Although the Malaysian school curriculum standard has emphasized the need to equip learners with basic skills and knowledge of the English language to enable them to communicate effectively in different contexts, the outcome has turned out to be very disappointing as most of them still fail to verbalize using the language. Malaysian students' failure to speak and respond appropriately in English has always been attributed to the wrong choice of teaching approaches adopted by instructors. On this matter, many researchers have advocated the inclusion of technology such as films or movies in language classroom as it could increase students' motivation and spoken language proficiency at the same time. The present study investigates the effectiveness of using films as an approach to teach English language speaking skills with specific focus on four voice aspects - pronunciation, intonation, stress and pauses. The study was conducted on twelve pre-selected form four students who were divided into two groups namely control and experimental group. Before the three-month treatment period, they were pre-assessed on the four voice aspects. During study, the instructor used only simulated conversation tape recording and explanation with control group; whereas students from experimental group were taught using selected films. To measure the outcome of the study, the students were required to role-play a few situations. The data reveals that film only gives minor impact on the students' pronunciation. However, it is a good source to help them to improve their mastery of intonation, stress and pauses.


This dissertation examines the participation of indigenous storytellers in a textbook project undertaken by Belizean educators. A qualitative study of these narrators, who contributed both traditional stories and personal narratives, extended from February 1991 until February 1996 in Belize's Toledo District. Featured narrators were interviewed and audio-taped by the author throughout this time period, as they contributed their oral lore to the project. This investigation reveals the complex interrelationships of anthropological salvage and cultural renewal. Certain contemporary scholars decry what they perceive as the limited pastoral dimension of salvage, which may suggest that the true value of traditional stories lies primarily in the 'golden' past, rather than the dynamic present. Although the Belizean project includes a story collection dimension, this research demonstrates that local narrators frequently target contemporary audiences and engage in the selective maintenance of community cultural knowledge. Observations of the Toledo storytellers indicate that their improvisational and emergent performances often result in the adaptation of traditional stories to contemporary audiences and issues. Profound moral and spiritual their moral and spiritual teachings to the active maintenance of peaceful communities and sustainable living on the land. Certain Toledo storytellers are also providing for the multi-lingual insertion of their cultural knowledge and political views into the contested public arena of newly independent Belize's national discourse. Many Creole, Garifuna (Black Carib), and Mayan narrators are adapting Belizean Creole English and English to make meaning and knowledge for cultural renewal. As a result of these expanding discursive activities, the textbook project potentially offers the foundation for a viable program of ideological literacy, one based on the local context and directed toward positive community action for cultural renewal, care for the environment, and community self-determination.


As any phenotypical and taxonomical feature of living form is indexed in genome sequence and its expression, the aims of presented work were to develop appropriate DNA microarray formats suitable for both, sequence analysis at single-nucleotide accuracy and gene expression monitoring at the level of RNA transcription focussing on the actinomycete group of eubacteria. Both approaches were established in the course of work via optimization of the following parameters: solid support, its activation chemistry, structure and concentration of hybridization probes and targets, hybridization buffer, volume, time, washing conditions, signal detection and hybridization data analysis. Domain I of eubacterial 16S rRNA and its sequence signatures responsible for the taxonomical delineation within above group of bacteria at the genera level and above were chosen as taxonomical markers. PCR primers selected within conserved regions and oligonucleotide probes selected in the variability regions of taxonomical importance allowed a sensitive and specific detection of cognate bacterial sequences differing by a single base. A principal interchangeability of using either of the type of molecules, obtained PCR fragments or oligonucleotides, as attached probes and hybridisable targets, respectively, was shown. On the other hand, arrays composed of thousands spots carrying shotgun-library inserts of the erythromycin producer S. erythrea DSM40517 were constructed.. Hybridization with two RNA samples isolated from cells grown in rich and semisynthetic media was shown to result in technically plausible data with regard to specific and sensitive detection of genomic entities responding by perturbed expression rate to conditions investigated.


Abstract Laboratory experimental methods are used to investigate the impacts of supply and/or demand risks on prices, quantities traded, and earnings within forward and spot market institutions. Random demand and/or supply shifts can be as much as 25 percent of the expected equilibrium outcome. Nevertheless, results suggest that the spot or forward trading institution itself has a greater influence on market outcomes than the presence of risk within the trading institution. Sellers tend to have relatively higher earnings in a spot market than buyers, regardless of the risk. Total surplus, however, generally is greater in a forward market.


The Burkholderia pseudomallei complex classically consisted of B. mallei, B. pseudomallei, and B. thailandensis, but has now expanded to include B. oklahomensis, B. humptydooensis, and three unassigned Burkholderia clades. Methods for detecting and differentiating the B. pseudomallei complex has been the topic of recent research due to phenotypic and genotypic similarities of these species. B. mallei and B. pseudomallei are recognized as CDC Tier 1 select agents, and are the causative agents of glanders and melioidosis, respectively. Although B. thailandensis and B. oklahomensis are generally avirulent, both display similar phenotypic characteristics to that of B. pseudomallei. B. humptydooensis and the Burkholderia clades are genetically similar to the B. pseudomallei complex, and are not associated with disease. Optimal identification of these species remains problematic, and PCR-based methods can resolve issues with B. pseudomallei complex detection and differentiation. Currently, no PCR assay is available that detects the major species of the B. pseudomallei complex. A real-time PCR assay in a multiplex single-tube format was developed to simultaneously detect and differentiate B. mallei, B. pseudomallei, and B. thailandensis, and a common sequence found in B. pseudomallei, B. mallei, B. thailandensis, and B. oklahomensis. A total of 309 Burkholderia isolates and 5 other bacterial species were evaluated. The assay was 100% sensitive and specific, demonstrated sensitivity beyond culture and GC methods for the isolates tested, and is completed in about an hour with a detection limit between 2.6pg and 48.9pg of gDNA. Bioinformatic analyses also showed the assay is likely 100% specific and sensitive for all 84 fully sequenced B. pseudomallei, B. mallei, B. thailandensis, and B. oklahomensis strains currently available in GenBank. For these reasons, this assay could be a rapid and sensitive tool in the detection and differentiation for those species of the B. pseudomallei complex with recognized clinical and practical significance.


The Canton Tower (formerly named Guangzhou New TV Tower) of 610 m high has been instrumented with a long-term structural health monitoring (SHM) system consisting of over 700 sensors of sixteen types. Under the auspices of the Asian-Pacific Network of Centers for Research in Smart Structures Technology (ANCRiSST), an SHM benchmark problem for high-rise structures has been developed by taking
the instrumented Canton Tower as a host structure. This benchmark problem aims to provide an international
platform for direct comparison of various SHM-related methodologies and algorithms with the use of realworld
monitoring data from a large-scale structure, and to narrow the gap that currently exists between the research and the practice of SHM. This paper first briefs the SHM system deployed on the Canton Tower, and the development of an elaborate three-dimensional (3D) full-scale finite element model (FEM) and the validation of the model using the measured modal data of the structure. In succession comes the formulation of an equivalent reduced-order FEM which is developed specifically for the benchmark study. The reducedorder FEM, which comprises 37 beam elements and a total of 185 degrees-of-freedom (DOFs), has been
elaborately tuned to coincide well with the full-scale FEM in terms of both modal frequencies and mode shapes. The field measurement data (including those obtained from 20 accelerometers, one anemometer and one temperature sensor) from the Canton Tower, which are available for the benchmark study, are subsequently presented together with a description of the sensor deployment locations and the sensor specifications.


Phytochrome B (phyB) is the major informational photoreceptor in light-grown plants. The phyB polypeptide is folded into two domains, the N-terminal domain and the C-terminal domain. The N-terminal domain covalently binds to the chromophore via a particular cysteine residue, which allows the holoprotein to absorb light and undergo a photoreversible conformational change. The N-terminal domain of phyB interacts with transcription factors, such as PIF3 (PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 3), to transduce the light signal to downstream components. Since substitution of the chromophore attachment site, Cys357, with alanine (C357A) abolishes the biological activity of Arabidopsis phyB, the covalent attachment with the chromophore is widely assumed to be necessary for phyB signal transduction. In this study, we show that Arabidopsis phyB is capable of transducing signals with a non-covalently retained chromophore. Substituting the Tyr276 residue of phyB with histidine (Y276H) is known to confer constitutive phyB signaling. PhyB containing both Y276H and C357A substitutions exhibited light-independent biological activity in transgenic Arabidopsis plants in a chromophore-dependent manner. Spectrophotometric analysis showed that the N-terminal domain of phyB containing just the C357A substitution could retain the chromophore non-covalently. The N-terminal domain containing both the Y276H and C357A substitutions interacted with PIF3 in a light-independent but chromophore-dependent fashion in yeast two-hybrid assays. From these results, we conclude that the constitutive phyB signaling conferred by Y276H requires the chromophore, but that the chromophore does not need to be covalently bonded to phyB.


This study examined the role of people's changing work roles and choice of work position for job satisfaction, turnover intention and general health after organizational change. Participants were 131 government agency managers undergoing a change of the management structure whereupon manager positions were cut down and everyone had to re-apply for the positions they wanted. Questionnaire data was collected before the organizational change and afterwards, when 43 of the participants were no longer managers. Four groups were formed from a combination of getting first choice of position or not and transferring down or not. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that the combination of not getting first choice of position and downward transfer resulted in significantly larger decrease in job satisfaction, larger increase in turnover intention and bigger decrease in general health than all other combinations. Practical implications for human resources management are discussed.


We present the first nighttime measurements of OClO from a limb-viewing satellite instrument in the Arctic polar vortex. The relationship between OClO, NO 2 and O 3 slant column densities in the Arctic polar vortex are analyzed from the GOMOS measurements. The retrieval process is based on a differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) method applied on the weighted median GOMOS transmittances. A study of the longitudinal distributions of OClO, NO 2 and O 3 above 65° north in January 2008 is presented. It shows a strong halogen activation in the lower stratosphere and a strong denoxification in the entire stratosphere inside the Arctic polar vortex. Time series of temperatures and OClO, NO 2 and O 3 slant column densities for the winters 2002/2003 to 2007/2008 are also presented. They highlight the correlation between temperature, OClO and NO 2 . The GOMOS instrument appears to be a very suitable instrument for the monitoring of OClO, NO 2 and O 3 in the stratosphere during nighttime.


The performance of high-power gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) is limited by self-heating effects. High thermal resistances within micrometers of the active device junction often dominate the junction temperature rise and fundamentally limit the device power handling capability. The use of high-thermal-conductivity diamond in close proximity to the transistor junction can mitigate this thermal constraint, but careful attention is required to the quality of the thermal interface between the GaN and diamond. Here we apply time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) to two GaN-on-diamond composite substrates with varying GaN thicknesses to measure the thermal interface resistance between the GaN and diamond (29 m2 K GW-1) as well as the thermal conductivity of the GaN buffer layer (112 W m-1 K-1) at room temperature. Informed by these data, we perform finite-element analysis to quantify the relative impact of the GaN-diamond thermal interface resistance, diamond substrate thermal conductivity, and a convective cooling solution on the device channel temperature rise.


Introduction The selection of an optimal pacing strategy during cycling largely influences the success or failure of the performance (Hettinga et al., 2012). Trained athletes are proposed to develop experience-primed, stable pacing schemas which are robust even in deceptive conditions (Beedie 2012; Mauger). However, pacing decisions made continuously during performance are informed by both internal and external factors (Renfree 2014), therefore unexpected environmental events (e.g. competitors' behaviour) are likely to challenge the initially planned pacing strategy. This study aimed to explore 1) the accuracy of cyclists' pacing strategy predictions prior to 16.1 km time trials (TT), and 2) whether the accuracy of these predictions differs between ride-alone and competitive conditions.   Methods Twenty-seven trained male cyclists with 16.1 km TT experience performed three laboratory-based TTs on a CompuTrainer ergometer. Following a baseline TT, participants rode a ride-alone TT (ALONE) and a competitive TT (COMP) in a counterbalanced order. During COMP, participants performed against a simulated virtual avatar that depicted the speed profile of their baseline performance. Prior to each trial, participants used a pace forecasting tool to predict their speed profile over each distance quartile of the TT. Immediately post-trial, a retrospective account of their perceived speed profile was also recorded.   Results COMP (M = 26.43 ± 1.32 mins) was performed in a significantly faster time than ALONE (M = 26.74 ± 1.61) (p = .005). There were no significant differences between predicted, actual and post-trial perceptions of speed profile at any distance quartile in the ALONE TT (Figure 1). In the COMP TT, both predicted (p = .012) and post-trial perceived pace (p = 0.001) were significantly slower than actual pace at 8 km. At 16.1 km, predicted pace was significantly faster than actual pace (p = .003) (Figure 2).   Discussion When performing a ride-alone 16.1 km TT, trained cyclists are able to accurately predict their pacing strategy. They can also accurately perceive what strategy they performed following the TT. However, when performing a TT in the presence of a competitor, cyclists exerted a faster than predicted speed at 8 km and consequently performed slower than predicted in the final quartile, due to premature fatigue as a result of a faster mid-section. Furthermore, cyclists believed that this drop in pace at 8 km was greater than what it actually was in their retrospective perception. Despite pace deviating from the pre-trial planned strategy in COMP, this trial was performed faster than the ALONE trial suggesting that this deviation was beneficial for performance. These findings support the robustness of trained cyclists' pacing schemas in individual performance conditions but the presence of a competitor results in a deviation from this schema. Pacing decisions are therefore influenced by external cues and a competitor may allow cyclists to tap into an otherwise unused reserve capacity to produce an enhanced performance.


This study respectively evaluated 12 young children with progressive curves who underwent subcutaneous rod instrumentation (SCRI) without fusion and were followed until definitive surgery. The mean curve Cobb angle was 58° at the time of SCRI. The mean apical vertebral rotation at the time of presentation was 20°. Curves were observed to have progressed to an average of 59° before definitive surgery and were corrected to 34° with instrumentation. The average apical vertebral rotation was found to be 34° before the definitive treatment. This value was significantly larger than the pre-SCRI value (P = 0.002). The average number of lengthening operations per patient was 4.6, and the number of all operations per patient was 7. Six patients developed complications. The average time spent in hospital was 101 days. The findings demonstrate that the curves were essentially unchanged in the frontal plane during the period of lengthening. The sagittal curves remained mostly within normal limits, but there was an alarming increase in rotation.


A paradigm shift is taking place in engineering education, driven by ABET, changing expectations of employers, the rapidly changing state-of-the-art of pedagogy, and many other forces. Minor modifications in current teaching practices will not solve the current problems. Teaching success in today's world requires a new approach to instruction. This article starts by summarizing the paradigm we're leaving behind at various rates in colleges and universities across the country. We then present our take on the paradigm we're entering into, explore implications of the changing paradigm for students and faculty, and close by offering some suggestions for fostering change. The aim of this article is to stimulate thinking about the changing nature of engineering education and to encourage the reader to engage in reflection and conversation.


The design and construction of a language model for minority languages is a hard task. By minority language, we mean a language with small available resources, especially for the statistical learning problem. In this paper, a new methodology for fast language model construction in minority languages is proposed. It is based on the use of Web resources to collect and make efficient textual corpora. By using some filtering techniques, this methodology allows a quick and efficient construction of a language model with a small cost in term of computational and human resources. Our primary experiments have shown excellent performance of the Web language models vs newspaper language models using the proposed filtering methods on a majority language (French). Following the same way for a minority language (Vietnamese), a valuable language model was constructed in 3 month with only 15% new development to modify some filtering tools.


Complexity measures and information theory metrics in general have recently been attracting the interest of multi-agent and robotics communities, owing to their capability of capturing relevant features of robot behaviors, while abstracting from implementation details. We believe that theories and tools from complex systems science and information theory may be fruitfully applied in the near future to support the automatic design of robot swarms and the analysis of their dynamics. In this paper we discuss opportunities and open questions in this scenario.


Considerable amounts of time and money are spent on job-training of school leavers graduated from higher-education institutions. More than a half of the employees in our sample participated in job-training between the graduation date ( 1 999) and September 2000. The work in this paper considers two aspects of the problem. First, the relationship between training probability/training length and the initial human capital (proxied by level of education and in-school labour-market experience) is concerned with, and, second, some elements of the training-cost-sharing decision is analysed. There are some signs that university education reduces the probability of training as compared to college education, whereas in-school labour-market experience increases it. University education reduces training length as well. In-school labour-market experience has no effect on the length of job-training. Another important result is that school-leavers holding diplomas with "narrower" types of education are more likely to obtain training, and also to have longer training programmes. This implies a more severe matching problem in the case of "narrower" types of education, possibly due to prohibitive searching costs for finding a good-quality match. Results for the cost-sharing decision are in line with Becker's idea, since the firm is less likely to entirely cover the costs of general training and more likely to finance job-specific training programmes.


This study developed a theoretical model to examine the impact of senior leadership behaviors on IS-Business strategic alignment and identified development culture as a significant moderator in the research model. A survey was conducted in China, and totally 132 valid data was collected from IS executives and their direct subordinates. Structural Equation Modelling analysis results suggest that IS executives' idealized influence and inspirational motivation leadership behaviors are positively associated with IS-Business strategic alignment, and development culture can further strengthen the impact of the two leadership behaviors on strategic alignment. This study contributes to the extant literatures in IS leadership and provides guidelines to the IS executives to exhibit strategic leadership behaviors so as to achieve the alignment between IS and business strategies.


A series of metal-free organic dyes bridged by anthracene-containing π-conjugations were designed and synthesized as new chromophores for the application of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Detailed investigations on the relationship between the dye structures, photophysical properties, electrochemical properties, and performances of DSCs are described. With the introduction of the anthracene moiety, together with a triple bond for the fine-tuning of molecular planar configurations and to broaden absorption spectra, the short-circuit photocurrent densities (Jsc) and open-circuit photovoltages (Voc) of DSCs were improved to a large extent. The improvement of Jsc is attributed to much broader absorption spectra of the dyes with the anthracene moiety. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis reveals that the introduction of the anthracene moiety suppresses the charge recombination arising from electrons in TiO2 films with I3− ions in the electrolyte, thus improving Voc considerably. On the bas...


Obesity in children is a major public health concern in Malta with prevalence statistics placing 11-, 13- and 15- year old Maltese children at the top of the scale, when compared to other Westernised countries. Obtaining valid information on diets is therefore vital to improve aspects of dietary behaviour in this age group. The main aim of this project was to carry out a feasibility study to improve sugar and water intakes in Maltese school children using a validated dietary assessment tool, REALITYMALTA™. This is a novel internet-based tool originally developed at the Rowett Institute for Nutrition and Health (RINH) and further upgraded, by incorporating local food and drink, for use in Maltese school children aged 9-11 years. Comparative results obtained using the new tool and a one day 24-hr MPR showed non-significant differences between the two tools for sugars, NMES and water, suggesting that it can be used with reasonable confidence to measure these nutrients in Maltese school children. Focus groups carried out in the pre-intervention period guided towards the development of a combined educational and environmental feasibility study carried out for a 12-week period in three local state schools. Educational sessions for parents and children were held, an educational leaflet was distributed, and free bottled water was supplied to the participating classrooms in the intervention schools. Nutrient results comparing the pre-intervention and post-intervention periods using the REALITYMALTA™ tool showed a significant reduction in caloric intake and a decrease, although non-significant, in sugars and NMES consumption. There were no statistically significant changes for water consumption. These encouraging results could provide baseline information for a future full scale trial. Further development work of REALITYMALTA™ is required to ensure the active participation of all those involved and to successfully improve dietary behaviour and reduce obesity in Maltese school children.


We explore the abundances and depletion levels of elements important to dust composition in four Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) sight lines observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. The apparent optical depth method is used to interpret the high-resolution ultraviolet absorption data toward AzV 18, AzV 456, Sk 108, and Sk 155; the latter two sight lines have been previously explored using component fitting. In contrast to previous studies, we find evidence that silicon is depleted in the SMC's interstellar medium (ISM). This makes it improbable that SMC-like extinction, i.e., no 2175 Å bump and a steep far-ultraviolet rise, results from a lack of silicate grains in the SMC. Notable differences between our sight lines that have SMC-like and Milky Way-like extinction, AzV 18 and AzV 456, respectively, are that the former has a substantially larger gas-to-dust ratio and smaller fractional H2 abundance. Iron abundances and depletions in the SMC's ISM often diverge from the pattern shown by Si and Mg. This is evidence that Fe is not tied to the same grains as silicon, and therefore that most silicate grains are likely magnesium based. The presence of iron depletion in the SMC then suggests that this element is probably incorporated into grain types such as metals or oxides.


The majority of disc galaxies have a bar, and bars play a major role in the evolution of galaxies and their properties. Given the cumulative influence that bars can have over the properties of their host, determining the epoch of their formation becomes a fundamental step in understanding disc galaxy evolution. However, this is not a straightforward task. The stars that make up the bar are not necessarily formed there and bars can radially move both gas and stars within a galaxy which makes determining a bar's age from the properties of its stellar population unreliable. Additionally, while bars grow as they age, this is not a linear process and bar growth progresses differently for different galaxies. In this thesis I have explored how the effects of bars on the star formation and stellar dynamics of galaxies can be used to recover the ages of bars using a sample of cosmological zoom-in re-simulations of galaxies in isolated environments. I first explored the effect of the bar on the star formation desert (SFD) in 6 of the isolated zoom-in cosmological re-simulations. The SFD is a region within the inner ring, lying either side of the bar in the area that the bar sweeps out. James and Percival (2016) found these regions had very little to no star formation and theorised that if star formation is suppressed by the bar the youngest stars in these regions should correspond to the age of the bar. I found that the removal of gas within the SFD occurs within 1-2 Gyr after the formation of the bar indicating there is little to no in-situ star formation after that time. We would, therefore, expect to see a sharp truncation in the star formation history. However, I found a gradual downturn in the star formation history of the SFD region in comparison to that of the bar, so all stars 1-2 Gyr younger than the bar must radially migrate into the SFD region. I propose that the onset of this downturn could still be used to recover the age of the bar, although the interpretation is more difficult than anticipated. However, I also present the discovery that the SFD is a region where any young stars must be radial migrators. By combining this with a bar age it would allow us to probe the timescales and efficiency of radial migration and thus gain unparalleled insight into the chemo-dynamical evolution of the SFD region. I also explored the effect of bars on galaxy stellar dynamics. As bars evolve they vertically thicken. Therefore, younger bars have a velocity dispersion similar to that of the disc while in older bars the difference is greater. I built on this by looking at features in the vertical velocity dispersion of the bar with a sample of 15 zoom-in cosmological re-simulations and 3 simulations of isolated galaxies. I uncovered a special feature in the vertical velocity dispersion of the bar. The location of this feature is remarkably stable with time and on average is 1.5 kpc shorter than the initial length of the bar. By taking the difference between the σ_z of this feature and the bar ends I calculated a value I call Δσ_z. I was able to recover Δσ_z in both cosmological and isolated simulations and found this value increases monotonically with the age of the bar at the same rate for all the bars in the sample. The growth of Δσ_z is influenced by two factors: the lengthening of the bar, and the vertical thickening of the bar. At early times after bar formation the lengthening of the bar is the main contributor to the increase seen in Δσ_z. However, after the bar buckles, the vertical thickening becomes the main contributor to the increase of Δσ_z. Therefore Δσ_z is a powerful tracer of bar growth as it is entirely constrained by the evolution of the bar. Thus I present a new bar dating method which uses Δσ_z to infer both the formation time of the bar and an estimate of the initial length of the bar. I have tested this new method on MUSE data of IC1438 and have found good agreement with literature data. This confirms that it is both possible to apply this method to current observational data and that the bar ages recovered are reasonable. This new method presents an exciting avenue for the reliable recovery of quantitative bar ages. By applying these methods and findings to large statistical surveys we can begin to explore the time of disc settling and the onset of secular processes. I conclude that this presents us with an exciting opportunity to explore how the formation of the bar can impact galaxy evolution.


This article analyzes the "Penal Code" of the Qumran sectarians, and argues that the list of sins and punishments included in it is based on three biblical pericopes concerning the holiness of the people of Israel and their dwelling place. Violators of these laws endanger the holiness of the community and thus need to be excluded. The idea that the structure of the penal code is based on readings of three specific biblical literal units bears interestingly on our understanding of the development of Midrash. This is taken up in the last part of the article.


Twenty-five years after the last major revision, the results of a molecular phylogenetic analysis have necessitated a re-classification of the Disinae (Orchidoideae, Orchidaceae). The small genus Schizodium, endemic to the Cape Floristic Region, is deeply embedded in the genus Disa and its generic status can thus no longer be maintained.
We propose a monogeneric subtribe Disinae and a subdivision of Disa into eighteen sections and one nothosection.
Excluding the latter, the sections are monophyletic, well-supported, morphologically distinguishable and are
delimited to maximize the congruence with the previous classification. All 180 described and one undescribed
species, as well as four named, natural hybrids are enumerated and assigned to sections and the nothosection.


Public sector organizations within multi-ethnic settings are facing the challenge of ethnic tension. One of the measures adopted globally to mitigate these tensions in the public sector is the implementation of representative bureaucracies that mirror ethnic composition within society. Although this measure has been successful to some extent, studies suggest that there is increasing tension arising from ethnic discrimination. This review paper charts a new course in psychological ownership perception and representative bureaucracy theories by attempting to establish a link between ethnic representation and employee' ownership perception. Propositions based on a critical review of existing literature are presented to enable further empirical investigations.


Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) investigations of graphene layers on Si terminated 4H-SiC(0001) are presented. The graphene layers have been grown in a standard method using decomposition of silicon carbide. Two kind of graphene layers have been investigated: 1) grown on substrates with on-axis orientation, 2) grown on substrates with 4° and 8° off-axis orientation in respect of c-axis of SiC. In the case of 0° orientation the high resolution TEM micrographs revealed that a thin layer graphene is present: 1-3 monolayers were obtained. It was found that the first carbon layer was about 2Å from the SiC surface. This result indicates that a strong covalent bonds between carbon layer and silicon atoms on the SiC surface exist. The subsequent graphene layers have been found spaced by 3.4 Å - similar as in the graphite. That indicates a weak van der Waals bonding between subsequent carbon layers. In the case of 4° and 8° off-axis orientation a thicker layer of about 5-6 monolayers of graphene were obtained. Relative spacings of graphene layers were the same as in the case of on-axis orientation.


This paper provides an overview of structural modeling in its close relation to explanation and causation. It stems from previous works by the authors and stresses the role and importance of the notions of invariance, recursive decomposition, exogeneity and ackground knowledge. It closes with some considerations about the importance of the structural approach for practicing scientists.


The liquid range and applicability of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are determined by their physicochemical properties. In this work, the physicochemical properties of glycolic acid:proline and malic acid:proline were evaluated experimentally and with MD simulations at five different ratios. Both DESs exhibited esterification upon preparation, which affected the viscosity in particular. In order to minimize oligomer formation and water release, three different experimental preparation methods were explored, but none could prevent esterification. The experimental and calculated densities of the DESs were found to be in good agreement. The measured and modeled glass transition temperature showed similar trends with composition, as did the experimental viscosity and the calculated diffusivities. The MD simulations provided additional insight at the atomistic level, showing that at acid-rich compositions, the acid-acid hydrogen bonding (HB) interactions prevail. Malic acid-based DESs show stronger acid-acid HB interactions than glycolic acid-based ones, possibly explaining its extreme viscosity. Upon the addition of proline, the interspecies interactions become predominant, confirming the formation of the widely assumed HB network between the DESs constituents in the liquid phase.


In greenhouse production of a number of flowering plant species, a short diurnal temperature drop in the morning is commonly used to reduce stem elongation. Earlier studies of pea (Pisum sativum) exposed to different combinations of day and night temperature, indicate that light, temperature, and gibberellin (GA) interact in the control of stem elongation. However, the mechanisms behind the effects of short-term temperature drops and differential sensitivity depending on the timing of the drop treatment have not been reported. Here, the involvement of GA metabolism in this has been investigated by exposing pea to short-term temperature drops in light or darkness. A 2 h temperature drop from 21 degrees C to 13 degrees C in the middle of the light period rapidly reduced the rate of stem elongation temporarily by 55% and increased mRNA levels of the GA-deactivation gene PsGA2ox2 by 2-fold within 30 min and up to 4-fold within 1.5 h. GA(1) levels were reduced by 36% after a 3-4 h time lag. A temperature drop in the night reduced stem elongation by 27%, but had no effect on transcript levels of PsGA2ox2. Instead, steady-state expression of the GA-biosynthesis genes NA, PsGA20ox1, and PsGA3ox1 was slightly stimulated, but there was no effect on GA(1) level. In conclusion, the effect of a temperature drop on GA metabolism in pea is qualitatively different in light and dark. Light is required for deactivation of GA(1) resulting from increased expression of PsGA2ox2. This suggests that GA-metabolism is a component in the short-term adaptation to changes in ambient temperature and putatively in low temperature-light stress responses.


Hemostatic disorders present a challenging problem to the surgeon and patient alike. Many of these disorders are first discovered at the time of planned or emergent surgical procedures. This manuscript will review the normal hemostatic mechanisms and the more common congenital and acquired coagulopathies.


Liquid–liquid extraction of metal ions was carried out in a microfluidic device which had intermittent partition walls in the center of the confluent microchannel 100 µm wide, 20 µm deep and 3 cm long. The intermittent partition walls (50 µm long) stabilized a two-phase (n-heptane–water) flow and allowed clear phase separation at the end-junction of the microchannel. Using this two-phase flow in the microchannel, yttrium ions were successfully extracted in a complex form with an extractant PC-88A (2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester) from a feed aqueous phase to a n-heptane phase within a contact time of 1.5 s. Although the apparent interfacial area in the microchannel was reduced by introducing the partition walls, the presence of the partition walls improved the extraction efficiency 2–3 fold at a contact time of 0.12–0.24 s. Flow analyses using fluorescent beads and a computational fluidic dynamics simulation revealed that the partition walls induced a slight turbulence in the two-phase flow in the microchannel. This slight turbulence would result in the mixing of the aqueous phase and promote the transport of yttrium ions from the aqueous feed phase to the organic extractant phase.


Abstract—Information security is very important to health
information, and Cryptography is the key measure for
information security. This paper proposes a low-power and
cost-effective implementation of AES (Advanced Encryption
Standard) supporting encryption and decryption with 128-bit
cipher key. Considering the cost-effective, resource-sharing
scheme is employed to reduce the hardware complexity of the
cipher and decipher. Considering the low-power, we present a
mixed pipelining architecture. The performance is evaluated
on SMIC 0.18um CMOS technology and the throughput
achieves at 800Mbps with the cost of only 17519 equivalent
NAND2 gates, and the power consumption is only 9.7mw.
Keywords-resource-sharing, mixed pipelining, AES


Gallium 68 (68Ga)-labeled fibroblast activation protein (FAP) inhibitor (FAPI) PET is based on the molecular targeting of the FAP, which is known to be highly expressed in the major cell population in tumor stroma, termed cancer-associated fibroblasts. Among many FAP-targeted radiopharmaceuticals developed so far, 68Ga-FAPI exhibits rapid tracer accumulation in target lesions and low background signal, which results in excellent imaging features. FAPI PET can be integrated in the clinical workflow and enables the detection of small primary or metastatic lesions, especially in the brain, liver, pancreas, and gastrointestinal tract due to the low tracer accumulation in these organs. Moreover, the DOTA (1,4,7,10-tetraazacylclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetrayl tetraacetic acid) chelator in the molecular structure allows coupling of the FAPI molecules with therapeutic emitters such as yttrium 90 for theranostic applications. This review provides an overview of the state of the art in FAP imaging, summarizes the current knowledge of relevant cancer biology, and highlights the latest findings in the clinical use of 68Ga-FAPI PET and other current FAPI tracers. Published under a CC BY 4.0 license.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine older adults' experiences of change following a group memory intervention, the La Trobe and Caulfield Hospital (LaTCH) Memory Group programme. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 individuals. Participants were healthy older adults and older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who had participated in the memory group five years previously. Transcripts were analysed for emergent themes in a workshop, using the Most Significant Change technique. The focus group derived four major themes relating to participants' experiences of change. Particularly noteworthy were themes describing a process of acceptance and normalising of memory difficulties in older age, as well as enhancement of coping and self-efficacy. The results highlight the importance of group support for older adults with and without objective memory impairment. Memory groups may use the group format to full advantage by (a) enhancing participants' experiences of universality to alleviate distress and promote coping, and (b) developing group norms to promote positive ageing, encompassing enhanced acceptance and self-efficacy.


CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2008 Abstracts

Abstract #77

Background: The relative benefits of adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy with docetaxel in combination with anthracycline, or given sequentially after an anthracycline-based regimen, are unknown. Material and Methods: We randomized women with axillary lymph node positive, central HER-2 nonamplified, breast cancer to either TAC (75/50/500 mg/m2 q3wk x 6 cycles) or AC (60/600 mg/m2 q3wk x 4 cycles) followed by T (100 mg/m2 q3wk x 4 cycles). Patients were prospectively stratified by number of positive nodes (1-3 vs. 4+) and hormone receptor status. Patients with ER and/or PR positive (HR+) tumors received hormonal therapy after chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS) with 80% power to detect an absolute difference of 5%. Secondary endpoints included overall survival and safety. Results: A total of 3298 patients (1649 per arm) were recruited between August 2000 and February 2003. Baseline characteristics were well balanced: age 2 cm 58%. The planned 6 cycles of TAC were given to 93.5% of patients and 8 cycles of AC-T to 90.5%. Febrile neutropenia (17.9% vs. 8.5%) was more frequent with TAC, while grade 3 / 4 neutropenic infections were equivalent (8.7% with TAC vs. 8.0%). One septic death occurred in the TAC arm. Grade 3 / 4 non-hematological toxicity rates were fatigue (5.2% vs. 6.3%), nausea (4.5% vs. 4.1%), vomiting (4.2% vs. 4.1%), diarrhea (2.9% vs. 3.1%), stomatitis (2.6% vs. 3.0%), peripheral edema (1.3% vs. 2.6%), neuropathy-sensory (0.6% vs. 2.0%) and CHF (0.1% vs. 0.4%) in the TAC and AC-T arms, respectively. The other Garde 3 / 4 docetaxel specific toxicities (nail and skin toxicities were observed in less than 0.5% in both arms. The protocol specified main efficacy analysis triggered by 688 DFS events will be presented, with a median follow-up of 60 months. Discussion: The safety profile of the two docetaxel-based adjuvant chemotherapy regimens is comparable with the exception of a higher incidence of febrile neutropenia with TAC. This analysis will define the relative efficacy of combination vs. sequential docetaxel-containing chemotherapy in the adjuvant treatment of women with node positive, HER-2 negative breast cancer.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 77.


1 I read with interest the article by Khoury and Kritharides.1 Use of sildenafil in patients with cardiovascular disease is prevalent due to their high incidence of erectile dysfunction, making interactions with cardiovascular drugs of potential importance. In the case quoted, it would seem unlikely that the dose of sildenafil taken 48 h prior to investigation would have contributed to the episode of hypotension. In contrast, this 72-year-old male appeared to develop hypotension following cannulation of his left coronary artery.This is not unexpected when an artery responsible for a major stenosis is cannulated.


This research in progress proposes an approach to technology adoption that focuses on technology as sign and symbol. Drawing from social theory and consumer behavior literature, we initiate a qualitative study that uses both subject narrative and a visual interpretation of the subject (through photographs of the subject and their technology) to identify how each subject's social environment builds his or her understanding of the object and its attractiveness. The study is a two-phase project. Phase I involves both a large-scale collection of subject narratives about their technologies and an interpretation of subject images. Phase II involves an interpretation of the results from a series of personal face-to-face interviews of subjects in public venues. The results from these two phases of data collection and analysis will be presented and discussed at the conference.


This paper examines the relationship between self-control, financial literacy and over-indebtedness on consumer credit debt among UK consumers. Lack of self-control and financial illiteracy are positively associated with non-payment of consumer credit and self-reported excessive financial burdens of debt. Consumers who exhibit self-control problems are shown to make greater use of quick-access but high cost credit items such as store cards and payday loans. We also find consumers with self-control problems are more likely to suffer income shocks, credit withdrawals and unforeseen expenses on durables, suggesting that lack of self-control increases exposure to a variety of risks. In most specifications we find a stronger role for lack of self-control than for financial illiteracy in explaining consumer over-indebtedness. We discuss the policy implications of these findings.


In this work we introduce and study a new family of one dimensional nonlinear cellular automaton which we name as quadratic cellular automata over ternary fields (Z3). This family is defined by using the quadratic forms as local transition functions.  Further, we define hybrid quadratic cellular automata. Under periodic, null, and reflective boundary conditions it is shown that for some special local rules, hybrid quadratic cellular automata provide a good source for generating pseudo random numbers. The pseudo random numbers generated by hybrid quadratic cellular automata has passed the preliminary tests such as serial, runs, frequency, and poker. Keywords: Hybrid Quadratic Cellular Automata, Pseudo Random Number Generators, Cryptogaphy;


In this paper, we consider policy evaluation in a finite-horizon setting with continuous state variables. The Bellman equation represents the value function as a conditional expectation, which can be further transformed into a ratio of two stochastic gradients. By using the finite difference method and the generalized likelihood ratio method, we propose new estimators for policy evaluation and show how the value of any given state can be estimated using sample paths starting from various other states.


The rapid development of signal processing on graphs provides a new perspective for processing large-scale data associated with irregular domains. In many practical applications, it is necessary to handle massive data sets through complex networks, in which most nodes have limited computing power. Designing efficient distributed algorithms is critical for this task. This paper focuses on the distributed reconstruction of a time-varying bandlimited graph signal based on observations sampled at a subset of selected nodes. A distributed least square reconstruction (DLSR) algorithm is proposed to recover the unknown signal iteratively, by allowing neighboring nodes to communicate with one another and make fast updates. DLSR uses a decay scheme to annihilate the out-of-band energy occurring in the reconstruction process, which is inevitably caused by the transmission delay in distributed systems. Proof of convergence and error bounds for DLSR are provided in this paper, suggesting that the algorithm is able to track time-varying graph signals and perfectly reconstruct time-invariant signals. The DLSR algorithm is numerically experimented with synthetic data and real-world sensor network data, which verifies its ability in tracking slowly time-varying graph signals.


This work presents a LED-based smart street lighting system which allows both autonomous and on-demand control. Minimum energy consumption is achieved by regulating the street lights depending on illumination level and motion detection. The system has been tested in a real infrastructure at a University Campus.

Every street light has been equipped with a wireless communication device which integrates a luminosity sensor, in order to maintain only the necessary light level, and a set of motion sensors, in order to increase the level just when there are pedestrians and vehicles around. Devices communicate through an IEEE802.15.4 interface and 6LoWPAN as network protocol, enabling external monitoring/control and between street lights interaction.

When autonomously working, a state machine within the Contiki OS decides the most suitable dimming level according to sensor values and other programmable parameters such as illumination thresholds or neighbor configuration. On the other hand, since the system can be controlled remotely, luminosity levels, calibration and behavior parameters can be manually adjusted.

Besides, the motion sensors may also be used during daylight to monitor citizen flow, offering additional features as people behavior patterns recognition and security assistance.


The acid-base behavior of rhodamine B (RB) in reversed micellar solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) in 1-hexanol-cyclohexane/water was investigated through absorption and fluorescence measurements under varying the hydrogen-ion concentration in a water pool, the mole fraction of 1-hexanol in a bulk solvent and the water to surfactant molar concentration ratio. RB exhibited equilibria between the cationic, zwitterion and lactone forms of the dye as a cause of the spectral changes, indicating a change in the RB distribution among the reversed micellar water pool, interface and bulk solvent. Furthermore, RB was used as a probe to develop a method for determining the critical micelle concentration (CMC) in CTAC solutions. Abrupt variations in the intensities and wavelengths of the absorption and emission maxima of RB were observed at the CMC. The standard free energy of micellization was also evaluated from the CMC data.


This paper presents the first results of an experimental study into a hybrid combustion concept for next-generation heavy-duty diesel engines. In this hybrid concept, at low load operating conditions, the engine is run in Pre-mixed Charge Compression Ignition (PCCI) mode, whereas at high load conventional CI combustion is applied. This study was done with standard diesel fuel on a flexible multi-cylinder heavy-duty test platform. This platform is based on a 12.9 liter, 390 kW heavy-duty diesel engine that is equipped with a combination of a supercharger, a two-stage tubocharging system and lowpressure and highpressure EGR circuitry. Furthermore, Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) hardware is installed to have sufficient control authority. Dedicated pistons, injector nozzles and VVA cam were selected to enable PCCI oombustion for a late DI injection strategy, free of wall-wetting problems. The decision to use a multicylinder configuration instead of a single cylinder research engine was taken because this allows to assess the impact of limitations in operating range of current turbocharger equipment and that of cylinder interaction. It also allowed to assess control issues relevant for future production engines. First results are shown for four low load ESC operating points, Injection timing, EGR rate and effective compression ratio are varied to find suitable PCCI operating conditions with this equipment. The effect of these control parameters on combustion phasing, heat release, emissions (NOx, HC, CO, smoke), and fuel consumption is presented. Similar trade-offs are determined for conventional CI combustion at higher loads. From the experimental results, it is concluded that PCCI combustion is succcessfuly realized up to 25% load, corresponding to 5.6 bar BMEP. Further optimization of TC matching and combustion is needed to improve PCCI fuel efficiency and especially high load CI operation.


To better understand the regulation of interleukin-9 (IL-9) receptor expression, we have isolated the genomic clone of the human IL-9 receptor based on its sequence homology with a human IL-9 receptor cDNA isolated from the human megakaryocyte cell line UT-7. The entire genomic structure has been determined. The human IL-9 receptor gene consists of 10 exons spread over approximately 13.7 kb of DNA. The nucleotide sequence of the coding region from the genomic DNA is identical to our cDNA clone. Several blocks of transcriptional control sequence have been identified at the 5' noncoding region of the IL-9 receptor gene that may play an important role in the regulation of the IL-9 receptor gene. A fusion gene containing 659 bp of human IL-9 receptor 5' noncoding region linked to the firefly luciferase gene directed expression of luciferase activity in human embryonic kidney 293 cell line, but not in the mouse fibroblast cell line NIH3T3 cells.


The Doctrine of Right comprises the first volume of Kant's Metaphysics of Morals, published just seven years before his demise. Overlooked for a time by scholars in favour of his Critique of Pure Reason, Byrd and Hruschka's analysis is an important addition to the present-day interest in Kant's writings towards the end of his life. Both B. Sharon Byrd, from Friedrich Schiller University, and Joachim Hruschka, from the University of Erlangen, have published extensively on Kant's philosophy, and bring a detailed and comprehensive analysis to the Doctrine of Right, which sets their book apart from other scholarly inquiries of this text.


Comparative efficacy of two indigenous herbal extracts, ( Trigonella foenum-graecum seed & Coccinia indica leaves) with the commonly used drug Glimepiride were studied. Healthy young rats (n=30) of both sexes weighting between 150 to 200 gm were selected and divided into six equal groups, as A (Control), B (diabetic), experimental diabetic groups were-C, D, E and F, treated with combined extract of Methi seed and Telakucha leaves- @ 250mg, 500mg, 750mg and Glimepiride 800μg/kg body weight, respectively. The substances were given orally once daily for14 days. The blood glucose concentration were decreased significantly (P<0.01) in groups C, D, E, and F. The body weight increased significantly (P<0.05) by 2.3%, 3.9%, 4.8% and 10.4%, respectively. The herbal extracts significantly reduced in blood glucose level with the increased in body weight. It is indicated that antidiabetic activity of Trigonella foenum-graecum and Coccinia indica are evident that are traditionally used as the herbal preparations by the Ayurvedic practitioners for the control of diabetes mellitus. Keywords: Trigonella foenum graecum ; Coccinia indica; Amaryl® Tablet (Glimepiride); Streptozotocin and antidiabetic effect; Diabetes mellitus; Rat DOI: 10.3329/jbau.v6i2.4825 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 6(2): 297-300, 2008


Abstract In 2006 Singur in West Bengal, India, was chosen as the location for a new far factory that was to produce what would ostensibly become the world's cheapest car. To make way for the factory approximately 1,000 acres of farmland were expropriated by the state government. Farmers unwilling to relinquish their land refused to comply with the acquisition and organised politically to challenge the legitimacy, both moral and legal, of the government's exercise of the right of eminent domain. While these farmers relied on a broad repertoire of contention during their prolonged agitation, the courts and the law provided them with perhaps the most important arena for challenging the state. This paper discusses various aspects of the Singur farmers' use of the courts, asking: (1) How have the farmers in practice gone about accessing the courts and the legal system? (2) What has been their experience of engaging with such a complex system of procedures and institutions that rely on a language with which few farmers are familiar? (3) Given that many other options have been available, why have the Singur farmers chosen to repose such faith in the courts?


This research-in-progress paper utilizes the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to determine whether differences exist in the adoption of Instant Messaging (IM) Technologies in Australia, China, Mexico and the USA. Despite significant differences in the technology needed to implement IM (e.g., software supporting Chinese language characters), few barriers exist to the adoption of IM given the environment is in place. We postulate that language interface technology, infrastructure, and culture affect the adoption of IM technology.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is commonly used in studies and clinical assessment of cognitive functioning. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure and variables explaining the scores of the MMSE in elderly persons in Taiwan, in order to provide a reference for instrument selection and data collection for clinicians and researchers. METHODS Secondary data from an epidemiologic study that included 1,442 randomly selected subjects aged 64 to 98 with an average age of 72.6 years were used. Males comprised 57.1% of the sample, and females 42.9%. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and covariance structure modeling were used to analyze the data. RESULTS In the cross validation of the covariance structure modeling, 50.1% of the variance in simple processing, 86.9% in complex processing, and 66.9% in memory/attention were explained. Better education background predicted better score in complex processing ability (path coefficient = .860). Greater independence in self-care ability predicted better scores in simple processing (path coefficient = -.716) and memory/attention (path coefficient = -.811). CONCLUSION The results of this study indicate that items in the MMSE measuring complex processing ability including writing, reading and obeying, and copy design are seriously biased by educational background, and that the remaining items are better indicators of the subject's cognitive functioning for elderly persons in Taiwan. In our model, self-care ability was strongly related to cognitive functioning as measured by the MMSE, especially for items in the factors of simple processing (registration, naming, repetition, and commanding) and attention/memory (orientation to place and time, attention, and recall).


Structurally and functionally altered retinoic acid receptors have been associated with rare human neoplasms: acute promyelocytic leukemia and hepatocellular carcinoma. Whereas the ret‐ inoic acid receptor β (RARβ) rearrangement in hepatocellular carcinoma is unique, in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), RARα fusion to the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) gene by the t(15;17) translocation is a general feature of the disease. APL is an important model in cancer biology because retinoic acid induces complete remissions in this malignancy, providing the first example of differentiation therapy and of an antineoplastic drug directly targeted at the underlying genetic lesion. The molecular basis of PML/RARα fusion leukemogenesis is discussed with respect to dominant negative inhibition of nuclear receptor and PML functions.—de Thé, H. Altered retinoic acid receptors. FASEB J. 10,955‐960 (1996)


Background: Patients anticipating surgery experience significant anxiety. The prevalence of anxiety prior to surgical procedures has been reported to range from 11% to 80% among adult patient populations. The objective of the study is to explore preoperative anxiety dynamics in patients. Methods: Two samples of patients (N1=60, M1=57.5, SD1=16.8; N2=50, M2=44.3, SD2=13.7) were assessed by nurses using the rating scale Anxiety Level-12 and at the same time self-report state anxiety measures HADS-A (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and STAI (State Trait Anxiety Inventory) were administered. Time remaining to surgery ranged from 10 minutes to 48 hours. Findings: Results showed significantly higher anxiety closer to surgery. Several other variables show influence on the relationship: age, premedication, sex, anesthesia. Discussion: In accordance with previous findings the results show that preoperative anxiety changes with time remaining to surgery and the relationship is influenced by various factors, e.g. age, sex, previous surgery, type of anesthesia. Future research could uncover the influence of personality factors on preoperative anxiety dynamics.


Letter from John C. Brewer to Emma Davis discussing the trip back from Emma's house, and his feelings on Emma being "promised" to another man. Lines from a poem or song are included.


The rise of the world's population is causing a never-ending increase in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation. This, along with the commitment to necessary protection for the environment, requires companies managing MSW to make effective decisions to maximise satisfaction among their stakeholders. This research aimed to identify the main stakeholders and the relevance of each one. Four focus groups discussions were set up for this identification, involving a total of 36 experts from different sector-related disciplines. In order to guarantee reliable results, rank-ordering of alternatives was applied obtaining a high Kendall coefficient of concordance equivalent to 0.83. Subsequently, these were applied to a pairwise comparison grid that gave a stakeholder's ranking: citizens, shareholders, workers, town council, special customers, NGOs, public administrations, media and suppliers. This information offers MSW management companies a perspective that helps to set priorities in their decision-making.


Falls are a multi-causal phenomenon with a complex interaction. The aim of our research is to study the effect of multiple variables for potential risk of falls and construct an elderly fall risk assessment model based on demographics data and gait characteristics. A total of 101 subjects, whom belong to Malianwa Street, aged above 50 years old and participated in questionnaire survey. Participants were classified into three groups (high, medium and low risk group) according to the score of elderly fall risk assessment scale. In addition, the data of ground reaction force (GRF) and ground reaction moment (GRM) was record when they performed walking at comfortable state. The demographic variables, sample entropy of GRF and GRM, and impulse difference of bilateral foot were considered as potential explanatory variables of risk assessment model. Firstly, we investigated whether different groups could present difference in every variable. Statistical differences were found for the following variables: age (p=2.28e-05); impulse difference (p=0.02036); sample entropy of GRF in vertical direction (p=0.0144); sample entropy of GRM in anterior-posterior direction (p=0.0387). Finally, the multiple regression analysis results indicated that age, impulse difference and sample entropy of resultant GRM could identify individuals who had different levels of fall risk. Therefore, those results could potentially be useful in the fall risk assessment and monitor the state of physical function in elderly population.


The task of the project was to evaluate a differential phase shift keying demodulation technique by replacing a Mach-Zehnder interferometer receiver with an optical filter (Fiber Bragg Grating). Computer simulations were made with single optical transmission, multi channel systems and transmission with combined angle/intensity modulated optical signals. The simulations showed good results at both 10 and 40 Gbit/s. Laboratory experiments were made at 10 Gbit/s to verify the simulation results. It was found that the demodulation technique worked, but not with satisfactory experimental results. The work was performed at Eindhoven University of Technology, Holland, within the framework of the STOLAS project at the department of Electro-optical communication.


The aim of this study was to examine whether boys who had been previously diagnosed between the ages of 5 and 8 years with deficits in attention, motor control and perception (DAMP) still have problems with motor control, which influence their spare-time and everyday activities, at 11 to 12 years. The study comprised a well defined cohort of 10 boys with DAMP and a control group of 20 boys without DAMP matched for age, height, and weight. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children was used to assess motor control in ability to perform everyday activities, and the spare-time activities in which the boys participated were recorded. Individually, the boys previously diagnosed with DAMP had a markedly higher total score (poor performance) than the boys without DAMP (P<0.001). The everyday activities of boys with DAMP were significantly affected, and they chose to participate in different sports from the control boys, i.e. none participated in team sports. The present study does not support the concept of improvements in motor control with age in children with DAMP.


Mechanical trauma of adequate force, whatever the nature of the agent, usually leads to a wound. The latter may be limited to the tissues covering the outer and inner surface of the body, namely skin and mucous membranes, giving rise to a superficial injury, or may involve as well one or more of the deeper structures like bone leading to fracture. Examination of an injury in both living and dead is an important medico-legal issue in the field of crime investigation to fix the liability. A doctor is required to date injuries specifically and individually while preparing an injury report. In all traumatic deaths where fractures were found over the body, it is important to find out whether these injuries were caused while alive and not after death of a person. The forensic pathologist can be confronted with the estimation of fracture age in association with murder, manslaughter, and bodily harm with fatal consequences, (primarily survived) accidents and further constellations. In this paper we have studied the sequential Gross and Histopathological Changes at the Site of Fracture injuries and compared the findings with available standard data. Total 78 Medico-legal deaths having long bone fractures over the body, brought for post-mortem examination, over a period of two year were studied.

Keywords: Injury, Fracture, Medico-legal


Introduction: There is an identified need for more robust and high-quality evidence to inform decisions about how to develop and deliver integrated primary/secondary health care. Researchers and policy-makers need to work together with practitioners to develop, evaluate and implement effective approaches. For the goals of health reform to be realised primary and secondary care must work together to achieve co-ordinated and integrated healthcare services. This study investigates the perceptions of board members and CEOs currently working in mid level organisations on how the elements of a health care system, identified through a systematic review, capable of supporting effective integrated primary/secondary are being used, or should be in the future. Methods: Using a 'co-creation' approach which emphasises an ongoing, collaborative value creation process between multiple stakeholders this brings researchers and end users - academics, clinicians, policy makers, service organisations - together. This study presents the results of two case studies, which used an exploratory case study design and semi-structured interviews, and contextual evidence. Key findings: The ten elements, identified through systematic review, linked to successful primary/secondary health care integration, include, taking a population focus; shared clinical priorities; joint planning; using data as a quality improvement tool across the continuum; innovation; effective change management; an appropriately trained workforce; integrated information communication systems; incentives; and, patient engagement, are all supported in the case studies. While the current reform environment has made some progress in some elements, others remain ad-hoc or non-existent. The development of a balanced scorecard to support inter jurisdictional working has been developed. Highlights: To apply important evidence to health care policy, and maximise reform success, we must review inter jurisdictional governance frameworks to address the gaps identified in this paper. Following a Queensland Clinical Senate symposium consensus was agreed regarding the necessity for shared governance between primary and secondary organisations based on the work by the authors. Organisations are challenged to develop /consolidate shared governance models locally, using the balanced scorecard, and to report back on the progress that has been made. Conclusion: Whilst challenging to bring historically disparate partners together into formal agreements, they are essential to creating the scalable 'business rules' and a sustainable system required to achieving new care models.


1. Concerned with preserving the quality of the environment, there is the need to develop more and more efficient oils, which respond to the technological evolutions of the uses and with spaces (time of use or distance traveled) of emptying of longer and longer. As such, it is necessary to introduce new quality such as semi-synthetic and synthetic oils and
biosynthetic for petrol engines and diesel engines to meet the new requirements of car manufacturers.
2. Substitute the mixed oils with the fuel (then burned in the engine) by other non-polluting product or the use of other technique.
3. Proposal to improve the lubrication of equipment with a specific and recyclable gas
4. Use of an indicator to indicate the duration of use of each oil on line to optimize the use of the oils and to limit the random or
visual emptying only (do not refer to the distance traveled).
5. The recycling of the oils, the reuse of the latter as appropriate, and the degree of its contamination.


In this paper, a new tool is proposed to provide a solution for the implementation of generic 3D Network-on-Chips (NoCs) to serve different applications. The proposed tool denoted by 3D-NOCET, is based on the 3D Direct-Elevator routing algorithm. The 3D-NOCET tool allows the user to create different combinations of 3D-NoCs based on the 2D-routing topology, number of tiers and number of routers per each tier through a fully automated process. That opens the door to perform future experimental evaluations for the different 3D-NoC structures. The future experimental evaluations and the performance comparative analyses help to find the optimal network configuration for different applications, specifically the 3D-NoC based Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA).


Christian Bok is one of the foremost Canadian poets of the avant-garde; however, the success of his book Eunoia is surprising because it has formidable structural constraints. The obsessive construction of Eunoia is influenced by the textual/mathematical constraints of the French literary group called the "Oulipo." In "The New Ennui," Bok himself schematically reveals his compositional method for writing Eunoia and implicitly hints at the possibility of a cipher that facilitates a more accessible reading of the work. Each vowel chapter means more because of what is excluded (i.e., the other vowels). It is this exclusion that is hinted at by the symbolic N, which appears in the word "eunoia" but does not have its own chapter. Bok's Oulipian attention to detail gives meaning, significance, and cohesion to a text that is ultimately the work of a literary visionary who seeks to open doors to the possibilities of linguistic innovation.


In the 1980's the British aircraft industry changed its approach to the management of projects from a system where a project office would manage a project and rely on a series of specialist departments to support them to a more process oriented method, using systems engineering models, whose most outwardly visible signs were the introduction of multidisciplinary product teams. One of the problems with the old method was that the individual departments often had different priorities and projects would get uneven support. The change in the system was only made possible for complex designs by the electronic distribution of data giving instantaneous access to all involved in the project. In 1997 the Defence and Aerospace Foresight Panel emphasised the need for a system engineering approach if British industry was to remain competitive. The Royal Academy of Engineering recognised that the change in working practices also changed what was required of a chartered engineer and redefined their requirements in 1997 [1]. The result of this is that engineering degree courses are now judged against new criteria with more emphasis placed on the relevance to industry rather than on purely academic content. At the University of Glasgow it was realized that the students ought to be made aware of current working practices and that there ought to be a review to ensure that the degrees give students the skills required by industry. It was decided to produce a one week introduction course in systems engineering for Masters of Engineering (MEng) students to be taught by both university lecturers and practitioners from a range of companies in the aerospace industry with the hope of expanding the course into a module. The reaction of the students was favourable in terms of the content but it seems ironic that the main criticism was that there was not enough discussion involving the students. This paper briefly describes the individual teaching modules and discusses the experiences and lessons learnt from this course with some thoughts on the way it is proposed to develop the course.


This paper refers to seeking new possibilities for contemporary architecture to develop. The discussed problems focus on interdisciplinarity, innovation, social communication as elements indispensable for development. The article applies to the essence and the notion of relations between these elements. The presented examples illustrate selected design problems. Social communication is described as the determinant of modern society development based on information flow. Two projects are presented, both practical examples of the discussed issues.


Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are an important class of biotherapeutics. Successful development of a mAb depends not only on its biological activity but also on its physicochemical properties, such as homogeneity and stability. mAb stability is affected by its formulation. Among the many techniques used to study the stability of mAbs, differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) offers both excellent throughput and minimal material consumption. DSF measures the temperature of the protein unfolding transition (Tm) based on the change in fluorescence intensity of the environmentally sensitive dye SYPRO Orange. With DSF adapted to a 96-well plate format, we have shown that low-pH or high-salt concentrations decrease the thermal stability of mAb1, whereas some excipients, such as sucrose, polysorbate 80, and sodium phosphate, increase its stability. The basal fluorescence of SYPRO Orange was enhanced by the presence of detergents, limiting the use of this approach to diluted detergent solutions. Throughput of DSF can be increased further with the use of a 384well plate. DSF thermograms are in good agreement with the melting profiles obtained by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The Tms determined by DSF and DSC were well correlated, with the former being on average lower by 3 °C.


A project is described that has two goals: to explore the use of expert systems techniques for developing advanced operation support systems and to build a useful tool to assist the operators of the Canadian National Datapac network to cope with the rapid growth and evolution. Progress in developing and evaluating an advanced prototype system, DAD (Datapac Advisor), is reported. The prototype's environment and each of its functional components are described. The knowledge based design techniques used are highlighted, and the testing methodology and the results of a technical trial are described. Key findings are summarized, and their significance for the development of future network operation support systems is discussed.<<ETX>>


BACKGROUND
Despite the importance of feedback, the literature suggests that there is inadequate feedback in graduate medical education.

OBJECTIVE
We explored barriers and facilitators that residents in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and surgery experience with giving and receiving feedback during their clinical training.

METHODS
Residents from 3 geographically diverse teaching institutions were recruited to participate in focus groups in 2012. Open-ended questions prompted residents to describe their experiences with giving and receiving feedback, and discuss facilitators and barriers. Data were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative method associated with a grounded theory approach.

RESULTS
A total of 19 residents participated in 1 of 3 focus groups. Five major themes related to feedback were identified: teacher factors, learner factors, feedback process, feedback content, and educational context. Unapproachable attendings, time pressures due to clinical work, and discomfort with giving negative feedback were cited as major barriers in the feedback process. Learner engagement in the process was a major facilitator in the feedback process.

CONCLUSIONS
Residents provided insights for improving the feedback process based on their dual roles as teachers and learners. Time pressures in the learning environment may be mitigated by efforts to improve the quality of teacher-learner relationships. Forms for collecting written feedback should be augmented by faculty development to ensure meaningful use. Efforts to improve residents' comfort with giving feedback and encouraging learners to engage in the feedback process may foster an environment conducive to increasing feedback.


Vocational education is emerging as challenge right now due to the low level of relevance between education and quality of graduate workforce. This research aims at describing and analyzing model of plan, implementation, and supervision of entrepreneurship education on agribusiness study programme in Vocational School (SMK). The research approach is qualitative with type of research expost facto, and uses purposive sampling technique with technique of analysis interactive model data. The result of research shows that model of learning plan, implementation, and evaluation still uses semi-modern conventional pedagogy that has not been effective in developing students' entrepreneurship soft skills ability and there has not been integration among entrepreneurship soft skills proponents (headmaster, entrepreneurship lesson teachers, and other lesson teachers). CBT is emerging as formative theory that can be used in vocational learning and can prepare expected competence that depends on dispositions (values, concerns and manner) that moves into maturity. In accordance, integrated entrepreneurship education development is needed that depends on soft skills and Competence Based Training (CBT) then it can improve graduate quality in creating student entrepreneurship soul on the level of personal maturity, student competence attainment, reduction on workforce needs gap, reduction on unemployment rate, and improvement on numbers of entrepreneurs who become the power of national economy.


In 408 patients, a blunt dissection technique has been used to approach the abdominal cavity for cesarean section through a transverse incision. Within two and one-half minutes, the fetus can be delivered. The transverse incision is stronger and more cosmetic than a vertical incision and maternal complications were infrequent. This blunt technique for primary cesarean section is preferred except in those with muscular abdominal walls or in the markedly obese patient.


The pernicious "problem" of envy has been noted across history, but it did not come into focus as a topic of psychological research until the late 1980s. Since, interest in the topic has grown, but few researchers have addressed the experience of envy, culminating in theoretical and definitional confusion that undercuts understanding of the phenomenon. We interviewed nine senior executives about their experiences of envy in the workplace, and analyzed those interviews with a dialogic variation on the phenomenological method. Our findings were consistent with prior literature in that each participant described a social comparison in which they were revealed as lacking in an area of importance to them. For our participants the experience of envy was embodied, distressing, and involved a cascade of other emotions. Participants felt vulnerable, exposed, and they questioned their abilities. They reported feeling alienated from others, and questioned the fairness of the situation and the integrity of the organization. Although the "set-up" for envy was external, involving situations that seemed political, unfair, or unethical, participants also held themselves back through lack of clarity or conflict about their desires, by refusing to "play the game," by simply not stating what they wanted, or by refusing to accept the situation as it was. Our research found that when participants were (or became) clear about the significance of their envy, they were able to actively process and understand their experience, and envy became a catalyst for growth, transformation, and even their evolution as leaders and human beings.


The mainline Linux Kernel is not designed for hard real-time systems; it only fits the requirements of soft real-time systems. In recent years, a kernel developer community has been working on the PREEMPT-RT patch. This patch (that aims to get a fully preemptible kernel) adds some real-time capabilities to the Linux kernel. However, in terms of scheduling policies, the real-time scheduling class of Linux is limited to the First-In-First-Out (SCHED_FIFO) and Round-Robin (SCHED_RR) scheduling policies. These scheduling policies are however quite limited in terms of real-time performance. Therefore, in this paper, we report one important contribution for adding more advanced real-time capabilities to the Linux Kernel. Specifically, we describe modifications to the (PREEMPT-RT patched) Linux kernel to support real-time slot-based task-splitting scheduling algorithms. Our preliminary evaluation shows that our implementation exhibits a real-time performance that is superior to the scheduling policies provided by the current version of PREMPT-RT. This is a significant add-on to a widely adopted operating system.


This study examined political parties' ideologies influencing public policy formulation in Uganda's nascent hydrocarbon industry. The study followed the four research objectives, research questions and hypotheses. The researcher applied a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design to guide the study. The research adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches and data was collected from 218 respondents. The researcher collected both quantitative and qualitative data which was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and thematic content analysis, respectively. The findings of the study have shown that political ideology contributes to public policy formulation in Uganda's nascent hydrocarbon industry by 20.7% and it is significant (P=0.000). It can be concluded that political parties' ideology is an important determinant to public policy formulation. It is recommended that government should ensure the question of ideology is handled from primary education level to university because it is a key factor in public policy formulation. The government should re-introduce civic education in primary schools and political education in secondary and tertiary institutions.

 Key words: Ideology, political parties, public policy formulation, hydrocarbons.


Education and violence are two contradictory aspects ideally, because education leads a person to becoming better and wiser while violence tends to reduce the human value (dehumanization). However, in real life, violence is always practiced in the education context. Teachers (including parents) often violate their students' right with their utterance, behaviour and action. Sometimes, they are not aware of the violence they have done. This article explores the root of violence practices in education. Such as teacher's mindset of violence and education as well as regulation related to education. To overcome these problems, the writer recommends some strategies be practiced to reduce the violence in education.


Digital skills and coping strategies have emerged as key competences for adolescents because of concerns about online risks and opportunities. With smartphones nigh ubiquitous nowadays, mobile applications are a promising tool for reaching adolescents and developing their competences. Because narratives have demonstrated their effectiveness for knowledge acquisition and attitudes, this study explores their use in mobile environments. A mobile application with narrative content was developed for teaching digital skills and coping strategies. A quasi-experiment conducted among 245 adolescents showed that the application was effective. Its use raised the level of personal security skill and intention to use active coping strategies when facing contact online risks. Identification with the main character and mobile acceptance predicted the impact of the app, but narrative transportation did not. This study suggests that narratives in mobile apps can be effective for adolescents.


Activation of CCR8 by its ligand CCL1 may play an important role in diseases such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. The study of small molecule CCR8 antagonists will help establish the validation of these hypotheses. We report the design, synthesis, and progress toward optimization of potent small molecule CCR8 antagonists identified from a high-throughput screen. These analogues exhibit good potency in binding and chemotaxis assays, show good selectivity versus the hERG channel, and have good eADME (early absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) profiles.


Abstract. The purpose of this application, under Article 75.5 of the Code, is to conserve the usage of the name Plateosaurus Meyer, 1837 (Upper Triassic, Germany), known from numerous articulated skeletons, several with complete skulls, from the Norian Plateosaurus bonebeds of Western Europe and Greenland. This was the first non-English, non-avian dinosaur and the second sauropodomorph and Triassic dinosaur to be named. It is proposed to replace the fragmentary and non-diagnostic bones that constitute the type material of Plateosaurus engelhardti Meyer, 1837, the type species of Plateosaurus Meyer, 1837, with a diagnostic neotype, an almost complete skull and skeleton (SMNS 13200). This specimen has formed the basis for the concept of P. engelhardti (the best represented basal sauropodomorph) and ultimately of Plateosaurus Meyer, 1837. Plateosaurus is the basis for plateosauridae Marsh, 1895 and Plateosauria Tornier, 1913.


"Chemistry of Concepts" and "Historical Sense". On Philosophical Concept Formation. The question concerning concepts and their relations to objects and words has had a long and controversial history. Recently, it is challenged by an anew turn towards objects and an emphasized object-oriented ontology. The article argues that one reason for this is the reduction of concepts towards pure rational constructions and offers arguments for alternative understandings. In this context, the article proposes a re-reading of Nietzsche's particular approach and shows that Nietzsche's thought is decisively shaped by the sciences of his time, especially physiology and chemistry. Before the background of the recent increase in research interest on Nietzsche and the sciences the article examines place and function of the sciences related to the genealogy and justification of concepts. Opposing a strong naturalist reading it makes a plea for understanding Nietzsche's epistemological critique concerning concepts systematically as a triple one: philological, physiological, and historical.


This paper reports on the recent work carried out as part of the EU funded NanoMend project. The project seeks to develop integrated process inspection, cleaning, repair and control systems for nano-scale thin films on large area substrates. As the PV – photovoltaic industry turns its attention on increasing efficiency and functional lifespan, the need for improved, high resolution and high speed surface inspection for the quality control of the manufacture of large area of flexible PV modules is essential.

Inspection and metrology are the basic elements to guarantee maximum quality, longer lifetime and enhanced power yield. Flexible PV films are the newest development in the renewable energy field and the latest films have efficiencies at or beyond the level of Si-based rigid PV modules. These modules are fabricated on polymer film by the repeated deposition, and patterning, of thin layer materials using roll-to-roll technology. These modules at present are however highly susceptible to long term environmental degradation as a result of water vapor transmission through the barrier layers defects to the active layer. To reduce the WVTR the PV modules are coated with a barrier layer of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) on a planarised polymer substrate. This highly conformal layer is produced by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. Nevertheless water vapour transmission is still facilitated by the presence of micro and nano-scale defects in these barriers which results in decreased cell efficiency and degrades longevity. Therefore, in this study surface metrology techniques including: White Light Scanning Interferometry (WLSI), optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), were used to characterise the water vapor barrier defects. Areal surface texture parameter analysis allows the efficient separation of small insignificant features from significant defects. This parametric analysis is then correlated with the water vapour transmission rate as measured on typical sets of films using Isostatic standard test (MOCON). The outcomes would appear to suggest that small numbers of large defects are the dominant factor in determining WVTR. This result provides the basis for developing roll-to-roll in process metrology devices for quality control.

Significance Statement*: The significance of this work is the first demonstration of water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) properties as a function of defects in the film.


The volume of cortical activation as detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the visual cortex has previously been shown to be reduced following optic neuritis (ON). In order to understand the cause of this change, we studied the cortical activation, both the size of the activated area and the signal change following ON, and compared the results with results of neuroophthalmological testing. We studied nine patients with previous acute ON and 10 healthy persons served as controls using fMRI with visual stimulation. In addition to a reduced activated volume, patients showed a reduced blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal increase and a greater asymmetry in the visual cortex, compared with controls. The volume of visual cortical activation was significantly correlated to the result of the contrast sensitivity test. The BOLD signal increase correlated significantly to both the results of the contrast sensitivity test and to the Snellen visual acuity. Our results indicate that fMRI is a useful method for the study of ON, even in cases where the visual acuity is severely impaired. The reduction in activated volume could be explained as a reduced neuronal input; however, the greater asymmetry might point to a cortical reorganization as a consequence of neuronal damage. Future fMRI studies in ON will add to the understanding of the neural adaptive behaviour following ON.


This paper presents a comparative study on the starting performance of three phase wound-rotor induction motors under different methods of starting. These methods are on line direct starting, variable rotor resistance starting and double feed starting. In the double feed starting, the rotor winding is connected in parallel with the stator winding across the supply for a predetermined short period. By this connection, the motor produces an extremely high starting torque. For carrying out the investigations sought, a rigorous state space mathematieal model has been developed and simulated. The effect of torsional dynamics has been taken into considerations.


Solid-supported thin films of self-organized nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) have been widely employed for the template preparation of nanostructured functional materials. Recently, the use of nanoporous AAO thin films in optical waveguide spectroscopy (OWS) has been explored for high sensitivity, in situ monitoring of processes occurring within these nanoporous templates. In this contribution, we demonstrate a strategy for mounting bulk anodized AAO thin films on heterogeneous solid-supports suitable for waveguide sensing experiments. Unlike conventional preparations of AAO thin films by anodization of vacuum- or electrochemically deposited Al thin films, the full range of techniques available to anodize bulk Al may potentially be applied with the present method. Moreover, we show that AAO thin films mounted on glass substrates can have superior waveguide coupling properties compared to conventionally prepared samples. The nanostructure of the AAO can be well characterized by an EMT-OWS analysis, demonstrated by comparing scanning electron microscopy images of the AAO and the pore dimensions calculated from an effective medium theory (EMT) analysis of the film refractive index measured by OWS. Finally, using a curved metallic substrate as an example, we show that our mounting technique can be used as a general strategy to functionalize objects with nanoporous AAO films.


Since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) order No. 888 has mandated the establishment of unbundled electricity markets in the newly deregulated environment, competitive bidding of ancillary services, along with bidding of energy, becomes increasingly important. In this paper, an optimization-based framework for solving a multi-commodity electricity market dispatch problem is presented. In compliance with New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) Market Rules and Procedures, a hybrid dispatch method which combines the sequential dispatch method with the joint dispatch method is proposed to solve the energy and ancillary dispatch problem for ISO New England (ISO-NE). Numerical results on a 6-unit test system and the 324-unit ISO-NE system are included.


The switching kinetics in ferroelectric thin films has been intensively studied during the past decade. It is widely accepted that this kinetics is basically governed by the dynamics of domain coalescence (the Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi model). This conclusion is mainly supported by fitting the time dependence of the switching currents to that predicted by this model, the fit being typically performed in a 1-2 decade interval of time. The present paper reports on a study of the switching kinetics in modified Pt/Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3/Pt thin films as a function of time and applied voltage, performed in time intervals from 10 ns to 1s. Our experimental data show that both the time and applied field dependences of the switching polarization (when monitored over a wide enough time interval) are in a strong qualitative disagreement with the predictions of the Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi approach. For the interpretation of our result, an alternative approach is forwarded. In contrast to Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi approach, we assume that the film consists of many areas, which have independent switching dynamics. The switching in an area is considered to be triggered by an act of the reverse domain nucleation. The switching kinetics is described in terms of the distribution function of the nucleation probabilities in these areas. The developed approach enables a good description of the polarization dynamics in typical ferroelectric thin films for memory applications.