Since 1986 patients with ocular malignant melanoma have been treated with Ru-106 plaques at S:t Erik Eye Hospital. In 1998 I-125 radioactive seed plaques was presented as an alternative to Ru-106 when treating tumors with an apical height greater than 7 mm. Until June 2005 the doseplanning of these plaques was based on a depth-dose curve made in the dose planning system Cadplan supplied by Varian Medical Systems. In the recent years the capabilities of computerized 3D dose planning system has increased greatly. The number of types of seeds on the market has also increased.In order to implement the modern 3D dose planning system Brachy Vision 7.3.10 in planning the I-125 plaques, a review of the dose planning process have been done.The ultra sound equipment used by the ophthalmologist to determine the apical height of the tumor has been investigated in terms of accuracy. A phantom has been developed for this task.As new seeds entered the market a comparision have been made comparing the Amersham 6711 seed with the Bebig I25.S06 seed. A method for measuring the activity of the single seeds has also been developed.The dose planning system Brachy Vision 7.3.10 have been compared to the old dose planning method, and an implementation of the plaques into Brachy Vision have been made.The ultra sound equipment was accurate in the regions of interest. It was also discovered that the Bebig I25.S06 seed gave slightly higher dose compared to the Amersham 6711 with the same activity. The difference between the seeds is however small. The results indicate that the old dose planning method gave a slight underdosage.


This book is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mechanical and aerospace engineering taking a course commonly called Principles of Turbomachinery or Aerospace Propulsion. It begins with a review of basic thermodynamics and fluid mechanics principles to motivate their application to aerothermodynamics and real-life design issues. This approach is ideal for the reader who will face practical situations and design decisions in the gas turbine industry. Among the features of the book are:An emphasis on the role of entropy in assessing machine performanceA timely review of flow structuresRevisiting the subsonic and supersonic De Laval nozzle as it applies to bladed turbomachinery componentsAn applied review of boundary layer principlesAnd highlighting the importance of invariant properties across a turbomachinery component in carrying out real computational tasks.The text is fully supported by over two hundred figures, numerous examples and homework problems.


Seven spp of Coniopterygidae are listed. Three of these are represented by females and could not be identified. Coniopteryx (Holoconiopteryx) tenuicornis Tjeder is previously recorded from East and South Africa and Helicoconis (Fontenellea) iberica Ohm from Spain. Aleuropteryx arabica n.sp., A. felix n. sp. and Semidalis arabica n. sp. are new. The description of the female of Coniopteryx bicuspis Tjeder was found to refer to a specimen of C. tenuicornis.


New side-chain liquid crystalline polyesters have been prepared by melt transesterification of diphenyl tetradecanedioate and a series of mesogenic 2-[ω-[4-[(4-cyanophenyl)azo]phenoxy]alkyl]-1,3-propanediols, where the alkyl spacer is hexa-, octa-, and decamethylene in turn. The polyesters have molecular masses in the range 5000-89 000. Solution 13 C NMR spectroscopy has been employed to identify carbons of polyester repeat units and of both types of end groups. Polyester phases and phase transitions have been investigated in detail by polarizing optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry for the hexamethylene spacer architecture with different molecular masses. Using FTIR polarization spectroscopy, the segmental orientation in unoriented polyester films induced by argon ion laser irradiation has been followed and an irradiation-dependent order parameter for the cyanoazobenzene mesogens calculated. FTIR is also utilized to follow the temperature-dependent erasure of the induced orientation. Optical storage properties of thin unoriented polyester films are examined through measurements of polarization anisotropy and holography. A resolution of over 5000 lines/mm and diffraction efficiencies of about 40% have been achieved. Lifetimes greater than 30 months for information stored have been obtained, even though the glass transition temperatures are about 20 °C. Complete erasure of the information can be obtained by heating the films to about 80 °C, and the films can be reused many times without fatigue.


Background Loa loa infection is endemic in limited areas of West-Central Africa. Loiasis has been associated with excess mortality, but clinical studies on its treatment are scant, particularly outside endemic areas, due to the rarity of cases diagnosed. Methodology/Principal findings With this retrospective TropNet (European Network for Tropical Medicine and Travel Health) study, we aimed at outlining the treatment schedules followed by different reference centers for tropical medicine across Europe. We gathered information about 238 cases of loiasis, 165 of which had follow up data. The regimens followed by the different centers were heterogeneous. The drugs most frequently administered were: diethylcarbamazine alone (74/165, 45.1%), ivermectin alone (41/165, 25%), albendazole + ivermectin (21/164, 11.6%), ivermectin + diethylcarbamazine (16/165, 9.7%). Conclusions/Significance The management of loiasis substantially differs across specialized travel clinics in Europe. These discrepancies could be due to different local protocols as well as to (un)availability of the drugs. An harmonization of clinical protocols for the treatment of loiasis would be suggested across reference centers for tropical medicine in Europe.


On the basis of experiences with more than 500 catherizations of the subclavian vein, which were performed partly infraclavicularly, partly supraclavicularly, the two methods were critically estimated and compared with regard to their effectivity and complications. The range of indications is enlarged from the access through the veins for taking blood samples and the infusion therapy over the measurement of the central venous blood pressure to the floating catheterization, temporary external pacemaker stimulation and emergency dialysis. The mastering of the two techniques of puncture provides a high measure of security for the emergency case. On the assumption of an approach secundum artem and knowing and taking into consideration the possibilities of complication, which are particularly referred to, the two ways seem to be approximately of the same value.


This paper examines rent-creating state interventions in Colombia and the Philippines, where the authority to mobilise agricultural levies collected from leading agro-export sectors were delegated to producer associations. It investigates why coffee levies in Colombia are associated with production and welfare-enhancing outcomes, while coconut levies in the Philippines are depicted as non-developmental rent capture. The paper forwards an explanation based on a comparison of the basis in political economy of the power exercised by the leading sectoral organisations, FEDECAFE in Colombia and COCOFED in the Philippines. It finds that variations in historical political economy mean that conditions for collective action and the exercise of political power to influence rent mobilisation for developmental purposes were more robust for Colombian coffee than Philippine coconut producers. This paper explains the variations in terms of: (1) the economic basis of the power exercised by the producers; (2) the historical basis of productive expansion in the sectors; and (3) the political basis of the collection and mobilisation of the levies.


The design of hydraulic structures such as road culverts, road bridges and dam spillways requires the determination of the design food peak. Two approaches are available in the determination of the design flood peak and these are: flood frequency analysis and rainfall runoff models. Flood frequency analysis requires a selection of an appropriate probability distribution function and the availability of a long record of instantaneous flows and therefore, is not appropriate for the estimation of a design flood peak for catchments with no flow measurements. Rainfall runoff models on the other hand do not require the availability of stream flow data for the estimation of the design flood magnitude. They only require rainfall data and the physical characteristics of the catchment as input variables. Five rainfall runoff models (rational formula, synthetic unit hydrograph, TRRL East African Model, HEC-1 Model and MULTSED Model) have been used for the estimation of the 50 year design flood peak for the Sinza river in Tanzania. Simulated design flood peak values (50-yr flood) range from 37.6 to 44.34 m/s and have a standard deviation of 2.4m/s and therefore, are regarded as satisfactory. UNISWA Research Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology Vol 3 (1) 1999: pp 13-20


The lysis gene, E, of bacteriophage phi X174 has been subjected to deletion and gene fusion analysis. C-terminal deletions of as few as 17 of the 91 codons inactivate the cloned E gene, which in its intact form can cause lysis of the host cell. Fusion of lacZ to deletion joints at the 59th codon or beyond apparently restores lethal and lytic competence to the respective E deletion alleles, whereas a fusion at the 23rd codon remains non-lethal. The lethal E phi lacZ fusions are also lethal to a mutant, designated slyD, which was isolated as a spontaneous E. coli mutant resistant to the expression of the intact E gene. slyD appears to be linked to rpsE. The data are interpreted in terms of a model in which E-mediated lethality requires oligomerization of the E gene product. Calculations based on the beta-galactosidase activity accumulated by the time of lethal action of E phi lacZ suggest that fewer than 1000 molecules of E gene product are required for lysis and probably fewer than 100 are required for loss of host viability.


According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the main problem of Malaysia's tourism industry is image. As a consequence, Malaysia lags behind other leading competitive destinations in the region in terms of international tourism receipts. This study develops a model to examine the relationships among Destination Image, Customer Satisfaction and Destination Loyalty of tourists. Factor Analysis was used to test the factorial validity of constructs and Structural Equation Modelling was used to test the goodness of the proposed hypothesised model. The empirical results of this study provide tenable evidence that the proposed model is acceptable. The findings indicated that Malaysia was perceived as offering natural scenic beauty supported by good facilities for food and accommodation. The results also show that Destination Image is the antecedent to Tourist Satisfaction which, in turn has an effect on Destination Loyalty.


Osteoporosis (OP) is a multifactorial disease influenced by genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. One of the main causes of the bone homeostasis alteration is inflammation resulting in excessive bone resorption. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), have a crucial role in regulating many important biological processes in bone, including inflammation. We designed our study to identify lncRNAs misregulated in osteoblast primary cultures derived from OP patients (n = 4), and controls (CTRs, n = 4) with the aim of predicting possible RNA and/or protein targets implicated in this multifactorial disease. We focused on 84 lncRNAs regulating the expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory genes and miRNAs. In silico analysis was utilized to predict the interaction of lncRNAs with miRNAs, mRNAs, and proteins targets. Six lncRNAs were significantly down-regulated in OP patients compared to controls: CEP83-AS1, RP11-84C13.1, CTC-487M23.5, GAS5, NCBP2-AS2, and SDCBP2-AS1. Bioinformatic analyses identified HDCA2, PTX3, and FGF2 proteins as downstream targets of CTC-487M23.5, GAS5, and RP11-84C13.1 lncRNAs mediated by the interaction with miRNAs implicated in OP pathogenesis, including miR-21-5p. Altogether, these data open a new regulatory mechanism of gene expression in bone homeostasis and could direct the development of future therapeutic approaches.


The aim of this thesis is to discuss two of the works written by Louise Welsh, The Cutting Room (2002) and The Bullet Trick (2006), using Gothic and feminist criticism in order to back my hypothesis that the depiction of female bodies as abjects that the author makes in these novels has a direct correlation with current mechanisms, such as pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking, which result in the contemporanization of the patriarchal system in our culture. In other words, the novels refer to normalized cultural practices through which the apparently uprooted patriarchal order has managed to perpetuate its control over women. The first two chapters are devoted to the exploration of the theoretical framework. The thesis starts with a brief account of the historical relationship that Patriarchy has had with the female body, and then, after defining the concept of abjection, which is later utilized to refer to the treatment of the female body in our sexualized society, it presents the current state of affairs and divergent feminist views regarding this topic. The second chapter, which deals with the Gothic and its conventions, explores concepts related to the genre, such as its founding myth, male Gothic and female Gothic, and attempts to provide revised, more thorough definitions of such terms. Then, using this framework we embark in the critical analysis of the corpus which allows us to support our initial claim that the current instances of female bodily abjection are instrumental in perpetuating patriarchal power and, at the same time, to uphold the validity of the long-contested female Gothic as a critical category.


Adenovirus type 12 (Ad12)-specific proteins were determined in nine well-characeterized Ad12-transformed hamster cell lines and in Ad12-induced hamster and rat tumour lines by immunoprecipitation, gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. All cell lines expressed a 60K mol. wt. polypeptide. In several cell lines, the presence of a 58K mol. wt. protein could also be demonstrated by these techniques. Smaller Ad12-specific proteins could be detected only in the Ad12-transformed hamster cell lines HA12/7 and A2497-3, and in the Ad12-induced hamster tumour line CLAC3. The quality of the immunoprecipitation tests performed depended primarily on the sera used; their antibody titres varied widely. For at least one of the Ad12-transformed hamster cell lines (HA12/7), there was good agreement in the number and mol. wt. of Ad12-specific proteins detected by both immunoprecipitation and in vitro translation of hybrid-selected cytoplasmic RNA. There was no clear-cut correlation between the number and the nature of Ad12-specific proteins and the way in which the cell lines or tumours were obtained. Cell lines with the least number of copies of Ad12 DNA persisting appeared to express the largest number of Ad12-specific proteins.


Plutonic rocks of Jurassic age exposed on the eastern, or Pacific, side of the Alaska–Aleutian Range batholith represent the roots of a magmatic arc generally considered to have been generated in response to northwest-directed subduction. These rocks form a compositionally continuous calc-alkaline suite that ranges from hornblende gabbro through quartz monzonite. Tonalite and quartz diorite are the dominant rock types. Trend-surface analysis was used to examine the geographic variation of major oxides and a few simple oxide ratios for 102 samples from widely separated localities. Statistical tests indicate that most of the trends, although weak, are real. The direction of slope of the trends is approximately normal to the Jurassic magmatic arc K 2 O and SiO 2 increase toward the east-southeast; the other oxides increase toward the west-northwest. The K 2 O trend accounts for about 19% of the variance in the data and is significant at > 99.9% level of confidence. If the chemical trends reflect the approximate geometry of a paleosubduction zone, the polarity of the Jurassic magmatic arc is to the northwest. That is, the paleosubduction zone was on the northwest side of the arc, and subduction was directed toward the southeast. The paleosubduction zone is on the opposite side of the arc from the position that has generally been assumed, indicating that the Jurassic plutonic rocks were not generated in response to classical Andean-type convergent plate margins. The magmatic arc may have formed in an intra-ocean environment, and subsequently has been rafted northward and accreted to this part of the northern Pacific rim during the late Mesozoic. Middle and Upper Jurassic clastic sediments underlying Cook Inlet to the southeast, and derived from the magmatic arc, are classified as backarc deposits, rather than as an arc-trench gap sequence.


The purpose of this contribution is to investigate why private insurance of the risk of long-term care (LTC) has known little market success in major industrialized countries, even among the relatively well-to-do. Using a principal-agent framework, it shows that the purchase of LTC insurance by the parent (the principal) is likely to diminish the amount of LTC provided by the major caregivers; namely children earning a comparatively low wage in the labor market. Anticipating this moral hazard effect, the parent is predicted to renounce the purchase of LTC coverage in many cases. This finding throws serious doubts on the welfare effects of recent moves to introduce compulsory social LTC insurance, as, for example, in Germany.


Could the difficulties that retailers face in creating a seamless, cross-channel experience be due to the fact that their stores and website activate such different central and peripheral routes to persuasion that perfect transferability between channels is not possible? By relying on a rigorous and innovative dual-step methodology, this study provides a solid support for research aimed at identifying other channel-related central and peripheral elements. Although perceptual structure of the two channels is very similar, the store and website have no central or peripheral dimension in common. To enhance fluidity between its channels, a multi-channel retailer cannot rely on the customers' perceived integration of its channels. However, the retailer can easily orient its customers toward a given channel, by appealing to their enduring involvement. Finally, pricing and sales promotions are both peripheral dimensions: the former influences in-store buying and the latter, website buying.


Nonlinear Volterra type system identification models coupled with a Gaussian White Noise (GWN) stimulation signal provide an experimentally convenient and quick way to investigate the often complex and nonlinear interactions between the mechanical and neural elements of invertebrate reflex limb control systems. Previous steady state analysis has allowed the neurons in such systems to be categorised by their sensitivity to position, velocity or acceleration (system dynamics) and has improved understanding of network function. These neurons, however, are known to adapt their output amplitude or spike firing rate during repetitive stimulation and this transient response may be more important than the steady state response for reflex limb control. Furthermore, whilst the use of GWN for system identification can be theoretically and experimentally justified, the properties of this signal are very different from those received by the sensory, inter and motor neurons in the neural networks which monitor the position of the locusts leg under natural operating conditions. The current study provides improvements to the previously used experimental methods, equipment and nonlinear system identification methods. Validation of the models using biologically more realistic stimulation signals has been carried out to determine where they perform well and to identify their limitations. The use of the parsimonious cascade model structure, applied in a quasi stationary fashion coupled with Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, has been shown to provide a useful tool for the characterisation of the dynamics and nonlinear responses of the neuromuscular elements in a locust's reflex limb control system during both transient and steady state response sections. This method been applied to test the null hypothesis that the dynamics and nonlinear responses of the locust's Fast Extensor Tibia (FETi) motor neuron system are the same during transient and steady state sections. It can be concluded that key FETi system dynamics remain relatively unchanged during repetitive stimulation while output amplitude adaptation is occurring. Whilst some evidence of a significant change was found in parts of the system's nonlinear response, the effect was small and probably of little physiological relevance. Analysis using biologically more realistic stimulation reinforces this conclusion.


Photosynthesis is the basis of plant growth, and improving photosynthesis can contribute toward greater food security in the coming decades as world population increases. Multiple targets have been identified that could be manipulated to increase crop photosynthesis. The most important target is Rubisco because it catalyses both carboxylation and oxygenation reactions and the majority of responses of photosynthesis to light, CO2, and temperature are reflected in its kinetic properties. Oxygenase activity can be reduced either by concentrating CO2 around Rubisco or by modifying the kinetic properties of Rubisco. The C4 photosynthetic pathway is a CO2-concentrating mechanism that generally enables C4 plants to achieve greater efficiency in their use of light, nitrogen, and water than C3 plants. To capitalize on these advantages, attempts have been made to engineer the C4 pathway into C3 rice (Oryza sativa). A simpler approach is to transfer bicarbonate transporters from cyanobacteria into chloroplasts and prevent CO2 leakage. Recent technological breakthroughs now allow higher plant Rubisco to be engineered and assembled successfully in planta. Novel amino acid sequences can be introduced that have been impossible to reach via normal evolution, potentially enlarging the range of kinetic properties and breaking free from the constraints associated with covariation that have been observed between certain kinetic parameters. Capturing the promise of improved photosynthesis in greater yield potential will require continued efforts to improve carbon allocation within the plant as well as to maintain grain quality and resistance to disease and lodging.


In the budding yeast Kluyveromyces lactis glucose repression of genes involved in lactose and galactose metabolism is primarily mediated by LAC9 (or K1GAL4) the homologue of the well-known Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptional activator GAL4. Phenotypic difference in glucose repression existing between natural strains are due to differences in the LAC9 gene (Breunig, 1989, Mol.Gen.Genet. 261, 422-427). Comparison between the LAC9 alleles of repressible and non-repressible strains revealed that the phenotype is a result of differences in LAC9 gene expression. A two-basepair alteration in the LAC9 promoter region produces a promoter-down effect resulting in slightly reduced LAC9 protein levels under all growth conditions tested. In glucose/galactose medium any change in LAC9 expression drastically affects expression of LAC9 controlled genes e.g. those encoding beta-galactosidase or galactokinase revealing a strong dependence of the kinetics of induction on the LAC9 concentration. We propose that in tightly repressible strains the activator concentration drops below a critical threshold that is required for induction to occur. A model is presented to explain how small differences in activator levels are amplified to produce big changes in expression levels of metabolic genes.


Intestinal disease in cystic fibrosis (CF) mice closely mirrors aspects of obstructive syndromes in CF patients. The pathogenesis involves accumulation of mucoid debris in the crypts that fuse with intestinal content to form obstructing mucofeculant impactions. Treatment involves modalities that increase the fluidity of the luminal content, such as osmotic laxatives and liquid diets. We investigated the effects of talniflumate (Lomucin, Genaera Corporation, Plymouth Meeting, PA), a compound that may be beneficial to treatment of CF intestinal disease based on three mechanisms of action: mucus synthesis inhibition by blockade of the murine calcium-activated chloride channel 3 (mCLCA3), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory effects, and inhibition of Cl–/HCO –3 exchanger(s) involved in intestinal NaCl absorption. Cohorts of CF mice were fed control diet or diets containing either talniflumate (0.4 mg/g chow) or ibuprofen (0.4 mg/g chow) for 21 days to assess survival. Talniflumate significantly increased CF mouse survival from 26 to 77%, whereas ibuprofen had no effect (22% survival). Oral talniflumate did not alter crypt goblet cell numbers or change intestinal expression of mCLCA3 but tended to decrease crypt mucoid impaction. Ussing chamber studies indicated that talniflumate slightly increased the basal short-circuit current of CF intestine, but the change was not sensitive to secretagogue stimulation or bumetanide inhibition. In contrast, intracellular pH measurements of intact intestinal villous epithelium indicated that talniflumate significantly inhibited apical membrane Cl–/HCO –3 exchange by >50%. We conclude that oral talniflumate increases the survival of CF mice, possibly by the beneficial effects of decreasing small intestinal NaCl absorption through the inhibition of apical membrane Cl–/HCO –3 exchanger(s).


Importance
The safety and efficacy of intensive systolic blood pressure reduction in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage who present with systolic blood pressure greater than 220 mm Hg appears to be unknown.

Objective
To evaluate the differential outcomes of intensive (goal, 110-139 mm Hg) vs standard (goal, 140-179 mm Hg) systolic blood pressure reduction in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and initial systolic blood pressure of 220 mm Hg or more vs less than 220 mm Hg.

Design, Setting, and Participants
This post hoc analysis of the Antihypertensive Treatment of Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage-II trial was performed in November 2019 on data from the multicenter randomized clinical trial, which was conducted between May 2011 to September 2015. Patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and initial systolic blood pressure of 180 mm Hg or more, randomized within 4.5 hours after symptom onset, were included.

Interventions
Intravenous nicardipine infusion titrated to goals.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Neurological deterioration and hematoma expansion within 24 hours and death or severe disability at 90 days, plus kidney adverse events and serious adverse events until day 7 or hospital discharge.

Results
A total of 8532 patients were screened, and 999 individuals (mean [SD] age, 62.0 [13.1] years; 620 men [62.0%]) underwent randomization and had an initial SBP value. Among 228 participants with initial systolic blood pressures of 220 mm Hg or more, the rate of neurological deterioration within 24 hours was higher in those who underwent intensive (vs standard) systolic blood pressure reduction (15.5% vs 6.8%; relative risk, 2.28 [95% CI, 1.03-5.07]; P = .04). The rate of death and severe disability (39.0% vs 38.4%; relative risk, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.73-1.78]; P = .92) was not significantly different between the 2 groups. There was a significantly higher rate of kidney adverse events in participants randomized to intensive systolic blood pressure reduction (13.6% vs 4.2%; relative risk, 3.22 [95% CI, 1.21-8.56]; P = .01), but no difference was observed in the rate of kidney serious adverse events.

Conclusions and Relevance
The higher rate of neurological deterioration within 24 hours associated with intensive treatment in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and initial systolic blood pressure of 220 mm Hg or more, without any benefit in reducing hematoma expansion at 24 hours or death or severe disability at 90 days, warrants caution against generalization of recommendations for intensive systolic blood pressure reduction.


There are been a resurgence of interest in the neural networks field in recent years, provoked in part by the discovery of the properties of multi-layer networks. This interest has in turn raised questions about the possibility of making neural network behaviour more adaptive by automating some of the processes involved. Prior to these particular questions, the process of determining the parameters and network architecture required to solve a given problem had been a time consuming activity. A number of researchers have attempted to address these issues by automating these processes, concentrating in particular on the dynamic selection of an appropriate network architecture.The work presented here specifically explores the area of automatic architecture selection; it focuses upon the design and implementation of a dynamic algorithm based on the Back-Propagation learning algorithm. The algorithm constructs a single hidden layer as the learning process proceeds using individual pattern error as the basis of unit insertion. This algorithm is applied to several problems of differing type and complexity and is found to produce near minimal architectures that are shown to have a high level of generalisation ability.


Since its first publication in 1992, New Perspectives on Historical Writing has become a key reference work used by students and researchers interested in the most important developments in the methodology and practice of history. For this new edition, the book has been thoroughly revised and updated and includes an entirely new chapter on environmental history.Peter Burke is joined here by a distinguished group of internationally renowned historians, including Robert Darnton, Ivan Gaskell, Richard Grove, Giovanni Levi, Roy Porter, Gwyn Prins, Joan Scott, Jim Sharpe, Richard Tuck, and Henk Wesseling. The contributions examine a wide range of interdisciplinary areas of historical research, including women s history, history "from below," the history of reading, oral history, the history of the body, microhistory, the history of events, the history of images, and political history."


The relationship between motivation and performance is a universal concern and is often talked about but many organizations do not make concrete efforts to study it in detail. These organizations blindly apply the popular motivational theories without findings and instigators which would be the result of an intensive study on motivation. In today's hyper-competitive marketplace, understanding what fosters and forwards employee motivation and thus organizational performance is critical. Motivation is about stimulating people to action and to achieve a desired task. For organizations of all sorts to be efficient and successful, enough of every person's drives must be stimulated and satisfied to ensure effective performance. There is more emphasizes on excellent management as a major contributor to personal effectiveness, group efficiency and business success. The concept of motivational management was there in practice since the age of slavery; however, its motivation was as a result of fear, suffering and intimidation. Today, managers have at their disposal managing instruments by which they can stimulate latent efforts and performance of their teams. The research set out to investigate the contribution of motivational management to employee performance in the Vehicle Body Building industry. Dodi Autotech (K) Limited and Two M Autotech (K) Limited were identified for the study. The researcher first reviewed the relevant literature on motivation, the role of management in motivation and in particular motivational management as a factor of motivation. Questionnaires were used to collect information from the organization's employees. The researcher interviewed the senior managers and also spent a day in the organizations' premises observing the workers as they worked and interacted with one another. This was to gather information on behaviour and attitudes at work and towards work in the organizations. The data collected was entered and analyzed on the SPSS software, after which it was presented and interpreted using a combination of tables, bar charts and continuous prose. The Chi-square test of association was used in testing the hypothesis of the study. The result showed that employees in the two organizations of study were to a very large extent influenced to perform by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors applied through management initiatives. The research found the following motivational variables to have significantly influenced employee retention in both organizations; challenging/interesting work; awareness of the relationship between work, organization goals and priorities; performance progress review; performance discussions and rewards for good performance. Motivational management can influence the workplace behaviour and attitudes both positively and negatively. The researcher intends to create awareness on the importance of designing and maintaining an environment that is stress free and an environment that is conducive for optimum employee performance The research was then concluded by indicating areas of improvement and recommending management methods that enhance the employee motivation that leads to increased employee performance.


Guided by the trichotomous achievement goal framework, the current study examined mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals and their relations to self-reported persistence/effort among Turkish students in secondary physical education. Two hundred twenty-nine students in grades 8 and 11 completed questionnaires assessing their achievement goals and self-reported persistence/effort in secondary physical education. Results of this study revealed that 8th-graders scored significantly higher than 11th-graders on performance-approach goals and self-reported persistence/effort. Mastery goals and performance-approach goals emerged as significant positive predictors of students' self-reported persistence/effort, but their predictive power varied by grade. Overall, results of this study provide empirical support for the trichotomous achievement goal framework in the context of secondary school physical education.


The Financial Accounting Standards Board recently issued an exposure draft dealing with employers' accounting for postretirement medical or life insurance benefits. Mr. Melbinger explains the implications of these proposed changes in accounting procedures and discusses the status of case law dealing with employers' rights to modify or terminate retiree medical coverage.


Hemangiopericytoma is an uncommon mesenchymal tumor originating from pericytes. We describe the clinical and morphologic features in a case of intrathoracic extrapulmonary giant hemangiopericytoma. The tumor was radically removed, and the microscopy report was benign hemangiopericytoma. Because of the high risk of local recurrence, long-term follow-up is important in such patients.


The management consulting industry is growing. The industryis also described as being exposed to increased pressure fromthe environment. An interesting question is then how resourcesare managed in management consulting firms in order tosustain competitive advantage. The purpose with this thesis isto investigate how firms in the management consulting industrymanage their resources through the lens of the resourcemanagement framework and if there are any signs of change.Through a multiple case study of the processes in two largemanagement consulting firms, the activity (i.e. the use ofresources) perceived as important for the leveraging ofcompetitive advantage is studied. The findings suggest thatcustomers have a much more central part in the resourcemanagement process than depicted in the resourcemanagement framework. The clearest signs of change refer tothe development of new career paths and an increased globalintegration of competencies.


This paper addresses the indexing and retrieval issues in the context of the case-based plan recognition. The indexing and storage mechanisms utilize the knowledge about planning situations that enable the recognizer to focus its search to a subset of the plan library containing relevant past plans. A two-level abstract indexing scheme, along with the incremental construction of the plan libraries, may significantly reduce the retrieval efforts of the recognizer. Adding a third level of indexing may also improve the retrieval, but it may be computationally too expensive for some planning domains. Experimental results show the next action prediction accuracy with and without utilization of the two-level indexing scheme.


We report three cases of intracranial unruptured aneurysm evaluated with MR angiography using both three-dimensional time-of-flight and three-dimensional phase-contrast techniques. It has been said that the phase-contrast technique has advantages over the time-of-flight technique in the detection of intracranial aneurysms. However, in our three cases, three-dimensional time-of-flight MR angiography clearly showed the intracranial unruptured aneurysms, but three-dimensional phase-contrast MR angiography failed to show them.


A frequency-domain inverse problem for the nonuniform LCRG transmission line is considered. The parameters of the nonuniform line are interpolated by Chebyshev polynomials, and the Telegraphers equations are solved by a collocation method using the same polynomials. The interpolation coefficients for the unknown parameters are reconstructed by means of Newton-type optimization methods for which the Jacobian matrix has been calculated explicitly. For the reconstruction of one or two parameters, the algorithm is tested on synthetic data, and the necessity to use regularization is discussed. Finally, the algorithm is tested with measured reflection data to reconstruct shunt capacitances with piecewise constant profiles.


Some disaster-food connections are obvious: floodwaters devastate roads, thereby interrupting the flow of food from producers to consumers; typhoon winds prevent fisherfolk from going out in their boats; and international food aid inundates local markets after major disasters. We believe that other food-disaster linkages are subtler, deeper, and perhaps more significant. This paper is a preliminary investigation into the critical roles that natural hazards can play in affecting the food security of a community, region, or state. We argue that, in a part of the world that experiences frequent and intense natural hazards such as thePhilippines (Bankoff 2007), food and disasters are necessarily connected. Moreover, we contend that the food sovereignty concept, with certain caveats, is the most appropriate theoretical frame for analyzing this connection. This paper aims to synthesize relevant literature in the matters discussed above. Our objectives are (1) to contextualize the assertion that food sovereignty is a better concept than food security for dealing with the food-disaster connection, using specific examples in the Philippines; and (2) to demonstrate that two key principles of food sovereignty—emphasis on the local and self-sufficiency—need to be rethought and even temporarily suspended in preparation for, during, and after a disaster. The paper is based primarily on secondary data published in academic and grey literature. Given our linguistic limitations, our assertions and analyses are necessarily biased toward written accounts published in English.


The research is to minimize environmental damage pertinent to maritime activities about the operation of lighter boat anchorage and its tugboat. The guidance on upgrading current harbor service and infrastructure has been provided to Kho Sichang Municpality. This will involve a study of the maritime logistics of the water area under jurisdiction of the Sichang island Municipality and possible recommendations may involve charging taxes, regulations and fees. With implementing these recommendations will help in protection of the marine environment and in increasing operator functionality. Additionally, our recommendation is to generate a consistent revenue stream to the municipality. The action items contained in this research are feasible and effective, the success of these initiatives are heavily dependent upon successful promotion and enforcement. Promoting new rules and regulations effectively and peacefully can be done through theories and techniques used in the psychology of persuasion. In order to assure compliance with the regulations, the municipality must maintain stringent patrols and fines for violators. In order to become success, the Municipality must preserve a consistent, transparent and significant enforcement system. Considering potential opportunities outside of the current state of the municipality, the authors recommend that Koh Sichang be given additional jurisdiction to capture value from the master vessels, as well as to confront the more significant environmental challenges these vessels pose. Finally, the authors recommend that the Port of Koh Sichang Island obtain a free port status in order to increase economic viability and overall sustainability. Keywords—Harbor, Garbage Collection Service, Environment, Off-shore port.


The behavior of agricultural commodity markets can arguably result in markedly asymmetric price cycles, that is, downward cycles of substantially different length and breadth than upward cycles. This study assesses whether asymmetric-cycle models can enhance the understanding of the dynamics and provide for a better forecasting of U.S. soybeans and Brazilian coffee prices. The forecasts from asymmetric cycle models are found to be substantially mode precise than those obtained from standard autoregressive models. The asymmetric cycle models also provide useful insights on the markedly different dynamics of the upward vs. the downward cycles exhibited by the prices of these two commodities.


Our visual environment consists of natural and anthropogenic landscape. In the areas of a large population concentration architectural elements.grow and strongly affect the natural landscape. Residential housing is one of the key elements changing the environment. Depending on architectural typology the buildings may obstruct weaker or stronger, or even destroy the natural landscape. Lithuania is irrelevant to high-rise building  architecture which is inherent in the population centres of big countries.  China, Japan and the United States try to build high-rise buildings. In Lithuania low-rise buildings dominate, and for this reason there is quite active and chaotic expansion of urban areas into the ones suitable for farming.. At the same time this process changes the  historically established  Lithuanian rural landscape architecture.This article examines the data on current and projected urbanization  which is formed by the detailed planning projects. Architectural features that are typical of villages and their being affected by a new urbanization wave coming from the city of Klaipeda are discussed. Recreational areas in the redesigned residential quarters are presented as a matter of urgency. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.64.2.4018


We present an extensive investigation of the vertical excitations of the anionic and neutral forms of wild-type green fluorescent protein using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), multiconfigurational perturbation theory (CASPT2), and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods within a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) scheme. The protein models are constructed via room-temperature QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations based on DFT and are representative of an average configuration of the chromophore-protein complex. We thoroughly verify the reliability of our structures through simulations with an extended QM region, different nonpolarizable force fields, as well as partial reoptimization with the CASPT2 approach. When computing the excitations, we find that wave function as well as density functional theory methods with long-range corrected functionals agree in the gas phase with the extrapolation of solution experiments but fail in reproducing the bathochromic shift in the protein, which should be particularly significant in the neutral case. In particular, while all methods correctly predict a shift in the absorption between the anionic and neutral forms of the protein, the location of the theoretical absorption maxima is significantly blue-shifted and too close to the gas-phase values. These results point to either an intrinsic limitation of nonpolarizable force-field embedding in the computation of the excitations or to the need to explore alternative protonation states of amino acids in the close vicinity of the chomophore.


ABSTRACT Under the umbrella of Capacity Building in Support of Security and Development (CBSD), the EU provides equipment and infrastructure to the armed forces of partner countries. The 2017 reform of the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) to implement CBSD represents a remarkable integrative step at the interface of EU security and development policy. This article explains the IcSP reform through a neofunctionalist lens. It argues that the extension of the Commission's competences in EU security affairs can be explained by the interaction of functional and cultivated spillover pressures. Functional discrepancies between the CSDP framework and EU development policy created strong pressures for further integrative steps. Moreover, the Commission exerted strong pressures for adopting its proposal for implementing CBSD through the IcSP by drawing on a combination of strategic coalition-building, bargaining tactics and community framing. The case illustrates neofunctionalism's potential to explain external policy integration.


QoE has received much attention over the past years and has become a prominent issue for delivering services and applications. A significant amount of research has been devoted to understanding, measuring, and modeling QoE for a variety of media services. In this position paper we provide an overview of state-of-the-art findings and discuss emerging concepts and the challenges they raise with respect to managing QoE for networked media services. We address the implications of this evolution in our understanding of QoE in terms of new approaches in QoE modeling that are necessary for achieving a more comprehensive QoE management paradigm.


OBJECTIVE
This study captured the interrelationships among craving, negative affect, and positive and negative social exchanges in the daily lives of patients in residential treatment for opioid use disorders (OUDs).

METHOD
Participants were 73 patients (77% male), age 19 to 61 (Mage = 30.10, SDage = 10.13) in residential treatment for OUD. Participants completed a smartphone-based survey 4 times per day for 12 consecutive days that measured positive and negative social exchanges (Test of Negative Social Exchange), negative affect (PA-NA scales), and craving (frequency and intensity). Within-person, day-level associations among daily positive and negative social exchanges, negative affect, and craving were examined using multilevel modeling.

RESULTS
Daily negative social exchanges (M = 1.44, SD = 2.27) were much less frequent than positive social exchanges (M = 6.59, SD = 4.00) during residential treatment. Whereas negative social exchanges had a direct association with same-day craving (β = 0.08; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.16, ΔR2 = 0.01), positive social exchanges related to craving indirectly via moderation of the within-person negative affect-craving link (β = -0.01; 95% CI = -0.01, -0.001, ΔR2 = 0.002). Positive social exchanges decoupled the same-day linkage between negative affect and craving on days when individuals had at least four more positive social exchanges than usual.

CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that both negative affect and negative social exchanges are uniquely related to craving on a daily basis, and that extra positive social interactions can reduce the intraindividual coupling of negative affect and craving during residential treatment for OUD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).


Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis often stimulates gas exchange rates of the host plant. This may relate to mycorrhizal effects on host nutrition and growth rate, or the influence may occur independently of these. Using meta-regression, we tested the strength of the relationship between AM-induced increases in gas exchange, and AM size and leaf mineral effects across the literature. With only a few exceptions, AM stimulation of carbon exchange rate (CER), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration rate (E) has been significantly associated with mycorrhizal stimulation of shoot dry weight, leaf phosphorus, leaf nitrogen:phosphorus ratio, and percent root colonization. The sizeable mycorrhizal stimulation of CER, by 49% over all studies, has been about twice as large as the mycorrhizal stimulation of gs and E (28 and 26%, respectively). CER has been over twice as sensitive as gs and four times as sensitive as E to mycorrhizal colonization rates. The AM-induced stimulation of CER increased by 19% with each AM-induced doubling of shoot size; the AM effect was about half as large for gs and E. The ratio of leaf N to leaf P has been more closely associated with mycorrhizal influence on leaf gas exchange than leaf P alone. The mycorrhizal influence on CER has declined markedly over the 35 years of published investigations.


Propagation of electromagnetic waves in forest environments is examined in which both the transmitting and receiving points are located in the trunk layer of a four-layered anisotropic forest model. This propagation model considers the forest as a horizontally stratified, anisotropic media of canopy and trunk, bounded by ground below and air above. The electromagnetic fields are obtained using dyadic Green's functions in their eigenfunction expansion forms for an anisotropic four-layered geometry. Analytical results are found for the fields, which consist primarily of three wave modes: a direct wave, multiply reflected waves, and lateral waves. These field constituents are compared, and their domains of preponderance are calculated; it is found that the lateral wave plays a major role in communication at large distances. Radio losses for typical forest are calculated to illustrate numerical application of the forest model.


The aim of this paper is to suggest the adoption of an "evidence based" approach in the analysis of CAP expenditure. The debate on CAP expenditure is generally based on ex-ante images of the budget as presented in the Multiannual Financial Framework and, before each financial year, on the budget appropriations for commitments. But this differs significantly from the actual payments as recorded ex-post in the Financial Reports. These differences are mainly concentrated on structural policies (such as regional and rural development policy), while they do not exist, or are minimal, in the mere transfer policies (such as in Pillar 1 of the CAP). Based as it is on a partial and distorted image of the expenditure, the analysis and discussion on the CAP reform is distorted as well.


Anhydrite cement causes significant heterogeneity within the San Andres reservoir of the Vacuum Field where it is associated with faults, fractures, karst zones and highly cemented dolomite intervals. The primary reservoir rocks within the Central Vacuum Unit of the Vacuum Field are dolomitized peloidal packstones, skeletal and ooid grainstones and fusulinid packstones. These rocks alternate with lower reservoir-quality dolomite intervals with variable amounts of anhydrite cement. Nodular and pore-filling fabric-selective anhydrite cements are common within the reservoir interval. Cross-plots of apparent matrix grain-density versus apparent matrix volumetric cross-section (ρmaa–Umaa cross-plots), combined with Vp/Vs seismic attributes and core data, provide insight into the vertical and lateral distribution of anhydrite within the San Andres reservoir. Anhydrite is generally concentrated in thin depositional cycles or intervals that are separated by relatively anhydrite-free cycles that exhibit relatively higher porosity and permeability. Lower Vp/Vs values correspond to higher percentages of anhydrite and are useful formapping anhydrite distribution. This evaluation of anhydrite distribution providesan estimate of the significant cementation-related heterogeneities within the reservoir that is useful for development-well planning and to target areas of bypassed pay.


In this paper, an improved variational formulation for active contours model is introduced to force level set function to become fast and stably close to signed distance function, which can completely eliminate the need of the costly re-initialization procedure. A restriction item that is a nonlinear heat equation with balanced diffusion rate is attached to variational Integrated Active Contour (IAC) model on the basis of analysis on regions and edges information from all channels of the valued-vector images, so that the level set evolution segmentation process becomes fast and stable. In addition, more efficient discretization method with spatial rotation-invariance gradient and divergence operator is proposed as numerical implementation scheme. Finally, the experiments on some images have demonstrated the efficiency, accuracy and robustness of the proposed method.


Classical coverage models, adopted for second-generation cellular systems, are not suited for planning Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) base station (BS) location because they are only based on signal predictions and do not consider the traffic distribution, the signal quality requirements, and the power control (PC) mechanism. We propose discrete optimization models and algorithms aimed at supporting the decisions in the process of planning where to locate new BSs. These models consider the signal-to-interference ratio as quality measure and capture at different levels of detail the signal quality requirements and the specific PC mechanism of the wideband CDMA air interface. Given that these UMTS BS location models are nonpolynomial (NP)-hard, we propose two randomized greedy procedures and a tabu search algorithm for the uplink (mobile to BS) direction which is the most stringent one from the traffic point of view in the presence of balanced connections such as voice calls. The different models, which take into account installation costs, signal quality and traffic coverage, and the corresponding algorithms, are compared on families of small to large-size instances generated by using classical propagation models.


Chronic exposure to the Cyanobacteria biotoxin Beta-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) has been associated with development of a sporadic form of ALS called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex (ALS/PDC), as observed within certain Indigenous populations of Guam and Japan. Studies in primate models and cell culture have supported the association of BMAA with ALS/PDC, yet the pathological mechanisms at play remain incompletely characterized, effectively stalling the development of rationally-designed therapeutics or application of preventative measures for this disease. In this study we demonstrate for the first time that sub-excitotoxic doses of BMAA modulate the canonical Wnt signaling pathway to drive cellular defects in human neuroblastoma cells, suggesting a potential mechanism by which BMAA may promote neurological disease. Further, we demonstrate here that the effects of BMAA can be reversed in cell culture by use of pharmacological modulators of the Wnt pathway, revealing the potential value of targeting this pathway therapeutically. Interestingly, our results suggest the existence of a distinct Wnt-independent mechanism activated by BMAA in glioblastoma cells, highlighting the likelihood that neurological disease may result from the cumulative effects of distinct cell-type specific mechanisms of BMAA toxicity.


Abstract. This paper deals with bundle adjustment with constrained cameras, i.e. where the orientation of certain cameras is expressed relatively to others, and these relative orientations are part of the unknowns. Despite the remarkable interest for oblique multi-camera systems, an empirical study on the effect of enforcing relative orientation constraints in bundle adjustment is still missing. We provide experimental evidence that indeed these constraints improve the accuracy of the results, while reducing the computational load as well. Moreover, we report for the first time in the literature the complete derivation of the Jacobian matrix for bundle adjustment with constrained cameras, to foster other implementations.


The purpose of our study was to determine the frequency and severity of intracerebral hemorrhages and T2 hyperintense white matter lesions (WMLs) following radiation therapy for brain tumors in adult patients. Of 648 adult brain tumor patients who received radiation therapy at our institute, magnetic resonance (MR) image data consisting of a gradient echo (GRE) and FLAIR T2-weighted image were available three and five years after radiation therapy in 81 patients. Intracerebral hemorrhage was defined as a hypointense dot lesion appearing on GRE images after radiation therapy. The number and size of the lesions were evaluated. The T2 hyperintense WMLs observed on the FLAIR sequences were graded according to the extent of the lesion. Intracerebral hemorrhage was detected in 21 (25.9%) and 35 (43.2) patients in the three- and five-year follow-up images, respectively. The number of intracerebral hemorrhages per patient tended to increase as the follow-up period increased, whereas the size of the intracerebral hemorrhages exhibited little variation over the course of follow-up. T2 hyperintense WMLs were observed in 27 (33.3%) and 32 (39.5) patients in the three and five year follow-up images, respectively. The age at the time of radiation therapy was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in the patients with T2 hyperintense WMLs than in those without lesions. Intracerebral hemorrhages are not uncommon in adult brain tumor patients undergoing radiation therapy. The incidence and number of intracerebral hemorrhages increased over the course of follow-up. T2 hyperintense WMLs were observed in more than one-third of the study population.


This document provides PCB designers with a set of guidelines for successful board mounting of Atmel surface mount packages. Package Land Pattern descriptions are depicted by the package family, and although each family is represented by a single body size and lead count, the individual land description apply to all packages within a particular family. Land Pattern descriptions were provided by IPC-7351 Calculator from the Mentor Graphics Corporation. These are only general guidelines that Atmel received from the IPC-7351 Calculator. The solder reflow guidelines are derived from IPC -9502. Atmel does not make direct recommendation for board design, nor does it take legal liability and responsibility for the information in this document. Please refer to the IPC website for more information regarding board design and processing.


The intensity of technology development that we have witnessed in recent years has changed the expectations and attitudes of customers, as well as their understanding of value, and is becoming the new leading factor in the development of the industry. A retrospective of industrial production shows that all stages of change and development that it has gone through are stimulated precisely by the desire to meet the demand, expectations and needs of customers. In this sense, industrial enterprises around the world are clearly aware of the need for change. They should review their current production and sales strategies and focus their attention and efforts on building dynamic production models that will allow them to continue to operate successfully in a highly competitive market environment and changing customer requirements. Digitalization plays a key role in this new scenario in which industrial enterprises must fit in today. Digital technologies and the opportunities they create are the main driving force for the necessary radical change, which companies must rely on in order to increase their efficiency and, respectively, to maintain their competitiveness. This publication presents a conceptual model for assessing the digital maturity of the production system of the industrial enterprise.


Research has been conducted on the role and importance of visualisation in many fields, including psychology, but very little has been done to extend its role to mathematics education in particular. Furthermore, much research has been done on the importance of critical thinking. However, to date not much has been done to clarify the fact that visualisation is a very important component of critical thinking. In this paper I investigate visualisation for the purpose of examining its role in developing critical thinking for a better understanding of mathematics by Grade 9 learners. In order to achieve this, I provide a qualitative examination from a master's dissertation of some thought processes used during visualisation when Grade 9 pupils engage in mathematics tasks. In order to support the derived thought processes data, audio-taped interviews were conducted with the students. A framework of four stages of visualisation was adapted for the collection and analysis of data. Several roles of visualisation were identified, which revealed that visualisation encourages critical thinking which further leads to a better understanding of data handling.


Steppe zone in the Orenburg region is subject to a powerful anthropogenic load. Most of the territory of the steppes is plowed, and the rest of the land is adapted for pasture or is a Deposit. In addition, fires are a serious threat to the biodiversity of the region's ecosystems. Fires affect the phytocenosis and cause substantial conversion of plant communities. The level of exposure may vary depending on the frequency of the fire, timing and intensity. In recent years, the spread of steppe fires in Russia and their frequency have acquired an extraordinary scale. The climatic conditions of the region (dry, hot summers and long atmospheric droughts) contribute to the spread of fires in large areas. In order to trace the restoration of steppe ecosystems after a fire we have investigated the dynamics of stocks of aboveground phytomass in the 2015-2017 periods, the article considers the initial stages of the leftover post-fire changes in grass communities (Festuca valesiaca, Stipa zalesskii, Artemisia austriaca, Herbae stepposae). Studies have shown how components of above-ground phytomass (live phytomass, rags, litter) accumulate and distribute in the community after a fire. A comparison with similar unburned grasses (Stipa zalesskii, Poa transbaicalica, Herbae stepposae) community with Spiraea crenata. The change of dominant species in the phytocenosis, reduction of the total projective cover in comparison with the control was revealed.


Abstract. The paper presents an ongoing project devoted to the study, the analysis and the representation of epidemiological data related to CoViD-19 spread in the territory of the Province of Trento (Italy), both for scientific and communication purposes. In this broader context, the construction of a digital cartography tool as a WebGIS to allow local communities understanding of epidemiological spread is presented. Data have been supplied by the local Provincial Health Authority; statistic have been processed in order to develop municipality scale vector polygonal coropleth and point maps in order to show affected, health and death rate distribution. A timeline allows the representation of changes and dynamics from Spring 2020 to the current date. The database provides "on-the-fly" data to the production scripts of maps and time charts. These scripts querying the database produce a geographic file in the geojson standard interchange format. This file is read by the javascript scripts based on the leaflet libraries for the production of the final maps. In a similar process, scripts based on the chart.js library produce the graph of the data temporal variation, automatically reading dates and interval time of analysis. A custom procedure was developed to allow the periodic update of the dataset. New information is added to the database by uploading an external spreadsheet. The study presents the methodology to develop and assess the WebGIS for managing, visualize and analyse Coronavirus diffusion. Future implementation of the WebGIS will expand the used data and allow the comparison with social and environmental factors.


Adaptation to changing climatic condition is imperative to forestall dramatic threats to food security, but agriculture is also a source of greenhouse gases (GHG). For most countries in Southeast Asia, rice farming represents a major component in their national GHG budget which is attributed to the emission of methane from (predominantly flooded) rice fields. ASEAN member states have committed, as one community, to improve their capacity to reduce emissions in their respective countries. Climate-smart agriculture denotes a concept to merge adaptation (adjusting to climate change) and mitigation (reducing emissions) into one comprehensive approach. In the case of rice production, improved varieties are the key for coping with climatic stresses such as floods and droughts. In addition to more resilient rice plants, short-maturing varieties can be used to avoid climate stresses by adjusted cropping calendars and also reduce methane emissions due to shorter flooding periods. Crop and water management practices offer many options for CSA. "Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD)" is an irrigation technique originally developed for saving water and coping with water scarcity, e.g., in El Nino years. This practice also reduces emissions by 30%–70% as has been shown in several field studies in the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia. Mechanization has several climate-smart components such as laser leveling and direct seeding that reduce water needs and emissions. This illustrates that the principles of climate-smart agriculture can be aligned with socio-economic drivers.


This study examined the laxative effects of hot-water extracts of Hovenia dulcis Thunb. (HD), Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel (PM), and a 2:8 mixture of both (HP) in two chronic constipation models. For the loperamide-induced constipation model, animals were divided into an untreated group, negative control group (loperamide 4 mg / kg), positive control group (bisacodyl 4 mg / kg) group, and six treatment groups (HP 100 or 400, HD 50 or 100, and PM 100 or 400 mg / kg). For the low-fiber diet-induced constipation model, animals were divided into an untreated group (normal diet), negative control group (low-fiber diet), positive control group (Agio granule, 620 mg / kg), and the same treatment groups. Fecal number, weight, fecal water content, and intestinal transit ratio were higher in the groups treated with HP, HD, and PM than in the groups treated with loperamide or low-fiber diet. Thickness of colon mucosa and muscle layers were increased in the treated groups. Colon tension increased in the HP groups, and [Ca2+]i measurements using fura-2 as an indicator showed that HP inhibits ATP-mediated Ca2+ influx in IEC-18 cells. These results showed that the HP mixture has laxative activity by increased mucin secretion and inducing contractile activity and relaxation. It may be a useful therapeutic strategy for ameliorating in chronic constipation.


Prosecutors have a special ethical duty to seek justice. However, prosecutors cannot meet that duty where zero-tolerance policing has resulted in overburdened lower criminal courts. Prosecution in these overburdened courts undermines justice in two important ways. First, because zero-tolerance policing is typically enforced in communities of color, racial disparities in criminalization are exacerbated and unequal enforcement of the law is permitted. Second, the overburdened criminal justice system does not reliably distinguish between constitutional and unconstitutional arrests, or between guilty and innocent individuals. This Article examines the discretionary power that rests in the prosecutor's office and the ethical duty to seek justice that guides that power. To promote justice chief prosecutors should decline to prosecute minor offenses where policing choices cause racial disparities or lead to overburdened courts that can provide neither procedural nor substantive justice. Refusal to prosecute certain classes of minor offenses will reduce racial inequities in the criminal justice system and improve the ability of prosecutors to meet their ethical obligation to provide procedural and substantive justice in the remaining cases.


SYNOPSIS: Prior work has found high levels of concentration in top academic accounting journals relative to finance, management, and marketing. Moreover, concentration has been increasing in accounting while concentration in other disciplines has been decreasing or remaining about the same. We investigate whether recent efforts by the American Accounting Association, among others, have altered these trends. We examine concentration trends in top accounting journals from 1990 to 2014 and compare these trends with those in other major business school disciplines. Ratios of publications to faculty are lowest for accounting across all years, suggesting that accounting has relatively fewer "slots" available for top journal publications than other disciplines. In addition, our results suggest that concentration has decreased in accounting journals in recent years but that concentration has also decreased in other business disciplines. Thus, accounting has retained its position as a discipline where publications...


Migration is recognized as the essential step in converting seismic data into a representation of the earth's subsurface structure. Ironically, conventional migration often fails where migration is needed most--when the data are recorded over complex structures. Processing field data shot in Central America and synthetic data derived for that section, demonstrates that time migration actually degrades the image of the deep structure that lies below a complicated overburden. In the Central American example, velocities increase nearly two-fold across an arched and thrust-faulted interface. Wave-front distortion introduced by this feature gives rise to distorted reflections from depth. Even with interval velocity known perfectly, no velocity is proper for time migrating the data here; time migration is the wrong process because it does not honor Snell's law. Depth migration of the stacked data, on the other hand, produces a reasonable image of the deeper section. The depth migration, however, leaves artifacts that could be attributed to problems that are common in structurally complicated areas: (1) departures of the stacked section from the ideal, a zero-offset section, (2) incorrect specification of velocities, and (3) loss of energy transmitted through t e complex zone. For such an inhomogeneous velocity structure, shortcomings in CDP stacking are related directly to highly nonhyperbolic moveout. As with migration velocity, no proper stacking velocity can be developed for these data, even from the known interval-velocity model. Proper treatment of nonzero-offset reflection data could be accomplished by depth migration before stacking. Simple ray-theoretical correction of the complex moveouts, however, can produce a stack that is similar to the desired zero-offset section. Overall, the choice of velocity model most strongly influences the results of depth migration. Processing the data with a range of plausible velocity models, however, leads to an important conclusion: although the velocities can never be known exactly, depth migration is essential for clarifying structure beneath complex overburden. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1339------------


The techniques used for extraction since decades have the limitations of requiring longer extraction times, large solvent volumes and cause degradation of thermo labile components. Modern methods of extraction are effective in advancing the development of traditional herbal remedies. Various novel techniques including ultrasonication-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, counter-current extraction and accelerated solvent extraction have been developed for the extraction of nutraceuticals from plants in order to shorten the extraction time, decrease the solvent consumption, increase the extraction yield, and enhance the quality of extracts. A new advancement in the field of extraction was introduction of "Phytonics Process", a new solvent based on hydrofluorocarbon-134a technology used for extraction of fragrant components of essential oils and biological or phyto-pharmacological extracts which can be used directly without further physical or chemical treatment. The present article portrays a comprehensive discussion on principles, methodology, benefits and applications of these innovative extraction technologies for procuring active metabolites from different phyto-constituents.


Carbohydrate-restricted diets are prevalent not only in obese people but also in the general population to maintain appropriate body weight. Here, we report that extreme carbohydrate restriction for one day affects the subsequent blood glucose levels in healthy adults. Ten subjects (median age 30.5 years, BMI 21.1 kg/m2, and HbA1c 5.5%), wearing with a continuous glucose monitoring device, were given isoenergetic test meals for 4 consecutive days. On day 1, day 2 (D2), and day 4 (D4), they consumed normal-carbohydrate (63-66% carbohydrate) diet, while on day 3, they took low-carbohydrate/high-fat (5% carbohydrate) diet. The daily energy intake was 2,200 kcal for males and 1,700 kcal for females. On D2 and D4, we calculated the mean 24-hr blood glucose level (MEAN/24h) and its standard deviation (SD/24h), the area under the curve (AUC) for glucose over 140 mg/dL within 4 hours after each meal (AUC/4h/140), the mean amplitude of the glycemic excursions (MAGE), the incremental AUC of 24-hr blood glucose level above the mean plus one standard deviation (iAUC/MEAN+SD). Indexes for glucose fluctuation on D4 were significantly greater than those on D2 (SD/24h; p = 0.009, MAGE; p = 0.013, AUC/4h/140 after breakfast and dinner; p = 0.006 and 0.005, and iAUC/MEAN+SD; p = 0.007). The value of MEAN/24h and AUC/4h/140 after lunch on D4 were greater than those on D2, but those differences were not statistically significant. In conclusion, consumption of low-carbohydrate/high-fat diet appears to cause higher postprandial blood glucose on subsequent normal-carbohydrate diet particularly after breakfast and dinner in healthy adults.


Human rights has been acknowledged as one of the essential characteristics of good governance. Abuse of human rights is strongly associated with bad governance, which is believed by many to be a serious impediment to development and sustainable growth. Despite the active participations of Islamic movements in many parts of the political world, very little is known of their involvement in advocating human rights issues as part of their struggle for power. Nevertheless, as an Islamic movement and an Islamic revivalism actor in Malaysia, Pertubuhan Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) has shown otherwise. JIM has resembled a different attitude towards the issue of human rights that they believe as an integrated and pertinent composition of good governance. By scrutinising their political activities and discourse since 2000, it becomes clear that JIM has been actively engaged in good governance and human rights issues, especially those that relate to the political rights of citizens through its involvement in the Abolish Internal Security Act (ISA) Movement (Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA). This paper examines JIM's involvement in human rights issues with a special focus on its active and leading role in calling for the abolishment of the Internal Security Act (ISA).


Arterial hypertension is an important risk factor for atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. 203 male patients were examined in order to identify predictors of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with arterial hypertension during exercise stress testing. All participants were studied by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, transthoracic echocardiography, an ultrasound scan of the carotid arteries and treadmill test. 47,3% of patients presented cardiac arrhythmias during exercise stress testing. The left ventricular mass, diastolic function and carotid intima-media thickness were found to be independent predictors of exercise-induced arrhythmias. The use of the exercise stress testing may be reasonable for additional risk stratification in hypertensive patients.


Renal Microvascular Disease: Angiographic-Microangiographic Correlates is a concise, well-written study of the renal microvascular bed, which should be of wider appeal than the somewhat esoteric title might suggest. Dr Bookstein is a radiologist with an interest in angiography and Dr Clark is a radiologist with interests in pathology and microangiography. Each has combined his own area of interest with meticulous attention to technique and detail to produce a remarkable study of the renal microvascular bed in various disease states. The quality of the illustrations can only be appreciated by an angiographer. By combining the techniques of in vitro microangiography and in vivo magnification angiography, Drs Bookstein and Clark have offered clear, well-illustrated explanations of the various radiographic patterns that are seen at angiography and excretory urography. In the next edition of this text, the authors might consider including urographic examples as well as angiographic patterns, since this work will be


Methylammonium-based perovskite compounds are generally grown on conducting or semiconducting substrates for high performance solar cell applications. In this study, we explore the growth of these compounds on insulators and test for their field-effect transistor performance. The key challenge is to find a surface that favors the crystal growth of perovskites without compromising the adhesion of the crystals. A family of methacrylate-based polymers has been identified as the insulators. Onto these insulators, methylammonium lead iodide polycrystalline thin films were grown. Generally, we found that the crystal size in the perovskite layers is well-correlated with the surface hydrophobicity. More hydrophobic polymer layers favor the growth of larger crystals, but result in less favorable adhesion of the perovskite. Methacrylate polymers with a phenyl substituent can give better adhesion and crystal sizes despite their hydrophobic properties. Among the different insulating polymer layers, we found that poly(phenyl methacrylate) (PPhMA), a derivative of the common commercial plastic poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), produces the best perovskite films. The molecular origin of these properties is discussed. To test the electronic properties of these films, we employed them for thin-film transistor applications. Under optimal conditions, the thin-film transistors fabricated on PPhMA produce the best device with an electron mobility of 0.4 cm V 1 s . Our results are also supported by photothermal deflection spectroscopy investigations of the subgap optical absorptions of these films.


Among the most important English novelists, Jane Austen is unusual because she is esteemed not only by academics but by the reading public. Her novels continue to sell well, and films adapted from her works enjoy strong box-office success. The trajectory of Austen criticism is intriguing, especially when one compares it to that of other nineteenth-century English writers. At least partly because she was a woman in the early nineteenth century, she was long neglected by critics, hardly considered a major figure in English literature until well into the twentieth century, a hundred years after her death. But consequently she escaped the reaction against Victorianism that did so much to hurt the reputation of Dickens, Tennyson, Arnold, and others. How she rose to prominence among academic critics - and has retained her position through the constant shifting of academic and critical trends - is a story worth telling, as it suggests not only something about Austen's artistry but also about how changes in critical perspective can radically alter a writer's reputation. Laurence W. Mazzeno is President Emeritus of Alvernia University, Reading, Pennsylvania.


The relative risk of shunting versus not shunting during carotid endarterectomy was analyzed retrospectively in 1935 cases undergoing carotid endarterectomy for carotid ulcerative stenosis. The need for shunting was based on a correlation between electroencephalographic changes and a fall in cerebral blood flow below the critical level required for adequate perfusion during the period of carotid occlusion. Patients were divided into four risk categories for surgery, based on medical and neurological risks and angiographic findings. Shunts were required in 30% of the low risk group and 56% of the high risk group. Based on the severity of reductions of cerebral blood flow during the period of carotid occlusion it is concluded that 12% of all patients would have sustained a major deficit, 15% a minor or transient deficit, and 20% a transient deficit without shunting. The risk of shunting 792 cases in this series was 0.5%. Overall minor morbidity, major morbidity, and mortality each approximated 1% in this series.


Vertical transmission remains the main mode of acquisition of HIV infection in children. A total of 700,000 children were newly infected in 2003, mainly through mother-to-child transmission of HIV. 1 Mother to child transmission is also the largest source of HIV infection in children in Nepal. Nurses having the knowledge of HIV can bring positive changes in behaviour. Knowledge, training and experience in every aspect of one's profession are very important. Objective The objective of this study is to assess knowledge and practise of Nurses in the Prevention of vertical transmission of HIV. Methods & Materials: Study Design A cross sectional study was done including 112 nurses drawn from the three selected hospital (BPKIHS Dharan, Koshi Zonal hospital Biratnagar and Mechi Zonal Hospital, Bhadrapur,) through population enumeration method. Results The study show that half (50.8%) of the respondents had adequate knowledge and near half (49.1%) had inadequate level of knowledge, where total mean score ± SD 28.3 ± 5.5. Only 16.1% of the respondents had good practise for prevention of vertical transmission of HIV. Qualification and place of working area are associated with knowledge of HIV/AIDS and PMTCT, where P value is 0.006, 0.001 respectively. Conclusion In General, adequate knowledge was found half (50.8%) of the respondents. Thus, more educational programmes should be focused on increasing their knowledge about vertical transmission, hoping to overcome the misconceptions that may be help to behaviour change toward safer practises.


Code inspections and white-box testing have both been used for unit testing. One is a static analysis technique, the other, a dynamic one, since it is based on executing test cases. Naturally, the question arises whether one is superior to the other, or, whether either technique is better suited to detect or isolate certain types of defects. We investigated this question with an experiment with a focus on detection of the defects (failures) and isolation of the underlying sources of the defects (faults). The results indicate that there exist significant differences for some of the effects of using code inspection versus testing. White-box testing is more effective, i.e. detects significantly more defects while inspection isolates the underlying source of a larger share of the defects detected. Testers spend significantly more time, hence the difference in efficiency is smaller, and is not statistically significant. The two techniques are also shown to detect and identify different defects, hence motivating the use of a combination of methods.


Aggregates Safeguarding Map of Wales - As mineral resources are finite and are not evenly distributed, knowledge about their whereabouts is essential for making effective and sustainable planning decisions that consider the needs of future generations. Access to mineral resources can be prevented or restricted (sterilised) by non-mineral development and the process of 'mineral safeguarding' ensures that this does not occur unnecessarily when planning applications are determined. An effective safeguarding system requires the adoption of 'mineral safeguarding areas' and the adoption of suitable policies through which development is managed in these areas.
The aggregates safeguarding maps have been compiled to assist Mineral Planning Authorities (MPAs) in the delineation of aggregates safeguarding areas in Local Development Plans.


Objective To test if participation in the Health Start Programme, an Arizona statewide Community Health Worker (CHW) maternal and child health (MCH) home visiting programme, reduced rates of low birth weight (LBW), very LBW (VLBW), extremely LBW (ELBW) and preterm birth (PTB). Design Quasi-experimental retrospective study using propensity score matching of Health Start Programme enrolment data to state birth certificate records for years 2006–2016. Setting Arizona is uniquely racially and ethnically diverse with comparatively higher proportions of Latino and American Indian residents and a smaller proportion of African Americans. Participants 7212 Health Start Programme mothers matched to non-participants based on demographic, socioeconomic and geographic characteristics, health conditions and previous birth experiences. Intervention A statewide CHW MCH home visiting programme. Primary and secondary outcome measures LBW, VLBW, ELBW and PTB. Results Using Health Start Programme's administrative data and birth certificate data from 2006 to 2016, we identified 7212 Health Start Programme participants and 53 948 matches. Programme participation is associated with decreases in adverse birth outcomes for most subgroups. Health Start participation is associated with statistically significant lower rates of LBW among American Indian women (38%; average treatment-on-the-treated effect (ATT): 2.30; 95% CI −4.07 to –0.53) and mothers with a pre-existing health risk (25%; ATT: -3.06; 95% CI −5.82 to –0.30). Among Latina mothers, Health Start Programme participation is associated with statistically significant lower rates of VLBW (36%; ATT: 0.35; 95% CI −0.69 to –0.01) and ELBW (62%; ATT: 0.31; 95% CI (−0.52 to –0.10)). Finally, Health Start Programme participation is associated with a statistically significant lower rate of PTB for teen mothers (30%; ATT: 2.81; 95% CI −4.71 to –0.91). Other results were not statistically significant. Conclusion A state health department-operated MCH home visiting intervention that employs CHWs as the primary interventionist may contribute to the reduction of LBW, VLBW, ELBW and PTB and could improve birth outcomes statewide, especially among women and children at increased risk for MCH inequity.


Abstract : It has been known for some time that if the power of a programming language is restricted it very often tends to lose succinctness in its description of programs. A primitive recursive definition scheme for instance is frequently not as concise in describing primitive recursive functions as a double recursive definition scheme. A careful study of the problem has been made by Meyer, where he shows that as one increases the power of programming languages, one can obtain economies in program size by any recursive amount for even very simple functions. The principal objective of this part of the thesis is the generalization of the results of Meyer to sets of integers A and B related in some recursion theoretic manner, e.g. A double prime < or = (sub T) B prime. (Author)


Germany's net exports and macroeconomic policy stance are controversial issues in current debates about the Eurozone debt crisis. This paper shows that both are characteristics of what has been described in a variety of political economy literatures as the German socio-economic model. We argue that the model has evolved in three stages, from the economic miracle of the post-war era through the era of "Germany Inc." and Bundesbank hegemony to the present transnationalization of German industries and finance. The three stages of the German model – or Models D, mark I - III – correspond closely to the exchange rate regimes of Bretton Woods, the European Monetary System and European Monetary Union (EMU). We describe them in three analogous settings that specify their different working conditions under the respective exchange-rate regime, following a chronology of success, dynamic instability and transformation. We point out that, while the German economy has under-gone substantial changes, there are two different mindsets of model thinking in Germany that have been remarkably persistent in public debate. We refer to these two mindsets as ordoliberalism and neo-mercantilism. Ordoliberalism is the normative mindset of policy speakers and academic econo-mists, whereas neo-mercantilism is the practical mindset of policymakers and business leaders. We discuss the differences and complementary uses of these modes of German model thinking and draw attention to their flaws and inadequacies at the present stage of European integration and transnationalization of the German economy.


Increases in environmental pollutants led to use of natural low cost materials such as zeolite, which prove their effective in water treatment. Natural zeolite obtained from Jabal Hannoun (local) and imported zeolites, clinoptilolite-rich tuff obtained from U.S.A, Syrian zeolitic tuff, and synthetic faujasite- 13X were used as adsorbent. Characterization of raw and modified zeolite has been studied to verify their physical chemical and mineralogical properties, in order to note any changes occur during the modification of zeolite. The feasibility of using surfactant-modified zeolite to remove aniline and its derivatives from water in the broad band of concentrations (5-200 mg L -1 ) was evaluated by batch experiments. The results showed that a significant increase in aniline and its derivatives sorption capacity could be achieved at the loading level of hexadecyltrimethylammonium, a cationic surfactant, on zeolite surfaces at monolayer coverage. Adsorption equilibrium was carried out at different initial concentrations and different pH varies from 3 to 11. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms were applied to the experimental data. The data best fitted the Freundlich model. It was found that the aniline removal efficiency by using clinoptilolite-rich tuff has the highest maximum adsorption 50% compared to the other zeolite. The maximum efficiency removal for N-Methylaniline reached upto 69.5% by using Syrian- zeolite. A decrease in N,N-Dimethylaniline removal by surfactant-modified zeolite, and the maximum efficiency removal was 16% by using Jordanian-Faujasite. The results show that the optimum pH of the adsorption of aniline and its derivatives by surfactant-modified zeolite was almost in acidic and neutral pH conditions. Characterization of raw and surfactant-modified zeolite was carried out using several techniques such as cation exchange capacity, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. UV/VIS spectrophotometer was used in equilibrium analysis.


User applications, such as email, calendar, maps, are migrating from local desktop machines to data centers due to the many advantages offered by such a computing paradigm. Furthermore, this trend is creating a marked increase in the deployment of servers at data centers. To ride the price/performance curves for CPU, memory and other HW, inexpensive commodity machines—although having low availability numbers—are the most cost effective choices for a data center. However, increased server failures cause service outages and degrade user experience which in turn results in lost revenue for businesses. Also, emerging web applications put additional demands on server fault-tolerance. For example, if a user is browsing a map service like Google, Yahoo or MSN maps, a server failure leading to an outage of more than a few seconds is detectable by a user and hence degrades user experience.
In this thesis, I propose three novel techniques aimed at improving server fault-tolerance: (1) ST-TCP, which is an extension of TCP to tolerate server failures. This is done by using an active-backup which replicates the state of a primary and seamlessly takes over a TCP connection on primary server failure; (2) CRAFT, where the TCP splicing mechanism is enhanced to make it both fault-tolerant and more scalable; this then forms the basis of a scalable and fault-tolerant web server architecture that specifically addresses server fault-tolerance issues for highly interactive or real time applications; and, (3) Call-preserving failover, which is an efficient and scalable fault-tolerance mechanism for migrating IP telephony calls to an alternate call controller.


PURPOSE
To investigate regarding workplace health and safety factors, and to identify strategies to preserve and promote a healthy nursing workplace.

METHODS
Data collected using the Delphi technique with input from 41 key informants across four participant categories drawn from a Chinese university and four hospitals were thematically analysed.

RESULTS
Most respondents agreed on the importance of nurses' health and safety, and that nurse managers should act to protect nurses, but not enough on workplace safety. Hospital policies, staff disempowerment, workload and workplace conflicts are major obstacles.

CONCLUSION
The reality of Chinese nurses' workplaces is that health and safety risks abound and relate to socio-cultural expectations of women. Self-management of risks is neccessary, gaps exist in understanding of workplace risks among different nursing groups and their perceptions of the professional status, and the value of nurses' contribution to ongoing risks in the hospital workplace. The Chinese hospital system must make these changes to produce a safer working environment for nurses.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
This research, based in China, presents an instructive tale for all countries that need support on the types and amounts of management for nurses working at the clinical interface, and on the consequences of management neglect of relevant policies and procedures.


In this paper, we propose to overcome one of the limitations of No Reference (NR) Image Quality Metrics (IQMs). Indeed, this kind of metrics is generally distortion-based and can be used only for a specific degradation such as ringing, blur or blocking. We propose to detect and identify the type of the degradation contained in the image before quantifying its quality. The degradation type is here identified using a Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) classifier. Then, the NR-IQM is selected according to the degradation type. We focus our work on the more common artefacts and degradations: blocking, ringing, blur and noise. The efficiency of the proposed method is evaluated in terms of correct classification across the considered degradations and artefacts. ð Keywords—Image ð quality, ð Linear ð discriminant ð analysis, ð classifcation, ð TID ð image ð database . ð ð ð


This essay's problem is based on the subordination of women that exists worldwide, more specifically on womens rights. The study examined six countries with case study as a method. The countries were chosen based on their ranking on the Global Democracy Ranking of 2015. The countries chosen were the two who got the best grades, the two in the middle and the two who came last. With three different theoretical foundations, the UN Women's CEDAW-convention, Yvonne Hirdman's gender theory and Global Democracy Ranking, the countries were examined and led to the following conclusions: the work with women's rights have progressed further the higher ranking a country has on the Global Democracy Ranking and Hirdmans gender theory can be seen as one of the explanations for the existing inequality. The study also noted that there is a connection between the ratification of the CEDAW-convention and Women's rights.


Thin films of SiO_2–TiO_2 composite oxides with various SiO_2:TiO_2 compositions were prepared by the sol-gel method, using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) as precursors. The composition, crystal structure, and chemical bonding configuration of the as-deposited and annealed SiO_2–TiO_2 thin films were analyzed using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), glancing incident angle x-ray diffraction (GIAXRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. Optical properties of the films were characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry. The Si/Ti ratios in the SiO_2–TiO_2 films agree with the TEOS/TTIP molar ratio in the sol-gel precursor. When the TEOS/(TEOS + TTIP) ratio is greater than 40%, the SiO_2–TiO_2 thin films remain amorphous (without formation of TiO_2 crystalline phase) after annealing at temperatures as high as 700 °C. FTIR spectra indicate that the quantity of Si–O–Ti bonding can be maximized when the TEOS:TTIP in the precursor is 80%:20%. The refractive index of the SiO_2–TiO_2 films increases approximately linearly to the mixing ratio of TTIP/(TEOS + TTIP). However, SiO_2-rich films possess higher ultraviolet-visible transmittance than the TiO_2-rich films. The modification of microstructure and chemical bonding configuration in the SiO_2–TiO_2 films by the composition and its influence on the optical properties are discussed.