Seizure duration in unilateral electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was recorded by means of EEG in an intraindividual comparison under different alveolar O2- and CO2-concentrations. Hypocapnia induced by hyperventilation to an alveolar CO2-concentration of 2% (2 kPa) resulted in a highly significant increase in seizure duration compared to a normal CO2 of 5%, when the alveolar O2-concentration was constant at 92%. Oxygen ventilation to an alveolar O2-concentration of 92% gave no significant increase in seizure duration compared to 15%, obtained by ventilation with air, when the CO2-concentration was kept constant at 5%. Seizure duration seems to augment progressively with decreasing alveolar CO2-concentration.


Phasor measurement units can provide high resolution and synchronized power system data, which can be effectively utilized for the implementation of data mining techniques. Data mining, based on pattern recognition algorithms can be of significant help for power system analysis, as high definition data is often complex to comprehend. In this paper three pattern recognition algorithms are applied to perform the data mining tasks. The deployment is carried out firstly for fault data classification, secondly for checking which faults are occurring more frequently and thirdly for identifying the root cause of a fault by clustering the parameters behind each scenario. For such purposes three algorithms are chosen, k-Nearest Neighbor, Naïve Bayes and the k-means Clustering.


This paper reviews the capabilities, architecture, and model of an OSI-Application Layer interface between a telecommunications switch and a host computer. The interface, called SCAI, allows users and applications on the host to directly invoke telecommunications services on the switch. We also investigate the relationship between SCAI and the international work on intelligent networks (IN) carried on by ITU/TSS (formerly, CCITT). SCAI is the first implementable IN standard. The contribution of SCAI to the portability of telecommunications applications and development of standardized application programming interfaces are presented. The paper discusses how this development affects the future development of ISDN standards for access protocols and supplementary services. It concludes by highlighting some areas for further research, development, and standardization.


The 26 December 2003 snowstorm was a rare and long-lived weather system that affected east Idaho. Light snow began falling Christmas night, became steadier and heavier during the next day, and tapered off during the morning on the 27th. Snowfall estimates of 20.3-38.1 cm (8.0-15.0 in) were observed over a 24-hour period on 26 December 2003 in the lower part of the Snake River Plain, paralyzing local communities and transportation centers with snowdrifts and poor visibilities.The Weather Research and Forecasting Unified Environmental Modeling System was used to conduct a sensitivity study of five precipitation microphysics schemes at two grid scales during the event.A comparison of the model accumulated total grid scale precipitation at 12-km and 4-km scales with the observed precipitation at several stations in the lower plain, indicated small negative biases (underprediction) in all of the schemes. The Purdue-Lin and Weather Research and Forecasting Double-Moment 6-Class microphysics schemes contained the smallest root mean squared errors.The Purdue-Lin and Weather Research and Forecasting Double-Moment 6-Class schemes provided several insights into the dynamics of the snowstorm. A topographic convergence zone, seeder-feeder mechanism, and convective instability were major factors contributing to the heavy snowfall in the lower plain.


Abstract. Agricultural activities can modify natural ecosystems and change the nature of the aerosols emitted from those landscapes. The harvesting of crops can loft plant fragments and soil dust into the atmosphere that can travel long distances and interact with clouds far from their sources. In this way harvesting may contribute substantially to ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations, especially in regions where agriculture makes up a large percentage of land use. However, a full characterization of particles emitted during harvesting has not been reported. This study characterizes immersion mode INPs emitted during harvesting of several crops in the High Plains region of the United States. The Colorado State University Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber (CFDC) and the Ice Spectrometer (IS) were utilized to measure INP concentrations during active harvesting of four crops in Kansas and Wyoming. Large spikes of INPs were observed during harvesting, with concentrations over 200 L−1 at −30 °C measured during a wheat harvest. To differentiate between mineral and organic components, a novel heating tube method was employed in real time upstream of the CFDC to deactivate organic INPs in situ. The results indicate that harvesting produces a complex mixture of organic, soil dust, and mineral components that varies for different crops. Electron microscopy analysis showed that while mineral components made up a large proportion of INPs, organic components comprised over 40 % of measured INPs for certain crops at warm temperatures. Heating and enzyme post-treatment of aerosol samples collected for IS processing indicated that bacteria and heat-labile and heat-stable organics contributed to wheat harvest-produced INPs. These results indicate that plant material and organic particles are a significant component of harvest INPs and their impacts on ice formation in clouds and precipitation on a regional scale should be explored.


Background Exposure to environmental chemicals, including phthalates and phenols such as parabens and triclosan, is ubiquitous within the U.S. general population. Objective This proof-of-concept rodent study examined the relationship between oral doses of three widely used personal care product ingredients [diethyl phthalate (DEP), methyl paraben (MPB), and triclosan] and urine and serum concentrations of their respective biomarkers. Methods Using female Sprague-Dawley rats, we carried out two rounds of experiments with oral gavage doses selected in accordance with no observed adverse effect levels (NOAELs) derived from previous studies: 1,735 (DEP), 1,050 (MPB), 50 (triclosan) mg/kg/day. Administered doses ranged from 0.005 to 173 mg/kg/day, 10–100,000 times below the NOAEL for each chemical. Controls for the MPB and triclosan experiments were animals treated with olive oil (vehicle) only; controls for the DEP serum experiments were animals treated with the lowest doses of MPB and triclosan. Doses were administered for 5 days with five rats in each treatment group. Urine and blood serum, collected on the last day of exposure, were analyzed for biomarkers. Relationships between oral dose and biomarker concentrations were assessed using linear regression. Results Biomarkers were detected in all control urine samples at parts-per-billion levels, suggesting a low endemic environmental exposure to the three chemicals that could not be controlled even with all of the precautionary measures undertaken. Among the exposed animals, urinary concentrations of all three biomarkers were orders of magnitude higher than those in serum. A consistently positive linear relationship between oral dose and urinary concentration was observed (R2 > 0.80); this relationship was inconsistent in serum. Conclusions Our study highlights the importance of carefully considering the oral dose used in animal experiments and provides useful information in selecting doses for future studies. Citation Teitelbaum SL, Li Q, Lambertini L, Belpoggi F, Manservisi F, Falcioni L, Bua L, Silva MJ, Ye X, Calafat AM, Chen J. 2016. Paired serum and urine concentrations of biomarkers of diethyl phthalate, methyl paraben, and triclosan in rats. Environ Health Perspect 124:39–45; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409586


On-demand and long-term delivery of drugs are common requirements in many therapeutic applications, not easy to be solved with available smart polymers for drug encapsulation. This work presents a fundamentally different concept to address such scenarios using a self-replenishing and optogenetically controlled living material. It consists of a hydrogel containing an active endotoxin-free Escherichia coli strain. The bacteria are metabolically and optogenetically engineered to secrete the antimicrobial and antitumoral drug deoxyviolacein in a light-regulated manner. The permeable hydrogel matrix sustains a viable and functional bacterial population and permits diffusion and delivery of the synthesized drug to the surrounding medium at quantities regulated by light dose. Using a focused light beam, the site for synthesis and delivery of the drug can be freely defined. The living material is shown to maintain considerable levels of drug production and release for at least 42 days. These results prove the potential and flexibility that living materials containing engineered bacteria can offer for advanced therapeutic applications.


The increasing features and complexity of today's automotive architectures are becoming increasingly difficult to manage. Each new innovation typically requires additional mechanical actuators and associated electrical controllers. The sheer number of black boxes and wiring are being limited not by features or cost but by the inability to physically assemble them into a vehicle. A new architecture is required which will support the ability to add new features but also enable the Vehicle Assembly Plants to easily assemble and test each subsystem. One such architecture is a distributed multiplex arrangement that reduces the number of wires while enabling flexibility and expandability. Previous versions have had to deal with issues such as noise immunity at high switching currents. The LIN Bus with its low cost and rail-to-rail capability may be the key enabling technology to make the multiplexed architecture a reality.


INTRODUCTION
The rapid global spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is a threat to the health system.

METHODS
We evaluated the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of 70 CRE isolated in a tertiary hospital in Brazil between August and December 2015, and determined their resistance mechanisms.

RESULTS
The most prevalent microorganism was Klebsiella pneumoniae (95.7%); it showed high-level resistance to carbapenems (>98%), with sensitivity to colistin (91.4%) and amikacin (98.6%). The bla KPC gene was detected in 80% of the CRE isolates.

CONCLUSIONS
Evaluation of bacterial resistance contributes to an appropriate treatment, and the reduction of morbimortality and dissemination of resistance.


As organizations evolve and begin to seek more prestige and status with their clientele and society as a whole, they begin the process known as professionalization. This process encourages these organizations to acquire those identifiable characteristics, which were achieved in the professions such as medicine and law. Hart and Marshall (1992) summarized the fundamental characteristics of a profession into five specific criteria. This study examined only two of the five criteria: (a) an established code of ethics for them members of the organization, and (b) how the organization policed itself when the code was violated. The institution of education was one such group that has aspired the status of a true profession. Therefore, the problem of this study was to research what each state has done in developing and enforcing a code of ethics for its educators. However, since no single code of ethics exists which embodies the entire education profession, a more in-depth study was undertaken. Specifically, the two main objectives of this study were to examine (a) what each state has done in developing a code of ethics for it's educators, and (b) the work the governing board/commission charged with enforcing the code and standards within each state. A qualitative research design was employed for this study, and written documents produced by states' educational bodies or legislatures were the primary sources of data. Each state was contacted by Internet, e-mail, telephone, or mail to acquire the necessary data to answer this study's research questions. The data collected included mainly brochures, state statutes, or downloaded version of these documents. The data provided the evidence to conclude that 23 states have enacted codes of ethics for their educators. The names of these codes and the rules or standards contained with the codes vary, but many similarities were found too. The data also supported that each state has established grounds for which an educator's certificate could be denied, suspended, or revoked. Each state has also designated an entity to give the educator due process in enforcing the code of ethics or when grounds exist for probable cause.


The high-density infrared (HDI) transient-liquid coating (TLC) process was successfully developed and demonstrated excellent, enhanced (5 times higher than the current material and process) wear performance for the selected functionally graded material (FGM) coatings under laboratory simulated, in-service conditions. The mating steel component exhibited a wear rate improvement of approximately one and a half (1.5) times. After 8000 cycles of. wear testing, the full-scale component testing demonstrated that the coating integrity was still excellent. Little or no spalling was observed to occur.


Sixty four per cent of the children killed or seriously injured (KSI) on the roads of Great Britain are child pedestrians. Recognition of this issue by the Department for Transport resulted in the introduction of a pilot child pedestrian training scheme, "Kerbcraft", from 2002-2007. Kerbcraft, which aimed to teach roadside pedestrian skills, was trialled in 75 local authorities across England and Scotland, and was successful in improving child pedestrian behaviour at the roadside. This paper presents the findings from a new survey of these 75 local authorities, identifying what training is currently given, in what ways the learning and delivery mechanisms have changed since the original pilot, and the extent to which scheme evaluation and interactive gaming are and could be used in child pedestrian training. The results suggest that the majority of local authorities continued to provide pedestrian training but in an adapted form; often shortening schemes without considering the resulting impact on participants? knowledge and skills acquisition. Accompanied by a widespread lack of effective evaluation it is difficult to ascertain the effectiveness of these schemes compared to Kerbcraft. Given central government road safety funding cuts of 40%, along with a lack of effective evaluation, child pedestrian training could be one area at risk, and supplementary materials may be required to add value to training schemes in the future. This paper argues that interactive video environments could be one addition to the range of training aids available to child pedestrians.


Cliff topography measurements, in the last decade, have been performed with Terrestrial Laser Scanners (TLS), yielding dense measurements of 3D cliff surface points, of the order of 400 pts/m 2. Equipment cost and survey durations have begged for faster and cheaper techniques to achieve comparable results. In this paper, we present preliminary results of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetric survey of the Mesnil Val coastal chalk cliff, in Normandy that was performed to challenge the speed and price of TLS surveys. We discuss the merits and pitfalls of UAV topographic sensing of coastal cliffs and their implication for deriving probabilistic rock fall hazard applications. Time-wise, UAV perform much faster to acquire stereo-photographs of a larger surface (about 30min flight in total for 60 ha coverage). Cost-wise, hardware come at around 10-15k€ compared to 50-100k€ for a TLS. Differences arise at the stage of data processing: UAV acquire hundreds of mighty redundant photographs, which hinders processing time. 3D topography from photogrammetric processing requires decimation. Shooting strategy, adding oblique photographs in addition to strictly normal shots, is also important to control the distortion of 3D models. Finally, the quality of the 3D dense reconstruction is very dependent upon software processing and its settings. In the case of Mesnil Val, UAV-sensed rock fall scars inventories censor the smallest events compared to TLS-sensed data but nevertheless proves valuable in terms of coverage completeness, extent and acquisition speed.


ZnO-coated LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode materials for Li-ion batteries have been synthesized. Samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and charge-discharge tests. The results of XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the ZnO-coating was nano-sized, and the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 powder exhibits a typical cubic spinel structure with a space group of Fd3m. Electrochemical tests demonstrate that the ZnO-coated sample obtained possesses high capacity and excellent cycling stability compared with the as-prepared LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4. When being discharged at a rate of 1C after 50 cycles, the ZnO-coated LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 powders can still deliver a capacity of 115.5 mAh•g-1, with nearly no capacity fading, which shows to be a potential cathode material for high-energy density power batteries.


Since the late 1980s, results of oral vaccination trials in several states have provided growing evidence that this vaccination method may be effective for controlling the spread of rabies in raccoons (Procyon lotor). This study examines the economic feasibility of using oral vaccination on a larger scale than previous trials. We analyze the benefits and costs associated with a hypothetical barrier that would stretch from Lake Erie to the Gulf of Mexico, combining natural geographic features provided by the Appalachian Mountains with oral vaccination zones. The goal of this barrier would be to prevent the raccoon rabies variant from moving west into broader geographic regions of the United States. The costs of establishing and maintaining this hypothetical barrier are compared to the avoided costs of not having to live with raccoon rabies west of its current distribution. The westward advance of raccoon rabies, if it is not contained, is projected using simple models based on constant rates of spread. Our results show that preventing the westward movement of raccoon rabies by combining an oral vaccination program with natural barriers may be economically feasible. Discounted costs of establishing and maintaining the barrier are estimated to total between US$58 million and US$148 million. Net benefits of program implementation range between US$48 million and US$496 million for a variety of models, including ones that exclude forgone pet vaccination expenditures. The analysis also provides a framework for developing future models to explore the benefits and costs of eliminating raccoon rabies from currently affected areas.


Through a recent landmark judgment, the Swiss Bundesgericht (Federal Tribunal) strengthened the principle of public court proceedings and the right of the media to effectively monitor the judicial system. The court unanimously upheld a complaint lodged by four journalists following their exclusion from a criminal trial concerning the attempted murder of a man by his wife's lover. The Zurcher Obergericht (Zurich High Court) had banned the media (and other members of the public) from attending the proceedings and the subsequent sentencing on the grounds that the victim and his two children might have been further traumatised by media coverage. The Federal Tribunal decided in favour of the excluded journalists. In its unanimous ruling, it acknowledged that a criminal court should protect victims of crime and their children from excessive publicity. However, this must be weighed against the legitimate interests of media reporting on criminal trials. The courts' handling of violent crime in particular needed to be effectively monitored. Journalists' watchdog function helped to promote thorough and fair court proceedings. The general public had a right to information in accordance with constitutional law principles (publicity of court proceedings, media freedom and freedom of information). Referring to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Federal Tribunal emphasised that court judgments could never be kept completely secret, even when important interests needed protection. Although a ruling could be published in anonymous and abbreviated form, the media had to be able to understand the court's reasoning. Simply reading out the verdict was not sufficient, and a brief media release issued by the Zurich High Court was inadequate. The Federal Tribunal therefore ordered the court to give the journalists the full text of its reasoned judgment (in anonymous form). The decision to exclude the accredited journalists from the court proceedings was also deemed disproportionate. Access to a main hearing, which should in principle be open to the public, should only be limited in exceptional circumstances and with great caution. The Federal Tribunal pointed out that Swiss law required police and public prosecutors' investigations to be kept secret, which in itself was a restriction of public access to the judicial process. In its ruling, the Federal Tribunal also stressed that the right to attend a court trial was not a free pass for reckless media reporting. Journalists had to respect both legal boundaries (for example, the protection of privacy) and the rules of media ethics, and should therefore, in principle, only report on the trial in anonymous form.


Stable multi-sets are an evident generalization of the well-known stable sets. As integer programs, they constitute a general structure which allows for a wide applicability of the results. Moreover, the study of stable multi-sets provides new insights to well-known properties of stable sets. In this paper, we continue our investigations started in [{\sl Koster and Zymolka 2002}] and present results of three types: on the relation to other combinatorial problems, on the polyhedral structure of the stable multi-set polytope, and on the computational impact of the polyhedral results. First of all, we embed stable multi-sets in a framework of generalized set packing problems and point out several relations. The second part discusses properties of the stable multi-set polytope. We show that the vertices of the linear relaxation are half integer and have a special structure. Moreover, we strengthen the conditions for cycle inequalities to be facet defining, show that the separation problem for these inequalities is polynomial time solvable, and discuss the impact of chords in cycles. The last result allows to interpret cliques as cycles with many chords. The paper is completed with a computational study to the practical importance of the cycle inequalities. The computations show that the performance of state-of-the-art integer programming solvers can be improved significantly by including these inequalities.


Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film casting involves melt flow through a slot die, across a small span, and onto a fast moving quench drum. In the ''wire-pinning'' casting process, a thin electrified wire close to the line of contact with the drum creates a strong pinning force that delays air entrainment to higher line speeds. Nonuniform wetting of the die lips by the extruded melt is thought to be responsible for the formation of streaks, a defect in the machine direction. A finite element model of the film casting process with wire pinning was developed to assist in understanding what causes significant wetting of the lips and whether this can be avoided by electrostatic pinning. The solution of the governing equations provide the location of the static and dynamic contact lines, thus finding the wetting and pinning points in the process. The simulations investigate the sensitivity of the static wetting line locations on the die lands to the imposed values of static contact angle and die-lip gap. It was found that while the contact angle has a small effect on the extent of die-lip wetting within the parameter ranges examined, there is a considerable chance that the feed slot surfaces can be dewetted. This seems to be the greatest danger for causing streaks rather than excessive wetting of the die lands. V C 2011 American Institute of Chemical


Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., Solanum lycopersicon L.) is one of the most popular vegetable throughout the world, and the importance of its cultivation
is threatened by a wide array of pathogens. In the last twenty years this plant has been successfully used as a model plant to investigate the induction of defense
pathways after exposure to fungal, bacterial and abiotic molecules, showing triggering of different mechanisms of resistance. Understanding these mechanisms in order to improve crop protection is a main goal for Plant Pathology.
The aim of this study was to search for general or race-specific molecules able to determine in Solanum lycopersicon immune responses attributable to the main
systems of plant defense: non-host, host-specific and induced resistance. Exopolysaccharides extracted by three fungal species (Aureobasidium pullulans, Cryphonectria parasitica and Epicoccum purpurascens), were able to
induce transcription of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins and accumulation of enzymes related to defense in tomato plants cv Money Maker,using the chemical inducer Bion® as a positive control. During the thesis, several Pseudomonas spp. strains were also isolated and tested for their antimicrobial activity and ability to produce antibiotics. Using as a positive control jasmonic acid, one of the selected strain was shown to induce a form of systemic resistance in tomato. Transcription of PRs and reduction of
disease severity against the leaf pathogen Pseduomonas syringae pv. tomato was determined in tomato plants cv Money Maker and cv Perfect Peel, ensuring no direct contact between the selected rhizobacteria and the aerial part of the plant. To conclude this work, race-specific resistance of tomato against the leaf mold Cladosporium fulvum is also deepened, describing the project followed at the Phytopathology Laboratory of Wageningen (NL) in 2007, dealing with localization of a specific R-Avr interaction in transfected tomato protoplast cultures through fluorescence microscopy.


This title offers practical advice for parents on the interaction among their child's muscular, mental, and motor development. ""Why Motor Skills Matter" provides not only knowledge but a game plan as to how parents can help their little ones develop optimal potential via play, stimulation, and establishment of an appropriate environment." - Ruth A. Peters, Ph.D., and bestselling author of "Laying Down the Law". According to pediatric physical therapist Tara Losquadro Liddle, playful interaction beginning in infancy is crucial to a child's learning abilities, language, speech, and overall emotional balance. Filled with practical, age-appropriate activities for newborns up to five years old, "Why Motor Skills Matter" shows parents how to: integrate touch, movement, and body awareness during playtime; bolster motor skills; develop appropriate play for each age level; and understand their child's development. "Why Motor Skills Matter" explains the impact motor skills have on the neurodevelopment of a child, helping parents participate more fully in their child's development.


This work describes damage detection efforts on a composite wing subject to a series of low-energy (∼7 J) impacts. Two airfoils with fundamentally different damage scenarios were considered. The first damage scenario produced no visible signs of damage on the wing surface following eight impacts. A duplicate wing, subjected to a similar series of impacts, was investigated using flash thermography and subsequently autopsied. The flash thermography showed small, localized damage in the skin, but gave no information about core damage. The autopsy showed core/skin disbonding at both interfaces that varied with the number of impacts, core crushing, and a through the core shear crack. No clear changes to the static or dynamic wing response were observed for this scenario. The second damage scenario involved cracking of the wing skin. While damage quantification was not undertaken for this scenario, both static and dynamic changes in wing response were observed. An analytical model of the wing is presented which helps explain the observed behaviors of the two damage scenarios.


The purpose of this grounded theory study was to gain knowledge and understanding of how children with restricted mobility play in different play situations. The group investigated consisted of 10 children with restricted mobility, aged from 6 to 12 years, living in northern Sweden. In this study, the child with restricted mobility is defined as a child unable to move around without the aid of a wheelchair, walking trolley, crutches or other walking device. The children were interviewed about play and were observed in different play situations. The transcribed interviews and observations were analysed according to the constant comparative method of grounded theory described by Glaser and Strauss (1967). The analysis resulted in a model (How I play, core category) describing the child's relations in different play situations, the factors that gave rise to different types of play and the consequences of the play. The different types of play were: (A) play with friends - (a) interactive play and (b) onlooker play; (B) play alone; and (C) play with adults. Most play came to be placed in categories B and C, that is the children played mostly alone or with adults. The results were discussed on the basis of Mead's theory of identity development and Bronfenbrenner's theory of developmental ecology, that is how children's play influences their development when adults are so often present.


Adaptive windowing algorithms are critical for improving imaging speed with the Gabor waveeld extrapolator. These algorithms help to reduce redundancy of computation while keeping a certain level of imaging accuracy. We propose and test a new adaptive windowing algorithm for the Gabor depth imaging. The new algorithm uses a phase error criterion in the Gabor extrapolation algorithm to determine a set of spatially variable windows that sum to unity. The new windowing algorithm incorporates an important physical constraint because the phase is one of the basic quantities used to describe propagating waveelds. The phase error windowing algorithm is indirectly dependent upon both velocity and wavenumber since the phase is a function of both variables. Comparisons between the new algorithm and a previously published method using velocity alone as a criterion are presented.


Summary 1. Adaptive management approaches to ecological restoration are current best practice. The usefulness of such an approach was tested in this study by implementing repeated experiments that examined restoration options for derelict sand mine sites dominated by Imperata cylindrica . Reclamation of degraded land that is dominated by I. cylindrica is a common problem throughout the tropics. 2. Initially, the hypothesized barrier to regeneration was limited seedling establishment because of I. cylindrica competition. After burning the grassland, woody weed control and planting of seedlings were implemented in factorial combination. 3. Seedling survival 28 months after planting averaged 26%, with 1 m. The hypothesis that a transition barrier comprising solely biotic interactions restricted regeneration of native woody cover was rejected after seedlings and natural regeneration failed to thrive in this experiment. 4. A revised hypothesis, that the transition barrier comprised a combination of abiotic limitations (soil deficiencies) and biotic interactions ( Wallabia bicolor browsing and I. cylindrica competition), was developed. A second experiment tested this hypothesis by removing W. bicolor (fencing), slashing the I. cylindrica , adding organic mulch and planting a mixture of native pioneer and secondary successional woody species in factorial combination. 5. Seedling survival was 61% in the second experiment and mulching significantly enhanced the survival and growth of all planted species. Planting alone reduced the regeneration of I. cylindrica after slashing. Native woody cover establishment was maximized by planting seedlings in mulched treatments. 6. Synthesis and applications . Taken together, these experiments support the hypothesis that there is a barrier restricting regeneration of native woody cover, and the barrier probably comprises both abiotic and biotic components. By adopting an adaptive management approach to the ecological restoration of sites, significant insights into their management requirements have been gained, supporting the current best practice restoration framework. Insights gained through monitoring and adaptation will be used to update the reserve plan of management, enhancing restoration of this severely degraded area and promoting connectivity of native woody cover within the conservation estate.


Following the trend of turbo codes and low density parity check (LDPC) codes, single-parity turbo product codes (TPC/SPC) are being seriously considered for application in future high-density recording systems. Recent work on TPC/SPC codes has focused on ideal partial response channels with additive white Gaussian noise. This work extends the investigation to a more realistic equalized Lorentzian channel model where imperfect channel shaping, colored noise and recording density effect are taken into consideration. The effect of precoding is discussed and the interleaving gain is quantified. Simulation results of the turbo decoding system with both channel models are presented. A comprehensive evaluation is conducted, including BER performance, code rate selection, equalization targets and error statistics, which demonstrate TPC/SPC codes to be a promising candidate for future high-density recording systems.


The second Indonesian Massive Open Online Course are the collaboration between Regional English Language Office (RELO) and the Embassy of United States of America in Jakarta introducing the use of technology for autonomous learning as the new insight for the participants that focuses on recruiting pre-service English teachers, English Teachers (Elementary school, junior high school, or senior high school teachers), English lecturers in the university around Indonesia. The purpose of this research was to describe qualitatively the second MOOC new facilitators' strategies in managing online discussion and whether they were affected by their own facilitators' strategies when they joined as the participants of the first Indonesian MOOC. There were eight new facilitators who came from different regions in Indonesia such as Rembang, Salatiga, Surabaya, Solo, Semarang, Malang, and Banjarmasin. The data were collected through a Questionnaire. The results of this research shown that there are various strategies that have been applied by the new facilitators including design questions that particularly get on-topic discussion carefully, help online learners in providing a guideline for the preparation on-topic responses, present rules for those who choose off-topic comments explicitly, state the expectation for online discussions participants to stay on a topic, set alternative locations for off-topic discussions, screen all postings and put off-topic posts to alternative locations with an explanation to participants, incorporate a reminder that responses stay on a topic with all posted questions, reword the original question when responses are going in the wrong direction, provide discussion summary regularly, give warning privately and corrective suggestions to learners who submit off-topic comments, give a reward for those who keep on a topic, and offer a grade for those who keep on a topic. This is really helped the second Indonesian MOOC participants to make the discussions contains more cognitive presences and they can accomplish the course and gain a new knowledge from this online course. Keywords: IMOOC, Facilitators' strategies, Indonesian Massive Open Online Course, Online discussion


Abstract A healthy meniscus is important for normal function of the knee. Numerous studies support that the repair of a torn meniscus is important to prevent degenerative changes in the knee. The ability to repair torn menisci is based on several factors including location, tear orientation, chronicity, and concomitant ligamentous knee injuries. In this systematic review, meniscal repair technology is evaluated. Specifically, the retear rates are compared between the arrow repair and the suture repair techniques. After searching three databases (PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Embase) and reviewing annual meeting abstracts from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (2005 to 2010), four studies (two observational and two randomized controlled trials) were selected for this systematic review. Due to the limited study number and variability between studies (study design, sample population, outcome measures, and surgical technique), a meta-analysis was not performed. The overall quality of the literature was poor and thus conclusions are limited. No clear superiority of one technique was determined by this review.


Abstract. Numerical models for dense snow avalanches have become central to hazard zone mapping
and mitigation. Several commercial and free applications, which are used on a
regular basis, implement such models. In this study we present a tool based
on the open-source toolkit OpenFOAM® as an
alternative to the established solutions. The proposed tool implements a
depth-integrated shallow flow model in accordance with current practice. The
solver combines advantages of the extensive OpenFOAM infrastructure with
popular models from the avalanche community. OpenFOAM allows assembling
custom physical models with built-in primitives and implements the numerical
solution at a high level. OpenFOAM supports an extendable solver structure,
making the tool well-suited for future developments and rapid prototyping. We
introduce the basic solver, implementing an incompressible, single-phase
model for natural terrain, including entrainment. The respective workflow,
consisting of meshing, pre-processing, numerical solution and
post-processing, is presented. We demonstrate data transfer from and to a
geographic information system (GIS) to allow a simple application in
practice. The tool chain is based entirely on open-source applications and
libraries and can be easily customised and extended. Simulation results for a
well-documented avalanche event are presented and compared to previous
numerical studies and historical data.


Production buildings and infrastructures, being the man-made marks left on the Alpine landscape, have historically had a different value than they have today. For a short period during modernity, they were used as advertising elements to represent the progress of Alpine territories and were later ignored by the architectural discourse, which failed to understand their cultural, environmental and ecological values. These buildings were often the subject of that "spatial separation" between the energy production and the energy consumption areas which contributed, even in the Alpine territory, to the construction of industrial areas devoid of any character or attractiveness. It is only since the end of the last century that the growing environmental, social, cultural, and political awareness, as well as the emergence of major environmental and climate crises have contributed to the realisation that the quality architectural project is of fundamental importance in the construction of industrial and productive buildings. After a brief introduction, the article illustrates some examples of contemporary architecture for production in the Alps, arranged functionally. There are agricultural buildings, small workshops, facilities for the production and distribution of electrical and thermal energy, waste treatment plants, and office buildings.


Agronomy Journa l • Volume 110 , I s sue 3 • 2018 Elevated levels of P transported into aquatic ecosystems from agricultural watersheds have contributed to the eutrophication of surface water bodies in Canada as well as freshwater habitats around the world (Smith et al., 1998; Schindler et al., 2012; Michalak et al., 2013; Jarvie et al., 2017). In salt water environments, eutrophication has been linked to anthropogenic N inputs (Gruber and Galloway, 2008; Congreves and Van Eerd, 2015). Eutrophication is problematic as it impacts both ecosystem and human health (Anderson et al., 2002), which reduces the recreational value of lakes as well as their potential use as drinking water sources (Smith et al., 1998, 2015). Consequently, there is significant pressure to reduce the export of P and N from surrounding watersheds (International Joint Commission, 2014). Although researchers and environmental managers have attempted to manage nutrient export for decades (Sharpley et al., 1994), the occurrence of large algal blooms has increased due to a combination of climate drivers as well as the large intensity of agricultural land use in surrounding watersheds (e.g. Michalak et al., 2013; Smith et al., 2015). There is also evidence that the elevated P loads from agricultural systems may be an unintended consequence of conservation practices (Jarvie et al., 2017). Thus, an improved understanding of the efficacy of best management practices (BMPs) is needed, and potential unintended consequences must be identified and quantified. The use of CC is a conservation practice that is growing in popularity (Wayman et al., 2016; Statistics Canada, 2017). Cover crops are plants grown by farmers for their benefits to the soil, environment, and future crop yields (Snapp et al., 2005; Blanco-Canqui et al., 2015). Cover crops have the benefit of reducing particulate P losses associated with soil erosion; however, concern has been raised about their potential to release dissolved reactive P (Tukey, 1970; Sharpley et al., 1994; Sturite et al., 2007; Liu et al., 2014). Phosphorus loss through leaching is typically minor; however, certain conditions and mechanical processes have been found to increase the concentration of nutrients in leachate (Tukey and Morgan, 1963; Bechmann et al., 2005; Lozier and Macrae, 2017; Lozier et al., 2017). Of particular importance for northern temperate regions is the effect of freezing on P release from plants, Nutrient Release from Living and Terminated Cover Crops Under Variable Freeze–Thaw Cycles


Controller design for six-switch pulse width-modulated (PWM) voltage source rectifiers (VSRs) is often accomplished in the rotating d-q frame coordinates in order to achieve a high-performance control. In contrast, the development of a d-q frame controller for a four-switch PWM VSR is rarely reported in the literature. In this regard, this paper introduces a control design approach in rotating d-q frame for the four-switch PWM VSRs. For this purpose, a mathematical model of the four-switch PWM VSR in rotating d-q frame is first derived. Its success is relied on performing a so-called "reduced Park Transformation" on switching functions. The derived model shares much structural property with that of a six-switch VSR. Then, two d-q frame current controller designs, input-output feedback linearization (IOFL) and linear proportional-plus-integral (LPI) control, are performed based on the derived model as application examples. Their effectiveness is verified via computer simulation and hardware experiment. Responses of an LPI a-b-c frame controller originated from the six-switch VSR are also documented for comparative study. Test results evidence the superiority of the d-q frame controllers.


PURPOSE
To describe imaging findings of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, dynamic contrast material-enhanced computed tomography (CT), CT during arterial portography (CTAP), and CT during hepatic arteriography (CTHA) and to compare the diagnostic performance of each modality for small (≤ 2 cm) HCC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The institute ethics committee deemed study approval unnecessary. One hundred eight resected small lesions in 64 patients were diagnosed as a dysplastic nodule (DN) (n = 12), progressed HCC (n = 66), or early HCC (n = 30). All but two patients underwent all imaging examinations. The imaging characteristics of the lesions with each modality were determined. To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the modalities, two radiologists graded the presence of HCC with use of a five-point confidence scale. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (A(z)), sensitivity, and specificity of each modality were compared.

RESULTS
The imaging features that are statistically significant for differentiating an early HCC from a DN include fat-containing lesions at dual-echo T1-weighted MR imaging (seen in 16 of the 30 early HCCs and none of the DNs), low attenuation at unenhanced CT (seen in 13 of the 30 early HCCs and none of the DNs), low attenuation at CTAP (seen in 11 of the 30 early HCCs and none of the DNs), and low signal intensity at hepatocyte phase gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR imaging (seen in 29 of the 30 early HCCs and none of the DNs). The diagnostic performance of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR imaging (A(z), 0.98 and 0.99) was significantly greater than that of contrast-enhanced CT (A(z), 0.87) and CTHA-CTAP (A(z), 0.85 and 0.86) owing to its significantly higher sensitivity (P < .001).

CONCLUSION
Gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR imaging is the most useful imaging technique for evaluating small HCC, including early HCC.


ABSTRACT Cells of the gliding bacterium Flavobacterium johnsoniae move rapidly over surfaces. Mutations in gldN cause a partial defect in gliding. A novel bacteriophage selection strategy was used to aid construction of a strain with a deletion spanning gldN and the closely related gene gldO in an otherwise wild-type F. johnsoniae UW101 background. Bacteriophage transduction was used to move a gldN mutation into F. johnsoniae UW101 to allow phenotypic comparison with the gldNO deletion mutant. Cells of the gldN mutant formed nonspreading colonies on agar but retained some ability to glide in wet mounts. In contrast, cells of the gldNO deletion mutant were completely nonmotile, indicating that cells require GldN, or the GldN-like protein GldO, to glide. Recent results suggest that Porphyromonas gingivalis PorN, which is similar in sequence to GldN, has a role in protein secretion across the outer membrane. Cells of the F. johnsoniae gldNO deletion mutant were defective in localization of the motility protein SprB to the cell surface, suggesting that GldN may be involved in secretion of components of the motility machinery. Cells of the gldNO deletion mutant were also deficient in chitin utilization and were resistant to infection by bacteriophages, phenotypes that may also be related to defects in protein secretion.


Genome-wide association studies have successfully identified thousands of loci for a range of human complex traits and diseases. The proportion of phenotypic variance explained by significant associations is, however, limited. Given the same dense SNP panels, mixed model analyses capture a greater proportion of phenotypic variance than single SNP analyses but the total is generally still less than the genetic variance estimated from pedigree studies. Combining information from pedigree relationships and SNPs, we examined 16 complex anthropometric and cardiometabolic traits in a Scottish family-based cohort comprising up to 20,000 individuals genotyped for ~520,000 common autosomal SNPs. The inclusion of related individuals provides the opportunity to also estimate the genetic variance associated with pedigree as well as the effects of common family environment. Trait variation was partitioned into SNP-associated and pedigree-associated genetic variation, shared nuclear family environment, shared couple (partner) environment and shared full-sibling environment. Results demonstrate that trait heritabilities vary widely but, on average across traits, SNP-associated and pedigree-associated genetic effects each explain around half the genetic variance. For most traits the recently-shared environment of couples is also significant, accounting for ~11% of the phenotypic variance on average. On the other hand, the environment shared largely in the past by members of a nuclear family or by full-siblings, has a more limited impact. Our findings point to appropriate models to use in future studies as pedigree-associated genetic effects and couple environmental effects have seldom been taken into account in genotype-based analyses. Appropriate description of the trait variation could help understand causes of intra-individual variation and in the detection of contributing loci and environmental factors.


Efficient and selective delivery and retrieval of cargo to polarized plasma membrane domains are essential for the maintenance of epithelial cell function. My studies focused on events involved in protein endocytosis from and delivery to the apical surface.

Endocytosis is a multi-step process that is crucial for cells to take up nutrients and modulate receptor density. Temporal synthesis and degradation of the lipid phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2] is critical for endocytosis to proceed. PtdIns(4,5)P2 is generated by three differentially localized phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase (PIP5KI) isoforms (α, β, and γ). My studies examined the requirement for PtdIns(4,5)P2 in apical and basolateral endocytosis in polarized kidney epithelial cells by testing the effects of overexpressing individual PIP5KI isoforms. I found that PtdIns(4,5)P2 synthesis by PIP5KIβ is rate limiting for apical but not basolateral endocytosis, and that this is likely due to changes in coated pit maturation at the apical plasma membrane. The selective modulation of apical endocytosis by PtdIns(4,5)P2 has potential consequences on the maintenance of kidney cell function.

Maintaining apical and basolateral membrane domain composition requires selective vesicle fusion and is mediated by Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor Attachment protein Receptor (SNARE) proteins. A number of pathways exist for the delivery of newly synthesized proteins to these surface domains and the post-Golgi vesicle SNAREs, or VAMPs, that mediate fusion in these pathways have not been identified. I sought to determine the role of VAMP7 in these pathways. VAMP7 expressed in polarized Madin Darby canine kidney cells colocalized primarily with LAMP2-positive compartments, and changes in VAMP7 levels modulated lysosome size, consistent with the known function of VAMP7 in lysosomal delivery. Surprisingly, VAMP7 knockdown had no effect on apical delivery of numerous cargoes tested but did decrease the length and frequency of primary cilia and disrupted cyst morphology. The effects of VAMP7 depletion on ciliogenesis and cystogenesis are not directly linked to the disruption of lysosomal function, as cilia lengths and cyst morphology were unaffected in a MDCK lysosomal storage disorder model. Together, my data suggest that VAMP7 plays an essential role in ciliogenesis and cystogenesis. This is the first study implicating an R-SNARE in ciliogenesis and cystogenesis.


An improved device has been designed and constructed for the administration of fungal spores or other air-suspended particles to mice via inhalation. Fabricated from Lucite [0.25 inch (0.63 cm)], the device was built in the shape of a 6-inch (15.2-cm) cube with two 1-inch (2.5-cm) holes drilled in each side. Mice are restrained in plastic conical centrifuge tubes which fit into the holes by friction. The device is safe, easily cleaned and sterilized, and can accommodate up to eight animals at a single exposure.


Advanced age is a risk factor for hypoglycemia caused by sulfonylureas (and insulin) used to treat diabetes mellitus. Therefore, we hypothesized that there is an age-associated impairment of glucose counterregulation and further that this is the result of a sedentary life-style. To test these hypotheses, glycemic and neuroendocrine responses to hypoglycemia, produced by 0.05 U/kg body wt insulin i.v. were measured in nondiabetic elderly subjects (age 65.1 ± 0.9 yr n = 23)–and in a subset (n = 11) again after 1 yr of physical training (which increased VO2 max by 5.2 ± 0.9 ml · kg−1 · min−1 P < 0.05)–and compared with these responses in nondiabetic young subjects (23.8 ± 0.6 yr, n = 18). Recovery from hypoglycemia was attenuated (analysis of variance P < 0.001) in the elderly (plasma glucose recovery rate 29.4 ± 2.2 vs. 42.7 ± 5.0 μM/min, P < 0.02). This attenuation was the result of a smaller counterregulatory increment in glucose production (maximum increment 13.3 ± 1.1 vs. 17.2 ± 1.1 μmol · kg−1 · min−1; P < 0.05) rather than a greater increment in glucose utilization in the elderly. The attenuated glucose recovery was associated with higher plasma insulin concentrations (maximum increment 1385 ± 122 vs. 940 ± 72 pM, P < 0.01) and reduced glucagon responses to hypoglycemia (maximum increment 43 ± 6 vs. 66 ± 12 ng/L). The epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, and growth hormone responses were similar, although the epinephrine response was slightly delayed and the growth hormone response appeared smaller in the elderly. Training had no effect on glucose recovery from or neuroendocrine responses to hypoglycemia in the elderly. Thus, we conclude that there is an age-associated impairment of glucose counterregulation best attributed to decreased insulin clearance, reduced glucagon secretion, or both. Delayed epinephrine secretion may also contribute. These are not the result of a sedentary life-style.


Background: Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) is a congenital disorder which is characterized by the lack of ganglion cells in part of or the entire colon, resulting in intestinal obstruction and other related symptoms. Recently, our group has conducted a genome-wide association study in Korean HSCR cases and controls to identify novel markers in other genes. Objectives: The present research aimed to further study the potential association of INMT with HSCR by conducting a replication study. Methods: A total of 15 INMT single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed for the association with HSCR in 187 HSCR patients and 283 controls. Analyses were also conducted for subtypes of HSCR (short-segment, long-segment, and total colonic aganglionosis). Results: A nonsynonymous SNP rs77743549 (His46Pro) was significantly associated with the increased risk of HSCR (odds ratio = 1.77; corrected p = 0.002). Furthermore, this rs77743549 retained its association with all subtypes of HSCR (p = 0.006-0.002 under the codominant model). A global test showed that rs77743549 was associated with the length of aganglionosis (p = 0.00004). Conclusion: Although further replications and functional evaluations are needed, our study suggests that rs77743549 of INMT may be associated with the risk for HSCR and/or the development of the enteric nervous system.


The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an ongoing free trade agreement involving ASEAN member states (AMSs) and six trading partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. RCEP negotiations were launched in November 2012, and 18 rounds of negotiation have been held, along with six ministerial meetings and three intersessional meetings. Two chapters, namely "Economic and Technical Cooperation" and "Small and Medium-sized Enterprises," have been concluded, and other chapters are still in progress with some of them nearing conclusion. To date, progress in the RCEP negotiations has been sluggish due to disagreement over the modality of tariff reduction on trade in goods, liberalization of services, and investment framework. In regard to trade in goods, it is known that the proportion of products committed to eliminate tariffs has not been finalized yet. It is hard to balance the interests of RCEP participating countries (RPCs) due to the different industrial structures and levels of development among participating countries. It seems unrealistic to expect conclusion of the RCEP by the end of this year, but it is likely that considerable progress will be made during ASEAN's 50th anniversary. With the global trade slowdown, the importance of the RCEP to keep markets open and deepen integration is increasing. RPCs should continue their efforts to reach high-standard and economically meaningful outcomes. The agreed outcome should be able to reduce intra-regional transaction costs through simplification and harmonization of rules of origin, customs procedures and standards. Since RPCs have already established over-lapping FTAs with member countries, it needs significant improvements over the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs to induce economically meaningful gains from the RCEP.


of preliminary a prospective comparison of functional outcomes from a cohort of ESa-PVP pts versus standard PVP and Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TUR-P). INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Holmium laser enucle- ation of the prostate (HoLEP) is recommended for prostate glands of all sizes and is becoming a popular alternative to the transurethral resec- tion of the prostate (TURP). Side effects of the procedure include stress incontinence, irritative lower urinary tract symptoms, and sexual func- tion, most commonly retrograde ejaculation. We sought to evaluate perioperative outcomes related to sexual function and urinary function in patients who underwent selective laser enucleation of the prostate. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of the fi rst 300 cases of HoLEP was performed from April 2019 e August 2021. Thirty-two patients within our cohort underwent selective enucleation of the median lobe of the prostate. Criteria for choosing to treat patients with selective enucleation were intravesical-prostatic protrusion or high bladder neck without obstructing lateral lobes. Patients were asked to comment on whether they had retrograde ejaculation during their follow up appointment. Urinary function was assessed using the American Urological Association Symptom Score (AUA-SS) and subjective evaluation of urinary incontinence. RESULTS: Mean age of our cohort was 65.9 years of age. Average peri-operative AUA-SS scores signi fi cantly improved (21.7 vs 6.8, p < 0.001). Average peri-operative quality of life scores signi fi cantly improved (4.1 vs 1.4, p < 0.001). Average peri-operative post void residual volumes were signi fi cantly improved (228.8 cc vs 45.7 cc, p [ 0.001). No patients reported stress urinary incontinence. Of the 32 patients who underwent selective enucleation of the median lobe, 26 were sexually active. Of those men, 22 reported normal ejaculation, 2 men had retrograde ejaculation that was unchanged from pre-op. Data was missing for 2 men. CONCLUSIONS: In our case series of selective laser enucle- ation of the median lobe, urinary function signi fi cantly improved in short term follow-up with preservation of ejaculation in approximately 90% of men. A larger series is necessary with a longer follow up period to further investigate the durability of these fi ndings. Further investigation is needed to de fi ne objective criteria to identify ideal candidates for selective median lobe enucleation.


A simple framework for reasoning under uncertainty and intervention is introduced. This is achieved in three steps. First, logic is restated in set-theoretic terms to obtain a framework for reasoning under certainty. Second, this framework is extended to model reasoning under uncertainty. Finally, causal spaces are introduced and shown how they provide enough information to model knowledge containing causal information about the world.


The aim of this study was to compare the translucency of different thicknesses of three different CAD/CAM ceramic materials (zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate (Suprinity), lithium disilicate (IPS e.max CAD), and hybrid ceramic (Enamic). A total of 180 specimens were prepared from each materials at different thicknesses (0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 1 mm, 1.5 mm, and 2 mm). A spectrophotometer was used to measure the translucency using a contrast ratio (CR) against white and black backgrounds for all the specimens. Data was analyzed using ANOVA, one-sample t-test, and post-hoc multiple comparison test at a significance level of P ≤ .05. The CR increased significantly when the material thickness increased for all specimens of each material type (P ≤ .05), except for the e.max material, as there was no significant difference between 0.4 and 0.5 mm, and between 1.0 and 1.5 mm. The differences between the materials became more apparent with the increase in thickness. In addition, when comparing the three types of material, zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate appeared to have the highest contrast ratios. The study provides knowledge about the translucency of the different thickness of the CAD/CAM dental restorative materials which could help to overcome the disadvantages of the translucency in certain clinical situations.


This article attempts to re-read the cultural history of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) within the larger context of the progressive nationalist politics of Bengal. The purpose of this re-reading is to engage in a debate to locate the political status of the various non-urban, non-elite, non-middle class performative practices within the political strata of IPTA. The article reiterates that the Left politics of Bengal maintained an inseparable alliance with the Bhadralok class since its early days and by virtue of this alliance, the hegemony of the Bhdraloks remained secured. Consequently, within the practical domain of the Left politics vis-a-vis the IPTA, the middle class intelligentsia kept controlling the performative arena by restraining the movements of various non-Bhadralok forms. By citing references from the writings of Sudhi Pradhan and Hemango Biswas, this article contemplates to enter into a lesser-known chapter from the glorified history of IPTA. [


The function of the sarcoplasmic reticulum of the failing myocardiums was studied in vitro by comparing calcium uptake and calcium-activated ATPase in microsomes prepared from hearts of control calves and calves in which right ventricular failure developed during experimentally induced pulmonary hypertension. The rate of calcium uptake averaged .147 μmole·mg−1·min−1 at 25°C in the presence of oxalate in control preparations and was significantly reduced in preparations from failing right ventricles (avg .086 μmoles·mg−1·min−1). Calcium-activated ATPase was also diminished significantly in failure (avg .184 compared to .073 μmoles·mg−1·min−1). Although two preparations also showed diminished calcium activities in the nonfailing left ventricle, group these activities were not significantly depressed in preparations from ventricle in calves with failure. A similar reduction in calcium activities observed at 37°C with preparations further purified by sucrose gradient centrifugation. The uptake capacity of microsomes, measured as calcium uptake in the absence of oxalate, was not diminished in the preparations from failing hearts. Mitochondrial contamination did not appear to be a factor since azide inhibited calcium activity almost completely in mitochondria, whereas inhibition was less than 10% in microsomes of both control and failing hearts. Ouabain had no effect on the microsomes from failing hearts. These studies indicate that there is a defect in calcium transport in microsomes and a functional abnormality of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in the intact myocardial cell in heart failure which could lead to changes in the excitation-contraction coupling mechanisms of clinical importance.


Background: Psychosocial stress is a significant public health problem inducing consequences for quality of life. Results about the use of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) as a biomarker of acute stress are conflicting. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to demonstrate that DHEA levels could be a biomarker of stress. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and ScienceDirect databases were searched on March 19, 2021 using the keywords "acute stress" AND "DHEA" OR "Dehydroepiandrosterone." Articles needed to describe our primary outcome, i.e., induction of acute stress and at least two measures of DHEA. Results: We included 14 studies, with a total of 631 participants, in our meta-analysis. The DHEA levels increased overtime after acute stress [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 1.56, 95%CI = 1.13–1.99]. Stratification by time showed a main peak at the end of stress (SMD = 2.43, 95%CI = 1.59–3.27), followed by a progressive decrease (coefficient = −0.11, 95%CI = −0.19 to −0.17, p = 0.020). There was no significant change 1 h after the end of acute stress. Metaregressions showed an impact of mental stress (SMD = 2.04, 95%CI = 1.43–2.65), sex (SMD = 0.02, 95%CI = 0.00–0.04), age (SMD = −0.12, 95%CI = −0.2 to −0.05), and obesity (SMD = 0.31, 95%CI = −0.00 to 0.63). There was no difference whatever the type of fluid (blood or saliva) and the measurement technique used. Conclusions: DHEA is a biomarker of acute stress, with a short-term increase (1 h). DHEA increases following acute mental stress, whatever the type and duration of mental stress. Women, young people, and obese individuals had a higher response. Blood and saliva measures were comparable.


Corticostriatal projections from the primate cortical motor areas partially overlap in different zones of a large postcommissural putaminal sector designated as "motor" putamen. These zones are at the origin of parallel basal ganglia-thalamocortical subloops involved in modulating the cortical motor output. However, it is still largely unknown how parietal and prefrontal areas, connected to premotor areas, and involved in controlling higher order aspects of motor control, project to the basal ganglia. Based on tracer injections at the cortical level, we analyzed the corticostriatal projections of the macaque hand-related ventrolateral prefrontal, ventral premotor, and inferior parietal areas forming a network for controlling purposeful hand actions (lateral grasping network). The results provided evidence for partial overlap or interweaving of these projections in correspondence of 2 putaminal zones, distinct from the motor putamen, one located just rostral to the anterior commissure, the other in the caudal and ventral part. Thus, the present data provide evidence for partial overlap or interweaving in specific striatal zones (input channels) of projections from multiple, even remote, areas taking part in a large-scale functionally specialized cortical network. Furthermore, they suggest the presence of multiple hand-related input channels, possibly differentially involved in controlling goal-directed hand actions.


The then-non-standard conviction of V. Mathesius – that science is an ongoing process of constructing truth and that human cognition represents a simplified reduction or epistemological stylization of experience – now appears to be in accordance with major present-day philosophical approaches. Mathesius's viewpoint followed primarily from his pronounced activist nature and self-reliant way of thinking, partly influenced by the ideas of E. Sapir, A. Marty, and analytical philosophy. In this study, the philosophical ambience of the Prague Linguistic Circle at that time is also examined. Mathesius understood language as communicative competence, implying communication skills in addition to the system of means. Given that he viewed the utterance (the processes of its encoding and decoding) as a legitimate object of linguistic study, he appears to be a predecessor to modern text linguistics. This study reconsiders Mathesius's functional grammar project, inspects the development of the ideas behind it more closely and states its psycholinguistic basis.


This study examined whether providing preschool children with simple groundrules (the importance of being complete, saying "I don't know", correcting the interviewer, and not guessing) would reduce false details in their recall of a staged event. Forty-nine preschool children participated in an event that consisted of two activities. One or two days later they were given a biasing interview that included false suggestions about one of the experienced activities as well as a nonexperienced activity. For the other activity, no suggestions were made. Eight, 15 and 22 days after the event, the children were required to recall all three activities in their own words. Immediately prior to their recall, half of the children were provided with the groundrules while the remaining children were not. The children in the control group also participated in a fifth interview in which they received the groundrule instructions. The results revealed that the provision of the groundrules had negligible impact on the accuracy of information provided irrespective of the context or order of the interview or the activity being recalled. The implications of these results are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.


Public offerings have been playing an increasingly important role in fundraising for an accelerated development of businesses in the new economy. The IPO market has triggered an intense competition between the USA and China. Russia's stock market has stayed away from these processes. The experience of the USA and China shows that for the IPO market to properly develop, it is not sufficient just to introduce some formal changes in the specific procedures for handling certain types of stock market transactions, or any new tax incentives. It is necessary to launch more profound institutional changes targeting the motives of stock issuers, investors and government departments.


Children readily make use of reputation-like information about peers in processing socially relevant stimuli in their evaluations of peers. The purpose of the present study was to examine how teacher feedback influences children's evaluations of a hypothetical peer for whom they had one of three types of expectancies (liked, neutral, disliked). First and second grade children (n = 112) viewed a videotape of a teacher describing five child actors. Reputation information (liked, neutral, disliked) varied only for the target actor, while the four other actors were described in neutral terms. In a second videotape of a classroom scene, the target actor received one of three types of teacher feedback (audio portion of the tape): a) neutral; b) positive; or c) negative feedback. Measures of preference, moral judgment, and behavioral descriptions were collected. Results specific to the target actor revealed an interaction between feedback and reputation as well as main effects for both factors. Planned contrasts indicated that teacher praise caused the disliked target to be viewed as more deserving of reward and nominated for fewer negative descriptors. Negative teacher feedback caused the target of any reputational status to be rated as less likable, less deserving of reward, and more likely to engage in inappropriate behavior. Methodological improvements are discussed addressing unanticipated findings apparently due to salience effects and expectancy-incongruent information. Clinical implications include the need to assess multiple dimensions of peer perception and how they might be influenced.


Recently, deep learning based approaches have shown promising results in 3D hand reconstruction from a single RGB image. These approaches can be roughly divided into model-based approaches, which are heavily dependent on the model's parameter space, and model-free approaches, which require large numbers of 3D ground truths to reduce depth ambiguity and struggle in weakly-supervised scenarios. To overcome these issues, we propose a novel probabilistic model to achieve the robustness of model-based approaches and reduced dependence on the model's parameter space of model-free approaches. The proposed probabilistic model incorporates a model-based network as a prior-net to estimate the prior probability distribution of joints and vertices. An Attention-based Mesh Vertices Uncertainty Regression (AMVUR) model is proposed to capture dependencies among vertices and the correlation between joints and mesh vertices to improve their feature representation. We further propose a learning based occlusion-aware Hand Texture Regression model to achieve high-fidelity texture reconstruction. We demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed probabilistic model to be trained in both supervised and weakly-supervised scenarios. The experimental results demonstrate our probabilistic model's state-of-the-art accuracy in 3D hand and texture reconstruction from a single image in both training schemes, including in the presence of severe occlusions.


Homo Sacer : exception and relation in Eben Venter's Santa Gamka (2009)
Drawing on Giorgio Agamben's views on homo sacer, it is argued in this article that Eben Venter's novel Santa Gamka (2009) could be read as an exploration of the state of sovereign exception - when the law is temporarily suspended for some specific purpose, quite often murderous. The protagonist, Lucky Marais, becomes homo sacer when he is forced into an oven and left there to burn to death, stripped of his judicial status and reduced to "bare life". Still building on Agamben, it is also shown how Lucky, the "escape artist", becomes exemplum, precisely because of his marginality and the complex notions of relationality which he embodies. Santa Gamka is a celebration of one human life amongst many, and thereby of human life as such. In this sense Santa Gamka highlights an important function of literature: to remind us of the unforgettable.


The changes in haemoglobin oxygenation (SO2) occurring in the tuberculin reaction in human skin were measured using macro- and micro-lightguide spectrophotometry and the results compared. A significant difference was found between the measurements from the respective instruments, demonstrating that the micro-lightguide technique measures only in the most superficial capillaries. Laser Doppler flux (LDF) and transcutaneous oxygen (tcpO2) measurements were also obtained concurrently. At the height of the reaction, heating did not significantly change SO2 or LDF, showing that the vessels in the skin were maximally vasodilated. Although SO2 was increased in the reaction, tcpO2 decreased. This suggests that the infiltrating cells may present a diffusion barrier to oxygen between the capillaries and the tissue cells. This study has shown that micro-lightguide spectrophotometry gives a local picture of intracapillary oxygen supply, which is useful in elucidating the pathophysiological changes occurring during chronic inflammation.


In response to recent criticism of gradient-based visualization techniques, we propose a new methodology to generate visual explanations for deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) - based models. Our approach – Ablation-based Class Activation Mapping (Ablation CAM) uses ablation analysis to determine the importance (weights) of individual feature map units w.r.t. class. Further, this is used to produce a coarse localization map highlighting the important regions in the image for predicting the concept. Our objective and subjective evaluations show that this gradient-free approach works better than state-of-the-art Grad-CAM technique. Moreover, further experiments are carried out to show that Ablation-CAM is class discriminative as well as can be used to evaluate trust in a model.


Here a new global emission inventory of C4-C10 perfluoroalkanesulfonic acids (PFSAs) from the life cycle of perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride (POSF)-based products in 1958-2030 is presented. In particular, we substantially improve and expand the previous frameworks by incorporating missing pieces (e.g., emissions to soil through land treatment, overlooked precursors) and updating parameters (e.g., emission factors, degradation half-lives). In 1958-2015, total direct and indirect emissions of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) are estimated as 1228-4930 tonnes, and emissions of PFOS precursors are estimated as 1230-8738 tonnes and approximately 670 tonnes for x-perfluorooctanesulfonamides/sulfonamido ethanols (xFOSA/Es) and POSF, respectively. Most of these emissions occurred between 1958 and 2002, followed by a substantial decrease. This confirms the positive effect of the ongoing transition to phase out POSF-based products, although this transition may still require substantial time and cause substantial additional releases of PFOS (8-153 tonnes) and xFOSA/Es (4-698 tonnes) in 2016 to 2030. The modeled environmental concentrations obtained by coupling the emission inventory and a global multimedia mass-balance model generally agree well with reported field measurements, suggesting that the inventory captures the actual emissions of PFOS and xFOSA/Es for the time being despite remaining uncertainties. Our analysis of the key uncertainties and open questions of and beyond the inventory shows that, among others, degradation of side-chain fluorinated polymers in the environment and landfills can be a long-term, (potentially) substantial source of PFOS.


Social amenities are important to primary schools as they endeavour to provide quality education. Social amenities in schools include play materials and sanitation but in majority of the schools, little attention is directed towards the influence of social amenities on academic excellence of learners. This study was to assess the influence of social amenities on academic performance in primary schools in Gichugu Constituency, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives: to establish the status of social amenities in primary schools; to examine how play amenities affected academic performance of learners in primary schools; to establish how sanitation amenities influences pupils' performance in primary schools and assess the challenges faced by primary schools in provision of social amenities to learners. This study was guided by Social Constructionist . The target population consisted of 75 primary school head teachers. Kathuri and Pals Table for Sample Size Determination was used to arrive at a sample size of 63 school heads teachers who were randomly selected from the target population. The research instruments used in data collection were the questionnaires and an observation guide. A pilot study was conducted to establish the reliability of the instruments. Data was analysed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 20) to generate charts, frequency tables, means and standard deviations. The study found out that majority of the head teachers agreed with the statement that their school children had access to clean and safe drinking water although there were some schools that used water from the rivers and streams near the schools. The study also found out that majority of the schools had access to adequate sanitation amenities for their pupils. The study found out that social play materials play an integral part in assisting children to develop communication, persistence and other social skills. It was noted that sanitation amenities were not adequate for learners and these facilities did not cater for learners with physical disabilities. The study concluded that lack of sanitation amenities such as piped water and good toilets led to occurrence of diseases such as typhoid, cholera and other highly contagious diseases which affect learners' access to education due to high absenteeism rates. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education and other education stakeholders should emphasise the role of social amenities in primary schools in order to improve learners' motivation and overall academic performance of all schools in Kenya.


The exercise tests of 26 male patients with significant left main disease were compared with those of 51 patients with three-vessel disease and 38 patients with two-vessel disease. Exercise-induced ischaemia (chest pain and/or greater than 1 mm ST segment change) occurred in 100 per cent of left main, 69 per cent of three-vessel, and 45 per cent of two-vessel disease patients. Though the mean peak work load was significantly higher in the two-vessel disease group than in those with three-vessel of left main disease, there was a wide overlap between groups. No intergroup differences were found in mean peak heart rates. In patients taking propranolol, no differences in mean peak work loads and heart rates were seen. The study showed that the absence of an exercise-induced abnormal electrocardiographic response virtually excludes left main disease. As judged by exercise performance, the presence of left main disease did not correlate with the severity of the patient's symptomatology. Propranolol did not influence the frequency of an ischaemic response in patients with left main or three-vessel disease.


Poplar composite biomaterial, which self bonded under high temperature and pressure, is a new indoors materials. In order to evaluate its potential health risk to human settlements, the volatile organic compounds of poplar composite biomaterial were adsorbed and determined by TD-GC-MS. The result were: (1) The main constituents of volatiles at 40°С were acetic acid(50.6%), 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, mono(2-ethylhexyl) ester(8.48%), [1,1':3',1''-terphenyl]-2'-ol(3.98%), 1,2-propanediol, 3-benzyloxy-1,2-d iacetyl-(3.12%), etc. (2) The main constituents of volatiles at 60°С were acetic acid(46.7%), 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, mono(2-ethylhexyl) ester(7.93%), cedrol(5.53%), butane, 1-(benzyloxy)-2-[(benzylox y)methyl]- (5.43%), [1,1':3',1''-terphenyl]- 2'-ol(3.72%), 1-propene, 3-(2-cyclopentenyl)-2-m ethyl-1,1- diphenyl-(3.18%), etc. Generally, the poplar composite biomaterial was safe under 40-60°С.


The aim of this study is to explore alloy 718 that treated at an optimal HIP process, and then imposed various solid-solution temperatures and aging treatment. The experimental results indicated that Laves and δ precipitations obviously appeared within the grain boundary, under HIP treatment and lower solid-solution temperatures (940°C), which would result in poor mechanical properties. However, Laves and δ phase can be completely dissolved at 1020°C 1 hour solid-solution treatment. The tensile strength was increased to 1331.5 MPa, and elongation reached up to 6.1% under a 1020°C solid-solution and aging treatment. Increasing the solid-solution temperature to 1060°C would cause parts of the NbC to dissolve, thus a large number of the thin sheet-shaped NbC would appear in the solid-solution and aging specimen. The yield stress is slight increase, but a lot of NbC precipitations will result in the decreasing tensile strength (1298.8 MPa) and elongation (5.4%). As a result, the optimal solid-solution treatment parameter of alloy 718 is 1020°C for 1-hour.


This thesis deals with the application of optimisation based Validation and Verification (V&V) analysis on aerospace vehicles in order to determine their worst case performance metrics. To this end, three aerospace models relating to satellite and launcher vehicles provided by European Space Agency (ESA) on various projects are utilised. As a means to quicken the process of optimisation based V&V analysis, surrogate models are developed using polynomial chaos method. Surrogate models provide a quick way to ascertain the worst case directions as computation time required for evaluating them is very small. A single evaluation of a surrogate model takes less than a second. Another contribution of this thesis is the evaluation of operational safety margin metric with the help of surrogate models. Operational safety margin is a metric defined in the uncertain parameter space and is related to the distance between the nominal parameter value and the first instance of performance criteria violation. This metric can help to gauge the robustness of the controller but requires the evaluation of the model in the constraint function and hence could be computationally intensive. As surrogate models are computationally very cheap, they are utilised to rapidly compute the operational safety margin metric. But this metric focuses only on finding a safe region around the nominal parameter value and the possibility of other disjoint safe regions are not explored. In order to find other safe or failure regions in the parameter space, the method of Bernstein expansion method is utilised on surrogate polynomial models to help characterise the uncertain parameter space into safe and failure regions. Furthermore, Binomial failure analysis is used to assign failure probabilities to failure regions which might help the designer to determine if a re-design of the controller is required or not. The methodologies of optimisation based V&V, surrogate modelling, operational safety margin, Bernstein expansion method and risk assessment have been combined together to form the WCAT-II MATLAB toolbox.


Research summary: Strategy scholars increasingly conduct research in nontraditional contexts. Such efforts often require the assistance of third-party intermediaries who understand local culture, norms, and language. This reliance on intermediation in primary or secondary data collection can elicit agency breakdowns that call into question the reliability, analyzability, and interpretability of responses. Herein, we investigate the causes and consequences of intermediary bias in the form of faked data and we offer Response Pattern Analysis as a statistical solution for identifying and removing such problematic data. By explicating the effect, illustrating how we detected it, and performing a controlled field experiment in a developing country to test the effectiveness of our methodological solution, we encourage researchers to continue to seek data and build theory from unique and understudied settings.

Managerial summary: Any form of survey research contains the risk of interviewers faking data. This risk is particularly difficult to mitigate in Base-of-Pyramid or developing country contexts where researchers have to rely on intermediaries and forms of control are limited. We provide a statistical technique to identify a faking interviewer's ex post data collection, and remove the associated data prior to analysis. Using a field experiment where we instruct interviewers to fake the data, we demonstrate that the algorithm we employ achieves a 90 percent accuracy in terms of differentiating faking from nonfaking interviewers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Through observations, readings (Journals, Articles and Blogs) the author found out that most
of the higher education (Universities and colleges) in Malaysia are using power point slides
as the lecturing visual aid. It cannot bedenied that it is one ofthe important and useful aids
that the lecturers or the speakers can use to attract and build anunderstanding of the subject
domainmat can be transferredto the audience. The author belief that it will be more valuable
and useful if it is being used together with some other Knowledge Management tool such as
storytelling method (also known asReflective Learning, Narrative orPedagogy Technique).
Throughout this report, the author will explain the concept of storytelling and how it can be
used in higher education. In the background section, explanations on what is actually
storytelling is all about and how it's going to boost the knowledge transfer process.
Moreover, there will be a discussion on the type of storytelling method and the stages of
telling stories n order to make it more interesting. The problems that trigger the author to
come out with this research is because of the current issue that is being faced by students
nowadays which is the difficulty of recalling and reflecting the theories into real life
situation. They also having a problem in limiting themselves to the power point slides
provided by the lecturers during the lecture without trying to think out of the box. The
objective of this project is To study whether storytelling method can be used to improve
student's performance in higher education, To compare 2 methods which is power point
slides teaching session (without related stories or examples) and power point presentation
slides + Storytelling method (real life example, related video or analogies), To create an
awareness of storytelling method by creating UTP Story Sharing website.
Next, the author also will explain on how the research will be conducted throughout the 2
semesters in order to prove the objectives of the research. The specific domain of research
area to bewithin the Management and Humanities Department and Fundamental and Applies
Sciences Department of UTP since the author needs to focus on one area due to the limitations of time. There are few articles or research papers that the author has referred to in
order to come out with this report and all the contents will be discussed in detail in the next
few sub topics ofthis report.


This article considers the application and potential impact of workforce modernisation in England and Wales. It highlights some problems surrounding current police hierarchies and specialisation particularly in relation to the decline in visible policing. It suggests that bureaucratic growth within police forces can be matched to a decline in effective command and control of police services. Lengthened chains of command and narrower spans of control have, within larger police forces, diluted the supervisory capacity and effectiveness of police managers. It is argued that this feature reinforces the need for smaller, more manageable units of policing. The article thereafter highlights a central theme identified within HMIC's 2004 Thematic Report on Modernising the Police Service. This is the creation of a career pathway for all police personnel and, long term, the ability to move between warranted and non-warranted police posts. It recognises the positive position taken by ACPO in relation to modernisation. It also draws on data collected from one workforce modernisation pilot site, Bexley Operational Command Unit (OCU), particularly in relation to the successful use of police staff 'Investigative Support Officers' in processing low-level cases. Evidence from the Bexley site indicates that workforce modernisation strategy provides the opportunity to improve both overall police effectiveness and the relationship between police and community.


To investigate the mechanism of transcriptional regulation of cryIVA and cryIVB, encoding 130-kDa dipteran-active crystal proteins, in Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis, we introduced each gene into several sporulation mutants of Bacillus subtilis. A spoIIG mutation, the wild-type gene of which encodes sigma E precursor, completely blocked the cryIVB transcription. In contrast, low but detectable transcription of cryIVA was observed in the spoIIG mutant. In the wild-type B. subtilis, no transcription of cryIVB was detected before T2 (2 h after the onset of stationary phase), while the cryIVA transcription started at the late exponential phase at low levels. Furthermore, in a wild-type strain of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis, transcription of cryIVA began earlier than that of genes encoding other crystal components, cryIVB and cytA. A consensus sequence recognized by an RNA polymerase containing sigma H of B. subtilis was found upstream of the transcription start point of cryIVA, which overlapped with that recognized by sigma E.


Time series analysis of out-patients at Urban Health Centre, Suraj Kund, Meerut, was done using the out-patient attendance of last five years, with the aim to find out the values to help in coping up with the problem of health administration and management. The least square method and ratio-to-trend method were adopted for calculating the secular trend and seasonal variations respectively. There was an increasing trend in out-patients attendance indicating the increasing popularity of the Urban Health Centre. It was found that in second and third quarter of the year the out-patient attendance increased extraordinarily due to various reasons. The two more aspects of time series, i.e. cyclical trend and irregular flactuation could not be analysed due to their insignificant impact over the health management system.


System Dynamics offers a powerful vehicle to model environmental agendas and design operational interventions to mitigate environmental problems, provided the models of environmental issues have in them an appropriate policy space. Two limitations mar most modeling efforts to issue operational policy: 1) The problem definition might be linked too intimately to a preferred rather than a competing set of manifestations, hence the model it creates has no way to transform behavior to an alternative manifestation. 2) The policy parameters address societal rather than individual behavioral characteristics. Hence intervention is not possible through individual motivational instruments but is implied through power or moral appeal. Using the example of the limits to growth study, this paper illustrates how those limitations affect policy recommendations and how model structure can be modified to incorporate an appropriate policy space in it so its policy recommendations are operational rather than normative.


It is well known that at high discharge rates (approximately 200 μA/cm 2 ) the (Li/I 2 ) (P2VP) battery suffers severely increased polarization. Recently, through the use of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, it has been demonstrated that for cells with pelletized cathodes this increased polarization is dominated by ohmic effects. It has also been shown that monitoring the ohmic impedance throughout discharge provides an excellent means for understanding battery behavior. This is further illustrated in this paper. In this study cells containing only cathode material are utilized to determine the contribution of the cathode to the total cell ohmic impedance. It is demonstrated that prior to discharge the cathode impedance contributes greater than 60% of the full cell ohmic impedance. During discharge both the magnitude and the changes in the measured ohmic impedance are shown to be dominated by the LiI electrolyte layer. Further, it is concluded that the impedance of the cathode increases with increasing molecular weight of the P2VP polymer used in the cathode. As a result, the relative contributions of the cathode and electrolyte to the total ohmic impedance are a function of P2VP molecular weight.


Sulfides usually found in the wastewater produced by chemical and petrochemical
industries such as tanneries, refineries, polymer industries. Removing sulfides from the
wastewater is currently a big challenge to the industries because sulfides are soluble in
water and various research and technologies have been studied and developed in order to
remove sulfides content. In this project, the author is focusing on removing sulfides
through oxidation process by using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent with the
presence of nano-particles ferric oxide as a catalyst. Nano-materials are increasingly
gaining the attention of the scientific community and also public due to their various
applications in the industries for example as a catalyst. In this project, author will
developed the procedure in preparing ferric oxide nano-particle as a catalyst and the
application of it in sodium sulfide oxidation process. Basically three stages are involved,
the synthesization, characterization and application. In application stage, the author will
study two parameters of the oxidation rate that is catalyst loading and sulfide
concentration. The effect of these parameters will be study by varying the variables for
these parameters. The results shows that after the more catalyst added, the oxidation
process increase by time and removal of sulfide can be achieve faster. The objectives
for this project are to successfully produce nano-particle ferric oxide as catalyst and to
apply it in the sulfide oxidation process.
in


This paper reports a new project - the poloidal field (PF) grid power supply system to replace the ac flywheel generator power supply system on the basis of the present running parameters of the HT-7 poloidal field and the short-circuit capacity of our transformer substation.The designed parameters of the PF grid power supply system have been verified to meet the requirements of the heating field (HF) and the vertical field (VF). In the meantime, in order to reduce the disturbance to the local power grid, the device of reactive power and harmonic current compensation has been added. Experimental results have confirmed the feasibility of the PF grid power supply system. Compared with the ac flywheel generator, the PF grid power supply system has the advantages of lower noise, precise control, convenient maintenance, simple operation and cost savings.


As drivers of human civilization, Knowledge Management (KM) processes have co-evolved in line with General-PurposeTechnologies (GPT), such as writing, printing, and information and communication systems. As evidenced by the recent shift from information scarcity to abundance, GPTs are capable of drastically altering societies due to their game-changing impact on our spheres of work and personal development. This paper looks at the prospect of whether a novel Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) concept supported by a prototype system has got what it takes to grow into a transformative General-Purpose-Technology. Following up on a series of papers, the KM scenario of a decentralizing revolution where individuals and self-organized groups yield more power and autonomy is examined according to a GPT's essential characteristics, including a wide scope for improvement and elaboration (in people's private, professional and societal life), applicability across a broad range of uses in a wide variety of products and processes (in multi-disciplinary educational and work contexts), and strong complementarities with existing or potential new technologies (like organizational KM Systems and a proposed World Heritage of Memes Repository). The result portrays the PKM concept as a strong candidate due to its personal, autonomous, bottom-up, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and creativity-supporting approach destined to advance the availability, quantity, and quality of the world extelligence and to allow for a wider sharing and faster diffusion of ideas across current disciplinary and opportunity divides.