Accidents in Repair, Maintenance, Alteration, and Addition (RMAA) work have become a growing concern, in recent years. The repair and maintenance works of electrical and mechanical (E&M) installations involves a variety of trades, a large number of practitioners and a series of high-risk activities. The uniqueness of E&M work, in the RMAA sector, requires a discrete and specific research to improve its safety performance. Understanding the causal relationships between safety factors and the number of accidents becomes crucial to develop a more effective safety management strategy. The Bayesian Network (BN) model is proposed to establish a probabilistic relational network between the causal factors, including both safety climate factors and personal experience factors that have influences on the number of accidents related to E&M RMAA work. The data were collected using a survey questionnaire, involving a hundred and fifty-five E&M practitioners. The BN results demonstrated that safety attitude and safety procedures were the most important factors to reduce the number of accidents. The proposed BN provides the ability to find out the most effective strategy with the best utilization of resources, to reduce the chance of a high number of E&M accidents, by controlling a single factor or simultaneously controlling, both, the safety climate and personal factors, to improve safety performance.


Problem In many Seventh-day Adventist churches in North America patterns of non involvement among the youth were observed. Young people were attending church on Sabbath, but almost none of them were leaders. The objective of this dissertation was to identify biblical principles for the development of a youth ministry in which leaders build responsible servant leaders and encourage young people to grow, learn, and use their gifts in Christian ministry. Method The Scriptures were searched for a biblical background for youth work and principles for successful youth involvement. The word "youth" was analyzed in the Old and New Testaments together with the activities and duties of the youth. The contemporary problems that hinder successful youth ministry were identified, and sound solutions were found in the incamational ministry of Jesus. Three bilingual churches with a high level of youth involvement were studied and evaluated to identify the mechanisms of their success. Lastly, these principles were applied and suggestions given for youth leaders to create an effective ministry based on the "Old Testament Paradigm of Youth Ministry." Results In the Old Testament youth were respected, trusted, and highly regarded. Responsibilities such as being king, prophet, minister, and priest were given them, showing trust and willingness to form their characters in service. A different spectrum was found in the New Testament where youth were generally regarded as inexperienced, immature, and unfit for leadership. Young leaders were more the exception than the rule. For example Timothy was advised: "Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young" (1 Tim 4:12); and on another occasion the church at Corinth was told to "see to it that Timothy has nothing to fear while he is with you" (1 Cor 16:10), speaking clearly of the lack of support and implying the difficulty that churches had in working with young leaders. An exception to the lack of trust in the youth in the New Testament is the incamational ministry of Jesus Christ who used the same principles outlined in the Old Testament. The three successful North American youth programs investigated had also applied the principles of the "Old Testament Paradigm of Youth Ministry." Conclusions Applied in the local church the "Old Testament Paradigm of Youth Ministry," including the elements of trust, involvement, equipping, and empowerment, will not only prepare youth for the ministry, but will reproduce leadership in others. The emphasis of the Old Testament Paradigm and the incamational ministry of Jesus Christ is not so much in evangelizing as in reproducing.


The importance of computerised accounting system (CAS) is indisputable for private as well as public sector. One of the continuous efforts in the public sector can be seen through the introduction of Government Financial and Management Accounting System or GFMAS by Accountant's General (AG) Department in year 2005. GFMAS has been expected to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness to enable the department to deliver value-added service. As far as the researchers are concerned, no attempt has been made to examine End-User Computing Satisfaction (EUCS) towards GFMAS especially in AG Department. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine the level of satisfaction among the end users of GFMAS at AG Department specifically in East Malaysia (Labuan and Sabah branches). By distributing questionnaires to 140 AG staffs that using GFMAS, descriptive analysis throughout EUCS factors (content, accuracy, ease of use, format, timeliness, system reliability, system speed) have been drawn successfully. Probably, the result will be able to assist The Accountant General's (AG) Department to improve every aspect in The Government Financial and Management Accounting System (GFMAS).


Color image is the individual's psychological feeling produced by an immediate impression, visual perception as well as visual experience. Since different colors bring different feelings and cultural experiences, this research solves the problem about how the tourist maps load bearing the images of the tourist places by introducing the visual images system into the color schemes of tourist maps. The paper firstly talks about the current international hot spots of map-research, and emphasizes the effects about map-visualization to the study of tourist map, then indicates the shocks and opportunities to the tourist maps given by the present design concepts of industrial productions. On the basis of analyzing the research present situation of tourist map-visualization, it explains the content of emotion-oriented tourist maps, thereby introducing the existing research results of color images into the study and manufacture of tourist maps. Through further studying on the color images, this research develops the tourist map color schemes prototype system based on the semantic color images, with the hope that it can supplement the existing tourist map color schemes and system.


Pulmonary neuroepithelial bodies (NEB) form innervated cell clusters that express voltage-activated currents and function as airway O(2) sensors. We investigated A-type K(+) currents in NEB cells using neonatal rabbit lung slice preparation. The whole cell K(+) current was slowly inactivating with activation threshold of approximately -30 mV. This current was blocked approximately 27% by blood-depressing substance I (BDS-I; 3 microM), a selective blocker of Kv3.4 subunit, and reduced approximately 20% by tetraethylammonium (TEA; 100 microM). The BDS-I-sensitive component had an average peak value of 189 +/- 14 pA and showed fast inactivation kinetics that could be fitted by one-component exponential function with a time constant of (tau1) 77 +/- 10 ms. This Kv slowly inactivating current was also blocked by heteropodatoxin-2 (HpTx-2; 0.2 microM), a blocker of Kv4 subunit. The HpTx-2-sensitive current had an average peak value of 234 +/- 23 pA with a time constant (tau) 82 +/- 11 ms. Hypoxia (Po(2) = 15-20 mmHg) inhibited the slowly inactivating K(+) current by approximately 47%, during voltage steps from -30 to +30 mV, and no further inhibition occurred when TEA was combined with hypoxia. Nicotine at concentrations of 50 and 100 microM suppressed the slowly inactivating K(+) current by approximately 24 and approximately 40%, respectively. This suppression was not reversed by mecamylamine suggesting a direct effect of nicotine on these K(+) channels. In situ hybridization experiments detected expression of mRNAs for Kv3.4 and Kv4.3 subunits, while double-label immunofluorescence confirmed membrane localization of respective channel proteins in NEB cells. These studies suggest that the hypoxia-sensitive current in NEB cells is carried by slowly inactivating A-type K(+) channels, which underlie their oxygen-sensitive potassium currents, and that exposure to nicotine may directly affect their function, contributing to smoking-related lung disease.


A technique that enables the attenuation constant alpha of a microstrip line to be found from the measured return loss curve as a function of frequency for a half-wavelength resonator is described. Data averaging is incorporated and the effects of dispersion are included. This method does not require the use of an equivalent resonator model for the stripline, nor does it rely on graphical techniques. >


We pose that instead of problematizing negative attitudes of local stakeholders, such as citizens and NGOs, wind energy implementers should be more focused on scrutinizing the acceptability of their projects. The emphasis in this study is on the potential for representation of local stakeholders' values in the project design, including amongst others business model and placement. Informed by value sensitive design literature, we analyzed two contrasting, locally-owned wind projects in the Dutch province of Groningen: the implementation of mini-turbines in a national landscape and a large-scale multi MW wind project in an industrialized area close to a World Heritage nature reserve. The study analyses how the respective farmer-developers and other local stakeholders attempted to resolve or ameliorate inter- and intra-value conflicts regarding livability, economy, landscape, and nature. The value conflicts turned out to be fruitful to identifying key issues and creating more widely shared value conceptualizations and design priorities. Hence, from this study it can be concluded that value conflict can be productive if carefully unpacked and managed. Uneven power distribution among stakeholders in the planning process, overcoming incommensurability of perspectives, and creating intersubjectivity remain challenges.


: Electroretinogram b-wave was studied in intact carp using instantaneous substitution of monochromatic stimulus for another one in the range of 404-681 nm. It was shown that the amplitude of the b-wave as a function of the wavelength was good approximated by the spectrum of a scotopic pigment (porphiropsin) with the absorbtion maximum near 530 nm. The amplitude of the b-wave recorded during alternation of different monochromatic stimuli was determined only by their intensity differences and the level of previous light adaptation.


This study attempts to investigate the empirical relationship between debt and productivity and debt and investment for the Developing Asian Countries over the period of 1984-2007. The study uses two methodologies for empirical investigation, first is panel fixed effect using 5 year average data and second methodology is GMM applied on the annual data for the larger data set and to tackle the issue of endogeniety. The results show negative relationship between debt and investment and debt and productivity for Developing Asian Countries which confirms the presence of crowding out hypothesis. The results indicate negative impact of government size and budget deficit on investment. Productivity has positive relationship with investment. Trade openness and population growth are positively related to the productivity models. Financial development shows a positive relation in investment and productivity models. The present study confirms the existence of non-linearity of debt in investment and in productivity models. The implication that comes out from analysis that government needs to adopt debt reducing polices and reducing deficit will enhance private investment and productivity.


A new fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm based on particle swarm optimization (PSOFCM) is presented after analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the classical fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm. It avoids the local optima, and also is robust to initialization. The fluctuation however has appeared in the new algorithm, so the improved PSOFCM has been proposed finally which has better convergence to lower quantization errors. We compared the performance of PSOFCM, improved PSOFCM and FCM with IRIS testing data. The experiments show that the performance of improved PSOFCM is far better than FCM and this is a viable and effective clustering algorithm


The purpose of this report is to describe the full clinical and electroencephalograpic spectrum of atypical benign partial epilepsy (ABPE) or pseudo-Lennox syndrome (PLS). We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and EEG data of 43 children with ABPE/PLS seen in our department during the last 25 years. Criteria for diagnosis of ABPE/PLS were the occurrence of generalized minor seizures as previously described for ABPE/PLS and the detection of focal sharp waves indistinguishable from those of rolandic epilepsy (RE) with generalization during slow sleep. Mental development prior to onset of epilepsy was retarded in 26% of patients. In 74%, age at onset of seizures ranged from 2-5 years of age. Atonic-astatic seizures, atypical absences, and more rarely, myoclonic seizures were the predominating seizure types in 67% of patients. Status of minor seizures occurred in 40%. One or several episodes of partial and secondarily generalized seizures were observed. Rolandic seizures occurred in 28%. The EEG was characterized by a normal or slightly slowed background activity and predominantly multi-focal sharp waves (88%) which were activated to a bioelectrical status in 56% during sleep. No tonic seizures and no fast > 10 Hz spike discharges were observed in any of the 1.291 EEG of the patients. Despite an often temporarily therapy-resistant course which led to use of steroids in 51% of patients, seizures had ceased in 84% and epileptic discharges had disappeared in 72% of patients at last follow-up. All patients older than age 15 were seizure-free. However, the rate of mentally handicapped patients had more than doubled from 26 to 56%. EEG which could be performed in 41 out of 56 siblings demonstrated shw in 40% of siblings in whom EEG were done at the age of maximum penetrance of sharp waves (3-10 years). ABPE/PLS overlaps broadly with RE, but also with electrical status epilepticus during sleep and Landau-Kleffner syndrome. Therefore, ABPE/PLS can be ranked alongside RE and other idiopathic partial epilepsies. The high incidence of sharp waves in siblings suggests that ABPE/PLS and RE have a common underlying genetic etiology.


Fe-Zn-Cu sulfide mineralization in the Stone Hill district of the northern Alabama Piedmont is hosted by zones of felsic schist and garnet schist within the Ketchepedrakee Amphibolite. The felsic schist is characterized by quartz-pyrrhotite-biotite-muscovite-plagioclase-rutilesphalerite _ chalcopyrite _ pyrite _ hornblende _ epidote assemblages and the garnet schist is characterized by garnet-hornblende-quartz-biotite-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite _ sphalerite _ pyrite _ chlorite _ actinolite _ calcite assemblages. Both schists are well banded and highly deformed. The felsic schist locally contains ellipsoidal, polycrystalline aggregates of quartzfeldspar-biotite that superficially resemble sedimentary clasts but clearly formed tectonically by boudinage of felsic bands. The following petrographic and geochemical data and field relationships suggest that both schists are hydrothermally altered basalt (the precursor of the Ketchepedrakee Amphibolite): (1) the felsic and garnet schist units are very localized lenses (<l-km strike length, <50-m thickness); (2) contacts between the felsic schist and the amphibolite are normally gradational and may be transitional through the garnet schist; (3) both schists contain abundant rutile, distributed in the same way as ilmenite in the schists and the amphibolite; (4) the two schists and the amphibolite are uniformly enriched in compatible transition elements such as So, Ti, V, Cr, and Co; (5) ratios of incompatible, high field-strength elements such as Y, Zr, Nb, REE, and Hfare virtually identical in the schists and the amphibolite; and (6) the schists and the amphibolite exhibit similar fiat chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) abundance patterns (with variable Eu anomalies). Textural data indicate that alteration and mineralization of the basaltic protolith predated metamorphism and deformation. The Fe-Zn-Cu sulfide deposits in the Stone Hill district are interpreted to have formed by synvolcanic hydrothermal alteration in an incipiently rifted basin.


Iron plays a potential role in oxidative stress-mediated injuries and pathologies e.g. rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Four decades ago it was suggested that iron may have a crucial role in the progression of inflammation in RA. Indeed, free radicals generated by iron can cause damage to lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and DNA. It is this destructive process that is believed to occur in rheumatoid joints. However, none had differentiated between the role of iron in both acute and chronic phases of the disease and the origin of this 'labile' iron. Since RA cells are chronically exposed to oxidative stress, we have therefore chosen Jurkat cells to be our cell model. We used the parental (J16) cell line was used to mimic the acute phase of oxidative stress and the H2O2-resistant (HJ16) cells to mimic the chronic phase. By using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the oxidising agent, we aim to study the role of iron in acute and chronic phase of oxidative stress and to know its origin. In the present study, we found that both antioxidants and H2O2-induced labile iron are modulated when cells are chronically exposed to H2O2. HJ16 cells contain higher total intracellular glutathione levels and glutathione peroxidase activity than J16 cells while the superoxide dismutase and catalase activity are similar. Haem oxygenase-1 (HO-1) was not detectable nor was it induced in these cell lines; HO-2 on the other hand was expressed but not induced. Although they had the same 'basal' LIP and L-Ft levels, J16 cells contain more than 7-fold higher H-Ft levels than in HJ16 cells. It was also found that H2O2-induced labile iron is directly correlated with necrotic cell death. These results are consistent with the conclusion that both antioxidant defence mechanism and labile iron status are modulated in cells chronically exposed to H2O2. We have also shown that the 'basal' and 'H2O2-induced' NFκB activation was higher in the HJ16 cells. We have also provided a link between labile iron release, lysosomal membrane damage and the ensuing necrotic cell death following H2O2 treatment.


Interpersonal relationship require sophisticated competences of cohabitation. However, the availability of training tools to develop conflict management skills is limited and problematic. The prisoner's dilemma game (PDG), the most widely known example of game theory, a nonzero-sum game, has been used, in higher education, to provide students with an opportunity of active learning and for understanding counterintuitive concepts. It creates a condition of emotive, moral and decisional conflict in and between agents. This paper presents a case-study in higher education in which PDG was proposed to enhance organizational competences for conflict management, according to the psychoanalytic approach to organizational studies. The study aims to explore: (1) the significant characteristics of PDG used in an affective-emotional key in higher education; (2) the learning outcomes that PDG enables to activate in the participants in relation to the development of organizational skills for conflict management. Twenty students' reflective journals were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that PDG is perceived as a useful device in students' learning experience, which is appreciated in relation to its concreteness, intensity and debriefing phase. Learning outcomes allow new meanings about conflict, by emphasizing its defensive, automatic and interpersonal dimension. This paper contributes to the understanding of PDG as a tool to develop competences in dealing with the challenges of conflict management, since it seems to favor the overcoming of the individualistic stereotype in conflict representation by highlighting the interdependence of social interaction.


The controversial notion of 'transnationalism' has generated new insights into international migrants' ongoing ties with their communities of origin that are unexplained by crude versions of the assimilation paradigm. However, the problematic conceptualization of 'transnationalism' and its vague usage in empirical studies needlessly inhibit the transnational perspective's utility. Understanding the political and economic incorporation of migrants in both their communities of origin and destination is facilitated by disaggregating the types of political borders, types of nationalism, and levels of identification that have been conflated in the framework of 'transnationalism'. I demonstrate the analytic value of these distinctions by using them to interpret evidence from a six-month ethnographic case study of an immigrant labor union in Southern California. A theoretically coherent typology applicable to both the case study and other migration settings provides a framework for explaining how institutions incorporate migrants into U.S. and local politics while simultaneously promoting cross-border ties. I argue labor migrants engage in cross-border activities as a defensive reaction against the discrimination to which they are subjected qua 'foreigners' and because cross-border networks are a strategic resource for attaining status and material benefits both 'here' and 'there'.


This paper offers a critical synthesis of the articles in this Special Issue with a view to assessing the concept of "algorithmic regulation" as a mode of social coordination and control articulated by Yeung in 2017. We highlight significant changes in public debate about the role of algorithms in society occurring in the last five years. We also highlight prominent themes that emerge from the contributions, illuminating what is distinctive about the concept of algorithmic regulation, reflecting upon some of its strengths, limitations, and its relationship with the broader research field. In closing, we argue that the core concept is valuable and maturing. It has evolved into an analytical bridge that fosters cross-disciplinary development and analysis in ways that enrich its early "skeletal" form, thereby enabling careful and context-sensitive analysis of algorithmic regulation in concrete settings while facilitating critical reflection concerning the legitimacy of existing and proposed regulatory regimes.


A recent trend in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research addresses human needs that go beyond the instrumental, resulting in an increasing body of knowledge about how users form overall evaluative judgments on the quality of interactive products. An aspect largely neglected so far is that of temporality, i.e. how the quality of users' experience develops over time. This paper presents an in-depth, five-week ethnographic study that followed 6 individuals during an actual purchase of the Apple iPhone". We found prolonged use to be motivated by different qualities than the ones that provided positive initial experiences. Overall, while early experiences seemed to relate mostly to hedonic aspects of product use, prolonged experiences became increasingly more tied to aspects reflecting how the product becomes meaningful in one's life. Based on the findings, we promote three directions for CHI practice: designing for meaningful mediation, designing for daily rituals, and designing for the self.


This paper describes an experimental comparison between a parametric sonar and a conventional sonar for the detection of small objects on the seabed. First, a quick description of the parametric sonar used is given. Second, rail and sea experiments are described. The parametric array was mounted on a rail which was able to move at a constant speed (0.25 m/s). As a first experiment the sonar was kept fixed on the rail. A comparison of the detection of the object put on the seabed is performed between conventional sonar and the parametric one. The obtained results show a great improvement brought on by the parametric sonar which is less affected by bottom reverberation and which allows very precise identification of the detected object. As a second experiment, the sonar was moving on the rail in order to be able to perform synthetic aperture sonar processing with the parametric array. Significant improvements in resolution and signal‐to‐noise ratio were obtained when integrating together successive pings tr...


By knowing the milk urea nitrogen (MUN) content of dairy cows, the efficiency of dietary nitrogen utilization can be improved. The main objectives of this study were to identify and quantify environmental factors affecting MUN in South African Holstein cows. This will enable better interpretation of MUN results by accounting for such factors. A total of 82 900 test-day records of 9 901 Holstein cows from 40 herds participating in the South African National Milk Recording and Improvement Scheme (NMRIS) during the period 2007 to 2010 were used. An analysis of variance was performed to determine environmental factors significantly affecting MUN. Significant factors were herd-test-day, year of calving, parity, number of times milked per day and lactation stage. Herd-test-day had the largest effect, accounting for 48.3% of the total variation. Trends in least squares (LS) means for MUN over lactation stages were similar for all parities; however, means were slightly lower in parity 3 than the first two parities. The LS mean for 2008 was the lowest (13.9 mg/dL) in comparison to other years. Cows milked twice daily had a higher MUN LS mean (15.5 mg/dL) in comparison to those milked three times per day (13.4 mg/dL). Results of this study provided the basis for proper use and better interpretation of MUN data.


Aims. To constrain models of high-mass star formation it is important to identify the massive dense cores (MDCs) that are able to form high-mass star(s). This is one of the purposes of the Herschel/HOBYS key programme. Here, we carry out the census and characterise of the properties of the MDCs population of the NGC 6357 H II region.
Methods. Our study is based on the Herschel/PACS and SPIRE 70−500 μm images of NGC 6357 complemented with (sub-)millimetre and mid-infrared data. We followed the procedure established by the Herschel/HOBYS consortium to extract ~0.1 pc massive dense cores using the getsources software. We estimated their physical parameters (temperatures, masses, luminosities) from spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting.
Results. We obtain a complete census of 23 massive dense cores, amongst which one is found to be IR-quiet and twelve are starless, representing very early stages of the star-formation process. Focussing on the starless MDCs, we have considered their evolutionary status, and suggest that only five of them are likely to form a high-mass star.
Conclusions. We find that, contrarily to the case in NGC 6334, the NGC 6357 region does not exhibit any ridge or hub features that are believed to be crucial to the massive star formation process. This study adds support for an empirical model in which massive dense cores and protostars simultaneously accrete mass from the surrounding filaments. In addition, the massive star formation in NGC 6357 seems to have stopped and the hottest stars in Pismis 24 have disrupted the filaments.


An overview of the research and development of imaging bolometers giving a perspective on the applicability of this diagnostic to a fusion reactor is presented. Traditionally the total power lost from a high temperature, magnetically confined plasma through radiation and neutral particles has been measured using one dimensional arrays of resistive bolometers. The large number of signal wires associated with these resistive bolometers poses hazards not only at the vacuum interface, but also in the loss of electrical contacts that has been observed in the presence of fusion reactor levels of neutron flux. Imaging bolometers, on the other hand, use the infrared radiation from the absorbing metal foil to transfer the signal through the vacuum interface and out from behind a neutron shield. Recently a prototype imaging bolometer known as the InfraRed imaging Video Bolometer has been deployed on the JT-60U tokamak which demonstrates the ability of this diagnostic to operate in a reactor environment. The application of computed tomography demonstrates the ability of one imaging bolometer with a semi-tangential view to produce images of the plasma emissivity. In addition, new detector foil development promises to strengthen the foil and increase the sensitivity by an order of magnitude.


The Fucino Basin is a flat Quaternary depression within the central Apennines. It is surrounded by active normal faults with small oblique-slip components. Surface faulting was observed along the east side of the basin during the Ms = 7.0 Avezzano earthquake of 1915. In order to understand the kinematics of recent strain better and to assess the seismic hazard of this region, we carried out a detailed geomorphic and structural study of the faults around the basin. Fault scarp heights were accurately measured with total station profiles, and vertical slip rates were estimated assuming slope offsets to post-date the end of periglacial abrasion (14 ± 4 kyr BP). To the north, the most prominent fault, the Magnola fault, appears to have an average postglacial throw rate of 0.7 ± 0.3 mm yr−1 and, together with the Velino fault, to be capable of generating earthquakes of maximum magnitudes of 6.9–7.3 with recurrence intervals of 1000–3000 yr. East of the basin, the Serrone, Parasano and Ventrino faults form a right-stepping horsetail of the Giovenco fault. Current vertical slip rates on the three former faults appear to be between 0.5 and 1.4, 0.5 and 1.0, and 0.3 and 1.1 mm yr−1 , respectively. Infrequent maximum-magnitude earthquakes on them may also exceed 7, particularly in the case of coupled rupture, with loosely constrained recurrence intervals (up to several thousand years). The right-lateral slip components implied by the most recent slickensides and by geomorphic offsets on the NW–SE-trending normal faults of the area suggest that the blocks they bound rotate counterclockwise, consistent with oblique left slip on the NNW–SSE-trending Giovenco and Ovindoli faults to the east. Sinistral shear parallel to the latter faults, the maximum relief across the Magnola fault, and the postglacial slope offsets measured suggest that the extension rate across the central Apennines might be of the order of 6 ± 3 mm yr−1 in a N20° ± 10°E direction, more northerly than hitherto inferred.


The
importance of groundwater portability and the possible sources of anthropogenic
contamination have led to the development of intrinsic groundwater
vulnerability mapping. In this study, groundwater vulnerability map for Amman
Zarqa Basin (AZB) has been generated based on information derived and
calculated from processed remote sensing information and laboratory analysis.
The database was prepared from soil hydro geological and hydrological data,
Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and geological maps. For assessment of
groundwater vulnerability, the method proposed by the state geological surveys
of Germany (GLA-method) has been adapted and applied. The vulnerability map
shows about 77% which is about 2919 Km2 of the AZB is classified as
very low to low which could be corresponding to the pollution sources due to
the absence of potential hazards and also due to low vulnerabilities. These
areas could consequently be interesting for future development as they set
preferable in view of ground water protection. In addition, about 14% (530 km2)
is classified within the moderate vulnerability zone. About 5% (around 19 km2)
of the study area lies under the area of high vulnerability zone. Only 4% can
be classified as very high risk areas. Groundwater quality results revealed
that water leach ate from point source is the main cause for groundwater
contaminations in highly vulnerable karstic limestone aquifer (Amman Wadi Es
Sir Aquifer-B2/A7). On the other hand, the Kurnub Sandstone aquifer (K) is generally
well protected in the central and eastern part of the AZB due to its thick
cover of partly marly sequences. However, the Kurnub aquifer might have a
potential risk from the recharged infiltrating surface water from the Zarqa
River, which is highly polluted due to industrial activities located along the
river.


Various N-tertiary pyrrolidine derivatives 1 and 6-9 bearing voluminous substituents in 2-position react with Hg(ll)-EDTA under double dehydrogenation and an atypical direction to the secondary C-5 with formation of the corresponding lactams 2 and 12-15. The primary products of a two electron withdrawal cannot be isolated. By addition of substituted benzaldehydes b-d as trapping reagents to the Hg(ll)-EDTA solution additionally are received condensation products of the type of benzylidene lactams 1b-d, 6b,c and 7b-9b. Here the total yield of isolated products increases, while simultaneously the yield of unsubstituted lactams of the type 2 and 12-15 decreases. Therefore the atypical direction of dehydrogenation with the trapping aldehydes is the same as with the lactam forming pyrrolidines. Additionally the detection of the enamine species in the first stage of dehydrogenation with following reaction to the condensation product is secured. The (E)-configuration of 1b is confirmed by the chemical shift of the proton α-H and the 19 F/ 13 C-coupling constant of C-4 by direct comparison with its (2)-isomer 27. The similar signal dates of the enone protons in the other prepared benzylidene lactams 1c,d, as well as 6b,c and 7b-9b verify also the (E)-configuration.


Introduction Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) are often isolated from patient samples, though their clinical relevance can be unclear. Treatment is not always effective and management decisions are usually based on repeat isolates with compatible clinical features. The presence of other micro-organisms, as well as the specific NTM itself, may be important. Here we report NTM and other microbe isolation frequency and their relationship to management decisions. Methods All NTM samples isolated from liquid culture systems between 09/05/11 and 03/04/13 at our centre were identified using hospital pathology databases. Subject's negative mycobacterial cultures plus all positive relevant bacteria and virological isolates, as well as clinical history and progress were reviewed. Results NTM were isolated on 257 occasions from 102 patients, who provided a total of 693 samples for mycobacterial culture. Adjusting for positive samples obtained within a month of each other, there were 170 isolates - 150 of which came from 90 patients' pulmonary samples. Common associated clinical conditions were non cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (28, 31.1%), COPD (11, 12.2%), and HIV infection (6, 6.7%). The most frequent lung isolate was Mycobacterium avium intracellulare Complex, MAC, (47.8%), followed by M. fortuitum(14.4%), M. gordonae (10%), and M. kansasii (8.9%). Seven (7.8%) patients had multiple NTM species identified. 40 (44.4%) of the pulmonary patients also had bacteria or fungi isolated from lung samples. Pseudomonas sp. were present in 12 (13.3%), Haemophilus influenzae in 10 (11.1%), and Staphylococcus aureus in 6 (6.7%) patients. To date, 68.9% have not received regular anti-microbial therapy. 19 (21.1%) are on long term anti-bacterials, and 7 (7.8%) are being treated with specific anti-NTM therapy (5 of these MAC). Over the two year period 483 pulmonary samples have been tested for mycobacteria; at a mean frequency of 5.4 samples per patient, with approximately one in three being NTM positive. Conclusion Different microbes are frequently isolated on serial lung sampling from patients with NTM. Clinicians often utilise a treatment strategy that focuses on organisms other than NTM to control symptoms. The value of this approach requires longer term assessment, but highlights the importance of systematic, microbial surveillance cultures in pulmonary NTM management.


Optimistic Gradient Descent Ascent (OGDA) and Optimistic Multiplicative Weights Update (OMWU) for saddle-point optimization have received growing attention due to their favorable last-iterate convergence. However, their behaviors for simple bilinear games over the probability simplex are still not fully understood -- previous analysis lacks explicit convergence rates, only applies to an exponentially small learning rate, or requires additional assumptions such as the uniqueness of the optimal solution.
In this work, we significantly expand the understanding of last-iterate convergence for OGDA and OMWU in the constrained setting. Specifically, for OMWU in bilinear games over the simplex, we show that when the equilibrium is unique, linear last-iterate convergence is achievable with a constant learning rate, which improves the result of (Daskalakis & Panageas, 2019) under the same assumption. We then significantly extend the results to more general objectives and feasible sets for the projected OGDA algorithm, by introducing a sufficient condition under which OGDA exhibits concrete last-iterate convergence rates with a constant learning rate. We show that bilinear games over any polytope satisfy this condition and OGDA converges exponentially fast even without the unique equilibrium assumption. Our condition also holds for strongly-convex-strongly-concave functions, recovering the result of (Hsieh et al., 2019). Finally, we provide experimental results to further support our theory.


Rheumatologists have been pioneers in the development and use of clinical measures for outcome assessment. The Lansbury Index (1958) and the Empire Rheumatism Gold Trial (1960) used sophisticated double-blind pseudo-placebo-controlled trial designs and standardized prespecified clinical outcome measures to establish the clinical usefulness of a drug whose benefit did not become evident until it was administered for several months. Since these studies, other studies have establish the clinical and statistical groundwork for rheumatoid arthritis outcome measures. In 1980, the Health Assessment Questionnaire and the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales were added. Future development of paradigms for the decision process in the clinical management of individual rheumatoid arthritis patients will no doubt incorporate standard outcome measures to provide the data upon which management decisions can be based.


The procedures for optimizing the vertical doping profile of bipolar transistors and for scaling bipolar switching circuits are discussed. A bipolar circuit remains optimized for power-delay operation in scaling if the relative contributions to the circuit delay of every capacitance and resistance component of the circuit are kept constant. This condition is realized only by coordinated reductions of both the vertical doping profiles and the horizontal dimensions and appropiately varying the current. As the base width is reduced in scaling, the emitter depth must be reduced proportionately to maintain base width control and reproducibility, and the base doping must be increased to avoid punch through. For emitters less than 200nm deep, the current gain is no longer determined by the base sheet resistance alone, but depends strongly on the emitter contact technology. Also, for base doping greater than about 5×1017cm-3, the effects of heavy doping in the base region as well as in the emitter region become important in determining the device characteristics.


Fluorescent imaging behind turbid layers has recently become available using several different methods based on speckle correlations. The limited range of these speckle correlations embodied in the memory effect however leads to a severe limitation of the field of view of these imaging techniques. Here, we present a method based on iterative scanning and re-focusing using wavefront shaping, such that neighbouring regions to the field of view of the memory effect can be imaged. This allows for an extension of the field of view of scattered light fluorescence microscopy far beyond the limits given by the memory effect. With this addition, applications in real life turbid media become possible, which can also be extended to dynamic media using possible improvements in speed of focusing. © 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement


The predominant type(s) of microbial flora and the changes in types resulting in the particular ascendency pattern on spoiled chicken meat has been a subject of study by various investigators. Ayres et al. (1950) identified the microorganisms contributing to spoilage of chicken meat which had received no treatment other than chilling. Walker and Ayres (1956) concluded that the increase in numbers of organisms on the surface of birds during processing could be attributed to the distribution (by washing and handling) of organisms occurring on the feet and feathers and in the feces and intestinal tract. Yeast were found to be present initially at levels of about 1000 per cm2 and after 2 weeks' storage to increase 100-fold. The types found were reported to belong to the genera Rhodotorula, Cryptococcus, and Torulopsis. Ziegler and Stadelman (1955), in reporting the results of work involving treatment of poultry meat with chlortetracycline, state that yeasts having the shape and budding characteristics of Saccharomycetaceae and gram-negative rods formed the predominant flora of the meat treated in this manner. Ayres et al. (1956) found that yeast numbers were higher on chlortetracycline-treated birds than on controls and they indicated that the marked reduction in bacterial numbers may provide a more readily available substrate for yeast development. Njoku-Obi et al. (1957) reported studies on the isolation and identification of the fungal flora of spoiled, chlortetracycline-treated chicken meat. They found representatives of five genera of yeasts to be present on these spoiled carcasses whereas only three genera were found on the spoiled untreated controls. They also commented on the potential pathogenicity of Candida parapsilosis which they isolated from the antibiotictreated meat. This report covers a study which was undertaken to gather more information on the yeast types developing on both chlortetracyclineand oxytetracycline-treated poultry meat as well as the increases of spoilage from yeast development after treatment with antibiotics.


Cerebellar hypoplasia can be caused by congenital or post-natal viral infection or a genetic mutation, and leads to an underdeveloped cerebellum, motor dysfunction, and ataxia. Cerebellar dysfunction can also originate from neurodegenerative diseases. This affects the functional coupling of the cerebellum and multiple sensorimotor cerebral networks. Using resting-state fMRI, correlational studies have mapped cerebellar lobules to cerebral cortices and yielded models of cerebral-cerebellar interactions. This study investigated functional connectivity between cerebellar lobules focusing on sensorimotor regions by comparing task-based fMRI data from participants of an existing open-source dataset. To process and visualize the fMRI data, this study referenced anatomical and functional network atlases and used various statistical and computational software packages. Handedness was inferred from first-level functional connectivity analysis to create groups and performed second-level functional connectivity between-groups analysis. Statistically significant differences in functional connectivity between sensorimotor intracerebellar regions were identified, which may be attributable to differences in handedness. The present study showed that when compared to participants inferred to be left-handed or ambidextrous, participants inferred to be right-hand dominant had statistically significant differences in functional connectivity in specific sensorimotor regions, including lobules IV/V left to IV/V right when performing right-hand tasks, and lobules VIII left to III left when performing left-hand tasks. This finding informed the creation of a proposed right-hand sensorimotor intracerebellar model which may be visualized using various platforms. Through integrating causal and correlational imaging data to model intracerebellar connectivity, this study furthers research about the diagnosis and treatment of cerebellar hypoplasia and cerebellar dysfunction.


Treated glioblastoma patients survive from 6 to 14 months. In the first part of this review, we describe glioma origins, cancer stem cells and the genomic alterations that generate dysregulated cell division, with enhanced proliferation and diverse response to radiation and chemotherapy. We review the pathways that mediate tumour cell proliferation, neo-angiogenesis, tumor cell invasion, as well as necrotic and apoptotic cell death. Then, we examine the ability of gliomas to evade and suppress the host immune system, exhibited at the levels of antigen recognition and immune activation, limiting the effective signaling between glioma and host immune cells. The second part of the review presents current therapies and their drawbacks. This is followed by a summary of the work of our laboratory during the past 20 years, on oligosaccharide and glycosphingolipid inhibitors of astroblast and astrocytoma division. Neurostatins, the O-acetylated forms of gangliosides GD1b and GT1b naturally present in mammalian brain, are cytostatic for normal astroblasts, but cytotoxic for rat C6 glioma cells and human astrocytoma grades III and I V, with ID50 values ranging from 200 to 450 nM. The inhibitors do not affect neurons or fibroblasts up to concentrations of 4 μM or higher. At least four different neurostatin-activated, cell-mediated antitumoral processes, lead to tumor destruction: (i) inhibition of tumor neo-vascularization; (ii) activation of microglia; (iii) activation of natural killer (NK) cells; (iv) activation of cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTL). The enhanced antigenicity of neurostatin-treated glioma cells, could be related to their increased expression of connexin 43. Because neurostatins and their analogues show specific activity and no toxicity for normal cells, a clinical trial would be the logical next step.


Objective: To determine the level of awareness, knowledge and attitude of secondary school students in Owerri to HIV/AIDS.
Methods: Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to six hundred randomly selected secondary school students from four secondary schools and the results were analyzed.
Results: There was no significant difference in results from both sexes. All the students were aware of the disease. Viral aetiology was mentioned by 77.2% of all the students while 74.8% and 85.4% mentioned mother- to- child transmission and sexual intercourse respectively as modes of transmission. Blood transfusion and sharing of needles and syringes were mentioned by 92.8 % and 96.4% of the students respectively. Only 58.1% knew about the condom as a method of prevention. The students demonstrated a poor attitude to HIV/AIDS positive patients as 78.2% would not employ them while 10.6% want them isolated and 36.8% would avoid them. Mass media ;television ( (32.4% ) , radio ( 23.5%)) and health sources ( 26,1% ) were the major means of information.
Conclusion: Because of the deficiencies in knowledge and the poor attitude of the students, these highlighted areas should be emphasized in media adverts. The introduction of reproductive health studies in secondary school curricula may also help in addressing these identified deficiencies.
 Keywords : Knowledge, Awareness, Attitude, HIV/AIDS, Adolescents Port Harcourt Medical Journal Vol. 2 (3) 2008: pp. 233-237


We argue that the stimuli used in traditional fear-conditioning paradigms are too simple to model the learning and unlearning of complex fear memories. We therefore developed and tested an adapted fear-conditioning paradigm, specifically designed for the study of complex associative memories. Second, we explored whether manipulating the meaning and complexity of the CS-UCS association strengthened the learned fear association. In a two-day differential fear-conditioning study, participants were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions. All participants were subjected to the same CSs (i.e., pictures) and UCS (i.e., 3 s film clip) during fear conditioning. However, in one of the conditions (negativerelevant context), the reinforced CS and UCS were meaningfully connected to each other by a 12 min aversive film clip presented prior to fear acquisition. Participants in the other condition (neutral context) were not able to make such meaningful connection between these stimuli, as they viewed a neutral film clip. Fear learning and unlearning were observed on fear-potentiated startle data and distress ratings within the adapted procedure. Moreover, several group differences on these measures indicated increased UCS valence and enhanced associative memory strength in the negative-relevant context condition compared to the neutral context condition. Due to technical equipment failure, skin conductance data could not be interpreted. The fear-conditioning procedure as presented in the negative-relevant context condition holds considerable promise for the study of complex associative fear memories and therapeutic interventions for such memories. 15158_AnnaKunze_BW.indd 18 04-01-18 09:12 19 FEAR CONDITIONING WITH FILM CLIPS


Many Americans have sexual dysfunction or behavioral concerns and are seeking assistance from mental health clinicians. Unfortunately, there is limited curriculum on sexuality counseling and sexual behavior in clinical mental health counselor education programs. This lack of education and discussion can result in counselor bias and lack of self-efficacy in therapeutic sessions. Researchers have found that medical assistance alone does not offer effective results when discussing sexual dysfunction or non-normative sexual behavior. Individuals engaged in various counseling interventions alongside sexuality counseling found reduction in sexual dysfunction and comorbid symptoms, such as anxiety or depression. This literature review seeks to highlight the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and different sexual behaviors facing possible clients, the existence of counselor bias and its effect on sexual topics in counseling, and the need for sex and sexuality to be integrated into counseling programs.


Nonparametric regression models offer attractive extensions to the familiar approaches of parametric regression. They adapt to departures from standard parametric forms and therefore have the potential to capture features which may otherwise go unnoticed. This property accounts for the large volume of work in the area of estimation of nonparametric models which has emerged over the last two decades. Inferential techniques using nonparametric model fits, however, have not been so quick to develop. This thesis contributes to this area of research by examining the task of assessing covariate effects via comparisons of nonparametric model fits. In particular, the asymptotic and finite sample bias properties of estimates obtained via local linear smoothers are a major consideration and methods of inference which take into account these properties are developed. Chapter 1 introduces and presents an overview of existing methods of estimation and inference amongst nonparametric regression. Chapter 2 focuses on the task of inference by considering the estimation of the error variance in the nonparametric model context. Special attention is given to the development and assessment of difference based estimators in the presence of two covariates. It is shown that difference based estimators are a viable alternative, in terms of accuracy, to standard residual based estimators. Chapters 3 and 4 employ the estimators of Chapter 2 in the development of test procedures which make comparisons amongst a class of bivariate nonparametric regression models. Chapter 3 develops the theoretical properties of several forms of the test statistic, with particular attention given to statistics based on direct comparisons of fitted values. The theory also highlights the role of centred smoothers and equivalent degrees of smoothing when nonparametric model fits are compared. The simulation studies reported in Chapter 4 compare the novel approaches developed in Chapter 3 with standard approaches based on differences in residual sums of squares, i.e. approximate F-tests. The results show that direct comparisons of fitted values offer an improvement in some settings and never perform less favourably in others. The choice of the error variance estimator is shown to be crucial, with different design spaces requiring different estimators. Specific attention is also given to the effect of correlation amongst the covariates on the tests' performances. Chapter 4 closes with an application of the methods to a real data set describing the spatial distribution of sea bed fauna in the Great Barrier Reef. Chapter 5 extends these methods beyond models with two covariates to models with an unlimited number of additive linear terms and a nonparametric component involving at most two covariates. Recent results which derive the asymptotic properties of models of this form show that the favourable properties of local linear regression in the bivariate setting extend to this multidimensional setting. Results of a simulation study are reported and show that there is much to be gained by making a direct comparison of fitted values in conjunction with a careful choice of the estimator of error variance. Chapters 6 and 7 describe applied projects in environmental and medical contexts respectively. Both of the sets of data contain relationships amongst covariates which are best described using nonparametric models. Chapter 6 considers 14 years of water quality monitoring data from the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. Interest lies in describing relationships between pollutants and environmental factors, including long term trends and seasonal patterns. Chapter 7 investigates the relationship between short term dosage of an immunosuppressive drug and the long term outcome of kidney transplantation patients. Chapter 8 concludes with a summary of the main findings of the thesis and a discussion of potential future work in this area. Although progress has been made in the settings considered in the thesis, further extensions are required before nonparametric modelling will achieve its full potential.


The paper aims at identifying the three types of irony – verbal, dramatic and of situation – in some of Charles Dickens' novels in order to reveal the author's contribution to the modern understanding of Victorianism. The ironic discourse will be analyzed so as to show the true underlying meaning of Dickens' texts. It is said that Dickens revealed through irony more than historians could have ever revealed through direct telling, and to show whether this is true or not represents the purpose of the current paper. As far as Victorianism is concerned, the first major paradigms which irony is aimed at are precisely Victorian respectability, domesticity and stability.


Four subjects participated in a study to evaluate the effects of various social interaction skill interventions on the social behavior of preschool children and the reciprocal nature of their interactions with peers. Intervention included social skills training conducted in a controlled instructional setting, as well as individual and group-oriented contingency management procedures implemented during free play. Subject performance was assessed with a behavioral role play test and via direct observation of subject and peer behavior in free play settings. Results indicated unique effects for social skills training and the two contingency management interventions. Social skills training alone produced significant improvement in the production of target social skills, as measured by role play, for 3 of 4 subjects. However, this intervention produced relatively modest effects on subject and peer behavior in free play. Prompts and praise for target behaviors delivered to individual subjects during free play (i.e., Coaching) produced significant change in rates of subject initiations and responses to peers and peer responses to subject initiations, but produced few changes in reciprocal interactions between subjects and peers. Prompts and praise delivered to total play groups (i.e., Group Coaching) produced desired effects on peer behavior, but had less effect on interactive behavior of subjects. These results are discussed with respect to the role of reciprocal interaction and behavioral trapping for producing maintenance and generalization in social interaction interventions for preschool children with behavioral handicaps.


Although there have been a lot of studies on mobile business, it is hard to find ones in which an integrated perspective of mobile business based on both customers' and companies' needs is suggested. This research develops a mobile business model classification scheme and applies it to analysis of current status in mobile business. In the first case study on 65 firms in Korea, mobile solutions are categorized based on the classification scheme in order to analyze an overall market environment of mobile business. In the second case study on mobile service trend analysis, a set of evaluation indices including four general indices, ten effectiveness indices and 13 measurement indices were developed to analyze mobile service environment in the perspective of B2C (business to customer). For the second case study, 200 mobile heavy users were questioned on the mobile service‐related issues.


Adenomyoma of the papilla of Vater is exceedingly rare. Histologically, the adenomyoma is characterized by locules of ducts with interlacing bundles of smooth muscle. A 63-year-old male patient is presented who had developed abdominal pain, progressively darker urine and light color stool, jaundice and dyspepsia over the past two-month period. Impression from radiologic study was neoplasm of the papilla of Vater, pathologic findings proved adenomyoma. This case, and review of the literature, suggest that local excision is the treatment-of-choice.


Never before have we known such prosperity as we now enjoy—this is the boast of the Republicans through the President's annual Economic Report to the Congress. A Democratic-controlled joint committee of Senate and House members promptly expresses its basic agreement (New York Times, March 2). Ten long years since World War II, and nothing even approaching a major economic crash! And on the foundation of this unprecedented economic stability there has been superimposed a no-less remarkable political stability. There are, quite literally, no important issues between the dominant factions of the Republican and Democratic Parties. Policywise—as distinct from the issue of which individuals and groups enjoy the perquisites of power—it couldn't matter less whether Eisenhower or Stevenson sits in the White House, whether Democrats under Johnson and Rayburn or Republicans under Knowland and Martin organize the Congress.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


This paper is the first report describing the characterization of local diatomite of Caldiran-Van region (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey). Special attention was paid to the ability of its electroanalytical performance at modified electrodes and to the potential application of diatomite-modified electrode. For this purpose, the determination of Naratriptan which is a novel oral triptan (5-hydroxytryptamine receptor agonist) in migraine treatment, by means of a carbon paste electrode modified with 10% (w/w) of diatomite was studied using cyclic and square-wave voltammetry. The experimental conditions that affect the electrode reaction process were studied in terms of pH of the supporting electrolyte, scan rate, accumulation variables, modifier composition and square-wave parameters. Using square-wave stripping mode, the drug yielded a well-defined voltammetric response in Britton-Robinson buffer, pH 4.0 at 0.84 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) (a pre-concentration step being carried out with an open circuit at 120 s). The process could be used to determine Naratriptan concentrations in the range 5x10(-7)-9x10(-7) M, with a detection limit of 1.25x10(-7) M (46.5 mug L(-1)). The applicability of the method to spiked human urine samples was illustrated.


Although single- and multi-step biocatalytic approaches show persuasive advantages for the synthesis of especially chiral compounds (e.g. high chemo- and stereoselectivity), their application often suffers from low substrate loads and hence low space-time-yields. We herein present a synthetic cascade approach in which lyophilised, recombinant whole cells are applied in micro-aqueous reaction systems yielding extremely high space-time-yields. As an example we investigated the two-step synthesis of 1-phenylpropane-1,2-diol starting from cheap aldehydes and achieved high selectivities (ee/de > 99%) and high product concentrations. The new concept of running biocatalytic cascades in a mixture of high substrate loads and organic solvents under addition of small amounts of highly concentrated buffer is not only very easy-to-apply, but also exhibits several economic and ecologic advantages. On the one hand the usage of whole, lyophilised cells circumvents time-consuming enzyme purification as well as addition of expensive cofactors (here ThDP and NADPH). Additionally, catalyst and product workup is facilitated by the application of organic solvents (here MTBE). On the other hand, the employment of whole cells very effectively circumvents stability problems of biocatalysts in unconventional media enabling the addition of extremely high substrate loads (up to 500 mM in our example) and is therefore an easy and effective approach for multi-step biocatalysis. After optimisation, the combination of a carboligation step followed by a second oxidoreduction step with whole cell catalysts afforded an efficient two-step cascade for the production of 1-phenylpropane-1,2-diol with space-time yields up to 327 g L−1 d−1 and an E-factor of 21.3 kgwaste kgproduct−1.


International tourism is playing an increasingly important part in the life of all the nine countries of the Baltic region. In this contribution, I analyse the statistical data for 2010—2017 regarding the numbers of arrivals of international tourists and international tourism revenues in the Baltic region. Regional metropolises, which include nine capitals and Saint Petersburg, have a pivotal role in the tourism space of the region. I propose a methodology for empirical research into the attractiveness of ten Baltic cities as perceived by international tourists. This methodology distinguishes three major components in the tourism industry of the Baltic metropolises: hotels, restaurants, and sights. I estimate the attractiveness of these tourism infrastructure components in each of the ten cities using special indicators. Based on the data obtained, I calculate the integrated indicator of city attractiveness. The empirical study shows that, in the Baltic region, international tourists appreciate the most the hotels of Berlin, Warsaw, and Copenhagen, the restaurants of Tallinn, Riga, and Copenhagen, and the sights of Berlin, Stockholm, and Saint Petersburg. The most attractive Baltic cities for international tourists are Berlin, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. Although the sights of Moscow and Saint Petersburg are competitive in the tourist space of the Baltic region, Moscow and Saint Petersburg hotels and restaurants are noticeably inferior to those in other countries of the region.


The aim of this paper is description of the notion of the death for prisoners and the ways of deal with. They express indifference, coldness, inability to accept the blame, they have no shame and no empathy. Is it enough to perform acts verging on the death. In this paper we described mechanisms and regularities of selfdestructive behaviour in the view of the relevant literature? The explanation of the phenomenon is of a biological and sociopsychological nature. It must be clearly stated that all forms of selfdestructive behaviour result from various impulses, conflicts and deficits. That is why they should be treated differently in terms of motivation and functions which they perform in a given group of people. Behind self-destruction there seems to be a motivational mechanism which forces prisoners to rebel and fight against the hated law and penitentiary systems. The imprisoned believe that pain and suffering inflicted on them by themselves are better than passive acceptance of repression. The variety of self-destruction acts is wide, and some of them take strange forms. We assume that a life-death barrier is a kind of game for them. If they cannot change the degrading situation, their life loses sense. Keywords—Selfdestruction, Simulation, Negative emotions, Consequences of conviction.


The geological model is established with Software Petrel. Then by Eclipse, numerical simulation is done. The development index of block well pattern and remaining oil change condition of well pattern are forecasted. At the same time, comparisons are done between theoretical relationship curve and actual data curve of recovery extent and water cut for the whole block and sublayers. Adaptability is analyzed for block well pattern. Results show that when the water cut of the whole block arrives above 50%, there is lifting liquid capability, to a maximum of 1.5 times. Numerical simulation predicts that, when the comprehensive water cut arrives at 98%, there are still a lot of remaining oil pool areas; for poor well pattern adaptability, it is necessary to adjust block network infilling and water injection pattern. The results provide basis for the well pattern optimization adjustment and also provide theoretical direction for the actual production of other blocks.


Intense pulses at low terahertz (THz) frequencies of 0.1–2 THz are an enabling tool for constructing compact particle accelerators and for strong-field control of matter. Optical rectification in lithium niobate provided sub-mJ THz pulse energies, but it is challenging to increase it further. Semiconductor sources suffered from low efficiency. Here, a semiconductor (ZnTe) THz source is demonstrated, collinearly pumped at an infrared wavelength beyond the three-photon absorption edge and utilizing a contact grating for tilting the pump-pulse front. Suppression of free-carrier absorption at THz frequencies in this way resulted in 0.3% THz generation efficiency, two orders of magnitude higher than reported previously from ZnTe. Scaling the THz energy to the mJ level is possible simply by increasing the pumped area. This unique THz source with excellent focusability, pumped by novel, efficient infrared sources, opens up new perspectives for THz high-field applications.


ampucom®: "A young company with experienced staff". Our line of business has always involved the filling and packing of cosmetics and this will remain so in our own company. We would like to show you that our understanding of "customer orientation" is more than it is usually offered. Special requirements, lavish packaging, both for small batches or large batches - quality, reliable delivery and price competitivness - these are the important features in our company philosophy.


Attention may be one of the earliest cognitive abilities to change in Alzheimer's disease (AD), although its role has received belated recognition. This article discusses different aspects of attention and how these are differentially affected in AD. Of the various attention functions, divided and selective attention are particularly vulnerable. The etiology of attentional deficits in AD arises from damage to areas of frontal and parietal association cortex, disconnection between the anterior and posterior attentional networks, and decreased cholinergic function. Severity of illness is associated with attentional deterioration. Complexity or increased load of a task may further disrupt attentional function. Knowledge of attentional changes in AD is important to the understanding of disease-related changes in other cognitive domains such as memory, visuospatial functions, and language.


Abstract
In response to a dearth of research on the experience of non-UK nationals in UK universities, this chapter reports on a qualitative study involving 40 international academics, including lecturers, senior lecturers and professors, who, within the past five years, had moved to the United Kingdom, specifically Scotland, to join a research-intensive university there, offering a rich account of what it means to be an international academic and live in Scotland. The aim of the project was to identify the challenges and opportunities these international academics perceived, as well as the contributions they saw themselves as making to the host institution and society, and to derive from these findings some recommendations to inform internationalisation policies and practices. The authors observe that international staff encounter a variety of challenges and conclude that the economic benefits expected to accrue from recruiting greater numbers of international academics are unlikely to materialize if star researchers become unhappy with the situation they enter into and consider leaving. Moreover, if internationalisation is to include at least an element of interculturality, then it is essential to capitalise more heavily on international academics' prior cultural and work-related knowledge and intentionally promote intercultural exchanges of practices, values and ideals.


This thesis examines the limits to Anglo-German antagonism and the sources of rapprochement between Britain and Germany, during the approximate period 1905-1914. It thus explores Anglo-German relations before the First World War from a perspective which has up to now been largely neglected, and serves as a corrective to the emphasis on the sources of antagonism which prevails in the English-language historical literature. The study probes Germanophilism among British non-governmental elites, focusing on the commercial, financial and academic communities, as well as cooperative links between the two countries at the non-governmental level before the war. The topics examined include the Anglo-German friendship movement in Britain, ties between British and German commercial interests and Anglo-German economic interdependence, and Anglo-German links in education. The thesis also studies attitudes, including a discussion of British stereotypical images of Germany based on travel accounts. British textbooks on German history that were published before the war are analysed as well as a means of assessing the prewar attitude of British academics, in particular historians, towards Germany. This investigation reveals the strength of the idea of Anglo-German racial kinship, and demonstrates that British historians tended to view Germany favourably before the war. Their attitude, however, changed after the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914. In conclusion, the thesis reappraises the ultimate failure of the 'pro-German' forces in Britain to prevent the outbreak of Anglo-German hostilities in 1914. Its primary aim, nevertheless, is not to argue that the limits to the Anglo-German antagonism could have prevented the First World War, but to demonstrate that they existed and were important.


The contextual word embedding model, BERT, has proved its ability on downstream tasks with limited quantities of annotated data. BERT and its variants help to reduce the burden of complex annotation work in many interdisciplinary research areas, for example, legal argument mining in digital humanities. Argument mining aims to develop text analysis tools that can automatically retrieve arguments and identify relationships between argumentation clauses. Since argumentation is one of the key aspects of case law, argument mining tools for legal texts are applicable to both academic and non-academic legal research. Domain-specific BERT variants (pre-trained with corpora from a particular background) have also achieved strong performance in many tasks. To our knowledge, previous machine learning studies of argument mining on judicial case law still heavily rely on statistical models. In this paper, we provide a broad study of both classic and contextual embedding models and their performance on practical case law from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). During our study, we also explore a number of neural networks when being combined with different embeddings. Our experiments provide a comprehensive overview of a variety of approaches to the legal argument mining task. We conclude that domain pre-trained transformer models have great potential in this area, although traditional embeddings can also achieve strong performance when combined with additional neural network layers.


Active systems are characterized by a continuous production of entropy at steady state. We study the statistics of entropy production within a lattice-based model of interacting active particles that is capable of motility-induced phase separation. Exploiting a recent formulation of the exact fluctuating hydrodynamics for this model, we provide analytical results for its entropy production statistics in both typical and atypical (biased) regimes. This complements previous studies of the large deviation statistics of entropy production in off-lattice active particle models that could only be addressed numerically. Our analysis uncovers an unexpectedly intricate phase diagram, with five different phases arising (under bias) within the parameter regime where the unbiased system is in its homogeneous state. Notably, we find the concurrence of first order and second order nonequilibrium phase transition curves at a bias-induced tricritical point, a feature not yet reported in previous studies of active systems.


The Asia Sustainable Forest Management Network supports the role of communities in protection and sustainable use of the region's natural forests. The Network comprises a small, select coalition of Asian planners, foresters, and scientists from government agencies, universities, and non-government organizations, many of whom have collaborated for years. The solidarity of the Network members is based on a common commitment to exploring alternative management strategies for Asia's disturbed natural forest lands. The emphasis of the Network's research includes the ecology of natural regeneration, the economics of non-timber forest product systems, and the community organizations and institutional arrangements which support participatory management. The lessons stemming from the research aim to inform field implementation procedures, reorient training, and guide policy reform.


In this work, we evaluated the levels of genetic diversity in 38 complete genomes of SARS-CoV-2, publicly available on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) platform and from six countries in South America (Brazil, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela with 16, 11, 1, 1, 1, 7 haplotypes, respectively), all with an extension of 29,906 bp and Phred values ≥ 40. These haplotypes were previously used for phylogenetic analyses, following the alignment protocols of the MEGA X software; where all gaps and unconserved sites were extracted for the construction of phylogenetic trees. The specific methodologies for Paired F ST estimators, Molecular Variance (AMOVA), Genetic Distance, mismatch, demographic and spatial expansion analyses, molecular diversity and evolutionary divergence time analyses, were obtained using 20,000 random permutation.


We screen a large chemical space of perovskite alloys for systems with optimal properties to accommodate a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in their composition-temperature phase diagram, a crucial feature for high piezoelectric performance. We start from alloy end points previously identified in a high-throughput computational search. An interpolation scheme is used to estimate the relative energies between different perovskite distortions for alloy compositions with a minimum of computational effort. Suggested alloys are further screened for thermodynamic stability. The screening identifies alloy systems already known to host an MPB and suggests a few others that may be promising candidates for future experiments. Our method of investigation may be extended to other perovskite systems, e.g., (oxy-)nitrides, and provides a useful methodology for any application of high-throughput screening of isovalent alloy systems.


This paper proposes a test for distinguishing between time-dependent and state-dependent pricing based on whether the timing of pricing changes is affected by realized or expeted inflation. Using Brazilian data and exploring a large discrepancy between realized and expected inflation surrounding the election of President Lula in 2002-3, we obtain a strong relation between expected inflation and duration of price spells, but little effect of inflation shocks on the frequency of price adjustment. The results thus support models with time-dependent pricing, where the timing for following changes is optimally chosen whenever firms adjust prices.


Failure and progress in Apuleius' Golden Ass : the subject that prevails through all the books of Apuleius' work is the one that includes a failure that leads to a progress in the end, like an initiation rite that Lucius must follow. It is a big first failure, then a whole chain of them that condemns Lucius. Some business affairs take him to the city of Hypata, but his uncontrollable curiosity takes him further. The structure of the story shows us how Lucius seemed predestinated to fail, not only ignoring the constant warnings, but also feeling them as a trigger for his curiosity. So, the unlimited curiosity blinds him even after his big failure. In his asinine form, Lucius passes through a handful of dangerous and frightful adventures, suffers more than he would have ever imagined and, unable to speak, he assists the most terrible situations – at this point, complete failure and annulation seemed unavoidable. Like an initiation rite, where the initiated must surpass an amount of probations that usually involve sweat, tears, and blood, Lucius passes all this and, in the end, he learned nothing, failing by himself, taken by curious blindness. The final despairing situation leads him to meet the goddess Isis, the one and only route to salvation and, more than that, to a personal improvement, to an intellectual progress of self-knowledge and intimate familiarity with the goddess. Learning through his mistake: it is failure that leads Lucius to progress and final salvation. Both the failure and the progress paths are well marked by comprehension steps. At first, Lucius is blind and not able to learn; only after his big attitude change, on book twelve, through Isis, he's ready for progress.


The gravitational radiation originating from a compact binary system in circular orbit is usually expressed as an infinite sum over radiative multipole moments. In a slow-motion approximation, each multipole moment is expressed as a post-Newtonian expansion in powers of , the ratio of the orbital velocity to the speed of light. The `bare multipole truncation' of the radiation consists in keeping only the leading-order (Newtonian) term in the post-Newtonian expansion of each moment, but summing over all the multipole moments. In the case of binary systems with small mass ratios, the bare multipole series was shown in a previous paper (Simone et al 1997 Class. Quantum Grav. 14 237) to converge for all values , where e is the base of natural logarithms. (These include all physically relevant values for circular inspiral.) In this paper, we extend the analysis to a `partially bare multipole truncation' of the radiation, in which the leading-order moments are corrected with terms of relative order (first post-Newtonian, or 1PN, terms) and (1.5PN terms). We find that the partially bare multipole series also converges for all values , and that it coincides (to within 1%) with the numerically `exact' results for . Although this multipole series converges, it is an unphysical approximation, and the issue of the convergence of the true post-Newtonian series remains open. However, our analysis shows that an eventual failure of the true post-Newtonian series to converge cannot originate from summing over the Newtonian, 1PN and 1.5PN part of all the multipole moments.


We numerically investigate the characteristics of a longitudinally pumped 18.9-nm nickellike molybdenum x-ray laser generated by use of plasma waveguides. We take into account the temporal deformation of the longitudinal pump pulse, which is shown greatly to affect the overall x-ray laser's performance. The dependence of the spatial and temporal distribution of gain within the waveguide on parameters such as electron density, pump intensity, and wavelength is investigated. The problem of small-scale density perturbations within the relatively high-density preplasma is also addressed.


In this issue there is a report (page 577) of a patient in whom intracranial hemorrhage occurred as a consequence of thrombocytopenia complicating chickenpox. This serious but, fortunately, uncommon result of infection-related bleeding disorders in children brings into focus the need for proper diagnosis and the problems of management of these situations. The authors have stressed the need to distinguish between simple thrombocytopenia and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) when bleeding occurs in relation to an infectious disease such as chickenpox. In the former condition, only thrombocytopenia will be found with no anemia unless significant blood loss has occurred. Measurements of plasma clotting factors will all have normal values. The bone marrow sample will have normal-to-increased numbers of megakaryocytes in response to the rapid platelet destruction. The results of studies of a patient with DIC may be variable. Thrombocytopenia is usual, and also present may be anemia associated with blood-smear


This month in the Bulletin, a research paper by Togoobaatar et al. reveals that more than 40% of children in Mongolia are given antibiotics without prescription for respiratory tract infections.1 Another paper published recently by Kumarasamy et al. highlights the serious threat posed by the NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1) superbug, a microbial threat for which there is limited surveillance and no effective treatment.2 Almost ten years since the WHO global strategy for containment of antimicrobial resistance was published, the World Health Organization has announced this topic as the theme for World Health Day in 2011.3

Antimicrobial resistance is a serious problem that strikes at the core of infectious disease control and has the potential to halt, and possibly even to roll back, progress. While it is a natural response of microbes, resistance can be contained through careful and appropriate antibiotic use. Western European countries have managed to decrease the rate of antimicrobial resistance in some pathogens through a multipronged approach in comprehensive well regulated health systems.4 Integrated monitoring of antibiotic consumption and resistance, prescriber and consumer education that is coordinated and paid for by the government, and regulation of use in communities and hospitals have shown that it is possible to contain antimicrobial resistance. Unfortunately, even in well regulated systems, such as those in Europe, resistance in some pathogens continues to increase unabated and problems remain in the use of antibiotics outside the health system, especially in veterinary use.

What of the developing world, where there is much less regulation, diagnostics are sparse and comprehensive health care is a distant prospect? Fragmented health services, mainly in the profit-driven private sector, make antibiotics an easy target for misuse and abuse.5 Given the paucity of surveillance, it is likely that the true extent of antimicrobial resistance is unknown and it is "shooting stars" such as the NDM-1 that draw attention to the problem.

There is sufficient scientific knowledge about appropriate antibiotic use. Specific antibiotics are effective only against certain organisms, must be taken in a particular dose for a specified duration, and they are ineffective against viral infections. What then are the drivers of behaviour that go against such evidence?

There is the fallacy that all infections respond to antibiotics. To many patients, it seems that they do – when a patient with a viral respiratory tract infection gets better after taking amoxicillin, this is usually due to the natural course of the illness and not to the amoxicillin (they may think that the antibiotic's side-effect of diarrhoea is actually a symptom of the illness). Mothers feel safer giving children antibiotics rather than steam inhalations and paracetamol. Physicians prescribe antibiotics for simple viral infections in otherwise healthy patients to prevent possible secondary bacterial infections, despite good clinical trials showing no value of such prophylaxis. Pharmacists readily dispense antibiotics without prescription in the developing world as their income depends on sales rather than on a professional fee or salary. Pharmaceutical companies may promote sales of antibiotics independent of patient need. Finally, most antibiotics, by virtue of their safety and short courses, lend themselves to abuse; patients often take antibiotics of their own accord, whereas few people would take antihypertensive medications on their own.

Combating these behaviours in settings with poor health-care infrastructure, limited regulation and inadequate health education is a whole new challenge. Repeated calls for better regulation of medicines must not obstruct appropriate access; antibiotic use will continue to grow in low- and middle-income countries to meet underserved needs. Such increased use must be tied to rational use. Improved drug access without significant improvements in appropriate use will have dire consequences, with continued emergence of "superbugs" and untreatable infections. Fortunately, improvements in the appropriate use of antibiotics generally reduce health costs as the majority of antibiotic use in most communities is unnecessary.

Containing antimicrobial resistance is the theme of World Health Day 2011. The World Health Organization is developing a comprehensive policy package for health ministries addressing nearly all stakeholders. This should be an opportunity to launch sustainable action to contain resistance, to raise awareness and education using electronic media, and to track and contain spread of resistance with improved informatics and better clinical decision support through the development and use of bedside diagnostics.

Whatever is done, it would be wise to remember the mother in Mongolia. Until the total package is able to address her concerns, indiscriminate use of antibiotics will continue. Regulation, education and health care that consider sociocultural and economic factors and utilize improving global communication must be critical components of renewed efforts to contain antimicrobial resistance.


The links of social-relational concepts (SRC) of personality identified in South Africa with the Five Factor Model (FFM), Interpersonal Relatedness (IR), social desirability, and prosocialness were examined. In Study 1 (N = 1,483), the SRC defined two factors (positive and negative) distinct from the FFM, more strongly linked to relational than to tradition-focused IR aspects and to impression management than to deception. Links to tradition-focused concepts were stronger, and scores on positive SRC higher in Blacks than in Whites. In Study 2 (N = 325), SRC explained substantial variance in prosocialness above the FFM. In Study 3 (N = 1,283), the SRC were replicated in a Dutch multicultural sample. The findings suggest expanding the FFM with respect to social-relational functioning.


In the present study we show the expression profiles of both type 1 and type 2 iodothyronine deiodinases (D1 and D2) in a wide spectrum of mouse tIssues, and D2 regulation by thyroid status. A characteristic tIssue-specific expression for each isoform was observed. D2 transcripts were detected in most tIssues with variable levels of expression. The observed D2 mRNA tIssue distribution was similar to that described in rats and is in agreement with the view of different patterns of expression between rodents and humans. However, it is interesting to note that despite the low levels of D2 transcripts in mouse heart and testis in the euthyroid state, the induction of hypothyroidism caused a significant increase in D2 activity in these tIssues. Similar results were also obtained in adult rats. These results suggest a previously unrecognized role for type 2 deiodinase in controlling intracellular triiodothyronine levels in rodent heart and testis during states of thyroid hormone deficiency.


Background and purpose: Waste stabilization pond is one of the conventional wastewater treatment processes especially in warm climate regions. This study investigated the effect of baffle and attached growth on improvement of coliform removal efficiency. Materials and methods: This research was carried out in pilot scale adjacent to wastewater treatment plant in Ahvaz, Iran. The pilot composed of a control system and three other systems. In control system two ponds were serially connected. Dimension and configuration of other three systems were similar to those of the control system. However, the ponds in these systems were equipped with various baffles and fixed bed media. Within four months, the capability of each system in coliform removal was evaluated in various detention times and coliform die-off coefficient (Kb) of each pond was determined. Results: During sampling with average detention time of 8.7 day, the average of coliform removal was 69% in control system, while it in two, three and four baffles system these values were 80, 84 and 86%, respectively. Also, Kb20 average in the first pond of control system was 0.11 d-1 and in other systems with increasing of baffles and media packages number to two, three and four it increased to 0.16, 0.17 and 0.18 d-1, respectively. Furthermore, Kb20 in second pond was higher than first pond of each system. Conclusion: Use of baffles and fixed bed media improved coliform removal efficiency. The efficiency of two and three baffles system was more than that of the control system and was found to be better than four baffles system technically and economically


Handheld computers have become capable of more than data storage and precision measurement; they have begun to contribute to scientific studies conducted in demanding field research settings. Recent versions of mobile GIS software allow researchers with limited programming skills to tailor the software to the priorities and theoretical needs of individual research projects. Depending on the research needs in a given situation, data recording can be expedient or thorough, and data acquisition forms can be designed to emphasize flexibility for varied or unpredictable field conditions. By giving researchers access to large digital datasets and spatial analysis tools while in the field, mobile GIS facilitates the data acquisition process and can contribute to the quality and the efficiency of fieldwork. In this study, the implementation of ESRI Arcpad 6 in a high-altitude archaeological survey project in Peru presented challenges to the mobile GIS system that are perhaps common to many mobile GIS-based scientific fieldwork projects. The paper discusses the benefits and the limitations of doing an archaeological survey using mobile GIS. It also considers some of the ways in which improvements in mobile GIS technology will facilitate the methods of resource managers and field scientists in the future.


OBJECTIVE
The myeloid differentiation factor-88 (MyD88) plays a key role in mediating the innate immune signal transduction of toll-like receptor (TLR) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) family members, and it also participates in the regulation of tumorigenesis in various cancer models Our study sought to determine whether there is any correlation with MyD88 and the development of gastric cancer and, if such a correlation exists, to find out whether it can be used to improve the prognosis of gastric cancer patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The expression of MyD88 in 108 cases of gastric cancer specimens, 15 cases of adenoma, and 15 cases of normal mucosa was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the correlations of the MyD88 expression with clinicopathologic changes (including disease-free survival [DFS] and overall survival [OS] were analyzed. The level of MyD88 was detected in well-differentiated MGC-803 and poorly-differentiated BGC-823 cell lines by qPCR and western blot. The expression of MyD88 was then measured by western blot after the treatment of an MyD88 overexpression vector or MyD88 inhibitor. Cell proliferation was determined by overexpression or suppression of MyD88.

RESULTS
In clinical cases, MyD88 was highly expressed in 23% of patients with gastric cancer as compared to those in normal mucosa and adenoma. There was a significant correlation of MyD88 overexpression with gastric metastasis (P<0.01). The overexpression of MyD88 significantly promoted the proliferation of MGC-803 and BGC-823 cell lines in gastric cancer. According to the single factor analysis, a high expression of MyD88 was strongly associated with poor DFS and OS (P<0.01), and MyD88 was an independent prognostic factor of OS.

CONCLUSION
This study demonstrates that a high expression of MyD88 is associated with the gastric cancer patients with liver metastasis, and facilitates the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. MyD88 is an independent predictive factor for the poor prognosis of gastric cancer patients, which provides a potential tool for future clinical diagnosis.