Full dimension (FD) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology has attracted substantial research attention from both wireless industry and academia in the last few years as a promising technique for next-generation wireless communication networks. FD-MIMO scenarios utilize a planar 2-D active antenna system (AAS) that not only allows a large number of antenna elements to be placed within feasible base station (BS) form factors, but also provides the ability of adaptive electronic beam control over both the elevation and the traditional azimuth dimensions. This paper presents a tutorial on elevation beamforming analysis for cellular networks utilizing FD massive MIMO antenna arrays. In contrast to existing works that focus on the standardization of FD-MIMO in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), this tutorial is distinguished by its depth with respect to the theoretical aspects of antenna array and 3-D channel modeling. In an attempt to bridge the gap between industry and academia, this preliminary tutorial introduces the relevant array and transceiver architecture designs proposed in the 3GPP Release 13 that enable elevation beamforming. Then it presents and compares two different 3-D channel modeling approaches that can be utilized for the performance analysis of elevation beamforming techniques. The spatial correlation in FD-MIMO arrays is characterized and compared based on both channel modeling approaches and some insights into the impact of different channel and array parameters on the correlation are drawn. All these aspects are put together to provide a mathematical framework for the design of elevation beamforming schemes in single-cell and multi-cell scenarios. Simulation examples associated with comparisons and discussions are also presented. To this end, this paper highlights the state-of-the-art research and points out future research directions.


The measurement of 210Pb is
significant in environmental studies. Lead separation in HCl solution is a
vital procedure but suffers from poor efficiency with high labor and time
costs. To overcome this problem, a novel anion exchange resin was synthesized
and characterized by different techniques followed by studies on the adsorption
behaviors towards lead in HCl solution. The results suggest that SiPS-N(CH3)3Cl
was successfully prepared with small particle size, low water swelling rate,
and large specific surface area. The maximum anion exchange capacity resulted
from quaternary amine groups was determined to be 1.0 mmol (Cl-)/g.The
adsorption activities reached equilibrium within 3 min under selected
conditions offering extremely fast adsorption kinetics. The synergistic
adsorption mechanism, the multilayer adsorption mechanism, and the competition
from co-existing chloride anions were found to be responsible for the lead
adsorption performance of SiPS-N(CH3)3Cl. Column experiments
showed that the feeding volume of lead and HCl had impact on the chemical yield
regardless of the co-existence of high concentrations of FeCl3 (90
mM) and a high flow speed (4.0 mL/min). Based on these results, a separation
process integrating SiPS-N(CH3)3Cl and the matched
parameters was finally developed and tested. Our work greatly raised the lead
separation efficiency in HCl solutions with implications for measuring 210Pb
in environmental samples.


In the actual permanent magnet synchronous motor servo system, the load changes are a major factor that affects system performance. In this paper, a PMSM vector control system model based on speed sliding mode controller is established in Matlab/Simulink environment. By adjusting the parameters of controller, simulation and analysis are done on the load changes that may appear. The results demonstrate that the system is stable, with good load characteristics and Robustness.


Abstract. There is a large variety of internal structures inside atmospheric dust particles, making them inherently inhomogeneous. Such structures may have a large effect on ground-level and atmospheric radiation. So far, dust particle internal structures and their effect on the light scattering properties have proved to be hard to quantify, in part due to challenges in obtaining information about these structures. Recently, internal structures of individual dust particles were revealed through focused ion beam milling and analyzed. Here, we perform a sensitivity study to evaluate the optical impacts of some of the typical internal structures revealed. To obtain suitable model particles, the first step is to generate inhomogeneous particles with varying internal structures by using an algorithm that is based on three-dimensional Voronoi tessellation. The parameters for the particle generation are obtained from studies of real-world Asian dust particles. The second step is to generate homogeneous versions of the generated particles by using an effective-medium approximation, for comparison. Third, light scattering by both versions of these particles is simulated with discrete dipole approximation code. This allows us to see how different internal structures affect light scattering, and how important it is to account for these structures explicitly. Further, this allows us to estimate the potential inaccuracies caused by using only homogeneous model particles for atmospheric studies and remote-sensing measurements. The results show that the effects vary greatly between different kinds of internal structures and single-scattering quantity considered, but for most structure types the effects are overall notable. Most significantly, hematite inclusions in particles impact light scattering heavily. Furthermore, internal pores and hematite-rich coating both affect some form of light scattering noticeably. Based on this work, it seems that it is exceedingly important that the effects of dust particle internal structures on light scattering are accounted for in a wide variety of applications.


The cruise industry has become a significant component of the Colombian tourism economy and Cartagena de Indias has become the largest cruise port in the country. This paper provides a better understanding of the cruise industry by considering the expenditures of cruise ship passengers disembarking in Cartagena de Indias as a key variable in the economic analysis of the costs and benefits. The authors estimate two cross-sectional regression models for the cruising expenditure, showing the existence of different tourist profiles related to different expenditure levels. In particular, heavy spenders are distinguishable from the other segments in terms of age, hours spent off the ship, nationality, income levels and spending patterns.


The hybrid halide perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 exhibits a complex structural behaviour, with successive transitions between orthorhombic, tetragonal and cubic polymorphs at ca. 165 K and 327 K. Herein we report first-principles lattice dynamics (phonon spectrum) for each phase of CH3NH3PbI3. The equilibrium structures compare well to solutions of temperature-dependent powder neutron diffraction. By following the normal modes we calculate infrared and Raman intensities of the vibrations, and compare them to the measurement of a single crystal where the Raman laser is controlled to avoid degradation of the sample. Despite a clear separation in energy between low frequency modes associated with the inorganic PbI3 network and high-frequency modes of the organic CH3NH3+ cation, significant coupling between them is found, which emphasises the interplay between molecular orientation and the corner-sharing octahedral networks in the structural transformations. Soft modes are found at the boundary of the Brillouin zone of the cubic phase, consistent with displacive instabilities and anharmonicity involving tilting of the PbI6 octahedra around room temperature.


Author(s): Wang, C; Okunishi, M; Hao, X; Ito, Y; Chen, J; Yang, Y; Lucchese, RR; Zhang, M; Yan, B; Li, WD; Ding, D; Ueda, K | Abstract: © 2016 American Physical Society. We investigate the resonance-like enhancement (RLE) in high-order above-threshold ionization (ATI) spectra of the polyatomic molecules C2H4 and C2H6. In the spectrum-intensity maps, strong and weak RLE areas emerge alternatively for both C2H4 and C2H6 but in different sequences. Theoretical calculations using the strong-field approximation reproduce the experimental observation and analysis shows that the different characteristics of the two molecules can be attributed to interference effects of molecular orbitals with different symmetries. For C2H4, the RLE structures are attributed to C-C centers of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) orbital. For C2H6, in contrast, the C-C centers of the HOMO and HOMO-1 orbitals do not contribute to the RLE due to destructive interference but the hydrogen centers of the bonding HOMO-1 orbital give rise to the multiple RLE regions. In addition, clear experimental evidence of the existence of two types of the RLE and their dependence on the parity of ground state is shown. Our result, which strongly supports the channel-closing mechanism of the RLE, for the first time reveals the important role of low-lying orbitals and the differing roles of different atomic centers in the high-order ATI spectrum of molecules.


Africa unlike other developing regions of the world has experienced declining flows of foreign direct investment (FDI).The flow of FDI is expected to result into gradual reduction in reliance on external borrowed capital and acceleration of economic development. The study examined the declining flow of FDI to the African regions as well as the impact that it has had on economic development of the region, using the proxies of Income per capita, Life expectancy and Education indices. The study made use of pooled data from thirty nine African countries within the period 1993 and 2012.The method of analysis utilized for the study was the fixed effect least-square dummy variable model, employed to estimate the impact of foreign direct investment on economic development for the selected host African countries. The study finds that foreign direct investment is statistically significant in relation to economic development for host African countries. It is therefore recommended that the governments of host countries should consider closely the sectors that FDI flows into, encourage investment domestically in such sectors such that dependence on external financial flows could be reduced, resulting in sustained increases in income, literacy level and hence improved life expectancy which are expected to result into sustained economic development.


The following text is taken from the publisher's website:
"Climate change is one of the most challenging issues of our time. As key sites in the production and management of emissions of greenhouse gases, cities will be crucial for the implementation of international agreements and national policies on climate change. This book provides a critical analysis of the role of cities in addressing climate change and the prospects for urban sustainability.
Cities and Climate Change is the first in-depth analysis of the role of cities in addressing climate change. The book argues that key challenges concerning the resources and powers of local government, as well as conflicts between local goals for economic development and climate change mitigation, have restricted the level of local action on climate change. These findings have significant implications for the prospects of mitigating climate change and achieving urban sustainability. This book provides a valuable interdisciplinary analysis of these issues, and will appeal to students and researchers interested in sustainability at local and global scales."


We present the design, fabrication and characterization of a novel microvalve realized by combining micro and fine machining techniques. The design is for high flow rates at high pressure difference between inlet and outlet, burst pressure of up to 15 bars, there is no power consumption required for the valve to maintain its position during operation in any intermediate state and the process gas does not interact with the actuation mechanism. The microvalve was experimentally characterized with airflows. It is shown that flow rates of 220 ml/min at a pressure difference of 4 bars could be achieved with the minimum accurate flow rate of 2-8 ml/min.


A dilute suspension of soil particles in water will normally flocculate and settle under gravity to form a bed of consolidating soil. The essential difference between the suspension and the soil is that effective stresses exist in the soil. This thesis is concerned with the effective stress behaviour during the sedimentation and consolidation processes.

Chapters two and three are a description of the equipment and experimental procedures used to determine void ratio changes, pore pressures and effective stresses during this soil formation process. The density measuring technique developed, using an X-ray source and a scintillation counter, is described in some detail. An experiment consists of monitoring the sedimentation, form an initially uniform suspension, of an inorganic clayey silt in a 102 mm I.D. column.

Experimental results are presented and discussed in the next two chapters. Some novel aspects of stress/strain behaviour (in one dimensional consolidation) are revealed. In particular an intermediate zone is identified, which has properties between those of a suspension and a soil in the traditional sense. This zone does have effective stresses, but the effective stress/void ratio relationship is not unique.

Theoretical consideration of settling suspensions and soil consolidation is covered in chapter six, forming an introduction to the next chapter, where a large strain soil consolidation theory is modified and applied to the intermediate zone. Differences between the theory and experimental results largely reflect the inaccuracies resulting from the simplifying assumptions necessary to keep the mathematics simple. The expulsion of pore water, rather than soil compressibility, is the major factor in determining consolidation behaviour of the intermediate phase.

Finally, some recommendations are made as to how to continue the study and on applications to real problems such as dredging, pollution and land reclamation.


SIR,-The purpose of my previous letter (16 July, p. 171) was to draw attention to the difficulties in multiple therapy of apportioning the blame for any observed toxic side-effects, and not to present a punctilious biochemical explanation for the clinical findings of Dr. S. D. Mahomed et al. (25 June, p. 1581). Despite the "critical examination" by these authors (10 September, p. 644) of my suggestion that the mineralocorticoid effects of carbenoxolone might be stimulated by barbiturates, the fact remains that to attribute toxic effects to a single drug when several are being administered is both unjust and unscientific. Any side-effects of new drugs must, of course, be promptly reported and publicized whenever they occur, but to make a new drug the scapegoat for toxic phenomena which could result from more complex causes, such as interaction with other drugs, is merely negating progress. It is propitious to see that others in your columns (Dr. R. Lancaster, 6 August, p. 362) have also drawn attention to this problem in multiple therapy.-I am, etc.,


Multi-modal travel itineraries are based on traversing multiple legs using more than one mode of transportation. The more combinations of legs and modes, the more challenging it is for a traveler to identify a reliable itinerary. Transportation providers collect data that can increase transparency for reliable travel planning. However, this data has not been fully exploited yet, although it will likely form an important piece of future traveler information systems. Our paper takes an important step in this direction by analyzing and aggregating data from the operation of scheduled and unscheduled modes to create a reliability measure for multi-modal travel. We use a network search algorithm to evaluate itineraries that combine schedule-based long-distance travel with airlines with last-mile and first-mile drive times to efficiently identify the one with the highest reliability given a start time and travel-time budget. Our network search considers multiple origin and destination airports which impacts the first and last mile as well as the flight options. We use extensive historical datasets to create reliable itineraries and compare these with deterministic shortest travel-time itineraries. We investigate the amount of data that is required to create reliable multi-modal travel itineraries. Additionally, we highlight the benefits and costs of reliable travel itineraries and analyze their structure.


A case study of juvenilization, this essay reads Noel Streatfeild's 1936 juvenile novel Ballet Shoes against its source text, Streatfeild's 1931 theatrical novel The Whicharts. An analysis of how the author reworked "unsuitable" material for young readers reveals Ballet Shoes as more than a bowdlerized version of the adult novel. The rewriting of references to work and to sexuality in The Whicharts produces sophisticated and self-aware origin stories, nuanced and historically specific representations of work in its cultural context, and non-judgmental representations of diverse types of sexuality and family relationships in Ballet Shoes.


Abstract Benthic community structure and diversity have been investigated to assess stress conditions of Todos os Santos Bay, Bahia, Brazil, as a possible result of the extraction, transportation and refining of petroleum, activities carried out in this area for more than 40 years. Samples were collected over two years, at four stations under the direct influence of stress-causing activities and at a control station. Benthic indices were calculated for all intertidal communities. The density, relative abundance, frequency of occurrence, diversity, similarity and occurrence of preferential species were recorded. Linear correlation indices were calculated to establish comparisons between ecological parameters of the studied communities and concentrations of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, petroleum pollution indicators and sediment mud percentages. The polychaete worms were the dominant group — up to 92% dominance in the community within the influence of refinery activities. Diversity indices indicated significant stress related spatial gradients tied to petroleum. The refinery sample station showed notable differences in its biodiversity figures compared to the other stations. Quantitative benthic indices showed negative correlations between the presence of cadmium, hydrocarbons, n-alkanes and the unresolved complex mixture in the intertidal zone marine sediments.


Introduction. There are limited data concerning the association between components of metabolic syndrome and sexual function in men aged 40 years and older in Korean benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients. Aim. To examine the effects of metabolic markers on sexual function in Korean BPH patients and to evaluate obesity as a causal factor for the development of BPH and sexual dysfunction in a large population of Korean men. Methods. This is a multicenter, cross-sectional, prospective study conducted at four centers in Korea. A total 602 men with LUTS secondary to BPH were included. BPH/LUTS cases were men with international prostate symptom scores (IPSS) 8 points and prostate volume 20 cc by transrectal ultrasound of the prostate. Height, weight, and waist circumference were measured. Trained interviewers using the structured Male Sexual Health Questionnaire (MSHQ) and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15) collected information on sexual function. Main Outcome Measures. Sexual function using IIEF-15 and MSHQ was assessed according to presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) or hypertension, waist circumference and BMI. Results. BPH patients with DM or hypertension had significantly lower sexual function, and satisfaction scores on the MSHQ were significantly lower in BPH patients with hypertension. In the central obesity group, prostate volume was significantly greater compared to the normal waist group (P = 0.01). Moreover, in Korean BPH/LUTS patients, central obesity was significantly related to sexual function. BPH/LUTS represented by IPSS was signifi- cantly correlated with prostate volume and MSHQ and IIEF-15 scores. In addition, severe LUTS was significantly related to all domains of the MSHQ. Conclusions. This study provides evidence that in the Korean population, sexual function is more closely associated to central obesity than general obesity. The relationship of comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and sexual dysfunction determined by the MSHQ correlated with that determined by the IIEF-15. Lee SH, Kim JC, Lee J-Y, Kim JH, Oh CY, Lee SW, Yoo SJ, and Chung BH. Effects of components of metabolic syndrome on sexual function in Korean BPH/LUTS patients. J Sex Med 2009;6:2292-2298.


'Creating an innovative department' as an objective implies further improvements in organization, function, and progression of a surgical unit active in patient care, research, and education. It is of prime importance to stress here the mutual benefits of patient care, research (the basis for future patient care) and education (the channel for training health care professionals in future patient care). Neither innovation (from latin innovare: to renew, revive) nor creation (from latin creare: to make, produce) is something that will fall from heaven without effort any time soon. Hence, a pro-active attitude towards progress is indicated. This requires searching for new ideas, allocation of resources, finding allies, getting focussed, and being persistent. One word says it all: WORK!


F or decades, public policy-making has fundamentally failed 'looked-after' children within the care of local governments across the UK. The care system very rarely properly provides for the vulnerable children they take into public ownership; and among its most critical failures are its apparent inability to provide stable living situations, appropriate pastoral care or family mediation. Perhaps unsurprisingly in view of this lack of will to provide the resources that might be able to break the cycles of poverty and abuse, research shows that children who are victims of disrupted parenting are disproportionately susceptible to what are ambiguously-termed 'poor outcomes' as described across government and academic literature on institutional childcare. The list of poor outcomes includes many behaviours that are deemed unconducive to social cohesion such as addiction, welfare dependency, criminality, mental illness and learning difficulties. (It is not a coincidence that researchers also find that these 'poor outcomes' are also disproportionately prevalent within the working class more broadly. Popular perceptions of the working class are strikingly similar to those of children in foster care and other disrupted parenting situations.)


: Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are a relatively new strain of materials for which little is understood about their impacts. A species sensitivity distribution (SSDs) is a cumulative probability distribution of a chemical ' s toxicity measurements obtained from single-species bioassays of various species that can be used to estimate the ecotoxicological impacts of a chemical. The recent increase in the availability of acute toxicity data for ENMs enabled the construction of 10 ENM-speci fi c SSDs, with which we analyzed (1) the range of toxic concentrations, (2) whether ENMs cause greater hazard to an ecosystem than the ionic or bulk form, and (3) the key parameters that a ff ect variability in toxicity. The resulting estimates for hazardous concentrations at which 5% of species will be harmed ranged from <1 ug/L for PVP-coated n-Ag to >3.5 mg/L for CNTs. The results indicated that size, formulation, and the presence of a coating can alter toxicity, and thereby corresponding SSDs. Few statistical di ff erences were observed between SSDs of an ENM and its ionic counterpart. However, we did fi nd a signi fi cant correlation between the solubility of ENMs and corresponding SSD. Uncertainty in SSD values can be reduced through greater consideration of ENM characteristics and physiochemical transformations in the environment.


Abstract This article explores the ways in which different external and internal factors (especially politics and economics) have encouraged or hindered the evolution of Estonian Public Broadcasting. This article argues that the Estonian government's 'idealisation' of market forces that is supported by European Union (EU) media policy and driven by the common market ideology does not take into account the actual abilities of a small country's media companies to provide a wide range of media services, and thereby limits the offerings of high-quality local content. The research methodology is based on an analysis of EU media policy documents, Estonian media legislation and broadcasters' annual reports in the period from 1992 to 2014. The main finding of this article is that official Estonian media policy is largely shaped by the financial results of private media companies.


This Letter reports on numerical simulations motivated by experimental observations of an unusual inverted-heart shape for bubbles rising in an anisotropic micellar solution. We explain the bubble shape by assuming that the micelles are aligned into a nematic phase, whose anchoring energy on the bubble competes with the interfacial tension and the bulk elasticity of the nematic to modify the interfacial curvature. Numerical results show that bubbles with sufficiently strong planar anchoring rising in a vertically aligned nematic indeed assume the observed shape. The parameter values required are compared with the experimental materials and conditions.


Rapid urbanisation is drastically reshaping our environment, destabilising traditional connections to place and notions of community, and with these the relationship between place and identity. In this context, how do we make sense of such change and how do we orient ourselves when prior notions of place and identity are disrupted or lost? To address such questions this paper will draw upon Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of di-alogism, and through themes of mutuality, simultaneity, malleability and mobility examine concepts of cultural landscape, nature and ritual. To pursue our study of this condition we have sited ourselves in the dramatically and rapidly transformed landscape of urban Shenzhen. The scale and speed of economic shifts and morphological transformations of the landscape have resulted in the contemporary phenomenon of the urban village, a trace of the past that remains within the present day city. These urban villages will be a focal point for our discussion, advanced through the use of narrative inquiry examining the viewpoints of those inhabiting Shenzhen, and reinforced through a review of discourse on cultural landscape. Through this, insights are revealed into the dialogical nature of the relationship people have with landscape. Exploring further, we find that landscape both as a physical construct and as a concept is malleable, both shifting in response to and representing social aspirations and needs. This suggests that the way people orien-tate themselves or identify themselves can often be understood by the performances they pursue in engaging with landscape.


Early diagnosis of stomach cancer and its recurrences in patients of different age groups is one of the urgent problems in geriatrics, abdominal surgery and oncology. The purpose of our investigation consists in the development of the optimal examination scheme of the patient admitted to a multifield hospital with stomach cancer or its relapse under diagnosis. There has been suggested a diagnostic algorithm, permitting optimization of major disease and concomitant pathology detection, carrying out preoperative preparation, including adequate treatment of somatic diseases, development of most effective medicinal programme.


The rights of the Prophet (salla Allah alaih wa sallam) Allah has certainly made obligatory on the Ummah (Muslim nation). When the Muslim Ummah adhered to these rights and complied to his commandments, Allah provided them with empowerment over Earth. So, it was the best Ummah has ever created and was also strong and respected by the others. However, that who observes the reality of Islamic Ummah this time will find that there is a shortcoming and avoidance of, and negligence and exaggeration in the Prophet's great rights.
Therefore, the it is important to talk about this subject because there is an immense benefit represented in performing his rights as Allah wanted. The objectives are mentioning the most outstanding rights such as love, obedience, following and support, uncovering those who are rough and extremist in dealing with the Prophet (salla Allah alaih wa sallam), non-Muslims' attitude from the Prophet (salla Allah alaih wa sallam), and mentioning the reasons why the West attacks him. According to the findings in the research, I found that the Prophet (salla Allah alaih wa sallam)'s rights have to be performed as Allah commanded us without extremism or avoidance in dealing with our Prophet (salla Allah alaih wa sallam), and that the methodology of Ahl-us-Sunnah is the true methodology which must be conducted, and that the untrue groups such as Al-Rafidhah (the Refusers) and extremist Sufis have disagreed with true methodology in dealing with the beloved Prophet (salla Allah alaih wa sallam). It is incumbent upon Muslims to support the Prophet (salla Allah alaih wa sallam), and boycott any who misbehaves with him until he quits his misbehaviour. The repetition of that misbehavior against the Prophet (salla Allah alaih wa sallam) and the enmity of the West towards the Prophet (salla Allah alaih wa sallam) exists because of the deep malice and hatred they have been indoctrinated by the Church and the religious people. The most prominent reason for that malice is their strong fear of Islam's spread in their countries.


Rapid construction of layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembled multilayers on non-planar substrates is challenging because most conventional LbL processes are time consuming, which restricts further applications of LbL in industry and its commercialization. Therefore, herein we introduced the high gravity (HG) technique, which is a well-established industrial chemical engineering process for intensification of mass transfer, into the LbL assembly process to realize rapid film deposition on porous nickel foam. By using a model system of electrostatically driven PDDA/AuNPs multilayers, the adsorption kinetics, LbL procedure and film morphology have been examined under both conventional dipping conditions and a HG field. The results show that the time to reach saturated adsorption of building blocks with the HG field has been shortened remarkably by up to 16 times while the film quality remains identical. In this way, the fabrication of LbL multilayers can be highly accelerated in the presence of a HG field without disturbing the film quality on non-planar substrates. Moreover, the mechanism for the rapid construction of LbL multilayers using the HG technique is interpreted using the boundary layer theory that the highly turbulent flow in the HG field enhanced the mass transfer rate for the rapid adsorption of building blocks onto substrates.


The European Union (EU) set ambitious goals toward more sustainable use of plastics, but the basis for measuring performance and monitoring progress toward these goals remains inadequate due to a limited understanding of the complex systems behind plastic consumption. In this work, we study the region‐wide material flows of plastics related to packaging in 2014 using a hybrid approach that combines data on the production and end‐of‐life management of plastic packaging with a monetary input‐output model for the EU. The approach enables us to gain insight into interindustry flows and the connection between production and final demand. We map supply chains with a relatively high resolution, including polymer types, packaging forms and application categories. Results estimate the total packaging placed on the market (POM) and then discarded amounted to 18,000 kt., excluding a net increase in stocks of 500 kt. This means that waste generation could have been up to 15% higher than accounted in official statistics, reinforcing potential underreporting accounts as well as remaining data gaps. Thirty‐five percent of postconsumer packaging waste was directed toward recycling. However, only 5% contributed to new domestic packaging production, a reflection of the broad challenges to plastic circularity. Although first steps are taken in this work, we point to an acute lack of information on industrial streams, compounded by missing policy focus, for example, on transport packaging. We suggest areas for deeper investigation and emphasize the potential of hybrid approaches to establishing baselines and assessment of both production and consumption‐side mitigation strategies.


The attention currently being focused on diffuse pollution has led to an increased recognition of the role of groundwater as a pathway for transporting diffuse pollution to surface waters. Understanding and managing this issue requires a good understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of diffuse pollution in groundwater. This in turn requires a co-ordinated approach to groundwater monitoring, to obtain accurate and representative data. This paper describes a strategic framework for groundwater quality monitoring that has recently been developed by the Environment Agency of England and Wales. The framework is implemented in three main stages: assessment of drivers and objectives, planning and implementation. The national framework is currently being implemented by a series of detailed regional programmes. These are developed on the basis of catchment-scale groundwater quality monitoring units, which will be broadly consistent with groundwater bodies defined under the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive. The monitoring network that results from the application of the framework is designed to provide background information on groundwater quality at a catchment scale. Separate monitoring programmes will be required for monitoring pollution associated with individual sites. This paper focuses on the strategic aspects of designing a monitoring network, rather than the technical details of obtaining representative and accurate data from individual sample points, and is illustrated by a case study of the process of design of such a catchment-scale monitoring system.


Families provide priceless support to members with disabilities. Without the support of families the lives of most individuals with disabilities would be diminished in comfort, independence, opportunity, and caring relationships. Without the support provided to individuals with disabilities by family members, public expenditures for nonfamily assistance would be several times what is currently expended. In its responsibilities to the well-being of individual citizens and to the efficient and effective use of public resources, governments struggle to accommodate the great diversity among families in what they want and what they need. Governments are challenged in targeting limited resources to reach those who need them most, in the amounts that are most cost-effective, and in a manner that is most beneficial to the family and its member(s) with disabilities. The attention on support to families is further complicated by changes in families and their individual members as they pass through lifecycles of changing relationships, expectations, aspirations, and capabilities. This article offers a modest commentary on how in the midst of such complexities our society can develop fair, effective, and cost-beneficial approaches to supporting families and their individual members.


This article discusses how oil development
in the Amazon basin of Ecuador
threatens to displace indigenous peoples
through environmental contamination
and colonization. It presents approaches
to capacity-building for indigenous and
mestizo-settler communities to deal
with threats to human rights and the
environment due to oil development.
While the focus is on transnational oil
operations in the Ecuadorian Oriente,
many of the issues and empowerment
methods discussed here are transferable
to other local/global conflicts around the
world, especially where indigenous and
peasant communities are adversely affected
by transnational resource extraction
activities (mining, forestry, and
oil).


Olive leaves is derived from the olive oil production with limited practical applications. This raw material can be used to obtain added-value products through its processing applying the biorefinery concept. Therefore, The aim of this work is to evaluate from a techno-economic and environmental perspective the production of antioxidants, lignin and ethanol using olive leaves as raw material through the use of experimental data and process simulation. For this, a biorefinery scheme composed by an acid extraction stage, organosolv pretreatment and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process was simulated. This process was performed using experimental data obtained from the main conversion blocks of the proposed scheme assuming a linear scaling. Moreover, the separation and purification of the products were performed using conceptual process design tools. Then, the techno-economic assessment was carried out considering economic indicators of the Spain context for an operating facility with a 10 y life-time. Finally, the environmental evaluation was based in the specific solid, liquid and gaseous emissions calculation. The results showed that 100 g of feedstock can produce 38.24 g of antioxidant extract (phenolic compounds>10 %), 11.82 g of lignin and 3.65 mL of bioethanol. In addition, the techno-economic assessment showed that the proposed biorefinery is profitable when 30,000 t/y are processed with a total project cost of 49.1 M USD, an internal rate of return of 15.22 % and a payout period of 7.27 y. As conclusion, the application of the biorefinery concept to upgrade olive leaves in added-value products is feasible from a techno-economic point of view and the implementation of small scale biorefineries in Jaen (Andalusia, Spain).


This paper is concerned with the problem of H∞control for a class of distributed parameter systems with delay and Markovian jumping. The jumping parameters are generated from continue-time discrete-state Markov process, nonlinearities and leakage delay appear in the system states. An H∞ state feedback controller is designed such that the closed-loop system is asymptotically stable in the mean square for the zero disturbance input and also achieves required H∞ performance level. By constructing Lyapunov functional and stochastic analysis, the sufficient conditions of systems is given in terms of linear matrix inequalities. And the criteria derived are dependent on both delay and diffusion operator. Finally, a numerical example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the results proposed.


Electricity is hidden within wires and networks only revealing its quantity and flow when metered. The making of its properties into data is therefore particularly important to the relations that are formed around electricity as a produced and managed phenomenon. We propose approaching all metering as a situated activity, a form of quantification work in which data is made and becomes mobile in particular spatial and temporal terms, enabling its entry into data infrastructures and schemes of evaluation and value production. We interrogate the transition from the pre-digital into the making of bigger, more spatiotemporally granular electricity data, through focusing on those actors selling and materialising new metering technologies, data infrastructures and services for larger businesses and public sector organisations in the UK. We examine the claims of truth and visibility that accompany these shifts and their enrolment into management techniques that serve to more precisely apportion responsibility for, and evaluate the status of, particular patterns and instances of electricity use. We argue that whilst through becoming Big Data electricity flow is now able to be known and given identity in significantly new terms, enabling new relations to be formed with the many heterogeneous entities implicated in making and managing energy demand, it is necessary to sustain some ambivalence as to the performative consequences that follow for energy governance. We consider the wider application of our conceptualisation of metering, reflecting on comparisons with the introduction of new metering systems in domestic settings and as part of other infrastructural networks.


The inherent low tensile strength and shrinkage result in cracking of concrete under work loads. A new way to improve cracking properties is distributing steel fibers into expansive concrete to form a type of composite which is called steel fiber reinforced expansive concrete. This type of high performance concrete could compensate shrinkage as well as improving crack strength. For this concrete, the key point to ensure high performance and safety of concrete structure is to keep a stable expansive deformation during long-term service. A series of tests were carried out to measure long-term restrained expansive deformations of steel fiber reinforced expansive concrete with ages under various restrictions like steel bars and steel fibers. The test investigated some 3-year specimens. For all specimens, test parameters included 2 ratios of steel bar reinforcement, 4 volume fractions of steel fiber and 4 dosages of expansion admixture. The test results showed that the expansion of concrete decreased with increasing of steel bar reinforcing ratio as well as steel fiber volume fraction. In addition, when being in a lower dosage of expansion admixture, the specimens presented remarkable retraction of the expansive deformation. However, when beyond a certain dosage of expansion admixture, the long-term expansive deformation had less change with ages and almost remained the same with 90-day deformation, namely less losses of deformation. Hence, for steel fiber reinforced expansive concrete, using an appropriate dosage of expansion admixture could meet the requirements of designed strengthening and compensating shrinkage.


Circulating biomarkers play a major role in risk stratification of patients with cardiovascular disease. The 3 most widely used cardiovascular biomarkers—troponin, C-reactive protein, and B-type natriuretic peptide—have each been shown to predict risk of major adverse cardiovascular outcomes beyond traditional clinical factors, and for that reason, use of these biomarkers is recommended in various practice guidelines.

How then should additional biomarkers be added to the clinical armamentarium? The traditional approach has been for candidate biomarkers to emerge from preclinical or pilot clinical data and then be tested individually in progressively larger cohorts that typically involve thousands of patients. This serial approach is slow and requires the development of dedicated assays, typically immunoassays, to detect each biomarker of interest. Multiplexed immunoassays have been developed but typically are constrained by interference between antibodies, proteins, and assay diluents, leading to degradations in accuracy that limit the number of simultaneous assays


This article discusses 10 of the most common myths about Hallyu. These myths do not encompass all misunderstandings and problematic standpoints relevant to Hallyu. Instead, I selected these major issues as they were concomitantly repeated whenever I read media reports, academic publications, and social media threads on Hallyu. Some were encountered at academic conferences I have attended over the past several years. I do not attempt to provide any grand statements; I want to offer a steppingstone for Hallyu scholars, cultural creators, and global fans to discuss these major myths more carefully, rather than simply taking them for granted.


Due to the quick improvement in digital communications and multimedia applications during recent periods up to the current time, data protection of digital data such as image, audio and video becomes a significant challenge. The security of audio data that transfer through different networks was rated as a preferred research field in the preceding years. This review covers the recent contribution for audio encryption and gives the most evaluations for audio encryption algorithm involving security analysis, computational complexity and quality analysis and their requirements. This paper fundamentally concentrates on displaying the different types of audio encryption and decryption techniques based on chaotic maps. Digital and analog audio algorithms were displayed, discussed and compared with the illustration of the important features and drawbacks. Various digital and audio proposed projects for audio encryption using chaotic maps have been covered, which they showed extreme sensitivity to initial conditions, unpredictability and conducting in a quasi-random manner. A comparison among the proposed algorithms in the key space, chaotic maps sensitivity and statistical analysis were provided.


Over the last decade, the combination of parallel imaging (PI) and compressed sensing (CS) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has allowed to speed up acquisition while maintaining a good signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for millimetric resolution. Self-calibrating techniques such as 1-ESPiRIT have emerged as a standard approach to estimate the coil sensitivity maps that are required at the reconstruction stage. Although straightforward in Cartesian acquisitions, these approaches become more computationally demanding in non-Cartesian scenarios especially for high resolution imaging (e.g. 500 µm in plane). Instead, calibration-less techniques no longer require this prior knowledge to perform multi-channel image reconstruction from undersampled k-space data. In this work, we introduce a new calibration-less PI-CS reconstruction method that is particularly suited to non-Cartesian data. It leverages structure sparsity of the multi-channel images in a wavelet transform domain while adapting to SNR inhomogeneities across receivers thanks to the OSCAR-norm regularization. Comparison and validation on 8 to 20-fold prospectively accelerated high-resolution ex-vivo human brain MRI data collected at 7 Tesla shows that the subbandwise OSCAR-norm regularization achieves the best trade-off between image quality and computational cost at the reconstructions stage compared to other tested versions (global, scalewise and pixel-wise). This approach provides slight to moderate improvement over its state-of-the-art competitors (self-calibrating 1-ESPIRiT method and calibration-less AC-LORAKS and CaLM methods) in terms of closeness to the Cartesian reference magnitude image. Importantly, it also preserves much better phase information compared to other approaches.


Written in a clear, crisp, accessible style, this book is perfect for beginners as well as professional writers who need a crash course in the down-to-earth basics of storytelling. Talent and inspiration can't be taught, but Frey does provide scores of helpful suggestions and sensible rules and principles. An international bestseller, "How to Write a Damn Good Novel" will enable all writers to face that intimidating first page, keep them on track when they falter, and help them recognize, analyze, and correct the problems in their own work.


The present study investigated the relationship among teachers 'mindsets and their perceptions of students' behavior, learning, and achievement, their interpretations of students 'behavior, and their strategies to increase students' motivation through a qualitative approach and a descriptive phenomenological design.The target population of this study includes all female primary school teachers in District 1 of Yazd city. Initially, 18 teachers volunteered to participate in the study, according to the call. Then, they completed mindset questionnaire and after evaluating the answers and determining teachers' mindset, 5 teachers were purposefully selected for a more profound and more extensive study. The data were collected using Dweck's Mindset Questionnaire (2000) and Semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to analyze the data and the results showed that the relationship between teachers 'mindsets and their perceptions of students' behavior, learning, and progress could be traced through the categories such as fixed mindset's teacher, growth mindset's teacher, and six factors including stereotypes, performance interpretation, evaluation, instruction, motivation, and responsibility. In general, it can be said that teachers 'mindset affect the way, they interpret students' behavior, learning, and success, it is influential on teachers' instructions, evaluations, and responsibilities in the teaching process as well as the type of activities that they use to increase students' motivation. Furthermore, the results showed that teachers' mindsets are intertwined with cultural assumptions; and teachers can be made aware of cultural challenges by increasing their level of knowledge and modifications of their mindsets.


Originally published in 1958.The history of Morley College provides an illuminating case-history of the growth and spread of adult education in the second half of the nineteenth and early years of the twentieth centuries. Morley College is unique in that it was one of the first of such institutions to proclaim and inculcate absolute sex and class equality. It has always been guided by democratic principles in the sense that the students have been encouraged to play a definite part in the administration of the college - an ethos which continues to this day.


Three alternative methodologies to the Computed-Tomography Dose Index for the evaluation of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography dose are compared, the Cone-Beam Dose Index, IAEA Human Health Report No. 5 recommended methodology and the AAPM Task Group 111 recommended methodology. The protocols were evaluated for Pelvis and Thorax scan modes on Varian® On-Board Imager and Truebeam kV XI imaging systems. The weighted planar average dose was highest for the AAPM methodology across all scans, with the CBDI being the second highest overall. A 17.96% and 1.14% decrease from the TG-111 protocol to the IAEA and CBDI protocols for the Pelvis mode and 18.15% and 13.10% decrease for the Thorax mode were observed for the XI system. For the OBI system, the variation was 16.46% and 7.14% for Pelvis mode and 15.93% to the CBDI protocol in Thorax mode respectively.


Fifth AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, Nov 12-15, 2006

A104

Essential fatty acids (EFA, n-3) have been implicated in lowering the incidence of atherosclerosis, inflammation and tumor cell proliferation. The beneficial effects of EFA are believed to be due in part to selective alteration of arachidonic acid metabolism that involves cyclooxygenase enzymes We previously reported that the anti-proliferative effect of EPA in human lung cancer A549 cells is associated with formation of PGE3, a COX-2 metabolite of EPA ( J. Lipid Res. 45: 1030-1039, 2004 ). We now report the antitumor efficacy of selectively modified fish oil diets in mice bearing human lung cancer A549 (COX-2 over-expressed) or H1299 (without COX-2) xenograft tumors and have explored probable anti-proliferative mechanisms. Mice were fed either menhaden oil (33% n-3 fatty acids; EPA:DHA 3:2) or 'enriched' fish oil (60% n-3 fatty acids; EPA:DHA 4:1) for 28 days. Both menhaden and 'enriched' fish oil diets significantly inhibited the growth of A549 tumors demonstrated with reduction of tumor weight by 44.8 ± 9.0 % and 58.8 ± 7.4 %, respectively. In contrast, only 'enriched' fish oil diet reduced tumor weight by 58.88 ± 16.8% in the H1299 xenograft tumor model (p < 0.05). Interestingly, both menhaden and 'enriched' fish oil inhibited significantly the formation of PGE2 in A549 xenograft tumor tissues by 53.2 ± 17.2% and 60.2 ± 7.6%, respectively; and by 45.6 ± 16.9 and 63.6 ± 15.2% in H1299 tumor tissues. Concomitantly, the formation of PGE3 was detected in tumor tissues from mice fed either menhaden or enriched fish oil with levels of 0.05 ± 0.01 and 0.16 ± 0.02 ng PGE3/mg protein in A549 xenograft tumor tissues, respectively. In contrast, the formation of PGE3 in H1299 bearing mice was much less than that from the A549 xenograft tumor tissues. However, the PGE3 to PGE2 ratio in A549 and H1299 xenograft tumor tissues from mice fed 'enriched' fish oil was much higher (0.88 in A549, 0.56 in H1299) than that in the menhaden oil group (0.16 in A549, 0.06 in H1299). When A549 cells in culture were exposed to PGE2 or PGE3 (0.1 to 1 μM), PGE2 up-regulated expression of pAkt in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas PGE3 had no effect on pAkt expression. In order to confirm the role of COX-2 in EPA induced anti-proliferative activity in A549 cells, expression of COX-2 in these cells was reduced by transfecting them with COX-2 siRNA. Intriguingly, when the COX-2 expression was reduced by siRNA and then treated with EPA (3.2 μm to 100 μM), the antiproliferative activity of this fish oil was reduced 10-fold with the IC50 increasing to 62.5 μM in comparison to that of non-transfected A549 cells (IC50, 6.25 μM). Taken together, our preliminary data suggest that the ability of EPA to generate PGE3 through COX-2 enzyme is critical for EPA mediated tumor growth inhibition; the growth inhibitory effect of EPA may also involve regulation of Akt phosphorylation by PGE3. This study is supported in part by NCI Grant CA102411.


It is very important for investors to understand the critical factors affecting the value of firms before making investments. In knowledge-based economy, the method for creating firm value transfers from traditional physical assets to intangible knowledge. As intangible assets value is an important part of firm value, valuation of intangible assets becomes a widespread topic of interest in the future of economy. This paper applies association rules, one data mining technique, to discover critical factors affecting firm value in Taiwan and to provide a more flexible model than the traditional regression method. Based on collecting related factors found in literature, the results indicate that R&D intensity, family, participation in management, pyramids, profitability, and dividend are the six important factors, in which some are consistent with significant important variables in prior literature, but most of them are unique for Taiwan, one emerging economy.


Parvalbumin-positive neurons are the largest class of GABAergic, inhibitory neurons in the central nervous system. In the cortex, these fast-spiking cells provide feedforward and feedback synaptic inhibition onto a diverse set of cell types, including pyramidal cells, other inhibitory interneurons, and themselves. Cortical inhibitory networks broadly, and cortical parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (cPVins) specifically, are crucial for regulating sensory plasticity during both development and adulthood. Here we review the functional properties of cPVins that enable plasticity in the cortex of adult mammals and the influence of cPVins on sensory activity at four spatiotemporal scales. First, cPVins regulate developmental critical periods and adult plasticity through molecular and structural interactions with the extracellular matrix. Second, they activate in precise sequence following feedforward excitation to enforce strict temporal limits in response to the presentation of sensory stimuli. Third, they implement gain control to normalize sensory inputs and compress the dynamic range of output. Fourth, they synchronize broad network activity patterns in response to behavioral events and state changes. Much of the evidence for the contribution of cPVins to plasticity comes from classic models that rely on sensory deprivation methods to probe experience-dependent changes in the brain. We support investigating naturally occurring, adaptive cortical plasticity to study cPVin circuits in an ethologically relevant framework, and discuss recent insights from our work on maternal experience-induced auditory cortical plasticity.


The main results of a complex investigation carried out in Russia of post irradiation annealing and reembrittlement of WWER-440 reactor pressure vessel materials are presented. The dependence of the Charpy transition temperature recovery on annealing temperature and fluence was established. Charpy specimens were reirradiated after annealing at 340, 380, 420, and 460°C. Experimental values of the Charpy transition temperature after reirradiation are compared to that predicted by three methods. At annealing temperatures equal to or above 420°C, results of the analysis indicate that, of the methods investigated, the "lateral shift" method gives the best result for estimating the transition temperature shift due to reirradiation.


Background: Lack of anatomy recognition represents a clinically relevant risk in abdominal surgery. Machine learning (ML) methods can help identify visible patterns and risk structures; however, their practical value remains largely unclear. Materials and methods: Based on a novel dataset of 13 195 laparoscopic images with pixel-wise segmentations of 11 anatomical structures, we developed specialized segmentation models for each structure and combined models for all anatomical structures using two state-of-the-art model architectures (DeepLabv3 and SegFormer) and compared segmentation performance of algorithms to a cohort of 28 physicians, medical students, and medical laypersons using the example of pancreas segmentation. Results: Mean Intersection-over-Union for semantic segmentation of intra-abdominal structures ranged from 0.28 to 0.83 and from 0.23 to 0.77 for the DeepLabv3-based structure-specific and combined models, and from 0.31 to 0.85 and from 0.26 to 0.67 for the SegFormer-based structure-specific and combined models, respectively. Both the structure-specific and the combined DeepLabv3-based models are capable of near-real-time operation, while the SegFormer-based models are not. All four models outperformed at least 26 out of 28 human participants in pancreas segmentation. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that ML methods have the potential to provide relevant assistance in anatomy recognition in minimally invasive surgery in near-real-time. Future research should investigate the educational value and subsequent clinical impact of the respective assistance systems.


In the wireless sensor network with multitype sensors and different sample rates, collecting data in an energy-efficient way is a key issue. In this paper, a group based mobile agent routing (GMAR) protocol is presented. In GMAR, a source node grouping algorithm is designed, dividing sensors that can be sampled at same time in one group. To collect data efficiently, the node visiting sequence is statically determined and a mobile agent is designed for each group. A mobile agent is selected dynamically and sent out to aggregate data in the network. Once the next sensor can not be reached, the visiting sequence is adjusted so that current sensor can forward the mobile agent to the sensor next to failure one en route. Simulation results show that GMAR not only reduces number of mobile agents used in gathering data, but also lowers total energy consumption for agent transmission in WSN.


Worldwide, most school peer aggression programs and interventions achieve inconsistent and very modest results which are often temporary at best. In this dissertation, we assumed that many of these peer aggression programs were not evidence-based in their development and were not properly put into practice by teachers. We assumed furthermore, from a behavioral ecological point of view, aggressive behavior not only depends on individual child characteristics but on specific context characteristics as well. School-based peer aggression programs can presumably improve their effectiveness by considering influences, circumstances, and peer relationships from social contexts other than school. One of these non-school contexts is the sports club that, however, has received scant attention with respect to peer aggression and victimization. This is remarkable considering the fact many children belong to sports clubs. We assumed that in sports clubs, just as in schools, children are exposed to peer aggression and perhaps even more than in school. To test these overarching assumptions, we conducted a partially comparative study. Insight into the pervasiveness and constancy of patterns of aggressive behavior in different contexts is key to the development of adequate community-oriented school peer aggression interventions and sports club-specific peer aggression prevention programs. The general aim of this dissertation was to contribute to the knowledge on peer aggression and victimization in different contexts and on the way elementary schools and sports clubs can help prevent and combat aggressive behavior. To this end, we evaluated the potential effectiveness of ten Dutch anti-bullying programs for elementary schools based on an analysis of general theoretical and methodical conditions for effectiveness (Chapter 2). Then we took inventory of the prevalence and stability of peer aggression and victimization for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students in both Dutch regular elementary schools and Dutch sports clubs. Self-reports from 1,534 elementary students who were either currently participating in a sports club or had recently quit a sports club were gathered with respect to their peer aggression and victimization experiences and to their aggressive behavior roles (i.e., perpetrator, victim, aggressive victim, not involved), at both the sports club and elementary school (Chapter 3).In Chapter 4, with self-reports, the prevalence and stability of peer aggression, prosocial behavior, and resource control strategies for 1,425 children participating in three types of sports (martial arts, contact, and noncontact sports) were examined in the two contexts. We distinguished aggressive children with (i.e., Machiavellians) and without prosocial tendencies (i.e., coercive-aggressive children).Because of their prosocial skills, Machiavellians are difficult for adults to trace and monitor as perpetrators of peer aggression. For the studies in Chapter 3 and 4, we used the "Dealing With Other Kids Questionnaire" ("Omgaan Met Elkaar Vragenlijst"), our Dutch translation of the SEQ-S from Crick and colleagues. Finally, with in-depth interviews we gathered data on 98 Dutch sports coaches' views and practices regarding prevention and reduction of these aggressive behaviors in their sports clubs. These views and practices were contrasted with those of a reference group of 96 elementary school teachers and analyzed qualitatively (Chapter 5).


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Summary Investigation of the mechanical properties of road surfacing aggregates and particularly of the polishing characteristics has occupied many researchers in recent years. The influence of geological factors on these properties has however not received the same prominence in the literature as the engineering aspects. This paper has been written with a view to gathering together the salient features of the less publicised work. After reviewing the general requirements of road surfaces the term "roadstone durability" is introduced in the context of surfacing aggregates and the various geological factors likely to influence the roadstone durability are indicated. The influence of petrography upon the strength and the resistance to stripping, abrasion and polishing of roadstones is described together with methods used to assess their potential performance. Shortage of high quality surfacing materials has resulted in the development of artificial aggregates and some aspects of this work are described.


Wireless Sensor Networks are seeing increasing usage in several applications such as military, rescue and surveillance scenarios. Typical for such scenarios is that mobile nodes cooperate side-by-side with stationary sensor nodes to monitor the area of interest and to support the core network operations such as data transport. Global maps of the sensor field, such as temperature and residual energy maps, are of high interest for both users and network designers. However, the map construction can become very inefficient if it requires an extensive intervention of the resource-limited sensor nodes. In this work, we present gMAP, an extremely efficient mobility-assisted approach to construct global maps. In gMAP (a) sensor nodes do not need to process readings of other nodes and (b) require to communicate a minimal number of messages compared to all existing approaches. This is achieved by opportunistically exploiting node mobility to collect data of interest, keeping sensor nodes transmit only their own readings on-demand to a mobile node in their transmission area.


The distribution and molecular properties of the tanning hormone bursicon were studied using an isolated wing biological assay. Wing cuticle tanning activity was measured in saline homogenates of the central nervous system and selected muscles. Activity was detected in all ganglia of the nervous system in both the prepupal and pharate adult developmental stages. In both stages, this activity was predominantly located in the abdominal portion of the nervous system. The titres in all ganglia, except the suboesophageal, increased during metamorphosis. Of the various non-neural tissues examined, only the closer muscle of the spiracle contained detectable levels of activity. All activity in the nervous tissue was sensitive to proteolytic digestion; it could not be mimicked by any of the 17 putative transmitter and/or hormonal substances tested. Partial purification of the tanning activity indicated an apparent molecular weight of 20-30 K. The partially purified material (from gel filtration) resembled the hormone bursicon in the following three ways: its titre in the tissue declined following normal bursicon release; it could be recovered from the haemolymph during normal bursicon release; it could be released from isolated nervous tissue following high potassium stimulation in a calcium-dependent manner. It was concluded that the hormone bursicon represents most if not all the tanning activity present in the central nervous system, that it is widely distributed in that tissue and that it is present as a peptide (or class of peptides) with homogeneous size and charge.


This article considers the processes through which some police officers with mental ill-health experience stigmatization in police organizations. Situated in the sociological framework of Goffman and in modified labelling theory, it draws on the findings of a qualitative study and examines the sources of stigma embedded in police work, the consequences of stigma for the labelled officer, the nature of any resistance to the application of the label and approaches to challenging stigma within the policing context. It suggests that in order to tackle these negative attitudes constabularies must do more to address the processes of stigmatization associated with mental ill-health at the individual and institutional levels.


Diwaniyyas, also known in colloquial Kuwaiti Arabic as diwawin (pl.), are places of social gathering for Kuwaiti men to discuss issues relevant to them. The term 'diwaniyya' refers to both the physical confines of this reception room, and the practice of congregating in this designated space. The diwaniyya culture has its roots in tribal customs, and later became entrenched in Kuwaiti society owing to the country's maritime past. More recently, scholarly attention accorded to the diwaniyya revolves around its political potential, featuring notably as spaces for electoral campaigning.

This study aims to provide an overdue elucidation of the diwaniyya's persistent and changing social roles, which run in tandem with the fabric of Kuwaiti society itself – the family. By looking beyond the bifurcation of Kuwait's historiography (pre-oil and post-oil eras), this study locates the diwaniyya practice across different time periods during which Kuwait undergoes a series of socio-spatial changes, including the advent of oil wealth, modernisation and urbanisation. The malleability of the diwaniyya, as an interlinked space and practice, maintains social networks and bridges generations, allowing for the constant circulation of social and cultural 'capitals,' key theories of the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. By further employing Jurgen Habermas' concept of the public sphere which invokes the feasibility of discursive institutions, this study also examines how public participation is fostered from the physicality of space, to the intimate sphere of the family, and then projected onto the mediating role of the diwaniyya between public and private realms.

The diwaniyya is equally appealing to foreign diplomats who recognise its social qualities and political potential. In this light, this study seeks to challenge the mainstream definition of diplomacy, often situated in the European canon emphasising professionalisation and bureaucratisation. By exploring how human agency is transplanted from the grassroots level into the diplomatic realm, this study finds that the diwaniyya represents a fascinating hybrid of state and non-state 'diplomacy' rooted in cultural tradition.


Product operator formalism is widely used for analytical description of multiple-pulse NMR experiments for weakly coupled spin systems. 3D J-resolved NMR spectroscopy is widely used in order to resolve the chemical shift along one axis and spin-spin coupling parameters along the two other axis. In this study, product operator theory is used for analytical description of heteronuclear 3D J-resolved NMR spectroscopy for the \( ISnKm (I=1/2, S=1/2, K=1/2; n=1,2, m=1,2,3) \) spin system.


This study explores the processes and characteristics of WOM in the Australian business environment by examining how executives of large organisations deal with communications and customer relationships. WOM has become increasingly significant to business performance. Traditionally a face-to-face phenomenon, WOM can now also be remote via use of the telephone and the Internet. To date the majority of the WOM literature considers WOM to result from service beyond expectations. Even when significant resources are concentrated on customer relationship management (CRM), this study demonstrates that WOM emanates from other sources such as organisation-influenced communications, internal processes and WOM networking, thus supporting the recent work of some authors who have suggested that stimuli other than happy, satisfied customers may influence WOM. Opinion is divided on the relative importance of positive and negative WOM. However, there is general acknowledgement that WOM affects organisational performance. Positive WOM can contribute to new customer acquisition, reflect customer loyalty and enhance the organisation's image and identity, while the opposite effect of negative WOM can lead to organisations concentrating on complaint resolution to prevent switching, and crisis management to prevent damage to image, reputation and identity. In this study of service organisations the threat of negative WOM to business performance has been found to dominate management processes. A regional energy company and two multinational organisations, from the financial services and non-profit sectors, participated in the study. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with managers from the marketing and communication departments, and participant observation took place within business meetings. The cross-case analysis has provided specific recommendations for managers of the three cases to take advantage of the WOM phenomenon in enhancing their business success. The Six Pillars of WOM model is a specific output that can be used constructively to identify, examine and manage cross-organisational processes that influence both positive and negative WOM. This study has shown that organisational


In this study, we sought to examine the influence of a 12 week design-based elective Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) course on pre-service chemistry teachers' content knowledge, STEM conceptions, and engineering and engineering design views. To attain the goals determined, we utilized five STEM activities starting with a daily-life problem and an iterative engineering design process to solve the problem. A chemistry test with 11 two-tier items, and interviews focusing on STEM and engineering conceptions were administered at the beginning and at the end of the course. Moreover, a reflection paper was collected after each activity. Eight junior pre-service chemistry teachers participated in the study voluntarily. Deductive and inductive data analyses were used to investigate the influence of the course on participants' content knowledge, STEM conceptions, and engineering and engineering design views. The results revealed that the design-based STEM course helped pre-service teachers deepen their content knowledge. Additionally, most of the participants defined integrated STEM education as an acronym (n = 6) and very few mentioned the interdisciplinary dimension of STEM education superficially at the beginning (n = 3). At the end, they mentioned interdisciplinary nature as connecting at least two dimensions of STEM, and they emphasized engaging in real-world problems, designing a product or process and inquiry-based and/or problem-based learning. Regarding engineering and engineering design views, a similar development was observed. Although their views were undeveloped or underdeveloped at the beginning, they enriched their views and mentioned defining criteria, creativity and integration to science and mathematics that are characteristics of engineering and design processes. Implications for including STEM courses in pre-service teacher education programs were provided.


This study explores the thoughts, feelings and behaviours surrounding body image in two female focus groups. One focus group was carried out with five people aged 18-25 years referred to as the 'younger' group. The other focus group was carried out with five people aged 60-70 years referred to as the 'older' group. Data was analysed using thematic analysis, highlighting five main themes for each focus group, some containing sub-themes. Thematically using the comparison method, this study found similarities and contrasts for the two focus groups. Similar themes were social influences, negative thoughts and feelings, dieting and comparisons (to a certain extent). Contrasts outweighed the similarities, the younger group discussed appearance, influences, positive thoughts and feelings, dieting and exercise for health and comparisons to others. The older group discussed the impact of age, influences, dieting for weight loss and comparisons to their younger self, which impacted their body image. The results better our understanding of the similarities and contrasts of female body image in younger and older women, the unexpected findings identify areas which can be explored in future research.


This study aims to reveal high school students' learning strategies and motivation levels, the relationship between their learning strategies and motivation levels and to determine if these two variables differ according to gender and grade at school. This study was conducted in correlational survey model. Besides, "Motivation and Learning Strategies Scale" (GOSO), which was adapted to Turkish by Buyukozturk, Akgun, Karadeniz, Kilic Cakmak and Demirel, was used in the study. Data of the study were collected from 251 high school students studying in Safranbolu district of Karabuk province in Turkey in 2017-2018 school year. Results of the study reveal that students' motivation levels and frequency of using learning strategies are slightly higher than average. According to the findings of the study, gender variable does not affect high school students' motivation levels, but female students use learning strategies more than male students do. It was also found that students' grades at school do not affect their motivation levels and frequency of using learning strategies. Lastly, findings of the study reveal that there is a meaningful relationship between students' motivation levels and their learning strategies. In the light of the findings of the study it is recommended that online and digital applications be used in class in order to increase students' motivation levels and develop their learning strategies.


Abstract The expression "Pinteresque" describing the characteristic features of Harold Pinter's artistic output, established its position as a literary critical denominator many years ago. The aim of this article is to analyze some of the specific aspects of the playwright's use of language. On several occasions, the artist made comments pertaining to certain issues concerning communication. He rejected the idea of the alienation of language and promoted the concept of evasive communication, thus showing people's unwillingness to communicate. He also spoke about two kinds of silence, the first referring to a situation where there is actual silence, when "no word is spoken," and the second, when "a torrent of language is being employed" in order to cover the character's "nakedness." Accordingly, Pinter's plays may, depending on their perspective, be treated as dramas of language or of silence. This led Peter Hall, Pinter's favourite theatre director and also a close friend, to notice that in the playwright's oeuvre there is a clear distinction beween three dots, a pause and a silence. This article discusses in detail the uneven distribution of pauses and silences in Harold Pinter's 1977 play, Betrayal. It becomes evident that the use of different kinds of silence clearly indicates the emotional state of the characters at any given moment.


Sexual dimorphism in dioecious plants is a common phenomenon that has received widespread attention, yet the implications for reproductive function and fitness remain poorly understood. Using data from a long-term study of a population of 839 dioecious Iryanthera hostmannii (Myristicaceae 'nutmeg') trees in a large permanent plot in a lowland tropical rain forest, we examined the effects of greater investment in reproduction by females compared to males for various aspects of life history. Although male trees often produced more inflorescences than females, total dry mass of flowers was roughly equal in two out of three years for both sexes, implying that any investment differential lies in fruit production. There was no difference in the 12-year relative growth rate of males and females, suggesting that females can compensate somehow for their greater reproductive investment, although there were weak suggestions that mortality might have been greater in females. Male flowers opened slightly earlier in the day than female flowers and were short-lived, lasting at most two nights compared to up to four nights in females. Understanding the interacting effects of resource availability (studied here) and pollen movement (currently unknown in Iryanthera) on reproduction is essential in terms of life history theory. Knowledge of reproductive biology is key in considering the ecology and conservation of tropical forest communities.


A self-excited induction generator (SEIG) is widely used in micro hydropower plants. Generally, in Indonesia, the plant is integrated to a secondary distribution line and acts as a distributed generation (DG). If the distribution line is disconnected from the grid (loss-of-mains, LoM), then the plant must be immediately isolated before the distribution network contact equipment closes back in an out-of-synchronous mode. Voltage relays and frequency relays are commonly used to detect the occurrence of LoM on plants using SEIG. However, those relays are unable to detect all of the LoM events. This paper describes the excitation capacitor sizing strategy so that the direction of the reactive power flow changes in the event of a LoM. The change of direction of reactive power flow was used as an indicator of the occurrence of LoM. Detection of the direction of reactive power flow was done by manipulating the multiplication of instantaneous voltage and current. The result of excitation capacitor determination and LoM detection method was simulated using SIMULINK-Matlab. The simulation results showed that the proposed method could detect LoM, which could not be detected either by voltage relays or by frequency relays. The disadvantage of this method was not able to detect the LoM if the load and the power grid were capacitive. However, it is almost certain that the load and the distribution network are always inductive. The results of this study can be used as a direction for the application of LoM protection on SEIG.


Some seedlots of canola (L. and L.) have low percentage germination and poor seedling vigor. The effect of priming canola on both seed germination and seedling emergence was investigated in controlled environment cabinets. Germination was investigated using petri dish assays, whereas emergence was studied by sowing seeds into pots containing a sandy loam soil. Seed germination and seedling emergence from soil at 10°C was enhanced for several cultivars of both species due to priming. Time to 50% germination and emergence was also reduced. A cv. Goldrush seedlot, which showed low germination in preliminary studies, was found to be particularly responsive to priming and, therefore, was used in subsequent studies to optimize the technique. The optimal priming time varied with temperature. Excellent responses occurred with priming for 14 to 16 h at 23°C or 60 h at 10°C. Temperature during priming had little effect on percentage germination, emergence percentage, or time to 50% germination or emergence. Seeds primed for 16 h at 23°C or for 60 h at 10°C initiated seedling emergence at 10°C 4 d earlier than nonprimed seeds. Seedling emergence of primed seeds was 73% compared with 31% for the nonprimed seeds. The benefits of priming on both percentage emergence and time to 50% emergence were reduced if the seeds were primed under anaerobic conditions. In addition, the leachate from primed seeds was inhibitory to both percentage germination and time to 50% germination, particularly at 10°C. The results obtained from this study indicate that seed priming has potential for improving seed germination and subsequent seedling establishment of canola seedlots with low germination, with low vigor, or when seeds are planted in cool (<10°C) soils.


An improved viable counting technique was developed to facilitate study of the heat resistance of fungal spores. Spores were heated and subsequently incubated in the same medium. After germination, hyphae and germ tubes were stained with lactofuchsin, and the germinated spores were counted with the aid of a microscope. A number of xerophilic strains were examined, mostly isolates from spoiled highmoisture prunes. Of these, ascospores of Aspergillus chevalieri, A. mangini, and Xeromyces bisporus were the most heat-resistant. A decimal reduction curve obtained for A. chevalieri was specified by a z value of 23 F and an F180 of 2.2 min.


John Hohenberg was at the United Nations on May 14, 1948, when Israel became an independent state and has followed its history closely ever since. His most recent book, Israel at 50: A Journalist's Perspective, traces this country's tumultuous path to national stability and its rocky relationship with the United States, the United Nations, and the Arab world. This book details the complex politics that distinguish Israel from its neighbors, observed by a journalist who has studied the country for five decades. Hohenberg describes the obstacles that the independent, self-governing Israeli state has overcome in the Middle East, the issues it still faces, and the role it continues to play as an American ally and a member of the United Nations.


Injury is the leading cause of death in children in the United States, and it is a leading reason for children to need emergent medical attention. The care of injured and ill children can best be coordinated through a comprehensive system of Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMS-C). This article reviews childhood injury epidemiology, details the history and components of EMS-C systems, and discusses areas for improvement of and individual involvement in EMS-C.


Introduction Challenging conventional understandings of centre Experiencing "now" through questions rather than answers Cognitive catastrophes and their associated questions? Configuration of question-pairs Patterns of questions indicative of the subunderstanding of now Polyhedral configuration of questions Musical implications of orbifolds for comprehension of questioning dynamics Questions undermining integrative insight and initiatives Implications of question configuration in practice Mapping of WH-questions with question-pairs onto a memorable polyhedron (a football) Mapping of WH-questions with question-pairs onto the Szilassi polyhedron Potential insights into the Szilassi configuration of WH-questions from 4D Reframing nothing as a vital focus for sustainability References


This review concentrates on corrosion properties that expose to soil
environment. Forms of corrosion classified with respect to outward appearance
and altered physical properties are uniform attack, galvanic corrosion, erosion
corrosion, stress corrosion, crevice corrosion, pitting and inter-granular
corrosion. A porous soil may retain moisture for a longer period for optimum
aeration and indirectly increase the initial corrosion rate. External corrosion is
corrosion attack upon the outside of the pipe soil medium and the most failure
mechanisms experienced by buried steel pipelines. Many systems possibly in
contact with soil have risk to be corroded such as storage tanks and pipelines.


Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality globally. Reducing dietary fat and cholesterol intake is central to the reduction in the risk of CVD. In Nigeria and other developing countries, meat is a good source of protein and other nutrients, and its consumption is increasing. This study investigates the cholesterol concentration of ten parts of bovine meat ‐ rib muscle, fore-limb muscle, hind-limb muscle, lungs, large intestine, small intestine, colon, liver, kidney and heart. Standard biochemical methods were used for all assays. The results show that cholesterol concentration was highest in the liver (6.5 ± 0.15 mg/g) and lowest in the large intestine (1.0 ± 0.01 mg/g). Organ meats had more cholesterol per 85 g serving than the daily recommendations of the American Heart Association. Considering that meat has some beneficial effects, we conclude that while bovine meat should not be avoided completely, its consumption (especially bovine organ meats consumption) should be minimized particularly by individuals and populations at risk of CVD and its co-morbid conditions.


The mammalian mitochondrial (mt)DNA is a small, circular, double-stranded, intra-mitochondrial DNA molecule, encoding 13 subunits of the electron transport chain. Unlike the diploid nuclear genome, most cells contain many more copies of mtDNA, ranging from less than 100 to over 200,000 copies depending on cell type. MtDNA copy number is increasingly used as a biomarker for a number of age-related degenerative conditions and diseases, and thus, accurate measurement of the mtDNA copy number is becoming a key tool in both research and diagnostic settings. Mutations in the mtDNA, often occurring as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or deletions, can either exist in all copies of the mtDNA within the cell (termed homoplasmy) or as a mixture of mutated and WT mtDNA copies (termed heteroplasmy). Heteroplasmic mtDNA mutations are a major cause of clinical mitochondrial pathology, either in rare diseases or in a growing number of common late-onset diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Determining the level of heteroplasmy present in cells is a critical step in the diagnosis of rare mitochondrial diseases and in research aimed at understanding common late-onset disorders where mitochondria may play a role. MtDNA copy number and heteroplasmy have traditionally been measured by quantitative (q)PCR-based assays or deep sequencing. However, the recent introduction of ddPCR technology has provided an alternative method for measuring both parameters. It offers several advantages over existing methods, including the ability to measure absolute mtDNA copy number and sufficient sensitivity to make accurate measurements from single cells even at low copy numbers. Presented here is a detailed protocol describing the measurement of mtDNA copy number in single cells using ddPCR, referred to as droplet generation PCR henceforth, with the option for simultaneous measurement of heteroplasmy in cells with mtDNA deletions. The possibility of expanding this method to measure heteroplasmy in cells with mtDNA SNPs is also discussed.


Contemporary politicians face immense rhetorical and communicative challenges. Performing on the intertwined stages of politics, media (including Internet) and everyday life, they need to master diverse and contrasting repertoires of talk. Political communication research, at present, has ignored the question of how politicians face and experience these challenges, and how they reflect on the new communicative field. In this article, we begin to redress this situation by analysing and comparing the motives, experiences and reflections of politicians who appeared in the British satirical TV show, Have I Got News for You, and its Dutch adaptation, Dit was het Nieuws. Based on in-depth interviews with seven Dutch and 14 English MPs, we conclude that they draw from three repertoires to legitimise and reflect on their participation: a strategic, indulgent and anti-elitist repertoire. The first repertoire is predictable in the context of current political communication research, whereas the latter two add new dimensions of pleasure and bottom-up representation to it.


History and Objectives: Considering the high frequency of the scorpion Mesobuthus eupeus in Iran and the critical significance of its biting, this study was carried out to determine its distribution pattern using rock-rolling and black light trapping methods in Kashan from 2000 to 2001. Materials and Methods: The descriptive strategy of this study was carried out on 29 places in Kashan and with 44 samples using rock-rolling and black light trapping methods in Kashan from 2000 to 2001. Results: Out of 29 locations, 44 sampling were done and a total of 239 scorpions were trapped. In this respect, 227 (95) out of them were trapped using rock-rolling method and 18 samples (5) were collected using black light method. The average rate of sampling was 5.43. The average was 7.56 for rock-rolling method and 1.28 for black light method. Conclusion and Recommendations: It was found out that in mountainous locations, more scorpion is trapped using rock-rolling method and the scorpion Mesobuthus eupeus is mainly lithophilic and psammophilic.


We studied the expression of hypoxia-related antigens (e.g., cold-inducible antigens and apoptotic antigens) in the myocardium and the cerebellumthat were obtained from individuals after death by carbon monoxide or hypothermia. The immunohistochemistry results revealed that expression of cold-inducible RNA binding protein (CIRBP) and RNA-binding protein 3 (RBM3) may be associated with hpyothermic and the hypoxic conditions. The expression of CIRBP and RBM3 in the myocardium was different from their expression in the cerebellum, especially in the Purkinje cells. The results indicate that agonal duration influences antigen expression. In the hypothermic condition, the myocardium uses more ATP since the force of the excitation-contraction coupling of the myocardium increases by more than 400% when the experimental temperature is reduced from 35°C to 25°C. The results obtained in this study indicate that physicians should pay attention to the myocardium when cooling the patient's body to protect the brain. Key W ords: carbon monoxide death, cerebellum, CIRBP, hypothermic death, myocardium, RBM3.


In recent decades the world has witnessed the emergence of a global knowledge economy. For example, the evolution in recent decades of the developed economies has been accompanied by a regional shift in economic activity away from traditional industrial regions to new agglomerations of high technology, creating an explosion of entrepreneurial activity and new firm formation. For the OECD countries in particular, we can observe a transfer from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy. The supporting evidences are overwhelming and indicate that the trend is global. The emerging knowledge economy have attracted much interest among economist and generated many important contributions during the last two decades. However, the literature does not provide a comprehensive picture and we are indeed lacking a "general theory" of the knowledge economy. Various aspects of the emerging knowledge economy has been thoroughly analysed both theoretically and empirically but the overall synthesis is not yet present. Something to ask for would be a coherent theoretical framework that can explain how growth-induced investments in knowledge production stimulate localised, entrepreneur-driven innovations, which generate structural change and economic growth in an integrated system of functional regions. An interesting observation is that many of the necessary building blocks already seem to exist but that they are still waiting for someone to integrate them. The current state-of-the-art also includes inconsistent components. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to such an integration of the existing pieces of knowledge.


Among the commercially important molluscs in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Trochus nilotkuS Linn6 and Turbo marmoratm Linne occupy a prominent position because of their abtmdance and economic value. Commercial exploitation of these shells may be deemed to have started from 1929 (Panikkar, 1938) although, even earlier to this, Japanese fishermen from Singapore had been fishing for them around these islands unauthorisedly (Rao, 1939). Of these two species, Trochus niloticus was foimd to be more abundant in all the islands surveyed. Though there were good landings of these shells in the earlier years, they started declining in later years, which prompted the Andaman Administration to appoint a Special Officer to carry out scientific studies on the fishery. A consolidated report on the shell fishery of these islands during 1930-35 was published by Rao (1939). Amirthalingam (1932), Setna (1933), Prashad and Rao (1933,1934), Rao (1936 a, b, 1937, 1941) and Panikkar (1938) made more detailed observations on the shell fishery of the Andamans, with accoimts of the feeding habits, breeding seasons, size at sexual maturity, growth rate and other biological details of T. niloticus. Anon (1939) has briefly reviewed the results of the investigations made by the Zoological Survey of India in Andamans. Menon (1976), Cbatterjee (1976) and Appufcuttan (1977) have described the importance of Trochus and Turbo in the shell-craft industry. The Trochus and Turbo resources of the different islands were surveyed during 1978 by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, the results of which, along with notes on the fishery, are presented here.


This paper presents finding from a recent set of formal performance assessments studies, quantifying the ability of a hybrid passive/active SHM system to detect impact damage. The SHM system itself is an integrated device including an array of PZT sensors with a central PZT actuator, analog-to-digital converter, memory and FPGA. In passive mode, the system uses the central PZT element for triggering and the array of PZT sensors to detect and localize acoustic emissions (AE) propagating from the impact source. Subsequently, an active mode is triggered to capture the guided wave (GW) response of the resulting impact damage to a narrowband excitation measured from the same PZT array. In both cases, a phase-coherent beamforming approach is used to process the data. A single node was mounted to a 0.6 x 0.6 m square 2 mm thick aluminum plate with a row of 20 fasteneres, which was then subjected to 36 impact events of ~20 J. In addition, 6 tests were conducted to further predict the presence of a loosened fastener on the assembly. Results of the study indicated that the AE mode was extremely sensitive to small impacts even at a great distance with localization errors on the order of 25 mm. Similarly, while the GW mode errors were closer to 50 mm for localization for ~0.5 mm dents, the error for detection of loosened fasteners was less than 5 mm.


This article analyses the teaching of Swedish language lecturers active in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century. It shows the centrality of literature and literary constructions and analyses images of Swedishness and the Swedish nation present in the teaching material of that time in relation to the national image present in Swedish schoolbooks. The importance of language teaching to the transfer of knowledge regarding foreign countries is also discussed, in this case the knowledge and images of Sweden that were transferred to German students via their lecturers.