This thesis describes the growth, X-ray diffraction assessment and tensile deformation properties of dislocation-free copper single crystals. As such it has been possible to conveniently section the work carried out into these three main areas within this thesis. Consequently, each chapter may be read almost independently of the others with references and further work suggestions being incorporated at the end of each chapter. This format, it is felt, does not disjoint the work: rather, it enables the central theme (i.e. the title of this thesis) to be developed in a much more continuously clear way than is normally apparent in a thesis where conclusions, further work suggestions and references are not drawn together until the end of the volume. Chapter I opens with a brief outline of the crystal growth methods which could have been used to produce low dislocation density (andlt;10 6 cm/cm 3 ) crystals by utilising the three fundamental phase transitions, i.e. solid to solid, vapour to solid and liquid to solid. The Czochralski method is then discussed in detail since it was used by the author to produce dislocation-free copper single crystals. The technological problems in obtaining such crystals are extensively enumerated and solutions presented. For instance, melt surface vibrations were eliminated by using a continuous flow of cooling water, by standing the complete crystal puller on a bed of foam, and by rigidly clamping the R.F. coil. It is emphasised that these technological problems must be solved before the scientific aspects of the growth of dislocation-free crystals can be studied. It is further shown that the author's modified crystal growing technique can be reliably used to grow dislocation-free crystals of copper each time, providing adequate care is taken over growth rates (andasymp;1.2 cm/hr); specimen shape (a long thin "double-neck" must precede the required crystal to eliminate dislocations propagating from the seed and to act as a heat flow resistance); and crystal cooling rates (a long "tail" allowed the crystal to reach the ambient temperature slowly thereby minimising dislocation by thermal stresses and/or vacancy condensation). In the future, it is suggested, an automated crystal pulling system would be advantageous and a study of crystal growth in a synchrotron X-ray beam could be potentially definitive experiment on crystal growth. Chapter II looks at the theoretical aspects of Czochralski crystal growth with the aid of a new model which has been analysed on the Oxford University Computer. The model assumes a crystal-neck-seed configuration to be "sitting" on a liquid and examines the influence of geometric changes of the seed-neck-crystal and of radiation changes on the temperature gradients, primarily at the growth front. Four elements were chosen for study in this way: Si, Ge, Ag, Cu, i.e. four elements which have been grown dislocation-free. It was found that the seed size and shape played a small part in determining the interfacial temperature gradients, DT c (0), of all the elements. The neck, however, could have a marked influence on DT c (0) values in metals but not so much in semiconductor crystals. By geometric control alone it was found that the best way to reduce DT c (0) values was to grow a large diameter crystal. The influence of radiation losses was found to be marked for semiconductor crystals but not for metal crystals. Finally, it is concluded that to minimise DT c (0) values then the seed and neck must be long and thin and the crystal fat. These results fit in well with experimental knowledge. Further work to be carried out could consider the influence of a varying ambient temperature and convective heat losses on the interfacial temperature gradients. Chapter III is concerned with the interaction of X-rays with perfect crystals. The Lang-Borrmann X-ray topography technique is examined, and the experimental methods used to obtain X-ray topographs taken throughout this work are discussed. The major part of the chapter takes up the discussion of the theoretical interaction of X-rays with a perfect crystal set to diffract such X-rays. It is demonstrated that for a plane-wave incident on a cylindrical crystal, for the boundary condition to be satisfied the dispersion surface tie-points are displaced as the crystal traverses the incident X-ray beam. Thus the crystal wave-vectors no longer exactly satisfy the Bragg condition. This effect, was never unambiguously monitored experimentally because of the incident beam divergence. It is suggested that a future study could consider this problem in more detail. The Takagi-Taupin-Uragami generalised X-ray diffraction theory is reviewed and then used to calculate the intensity in the diffracted beam of a traverse topograph from a perfect cylindrical copper crystal. This computer simulation is also compared to an experimental condition. In both cases it is found that the Bragg surface of the crystal produces a very intense reflection whilst the remainder of the crystal gives a much reduced diffracted intensity in comparison. This asymmetric profile is interpreted in terms of absorption mechanisms which are strong at the centre of the crystal but not at the surface. The general agreement between theory and experiment is considered to be good although a few discrepancies arose, e.g. the lateral extent of the Bragg surface peak was found to be larger for the experiment than for the theory. Continued research in this area must explore further these small discrepancies; and it is suggested that a possible line of future study would be to examine theoretically and experimentally the X-ray diffraction from dislocation-free cylindrical crystals which possess low absorption coefficients (e.g. aluminium, silicon) for harder radiations (e.g. M oKandprop; 1 , Ag Kandprop; 1 ). It should then be possible to produce interference fringes and then it should be possible to examine the effects of a strain gradient on fringe spacing and visibility. Chapter IV sets out to discuss the tensile deformation behaviour of [1and#773;2and#773;3] growth axis, dislocation-free, chromium plated copper single crystals. This is done using the results from two sets of coupled experiments: an Instron deformation study and a synchrotron deformation investigation. It is first shown that chromium plating can destroy the perfection of the crystal unless care is exercised over plating temperatures and times. It was finally found that after plating for 10 seconds at 55C (andasymp;1 andmu;m of Cr deposited) that there was no indication of lattice dislocation. The stress-strain curve of a chromium plated dislocation-free copper crystal (Cr thickness and#8815;1 andmu;m) is shown to exhibit a yield point commensurate with that for a non-plated, dislocation-free copper crystal, i.e. andasymp;90 g/mm 2 . The work hardening curve is shown to be comprised of three distinct regions: an initial rapid work hardening rate; a transitionary work hardening rate; and a stabilised work hardening rate up to a shear strain of 6%. In straining the crystal through these regions the work hardening rate progressively decreased. For a plated crystal which is dislocation-free initially it is shown that serrations in the flow curve occur, whilst for all other crystals these are shown to be absent. Such serrations are argued to occur by a source suppression and new source operation mechanism during the early deformation stages (andasymp;1% shear strain), and then by a crack formation mechanism at the copper-chromium interface during the later stages of deformation. The initial work hardening rates (andasymp;18 kg/mm 2 ) were found to be independent of coating thickness (0.5 andmu;m and 1 andmu;m) but in the latter two regions the thicker coating imparted a higher work hardening rate to the crystal than the thinner layer, e.g. for a 0.5 andmu;m chromium layer the work hardening rate was andasymp;1.65 kg/mm 2 in region iii and for a 1 andmu;m chromium layer it was 2.97 kg/mm 2 in region iii. It is tentatively suggested that the chromium layer affected mobile dislocation motion rather than dislocation generation. The synchrotron work produced no evidence to support the argument that dislocation motion up the elastic line took place. Yielding was found to occur at a stress level similar to that measured in the Instron work. The complex stress system imposed by the deformation jig and the lack of resolution rendered it impossible to decide where the dislocation sources were located. Further increases in the load on the crystal produced double slip and this was argued to prematurely occur because of the combination of torsion, bending and tension which the crystal experienced. Certain interfacial dislocation activity was registered but this was not readily analysed in terms of surface sources. The yielding behaviour was inhomogeneous and appeared to be remote from the few slip bands induced by specimen transport. After yielding evidence was found for dislocation pile-up at the centre of the crystal. It is pointed out that future studies should use a better design of deformation jig so as to apply only a tensile stress to the crystal. Plating thickness and specimen size could be further explored.


Clinical governance and better human resource management practices are important planks in the current health policies emphasizing quality of patient care. There are numerous reasons why it is important to improve quality of healthcare, including enhancing the accountability of health practitioners and managers, resource efficiency, identifying, and minimizing medical errors while maximizing the use of effective care and improving outcomes, and aligning care to what users/patients want in addition to what they need. "Quality in health is doing the right things for the right people at the right time, and doing them right first time and every time." Quality can also refer to the technical quality of care, to nontechnical aspects of service delivery such as clients' waiting time and staff's attitudes, and to programmatic elements such as policies, infrastructure, access, and management. In this oration/article quality initiatives like Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) of Government of India (GOI), which concentrate on improving the quality of infrastructure of vast rural health facilities including sub-center, primary health center, and community health center has been taken into account with focus on improving quality of health services also. United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with the GOI has proposed introducing quality assurance program for accessing and improving the quality of services at public sector health facilities. It is felt that improving the quality of health services in public sector will attract the client belonging to low economic strata, and surely will help in achieving the goal of the NRHM, that is, "Reaching the enriched with quality of health services."


[1] Huang et al. (1987, 1989) reported hot filaments of plasma sheet origin filling the magnetospheric lobes during northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). On the other hand, cold plasma transients of presumably lobe origin are often observed in the plasma sheet. These features can be interpreted in terms of plasma exchange at the plasma sheet–lobe interface (PSLI) proceeding in a filamentary manner. We present a description of this process within ballooning destabilizing of the near-Earth curved segment of the PSLI. Although the basic ballooning instability condition is not typically met inside the plasma sheet, it is satisfied at this segment. The PSLI always separates the cold lobe population from the hot plasma sheet, thus providing a pressure gradient favorable for the instability; its near-Earth part has a nonnegligible magnetic curvature. A solution for the least stable ballooning harmonics is found, which satisfies the finite conductivity boundary condition in the ionosphere and the outgoing Alfven wave condition at the tailward end of the near-Earth curved segment of the plasma sheet boundary. We show that this part of the PSLI may be a generator region launching filamentation. The background convection is imposed on the ballooning motions. The large-scale convection associated with southward IMF Bz suppresses hot filament progression into the lobes, while promoting penetration of lobe transients into the plasma sheet. However, during northward IMF, the convection favors at certain magnetic local times the extension of plasma sheet filaments into the lobes and their subsequent protrusion toward noon. This process is signified in the ionosphere by the occurrence of nightside originating polar arcs. Several polar arc events are shown that develop from the nightside oval boundary into the polar cap on timescales of approximately 10–15 min, consistent with the growth rates of the studied instability.


The era of globalization has caused English to become one of the main subjects for education in Indonesia. The teaching of English in the present era has experienced changes from time to time. One of its developments takes the form of the program of bilingual instruction. Such a program is increasingly being promoted by the government in the effort to make the governmental policy concerning the bilingual program a success. Therefore, the researcher has been inspired to contribute suggestions related to the English partial immersion program actualized in the research concerned here. The development of the bilingual class for language and social science classes has been a follow-up of research conducted by Rahmi D. Andayani et al. on mathematics and physical science classes. In order that bilingual classes in social and linguistic fields could be developed and implemented at junior high schools (locally called sekolah menengah pertama or SMP, for short) in the province of Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (or DIY, for short) in particular and in Indonesia in general, research on the partial immersion program as a model of English language instruction to lead to the idea of the international-level school at SMPs running bilingual classes in DIY has been made. The objective of the research was to (a) design a form of teacher training and carry out training in accordance with field observation, (b) learn of the implementation of the English partial immersion program in the field and especially its process of instruction, (c) describe the perceptions of students, parents, teachers, and principals of the said schools of the program, and (d) design a model of instruction for the English partial immersion program. Basically, the immersion class is a class using two languages without ignoring the culture of each language (www.carla.umn.com). The method of the research on the program was qualitatively and quantitatively descriptive. The data were obtained by recording, making interviews, and distributing questionnaires. The data obtained were treated to a SWOT (short for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, after which a model of instruction in the form of the partial immersion program was designed by means of comparisons and conclusions drawn from compiled theories. The model was then tried out and afterwards an evaluation was conducted on it. The results of the research are that (a) the reason for giving the materials from General English, Describing Language Skills, Developing Writing, Developing Reading, Developing Listening, Developing Speaking, Vocabulary, Lesson Plan, and Classroom English for Bilingual Instruction is that teachers of subjects in the fields of the social sciences and languages need training and arms to be used as stepping stones in bilingual instruction, (b) with the holding of the tutorials on making lesson plans, the teachers feel being helped in planning the execution of good instruction in the bilingual class, (c) according to the analysis of data in the tabulation of the perceptions of students, parents, teachers, and principals related to both SMPN 1 Bantul and SMPN 4 Pakem, they feel sufficiently enthusiastic about the running of the bilingual immersion program at school, and (d) the workshop is necessary to give feedback, policy reference for related institutions, and simultaneously dissemination to schools which would later be used as subjects for research on providing a model of good bilingual instruction to be applied at the schools in the effort to lead to the idea of the international-level school. (BATCH IV Nomor: 04/H34.21/KTR.PHK.PINAS4/2009). Key words: Partial Immersion Program, Bilingual Class, International standard School.


Our OntoLearn system is an infrastructure for automated ontology learning from domain text. It is the only system, as far as we know, that uses natural language processing and machine learning techniques, and is part of a more general ontology engineering architecture. We describe the system and an experiment in which we used a machine-learned tourism ontology to automatically translate multiword terms from English to Italian. The method can apply to other domains without manual adaptation.


Optimal power flow (OPF) refers to optimize power systems considering a chosen objective subject to a set of constraints. Existing OPF formulations used to settle electricity markets include a set of bus-wise power balance equations (PBE) that is comprised exclusively of high order terms which have sinusoidal components. Accordingly, such OPF formulations remain nonlinear and nonconvex optimization problems. Even though commercial OPF solvers are robust and efficient, they still cannot guarantee a global optimum. The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission estimates that the best commercial OPF solvers are off by 10%, amounting to an annual loss of US $400 billion worldwide. For these motivating reasons, OPF remains a major research focus and forms the topic of this thesis.

This thesis aims to: (1) develop new sets of PBE with lower order terms and lesser numbers of sinusoidal terms yielding better solution space, (2) build new OPF formulations using this new set of PBE, and (3) incorporate voltage stability constraints into the developed OPF formulations. The genesis of the new set of PBE stems from: (1) the fact that power of a constant impedance load is proportional to the square of voltage magnitude, and, (2) power flow in branches can be expressed in terms of square of voltage magnitude. Accordingly, a set of line-wise PBE is developed, both in polar and rectangular forms and are solved Newton-Raphson technique. Tests show that the proposed line-wise power flow (LWPF) algorithms are accurate, provide monotonic convergence, and scale well for large systems. The algorithms are faster comparing to classical bus-wise power flow methods. Further, the ability to directly identify the set of critical lines that are the most susceptible to Voltage collapse.

A novel line-wise optimal power flow (LWOPF) formulation is developed based on polar LWPF and solved using successive linear programming technique. Tests show that LWOPF consistently yields a better solution than that computed using bus-wise OPF, namely in half the time. LWOPF is extended to include voltage stability constraints and implemented using both linear and nonlinear optimization techniques. It demonstrates improved performance in achieving lower cost optimal solutions with better voltage-stable states.


A quantum-cascade laser (QCL) thermal model is presented. On the basis of a finite-difference approach, the model is used in conjunction with a self-consistent carrier transport model to calculate the temperature distribution in a near-infrared InGaAs/AlAsSb QCL. The presented model is used to investigate the effects of driving conditions and device geometries on the active-region temperature, which has a major influence on the device performance. A buried heterostructure combined with epilayer-down mounting is found to offer the best performance compared with alternative structures and has thermal time constants up to eight times smaller. The presented model provides a valuable tool for understanding the thermal dynamics inside a QCL and will help to improve operating temperatures.


Sir .—We read with interest the article on circumcision by Herrera and Trouern-Trend (Journal133:1069-1070, 1979). Because there are "no medical indications for routine circumcision," 1.2 counseling parents to ensure informed consent is both difficult and time-consuming. To facilitate counseling, we prepared a handout for parents on newborn circumcision. The literature was extensively reviewed and special efforts were taken to present both the advantages and disadvantages of the procedure. Illustrations, and information on proper hygiene of the uncircumcised penis are also included. The parents are asked to sign a statement indicating that they have read and understand the information provided in the handout. The parents are then counseled by the attending physician. This use of printed educational materials has resulted in a marked reduction in physician time required to ensure informed consent and has also been associated with a 30% reduction in our neonatal circumcision rate.


It has been reported that the disaccharide composition of dermatan sulphate shows transient changes after epicutaneous application of the hapten 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene to mouse skin, and that these changes are most conspicuous in healing skin on day 15 after chemical insult [Kuwaba, Nomura, Irie and Koyama (1999) J. Dermatol. Sci. 19, 23-30]. In the present study it was found that the molecular size of dermatan sulphate was increased on day 15 after hapten application. The molecular size of decorin increased in healing skin, whereas the size of dermatan-sulphate-depleted core protein did not increase. The length and localization of decorin dermatan sulphate were investigated by electron microscopy. Dermatan sulphate filaments oriented orthogonally to collagen fibrils were longer in healing skin than in control skin. In control skin, dermatan sulphate filaments were found among tightly packed collagen fibrils. In contrast, the interfibrillar gaps between each collagen fibril were enlarged in healing skin; elongated dermatan sulphate filaments extended from the surface of collagen fibrils across the enlarged gap. These results suggest that the increase in molecular size of decorin dermatan sulphate is important in organizing collagen fibrils separated by enlarged interfibrillar gaps in healing skin.


Despite increasing needs resulting from emerging societal and health care issues, the number of trained community/public health (C/PH) nurses in the United States is facing a precipitous decline. Numerous factors contribute to this shortage including an aging workforce, a poorly funded public health system, inconsistencies in C/PH nursing educational approaches and opportunities, and a shortage of sites for clinical training. Determined to address the C/PH nursing shortage in their region, a consortium of public health professionals, university deans and faculty, and state nursing leaders in southeastern Wisconsin came together to address these issues from three perspectives: (a) curricular analysis and redesign, (b) expansion of clinical placement opportunities, and (c) paid community/public health nursing internships for seniors in baccalaureate nursing programs. This article outlines briefly the activities undertaken related to curricular review and clinical placements, and then describes in detail the approach, challenges and results of the senior internship program. Together, these programs produced long-lasting results including an unprecedented level of collaboration between academic institutions and public health nursing professionals, the expansion of both traditional and nontraditional clinical sites in the region, and a transformative learning experience for seventeen senior nursing students from five participating universities.


In this paper, we present a secure routing protocol for sensor networks (SecRout) to safeguard sensor networks under different types of attacks. The SecRout protocol uses the symmetric cryptography to secure messages, and uses a small cache in sensor nodes to record the partial routing path (previous and next nodes) to the destination. It guarantees that the destination will be able to identify and discard the tampered messages and ensure that the messages received are not tampered. Comparing the performance with non-secure routing protocol AODV (ad hoc on demand distance vector routing), the SecRout protocol only has a small byte overhead (less than 6%), but packet delivery ratio is almost same as AODV and packet latency is better than AODV after the route discovery.


This study reports on the binding of beta-galactosidase obtained from different organs of the rat urogenital tract to membranes of these organs. Homologous and cross binding saturation assays indicated that: (1) high-affinity sites that recognize fructose-6-phosphate derivates (FPR) are present in spermatozoa from the rete testis, epididymal membranes and testes, although the latter may reflect binding to testicular spermatozoa; (2) the membranes of the other organs studied do not have FPR; (3) the FPR of the epididymis does not recognize enzymes purified from other organs of the reproductive tract. These results suggest that the FPR-binding system belongs to a peculiar transport route that permits maturing spermatozoa to acquire hydrolytic enzymes secreted by the epididymal epithelium. In the epididymis and seminal vesicles more than 50% of the enzymatic activity of beta-galactosidase was recovered in cytosol, suggesting that the enzyme is located mainly in the secretory fluid of these organs.


Process variations are of great concern in modern technologies. Early prediction of their effects on the circuit performance and parametric yield is extremely useful. In today's microprocessors, custom designed transistor level macros and memory array macros, like caches, occupy a significant fraction of the total core area. While block-based statistical static timing analysis (SSTA) techniques are fast and can be used for analyzing cell based designs, they cannot be used for transistor level macros. Currently, such macros are either abstracted with statistical timing models which are less accurate or are analyzed using statistical Monte-Carlo circuit simulations which are time consuming. In this paper, we develop a fast and accurate flow that can be used to perform SSTA on large transistor and memory array macros. The delay distributions of paths obtained using our flow for a large, industrial, 45 nm, transistor level macro have error of less than 6% compared to those obtained after rigorous Monte-Carlo SPICE simulations. The resulting flow enables full-chip SSTA, provides visibility into the macro even at the chip level, and eliminates the need to abstract the macros with statistical timing models.


In the future network with Internet of Things (IoT), each of the things communicates with the others and acquires information by itself. In distributed networks for IoT, the energy efficiency of the nodes is a key factor in the network performance. In this paper, we propose energy-efficient probabilistic routing (EEPR) algorithm, which controls the transmission of the routing request packets stochastically in order to increase the network lifetime and decrease the packet loss under the flooding algorithm. The proposed EEPR algorithm adopts energy-efficient probabilistic control by simultaneously using the residual energy of each node and ETX metric in the context of the typical AODV protocol. In the simulations, we verify that the proposed algorithm has longer network lifetime and consumes the residual energy of each node more evenly when compared with the typical AODV protocol.


The aim of this study was to investigate local muscle oxygen consumption (mVO2) during various protocols of isometric handgrip exercise. mVO2was measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during sustained, rhythmic, and intermittent isometric handgrip exercise. Whereas rhythmic handgrip exercise has the advantage that local muscle metabolism can be measured over the full range from low- to high-intensity work, the advantage of sustained handgrip exercise is that it is less prone to movement artifacts. Intermittent isometric handgrip exercise enables calculation of mVO2 at short time intervals providing information about the time response of local oxygen consumption in relation to the onset of exercise. Ten healthy subjects participated in this study. The different protocols were performed on separate days and in random order. mVO2 during rhythmic exercise was significantly higher than that during sustained exercise at all work intensities tested (P ≤ 0.05). However, the highest oxygen consumption value for the three exercise protocols was measured during the steady state of intermittent exercise (P ≤ 0.05). These results show that the measurement of task-specific muscle metabolism during exercise can be measured noninvasively and with relative ease by near-infrared spectroscopy.


There is a recent interest for the industrial exploitation of the fruits of Psidium guineense Swartz due to the exotic flavor, antioxidant capacity and good consumer acceptance. Considering the lack of information in the literature on physical and chemical parameters of fruits of araca, aimed to determine these attributes in terms of three classes of ripening fruit (light green, yellowish green and yellow). The physical variables studied were: weight of whole fruit, pulp weight, weight of seed + endocarp, pulp yield, longitudinal diameter, transverse diameter, the relationship between longitudinal and transverse diameter and chemical characteristics: titratable acidity, soluble solids and total soluble solids/titratable acidity. The maturity stages of fruits were not influenced parameters related to the mean weight of whole fruit and share tissue and pulp yield. Yellow fruits are suitable for fresh consumption because of the format, low acidity and high SST/ATT. The araca has limitations for industrialization due to the low pulp yield and low acidity, and thus may require acidification during processing.


Labour is, next to arable land and capital, one of the three pillars in agricultural production. On Western European sow farms, labour costs, make up 15% to 20% of the piglet production costs. In practice, however, there's a large variation in the number of sows a farmer can handle and in the piglet productivity on the farm. Consequently, the labour costs per piglet raised differ enormously between farms. Apart from obvious factors like farm size, there is little knowledge available about the factors that have an important influence on labour productivity. This is particularly the case for factors concerning management and entrepreneurship. Therefore, a study was carried out to determine the variation in labour productivity among Dutch sow farms and subsequently identify managerial and entrepreneurial factors which influence labour productivity. A telephone survey among 326 Dutch sow farmers was performed with questions about labour input, production system, technical parameters, management and entrepreneurship. From this survey it appeared that the average labour productivity was 1.74 raised piglets per deployed hour, with a standard deviation of 0.75. Furthermore, using multiple regression models, it was determined that larger sow farms realize a higher labour productivity. The factor Farm Size explained one third of the variation in labour productivity. Notable other significant factors were: 1. An entrepreneur and successor working on the same farm reduces labour productivity. When a successor starts working on the farm the labour demand, for example number of sows, is not proportionally increased, while the labour supply does. Other explanations might be that the entrepreneur is teaching the successor the necessary skills, or both are making plans for the future, which costs extra time. 2. Entrepreneurs who also have a job elsewhere realize a higher labour productivity. This may indicate that these entrepreneurs realize sufficient results in the time they can spend on their farm. 3. Entrepreneurs with the goal 'more spare time for social life' realize a lower labour productivity compared to entrepreneurs who focus on sow production or financial gain. Cause and consequence are unclear. They tend to produce fewer piglets in more time and the entrepreneurs themselves work on average almost nine hours more per week. Therefore it is understandable that they like to have some more spare time for their hobby or family. 4. Entrepreneurs who spend relatively a lot of time gaining expert knowledge realize a higher labour productivity. They probably implement the gained knowledge on their farm and increase the labour productivity.


Since Plato announced that the course of history returned upon itself in 72,000 years, since Polybius discerned a "circular movement" by which the history of states came back, over and over again, to the same point, the theory of historical cycles has been a commonplace of European thought. Familiar to the thinkers of the Renaissance, it was modified by Vico in the early eighteenth century and again by Hegel in the early nineteenth; and a complete history of the idea would show many curious transformations and cover a long period of time. Here no attempt will be made to summarize this story; the subject of the present paper is the latest and, to ourselves, most striking exposition of the general theory, contained in Dr Oswald Spengler's Decline of the West.


Au nanowires were patterned with electron beam (e-beam) lithography and fabricated with an Au film deposited by e-beam evaporation. Two failure analyses were performed: failure current density and electromigration. It was experimentally found that the failure current density increases for the smaller width wire. Size and surface effects on the failure current density were explored. Also, in situ electromigration studies on Au nanowires were performed to characterize the activation energy of Au nanowires with a SEM.


Fuel efficiency requirements demand lightweight construction of vehicle body parts. The usage of advanced high strength steels permits a reduction of sheet thickness while still maintaining the overall strength required for crash safety. However, damage, internal defects (voids, inclusions, micro fractures), microstructural defects (varying grain size distribution, precipitates on grain boundaries, anisotropy) and surface defects (micro fractures, grooves) act as a concentration point for stress and consequently as an initiation point for failure both during deep drawing and in service. Considering damage evolution in the design of car body deep drawing processes allows for a further reduction in material usage and therefore body weight. Preliminary research has shown that a modification of load paths in forming processes can help mitigate the effects of damage on the material.This paper investigates the load paths in Nakajima tests of a DP800 dual phase steel to research damage in deep drawing processes. Investigation is done via a finite element model using experimentally validated material data for a DP800 dual phase steel. Numerical simulation allows for the investigation of load paths with respect to stress states, strain rates and temperature evolution, which cannot be easily observed in physical experiments. Stress triaxiality and the Lode parameter are used to describe the stress states. Their evolution during the Nakajima tests serves as an indicator for damage evolution. The large variety of sheet metal forming specific load paths in Nakajima tests allows a comprehensive evaluation of damage for deep drawing. The results of the numerical simulation conducted in this project and further physical experiments will later be used to calibrate a damage model for simulation of deep drawing processes.Fuel efficiency requirements demand lightweight construction of vehicle body parts. The usage of advanced high strength steels permits a reduction of sheet thickness while still maintaining the overall strength required for crash safety. However, damage, internal defects (voids, inclusions, micro fractures), microstructural defects (varying grain size distribution, precipitates on grain boundaries, anisotropy) and surface defects (micro fractures, grooves) act as a concentration point for stress and consequently as an initiation point for failure both during deep drawing and in service. Considering damage evolution in the design of car body deep drawing processes allows for a further reduction in material usage and therefore body weight. Preliminary research has shown that a modification of load paths in forming processes can help mitigate the effects of damage on the material.This paper investigates the load paths in Nakajima tests of a DP800 dual phase steel to research damage in deep drawing processes....


New Order and Its Enemies: Opposition to Military Reform in the Ottoman Empire, 1789–1807 Kadir Ustun This dissertation is a study of the New Order (Nizam-ı Cedid) army and the opposition it triggered during the reign of Selim III (1789-1807). It aims to present an alternative perspective on the Ottoman military reform and its implications for the course of the imperial transformation. It hopes to contribute to the social history of Ottoman military reform through an investigation of the challenges the state faced as well as the motivations of political, military, economic, and social groups in opposing the new army. This period represented a moment of crisis of great magnitude for the Ottoman imperial center. However, in military and financial terms, it was also a moment of reconfiguration and restructuring of Ottoman state power. Constant contestation and continuous renegotiation of state power occurred between the state elites and various societal actors. These actors did not necessarily have a fixed position on military reform. In fact, the military reform measures were part of the bargaining process and both the state elites and different political actors shifted their positions depending on the circumstances. This study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the causes of resistance by various groups such as the janissaries, local notables, and common people. It argues that their resistance shaped the possibilities of the Ottoman military reform by challenging the centralized, rationalized, disciplined, and bureaucratic new logic of the


Domain specific languages have been used in modeling and simulation as tools for model description. In recent years, the efforts toward enabling simulation reproducibility have motivated the use of domain specific languages also as the means with which to express experiment specifications. In simulation areas ranging from computational biology to computer networks, the emerging trend is to treat the experimentation process as a first class object. Domain specific languages serve to specify individual sub-tasks in this process, such as configuration, observation, analysis, and evaluation of experimental results. Additionally, they can be used in a broader scope, for instance, to describe formally the experiment's goals. The research and development of domain specific languages for experiment specification explores all of these and additional possible applications. In this paper, we discuss various existing approaches for defining this type of domain specific languages and present a critical analysis of our findings.


Aim: Tapentadol Hydrochloride is a centrally acting opioid analgesic of biopharmaceutical classification system class I drug. Oral administration of tapentadol hydrochloride undergoes extensive first-pass metabolism leads to poor bioavailability. The present study was aimed to screen the critical material attributes to deliver the tapentadol hydrochloride through the transdermal route using a carrier proniosomal gel. Methodology: Main effect screening design has been constructed to screen the choice of surfactant used for the formulation of tapentadol hydrochloride proniosomal gel. The critical material attributes selected were surfactant, cholesterol, and soya lecithin, with responses entrapment efficiency (%), vesicle size (nm), and zeta potential (mV). All 24 runs of experiments were performed and evaluated to check the model fit. The in silico verification was analyzed using parameter sensitivity analysis. Results: The prediction profiler showed maximum desirability for Kolliphore RH 40 against the set goals. The design diagnostic efficiency was measured better for the constructed MESD. Also, parameter sensitivity analysis confirms that the vesicle size would play a principal role in the permeation of tapentadol hydrochloride proniosomal gel. Conclusion: Hence, Kolliphore RH 40 was considered for the further optimization process. The tapentadol hydrochloride proniosomal gel would be a better alternative to oral therapy.


In this paper, a novel super large metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactor with three inlets located on the periphery of reactor was proposed and numerical evaluation of growth conditions for GaN thin film was characterized. In this design, the converging effects of gas flow in the radial direction could counterbalance the dissipation of metal organics source. CFD was used for the mathematical solution of the fluid flow, temperature and concentration fields. A 2-D model utilizing axisymmetric mode to simulate the gas flow in a MOCVD has been developed. The growth of GaN films using TMGa as a precursor, hydrogen as carrier gas was investigated. The effects of flow rates, mass fraction of various species, operating pressure, and gravity were analyzed and discussed, respectively. The numerical simulation results show all the fields distributions were in an acceptable range.


The harmonization of data protection legislation in Europe has been theoretically achieved by means of the EU directive on data protection. In practice the harmonization is not absolute and conflicts and inconsistencies continue to exist in the way Member States are implementing the directive. The integration of different European medical systems by means of grid technologies will continue to be challenging if technology does not intervene to enhance interoperability between national regulatory frameworks on data protection. In this paper we present an approach to model and automate privacy requirements for the sharing of patient data across within a semantic knowledge base. Then we approach the usage of the model for the purpose of providing automated decision support mechanism which would help medical professional complying with legal privacy requirements. Our methods starts with the capturing and the semantic modelling of privacy obligations that are of legal, ethical or cultural nature. These requirements are for the sharing of personal data between different European Member States. Our model reflects both similarities and conflicts, between the different Member States. We then use the resulting model in order to allow the reasoning on the safeguards a data controller should ask from an organization belonging to another Member State before disclosing medical data to them. This work shows that it is feasible; through the use of ontologies and semantic web technologies; to minimize unintentional breaches of privacy and data protection principles while sharing personal data on European healthgrid domains.


Objective
To assess the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis in four city-based populations using a robust photographic method with TF index reporting; and to record the aesthetic satisfaction scores of children in all four cities.

Basic research design
Cross sectional epidemiological survey (surveillance).

Participants
1,904 children aged 11-14 years, in four English cities.

Interventions
Two cities were served by community water fluoridation schemes supplying water at 1mg/l F. The other two cities did not have water fluoridation schemes and had low levels of fluoride naturally present.

Main outcome measures
The prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis. Scoring was undertaken using high quality digital images by a single calibrated examiner.

Results
Data suggest that the prevalence of fluorosis at levels greater than TF2 are broadly similar to previous studies (F 10%, NF 2%), with an apparent increase in the total number of TF1 cases across both fluoridated (41%) and non-fluoridated cities (32%) with a commensurate decrease in TF0 (F 39%, NF 63%). Data suggest that the proportion of children expressing dissatisfaction with the appearance of their teeth is the same in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities although the reasons for this may differ.

Conclusions
The levels of fluorosis that might be considered of aesthetic concern are low and stable while the increase in TF1 may be due to an increase in self- and professionally-applied fluoride products or the increased sensitivity afforded by the digital imaging system. It is not however a public health problem or concern. Further monitoring appears justified.


SUMMARY: Specific labelling of the plasma membrane of intact protoplasts from Candida albicans, using lactoperoxidase-catalysed iodination, has permitted the development of a procedure for isolating relatively pure preparations of this component. The specific activity of the labelled membrane was very low, indicating that only a few proteins are exposed on the outer membrane surface. The specific activity of labelling increased almost 100-fold when both membrane surfaces were exposed to iodination. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, in combination with autoradiography, indicated that only two glycosylated proteins are exposed on the outer membrane surface, whilst all membrane proteins can be labelled in isolated plasma membrane preparations. Extraction of mannan-protein from purified cell walls of C. albicans gave material which, on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, resembled the exposed plasma membrane glycoproteins.
Purified plasma membranes incorporated mannose from GDPmannose on to an endogenous protein acceptor. The addition of exogenous cell wall mannan-protein increased the degree of incorporation. Approximately 12% of the incorporated mannose was sensitive to β-elimination, but a lipid intermediate was not involved in the reaction. An Arrhenius plot of enzyme activity at different temperatures showed a discontinuity at 17 0C. The mannan synthetase activity was also significantly less at 40 0C than at 37 0C, temperatures at which the yeast-mycelial transition has been found to occur in this organism. The possible biosynthetic relationship between the exposed glycoproteins of the plasma membrane and those of the cell wall is discussed.


Macroconidiation in Neurospora crassa is influenced by a number of environmental cues, including the nutritional status of the growing organism. Conidia formation is normally observed when the fungus is exposed to air. However, carbon limitation can induce conidiation in mycclia submerged in an aerated liquid medium. A mutant was previously isolated that could conidiate in submerged culture without imposing nutrient limitation and the gene responsible for this phenotype (rco-3) has now been cloned. RCO3 exhibits sequence similarity to members of the sugar transporter gene superfamily, with greatest similarity to glucose transporters of yeast. Consistent with this structural similarity, we find that glucose transport activity is altered in the mutant. However, growth of the mutant in media containing alternate carbon sources does not suppress conidiation in submerged culture. The properties of the mutant suggest that RCO3 is required for expression of glucose transport activity, glucose regulation of gene expression, and general carbon repression of development.


Traumatic dislocation of the knee, an uncommon injury, is sustained as the result of violent trauma. Thirty documented cases of complete traumatic dislocation of the tibia from the femur are identified and retrospectively reviewed. Twenty had adequate documentation with a minimum two-year follow-up to evaluate the results of operative versus nonoperative treatment of this ligamentous injury. Nonoperative treatment can result in a functional knee depending on the patient's demands. However, early operative repair, followed by early limited motion (cast bracing), and aggressive physical therapy to regain motion, are recommended in young active patients. Prolonged immobilization postoperatively should be avoided.


Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection causes gastric ulcers and gastric carcinomas. The mechanisms of these diseases are not known but Hp induction of cytokines is believed to be involved. However, the profile as well as the involvement of cytokines induced by Hp infection is less clear. In the present study, steady state levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and TGFβ1 mRNA of human gastric epithelial cell lines Kato III, AGS and NCI-87N in response to Hp infection were investigated. The cell cultures were infected with Hp for up to 18 h. Total RNA was extracted and analyzed by reverse transcription-PCR. The three cell lines tested expressed low constitutive levels of mRNA for IL-8 and TNFα. The mRNA levels of IL-8 quickly increased within 2 h in all three cells tested and reached a peak at 4 h following infection with Hp. In contrast, the levels of TNFα after Hp infection increased in only Kato III cells. The other cells, AGS and NCI-87N, responded with minimum increases after Hp infection. The TGFβ1 mRNA was constitutively expressed in both AGS and NCI-87N cells, but Kato III cells expressed only low levels prior to infection. The Hp infection did not increase the levels of TGFβ1 mRNA as well as TGFβ1 secretion in all cells tested. These results indicate that the cytokine response to Hp infection differs according to the cells studied and the response may be linked somewhat to TGF levels of gastric cells.


The question at hand is, "Why is there a social counter-movement that rejects climate change?" This article begins by first naming this counter-movement "climate denial" and working through the various apparent options by specifically looking at the scholarship on Holocaust denial for insight. Through this insight, we can understand the counter-movement as a reactionary force working to sow confusion for ideological reasons that promote a specific privilege. At the same time, privilege is also protected by the presentation of climate change science as a binary position of "acknowledgement or rejection" that itself promotes privilege and dysfunction across the intersection of science and society. In the end, at least one answer to the question "why denial?" appears to be "because it is serious and threatening" and this, at least partially, explains the existence of this counter-movement.


The present study examines the motor responses of 10‐ to 12‐month‐old, male C57 mice that were either given intraperitoneal (IP) injections of 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP; 30 mg/kg per day) or vehicle for 10 consecutive days, followed by IP injections of levodopa (200 mg/kg) plus carbidopa (25 mg/kg). Five days of MPTP exposure resulted in the Straub tail phenomenon and pronounced hypokinesia. However, during the next 5 days, motor activity returned to baseline, even with continued MPTP treatment. After 10 to 14 days of rest, all mice were then treated with levodopa/carbidopa twice daily for multiple, consecutive days. However, only the previously MPTP‐treated animals became hyperkinetic, as compared to levodopa‐treated control animals that were not previously exposed to MPTP. Abnormal activity included scratching, running, gnawing, and jumping movements. Hyperactivity lasted for approximately 2 hours after each levodopa injection and then returned to baseline, but the amount of hyperkinesia increased with additional days of levodopa treatment, even though the daily levodopa dose was not changed. These results demonstrate that levodopa can cause reproducible hyperactivity in mice that were previously exposed to MPTP. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society


Sustainability is a broad topic with the focus on three pillars: economics, social and environmental. A
packaging is just a small part of sustainability but this does not mean that it cannot contribute to
sustainability.
A packaging can contribute to sustainability by working on the three packaging R's; by reducing,
reusing or recycling the materials needed for a packaging. An addition to those three 'R's' could be
replacing, the replacement of current materials by a more sustainable material. Bioplastics could be used
as a substitute for the current packaging materials
Bioplastics are a relatively new and upcoming market. The potentials are high and there are already
some packaging on the market that are made of these plastics. Bioplastics are plastic that are made from
renewable resources (biobased) such as corn or plastics that are biodegradable. They could also be both
of them, biobased and biodegradable.
There are four different type of bioplastics on the market:
‐ Polymers directly extracted from biomass
‐ Polymers produced by biological derived monomers
‐ Polymers produced by microorganism
‐ Plastics produced by classical synthesis from synthetic monomers
These types have their own properties and therefore also their own strengths and weakness. Most of the
bioplastics have poor moisture barrier properties while the oxygen barrier is relatively high.
Leaf BV is a confectionary company interested in bioplastic. Their packaging mostly consists of
filmflexibles and rigids. Several bioplastics have been tested on environmental impact, shelf life, look &
feel, process ability and costs and the results have been compared to their conventional materials.
Bioplastics have less impact on climate change and fossil resources while they have more impact others
such as eutrophication, ozone layer depletion and land use. The total impact (weighed with the eco
indicator 9 weighing set) of bioplastics is higher than the total impact of conventional plastics. Most of
the bioplastics are not able to maintain the shelf life of the products as good as their conventional
plastics because of the low moisture barrier properties. The look & feel of the bioplastics are different
from the conventional plastics but it cannot be said that this will have a negative effect. The process
ability of bioplastics is difficult. The costs of conventional plastics also seem to be higher that the costs of
conventional plastics but there are biodegradable plastics on the market that costs around the same as
conventional plastics. These biodegradable plastics have been 'made' biodegradable through the
addition of a particular additive.
Bioplastic do not seem to be suitable as replacemet of their current transwrap material but there are
other options where bioplastics could be suitable. The market potentials are high and the change that
big companies will start to push suppliers to pack environmental friendly will make these options
attractive. The options are plastics that are biobased and biodegradable, biobased and biodegradable
(secondary packaging and components), partly biobased; not biodegradable, biodegradable; not biobased, and biodegradable and partly biobased.


Semantic relatedness measures are widely employed today to estimate the strength the semantic relationship among two terms of two pieces of texts. In other words, the ability to compute semantic relatedness among terms has widespread applications and is considered as an important pre-processing step in Natural Language Processing. Despite an extensive amount of work dedicated to this area of research, the strengths and weaknesses of various methods have not been compared extensively. In this paper, a comprehensive survey of the broad notion of semantic relatedness measure for computing semantic relatedness of terms and texts are presented and benefits and drawbacks of different approaches to evaluating semantic relatedness are discussed. It must be noted that this survey will be a valuable reference to researchers of lexical semantic relatedness and can substantially support the research activities in this field.


Introduction: In recent years, Raman spectroscopy has become increasingly important as an analytical technique in various scientific areas of research and development. This is partly due to the technological advancements in Raman instrumentation and partly due to detailed fingerprinting that can be derived from Raman spectra. Its versatility of applications, rapidness of collection and easy analysis have made Raman spectroscopy an attractive analytical tool. Areas covered: The following review describes Raman spectroscopy and its application within the pharmaceutical industry. The authors explain the theory of Raman scattering and its variations in Raman spectroscopy. The authors also highlight how Raman spectra are interpreted, providing examples. Expert opinion: Raman spectroscopy has a number of potential applications within drug discovery and development. It can be used to estimate the molecular activity of drugs and to establish a drug's physicochemical properties such as its partition coefficient. It can also be used in compatibility studies during the drug formulation process. Raman spectroscopy's immense potential should be further investigated in future.


The World Health Organisation (WHO) (Europe) has asked that International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI) publicises the urgent work of the task force. The first meeting was held in Copenhagen on 23–24 February 1998, the second meeting was held in Vilnius on 22–23 September 1998. The unprecedented rise in syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in large parts of eastern Europe and central Asia poses a significant threat of an immediate HIV epidemic in the region. International agencies and the most aVected countries have joined forces to take action to curb the rapidly evolving STD epidemics. On the initiative of the WHO Regional OYce for Europe and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS), an international task force was created to mobilise an urgent and well coordinated multiagency response to the crisis. At the first meeting of the task force, the participants discussed the challenges facing STD control in the region and agreed on a strategic framework for a harmonised response. The response will address STD care and prevention, and will cover the newly independent states and the most vulnerable countries in central Europe. The participants agreed on the terms of reference for the task force and its secretariat, which will be located at the WHO Regional OYce for Europe. The mission of the task force was defined as ensuring that: + external support to the region is both timely and well coordinated + international and national resources are mobilised, and + the local capacity to respond to the STD epidemics enhanced.


To test the hypothesis of a sex-linked factor influencing the occurrence of alcoholism and alcohol abuse, alcoholism or abuse rates were compared for 136 sons of the sons vs 134 sons of the daughters of 75 alcoholics. No substantial difference between the groups of grandsons was found in frequency of officially registered alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or both, which suggests no sex-linked factor is involved. The total sample was also used to calculate the risk of such registration for the grandson; the rate of registration by the grandsons' fifth decade of life was 43%, approximately three times that of the general male population, and even higher than the equivalent rate in brothers of alcoholics. This result is incompatible with an assumption of a recessive gene being involved in the occurrence of alcoholism, though it fits with the assumption of a dominant gene.


Objective: Three-dimensional (3D) soft tissue (ST) changes from orthodontic treatment can now be evaluated with the development of 3D photography. However, the accuracy and reliability of this method is still in question. This study aims to 1) evaluate the accuracy of 3dMD imaging using caliper, surface, and 3D morphometrics and 2) find standard facial expressions that can be best reproduced by 3dMD imaging for soft tissue analysis.Methods: Three-dimensional (3D) ST facial landmarks were obtained from 40 adults not undergoing orthodontic treatment through the use of 3dMD facial photographic software. A total of 16 landmarks were used and 21 parameters were measured for surface distances (6 in vertical, 10 in anterior posterior, and 5 in transverse). 3dMD images of four different facial expressions (repose (R), maximum intercuspation (MIP), posed smile (S), and smile with lips closed (SLC)) were taken at 0hr, 1hr, 24hr, 1wk, 2wk, 3wk, and 4wk time intervals. As a feasibility test, these measurements were taken on a mannequin at the above time intervals. Superimposition of seven 3dMD images for each facial posture per subject was performed for analysis. Error magnitude statistics: mean absolute difference (MAD), standard deviation of the error (SD), Root MeanSquare Error (RMSE), relative error magnitude (REM), technical error magnitude (TEM), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used.3D morphometrics, seven images were taken of mannequin and subjects posing in MIP and posed smile. These images were loaded into an initial software pipeline to generate a closed mesh. Closed mesh were traced for surface curves and finally loaded into a dual pipeline to average those seven images. Color-coded displacement maps were generated from the dual pipeline images to evaluate changes across the seven time points. T-stats was performed to quantify these changes.Results: Measurements on a mannequin confirmed the reliability of all the landmarks and parameters used in this study. For 40 subjects, 3dMD measurements between ST landmarks were reproducible with a random error lower than 1mm except for the distance from cheilion to cheilion (2.79mm). Comparing across the four facial postures, MIP showed the smallest variation with mean absolute difference (MAD) (2.03mm) and SD (0.81mm). S posture had the largest variation with MAD (2.79mm) and SD (1.28mm). For 3D morphometrics, mannequin showed that the t-stats are at near zero on the face. When applying 3D morphometrics for MIP and posed smile, areas around exocanthion, cheilion, and pronasale showed slight variation.Conclusion: 3dMD can perform ST analysis with both accuracy and reproducibility and can be utilized for evaluating ST changes with dental treatment when using advanced technology like 3D morphometrics. Cheilion, alar base, and exocanthion might not be an appropriate landmark to use for ST analysis. R and MIP facial postures are recommended over smile (S or SLC) for more consistent parameter measurements.


It is believed that ecotourism can increase community welfare and natural resource sustainability. Ecoutourism development in Bukit Kelam natural tourism park (TWABK) need to be based on the function and carrying capacity of the area, so that it must be discovered the object potential and tourism attraction. The study aimed to: (1) identify and analyze the object potential and natural tourism attraction in TWABK; (2) analyze carrying capacity of TWABK for ecotourism development, (3) identify and analyze the stakeholders of TWABK; and (4) formulate the strategies of ecotourism development in TWABK. Analysis guide of ADO-ODTWA Dirjen PHKA 2003 is used to analyze the object potential and natural tourism attraction. The criteria of Physical Carrying Capacity (PCC), Real Carrying Capacity (RCC) and Efective Carrying Capacity (ECC) is used to analyze the carrying capacity of TWABK. Stakeholder Grid is used to analyze the stakeholders and the ecotourism development strategies of TWABK which formulated by using SWOT analysis. Some objects in TWABK are feasible for ecotourism development, which are: bukit Kelam landscape, Kelam ring road, climbing transect, the hill peak, the foothills area, the hillside, spiritual tourism of Maria cave and agro tourism. The ECC of TWABK area for ecoutourism is 196 persons/day, with slope correction factor, soil erosion sensitivity, landsape potential, climate and wildlife disturbance (swallow birds spawn season). The stakeholders of TWABK is divided into four categories, which are: the key players (the ministry of forestry, the ministry of tourism and creative economy, the agency of cultural and tourism of Sintang district, the agency of forestry and plantation of Sintang district and the community),the context setters (the NGOs), the crowd (private sectors) and the subjects (visitors, academics, and refill drinking water company). The ecotourism development strategy formulation of TWABK results 9 strategies, which are: area stabilization, management plan formulation, ecotourism development according to the potency and carrying capacity of the area, publication and promotion, protection of the area, management collaboration, environmental education and counseling, community development,and ecotourism impacts monitoring and evaluation..


A novel protein model assessment technique using an improved fuzzy decision tree was tested using CASP8 and CASP9 templates. The testing was conducted in three phases. In the first two phases, templates were classified without explicit scoring. In phase three, a new scoring method was created for performance evaluation. The new protein model assessment technique was compared with several common prominent model assessment techniques for CASP competitions. The performance was analyzed based on correlation between our scores and GDT_TS scores of the templates. Finally, it is concluded that although the novel protein model assessment technique resulted in reduced correlation when compared to best competitors in CASP, its uniqueness in using the improved fuzzy decision tree and a single model stands as a new paradigm in the protein model assessment field.


A Lean, Premixed, Prevaporized (LPP) combustion technology has been developed that converts liquid fuels into a substitute for natural gas. This gaseous fuel can then be burned with low emissions in place of natural gas in a wide range of combustion devices. The fuel preparation system overcomes the operational and emissions barriers associated with using liquid fuels in combustion turbines. The technology has been adapted to fuel a 30 kW microturbine, with over 1,000 hours of operation logged todate. The microturbine was initially designed for use with natural gas only, and can operate in both diffusion and premixed modes. No alterations were made to the combustion system on the turbine. Thirteen different liquid fuels, including bio-ethanol, naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and biodiesel have been used in this study. The air emissions on gasoline measured at the conclusion of the 1,000 operating hours were less than 5 ppm NOx and 10 ppm CO (@15%O2), essentially unchanged from those measured at the commencement of the operating period. These emissions compare favorably to natural gas emissions of less than 5 ppm NOx and 50 ppm CO (@15%O2). The operating system was also designed to allow initial startup on the vaporized liquid fuel. Detailed thermodynamic and system modeling has also been performed to investigate the effect of the LPP technology on overall combustion turbine plant efficiency and operation. GateCycle™, well-validated thermodynamic cycle modeling software, was used to determine the effect on overall plant heat rate and power production when utilizing an LPP system. Parasitic losses from the LPP hardware were accurately modeled, as were the performance benefits due to mass flow augmentation and the use of exhaust heat for vaporization. Overall heat rate improvements were found with judicious use of thermal energy from the gas turbine exhaust.


Image acquisition of deep sea floors allows to cast a glance on an extraordinary environment. Exploring the rarely known geology and biology of the deep sea regularly questions the scientific understanding of occurring conditions, processes and changes. Increasing sampling efforts, by both more frequent image acquisition as well as widespread monitoring of large areas, currently refine the scientific models about this environment. Accompanied by the sampling efforts, novel challenges emerge for the image based marine research. These include growing data volume, growing data variety and increased velocity at which data is acquired. Apart from the included technical challenges, the fundamental problem is to add semantics to the acquired data to extract further meaning and gain derived knowledge. Manual analysis of the data in terms of manually annotating images (e.g. annotating occurring species to gain species interaction knowledge) is an intricate task and has become infeasible due to the huge data volumes. The combination of data and interpretation challenges calls for automated approaches based on pattern recognition and especially computer vision methods. These methods have been applied in other fields to add meaning to visual data but have rarely been applied to the peculiar case of marine imaging. First of all, the physical factors of the environment constitute a unique computer vision challenge and require special attention in adapting the methods. Second, the impossibility to create a reliable reference gold standard from multiple field expert annotations challenges the development and evaluation of automated, pattern recognition based approaches.

In this thesis, novel automated methods to add semantics to benthic images are presented that are based on common pattern recognition techniques. Three major benthic computer vision scenarios are addressed: the detection of laser points for scale quantification, the detection and classification of benthic megafauna for habitat composition assessments and the detection and quantity estimation of benthic mineral resources for deep sea mining. All approaches to address these scenarios are fitted to the peculiarities of the marine environment. The primary paradigm, that guided the development of all methods, was to design systems that can be operated by field experts without knowledge about the applied pattern recognition methods. Therefore, the systems have to be generally applicable to arbitrary image based detection scenarios. This in turn makes them applicable in other computer vision fields outside the marine environment as well.
By tuning system parameters automatically from field expert annotations and applying methods that cope with errors in those annotations, the limitations of inaccurate gold standards can be bypassed. This allows to use the developed systems to further refine the scientific models based on automated image analysis.


ABSTRACT In this study weathering was carried out for coals (source wise) in open piles at the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP). Imported hard coals were selected for these studies. Several methods such as alkali extraction test, measurement of the free-swelling index, and the pH of the coal slurry have been applied to monitor coal weathering. These tests suggest that the pH of the coal slurry and alkali extractions are better methods to identify the weathered coals. The relative sensitivity to weathering for hard coals was also determined. These coals were carbonized using a box filled with coal at a bulk density of 830 kg/m3 in a commercial oven at the Bhilai Steel Plant. In each case, the coke produced from weathered coal deteriorates the coke quality, but the degree was different for different coals.


Background Being bullied is a threat to children's mental wellbeing but there is some evidence that emotional support may buffer children against bullying victimisation. Modern technology has changed the way that children interact, such that cyberbullying is now an additional bullying exposure. We investigated whether bullying and cyberbullying victimisation posed similar threats and whether family and peer support promoted resilience to adverse wellbeing as an outcome. Methods Data were collected on 5,286 children in grades P7 (Age 11), S2 (Age 13), and S4 (Age 15) from 208 Schools in the 2017/18 Health Behaviour in School Aged Children in Scotland Survey. Resilience was operationalised with statistical interactions between self-reported measures of bullying or cyberbullying victimisation (None/Occasional/Frequent) and family or peer support (Low/Intermediate/High) in the prediction of wellbeing (WHO-5 Wellbeing Index). Analyses were carried out separately by gender with multilevel models, adjusted for sociodemographic factors and school grade, used to generate predictive margins. Results 14.2% of children were frequently bullied whereas 4.6% were frequently cyberbullied, with 3.1% being both frequently bullied and cyberbullied. Both bullying and cyberbullying had negative relationships with wellbeing. The relationship between cyberbullying and wellbeing was stronger, especially for children who were victims of cyberbullying but not traditional bullying. For example, the adjusted predicted mean WHO-5 scores for girls were as follows: never bullied 58.8(95%CI 57.6–60.0), frequently bullied but not cyberbullied 50.5(95%CI 46.8–54.1) frequently both bullied and cyberbullied 40.5(95%CI 36.2–44.7), and frequently cyberbullied but not bullied 36.2(95%CI 23.1–49.5). Family support was associated with resilience to the consequences of both bullying and cyberbullying victimisation. For example, among never bullied girls, high family support had a modest relationship with wellbeing, the adjusted predicted mean WHO-5 score was 63.1 (95%CI 61.7–64.4) for girls with high support and 57.4 (95%CI 54.8–60.1) for girls with low support. For frequently bullied girls, family support was much more strongly associated with wellbeing, the adjusted predicted mean WHO-5 score for girls with high support was 56.0(95%CI 52.4–59.6) compared to 38.3(95%CI 31.8–44.8) for those with low family support. Results for boys were similar but the protective associations of family support were reduced. There was no evidence that support from friends was associated with resilience to bullying or cyberbullying. Conclusion Cyberbullying is not as common as bullying but may pose a greater threat to adolescent wellbeing. Supportive families are associated with resilience among victims of both bullying and cyberbullying.


Editors' Introduction On January 8, 1997, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the assisted suicide cases of Vacco v. Quill(2) (challenging New York's assisted suicide ban) and Washington v. Glucksberg(3) (challenging Washington's law barring assisted suicide). Decisions on the cases from the Supreme Court are expected by early July, 1997. This Verbatim provides a survey of many of the arguments made in friend of the court briefs supporting New York and Washington, providing key material verbatim. Forty-one amicus curiae briefs were filed in one or both of the cases in support of New York and Washington, i.e., in opposition to the notion that there is a constitutional right to suicide and assistance in committing suicide under substantive due process or equal protection theories (or any constitutional theory).(4) Nineteen briefs were filed favoring assisted suicide.(5) Some of the briefs focused wholly or partially on making basic equal protection or substantive due process arguments, similar to those made by the states of New York and Washington in their briefs.(6) This Verbatim will not reiterate basic constitutional analyses, but will focus on unique or especially insightful contributions made by the amici curiae. Amici Curiae A review of the amici curiae opposing the declaration of a constitutional right to assisted suicide is itself enlightening. Opposition to a constitutional right to assisted suicide came from a diverse spectrum of entities. Appended to this article is a table listing the amici curiae and the major topics on which they focused in their briefs. Some are highlighted here. Several briefs were filed by physical and mental health care provider organizations, much of the writing correcting misperceptions about numerous people dying in agony upon which the Second and Ninth Circuit opinions were based. The American Medical Association (AMA) (290,000 members), the American Nurses Association (180,000 members), and the American Psychiatric Association (42,000 members) filed a brief in Glucksberg, on which they were joined by a large number of organizations.(7) Briefs were also filed by the American Suicide Foundation, American Geriatrics Society, the American Hospital Association, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging,(8) the Catholic Health Association, the Catholic Medical Association, the Medical Society of New Jersey, the National Hospice Association, the National Association of Prolife Nurses,(9) and the Christian Medical & Dental Society.(10) Several briefs were filed by governmental entities. The United States of America (by the U.S. Justice Department) filed two briefs, one in each of the cases. Three members of the U.S. Congress (Sen. Hatch, Rep. Hyde, and Rep. Canady) joined together on a brief. Members of the New York and Washington legislatures combined on a brief.(11) The states of Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and the territory of Puerto Rico joined in a brief. The State of Oregon filed its own brief. Richard Thompson, the Oakland County (Michigan) prosecuting attorney, filed a brief recounting his unsuccessful efforts to convict Jack Kevorkian and warning of the near impossibility of enforcing restrictions on any declared right to assisted suicide. E. Michael McCann, the District Attorney for Milwaukee County (Wisconsin) also filed a brief. Forty-nine bioethicists joined on a brief arguing the rationality and broad social acceptance of a line between forgoing medical treatment and assisted suicide, countering the lower courts presupposition that assisted suicide must be permitted if withdrawal of treatment is permitted. George Annas, a prolific writer in the field of bioethics who is also an attorney, provided leadership in drafting the brief for the bioethics professors. …


This paper explores marketing management strategies adopted by SMEs in Cote d'Ivoire in order to improve their performances. The study adopted an exploratory and descriptive survey research design. The respondents of this study included 50 senior executives, 50 middle-level managers and 100 workers in Abidjan city, purposively selected from SMEs in service and manufacturing industries. The findings of this study revealed that there is a high level of awareness of the significance roles played by marketing management strategies in the performance of SMEs; that adoption of technology in marketing management strategies can be mainstreamed into SMEs development agenda and that marketing management strategy is a veritable tool for sustainable development of SMEs. Out of these findings, the study recommends that leaders of SMEs implement and formulate policies that will enhance the deployment and development of new marketing management strategies with the aim of bridging the gap in the management of SMEs in Cote d'Ivoire.


The viscera and brains of 18 stillborns and dying newborn babies infected with mycoplasmas were examined. The etiological diagnosis was done by direct Coons method using antisera against M. hominis and M. pneumoniae. A high percentage (50%) of congenital malformations in mycoplasma-infected babies was observed. Histological and histochemical examinations of the brains and internal organs revealed marked circulatory disorders and degenerative changes indicative of a pathological process which had occurred. Mycoplasmal infection contracted by the fetus in the uterus or during the delivery may be assumed to be pathogenic. Based on the data from the literature and the own observations it is suggested that urogenital mycoplasmas may exert a teratogenic effect on the human fetus.


When polymer power cables were introduced into mediumvoltage applications in the late 1960s, the degradationphenomenon later referred to aswater treeingwas still unknown. However, this changedwithin a relatively short space of time. Just 5-10 years afterthese first polymer applications, faults began to appear thatcould be attributed to the new phenomenon-water treeing. Sincethen, cable manufacturers have been improving their designsgradually, and cables produced today are assumed to have muchlower susceptibility to water trees. However, water treeing isstill assumed to be the most important degradation process inthese applications.There are huge amounts of polymer cable installations thatare degraded by water trees. Since many of these cables areinstalled in the same grid nets, one cable fault oftengenerates another. If two or more cables fail at the same time,the consequences can be extensive. A non-destructive diagnosticmethod makes it possible to assess cables and take action priorto failures.This thesis presents the results of research work on thedevelopment of a measurement technique and diagnostic methodfor the assessment of medium voltage XLPE cables in the field.The method used is called high voltage dielectric spectroscopy,and involves the measurement of capacitance and loss as afunction of frequency at high voltages. The method is used in ashort frequency range of approximately one decade in thelow-frequency region (normally from 1 down to 0.1 Hz). Thevoltage levels used initially are all below the service-voltagelevel. If the cable is assessed to be free from water trees, aslightly increased voltage can be used.Based on dielectric-spectroscopy measurements, specificwater-tree analysis and breakdown tests, a set of measurementprocedures and criteria that take into account differences incable designs has been proposed for the assessment of mediumvoltage XLPE cables. The characteristic responses of XLPEcables (in both non and water-tree-deteriorated cases) make itpossible to separate the cable response from the influence ofaccessories. Field experience shows thatwater-tree-deteriorated cables with relatively low breakdownstrengths can remain in service for many years.Keywords:dielectric spectroscopy, high voltage,variable frequency, diagnostics, non-destructive diagnostics,cables, medium voltage, polymer, XLPE, water trees, watertreeing


This paper presents a comparison of the perceptions of health and social care professionals and older people on the prevention of emergency hospital admissions and the use of care services. Whereas older people viewed emergency admission as an inevitable part of ageing, professionals attributed many emergency admissions to the social isolation of older people. Professionals reported that the majority of services were not designed to minimise isolation in older age. Older people listed quality of life, boosted by socialising and support during periods of good health, as their first priority. Older people and professionals presented differing arguments why some health and social care services were underutilised. Older people explained that they deliberately avoided using some services because they believed these would undermine their independence and level of activity. Professionals reasoned that low uptake of services was associated with service providers' lack of knowledge and trust as well as problems with the accessibility of services. This shows that service users and providers differ in their assessment of need and service delivery. Hence, it is argued that both professional and patient perspectives are required to inform service development that meets the needs of older people and health and social care staff


Background and Aims. For distal malignant biliary obstruction in cases with short life expectancy, occlusion of plastic stents (PSs) does not usually occur before death, and the application of such a procedure is considered adequate from the viewpoint of costeffectiveness. Methods and Setting. A new commercially available DLS with side holes, a conventional DLS, and, uncovered selfexpanding metal stents (SEMSs) were retrospectively evaluated in patients with jaundice due to unresectable distal malignant biliary obstruction. Results. A total of 64 patients received endoscopic biliary stenting (23 patients with the new DLS, 24 patients with conventional DLS, and 17 patients with uncovered SEMS) from December 2002 to August 2009. Median patency time was found to be 198 days for the new DLS group and 99 days for the conventional DLS group, revealing a significant difference between devices. There was, however, no significant difference in median patency time between the new DLS and the uncovered SEMS (198 days versus 344 days). Conclusion. The new DLS is efficient and safe and may be considered the first choice for unresectable distal malignant obstruction in cases with short life expectancy.


Due to various Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks like blackhole and grayhole attacks, Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANET) performance is degraded rapidly. These attacks have been detected and prevented separately by different techniques. In earlier research, hybrid black/grayhole attack detection was proposed in which blackhole and grayhole attacks were detected and prevented simultaneously based on the detection threshold. However, some malicious nodes are still present in the network by faking the threshold value and forwarding the fake message to the other nodes. Therefore, the hybrid black/grayhole attack detection is enhanced by integrating network metric measurements. In this paper, the Data-to-Control packet Ratio (DCR) is measured for removing malicious nodes from the network and also avoiding the false detection. In addition, fuzzybased mobility and traffic measurement is integrated with a hybrid DCR detection technique for removing malicious node links. Moreover, the optimal path for packet transmission is selected by measuring the queue delay based on fuzzy logic optimization. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed hybrid blackhole/grayhole attack detection technique is illustrated through the simulation results based on the throughput, packet drop rate, packet delivery ratio and routing overhead


Background. This article documents the context of Assisted Reproductive Technology/ies (ART) services and providers' perceptions regarding services offered in India. The objective is to facilitate understanding of critical issues and relevant concerns. Methods. A postal survey conducted with a sample of 470 gynaecologists and in-depth interviews with 39 gynaecologists in four cities. Results. ART clinics have proliferated in cities and towns; they are commercialised and the quality of treatment is variable. Most providers perceived that patients lack knowledge about infertility and ART, costs are high, investigations unnecessarily repeated and success rates low. ART providers do not have clear selection criteria, some lack rigorous specialised training and infrastructure and most are deficient in record-keeping and counselling and lack transparency. Monitoring and regulation by appropriate authorities are also lacking. Conclusion. Both providers and regulatory authorities need to look critically at exploitation of patients and commercialisation, excessive costs, lack of information, informed consent, and transparency, counselling, unethical practices, variations in quality of treatment and ensuring proper monitoring and regulation.


This research was derived from the low ability of students' problem solving. One of the factors was the students didn't understand the problem of mathematics related to real life and the development of learning media like students' worksheet had not been optimal yet in school. One of the efforts done was by using students' worksheet based on Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL). The purpose of this research is to describe the characteristics of mathematical worksheet based on CTL to improve the problem solving ability of students in junior high school that fulfills the criteria of valid. This research used plomp development model. The plomp model consists of three phases, namely preliminary research, prototyping and assessment phase. Based on the development done, it could be obtained students' worksheet based on CTL in junior high school valid.


In this paper I refer to and summarize the main findings of the stochastic benchmark developed together with S. Buldyrev, M. Riccaboni, and H.E. Stanley to analyze business firms growth and corporate dynamics. The framework encompasses the Gibrat's Law of Proportionate Effect and the growth process originally described by Herbert A. Simon as particular instances. The framework generates testable propositions along four different dimensions: i) firm size distribution, ii) the distribution of firm growth rates, and iii-iv) the relationships between firm size and the mean and volatility of firm growth rates. The predictions of the stochastic benchmark are not falsified across different data sets. Both size and growthdistributions are "fat tailed", while innovation, competition, and instability at the level of products and firms map onto macroeconomic shocks at the aggregate level of Country GDP. First, the probability density function of growth rates appears to be invariant at different scales of observation and across periods, with its central body well approximated by a Laplace distribution and tails that contain many more events than predicted by a Gaussian probability density function and exhibit an inverse cubic power law. Second, since firm size distribution is fat-tailed, micro-level shocks that affect large firms generate aggregate fluctuations, and GDP volatility remains substantial even for large diversified Countries. The proportional growth benchmark sketched in the paper suggests that the origins, magnitude, composition, and propagation of microeconomic shocks from business firms are key to understand the "state of economy" andGDP growth and volatility.


In this article I expand on the idea that Pedro Lemebel uses his writing as a device through which he disputes a space of representation for the subjectivities swept by violence, and denounces the important absences in the construction of the stories of Chilean dictatorship (1973- 1990). For this purpose I tackle the notions of memory and writing in relation to testimonial literary practices, and analyze a series of the author's texts highlighting the favored discursive forms in the construction of the textual pieces and their political and historiographic implications.


The coke tower, work under high temperature, coke in and out with hot and cold distress through the cycle of 495℃ to 50℃, is the core reactor of the delayed coking device. Typical failure modes of bulge deformation of tower, low cycle fatigue crack of weld, material aging, the tower body tilting is easy to be caused under the comprehensive impact of complex load condition, temperature stress and mechanical stress of coke tower, which is a serious threat to safety production. For the sake of carrying out structure health monitoring technology and application research of the coke tower in a coking plant, acoustic emission, high temperature stress, temperature and tilt sensor technology was being used in this paper. And the system of the coke tower health monitoring and forecast management was also designed and developed. Based on the role of the system, real-time online monitoring data and off-line data can be acquired. The real-time on-line monitoring data can be used to diagnose the operating state of the structure. It is also possible to predict damage trends in critical areas through historical accumulation of off-line data. A new technical means based on structural health monitoring to guarantee the safe, healthy operation and guide the maintenance work of coke tower was put forward in the present paper.


Welcome to the inaugural issue of the College's flagship journal with our new Editor-in-Chief, Dr Mark Avery. On behalf of all members, contributors and readers we wish him and the editorial team all the best.
Firstly, I would like to thank all members and all those health professionals across our regions for your dedicated service, commitment and support of the community in the past two years during the COVID-19 Pandemic. In Australia we have also seen natural disasters add to workloads and from time to time it really is important to take a moment to acknowledge the fantastic job being done managing through these crises. Thank you.
We now have some wonderful analysis from the vast number of College members who have completed the self-assessment against the ACHSM Master Health Service Competency Framework. This report was generated in October last year with 864 overall completions, 732 of those from Australia. Thanks to The Screening Lab who provide the platform for this self-assessment survey and have generated this report from your feedback.....


This in vitro study compared the wear behavior between the enamel/dentine, two types of dental veneering ceramics for all-ceramic restorations (Vita-alpha,Vintage -AL ). A variety of factors including hardness, fracture toughness, flexural strength, frictional coefficients, wear scar width, element concentrations were considered. The wear scars of the samples were characterized by dynamic atomic force microscopy (DFM). The element concentrations of the surface before/after the wear test were determined with energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS). In this study Enamel/dentine, Vita-alpha and Vintage-AL have showed good wear resistance. The results also showed that there were statistical significance in samples. The friction coefficient varied from time in each kind of materials. The analytical differences between materials were observed in wear width and properties of materials (p<0.05). The wear ability among four materials ranked from highest to lowest as follows, Vintage-AL, Vita-alpha, enamel and dentine. DFM results demonstrated the wear patterns of natural tooth detected as abrasive and denaturation of dental texture. Wear patterns of tested veneering ceramics consisted mainly of abrasive wear, adhesion and fatigue wear and the different pattern plays different roles in Vita-alpha and Vintage-AL. The EDS results showed the element concentration of Fe was obviously found on the samples. Resistance ability against wear of veneering ceramics is better than that of natural human teeth. And the ability may have some correlation with the ceramics mechanical properties.


Abstract Electron probe and ion probe are the two most used instruments for in situ analysis of halogens in geological materials. The comparison of these two methods on widely distributed glass standards (example: MPI-DING glasses, Jochum et al., G-cubed, 2006) provides a basis for establishing laboratory method, independent geochemical data sets for these elements. We report analyses of F, S, and Cl concentrations in three geological glass samples (EPMA) and 10 referenced standards (EPMA and SIMS). Furthermore, F and Cl absolute abundances have been determined independently for three of the standards (KL2-G, ATHO-G, and KE12), via heavy ion elastic recoil detection analysis (HIERDA), to certify the accuracy of the cross-calibration EPMA-SIMS. The detection limits for EPMA are a 150 μg·g-1 for F, 20 μg·g-1 for S and Cl, and for SIMS < 48 μg·g-1 for F, < 3 μg·g-1 for S, and <19 μg·g-1 for Cl. On SiO2-rich glass-standards, F and Cl measurements by HIERDA highlight a weak matrix effect during SIMS analysis of F and Cl. With the HIERDA independently measured value, we therefore propose an alternative calibration function to empirically correct this matrix effect on the SIMS measurements of F, S, and Cl.


The way in which one copes with, or defends against, shame has important implications. The Compass of Shame Scale (CoSS) was developed to assess use of the 4 shame-coping styles described by Nathanson (1992): attack self, withdrawal, attack other, and avoidance. Reliability and criterion validity were explored ( N = 322). Subscale reliabilities ranged from .74 to .91. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a model with 4 primary factors. A differentiated pattern of correlations was obtained between CoSS scales and general internalized shame, self-esteem, anger, coping, and psychological symptoms. Results provided empirical support for Nathanson's Compass of Shame model and the validity of the CoSS.


Background: The role of chronic kidney disease (CKD) as a risk factor for cognitive impairment independent of their shared antecedents remains controversial. Objective: To determine whether kidney damage (indicated by albuminuria) or kidney dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] <60 ml/min/1.73 m2) predict future (12-year) cognitive function independently of their shared risk factors. Methods: We studied 4,128 individuals from the 1999/00 population-based Australian Diabetes, Obesity, and Lifestyle (AusDiab) Study who returned in 2011/12 for follow-up cognitive function testing. Albuminuria was defined by urinary albumin:creatinine≥3.5 (women) or≥2.5 mg/mmol (men). Kidney dysfunction was indicated by eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2. Cognitive function domains assessed included memory (California Verbal Learning Test [CVLT]) and processing speed (Symbol Digit Modalities Test [SDMT]). Results: Baseline albuminuria and kidney dysfunction were identified in 142 (3.4%) and 39 (0.9%) individuals, respectively, with minimal overlap (n = 7). Those with albuminuria demonstrated concurrently reduced 12-year SDMT (p = 0.084) and CVLT scores (p = 0.005) following adjustment for age, sex, and education. However, only CVLT performance remained worse (p = 0.027) following additional adjustment for myocardial infarction, stroke, and related risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking, BMI, physical activity, and alcohol intake). Indeed, these collective covariates were responsible for 47% of the effect of albuminuria on SDMT, but only 21% of its effect on CVLT. Kidney dysfunction was not associated with either SDMT or CVLT performance (p > 0.10). Conclusions: Albuminuria predicted worse memory function at 12 years follow-up, whereas its effect on processing speed was driven largely by differences in cardiovascular risk. Kidney dysfunction based on eGFR predicted neither cognitive domain.