Background: The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria has militated against efforts to control TB. This study determined the differences in TB treatment outcome between patients with TB/HIV co-infection and those without HIV co-infection in National Hospital Abuja, Nigeria. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study on pulmonary TB patients that were treated in National Hospital Abuja, Nigeria from January 2007 to December 2012. Data was collected from the Directly Observed Treatment Shortcourse (DOTS) clinic and hospital records and analysed using stata version 12. The HIV sero-prevalence was determined and TB treatment outcomes in patients co-infected with TB and HIV was compared to that of HIV negative patients. The t-test and chi square test was used to verify differences in means and proportions and multiple logistic regression to adjust for potential confounders. Sensitivity analysis was done to address the problems of loss to follow up and missing data. Results: A total of 389 cases were assessed. The HIV sero-prevalence rate in the study was 42.7%. Fifty-three percent of the study population were within the age category 30–49 years. There was strong evidence of an association between TB/HIV co-infection rate among the various age categories (p = 0.01). HIV positive cases had a lower treatment success rate, 48.8% vs. 78.5% (p < 0.001), a higher rate of treatment failure, 10.8% vs. 4% (p = 0.01), and a higher rate of default, 38.6% vs. 17% (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The study provides evidence that TB/HIV co-infection impacts negatively on TB treatment outcome.


Recently, a number of continuous sensing applications have been actively proposed in research communities and commercially released in the market. However, due to their unique power characteristics, user behavior-dependent battery drain, they bring new challenges for users' power management on these applications. In this demonstration, we present a comprehensive approach to support users' power management for continuous sensing applications. First, at pre-installation time, we provide an instant, personalized power estimation of a continuous sensing application. Without exhaustive trial and error, users can decide judiciously to install a certain application or not. Second, at runtime, we provide mobility-aware battery information. With this information, users can better estimate the phone's remaining battery life based on their imminent mobility conditions and take necessary actions in advance such as carrying an additional battery or minimizing the use of applications.


Media uploads and downloads, even those on the order of a few hundred kilobytes, commonly fail when attempted over lossy, low-bandwidth, and high latency connections. These conditions, which are common for networks in rural, resource-poor areas, result in the inability for residents of these areas to fully participate in the modern Internet. We study traffic traces collected from two networks and find high locality of interest as well as poor performance for Internet media. We also find that users often abort uploads due to network performance. Given that media content produced by local users is often heavily consumed by local users, we propose VillageCache, a system which allows for appropriate local transformation and redistribution of media uploaded through an Internet cache. We build VillageCache and find it successfully delivers cached media, providing an orders of magnitude improvement in file transfer performance, bandwidth reduction, and the virtual elimination of video stalls in the face of poor network connectivity. Caches with upload capabilities placed at the edge of poorly-connected networks will enable users to produce and consume media-rich content while mitigating the constraints present in under-resourced networks.


In the beneficiation of compact Itabirites, crushing and grinding account for major operational and capital costs. As such, the study and development of comminution circuits have a fundamental importance for feasibility and optimization of compact Itabirite beneficiation. This work makes a comparison between comminution circuits for compact Itabirites from the Iron Quadrangle. The circuits developed are: a crushing and ball mill circuit (CB), a SAG mill and ball mill circuit (SAB) and a single stage SAG mill circuit (SSSAG). For the SAB circuit, the use of pebble crushing is analyzed (SABC). An industrial circuit for 25 million tons of run of mine was developed for each route from tests on a pilot scale (grinding) and industrial scale. The energy consumption obtained for grinding in the pilot tests was compared with that reported by Donda and Bond. The SSSAG route had the lowest energy consumption, 11.8kWh/t and the SAB route had the highest energy consumption, 15.8kWh/t. The CB and SABC routes had a similar energy consumption of 14.4 kWh/t and 14.5 kWh/t respectively.


We define a point-free construction of real exponentiation and logarithms,
i.e.\ we construct the maps $\exp\colon (0, \infty)\times \mathbb{R}
\rightarrow \!(0,\infty),\, (x, \zeta) \mapsto x^\zeta$ and $\log\colon
(1,\infty)\times (0, \infty) \rightarrow\mathbb{R},\, (b, y) \mapsto
\log_b(y)$, and we develop familiar algebraic rules for them. The point-free
approach is constructive, and defines the points of a space as models of a
geometric theory, rather than as elements of a set - in particular, this allows
geometric constructions to be applied to points living in toposes other than
Set. Our geometric development includes new lifting and gluing techniques in
point-free topology, which highlight how properties of $\mathbb{Q}$ determine
properties of real exponentiation.
 This work is motivated by our broader research programme of developing a
version of adelic geometry via topos theory. In particular, we wish to
construct the classifying topos of places of $\mathbb{Q}$, which will provide a
geometric perspective into the subtle relationship between $\mathbb{R}$ and
$\mathbb{Q}_p$, a question of longstanding number-theoretic interest.


Channel waveguides with high refractive-index contrast are fabricated in double tungstates. Yb3+ lasers with 71% slope efficiency and 418 mW output power are demonstrated. Tm3+ lasers at 1843 nm have also been demonstrated.


The ability to imprint a phase pattern onto a coherent electron wave would find many applications in electron optics, in analogy to what is already possible with photons in light optics. Spatially dependent phase manipulation is achieved in transmission electron microscopy by passing the beam through a phase plate. However, in transmission mode this technique suffers from crystal imperfections and electron-matter interaction. If instead the electron wave is reflected of a spatially modulated potential, these difficulties can be circumvented. To demonstrate this principle, we consider here a periodic topological mirror structure that results in a sinusoidal plane of reflection for the incident electron. The reflection of the electron then takes place just above the physical mirror surface. Such "electron grating mirror" is expected to diffract the incident wave upon reflection by the introduced path length difference. The mirror can then be used as an electron beam splitter and coupler, analogous to semitransparent mirrors used in light optics. This enables for instance a lossless Mach-Zehnder interferometer for electrons. A numerical model that solves the Schrodinger equation for this system is obtained to enable a quantitative description of the grating mirror. The results show that the obtained diffraction order intensities behave like squared Bessel function of their respective order, and thus for instance the results show how an increase in grating pitch reduces the sensitivity to energy spread in the incident electron beam. Additionally, we show how the use of the WKB approximation enables faster calculations in the case of general patterns.


In this article, we focus on the importance of open research information as the foundation for transparent and responsible research assessment and discovery of research outputs. We introduce work in which we support the open research information commons by enabling, in particular, independent and small Open Access journals to provide metadata to several open data hubs (Open Citations, Wikidata, Open Research Knowledge Graph). In this context, we present The OPTIMETA Way, a means to integrate metadata collection, enrichment, and distribution in an effective and quality-ensured way that enables uptake even amongst small scholar-led publication venues. We have designed an implementation strategy for this approach in the form of two plugins for the most widely used journal publishing software, Open Journal Systems (OJS). These plugins collect, enrich, and automatically deliver citation metadata and spatio-temporal metadata for articles. Our contribution to research assessment and discovery with linked open bibliographic data is threefold. First, we enlarge the open research information data pool by advocating for the collection of enriched, user-validated metadata at the time of publication through open APIs. Second, we integrate data platforms and journals currently not included in the standard scientometric practices because of their language or lack of support from big publishing houses. Third, we allow new use cases based on location and temporal metadata that go beyond commonly used discovery features, specifically, the assessment of research activities using spatial coverage and new transdisciplinary connections between research outputs.


The reported case belongs in rarely occurring general diseases running a chronic relapsing course. The case is uncommon because of not only general affection of the adipose tissue presenting with immunologic inflammation, but also of the development of manifest abnormal changes in the internals, amyloidosis in particular. 20-year follow-up of the patient suggests that the evolution of the above pathological processes might be caused by both the nature of the underlying disease and a long-continued administration of corticosteroids.


Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets can only be met by significantly decarbonising road transport. The only long term way to do this is via the electrification of powertrains combined with the production of low carbon electricity or hydrogen. Current assumptions and models, such as the IEA BLUE Map, demonstrate that this is technically possible, but assume growth in demand for transport services will only double by 2035 and triple by 2050, largely driven by growth in developing economies. However, another transport revolution, automated vehicles, could drive growth in transport services significantly further, which without electrification will have a large negative impact on efforts to curb transport related emissions. In contrast, it is shown in this paper that automated vehicles could significantly improve the economics of electric vehicles, and therefore make the electrification of powertrains more likely, which could help reduce emissions. Despite this uncertainty, little work has been done on understanding how these factors will affect each other, particularly the timing and uptake of automated vehicles and their effect on future transport related GHG emissions and economics, yet the impact on transport policy, infrastructure and society will be profound and should be of interest to policy makers, the automotive and energy industries, and society as a whole.


Interfacial phenomena between liquid iron and solid CaO is important due to the extensive use of solid CaO in steelmaking processes. In this study, the dynamic change in surface tension and contact angle of liquid iron (Fe-4mass%C-S) on CaO substrates during desulfurization was investigated at 1 623 K using a sessile drop technique with varying initial sulfur content (0.002-0.514 mass%). In addition, an electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and an atomic force microscopy (AFM) were applied to investigate the interface between metal and substrates and the surface of the solid substrates. The surface tension increased rapidly just in a few minutes, and then approached an easy constant slope in every experiments. The contact angle decreased considerably with time for most samples, approaching a constant value. Exceptionally, the sample initially containing 0.002 mass% sulfur showed just slight decrease in contact angle. Based on experimental results, the dynamic reactive change in the work of adhesion of liquid iron on solid CaO was computed. The work of adhesion was increased by both the increase in the surface tension and the decrease in the contact angle. Especially, the change in the work of adhesion in the initial stage of desulfurization was considerable.


ABSTRACT Aiming to contribute to studies that use detailed clinical and genomic information of biobanks, we present the initial results of the first Latin American Stroke Biobank. Methods: Blood samples were collected from patients included in the Joinville Stroke Registry and four Brazilian cities. Demographic socio-economic data, cardiovascular risk factors, Causative Classification System for Ischemic Stroke, Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment and National Institutes of Health scores, functional stroke status (modified Rankin) and brain images were recorded. Additionally, controls from both geographic regions were recruited. High-molecular-weight genomic DNA was obtained from all participants. Results: A total of 2,688 patients and 3,282 controls were included. Among the patients, 76% had ischemic stroke, 12% transient ischemic attacks, 9% hemorrhagic stroke and 3% subarachnoid hemorrhage. Patients with undetermined ischemic stroke were most common according the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (40%) and Causative Classification System for Ischemic Stroke (47%) criteria. A quarter of the patients were under 55 years of age at the first-ever episode. Conclusions: We established the Joinville Stroke Biobank and discuss its potential for contributing to the understanding of the risk factors leading to stroke.


Unveiling patterns of genetic differentiation across insular distributions is relevant for biogeographic and conservation reasons. In the Indian Ocean, surprisingly, little is known regarding the genetic structure of many taxa across the Seychelles Islands, despite their importance as old Gondwanic islands, part of the Western Indian Ocean biodiversity hotspot. In recent molecular studies, a northeastern-southwestern subdivision pattern across the granitic islands has been uncovered within some species. Pamelaescincus gardineri, a Seychelles endemic skink and possibly one of the deepest lineages of Afro-Malagasy "scincines", is another species widespread across these islands within which undescribed variation may occur. Both nuclear (c-mos and MC1R) and mitochondrial (Cyt-b) DNA data were used to address this issue. Mitochondrial DNA shows a marked FCUP Phylogeography of Seychelles' endemic skink genera Pamelaescincus and Janetaescincus ! ! 12! northeastern-southwestern structure of two highly divergent clades, similar to the pattern previously described in other reptile species. Nuclear DNA seems to corroborate this pattern, although these markers were much less informative. Migration between the two island groups was identified, and gene flow between the two mtDNA lineages is likely, the extent of which remains to be fully explored. This will require more variable nuclear markers and more detailed sampling across the island of Mahé. A suitable assessment of morphological variation is also needed prior to any taxonomic revision of this species. From a conservation point of view, however, these lineages should already be treated as two distinct evolutionary units.


The volume phase transition and the microstructure of physically cross-linked hydrogels composed of either N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) or N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) and 2-(N-ethylfluorooctanesulfonamido)ethyl acrylate, FOSA, were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), water swelling measurements (WS), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). DSC and WS measurements showed that FOSA/NIPA gels exhibited a volume phase transition (VPT) but that the FOSA/DMA gels did not. The temperature of the VPT (TVPT) for the FOSA/NIPA gels was lower than that for the covalent NIPA gel, and TVPT decreased and the transition broadened with increasing FOSA concentration. A peak in the SAXS structure factor indicated that the hydrophobic interactions promoted nanophase separation in both gelsin the dry and hydrated states.


Modern power systems include a considerable amount of power electronic converters related to the introduction of renewable energy sources, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems, adjustable speed drives, and so on. These components introduce repet- itive pulses generated by the commutation of semiconductor switches, resulting in overvoltages with very steep fronts and high dielectric stresses. This phenomenon is one of the main causes of accelerated insulation aging of motors in power electronic-based systems. This chapter presents state-of-the-art computational tools for the analysis of motor wind- ings excited by fast-front pulses related to the use of frequency converters based on pulse-width modulation (PWM). These tools can be applied for the accurate prediction of over- voltages and dielectric stresses required to propose insulation design improvements. In the case of the stress-grading system used in medium-voltage (MV) motors, transient finite-element method (FEM) is used to study the effect of fast pulses. It is shown how, by controlling the material properties and the design of the stress-grading systems, solutions to reduce the adverse effects of fast pulses from PWM-type inverters can be proposed.


In the recent years, CFRP was recognized as the main material for fabricating large scale wind turbine blades. However, there is some likelihood of damage occuring in the thickness direction of CFRP laminates caused by impact loads because there are no fibers. If the bending and compressive loads are applied to the damaged area, the buckling and the compression failure easily arise. So, it is desirable to evaluate interior damage with a non-destructive method. In this paper, the vibration characteristics of the CFRP wind turbine blades were evaluated by using an impulse hammer test. The natural frequencies and the damping ratios of the CFRP wind turbine blades were measured and their vibration mode shapes were obtained from modal analysis software. Furthermore, the experimental results were compared with numerical ones obtained by FEM.


LET'S TALK ABOUT IT (LTAI) (Lederman, Stewart, Bates, Greenberg, LeGreco, & Schuwerk, 2007), a scenario-based alcohol prevention simulation, has been used in a curriculum infusion design to promote healthy alcohol-related decision making among college students. Its use offers a unique research opportunity to explore students' beliefs and talk about sex and friendships in the culture of college drinking. This study examines students' alcohol-related decisions and discussion of those decisions. In the simulated drinking context LTAI, participants have to decide what to do about an intoxicated female friend in a scenario in which a new male acquaintance invites her to go to his place. A qualitative observation and analysis of 141 undergraduate students' discussions about the situation and their decisions in it about how to treat their friend revealed two major themes: the importance of relational factors in students' decision making, and the variety of communicative strategies employed to protect their friends. In addition, the use of curriculum infusion and simulations regarding college drinking provided students with complex yet salient communication problems to investigate while also addressing a major health concern.


Linearisation of a radio basestation amplifier using a third order and a fifth order predistortion scheme is studied. Adaptive predistortion using a third order predistorter improved the amplifiers intermodulation distortion by between 6.5 dB and 30 dB as measured by a two tone test. The variation in improvement is due to changes in the input power level. Improvement increases as the input power is backed off from the 1 dB compression point. A fifth order predistorter will give an IMD improvement of between 9 dB and 48 dB if properly adjusted. For a nine-tone test (with uniformly distributed random phase), a fifth order predistorter, if properly adapted will give an IMD improvement of between 8.5 dB and 40 dB from the worst IMD level, provided by the raw nonlinear amplifier.


Abstract To identify the set of reflectances that constitute redness, the authors must first determine which surfaces are red. They do this by relying on widespread agreement among us. However, arguments based on the possible ways in which humans would perceive colors show that mere widespread agreement among us is not a satisfactory way to determine which surfaces are red.


Background and Objectives: Diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia is mostly established retrospectively. But it is difficult to diagnose perinatal asphyxia retrospectively in the absence of perinatal records. As because of hypoxaemia, different organ systems of the body are affected in perinatal asphyxia, this study was done to assess the hepatic function for the diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia and to find out any correlation existing between hepatic enzyme change and the severity of perinatal asphyxia. Methods: A total of 70 full-term asphyxiated newborns (study group) were studied during January 2008 to December 2008 in the department of Paediatrics, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. After enrolment these babies were grouped according to Sarnat and Sarnat stages of HIE as stage I, II and III. Another 50 healthy newborns were also studied as reference group. Venous blood was analyzed between 2nd and 5th day of life to estimate serum AST, ALT and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), serum total bilirubin (STB), serum total protein (STP), serum albumin and prothrombin time (PT). Unpaired student's 't' test and Spearman's rank correlation was used for data analysis and P value of <0.05 were considered significant. Results: The mean AST, ALT, ALP, STP, S. albumin and TSB of asphyxiated babies were 76.3±37.4 U/L, 82.2±48.08 U/L, 369.6±123.05 U/L, 55.7±8.8 U/L, 32.6±5.5 g/L & 5.5±2.01mg/dL respectively and those of normal babies were 23.5±8.5 U/L, 26.5±7.8 U/L, 208.2±46.9 U/L, 66.3±10.4 g/L, 40.9±6.5 g/L and 4.5±1.2 mg/dl respectively and these differences were statistically significant (P <0.001). On the other hand no significant changes were noted in prothrombin time. The rise of AST, ALT, ALP and PT also showed a significant positive correlation with the severity of asphyxia and the stages of HIE. Conclusion: It is concluded that estimation of hepatic enzymes can be used to diagnose perinatal asphyxia and also to assess its severity. Key words: Alanine aminotransferase; aspartate aminotransferase; newborn; perinatal asphyxia. DOI: 10.3329/bjch.v34i1.5695 Bangladesh Journal of Child Health 2010; Vol.34(1): 7-10


Microstructural characteristics such as the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) and cracking patterns from compressive strength testing are main features that characterize concrete behavior. Certain materials such as blast furnace slag or fly ash introduced in the concrete mix aid in improving its strength and durability. Others such as nanosilica particles may affect only the microstructure of the paste without making any significant improvement in the strength of the ITZ or paste-aggregate bond. Additionally, in situ investigation of the microstructures of fresh cement paste can greatly enhance knowledge of the development properties of concrete at an early age (e.g., setting and hydration), which can be helpful for improvement of the quality of concrete. Common technologies such as Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) are currently employed in petrographic analysis of cementitious materials and concrete microstructure.


[1] This study uses long-term daily streamflow records from selected river basins in the state of Texas. Four kinds of seasonal streamflow extremes based on scales (1 and 7 day) and 95th and 97.5th percentile threshold levels were analyzed for pre-industrial period (1925–1964) and postindustrial period (1965–2003) in order to assess possible changes in uncertainty, trends, and their teleconnection to large-scale climate indices. Marginal entropy was used to investigate the uncertainty and its relation to 1 day seasonal streamflow extremes where more uncertainty was observed in the postindustrial period. Wavelet transform was performed on seasonal streamflow extremes to evaluate changes in their periodicity by increasing the scale length of extremes as well as threshold extremes. Significant power changes from one season to another, based on wavelet analysis of seasonal streamflow and also variability, were observed within similar river basins. Cross-correlation analysis and cross-wavelet transform were employed between seasonal climate indices based on El Nino–Southern Oscillation index, Pacific Decadal Oscillation index, and Southern Oscillation Index with respect to seasonal streamflow extremes. The maximum change in correlation strength based on regional scale was observed in the 97.5th percentile winter extreme with winter Nino 3.4 index. Further, trend analysis of seasonal streamflow extremes was carried out using the Mann-Kendall test for pre-industrial and postindustrial periods to determine possible increasing or decreasing patterns, and the results suggested that significant positive trends were observed at some stations only in the postindustrial period.


The term disruptive innovation was coined in the 1990s by Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, to describe technological innovations that transform current markets and quickly replace existing technology.1 A commonly cited example relates to the development of the automobile in the early 1900s. Clearly, the automobile represented a revolutionary technological advancement for transportation, but it remained a luxury good of limited use until Henry Ford began production of the Model-T in 1908. The Model-T was by no means a superior product to previously produced automobiles. But Ford's assembly line mass production methods allowed the car to be produced at a significantly less cost and suddenly the automobile was affordable to the masses. In this case, more efficient mass production techniques represented a disruptive innovation in the transportation market.

Technology innovation within healthcare has been extraordinary and has undoubtedly resulted in improved patient outcomes over time. However, examples of truly disruptive technologies in healthcare are uncommon. Essential qualities of disruptive technologies are that they need to be convenient, affordable and accessible in order to foster rapid adoption. Instead, most innovations in healthcare technology are considered sustaining innovations in that they represent step-wise improvements of existing technology, but are also more costly and complex. Recent examples include the use of positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, robotic assisted surgery or molecular targeted cancer therapies.

The need for evidence development is clearly one reason why disruptive innovations in healthcare are rare. Healthcare is relatively unique in this regard when compared with other sectors of technological innovation, such as automotive manufacturing or telecommunications. Decisions in healthcare use have high stakes that can impact patient's lives, and the associated costs are often borne by society as a whole rather than the individual. Stakeholders in healthcare therefore rely on methods of evidence-based medicine, health technology assessment …


High production meeting product quality, process safety and environmental regulation provide to control systems a key role in biochemical plants operation. As a suitable mathematical model is essential for process control, this work reports an alternative tool, based on the use of fractional order differential equations, for biochemical reactor identi- fication using previously reported experimental data. Three different approaches were considered: i) solv- ing the nonlinear set of algebraic equations obtained from the derivatives of the objective function with respect to the parameters; ii) solving a multivariable nonlinear deterministic optimization problem; iii) solving a multivariable nonlinear heuristic optimiza- tion problem. All identified models were submitted to statistical fitting tests and the second approach (ii) proved to be the most efficient for process identifica- tion, satisfying all statistical tests. Common integer order models were identified, leading to poorer data fit when compared to the fractional model, proving the usefulness and success identification tool pro- posed.


An increasingly evolving world of education demands students to be intelligent and courteous. In order to form students who are smart and polite require good education. Modeling services are good exemplary services ranging from the most basic things that school counselors provide to learners. In this study the authors used descriptive qualitative research and using the type of phenomenological research. The data obtained from observation, interview, and documentation. The results showed that modeling services give a dominant impact in learning morals students. In the modeling learning done by the schools through the teaching staff are done in different ways by modeling the participants, and facilitating their students in doing this service. Modeling service is very influential for the development of student behavior, proven students experience a very significant change. Various characters of students who come from various circles, can be changed through the modeling services done school. In addition, the influence of counselor characteristics in modeling is also very influential in the success of service modeling. It can be concluded that modeling services by schools through well-characterized teaching staff can have a positive impact on their students. Can be proved from the progress of students who experience a gradual change in attitude.


With ongoing climate change, the search for indicators
of imminent ecosystem shifts is attracting increasing
attention (e.g., Scheffer et al. 2009). Recently, the spatial
organization of ecosystems has been suggested as a good
candidate for such an indicator in spatially structured
ecosystems (Rietkerk et al. 2004, Ke´fi et al. 2007a,
Guttal and Jayaprakash 2009).


The present study investigated spatial memory in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) through the use of a radial arm maze. The study consisted of a total of three separate experiments. In the first two experiments, the ability of the dogs to successfully remember previously unentered arms was evaluated. The third experiment was similar to the first two, but also examined the nature of the serial position effect. Performance in all three experiments was better than expected solely by random choices. Dogs showed a much better memory for spatial locations presented earlier in a spatial list compared with those presented in the middle. Based on the present results, we suggest that the radial arm maze assesses canine spatial memory and that dogs show a primacy effect.


Background: The main aim of the study was to determine variation of some coordination motor abilities between badminton players at various ages and with various training experience and their level compared to non-athletes. Material/Methods: The results of the tests of coordination motor abilities were collected from 30 badminton players (younger cadets, cadets and juniors) and 54 peers who were non-athletes. Computer tests were used to evaluate selected coordination motor abilities using a touch screen laptop. Means between age groups of athletes were compared based on one-way analysis of variance or its nonparametric counterpart. The significance of differences between means of the two groups was evaluated using Student's t-test for unrelated samples, the Cochran-Cox test and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Comparison of the results of tests of coordination motor abilities between groups of athletes at various chronological ages revealed statistically significant differences in 11 cases. Furthermore, differences in the level of coordination motor abilities between badminton players and non-athlete peers were found at individual training stages (younger cadets, cadets, juniors). These regularities were especially noticeable for times of simple reaction to visual and auditory stimuli. Conclusions: Training experience has a significant effect on the level of the analysed coordination motor abilities of badminton players. This correlation concerns all the analysed coordination abilities. With regards to practical implications of the training process of young badminton players, one should emphasize the development of coordination motor abilities.


So far in this course we have been using statistical methods that are appropriate for cases in which the experimenter is interested in knowing the e↵ects of the particular levels of the independent variables included in the experiment. Such factors are called fixed because the same levels would be used in replications of the experiment, and the models used to analyzed uch data are called fixed-e↵ects models. In other experi ental situations, however, it may not be possible or appropriate to include all levels of a variable in a single experiment, and therefore we may be forced to select a subset, or sample, of the population of levels for inclusion in our experiment. The particular levels of the factor therefor are likely to vary across replications of the experiment. Factors in which levels have been selected randomly are called random factors, and the statistical models used to analyze experiments that use such factors are called random-e↵ects models. If an experiment contains both fixed and random factors, then the data are analyzed with a so-called mixed model. Why do we need a di↵erent kind of model to analyze experiments that include random factors? In fixede↵ects models, the only source of random variation among scores is error variance. However, experiments that include random factors have multiple sources of variability, or variance components: in addition to error variance, the e↵ects associated with random factors are conceptualized as random variables drawn from a population of e↵ects. As we shall see, these extra sources of variation alter way we evaluate main e↵ects and interactions. Furthermore, the goal of evaluating random e↵ects di↵ers slightly from the goal of analyzing fixed e↵ects. In the case of fixed-e↵ects models, conclusions reached about significance (or lack thereof) of main e↵ects and interactions are restricted to the particular levels of the factors that were included in the experiment. Randome↵ects models, on the other hand, enable us to generalize our conclusions to the entire population of levels of the random factor, even ones not included in our experiment.


Echelle observations are presented and discussed for 23 of the 27 known 'normal' shell stars brighter than about 6.5 mag. In addition to those typical cases, three stars with known transitions between emission & shell and pure emission line appearance, and three rapidly rotating B stars without records of line emission (Bn stars) are added to the sample. Long-term V/R emission-line variability and central quasi emission bumps (CQEs) in photospheric lines were found in 75% of all normal shell stars. This strongly suggests that the velocity law in most, if not all, disks of Be stars is roughly Keplerian. Both phenomena may occur in the same star but not at the same time. This is in agreement with the previous conclusion that CQEs only form in the presence of negligible line-of-sight velocities while long-term V/R variations are due to non-circular gas particle orbits caused by global disk oscillations. V/R variations associated with binary orbits are much less pronounced. Similarly, phase lags between different lines were detected in long-term V/R variable stars only. A binary fraction of only one-third is too low to support binary hypotheses as an explanation of the Be phenomenon. CQEs detected in 3 out of 19 Bn stars reveal the presence of disk-like equatorial concentrations of matter in B stars without emission lines. Accordingly, there seem to be intermediate cases between disk-free B stars and Be stars. Previous claims of the existence of shell stars with low v sin i could not be confirmed. Shell stars are Be stars viewed equator-on, and their observed rotational velocities are indistinguishable from the equatorial ones which are the same as in Be stars. The mean fraction of the critical rotation velocity is 81±12%. The standard deviation is comparable to, or even less than, the observational uncertainties. Since this would require star-to-star differences to be negligible, which is unrealistic, the correlation between the widths of strong spectral lines and the stellar rotation velocities may be truncated or severely distorted at its extreme end. A number of not previously known facts about individual stars is also reported.


My thesis investigates the use of machine learning methods for analysis of economic and financial time series. Since structural models in economics and finance are known to have limited predictive power, I study a data driven, time series approach to knowledge discovery in these domains. The ultimate goal of building predictive models of such time series is to support decision making in areas such as business, investing, and government policy.
Machine learning offers powerful tools for forecasting and decision making. Supervised learning methods can be used to develop forecasting models of economic series that can aid in decision support. Reinforcement learning methods can produce systems capable of making investment decisions. Hence, my thesis consists of two main investigations: a study of methods for predicting macroeconomic and financial time series, and a study of extensions to a reinforcement learning algorithm for constructing financial decision systems.
In the forecasting project, I develop a supervised training methodology for models that predict challenging macroeconomic and financial time series. I compare the performance of linear and nonlinear networks with a diverse set of standard linear benchmark models. While some advantage is obtained from the use of nonlinear networks for certain of these time series, a key result is that linear network models trained with stochastic, nonlinear neural network learning algorithms can achieve greatly improved performance over the benchmark methods on most of the data sets.
The second topic investigated is enhancements to the Recurrent Reinforcement Learning (RRL) algorithm. The RRL approach to trading system design has been shown to be effective at learning strategies that directly maximize financial objective functions, and also has been shown to outperform approaches based on supervised learning on artificial data sets. In my work, I investigate several significant extensions of RRL: to incorporate downside risk measures, to compare the RRL policy approach to an alternate RL value function approach, to extend the approach to portfolio management, and to conduct simulation studies on a number of artificial and real data sets, including an S&P-500 asset allocation system and a high frequency foreign exchange trader.


Concerns (complaints) about the quality of writing exhibited among seminary students are not new. Nor is the fact that many students come to seminary as a second career, or with backgrounds in disciplines that do not emphasize extensive scholarly writing. However, in an era of reduced enrollment, when recruitment and retention are of existential significance for seminaries, the traditional "sink or swim" approach that presumes students will "learn as they go" (or not) seems increasingly inadequate. Given the centrality of writing to academic success in seminary, helping students develop as writers is an essential component of providing academic support, thereby ensuring that students are prepared to pursue their vocations. As seminaries face budgetary challenges that may preclude offering writing support, and as the role of librarians is changing, we have an opportunity to expand our traditional role of supporting students. Join presenters David Schmersal, Jane Elder and Melody Diehl Detar as they share some of their experiences in extending writing support to seminary students at Perkins School of Theology and Regent University.


Studies of reading intervention in dyslexia have shown changes in performance and in brain function. However, there is little consistency in the location of brain regions associated with successful reading gains in children, most likely due to variability/limitations in methodologies (study design, participant criteria, and neuroimaging procedures). Ultimately for the results to be meaningful, the intervention has to be successful, be assessed against a control, use rigorous statistics, and take biological variables (sex) into consideration. Using a randomized, crossover design, 31 children with dyslexia were assigned to a phonological- and orthographic-based tutoring period as well as a within-subjects control period to examine: (1) intervention-induced changes in behavior (reading performance) and in brain activity (during reading); and (2) behavioral and brain activity pre-intervention data that predicted intervention-induced gains in reading performance. We found gains in reading ability following the intervention, but not following the control period, with no effect of participants' sex. However, there were no changes in brain activity following the intervention (regardless of sex), suggesting that individual brain changes are too variable to be captured at the group level. Reading gains were not predicted by pre-intervention behavioral data, but were predicted by pre-intervention brain activity in bilateral supramarginal/angular gyri. Notably, some of this prediction was only found in females. Our results highlight the limitations of brain imaging in detecting the neural correlates of reading intervention in this age group, while providing further evidence for its utility in assessing eventual success of intervention, especially if sex is taken into consideration.


L-Ascorbic acid stimulates procollagen synthesis in cultured human skin fibroblasts without appreciably altering noncollagen protein synthesis. The effect is unrelated to intracellular degradation of newly synthesized procollagen. Levels of mRNA for pro alpha 1(I), pro alpha 2(I), and pro alpha 1(III), measured by hybridization with the corresponding cDNA probes, are elevated in the presence of ascorbic acid, whereas the level of mRNA for fibronectin is unchanged. Levels of functional mRNA for procollagen, measured in a cell-free translation assay, are specifically increased in the presence of ascorbic acid. Thus, ascorbic acid appears to control the expression of three different procollagen genes, each of which is located on a separate chromosome. It is proposed that intracellularly accumulated procollagen in ascorbate deficiency may lead to a translational repression of procollagen synthesis. Ascorbic acid may relieve this block by promoting hydroxyproline formation and, consequently, secretion of procollagen from the cell. The increased level of procollagen mRNA under the influence of ascorbic acid may be secondary to increased synthesis of procollagen polypeptides; the control point may be gene transcription or mRNA degradation.


The 2019 International Symposium on Remote Sensing (ISRS-2019) took place in Taipei, Taiwan from 17 to 19 April 2019. ISRS is one of the distinguished conferences on the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, especially in East Asia. More than 220 papers were presented in 37 technical sessions organized at the conference. This Special Issue publishes a limited number of featured peer-reviewed papers extended from their original contributions at ISRS-2019. The selected papers highlight a variety of topics pertaining to innovative concepts, algorithms and applications with geospatial sensors, systems, and data, in conjunction with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine leaning and advanced spatial analysis algorithms. The topics of the selected papers include the following: the on-orbit radiometric calibration of satellite optical sensors, environmental characteristics assessment with remote sensing, machine learning-based photogrammetry and image analysis, and the integration of remote sensing and spatial analysis. The selected contributions also demonstrate and discuss various sophisticated applications in utilizing remote sensing, geospatial data, and technologies to address different environmental and societal issues. Readers should find the Special Issue enlightening and insightful for understanding state-of-the-art remote sensing and spatial information science research, development and applications.


BACKGROUND
The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) has increased exponentially in recent years, with 100 million people expected to develop diabetes in the coming 15 years. The impact of medical therapy on the incidence of new onset DM is not clear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the impact of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) on the incidence of new onset DM.

METHODS
MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, Cochrane databases from inception until February 2009 for randomized controlled trials (RCT) that reported new incident DM with ACEI or ARB therapy. A total of 18 RCT are included in this meta-analysis. A random-effect model was used and between-studies heterogeneity was estimated with I(2).

RESULTS
There were 50,451 patients randomized to ACEI or ARB and 50,397 patients randomized to other therapies. ACEI/ARB use was associated with a decrease in new onset DM (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.70-0.88, p = 0.003 for ACEI and RR 0.8, 95% CI 0.75-0.86, p < 0.0001 for ARB). Treating 100 patients with ACEI or 50 patients with ARB prevents one case of new onset DM.

CONCLUSIONS
The cumulative evidence suggests that the use of ACEI/ARB prevents diabetes mellitus. This finding may be of special clinical benefit in patients with hypertension and prediabetes or metabolic syndrome.


[86 ] A case of chorea with cirrhosis of the liver (Ueber einen Fall von Chorea mit Lebercirrhose).-GEoRG SCHALTENBRAND. Deut. Zeits. f. Nervenheilk., 1926, xci, 174. THE patient was an elderly woman of 59, who had suffered for a number of years from jaundice of a more or less chronic kind; some years after its onset she began to develop nervous symptoms-a series of apoplectiform attacks, paresis of one arm, loss of speech, and some unconsciousness characterising these attacks. Involuntary movements also developed with them, and eventually became practically constant and choreiform in type. Enlargement and hypofunction of the liver were clearly diagnosed by various clinical tests, and the spleen also was discovered to be hypertrophied. At the autopsy the liver was found to be cirrhotic. A complete examina*tion of the central nervous system was made, the following being the chief points of interest: (1) widespread fibre-degeneration with the development of " holes " or " gaps " in the nervous tissues as a sequel. These defects were especially noticeable in the fibre-systems of neostriatum, palaeostriatum and mesencephalon; (2) pronounced 'degeneration of ganglion cells; (3) overgrowth of glia cells, and the presence of many compound granular corpuscles; (4) overgrowth of capillaries. The cortex, especially the frontal cortex, and the nucleus 'dentatus showed these changes, in addition to the areas already mentioned. The author inclines to consider his case as an atypical example of hepatolenticular degeneration. It should be remarked that no corneal ring of pigmentation was found. As far as the reviewer has noticed, there is no reference to a Wassermann examination in serum or spinal fluid, although the patient had had three miscarriages. S. A. K. W.


With the advancement of technology, many processes in our world have been reformulated, updated, and digitized. Therefore, interpersonal relationships have also been following this trend so that social networks have become increasingly present in our lives. Given this context, social network users create and share a large amount of data, from content about their daily lives, funny facts, as well as information about traffic, weather, and various subjects. The problem of event detection in social media, such as Twitter, is related to the identification of the first story on a topic of interest. In this work, we propose a novel approach based on the observation that tweets are subjected to a continuous phase transition when an event takes place, i.e., its underlying dynamic changes. Our proposal consists of a formal characterization of the phase transition that occurs when an event takes place, and the use of this characterization to devise a new method to detect events in Twitter, based on calculating the entropy of the keywords extracted from the content of tweets (regardless of the language used). We evaluated the performance of our approach using seven data sets, and we outperformed nine different techniques present in the literature. Unlike the work found in the literature, we present a theoretical rationale about the existence of phase transitions. For this, we characterize a model, already existing in the literature, of phase transitions described by differential equations, where we find correspondence between the model used in the study and the real data. The experimental results show that our proposal significantly improves the learning performance for the metrics used.


as a child was David and the Phoenix by David Ormondroyd. First published in 1957, the book is about a boy who becomes friends with a wise and sometimes wisecracking phoenix, until it burns and dies and then rises again, leaving the boy forever. The phoenix was especially appealing to me, since it personi1⁄2ed resurrection, thus making death not death at all, but some sort of cosmic learning experience. (One feature of some American children's literature is its third-rate Emersonianism, its remarkable mixture of childhood angst and the regenerative power of pluck: Americans seem to insist, more than they have any right to, that even the most tragic situations must yield to a frightfully unreasoning optimism, so that all boats, in the end, are 'uplifted.') My mother had bought David and the Phoenix for me at a store in Philadelphia called Laura's, a second-hand shop that was down the street from our home. It cost ten cents. I don't know why she bought it. Maybe Laura suggested it as something "your kids might like," as she was wont to say to my mother about certain items. My mother knew nothing about the book except that it was written for children. That fact alone seemed to make it acceptable, and potentially even 'educational.' My mother did not read books, but she respected them, as the unliterary sometimes do, as a kind of talisman, conferring some strange virtue of mind. I remember 1⁄2rst reading Ormondroyd's book in the third grade. It was a big step for me. Until then, I had mostly read picture books, things like Maj Lindmann's Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka and Snipp, Snapp, and Snorr series, and–my favorites at the time–H. A. Rey's Curious George books. By contrast, David and the Phoenix was a chapter book, with perhaps one picture per chapter instead of one per page. It looked like a novel (a very thin novel), not a kiddie book, so I felt rather grown-up when I tackled it, even if I was a little daunted. At the time, I was quite sick and out of school. (I suffered several severe bouts of illness during my days in elementary school.) For many weeks I lay in bed with glasses of 7UP on a tray next to my bed, beside a small stack of my favorite comics and David and the Phoenix. In between contemplating the patterns in my bedroom wallpaper, I read David and the Phoenix over and over again. With each reading, I became more skilled as a


IMPORTANCE
Mutations in oncogenes AKT1, HRAS, and PIK3CA in breast cancers result in abnormal PI3K/Akt signaling and tumor proliferation. They occur in ductal carcinoma in situ, in breast cancers, and in breast cancer stem and progenitor cells (BCSCs).

OBJECTIVES
To determine if variability in clinical presentation at diagnosis correlates with PI3K/Akt mutations in BCSCs and provides an early prognostic indicator of increased progression and metastatic potential.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Malignant (BCSCs) and benign stem cells were collected from fresh surgical specimens via cell sorting and tested for oncogene mutations in a university hospital surgical oncology research laboratory from 30 invasive ductal breast cancers (stages IA through IIIB).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Presence of AKT1, HRAS, and PIK3CA mutations in BCSCs and their correlation with tumor mutations, pathologic tumor stage, tumor histologic grade, tumor hormone receptor status, lymph node metastases, and patient age and condition at the last follow-up contact.

RESULTS
Ten tumors had mutations in their BCSCs. In total, 9 tumors with BCSC mutations and 4 tumors with BCSCs without mutations had associated tumor present in the lymph nodes (P = .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Tumors in which BCSCs have defects in PI3K/Akt signaling are significantly more likely to manifest nodal metastases. These oncogenic defects may be missed by gross molecular testing of the tumor and are markers of more aggressive breast cancer. Molecular profiling of BCSCs may identify patients who would likely benefit from PI3K/Akt inhibitors, which are being tested in clinical trials.


INTRODUCTION
Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) are usually accompanied by an image for dissemination and implementation.

OBJECTIVE
to design and validate an image to represent the variety and proportions of the new Chilean dietary guidelines, include foods high in critical nutrients that should be avoided and physical activity guidelines.

METHOD
a panel of experts tested seven graphics and selected three that were validated with 12 focus groups of people aged 10-14 and 20-40 years, of both sexes, from different socioeconomic groups and from both rural and urban areas. We analyzed the perception of variety and proportions of the food groups for daily intake and motivation for action in diet and physical activity. We utilized the METAPLAN method used previously in the validation of FBDG.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
the final image was a circle that showed the variety and proportions of each food group for daily consumption (in pictures), included physical activity guidelines in a strip around the middle of the circle and a rectangle towards of bottom of the image with examples of foods high in critical nutrients in black and white. The chosen picture was modified using input from participants and validated with three additional focus groups, improving its understanding and acceptance.

CONCLUSION
most participants understood that the image represented the relationship between healthy eating and daily physical activity, correctly identifying the food groups for which increased intake was suggested and those groups in which intake should be reduced or avoided.


Previous approaches for utilizing automatic test equipment (ATE) vector repeat are based on identifying runs of repeated scan data and directly generating that data using ATE vector repeat. Each run requires a separate vector repeat instruction, so the amount of compression is limited by the amount of ATE instruction memory available and the length of the runs (which typically will be much shorter than the length of a scan vector). In this paper, a new and more efficient approach is proposed for utilizing ATE vector repeat. The scan vector sequence is partitioned and decomposed into a common sequence which is the same for an entire cluster of test cubes and a unique sequence that is different for each test cube. The common sequence can be generated very efficiently using ATE vector repeat. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can achieve much greater compression while using many fewer vector repeat instructions compared with previous methods.


This paper proposes some changes to the official methodology that is currently in use to measure the state of poverty in Mexico. Among other suggestions, it is recommended the use of bootstrapping to estimate confidence intervals for the poverty statistics, as well as the use of dominance analysis when making intertemporal comparisons. In particular, since poverty lines change over time, the paper proposes the use of TIP curves for that end. Using the eight surveys that were made during the period 1992-2005, the paper presents a large number of absolute poverty statistics and TIP curves, as well as comparisons among them. One of the findings is the deterioration of the living conditions of the poorest among the poor, about a half million people, with respect to the conditions they endured before the 1994 economic crisis.


OBJECTIVE
Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) has been defined as the clinical presentation of eosinophilia, severe myalgia, and the exclusion of other infectious/malignant illnesses. Since the case definition does not require exposure to L-tryptophan (LT), diagnostic bias would occur if a physician's decision to diagnose EMS were influenced by knowledge of LT use.

METHODS
A random sample of 813 physicians practising in the United States and Canada was obtained. Physicians were asked to provide diagnoses for 6 case vignettes having diverse resemblances to EMS. Six weeks later, participants were asked to provide diagnoses for a complementary series of cases described in identical text except for different data regarding LT use.

RESULTS
Physicians who responded (N = 227, 28%) were more likely to diagnose EMS when LT exposure was present compared to the same case without LT use. In the most striking difference, EMS was diagnosed by 48% of physicians when the case was described in a man using LT, but by only 8% of physicians for the same case without LT use. The McNemar bias ratios, which compare responses provided by physicians completing both series, ranged from 0.65 to 1.0.

CONCLUSION
These data indicate that the diagnosis of EMS may be biased by knowledge of LT. By showing the presence of diagnostic bias in clinical decision making, we suggest an important methodological problem that may arise in both clinical and research settings.


Management development programmes (MDPs) are crucial to developing Pacific island countries. Programme designers must understand the region which comprises thousands of islands spread many miles apart. These countries are influenced by their history of colonial occupation and protection by the British, Germans and Americans. Fiji is unique, being an independent republic and the largest, wealthiest and most influential South Pacific country. Native languages are many, but English is commonly used throughout for government and business – except in French Polynesia. The native population is mainly Polynesian and Melanesian, with a significant minority being Micronesian. Each society has distinct customs, languages and behaviours modified by its national affiliation and geographical location. Early MDPs were modelled on western practices. In the 1990s, MDPs conform to the objectives of aid‐granting agencies, their content is oriented towards practical application of management skills, and instruction is condu...


Purpose. To introduce the epidemical, pathological, and clinical characteristics as well as the diagnostic and therapeutical experiences of endomyocardial fibrosis(EMF) in China. Data sources. A CMBdisc search was done of the Chinese-language literature published from January 1983 through June 1997 about EMF and/or restrictive cardiomyopathy. A manual search was then done for other contributions, including abstracts, between January 1965 and June 1997. Results. Eighty-seven Chinese cases of EMF were collected in this paper. There were 49 men and 38 women, with a mean age of 28±13 years(range, 8 to 68 years). The distribution of the cases is mainly in the south of China. Combined right and left ventricular disease occurs in 48 percent of cases, with pure right ventricular involvement occurring in 42 percent and pure left ventricular involvement in the remaining 10 percent of patients who are examined postmortem. The diagnosis of EMF was confirmed in 21 cases at autopsy, and in 66 cases by echocardiography, angiocardiography, and/or endomyocardial biopsy which showed the characteristic changes. Clinically, right-sided disease is the comrhonest variety. Endocardiec-tomy and tricuspid (n = 7) or mitral (n = 1) valves replacement have been performed in 8 patients. There were 2 operative deaths. Six patients had a satisfactory recovery postoperatively and living well in the fol-low-up duration.Conclusion. EMF has been diagnosed clinically and confirmed at necropsy in a number of cases in the south of China. The etiology, incidence and epidemiology are still unknown. The pathological and clinical features are similar to those in tropical areas, but right ventricular involvement is the commonest type in our country.


The purpose of this research was to study organizational health levels of elementary schools as classified by school size in the early stage of education reform. Data for this study were collected from all 99 elementary schools in Nonthaburi Province. All teachers in each school served as informants. The employed research instrument was the Elementary School Organizational Health Inventory based on Hoy and Feldman's concept. It was used to assess three hierachical levels and eight health dimensions, namely, the institutional level (with dimensions of goal setting, and institutional integrity), the managerial level (with dimensions of collegial leadership, instructional leadership, and communication), and the technical level (with dimensions of academic emphasis, teacher morale, and instructional activities). The organizational health was classified into three levels: fully healthy, moderately healthy, and unhealthy. The employed statistics for data analysis were the percentage, percentile, mean, standard deviation, and standard score.
Research findings were as follows: (1) The overall and every dimension of organizational health of the total number of 99 schools comprising small, medium sized, and large schools were at the moderately healthy level. (2) When the organizational health of each school was analyzed, the percentages of schools with fully healthy, moderately healthy, and unhealthy levels were as follows: 37, 39, and 25 for small schools; 12, 58, and 30 for medium sized schools; and 18, 64, and 18 for large schools, respectively. (3) When each school's organizational health was analyzed by dimensions, it was found that more than 33 percent of small schools were unhealthy on the dimension of academic emphasis (technical level); above 30 percent of medium sized schools were unhealthy on the dimensions of goal setting, institutional integrity (institutional level), instructional leadership (managerial level) and teacher morale (technical level); forty percent of large schools were unhealthy on the dimension of collegial leadership (managerial level). After this preliminary study, effects of each organizational health level and its dimensions on the educational quality will be analyzed and strategies on personnel development for each level will be developed to suit Nonthaburi situation.


abstract Leaf gas exchange, water potential, and specific leaf area of two tropical semi-deciduous tree species, Brosimum lactescens S. Moore and Tovomita schomburgkii Planch & Triana, were quantified to establish how these properties were affected by seasonal variations in rainfall and leaf canopy position. The study was conducted at a site near Sinop Mato Grosso, Brazil, which is located within the ecotone of savanna and tropical rain forest. Both species exhibited significant declines in leaf water potential (Ψ L ), specific leaf area, area- and mass-based light saturated photosynthesis and dark respiration, and maximum stomatal conductance during the dry-season, suggesting that leaf structural properties and gas exchange are significantly altered by drought that develops during the 4-month dry season. Internal leaf CO 2 concentrations (C i ) were consistently lower during the dry season suggesting that the decline in maximum photosynthesis was due in part to a decline in stomatal conductance. However, seasonal variations in leaf gas exchange were larger for upper-canopy leaves, indicating an important interaction between drought stress and canopy position. The seasonal variation in leaf gas exchange and morphology was presumably due to a combination of drought stress and leaf lifespan. The results of this study suggest that drought has important implications for the leaf physiology and morphology of semi-deciduous Amazonian forest trees.


United States, in Iraq and elsewhere, should cease promoting a secular civil society as the only alternative to a Taliban-like Shia theocracy. We cannot quell the religious yearnings of millions of Iraqis (and many others elsewhere) merely by fostering strong political and economic institutions and the sound values they embody - to wit, democracy and capitalism. The most effective way to counter a theocracy is to include moderate, liberal religious elements in the civil society we are helping to erect. The First Amendment's disestablishment clause is not a foreign policy tool, but a peculiarly American conception. Just because the American government is banned from promoting religion within the United States does not mean that the State Department and the Pentagon cannot promote religion overseas in societies that are undergoing profound societal changes. This last point is crucial: Overseas we are participating as a key architect and builder of new institutions; ,we are in what social scientists call "the design business." This is quite distinct from what we do at home: shoring up a solid social structure designed two centuries ago, careful not to rock the foundations or undermine the pillars on which it stands. In Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other Third World countries, we participate in the ground-breaking, foundation-laying stage, one in which elements we can take for granted at home - such as a thriving religious life within civil society - must be provided.


Nitrogenous compounds in leguminous plants translocate in the form of ureides, allantoin and allantoic acid, the oxidation products of de novo purine synthesis, from the nodules to the aerial parts. The nodules are the main sites of ureides synthesis through the coordination of the plant-bacteria association. However, aspects related to the occurrence, localization and properties associated with the enzymes involved in the assimilation of ureides in shoot tissues have not yet been fully resolved. In this study, a modified and simplified automated analysis was used to determine allantoin concentration in plant xylem exudates. The total amount of ureides translocated to the aerial parts of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) plants was quantified by the stem sap extraction method using allantoin as the internal standard. Other parameters measured at different time intervals (from sowing to harvest) included shoot and root length, symbiotic parameters, plant biomass, and the nitrogen (N) status of the stem, leaves and nodules. Two rhizobial isolates (KR1 and MR2), isolated from Pisum sativum L. var. 'Macrocarpon' and Phaseolus vulgaris L. (cv. 'Carioca 29') plants, respectively, were selected from entirely different agro-climatic regions. MR2 accumulated more ureides (587.28 mg L –1 ) than KR1 (573.33 mg L –1 ) when assessed at harvest. Plants were harvested at regular intervals for dry matter and stem-extracted exudates. Results were insignificant ( P > 0.05) for different inocula, shoot and root length and nodule N, but were significant ( P < 0.05) for both rhizobial isolates during nodulation. The concentration of ureides, which were compared with total N concentrations in nodules, stems and leaves, were significantly different (P < 0.01). We conclude that the percentage of N in the form of ureides, however, does not always indicate the ability of the plant to symbiotically fix N 2 .


The authors discuss the question of simulating synchronous computations on asynchronous systems. They consider an asynchronous system with very weak, or altogether lacking any, atomicity assumptions. The first contribution of this paper is a novel clock for asynchronous systems. The clock is a basic tool for synchronization in the asynchronous environment. It is a very robust construction and can operate in a system with no atomicity assumptions, and in the presence of a dynamic scheduler. The behavior of the clock is obtained with overwhelming probability (1-2/sup - alpha n/, alpha >0). The authors show how to harness this clock to drive a PRAM simulation on an asynchronous system. The resulting simulation scheme is more efficient than existing ones, while actually relaxing the assumptions on the underlying asynchronous system.<<ETX>>


The understorey in temperate forests can play an important functional role, depending on its biomass and functional characteristics. While it is known that local soil and stand characteristics largely determine the biomass of the understorey, less is known about the role of global change. Global change can directly affect understorey biomass, but also indirectly by modifying the overstorey, local resource availability and growing conditions at the forest floor. In this observational study across Europe, we aim at disentangling the impact of global‐change drivers on understorey biomass and nutrient stocks, from the impact of overstorey characteristics and local site conditions. Using piecewise structural equation modelling, we determine the main drivers of understorey biomass and nutrient stocks in these forests and examine potential direct and indirect effects of global‐change drivers. Tree cover, tree litter quality and differences in former land use were the main drivers of understorey biomass and nutrient stocks, via their influence on understorey light and nitrogen availability and soil acidity. Other global‐change drivers, including climate and nitrogen deposition, had similar indirect effects, but these were either weak or only affecting nutrient concentrations, not stocks. Synthesis. We found that direct effects of global‐change drivers on understorey biomass and nutrient stocks were absent. The indirect effects of global change, through influencing resource availability and growing conditions at the forest floor, were found to be less important than the effects of overstorey cover and composition. These results suggest that understorey biomass and nutrient stocks might respond less to global change in the presence of a dense overstorey, highlighting the buffering role of the overstorey in temperate forests.


The objective of the research was to develop a method to prepare extruted product from sweet potato and rice flour with addition of karabenguk as the protein source. The ratio of sweet potato and rice flour were 90:10; 75:25; and 55:45, and the addition of korobenguk flour varied from 0.5;1.0to 1.5 % (on the mixture basis). The first step was to determine the optimum condition for extrusion process. The extruded product was evaluated for its chemical, physical, and sensory properties. The results showed that the extruded products can be produced from sweet potato and rice flour in all ratios experimented. The addition of korobenguk flour appeared to increase protein, fat, and ash contents but decrease the extension degree the extension degree, crispness, and water absorption index. Based on the sensory evaluation, the most preferred product was that prepared from 55% sweet potato flour, 45% rice flour, and addition of 0.5% korobenguk flour (on the basis of the dough) with moisture content of 15 %. Key words: sweet potato, extrusion product, korobenguk


The rapid evolution of influenza is an important contributing factor to its high worldwide incidence. The emergence and spread of genetic point mutations has been thoroughly studied both within populations and within individual hosts. In addition, influenza viruses are also known to generate genomic variation during their replication in the form of defective viral genomes (DVGs). These DVGs are formed by internal deletions in at least one gene segment that render them incapable of replication without the presence of wild-type virus. DVGs have previously been identified in natural human infections and may be associated with less severe clinical outcomes. These studies have not been able to address how DVG populations evolve in vivo in individual infections due to their cross-sectional design. Here we present an analysis of DVGs present in samples from two longitudinal influenza A H3N2 human challenge studies. We observe the generation of DVGs in almost all subjects. Although the genetic composition of DVG populations was highly variable, identical DVGs were observed both between multiple samples within single hosts as well as between hosts. Most likely due to stochastic effects, we did not observe clear instances of selection for specific DVGs or for shorter DVGs over the course of infection. Furthermore, DVG presence was not found to be associated with peak viral titer or peak symptom scores. Our analyses highlight the diversity of DVG populations within a host over the course of infection and the apparent role that genetic drift plays in their population dynamics. Importance The evolution of influenza virus, in terms of single nucleotide variants and the reassortment of gene segments, has been studied in detail. However, influenza is known to generate defective viral genomes (DVGs) during replication, and little is known about how these genomes evolve both within hosts and at the population level. Studies in animal models have indicated that prophylactically or therapeutically administered DVGs can impact patterns of disease progression. However, the formation of naturally-occurring DVGs, their evolutionary dynamics, and their contribution to disease severity in human hosts is not well understood. Here, we identify the formation of de novo DVGs in samples from human challenge studies throughout the course of infection. We analyze their evolutionary trajectories, revealing the important role of genetic drift in shaping DVG populations during acute infections with well-adapted viral strains.


For decades, a small set of major world languages have formed the basis of the vast majority of linguistic theory. However, minoritized languages can also provide fascinating contributions to our understanding of the human language faculty. This pioneering book explores the transformative effect minoritized languages have on mainstream linguistic theory, which, with their typically unusual syntactic, morphological and phonological properties, challenge and question frameworks that were developed largely to account for more widely-studied languages. The chapters address the four main pillars of linguistic theory – syntax, semantics, phonology, and morphology – and provide plenty of case studies to show how minoritized language can disrupt assumptions, and lead to modifications of the theory itself. It is illustrated with examples from a range of languages, and is written in an engaging and accessible style, making it essential reading for both students and researchers of theoretical syntax, phonology and morphology, and language policy and politics.


We present a simple and fast algorithm for computing the $N$-th term of a given linearly recurrent sequence. Our new algorithm uses $O(\mathsf{M}(d) \log N)$ arithmetic operations, where $d$ is the order of the recurrence, and $\mathsf{M}(d)$ denotes the number of arithmetic operations for computing the product of two polynomials of degree $d$. The state-of-the-art algorithm, due to Charles Fiduccia (1985), has the same arithmetic complexity up to a constant factor. Our algorithm is simpler, faster and obtained by a totally different method. We also discuss several algorithmic applications, notably to polynomial modular exponentiation, powering of matrices and high-order lifting.


A planner allocates discrete transfers of size Dg to N heterogeneous groups labeled g and has CES preferences over the resulting outcomes, Hg(Dg). We derive a closed-form solution for optimally allocating a fixed budget subject to group-specific inequality constraints under the assumption that increments in the Hg functions are non-increasing. We illustrate our method by studying allocations of "support checks" from the U.S. government to households during both the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. We compare the actual allocations to optimal ones under alternative constraints, assuming the government focused on stimulating aggregate consumption during the 2008–2009 crisis and focused on welfare during the 2020–2021 crisis. The inputs for this analysis are obtained from versions of a life-cycle model with heterogeneous households, which predicts household-type-specific consumption and welfare responses to tax rebates and cash transfers.


Marine associated oribatid mites belong mainly to the Ameronothroidea which represent a very small percentage of all Oribatida. Over the last decades the systematics and evolutionary history of this group has been discussed controversially and still there is no consensus concerning several issues. The extreme marine environment may have resulted in parallel morphologies complicating the classification and estimation of phylogeny based on discrete morphological traits. In the present study, we performed a molecular genetic study using a mitochondrial and two nuclear markers to infer the phylogeny of this group. Additionally, we reconstructed the phylogeny of Ameronothroidea based on morphological data using different algorithms. Both methods resulted in largely congruent topologies and highlight the following important points: the Ameronothroidea represent a paraphyletic assemblage; the Podacaridae are a distinct family and should be excluded from Ameronothridae; the Fortuyniidae, Selenoribatidae and Tegeocranellidae constitute a monophyletic lineage; and certain genera of Selenoribatidae need a revision. These results demonstrate that the classification of Ameronothroidea and certain positions within this group need to be thoroughly reconsidered and revised. The present study also shows that phylogenetic estimates based on coded morphological data can be a very helpful tool for verifying and supporting molecular phylogenies.


A 56-year-old woman with a history of hypothyroidism and chronic constipation presented with an acute abdomen due to colonic pseudo-obstruction. Thyroid function tests were consistent with central hypothyroidism prompting intravenous administration of stress-dose glucocorticoids and levothyroxine. The patient then underwent emergency exploratory laparotomy with sigmoid resection and end-colostomy. The postoperative endocrine evaluation revealed that the patient had panhypopituitarism due to Sheehan's syndrome (SS). The diagnosis had been missed by physicians who had been treating her for several years for presumed primary hypothyroidism with a low dose of levothyroxine, aimed at normalising a minimally elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level. This is the second reported case of SS presenting with colonic pseudo-obstruction and it illustrates the potential danger of relying on measurement of TSH alone in the evaluation and treatment of thyroid dysfunction.


The outcome is described of a 1993 consensus meeting regarding the role and value of functional non-invasive vascular investigations in the assessment of severity and localization of arterial obstructions and in the selection of a therapeutic strategy in patients with arterial obstructive disease of the lower extremities. Since symptoms and clinical investigation alone are unreliable in assessing the severity of peripheral arterial disease, complementary functional vascular examinations are needed. Measurement of the systolic blood pressures at ankle level by means of a sphygmomanometric method and a Doppler flowmeter allows reliable determination of the presence or absence of haemodynamically significant arterial obstructions. In the case of minor obstructions the sensitivity of ankle pressure measurements can be increased by examination during a period of hyperaemia, preferably induced by a treadmill walking test. In the case of unreliable ankle pressure measurements due to non-compressible arteries determination of the toe blood pressure is indicated. Segmental blood pressure measurements as well as Doppler analysis of the blood flow at various levels of the leg were not considered reliable enough for the localization of arterial obstructions, unless the obstructive disease is restricted to one single arterial segment. Accurate non-invasive localization of arterial obstructions and the determination of their haemodynamic severity are only possible by means of a combined echo-Doppler (duplex) examination of the arteries. Duplex examination can also be helpful in choosing between surgery and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of localised stenoses and short occlusions.


The CO2 separation from natural gas, syngas or flue gas represents an important industrial field of applications. An economic and energy-efficient CO2 separation from these gas streams is a prerequisite for sustainable industry contributions to the megatrends resource efficiency and globalization of technologies. One way of reducing operational expenditure for these separation processes is the development of better performing CO2 absorbents. Although a number of absorbents for the separation of CO2 from process gas streams exist, the need for the development of CO2 absorbents with an improved absorption performance, less corrosion and foaming, no nitrosamine formation, lower energy requirement and therefore less operational expenditure remains. Recent industrial activities have led to the development of novel high-performance CO2 scrubbing agents that can be employed in numerous industrial processes such as natural gas treatment, purification of syngas and the scrubbing of flue gas. The objective of this paper is to introduce these new high-performance scrubbing agents and to compare their performance with other state-of-the-art absorbents. It turned out, that the evaluated absorbents offer high cyclic capacities in the range of 2.4 to 2.6 mol CO2/kg absorbent and low absorption enthalpies (–30 kJ/mol) allowing for distinctive savings in the regeneration energy of the absorbent. Calculations with the modified Kremser model resulted in a reduction of the specific reboiler heat duty of 55%. Furthermore, the absorbents are less corrosive than standard amines as indicated by the measured corrosion rates of 0.21 mm/y versus 1.18 mm/y for a piperazine/methyldiethanolamine mixture. Based on new experimental results it is shown how substantial savings in operational and capital expenditure can be realized due to favorable absorbent properties. The novel high-performance CO2 system solutions meet recent industrial absorbent requirements and allow for more efficient or new CO2 separation processes.


According to the late G. M. Findlay the earliest use of the word "chemotherapy" dates from 1785, when Diersch published a thesis under the title "Animadversiones chemotherapeuticae de ferro." The term has been commonly used for treatment of parasitic infections, though it now covers a very much larger field. In the history of chemotherapy the use of various drugs for prevention and cure of malaria constitutes one of the most interesting and important chapters, characterized, ever since the introduction of cinchona bark, by the alternation of rapid advances followed by shorter or longer periods of stagnation until a new discovery starts another phase of development. At the end of the second world war it seemed that tropical medicine had a satisfactory range of several valuable synthetic antimalarials, thanks to the pioneer studies by the Germans, followed by the British, the French, and the Americans. The appearance in the early 1950s of resistance of malaria parasites to proguanil and pyrimethamine was disappointing enough, but ten years later the first reports signalling the possibility of resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine and related compounds created far greater concern. These compounds were and still are our most reliable compounds, and should the resistance spread widely from its present relative'ly small areas in South America and the South-west Pacific the results may be serious. A vast research programme aimed at the discovery of new plasmodicidal compounds has been carried out during the past decade in many countries and produced some promising results, though not quite commensurate with the effort deployed. The most interesting outcome of it was the rediscovery of the antimalarial properties of sulfones and sulphonamides and their potentiatiorn by pyrimethamine and trimethoprim. Much of the fundamental and applied research continues, together with field trials, often assisted by the World Health Organization, anxious to speed up the progress of malaria eradication. Professor Peters's book surveys many aspects of experimental chemotherapy and especiallly the recent period of increased scientific activity. He succeeds admirably in this task thanks to the extensive coverage of the subject, critical appraisal of available data, logical presentation, and lucid -style. The volume comprises two chapters devoted to the morphology and host-parasite relationship of malaria parasites, followed by three chapters on methods of drug evaluation and the range of respon-ses to drugs. Six chapters discuss the aspects of experimental drug resistance generally and resistance of human plasmodia to variou drugs. Five other chapters deal with pharmacological, entomological, immunological, and genetic aspects of drug resistance, and the final chapter outlines the practical problems related to chemotherapy applied to control and eradication of malaria. An addendum of 60 pages covers the advances in research up to and including 1969. There are some 2,200 references, all quoted in the text, and this alone is a remarkable feat of documentation. This well-printed and informative book will certainly become an invaluable guide for all who are interested in the subject, though its price may deter the less affluent members of the medical and scientific community.


Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto Giles (formerly A. gambiae S molecular form), the largely anthropophilic species, is reportedly the most important malaria vector in Uganda among the A. gambiae complex species. Indoor and outdoor human-biting mosquitoes were caught for four consecutive nights in each of 48 households in Kamuli district using human-baited bed net traps for subsequent identification of the principal Anopheles sibling species responsible for transmitting malaria. Sibling species under the A. gambiae complex were characterized by polymerase chain reaction using species specific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in the intergenic spacer region (IGS) with primers specific for A. gambiae s.s., Anopheles arabiensis, Anopheles melas, Anopheles merus and Anopheles quadriannulatus . Molecular forms of the A. gambiae s.s. were further discriminated using primers specific for Mopti and Savannah forms. Out of 300 A. gambiae s.l. amplified, 98% (n= 294) were A. gambiae s.s. Out of 142 A. gambiae s.s. samples analyzed for molecular forms, 78.9% (n=112) were identified as A. gambiae s.s. Giles ( A. gambiae Savannah (S) form, while the other 21.1% were not identifiable. the presence of A. gambiae s.s. Giles in Kamuli was also reported. Considering the anthropophilic, endophagic and endophilic behavior of A. gambiae s.s. (and of the molecularly similar A. gambiae s.s. Giles), the combined use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), indoor residual spraying, larval source management and improved house design in the context of integrated vector management, may be the appropriate vector control strategies in the area. There is also need for regular monitoring of the vector species composition, distribution and behavior for proper planning of appropriate vector control interventions in the future. Key words : Sibling species, molecular forms, Anopheles gambiae complex, anthropophily, IPM.


In the D-S evidence theory, it's necessary to obtain the basic probability assignment function of all kinds of evidence in order to carry on target recognition. In view of artificial neural network having the ability to express fuzzy information, the paper embarks from the perspective of multi-level data fusion, or combines neural network with D-S evidence theory. A kind of target recognition system model with three-level data fusion was proposed. In the model, the basic probability assignment function is constructed by neural network and the neural network's outputs as evidence. Evidence combination rules and decision-making rules are used to realize target recognition. The simulation to aircraft target proves that the new designed system model has higher recognition rate and has a certain anti-interference ability.


We exhibit a sequence of flat polynomials with coefficients $0,1$. We thus get that there exist a sequences of Newman polynomials that are $L^\alpha$-flat, $0 \leq \alpha <2$. This settles an old question of Littlewood. In the opposite direction, we prove that the Newman polynomials are not $L^\alpha$-flat, for $\alpha \geq 4$. We further establish that there is a conservative, ergodic, $\sigma$-finite measure preserving transformation with simple Lebesgue spectrum. This answer affirmatively a long-standing problem of Banach from the Scottish book. Consequently, we obtain a positive answer to Mahler's problem in the class of Newman polynomials, and this allows us also to answer a question raised by Bourgain on the supremum of the $L^1$-norm of $L^2$-normalized idempotent polynomials.


To reduce the management cost and environmental load of water-soluble coolant, authors have been studying on a metabolic system for water-soluble coolant. More than 90% of waste water-soluble coolant is composed of water phase. If the oily additives and contaminants can be isolated from the waste coolant, the amount of waste coolant decreases remarkably because the recycled water can be reutilized as a diluent of renewal coolant. Authors has been developed some types of water recovery methods for the metabolic system. To complete the metabolic system for water-soluble coolant, the coolant diluted with recovered water should have the same machining performance and long-term stability as those of coolant diluted with tap water. In this report, we examined the machining performance and ability change of water-soluble coolant diluted with recycled water under operations encountered in machine tool.


In open-domain question answering (QA), retrieve-and-read mechanism has the inherent benefit of interpretability and the easiness of adding, removing, or editing knowledge compared to the parametric approaches of closed-book QA models. However, it is also known to suffer from its large storage footprint due to its document corpus and index. Here, we discuss several orthogonal strategies to drastically reduce the footprint of a retrieve-and-read open-domain QA system by up to 160x. Our results indicate that retrieve-and-read can be a viable option even in a highly constrained serving environment such as edge devices, as we show that it can achieve better accuracy than a purely parametric model with comparable docker-level system size.


Abstract Objectives: Several studies on human risk taking and risk aversion have reported the involvement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Yet, current knowledge of the neural mechanisms of risk-related decision making is not conclusive, mainly relying on studies using non-motor tasks. Here we examine how modulation of DLPFC activity by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) affects risk-taking behavior during a motor response task. Methods: One-Hertz rTMS to the right DLPFC was applied to monitor risk-taking and risk-aversion performance during a goal-directed risky task with motor response. Healthy participants were instructed to aim for a high score by throwing a ball as close to the ceiling as possible, while avoiding touching the ceiling with the ball. Results: One-Hertz rTMS stimulation to the right DLPFC significantly increased the frequency of ceiling hits, compared to Sham-stimulation. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the right DLPFC is a valid target for manipulating risky behavior in tasks with a motor-response. Following rTMS stimulation participants' preference shifts toward immediate awards, while becoming significantly less sensitive to potential negative consequences. The results confirm that the right DLPFC is involved in impulse control in goal-directed executive tasks. (JINS, 2019, 25, 72–78)


This paper presents the findings of a study which was performed to develop students' Islamic values through a series of problem solving activities, incorporated in the teaching of mathematics. Students were presented with mathematical problems that allow discussions on some moral predicaments, posed into a problem of the day lesson. This pre-experimental design study involved a combined Year 4 class of 35 students from one international school as research participants. Two teachers participated directly in the study, while some others acted as observers. Both qualitative and quantitative data in the form of observation field notes, interview data (from both students and teachers), tests, questionnaires and observation checklists results were collected. The data were used to answer the research questions on changes in students' performance and attitude, both in the mathematics topics taught and also on their moral reasoning. The results show increased but non-significant scores in mathematics. There are also improvements in moral reasoning based on students' written answers of some moral questions, which is also supported by the interview data. The observation data display a gradual improvement of students' in-class behavior in terms of their attitudes towards each other and towards the tasks and activities given. This study implies the possibility for students to learn about morality and values in a mathematics class through careful planning of tasks and activities. It highlights the belief that values can be learned across the curriculum, which is one of the important factors in building a nation of caring and civil society.


The CNC technology, which directly decides the function and performance of the manufacturing equipments, is the key technique group that supports the modern equipment manufacturing industry. And it is also the key technique for equipment layer which can push forward industrialization with informatization. By the research of open numerical control system, a kind of CNC system has been constructed based on IPC and PMAC motion control card using the designing method of modularization. By test and research, it has been proven that the Open Numerical Control system has complete functions and excellent performance, and can meet the request of modern numerical control machine tool for open numerical control system.


Dept. of Horticulture, Purdue University, IN47907-2010, USAAbstract - This study was carried out to understand the effect of low temperature(4), heat shock(37) and drought stresses on the growth and gene expression of Arabidopsis ATSIZ3(at1g08910) mutants. The seedling growth of SIZ3-mutants were markedly inhibited by the treatment of heat shock or chilling stresses. However, there was no significant differences between wild type and SIZ3-mutants in seeding fresh weight. As compared to wild type plants, SIZ3-mutants showed 63.9% inhibition of seedling fresh weight by the treatment of 10 days drought stress, suggesting that SIZ3 is involved in the resistance of Arabidopsis to drought stress. Base on RT-PCR analysis, expression of SIZ3 mRNA in the wild type showed 20% inhibition by chilling stress, 3.7 and 4.5 fold increase by the treatment of heat shock or drought stresses, respectively.


This study develops a time series model of Turkish migration to Germany for the period 1963-2004 using the cointegration technique. A single cointegrating relation between the migration flow variable and the relative income ratio between Germany and Turkey, the unemployment rates in Germany and Turkey, and the trade variable, that captures intensity of bilateral economic cooperation, is found. By including the trade variable in the empirical migration function we investigate whether trade and migration are complements or substitutes: a question on which the theoretical literature does not provide a definite answer. Our results support the former view.


Titanium alloys have been widely used in aerospace and manufacturing industry because of their unique high strength-weight ratio, fracture resistance, and superior resistance to corrosion. In this paper, a series of experiments were carried out to research the surface integrity in grinding Titanium alloy TC11 on a milling centre with small vitrified bond CBN wheel. Nine runs involved in the orthogonal array are designed in accordance with three factors at three levels. The surface roughness Ra 0.72 um and Rz 4.73 um are obtained. Subsequently ANOVA is employed to analyze the relative importance of all control factors on surface roughness and the optimal combination of grinding parameters is gotten. The measurement of microhardness is also taken and the microhardness profile is then drawn. The metallographic analysis shows that a plastically deformed layer are formed beneath the ground surface at 0~80 um and no white layer is observed. Experimental results validate the feasibility of grinding Titanium alloys on a milling machine with a small vitrified CBN small wheel.