The aim of the research to find out The Effect of Sensory Images Strategy on the Seventh Grade Students' Reading Comprehension. It tries to reveal whether there is a significant difference in the students' reading comprehension. Many research concluded that the Indonesian's people ability in reading comprehension is still low. top-performing countries had a relative strength in the interpreting, integrating, and evaluating reading comprehension skills and strategies compared to their reading achievement overall Hong Kong SAR 571, the Russian Federation 586, Singapore 567, Northern Ireland 558, and the US as well as the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of Florida 556 and reading average scale score in Indonesia 428. It means that reading comprehension in Indonesia is lower that other country.
This research is classified as a quasi-experimental study. The subjects of this study were 34 students of seventh grade at MTs Annidhom Jember where 17 students of VIIA and 17 students of VIIB. Class VIIB was chosen as the Experimental Group which was taught using sensory images strategy as the treatment while Class VIIB was chosen as the Control Group which was not taught using sensory images strategy. In the beginning of the study, both of Experimental and Control Groups were given a pre-test to measure the students' reading comprehension in the form of a test consisting of 20 questions. They were given a post-test with the same questions as the pre-test to find out whether there was a significant difference in their reading comprehension after the treatment. The data of the pre-test and post-test of both groups were analyzed using descriptive statistics and pre-analyze by using SPSS V20. After the data were tested and found to be homogeneous variance but the distribution of the data is not normal, the hypothesis was tested using Mann-Whitney test.
The result of this research shows that there is a significant difference in the students' reading comprehension who are taught by using sensory images strategy and those who are not. The significance of Mann Whitney test 0,003 < 0,05 level of significant. It means that the use of sensory images strategy has significant effect on the students' reading comprehension.
In addition, hopefully it will be useful for the English teacher as information to select, provide, and use appropriate sensory images strategy as main sources on learning English in EFL classrooms. The information can be used as a consideration to improve the teaching quality and creativity in teaching English by using sensory images strategy.


The political nature of abstraction presented from an artist's point of view – one who considers the most advanced task is the exploration of the language of pictures. Such exploration is understood as a separate discipline from the many others that employ pictures for practical functions. The author examines the development of 20th century abstraction as an effect of revolutionary social motion. Historic steps to abstraction, taking shape as rising and receding artistic movements, are correlated to revolutionary motion. The materialist underpinning of abstraction is distinguished from the idealism of Post-Modernism. The paper ends with an examination of contemporary discourse in the Western art world that attempts to erase the internationalism of abstraction and, thereby, marginalize non-Western practitioners.


Tracking control of piezoelectric actuators (PEAs) has stimulated the development of various advanced control schemes that utilize the feedback of PEA system states for improved control performance. Among them, the one based on the concept of sliding mode has been shown promising due to its robustness to matched uncertainties, but leaving the required state estimation to be desired. Previous studies show that the PEA can be modeled as a linear dynamic system with matched uncertainties. On this basis, this paper presents the development of a novel observer based on the concept of proportional-integral-derivative-based (PID-based) sliding mode, in which the switching function is replaced by a PID regulator. The novel observer, referred to as the PID-based sliding mode observer (PIDSMO), relaxes the observer matching condition as required in the use of the unknown-input observers. The PIDSMO is then integrated with the PID-based sliding mode controller (PIDSMC) to form a novel integrated PID-based sliding mode observer-controller (PIDSMOC) for PEA tracking control. Experiments performed on a PEA showed that the PIDSMO can accurately estimate the PEA states and that the integrated PIDSMOC can achieve better tracking control performances as compared to the PIDSMC with α-β filter control scheme.


Increased demand for cooling and decreased demand for heating in the built environment is one of the main anticipated modes of adaptation to higher temperatures due to climate change. California's residential sector uses relatively little electricity for heating. It is therefore expected that the demand for electricity will increase at the intensive margin as households operate existing air conditioners more frequently. Further, in many regions there will be an additional extensive margin adjustment as households will install air conditioners where there currently are few. Using the majority of California's residential electricity bills this paper provides reduced form estimates of the projected consumption impacts from the intensive and extensive margins separately using a two-stage method. It shows that accounting for capital investment leads to significantly higher projections of electricity consumption.


Signaling through the chemokine receptor CXCR2 in oligodendroglia is important for developmental myelination in rodents, while chemical inhibition or nonspecific genetic deletion of CXCR2 appears to augment myelin repair in animal models of the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS). To better understand the biology of CXCR2 signaling on oligodendroglia, we generated transgenic mice in which Cxcr2 is selectively ablated in oligodendroglia upon treatment with tamoxifen. Using a viral model of neuroinflammation and demyelination, we demonstrate that genetic silencing of CXCR2 on oligodendroglia did not affect clinical disease, neuroinflammation, or demyelination, yet there was increased remyelination. These findings support and extend previous findings suggesting that targeting CXCR2 may offer a therapeutic avenue for enhancing remyelination in patients with demyelinating diseases. ABSTRACT CXCR2 is a chemokine receptor expressed on oligodendroglia that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of neuroinflammatory demyelinating diseases as well as enhancement of the migration, proliferation, and myelin production by oligodendroglia. Using an inducible proteolipid protein (Plp) promoter-driven Cre-loxP recombination system, we were able to assess how timed ablation of Cxcr2 in oligodendroglia affected disease following intracranial infection with the neurotropic JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus (JHMV). Generation of Plp-Cre-ER(T)::Cxcr2flox/flox transgenic mice (termed Cxcr2-CKO mice) allows for Cxcr2 to be silenced in oligodendrocytes in adult mice following treatment with tamoxifen. Ablation of oligodendroglia Cxcr2 did not influence clinical severity in response to intracranial infection with JHMV. Infiltration of activated T cells or myeloid cells into the central nervous system (CNS) was not affected, nor was the ability to control viral infection. In addition, the severity of demyelination was similar between tamoxifen-treated mice and vehicle-treated controls. Notably, deletion of Cxcr2 resulted in increased remyelination, as assessed by g-ratio (the ratio of the inner axonal diameter to the total outer fiber diameter) calculation, compared to that in vehicle-treated control mice. Collectively, our findings argue that CXCR2 signaling in oligodendroglia is dispensable with regard to contributing to neuroinflammation, but its deletion enhances remyelination in a preclinical model of the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS). IMPORTANCE Signaling through the chemokine receptor CXCR2 in oligodendroglia is important for developmental myelination in rodents, while chemical inhibition or nonspecific genetic deletion of CXCR2 appears to augment myelin repair in animal models of the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS). To better understand the biology of CXCR2 signaling on oligodendroglia, we generated transgenic mice in which Cxcr2 is selectively ablated in oligodendroglia upon treatment with tamoxifen. Using a viral model of neuroinflammation and demyelination, we demonstrate that genetic silencing of CXCR2 on oligodendroglia did not affect clinical disease, neuroinflammation, or demyelination, yet there was increased remyelination. These findings support and extend previous findings suggesting that targeting CXCR2 may offer a therapeutic avenue for enhancing remyelination in patients with demyelinating diseases.


A novel image encryption method based on the random sequence generated from the generalized information domain and permutation–diffusion architecture is proposed. The random sequence is generated by reconstruction from the generalized information file and discrete trajectory extraction from the data stream. The trajectory address sequence is used to generate a P-box to shuffle the plain image while random sequences are treated as keystreams. A new factor called drift factor is employed to accelerate and enhance the performance of the random sequence generator. An initial value is introduced to make the encryption method an approximately one-time pad. Experimental results show that the random sequences pass the NIST statistical test with a high ratio and extensive analysis demonstrates that the new encryption scheme has superior security.


The development of MSEs has been identified as one of the strategies for the country's industrialization, employment generation and poverty reduction. Despite the increased number of MSEs in Ethiopia, the rate of MSE failure is alarming. It is expected that MSEs possess distinct skills found to have greater effect on their performances for their development. The aim ofthis study was to investigate the major performance determinants of micro and small scale enterprises in Jimma town. To achieve this purpose, descriptive research method was designed in order to identify the internal and external factors that affect the capital growth of MSEs. Mixed approach was used for answering research questions. 244 MSEs owners were selected by using stratified random sampling from three sub-cities. In the process of answering the basic questions, structured questionnaire that include demographic profiles, characteristics of MSE owners and their enterprises, determinants that affect the performance of Micro and small entrepreneurs was designed in open-ended, closed ended and likert scales. In addition, semistructured interviews were conducted with top officials of the TVET, MSEDO, and OCSSCO) were included in the study. Descriptive statistics involved the use of frequencies and mean. Inferential statistics were used to observe the variation in the growth of capital among the different levels of each of the explanatory variables with the aid of SPSS. Multiple Regression Model is used to test the hypotheses stated in this study regarding the performance of enterprises in relation to each of the independent variables of the study. The R2 result shows that there is a significant strong and linear relationship between the dependent variable growth of capital and the independent variables. Accordingly, result of the study indicates that access of credit has the biggest potential to contribute to the performance, followed by working premise, internal finance, infrastructural access, management skill, access of market, access of training, government policy and accounting and record keeping skill. The study also attempted to forward some possible recommendations. These among others include: MSE Owners," they have to develop their management, accounting, entrepreneurial and technical skill through training. ORMSEDA; should maintain special lending services to MSE. MSEDO Officers; should discuss with municipality manager and other administrative bodies to avoid the problem working premise and create market linkage, promotion and display places. OCSSCO should maintain individual lending systems and minimize the interest rates that they charge to MSEs. TVET Officers should facilitate both technical and entrepreneurial skill training.


This paper presents a framework for N-view triangulation of scene points, which improves processing time and final reprojection error with respect to standard methods, such as linear triangulation. The framework introduces an angular error-based cost function, which is robust to outliers and inexpensive to compute, and designed such that simple adaptive gradient descent can be applied for convergence. Our method also presents a statistical sampling component based on confidence levels, that reduces the number of rays to be used for triangulation of a given feature track. It is shown how the statistical component yields a meaningful yet much reduced set of representative rays for triangulation, and how the application of the cost function on the reduced sample can efficiently yield faster and more accurate solutions. Results are demonstrated on real and synthetic data, where it is proven to significantly increase the speed of triangulation and optimize reprojection error in most cases. This makes it especially attractive for efficient triangulation of large scenes given the speed and low memory requirements.


This paper explores the application of the Minimum Description Length principle for pruning decision trees. We present a new algorithm that intuitively captures the primary goal of reducing the misclassification error. An experimental comparison is presented with three other pruning algorithms. The results show that the MDL pruning algorithm achieves good accuracy, small trees, and fast execution times.


This study aims to clarify the roles of immersion and distancing (that is, reflection on an experience from an egocentric point of view or as an observer, respectively) on therapeutic change analyzing i) the evolution of these two perspectives across the resolution of a clinical problem, and ii) the relationship between immersion/distancing with symptoms and emotional arousal. We extracted all the passages of speech pertaining to the most relevant clinical problem of a good outcome case of depression undergoing cognitive-behavioral therapy. We assessed the distancing/immersion of these extracts using the Measure of Immersed and Distanced Speech, and emotional arousal with the Client Emotional Arousal Scale-III. The symptoms were assessed from the Beck Depression Inventory-II and Outcome Questionnaire-10.2. Immersion was associated with symptoms and negative emotions, while distancing was associated with clinical well being and positive emotions. Immersion was still dominant when depressive symptoms were below the clinical threshold. Clinical change was associated with a decrease in immersion and an increase in distancing. The dominance of immersion does not necessarily indicate a bad outcome.


Birth registration is a fundamental human right and constitutes legal proof of a child's existence and nationality. Without adequate documentation to verify identity, a person can become excluded from the benefits of living in society and can be condemned to social exclusion. In the Latin American and Caribbean region, 9 percent of children from zero to four years of age do not have a birth certificate. This publication presents some of the challenges that these children face in accessing health and education services in countries throughout the region. It also identifies the main obstacles that undermine the registration process. The publication concludes with recommendations to both improve the registration services offered and increase the citizens' demand for these services.


Assimilation of carbon-14 labeled bicarbonate into photosynthetic products was measured at four stations in the Southern Ocean. Phytoplankton populations incorporated as much as 80 percent of the fixed carbon into lipid under conditions of low temperatures (–0.2� to –1.8�C) and low light intensities. At higher temperatures (+0.3� to +0.8�C) and higher light intensities, incorporation into lipid accounted for less than 20 percent of the fixed carbon, synthesis of polysaccharide and protein being more prominent.


We study the effects of peers on risky decision making among adolescents in the age range of 13 to 15 years. In a field experiment, we randomly allocated school classes to two social interaction treatments. Students were allowed to discuss their choices with a natural peer – either a friend or a randomly selected classmate – before individually making choices in an incentivised lottery task. In the control group, adolescents made choices without being able to discuss them with a peer. In addition, we collected information on existing peer networks. This novel design allows us to separate two channels of peer influence, assortative matching on preferences and the effect of social interaction on choices. We find that friends and classmates are matched on socio-demographic characteristics but not on risk preferences. In contrast, social interaction strongly increases the similarity of teenagers' risky choices. A large fraction of peers align their choices perfectly.


Although previous studies have reported the effects of extensive subculturing on proliferation rates and osteogenic potential of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), the results remain controversial. The aim of our study was to characterize the proliferation and osteogenic potential of hMSCs during serial subculture, and also to identify proteins that are differentially regulated in hMSCs during serial subculture and osteogenic differentiation using proteome analysis. Here we show that the proliferation and osteogenic capacity of hMSCs decrease during serial subculturing. Several proteins were shown to be differentially regulated during serial subculture; among these the expression of T‐complex protein 1 α subunit (TCP‐1α), a protein known to be associated with cell proliferation, cell cycle, morphological changes, and apoptosis, gradually decreased during serial subculture. Among proteins that were differentially regulated during osteogenic differentiation, chloride intracellular channel 1 (CLIC1) was downregulated only during the early passages eukaryotic translation elongation factor, and acidic ribosomal phosphoprotein P0 was downregulated during the middle passages, while annexin V, LIM, and SH3 domain protein 1 (LASP‐1), and 14‐3‐3 protein gamma (YWHAG) were upregulated during the later passage. These studies suggest that differentially regulated passage‐specific proteins may play a role in the decrease of osteogenic differentiation potential under serial subculturing. © 2006 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 24:2059–2071, 2006


The uptake of solutions that increase energy efficiency is significantly lower for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is due to several barriers, among which legislation, motivation, finance and other resources play a large role. In this paper, we describe a framework of market readiness and use it to assess the asymmetry between existing solutions and opportunities in the market. The aim is to identify which steps can be taken in order to introduce more energy optimizations into SMEs, and who should be taking those steps. More specifically, we explore how four Danish SMEs, in different parts of the value chain in the food processing industry, view energy efficiency improvements, focusing on the potential reuse of waste heat, along with what they consider important for taking on such projects. The findings show that while the companies operate very differently, they share common motivations and barriers when it comes to energy efficiency. Based on these findings, this paper argues that the biggest advancements are not to be made within the SMEs, but partly through the legislation that affects the financial benefits of energy improvement solutions, and through the marketing approach that solution suppliers take towards their potential customers when addressing the inherently individual needs of SMEs.


Necrolytic Acral Erythema (NAE) is a recently described, poorly understood, rare dermatological entity, which is frequently associated with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. This report describes a 53 year old male with a 6 month history of well demarcated, reddish brown to hyperpigmented, scaly skin over dorsum of both hands and feet. Investigations revealed hypothyroidism and low serum zinc levels. Patient also tested seropositive for HCV. Histopathological examination revealed hyperkeratosis and subcorneal clefting along with areas of necrosis. Patient was started on oral zinc along with treatment for hypothyroidism, and improved symptomatically in 2 weeks. Early recognition of NAE is of prime importance to dermatologists as it allows diagnosis of HCV in previously unaware patients and gives way for efficacious treatment.


Eric P. McElravy, an active researcher in Trichoptera and other groups of aquatic insects for 4 decades, died in San Leandro, California, on August 27, 2014. He was born on November 28, 1946, and raised in Ohio. He completed a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree at Kent State University, and then spent 10 years as a high school science teacher before earning a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Entomology from the University of California, Berkeley. Following this, Eric worked as an environmental consultant on various projects throughout California.


Regional disproportions of the Russian insurance market have a considerable impact on insurance coverage of regional needs. The development of insurance relationship results from high-quality and structural changes in insurance interests both in corporate and in retail insurance, in voluntary and mandatory forms. Regional conditions define the quality and dynamics of insurance offer. At the same time, organizational, legal, financial requirements to insurance companies do not consider their specificity. Therefore, regional organizations are driven out from the market. Moreover, an insurer, especially in personal insurance and property and casualty insurance, remains with representative offices of the federal companies offering the uniform customs and not assuming individual approach. The results of the study have proved that during the development of Russian insurance based on market principles, territorial disproportions had a significant impact on the satisfaction of insurance interests. Currently, the situation has been aggravated due to increased insurance supervision, increased requirements for the authorized capital of insurance organizations, asset quality, significant additional costs for the transition to a new chart of accounts, XBRL data formats at the request of the Central Bank of Russia, the development of insolvency, temporary administration, bankruptcy. Additional diversion of resources to counter «insurance lawyers», the settlement of problems with the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) significantly affects the financial condition of insurance organizations, which are not in the list of the top 50 insurers. However, the access to the insurance services is not equal. Thus, in any region and locality in the country, consumers can not obtain insurance products of the required quality, even in the case of MPTL insurance for car owners. The conditions are unequal even for the settlement of claims in the area of insurance risks. We have considered the characteristics of the regional development of the insurance market and proposed additional criteria for their evaluation. We have identified the main problems of regional development, proposed a number of organizational and regulatory innovations to optimize the structure of the market. On the basis of the system comparative analysis of the regional insurance markets of Russia, we have concluded that there is a need for different approaches to determining the directions and key indicators for the development of regional insurance markets. The state of regional insurance is compared with the specificity of the regional economy, which is the basis for the development of insurance. We propose different requirements for the federal and regional insurance organizations. We have suggested new approaches to the regulation of regional insurance companies, which will allow to equalize supply and to improve the quality of insurance services in regional insurance markets.


The 238 U fission cross section is an international standard beyond 2 MeV where the fission plateau starts. However, due to its importance in fission reactors, this cross-section should be very accurately known also in the threshold region below 2 MeV. The 238 U fission cross section has been measured relative to the 235 U fission cross section at CERN – n_TOF with different detection systems. These datasets have been collected and suitably combined to increase the counting statistics in the threshold region from about 300 keV up to 3 MeV. The results are compared with other experimental data, evaluated libraries, and the IAEA standards.


Pitch, roll, and yaw moments can be developed by deflecting and changing the geometry of control surfaces. In this paper, smart flight control surfaces are designed using multi-node microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to displace control surfaces and change the surface geometry. These MEMS augment translational motion microstructures (actuators-sensors), controlling/signal processing integrated circuits (ICs), radiating energy devices and antennas. The desired pitch, roll, and yaw moments are produced, drag can be reduced, and unsteady aerodynamic flows are controlled by smart flight control surfaces. That is, we achieve aerodynamic moment and active flow control capabilities. The major objective here is to report fundamental and applied research in design of smart flight control surfaces with MEMS-based actuator-sensor-IC arrays controlled by hierarchical distributed systems. We demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the application of smart flight control surfaces for coordinated longitudinal and lateral vehicle control.


IZA DP No. 14880 NOVEMBER 2021 Access to Head Start and Maternal Labor Supply: Experimental and QuasiExperimental Evidence* We explore how access to Head Start impacts maternal labor supply. By relaxing child care constraints, public preschool options like Head Start might lead mothers to reallocate time between employment, child care, and other activities. Using the 1990s enrollment and funding expansions and the 2002 Head Start Impact Study randomized control trial, we show that Head Start increases short-run employment and wage earnings of single mothers. The increase in labor supply does not appear to reduce quality parent-child interactions. Viewing Head Start as a bundle of family-level treatments can shed new light on the impacts of the program beyond children. JEL Classification: J13, J22, H4, I28, H52, I38


The purpose of this study was to determine the effect and optimal dose of liquid organic fertilizer mikrobat on vegetative growth of local aromatic rice. The results showed that liquid organic fertilizer mikrobat in accession of Pare Mansur and Pare Pinjan rice varieties had a significant effect on growth of plant height (4, 8, and 12 weeks after planting), number of tillers (10 and 12 weeks after planting), wet weight, dry weight of plants and root length. Accession Pare Pinjan showed growth of plant height, number of tillers, wet weight, dry weight of plants and root length better than Pare Mansur.The use of liquid organic fertilizer at K1 concentration dose of 5% (5 ml of liquid organic fertilizer + 95 ml of water) is the best dosage for local aromatic rice Enrekang accession Pare Pinjan. Accepted: 20 March 2017 Available Online: 06 April 2017


Panel Data Econometrics with R provides a tutorial for using R in the field of panel data econometrics. Illustrated throughout with examples in econometrics, political science, agriculture and epidemiology, this book presents classic methodology and applications as well as more advanced topics and recent developments in this field including error component models, spatial panels and dynamic models. They have developed the software programming in R and host replicable material on the book s accompanying website.


Abstract Indonesian Labor or communly called by workers is one of the biggest source of foreign exchange in Indonesia. In Asia, Indonesia is one of the largest countries in terms of contributing labor to other countries. In the placement until the deportations, should be existence of a rule of law that protects rather than the interests of the workers either own or of the recipient country. Legal norms that can be a rule in this case the norms of labor law and international law. The method used in this paper is a research library, which is by collecting materials from books, journals, internet, print media, international legal instruments and the results of other scientific papers are closely related to the intent and purpose of the preparation of this paper. Keywords : Indonesian Labor , Labor law , International law


Andrews et al. present a form of instrumental adaptationism that is designed to test the hypothesis that a given trait is an adaptation. This epistemological commitment aims to make clear statements about behavioural natural kinds. The instrumental logic is sound, but it is the limits of our empirical imagination that can cause problems for theory construction.


Non-state transnational actors have always played a central role in Sahelian economic structures and geopolitical arrangements not least because of their capacity to constitute sources of authority and sustenance outside and across state structures. Recently, subversive battalions (qatiba) have resorted to kidnapping, raiding and ransoming as a means to a social justice with a redistributive dimension. One can draw a parallel with authority structures associated with 19 Century privateers and buccaneers, and more recently with pirates operating in the Indian Ocean. The parallel economy of ransoming emerges in a context of critical disruptions of traditional economic and mobility frameworks in the Sahel, the aggressive scramble for resources, and the displacement of the global war on terror in the Sahel. On the one hand, the Sahel has been subjected to different forms of intervention, ranging from attempts by national governments and non-governmental organisations and institutions to regulate, 'develop' and extend governance to the outlying peripheries of urban centres, to touristic ventures, various programmes and initiatives seeking to stabilise the region against a threat of 'somalisation' (TransSahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), AFRICOM). On the other hand, the enlargement of extractive enclaves such as French mining giant Areva, in collusion with Sahelian governments, has further expanded zones of exclusion against traditional forms of exchange and interaction. In this context, old forms of resistance to systematic attempts at governance, control and ordering re-emerge in non-conventional forms including smuggling, raids and kidnappings. In a post-9/11 order, external interventions under the disguise of development, governance and securitisation have but exacerbated precarious economic and political conditions in the Sahelian-Saharan region. This paper draws on discussions on high sea piracy and international law in an attempt to articulate an understanding of ransoming practices in the Sahel through a theory of social justice. Its objective is three-pronged. First, it examines the legitimation processes used by subversive groups, both ideological and religious. Secondly, it is concerned with the ethics of ransoming as a form of prosperity endeavour without morality. Thirdly, the parallel economy of smuggling in its recent history denotes an oscillating process between cooperation and subversion as two aspects of the same strategy of engagement between formal authorities and insubordinate groups in a context of scarcity. The paper argues that non-conventional forms of ransoming and criminal predation in the Sahel are not dissimilar to state practices and those of multinational corporations in so far as these divest ordinary citizens of their ability to become subjects outside the colluding forces of capital, state power and external interventions.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There are few longitudinal studies to determine the effect of aging on physical fitness and functional capacity of physically active women. The purpose of this study was to compare the evolution of neuromotor profile and functional capacity in active elderly women in one-year period as related to chronological age at the base line. METHODS: Sample consisted of 117 women from 50 to 79 years of age (: 65 ± 6.6 years) engaged in an aerobic program, twice a week, 50 minutes per session during 5.4 ± 3.0 years and divided in three age groups: 50-59 (n: 23); 60-69 (n: 60); 70-79 (n: 34). Motor function and mobility tests included: lower and upper limb strength, agility, trunk flexibility, velocity of rising from a chair, static balance, gait speed and maximum gait speed. Results at the base line and in two evaluations made at six-month interval were compared using a Two Way ANOVA, with a post-hoc Bonferroni. RESULTS: There were no differences regarding neuromotor performance, although velocity of rising from a chair and gait speed evidenced significant differences in groups 50-59 and 60-69 years, showing better results (10-20%); and for maximum gait speed there was an increase (8%) in 60-79 age groups. CONCLUSION: Present results suggest that physical fitness and functional capacity evolution had a similar pattern among physically active women, regardless of chronological age. This evolution supports the hypothesis of regular physical activity as a powerful tool to promote health, being of utmost importance to a healthy aging.


The thesis is an examination of the concept of the chronicler and the nature of the chronicle as developed by the GDR author Christoph Hein from the theoretical writing of the philosopherWalter Benjamin. It examines the role of the chronicler as portrayed in Benjamin's essay "Der Erzahler", and his theses on history "Uber den Begriff der Geschichte", and the way in which this was adopted and developed by Hein as the basis of his understanding of the nature and role of the author in GDR society. The role of the author as chronicler is fundamental to the understanding of Hein's literary production. A full and detailed analysis of the author's theoretical development of the concept of the chronicler, and its application in his works of prose fiction during his time as a writer in the GDR, has hitherto not been undertaken. The first chapter aims to examine Hein's understanding of history and the role of the chronicler in the context of his own theoretical writing. It begins with his analysis of the nature of historical understanding and the writing of history as practised in the GDR presented in the essay "Die funfte Grundrechenart". An examination then follows of Benjamin's concept of the chronicle and its adoption and development by Hein, based on interviews and essays by the author. It concludes with Hein's critique of progress in history through the examination of the essay "Maelzel's Chess Player goes to Hollywood. Das Verschwinden des kiinstlerischen Produzenten im Zeitalter der technischen Reproduzierbarkeit", in the context of Benjamin's historical theses "Uber den Begriff der Geschichte". The following chapters examine the role of the chronicler and the nature of the chronicle as they are presented in the prose fiction which Hein produced as an author in the GDR. The novella Drachenbhit, the novel Horns Ende, and the "Erzahlung" Der Tangospieler, as well as the collection of shorter prose fiction Nachtfahrt und friiher Morgen. The main finding of this thesis is that Hein develops the concept of the chronicle from the theoretical writings of Walter Benjamin into an intellectual position as a GDR author, by which he defines not only his role as an author, but which he also uses as a model for the creation of his prose fiction. Through his literary writing, he criticises the historical understanding which prevailed in the GDR and the idea of progress in history. His works are literary contributions which aim to broaden the discussion of the problems of social life in the GDR and the position of the author in relation to the state.


The Heat Shock Response (HSR) is an evolutionarily conserved response to high temperatures and other stresses that controls adaptive proteostasis, and is primarily regulated by the factor, Heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1). In mammalian cells, HSF1 is converted from an inactive monomeric form to an active trimer in response to heat stress. A ribonucleoprotein complex comprising of eukaryotic translation elongation factor eEF1A1, and a long noncoding RNA HSR1 are the key components of HSF1 activation. Once activated, HSF1 is recruited to Heat Shock Protein (HSP) promoter regions, upregulating chaperone activity in the cell. Along with mediating initiation of HSR, eEF1A1 is also a vital component of protein synthesis machinery. Interestingly, another isoform of eEF1A, called eEF1A2, is expressed in some specialized terminally differentiated cells of skeletal muscle, heart, pancreatic islets and motor neurons, all of which are prone to protein aggregation. The two isoforms are 92% identical and are reciprocally regulated. To better understand the role of eEF1A1 and HSF1 proteins in humans, we use a CRISPR‐Cas9 nickase system to knockout HSF1 and eEF1A1 in a human cell line. We showed that the hTERT‐immortalized, normal diploid foreskin fibroblast cell line, BJ‐5ta, produces both eEF1A isoforms. This will allow us to perform eEF1A1 knockout in these cells. We hypothesize that HSF1 knockout cell line will survive under normal conditions but express very low thermotolerance. Conjointly, we hypothesize that the elimination of eEF1A1 may be compensated by the upregulation of eEF1A2. If viable, the eEF1A1 knockout cell line will be used for screening mutants of eEF1A2 restoring activation of HSR. Both HSF1 and eEF1A1 knockout lines will also be used for future studies to improve upon the current model of the HSR pathway and potentially reveal therapeutic targets for diseases like ALS, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, and amyloidosis.


We prepared a series of paraffin wax (PW) based phase change composite containing ZnO, Al2O3 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles, respectively. DSC results showed that there is a decrease trend in phase change latent heat capacity (Ls) with an increase of metal oxide nanoparticle loadings. ZnO/PW has higher Ls than those of Fe2O3/PW and Al2O3/PW with same metal oxide nanoparticle loadings. Transient short-hot-wire (SHW) method was used to measure thermal conductivity of these composites. The results showed that nanoparticle addition leads to substantial enhancement in the thermal conductivity of the composites. The highest thermal conductivity of the measured composites is about 0.27 W/(m•K) of Fe2O3/PW with 3.0 wt% nanoparticles and Al2O3/PW with 5.0 wt% nanoparticles at 15 oC, which higher than that of PW by about 30%. The lowest thermal conductivity of composites is that of Al2O3/PW and ZnO/PW with 1.0 wt% nanoparticles at 60 oC, which higher than that of PW by about 7%.


Quench dynamics in a two-dimensional system of interacting fermions is analyzed within the semiclassical truncated Wigner approximation (TWA). The models with short-range and long-range interactions are considered. We show that in the latter case the TWA is very accurate becoming asymptotically exact in the infinite range limit, provided that the semiclassical Hamiltonian is correctly identified. Within the TWA, different dynamical time scales of charges and spins can be clearly distinguished. Interestingly, for a weak/moderate disorder strength, we observe subdiffusive behavior of charges, while spins exhibit diffusive dynamics. At strong disorder the quantum Fisher information shows logarithmic growth in time with a slower increase for charges than for spins. It is shown that in contrast to the short-range model, strong inhomogeneities like domain walls in the initial state can significantly slow down thermalization dynamics especially at weak disorder. This behavior can put additional challenges in designing cold-atoms experimental protocols aimed to analyze possible many-body localization in such systems. While within this approach we cannot make any definite statements about existence of a many body localized phase, we see a very fast crossover as a function of disorder strength from rapidly thermalizing to a slow glassy like regime both for the short-range and long-range models.


Dielectric capacitors hold a tremendous advantage for energy storage due to their fast charge/discharge times and stability in comparison to batteries and supercapacitors. A key limitation to today's dielectric capacitors, however, is the low storage capacity of conventional dielectric materials. To mitigate this issue, antiferroelectric materials have been proposed, but relatively few families of antiferroelectric materials have been identified to date. Here, we propose a new design strategy for the construction of lead-free antiferroelectric materials using interfacial electrostatic engineering. We begin with a ferroelectric material with one of the highest known bulk polarizations, BiFeO3. We show that by confining atomically-precise thin layers of BiFeO3 in a dielectric matrix that we can induce a metastable antiferroelectric structure. Application of an electric field reversibly switches between this new phase and a ferroelectric state, in addition, tuning of the dielectric layer causes coexistence of the ferroelectric and antiferroelectric states. Precise engineering of the structure generates an antiferroelectric phase with energy storage comparable to that of the best lead-based materials. The use of electrostatic confinement provides a new pathway for the design of engineered antiferroelectric materials with large and potentially coupled responses.


Background There is increasing evidence of the benefits of advance care planning in patients with advanced kidney disease. End of life care in Advanced kidney disease (2009) A framework for implementation has also recommended their use. Method Since 2008 in Calderdale a renal palliative care clinic has been established. All conservative care patients (not for dialysis) are seen by a palliative care consultant providing an ideal opportunity for advance care planning. In October 2010, an advance care planning document was introduced within the trust and used within the clinic Results From October 2010 to April 2011, 20 Patients were reviewed in the clinic (average age 82 years and average eGFR=13.8 (range 6.3-18.5) During this 6-month period, 5/20 patients had formally completed an advance care plan which had been circulated and 7/20 patients were in the process of completing an advance care plan. One patient had completed an advance decision to refuse treatment. Therefore 65% patients were actively involved in the process and all had involved a family member. Conclusion The renal palliative care clinic is ideal for the integration of advance care planning for patients with advanced kidney disease as it allows the opportunity to develop a good relationship with the patient and their family. It supports the need for chronically ill patients to think about the future direction of their medical care, preparing them for death and gain a realistic understanding of the services available. Advance care planning does take time but can empower patients to achieve a sense of control and relieve the burden of decision making from relatives. Further evaluation of outcomes is important.


Serotonin-containing enterochromaffin cells in the rabbit duodenal mucosa span the tissue contacting both the luminal and serosal sides. When the serosal surface is stimulated with carbachol in vitro, serotonin is secreted on the serosal side but not the mucosal side. Carbachol added to the luminal side is ineffective. Atropine but not hexamethonium blocks the effect of carbachol. Acetylcholine on the serosal surface also stimulates serotonin release on the serosal side. These findings indicate that enterochromaffin cells possess on their serosal surfaces muscarinic receptors that mediate vectorial release of serotonin when activated by cholinergic agonists.


The protein σ54 associates with Escherichia coli core RNA polymerase to form a holoenzyme that binds promoters but is inactive in the absence of enhancer activation. Here, mutants of σ54 enabled polymerases to transcribe without enhancer protein and adenosine triphosphate. The mutations are in leucines within the NH2-terminal glutamine-rich domain of σ54. Multiple leucine substitutions mimicked the effect of enhancer protein, which suggests that the enhancer protein functions to disrupt a leucine patch. The results indicate that σ54 acts both as an inhibitor of polymerase activity and as a receptor that interacts with enhancer protein to overcome this inhibition, and that these two activities jointly confer enhancer responsiveness.


Strains of enterococci obtained from the American Type Culture Collection and the Centers for Disease Control were examined for deoxyribonucleic acid homology by using the S1 nuclease technique. The strains studied segregated into four homology groups. All five Streptococcus faecium strains were included in a single homology group (group III), and both Streptococcus faecalis strains were included in a separate homology group (group IV). Of eight "Streptococcus durans" strains, six fell into one homology group (group I), and two fell into a second homology group (group II). The four homology groups were easily distinguished phenotypically. All eight "S. durans" strains were inactive on mannitol, sorbitol, and arabinose. Group I strains clotted litmus milk but did not form acid from sucrose. Group II strains did not clot litmus milk but formed acid from sucrose. These results are consistent with a classification scheme in which "S. durans" is a separate species. We propose that the strains included in homology group I be designated Streptococcus durans sp. nov. and that strain ATCC 19432 be the type strain of this species. The two strains in homology group II may represent a new species, but the data supporting such a proposal are presently insufficient.


The scientific literature on stigma has been confused because there are multiple components of stigma with different correlates. In order to make sense of this confusion, the present review focuses on research on the most commonly measured component: social distance. The review examines measurement of social distance; characteristics of people who desire greater social distance; experiences that affect social distance; characteristics of people that elicit social distance; the effects of psychiatric labelling; the effects of causal explanations for mental disorders; and interventions to reduce social distance. It is concluded that future research on social distance needs to focus on better evaluation of interventions and examine discriminatory and supportive behaviours in real life rather than in hypothetical situations.


This paper seeks to determine the degree to which a gender lens has been incorporated into World Bank projects and the success of individual projects according to gender equality-related indicators. We first examine the World Bank's internal scoring of projects based on whether they encompass gender analysis, action, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) components, as well as project development objective indicators and outcomes according to these indicators. We conclude that when indicators are defined, targets are specified, and outcomes are published, gender equality-related results appear largely positive. However, many projects (even those possessing a gender "theme" and perfect scores for the inclusion of gender analysis, action, and M&E components) lack gender-related indicators, and when such indicators are present, they often lack specified target goals. The paper concludes with a recommendation for increased transparency in gender-related project data (including data on the funding of gender equality-related components of projects) from donor institutions and a call for an increased number of gender-related indicators and targets in donor projects.


A fraction previously isolated from acid-treated supernatant fraction of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum by DEAE-Sephadex chromatography [Sauer, Mahadevan & Erfle (1984) Biochem. J. 221, 61-97] which was absolutely required for methane synthesis, has been separated into two compounds, tetrahydromethanopterin (H4MPT) and an as-yet-unidentified cofactor we call 'cytoplasmic cofactor'. H4MPT was identified by its u.v. spectrum and by 13C- and 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy. The reduction of 2-(methylthio)ethanesulphonic acid (CH3-S-CoM) to methane by the membrane fraction from M. thermoautotrophicum was completely dependent on the addition of cytoplasmic cofactor. Methane synthesis from CO2, however, was only partially dependent on cofactor addition, and 57% of the original activity was retained in its absence. The kinetics of 14C labelling were consistent with the scheme methyl-H4MPT----CH3-S-CoM----methane, as has been proposed. This is the first time that direct experimental evidence has been presented to show that the proposed methyl transfer from H4MPT to coenzyme M (HS-CoM) actually occurs.


There's more than one app for that! This guide explores some of the more popular and useful apps for law students.


ABSTRACT Human fatigue continues to threaten safe transport. There are claims that employers of operators should do more to mitigate the risks, and several regulators are promoting fatigue-risk management in the context of safety management systems (SMS). The current paper reviews fatigue-related risk and exposure factors and control measures for operators of land- and sea-based transport forms. Our review identifies 13 types of measures for the monitoring or control of fatigue risks: optimal staffing; optimal schedule design; optimisation of breaks/naps; monitoring of actual hours worked; optimisation of work content; monitoring and feedback of actual sleep; health screening and treatment; promotion of recovery from work; fitness-for-duty testing; monitoring of fatigue symptoms while operating; control of fatigue while operating; performance monitoring and assistance; and fatigue-proofing. We also identify two systemic measures needed to anchor risk mitigation in SMS: organisational learning and training/other. By structuring monitoring and control measures along Dawson and McCulloch's [Managing fatigue: It's about sleep. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 9(5), 365–380] fatigue-risk trajectory, a framework is obtained that acts as a guide for fatigue-risk management by transport employers. To inform transport managers further, evaluations are needed of the effectiveness of individual control measures as well as whole fatigue-risk management interventions.


ABSTRACT Purpose:The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of explanatory texts characteristics on comprehension performances in children from 2nd to 9th grade. Method: Several metrics have been applied to 40 explanatory texts, accounting for length, complexity and age accuracy. Children were asked to read an age-appropriate text, and answer questions evaluating surface, semantic and inferential dimensions of comprehension. Results: Results revealed that all group age obtained similar performances on surface questions, but younger children performed poorly in semantic and inferential questions in comparison to older ones, suggesting a weaker ability to rely on previous knowledge. Comprehension performances were also modulated by text characteristics. Principal Components Analysis identified metrics accounting for text coherence, namely number of words, word length and word frequency with 75% of variance explained. Multiple Regression Analysis allowed us to identify sentence length and word length as predictors of performances obtained at the surface and inferential questions. Conclusion: this research provides interesting evidence to increase our comprehension of explanatory text comprehension in French language for different grades. The results obtained should also be useful to develop further researches using text characteristics to predict readers' comprehension performances.


High‐throughput genotyping coupled with molecular breeding approaches have dramatically accelerated crop improvement programs. More recently, improved plant phenotyping methods have led to a shift from manual measurements to automated platforms with increased scalability and resolution. Considerable effort has also gone into developing large‐scale downstream processing of the imaging datasets derived from high‐throughput phenotyping (HTP) platforms. However, most available tools require some programming skills. We developed PhenoImage, an open‐source graphical user interface (GUI) based cross‐platform solution for HTP image processing intending to make image analysis accessible to users with either little or no programming skills. The open‐source nature provides the possibility to extend its usability to meet user‐specific requirements. The availability of multiple functions and filtering parameters provides flexibility to analyze images from a wide variety of plant species and platforms. PhenoImage can be run on a personal computer as well as on high‐performance computing clusters. To test the efficacy of the application, we analyzed the LemnaTec Imaging system derived red, green, and blue (RGB) color intensity and plant pigmentation‐based fluorescence shoot images from two plant species: sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) differing in their physical attributes. In the study, we discuss the development, implementation, and working of the PhenoImage.


We present the results of our intensive radio observing campaign of the dwarf nova SS Cyg during its 2010 April outburst. We argue that the observed radio emission was produced by synchrotron emission from a transient radio jet. Comparing the radio light curves from previous and subsequent outbursts of this system (including high-resolution observations from outbursts in 2011 and 2012) shows that the typical long and short outbursts of this system exhibit reproducible radio outbursts that do not vary significantly between outbursts, which is consistent with the similarity of the observed optical, ultraviolet and X-ray light curves. Contemporaneous optical and X-ray observations show that the radio emission appears to have been triggered at the same time as the initial X-ray flare, which occurs as disc material first reaches the boundary layer. This raises the possibility that the boundary region may be involved in jet production in accreting white dwarf systems. Our high spatial resolution monitoring shows that the compact jet remained active throughout the outburst with no radio quenching.


The aim of this study was to define that the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)in cell blocks from ascites was a certain value to evaluate hepatopulmonary syndrome(HPS). iNOS can stimulate the liver and lung to produce excess NO. Excessive production of NO can cause pulmonary vasodilatation and impaire arterial oxygenation. HPS is characterized by shortness of breath and hypoxemia caused by impaired arterial oxygenation due to pulmonary microvascular dilatation in patients with liver disease or PTH. Therefore.the positive rates of iNOS was a certain value to evaluate the conditions of HPS.


OBJECTIVE
Although pre-operative chemoradiotherapy appears to be a promising treatment for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, there have been no reports of the feasibility of pre-operative chemoradiotherapy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients with renal impairment. The aim of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the feasibility of pre-operative chemoradiotherapy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients with renal impairment.

METHODS
Twelve patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and a creatinine clearance of <60 ml/min were enrolled in this study. Gemcitabine-based pre-operative chemoradiotherapy was performed, followed by surgery. The feasibility of the treatment was evaluated in terms of clinical outcome and adverse events in the patients.

RESULTS
All 12 patients completed gemcitabine-based pre-operative chemoradiotherapy without worsening of renal function. Restaging after the therapy revealed radiologically unresectable disease in two patients. Among the remaining 10 patients who underwent laparotomy, curative resection was performed in eight patients. After curative resection, five patients out of the eight completed post-operative adjuvant therapy. The 1- and 3-year survival rates after the start of chemoradiotherapy in the 12 patients were 80.8 and 36.9%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that gemcitabine-based pre-operative chemoradiotherapy may be a safe and effective treatment for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in patients with renal impairment.


This paper uses the recurrent sequence,congruence and some properties of the solutions to Pell equation to prove that the Diophantine equation x3-1=119y2 has only integer solution(x,y)=(1,0),(18,±7).


To help us investigate the role of mucin in the protection of the colonic epithelium in the mouse, we aimed to identify the murine colonic mucin (MCM) and its encoding gene. We isolated MCM, raised an anti-MCM antiserum, and studied the biosynthesis of MCM in the gastrointestinal tract. Isolated MCM resembled other mucins in physicochemical properties. Anti-MCM recognized MCM as well as rat and human MUC2 on Western blots, interacting primarily with peptide epitopes, indicating that MCM was identical to murine Muc2. Using anti-MCM and previously characterized anti-human and anti-rat MUC2 antibodies, we identified a murine Muc2 precursor in the colon of ∼600 kDa, which appeared similar in size to rat and human MUC2 precursors. Western blotting, immunoprecipitation of metabolically labeled mucins, and immunohistochemistry showed that murine Muc2 was expressed in the colon and the small intestine but was absent in the stomach. To independently identify murine Muc2, we cloned a cDNA fragment from murine colonic mRNA, encoding the 302 NH2-terminal amino acids of murine Muc2. The NH2 terminus of murine Muc2 showed 86 and 75% identity to the corresponding rat and human MUC2 peptide sequences, respectively. Northern blotting with a murine Muc2 cDNA probe showed hybridization to a very large mRNA, which was expressed highly in the colon and to some extend in the small intestine but was absent in the stomach. In situ hybridization showed that the murine Muc2 mRNA was confined to intestinal goblet cells. In conclusion, by two independent sets of experiments we identified murine Muc2, which appears homologous to rat and human MUC2. Because Muc2 is prominently expressed in the colon, it is most likely to be the predominant mucin in the colonic mucus layer.


Equity options have a significant influence on the price discovery process. This study presents unique evidence of substantial price clustering in individual equity options contracts. A particular contribution arises from investigating competing hypotheses on the roles of moneyness and maturity as determinants of option price clustering. We assert that options price clustering can be decomposed to price level, moneyness, and maturity effects. After controlling for other factors, price clustering has an inverse relation with time-to-maturity. This supports the negotiation hypothesis, but not the price resolution hypothesis. Price clustering also tends to be inversely related to moneyness. This effect is linked to the intrinsic value component of option price. Both the maturity and moneyness effects act in an opposite direction to what would be anticipated on the basis of price level alone; hence, these two effects are identified as additional influences on option price clustering. It is also found that the designated market maker scheme at NYSE Euronext London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE) has little influence on trade price clustering. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 33:5576, 2013


It conceived the concept of data whole-life management in the environment of enterprise integration. Facing many different data storage systems and data types, and different storage formats of one kind of data, it designs an extensible and function-open system integration platform based on J2EE technology. Through its intelligent management of data storage system, the system shields the different storage systems from its ultimate users. And through the function models with the functionality of transforming data stored in one format into the one stored in another format deployed onto it, the system can manage different storage formats and make them transparent to users and realizes Data Transformation Management. Through the universal format described in XML transformed from other different formats by function models, it makes the internal structure of one data ventilate to the out world and realizes Data Integration, as the basis of Business Integration.


Advances in robotics have contributed to the support of different treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) in children around the world. Several studies have developed and used robotic assistants to support these treatments, making robotic assistants a key tool for this purpose. Their results have been promising and have provided insight into what can be leveraged from them for future research. Therefore, this article presents a robotic assistant whose design and functionality can be adapted to support cognitive therapy processes. To test the adaptability of its design, an experiment is performed where some electronic elements are changed and it is verified that the design has changed automatically. A second experiment will test the feasibility of using the same robotic assistant in various types of cognitive therapies by modifying its functionality. The results show that the design of this robotic assistant can be adapted and it is also possible to determine if the new design violates any physical constraints. In addition, the results of the exercise performed previous to a cognitive therapy show positive results and this robotic assistant has been recommended by most therapists to be part of cognitive therapies.


Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is characterized by persistent inflammation in multiple joints. Uncontrolled active RA causes disability, decreases quality of life, and increases comorbidity. Over the past two decades, the importance of aggressive treatment as early as possible has been emphasized to improve outcomes, and, most importantly, inhibit the destruction of joints. RNA interference, mediated by small interfering RNA (siRNA), is a powerful method used to silence genes with a high degree of specificity. Developing a means to deliver siRNA via a systemic injection to multiple affected joints is of importance for applying this technology to the treatment of RA. A recent study showed that a wrapsome (WS), which was designed with a core composed of a cationic lipid bilayer and siRNA complex enveloped in a neutral lipid bilayer with polyethylene glycol on the surface, could be a potential vehicle for siRNA delivery for the treatment of arthritis. The complex of siRNA and WS (siRNA/WS) selectively accumulated in the inflamed synovium. Furthermore, treatment with siRNA-targeting tumor necrosis factor-α/WS ameliorated arthritis in a murine model. In this manuscript, we review potential of siRNA as a therapeutic tool for rheumatoid arthritis.


Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by phagocytic leukocytes is a critical factor in immunity against microorganisms. Human neonates are susceptible to overwhelming infections, for which abnormal granulocyte function may play an important role. In this study, we aimed to identify a convenient and quantitative method to measure ROS production by human granulocytes after cellular activation. We first compared the results of a flow cytometric assay with 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H2DCF) probe or dihydrorhodamine-123 (DHR123) and an enhanced chemiluminescence test using granulocytes from a patient with chronic granulomatous disease and normal granulocytes stimulated with different concentrations of phorbol myristate-13-acetate. Peripheral blood granulocyte respiratory burst ability from 37 newborn babies with different gestational ages was then quantified using flow cytometric assay with H2DCF probe. We found that flow cytometric assay of ROS production is sensitive and correlates with chemiluminescence measurements. The results showed that activated granulocytes from neonates with higher birth body weights and more advanced gestational ages tend to have higher levels of ROS production in respiratory burst (p=0.0042 and 0.063, respectively). This study demonstrates that flow cytometry is suitable for detecting the functional defects in granulocyte ROS production in human neonates of different gestational age.


The primary purposes of this mixed-methods study were to (a) determine what effects, if any, participation in 20 AT lessons has on the sample of female violinists' and violists' Pain, Executive Skill Function, Well-being and Awareness, and (b) to describe the experiences of the participants in the study intervention. The secondary purpose of this study was to explore how participation in AT affected the female violinists' self-reported experience of playing. Due to the prevalence of performance-related injuries in female string players, it was theorized that AT could provide a means for improvement. This study employed a mixed methods design using pretest and posttest questionnaires, observations, and semi-structured interviews. The surveys and interviews were used to explore how participation in AT affects playing experiences. The 12-week study was performed in a major metropolitan city and participants were female violinists and violists between the ages of 18 and 34 with no previous AT training. Criterion sampling was employed and 51 participants were randomly assigned to either the control group (n = 26) or the treatment group (n = 25). The intervention included AT lessons two times a week over a 10-week period. Six case study participants were selected from the treatment group to participate in the qualitative interview portion of the study. The quantitative findings demonstrated statistically significant changes in Awareness and Executive Skill Function, while only approaching statistical significance for Pain and Well-being. In the qualitative analysis, themes that were explored included the dependent variables, as well as teaching and learning, AT principles, tools, and applications. The qualitative data provided evidence of improvement in all four a priori variables. Convergence of the quantitative and qualitative data helped corroborate the statistically significant findings for Awareness and Executive Skill Function and provide convincing data that there was improvement in Pain, while data for Well-being improvement was inconclusive. Recommendations for application of these findings and suggestions for further research are included.


The generalized Dyson boson mapping is extended to multifermion systems containing three‐particle substructures as occurring in nuclear matter. Two different approaches are described. The first one leads to a mapping involving equal numbers of bosons and fermions, where each boson, as usual, represents a fermion pair. The second possibility consists of the introduction of new kinds of fermions carrying the quantum numbers of the original three‐fermion subsystems. Both transformations are nonunitary.


This paper provides an overview of the ways in which (consumer) contract law may contribute to the protection of fundamental rights of digital consumers. The distribution and consumption of digital content can touch upon or even conflict with the exercise of fundamental freedoms of consumers, such as the right to privacy or the right to freedom of expression. The paper considers the effects of fundamental rights (such as the protection of privacy, freedom of expression, the right to receive information) on questions concerning the validity of digital content contracts and standard terms. Furthermore, it investigates to what extent fundamental rights (such as non-discrimination, Article 21 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and access to services of general economic interest, Article 36 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights) may strengthen the legal framework for guaranteeing consumer access to digital content.


Antibiotic use is a primary driver of antibiotic resistance. However, antibiotic use can be distributed in different ways in a population, and the association between the distribution of use and antibiotic resistance has not been explored. Here we tested the hypothesis that repeated use of antibiotics has a stronger association with population-wide antibiotic resistance than broadly- distributed, low-intensity use. First, we characterized the distribution of outpatient antibiotic use across US states, finding that antibiotic use is uneven and that repeated use of antibiotics makes up a minority of antibiotic use. Second, we compared antibiotic use with resistance for 72 pathogen-antibiotic combinations across states. Finally, having partitioned total use into extensive and intensive margins, we found that intense use had a weaker association with resistance than extensive use. If the use-resistance relationship is causal, these results suggest that reducing total use and selection intensity will require reducing broadly-distributed, low- intensity use.


Abstract In this article, I propose a musico-cultural analysis of expressions of vulnerability in the connections between musical interval, linguistic texture, and language. I focus on the productive qualities of the in-between space of the voice within a specific interval—the falling semitone—and demonstrate how the exaggerated use, repetition, and reverberations of this interval by two Belgian musical artists, Jacques Brel (1929–1978) and Stromae (b. 1985) contribute to a cartography of vulnerability particular to their aesthetic projects and cultural critiques. This analysis places Michel Serres' philosophies of communication and Roland Barthes' grain de la voix into dialogue with an examination of the aural in-between. The exaggerated repetition of the semitone is heard as an undulation reminiscent of a melisma (several notes sung over one syllable), which is mirrored in the embellished trilled [R] consonant particular to these two artists. Visualizing the shared melodic and linguistic acoustic movements as undulations provides a point of access into the in-between space of the sung voice that reframes weakness, failure, and vulnerability as highly choreographed and exploited central aesthetic projects shared by Brel and Stromae.


During the last decades, the idea that government can and should be an effective instrument for the attainment of social justice and other ideals dear to social economists has come under powerful attack. Sometimes the attack is doctrinaire, designating areas in which government should or should not intervene. In economics, this often is done in the tradition of identifying areas of 'market-failure'. Sometimes the attack is fueled by the serious shortcomings of well-intentioned government action leading to poor results. Some economists have tried to identify these areas of poor government policy in terms of theory of governmental failure. In this paper, a different route is chosen. Building on traditional public finance theory, the concept of public equity is developed as a measuring rod with which to judge the outcomes of policies guided by considerations of social equity or justice.


The literature on health care utilisation has focussed on the interaction of supply and demand factors in determining utilisation. At the aggregate level, studies have modelled the simultaneity of demand and supply, and different methods have been used. This study proposes an alternative framework for modelling utilisation, which yet separates demand and supply factors, the disequilibrium theory of demand and supply. This theory is useful in modelling data that reflect that not all health care demand is met by health care providers and not all health care supply is taken by consumers. Such disequilibrium arises due to rigid prices and quantity rationing. We use the theory to model maternal health care utilisation and user fee exemption at mission health care facilities in Malawi. The study uses switching regression methods and data from the Malawi Health Management Information System. Results show that user fee exemption is associated with increased utilisation of maternal health care. Demand and supply regime classification shows that many of the health facilities met much of the demand, whereas the rest only provided as much maternal care as their maximum capacity. In the latter case, intended maternal health care utilisation targets may not have been met.


Astrocytes are considered a default developmental state in mammalian nervous system
differentiation. Even though astrocytes are involved in the maturation of the nervous
system, information regarding their own development is sparse. Evidence has shown that
astrocyte development (astrocytogenesis) commences after neurogenesis, leading to a
heterogeneous population of astrocytes within the CNS. However, generating astrocytes
in vitro has proven to be more challenging than previously thought, where complex use of
morphogens, long time culture incubation (>180 days), and reduced focus on subtype
astrocyte generation prevents full understanding of astrocytes. By modifying previous
methodologies, here we describe a quick and efficient method to generate functional and
heterogeneous astrocytes from mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC) which contributes
towards ever growing need towards standardising protocols for in vitro astrocytogenesis.
Under the cell suspension protocol, mESCs formed embryoid bodies (EBs), which were
then inducted into a neural lineage using retinoic acid (RA) (DIV 3). At DIV 6 EBs were
seeded onto laminin coated glass coverslips, in astrocyte differentiation media, containing
heparin and N2. Cells morphologically resembling astrocytes were observed migrating
from attached EBs, two days post seeding. Migrating cells stained positive for astrocyte
markers GFAP, ALDH1L1 and S100β. When astrocytes were stimulated with adenosine
triphosphate (ATP), intracellular calcium concentration was elevated, as revealed by
Fluo4. Analysis of P2X and P2Y purinoreceptor pathways, revealed significant
contributions of each pathways and a functional diversity of the generated astrocytes.
Furthermore, these generated astrocytes displayed potential to be used as a tool for future
studies via successful removal from substrate, and rescuing damaged neuron rich
network. In summary, we describe here the generation of functional astrocytes derived
from mESCs, which display heterogeneity in form and function that is commonly
observed in astrocytes in vivo.


Virtual manufacturing technology has become an effective method for decision and planning in manufacturing. Due to ergonomics problems are widely concerned in assembly design planning, a human-centered virtual assembly system framework is proposed for ergonomics analysis for assembly operation in this paper. The six-layer framework integrates virtual human modeling, motion capture and recognition, ergonomics evaluation and virtual assembly process planning as an organic whole. Data exchanging and system function are discussed based on this framework. The work in virtual reality (VR) technology, motion capture technology, ergonomics method and optimization method for implementing the system is also described. The framework would provide a new approach for the combination of virtual manufacturing and ergonomics analysis in the future.


ABSTRACT: We conducted two experiments to determine the best CDC-trap configuration for catching male and female Phlebotomus papatasi. First, visual features were evaluated. Standard CDC traps were modified to have black or white catch bags, black or white lids, or no lids and these were tried in different combinations. Significantly more male sand flies were caught by darker traps; significantly more females were captured by traps with either all black or a combination of black and white features. Attraction may be due to dark color or contrast in colors. CDC traps with suction and the following features were also evaluated: no light; incandescent light; ultraviolet (UV) light; combination of black color, heat and moisture; CO2 alone, or a combination of black color, heat, moisture, and CO2 simultaneously, all in upright and inverted positions, with the opening for insect entry always 50 cm above the ground. Significantly more females than males were caught by all traps (standard and inverted) except the control traps with suction only. Traps with CO2 caught more sand flies than traps without CO2 Traps with black color, heat and moisture captured significantly more sand flies than the control traps, but with the addition of CO2, these traps catch significantly more sand flies than the other traps evaluated. Inverting traps increased the catch for like traps by about two times.


The thickness of the manubrium, the width and thickness of the body of the sternum at the level of second intercostal space as well as the thickness of the spongiosa and outer and inner compact layers have been measured in 67 human cadavers. Consequently, it is recommended that sternal puncture be made at the level of the second intercostal space in the adult and at the manubrium in children. Depth of puncture should not exceed 4 mm. Sternal puncture can thereby be done with greater confidence of avoiding penetration of the sternum, a potentially serious complication.


This guide gives information on the Wood Technology Library and its holdings in the subject areas of Carpentry, Marine Carpentry, and Cabinet Making.


Purpose
Belief in Mazu has a crucial cultural status in Taiwan and the coastal area of Fujian, China. The design and manufacture of apparel and accessories to be placed on statues of the deity are also considered a sacred and critical part of the religion's cultural and artistic inheritance. The crown hat of Mazu is one of the most essential elements of the deity's apparel. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
This study explored the styles of Mazu crown hats using Kansei engineering (KE). People generally use adjectives words to provide aesthetic evaluations. Fuzzy theory is suitable for processing linguistic problems that include vagueness, thereby providing a reasonable method of quantifying such aesthetic evaluations. Therefore, this study first established a fuzzy positioning model (FPM) of word evaluations for analysis. Factor analysis was used to obtain representative image adjectives that represented Mazu's image. Fuzzy analysis methods were then employed to rank the various image adjectives through evaluation words and to determine the differences between adjectives. Finally, on the basis of image analysis results and expert suggestions, the crown hat was redesigned and its suitability verified.

Findings
Four results were obtained. First, four image adjectives appropriate for representing Mazu's image were identified, of which "noble and kind" is the most suitable. Second, fuzzy analysis was found to successfully rank style images. Third, the crown hat style and design characteristics suitable for Mazu were acquired. Fourth, the verification demonstrated that the redesign effectively enhanced the perceived image of the crown hat design.

Originality/value
This study employed KE to improve the design of a Mazu crown hat. The proposed FPM can aid the development of cultural and creative design.


We conclude that the urinary excretion of x-glucosidase and probably of other renal glucosidases is not influenced in normal subjects by the induction of a diuresis and may be considered a reliable and sensitive index of tubular damage after drug administration. In patients with underlying liver or renal diseases, however, the possible administration of diuretic agents must be taken into account before drawing any conclusion. One must be cautious in normal subjects too when determining enzyme or protein indexes of tubular proteinuria such as lysozyme and P2-microglobulin. Conversely, the determination of tubular enzyme excretion after induction of a diuresis (chiefly after an osmotic load) might be used as a sensitive test of underlying renal diseases, as suggested also by Burchardt et al.7 GIANFRANCO GUARNIERI MARCO IANCHE SERGIO LIN


Multiple sulfur isotopes of a 2.7 Ga komatiite and related volcanics were measured to study recycled crustal material in Archean mantle. The measured komatiites are from Belingwe Greenstone Belt, Zimbabwe, which represent one of the best-preserved Archean komatiite in the world. The Belingwe volcanics has been classified into four groups: komatiite, komatiitic basalt, D-basalt and E-basalt. The results show that some komatiites and D-basalts exhibit clear S-MIF (−0.204‰ < Δ 33 S < −0.115‰), whereas all the other samples do not show S-MIF (−0.025‰ < Δ 33 S < +0.035‰). Based on petrological observation of the S-MIF-bearing samples, the sulfide minerals were crystallized at the time of eruption, but not introduced after the emplacement. The S-MIF signature only occurred in depleted rocks (i.e., komatiite and D-basalt), but not in enriched rocks (i.e., komatiitic basalt and E-basalt), suggesting that the S-MIF source were not assimilated from surrounding Archean crust at the time of eruption, but derived from the source mantle. The S-MIF bearing rocks also show lower initial 238 U/ 204 Pb, higher εNd and lower εSr values than non-S-MIF bearing rocks. All these characteristics support that the source mantle contained the MIF sulfur materials. The S-MIF signature may have been partly erased during the crustal contamination process or represent heterogeneous source in the Archean mantle. In either case, the results of this study indicate that Archean mantle contained S-MIF bearing materials, which probably represent subducted crustal material. Irrespective to tectonic style, transfer of surface material into the mantle has already been operated at least older than 2.7 Ga.


The 5–9 March 2011 Kamoamoa fissure eruption along the east rift zone of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai`i, followed months of pronounced inflation at Kīlauea summit. We examine dike opening during and after the eruption using a comprehensive interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data set in combination with continuous GPS data. We solve for distributed dike displacements using a whole Kīlauea model with dilating rift zones and possibly a deep décollement. Modeled surface dike opening increased from nearly 1.5 m to over 2.8 m from the first day to the end of the eruption, in agreement with field observations of surface fracturing. Surface dike opening ceased following the eruption, but subsurface opening in the dike continued into May 2011. Dike volumes increased from 15, to 16, to 21 million cubic meters (MCM) after the first day, eruption end, and 2 months following, respectively. Dike shape is distinctive, with a main limb plunging from the surface to 2–3 km depth in the up‐rift direction toward Kīlauea's summit, and a lesser projection extending in the down‐rift direction toward Pu`u `Ō`ō at 2 km depth. Volume losses beneath Kīlauea summit (1.7 MCM) and Pu`u `Ō`ō (5.6 MCM) crater, relative to dike plus erupted volume (18.3 MCM), yield a dike to source volume ratio of 2.5 that is in the range expected for compressible magma without requiring additional sources. Inflation of Kīlauea's summit in the months before the March 2011 eruption suggests that the Kamoamoa eruption resulted from overpressure of the volcano's magmatic system.


The problems in cultivated cabbage is cabbage caterpillar (Plutella xylostella). Attack of P. xylostella can result in a loss of 100% yield. Entomopathogenic nematode (EPNs) are parasite nematode that attack  specific insect larvae but is safe for animals and plants and has great opportunity for becoming pest control such as P. xylostella. The objective of this research was to compare the EPNs with synthetic pesticide to control P. xylostella. The research was conducted in Pandesari village, Pujon subdistrict, Malang district started on February until May 2014. The research used single-factor group of a randomized design with six treatments and four replications, designated as control (without treatment), EPNs 200 J1/ml, EPNs 400 J1/ml, EPNs 800 J1/ml, two pesticides with active ingredients klorpirifos and spinosad. Effectivity of insecticide (EI) from data were calculated with Abbot formula. Treatments that showed value greater than 70% was categorized as effective against target pest. The treatments gave significant effect to larvae population and damage percent incident variable. The result showed that EPNs was isolated from soil isolation in high populations (22.185 J1/ 0,25 ml). High doses give high control effectiveness and EPNs 800 J1/ml give best control effectiveness (78,36%). Keywords: Plutella xylostella, Entomopathogenic nematode,


Stercoral perforation is defined as "perforation of the bowel due to pressure from a faecal mass." This is due to an accumulation of stool that has hardened and has remained in the bowel over a long period of time causing stagnation and deformity of the large intestine. At 25 weeks gestation a lady attended with severe constipation despite various stimulants/enemas and left sided abdominal pain. She started vomiting and felt generally unwell. She had abdominal distension and sluggish bowel sounds. Haematology and biochemistry were normal. Ultrasound showed large amounts of gas in the bowel but was otherwise unremarkable. The surgeons reviewed her, excluded any obstruction and continued conservative management with observation and laxatives. Her pain and constipation continued until she became tachycardic and tachyopneic, her CRP began to rise. Prophylactic steroids were given. Antibiotics were commenced and urgent MRI arranged. MRI showed no obvious stricture or structural obstruction. A Naso-gastric tube was passed draining bilious fluid. Throughout the day her clinical condition deteriorated. She was transferred to delivery for critical care review and surgical input. She eventually went to theatre for a de-functioning iliostomy. At laparotomy bowel perforation was identified with faecal peritonitis. She had a colectomy. Due to maternal condition and access and post operative considerations the baby was delivered by caesarean section. Although constipation is common amongst pregnant women it is usually corrected by conservative measures such as stimulants/enemas and adequate hydration. Refractory cases should prompt early referral for investigation for underlying pathology.


A large amount of data needs to be transferred from one site to another as fast as possible in the computational science fields. To achieve high-speed data transfer, many applications utilize multiple TCP streams. However, since multiple TCP streams of applications are usually routed according to the default IP routing protocol, only a single shortest path among the multiple paths can be utilized for the data transfer. This research proposes a multipath controller that increases the performance of data transfer by leveraging multiple paths simultaneously for parallel TCP streams. For this purpose, we utilize the Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technology and its implementation, OpenFlow. Furthermore, we proposed a method to determine optimal numbers of parallel TCP streams to be assigned for each path according to its own network condition. This paper presents the design and implementation of the proposed system. As a case study, we applied our proposed system on GridFTP and evaluated the performance improvement. The results demonstrate that our proposed system accelerates the data transfer of GridFTP in both a virtual and a real global-scale environment.


Thermo- and photo-acoustic tomography require reconstructing initial acoustic pressure in a body from time series of pressure measured on a surface surrounding the body. For the classical case of free space wave propagation, various reconstruction techniques are well known. However, some novel measurement schemes place the object of interest between reflecting walls that form a de facto resonant cavity. In this case, known methods (including the popular time reversal algorithm) cannot be used. The inverse problem involving reflecting walls can be solved by the gradual time reversal method we propose here. It consists in solving back in time on the interval [ 0 , T ] ?> the initial/boundary value problem for the wave equation, with the Dirichlet boundary data multiplied by a smooth cutoff function. If T is sufficiently large one obtains a good approximation to the initial pressure; in the limit of large T such an approximation converges (under certain conditions) to the exact solution.


The industrial pump manufacturing cluster in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district has undergone a qualitative transformation under liberalisation. This survey study highlights changes in terms of economic performance; inter-firm linkages; subcontracting networks; commercial links; cooperation and competition between firms and the influence of local institutions. Most changes have resulted from macro-policy changes at a higher level.


Internet is a major part in the development and progress of the nation, especially the Indonesian nation, government issued a policy in Candy Kominfo about PLIK program (District Internet Service Center) which has a strategic role in sustaining and supporting economic activity, strengthening defense and security and the intellectual life of the nation. In the implementation of the program PLIK (District Internet Service Center) have not been targeted in a side benefit, this program should have as a means to meet the needs of information and knowledge, but rather the mere entertainment and more oriented to the business, which is equated with the cafe. This study attempts to retrieve the data in bandwidth usage that will be processed by the method of Fuzzy Sugeno and will generate average maximum bandwidth usage in applications Browsing, Download and Streaming. In determining the average bandwidth usage using Fuzzy Sugeno, From the average bandwidth will be used as a reference in determining the usage restrictions Browsing, Download and Stream with the aim to give control over bandwidth usage for applications Browsing, Download and Streaming.


This thesis is centrally concerned both to investigate the depiction of marriage and relation-ship problems in Martin Walser's 'Ein fliehendes Pferd' ('A Runaway Horse') while at the same time giving a careful account of narrative techniques (notably free indirect discourse) and shedding light on their function. In terms of method, the two-fold aim entails on the one hand a thoroughgoing examination of prior material on the novella and on the other a critical discussion of certain defining models of narrative theory – whereby concepts such as narra-tive situation, modus, perspective and focalization are subjected to fresh scrutiny. An attempt is made to clarify the significance of the novella's circular frame and to circumscribe its narra-tive situation. Despite the high incidence of focalization, the extent of a possible distanciation between the narrator and the central character, Helmut Halm, is investigated. The assignment of particular narrative modi to particular figures is seen to provide a key to understanding the characterization of the protagonists and their attitudes towards each other. Through the alter-nation of their respective modi the subliminal tensions in the Halms' marriage are made visi-ble, yielding a more differentiated depiction of the figure of Sabine in the process. Specifi-cally, the modus of free indirect discourse, which is exclusively reserved for the figure of Helmut, is shown to be an effective means of influencing reader response, although in the course of the novella this is increasingly relativized by contrasts with the other modi such as straight narration, direct and indirect speech.


Abstract : Scheduling of flights for a flight training squadron involves the coordination of time and resources in a dynamic environment. The generation of a daily flight schedule (DFS) requires the proper coordination of resources within established time windows, This research provides a decision support tool to assist in the generation of the DFS. Three different priority rules are investigated for determining an initial ordering of flights and a shifting bottleneck heuristic is used to establish a candidate DFS. A user interface allows a scheduler to interact with the decision support tool during the DFS generation process. Furthermore, the decision support tool provides the capability to produce a weekly schedule for short-term planning purposes as well as the entire flight training program schedule for long- term planning purposes.


Abstract The impending demographic crisis calls for fundamental reforms of old-age security. In a democracy, however, reforms require the support of the majority. A reform that aims at reducing the size of unfunded pension systems is supported by the young and opposed by the old. As long as the young have the majority, this reform is feasible; as soon as society becomes a gerontocracy, there is risk of further expansion. We determine for Germany, France and Italy the latest point in time at which a majority is in favour of a reform. For this, we calculate for each year the "indifference age" as the age of the cohort that is not affected by the reform and the "median age" as the age of the politically decisive cohort. In Germany, a reform can be democratically enforced until 2012. France becomes a gerontocracy in 2014 and Italy as early as 2006.


In the Republic of Yemen, Plasmodium falciparum is the predominant causative agent of malaria and is associated with adverse consequences for pregnant women and their babies. The prevalence and clinical manifestations of malaria among 500 pregnant (260) and non-pregnant (240) women were compared. Clinical examinations, laboratory investigations and a structured questionnaire were used to collect data. The prevalence of malaria was higher among pregnant women (55%) than non-pregnant women (20%). Anaemia was significantly more prevalent among pregnant woman than non-pregnant women and also more prevalent in pregnant women with malaria than non-pregnant women with malaria.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of giving a third dose of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine to healthcare workers who already had received two doses of serum-derived vaccine, which is no longer available in the United States.

DESIGN
Volunteers who already had received two standard doses of serum-derived vaccine were given a third dose of either serum or recombinant vaccine in a double-blind fashion. Antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen were measured at the time of the third immunization, three months later, and one year after the third immunization.

SETTING
U.S. Army Medical Center, El Paso, Texas.

PATIENTS
One hundred healthy healthcare workers.

RESULTS
Three months after receiving the third immunization, the serum vaccine group had significantly higher titers than the recombinant vaccine group (P = 0.018). One year after receiving the third immunization, those who received the combined regimen had a mean hepatitis B surface antibody titer less than half that of those who received three doses of serum-derived vaccine. However, both regimens resulted in titers that are considered to confer immunity.

CONCLUSIONS
A regimen that combines serum and recombinant hepatitis B vaccines may not produce as high an antibody level as three doses of the same vaccine. Those who began immunization with serum vaccine and concluded with recombinant vaccine should be monitored for an accelerated drop in serum antibodies.


The present crash energy management design work is comprised of two parts. Part I, this current paper, discusses the CAE analysis and testing results of extruded aluminum components for a front end structure of a space frame vehicle. The components consist of front and back-up rails with various rail reinforcement and triggering mechanisms. Rail and reinforcement members are manufactured using aluminum alloys extruded through a closed hat and aluminum sheet shaped in an open hat cross-section respectively. Aluminum alloys series 5xxx and 6xxx were used with the reinforcement while only 6xxx series extruded aluminum alloy was used with the front and back-up main rails. Triggering was applied to reinforcements in various configurations. Further details on the reinforcement and triggering are discussed throughout the paper. CAE models for the front end components were built and analysis was performed to determine the mean crush load, energy absorbing capability, mode of collapse, and folding pattern of each component. Component testing was conducted to verify the CAE prediction and to provide additional comparative design data as to the stability, mode of collapse, number of folds, folding pattern, stack-up, etc.
 Part II, a second paper to be published at a later date, reviews briefly the components testing results and presents a detailed discussion of the CAE modeling and models results for the full front end of the extruded aluminum space frame structure.