With the drastic rise in divorce rates in Egypt in the last few decades, targeting female-headed households as new housing segment is becoming increasingly crucial. Female-headed households are categorized as part of the housing vulnerable groups supported by the government. The housing needs, preferences and the market navigation patterns of this group are the study matter of this paper. While this group shares similarities in the housing needs with the two-parent families there are defined differences in the housing presences and market navigation patterns of the two groups. The paper also sheds the light on how the social characteristics of the female-headed households determine the housing problems they face with the current market offerings. Then, it outlines a typology of the housing preferred by the female heads, with the aim of generating recommendations that would help create more inclusive and satisfactory housing market offerings tailored for them. The proximity of the workplace to the housing unit in addition to the presence of an active community center within the neighborhoods was on top of their housing demands.


This article examines simulations of critical incidents in police education by investigating how activities in the preparation phase influence participants' actions and thus the conditions for learning professional knowledge. The study is based on interviews in two stages (traditional and stimulated recall interviews) with six selected students and video analysis of one student police patrol's short-term preparation. The results showed that simulation and associated activities informed the students of their responsibilities and pre-determined tasks without effectively helping them to cope with the situation. The analysis suggests that an understanding of the social and interactional requirements for producing the kind of situation that the students were to be trained for and learn from were not mediated. Thus our conclusion is that good conditions for learning in and through simulations require a simulation competence among the participants and that it is a responsibility of the instructors to consider how this competence is to be developed.


Micropropagation requires controlling contamination that might compromise the success of the process. Thermal sterilization is traditionally used; however, costs deriving from equipment acquisition and maintenance render this technique costly. With the purpose of finding an alternative to thermal sterilization, this research aimed at assessing the efficiency and ideal concentration of sodium hypochlorite for sterilization of culture media and glassware used during rooting of micropropagated  Gerbera hybrida cv. Essandre. Two experiments were carried out. In the first one, treatments consisted of control I (no sterilization), control II (thermal sterilization), and total active chlorine concentrations of 0.0005, 0.001, 0.002 and 0.003%. In the second experiment, based on the results observed in the first experiment, treatments consisted of control I (thermal sterilization) and II (chemical sterilization), and total active chlorine concentrations of 0.002, 0.0025 and 0.003%. Plant behavior was assessed based on the length of aerial part and roots, number of roots, and dry biomass of plants. Results showed that the addition of an active chlorine concentration of 0.003% to culture media provided total control of contaminants, and there were no significant differences regarding the variables analyzed between plants obtained with thermal sterilization and with sodium hypochlorite sterilization. Thus, chemical sterilization can be used as a replacement for thermal sterilization of nutrition media for rooting of gerbera in vitro. Key words : Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), tissue culture, contamination, chemical sterilization, autoclaving.


The work reported here was carried out to study the importance of immunocytochemical staining of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in the diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease and to compare its results with those obtained by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining in consecutive sections. A retrospective study was made on 51 rectal mucosal biopsies and 19 colorectal surgical specimens from 52 patients clinically suspected of Hirschsprung's disease. Several consecutive sections from all cases were restained by H&E and for NSE demonstration. Sixteen (31%) patients had a histological diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease, 9 (17%) had hypoganglionosis, 4 (8%) had neuronal intestinal dysplasia, and 2 (4%) had normal histology. In eight patients (15%) hypoganglionosis remained dubious, and in 10 (19%) the diagnosis was inconclusive. Although the NSE staining improved the identification of the nervous tissue of the colon, both H&E and NSE staining proved to be of equal value in the assessment of the presence of neurons in the rectal wall of people with clinically suspected cases of Hirschsprung's disease. Ten H&E-stained sections from different levels of the biopsy specimen would be enough to detect ganglion cells in most cases.


Background: Neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is reported to be increased in various inflammatory conditions, but its significance in RA remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether NLR can be used as a simple tool for disease activity assessment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aim: The aim was to assess the NLR in RA patients and compare between active cases and those in remission. Materials and Methods: The study enrolled 150 diagnosed RA patients. Disease activity was determined with the Disease Activity Score (DAS-28), and the correlation of NLR with disease activity was analyzed. Results: NLR, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were found to be significantly high in RA patients. Further, NLR correlated positively with CRP, ESR, and worsening DAS score. Conclusion: Our study concludes that NLR can become a readily available and cost-effective tool for disease assessment in RA in future.


Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease that causes infection in the lungs. The lung infection is cause by a buildup of bacterial biofilms. This results in blockage of the airways of the patients. A bacterial biofilm has a unique ability called horizontal gene transfer that increases the antibiotic resistances; this is a problem for many antibiotics and current treatments. Biofilms in cystic fibrosis patients are becoming categorized as polymicrobial; this means the biofilm contains more than one type of microorganism. One specific organism P. aeruginosa has been linked to increased antibiotic resistance. New technology was developed to help advance our knowledge of biofilm development. Research has been done to show the effectiveness of specific antibiotics and the effect certain microorganisms have on biofilm growth. Continuous use of antibiotics could result in organisms developing resistance.


Does culture, and in particular religion, exert an independent causal effect on long-term economic growth, or do culture and religion merely reflect the latter? We explore this issue by studying the case of Protestantism in China during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Combining county-level data on Protestant presence in 1920 and socioeconomic indicators in 2000, we find that the spread of Protestantism has generated significant positive effects in long-term economic growth, educational development, and health care outcomes. To better understand whether the relationship is causal, we exploit the fact that missionaries purposefully undertook disaster relief work to gain the trust of the local people. Thus, we use the frequency of historical disasters as an instrument for Protestant distribution. Our IV results confirm and enhance our OLS results. When we further investigate the transmission channels over the long historical period between 1920 and 2000, we find that although improvements in education and health care outcomes account for a sizable portion of the total effects of missionaries' past activities on today's economic outcomes, Protestant activities may have also contributed to long-term economic growth through other channels, such as through transformed social values. If so, then a significant amount of China's growth since 1978 is the result not just of sudden institutional changes but of human capital and social values acquired over a longer historical period.


This paper presents the experimental validation of a macroscopic model of unsaturated flow in double-porosity soils, which was developed using the asymptotic homogenization method. The model was implemented into a code which enables micro–macro coupled calculations of macroscopically one-dimensional and microscopically three-dimensional problems. A series of drainage experiments were carried out in a column filled with a double porosity medium. The porous medium is composed of Hostun sand and porous spheres made of sintered clay, periodically distributed in the sand. The characteristic pores sizes of the two media differ by two orders of magnitude. During the experiments the water content evolution inside the column, the capillary pressure, and the flux at the bottom of the column were measured. The numerical simulations results showed a good agreement with the experimental data, confirming the predictive ability of the model. The experimental and numerical evidence of the influence of the microporous inc...


ABSTRACT. Oliveira A.L.A., Brun M.V., Zorron R., Queiroz M.R., Scheffer J.P., Gama C.R.B., Atallah F.A. & Mariano M.B. [Robotic surgery in dogs (Canis familiaris): preliminary study]. Cirurgia robotica em caes (Canis familiaris): estudo preliminar. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinaria, 35(Supl. 1):91-95, 2013. Curso de Pos-Graduacao em Ciencia Animal, CCTA, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Avenida Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013602, Brasil. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com The robotic surgery is a new surgical modality that presents several advantages to the surgery, such as the excellent accuracy and security, and your utilization to the surgeon training. The robotic surgery still presents some obstacles for your utilization, as high cost and the lack of knowledge about your application. The present work aims to realize a brief summary of the utilization of robotic surgery and it future application in veterinary, as well as report the realization of two surgeries of ovariohisterectomy with the utilization of robotic arm AESOP.


Over the past decade, the growth of natural gas, propelled by the fracking boom, has played a pivotal role in meeting the nation's ever-expanding energy needs. Simultaneously, it has helped lower energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and diminish dependence on foreign energy. Despite these benefits, and the fact that the United States has an abundance of extractable natural gas, the future of this resource as a solution to the nation's energy demand remains uncertain. This uncertainty is largely attributable to the roadblocks preventing the development of interstate natural gas pipelines—the safest and most efficient means of transporting natural gas.
The most formidable roadblock to the construction of interstate natural gas pipelines is Section 401 of the Clean Water Act ("Section 401"), which gives states the power to block construction of any pipeline that may interfere with their water quality standards. States' use of this "veto" power has escalated in recent years, in what appears to be an attempt to reduce carbon emissions and curb climate change. This escalated use of Section 401 has led to widespread gridlock of pipeline construction, large quantities of unutilized natural gas, and a suboptimal energy system.
This Note proposes legislation that would prevent states from blocking construction of interstate natural gas pipelines within their borders without first showing that a more cost-effective alternative for supplying the energy exists. Determining the cost-effectiveness of a project requires consideration of all costs, including the environmental damage, associated with the project. To ensure that these costs, specifically those associated with climate change, are adequately accounted for, each analysis must incorporate the Social Cost of Carbon ("SCC"). In so doing, the SCC should be valued by the states, since the federal figures have been severely devalued by an Executive Order issued by President Trump in March 2017.
Part I of this Note provides background on the statutes involved in the construction of interstate natural gas pipelines. It also discusses the purpose of, and the controversy surrounding, the SCC. Part II examines how the courts of appeals and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") have responded to the states' increasing use of Section 401 to block interstate natural gas pipelines. It then discusses President Trump's Executive Order devaluing the federal SCC and explores the various ways in which states have incorporated the SCC into their own energy policies. Finally, Part III argues that states should no longer be permitted to veto interstate natural gas pipelines by withholding water quality certification, but only by showing there is a more cost-effective means of supplying the energy, as determined through cost-benefit analyses that incorporate a state-valued SCC.


Vegetation enhances soil shearing resistance through water uptake and root reinforcement. Analytical models for soils reinforced with roots rely on input parameters that are difficult to measure, leading to widely varying predictions of behaviour. The opaque heterogeneous nature of rooted soils results in complex soil–root interaction mechanisms that cannot easily be quantified. The authors measured, for the first time, the shear resistance and deformations of fallow, willow-rooted and gorse-rooted soils during direct shear using X-ray computed tomography and digital volume correlation. Both species caused an increase in shear zone thickness, both initially and as shear progressed. Shear zone thickness peaked at up to 35 mm, often close to the thickest roots and towards the centre of the column. Root extension during shear was 10–30% less than the tri-linear root profile assumed in a Waldron-type model, owing to root curvature. Root analogues used to explore the root–soil interface behaviour suggested that root lateral branches play an important role in anchoring the roots. The Waldron-type model was modified to incorporate non-uniform shear zone thickness and growth, and accurately predicted the observed, up to sevenfold, increase in shear resistance of root-reinforced soil.


Abstract Soil nutrient loss due to soil erosion and removal in harvest with traditional farming methods where farmers do not use any fertilisers threatens the sustainability of vegetable productions in the Philippine uplands. Consequently, poor farmers are losing incomes due to declining yields. The situation is reaching crisis point. A bio-economic analysis is used in this research to investigate the economic returns in terms of gross and net annual income over time for upland farmers from adopting alternative soil management options. Cost benefit analysis is used to compare the net returns to farmers from potential management options. A bio-physical model, SCUAF, is used to simulate the long-run tomato yields and associated soil erosion, over a seven-year period, for different soil management options which are both income enhancing and soil nutrient preserving. Data obtained through experiments and surveys of upland farmers in Claveria in the Philippines island of Mindanao, are used to derive yearly production budget for tomato farming on one hectare of land. The analyses reveal that significantly higher economic returns are achievable a combination of organic and inorganic fertiliser additions. This combination seems to be most attractive since it leads to benefits in both yield increase and reduced soil erosion over time. Therefore, concentrating further research on the use of fertiliser combinations, especially at lower rates where marginal returns are highest seems to be an appropriate focus, and one which is most likely to be adopted by farmers.


Abstract. The amplitude, the temperature dependence, and the physical origin of the water vapour absorption continuum are a long-standing issue in molecular spectroscopy with direct impact in atmospheric and planetary sciences. In recent years, we have determined the self-continuum absorption of water vapour at different spectral points of the atmospheric windows at 4.0, 2.1, 1.6, and 1.25 µm, by highly sensitive cavity-enhanced laser techniques. These accurate experimental constraints have been used to adjust the last version (3.2) of the semi-empirical MT_CKD model (Mlawer-Tobin_Clough-Kneizys-Davies), which is widely incorporated in atmospheric radiative-transfer codes. In the present work, the self-continuum cross-sections, CS, are newly determined at 3.3 µm (3007 cm−1) and 2.0 µm (5000 cm−1) by optical-feedback-cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy (OFCEAS) and cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS), respectively. These new data allow extending the spectral coverage of the 4.0 and 2.1 µm windows, respectively, and testing the recently released 3.2 version of the MT_CKD continuum. By considering high temperature literature data together with our data, the temperature dependence of the self-continuum is also obtained.


Summary Intracellular recordings from the swim musculature of the pteropod mollusc Clione limacina revealed two types of activity during spontaneous swimming movements. One group of muscle cells produced either excitatory junctional potentials (EJPs) or spike-like responses during both slow and fast swimming. The second group of muscle cells were either silent or produced extremely small EJPs during slow swimming, and EJPs or spike-like responses during fast swimming. Injections of horseradish peroxidase (HEP) into the two types of muscle cells indicated that the former are slow-twitch fibers while the latter are fast-twitch fibers. A comparison of the two muscle cell types indicated that the slow-twitch fibers are larger and have less negative resting potentials than the fast-twitch cells. Electrical coupling was detected between pairs of slow-twitch cells, but could not be demonstrated between pairs of fast-twitch cells or between mixed pairs of cells. Spike-like responses in both cell types exhibited non-synaptic facilitation in response to direct depolarizing stimulation. Both the maximum size and the initial rate of facilitation were frequency-dependent. Spike-like responses were followed by a depolarizing afterpotential that apparently summed to produce a baseline depolarization that may be involved in non-synaptic facilitation.


One of the major challenges faced in present scenario is the treatment of wastewater produced during industrial process. Various effluent treatments are adopted for achieving the discharge standards. Different technologies like RBC, ASP, trickling filter, SBR are used for removal of BOD, COD, and TAN etc. We need to adopt such technology to meet with the standards made by CPCB to maintain the environment of the aquatic life. The discharge standards for industrial BOD, COD and TAN are 100 mg/lit, 250 mg/lit and 50 mg/lit respectively. In this project, we have gone through theoretical comparison between aerobic, anaerobic treatments; attached and suspended growth, moving bed and fixed bed reactors. Analysis of various parameters like COD, BOD, TDS, pH, NH3-N+ of the ASP stream. MBBR presents several operational advantages like less HRT, smaller footprint; this technology gives us low concentration of solids leaving the biological reactors and good settling characteristic of sludge. Various trials at different flow rates were carried out to get optimized flow rate.


An alternate definition of the asymmetry parameter τ, appearing in the Cameron decomposition is presented. The new definition is signed as τs, but in absolute value, it is equivalent to the previous definition. The Cameron decomposition signed asymmetry parameter τs is given in terms of the Huynen decomposition parameters, including but not limited to the Huynen helicity (asymmetry) parameter. It is demonstrated that the Huynen decomposition asymmetry parameter is a poor indicator of scatterer symmetry. The relationship between the Cameron and Huynen decomposition parameters is examined for special cases.


Now a day's use of cloud computing is rapidly increasing. Cloud infrastructure is being a common solution adopted by large organizations for storing and accessing data. It provides current need for data storage with a flexible and dynamic storage that can grow.  In this paper we describe the design and development of a cloud computing based secure cloud data storage using encryption. Cloud data storage is a major solution to overcome this problem. These mechanisms to provide data integrity and security for client's data in cloud storages. In users should be able to just use the cloud storage as if it is local, without worrying about the need to verify its integrity. This understands the trend in terms of complexity and strength of a secured solution and provides some insights of what is still left in such area of research. Cloud data storage provide better privacy as well as ensure data availability and reliability can be achieved by dividing the user's data block into data pieces. Cloud storage is of critical importance so that users can resort to a third party auditor (TPA) to check the integrity of outsourced data and be worry-free


CONTEXT
The risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers has been examined in many studies, but relatively little attention has been paid to the degree to which the risk may vary among carriers.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the extent to which risks for BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers vary with respect to observable and unobservable characteristics.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Probands were identified from a population-based, case-control study (Women's Environmental Cancer and Radiation Epidemiology [WECARE]) of asynchronous contralateral breast cancer conducted during the period of January 2000 to July 2004. Participants previously diagnosed with contralateral breast cancer or unilateral breast cancer were genotyped for mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2. All participants had their initial breast cancer diagnosed during the period of January 1985 to December 2000, before the age of 55 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Incidence of breast cancer in first-degree female relatives of the probands was examined and compared on the basis of proband characteristics and on the basis of variation between families.

RESULTS
Among the 1394 participants with unilateral breast cancer, 73 (5.2%) were identified as carriers of deleterious mutations (42 with BRCA1 and 31 with BRCA2). Among the 704 participants with contralateral breast cancer, 108 (15.3%) were identified as carriers of deleterious mutations (67 with BRCA1 and 41 with BRCA2). Among relatives of carriers, risk was significantly associated with younger age at diagnosis in the proband (P = .04), and there was a trend toward higher risk for relatives of contralateral breast cancer vs unilateral breast cancer participants (odds ratio, 1.4 [95% confidence interval, 0.8-2.4]; P = .28). In addition, there were significant differences in risk between carrier families after adjusting for these observed characteristics.

CONCLUSION
There exists broad variation in breast cancer risk among carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.


Control Mechanisms of Energy Dissipation in the Cytomembrane and Cytosol.- Plasma Membrane Involvement in Brown Fat Thermogenesis.- Does Cytoplasmic Alkalinization Trigger Mitochondrial Energy Dissipation in the Brown Adipocyte?.- Thresholds for Na+ and Ca++ Effects on Thermoregulation.- Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase Activity in Whole Brown Adipose Tissue of Rat in Vitro.- ?-Adrenergic Receptors in Brown Adipose Tissue: Identification by (-)[3H]Dihydroalprenolol Binding.- Control of Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase in Brown Adipose Tissue of Infant Rats.- The "Second Messenger" System in Brown Adipose Tissue of Developing Rats. Its Molecular Composition and Mechanism of Function.- Control Mechanisms of Energy Dissipation in the Mitochondria.- Energy Dissipation in Brown Adipose Tissue Mitochondria.- The Identification of the Component in the Inner Membrane of Brown Adipose Tissue Mitochondria Responsible for Regulating Energy Dissipation.- Polyamine and Magnesium Effects on Mitochondrial Respiration in Control and Heat-Acclimated Rats.- Succinate Oxidation in Hamster Brown Adipocytes.- Energy Dissipation in Brown Fat.- 6-OH-Dopamine and the Development of Brown Adipose Tissue in the Cold.- Endocrine and Neural Control of Energy Dissipation.- Thermogenic Mechanisms and their Control.- Levels of Noradrenaline in Plasma During Thermogenesis Induced by Cold-Exposure or by Noradrenaline Infusion in Warm- and in Cold-Acclimated Rats.- Brown Adipose Tissue: The Dominant Site of Nonshivering Thermogenesis in the Rat.- Control of Brown Fat Thermogenesis by the Sympathetic Nervous System.- Hormonal Thermogenesis of "Non-Norepinephrine" Type.- "Cascade" Principle of the Control of Non-Shivering Thermogenesis by Intravenously Infused Noradrenaline.- Effects of Diets and Cold Acclimation on Lipoprotein Lipase Activity and Cyclic Nucleotide Levels in Some Tissues of Rats.- Thyroid Thermogenesis.- Latency of Thyroid Hormone Action on Heat Production in the Rat.- Increased Cell Membrane Permeability to Na+ and K+ Induced by Thyroid Hormone in Rat Skeletal Muscle.- The Mechanism of the Respiratory and Transport Effect of Thyroid Hormone on Small Intestinal Mucosa.- Thyroidal Regulation of Renal Functions and of Renal Cortical Adenosine Triphosphatase Activity in the Rat.- Nutritionally-Induced Alterations in Thyroid Hormone Metabolism and Thermogenesis.- Non Shivering Thermogenesis and Implication of the Thyroid in Cold Labile and Cold Resistant Populations of the Golden Spiny Mouse (Acomys Russatus).- Energy Dissipation in the Organism: Hypometabolism, Cold Adaptation.- Role of Various Sites in Thermoregulatory Thermogenesis.- Glucocorticoids and Carbohydrate Metabolism in Hypothermic and Hibernating Hamsters.- Comparative Measurements of in Vitro Thermogenesis of Brown Adipose Tissue from Control and Cold Adapted Rats.- Hypothalamic Thermosensitivity in Mammals.- Studies onsome Thermogenetic Enzymes in Brown Adipose Tissue of Genetically Obese Mice.- Some Effects of Acute Cold Stress on Carbohydrate Metabolism in the Rat.- Free Fatty Acid and Glycerol Metabolism in Cold Exposed New-Born Rabbit.- The Role of the Body Mass: Body Surface Ratio in Thermoregulatory Responses to Cold, Hypoxia, and Hypercapnia in New-Born, Adult, and Aged Guinea Pigs.- Hibernation.- Hibernation as a Model for Studies on Thermogenesis and its Control.- Control of Non-Shivering Thermogenesis in a Hibernator.- Comparison of Induced and Spontaneous Arousals in Hibernating Hedgehogs.- Thermogenesis in Burn.- Metabolic and Hemodynamic Aspects of the Hypothermia of Early Burn Shock.- Metabolic & Thermoregulatory Responses to Thermal Injury.


The insulin receptor, following insulin stimulation of cells, triggers formation of various signaling complexes. In rat HTC hepatoma cells overexpressing normal human insulin receptors (HTC-IR), p85 regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) forms signaling complexes containing the insulin receptor, insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1), guanosine triphosphatase-activating protein (GAP) and 60-70 kDa phosphotyrosine proteins (p60-70). In the present study, we demonstrate that p60-70 interacts directly with the p85 subunit via src homology 2 domain of the latter. Employing antibodies specific to two p85 isoforms, p85alpha and p85beta, we demonstrate that HTC-IR cells express both p85 isoforms, and these isoforms induce the formation of similar signaling complexes in response to insulin. p60-70, present in both alpha-p85alpha and alpha-p85beta immunoprecipitates, is a GAP-associated protein, but is distinct from the p68 src-associated protein in mitosis (Sam68) by several criteria. These data suggest that 1) GAP-associated protein, but not Sam68, is a part of insulin signaling complexes; and 2) p85alpha and p85beta form similar, but distinct, insulin receptor signaling complexes.


Patients with hemoglobinopathies can be at risk for significant maternal and fetal morbidity during pregnancy. This is especially true for those gravidas with SCD or certain thalassemia disorders. With intensive management, pregnancy outcome for these women has improved dramatically, and approximates that of the general population. Criteria for diagnosis for many of these conditions are well established. Appropriate therapeutic interventions are more controversial, but, regardless, emphasize the need for a heightened awareness of these disorders and their potential complications.


In this paper an attempt has been made to estimate farm level technical inefficiency on wheat farms in Haryana State, India. This paper applies stochastic frontier production function for wheat farmers using unbalanced panel data for three years from 1996-97 to 1998-99. The farm level panel data was collected from 200 farmers spread over in each year forming 592 total observations. The frontier function involves inputs such as human labour, fertilizers, irrigation expenditure, seeds, land area and capital expenditure. All the estimates have expected signs. The results showed that the null hypothesis of absence of technical inefficiency effects was rejected indicating that the traditional average response function was not an adequate representation of the data given the specification of stochastic frontier model. The farm specific technical efficiencies estimated were observed to be time varying. The technical efficiency showed wide variation across sample farms ranging from 0.4346 to 0.9598 in the 3rd year of the study period. The mean technical efficiency was found to deteriorate through the years in wheat production. It declined from 0.9172 in 1st year to 0.9025 in 3rd year. The mean technical efficiency indicates that the realized output could be increased by about 10 percent without any additional resources. More than 2/3rd of total sample farmers had technical efficiency above 0.90. Various socioeconomic and technological factors may be responsible for the observed inefficiency and further rise in inefficiency in wheat production. Because of lack of information/data on these factors, this aspect has not been studied in the present paper, which could have provided an insight into the factors for policy framework.


Background: Insufficient data are available to support the routine use of tranexamic acid (TXA) in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgeries with respect to administration method and frequency, exposure duration, dose, and adverse effects. Purpose: To investigate whether intra-articular (IA) administration of TXA could reduce hemarthrosis and postoperative pain in patients after ACL reconstruction. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: A total of 47 patients were included in this study, which was performed between July 2017 and May 2019. Single-bundle reconstructions using autologous hamstring tendon grafts were performed in all patients. The patients were randomized into 2 groups: the TXA group (received the index procedure with 100-mL IA injection of TXA [30 mg/mL]) and a control group (did not receive IA injection of TXA). No patients received a drain. Blood loss was calculated on the basis of hemoglobin balance at postoperative day (PD) 2. The visual analog scale (VAS) for pain score was assessed at PD 3. The midpatellar circumference was measured at PD 2 and PD 5. Knee range of motion (ROM) was evaluated 6 weeks after surgery. Results: The mean ± SD blood loss was 467 ± 242 mL in the TXA group and 558 ± 236 mL in the control group. No significant differences were found for blood loss (P = .20), VAS pain scores (P = .28), ROM at postoperative week 6 (P = .61), or patellar circumference at PD 2 (P = .75) and PD 5 (P = .84). Conclusion: This study showed that IA administration of 3.0 g of TXA had no effect in reducing blood loss and postoperative pain after primary anatomic single-bundle ACL reconstruction using quadruple hamstring autografts. Registration: NCT04042688 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier).


The participation of Greek dance teachers and members of dance groups in Greek traditional dance workshops has risen immensely during the last three decades in Greece. The explicit interest in obtaining additional knowledge in Greek traditional dances and the constant interaction of teachers-participants-organisers in the area where the workshop takes place, has created a particular characteristic "space" within the overall phenomenon of Greek traditional dance education. The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of Greek traditional dance workshops in Greece by exploring the content, methods, and teaching styles of the longest-running workshop in Greece, organised each year by the non-profit cultural association "En Choro"(Εν Χορώ/In Dance). For this purpose, ethnographic research was carried out with its application to the dance research methodology. Data analysis was based on: a) teaching methods for Greek traditional dance; b) teaching styles proposed by Mosston and Ashworth (1994); and c) observation of the teaching process through the Cheffers Adaptation of Flanders Interaction Analysis System (CAFIAS). The findings of this research indicate that the teachers use a variety of teaching methods, while, the teaching process, as a whole, is dominated by the command style. Even though alternative teaching perspectives have been proposed during the last several years, dance teachers seem to disregard the new teaching directions or are reticent regarding the use of those new methods.


Working on Wellness is a program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, developed and managed in partnership with Health Resources in Action and Advancing Wellness.


We consider the task of breaking down a quantum computation given as an isometry into C-NOTs and single-qubit gates, while keeping the number of C-NOT gates small. Although several decompositions are known for general isometries, here we focus on a method based on Householder reflections that adapts well in the case of sparse isometries. We show how to use this method to decompose an arbitrary isometry before illustrating that the method can lead to significant improvements in the case of sparse isometries. We also discuss the classical complexity of this method and illustrate its effectiveness in the case of sparse state preparation by applying it to randomly chosen sparse states.


Frontera et al.1 should be commended on the breadth of their report on neurologic diagnoses in COVID-19. Although stroke, seizure, GBS, encephalitis, and meningitis rates are similar to our recent study,2 and others,3,4 their rates of encephalopathy were markedly lower (6.9% vs 31.8%).1,2 This likely reflects their methodology of adjudicating diagnoses only from chart review of patients with neurologic consultation. Our study similarly included patients with confirmed SARs-CoV-2 RT PCR and ascribed diagnoses by neurologist adjudication. We recognized that delirium—an entity within the encephalopathy spectrum—is the purview of multiple specialties.5 As such, encephalopathy would not reliably result in neurologic consultation; we adjudicated all charts and leveraged protocolized delirium assessments. The methodology of Frontera et al. likely failed to identify many encephalopathic patients, limiting their estimation of neurologic morbidity. Nevertheless, encephalopathy remained the most frequent neurologic diagnosis. In addition, prematurely excluding headache as a "neurologic symptom" limits the scope and understanding of SARS-CoV-2 neuropathogenesis. As we determine optimal management and decipher the long-term consequences of COVID-19 and encephalopathy, study methodologies should consider that not all neurologic complications result in in-hospital neurologic consultation. Consistently, neurologic manifestations of COVID-19 are common and encephalopathy impacts morbidity. Interestingly, despite similar ventilation rates (26.3% vs 22.0%), our cohort's hospital mortality was considerably lower (8.4% vs 21.4%).1,2 Although New York experienced a critical strain on hospital infrastructure early in the pandemic, our Chicago area hospital system never experienced the same overwhelming case surge. Taken together, Frontera et al. and our study may reflect the magnitude of public health benefit that could be realized by avoiding case volumes that overwhelm health care infrastructure. This should further emphasize the benefit of universal masking, social distancing, and building redundancy into health care infrastructure.


The current military respirator provides protection from contaminants using a cartridge packed with adsorbent activated carbon particles treated with metal salts to provide protection from toxic gases. However, the user of this respirator is subject to a physiological burden as a result. One component of this burden is the pressure drop, which makes breathing through the respirator filter difficult, with the burden becoming more severe at higher breathing rates. This project investigates the reduction of pressure drop and hence burden in respirator cartridges by using adsorbent hollow fibres. These are made up of adsorbent powder held together with a polymer binder to replace the conventional adsorbent particles. Adsorbent hollow fibres have a number of advantages, including lower pressure drop, the ability to operate in any orientation, no special filling requirements and customisability against emerging threats, such as toxic industrial chemicals. Dynamic challenges were performed using ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and cyclohexane as candidate gases, as each typifies a particular category of toxic industrial chemicals. Adsorbent hollow fibres were customised by treating with metal salts, metal organic frameworks and pore forming agents, and by replacing the hollow fibre polymer binder with a novel microporous polymer. In addition, the pressure drop of these adsorbent fibres was compared to granular beds. Pressure drop was then modelled using the Hagen-Poiseuille equation, and the breakthrough time was modelled with the Wheeler-Jonas equation, enabling the prediction of pressure drop and breakthrough time for new designs of adsorbent hollow fibre cartridges.


A very simple spectrophotometric method using measurements at zero-crossing wavelength is described for resolving binary mixtures of the food dyes, Sunset Yellow (E-110) and Quinoline Yellow (E-104). Calibration graphs are linear up to 15.0 m gml-1 of Sunset Yellow (r = 0.9998), and Quinoline Yellow (r = 0.9999). The assay procedure for E-110 and E-104 in pharmaceutical products involves the extraction of the dyes with AcOH/NaOAc buffer solution (pH = 4.5), filtration, and measurement of the second derivative absorbance values at 410.0 nm for E-104 and 533.1 nm for E-110. This method was used for determining synthetic mixtures of these dyes in different ratios and it was successfully applied to two commercial products without a previous separation step.


13-lined ground squirrels (TLGS; Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) are small, omnivorous, fossorial, hibernating sciurids. TLGS are seasonal induced ovulators, with a ~28-day gestation period. The main goal of this study was to ascertain whether enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of TLGS fecal samples can be used to non-invasively detect pregnancy. Competitive ELISAs for progestogen metabolites were conducted on feces collected from a group of (n =13) females. Feces were collected thrice weekly during the breeding season and frozen for subsequent analysis. Competitive ELISAs were run using progesterone kits ), setting data against seven different time-points between hibernation, emergence, and litter birthdate. Eleven females produced litters. ELISA data from the (n = 2) non-pregnant females demonstrated no rise in progestogen metabolites at any point over 28 days. In contrast, data from the (n = 11) pregnant females all demonstrated a pronounced rise in progestogen metabolites, with most animals displaying progesterone withdrawal in the final week of gestation. A >20-fold rise in progestogen metabolite was observed halfway through gestation (P < 005). Analysis on litter size and progestogen metabolite concentration showed no significant correlation (r2 = −0.615). Initial correlation analysis done on sex ratio of litters vs progestogen metabolites showed no significant effect of progesterone on sex ratios (males: r2 = −0.772, females: r2 = 0.375). This work demonstrated that TLGS also undergo progesterone withdrawal about a week before parturition. We have ascertained that a commercially available progesterone assay kit can detect a significant elevation in progestogen metabolites in this species about halfway through gestation. Lay summary This research was conducted to discover whether pregnancy prediction is possible in female 13-lined ground squirrels (TLGS; a small hibernating ground squirrel named for their number of stripes). Pregnancy status in this species, we postulated, could be anticipated by generating profiles for individuals via a non-invasive technique known as fecal endocrine hormone profiling. Fecal samples were collected from 13 females thrice weekly for 4 weeks post-hibernation in the breeding season of 2016. Fecal samples were then processed and run through an assay known as an ELISA giving concentrations of hormone metabolites excreted through feces. We then set these samples against time points to develop a profile for each female. We have ascertained that elevated progesterone (potential pregnancy) can be detected by a commercially available assay kit. Understanding hormone patterns in animals gives researchers a better idea of best husbandry practices, including breeding in managed care.


It was in November 2019 that the first cases of humans infected by COVID-19 were identified in Wuhan, China. In November 2020, the Center for Systems Science Engineering at John Hopkins University reported 55 million global cases and 1.3 million deaths. World Health Organisation broke down the global cases by regions. Until November 2020, there were 23.1 million confirmed cases in the Americas, 15.2 million in Europe, 10 million in South-East Asia, 3.5 million in Eastern Mediterranean, 1.4 million in Africa and 0.8 million in Western Pacific. These numbers show that this is a public health crisis at global scale and is not contained to a single region as happened in the recent past. Since the 2000s, there were some smaller-scale outbreaks, such as SARS (2002-2003, 700 deaths), Swine Flu (2009-2010, 200 thousand deaths) and, Ebola (2014-2016, 11.3 thousand deaths). To find a pandemic leading to a larger death toll one must go back to the 1950s and 1960s. The Asian Flu (1957-1958) killed 1.1 million people and the Hong Kong Flu (1968-1970) with 1.0 million deaths.
COVID-19 pandemic is far more than a public health crisis. It has been disrupting the livelihood of everyone, affecting the economy, and having a negative social impact on a globalised world. The landscape across several industries changed suddenly. Industries had to adapt to the pandemic, including Education and Sports. For instance, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported in September 2020 that at least 463 million children whose schools closed due to COVID-19, had no access to home-based learning. At the peak of the first wave and lockdowns, around 1.5 billion schoolchildren were affected by school closures. One out of three children did not have any kind of formal education for more than 6 months. Now, most educational systems are providing at least remote (radio, TV, online, etc.) or blended learning. It is no different in the Sports industry. In 2019, the 6 most popular team sports in Portugal (Handball, Basketball, Football/Soccer, Futsal, Roller Hockey) had 220,000 age-group athletes. By November 2020, these 6 team sports had a total of 46,000 age-group athletes. In one year, about 174,000 young athletes dropped out of the sport or were no longer registered at the governing bodies (i.e., National Sports Federation). One may wonder the short- mid- and long-term impact of the lack of formal education and sports participation in this cohort of schoolchildren.
Countries have been putting in place guidelines allowing athletes to resume training and competition. The guidelines, its stringency and enforcement vary from country to country and there is no stablished consensus on the best practices to tackle the transmission of the virus. There is an ongoing discussion if face mask can or should be worn doing physical exercise. A few of questions are raised quite often when one is engaged in dialogs on this matter: (1) does the mask affects the athletic performance? (2) how comfortable is to exercise wearing a face mask? (3) does the mask leads to hypercapnia (the increase of partial carbon dioxide in the body)?
The number of research papers in the literature on this topic is rather scarce (as of 14 November 2020). Running a search, it was possible to retrieve seven papers addressing the abovementioned questions (Roberge et al., 2010; Goh et al., 2019; Epstein et al., 2020; Fikenzer et al., 2020; Otsuka, Komagata, & Sakamoto, 2020; Shaw et al., 2020; Wong et al., 2020). Overall, 187 participants were recruited in these seven studies (between 6 and 106 participants). Most studies requested the participants to perform endurance exercises (cycling and walking/running) during 6 to 60 minutes at moderate-vigorous intensity (Figure 1). One study did not report the duration of the exertion, one reported 60 minutes and all others less than 20 minutes. Thus, studies addressed the effect of wearing a face mask (cloth mask, surgical mask or filtering facepiece/N95) during short bouts at moderate-maximal intensity. As such, it remains unclear the effect of wearing face mask in a wide range of sports and exercise programmes that do not require such level of physical exertion (duration and intensity).
A random effects model (restricted maximum likelihood) was run on R to estimate the effect sizes of wearing face mask (experimental conditions) in comparison to not wear it (control condition) in the athletic performance, perceived effort and partial carbon dioxide (Figure 2). Wearing face masks had a trivial effect on the athletic performance (I2 = 0%; g = -0.05; 95CI: -0.34;0.25). Therefore, wearing the mask has no effect on the performance delivered during reasonably short bouts of moderate-maximal intensity. Face masks had a large effect on the perceived effort (I2 = 71%; g = 0.61; 95CI: 0.03; 1.19). Thus, the mask is deemed as a discomfort during exercise. The face mask had a large effect on carbon dioxide retention (I2 = 76%; g = 0.55, 95CI: -0.13; 1.23). Carbon dioxide increased wearing the face mask, but below 45 mm Hg, which was selected as a cut-off value for hypercapnia (Yang et al., 2015; Morales-Quinteros et al., 2019). Having said that, the upper bound of the 95% confidence interval of at least one study (Roberge et al., 2010) is close to 45 mm Hg (95CI: 37.99-46.00) wearing a filtering facepiece/N95 and walking 60 minutes at 4 km/h. Due to the small number of studies available, one should refrain from running further analyses such as subgroup comparisons (cloth masks vs surgical mask vs filtering facepiece/N95) to have insights on the statistical heterogeneity.
In summary, little is known about wearing face mask in exercise programmes and sports that do not require short bouts (6 to 20 minutes) of moderate-maximal exertion. Face mask does not change the athletic performance in 6-20 minutes bouts of moderate-maximal exertion. However, it increases the perceived effort and the partial carbon dioxide, even though below 45 mm Hg. Exercise and sport participation guidelines under COVID-19 pandemic should strike a balance between evidence furnished by public health, economy, and sport sciences. Policymakers are invited to take into consideration the sport science evidence abovementioned when drafting and updating guidelines on physical exercise in Sports and Education settings.


Underprescription of hemodialysis is an important barrier to adequate delivery of dialysis. We sought to determine which patient factors are associated with hemodialysis underprescription and to examine variation in prescription across facilities. For 721 randomly selected patients from all 22 chronic hemodialysis units in northeast Ohio, we calculated prescribed Kt/V based on dialyzer urea clearance at prescribed blood and dialysate flow (K), prescribed treatment time (t), and anthropometric volume (V). A minimum 'prescribed Kt/V' of 1.3 has been recommended to ensure an adequate 'delivered Kt/V' of 1.2. Using this criterion, 15% of patients had a low prescribed Kt/V. Prescribed Kt was strongly related to patient anthropometric volume but not to other patient characteristics (age, gender, race, cause of renal failure, number of years on dialysis, number of comorbid conditions). A 10-liter increase in V was associated with an 8.3-liter increase in prescribed Kt. However, a 13-liter increase in prescribed Kt would be needed to maintain a prescribed Kt/V of 1.3. As a result, the proportion of patients with low prescriptions increased from 2% of patients with V <35 liters to 42% of patients with V ≧50 liters. In addition, the prevalence of low prescriptions varied dramatically across facilities (range 0–47%) even after accounting for volumes of individual patients. Of the 109 patients with low prescription, 75% would achieve a prescribed Kt/V of 1.3 with less than 30 min of additional treatment time. In conclusion, large patients and patients at specific facilities are at increased risk for underprescription of hemodialysis. Most patients with low prescriptions would achieve a prescribed Kt/V of 1.3 with a modest increase in treatment time.


The attempted takeover of six US port terminals by Dubai Ports World (DPW), based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has strained the historically amicable US-UAE relationship. The future looks grim: a recent Gulf News poll reported 64 percent of readers claimed the deal's dismissal "changed their opinion for the worst" regarding investing in the United States. The rejection of the ports deal was based largely on vote-garnering political moves, and the economic barrier imposed by the US Senate does not bode well for future business and political relations with the UAE and other foreign investors. DPW's expansion is an indication of the UAE's recent economic growth. Middle Eastern countries have managed to take advantage of global oil price hikes to produce an expected US$320 billion in oil and gas revenues in 2006. This period of sustained economic growth is starkly different from the region's last: in the oil boom that lasted from 1973 to 1985, much of the resulting revenue was saved in foreign banks. These banks in turn lent the funds to Latin American governments that could not repay their debts. As a result, the UAE's windfall oil revenues were effectively lost in the process. However, this time around, investors benefitting from the high price of oil in the UAE chose to avoid the low return of bank loans and instead placed their funds in more risky and lucrative investments. As a result of investing in capital markets in the Middle East, these investors provided for a period of sustained growth in the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries. Middle Eastern stock markets have produced soaring gains, with a 770 percent gain in Dubai's Financial Market Index since 2002. The booming economy and the diversification of UAE investor funds are fueling the sort of worldwide acquisitions that have recently thrust DPW into controversy. When the US news media began reporting on DPW, US Congressmen and citizens were up in arms against the prospect of a UAE company owning US port terminals through their purchase of previous operator British P & O. In reality, foreign operation of American ports is hardly anomalous--the majority of US ports are foreign owned. In Los Angeles, for instance, only 20 percent of port terminals are domestically operated and managed. This seems to be a commonly overlooked fact, as US Senators Hillary Clinton and Robert Menendez have suggested a ban on foreign ownership of port terminals. Their proposal does not seem to provide a clear argument that DPW represents a threat to national security. US politicians have regarded DPW's ports deal as politically significant. Senator Chuck Schumer even ventured to ask, "Should we be outsourcing our own security?" in order to simultaneously play on US citizens' fear of outsourcing of jobs and opening a port for terrorists. …


The multi-messenger detection of the gravitational-wave signal GW170817, the corresponding kilonova AT2017gfo and the short gamma-ray burst GRB170817A, as well as the observed afterglow has delivered a scientific breakthrough. For an accurate interpretation of all these different messengers, one requires robust theoretical models that describe the emitted gravitational-wave, the electromagnetic emission, and dense matter reliably. In addition, one needs efficient and accurate computational tools to ensure a correct cross-correlation between the models and the observational data. For this purpose, we have developed the NMMA (Nuclear-physics and Multi-Messenger Astrophysics) framework. The code allows incorporation of nuclear-physics constraints at low densities as well as X-ray and radio observations of isolated neutron stars. It also enables us to classify electromagnetic observations, e.g., to distinguish between supernovae and kilonovae. In previous works, the NMMA code has allowed us to constrain the equation of state of supranuclear dense matter, to measure the Hubble constant, and to compare dense-matter physics probed in neutron-star mergers and in heavy-ion collisions. The extension of the NMMA code presented here is the first attempt of analysing the gravitational-wave signal, the kilonovae, and the GRB afterglow simultaneously, which reduces the uncertainty of our constraints. Incorporating all available information, we estimate the radius of a 1.4 solar mass neutron star to be $R=11.98^{+0.35}_{-0.40}$ km.


African lions, Panthera leo, engage in many cooperative activities including hunting, care of young, and group territoriality, but the contribution of juvenile lions to these activities has never been documented. Here we present experimental evidence that juvenile lionesses make a gradual transition to group-territorial defence between weaning (8 months) and sexual maturity (42 months). When challenged by simulated intruders played from a loud-speaker, juvenile females (but not males) become progressively more likely to join the adult females in territorial defence with age, and their behaviour is affected by both the number of defending adults and the number of intruders. We interpret the ability of juveniles to assess relative numbers as an adaptation for assessing the risk of territorial conflict according to their own fighting ability, and the ability of their pride to successfully defend the territory. The difference between the sexes reflects the greater value of the natal territory to philopatric females. Adult females display a variety of strategies when defending the territory, including unconditional and conditional forms of cooperation. We show here that individuals display the rudiments of these strategies as juveniles.


Introduction. Long-term steroid administration may predispose liver transplant recipients to infectious and metabolic complications. Maintaining effective immunoprophylaxis while minimizing the negative consequences of steroid therapy could be a key factor in improving clinical outcomes. Methods. Six hundred two patients were randomized to receive tacrolimus (TAC) immunosuppression with a single-steroid bolus and two doses of daclizumab (DAC) or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). Results. The incidence of biopsy-proven acute rejection was 19.7% in the TAC/DAC group and 16.2% in the TAC/MMF group (ns). Three-month patient and graft survival were similar. Steroid use at month-3 was low at 5.5% in the TAC/DAC group and 3.9% in the TAC/MMF group. Significantly higher incidences of causally related adverse events (AEs) and significantly more dose modifications, interruptions, or discontinuations due to an AE were reported with TAC/MMF. Study withdrawal due to leucopenia was significantly higher with TAC/MMF (0.0% vs. 1.7%. P≤0.05). AEs were generally reported less frequently in the TAC/DAC group. However, specifically headache and supraventricular arrhythmia were significantly higher with TAC/DAC, whereas leucopenia and bacterial infection were significantly higher with TAC/MMF. Laboratory indices of renal function were similar, and increases in serum lipids were negligible in both groups. Incidences of de novo diabetes mellitus (≥2 fasting plasma glucose values ≥7.0 mmol/L) were low at 9.5% (TAC/DAC) and 11.0% (TAC/MMF). Conclusion. Both TAC-based regimens allowed optimization of immunoprophylaxis while eliminating some of the negative consequences associated with steroids. Efficacy outcomes were comparable; however, TAC monotherapy after DAC induction was associated with significantly less leucopenia and less bacterial infection than a dual regimen incorporating MMF.


Retrospective analysis of prognostical significance of different data concerning occurrence of purulent complications of an acute pancreatitis (AP) was conducted. There was established, that activity of myeloperoxidate and content of interleukin--8 mostly often are correlated with frequency of purulent complications occurrence of an AP.


In this paper, we study about Automated Library System (ALS) which is a cost effective and space saving alternative to common document shelving technologies. Addressing the need for space efficiency, secure and automated document and records handling, ALS is a turnkey design and software solution focused on reliability and maintainability. Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) are designed for automated storage and retrieval of book items. Retrieval of items is accomplished by specifying the item type and quantity to be retrieved. The computer determines where in the storage area the item can be retrieved from and schedules the retrieval.


The relevance of context has been acknowledged also recently as a fundamental element for the correct evaluation of argumentative moves within institutional fields of interaction. Indeed, not considering the larger culture-specific and social features of the context within which the interactions take place poses problems of interpretation of the data and comparability of results. Starting from these considerations, the paper aims at discussing a model for the description of the social context of interaction that may allow for a better interpretation and evaluation of argumentative moves within medical consultations. The efficacy of the model is shown by applying it to the description and analysis of examples of real-life consultations recorded in the Italian region of Lombardy. In the first section, the model for the description of the social context of interaction is presented and discussed. In the second section, examples of argumentative passages from a selection of consultations are presented and commented on by relying on the model. Some concluding remarks and further developments of the research are proposed in the final section


Andrew Cohen, who has covered international affairs at home and abroad as a journalist for 25 years, is Associate Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa.The themes of this article are explored further in While Canada Slept: How We Lost our Place in the World, to be published by McClelland & Stewart in May, 2003.A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE CALAMITOUS EVENTS of 11 September 2001, John Manley, then Canada's minister of foreign affairs, mused about Canada and its place in the world. More lawyer than diplomat, Manley was artlessly and unusually frank in conversation with journalists. 'We are still trading on our reputation that was built two generations and more ago,' he complained, 'but that we haven't continued to live up to. You can't just sit at the G-8 table and then, when the bill comes, go to the washroom. If you want to play a role in the world, even as a small member of the G-8, there's a cost to doing that.' He cited 'the glaring inadequacy' of Canada's capacity in areas of foreign and defence policy and how that weakness was compromising its ability to honour its traditional commitments overseas.Manley did not withdraw his comments when he was received coolly in cabinet. Indeed, the next day he reiterated that 'a lot of things have changed since 11 September. And one of those is that the burden that we are going to have to be asked to bear internationally is going to become greater. And we're not going to have an option, if we intend to play the influential role we have in the past... without shouldering the burden.'Manley, who has almost ten years experience as minister, has a penchant for making direct, provocative remarks; over the next few months, after he was appointed finance minister and deputy prime minister, he would cause a tempest when he questioned the meaning of the monarchy in Canada during a visit to the country by Queen Elizabeth. Amid the puree of platitudes that passes for truth in Ottawa these days, though, his lament had a ring of authenticity. It was a siren call to a country whose presence in the world is a shadow of its former self.Manley speaks of a sense of Canada beyond its shores that is narrower today than it was in the past, especially in the decade or so after the Second World War. Canada is no longer as strong a soldier, as generous a donor, or as effective a diplomat. This reality is apparent to anyone who examines the strength of Canada's military, the size and reach of its official development assistance, and the quality and stature of its foreign service. Canada's decline is not a secret - it has been obvious in some areas for decades - but it is only now, as our obligations grow, that our weakness is more accentuated and the gap between our resources and our rhetoric is more acute.A sceptic might ask: Decline? What decline? At first glance, Canada seems to be as engaged internationally as ever. Indeed, surveying the breadth of Canada's roles abroad, a visitor to Canada in 2002 might reasonably wonder what all the hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing was about.After all, there was Jean Chretien playing host to the leaders of the world's richest industrialized nations last June in Kananaskis, Alberta, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, confirming Canada as a member of the inner circle of the world's biggest economies - even if economists argue that it no longer deserves to be there. While the G-8 is the most exclusive club to which Canada belongs, it is only one of many. Beyond the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Organization of American States, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Commonwealth of Nations and la francophonie - most of which Canada helped found - Canada is a member of virtually every other agency and organization, big or small, global or regional. …


The assembly of aligned porous materials from simple building blocks is of widespread interest for engineering materials with enhanced and synergistic properties. To date, however, how to develop 3D heterojunction aerogels with aligned porosity based on 2D semiconductor materials and 1D conducting polymers for solar energy conversion in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) light region remains a significant challenge. Here a new class of gram-scale 3D aligned heterojunction aerogels of polypyrrole (PPy)/C3N4 nanosheets (NSs) were designed and synthesized by directional freezing of polypyrrole (PPy)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and C3N4 NS aqueous suspension. The synthesis of aligned C3N4–PPy heterojunction aerogels can be achieved on a large scale. The formed aerogel expresses stable and uniform dispersion of the two building blocks, long-range channel aligned structures along the whole monolithic sample, and additional special complementary optical properties between PPy and C3N4 NSs. Based on the above unique structure and optical properties, this novel metal-free heterojunction aerogel exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity and long-term stability for direct arylation of heteroaromatics under visible and near infrared (NIR) light irradiation at room temperature, far exceeding those of the single- and two-component systems. Our work therefore not only provides a new approach to obtain aligned heterojunction aerogels based on metal free semiconductors but also paves a way to develop gram-scale aerogels as a new type of highly efficient visible and NIR light induced heterogeneous photocatalyst.


Abstract According to some authors, Latour's attention to politics during the last decades is the result of his proposing a different approach to politics that entails, with respect to his overall project, one of two situations. Either his epistemological proposal has suffered a "normative turn"—which necessarily breaks with the previous assumptions of Actor-Network Theory (ANT); or, if ANT's view on technosciences remains valid, his political proposal becomes not possible as a new normative approach. In this paper, I will focus on the critique voiced by John Law, as well as Graham Harman. I will argue that this is a false dilemma because there has not been a change in Latour's conceptual basis, nor a lack of coherence within his thought that would undermine the democratic commitment of his Political Epistemology. I will justify this by exposing the fact that Latour's overall project, as part of Science Studies, has not lately followed a "political" but an "ontological" turn, which has been underling his works since the very beginning of ANT.


We surveyed 1325 law professors, 338 student editors, 215 attorneys, and 156 judges about their beliefs about U.S. law reviews and the need for reforms. Law reviews play a critical role in the law and legal education in the U.S. They are also one of the best means for social scientists to convey research about the law to legal professionals. Law professors were generally the most critical of law reviews and student editors were usually the least critical. Respondents identified several problems with law reviews. They believed that law review articles are too long. Most respondents also believed that U.S. law reviews have a negative effect on law professors' careers and that they are not meeting the needs of attorneys and judges. The vast majority of respondents indicated that reforms are needed and that U.S. law reviews should implement blind, peer reviews. We also discuss the significance of our findings for the U.S. legal system and for social scientists who study the law.


Motivated by recent search results for the standard model (SM) Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), we revisit the Higgs phenomenology in the littlest Higgs model with T-parity (LHT). We present the signal strength modifier μ respectively for the main search channels qq′ → jjh → jjγγ, qq′ → V h → V γγ, qq′ → V h → V bb, gg → h → γγ, and gg → h → V V in the LHT model. It is found that an enhancement factor of 1.09 − 1.56 in qq′ → jjh → jjγγ channel can be obtained for this model in Case B with parameter f in the range 1000 GeV∼ 500 GeV. However, the rates for bb̄, τ τ̄ are significantly suppressed relative to the SM predictions which are still consistent with the current sensitivity. It is hoped that will be further tested with larger integrated luminosity at the LHC. PACS numbers: 14.60.Hi, 12.60.-i, 13.66.De ∗Electronic address: firstname.lastname@example.com


This study analyses whether board independence and expertise in banks have increased and whether banks' board term duration has shifted to annual basis following the recommendations of Walker (2009). This study employed the two-step system generalised method of moments estimation method to analyse the relationship between these changes and bank performance. Findings provide empirical evidence that by adapting the recommendations in the Walker Report related to the increase in percentage of outside directors with financial expertise, electing a chairperson with financial expertise and a shift in the board member re-election term to annual basis enhances bank performance. Lastly, this study demonstrates that an increase in board independence and expertise and a shift in the board re-election term to annual basis are particularly relevant for small banks (as measured by total assets). These findings are robust to the alternative bank performance measure using Tobin's Q. JEL Classsification: G21, G32


Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a physical technology that enables the secure generation of bit streams (keys) in two separated locations. This technology is designed to provide a solution for very secure (quantum-safe) key agreement, which is nowadays at risk due to advances in quantum computing. The recent demonstration of a QKD network in the metropolitan area of Madrid shows how these networks can be deployed in current production infrastructure by following existing networking paradigms, such as software-defined networking. In particular, a three-node QKD network is implemented on the metropolitan area network using existing infrastructure and coexisting with other data and control services. On the other hand, telecommunication networks are drastically changing the way services are architectured. Users of the operator's infrastructure are moving from traditional connectivity services (e.g., virtual private networks) to a set of interconnected network functions, either physical or virtual, in the shape of service function chaining (SFC). However, SFC users do not have a method to validate that the traffic flow is appropriately forwarded across the nodes in the network, a situation that may lead to very critical security breaches (e.g., a security node or a firewall in the chain that is bypassed). This work presents a method for validating ordered proof-of-transit (OPoT) on top of the Madrid Quantum Network. We first provide a general description of the QKD network deployed in Madrid. Then, we describe an existing security protocol for PoT in packet networks, analyzing its issues and vulnerabilities. Finally, this work presents a protocol for alleviating the security breach found in this work and for providing OPoT in SFC. Finally, an example of the real implementation is shown, where nodes being part of the OPoT scheme are provisioned with QKD-derived keys.


Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is an economically, nutritionally and industrially important cereal crop worldwide. Ethiopia is believed to be the center of origin and diversity of the cultivated barley crop. The crop has been cultivated in the country since time immemorial. The midlands and highlands of Ethiopia are suitable for barley cultivation. However, there are many biotic and abiotic factors that reduce production and productivity of the crop in Ethiopia and elsewhere. Of the various fungal plant diseases limiting barley productivity, loose smut (Ustilago nuda) is one of the major cosmopolitan and destructive seedborne pathogen in many barley-producing countries in the world. This piece of work was undertaken to: 1) review the economic importance and ecological requirements of barley and extent of grain loss due to barley loose smut; 2) review the biology and ecological requirements of the pathogen leading to epidemics; and 3) compile the management options for sustainable barley production and productivity. To achieve these objectives, data and information were gleaned from scientific journal publications, PhD dissertations, Master's theses, research reports, books and book chapters, proceedings and symposia papers, relevant compendia, internet resources, personal communications, and similar other resources. From the reviews made, it could be deduced that barley loose smut on average causes estimated grain yield losses that range from 25 to 30% in the world. The systemic pathogen is embedded in the scutellum part of the embryo and easily transmitted to the next cropping season. The pathogen sori commonly replace the spike during anthesis and healthy ears are infected at flowering through the teliospores blown by wind. Warm soil when seedlings emerge is more conducive to loose smut than cold soil; however, moderate temperature (15 to 22 oC) and damp cloudy weather or heavy rainfall at flowering time are the preconditions required by the pathogen for heavy infection because of elongated or extended period of open flowers. Barley loose smut can be better managed through the use of proper cultural practices in integration with hot water and solar heat seed treatment, use of resistant varieties, and effective systemic fungicides, like Azoxystrobin, Carboxin, Difenoconazole, Mancozeb, Propiconazole, Tebuconazole, Triadimenol, and Triticonazole. It could, thus, be concluded that barley loose smut is a very important disease that seriously affects barley production and productivity worldwide, but can be reasonably managed through the use of smut-free seed, certified seed, host resistance, and hot water/solar heat or systemic fungicidal seed treatment or their integration.


OBJECTIVES
A South African insurer launched a rebate program for healthy food purchases for its members, but only available in program-designated supermarkets. To eliminate selection bias in program enrollment, we estimated the impact of subsidies in nudging the population towards a healthier diet using an instrumental variable approach.

METHODS
Data came from a health behavior questionnaire administered among members in the health promotion program. Individual and supermarket addresses were geocoded and differential distances from home to program-designated supermarkets versus competing supermarkets were calculated. Bivariate probit and linear instrumental variable models were performed to control for likely unobserved selection biases, employing differential distances as a predictor of program enrollment.

RESULTS
For regular fast-food, processed meat, and salty food consumption, approximately two-thirds of the difference between participants and nonparticipants was attributable to the intervention and one-third to selection effects. For fruit/ vegetable and fried food consumption, merely one-eighth of the difference was selection. The rebate reduced regular consumption of fast food by 15% and foods high in salt/sugar and fried foods by 22%- 26%, and increased fruit/vegetable consumption by 21% (0.66 serving/day).

CONCLUSIONS
Large population interventions are an essential complement to laboratory experiments, but selection biases require explicit attention in evaluation studies conducted in naturalistic settings.


ABSTRACT

Octariyan, Naftali Rifqi. 2017. "The Inner Conflict and Ego Defense Mechanism from Takiya Genji The Main Character's on Film Crows Zero. An Psychoanalysis Study". A Thesis for Department of Japanese, Diponegoro University. Advisor: Budi Mulyadi, S.Pd, M. Hum.
 This thesis using film as the object of the study entitled Crows Zero. This study supported by library research ti get the data. The theory that the writer use is theory of narrative unsure film, a conflict theory stated by Robert Stanton and Sigmund Freud's theory of psychoanalysis that explaining about human personality.
 This study will explain about the inner conflict experienced by the main character which is Takiya Genji in the Crows Zero film. This study also will explain about the ego defense mechanism that the main character used to solve the conflict. The result of this study is TakiyaGenji have an ignorance, ambitious, temperamental, brutal and loyal characteristic. The inner conflict that Takiya Genji experienced is two different type of conflict. It is influenced by the external factors and internal factors. The external conflict that Genji experienced is when he had a conflict during the formation of GPS Gang and conflict with Tokio. Meanwhile, the internal conflict is when a conflict in Genji's mind in case to accept the challenge from his father, conflict Genji challenging Serizawa to fight, Genji conflict when recruiting member for GPS Gangs, and when Genji wants to conquer Suzuran. The result is Genji have his own uniqueness. It is the superego which doing something based on moral is so dominating more than Id element which is doing something based on in seek of happiness. The solve the conflict that happen to Takiya Genji is using the ego defense mechanism to reduce the anxious feeling.
Keywords: TakiyaGenji, Crows Zero, Inner conflict, and ego defense mechanism


Friedreich's ataxia is a debilitating progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with cardiomyopathy and other features. The underlying cause is a deficiency of the mitochondrial protein frataxin which causes mitochondrial iron deposition, increased oxidative stress and impaired adenosine triphosphate production. Over the last 15 years, multiple clinical trials have assessed the efficacy of antioxidant agents in this disease. This article reviews trials of the two most important agents, namely co-enzyme Q10 and idebenone.


Objectives: Reentry experiences for the 600,000 people released annually from federal and state prisons differ vastly. We contend that gangs, which rose to prominence alongside mass incarceration, are an overlooked source of variation in reentry experiences. Drawing on precepts from the street gang literature, we test whether patterns of recidivism differ by official and survey measures of current, former, and non-gang status. Methods: Data from a representative sample of 802 prisoners interviewed prior to their release in 2016 were linked to 36 months of post-release arrest, conviction, and imprisonment records. Survival curves and multivariable discrete-time survival analysis were used to test for differential patterns of recidivism. Results: The conditional risk of recidivism varied by gang status. Current gang members maintained the greatest risk for all recidivism types. While former gang members were more likely to get arrested than non-gang members, there were no differences in conviction and imprisonment. Official and survey gang measures mostly told the same story, although official measures appeared to be more reliable determinants of recidivism than survey measures. Conclusions: Distinguishing former from current and non-gang members is important for policy, practice, and research. These findings renew calls to understand and respond to social groups and networks like gangs for prisoner reentry.


This paper reports results from a feasibility study carried out by EXTENDE and EDF CEIDRE about characterization of planar defects located in a welded cylindrical specimen with the Total Focusing Method (TFM). First, the characterization of EDM notches in a welded part with a complex internal profile is evaluated by simulation. The simulated results are compared to experimental ones and show good agreement. A characterization procedure for planar defects with TFM is proposed. It is applied to fatigue cracks and shows convincing results. Detection but also characterization of planar breaking backwall defects seem possible with TFM when using LL direct mode reconstruction of the region of interest. However, corner echo mode reconstruction may also complete and confirm the defect characterization depending on some conditions detailed in this paper (probe positioning, geometry knowledge, ...).


The advancement of medical knowledge is quintessentially based on the authentic and reliable scientific research and publications. This is in addition to the recently mandated requirement of original research publications in indexed journals to ensure career progression in academic/medical institutions; thus, the need for 'publications' in scientific medical scholarly journals has increased substantially. On the other hand, this has given an unparalleled rise in the number of standalone journals and publishers 'predatory' is the term, who are ready to process the manuscripts on priority with almost guaranteed publication, at a cost, but having no credibility to the research being published. To foster awareness creation among students at the post-graduate level and for faculty of medical colleges and research institutions, it has become very important to avoid these predatory journals. It is high time that the thinking among researchers of 'publish or perish' be changed to 'Publish and Flourish' by adopting stringent measures which have evolved over time to curtail this birch of predatory publishing. Researchers should now take the road less travelled. This review article aims to highlight all the relevant and important points about the threats posed by predatory journals and also suggests possible ways to overcome them. Republished with permission from: Jain NC, Khan GS. Predatory Journals: A Downside on Research and Hampering the Impact and Relevance of Scientific Outcome. RUHS J Health Sci 2018;3:99-105.


A highly dynamic control scheme with very low torque ripple-direct self control (DSC) with torque hysteresis control-for very high-power medium-voltage induction motor drives fed by a double three-level inverter (D3LI) is presented. In this arrangement, two three-level inverters that are connected in parallel at their DC sides are feeding the open motor windings. The DSC, well known from two- and three-level inverters, is adapted to the D3LI and optimized for a minimum torque ripple. An 18-corner trajectory is chosen for the stator flux of the induction machine since it is approaching the ideal circle much better than the hexagon known from DSC for two-level inverters, without any detriment to the torque ripple. The machine and inverter control are explained and the proposed torque quality and dynamics are verified by measurements on a 180-kW laboratory drive.


Efficient Algorithms for Sorting on GPUs Seema Mahesh Munavalli Major Advisor: Dr. Sanguthevar Rajasekaran Sorting is an important problem in computing that has a rich history of investigation by various researchers. In this thesis we focus on this vital problem. In particular, we develop a novel algorithm for sorting on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). GPUs are multicore architectures that offer the potential of affordable parallelism. We present an efficient sorting algorithm called Fine Sample Sort (FSS). Our FSS algorithm extends and outperforms sample sort algorithm presented by Leischner[2], which is currently the fastest known comparison based algorithm on GPUs. The performance gain of FSS is mainly achieved due to the quality of the samples selected. By quantitative and empirical approach, we found out the best way to select the samples, which resulted in an efficient sorting algorithm. We carried out the experiment for different input distributions, and found out that FSS outperforms sample sort by at least 26% and on an average by 37% for data sizes ranging from 40 million and above across various input distributions.


It is shown theoretically that the feedback sensitivity of Distributed Bragg Reflector laser diodes with low-loss Bragg section decreases with the length of the Bragg section and also can be decreased by detuning from the Bragg peak. The effect of detuning is not only due to a change in effective linewidth enhancement factor, but also due to a change of the effective cavity length. The results can be applied also to laser diodes coupled on one side to one or more ring resonators Such lasers can have very weak feedback sensitivity.


Scientists are increasingly overwhelmed by the volume of articles being published. Total articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science have grown exponentially in recent years; in 2022 the article total was 47% higher than in 2016, which has outpaced the limited growth, if any, in the number of practising scientists. Thus, publication workload per scientist (writing, reviewing, editing) has increased dramatically. We define this problem as the strain on scientific publishing. To analyse this strain, we present five data-driven metrics showing publisher growth, processing times, and citation behaviours. We draw these data from web scrapes, requests for data from publishers, and material that is freely available through publisher websites. Our findings are based on millions of papers produced by leading academic publishers. We find specific groups have disproportionately grown in their articles published per year, contributing to this strain. Some publishers enabled this growth by adopting a strategy of hosting special issues, which publish articles with reduced turnaround times. Given pressures on researchers to publish or perish to be competitive for funding applications, this strain was likely amplified by these offers to publish more articles. We also observed widespread year-over-year inflation of journal impact factors coinciding with this strain, which risks confusing quality signals. Such exponential growth cannot be sustained. The metrics we define here should enable this evolving conversation to reach actionable solutions to address the strain on scientific publishing.


Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding can identify terrestrial taxa utilising aquatic habitats alongside aquatic communities, but terrestrial species' eDNA dynamics are understudied. We evaluated eDNA metabarcoding for monitoring semi-aquatic and terrestrial mammals, specifically nine species of conservation or management concern, and examined spatiotemporal variation in mammal eDNA signals. We hypothesised eDNA signals would be stronger for semi-aquatic than terrestrial mammals, and at sites where individuals exhibited behaviours. In captivity, we sampled waterbodies at points where behaviours were observed ('directed' sampling) and at equidistant intervals along the shoreline ('stratified' sampling). We surveyed natural ponds (N = 6) where focal species were present using stratified water sampling, camera traps, and field signs. eDNA samples were metabarcoded using vertebrate-specific primers. All focal species were detected in captivity. eDNA signal strength did not differ between directed and stratified samples across or within species, between semi-aquatic or terrestrial species, or according to behaviours. eDNA was evenly distributed in artificial waterbodies, but unevenly distributed in natural ponds. Survey methods deployed at natural ponds shared three species detections. Metabarcoding missed badger and red fox recorded by cameras and field signs, but detected small mammals these tools overlooked, e.g. water vole. Terrestrial mammal eDNA signals were weaker and detected less frequently than semi-aquatic mammal eDNA signals. eDNA metabarcoding could enhance mammal monitoring through large-scale, multi-species distribution assessment for priority and difficult to survey species, and provide early indication of range expansions or contractions. However, eDNA surveys need high spatiotemporal resolution and metabarcoding biases require further investigation before routine implementation.


Reflectance and vegetation indices obtained from aerial images are often used for monitoring crop fields. In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become popular and aerial images have been collected under various solar radiation conditions. The value of observed reflectance and vegetation indices are considered to be affected by solar radiation conditions, which may lead to inaccurate estimations of crop growth. In this study, in order to evaluate the effect of solar radiation conditions on aerial images, canopy reflectance in paddy fields was simulated by a radiative transfer model, FLiES (Forest Light Environmental Simulator), for various solar radiation conditions and canopy structures. Several parameters including solar zenith angle, proportion of diffuse light for incident sunlight, plant height, coordinates of plants and leaf area density, were tested in FLiES. The simulation results showed that the solar zenith angle did not vary the canopy reflectance under the conditions of the proportion of diffuse light at 1.0, but the variation was greater at lower proportions of diffuse light. The difference in reflectance caused by solar radiation was 0.01 and 0.1 at the maximum for red and near-infrared bands, respectively. The simulation results also showed that the differences in reflectance affect vegetation indices (Simple Ratio (SR), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index 2 (EVI2)). The variation caused by solar radiation conditions was the least for NDVI and the greatest for SR. However, NDVI was saturated at the least leaf area index (LAI), whereas SR was only slightly saturated. EVI2 was intermediate between SR and NDVI, both in terms of variation and saturation. The simulated reflectance and vegetation indices were similar to those obtained from the aerial images collected in the farmers' paddy fields. These results suggest that a large proportion of diffuse light (close to 1.0) or a middle range of solar zenith angle (45 to 65 degrees) may be desirable for UAV monitoring. However, to maintain flexibility of time and occasion for UAV monitoring, EVI2 should be used to evaluate crop growth, although calibration based on solar radiation conditions is recommended.


In this work, we address the single robot navigation problem within a planar and arbitrarily connected workspace. In particular, we present an algorithm that transforms any static, compact, planar workspace of arbitrary connectedness and shape to a disk, where the navigation problem can be easily solved. Our solution benefits from the fact that it only requires a fine representation of the workspace boundary (i.e., a set of points), which is easily obtained in practice via SLAM. The proposed transformation, combined with a workspace decomposition strategy that reduces the computational complexity, has been exhaustively tested and has shown excellent performance in complex workspaces. A motion control scheme is also provided for the class of non-holonomic robots with unicycle kinematics, which are commonly used in most industrial applications. Moreover, the tuning of the underlying control parameters is rather straightforward as it affects only the shape of the resulted trajectories and not the critical specifications of collision avoidance and convergence to the goal position. Finally, we validate the efficacy of the proposed navigation strategy via extensive simulations and experimental studies.


Smart Specialization in this research is addressed to the use of collaboration as a tool for increasing efficiency of investment in entrepreneurship, research and innovation in a service-driven post-industrial economic system. This study provides evidence that collaboration potential is used only partly during the implementation of Smart Specialization strategy. The research illustrates given thesis by the evaluation of collaboration in Lithuanian biogas sector, which is listed among the priorities of Lithuania's Smart Specialization strategy till 2020, using structured interviews. The main aim of this empirical research is to assess the will to collaborate in order to enhance the development of Smart Specialization and identify unused collaboration potential among all Quadruple Helix model counterparts in the biogas sector. Empirical findings show that collaboration in the Smart Specialization development has a big potential. However, this potential is used only partly because of lack of knowledge and available business infrastructure for this task and the passive role in collaboration processes of government institutions. Research findings suggest that current situation should be changed by supporting measures for business and NGOs with the aim to encourage collaborative initiatives for Smart Specialization. Research findings might serve as guidelines for policy makers, entrepreneurs, university and NGO managers.


Many telecommunication systems allow only a short delay in the terminal. This restriction stems from the fact that a delay will disturb the conversation. Therefore only a short delay is permissible in noise reduction processing. The well-known spectral subtraction method has been modified to introduce only a short delay and a variance reduced gain function. This modification is accomplished by viewing the spectral subtraction as an FFT filter design method which designs a time-varying filter for each block of data. The design will, however, only give the amplitude function, thus in order to obtain a causal filter a phase must be imposed. The spectral subtraction will not provide any phase information hence a minimum phase is imposed on the filter. The designed filter is transformed to the time-domain and the actual noise reduction filtering will be performed in the time-domain with only a short delay. The proposed method reduces the noise by 10 dB with a maximum processing delay of 7 samples.


Recently the present authors' group found that porous silicon showed strong and stable white/white-blue light emission after successive thermal carbonization and oxidation by water vapor. This material can be considered as a price-competitive solid-state white-light source. We examined these layers by electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM). The EEL spectra indicated that the silicon skeleton in the porous layer was completely oxidized by the thermal treatment in wet argon ambient and multi-types of carbon phases were present in the 1073 K oxidized sample of stronger emission, while carbon complexes including Si and/or O were formed in the 1223 K oxidized sample of weaker light emission. EF-TEM images showed that carbon/oxygen were more uniformly distributed in the 1223 K oxidized sample. It is assumed that the strong light-emitting properties are controlled by the size and internal chemical bonding states of carbon clusters incorporated.


Advocacy of 'methodological individualism' is widespread, especially among economists. However, the term is rarely defined with adequate precision and some crucial ambiguities are explored in this article. Among these is the commonplace ambivalence over whether explanations should be in terms of individuals alone, or in terms of individuals plus relations between them. It is shown that a great deal hinges on this subtle and often overlooked distinction in explanantia. In particular, explanations in terms of individuals alone have never, as yet, been achieved. Furthermore, the more feasible version of explanations in terms of individuals plus relations between them amounts to the introduction of social structure alongside individuals in the explanantia. Serious questions remain whether this version warrants the one‐sided emphasis on individuals in the term 'methodological individualism'. JEL Classifications: B20, B40, B41


A massive hybrid array consists of multiple analog subarrays, with each subarray having its digital processing chain. It offers the potential advantage of balancing cost and performance for massive arrays and therefore serves as an attractive solution for future millimeter-wave (mm- Wave) cellular communications. On one hand, using beamforming analog subarrays such as phased arrays, the hybrid configuration can effectively collect or distribute signal energy in sparse mm-Wave channels. On the other hand, multiple digital chains in the configuration provide multiplexing capability and more beamforming flexibility to the system. In this article, we discuss several important issues and the state-of-the-art development for mm-Wave hybrid arrays, such as channel modeling, capacity characterization, applications of various smart antenna techniques for single-user and multiuser communications, and practical hardware design. We investigate how the hybrid array architecture and special mm-Wave channel property can be exploited to design suboptimal but practical massive antenna array schemes. We also compare two main types of hybrid arrays, interleaved and localized arrays, and recommend that the localized array is a better option in terms of overall performance and hardware feasibility.


This paper examines irregular South-South migration from China to Ghana, and the role it has played in transforming livelihoods and broader developmental landscapes. It looks at the entry from the mid-2000s of approximately 50,000 Chinese migrants into the small-scale gold mining sector. They were mainly from Shanglin County, an area of alluvial gold mining. In Ghana, they formed mutually beneficial relationships with local miners, both legal and illegal, introducing machinery that substantially intensified gold production. However, the legal status of Chinese miners was particularly problematic as, by law, small-scale mining is restricted to Ghanaian citizens. In mid-2013 President Mahama established a military task force, which resulted in the deportation of many Chinese miners. This paper examines the experiences of undocumented Chinese migrants and Ghanaian miners. Findings are that this short-lived phenomenon has had long-lasting effects and significant consequences for Ghanaian and Chinese actors, as well as transforming economic, political, and physical landscapes in Ghana.