The Bingham Canyon porphyry deposit is one of the world's largest Cu-Mo-Au resources. Elevated concentrations of thallium (Tl) compared to average continental crust have been found in some brecciated and igneous samples in this area, which likely result from mobilization of Tl by relatively low temperature hydrothermal fluids. The Tl-enrichment at Bingham Canyon therefore provides an opportunity to investigate if Tl isotope ratios reflect hydrothermal enrichment and whether there are systematic Tl isotope fractionations that could provide an exploration tool. We present a reconnaissance study of nineteen samples spanning a range of lithologies from the Bingham district which were analysed for their Tl content and Tl isotope ratios, reported as parts per ten thousand (ε205Tl) relative to the NIST SRM997 international standard. The range of ε205Tl reported in this study (−16.4 to +7.2) is the largest observed in a hydrothermal ore deposit to date. Unbrecciated samples collected relatively proximal to the Bingham Canyon porphyry system have ε205Tl of −4.2 to +0.9, similar to observations in a previous study of porphyry deposits. This relatively narrow range suggests that high-temperature (>300 °C) hydrothermal alteration does not result in significant Tl isotope fractionation. However, two samples ~3–4 km away from Bingham Canyon have higher ε205Tl values (+1.3 and +7.2), and samples from more distal (~7 km) disseminated gold deposits at Melco and Barneys Canyon display an even wider range in ε205Tl (−16.4 to +6.0). The observation of large positive and negative excursions in ε205Tl relative to the mantle value (ε205Tl = −2.0 ± 1.0) contrasts with previous investigations of hydrothermal systems. Samples displaying the most extreme positive and negative ε205Tl values also contain elevated concentrations of Tl-Sb-As. Furthermore, with the exception of one sample, all of the Tl isotopic anomalies occur in hydrothermal breccia samples. This suggests that ε205Tl excursions are most extreme during the migration of low-temperature hydrothermal fluids potentially related to sediment-hosted gold mineralization. Future investigation to determine the host phase(s) for Tl in breccias displaying both chalcophile element enrichment and ε205Tl excursions can potentially provide new information about hydrothermal fluid composition and could be used to locate sites for future porphyry exploration.


Presented Paper titled Playing outdoor and its importance in the child's life; A Psycho-Social Prespective in VIII international conference on Early Childhood Care and Education ECCE 2019, MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia from 29th May to 1st June 2019. Abstract Play is one of the integral part to human development as it contributes to every aspect of the well-being of children such as cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being. The modern technology and its inventions in current societies are affecting the childhood experience. Outdoor play habits are vanishing fast and more isolated, technological gaming and digital life is disconnecting children from natural world and its learnings. The outdoor play activities is defined as an open and constantly changing environment, where it is possible to experience freedom, gross and boisterous movements, and contact with natural elements. While playing outside, children benefit from being exposed to sunlight, natural elements, and open air, which contributes to bones development, stronger immune system and physical activity (Dyment, 2008; Bilton, 2010). The technology and its advancements had persuaded every field and it had deeply penetrated the child rearing practices also. No doubt, it had bought positive impact on quality of life but also it had huge impact on children and one of the key areas is the outdoor playing habits. Abundance of research has been done around outdoor play and the positive influence it is having on early childhood learning and development. During their growth, they develop their motor skills, and focus on their peers by engage more and more in play activities that expand their knowledge of the world around them. Many researchers concluded that maximum learning outcomes happen in the environment that allows them to explore, discover and play. Many researchers supported the importance of play in child's healthy development (Pellegrini., 2007, 1998; Ginsburg, 2007). The immense positive influence outdoor playing used to have on child, his round development is the core focus of this paper, and it will explore the researches and knowledge we are having regarding psychosocial developments and play.


The financial crisis of 2008 is put in relation with two bubbles, financial and housing. Easy credit is at the origin of both bubbles. Risky bonds were issued to mobilize mortgages originated in the housing market, and bad bonds entered a fantastic number of institutional and private portfolios all over the world without any perception of the their risk. Unfortunately, bank credit to speculators was abundant and fed the final growth of the bubbles. When fears started to spread, the fall was immediate and expectations impaired very rapidly. The main aggregate demand components were severely curtailed and production fell as well. This is the crisis of the real economy. Fortunately, as opposed to what happened in 1929, the interventions of central banks and governments have been of an unprecedented size. The bail out of insolvent banks in particular has been providential. The exit from the current crisis, however, will surely be slow.  JEL: E44, G01, G10


This paper presents the investigation on a system model for the stabilisation of a Magnetic Levitation System (Maglev's). Furthermore, the investigation on Proportional Integrated Derivative Controller (PID) also reported here. In this paper shows to design both PID and Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC) based on the system model. Maglev's give the contribution in industry and this system has reduce the power consumption, has increase the power efficiency and reduce the cost maintenance. The common applications for Maglev's are Maglev's Power Generation, Maglev's trains and Maglev's ball bearing less system. In this study, it has also been observed that the basic design of Maglev's is an arrangement of electromagnets placed on top of the plant and makes the ball levitated in the air. The focus of this study is that to design the controller that can cope with Maglev's which highly nonlinear and inherently unstable. The modeling system is simulated using MATLAB simulink. This paper presents the comparison output for both PID Controller and Fuzzy controller to control the ball levitate on the air. The ISE performance index is shown to compare the performance both controller.


A collaborative, haptic, audio and visual environment (C-HAVE) consists of a network of nodes. Each node in the C-HAVE world contributes to the shared environment with some virtual objects. These can be static, e.g., a sculpture or the ground, or dynamic, e.g., an object that can be virtually manipulated. We aim at developing a heterogeneous scalable architecture for large collaborative haptics environments where a number of potential users participate with different kinds of haptic devices. The main objective of the presented research is the development of three prototypes to demonstrate quantitatively the effects of adding haptics to a task. The experimental results reveal the effects of the different implementations on the performance and time delay of a particular task through objective measurement results.


Abstract There has been a dramatic increase in gas hydrate research over the last decade. Interestingly, the research has not focussed on only the inhibition of gas hydrate formation, which is of particular relevance to the petroleum industry, but has evolved into investigations on the promotion of hydrate formation as a potential novel separation technology. Gas hydrate formation as a separation technology shows tremendous potential, both from a physical feasibility (in terms of effecting difficult separations) as well as an envisaged lower energy utilization criterion. It is therefore a technology that should be considered as a future sustainable technology and will find wide application, possibly replacing a number of current commercial separation processes. In this article, we focus on presenting a brief description of the positive applications of clathrate hydrates and a comprehensive survey of experimental studies performed on separation processes using gas hydrate formation technology. Although many investigations have been undertaken on the positive application of gas hydrates to date, there is a need to perform more theoretical, experimental, and economic studies to clarify various aspects of separation processes using clathrate/semi-clathrate hydrate formation phenomena, and to conclusively prove its sustainability.


! What we have witnessed in the last decade in the context of social upheaval, social activism, and resulting social movements is testament to the need for a re-evaluation of what constitutes community in a networked world, and what role the individual subject plays within social networks, systems of social, corporate, and state control, and networks of resistance. New processes of subjectivation are emerging and rather than being grounded in identity, sociality is being reconfigured, and it is in this process that this dissertation focusses on anonymity as a means of working through these new configurations. This integrated article dissertation explores the concept of anonymity and emerging practices of community in three chapters. The first examines anonymity in the context of civil liberties through a critique of privacy. By analyzing legal, social, and cultural understandings of privacy, this chapter problemmatizes the privacy defence against excessive tracking and monitoring of speech and behaviour, and suggests ways of incorporating anonymous practices in order to discover more robust methods of collectively empowering ourselves in the digital environment. The second chapter explores anonymity as a political process that can be illustrated in the cases of Wikileaks, Anonymous, and Occupy, presenting the various ways in which anonymity is mobilized in information activism as a resource for political action. We can see a common thread running through the variety of methods of dissent employed by the above mentioned groups. This commonality centres on the way anonymity figures (sometimes subtly, other times prominently) in identity formation, subjectivity, trust, revolt, authority, connection and communication. This thesis is an exploration of the role of anonymity at the intersection of these functions of community. The third chapter traces contemporary theoretical explorations of radical community through the work of Jean-Luc Nancy, Roberto Esposito, and Giorgio Agamben, and identifies characteristics of anonymity in strategies of being-in-common. !


Mycotoxin contamination of Australian maize is neither common nor extensive, but has the capacity to seriously disrupt marketing. Low to moderate levels of aflatoxins and fumonisins can be widespread in some seasons, but zearalenone, nivalenol and deoxynivalenol are usually confined to small growing localities. Possible approaches to such situations were tested by an analysis of several case studies. It is concluded that communication and coordination across the industry, prediction and prevention of contamination, rapid detection and assessment of contamination, effective use of contaminated maize and breeding for resistance comprise a useful set of strategies for managing mycotoxins in maize.


This article presents an assessment of the relative influences of time spent participating in organized sports and informal sports during childhood with respect to the development of general creativity. In this study, 99 upper-division undergraduate and graduate students completed a comprehensive childhood leisure activities questionnaire and the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults. According to the results of the joint generalized least-squares regression analysis, hours spent in organized sport settings was negatively related to creativity as an adult; time spent in unstructured sport settings was found to be positively related to adult creativity. The findings also point to the importance of balancing participation across organized and unstructured settings. The most creative individuals in the sample were those who spent roughly half of their sport participation time in each setting, as opposed to individuals with below-average creativity, who spent upwards of 3/4 of their sport participation time in organized settings. Therefore, fostering creative development through sport may not require a dramatic reorientation from current youth sport development models, but only a shift toward a more balanced distribution of time spent playing in both organized and unstructured settings. Future experiments are needed to test this relationship.


Excerpt] The U.S. Social Security system faces serious financial difficulties in both the short and the long run. The short-run problem is that the system has very meager financial reserves. In the long run—after the year 2010, when the post-World-War-II baby-boom generation reaches retirement age—the financial problems of Social Security will intensify because of population aging and the consequent decline in the ratio of workers to retirees. These problems have led to proposed reforms aimed at assuring the financial stability of the system. The question addressed here is: what effects would these reforms have on three variables—retirement ages, retirement incomes, and the Social Security system? This paper highlights the estimated effects of four actual or proposed policy changes. The basic model and some of the effects are drawn from previous work. However, the estimates of the effects of Social Security reforms on the Social Security system itself are new.


This study addresses whether CD3-zeta suppression associated with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I, II, and III is mediated by a circulating factor and if this suppression is reversed following treatment. Serum was isolated from patients with CIN before and after curative therapy. Jurkat T cells were incubated with patient-derived sera for 4 days, and CD3-zeta expression was analyzed by western immunoblot. Sera from control female volunteers did not suppress CD3-zeta expression of Jurkat cells, while sera from women with CIN I, II, and III suppressed 58.9%, 75.3%, and 80.5%, respectively. Suppression observed in women with CIN I was significantly different from that observed with CIN II and III. Posttreatment zeta suppression was noted to be reversed in women with CIN II and III although the decreased suppression in CIN III patients was not statistically significant. Our study demonstrates that in vivo suppression of zeta chains in patients with CIN can be the result of a circulating factor. In vitro zeta expression increased in patients with CIN II and III after treatment, although the increase was only statistically significant in patients with CIN II.


This is the first in a series of papers presenting methods and results from the Young Solar Analogs Project, which began in 2007. This project monitors both spectroscopically and photometrically a set of 31 young (300–1500 Myr) solar-type stars with the goal of gaining insight into the space environment of the Earth during the period when life first appeared. From our spectroscopic observations we derive the Mount Wilson S chromospheric activity index (SMW), and describe the method we use to transform our instrumental indices to SMW without the need for a color term. We introduce three photospheric indices based on strong absorption features in the blue-violet spectrum—the G-band, the Ca i resonance line, and the Hydrogen-γ line—with the expectation that these indices might prove to be useful in detecting variations in the surface temperatures of active solar-type stars. We also describe our photometric program, and in particular our "Superstar technique" for differential photometry which, instead of relying on a handful of comparison stars, uses the photon flux in the entire star field in the CCD image to derive the program star magnitude. This enables photometric errors on the order of 0.005–0.007 magnitude. We present time series plots of our spectroscopic data for all four indices, and carry out extensive statistical tests on those time series demonstrating the reality of variations on timescales of years in all four indices. We also statistically test for and discover correlations and anti-correlations between the four indices. We discuss the physical basis of those correlations. As it turns out, the "photospheric" indices appear to be most strongly affected by emission in the Paschen continuum. We thus anticipate that these indices may prove to be useful proxies for monitoring emission in the ultraviolet Balmer continuum. Future papers in this series will discuss variability of the program stars on medium (days–months) and short (minutes to hours) timescales.


This report contains the derivation and the verification of formulae for predicting the speed range ratio, the initial rate of climb, and the absolute ceiling of an airplane. Curves used in the computation are given in NACA-TR-171. Standard formulae for service ceiling, time of climb, cruising range, and endurance are also given in the conventional forms.


The spindle assembly checkpoint controls cell cycle progression during mitosis, synchronizing it with the attachment of chromosomes to spindle microtubules. After the discovery of the mitotic arrest deficient (MAD) and budding uninhibited by benzymidazole (BUB) genes as crucial checkpoint components in 1991, the second decade of checkpoint studies (2001–2010) witnessed crucial advances in the elucidation of the mechanism through which the checkpoint effector, the mitotic checkpoint complex, targets the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C) to prevent progression into anaphase. Concomitantly, the discovery that the Ndc80 complex and other components of the microtubule-binding interface of kinetochores are essential for the checkpoint response finally asserted that kinetochores are crucial for the checkpoint response. Nevertheless, the relationship between kinetochores and checkpoint control remains poorly understood. Crucial advances in this area in the third decade of checkpoint studies (2011–2020) are likely to be brought about by the characterization of the mechanism of kinetochore recruitment, activation and inactivation of checkpoint proteins, which remains elusive for the majority of checkpoint components. Here, we take a molecular view on the main challenges hampering this task.


This study presents a stochastic bidding strategy for electrical vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) to participate in frequency containment reserves (FCRs) markets. To achieve this, the study starts by developing deterministic models to calculate the maximum FCR that could be provided by each charging event (cycle) of an electric vehicle. These models are established based on the technical requirements of FCR in the Nordic flexibility market, namely the frequency containment reserve for normal operation and frequency containment reserve for disturbances. These deterministic models will be combined with historical data of charging records in EVCS to develop a methodology to calculate the probability density functions of the FCR profiles. Finally, the optimum FCR profiles, which maximise the expected profit of EVCS from participating in the day-ahead flexibility market, are estimated by performing a stochastic optimisation. The proposed methodology is evaluated by using empirical charging data of public EVCS in the Helsinki area.


The conjectured supply function (CSF) model calculates an oligopolistic equilibrium among competing generating companies (GenCos), presuming that GenCos anticipate that rival firms will react to price increases by expanding their sales at an assumed rate. The CSF model is generalized here to include each generator's conjectures concerning how the price of transmission services (point-to-point service and constrained interfaces) will be affected by the amount of those services that the generator demands. This generalization reflects the market reality that large producers will anticipate that they can favorably affect transmission prices by their actions. The model simulates oligopolistic competition among generators while simultaneously representing a mixed transmission pricing system. This mixed system includes fixed transmission tariffs, congestion-based pricing of physical transmission constraints (represented as a linearized dc load flow), and auctions of interface capacity in a path-based pricing system. Pricing inefficiencies, such as export fees and no credit for counterflows, can be simulated. The model is formulated as a linear mixed complementarity problem, which enables very large market models to be solved. In the second paper of this two-paper series, the capabilities of the model are illustrated with an application to northwest Europe, where transmission pricing is based on such a me/spl acute/lange of approaches.


The modifying effects of dietary feeding with chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone) on the development of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) were investigated in male F344 rats. We also assessed the effect of chrysin on mitosis and apoptosis in 'normal appearing' crypts. To induce ACF, rats were given two weekly subcutaneous injections of AOM (20 mg/kg body weight). They also received an experimental diet containing chrysin (0.001 or 0.01%) for 4 weeks, starting 1 week before the first dose of AOM. AOM exposure produced a substantial number of ACF (73+/-13/rat) at the end of the study (week 4). Dietary administration of chrysin caused significant reduction in the frequency of ACF: 0.001% chrysin, 37+/-17/rat (49% reduction, P<0.001); and 0.01% chrysin, 40+/-10/rat (45% reduction, P<0.001). In addition, chrysin administration significantly reduced the mitotic index and significantly increased the apoptotic index in 'normal appearing' crypts. These findings might suggest a possible chemopreventive activity of chrysin in the early step of colon tumorigenesis through modulation of cryptal cell proliferation activity and apoptosis.


Background and Objectives This study seeks to understand how sleep is affected in pregnant women with epilepsy (WWE) relative to healthy pregnant women during pregnancy and postpartum and to nonpregnant WWE during comparative periods. Sleep affects maternal health and mood during pregnancy. Maternal sleep disturbances are related to poor fetal growth and increased fetal deaths. Epilepsy is the most common neurologic condition in pregnancy. Sleep disruption can worsen epileptic seizures. The interplay between epilepsy, pregnancy, and sleep is poorly understood. Methods The Maternal Outcomes and Neurodevelopmental Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (MONEAD) study is an NIH-funded, prospective, observational, multicenter study, enrolling women from December 2012 through January 2016. Sleep quality was assessed using the average Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index collected during pregnancy, postpartum, or analogous periods. Sleep scores range from 0 to 21 with higher scores indicating worse sleep quality; scores >5 are associated with poor sleep quality. Results Of 351 pregnant WWE, 105 healthy pregnant women, and 109 nonpregnant WWE enrolled in the MONEAD study, data from 241 pregnant WWE, 74 healthy pregnant women, and 84 nonpregnant WWE were analyzed. Pregnant WWE had worse sleep (a higher mean sleep score) during pregnancy compared with healthy pregnant women in unadjusted analysis (p = 0.006), but no longer significant in adjusted analysis (p = 0.062); pregnant WWE (least square mean sleep score [95% CI] = 5.8 [5.5–6.1]) vs healthy pregnant women (5.1 [4.6–5.7]). During postpartum period, WWE (5.6 [5.4–5.9]) had similarly impaired sleep compared with healthy women (5.7 [5.2–6.2]; adjusted p = 0.838). Sleep was significantly worse in pregnant WWE vs nonpregnant WWE (for comparable period) in pregnancy and postpartum in unadjusted and adjusted analyses; adjusted scores for pregnant WWE in pregnancy (5.7 [5.4–6.0]) and those in postpartum (5.7 [5.4–6.0]) compared with those for nonpregnant WWE (4.7 [4.2–5.3]; p = 0.002) and (4.1 [3.6–4.7]; p < 0.001), respectively. Sleep quality between pregnancy and postpartum varied only in healthy pregnant women (change in mean score = 0.8 [0.2–1.3]; p = 0.01), whose sleep was worse in postpartum. Discussion Pregnant WWE had worse sleep during pregnancy and postpartum period than nonpregnant WWE during comparable periods in the adjusted analysis. Trial Registration Information The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT01730170.


Based on self-assembly, novel electron extraction layers (EELs) composed of naphthalimide (NPI) derivatives are constructed for application in n-i-p perovskite solar cells. Upon molecular energy level modulation, the power conversion efficiencies have been largely improved from 5.4% to 16%. Such low-cost and highly regulable EELs are promising for future commercial applications.


A case of rabies was treated with intensive medical support. This led to a prolongation of life to 25 days. The neurologic progression of the disease was monitored clinically and with serial EEG. This prolonged course enabled us to witness and manage a wide variety of unusual complications including the adult respiratory distress syndrome, hypothermia, myocarditis, and diabetes insipidus. This report documents the clinical features, diagnostic problems, complications, and management.


In the modern multi-linguistic concept of Belarus culture, neo-latin poetry represents an important component. The inclusion in the 1960s of the Latinist poet Nikolai Gusovskij, alongside other Renaissance poets, in Belarusian literature contributed to the growth of the national consciousness of the Russified and Sovietized Belarusians. However, the first translations of The Poem of the Bison in Belarusian and Russian, which showed clear signs of a tendentiousness aimed at adapting the text to the socio-political situation of Soviet times, remain canonical, despite the presence of new translations.


Twelve thousand nine hundreds and forty-nine dogs, 1,676 peoples and 2,255 animals of 15 species were detected for B. canis infection in 23 provinces and cities in China. Positive rates of dogs in various provinces were different (0.3-42.7%). The positive rates of dogs in south China were more higher than north. A positive rate of female was higher than male (2:1). Positive rate of young dogs (below 1 year old) was lower than older. There was no different of the positive rates among the age groups (more than 2 years old). 166 B. canis strains were isolated from spleen, lymph nodes and liver in 644 dogs. On the basis of two dyes sensitivity of B. canis isolated from China could divide into two types: one was resistant to both dyes, the other was resistant to thionine, but sensitive to basic fuchsin. Eight serological methods were used in the investigation. R-SAT and R-RBPT were more sensitive than the others. The positive rate of culture B. canis was 50%, when the dogs were selected for isolation at 1:80 titer. The positive rate of B. canis was 80%, when the dogs were selected for isolation at 1:320 titer.


The effects of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on water quality were investigated at 54 agricultural stream sites throughout the North Carolina Coastal Plain during 2012 and 2013. Three general watershed land-use types were examined during the study, including 18 background watersheds with no active CAFOs (BK sites), 18 watersheds with one or more active swine CAFOs but no poultry CAFOs (SW sites), and 18 watersheds with at least one active swine CAFO and one active dry-litter poultry CAFO (SP sites). The watershed drainage areas for these 54 stream sites ranged from 1.2 to 17.5 square miles. Conventional fertilizers used for crop production are the primary source of nutrients at the BK sites. Animal-waste manures represent an additional source of nutrients at the SW and SP study sites. Land cover, soil drainage, and CAFO attributes were compiled for each watershed. Water-quality field measurements were made and samples were collected at the 54 primary sites during 6 bimonthly sampling periods from June 2012 to April 2013. An additional 23 secondary sites were sampled once during April 2013 to provide supplemental data at stream locations directly adjacent or in close proximity to swine CAFOs and (or) background agricultural areas within 9 of the primary watersheds. The watershed drainage areas for the 23 secondary sites ranged from 0.2 to 8.9 square miles. Water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved-oxygen concentration, and pH were measured directly in the streams. Water samples were analyzed for major ions, nutrients, and stable isotopes, including delta hydrogen-2 (δ2H) and delta oxygen-18 (δ18O) of water and delta nitrogen-15 (δ15N) and δ18O of dissolved nitrate plus nitrite. Most of the water-quality properties and constituents varied significantly among the six sampling periods, changing both seasonally and in response to hydrologic conditions. The differences noted among the sampling periods indicate that the interactions between seasonal climatic differences, streamflow conditions, and instream biotic and abiotic processes are complex and their integrated effects can have varying degrees of influence on individual nutrients. Water-quality differences were noted for the SW and SP land-use groups relative to the BK group. Median values of specific conductance, several major ions (magnesium, sodium, potassium, and chloride), and nitrogen fractions (ammonia plus organic nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate plus nitrite, total nitrogen, and δ15N of nitrate plus nitrite) were higher for the SW and SP groups compared to the BK group. No significant differences in water temperature, dissolved oxygen, calcium, total organic nitrogen, orthophosphate, total phosphorus, or δ18O of nitrate plus nitrite were noted among the land-use groups. When compared on the basis of land-use type, there was an overall measurable effect of CAFO waste manures on stream water quality for the SW and SP watershed groups. Some individual sites within the SW and SP groups showed no measurable CAFO effects on water quality despite having CAFOs present upstream. An evaluation of sodium plus potassium concentrations coupled with δ15N values of nitrate plus nitrite proved valuable for distinguishing which SW and SP sites had a water-quality signature indicative of CAFO waste manures. Sites with CAFO manure effects were characterized by higher sodium plus potassium concentrations (commonly between 11 and 33 milligrams per liter) and δ15N values of nitrate plus nitrite (commonly between 11 and 26 parts per thousand) relative to sites reflecting background agricultural conditions, which commonly had sodium plus potassium concentrations between 6 and 14 milligrams per liter and δ15N values of nitrate plus nitrite between 6 and 15 parts per thousand. On the basis of the results of this study, land applications of waste manure at swine CAFOs influenced ion and nutrient chemistry in many of the North Carolina Coastal Plain streams that were studied. A classification tree model was developed to examine relations of watershed environmental attributes among the study sites with and without CAFO manure effects. Model results indicated that variations in swine barn density, percentage of wetlands, and total acres available for applying swinewaste manures had an important influence on those watersheds where CAFO effects on water quality were either evident or mitigated. Measurable effects of CAFO waste manures on stream water quality were most evident in those SW and SP watersheds having lower percentages of wetlands combined 2 Surface-Water Quality in Agricultural Watersheds of the North Carolina Coastal Plain Associated with CAFOs with higher swine barn densities and (or) higher total acres available for applying waste manure at the swine CAFOs. Stream water quality was similar to background agricultural conditions in SW and SP watersheds with lower swine barn densities coupled with higher percentages of wetlands or lower acres available for swine manure applications. The model provides a useful tool for exploring and identifying similar, unmonitored watersheds in the North Carolina Coastal Plain with potential CAFO manure influences on water quality that might warrant further examination.


Termitomyces albuminosus is one of the famous wild edible fungi in south part of China. The fruit body is delicious, rich in nutrition, and so, it has high exploitable potential. However, due to the mycelia of Termitomyces albuminosus must grow at termitarium, it can not be cultivated artificially. In this paper, we mainly focus on isolation of Termitomyces albuminosus pure culture, and studying on its biological properties, and found out the optimal carbon source, nitrogen source, growth factors and the C/N ratio that was suitable for the growth of mycelium of Termitomyces albuminosus.


Code instrumentation is finding more and more practical applications, but the required program transformations are often difficult to implement, due to the lack of dedicated, high-level tools. In this paper we present a novel instrumentation framework that supports the partial evaluation of compiled Java code transformation templates, with the goal of efficiently measuring chosen dynamic bytecode and control flow metrics. This framework, as well as the instrumentation code it generates, is implemented in pure Java and hence completely platform-independent. We show the benefits of our approach in several application areas, such as platform-independent resource management and profiling of software components.


16/37 (43%) had a normal scan with mobile ovaries and no pelvic tenderness. 8/37 (22%) patients had a normal scan with no abnormality but tenderness. 5/37 (14%) had an ovarian cyst rupture. 8/37 had a normal scan with a non-gynaecological diagnosis. 27/37 (73%) of patients returned the follow up questionnaire. 22/35 (63%) of the patients had satisfactory resolution of their symptoms. Conclusion: The majority of patients attending an acute gynaecology unit with acute pelvic pain will have no gross pathology. In the majority of patients the symptoms will resolve satisfactorily within 7 days.


The evolutionarily conserved circadian system allows organisms to synchronize internal processes with 24-h cycling environmental timing cues, ensuring optimal adaptation. Like other organs, the pancreas function is under circadian control. Recent evidence suggests that aging by itself is associated with altered circadian homeostasis in different tissues which could affect the organ's resiliency to aging-related pathologies. Pancreas pathologies of either endocrine or exocrine components are age-related. Whether pancreas circadian transcriptome output is affected by age is still unknown. To address this, here we profiled the impact of age on the pancreatic transcriptome over a full circadian cycle and elucidated a circadian transcriptome reorganization of pancreas by aging. Our study highlights gain of rhythms in the extrinsic cellular pathways in the aged pancreas and extends a potential role to fibroblast-associated mechanisms.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with hypercoagulability. We sought to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics of cerebral venous thrombosis among patients hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at 6 tertiary care centers in the New York City metropolitan area. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective multicenter cohort study of 13,500 consecutive patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized between March 1 and May 30, 2020. RESULTS: Of 13,500 patients with COVID-19, twelve had imaging-proved cerebral venous thrombosis with an incidence of 8.8 per 10,000 during 3 months, which is considerably higher than the reported incidence of cerebral venous thrombosis in the general population of 5 per million annually. There was a male preponderance (8 men, 4 women) and an average age of 49 years (95% CI, 36–62 years; range, 17–95 years). Only 1 patient (8%) had a history of thromboembolic disease. Neurologic symptoms secondary to cerebral venous thrombosis occurred within 24 hours of the onset of the respiratory and constitutional symptoms in 58% of cases, and 75% had venous infarction, hemorrhage, or both on brain imaging. Management consisted of anticoagulation, endovascular thrombectomy, and surgical hematoma evacuation. The mortality rate was 25%. CONCLUSIONS: Early evidence suggests a higher-than-expected frequency of cerebral venous thrombosis among patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Cerebral venous thrombosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of neurologic syndromes associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.


Abstract Referential kinship terms in Matukar Panau (Oceanic, Papua New Guinea) are obligatorily possessed. Traditionally, kinship terms are directly possessed in Oceanic languages (with an obligatory suffix on the root that agrees with the person and number of the possessor). In Matukar Panau, some kinship terms are also indirectly possessed (with a classifier that agrees with the person and number of the possessor). A third pattern shows double-marking of possessors with directly possessed terms co-occurring with a classifier. I present a multivariate analysis of the predictors that influence the choice of the direct, indirect or double-marked patterns. Older women and younger men are most likely to use the indirect pattern, particularly when discussing their own kin from their households, especially in conversational situations. The indirect possession pattern, then, is used for more integral relationships, what has previously been the semantic domain of direct possession in Oceanic.


Conference Series LLC Ltd hosted the "Euro Virology 2020" Webinar, during June 24-25, 2020 with the theme, "An outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) in Worldwide in the aspect of Virology", which was a great success. Eminent keynote speakers from various reputed institutions and organizations addressed the gathering with their resplendent presence.

We extend our grateful thanks to all the momentous speakers, conference participants who contributed towards the successful run of the Webinar.

Euro Virology 2020 Webinar witnessed an amalgamation of peerless speakers who enlightened the crowd with their knowledge and confabulated on various latest and exciting innovations in all areas of Virology Research.

Euro Virology Organizing Committee extends its gratitude and congratulates the Honorable Moderators of the conference.

Conference Series LLC Ltd extends its warm gratitude to all the Honorable Guests and Keynote Speakers of "Euro Virology 2020".

 Vsevolod A Zinserling, Saint-Petersburg University, Russia
 Alfredo Berzal-Herranz, Instituto de Parasitologia y Biomedicina "Lopez-Neyra" (IPBLN-CSIC), Spain

Conference Series LLC Ltd is privileged to felicitate Euro Virology 2020 Webinar Organizing Committee, Keynote Speakers, Chairs & Co-Chairs and also the Moderators of the conference whose support and efforts made the webinar to move on the path of success. Conference Series LLC LTD thanks every individual participant for the enormous exquisite response. This inspires us to continue organizing events and conferences for further research in the field of Virology.

Conference Series LLC Ltd is glad to announce its "13th International Virology Summit, which will be held during April 28-29, 2021 at London, UK. We cordially welcome all the eminent researchers, Virologists, Microbiologists, Experts in vaccine development and other specialists to discuss the challenges of the virus research, Virology Faculty, Vaccine developing companies, Young researchers, students and delegates to take part in this upcoming conference to witness invaluable scientific discussions and contribute to the future innovations in the field of Virology with 20% abatement on the Early Bird Prices.

Bookmark your dates for "Euro Virology 2021, Rome" as the Nominations for Best Poster Awards and Young Researcher Awards are open across the world.


Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is the major antioxidant in mitochondria that protect brain from neuroendocrine stress. Although MnSOD is localized in the mitochondria, the immediate subcellular distribution of MnSOD protein level in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of Wistar male rats exposed to acute stressors immobilization or cold, chronic stress isolation or their combinations (acute/chronic) have not been studied. Western immunoblotting revealed that acute immobilization stress resulted in an increase in mitochondrial MnSOD protein level, whereas chronic isolation compromises MnSOD protein level. Chronically stressed animals exposed to novel acute stressors showed a significant decrease in mitochondrial MnSOD protein level and reciprocal increase in this protein in the cytosolic fraction. At the same time, a significant increase in serum corticosterone level was observed after acute stressors, whereas chronic isolation led to negligable changes and caused a reduced responsiveness to a novel acute stressors. Presence of cytochrome c in mitochondrial and cytosolic fraction of both brain structures was also confirmed. Results suggest that chronic stress isolation results in mitochondrial dysfunction and MnSOD release into the cytosol.


The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions of Saudi high school teachers and their students about cooperative learning. It also investigates teachers' classroom practices based on the five cooperative learning (CL) principles (Johnson & Johnson, 2014). Most empirical studies in the field focus on assessment instead of examining attitudes and perceptions. The improvement of teachers and learners' understanding of CL and its implementation is, however, unlikely to be achieved if researchers are only concerned with achievement. Moreover, only a few studies have been conducted in the Middle East and in traditional lecture-style contexts, such as Saudi Arabia, where CL is still considered a new teaching method. The current study was conducted in one state all-male high school in Saudi Arabia. The participants were eight teachers who received in-service teacher training on using CL based on Johnson and Johnson's model and who have been using CL for more than one year, along with their 97 participant-students in Years 10, 11 and 12. The data comes from individual semi-structured interviews, a questionnaire and classroom observations. The findings indicate that all teachers and the majority of students in this investigation showed positive attitudes towards CL and prefer it to lecture-style lessons. The findings suggest that training in cooperative learning is important to help teachers change their practice and their perceptions of classroom roles, responsibility and authority. However, there are considerable initial challenges when teachers change from lecture-style to CL. Furthermore, there are some challenges and difficulties in implementing CL in the Saudi context, such as curricula and the assessment system. Nevertheless, CL training and implementation in the Saudi educational context could promote the development of new communities of practice. It could also create communities of learning among students, thus helping them with their academic and social learning and shaping their identities.


Abstract As products and processes become more and more complex, there is an increasing need in the industry to perform experiments with a large number of factors and a large number of levels for each factor. For such experiments, application of traditional designs such as factorial designs or orthogonal arrays is impractical because of the large number of runs required. As an alternative, a type of design, called the uniform design, can be used to solve such problems. The uniform design has been intensively studied by theoreticians for several decades and has many successful examples of application in industry. In this article, we report a successful application of uniform design in product formation in the cement manufacturing industry. Specifically, we investigate the effects of additives on bleeding and compressive strength of a cement mixture. This example illustrates how an experiment of 16 runs was performed to study three factors with 16 levels, 8 levels, and 8 levels, respectively.


Efficient deep neural network (DNN) models equipped with compact operators (e.g., depthwise convolutions) have shown great potential in reducing DNNs' theoretical complexity (e.g., the total number of weights/operations) while maintaining a decent model accuracy. However, existing efficient DNNs are still limited in fulfilling their promise in boosting real-hardware efficiency, due to their commonly adopted compact operators' low hardware utilization. In this work, we open up a new compression paradigm for developing real-hardware efficient DNNs, leading to boosted hardware efficiency while maintaining model accuracy. Interestingly, we observe that while some DNN layers' activation functions help DNNs' training optimization and achievable accuracy, they can be properly removed after training without compromising the model accuracy. Inspired by this observation, we propose a framework dubbed DepthShrinker, which develops hardware-friendly compact networks via shrinking the basic building blocks of existing efficient DNNs that feature irregular computation patterns into dense ones with much improved hardware utilization and thus real-hardware efficiency. Excitingly, our DepthShrinker framework delivers hardware-friendly compact networks that outperform both state-of-the-art efficient DNNs and compression techniques, e.g., a 3.06% higher accuracy and 1.53$\times$ throughput on Tesla V100 over SOTA channel-wise pruning method MetaPruning. Our codes are available at: https://github.com/facebookresearch/DepthShrinker.


pressure chamber. On the other hand pilots without history of problems did have very good ability to equilibrate negative air pressure. Recently Williams' introduced a tympanometric method for evaluation of eustachian tube function. In the material presented there seems to be significant difference between normal individuals and those having had secretory otitis media. Normal individuals could equilibrate very discrete negative air pressure, while those with pathologic history could not change the air pressure. In summary, tile material presented by Sledentop includes only 15 normal and 14 pathological ears. Any definite conclusions regarding tile usefulness of the "tympanometric procedure" may not be drawn from this study. The "aspiration method" in cases with a perforated tympanic membrane is widely used and found clinically useful. The aim for my introduction of the tympanometric method was to convert the "aspiration method" for use in cases with an intact tympanic membrane in the clinical routine. One of the problems with the tympanometric method has been to establish the negative pressure levels in the middle ear. It is my experience and also true according to Elner's investigations that this is possible in between 85-90% of the patients. This means that in the large majority of cases it is possible to get negative middle ear pressure and thus an evaluation of the capacity to normalize this pressure by swallowing. Also I would like to add that this ability to normalize negative intratympanic air pressure by swallowing must be looked upon as one important criterion for normality of eustachian tube function. I hope these comments will clarify some misunderstandings which may exist when it comes to testing eustachian tube function.


The radiologic finding of hepatic portal venous gas and its surgical implications have been documented previously in the literature. More than 67 cases have been reported. Branching tubular lucencies that extend from the porta hepatis to the edge of the liver are characteristic. In general, air in the biliary tree is central in location, but the distinction may not always be clear. We present a case in which computerized axial tomography was extremely helpful in localizing extraluminal gas to the liver and differentiating between air in the biliary tree and hepatic portal venous gas.


Vanderbilt Business serves as the magazine for the students, faculty, alumni, and friends of the Owen Graduate School of Management.


Currently, intracapsular femoral neck fracture (IFNF) is still a great challenge for orthopedists. In spite of the progress that has been made, a high mortality rate persists in the first year, especially in Brazil, where there is no awareness that such fractures in elderly patients should be treated as a medical emergency. The present article seeks to provide an update on the preoperative, surgical, and postoperative approaches.


AbstractUniversity: The University of ManchesterName: Thomas J. DavisonDegree: PhDThesis Title: Reaction and Diffusion Simulations for Heterogeneously Catalysed Biodiesel ProductionYear: 2013This thesis covers the simulation and modelling of the transesterification of triglyceride oils to make biodiesel, using heterogeneous catalysts. Initially, data fitting was performed to fit overall kinetic rate equations to experimental data, ignoring diffusional behaviour. Additionally, experiments were undertaken to investigate the influence of feed ratio on the reaction kinetics. A single site mechanism with surface reaction as the rate limiting step was found to most closely match the experimental conversion profiles for the operating conditions studied. To incorporate diffusional behaviour into the modelling a multicomponent diffusion methodology was adapted for use within this system. To verify transport properties of the system and the suitability of this theoretical diffusion calculation, measurement of density and viscosity for a range of mixtures was undertaken, along with molecular dynamics simulation to produce diffusion coefficients. Finally, a novel algorithm was developed to simulate coupled diffusion and reaction within the pores of the catalyst and the subsequent bulk concentration changes this produced.


Discourse on human will has a long history in the Western philosophical tradition; in fact, this history is as old as the history of Western philosophy itself. In this regard, the discourse on human will remains evergreen, with changing subject-matter from one period to another. With regard to subject-matter, the discourse on human will has significant implications for other intellectual disciplines that deal with the study of human species. As such, the paper centres on the most recurring debate in the history of the discourse on human will. The paper re-examines the various controversies that have been generated by the question whether the human will is free or not. To date, this question has had serious implications for the way we construe existence in all forms. The paper re-considers the debate within the bounds of two distinct thought-systems in the Western and Yoruba philosophical traditions. Within the context of Western thought, the paper focuses on doctrines that have evolved in the attempt to address or respond to the question whether the human will is free or not. The reason for dealing with doctrines rather than individual scholars is that it avoids the unnecessary repetition of arguments. The paper examines the works of some scholars in the Yoruba tradition who have contributed to the discourse on the fundamental question; however, these contributions misrepresent Yoruba thought. Thus, the paper argues that the question of whether human will is free or not does not arise in the Yoruba philosophical system. Analytical and phenomenological methods of research are adopted in the paper. The analytic approach is important to achieve the twin goal of explanation and clarity of concepts and issues; that is, the method will afford us the opportunity to engage with the literature and subject it to critical exposition. The phenomenological approach is significant as an interpretative tool for interrogating oral account that would properly account for the notion and conception of the human will in Yoruba thought. Keywords: human will, determinism, non-determinism, quasi-determinism.


The object of the work was to investigate the effects of temperature and solute concentration on the process of diffusion in porous solids. This was done by immersing previously impregnated earthenware slabs in a moving stream of liquid and allowing absorption or desorption of the solute to proceed for measured intervale of time. The experimental results indicated that the mass transfer was in accordance with Fick's law and that values of D, the diffusion coefficient, could be estimated from semi-log plots of the fraction of solute absorbed or desorbed against t, time in seconds. The derived values of D were correlated with temperature T in the customary relationship, D = A exp (-E/RT) where A = a constant E = an activation energy. It was found that the activation energy E was not independent of the solute concentration. With KCI as solute, it was apparent that for desorption experiments, the calculated values of E were very nearly identical for N and 3N solutions. Absorption experiments, however, give results which differed markedly from those for desorption. The general tendency was for the values of D to be smaller at lower temperatures but to increase more rapidly with increasing temperature than the corresponding values for desorption. Consequently, the derived values of E were much higher for absorption than desorption. The results for sucrose were similar but, in this case, desorption proceeded more rapidly than absorption though again solute concentration appeared to be the dominating factor in determining the relative rates of absorption for 0. 3M and M solutions. Experiments were carried out with slabs of different physical characteristics and in one series of experiments. (slabs whose mean pore diameter was one micron and solute M sucrose) there appeared to be an interaction between the slab structure and the diffusing molecules. Comparison of the apparent lengths of the paths followed by the diffusing molecules seemed to indicate that the diameter of the smaller pores and the length of a sucrose molecule may well be of comparable dimensions. From consideration of the experimental results, there would appear to be certain fundamental differences between the rates of absorption and desorption. The explanation for these differences is not obvious though it is felt that the pore distribution, particularly the number and diameters of the smaller pores making up the voidage, play an important part in determining rates of mass transfer to or from the slabs.


Problems of pop-outs and associated iron staining on unplastered clinker ash/cement brick walls in Windhoek after a particularly wet rainy season were investigated. The problems were found to be due to sulphurous nodules present in the bricks. The nodules were the result of the burning of pyritic fragments present in the coal used as fuel for the local power station, which produced the clinker ash used in making the bricks. The nodules before expansion were found to be distinctly zoned, with centres consisting of free sulphur, amorphous to poorly crystalline iron sulphides (pyrite, marcasite and pyrrhotite) and unburned carbonaceous material, enveloped by a red-coloured zone of iron oxides which was in many cases surrounded by a silicate zone. In the presence of water the iron sulphides and sulphur became oxidized to iron sulphates and sulphuric acid. A resultant large increase in volume caused the pop-outs. The sulphuric acid dissolved iron oxides in the adjacent zone, enveloping the centre zone which, when free water was available, resulted in severe iron staining in the area around the pop-out.


This work deals with two related areas: processing of visual information in the central nervous system, and the application of computer systems to research in neurophysiology. Certain classes of interneurons in the brain and optic lobes of the blowfly Calliphora phaenicia were previously shown to be sensitive to the direction of motion of visual stimuli. These units were identified by visual field, preferred direction of motion, and anatomical location from which recorded. The present work is addressed to the questions: (1) is there interaction between pairs of these units, and (2) if such relationships can be found, what is their nature. To answer these questions, it is essential to record from two or more units simultaneously, and to use more than a single recording electrode if recording points are to be chosen independently. Accordingly, such techniques were developed and are described. One must also have practical, convenient means for analyzing the large volumes of data so obtained. It is shown that use of an appropriately designed computer system is a profitable approach to this problem. Both hardware and software requirements for a suitable system are discussed and an approach to computer-aided data analysis developed. A description is given of members of a collection of application programs developed for analysis of neuro-physiological data and operated in the environment of and with support from an appropriate computer system. In particular, techniques developed for classification of multiple units recorded on the same electrode are illustrated as are methods for convenient graphical manipulation of data via a computer-driven display. By means of multiple electrode techniques and the computer-aided data acquisition and analysis system, the path followed by one of the motion detection units was traced from open optic lobe through the brain and into the opposite lobe. It is further shown that this unit and its mirror image in the opposite lobe have a mutually inhibitory relationship. This relationship is investigated. The existence of interaction between other pairs of units is also shown. For pairs of units responding to motion in the same direction, the relationship is of an excitatory nature; for those responding to motion in opposed directions, it is inhibitory. Experience gained from use of the computer system is discussed and a critical review of the current system is given. The most useful features of the system were found to be the fast response, the ability to go from one analysis technique to another rapidly and conveniently, and the interactive nature of the display system. The shortcomings of the system were problems in real-time use and the programming barrier—the fact that building new analysis techniques requires a high degree of programming knowledge and skill. It is concluded that computer system of the kind discussed will play an increasingly important role in studies of the central nervous system.


BACKGROUND/AIMS Primary anorectal melanoma is a very rare malignant tumor with no more than 300 cases reported in the literature. METHODS Two cases of anorectal melanoma are reported herein. RESULTS Both patients, aged 44 and 74 years, presented at the outpatient department with anal bleeding, one after being treated for 3 months with antihemorrhoidal drugs. The diagnosis was established with proctoscopy and biopsy, and a palliative abdominoperineal resection in the presence of lymph node metastases was performed followed by chemotherapy with vindesine. Although the procedures were not curative, both patients had an uneventful postoperative recovery, and lived 4 years and 21 months, respectively, without bleeding problems albeit with the inconvenience of a colostomy. CONCLUSIONS For the time being there is no convincing proof of the value of either types of proposed surgical management. We agree with those who believe that abdominal perineal resection has an advantage regarding the prognosis and quality of life.


Ornamental horticulture businesses in the United States (U.S.) face challenges to stay economically viable, particularly in rural areas. Marketing with new-media tools (e.g., websites, HTML newsletters, social media, and blogs) has the potential to increase sales over traditional methods of advertising. A survey was conducted to gauge the extent of the use of new-media marketing by ornamental horticulture businesses across the U.S. Responses from 161 businesses showed that marketing practices varied widely across business size in terms of expenses and the labor hours allocated. A majority of the sample (89%) were involved in new-media marketing, and all new-media users made use of at least one new-media tool. Facebook was used by more than 90% of new-media users, followed by the business' own website, which was used by 82% of respondents. Respondents' perception of how various new-media marketing tools affected sales followed the extent of use, in general.


This study presents a detailed analysis of producing gas-oil ratio performance characteristics from conventional reservoir to unconventional reservoir. Numerical simulations of various reservoir fluid systems are included for comparison. In a wide sense of the word, the term of unconventional reservoir is including tight gas sand, coal bed methane, gas hydrate deposits, heavy oil gas shale and etc. In this study we specify the unconventional reservoir to only mean the low and ultra low permeability reservoir, which is including tight or shale reservoir. As an emerging research topic in the E&P industry, shale reservoir's long-term well performance characteristics are generally not well understood (Anderson et al. 2010). Research methods and techniques for conventional reservoir are usually directly used in this unconventional reservoir analysis. These methods, however, have proven to be too pessimistic (Anderson et al., 2010). Fit-for-purpose approaches or solutions should be introduced in this new topic. Recently, hydraulic fracturing treatment is commonly used in the low matrix permeability reservoir to attain an economic production rate. The difference of well production performance between conventional reservoir and unconventional reservoir is not well known. In this study, we are trying to give a quantitative analysis in order to answer this question. In this study, a "generic" reservoir from field data with constant reserves and size were assumed. This reservoir model is homogeneous and of constant porosity, permeability and initial water saturation. In order to compare the production performance, fluid systems are varied from volatile oil to near critical oil, to gas condensate and to wet gas. The permeability of the reservoir model is also designed from high (conventional reservoir) to ultra low (unconventional), which ranges from 101 to 10-5 mD. Influence from fracture is especially considered because fractures in the low permeability reservoir provide a high conductivity that connects the reservoir matrix to the horizontal well. Fractures in the model are designed with identical geometrical characteristics (length, thickness) and of inner homogeneous properties (porosity, permeability). A black-oil model is used for each reservoir, and its PVT properties are generated with a 31 components EOS model using Whitson-Torp procedure (Whitson et al., 1983). Reservoir fluid systems equilibrium calculation in the black-oil model is done using the initial gas-oil ratio. We have compared the well's production performance for each fluid system. Based on the industry experience, two standards are used in reservoir simulation control: gas production rate and cumulative revenue. The gas production rate with 10 ×106 ft3/day in the first 10 days or the cumulative revenue equal to 5 ×105 USD from the first 10 days is set as the standard for the commercial well rate. All of these simulations are run under the control of these two types which have just been mentioned. A case of liquid rich gas reservoir is analyzed systematically, to compare its production performance when reservoir permeability is changed from high to low. We are interested in how much oil or gas condensate can be extracted from the "reservoir" if same initial fluids in the reservoir but of a different permeability. This study is useful and practical, particularly for the industry in the era of "high" oil price and "low" gas price in North America. The simulation results show that we can extract more liquid from the reservoir if the matrix permeability is higher, particularly for the reservoir with initially large oil contents (volatile oil reservoir, near critical reservoir and gas condensate reservoir). Fracturing treatment in unconventional reservoir is required to attain an economic production rate. We also realize that for the required number of fractures and reservoir's matrix permeability, there exists linear correlation in log-log plot in the low-permeability reservoir. In this study, the unique optimization software Pipe-It and reservoir simulator SENSOR are used. Optimal simulation results of permeability combination are obtained by the module Optimizer in Pipe-It.


Dr. Ambedkar is the first Ph.D. holder in the field of Economics and the primary individual to earned twofold doctorate qualification in South Asia in a similar field. He was an expert economist in tending to the monetary issues of the country and overseeing financial issues of the nation during the time of 1923 – 1956. Amazing enough Dr. Ambedkar had just recommended free economy strategy such globalization, advancement and privatization as ahead of schedule as in 1923. From that point onward, the Indian government has actualized this arrangement in September 1991. He had worried on the estimation of rupee must be kept stable despite the fact that dispatch the free financial strategy effectively. He underscored the hugeness and need of 'Framework System" which is as yet working viably. He is a precursor of work division since he defined the dynamic framework and made proficient arrangement for this field subsequently numerous designers have prepared well way. These days, the power specialists are traveling to another country for preparing thus that credit goes to Dr. Ambedkar. Toward the finish of Second World War India confronted numerous issues identified with the business, horticulture, neediness, etc. His strategy was help to come up from that unfortunate casualty and was valuable to create ventures, improve agribusiness, make work and build up the economy all through the country. Recreation Committee Council (RCC) was built up by the Indian government and Dr. Ambedkar was an individual from RCC. He was the President of Policy advisory group for Irrigation and Power. The man who began the arrangement for a finance commission each year in the constitution was none other than Dr. Ambedkar. He put stock in the rule of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity which stretched out into all segments of the general public including work. Dr Ambedkar was quick to create water hotspots for quicker financial development of the nation even before Independence. He underlined that the water the board ought to be an indispensable piece of the nation. He has presented an outline for 'Damodar Valley Scheme' (Kolkata, 3 January 1945) pictured on the lines of Tennessee Valley Authority in America. He stated, 'The Damodar waterway task is the principal venture and will be a multi-reason venture. The principle goal of the undertaking was not exclusively to keep the general population from flood and it contain the goal of water system, route, power generation and establish the framework for a system of success for the neediness stricken a great many this nation. The primary target of this paper is to think about the commitment of Dr. Ambedkar to the field of Economics. The examination will be useful to realize the likelihood changes agreeing his ideas, considerations, assessment and proposals in the contemporary time frame do roll out practical improvements in the field of financial aspects. The article will be useful to do the possibility contemplate based on Dr. Ambedkarism towards financial development, horticulture, water the executives, neediness, rolelessness, modern development, etc.


This thesis described our findings of several studies which are aimed to shed light on the mechanisms of bleeding and clotting. Firstly, we investigated the role of erythrocytes in thrombus formation. In contrast to the common notions that erythrocytes are bystanders in thrombus formation, we have found evidence that erythrocyte can actively influence thrombus formation by interacting with platelets. Erythrocytes can bind to platelets under flow conditions. The binding of red blood cells to platelets is mediated by a protein called intercellular adhesion molecule-4 (ICAM-4) on the red blood cell membrane and its receptor protein called αIIbβ3 on the platelet membrane. Our data indicates that blocking the ICAM-4 mediated erythrocyte-platelet interaction leads to reduced thrombus formation. Based on the above findings, we think that the drugs that target the red blood cell-platelet interaction may become one of the new therapeutic strategies to treat or prevent thrombotic conditions, such as in the situations of heart attack and stroke. Secondly, we investigated the mechanisms by which the transfused platelets stored at cold conditions are cleared rapidly after transfusion. When the platelet count in blood drops to a certain amount (severe thrombocytopenia), patients should receive prophylactic platelet transfusion to reduce the risk of bleeding. Platelet products from blood banks are currently stored at room temperature, which leads to a short shelf life (max 7 days) and the risks of bacterial contamination in the products. Cold storage (0-4°C) would be better in preserving the quality of platelet products. However, the cold-stored platelets are known to be cleared rapidly from the circulation after transfusion. Our study showed that low temperature can induce a structural change in GP1b on the platelet surface. This change induces signaling transductions inside platelets which in the end lead to platelet apoptosis. The apoptotic platelets are phagocysed by macrophages. By interfering with the GP1b structural change, we may be able to prevent platelet apoptosis and render platelet cold storage more feasible. Thirdly, we looked into the mechanism behind the thrombocytopenia in von Willebrand type 2 B patients. Patients with VWD-type 2B have enhanced VWF-platelet interaction but with bleeding tendency rather than hyper blood clotting. The bleeding tendency in these patients is related to the severity of thrombocytopenia. We found that the thrombocytopenia is at least partially caused by the increased uptake of VWF/platelet complex by Macrophages in both liver and spleen. Fourthly, we looked into the physiological role of β2GPI in thrombosis and hemostasis. β2GP1 is a plasma protein that is best known as the antigen against which anti-phospholipid antibodies are developed. The detection of antiphospholipid antibodies in blood is one of the diagnostic criteria for the anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS)—a disease that is characterized by vascular thrombosis and pregnancy loss. In addition to its role in APS, β2GPI has been shown to possess other biological functions. Our data suggest that β2GPI can play a protective function in patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura by binding to ultra large VWF.


The twist of a peptide bond in a viral protein starts a timer for infection, according to Barbara Eckert, Franz Schmid, and colleagues (Universitat Bayreuth, Germany). To be successful, the virus must find its host's receptor before this timer goes off.

Bacterial infection by the phage fd is initiated by its gene-3-protein (G3P), which is folded into a protected conformation that is stable, robust, and fairly resistant to degradation, but not infective. Before infection, G3P must be opened via an initial contact with the bacterial F pilus to expose the binding site for its ultimate receptor, TolA. This opening converts a glutamine–proline bond in the hinge between the two binding domains from the cis to the trans conformation. This (nonnative) trans proline locks G3P in the open, infectious form.

The trans proline bond takes several minutes to isomerize spontaneously back to cis. "The back reaction is so slow because of the peculiar local sequence [glutamine–proline–proline] around the proline," says Schmid. Now his group shows that this sluggish isomerization gives phage fd enough time to infect the cell.

Mutations at and around the hinge proline that hastened the return to cis reduced viral infectivity, presumably because mutant G3P refolded and thus closed its domains before it found TolA. Indeed, trans-to-cis isomerization abolished G3P binding to TolA. Enzymes that accelerated isomerization also interfered with infection. As open G3P is more protease sensitive, keeping it closed probably protects the virus. It might also improve viral specificity by requiring two host interactions.

Reference:

Eckert, B., et al. 2005. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. doi:.10.1038/nsmb946 [PubMed] [Cross Ref]


Summary Emodin and its glycoside frangulin B were isolated from the plant Rhamnus formosana. Emodin inhibited the aggregation of rabbit platelets induced by arachidonic acid and collagen, without affecting that by ADP or PAF, while emodin acetate had no any antiplatelet effect. Frangulin B inhibited selectively and concentration-dependently collagen-induced aggregation and ATP release in rabbit platelets, without affecting those induced by arachidonic acid, ADP, PAF and thrombin. Frangulin B also inhibited the platelet aggregation induced by trimucytin which was reported to be a collagen receptor agonist isolated from Trimeresurus muscrosquamatus snake venom. The aggregability of platelets inhibited by frangulin B could be recovered after washing the platelets. Frangulin B also selectively suppressed the thromboxane B2 formation caused by collagen, but not those by arachidonic acid and thrombin. Similarly, the formation of inositol phosphate caused by collagen was also suppressed by frangulin B, while that of PAF or thrombin was not affected. In the presence of PGE1, frangulin B also decreased Mg2+-dependent platelet adhesion to collagen. It is concluded that frangulin B may be an antagonist of collagen receptor in platelet membrane.


This masters work describes the deformation of a droplet that is illuminated by a laser beam. The theory for linear fluid mechanical motion of the droplet is discussed. This is combined with Lorenz-Mie scattering. Droplet deformations resulting from the optical radiation pressure are computed. Specific beam profiles are discussed in the literature for the purposes of optical droplet deformation, namely the cases of linear and circular polarized plane waves, a Gaussian beam and the Bessel beam. The general case of an arbitrary beam is not, to the author's knowledge, given in the published literature. Such a framework is developed from first principles and presented in this work. A Mathematica script was written to compute deformations. These are calculated, fitting nicely to those found by Ellingsen in a recent article. The case of two plane waves from opposite directions is discussed here for the first time, and droplet shapes produced. The size droplets considered is between the geometrical limit and the Rayleigh limit. The numerical load increases quickly with increasing values of the droplet radius and wave vector. The hardest to compute coefficients die off the most quickly with time.


Graph partitioning is an important NP-complete problem with many applications. The problem is to partition vertices of a graph into two (nearly) equal-sized sets so that the number of edges joining the sets is minimal. It has applications in VLSI CAD, processor allocation, and many other areas. In this paper we show that the Kernighan-Lin and simulated annealing heuristics are logspace complete for the classes P and BPP, respectively, which means that they are hard to parallelize. We also describe a new parallel heuristic that on the 32K-processor CM-2 Connection Machine handles graphs with more than two million edges and gives in nine minutes partitions that are within 2 best ever found.


This article deals with performance of administrative units as one of the key goals of contemporary public administration reform. Administrative units conduct administrative procedures as their core activity, thus ensuring the protection of the public interest and of individual parties' rights. The purpose of this article is to determine the efficiency of administrative units in terms of resources and sectoral areas by using selected indicators from administrative statistics, such as the number of applications submitted and decisions issued, the timeframe of decision-making, the share and success of complaints filed, and the like. The administrative statistics used in this article incorporate 58 general administrative units in Slovenia in the period 2004–2015 and provide a case study that may also be relevant for the Eastern European region. Several social research methods are used: a literature review and a normative analysis as a framework for statistical research, as well as the axiological-deontological method to evaluate the situation and suggest improvements. The analysis of time series and correlations of selected indicators from administrative statistics reveal mixed trends
over time, including a negative correlation between the number of officials and efficiency. In general, the question is whether the system currently in use to measure efficiency generates the most reliable outcomes. Therefore, the authors call for a redefinition of monitoring and of the indicators of administrative statistics in the European Union in order to enhance good public governance principles, particularly in developing democracies.


Recently, the multi-label learning has drawn considerable attention as it has many applications in text classification, image annotation and query/keyword suggestions etc. In recent years, a number of remedies have been proposed to address this challenging task. However, they are either tree based methods which has the expensive train costs or embedding based methods which has relatively lower accuracy since using simple reduction techniques. This paper addresses the issue by developing an efficient divide-and-conquer based approach. Specifically, it involves: a) utilizing the feature vector to cluster the training data into several clusters, b) reformulating the multi-label problems as recommended problems by treating each label as an item to be recommended, and c) learning an advanced factorization model to recommend the subset of labels to each point for local cluster. Extensive experiments on several real world multi-label datasets demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed algorithm.


Due to spurious correlations, machine learning systems often fail to generalize to environments whose distributions differ from the ones used at training time. Prior work addressing this, either explicitly or implicitly, attempted to find a data representation that has an invariant relationship with the target. This is done by leveraging a diverse set of training environments to reduce the effect of spurious features and build an invariant predictor. However, these methods have generalization guarantees only when both data representation and classifiers come from a linear model class. We propose invariant Causal Representation Learning (iCaRL), an approach that enables out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization in the nonlinear setting (i.e., nonlinear representations and nonlinear classifiers). It builds upon a practical and general assumption: the prior over the data representation (i.e., a set of latent variables encoding the data) given the target and the environment belongs to general exponential family distributions, i.e., a more flexible conditionally non-factorized prior that can actually capture complicated dependences between the latent variables. Based on this, we show that it is possible to identify the data representation up to simple transformations. We also show that all direct causes of the target can be fully discovered, which further enables us to obtain generalization guarantees in the nonlinear setting. Experiments on both synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate that our approach outperforms a variety of baseline methods.


The Plio-Pleistocene Koobi Fora Formation, about 560 m thick, crops out east of Lake Turkana and is part of the much larger depositional system of the Omo–Turkana Basin. The upper half of the Koobi Fora Formation from just below the KBS Tuff to above the Chari Tuff is particularly notable for its wealth of hominid fossils and archaeological sites. Silicic tuffaceous horizons have provided the basis for stratigraphic subdivision and correlation. Pumice clasts within the tuffs contain anorthoclase phenocrysts, ideal for 40Ar/39Ar single-crystal dating. Feldspars from pumice clasts in about 15 tephra within the stratigraphic interval from the KBS Tuff to the Silbo Tuff have yielded precise ages that allow much finer definition of the numerical time framework for the sedimentary sequence between the KBS Tuff (1.869 ± 0.021 Ma) and the Chari Tuff (1.383 ± 0.028 Ma) and to yet higher in the sequence to the SilboTuff (0.751 ± 0.022 Ma). These results provide a precise and accurate time scale for the upper part of the sequence in the whole of the Omo–Turkana Basin. A number of these tuffs are recognized elsewhere in East Africa; thus ages determined at Koobi Fora also apply to the wider region.


We study the problem of finding the Nash equilibrium in a two-player zero-sum Markov game. Due to its formulation as a minimax optimization program, a natural approach to solve the problem is to perform gradient descent/ascent with respect to each player in an alternating fashion. However, due to the non-convexity/non-concavity of the underlying objective function, theoretical understandings of this method are limited. In our paper, we consider solving an entropy-regularized variant of the Markov game. The regularization introduces structure into the optimization landscape that make the solutions more identifiable and allow the problem to be solved more efficiently. Our main contribution is to show that under proper choices of the regularization parameter, the gradient descent ascent algorithm converges to the Nash equilibrium of the original unregularized problem. We explicitly characterize the finite-time performance of the last iterate of our algorithm, which vastly improves over the existing convergence bound of the gradient descent ascent algorithm without regularization. Finally, we complement the analysis with numerical simulations that illustrate the accelerated convergence of the algorithm.


In this article, using finite element analysis (FEA) and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), cold-sprayed titanium particles on a steel substrate is investigated in term of cooling time and the development of residual strains. Three cooling-down models of sprayed particles after deposition stage are simulated and discussed: the first model (m1) considers conduction effect to the substrate only, the second model (m2) considers both conduction as well as convection effect to the environment, and the third model (m3) which is the same as the second model but with the substrate heated to a near particle temperature before spraying. Thereafter, residual strains developed in the third model is compared with the experimental measurement of residual strains, which involved a Bruker D8 Advance Diffractometer using CuKa radiation (40kV, 40mA) monochromatised with a graphite sample monochromator. For deposition conditions of this study, a good correlation was found to exist between the FEA results and XRD measurements of residual strains. Keywords—cold gas dynamic spray, X-ray diffraction, explicit finite element analysis, residual strain, titanium, particle impact, deformation behavior.


Abstract. Recent seismological observations focusing on the collapse of an impulsive
wavelet revealed the existence of small-scale random heterogeneities in the earth medium.
The radiative transfer theory (RTT) is often used for the study of the propagation and
scattering of wavelet intensities, the mean square amplitude envelopes through random
media. For the statistical characterization of the power spectral density function (PSDF)
of the random fractional fluctuation of velocity inhomogeneities in a 3-D space, we use
an isotropic von Kármán-type function characterized by three parameters: the root
mean square (RMS) fractional velocity fluctuation, the characteristic length, and the
order of the modified Bessel function of the second kind, which leads to the power-law
decay of the PSDF at wavenumbers higher than the corner. We compile reported statistical
parameters of the lithosphere and the mantle based on various types of measurements for a
wide range of wavenumbers: photo-scan data of rock samples; acoustic well-log data; and
envelope analyses of cross-hole experiment seismograms, regional seismograms, and
teleseismic waves based on the RTT. Reported exponents of wavenumber are distributed
between −3 and −4, where many of them are close to −3. Reported RMS fractional
fluctuations are on the order of 0.01–0.1 in the crust and the upper mantle. Reported
characteristic lengths distribute very widely; however, each one seems to be restricted
by the dimension of the measurement system or the sample length. In order to grasp the
spectral characteristics, eliminating strong heterogeneity data and the lower mantle
data, we have plotted all the reported PSDFs of the crust and the upper mantle against
wavenumber for a wide range (10−3–108 km−1). We find that the spectral
envelope of those PSDFs is well approximated by the inverse cube of wavenumber. It suggests that the earth-medium randomness has a broad
spectrum. In theory, we need to re-examine the applicable range of the Born approximation
in the RTT when the wavenumber of a wavelet is much higher than the corner. In
observation, we will have to carefully measure the PSDF on both sides of the corner. We
may consider the obtained power-law decay spectral envelope as a reference for studying
the regional differences. It is interesting to study what kinds of geophysical processes
created the observed power-law spectral envelope at different scales and in different
geological environments in the solid earth medium.


We introduce a new genetic distance for microsatellite loci, incorporating features of the stepwise mutation model, and test its performance on microsatellite polymorphisms in humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas. We find that it performs well in determining the relations among the primates, but less well than other distance measures (not based on the stepwise mutation model) in determining the relations among closely related human populations. However, the deepest split in the human phylogeny seems to be accurately reconstructed by the new distance and separates African and non-African populations. The new distance is independent of population size and therefore allows direct estimation of divergence times if the mutation rate is known. Based on 30 microsatellite polymorphisms and a recently reported average mutation rate of 5.6 x 10(-4) at 15 dinucleotide microsatellites, we estimate that the deepest split in the human phylogeny occurred about 156,000 years ago. Unlike most previous estimates, ours requires no external calibration of the rate of molecular evolution. We can use such calibrations, however, to test our estimate.


Molecular machines, switches, and motors enable control over nanoscale molecular motion with unprecedented precision in artificial systems. Integration of these compounds into robust material scaffolds, in particular nanostructured solids, is a fabrication strategy for smart materials with unique properties that can be controlled with external stimuli. Here, we describe a subclass of these structures, namely light-responsive porous materials metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent–organic frameworks (COFs), and porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) appended with molecular photoswitches. In this review, we provide an overview of a broad range of light-responsive porous materials focusing on potential applications.


Investigating English as a foreign language (EFL) students' writing performance is a continuing concern within the field of research on writing. The present contribution scrutinizes style-shifting in EFL students' assignments through an examination of the nature of their image-schemas of different types of academic genres, the most prominent factors that may affect the structure of these image-schemas, and the effect of the insufficient structure of these image-schemas, if any, on students' written assignments. A number of semi-structured interviews were conducted and sample texts were analyzed, following a content analysis approach integrated with a grounded theory approach. The study shows that EFL students' image-schemas seem to be interactive, interpretive, and dynamic in nature. It also shows that the structure of these image-schemas can be influenced by several cognitive, affective, social, and contextual factors. Significantly, the insufficient structure of these image-schemas may lead EFL students to shift their style locally and globally.


At the 2017 IASA Conference in Berlin, panellists analysed innovation and human failure in small-scale AV archives and asked the question "What do we need to learn from each other?" The many contributions to the discussion helped in overcoming difficulties that were presented. In 2019, the same panellists met again to discuss the outcomes of the learning process and to focus on the future of small-scale audiovisual archives in Asia. What makes small-scale audiovisual archives so special and different from large broadcast and national archives? What types of support networks will the future bring, and how can technical staff, archive users, administrators, and the larger community work towards an effective implementation of standards that will help to make knowledge available to all? The discussion took us to institutions in China, Laos, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, and laid the groundwork to establish continuity in dedicating professional efforts to support audiovisual archive organizations in emerging and developing countries. The panel members intend to engage in further discussion and to draw attention to the weak connections between archival goals and the general understanding of continuity in some Asian institutions. This is also a creative report of the panel organizer's work as IASA Ambassador in this region.


This study reports on results of our efforts to improve the efficiency and stability of previously developed reconstruction algorithms for optical diffusion tomography. The previous studies, which applied regularization and a priori contraints to iterative methods--POCS, CGD, and SART algorithms--showed that in most cases, good quality reconstructions of simply structured media were achievalbe using a perturbation model. The CGD method, which is the most efficient of the three algorithms, was, however, in some instances not able to produce good quality images because of the difficulty in applying range constraints, which can cause divergence. In this study, a scheme is proposed to detect this gradient vector is reset and the CGD reconstruction is restarted using the previous reconstruction as the initial value. In gradient vector is reset and the CGD reconstruction is restarted using the previous reconstruction as the initial value. In addition, a rescaling technique, which rescaled the weight matrix to make it more uniform and less ill-conditioned, is also used to suppress numerical errors and accelerate convergence. Two criteria, rescaling the maximum of each column to 1 and rescaling the average of each column to 1, were applied and compared to results without rescaling. The results show that, with properly imposed constraints, good quality images can be obtained using the CGD method. The convergence speed is much slower when constraints are imposed, but still comparable to the POCS and SART algorithms, The rescaling technique produces more stable and more accurate reconstructions, and speeds up the reconstruction significantly for all three algorithms.


Since the poems of Marcahru contain criticisms of twelfth-centuryaristocratic society, an attempt has been made initially to determine, as far as this is possible, his place in and relationship to that society. Marcabru's representation of female figures is considered in the light of the contrast he establishes between true and false love, itself an aspect of an ideological and poetic conflict with contemporary troubadours concerning the nature of love and its expression in lyric poetry. This theme of the dichotomy of love pervades Marcabru's works. The means by which it finds expression are explored through consideration of the vocabulary, images and sources on which the troubadour draws in order to convey approbation of fin'amors and condemnation of false love. Several of the studies focus on individual poems (PC 293, 31; 44; 25; 26; 15), of particular interest for the striking and detailed depictions of love and women which they contain: in analysing these songs in detail, reference is made to other songs where these elucidate particular ideas or images, and consideration is given to elements deriving from learned Christian orthodoxy and especially its misogynist tradition. Examination of apparently unorthodox uses of courtly terminology and lyric common places suggests that these also are employed by Marcabru to convey his consistently radical view. Dejeanne's edition of Marcabru's works has been taken as a basis for this investigation, and attention is also paid to proposed correc tions to this edition, recent partial re-editions and to the manuscript readings. In all cases account has been taken of previous interpretatio ns and of the development of critical opinion concerning Marcabru's works. These studies are intended to complement existing work by attempting to elucidate the conception of love of this complex and influential troubadour through an investigation of his treatment of a number of representative female figures.


Three black Sigatoka assessment protocols, (i) assessing disease severity 6 months after planting, (ii) estimating disease development over time in the different accessions, and (iii) assessing the youngest leaf spotted (YLS) at flowering were appraised. The assessment was implemented on 18 diploid accessions together with susceptible and resistant checks, planted in a 4 × 5 rectangular lattice design with two replicates at Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute in Uganda during 2005 to 2007. Natural disease inoculum was used with experimental plots planted in locations between the rows of a susceptible local cultivar that acted as a spreader. All the three assessment techniques were able to classify the Musa accessions into resistant and susceptible classes. However, the rankings of the clones according to their resistance were not consistent. The rankings of YLS correlated positively with those of area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) (P<0.05). The AUDPC rankings correlated strongly with the rankings of disease development time (P<0.001). The AUDPC and YLS significantly predicted bunch weight although the coefficient of determination was low. Overall AUDPC resulted in the highest coefficient of determination (R2=0.84) in detecting black Sigatoka response among the diploid Musa clones. Considering the time taken for the banana plants from planting to flowering, it is recommended that the disease resistance be assessed six months after planting and the disease severity data be converted into AUDPC data.

 Key words: Youngest leaf spotted, disease development, severity.


Aside from the growth of electronic commerce, the implications of the web are being felt in many other areas. One such area is electronic government (e-government). E-government has the potential to transform profoundly people's perceptions of civil and political interaction with their government. Through the web, expectations of the service levels that e-government sites must provide have been raised considerably. Organizations providing egovernment are becoming ever more aware of the need to improve their offerings regarding to citizens and other stakeholders needs. The article presents analysis of several e-government services quality evaluation assumptions. The choice of the theme is based on some aspects. First, electronic delivery of services creates complex issues for the public sector. Question of quality in public sector should be one of essential issues. It is important to investigate what kinds of factors influence customers' attitudes and behaviors towards e-government. Second, e-government is a relatively new subject of research so e-government services quality conception and aspects of quality evaluation is quite limited despite the importance of such process. Institution can make real progress just if it improves its activity paying attention to customers' needs and expectations. This article reveals the analysis of e-government conception in order to clarify important aspects for egovernment services quality evaluation. The structure, architecture and transforming process from government to e-government is not the objective of this article. After the analysis of scientific literature the quality of e-government services is defined. Notwithstanding variety and complexity of quality definitions as the most suitable was chosen definition regarding determination who can and/or should judge or evaluate quality. Several discussions how customer and citizen should be treated in the public organization are presented. These discussions just emphasize the perception that the main justice of e-government services quality is citizen (or other stakeholder group) and services quality evaluation process should start from revealing citizen (or other stakeholder group) needs. Using systematic, logical and comparative analysis of concepts and conclusions published by different authors theoretical assumptions of e-government services quality evaluation were formulated: quality evaluation process depends on egovernment maturity stage, quality criteria from customer view point should be established and regular measured and quality criteria can various by maturity stages. Analysis extent is limited by the article size limitation.