Hydrogen storage is often cited as the greatest obstacle to achieving a hydrogen economy free of environmental pollution and dependence on foreign oil. A compact high-pressure cryogenic storage system has promising features to the storage challenge associated with hydrogen-powered vehicles. Cryogenic pressure vessels consist of an inner vessel designed for high pressure (350 bar) insulated with reflective sheets of metalized plastic and enclosed within an outer metallic vacuum jacket. When filled with pressurized liquid hydrogen, cryogenic pressure vessels become the most compact form of hydrogen storage available. A recent prototype is the only automotive hydrogen vessel meeting both Department of Energy's 2017 weight and volume targets. When installed onboard an experimental vehicle, a cryogenic pressure vessel demonstrated the longest driving distance with a single H2 tank (1050 km). In a subsequent experiment, the vessel demonstrated unprecedented thermal endurance: 8 days parking with no evaporative losses, extending to a month if the vehicle is driven as little as 8 km per day. Calculations indicate that cryogenic vessels offer compelling safety advantages and the lowest total ownership cost of hydrogen storage technologies. Long-term (~10 years) vacuum stability (necessary for high performance thermal insulation) is the key outstanding technical challenge. Testing continues to establish technical feasibility and safety.


We have designed a new molecularly imprinted co-polymer (MIP) for the sensitive detection of streptomycin (STR) in food using enzymes as signal amplification. The MIP was fabricated via co-polymerization of aniline and o-phenylenediamine on gold substrate in the presence of STR as template. The assay is based on competitive binding of free STR and glucose oxidase-labeled STR (GOx-STR) to the imprinters on the MIP. On addition of glucose, hydrogen peroxide is formed that is detected by differential pulse voltammetry. Under optimal conditions, the decrease of the catalytic current is proportional to the STR concentration in the range from 0.01 to 10 ng mL−1, with a detection limit (LOD) of 7.0 pg mL−1 STR (at 3sB). Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CVs) are<10.5 %. The system was further validated and evaluated with STR-spiked samples including honey and milk, and the recovery was between 82 and 124.2 %.


In this work, glucose concentration in gastric cancer cell was determinaed based on a coupled enzyme catalyzed reaction. glucose oxidase (GOD) reacted with glucose to form gluconic acid and H2O2. In the presence of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), the H2O2 then reacted with 10-acetyl-3,7- dihydroxyphenoxazine (ADHP) in a 1:1 stoichiometry to generated the fluorescent products, resorufin. So that, the glucose concentration assay could be performed by fluorometric analysis resorufin. Glucose solution or Gastric cancer cells lysate were catalyzed and detected by epi-fluorescence microscopy in a quartz capillary fluorometer cell. The fluorescence intensity were analysis by the MetaMorph Software. The linear relationship of the glucose concentrations covered a range of 1.00×10-8-1.00×10-5 mol/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.9994. LOD was 5.30×10-9 mol/L(cL = ksB/b). The glucose concentration in cancer cells lysate was 8.03×10-6 mol/L (n =4).


INTRODUCTION
Previous studies suggest that there is a deficit in theory of mind (ToM) in stabilised schizophrenic patients. More specifically, it has been claimed that poor premorbid adjustment covaries with the abnormalities in ToM skills detected in such patients. It has also been suggested that this deficit could be a trait marker for schizophrenic disorders.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The aim of this study was to examine the performance in mentalistic skills in 36 stabilised schizophrenic patients in comparison to a standard control group. We also sought to examine the relation between ToM skills and premorbid adjustment in our target sample. Premorbid adjustment was evaluated using the modified Cannon-Spoor premorbid adjustment scale, and ToM measurements were obtained by means of first- and second-order verbal experimental tasks.

RESULTS
Schizophrenic patients presented statistically significant poorer performances in first- and second-order ToM tasks, although no differences were observed between these patients and the control sample as regards overall cognitive acuity. Poor premorbid adjustment in areas of social functioning in the patients was also associated with statistically significant poorer performance in both ToM tasks.

CONCLUSIONS
Deficient premorbid adjustment in schizophrenia may be linked to a ToM deficit that can be assessed with simple tasks.


A general pattern-recognition procedure for application to unconstrained alphanumeric characters is presented. The procedure is designed to allow hierarchical redescription of the input images in terms of significant elements only, and formal developments are given within the framework of elementary phrase-structure grammars. The extraction of the primitives associated with the terminal vocabularies of the grammars is always deterministic, and the productions of the parsers are characterized by a significant degree of topological fidelity. Preliminary experimental results indicate recognition rates comparable to the state of the art, but with a considerable reduction in computing time. >


Several years ago, we introduced the idea of item response curves (IRC), a simplistic form of item response theory (IRT), to the physics education research community as a way to examine item performance on diagnostic instruments such as the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). We noted that a full-blown analysis using IRT would be a next logical step, which several authors have since taken. In this paper, we show that our simple approach not only yields similar conclusions in the analysis of the performance of items on the FCI to the more sophisticated and complex IRT analyses but also permits additional insights by characterizing both the correct and incorrect answer choices. Our IRC approach can be applied to a variety of multiple-choice assessments but, as applied to a carefully designed instrument such as the FCI, allows us to probe student understanding as a function of ability level through an examination of each answer choice. We imagine that physics teachers could use IRC analysis to identify prominent misconceptions and tailor their instruction to combat those misconceptions, fulfilling the FCI authors' original intentions for its use. Furthermore, the IRC analysis can assist test designers to improve their assessments by identifying nonfunctioning distractors that can be replaced with distractors attractive to students at various ability levels.


Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA

BACKGROUND: During the next several decades, 40 million American women born between 1946 through 1964 will face very high absolute risks of post-menopausal breast cancer, and 56 million women currently in their 20s and 30s will face substantial risks of pre-menopausal breast cancer. No study to date has predicted the future annual incidence rate and burden (number) of new cases in the United States (US) of both invasive and in-situ female breast cancers stratified by the estrogen receptor (ER) status of the tumor. However, such forecasts could help the oncology community develop a proactive roadmap to optimize prevention and treatment strategies.

METHODS: We constructed forecasts for women ages 30 through 84 in 2011 through 2030 using cancer incidence data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Program, novel age-period-cohort (APC) forecasting models, and population projections from the US Census Bureau. We modelled 16 subsets of breast tumors defined by positive versus negative ER status (a correlate of tumor biology and standard clinical predictive marker), invasive versus in-situ behavior, and four age group (two pre-menopausal groups 30 - 39 and 40 - 49, and two post-menopausal groups 50 - 69 and 70 - 84). Screening mammography is recommended for women ages 50 - 74 by the US Preventive Services Task Force and starting at age 40 by the American Cancer Society; the age-group-specific models allowed the APC model parameters to implicitly reflect screening effects in the population. For each subset we applied a second-generation APC forecasting model incorporating JoinPoint regression of breast cancer birth cohort effects.

RESULTS: The incidence of both invasive and in-situ ER+ tumors is expected to increase significantly during our forecast period. In contrast, the incidence of both invasive and in-situ ER- tumors is expected to decrease significantly. The total number of new tumors (invasive plus in-situ) is expected to rise more than 50% from 283,000 in 2011 to 441,000 in 2030 (plausible range from 353,000 to 466,700 cases). The proportion of new cases ages 70 - 84 is expected to increase from 24% to 35%, while the proportion ages 50 - 69 is expected to decrease from 55% to 44%. The proportion of ER+ invasive cancers is expected to remain the same near 63%, whereas the proportion of ER+ in-situ cancers is expected to increase from 19% to 29%. The proportion of ER- cancers (invasive and in-situ) is expected to decrease from 17% to 9%.

CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer will continue to rise in the US through 2030, especially for ER+ in-situ tumors among older women. In contrast, ER- invasive and in-situ tumors will continue to fall. These results highlight a need to optimize case management among older women, and to better understand etiological factors responsible for declining ER- incidence rates.

Citation Format: Philip S. Rosenberg, Kimberly A. Barker, William F. Anderson. Estrogen receptor status and the future burden of invasive and in-situ breast cancers in the United States. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3699. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3699


ObjectivesTo characterize cognition in patients with moderate to severe heart failure and examine the association between 2 measures of systemic perfusion (ie, ejection fraction and cardiac index) and cognition. BackgroundDecreased systemic perfusion has been implicated as an etiologic factor in the development of cognitive deficits in cardiovascular disease. MethodThirty-one patients with moderate to severe heart failure and 31 patients with cardiovascular disease and no heart failure completed a medical history interview and neuropsychologic assessment. Participants with heart failure additionally underwent an echocardiogram to assess cardiac function. ResultsPatients with heart failure performed significantly worse than the cardiovascular disease-no heart failure group on several measures of executive functioning and psychomotor speed. Among the heart failure group, lower ejection fraction was associated with weaker global cognition, performance on several, but not all, measures of executive functioning, and was marginally associated with delayed memory. Decreased cardiac index was associated with poorer immediate memory and weakly associated with global cognition. ConclusionsFindings suggest that depressed systemic perfusion is associated with cognitive deficits among patients with heart failure. Research including measures of cardiac function, cerebral perfusion, and cognition will be necessary to clarify the causal nature of the suggested mechanism.


Abstract Objective: Most emergency preparedness planning seeks to identify vulnerable population subgroups; however, focusing on chronic conditions alone may ignore other important characteristics such as location and poverty. Social needs were examined as correlates of anticipated needs and desire for assistance during an emergency. Methods: A retrospective, secondary analysis was conducted using assessments of 8280 adult Medicaid beneficiaries in Louisiana, linked with medical (n = 7936) and pharmacy claims (n = 7473). Results: The sample was 73% female; 47% Black; 34% White; mean age 41 y. Many had at least 1 chronic condition (75.9%), prescription (90.3%), and social need (45.2%). Across assessments, many reported food (40%), housing (34%), and transportation (33%) needs. However, far more people anticipated social needs during an emergency than in the next month. Having social needs increased the odds of anticipating any need (odds ratio [OR] = 1.5, 1.44-1.56) and desire for assistance during an emergency, even after controlling for significant covariates including older age, race, geographic region, Medicaid plan type, and prescriptions. Chronic conditions were significantly correlated with all anticipated needs in bivariate analyses, but only modestly associated (OR = 1.03, 1.01-1.06) with anticipated medication needs in multivariable analyses. Conclusions: Identifying individuals with social needs, independent of their chronic disease status, will benefit emergency preparedness outreach efforts.


We discuss the effective field theory approach to nuclear phenomena with typical momentum below the pion mass. We particularly focus on the three body problem. In the $J=3/2$ channel,effective field theory is extremelly predictive and we are able to describe the nucleon-deuteron scattering amplitude at the percent level using only two parameters obtained from nucleon-nucleon scattering. We briefly comment onthe $J=1/2$ channel and the issues related to the non-perturbative renormalization of the three body force.


Face recognition is one of the most important biometrics techniques used to identify people. The research aims to build an efficient system by devising a new method of discrimination that includes advanced image processing techniques and intelligent techniques. This work has been implemented in several stages, the first of which is the arrangement of the database, Followed by pre-processing based on the integration of Gaborand DCT conversion. And then adopt two methods in extracting statistical features, the first dependent first-class statistics, the second dependent second-class statistics of the GLCM matrix and then draw the important features of them. In the phase of discrimination, two types of artificial neural networks were used after their construction in the 2016 MATLAB environment, BPNN and Elman. Finally, the efficiency of the methods used and the identification of the best were compared.


A common-path heterodyne interferometer is proposed to determine the surface anchoring energy of a homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal (LC). This technique measures, with high sensitivity, the phase retardation of a nematic LC cell as a function of the applied voltage. According to the measured voltage-dependent phase retardation of the LC cells, a simple linear fitting over a well-specified voltage window can be achieved, leading to a precise determination of the polar anchoring energy. The anchoring energy , cell gap, and pretilt angle can be simultaneously obtained in the course of the same experiment.


Nanofiber-based magnetorheological (MR) fluids display an increased achievable yield stress and greatly reduced sedimentation as compared to conventional MR fluids which typically consist of micron-sized spherical ferromagnetic particles suspended in a carrier fluid. The maximum achievable yield stress of nanofiber-based MR fluids can be more than double that of MR fluids that contain strictly spherical particles at the same particle loadings. Conventional MR fluids display appreciable settling whereas the nanofiber-based fluids display no discernible settling at volume fractions greater than ∼6 vol%. However, a maximum volume fraction of <10 vol% is achievable in suspensions containing only nanofibers. To achieve the higher loadings required for most commercial applications, dimorphic MR fluids were created in which spherical particles are partially substituted with nanofibers. Dimorphic MR fluid display significantly enhanced particle sedimentation properties with yield stresses equivalent to or greater than those of conventional MR fluids. Nanofibers are well suited as model particles for the systematic experimental and theoretical study of the shape- and composition-dependent properties of MR fluids owing to their well-defined geometry, controllable dimensions and composition. The use of nanofibers has greatly enhanced MR fluid properties and has resulted in a better understanding of their physical behavior.


We report on follow-up observations of 20 short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs; T90 < 2 s) performed in grizJHKs with the Gamma-Ray Burst Optical Near-Infrared Detector (GROND) between mid-2007 and the end of 2010. This is one of the most compre- hensive data sets on GRB afterglow observations of short bursts published so far. In three cases, GROND was on target within less than 10 min after the trigger, leading to the discovery of the afterglow of GRB 081226A and its faint underlying host galaxy. In addition, GROND was able to image the optical afterglow and follow the light curve evolution in five further cases: GRBs 090305, 090426, 090510, 090927, and 100117A. In all other cases, optical/near-infrared upper limits can be provided on the afterglow magnitudes. After shifting all light curves to a common redshift, we find that the optical luminosities of the six events with light curves group into two subsamples. GRBs 090426 and 090927 are situated in the regime occupied by long-duration events (collapsars), while the other four bursts occupy the parameter space typical for merger events, confirming that the short-burst population is contaminated by collapsar events. Three of the aforementioned six bursts with optical light curves show a break: GRBs 090426 and 090510 (Papers I and II) as well as GRB 090305. For GRB 090927, no break is seen in the optical/X-ray light curve until about 150 ks/600 ks after the burst. The GROND multi-color data support the view that this burst is related to a collapsar event. A decay slope of the optical afterglow of GRB 100117A could be measured. For all six GRBs a lower limit on the corresponding jet opening angle can be set. Using these data supplemented by about ten events taken from the literature, we compare the jet half-opening angles of long and short bursts. We find tentative evidence that short bursts have wider opening angles than long bursts. However, the statistics are still very poor.


Abstract The primary objective of this study is to determine the effect of substrate type on the coordination environments of Cu2+ adsorbed on amorphous SiO2, γ-Al2O3, and anatase at a surface coverage of approximately 1 mmol/m2. We also collected X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) data for several Cu2+-containing model compounds, including tenorite (VICuO), spertiniite [VICu(OH)2], dioptase (VICuSiO2·H2O), shattuckite [VICu5(SiO3)4(OH)2], chrysocolla [VI(Cu,Al)2H2Si2O5 (OH)4·nH2O], and Cu2+ acetate monohydrate [VICu(CH4CO2)2·H2O], for comparison with the sorption sample data. Detailed analysis of these model compounds indicates that the bonding of second neighbors surrounding a central Cu absorber determines whether these second neighbors can be detected by XAFS. The XAFS results of Cu2+ sorption samples are consistent with the presence of Jahn-Teller distorted Cu2+(O,OH)6 octahedra, with four equatorial Cu-O bonds (1.95 Å) and two longer axial bonds; the axial Cu-O bonds are difficult to characterize quantitatively by XAFS spectroscopy. Cu2+ sorbed on amorphous SiO2 was found to have Cu second and third neighbors at 2.95 Å, 3.30 Å, and 5.72 Å, but no Cu-Si correlation was detected for these sorption products associated with amorphous SiO2. Based on XAFS and wet chemical results, it seems likely that a Cu(OH)2 precipitate has formed in the Cu2+/amorphous SiO2 system. Cu2+ sorbed on γ-Al2O3 is present as a mixture of monomeric, dimeric, and perhaps a small number of oligomeric hydroxo-bridged Cu(O,OH)6 species with a Cu-Cu distance of approximately 2.95 Å. Sorbed Cu2+ on anatase is present predominantly as hydroxo-bridged Cu dimers. At similar sorption densities, Cu2+ cluster sizes on amorphous SiO2 are significantly larger than those on g-Al2O3 or anatase, indicating that the substrate has an important effect on the type of Cu2+ sorption complex or precipitates formed.


Backgrounds and Objectives: There have been always concerns regarding to consumption of aquatic products, particularly fish, due to the possibility of heavy metals bioaccumulation in aquatic creatures organs, throughout the world. A research project was carried out to assess the level of concentrated total mercury in different tissues of Silver carp as the most consumed fish from Sanandaj Ghesglagh reservoir in the region. Materials and Methods: Twenty four silver carp were captured randomly during July to December 2009. Prior measuring mercury concentrations in white muscle, red muscle and liver tissues by Advanced Mercury Analyzer (Model; Leco, 254 AMA) on the dry weight basis, biometry procedure was done. Results: Mean accumulated mercury in white muscle, red muscle and liver tissues were 367 (S.E.± 26.43), 311 (S.E.± 32.22) and 251 (S.E.± 28.70) ng gr -1 on the dry weight basis, respectively. Pair comparisons between the level of concentrated mercury in all tissues, except white muscle tissues (F5, 18 = 1.52, P = 0.2332) showed a significant difference (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The level of accumulated mercury in muscle and liver tissues of all samples weighted above 850 grams were higher than the established limits by WHO, FAO and EPA. Our results emphasis that the consumption of silver carp from Sanandaj Gheshlagh Reservoir might place the health of all those peoples who live in the region at risk.


ABSTRACT Objectives The purpose of this case series was to describe the effects of a biopsychosocial approach that embeds pain neuroscience education (PNE) within physical therapy for improving foot and ankle function, pain, and psychosocial factors in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis. Methods Seven female patients (mean [SD] age = 49.0 [11.4] years) receiving physical therapy for chronic plantar fasciitis were enrolled. Along with formal physical therapy, patients received six 15-minute PNE sessions. Knowledge of pain neuroscience was assessed before and after PNE with the Revised Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire. Patients completed questionnaires for foot and ankle function (Activities of Daily Living subscale of the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure), pain intensity (Numeric Rating Scale), pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale), and fear of movement (Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia) at baseline (before treatment) and 6 and 12 weeks. Local and remote pain sensitivity was assessed using a pressure algometer at baseline and 6 weeks. Results Patients attended a mean (range) of 8.7 (7 to 12) physical therapy sessions over a mean (range) of 46.7 (42 to 56) days. After PNE, six (86%) patients demonstrated increased knowledge of pain neuroscience. At 12 weeks, six (86%) patients met or exceeded minimally clinically important difference (MCID) for foot and ankle function and pain. Five (71%) patients met or exceeded MCID for pain catastrophizing and fear of movement. Local pain sensitivity was reduced in six (86%) patients. Conclusions Physical therapy integrating PNE is potentially beneficial for patients with chronic plantar fasciitis. Future studies should examine the efficacy of PNE in randomized trials with larger representative samples.


This revision of the genus Elytropappus confirms earlier views that there are three distinct groups represented in the genus. This paper formalizes the three groups and describes two new genera, as well as two new species identified during the study. Dicerothamnus is described for D. rhinocerotis and D. adpressus, and Myrovernix for M. longifolius, M. intricata, M. gnaphaloides, M. scaber and M. glandulosus. In the original genus (including the type species, Elytropappus hispidus), two new species, Elytropappus aridus and E. monticola, are described. Morphological characters supporting this new classification are discussed and illustrated.


The purpose of this study is to examine the undergraduates" interest in learningEnglish as a second language and it adopts both quantitative and qualitative approachesto identify factors which cause lack of interest among undergraduates to attend theCompulsory English Course conducted by the English Language Teaching Unit of theUniversity of Sri Jayewardenepura. Data were collected by means of questionnaires,focus group discussions and semi structured interviews. All together 120 students fromtwo courses including 100 students from Compulsory English Course and 20 studentsfrom English for Employment Course were selected as the sample for the survey toobtain quantitative and qualitative data. The results indicate significant differences between these two courses revealinga number of affective factors such as learning environment, teaching methodology,learning materials, time table etc that decrease the interest of undergraduates inCompulsory English Course conducted by the English Language Teaching Unit of theuniversity. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations and implications weremade to upgrade the Compulsory English Course. At last, it is hoped that the results ofthis study could be of much benefit for revising the teaching methodology, materials,syllabus etc of the Compulsory English Course of the University of SriJayewardenepura. Key words: Education, English language teaching, University undergraduate


This paper examines the role of African Initiated Churches (AICs) in the lives of African migrant laborers in Israel. Its aim is to attain a deeper understanding of religion and church affiliation among African migrant laborers in Israel from the perspective of the Africans themselves. It traces the creation and development of the AICs in Israel, including the various services and activities that the churches provided for their members in the social, economic and political arenas. It argues that the African churches in Israel occupied a particularly large and central place in their members' lives compared to migrant churches in other western diasporas, taking on roles of other traditional social, economic, political and civil actors in Africa. The paper examines the AICs' multiple adaptations to unique conditions in Israel and to the needs of their membership. Though many of the patterns identified are similar to those found in other diaspora communities, certain features of Israel and its society, mainly those connected to the Jewish identity of the State of Israel and the limited civic horizon open to non-Jews, made for substantial differences. These features forced Africans to create their own Afro-Christian space to fulfill their needs and became the key anchors in the spiritual, emotional and practical lives of the African migrants in Israel. Finally this article argues that the churches became the main space for the production of a sense of belonging within the Israeli civic context, in spite of the fact that the migrants' religious identities and institutions were not used as vehicles for recognition or channels for gaining legitimacy in Israel's public sphere.


Pedicle screw fixation of the lower cervical spine is a new technique that provides an alternative to posterior lateral mass plating. Although biomechanical studies support the use of pedicle screws to reconstruct the cervical spine, placing screws into the small cervical pedicle poses a technical challenge. Penetration of the pedicle is the primary complication associated with screw insertion in the lower cervical spine. Pedicle screw fixation at the C2 and C7 pedicles in conjunction with use of plates for occipitocervical or cervicothoracic plating is becoming an accepted technique; however, pedicle screw fixation should not be routinely used at the C3-C6 levels. It may be indicated in patients who have osteoporotic bone or when rigid internal fixation cannot be achieved by conventional techniques.


Abstract In the Halls Creek Orogen of north-western Australia, the distance of melt migration through migmatitic metasedimentary rocks and adjacent metabasites is partly constrained by relationships of leucosomes and small mafic magma veins toJrock boundaries and structural elements. Stromatic leucosomes in metasediments are cut by a network of small extensional fractures and shear zones, oriented steeply during melt migration. These shear zones allowed cm- to 10 m-scale migration of felsic magma derived by in situ anatexis. In the adjacent metabasite layers, a similar shear array allowed injection of H2O-undersaturated mafic to ultramafic magma, locally dehydrating and chemically modifying these rocks. However, these mafic to ultramafic veinlets are too mafic to be explained by in situ anatexis, necessitating an external magma source. Also, the lack of felsic veinlets cutting metabasites, and mafic veinlets cutting metasediments, requires that vertical inter-connectivity of these fracture systems was restricted. We propose along-layer migration of mafic to ultramafic magma through the metabasite, assisted by horizontal connection of the shear zones. This migration occurred independantly of metre-scale felsic magma migration in the adjacent metasediments, even though these two deformation-assisted magma migration systems may have been operating at the same time.


Micro enterprises make an important contribution to economic output and employment in developing economies. While estimates vary greatly depending on definitions, recent work by the World Bank suggests that almost 30 per cent of employment in low-income countries is generated by the informal economy, while an additional 18 per cent is provided by (formal) small and medium enterprises. Micro enterprise faces more problems in raising finance, as the provider of finance may not find the return on investment interesting as compared to large enterprise, and also investor is more skeptical about repayment. The micro financing has blend of social & economic characteristics and hence the foundation can be strong that can achieve objectives of micro financing efficiently and effectively, if one knows the pillars of micro financing. The paper explores important elements of micro finance.


This thesis has aimed to analyse non-linearity in dynamic models. Attention has focused on the class of dynamic models that accommodate the possibility of distributional modification in the models. In chapter 1, I have studied the non-linear effects of policy shocks in the classical DSGE model. The analysis of such model is subject to two types of shocks, technology and monetary policy. I have extended the analysis of classical model by allowing for the distributional modification of monetary policy shock using WSN distribution. This study reveals the extent to which the distribution of macroeconomic variables may response to policy actions and outcomes involved. Moreover, in classical monetary model the long run behaviour of the level of inflation with respect to the inflation uncertainty has investigated. I have also analysed the dynamic model of AR-GARCH time series. I have investigated the possible non-linear and asymmetric effects of distributional assumptions on the behaviour of the QMLE of the parameters in AR(1)-GARCH(1,1) model. A Monte Carlo experiment is set up to evaluate the distributional misspecification in aforementioned model by applying both symmetric and asymmetric WSN distribution across a range of mean and volatility persistence. The other contribution in chapter 2 is computing the quantiles under distributional misspecification in AR-GARCH model. In terms of the accuracy of the estimated quantiles, I have implemented the bootstrap technique. In addition, in chapter 3 the attention has concentrated on the procedures with suitable technique for the analysis of unit root tests. The usefulness of bootstrap technique is investigated in the context of unit root test applying in stock indices and exchange rate series. I evaluate the popular unit root tests including Augmented Dickey Fuller(ADF) and Phillips Perron(PP) as well as DF-GLS. Furthermore, this chapter attempts to answer the question of how the difference in frequency of empirical data say, monthly, weekly, and daily might affect the unit root results.


OBJECTIVES
Research on stress and salivary cortisol has focused almost exclusively on the effects of negative psychological conditions or emotional states. Little attention has been drawn to the impact associated with positive psychological conditions, which have been shown recently to have significant influences on neuroendocrine regulation. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of optimism and positive affect on salivary cortisol with the effects of their negative counterparts controlled for.

DESIGN
Optimism and pessimism, and positive and negative affectivity were studied in relation to the diurnal rhythm of salivary cortisol in a group of 80 Hong Kong Chinese, who provided six saliva samples over the course of a day on two consecutive days. The separate effects of optimism and positive affect on two dynamic components of cortisol secretion, awakening response, and diurnal decline were examined.

METHODS
Optimism and pessimism were measured using the Chinese version of the revised Life Orientation Test while generalized affects and mood states were assessed by the Chinese Affect Scale. An enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay kit (EIA) developed for use in saliva was adopted for the biochemical analysis of cortisol. Testing of major group differences associated with positive psychological conditions was carried out using two-way (group by saliva collection time) ANOVAs for repeated measures with negative psychological conditions and mood states as covariates.

RESULTS
Participants having higher optimism scores exhibited less cortisol secretion in the awakening period when the effect of pessimism and mood were controlled. This effect was more apparent in men than in women who had higher cortisol levels in the awakening period. Optimism did not have similar effect on cortisol levels during the underlying period of diurnal decline. On the other hand, higher generalized positive affect was associated with lower cortisol levels during the underlying period of diurnal decline after the effects of negative affect and mood states had been controlled. Generalized positive affect did not significantly influence cortisol secretion during the awakening period.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that positive psychological resources including optimism and generalized positive affect had higher impact on cortisol secretion than their negative counterparts, and point to the need for increased attention to the potential contribution of positive mental states to well-being.


Pediatricians are an important source of health care for adolescents and young adults and can play a significant role in addressing their patients' sexual and reproductive health needs, including preventing unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, and promoting healthy relationships. STIs, HIV, and unintended pregnancy are all preventable health outcomes with potentially serious permanent sequelae; the highest rates of STIs, HIV, and unintended pregnancy are reported among adolescents and young adults. Office visits present opportunities to provide comprehensive education and health care services to adolescents and young adults to prevent STIs, HIV, and unintended pregnancies. The American Academy of Pediatrics, other professional medical organizations, and the government have guidelines and recommendations regarding the provision of sexual and reproductive health information and services. However, despite these recommendations, recent studies have revealed that there is substantial room for improvement in actually delivering the recommended services. The purpose of this clinical report is to assist pediatricians to operationalize the provision of various aspects of sexual and reproductive health care into their practices and to provide guidance on overcoming barriers to providing this care routinely while maximizing opportunities for confidential health services delivery in their offices.


The study aimed to evaluate the effect of Daniella wood Biochar on the growth and biomass of maize harvested 8 weeks after sowing in a pot experiment. The research was carried out in order to evaluate the effect of Daniella wood biochar on the growth and biomass of maize and the effects of Daniella wood biochar on the physiochemical properties of the soil. Pots were filled with 5 kg of normal soil (oxisol) and biochar was thoroughly mixed with the soil and six treatments were applied (4, 8, 12. 16 and 20 tha-1 of biochar and control). The treatments were replicated three times. The experiments were laid out in a complete randomized design (CRD). Data on growth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, stem diameter, fresh leaf weight, dry leaf weight, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, fresh biomass weight and dry biomass weight were collected. Soil samples incorporated with daniella wood biochar were collected before planting and after harvest for determination of physiochemical properties of the samples. Application of 12 tha-1 produced significantly (P<0.01) higher plant height (142.2 cm) wider Leaf area (538.0 cm2 ), higher fresh biomass weight (221.4 gpot-1 ), dry biomass weight (79.9 gpot-1 ), fresh shoot weight (140.0 g), dry shoot weight (53.7 gpot-1 ), fresh leaf weight (81.4 gpot-1) and dry leaf weight (32.5 gpot-1) while 20 tha-1produced highly significant number of leaves (17) and wider stem diameter (1.63 cm). In conclusion, it was established that the application of 12tha- Daniella wood biochar generally increases maize growth parameters (plant height, leaf area, fresh leaf weight, dry leaf weight, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight and plant biomass weight), while 20 tha-1 increases the leaf production and stem diameter of the crop.

 Key words: Biochar, maize, growth, biomass and oxisols.


In indoor visible light communication (VLC) systems based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), we propose a novel location-based equalization (LBE) concept to counteract multi-path effects. Different implementation methods are also discussed. Results show that the LBE design, especially based on only a line-of-sight link, can effectively equalize OFDM multi-path signals and improve system bit error rate performance at different indoor locations.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Human research ethics statements support equitable inclusion of diverse groups. Yet older people are under-represented in clinical research, especially those with impaired decision-making capacity. The aim of this study was to identify perspectives and experiences of older persons and their caregivers of research participation with impaired decision-making capacity.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Scoping review of literature and online sources in January-February 2019 (updated June 2020) according to Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews. English-language peer-reviewed research articles and Australian online narratives were included. Data were tabulated and narratively synthesized.

RESULTS
From 4171 database records and 93 online resources, 22 articles (2000-2019, 82% United States, 16 first authors) and one YouTube webinar (2018) were initially included; updated searches yielded an additional article (2020) and YouTube webinar (2020). Studies were heterogeneous in terminology, methods and foci, with hypothetical scenarios, quantitative analyses and examination of proxy consent predominating. Participants (n=7331) were older persons (71%), caregivers of older persons with dementia/cognitive impairment (23%) and older persons with dementia/cognitive impairment (6%). Synthesis identified two themes: willingness to participate and decision-making approaches.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Research participation by older persons with dementia may be optimized through reducing risks and burdens and increasing benefits for participants, greater consumer input into study development, and shared and supported decision-making. Older persons' and caregivers' perspectives and experiences of research participation with impaired decision-making capacity require investigation in a greater range of countries and conditions other than dementia, and dissemination through more varied media.


: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study has been carried out to compare long-acting diethylpropion hydrochloride (Tenuate Dospan, Wm. S. Merrell Company, hereafter referred to as TD) in a rural general practice. TD was found to produce significantly more weight loss than placebo and side effects were not significantly greater. The need for the treatment of obese patients in general practice is discussed, as is the role of anorexiant therapy.


The development of 'family-centred care' began in the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s in response to 'expert' concern for the child as an 'emotional' being. John Bowlby's maternal deprivation thesis suggested that constant maternal attention in the early years of life would ensure emotionally healthy future members of society. Application of this theory to the hospital children's ward indicated that young children should not be without their mothers for long periods of time. This theory and the subsequent release of the Platt Report in the United Kingdom in 1959 provided the necessary 'scientific' justification allowing mothers greater access to the historically restrictive hospital children's wards. Influenced by trends in the United Kingdom the tenets of the separation thesis were reflected in New Zealand government policy towards child care and the care of the hospitalised child. However, the wider societal context in which these changes were to be accepted in New Zealand hospital children's wards has not been examined. This study explores the development of 'family-centred care' in New Zealand as part of an international movement advanced by 'experts' in the 1950s concerned with the psychological effects of mother-child separation. It positions the development of 'family-centred care' within the broader context of ideas and beliefs about mothering and children that emerged in New Zealand society between 1960 and 1980 as a response to these new concerns for children's emotional health. It examines New Zealand nursing, medical and related literature between 1960 and 1990 and considers both professional and public response to these concerns. The experiences of some mothers and nurses caring for children in one New Zealand hospital between 1960 and 1990 illustrate the significance of these responses in the context of one hospital children's ward and the subsequent implications for the practice of 'family-centred care'. This study demonstrates the difference between the professional rhetoric and the parental reality of 'family-centred care' in the context of one hospital children's ward between 1960 and 1990. The practice of 'family-centred care' placed mothers and nurses in contradictory positions within the ward environment. These contradictory positions were historically enduring, although they varied in their enactment.


The design and construction of Beijing Radioactive Ion-beam Facility (BRIF) was started at China Institute of Atomic Energy -CIAE) in 2004. In this project, a 100 MeV high intensity cyclotron, CYCIAE100, is selected as a driving accelerator for radioactive ion beam production. It will provide a proton beam of 75—100 MeV with an intensity of 200—500 μA. The scheme adopted in this design, i.e., stripping the accelerated H-, makes the structure more compact and construction cost much lower. At present, the design for each system has been accomplished. This paper depicts the basic physics design of the machine, including its major structure and parameters, beam dynamics and each relevant system, e.g. basic structure of the main magnet, numerical simulation of the RF resonant cavity, axial injection system, central region, and study on crucial physics problems concerning the extraction and beam lines. The major problems encountered during the design of CYCIAE-100 are also summarized in this paper.


A cornerstone of 'meaningful use' of health information is engaging consumers and their families. Yet for consumers to be engaged requires an informed population and therefore focus on consumer's health information needs. Reports indicated consumers want health information, yet little was known about their internet use or perception of electronic health information. This New Zealand study surveyed consumers to gain an understanding of their health information requirements. Some 1783 questionnaires were available for descriptive statistical analyses. The internet was the third most preferred source of health information. Two thirds of participants had used the internet to access health information, because of the speed of access and to find information before going to the doctor. There was little awareness or use of existing New Zealand-based online health resources. Study implications include promoting existing resources and increasing the use of electronic communication between consumers and healthcare providers as these are currently underutilized.


Agriculture progresses through four stages of policy: traditional, developing, maturing, and modern. The third or maturing stage of sizeable transfers from taxpayers and consumers to farmers is described at length an 10 implications drawn for the United States and other countries. Among the lessons learned are that government commodity programs once initiated contain much momentum for continuation; that benefits of programs accrue disproportionately to the least disadvantaged among those eligible; that markets work for farm commodities because goods are rival, exclusionary, and transparent; that agricultural market forces are difficult to circumvent; that the least competitive traditional farm commodities are most likely to seek and receive government help; that multilateral trade reform has not been very effective in liberalizing farm trade; that American farm policy has been heavily influenced by populist myths; that economic analysis matters; and that direct payments targeted solely to small farms are essential but politically infeasible to save small farms.


This paper explores the relationships between a computational theory of temporal representation (as developed by James Allen) and a formal linguistic theory of tense (as developed by Norbert Hornstein) and aspect. It aims to provide explicit answers to four fundamental questions: (1) what is the computational justification for the primitives of a linguistic theory; (2) what is the computational explanation of the formal grammatical constraints: (3) what are the processing constraints imposed on the learnability and markedness of these theoretical constructs: and (4) what are the constraints that a linguistic theory imposes on. representations. We show that one can effectively exploit the interface between the language faculty and the cognitive faculties by using linguistic constraints to determine restructions on the cognitive representations and vice versa.Three main results are obtained: (1) We derive an explanation of an observed grammatical constraint on tense .. the Linear Order Constraint .. from the information monotonicity property of the constraint propagation algorithm of Allen's temporal system: (2) We formulate a principle of markedness for the basic tense structures based on the computational efficiency of the temporal representations: and (3) We show Allen's interval-based temporal system is not arbitrary. but it can be used to explair, independently motivated linguistic constraints on tense and aspect interpretations.We also claim that the methodology of research developed in this study .. "cross-level" investigation of independently motivated formal grammatical theory and computational models .. is a powerful paradigm with which to attack representational problems in basic cognitive domains, e.g., space. time, causality, etc.


The early discovery of cis‐regulatory elements able to promote transcription of genes over large distances led to the postulate that elements, termed insulators, should also exist that would limit the action of enhancers, LCRs and silencers to defined domains. Such insulators were indeed found during the past fifteen years in a wide range of organisms, from yeast to humans. Recent advances point to an important role of transcription factors in insulator activity and demonstrate that the operational observation of an insulator effect relies on a delicate balance between the "efficiency" of the insulator and that of the element to be counteracted. In addition, genuine insulator elements now appear less common than initially envisaged, and they are only found at loci displaying a high density of coding or regulatory information. Where this is not the case, chromatin domains of opposing properties are thought to confront each other at "fuzzy" boundaries. In this article, we propose models for both fixed and fuzzy boundaries that incorporate probabilistic and dynamic parameters. BioEssays 26:523–532, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The effect of density of embedded post-questions on learning from computer-based instruction (CBI) was studied among 90 sixth-graders randomly assigned to three versions of a CBI programme — high density, low density, and no embedded questions. Children made significant achievement gains across each increase in question density, consistent across the continuum of reading ability represented in the study. High question density facilitates student learning from embedded post-questions in CBI and does not appear to seriously diffuse processing attention.


Dysfunctional reward processing has long been considered an important feature of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, depression is a heterogeneous construct and the nature of this heterogeneity may contribute to some of the inconsistent empirical findings on reward dysfunction in MDD. The current study examined 1 source of heterogeneity, melancholic symptoms, and its association with reward processing. In individuals with MDD (N = 141) and MDD-free controls (N = 113), electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha asymmetry was measured during a behavioral reward task that probed reward anticipation. Melancholic depression was measured both categorically (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM] diagnosis) and dimensionally (Hamilton Endogenomorphy Scale [HES]). Results showed that a dimensional (and not categorical) definition of melancholia predicted reward processing, with higher melancholic symptoms predicting reduced reward anticipation. Importantly, the effects of melancholic symptoms on reduced reward anticipation remained above and beyond overall depression severity. These results suggest that dysfunctional reward processing may only be associated with melancholic symptoms, not depression in general. (PsycINFO Database Record


The position of calibration for digital camera had been obtained if the data of object plane, image plane, and imaging system were known. The iterative method of 4points in the object plane and the image plane respectively had been put forward . The position of the first exposure point in object plane, the height and the angle between the object plane with the image plane had been decided. The method included in a few steps. First, the first exposure point was estimated from imaging characteristic points and the equations had been listed by the geometric relation. Second, the length between the first exposure point in object plane and the first imaging point in image plane had been solved by Mathematica. Third, the drifts in axles of x and y between real first exposure point with estimated first exposure point were inserted into the equations. After several iterations the accurate position of camera could be decided. The length between the first exposure point in object plane and the first imaging point in image plane had been got. The other parameters had been obtained. Finally, the uncertainty of had been estimated based on other imaging information. The relative uncertainty was less than 6%. The new method was simpler than other algorithms.


In the 3GPP LTE, different radio resource management (RRM) techniques have been proposed in order to improve the uplink performance. Frequency hopping is one of the techniques that can be used to improve the uplink performance by providing frequency diversity and interference averaging. The hopping can be between subframes (inter-subframe) or within a subframe (intra-subframe). 3GPP specifies two types of frequency hopping for the LTE uplink, hopping based on explicit hopping information in the scheduling grant and sub-band based hopping according to cell-specific hopping and mirroring patterns. In this master's thesis, theoretical discussion on the frequency hopping schemes is carried out followed by dynamic simulations in order to evaluate the performance gain of frequency hopping. Based on the theoretical analysis, the second type of hopping is selected for detailed study. As a baseline for comparison, dynamic frequency domain scheduling with random frequency resource allocation has been used. Single cell and multi-cell scenarios have been simulated with VoIP traffic model using user satisfaction as a performance metric. The simulation results show that frequency hopping improves the uplink performance by providing frequency diversity in the single cell scenario and both frequency diversity and interference averaging in the multi-cell scenario. The gains in using the hopping schemes were reflected as VoIP capacity (the number of satisfied users) improvement. In this study, the performance of the selected hopping schemes under different hopping parameters is also evaluated.


Based on an explicit formula used for describing the van der Waals (vdW) interaction between any two layers of multi-layered graphene sheets (MLGSs), the vibration properties of five- and eight-layered graphene sheets are analyzed with considering the influence of vdW interaction on the natural frequences. The present study shows that for a given combination n and m the lowest natural frequency (classical natural frequency) of a MLGSs is independent of vdW interaction, but that it is very significant for the influence of vdW interaction on the other higher frequencies (resonant frequencies). The different vibration modes, including in-phase and anti-phase ones, are given for exhibiting clearly the influence of vdW interaction.


Purpose: Lay consultations can facilitate or impede healthcare. However, little is known about how lay consultations for symptom evaluation affect treatment decision-making. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of lay consultations in symptom evaluation prior to hospitalization among patients with heart failure. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 patients hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure. Chisquare and Fisher's exact tests, along with logistic regression were used to characterize lay consultations in this sample. Results: A large proportion of patients engaged in lay consultations for symptom evaluation and decision-making before hospitalization. Lay consultants provided attributions and advice and helped make the decision to seek medical care. Men consulted more often with their spouse than women, while women more often consulted with adult children. Conclusions: Findings have implications for optimizing heart failure self-management interventions, improving outcomes, and reducing hospital readmissions.


This paper forms the third of a series and presents results obtained during the testing and development phase of a dedicated range extender engine designed for use in a compact class vehicle. The first paper in this series used real world drive logs to identify usage patterns of such vehicles and a driveline model was used to determine the power output requirements of a range extender engine for this application. The second paper presented the results of a design study. Key attributes for the engine were identified, these being minimum package volume, low weight, low cost, and good NVH. A description of the selection process for identifying the appropriate engine technology to satisfy these attributes was given and the resulting design highlights were described. The paper concluded with a presentation of the resulting specification and design highlights of the engine. This paper will present the resulting engine performance characteristics. The performance targets set for the engine during the initial phase of the study have been met. An initial package study of the integration of the engine into a vehicle will be presented, along with the results of a driveline modelling study, giving details of drive-cycle tailpipe CO2 estimates for a range extended electric vehicle fitted with the MAHLE range extender engine.


In the past few years, eBay has become a household name. Even if you've never traded on eBay yourself, chances are you know someone who has. Now is your turn to get in on the action! eBay In a Snap, Second Edition is a hands-on, task-based guide that will let you zero right in on the thing you most want to know about eBay, and then quickly apply it to your own trade. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step directions will show you how to: Power search for the best items Win auctions with power bidding Sell your items Start an eBay business Use PayPal to send or receive money Participate in special eBay auctions Written by a well-known expert on Internet shopping, bargain-hunting, and auctions, eBay In a Snap reveals the best tips, tricks, and techniques for everything eBay, from enhancing a listing with HTML and multimedia, to buying and selling a car.


Recent research has identified three invariants or identities that appear to hold in people's probabilistic decision making: the addition law identity, the Bayes rule identity, and the QQ identity (Costello and Watts, 2014, Fisher and Wolfe, 2014, Costello and Watts, 2016b, Wang and Busemeyer, 2013, Wang et al., 2014). Each of these identities represent specific agreement with the requirements of normative probability theory; strikingly, these identities seem to hold in people's probability judgments despite the presence of strong and systematic biases against the requirements of normative probability theory in those very same judgments. We assess the degree to which two formal models of probabilistic reasoning (the 'probability theory plus noise' model and the 'quantum probability' model) can explain these identities and biases in probabilistic reasoning.


Over the past few years, academic institutions have become aware of the importance of innovation in education, as well as its broader role in strengthening the economy. Creativity and innovative thinking are not easily taught in the classroom, but they can be developed through practice and experience. Evaluating innovation as part of product design courses has thus become very important to increase the probability of students becoming innovators in the real world. Innovation tournaments provide universities with an opportunity to develop innovative design thinking in students while they gain practical experience. Understanding design innovation at a deeper level in the context of student design projects is critical to develop realistic perspectives among students. Determining the appropriate dimensions for understanding and measuring innovation is the main objective of this paper. Toward that objective, we conducted initial experiments in conjunction with an innovation award to develop and assess innovation metrics. The results reveal several dimensions of innovation: differentiability, creativity, need satisfaction, and probability of commercial success emerged as key dimensions. This research also assesses the perception of innovation, contrasting the perceptions of judges from industry with the views of academically oriented judges.


We consider the uplink of a cellular massive multiple-input multiple-output network. Acquiring channel state information at the base stations (BSs) requires uplink pilot signaling. Since the number of orthogonal pilot sequences is limited by the channel coherence, pilot reuse across cells is necessary to achieve high spectral efficiency. However, finding efficient pilot reuse patterns is non-trivial, especially in practical asymmetric BS deployments. We approach this problem using the coalitional game theory. Each BS has a few unique pilots and can form coalitions with other BSs to gain access to more pilots. The BSs in a coalition, thus, benefit from serving more users in their cells at the expense of higher pilot contamination and interference. Given that a cell's average spectral efficiency depends on the overall pilot reuse pattern, the suitable coalitional game model is in the partition form. We develop a low-complexity distributed coalition formation based on individual stability. By incorporating a BS intercommunication budget constraint, we are able to control the overhead in message exchange between the BSs and ensure the algorithm's convergence to a solution of the game called individually stable coalition structure. Simulation results reveal fast algorithmic convergence and substantial performance gains over the baseline schemes with no pilot reuse, full pilot reuse, or random pilot reuse pattern.


Half-Heusler alloys are one of the potential thermoelectric materials for medium to high temperature range application. As a part of fundamental study to establish processing route and to observe thermoelectric properties in undoped state, ZrCoSb was selected, processed and evaluated. In an attempt to produce a half-Heusler thermoelectric materials having ultra fine grain structures, ZrCoSb was synthesized by mechanical alloying of stoichiometric elemental powder compositions, and consolidated by vacuum hot pressing. Phase transformations during mechanical alloying and hot consolidation were investigated using XRD, SEM and EDS. Single-phase, half-Heusler was successfully produced by vacuum hot pressing using as-milled powders without subsequent annealing. Thermoelectric properties as functions of temperature were evaluated in terms of Seebeek coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and the figure of merit for the hot pressed specimens. Mechanically alloyed half-Heusler phase, ZrCoSb, appeared to have a great potential as a thermoelectric materials in this study.


Within the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute the Central Emission Database is being established. The Database will cover the most important emission sectors from anthropogenic activities, including usage of motor vehicles. The intensity of emissions of individual pollutants is the input data to air pollution dispersion models. Based on calculations performed by the
air pollution dispersion models concentration of pollutants dispersed in atmospheric air (pollution immission) is provided. The annual average immision for a selected place in Poland is a measure of the threat to environment. In order to determine the intensity of pollutant emissions from motor vehicles it is necessary to recognize the intensity of vehicle motion and the volume of emission of pollutants
depending on the type of vehicle motion. The task presented in this article is to determine the characteristics of pollutant emissions from motor vehicles depending on the type of their motion. The mean value of vehicle speeds was used to characterize the type of vehicle motion. The emission of pollutants from vehicles is therefore characterized by the dependence of road emissions of pollutants on the average speed of vehicles. The characteristics were determined for cumulated categories of motor vehicles: passenger cars, light commercial vehicles as well as heavy duty trucks and buses. The results of the inventory of pollutant emissions from motor vehicles in Poland in 2016 were used to determine the characteristics of pollutant emissions.


The effect of fluorine substitution on the hydrogen bond strength in alcohol-amine molecular complexes was investigated, with a combination of vapour phase infrared spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. The complexes were combined from methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH) and trifluoroethanol (TFE) as the hydrogen bond donor, and either dimethylamine (DMA) or trimethylamine (TMA) as the acceptor. The fundamental OH-stretching vibration involved in hydrogen bonding was measured for all complexes, as well as the weak second NH-stretching overtone for the DMA complexes. Equilibrium constants for complex formation were determined by combining a calculated intensity and the measured integrated absorbance. The observation of two transitions in the alcohol-DMA complexes provides an opportunity for two independent determinations of the equilibrium constants. Molecular interactions between the monomers were elucidated by Natural Bond Orbital, Atoms in Molecules and Non-covalent Interactions analysis. We find that the alcohol-amine complexes with TFE as the hydrogen bond donor form stronger hydrogen bonds and that secondary interactions between the monomers increase from MeOH to EtOH to TFE. TFE is a stronger acid than EtOH and MeOH making the OH bond weaker, and the OH-stretching frequency is redshifted in TFE relative to EtOH. This redshift is small in the monomers but significantly enhanced upon complexation.


Abstract Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of residual calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] on the accuracy of an electronic apex locator (EAL). Materials and methods. Working lengths (WLs) of 56 extracted maxillary incisors were determined initially by two different methods. The first method used the 'APEX' reading of the EAL as a reference point, 0.5 mm was subtracted and recorded as WL0. The second method used the '0.5' reading and the score was recorded as WL0.5 without subtraction. The roots were prepared to WL0 and divided randomly into three experimental groups (n = 16) (1 mm in group A, 2 mm in group B and 4 mm in group C) and a control (n = 8). Specimens in all experimental groups were filled with Ca(OH)2 paste. Following its removal, WLs were re-determined with the same methods. Results. In group C, pre/post WLs were significantly different (p < 0.05). No significant difference was observed between the other experimental groups and the control group. Conclusion. Accuracy of EAL decreased proportionally with the amount of paste remaining at the ±0.5-mm tolerance level. Ca(OH)2 paste remnants may cause incorrect EAL readings.


In wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), transmitters require stringent and complex frequency control loops to avoid wavelength drifts due to temperature fluctuations. This makes the transmitters heavy, bulky, and inappropriate for local- and short-haul communications networks, as well as for manufacturing locales and other open areas where temperature control is not feasible. We propose and analyze a technique we call robust fast frequency hopping code division multiple access (FFH-CDMA), particularly suitable for severe, hostile, noncontrollable environments. This approach avoids all conditioning and frequency stabilization loops in the transmission end. We develop a modified version of extended hyperbolic congruence codes to achieve environment-resistant codes. We present expressions for the auto- and cross-correlation functions for optical implementation of the codes. We simulate the encoding/decoding operations with parameters from real Bragg gratings. We evaluate probability of error for a single user and as an average over all users versus capacity (the number of simultaneous users). Robust FFH-CDMA is an efficient access technique for hostile environments. It avoids the frequency and temperature control problems of WDM and nonrobust FFH-CDMA at the cost of lower overall capacity in terms of number of simultaneous users.


Graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) is a life‐threatening complication following donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, where donor T cells damage host tissues. This study investigated the effect of tocilizumab (TOC) combined with post‐transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) on immune cell engraftment and GVHD development in a humanized mouse model. NOD‐scid‐IL2Rγnull (NSG) mice were injected intraperitoneally with 2 × 107 human (h) peripheral blood mononuclear cells and cyclophosphamide (33 mg kg−1) or saline on days 3 and 4, then TOC or control antibody (0.5 mg mouse−1) twice weekly for 28 days. Mice were monitored for clinical signs of GVHD for either 28 or 70 days. Spleens and livers were assessed for human leukocyte subsets, and serum cytokines and tissue histology were analyzed. In the short‐term model (day 28), liver and lung damage were reduced in PTCy + TOC compared with control mice. All groups showed similar splenic hCD45+ leukocyte engraftment (55–60%); however, PTCy + TOC mice demonstrated significantly increased (1.5–2‐fold) splenic regulatory T cells. Serum human interferon gamma was significantly reduced in PTCy + TOC compared with control mice. Long‐term (day 70), prolonged survival was similar in PTCy + TOC (median survival time, > 70 days) and PTCy mice (median survival time, 56 days). GVHD onset was significantly delayed in PTCy + TOC, compared with TOC or control mice. Notably, natural killer cells were reduced (77.5%) in TOC and PTCy + TOC mice. Overall, combining PTCy with TOC increases regulatory T cells and reduces clinical signs of early GVHD, but does not improve long‐term survival compared with PTCy alone.


The standard model for the two-dimensional simulation of the scrape-off layer (SOL) in the divertor is based on the equations for anomalous cross-field particle and energy transport and classical parallel transport. Recently, it has been complemented by the fluid equations of Braginskii to include all classical fluxes in a self-consistent way. The main physical effect of introducing classical fluxes is the appearance of two new terms-an electrical E*B drift and a diamagnetic B* Del P drift, as well as B* Del T contributions to the energy transport. Although the new models provide an adequate consideration of all the classical fluxes inside the plasma, a mistake has typically been made in the literature in formulating the new boundary conditions. The poloidal component of the B* Del Pi drift, existing inside the plasma, is assumed to continue through to the target surface, thus altering the Bohm criterion. Likewise, the poloidal current due to the B* Del (Pi+Pe) term is assumed to reach the surface, changing the surface electric potential drop. In this paper we demonstrate, however, that the diamagnetic fluxes in the whole plasma, including the SOL region, in their major part can be represented by the curl of a vector and, therefore, are self-terminating. We have made a detailed analysis of the distribution of plasma pressure and fluxes at the boundary between the plasma and the surface, encompassing the magnetic presheath and Debye sheath layers. After entering the presheath entrance, the poloidal component of the diamagnetic flux is diverted in the direction along the material surface due to the sharp pressure gradient in the presheath region. This creates boundary drift flows along the surface. Because of that conversion of the poloidal diamagnetic fluxes into boundary fluxes they do not deliver particles and current to the surface and therefore must not be included in the modified boundary conditions. Kinetic analysis of the distribution of the fluxes near the target also reveals an additional ExB drift in the radial direction, which mainly affects the ion motion in the magnetic presheath and Debye sheath layers. This drift is expected to shift the density profile of the plasma near the target in the radial direction a distance of the order of the ion poloidal Larmor radius.


Conceiving of premises as collected into sets or multisets, instead of sequences, may lead to triviality for classical and intuitionistic logic in general proof theory, where we investigate identity of deductions. Any two deductions with the same premises and the same conclusions become equal. In terms of categorial proof theory, this is a consequence of a simple fact concerning adjunction with a full and faithful functor applied to the adjunction between the diagonal functor and the product biendofunctor, which corresponds to the conjunction connective.


Aqueous extract of an preparation constitute of three medicinal plants produced a significant reduction in wistar rats volume edema induced by carrageenan 2%, and an increase granuloma formation induced by implantation of cotton pellet under the under the aponevrose of the posterior leg of wistar rats. This extract of the preparation, without limit none dose dependently vascular permeability (100 mg / kg), also blocked the migration of leukocytes to the inflammation site and shows a significant antioxidant activity. Phytochemical study revealed the presence in this extract of flavonoïds, tannins and saponins which could support the anti-inflammatory effect. The proposed formulation with this aqueous extract is also active in acute inflammation.


Process capability indices have been widely used in manufacturing industries to provide numerical measures of process potential and performance. In in-plant applications, some inevitable process mean shift may be undetected when the statistical process control charts are applied, particularly, in the bumping process for square bumps. Bothe in 2002 provided a statistical reason for considering such a shift in the process mean to accommodate the undetected mean shifts for normally distributed processes when evaluating process capability. In this paper, we consider a bumping process for square bumps in which the data can be formulated as a non-central chi-square distribution, a class of non-normal distributions. To evaluate the popular yield-based process capability Cpk more accurately, we accommodate the magnitudes of undetected mean shifts using the modified capability evaluation formula and tabulate the detection powers under various subgroup sizes and non-central chi-square parameters. Based on the modified process capability evaluation, we can provide a more reliable process capability evaluation of capability index Cpk for square bumps and make more correct decisions. For illustration purpose, a real application in a bumping factory which is located on the Science-based Industrial Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is presented.


The purpose of this study was to describe the support network of adolescents with a chronic disease from their own perspective. Data were collected by interviewing adolescents with asthma, epilepsy, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). The sample consisted of 40 adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years. Interview data were examined using content analysis. Six main categories were established to describe the support network of adolescents with a chronic disease: parents, peers, school, health care providers, technology and pets. Peers were divided into two groups: fellow sufferers and peers without a chronic disease. At school, teachers, school nurses and classmates were part of the support network. Health care providers included nurses, physicians and physiotherapists. Technology was also part of the support network and included four techniques that may be used to communicate: computers, mobile telephones, television and videos. The results provided a useful insight into the social network of adolescents with chronic disease and serve to raise awareness of the problems and opinions experienced by adolescents with this condition.


During the last decade, Serratia marcescens has become an important bacterial pathogen in the debilitated patient. This organism has been shown to cause infections in most organ systems. 1 It has not, to our knowledge, been found as a cause of cellulitis in unbroken skin. We report a unique case of cellulitis developing in areas of unbroken skin in a patient with S marcescens bacteremia. Report of a Case A 51-year-old nondiabetic man was admitted for the third time to the Hershey (Penn) Medical Center with increasing dyspnea. He was admitted initially in 1970 with dyspnea, and in 1972 after cardiac catheterization, idiopathic cardiomyopathy was diagnosed. He was readmitted in July


It is noted that the availability of mature low-cost integration procedures, i.e. hybrid and monolithic integration techniques, as well as progress in solid-state source technology has put emphasis on commercial millimeter-wave applications. Digital distribution radios for telephone network enlargements and various video services are becoming more and more important. About 700 short-range millimeter-wave radio links are already installed in Japan alone. The various design approaches to meet stringent cost requirements as well as corresponding technical data of Japanese and European millimeter-wave research and prototype communication systems are reviewed. The Japanese approach of using doubler or quadrupler circuits to achieve transmission frequencies in the 50-GHz range takes advantage of well-established integration technologies at lower micro/millimeter-wave frequencies, while the European approach uses newly developed millimeter-wave integration techniques such as finline.<<ETX>>


There are a number of recognized causes of digoxinresistant atrial fibrillation, one of which is infiltration of the heart by malignant tumour. Extraosseous deposits of myeloma can be found in about 70 per cent of cases by careful necropsy (Hayes, Bennett, and Heck, I952; Churg and Gordon, 1950), the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes being by far the commonest sites. Cardiac involvement at necropsy is particularly uncommon. When it occurs it may predominantly involve either the pericardium (Goldberg and Mori, I970; Derechin, Goldberg, and Herron, I970) or the myocardium (Morse, ia920; Piney and Riach, 193I; Carlisle, I938). Clinically detectable extraosseous deposits during life seem to be particularly associated with IgD (Hobbs and Corbett, I969) and IgA (Edwards and Zawadzki, I967) myelomas. They are, however, rare, and indeed significant clinical manifestations due to myelomatous cardiac deposits were not reported until I970, when 2 cases of cardiac tamponade were described (Goldberg and Mori, I970; Derechin et al., I970). A case of IgA myeloma is presented in which digoxin-resistant atrial fibrillation, due to a deposit of myeloma involving the sinoatrial node, posed a major therapeutic problem. This is a previously undescribed manifestation of cardiac myeloma.


The design of wireless information and power transfer (WIPT) has so far relied on an oversimplified and inaccurate linear model of the energy harvester. In this paper, we depart from this linear model and design WIPT considering the rectifier nonlinearity. We develop a tractable model of the rectifier nonlinearity that is flexible enough to cope with general multicarrier modulated input waveforms. Leveraging that model, we motivate and introduce a novel WIPT architecture relying on the superposition of multicarrier unmodulated and modulated waveforms at the transmitter. The superposed WIPT waveforms are optimized as a function of the channel state information so as to characterize the rate-energy region of the whole system. Analysis and numerical results illustrate the performance of the derived waveforms and WIPT architecture and highlight that nonlinearity radically changes the design of WIPT. We make key and refreshing observations. First, analysis (confirmed by circuit simulations) shows that modulated and unmodulated waveforms are not equally suitable for wireless power delivery, namely, modulation being beneficial in single-carrier transmissions but detrimental in multicarrier transmissions. Second, a multicarrier unmodulated waveform (superposed to a multicarrier modulated waveform) is useful to enlarge the rate-energy region of WIPT. Third, a combination of power splitting and time sharing is in general the best strategy. Fourth, a nonzero mean Gaussian input distribution outperforms the conventional capacity-achieving zero-mean Gaussian input distribution in multicarrier transmissions. Fifth, the rectifier nonlinearity is beneficial to system performance and is essential to efficient WIPT design.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic inflammatory disease primarily affecting synovial joints and tendons, can potentially impact various organs within the body. One notable complication associated with RA is upper cervical spine instability, medically termed atlantoaxial subluxation (AAS). This condition can lead to adverse consequences, including chronic myelopathy and acute mechanical compression of the medulla oblongata, with the potential for sudden death. While AAS may often remain asymptomatic, some nonspecific symptoms, such as neck pain, have been documented. Severe atlantoaxial subluxation can trigger more distinct symptoms, including delayed occipital pain attributed to the compression of the exiting C2 nerve root. Recent studies have elucidated a spectrum of symptoms preceding sudden death, encompassing vertigo, dizziness, convulsions, dysphagia, disorientation, and seizures. Remarkably, some cases have reported sudden death occurring during sleep. Historical data reveal a fluctuating incidence of this phenomenon, with eleven cases reported between 1969 and 1975 and six cases documented between 1990 and 2010. Notably, one of the most prevalent causes of sudden mortality in individuals with RA is the acute mechanical damage inflicted upon the medulla oblongata due to atlantoaxial subluxation.


In recent years, robotic gripper is widely used for different tasks in various fields. Grippers operate with industrial robots for handling and manipulation of objects. Grippers also operate with hard automation for assembling; micro assembling, machining and packaging. This paper aims to develop vision-based sensor of smart gripper which integrates together with its robotic arm for industrial applications. This system incorporates a camera by means vision sensor to automatically detect and recognize the object that having different weight and shapes and send the information to the robot for next task. Gripper with two fingers has been proposed. This finger is designed to move in translational mode where one finger moves and the other is fixed. This smart gripper adopts force sensor that mounted into the finger tip in order to control the force applied when working with wide range of objects that having different weight without crushed or damaged it. Four servo motors are used to drive the four degree of freedom (D. O. F) of a robotic arm. Basic Stamp 2 microcontroller (BS2) is used as a controller unit to control the position and the movement of the smart gripper. A series of experiment shows that the proposed system is able to detect and recognize the object and then send the information/command directly to the robot to execute grasping and lifting phase of the object to the desired location that has been assigned.


The goal of this paper was to determine how specific website factors affect the ranking of University of Cape Coast (UCC) website and how to increase its Web credibility. This study sought to critique the university's webpage to find out how well the page is being managed in the face of scarce and limited resources. The search engine 'Google' was searched using link: ucc.edu.gh to determine the backlinks. The Google PageRank of the UCC home page was determined. The web ranking of University of Cape Coast on 4icu was also established. Analysis of the UCC website from DigSitesValue.com was also investigated. The backlinks to the UCC website was about 161. The Google Page rank value was 7 out of 10.The web ranking of University of Cape Coast on 4icu was 5255. Some of the measures that can be adopted to make the UCC website a high quality content site include eliminating spelling, stylistic, or factual errors on web pages. It is recommended that the university webmaster update the university website by regularly liaising with the departments/units in the university and the Public Affairs Division of the University.


This paper deals with experimental investigations on syntactic foam and its behavior at outdoor conditions. For the experiments, plate specimens of syntactic foam of a thickness of 3mm are used. Hollow glass microspheres with untreated and silane-coated surface as well as microspheres with a low alkali ion concentration are applied as filler. During a test period of 50 days the specimens are stored in deionized water, which is tempered to 50°C to accelerate the water absorption. The weight of every specimen is measured during the water storage to determine the increase of weight due to water ingress. The dielectric permittivity and the loss factor are measured in constant intervals during the whole test period. As a result of these investigations, a different behavior of the syntactic foam filled with different hollow microspheres is observed. The syntactic foam specimens with untreated hollow microspheres show a significant increase of their permittivity and loss factor during the test period, whereas the dielectric properties of the specimens with silane-coated microspheres and microspheres with low alkali ion concentration are not influenced by water absorption. The results show that syntactic foam can potentially be used as insulation material for outdoor applications if suitable microspheres are used as filler.


Trajectory tracking control problems of the free-floating space robot are considered by the paper, back-stepping control method based on adaptive neural network is put forward. The complex system is decomposed into several simple sub-systems. The control laws are designed by derived, so that closed-loop stability can be obtained by each subsystem; Because of the influence of interference and the measurement level limitation, accurate mathematical model is difficult to be obtained. Neural network controller of good nonlinear approximation ability is designed to compensate the uncertainty of system model. Adaptive learning laws are designed to ensure that weights can be adjusted online real-time. The system uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB) is proved based on the Lyapunov theory. Simulation experiments show that the control method can fast track the desired trajectory, and has a good application value for space robotic manipulators with uncertainty.


The mixing mechanism of a punched agitator used in solid-liquid suspension system was studied basing on the enstrophy and energy dissipation of the vortex theory. The effects of the configuration parameters on stirring performance were discussed. The results show that efflux from such punched agitator with simple structure can not only strengthen vortex diffusion, but also reduce the power consumption by diminishing the projection area in the direction which the paddles round. Obviously, this is beneficial to lower critical suspension velocity and promote mixing efficiency in stirring tank. It is indicated that the punched agitator owning quite broad application prospects.


Recent advancements in technology have enabled relatively young organisations to grow at a speed, and to a scale, that enables them to reach a comparable level of employer brand equity and make them as attractive to work for as much more established firms. As a result, traditional luxury organisations compete against younger, non-luxury companies for talent that might have been considered easier to attract previously. The presented study explores differences between the meaning of an attractive employment proposition for leaders from two generations of Baby Boomers and Millennial and brings forwards recommendations for attracting and sustaining leadership talent in the luxury retail sector. The study builds on the existing literature about the impact of generational differences on management practices, within the specific industry context. The results highlight misalignment in perceptions between older generation of current leaders (Baby Boomers) and younger generation of future leaders (Millennials) in the sector. Old Company's New Leaders: Employment Proposition for Millennial Leadership in Luxury Retail


Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) significantly decreased basal dopamine (DA) release when rat striatal slices were incubated in a physiological medium deficient in antioxidants. Depolarization-induced DA release (KCl 25 mM), which was accompanied with a 85% decline in tissue DA levels, was also inhibited by SNP and hydroxylamine (HA). Contrary to these findings, SNP did not protect the slices against depolarization-induced DA depletion. With HA, moreover, tissue DA levels were found to be depleted more than the control levels, indicating that DA, which is released from or stored in the slices, might be converted to an undetectable product under these conditions. Supporting this conclusion, incubation of the DA standards with SNP caused a dose-dependent loss in DA levels, an effect that was reversed partially by oxyhemoglobin and inhibited completely by antioxidants. Consistently, both SNP and HA, but not L-arginine, significantly increased basal DA release when striatal slices were incubated in antioxidants-containing medium. These results indicate that nitric oxide (NO), which is generated from SNP and HA by different mechanisms, stimulates DA release from rat striatal slices. Observation of this effect, however, requires the presence of antioxidants in the medium.


Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) plays a critical role in wireless data transmission in wearable technologies. The previous work in this field has mostly focused on optimizing the transmission throughput and power consumption. However, not much work has been reported on a systematic evaluation of the data packet loss of BLE in the wearable healthcare ecosystem, which is essential for reliable and secure data transmission. Considering that diverse wearable devices are used as peripherals and off-the-shelf smartphones (Android, iPhone) or Raspberry Pi with various chipsets and operating systems (OS) as hubs in the wearable ecosystem, there is an urgent need to understand the factors that influence data loss in BLE and develop a mitigation solution to address the data loss issue. In this work, we have systematically evaluated packet losses in Android and iOS based wearable ecosystems and proposed a reduced transmission frequency and data bundling strategy along with queue-based packet transmission protocol to mitigate data packet loss in BLE. The proposed protocol provides flexibility to the peripheral device to work with the host either in real-time mode for timely data transmission or offline mode for accumulated data transmission when there is a request from the host. The test results show that lowered transmission frequency and data bundling reduce the packet losses to less than 1%. The queue-based packet transmission protocol eliminates any remaining packet loss by using re-request routines. The data loss mitigation protocol developed in this research can be widely applied to the BLE-based wearable ecosystem for various applications, such as body sensor networks (BSN), the Internet of Things (IoT), and smart homes.


The tests on thirteen specimens of casing joints of square steel tube were conducted to investigate the flexural behavior of the joints. And numerical simulation studies on that were carried out by ANSYS/LS-DYNA. On this basis, effects of tube wall thickness, tube edge length, and inserting depth on failure mode, ultimate flexural capacity and deformation of the joints were discussed. The results show that there are two types of failure modes, i.e., inside tube yield failure and outside tube shear failure. Ultimate flexural capacity and rigidity of the joints increased with the inserting depth increasing. The ultimate flexural capacity is proportional to tube shear strength, tube wall thickness, inserting depth, and tube edge length.


Background Antibiotic resistance is an emerging and alarming problem in the European Union, considering the high clinical and socio-economic costs, and confirms the widespread inappropriate use of antibiotics. Tigecycline is a semisynthetic glycylcycline bacteriostatic that received approval for the treatment of skin, soft-tissue and intra-abdominal infections. Tigecycline operates by binding the bacterial 30S ribosomal subunit and it is highly active against a wide range of clinically important Gram-positive and Gram-negative aerobic bacteria and anaerobes. Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate tigecycline prescribing in Salerno University Hospital by analysis of the special forms introduced in 2010 to limit the inappropriate use of this antibiotic. Materials and methods The hospital pharmacy supplies tigecycline on receipt of a completed antibiotic monitoring form. Forms from 2010 were retrospectively assessed for appropriate prescribing, adherence to permitted indications and length of treatment. The monitoring form contains patient details in one section and another part relates to diagnosis, site of the infection and the main reason for tigecycline use. A discussion with a microbiologist or infectious diseases physician is required when tigecycline is not prescribed for its permitted indications. The 2010 data were compared with data from 2009, when a non-specific antibiotic form was used. Results A total of 220 requests were received in 2010. Intensive care unit (38%), infectious diseases unit (21%), general surgery division (10%) and emergency surgery division (20%) made the highest number of requests for tigecycline; 11 were incomplete. Many gaps (20%) were observed in the diagnosis and period of treatment fields. A pharmacist discussed the off-label use of tigecycline with a microbiologist in seven cases. These results, compared with the 2009 data, showed a general reduction of 30% in inappropriate requests for, and use of, tigecycline. Conclusions A tigecycline-specific form is an effective tool of clinical governance with which hospital pharmacists can control and decrease the risk of inappropriate antibiotic treatment and development of resistance. The reduction in inappropriate requests confirms this, but the gaps in diagnosis and length of treatment data suggest physicians need more education on the correct use of the form. Moreover this monitoring form could contribute to containing the pharmaceutical costs and it should be extended to other expensive drugs used inappropriately in the hospital.


Abstract The middle and late Permian to Triassic sequence of carbonate rocks in the Takachiho area, central Kyushu, Japan, originated as a Panthalassan seamount and formed parts of far-traveled accreted terranes. This succession is divided into the Permian Guadalupian Iwato and Lopingian Mitai formations, and the Triassic Kamura Formation. The Iwato Formation is further into three zones, the Neoschwagerina, Yabeina higoensis, and Neoendothyra permica zones in ascending order; the Mitai Formation includes the Nanlingella suzukii Zone. Biotic turnovers are recorded twice in the Iwato and Mitai formations. The first and more remarkable biotic event is the total disappearance of fusulines at the top of the Yabeina higoensis Zone. The Neoendothyra permica Zone is characterized by black fine-grained micritic limestones having only sparse non-fusuline foraminifers. The second biotic event is the first appearance of Wuchiapingian fusulines by which the Nanlingella suzukii Zone is defined. The Capitanian–Wuchiapingian boundary is drawn between the Neoendothyra permica and Nanlingella suzukii zones. Above this boundary both the numbers of individual foraminifers and diversity of species gradually increase. The turnovers recorded in the Takachiho area were the result of late Capitanian–Wuchiapingian environmental changes which were sufficient to cause the disappearance of large, multi-chambered fusulines and allow the new appearance of an 'ultimate' Paleozoic foraminiferal assemblage. Ten species of foraminifers, including Yabeina higoensis and Yabeina Columbiana, are described.