Background and Objective: Cervical cancer is a major public health problem and one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality amongst the gynaecological cancers worldwide, especially in developing countries. Cervical cancer continues to persist in Nigeria like other developing countries despite the existence of interventions. This study was carried out to assess the knowledge and perception of female students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan about cervical cancer.Methods and Design: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study using a cluster sampling technique to select respondents. Sample of 420 was divided between the four (4) female hostels. Data was collected using self-administered semi-structured questionnaire and was analysed with SPSS® version 16. Bivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with knowledge and perception about cervical cancer.Results: Of all the interviews conducted, 89.1% were aware that cervical cancer is a life threatening situation, and 67.4% of the respondents knew that cervical cancer is linked to the virus, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Majority recognized that smoking (90.2%), multiple sexual partners (75.7%), early onset of sexual intercourse (73.2%) are risk factors for cervical cancer. Most (85.7%) agreed it can be treated if detected early, while 78.8% agreed that screening for cancer of the cervix is necessary to detect cancer. Poor perception put women at high risk of cervical cancer (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Cervical cancer is a major health burden for women in sub-Saharan Africa, yet only three-fifth and half of the respondents had good knowledge and good perception of cervical cancer respectively. Understanding factors associated with women's perceived risk of cervical cancer could guide future educational and clinical interventions to increase knowledge, perception and cervical cancer screening.Keywords: Cervical cancer, knowledge, perception, female undergraduate


Background/Aims: Adiponectin (Apn) has shown anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory potential. In the study, we studied and tested the protective effects of Apn against diabetic renal injury and the possible mechanism of these effects. Methods: After 1 week of adaptive feeding, 30 mice were randomly divided into 5 groups: the control group, the model group, the Apn (L) group, the Apn (M) group and the Apn (H) group. All mice were marked and weighed. Following 4 weeks of a pro-diabetic high-fat diet, the model group and Apn groups were injected intraperitoneally with a high dose of STZ (85 mg/kg), while the normal control group was injected with sodium citrate. Fasting blood glucose was measured daily, starting 3 days after STZ injection. After confirming the success of the diabetic model by measuring blood glucose of more than 16.7 nM for 3 successive days, we observed the animal models for an additional 4 weeks. After body weights were measured, urinary albumin, urinary protein, SOD activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured by ELISA, BCA and biochemical assay respectively . Moreover, plasma insulin was assayed by radioimmunoassay, insulin expression in pancreatic β cells was assayed by immunohistochemistry and receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and corresponding PKC and PKA signaling in the kidney cortex were also assayed by Western blot and Real-time PCR. Results: The results showed that Apn can significantly reduce MDA and enhance SOD activity. Moreover, Apn promoted the synthesis and secretion of insulin by islet β-cells and reduced RAGE accumulation in the kidney, which was associated with down-regulated PKC expression and upregulated PKA expression. Conclusion: Apn has protective effects against hyperglycemia and can effectively enhance antioxidation, promote the secretion of insulin and reduce the accumulation of glycosylated products in T2DM mice; these effects were associated with inhibition of PKC and promotion of PKA signaling.


This study was aiming at helping visually impaired people to detect and estimate the fire distance. Blind people had difficulty knowing the existence of fire at a safe distance; hence the possibility of burning could occur. The color models and blob analysis methods were used to detect the presence of fire in the blind path. Before the fire detection stage, the cascade of the HSV and RGB color models was applied to segment the reddish fire color. The size and shape of a dynamic fire were the parameters used in this paper to distinguish fire from non-fire objects. Changes in the area of the fire object obtained at the Blob analysis stage per 10 frames were the main contributions and novelty in this paper. After the fire is detected, the calculation of the fire distance to a blind person was completed using a pinhole model. This research used 35 data videos with a resolution of 480x640 pixels. The results showed that the fire detection system and the distance estimation achieved an accuracy of 88.86% and the MSE of 0.0358, respectively.


The blood–CSF barrier (BCSFB) consists of a monolayer of choroid plexus epithelial (CPE) cells that maintain CNS homeostasis by producing CSF and restricting the passage of undesirable molecules and pathogens into the brain. Alzheimer's disease is the most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by the presence of amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Recent research shows that Alzheimer's disease is associated with morphological changes in CPE cells and compromised production of CSF. Here, we studied the direct effects of Aβ on the functionality of the BCSFB. Intracerebroventricular injection of Aβ1–42 oligomers into the cerebral ventricles of mice, a validated Alzheimer's disease model, caused induction of a cascade of detrimental events, including increased inflammatory gene expression in CPE cells and increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the CSF. It also rapidly affected CPE cell morphology and tight junction protein levels. These changes were associated with loss of BCSFB integrity, as shown by an increase in BCSFB leakage. Aβ1–42 oligomers also increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) gene expression in the CPE and its activity in CSF. Interestingly, BCSFB disruption induced by Aβ1–42 oligomers did not occur in the presence of a broad-spectrum MMP inhibitor or in MMP3-deficient mice. These data provide evidence that MMPs are essential for the BCSFB leakage induced by Aβ1–42 oligomers. Our results reveal that Alzheimer's disease-associated soluble Aβ1–42 oligomers induce BCSFB dysfunction and suggest MMPs as a possible therapeutic target. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT No treatments are yet available to cure Alzheimer's disease; however, soluble Aβ oligomers are believed to play a crucial role in the neuroinflammation that is observed in this disease. Here, we studied the effect of Aβ oligomers on the often neglected barrier between blood and brain, called the blood–CSF barrier (BCSFB). This BCSFB is formed by the choroid plexus epithelial cells and is important in maintaining brain homeostasis. We observed Aβ oligomer-induced changes in morphology and loss of BCSFB integrity that might play a role in Alzheimer's disease progression. Strikingly, both inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and MMP3 deficiency could protect against the detrimental effects of Aβ oligomer. Clearly, our results suggest that MMP inhibition might have therapeutic potential.


Processing at the atomic scale is becoming increasingly critical for state-of-the-art electronic devices for computing and data storage, but also for emerging technologies such as related to the internet-of-things, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. To this end, strong interest in improving nanoscale fabrication techniques such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been present. New ALD processes are being sought continuously and particularly plasma-assisted processes are considered an enabler for a wide range of applications because of their enhanced reactivity. This review provides an update on the status and prospects of plasma-assisted ALD with a focus on the developments since the publication of the review by Profijt et al. [J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 29, 050801 (2011)]. In the past few years, plasma ALD has obtained a prominent position in the field of ALD with (i) a strong application base as demonstrated by the breakthrough in high-volume manufacturing; (ii) a large number of established processes, out of which several are being enabled by the plasma step; and (iii) a wide range of plasma ALD reactor designs, demonstrating many methods by which plasma species can be applied in ALD processes. In addition, new fundamental insights have been obtained, for instance, with respect to plasma damage, on the effect of ions on the material properties and on the so-called redeposition effect. Regarding new and emerging developments, plasma ALD is expected to take a prominent position in the atomic-scale processing toolbox and will contribute to ongoing developments in area-selective deposition, controlled growth of 2D materials, and atomic layer etching.


Context. Circumstellar disks and envelopes of low-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) contain significant amounts of ice. Such icy material will evolve to become volatile components of planetary systems, such as comets in our solar system. Aims. To investigate the composition and evolution of circumstellar ice around low-mass young stellar objects (YSOs), we observed ice absorption bands in the near infrared (NIR) towards eight YSOs ranging from class 0 to class II, among which seven are associated with edge-on disks. Methods. We performed slit-less spectroscopic observations using the grism mode of the InfraRed Camera (IRC) on board AKARI, which enables us to obtain full NIR spectra from 2.5 μ mt o 5μm, including the CO2 band and the blue wing of the H2O band, which are inaccessible from the ground. We developed procedures to carefully process the spectra of targets with nebulosity. The spectra were fitted with polynomial baselines to derive the absorption spectra. The molecular absorption bands were then fitted with the laboratory database of ice absorption bands, considering the instrumental line profile and the spectral resolution of the grism dispersion element. Results. Towards the class 0-I sources (L1527, IRC-L1041-2, and IRAS 04302), absorption bands of H2O, CO2 ,C O, and XCN are clearly detected. Column density ratios of CO2 ice and CO ice relative to H2O ice are 21−28% and 13−46%, respectively. If XCN is OCN − , its column density is as high as 2−6% relative to H2O ice. The HDO ice feature at 4.1 μm is tentatively detected towards the class 0-I sources and HV Tau. Non-detections of the CH-stretching mode features around 3.5 μm provide upper limits to the CH3OH abundance of 26% (L1527) and 42% (IRAS 04302) relative to H2O. We tentatively detect OCS ice absorption towards IRC-L1041-2. Towards class 0-I sources, the detected features should mostly originate in the cold envelope, while CO gas and OCN − could originate in the region close to the protostar, where there are warm temperatures and UV radiation. We detect H2O ice band towards ASR41 and 2MASSJ1628137-243139, which are edge-on class II disks. We also detect H2O ice and CO2 ice towards HV Tau, HK Tau, and UY Aur, and tentatively detect CO gas features towards HK Tau and UY Aur.


This review paper attempts to understand the possible exclusion of people and communities who/which are engaged in small entrepreneurship and petty trading activities in Indian cities in the context of the new wave of retail revolution. Drawing from available official data and social science literature, the paper argues that while the new organised retailing has the potential to affect every socio religious group in the traditional sector, it would affect Muslims in urban India followed by the Scheduled Castes more intensely due to their higher worker population ratio in elementary occupations and traditional retailing, which brings a new dimension to the continuing exclusion of these already excluded groups. The paper also highlights that while eliminating them from the retail landscape, organised retailing would raise the risk of their falling back to exploitative caste centred agrarian sector and more exploitative urban informal jobs. This could also be counterproductive to the new wave of entrepreneurship by Dalits emerged in the recent times, which was noted by several scholars as a strong means of young Dalits moving out of caste and local power relations. New questions that the paper brings out are the spatial reorganisation of cities where the public spaces once used for local interactions are captured by private interests, creation of new identities around such constructed city spaces and the whole question of right to cities


Due to the dieback caused by ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) regeneration currently occurs only naturally and is crucial for existence of the species. Hence, in this study, we assessed the success of the natural regeneration and health condition of common ash in 90 diverse young stands. Additionally, the age structure of ash advance growth (saplings and seedlings) was characterized in four plots, initially dominated by ash. Ash was abundant in the advance growth in the studied plots with the mean density of 4185 ± 401 trees ha. Ash advance growth density and health condition decreased with increasing height and age. From the 7533 accounted regeneration ashes, 75% were considered as healthy, 15% damaged and 10% were already dead. Ash regeneration density was the highest and the degree of H. fraxineus damage was the lowest in young stands on drained mineral soils. The best ash health condition was found in the densest stands with increased number of advance growth and undergrowth individuals. The highest ash mortality (ca 20%) was found in pure young stands. In the young stands, which were previously formed by ash, regeneration density was relatively low (4319 ± 592 trees ha), but the mortality intermediate (ca. 10% of all trees). In contrast, in the stands dominated by black alder and birch, the density of ash advance growth was higher – 7300 ± 6300 and 6933 ± 2711 trees ha, respectively, but the number of dead ash was lower (ca. 5%). Ash appeared more susceptible to the disease in the dense and unmanaged stands, as the health condition of ash regeneration was positively related to the number of tendings. A significant correlations between diameter, age and height of ash was observed, yet the analysis of the dimension showed, that the ash regeneration after harvesting and/or dieback has been occurring at different rates.


Multitaper spectral analysis using sinusoidal taper has been carried out on the backscattered signals received from the troposphere and lower stratosphere by the Gadanki Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) radar under various conditions of the signal-to-noise ratio. Comparison of study is made with sinusoidal taper of the order of three and single tapers of Hanning and rectangular tapers, to understand the relative merits of processing under the scheme. Power spectra plots show that echoes are better identified in the case of multitaper estimation, especially in the region of a weak signal-to-noise ratio. Further analysis is carried out to obtain three lower order moments from three estimation techniques. The results show that multitaper analysis gives a better signal-to-noise ratio or higher detectability. The spectral analysis through multitaper and single tapers is subjected to study of consistency in measurements. Results show that the multitaper estimate is better consistent in Doppler measurements compared to single taper estimates. Doppler width measurements with different approaches were studied and the results show that the estimation was better in the multitaper technique in terms of temporal resolution and estimation accuracy.


A new genus and species of Devonian tetrapod has been identified from material collected in 1947 from the southern slope of Mt. Celsius, Ymer O, North-East Green- land. The specimen preserves both lower jaws, partial palate, premaxillae and maxillae, with a natural mould of parts of the shoulder girdle. The new taxon, Ymeria denticulata, shows differences in dentition, skull ornament and lateral line expression from both Acanthostega and Ichthyostega, but it shows a closer resemblance to the latter. A cladistic analy- sis not only suggests that Ymeria lies adjacent to Ichthyostega on the tetrapod stem, but also reveals substantial topological instability. As the third genus and the fifth species of tetra- pod identified from North-East Greenland, it demonstrates the high diversity of Devonian tetrapods in that region.


This thesis describes the use of a ring of dynamic shift register stages to implement register storage in a general purpose microprocessor architectural paradigm. The feasibility of such an architecture is shown, and the performance and VLSI space requirements are discussed. The cycling of machine registers through parallel shift registers can be used to distribute data between elements of the processor. This method replaces the traditional internal bus(es) and allows for concurrency of operations. A data identification scheme and control strategy is introduced to allow safe pipelining of instruction sequences that may be interdependent in respect to data produced. The use of simulation to assess performance is discussed, and a brief performance evaluation presented. VLSI implementation costs are compared to those of a bus architecture, taking into account intrinsic overheads associated with controlling each architecture.


In the past, studies on poverty in a developing country like Pakistan have usually been based on an absolute (e. g. basic needs) concept of poverty see, e. g., Naseem (1977); Irfan and Amjad (1984); Ercelawn (1990) and Malik (1992). In this paperl we will state the case for using relative poverty thresholds, and present poverty statistics for Pakistan based on data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (1987-88). [Government of Pakistan (1988)]. The paper will also show the consequences of different choices in the assessment of the poverty threshold. In particular, instead of using one rather steep equivalence scale, as is the common practice in most studies, we will present poverty statistics based on three different -equivalence scales. The effects of choices with respect to the concept of resources and the measure of poverty, will also be examined. After a discussion of the concept of poverty (Section II), we compare the size and composition of the poor population using three relative poverty lines in Section III. In Section IV we present a number of sensitivity analyses, which show the effects of using different equivalence scales, using different indicators of household resources (income or total expenditures), and using measures of poverty different from the Head-count measure. The poverty incidence differentiated according to household characteristics is further analysed by means of cross-classification and logit analysis in Section V. Section VI presents some general conclusions.


When a rat crosses the place field of a hippocampal pyramidal cell, this cell typically fires a series of spikes. Spike phases, measured with respect to theta oscillations of the local field potential, on average decrease as a function of the spatial distance traveled. This relation between phase and position of spikes might be a neural basis for encoding and is called phase precession. The degree of association between the circular phase variable and the linear spatial variable is commonly quantified through, however, a linear–linear correlation coefficient where the circular variable is converted to a linear variable by restricting the phase to an arbitrarily chosen range, which may bias the estimated correlation. Here we introduce a new measure to quantify circular–linear associations. This measure leads to a robust estimate of the slope and phase offset of the regression line, and it provides a correlation coefficient for circular–linear data that is a natural analog of Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient for linear–linear data. Using ircular–linear regression surrogate data, we show that the new method outperforms the standard linear–linear approach with respect to estimates of the regression line and the correlation, and that the new method is less dependent on noise and sample size. We confirm these findings in a large data set of experimental recordings from hippocampal place cells and theta oscillations, and we discuss remaining problems that are relevant for the analysis and interpretation of phase precession. In summary, we provide a new method for the quantification of circular–linear associations.


The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change-related events, protracted conflicts, economic stressors and other health challenges, call for strong public health orientation and leadership in health system strengthening and policies. Applying the essential public health functions (EPHFs) represents a holistic operational approach to public health, which is considered to be an integrated, sustainable, and cost-effective means for supporting universal health coverage, health security and improved population health and wellbeing. As a core component of the Primary Health Care (PHC) Operational Framework, EPHFs also support the continuum of health services from health promotion and protection, disease prevention to treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative services. Comprehensive delivery of EPHFs through PHC-oriented health systems with multisectoral participation is therefore vital to meet population health needs, tackle public health threats and build resilience. In this perspective, we present a renewed EPHF list consisting of twelve functions as a reference to foster country-level operationalisation, based on available authoritative lists and global practices. EPHFs are presented as a conceptual bridge between prevailing siloed efforts in health systems and allied sectors. We also highlight key enablers to support effective implementation of EPHFs, including high-level political commitment, clear national structures for institutional stewardship on EPHFs, multisectoral accountability and systematic assessment. As countries seek to transform health systems in the context of recovery from COVID-19 and other public health emergencies, the renewed EPHF list and enablers can inform public health reform, PHC strengthening, and more integrated recovery efforts to build resilient health systems capable of managing complex health challenges for all people.


Using a concept driven narrative enquiry the objective of this study was to gain an insight into young wheelchair user's experiences and understanding of disability and normalcy.
In line with the affirmation model of disability, this research looked for positive experiences, which reject the normalising discourses of disabled identities following a constructivist position and guided by a critical realist perspective.
This work follows on from Ryan and Runswick-Cole (2008) and others, who use the narratives of parents of disabled children to indicate how such parents question concepts of normalcy. Also, research by Singh and Ghai (2009), and Traustadottir (2009), which reflects the lived reality of children and youths with disabilities. This research recognises the importance of representing voices and experiences particularly in the planning and implementation of policy and service provision.
Participants were a purposeful sample of young wheelchair users aged 12-20, N=3 and a snowball sample of adult wheelchair users, N=4, all members of a wheelchair sports club. One of the younger participants acted as a co-researcher and collected narratives from other participants.
A thematic analysis identified three broad themes: examples of everyday exclusion, a collective positive disabled identity and tricksters: examples of reactions against nominative discourses.


Many statistical practices involve choosing between a full model and reduced models where some coefficients are reduced to zero. Data were used to select a model with estimated coefficients. Is it possible to do so and still come up with an estimator always better than the traditional estimator based on the full model? The James-Stein estimator is such an estimator, having a property called minimaxity. However, the estimator considers only one reduced model, namely the origin. Hence it reduces no coefficient estimator to zero or every coefficient estimator to zero. In many applications including wavelet analysis, what should be more desirable is to reduce to zero only the estimators smaller than a threshold, called thresholding in this paper. Is it possible to construct this kind of estimators which are minimax? In this paper, we construct such minimax estimators which perform thresholding. We apply our recommended estimator to the wavelet analysis and show that it performs the best among the well-known estimators aiming simultaneously at estimation and model selection. Some of our estimators are also shown to be asymptotically optimal.


Islam is seen as problematic today because of the actions of a few people armed with an aberrant ideology and the moral support or sympathy of a constituency of angry and disaffected Muslims in various parts of the world, often provoked by what they see as hypocritical policies and actions on the part of the world's powers. The problematic nature of Islam, however, was partly made possible by the centuries of conflict between Islam and the West. For the first few hundred years of its existence, Christianity was the only universal religion, both in theory and in practice. With the rise of Islam and its rapid spread beyond the Arabian peninsula to Christian lands in Palestine, North Africa and the Iberian peninsular, it must have come as a shock to Christendom that there was now a religion that could challenge it.


Identifying children at risk of developing childhood sarcopenic obesity often requires specialized equipment and costly testing procedures, so cheaper and quicker methods would be advantageous, especially in field-based settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between the muscle-to-fat ratio (MFR) and relative handgrip strength, and to determine the ability of handgrip strength relative to body mass index (grip-to-BMI) to identify children who are at risk of developing sarcopenic obesity. Grip-to-BMI was measured in 730 Czech children (4 to 14 yrs). Bioelectrical impedance was used to estimate body fat mass and skeletal muscle mass, from which the MFR was calculated. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.791 (95% CI 0.692–0.890, p ˂ 0.001) in girls 4–9; 0.789 (95% CI 0.688–0.890, p ˂ 0.001) in girls 10–14 years old; 0.719 (95% CI 0.607–0.831, p = 0.001) in boys 4–9; and 0.896 (95% CI 0.823–0.969, p ˂ 0.001) in boys 10–14 years old. Calculated using the grip-to-BMI ratio, the OR (95% CI) for girls to be at risk of sarcopenic obesity identified by MFR was 9.918 (4.243–23.186, p ˂ 0.001) and was 11.515 (4.280–30.982, p ˂ 0.001) for boys. The grip-to-BMI ratio can be used to predict the presence of sarcopenic obesity in children, which can play a role in pediatric health interventions.


Background After almost a decade of implementing competency-based programs in postgraduate training programs, the assessment of technical skills remains more subjective than objective. National data on the assessment of technical skills during surgical training are lacking. We conducted this study to document the assessment tools for technical skills currently used in different surgical specialties, their relationship with remediation, the recommended tools from the program directors' perspective, and program directors' attitudes toward the available objective tools to assess technical skills. Methods This study was a cross-sectional survey of surgical program directors (PDs). The survey was initially developed using a focus group and was then sent to 116 PDs. The survey contains demographic information about the program, the objective assessment tools used, and the reason for not using assessment tools. The last section discusses the recommended tools to be used from the PDs' perspective and the PDs' attitude and motivation to apply these tools in each program. The associations between the responses to the assessment questions and remediation were statistically evaluated. Results Seventy-one (61%) participants responded. Of the respondents, 59% mentioned using only nonstandardized, subjective, direct observation for technical skills assessment. Sixty percent use only summative evaluation, whereas 15% perform only formative evaluations of their residents, and the remaining 22% conduct both summative and formative evaluations of their residents' technical skills. Operative portfolios are kept by 53% of programs. The percentage of programs with mechanisms for remediation is 29% (19 of 65). Conclusion The survey showed that surgical training programs use different tools to assess surgical skills competency. Having a clear remediation mechanism was highly associated with reporting remediation, which reflects the capability to detect struggling residents. Surgical training leadership should invest more in standardizing the assessment of surgical skills.


Anthropogenic stressors, such as urban development and intensification of agricultural and industrial activities, can alter physical, chemical, and biological conditions in aquatic systems. Mounting concern over cumulative effects of multiple stressors has stimulated the need to track ecological responses and quantify degradation. Periphytic diatoms have potential to serve as early indicators of ecological degradation in aquatic systems. We examined relations between periphytic diatom community composition, water chemistry, and the magnitude of anthropogenic stressors in lakes of the Muskoka River watershed. These relations were used to develop a bioassessment framework for tracking changes in biological integrity in a region undergoing growth of tourism and related urban and recreational activities. We examined nearshore periphyton and water-chemistry samples from 86 lakes to assess relations between diatom community composition, water chemistry, and measures of 9 anthropogenic stressors (e.g., % urban area, % agricultural area, roadway proximity) based on uni- and multivariate numerical methods. Composition of periphytic diatom communities was associated with the concentration of ions from anthropogenic sources (i.e., road salt, dust suppressants). We demonstrated that periphytic diatoms in the nearshore regions of the lakes may be sensitive early warning indicators of ecological change because the most dramatic shift in diatom community composition was observed with modest increases in anthropogenic stressors. This relationship was weaker at sites where natural variation in pH among lakes was high. pH often acts in conjunction with other chemical factors to influence diatom community composition. Thus, we recommend stratifying monitoring efforts to account for confounding natural variation in pH. We anticipate that periphytic diatoms can be used as a powerful indicator of environmental stress in lakes beyond the MRW.


The blade is the key component for energy capture in horizontal axis tidal current turbine, and the blade's design is directly related to the efficiency of the power generation device. The seawater flow velocity is a crucial parameter for blade design. Since the seawater velocity changes constantly, it is extremely important to determine the design velocity of the blade. This article proposes a calculation method for the design velocity of the blade so that the designed blade can achieve better energy collection efficiency under a variable flow velocity. This study performed the following investigations: (1) The author tested and analyzed the seawater velocity variation at the experimental site, determining the designed flow velocity via calculations; (2) The author combined the blade element momentum and Wilson's optimization design method using the MATLAB software to calculate the blade shape parameters and predict the performance under a number of different flow velocity forecasts; (3) When testing the device under sea conditions, the experimental results showed that the performance capture devices and digital projections are basically the same, which verifies the validity and effectiveness of the design method.


The OECD is a unique forum where governments work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies.


In a mobile ad-hoc network, MANET, designing a security routing protocol is an important issue since the mobile nodes and wireless medium are prone to be attacked. However, most of wireless routing protocols concentrated on how to reduce the data transmission time and energy consumption. Wireless routing paths in MANET may be broken or fabricated by attacking. Hence, sending data packets to the destination may failure. For defending the active black hole attacks and the passive fabricated routing attacks, we proposed a preventive security mechanism based on ad-hoc on-demand distance vector routing (AODV), called PSM-AODV. PSM-AODV modified some field in RREQ, RREP, and RERR packets based on AODV. PSM-AODV thus may defend the possible black hole and fabricated routing attacks. Simulation results showed that PSM-AODV could promote the packet delivery rate based on little overhead in control packets.


We construct mock galaxy catalogues to analyse clustering properties of acold dark matter (�CDM) universe within a cosmological dark matter simulation of suffi- cient resolution to resolve structure down to the scale of dwarfs. We show that there is a strong age-clustering correlation for objects likely to host luminous galaxies, which includes the satellite halo (subhalo) population. Older mock galaxies are significantly more clustered in our catalog, which consists of satellite haloes as well as the central peaks of discrete haloes, selected solely by peak circular velocity. This age dependence is caused mainly by the age-clustering relation for discrete haloes, recently found by Gao et al. , acting mostly on field members, combined with the tendency for older mock galaxies to lie within groups and clusters, where galaxy clustering is enhanced. Our results suggest that the clustering age dependence is manifested in real galaxies. At small scales (less than �5 h 1 Mpc), the very simple assumption that galaxy colour depends solely on halo age is inconsistent with the strength of the observed cluster- ing colour trends, where red galaxies become increasingly more clustered than blue galaxies toward smaller scales, suggesting that luminosity weighted galaxy ages do not closely trace the assembly epoch of their dark matter hosts. The age dependence is present but is much weaker for satellite haloes lying within groups and clusters than for the global population.


Results are presented from pressure measurements performed in the irrotational near field of unbounded co-axial jets. Measurements were made for a variety of velocity and temperature ratios, and configurations both with and without serrations on the secondary nozzle lip. The principal objective of the study is to better understand the near pressure field of the jet, what it can tell us regarding the underlying turbulence structure, and in particular how it can be related to the source mechanisms of the flow. A preliminary analysis of the axial, temporal and azimuthal structure of the pressure field shows it to be highly organized, with axial spatial modes (obtained by proper orthogonal decomposition) which resemble Fourier modes. The effects of serrations on the pressure fluctuations comprise a global reduction in level, a change in the axial energy distribution, and a modification of the evolution of the characteristic time scales. A further analysis in frequency–wavenumber space is then performed, and a filtering operation is used to separate the convective and propagative footprints of the pressure field. This operation reveals two distinct signatures in the propagating component of the field: a low-frequency component which radiates at small angles to the flow axis and is characterized by extensive axial coherence, and a less-coherent high-frequency component which primarily radiates in sideline directions. The serrations are found to reduce the energy of the axially coherent propagating component, but its structure remains fundamentally unchanged; the high-frequency component is found to be enhanced. A further effect of the serrations involves a relative increase of the mean-square pressure level of the acoustic component – integrated over the measurement domain – with respect to the hydrodynamic component. The effect of increasing the velocity and temperature of the primary jet involves a relative increase in the acoustic component of the near field, while the hydrodynamic component remains relatively unchanged: this shows that the additional acoustic energy is generated by the mixing region which is produced by the interaction of the inner and the outer shear layers, whereas the hydrodynamic component of the near field is primarily driven by the outer shear layer.


In times of diminishing resources to support community programs, it is critical that Extension make every effort to show impact as collectively as possible for the variety of programs being delivered in individual counties and communities. The pilot study reported here (funded by CYFAR, NIFA, USDA award #2008-41520-04810), focused on outcomes in youth citizenship programs in four states. Key factors to consider in the selection of common instruments include length, scope, and validation of instruments. The importance of dosage, specifically intensity and duration, are highlighted in relation to program outcomes.


A few aspects regarding the reformed worship service and liturgical song in a multicultural South Africa Worship originates within a specific culture. Because cultures are constantly changing and developing, the church also has to deal with change in its worship services. In postapartheid South Africa, with its variety of cultures, the reformed churches will increasingly have to take cognisance of the realities and issues brought about by its multicultural context. When focusing in this regard on one of the important acts in reformed worship, namely the liturgical song, some fascinating issues present themselves. It shows that the reformed churches in South Africa are indeed facing exceptional challenges. In the liturgical song God affords his church the perfect gift with which these challenges can be met. If handled in the Biblical way, the reality of a multicultural context becomes an opportunity to witness to the world the forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus Christ.


ABSTRACT The article analyses recent public initiatives to memorialise the establishment of India and Pakistan as postcolonial states in terms of violent partitioning rather than as a successful act of independence from British imperialism. The twin focal points of the article are the Partition Museum in Amritsar and the online 1947 Partition Archive. Both of these subscribe to and further the view that difficult and dissonant heritage holds transformative potential – which is seen as particularly significant in a region marked by conflictual state relations, majoritarian nationalism and extensive communal violence. However, as the article demonstrates, even though the Partition Museum and the 1947 Partition Archive collect and store previously unheard accounts of suffering, migration and rehabilitation as well as disseminate and make these available to the wider public, they fail to bring about a critical re-appraisal of the event, its lasting consequences and nation building as such. Whereas the Partition Museum – through the layout and content of its core exhibition – reproduces standard conceptions and imageries of national belonging and statehood, both initiatives rely on a use of oral history that remains overly committed to accentuating individualised and localised experiences, and to the positing of these as markers of authenticity.


Product Service System (PSS) concept aims at minimization of environmental impacts with alternative form of product utilizations and services, while maintaining enterprises economical performance and service quality for users. In this study, a methodology to analyze PSSs with life cycle simulation is proposed. This approach enables the authors to systematically describe diversity in form of PSSs, and to evaluate and compare alternative PSSs from environmental and economic perspective. Case studies quantitatively imply the feasibility of further sustainable PSS by integrating existing PSSs


In China, with the cost of improved technology rising, surplus labor shrinking, and demand for food quality and safety increasing, it will be just a matter of time before the country's hog production sector will be commercialized like that of developed countries. However, even if China's cost of production converges to international levels, as shown in this case study, China may continue to retain some competitive advantage because of the labor-intensive nature of the marketing services involved in hog processing and meat distribution. The supply of variety meats offers the most promising market opportunity for foreign suppliers in China. The market may open further if the tariff rate for variety meats is reduced from 20% and harmonized with the pork muscle meat rate of 12%, and if the value-added tax of 13% is applied equally to both imported and domestic products. The fast-growing Western-style family restaurant and higher-end dining sector is another market opportunity for high-quality imported pork.


Extreme cold events (ECEs) have occurred more frequently over the last few winters in China, associated with large losses of human life and increasing costs. Here, copulas are used to establish a bivariate copula distribution model for ECE variables of duration and intensity, based on observed daily surface air temperatures in winter from 1978 to 2015 at 20 meteorological stations in Beijing. We demonstrate that durations of ECEs follow Weibull distributions, while their intensities fit a generalized extreme value distribution at most stations. The Gumbel–Hougaard copula best described the relationship between duration and intensity of ECEs at most stations. The joint and conditional return periods based on the bivariate copula described both ECE frequency and the corresponding hazard risk. A high risk was calculated for northern and western areas of Beijing, while a lower risk was calculated for urban and southeastern areas. Although the risk of a low temperature event of greater than 3 days with intensity in the range from −12 °C to −15 °C decreased, the risk of extreme low temperature events with durations greater than 2 days and intensity lower than −15 °C increased over the last 18 years. These probabilistic properties provide useful information for both climate change and hazard risk assessments.


PURPOSE
In children with intermediate risk of relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), it is essential to identify patients in need of treatment intensification. We hypothesized that the prognosis of patients with unsatisfactory reduction of minimal residual disease (MRD) can be improved by allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
In the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Relapse Study of the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Group (ALL-REZ BFM) 2002, patients with an MRD level of ≥ 10(-3) (n = 99) at the end of induction therapy were allocated to HSCT, whereas those with an MRD level less than 10(-3) (n = 109) continued to receive chemotherapy. MRD was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction for clone-specific T-cell receptor/immunoglobulin gene rearrangements.

RESULTS
The probability of event-free survival for patients with MRD ≥ 10(-3) was 64% ± 5% in ALL-REZ BFM 2002 compared with 18% ± 7% in the predecessor study ALL-REZ BFM P95/96 (P < .001). This was mainly achieved by reducing the cumulative incidence of subsequent relapse (CIR) at 8 years from 59% ± 9% to 27% ± 5% (P < .001). The favorable prognosis of patients with MRD less than 10(-3) could be confirmed in those with a late combined or isolated bone marrow B-cell precursor (BCP) -ALL relapse (CIR, 20% ± 5%), whereas patients with an early combined BCP-ALL relapse had an unfavorable outcome (CIR, 63% ± 13%; P < .001).

CONCLUSION
Allogeneic HSCT markedly improved the prognosis of patients with intermediate risk of relapse of ALL and unsatisfactory MRD response. As a result, outcomes in this group approximated those of patients with favorable MRD response. Patients with early combined relapse require treatment intensification even in case of favorable MRD response, demonstrating the prognostic impact of time to relapse.


The nature of iterative learning on a randomized initial architecture, such as backpropagation training of a multilayer perceptron, is such that precise replication of a reported result is virtually impossible. The outcome is that experimental replication of reported results, a touchstone of "the scientific method," is not an option for researchers in this most popular subfield of neural computing. This paper addresses the issue of replicability of experiments based on backpropagation training of multilayer perceptrons (although many of the results are applicable to any other subfield that is plagued by the same characteristics) and demonstrate its complexity. First, an attempt to produce a complete abstract specification of such a neural computing experiment is made. From this specification an attempt to identify the full range of parameters needed to support maximum replicability is made and it is used to show why absolute replicability is not an option in practice. A statistical framework is proposed to support replicability measurement. This framework is demonstrated with some empirical studies on both replicability with respect to experimental controls, and validity of implementations of the backpropagation algorithm. Finally, the results are used to illustrate the difficulties associated with the issue of experimental replication and the claimed precision of results.


BACKGROUND
Since the anti-inflammatory activity of arachidonic acid derivatives was previously reported, we synthesized three new amide derivatives of arachidonic acid (AA-Ds) and tested their anti-inflammatory effects on an in vitro skin inflammation model. Aim of our study was to find derivatives of natural compounds able to down regulate inflammatory signal transduction pathway.

METHODS
Human keratinocytes cell line (HaCaT) was cultured and induced by cytokines in the presence of AA-Ds. Cytokines administration elicited an inflammatory response mediated by NF-kB and STAT-1 activation that induced proinflammatory genes expression.

RESULTS
By real time PCR we found that 24 hours after induction all AA-Ds significantly inhibit inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS), TNFα, Inhibitor α of NF-kB, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 9 and 10 genes expression. We analyzed their molecular effects in particular on the iNOS gene expression. Since iNOS transcript half-life did not change with AA-Ds treatment, we excluded a prominent role of post-transcriptional regulation for this gene and focused our attention on its transcriptional regulation. Starting three-five hours after cytokines induction, HaCaT cells, pretreated with each compound, showed inhibition of both NF-kB DNA-binding and NF-kB p65-Ser536 phosphorylation. STAT1 activation was inhibited only by AA-D4 derivative. To explain why the inhibition of iNOS expression began late after induction we analyzed activities of others key transcription factors. AA-Ds treatment elicited early increases of AP1 DNA binding as well as c-Jun, c-Fos and Fra-1 mRNA levels. Our data agree with the repressing effects of AP1 on human iNOS promoter previously described in others cell systems (Kleinert et al.).

CONCLUSION
AA-Ds shown to be good candidates as inhibitors of several pro-inflammatory genes induction and our study provides indications for their possible use as new antiinflammatory drugs.


The separation of mixed auditory signals into their sources is an eminent neuroscience and engineering challenge. We reveal the principles underlying a deterministic, neural network–like solution to this problem. This approach is orthogonal to ICA/PCA that views the signal constituents as independent realizations of random processes. We demonstrate exemplarily that in the absence of salient frequency modulations, the decomposition of speech signals into local cosine packets allows for a sparse, noise-robust speaker separation. As the main result, we present analytical limitations inherent in the approach, where we propose strategies of how to deal with this situation. Our results offer new perspectives toward efficient noise cleaning and auditory signal separation and provide a new perspective of how the brain might achieve these tasks.


The application of keV ion beam in life science started in China several decades ago. In 1986, researchers initially studied the mutagenic effect of ion beam, and successfully applied it to plant breeding. Nowadays, ion beam implantation technique has been extensively applied to many biological fields. This paper mainly introduces one of its important applications: Genetic transformation mediated by keV ion beam.


We consider loss functions for multiclass prediction problems. We show when a multiclass loss can be expressed as a "proper composite loss", which is the composition of a proper loss and a link function. We extend existing results for binary losses to multiclass losses. We determine the stationarity condition, Bregman representation, order-sensitivity, existence and uniqueness of the composite representation for multiclass losses. We subsume existing results on "classification calibration" by relating it to properness and show that the simple integral representation for binary proper losses can not be extended to multiclass losses.


This paper proposes a new scalable approach to formal verification (SFV) for AMS SoC designs. Induction rules defined in computer symbolic algebra system Maple are followed to extract representation of property of AMS SoC, constraints solving is performed to formally verify the correctness of the system with respect to its given property. With an AMS description and a set of properties, SMT based model checker is applied to validate if the given system has a certain properties. The proposed methodology is applied on a tunnel diode oscillator. Experimental results for a benchmark and a tunnel diode oscillator demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach. The proposed method is scalable to other AMS system using to its adoption of language VHDL-AMS as description tool.


The pervasive use of electronic records in healthcare increases the dependency on technology due to the lack of a physical support for the records. Downtime in the EHR system is unavoidable, due to software, infrastructure, energy failures or even natural disasters, so there is a need to develop a contingency plan ensuring patient care continuity and minimizing risks on health care delivery. To mitigate these risks, an application was developed allowing healthcare delivery providers to retrieve medication prescriptions for inpatient or emergency care patients using the CDA R2 document repository as information source. In this paper we describe the strategy and the implementation results.


Objective: Investigations into the influence of mental illness in families concentrates on how a parent's mental illness has an effect on their child, but we now know over two thirds of children with a mental health issue also have a parent with a mental illness. This study examines experiences of these children.Methods: Thirty-eight children were interviewed, including two sibling groups. Interview transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis with a number of themes identified.Results: It was clear from children's accounts that family life presents some unique challenges because of co-existing mental illness. These included social challenges; school issues; and family interactions. Children also postulated ideas on the support that they considered helpful for comparable children and families. The latter included coping strategies, experiences of professionals and support that they would have liked.Conclusions: The voices of these children indicate that interventions should not be considered in isolation and that it is important to focus on bidirectional influences of mental illness. Understanding the perceptions and interpreted realities of children in these families will facilitate more successful outcomes for the whole family. Providing a family-focused, bidirectional approach, is an important initial phase in helping children manage where mental illness is a ubiquitous feature for multiple family members.


In a recent Chief Counsel Notice (CC-2012-012, June 1, 2012) , the IRS has confirmed that, notwithstanding various recent district court cases to the contrary, a taxpayer may file a complaint for refund under Code Sec. 7422 at any time at least six months after the filing of an administrative claim when the IRS has not previously issued a notice of claim disallowance and the taxpayer has not waived the requirement to receive that notice. Although favorable to the government, the Chief Counsel Notice advises that holdings regarding the application of the general six-year statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2401 to refund suits brought under Code Sec. 7422 are inconsistent with Rev. Rul. 56-381 and the decisions cited therein that reject the argument that six-year periods of limitation in either 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2401 or 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2501 apply to bar tax refund suits. Congress has supplanted the catch-all limitation period provided for in 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2401 and 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2501with a specific period of limitation in Code Sec. 6532 that governs tax refund suits. The Chief Counsel Notice advises IRS attorneys to continue to follow Rev. Rul. 56-381 and to advise the IRS or the Department of Justice that the general six-year period of limitation for bringing claims against the government in 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2401 or 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2501 does not apply to tax refund suits. When the IRS has not issued a notice of claim disallowance and the taxpayer has not waived notice of receiving the claim disallowance, the taxpayer may file a refund suit anytime after the initial six-month period provided in Code Sec. 6532(a).


Non-covalent complexation of mono- and bisphosphonates by hexaglucosylthioureidocalix[6]arene and octaglucosylthioureidocalix[8]arene was studied by electrospray ionisation Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Glucosylthioureidocalix[8]arene formed 1:1 and 1:2 complexes with bisphosphonates, with a marked preference towards risedronate, clodronate, zoledronate and etidronate. In contrast, up to four guest molecules were bound in the case of monophosphonates, suggesting a different type of binding in comparison to bisphosphonates. Hexaglucosylthioureidocalix[6]arene also formed complexes with phosphonates with a somewhat similar binding selectivity. Interestingly, the addition of calcium ions into the sample of etidronate–glucosylthioureidocalix[8]arene complex resulted in a complete release of the guest due to the very high affinity between calcium and bisphosphonate. In the gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange reactions, glucosylthioureidocalix[8]arene exhibited a number of exchangeable hydrogens and a bimodal exchange distribution was observed, suggesting a presence of multiple gas-phase conformations. Surprisingly, no exchange or very slow exchange for the complexes of glucosylthioureidocalix[8]arene was observed.


National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is a scheme formulated by the Government of India for the uplifting of the poorest of the poor in rural India. It has been implemented in all the states of India. The effectiveness of any scheme, especially one aimed at rural empowerment, can be measured only by studying the impact it has made in changing the lives of the beneficiaries. RTBI had evaluated the impact of NREGA in Tamilnadu by conducting a study. For this study, RTBI used a mobile phone based data gathering system instead of the regular paper based process. This paper will discuss how the questionnaire was developed, the data gathering method and the use of mobile phones as a reliable tool for conducting surveys.


One way to model a sound and complete translation from a source calculus into a target calculus is with an adjoint or a Galois connection. In the special case of a reeection, one also has that the target calculus is isomorphic to a subset of the source. We show that three widely studied translations form reeections. We use as our source language Moggi's computational lambda calculus, which is an extension of Plotkin's call-by-value calculus. We show that Plotkin's CPS translation , Moggi's monad translation, and Girard's translation to linear logic can all be regarded as reeections from this source language, and we put forward the computational lambda calculus as a model of call-by-value computation that improves on the traditional call-by-value calculus. Our work strengthens Plotkin's and Moggi's original results and improves on recent work based on equational correspondence, which uses equations rather than reductions.


A B S T R A C T Herbal Products industry has experienced significant growth in product demand. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors effecting the actual buying of Herbal Product. This study also examines the moderation effect of perceived risk on the relationship between product safety and intention. Mall intercept survey was used to collect data from six various states in Malaysia. The data is analyzed using Partial Least Squares (PLS) path modeling. The path coefficient results supported the direct influence of intention on actual buying. Similarly, the findings reveal that perceived risk moderate the relationship between product safety and buying intention.


Drawing on the concept of 'austerity localism', (Featherstone et al., 2012) this paper explores the impact of recent spending cuts and a revitalisation of the localism agenda on the work of locally embedded third sector organisations who work with marginal communities in the north east of England. In three key areas there exists a problematic relationship between the progressive language of empowerment, as set out in contemporary localist discourse, and the experiences and perceptions of service providers and service users. These relate to involvement in decision-making processes about the allocation of squeezed funding; the ability and desirability of voluntary groups to become autonomous; and the restricted resourcefulness of third sector organisations in a context of austerity. What comes through our data in all these cases are forms of social and spatial distancing, between third sector organisations and local decision makers, between organisations and their service users and also across the sector itself. Such distancing is facilitated by contexts in which resources, trust and empathy are undermined. The paper concludes that understanding the challenges faced by marginalised communities, and the third sector agencies working with them, requires recognition of the existing capacities within places, the importance of situated power relationships as well as wider connections of dependence and responsibility.


Andrew Tait Alexson. LEADERSHIP AND SCHOOL SUCCESS: THE BEHAVIORS AND PRACTICES OF A PRINCIPAL IN AN EFFECTIVE URBAN HIGH SCHOOL. (Under the direction of Dr. Ellen Lowrie Black) School of Education, August, 2008. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the behaviors and practices of a principal in an effective, private, faith-based urban high school. The researcher interviewed school personnel, observed school operations, and reviewed school documents. The researcher administered two surveys to 15 faculty, staff, board members and the principal. The first survey included 76 questions that addressed Powell's five domains of Vision, Mission, and Culture; Curriculum and Classroom Instruction; Collaboration and Shared Leadership; Family and Community Relations; and Effective Management. The second survey included 30 questions that explored Kouzes and Posner's leadership characteristics of Model the Way; Inspire a Shared Vision; Challenge the Process; Enable Others to Act; and Encourage the Heart. This study confirmed many of the findings presented in the literature review and found that the study school was effective in part because of the leadership behaviors and practices of the principal. The principal was instrumental in keeping the school moving toward the goal of providing an excellent, Christ-centered education that equips urban students for leadership, service,


A proposal by L\"uscher enables one to compute the scattering phases of elastic two-body systems from the energy levels of the lattice Hamiltonian in a finite volume. In this work we generalize the formalism to S--, P-- and D--wave meson and baryon resonances, and general total momenta. Employing nonvanishing momenta has several advantages, among them making a wider range of energy levels accessible on a single lattice volume and shifting the level crossing to smaller values of $m_\pi L$.


Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of flexible pole exercise on cardiac autonomic modulation. This was investigated while at rest before and, then in the recovery phase from the flexible pole exercise. Material and methods. Thirty-two female subjects were allocated to equal groups. The analysis of cardiac autonomic modulation was through the recording of temporal separations of interpeak RR intervals taken from the heart rate monitor. The analysis was performed by chaotic global measures of heart rate variability (HRV). Two parameters were proposed based on the greater resolution of multi-taper method (MTM) power spectra. They were high spectral entropy ( hs Entropy) and high spectral detrended fluc- tuation analysis ( hsDFA ) and were applied owing to the greater parametric response in short data series. After applying Anderson-darling and Lilliefors tests for confirmation of high non-normality; Kruskal-Wallis test of significance was used for the statistical anal- ysis, with the level of significance moderately set at (p<0.15). Results. On recovery from flexible pole exercise there was a significant decrease in three of the combinations of cFP. The algorithm which applied all three chaotic global parameters was the optimum statistically measured by Kruskal-Wallis and standard deviation. It was also the most influential by principal component analysis (PcA) with almost all variation covered by the first two components. Conclusion. Flexible pole exercise leads to a further significant decrease in chaos- ity measured by the combination of chaotic globals.


This paper foregrounds the value of the inclusion of Ubuntu philosophy in the school curriculum using indigenous games. There has been increased interest emanating from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in the inclusion of Ubuntu philosophy in the mainstream school curriculum. The DBE has identified indigenous knowledge as an asset that can be integrated into the school curriculum in order to educate African children about Ubuntu philosophy, moral and cultural beliefs. The efficacy of indigenous methods to teach schoolchildren these important concepts has, however, largely remained an untapped area of study. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how Ubuntu philosophy can be taught in the school curriculum using selected indigenous isiZulu games. Using Mbigi's Collective Fingers Theory, we analyse three isiZulu indigenous games and demonstrate that indigenous games can be successfully used to teach Ubuntu philosophy. The paper contributes to the ongoing debates about the value of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS), such as Ubuntu philosophy, in teaching decolonised curriculum content and instilling moral principles and cultural beliefs such as the value of communal identity.


Abstract : Data on observed mealtime behavior and recall of that behavior were compared and analyzed to determine the veridicality of retrospective data. Families ate two meals while under observation using video tape recording equipment. Half of the families were interviewed three weeks later and the other half six weeks after the meals. Using extensive interviewing procedures the parents were asked to report all that they could remember about the two meals and specifically what they could remember about their children's behavior. Comparison of data indicated that only 43% of the original behavior was recalled and the total recollections 22% had not even occurred at the meals. This suggests that research based on retrospective data should be carefully examined and that findings of such studies should be applied with hesitancy. The data also disclosed that there is a linear relationship between the amount of behavior that occurred and the amount subsequently recalled by any given person. (Author)


A new high resolution dispersive spectrometer has been developed to measure high pressure shock profiles every 10 ns using long Fiber Bragg Gratings. The performances are compared with a dynamic AWG-based spectrometer. Two small diameter fibers allow inserting in parallel two 50-mm long gratings into the target. The use of slightly chirped gratings provides the localization of the shock-wave along them. Placed along the target axis, a gratings reflected spectrum is "blue shifted". The FBG's central wavelength are 1605 nm to cover a pressure range of 0–8 GPa. The new spectrometer is based on a femtosecond laser source, a long dispersive fiber and a fast acquisition system with an electrical bandwidth above 30 GHz. The experimental setup was a symmetric impact with 6061T6 aluminum, performed with a 110-mm in diameter single-stage gas gun. An impact velocity of 314 m/s is obtained and generated a sustained level of 2.1 GPa during few microseconds. A resulted Bragg shift of (16 ± 1) nm is measured. The dispersive spectrometer offers much greater resolution than the AWG one which is favorable to retrieve more easily a pressure profile.


The reliability and validity of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 were investigated in a population sample of 1,063 inhabitants of a Dutch township, all age 17or older. Confirmatory factor analysisonly partly supported the internal structure of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0. The internal consistency of the instrument was high. Pointing to high convergent validity, a multitrait-multimelhod matrix revealed that the RAND-36 scales showed higher correlations with corresponding scales from other instruments than with noncorresponding scales. However, indicating low discriminant validity, some of these correlations did not exceed the intercorrelations among the RAND-36 scales. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed significant effects of age for physical functioning, role limitations (physical problem), general health perception and pain, and significant effects of education on physical functioning and general health perception. Significant sex differences were found for mental health only. The results of this study on the psychometric properties of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 seem promising. There is a need for further studies investigating its factor structure and cross-cultural equivalence.


The study aimed to gain insights from the interior designers regarding the implementation of sustainability in the luxury five-star hotels' interior design in the context of the UAE. To achieve this primary aim, the following objectives were outlined: to evaluate the implementation of sustainability in the UAE's five-star hotels' interior design; to analyse how LEED guidelines are incorporated into the hotels' interior design in the UAE; to assess the challenges in integrating sustainability in luxury hotel interiors in the UAE; to examine the sustainable choice of materials by the interior designers for the UAE hotels' interior design. For this, a qualitative approach was selected, and semi-structured interviews were carried out with six specialist interior designers. Using a template thematic analysis approach, it was identified that there is a disconnect between sustainability and luxury, but that integrating sustainability in the UAE's hotels is encouraged. LEEDs guidelines are only used when the project itself specifies the usage. However, some participants try to incorporate the guidelines during their choice of materials. In addition, the most significant challenges to incorporating sustainability were identified as being related to cost and client resistance. The study also developed an understanding of the commonly used materials in interior design and their sustainability ratings based on the participants. The implications of the study are discussed, and some recommendations are provided.


To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party. By Heather Cox Richardson. New York: Basic Books, 2014. 416 pp. Few questions boggle modern political observers more than that of the "great shift" in Republican Party ideology. How did the Party of Lincoln become the Party of Reagan? How did a party based in anti-slavery activism among Northern progressives become the redoubt of Southern white conservatism? Heather Cox Richardson's To Make Men Free provides one of the first comprehensive answers to this conundrum. Rather than seeing a complete shift in party ideology, Richardson identifies a tension within Republican ideology present at the beginning of the party and continuing to this day. On one side was Abraham Lincoln's vision of a country where all people could pursue their dreams of economic prosperity. The government's job was to level the playing field and establish the physical, legal, and political infrastructure to "make men free." Against this egalitarian vision was one that sanctified private property, seeing its defense as essential to ordered liberty, even if the result was a highly stratified society where the poor remain locked in a perpetual "mudsill" and the rich grew richer. The egalitarians were dominant among Republicans at first, able to push through a robust agenda in the absence of Democrats from seceded Southern states. This program included a Homestead Act, a Land Grant Education Act, an income tax, a protective tariff, and, by the Civil War's end, a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery. As former Confederates threatened to reimpose slavery under President Andrew Johnson's lenient Reconstruction plan, radical Republicans pushed through several Military Reconstruction Acts, passed a Freedmen's Bureau and Civil Rights Act, and then amended the Constitution two more times, enshrining the egalitarian principle of equal civil and political rights into the nation's basic legal framework. From this point on, Richardson notes, Republicans began to split over tactics and, eventually, ideology. For some, the egalitarian pull of the radicals continued until the end of the nineteenth century. But for most of the Republican leadership, the party's future lay with the industrialists, Wall Street bankers, and mine prospectors of the West. The threat of radicalized workers following the 1871 Paris Commune and labor activism during the Depression of 1873 cemented the party's leadership behind the forces of capital. By the 1890s, the Republican Party paid the barest lip service to the rights of African Americans and took a laissez-faire approach to monopolies and labor relations. By the turn of the nineteenth century, however, a new force within the Republican Party pushed the party back toward its egalitarian roots. Theodore Roosevelt and the new Progressive wing of the party embraced a strong federal government as the only force capable of reining in the industrial trusts that had found such favor with Presidents McKinley and Harrison. …


Zero thermal expansion (ZTE) is a desired but rare material property. Herein we report a unique family of inorganic–organic hybrid semiconductors with general formula [ZnSe(L)0.5] (L = organic diamine) that exhibit nearly-zero thermal expansion along the layer-stacking axis in the temperature range of 5–300 K. The unit cell parameters and crystal structures of [ZnSe(en)0.5], [ZnSe(pda)0.5], [ZnSe(bda)0.5], and [ZnSe(ptda)0.5] (en = ethylenediamine, pda = propanediamine, bda = butanediamine, and ptda = pentanediamine) have been refined by the Rietveld method by using powder samples, and their thermal expansion properties have been analyzed and rationalized on the basis of their crystal structures and symmetry. [ZnSe(ptda)0.5] features a very small negative linear thermal expansion coefficient (–7.8 × 10–7 K–1) that approaches the smallest values reported to date.


This paper aims at developing an effective method of risk analysis and estimating export profitability of vegetables and fruits from Jordan, as a case study. The method analyzes the marketing chain between the farm gate and the first receiver at destination market. Through this process exporter may reduces the risks of the export shipment. The impact of these risks is identified in the Export Analysis Table (EAT) for Agri-business, which seeks to develop three items of marketing information including, an estimate of produce cost, selling price in destination market and additional marketing costs between the farm and first receiver in destination market. The EAT is an online tool that enables the exporter to evaluate the profitability of his shipment, who is just needed to enter the quantities of vegetables and fruits decided to be export by type of product, the expected sales and purchase prices of the products into the EAT, which directly presents the scenario of operating margin along the marketing chain and in destination markets. The EAT is an effective method to describe and guide the exporter to update and to standardize with the marketing chain requirements. Numerous products of vegetables and fruits usually export to Arab Gulf or Europe Union Markets could utilize the EAT. EAT gives a flash picture of the profitable of the export products, depending on the range of costs and sales prices given by product in each market. The EAT is intended to help the Agri-business analyze for fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables maximize export opportunities from Jordan. Key words: EAT; Export; Marketing chain; Cost; Fruit; Vegetable; Profit; Risk; Price


A clinicopathologic study was done on 21 cases of superficial flat‐type early gastric carcinoma (IIb type EGC). In one case there was the two IIb type EGC. Nine patients had no symptoms, whereas the other 12 had either epigastralgia, hematemesis, or anorexia. The preoperative diagnosis was accurate in 15 patients; eight were demonstrated by barium study, and 13 by endoscopy. The suspicious finding of IIb type EGC was either the disappearance or irregularity of the areae gastricae by barium study and a mucosal color change by endoscopy. Well‐differentiated or moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas showed a slight redness of the affected mucosa whereas the poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas were pale in color. Histologically, many well‐differentiated or moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas occupied the entire thickness of the mucosal layer whereas most of the poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas spread horizontally with preservation of non‐cancerous glands and foveolae. The growth pattern was super type in ten lesions and small mucosal type in 12 and no pen‐type growth was seen. Concerning the cell nuclear DNA ploidy pattern, 21 showed a low ploidy pattern and only one had a high ploidy pattern. The IIb type EGC seemed to have a less malignant potential from the viewpoint of growth pattern and DNA ploidy pattern. Care must be taken at the proximal line of excision of the tumor so as not to leave behind residual carcinoma cells.


Corresponding to the technological developments, production and consumption of nickel have increased greatly over time due to its unique mechanical and chemical properties. Therefore, the production of nickel will always keep its importance. The availability of laterite ores, which are oxide type ores, is 86% of the nickel reserves on the Earth, and the processes used in the production of nickel from sulphide type ores have negative environmental effects. Therefore, recovery of nickel from lateritic ores has become increasingly important in recent years. In this study, the aim was to determine the optimum parameters of nickel and cobalt production from limonite type lateritic nickel ores, which were taken from Manisa Caldag region of Turkey, using atmospheric pressure sulfuric acid leaching and pug-roast-leach process. When the results obtained in these processes were compared, it was found that the Ni leaching efficiency is nearly 8% higher and iron leaching efficiency (contamination) is nearly 4% lower in the pug-roastleach process. Furthermore, the pug-roast-leach process was completed in 33% lower time compared to the atmospheric pressure sulfuric acid leaching process.


Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is the predominant water channel in the brain. Although AQP4 plays an important role in brain water homeostasis, the molecular mechanisms of AQP4 regulation are not fully understood. In this report, we show how Zn(2+) rapidly and reversibly decreases the water permeability of AQP4 when it is reconstituted into proteoliposomes. Mutagenesis analysis identified Cys178, located in cytoplasmic loop D, as a target residue of ZnCl(2) inhibition. Moreover, treatment with diamide enhanced the inhibitory effects of ZnCl(2). These results suggest that the water permeability of AQP4 may be regulated by dynamic changes in intracellular Zn(2+) concentration linked to the cellular redox state.


3D hand pose estimation is a long-standing challenge in both robotics and computer vision communities due to its implicit depth ambiguity and often strong self-occlusion. Recently, in addition to the hand skeleton, jointly estimating hand pose and shape has gained more attraction. State-of-the-art methods adopt a model-free approach, estimating the vertices of the hand mesh directly and providing superior accuracy compared to traditional model-based methods directly regressing the parameters of the parametric hand mesh. However, with the large number of mesh vertices to estimate, these methods are often slow in inference. We propose an efficient variation of the previously proposed image-to-lixel approach to efficiently estimate hand meshes from the images. Leveraging recent developments in efficient neural architectures, we significantly reduce the computation complexity without sacrificing the estimation accuracy. Furthermore, we introduce an inverted kinematic(IK) network to translate the estimated hand mesh to a biomechanically feasible set of joint rotation parameters, which is necessary for applications that leverage pose estimation for controlling robotic hands. Finally, an optional post-processing module is proposed to refine the rotation and shape parameters to compensate for the error introduced by the IK net. Our Lite I2L Mesh Net achieves state-of-the-art joint and mesh estimation accuracy with less than $13\%$ of the total computational complexity of the original I2L hand mesh estimator. Adding the IK net and post-optimization modules can improve the accuracy slightly at a small computation cost, but more importantly, provide the kinematic parameters required for robotic applications.


Riboflavin is produced by two genetically modified Bacillus subtilis strains. Neither the production strains nor their recombinant DNA were detected in the final riboflavin products. Riboflavin 5'-phosphate sodium is prepared by phosphorylation of riboflavin. The additives are safe for target animals with a wide margin of safety provided that the current use levels for riboflavin are not exceeded. Toxicological studies with the additive under assessment show that it has a low toxicity and do not indicate a genotoxic potential. The use of the additives in animal nutrition will not significantly alter the riboflavin content of food of animal origin. The EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) considers that the use of the additives in animal nutrition is not of safety concern for consumers. The additives containing riboflavin and riboflavin 5'-phosphate sodium are not irritant to skin and eyes. In the absence of data, the FEEDAP Panel cannot conclude on skin sensitisation. Riboflavin is a recognised photosensitiser, which may elicit skin and eye photoallergic reactions. Workers might be exposed to a respirable dust when handling riboflavin and riboflavin 5'-phosphate sodium; in the absence of data on inhalation toxicity, the FEEDAP Panel cannot conclude on a possible risk by inhalation. The use of riboflavin and riboflavin 5'-phosphate sodium in animal nutrition does not pose a risk to the environment. The additives are regarded as an effective source of riboflavin in covering the animal's requirement when administered orally.


Background and aim The aim of this study was to evaluate ovarian reserve, uterine artery blood flow, and endometrial and subendometrial blood flow in women with unexplained recurrent miscarriage compared with normal fertile women. Patients and methods The study design was a case–control one. The study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Benha University, Benha, Egypt. Women were divided into two groups: those with a history of unexplained recurrent miscarriage (the study group, n=50), and those who had no history of miscarriage and had at least one child born at term (the control group, n=50). At days 3–4 of the cycle, ovarian reserve testing was performed for all women by measuring follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and oestradiol levels. Thereafter, two-dimensional (2D) and 3D transvaginal ultrasonography and power Doppler were performed to detect antral follicle count, ovarian volume, and ovarian stromal Vascularization Index (VI), Flow Index (FI) and Vascularization Flow Index (VFI). Between days 18 and 23 of the cycle, transvaginal ultrasonography was performed for all women using 2D, pulsed Doppler and 3D-power Doppler mode to detect endometrial thickness, Uterine Artery Pulsatility Index, endometrial volume and endometrial and subendometrial blood flow presented by the indices VI, FI and VFI. The indices between the two groups were compared. Results Uterine Artery Pulsatility Index was significantly higher in the study group (P=0.001), whereas endometrial VI (P≤0.001), FI (P=0.01) and VFI (P≤0.001) and subendometrial VI, FI and VFI (P≤0.001) were significantly lower in the study group. The ovarian reserve tests, endometrial thickness and endometrial volume, however, were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion The presence of good uterine and endometrial blood flow is an important prerequisite for successful implantation and continuation of pregnancy as shown by higher uterine artery blood flow resistance and lower endometrial and subendometrial blood flow in recurrent unexplained miscarriage cases. We could not find any cutoff values that could predict the occurrence of miscarriage, and hence larger prospective studies are needed to confirm such results and reaching values that can accurately predict the occurrence of miscarriage.


In investigations for incidents, it is important to identify a user or a router from source IP addresses. However, in OSPFv3, each router only performs message authentication with pre-sharing key for security. Therefore, each router can claim arbitrary IP prefixes. This point makes difficult to associate a prefix with a router with some authorization. In this paper, we propose a new method that enables reliable IP traceback in OSPFv3 networks. Our proposal is to construct PKI on OSPFv3 and to associate each router with prefixes by the router's certificate. This proposal makes possible to identify the source of a packet from its source IP address directly. In this paper, we implement our proposal and confirm it can associate a router to prefixes.


A plasmid containing the transforming Ha-ras gene and designated pT24-C3 was methylated in vitro using the sequence-specific bacterial methyltransferases HpaII and HhaI. Aliquots of the plasmid were methylated by the single enzymes or by the two enzymes simultaneously (double methylation). The transforming activity of the treated plasmids was assayed in the standard transfection assay on NIH-3T3 cells. Double methylation reduced the transforming activity of pT24-C3 about 80%, whereas treatment with the single methylating enzymes did not significantly affect the oncogene activity. Southern blot analysis of the transformants obtained with the methylated or mock-methylated pT24-C3 plasmids indicated in all the examined DNAs the presence of human Ha-ras sequences with methylation degrees consistent with the treatment of the plasmids. The Mr 21,000 oncogene protein p21 was also detected in several examined transformants. The DNA-demethylating agent 5-azacytidine restored the transforming activity of the double-methylated pT24-C3 upon 24 h incubation of transfected NIH-3T3 cells. Southern blot analysis showed integration of human Ha-ras with a methylation profile intermediate between the double-methylated and mock-methylated plasmids. It is suggested that DNA methylation of specific CG-containing target sites can affect the transforming activity of a human oncogene.


Introduction: Severe and intermediate polyhydramnios may cause various maternal and fetal complications. Indometacin therapy in moderate to severe polyhydramnios is recommended in some studies but, there no such study has been done in Iran. This study was done in order to investigate the effect of indomethacin in decreasing AFI and on enhancing duration of pregnancy. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was carried out in the year 2006 at Hamadan Fatemieh Hospital on 40 women who were 22 to 30 weeks pregnant, suffering from moderate to sever polyhydramnios (diagnosed by sonographic examination). Patients divided randomly into two groups. Twenty patients (case group) were treated with 1/5mg/kg/day of indomethacin for two weeks and the control group were just observed and hospitalized only in case of respiratory distress or abdominal pain occurrence. patients in the case group were assessed for drug complications, then after intervention to evaluate the AFI, they were checked by sonography in the second and forth week. Both groups followed up to delivery time and neonates examined for PDA. Individual data, pregnancy duration, Apgar score, and complications were collected in the questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS software, using the descriptive statistics, frequency distribution tables and statistical tests. Statistical significance was p<0.05. Results: The mean duration of pregnancy in case and control group was 38±1.33 and 34±2.93 weeks respectively, with the statistically significant difference (p=0.0001). After 4 weeks of treatment, AFI decreased from 24.2±3.54 cm to 17.15±2.36 cm. The neonates' APGAR scores were much higher for case group in comparison with controls. Indomethacin had no maternal or fetal complications. Conclusion: This study showed that, the success rate in case group was 100. The mean duration of pregnancy was longer in case group, AFI decreased and neonates' APGAR was better than the control group.


This article considers the role that clothing and fashion have played, or continue to play, in 'sexualisation'. It is pointed out that fashion, as in clothing, has often played a very small part in much wider discussions about 'sexualisation' much of which fails to problematise the meaning of the clothing concerned. The article thus considers what might constitute 'sexualised' clothing or fashion – whether this is simply baring of flesh, too 'adult', or somehow 'pornographic' in its derivations or connotations. In addition, fashion and dress have a long history of forming heated concern for feminists who have often found themselves caught between seeing it as oppressive and male defined or expressive and somehow empowering. What is often at stake here is the very significance of fashion or dress itself when seen as a wider communicator of status or just personality. Drawing on established feminist and fashion theory, this article unpacks this connection. In addition, the 'function' of fashion as display has an equally long history of often unacknowledged gender difference that precedes later feminist resistance yet still informs it. The article also considers the extent to which understandings of fashion may inform or disrupt more contemporary feminist politics on dress, and recent attempts to reclaim 'sexualised' clothing and dressing as empowering for young women are questioned. In sum, it is argued that an analysis of fashion and dress per se is needed to develop a more informed understanding of the processes of 'sexualisation' and resistance to them.


The occurrence of record‐breaking flood events continues to cause damage and disruption despite significant investments in flood defences, suggesting that these events are in some sense surprising. This study develops a new statistical test to help assess if a flood event can be considered surprising or not. The test statistic is derived from annual maximum series (AMS) of extreme events, and Monte Carlo simulations were used to derive critical values for a range of significance levels based on a Generalised Logistic distribution. The method is tested on a national data set of AMS of peak flow from the United Kingdom, and is found to correctly identify recent large events that have been identified elsewhere as causing a significant change in UK flood management policy. No temporal trend in the frequency or magnitude of surprising events was identified, and no link could be established between the occurrences of surprising events and large‐scale drivers. Finally, the implications of the findings for future research examining the most extreme flood events are discussed.


An important part in studying Quadruplexes is via theoretical modeling, analysis and prediction. This primarily provides a theoretical background of basic self-assembly processes through which structural and electronic properties of example molecular devices can be calculated. Combined with experimental results, such studies help in predicting new properties and design novel of novel materials.The folding of G-quadruplexes is directed by controllable factors. The structural basis underlying the precise relationship between DNA sequences and folding into quadruplexes has been investigated towards prediction of structural folds. The theoretical modeling and analysis includes a variety of methods that span from ab initio quantum chemical techniques to classical molecular dynamics. Different computer-based methodologies have been used to study structural properties of quadruplexes with main emphasis on biological applications and drug discovery. Development of multi-scale approaches to treat different theory levels can aid in studying different parts of complex devices (molecule, surface, solution, electrodes etc.).


In three years trials (1990–1993) the effect of diameter of bulbilson growth and yield of local garlic ecotype R was studied. Nine size classes of bulbils were investigated. Significant effect of diameter of bulbils on biometric propeities and yield of local garlic was found out. The plants grown from big bulbils gave higher and better quality yield then those grown from smaller bulbils. There was no difference in yield of plants grown from big and medium bulbils.


We describe a non-decision directed kurtosis-based digital phase lock loop (DPLL) algorithm for 16-QAM carrier recovery in the presence of non-linear amplification. A constellation rotation (with respect to locked phase) allows each of the trellis decoder's set-partitions to be fully confined to the received vector quadrants. Transponder characteristic variations may be automatically tracked by adapting the TCM decoder's metric LUT based on 4 dominant maxima in a 2-D histogram of quadrant data


We define "frequent walkers" as people who walk over one hour in public space on most days of the week. Because they have successfully undergone mode shift, such pioneers have the potential to initiate change towards sustainable transportation at population level. This project seeks to understand how and why they became frequent walkers, how they integrate walking into their schedules, and what they perceive as facilitators or hindrances. After a quantitative phase, this qualitative phase analyses semi - structured interviews with 35 adult frequent walkers in Geneva and Lausanne. We found that most – but not all – of the walking is r elated to daily commuting. Concern with one's health and well - being are key motivators. Time - management strategies such as getting up earlier in the morning and using alternative routes – a direct route in the morning, a scenic route in the evening – are hallmarks of frequent walking in this population. Facilitators include the presence of parks and green spaces. Hindrances are road traffic, narrow or missing pavements (sidewalks), and traffic lights. Most respondents expressed aversion towards noise, air pollution, and – especially – tobacco smoke.


Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (CCSK) is a tumor affecting children with a median age of 3 years at diagnosis. The cell of origin of CCSK is unknown and data on the molecular changes giving rise to CCSK is scarce. This has hindered the identification of positive diagnostic markers and development of molecularly targeted treatment protocols for CCSK. We have characterized a panel of CCSK to gain information regarding its molecular profile and possible origin. High‐resolution genomic analysis with single nucleotide polymorphism array of 37 tumors did not reveal any clues to the mechanisms behind tumor development as remarkably few genetic imbalances were found. Gene expression analysis revealed a highly characteristic gene signature, enriched for pathways involved in embryonic development, including kidney formation. The presence of markers for two different developmental lineages in the embryonic kidney was therefore investigated in the tumor cells. FOXD1 which identifies cells giving rise to stromal elements, and CITED1, a marker for cells primed for nephrogenic epithelial differentiation, were both highly expressed in CCSK. In addition, the early embryonic marker OSR1 was expressed at higher levels in CCSK than in Wilms tumor, normal fetal kidney or adult kidney. As this marker discriminates the intermediate mesoderm from other mesodermal structures, our study could suggest that CCSK arises from a mesodermal cell type that retains the capacity to initiate differentiation towards both nephrons and stroma, but remains locked in a primitive state. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


How does tourism from abroad affect production and job opportunities in a local economy? In which sectors does this production appear and what type of labour demand does it create? Are planned-growth strategies realistic, taking potential supply-side restrictions and seasonal effects into account? Commissioned by the Department of Economic Affairs in collaboration with the Tourism Board of the Curacao island, SEO Economic Research has developed a model (known as Turistika©) for translating tourists expenditures into effects on employment and production within a number of sectors. It also identifies possible restrictions on the supply side of the economy, including the availability of qualified personnel, occupancy rates of hotels, restaurants and taxi services, and the capacity of the air transportation sector. The model is used to compare economic effects in various growth scenarios, in order to determine an optimal policy strategy. The Turistika© model is regularly updated and optimised using the most recent data. The model can also be used for similar small, clearly defined local economies. This report presents the results from the third update of the model as presented in december 2008.


Detailed kinetic studies and novel graphical manipulations of reaction progress data in Pd(II)-catalyzed olefinations in the presence of mono-N-protected amino acid ligands reveal anomalous concentration dependences (zero order in o-CF(3)-phenylacetic acid concentration, zero order in oxygen pressure, and negative orders in both olefin and product concentrations), leaving the catalyst concentration as the sole positive driving force in the reaction. NMR spectroscopic studies support the proposal that rate inhibition by the olefinic substrate and product is caused by formation of reversible off-cycle reservoirs that remove catalyst from the active cycle. NMR studies comparing the interaction between the catalyst and substrate in the presence and absence of the ligand suggest that weak coordination of the ligand to Pd prevents formation of an inactive mixed acetate species. A fuller understanding of these features may lead to the design of more efficient Pd(II) catalysts for this potentially powerful C-H functionalization reaction.


Little information exists regarding intention behind the design and development of Extension outreach and educational exhibits. An evaluation of response to the exhibit A Salamander Tale indicates that the methods used to develop the exhibit resulted in an effective way to present information to an adult audience. Survey questions were based on research literature on attitudinal learning, especially literature discussing cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning components. Of 409 survey respondents, 69% or more reported positive changes in attitude about eastern hellbender salamanders and their habitats. Perhaps most important to hellbender conservation efforts, 73% of survey respondents claimed they would change their behavior and 70% claimed they would tell others what they learned from the exhibit.