isolated nodal cells from diabetic rats (33 cells, n = 3 rats). The current density was (14.28 ± 1.18 pA/pF). Immunolabelling showed that HCN4 channel (responsible for funny current, involved in membrane clock) expression was increased, whereas RyR2 (Ca2+−release channel involved in Ca2+−clock) expression was decreased in diabetic sinoatrial-node compared to controls (173% and 34%, respectively). Down-regulation of RyR2 expression suggests Ca2+−clock is responsible for the lower heart rate. Up-regulation of HCN4 could be a compensatory mechanism. Conclusion Complex interplay between membrane currents and Ca2+-clock signalling may increase risk of bradyarrhythmia.


As a basis for studies of gonococcal pathogenicity, tissue culture cells were infected with type 1 or type 4 Neisseria gonorrhoeae to determine intracellular viability. A simple and objective means of measurement was devised, based on the uptake of tritiated protein and deoxyribonucleic acid precursors by cycloheximide-inhibited cells infected with gonococci. Cycloheximide was found to inhibit protein synthesis by over 97% tissue culture cells at a concentration of 100 microng/ml. In contrast, N, gonorrhoeae was found to be highly resistant to this antibiotic, and protein synthesis was unaffected by concentrations up to 1,000 microng/ml. Extracellular gonococci were eliminated by treatment with high concentrations of penicillin during cycloheximide inhibition and prior to the addition of radioisotope. Levels of protein and deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis by N. gonorrhoeae in the cycloheximide-treated cells were significantly higher in T1-infected cells (RE2, HeLa, or HEp-2) than in the corresponding T4-infected cells. No differences were observed in tissue cell susceptibility to gonococcal infection. Intracytoplasmic localization of N. gonorrhoeae was confirmed by electron microscopy.


During last years development of combustion technology focussed the following main aims: fuel consumption reduction, nitrogen oxides emission reduction, increase of productivity and product quality. Fuel savings up to 50%, thus also CO 2 emission reduction, was achieved by replacing combustion air with oxygen. To achieve very low emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx) the new combustion technology is characterised by: lower temperature of flame, more uniform temperature distribution and low concentration of oxygen as well as nitrogen inside combustion chamber. Because in such combustion a flame is replaced by a large chemical reaction zone and thus often is not visible the process was named as flameless combustion. Flameless combustion process with use of oxygen, so called oxyfuel combustion, as well as its technical application is subject of this work. This work presents description and main features of the flameless oxyfuel combustion, results of laboratory tests of new type of flameless oxyfuel burner, as well as examples of industrial applications. This newly developed and applied combustion technology guarantees fuel consumption reduction (thus CO 2 reduction), increase of productivity as well as drastic reduction of nitrogen oxides emission when applied for example to thermal treatment processes of wastes, and a recovery of zinc-bearing feed in a rotary kiln.


OBJECTIVES
The effect of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in patients with neurotic spectrum disorders may be related with predictive factors such as the severity of the disorder, diagnosis, self-stigma level, personality characteristics, comorbidity with depression and personality disorder, dissociation, and traumatic childhood experience. This study focuses on finding factors related to the effect of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in patients with neurotic spectrum disorders.

METHOD
The study was conducted at the Psychotherapeutic ward of the Psychiatric Department in Regional Hospital Liberec from October 2015 to March 2019. The assessment method used at the beginning was the objective and subjective Clinical global impression (objCGI, subjCGI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Dissociative Experience Scale (DES), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Parental Bonding Style (PBI), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). The 6-week therapeutic program combines group dynamic psychotherapy (4 times a week for 1.5 hours), pharmacotherapy and other therapeutic activities. The primary criterium of therapeutic outcome was the change in objCGI severity, and the secondary criteria were changes in subjCGI, BAI and BDI-II.

RESULTS
A total of 96 hospitalized patients with neurotic spectrum disorder diagnosed according to ICD-10, confirmed with the MINI (MINI-International Neuropsychiatric Interview) were included in the study and filled out the questionnaires' battery. There was a statistically significant decrease in the anxiety and depression symptoms and an overall decrease in the disorder's severity during the treatment. At the beginning of the treatment, a higher self-stigma rate was associated with a smaller decrease in anxiety symptoms (BAI) and depression (BDI-II). However, self-stigma is not a factor associated with the change in primary outcome criteria (objCGI change). Initial assessment of objective severity of the disorder (objCGI) and personality factor Novelty Seeking predict the change in objCGI severity.

CONCLUSIONS
Self-stigma predicted the change in anxiety and depressive symptom but not the change of the disorder's global severity in short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy of patients with a neurotic spectrum disorder.


This note is concerned with the stability problem of linear delay-differential systems of neutral type. A discretized Lyapunov functional approach is developed. The resulting stability criterion is formulated in the form of a linear matrix inequality. For nominal systems, the analytical results can be approached with fine discretization. Numerical examples show significant improvement over approaches in the literature.


Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) indicates an issue in the digestive system. Blood can be found in feces or vomiting; however, it is not always visible, even if it makes the stool appear darkish or muddy. The bleeding can range in harshness from light to severe and can be dangerous. It is advised that nursing value analysis and risk assessment of patients with GIB is essential, but existing risk assessment techniques function inconsistently. Machine learning (ML) has the potential to increase risk evaluation. For evaluating risk in patients with GIB, scoring techniques are ineffective; a machine learning method would help. As a result, we present а unique machine learning-based nursing value analysis and risk assessment framework in this research to construct a model to evaluate the risk of hospital-based interventions or mortality in individuals with GIB and make a comparison to that of other rating systems. Initially, the dataset is collected, and preprocessing is done. Feature extraction is done using local binary patterns (LBP). Classification is performed using a fuzzy support vector machine (FSVM) classifier. For risk assessment and nursing value analysis, machine learning-based prediction using a multiagent reinforcement algorithm is employed. For improving the performance of the proposed system, we use spider monkey optimization (SMO) algorithm. The performance metrics like classification accuracy, area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC), area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and precision are analyzed and compared with the traditional approaches. In individuals with GIB, the suggested technique had a good–excellent prognostic efficacy, and it outperformed other traditional models.


September 11 has been etched on our memories. This article explores the uses and problems of memory in relation to responses to September 11, focusing largely on material from the USA and the Federal Republic of Germany as illustration, and argues that we might be better off forgetting September 11. The exhortation to remember is used to justify responding militarily abroad and, significantly, curtailing civil liberties at home. Criticism of these policies is difficult because of the moral cause established by the dead. However, the problematic of memory destabilises the possibility of straightforward knowledge and this is important for analysing the construction of a particular 'we' through distinguishing between 'us' and 'them' and the construction of September 11 as something exceptional. These constructions work together not only to make possible responses which are mere technical fixes, but also to undermine what may be said to constitute the identity of the West, other than as an entity under attack. This precludes the contemplation of alternative responses to the events which would take into account our responsibility towards others and the political power of renouncing a memory. It is in addressing the problematic of memory and, as a result, in considering such alternatives that we may find the affirmation of our identity that we currently seem unable to find. What is at stake are fundamental questions of politics--about who we are, about how to address our inevitable vulnerability and our responsibility towards others.


In Madrono (1936) Herre has lamented the disappearance of lichen species through the disastrous interference of man. Unavoidably, the advance of civilised modern life is linked with destruction of the vegetation. This applies all the more as the endangered area is more densely populated and it certainly applies most alarmingly to the lichen flora of the Netherlands. Here, every way-side tree felled is an irreparable loss to the epiphytic lichen communities, every acre of heath burnt or turned into arable land is a blow to our stock of terrestrial lichen species, whereas the use of dry fertilisers and the spraying of orchards are very effective in killing any lichen in the neighbourhood that otherwise might have survived. A comparison of the material preserved in the older collections with what can be found nowadays, clearly shows what has gone lost. It is sad to think that an ever increasing number of species are on their way to total extermination. However, from a thorough investigation of the epiphytic communities of cryptogams latterly started by Mr J. J. Barkman, it becomes apparent that at least to some extent the losses may be compensated by the discovery of species hitherto overlooked or not recognised. It is on such and other finds that I intend to report from time to time.


In classical Additive Synthesis (AS), the output signal is the sum of a large number of independently controllable sinusoidal partials. The advantages of AS for music synthesis are well known as is the high computational cost. This thesis is concerned with the computational optimisation of AS by multirate DSP techniques. In note-based music synthesis, the expected bounds of the frequency trajectory of each partial in a finite lifecycle tone determine critical time-invariant partial-specific sample rates which are lower than the conventional rate (in excess of 40kHz) resulting in computational savings. Scheduling and interpolation (to suppress quantisation noise) for many sample rates is required, leading to the concept of Multirate Additive Synthesis (MAS) where these overheads are minimised by synthesis filterbanks which quantise the set of available sample rates. Alternative AS optimisations are also appraised. It is shown that a hierarchical interpretation of the QMF filterbank preserves AS generality and permits efficient context-specific adaptation of computation to required note dynamics. Practical QMF implementation and the modifications necessary for MAS are discussed. QMF transition widths can be logically excluded from the MAS paradigm, at a cost. Therefore a novel filterbank is evaluated where transition widths are physically excluded. Benchmarking of a hypothetical orchestral synthesis application provides a tentative quantitative analysis of the performance improvement of MAS over AS. The mapping of MAS into VLSI is opened by a review of sine computation techniques. Then the functional specification and high-level design of a conceptual MAS Coprocessor (MASC) is developed which functions with high autonomy in a loosely-coupled master- slave configuration with a Host CPU which executes filterbanks in software. Standard hardware optimisation techniques are used, such as pipelining, based upon the principle of an application-specific memory hierarchy which maximises MASC throughput.