This thesis examines the history of the Jewish Labor Bund after the Holocaust, and brings into focus its reorganization as a transnational movement. The post-war Bund, comprising local organizations in over a dozen countries was tiny, with only a few thousand members, yet its output was significant in many places. The six decades after Europe's liberation saw the publication of long-lasting Bundist journals and newspapers in Melbourne, New York, Paris, Mexico City, Tel Aviv, and Buenos Aires. These organizations were represented on local Jewish communal umbrella bodies. Bundists were active in cultural institutions, welfare bodies, and mutual aid societies. They also collaborated closely with the local socialist movement in most locations. Bundist calendars were crowded with lectures, meetings, discussions, cultural undertakings, fundraisers, commemorations, and anniversary celebrations. A few locations tried—mostly unsuccessfully—to foster youth movements. In terms of numbers, the post-war Bund never rose to great heights. At most, it numbered several thousand. Still, contemporary scholars can benefit from a closer analysis of what actually took place to this group of survivors. This thesis charts both the ideological and organizational debates that played out in the years following the war, as Bundists sought to revitalize their movement. It is about the Bundist notion of doikayt, literally 'here-ness', which demanded that Jews build viable Jewish communities in the places in which they lived. The doikayt principle shunned Jewish statehood as a solution to Jewish problems, and was based on the notion that there was no single Jewish centre or homeland. This thesis is about ideas, and the personalities behind them. It explores the challenges of people trying to resurrect an organization that had been nearly destroyed during the Holocaust. For many Bundists, the continuation of their movement provided comfort amidst the uncertainty of displacement. It helped them ease their way into their new surroundings. It was a meeting place in which they linked the past, present, and future. The Bund came to represent a slice of the home from which they had been torn so violently and abruptly. It was something permanent and safe that bridged the old world with the new lives they were forging in a variety of different settings. The history of the Bund after the Holocaust offers a great deal for historians. By looking comparatively at a number of Bundist communities, this thesis illuminates the post-war Jewish experience more broadly, and it examines the local factors that affected the different trajectories of Jewish communities. Through an exploration of the Bundists' experience, historians can gain an even broader understanding of the ways in which the Holocaust affected survivors, and of the way those survivors set about the task of rebuilding their lives. It is true that the Holocaust greatly weakened the Bund. It did not, however, destroy the movement. The establishment of the world Bund in 1947 marked the dawn of a new era in the Bund's history, which is the focus this study.


The global manufacturing trend is now focusing towards miniaturization. Microminiature Powder Injection Molding (μPIM) is a viable technology to fabricate complex and high performance miniaturized components. The μPIM technique was used to produce the near-net shape micro components in this study. Fine stainless steel powder with particle size of 5μm was mixed with a ternary water-based binder system. Micro dumbbells with the largest dimension of 9mm were replicated. In order to obtain successful and well molded micro dumbbells, the Design of Experiments (DOE) technique was applied to investigate the optimal parameters in injection molding process. Injection parameters such as injection pressure (A), injection temperature (B), powder loading (C), mold temperature (D), injection time (E) and holding time (F) were optimized by using stainless steel feedstocks. Taguchi approach is chosen and the results were evaluated with signal-to-noise (SN) ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results show that the feedstocks could be replicated by using μPIM method with the application of Taguchi approach.


The reliability and accuracy of spike trains have been shown to depend on the nature of the stimulus that the neuron encodes. Adding ion channel stochasticity to neuronal models results in a macroscopic behavior that replicates the input-dependent reliability and precision of real neurons. We calculate the amount of information that an ion channel based stochastic Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neuron model can encode about a wide set of stimuli. We show that both the information rate and the information per spike of the stochastic model are similar to the values reported experimentally. Moreover, the amount of information that the neuron encodes is correlated with the amplitude of fluctuations in the input, and less so with the average firing rate of the neuron. We also show that for the HH ion channel density, the information capacity is robust to changes in the density of ion channels in the membrane, whereas changing the ratio between the Na+ and K+ ion channels has a considerable effect on the information that the neuron can encode. Finally, we suggest that neurons may maximize their information capacity by appropriately balancing the density of the different ion channels that underlie neuronal excitability.


This issue of Michigan Medicine marks a turning point in MSMS posture regarding advance directives ("living wills"). For many years, MSMS has discussed the issue and has supported legislation, more or less behind the scenes. We are now involved in a more proactive stance, trying to encourage more discussion and wider use of these devices, whether or not legislation is enacted. In this article I will: 1) review some basic terms and ethical principles; 2) recount the deliberations of the MSMS Committee on Bioethics on this topic; and 3) indicate why the time is now ripe for more action by Michigan physicians.


Organizing IFLA WLIC 2013 was a major milestone for libraries and librarians in Singapore. It provided an opportunity to researchers and practitioners in Singapore to share their research, ideas and initiatives with the participants from other countries. This analysis attempts to capture the flavour and essence of the presentations made by representatives from Singapore. It aims to provide a synopsis of selected papers to those library and information professionals who might have either missed the opportunity to attend this prestigious conference or had missed certain sessions as some of these sessions held concurrently. This analysis would help them discover more about the directions, initiatives and research undertaken in Singapore.


This article explores state discourse on domestic security threats and the way the Mozambican party-state sought to counter them in the decade after independence. It analyses the ways in which government forces dealt with ideological enemies, crime and social disorder. It is argued that Frelimo's quest for hegemony and its obsessive aim of building a state-nation under the project of 'socialist revolution' led to harsh intolerance of all that was considered a hindrance to these objectives. As obstacles to the project arose from the outset, the party-state developed a political analysis of security that did not distinguish internal from external security threats. The result was the institutionalisation of a politics of punishment as a state instrument of power and social control aiming to repress, deter and educate party-state opponents and all individuals outside the realm of socialist and revolutionary principles defined by the party-state. The article demonstrates that much of this politics of punishment represented to considerable sections of Mozambican society a return to the 'old regime' insofar as the post-independence state reproduced some colonial mechanisms of punishment and social control.


The purpose of this study was to compare the results of teaching mathematics by the traditional approach and the modern approach. The study was limited to Eighth Grade Mathematics and Algebra I, and to those students who attended Glendale High School, Springfield, Missouri. The study consisted of two parts - Eighth Grade Mathematics and Algebra I. In the Eighth Grade Comparison Group, students who had Eighth Grade Mathematics in 1962-63 used a traditional mathematics textbook, and those who had the course in 1963-64 used a modern mathematics textbook. Students were selected from these two groups, and they were matched according to the same I.Q. score determined in grade eight and the same sex. There were 185 matched pairs. In the Algebra I Comparison Group, students who had Algebra I in 1962-63 studied from a traditional Algebra I textbook, and those who had Algebra I in 1963-64 studied from a modern textbook. Students were paired from these two Algebra I groups similar to the method used for pairing the Eighth Grade Mathematics Group. The measures used for comparing mathematics achievement of the Eighth Grade Comparison Group were Ninth Grade Mathematics marks and Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Ability, and Abstract Reasoning parts of the Differential Aptitude Test scores. The measures used for the Algebra I Comparison Group were Geometry marks, and the Mathematics Reasoning and Mathematics Fundamentals part of the California Achievement Test scores. In the Eighth Grade Comparison Group, the Traditional Group showed higher on the more elementary Ninth Grade Mathematics course marks and on the Numerical Ability Test scores. The Modern Group was higher on Algebra I marks, the Verbal Reasoning Test scores, and the Abstract Reasoning Test scores. In the Algebra I Comparison Group, the Traditional Group showed higher on each item compared. There is one important factor that probably favored the Traditional Groups in both Comparison Groups, and that was the fact that the teachers were using the modern mathematics textbooks for the first time; also, modern mathematics was new for many of the teachers. This should have caused the mathematics instruction for the Modern Groups to be somewhat inferior to the instruction for the Traditional Group. It could not be determined just how much this factor altered the results of this study.


This case study was performed to find out case relation which found in the field with clinical examination,anatomy pathology and histopathology changes, supported by few literature and many source, to determine few possibility of reason and to decide next action to cope with the same epidemic in the future. By the end of 2004, 4 cats were taken care at one of the animal clinique in South Surabaya. Data which collected from this case was, 2 of 4 cats were taken to the Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,Airlangga University. All of them were breed of Angora with age between 1 until 2 years, to be necropsied and to beanalized based from tissue morphology changes. Result of necropsy showed changes of Poliserositis or difuse nodule 2 until 3 mm in peritonium, lever, lung,heart, with hydrothorac, ascites. Based on organ morphology changes, tissue changes, and histopathologic view, it wasaim at a feline most infectious disease, Feline Infectious Peritonitis, wet form. Considering that disease is quite difficult to handle and based from few information the use of vaccine yet uneffective so must be notice especially for cat breeder in Indonesian. FIP vaccine first use in 1991 in USA meanwhile in Indonesiastill unavailable till now.


Objective: The objective of the present study was to determine oxidant and antioxidant status in infants with hyperbilirubinemia and/or kernicterus and to find whether there is a relationship between bilirubin level and oxidant/antioxidant status. Patients: The study includes 69 full-term newborns (neonates with hyperbilirubinemia needing phototherapy [Group 1, n = 36] and neonates with kernicterus [Group 2, n = 33]) and 25 age-matched healthy newborn. Results: Plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and serum total oxidant status (TOS) were significantly higher in Groups 1 and 2 than the control group. There was a significant difference between Group 1 and control cases for malondialdehyde (MDA; p < 0.001). Total free sulfhydryl group (TTHI) values were significantly elevated in Group 1 compared to Group 2 and control cases. Correlation analysis showed that the correlation between total bilirubin (TB) and TAC, TOS, MDA and oxidative stress index may be expressed by a quadratic curve. After phototherapy, a statistically significant increase in nitrite level was observed. Conclusion: We demonstrated that the relationship between serum TB and antioxidants and oxidative stress could be expressed by a quadratic correlation curve.


ABSTRACT The global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in widespread social and economic disruption. Effective interventions are urgently needed for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have demonstrated their prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, and several have been granted authorization for emergency use. Here, we discover and characterize a fully human cross-reactive mAb, MW06, which binds to both SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) and disrupts their interaction with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors. Potential neutralization activity of MW06 was observed against both SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV in different assays. The complex structure determination and epitope alignment of SARS-CoV-2 RBD/MW06 revealed that the epitope recognized by MW06 is highly conserved among SARS-related coronavirus strains, indicating the potential broad neutralization activity of MW06. In in vitro assays, no antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of SARS-CoV-2 infection was observed for MW06. In addition, MW06 recognizes a different epitope from MW05, which shows high neutralization activity and has been in a Phase 2 clinical trial, supporting the development of the cocktail of MW05 and MW06 to prevent against future escaping variants. MW06 alone and the cocktail show good effects in preventing escape mutations, including a series of variants of concern, B.1.1.7, P.1, B.1.351, and B.1.617.1. These findings suggest that MW06 recognizes a conserved epitope on SARS-CoV-2, which provides insights for the development of a universal antibody-based therapy against SARS-related coronavirus and emerging variant strains, and may be an effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent.


This book is written in a concise and simple manner and is the basis for understanding educational psychology, especially child development. This book is written in a basic manner but does not neglect the details of each topic and material which is expected to provide a comprehensive understanding of the reader. This book discusses 3 basic things in educational psychology based on child development including: 1. Understanding of Educational Psychology 2. Child Growth and Development 3. Learning That Pays Attention to Children's Potential The 3 things discussed in this book are 3 basic things and are very important to understand in educating children. Because these 3 things are the basis for providing children's education that is psychologically adjusted according to the age of the children in learning.


The crystallization of cocoa butter and 1:1 cocoa butter-sugar blends containing 2 wt% emulsifier was investigated. The emulsifiers studied were soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), citric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides (CITREM) and ammonium phosphatides (YN). Lecithin, CITREM and YN enhanced nucleation and growth events substantially, however, had minimal effects on the form IV-to-V transition and enthalpy. PGPR showed a modest enhancement of crystallization kinetics but promoted the formation of form V polymorph similar to that of canola and castor oil. In the presence of sugar, emulsifiers were no longer able to influence nucleation and growth. Sugar also hindered the form IV-to-V transition in the presence of both emulsifier and oil. Overall, results showed that emulsifiers may be used to tune the isothermal crystallization of cocoa butter, though this depends on the presence of dispersed sugar.


Lasso-type variable selection has increasingly expanded its machine learning applications. In this paper, uncorrelated Lasso is proposed for variable selection, where variable de-correlation is considered simultaneously with variable selection, so that selected variables are uncorrelated as much as possible. An effective iterative algorithm, with the proof of convergence, is presented to solve the sparse optimization problem. Experiments on benchmark data sets show that the proposed method has better classification performance than many state-of-the-art variable selection methods.


AbstractSterilization at high-temperature water vapor is the most common method to make medical waste harmless before storage. Although it is microbiologically a very effective method, the effluent quality parameters of the wastewater from sterilization process do not meet the local or national standards. In this paper, we studied removal of total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) of medical waste sterilization plant wastewater by electro-Fenton (EF) method. In addition, before the treatment studies, some experiments were also carried out to determine cathodically H2O2 production, which has vital importance to EF process. In the treatability study, anode and cathode configuration of the electrochemical cell were selected as platinum and graphite for Fenton's oxidation. Optimum parametric conditions for EF process were determined as initial pH (pHi) 2, 700 mA current, 75 mg/L Fe2+, and 0.2 L/min air flow rate, and at these optimum conditions 46.3% TOC, 27.7% TN, and 63.1%...


The rapid development of information communication technology (ICT) over the past 20 years, and the introduction of the internet have significantly changed everyday life and how information is communicated. This also tends to include information sharing between the government and its citizens. Sweden and Japan are both industrialized, democratic countries with existing channels for exchanging ideas and lessons learned. They both have similar aspirations in terms of becoming world leaders within the development of e-government. The infrastructure exists in both countries to make the implementation of e-government possible, yet the observed outcomes differ. To examine the cases of Sweden and Japan further, I compare and contrast the laws and legal cultures pertaining to e-government. I demonstrate similarities and differences between the countries in terms of how they relate to and interact with e-government and the surrounding legal culture. Furthermore, I explain that the origins of the legal system and cultural orientation have contributed to the development of the legal cultures in Sweden and Japan.


The increasing amount of global retailers and franchised multi-chain stores in the past decade in Indonesia has tightened the market for independent convenience stores. Modern stores provide affordable prices and a 'modern look' store atmosphere that are bright and clean that has shifted the behavior of consumers to leave patronizing traditional markets and stores. The large economy scale of multi-chain stores has gained the advantage of bargaining power with product suppliers through trading terms and has set a different level of trading compared to traditional stores through its product cycle and pricing system.
Previous researches had proven that by the increase of modern retailers by 8%, has eliminated traditional kiosks, stores and markets by 30% (AC Nielson data). The objective of this research is to find out how a traditional convenience store can survive the fierce competition of the retail industry. Taking a case study of a single traditional store named Nata Bahagia that has operated for 22 years in North Bandung, this research intends to formulate solutions to manage and increase its business growth. Currently the business issue is thatÂ's the store is in a healthy condition and is progressing an income growth, but as operational costs rise thus making the profit not increasing.
By implementing a comprehensive research of Nata Bahagia by studying its business situation (PESTEL & Customer behavior analysisÂ') and the company situation (PorterÂ's 5 Forces, Value Chain, & Financial analysisÂ'), the store could find the root causes of the business issue. The result could then be formulated in the strategy formulation analysis by implementing SWOT, Grand Strategy, TOWS, and Internal-External analysisÂ'. The result is that to manage the companyÂ's business growth the store has to improve their productivity and is in a good condition to increase their business growth.
Productivity is implemented by reducing operational costs and increasing sales. One of the programs to increase sales is by improving their delivery service and accommodating local & domestic homemade products to add cost advantage. To expand the companyÂ's business growth, since the store is locally well known, the best is a social approach by creating a facility that could help provide welfare for the society which is by making a basic-need wholesaler (currently does not exist in the area). The purpose is to solve the problem that many small-medium enterprises (SME) face when purchasing to suppliers, no bargaining power. By collecting the many smallvolume purchases of these SMEÂ's, the wholesaler would gain bargaining power and issue trading terms.


The optimal approach to tracking a moving source in an uncertain environment is one which incorporates a priori knowledge about both the continuity of the propagation environment and the nature of the source movement. The optimum uncertain field tracking algorithm (OUFTA) [S. L. Tantum and L. W. Nolte, ''Tracking and localizing a moving source in an uncertain shallow water environment,'' J. Acoust. Soc. Am. (submitted)] extends the optimum uncertain field processor (OUFP) [A. M. Richardson and L. W. Nolte, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 89, 2280–2284 (1991)] to include modeling of the source motion as a Markov process. This differs from the suboptimal approach which performs a series of independent source localizations and then combines the results to estimate the path taken by the source. The performance of the OUFTA and the suboptimal approach is evaluated using the SWELLEX‐1 data collected off the San Diego coast. Results using the SWELLEX‐1 data are also presented which show how this optimal philosophy can be us...


The world is becoming increasingly multipolar, mainly due to the economic and geopolitical rise of a group of emerging countries, particularly China. This international transition bears major consequences for the European Union (EU), which sees its international position becoming increasingly challenged. The EU has started to redefine its foreign policy and reach out to new strategic partners, such as China and Africa, in order to remain a relevant international player. The current transition towards a multipolar world order also presents a challenge for European foreign policy research. So far, the academic literature has only focused marginally on conceptualising the EU's changing international role. This paper addresses the theoretical gap in the literature on European foreign policy (EFP) and proposes a new analytical framework for the study of the EU in a changing global order. The framework proposed in this paper is centred around the concept of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and presents an attempt to move away from an inward-looking analysis to a conceptual framework that integrates the EU's strategic partners into the study of European foreign policy. The empirical trend of EU-China-Africa relations serves as the main case study for testing the analytical tool of CSP. The Case of EU-China-Africa Relations


Abstract Adsorption isotherms of a nonionic surfactant, viz. a nonylphenol-polyethylene oxide with 20 ethylene oxide units in the chain, NP-EO20, on poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, latex have been determined at 10, 25, 40, 60, and 80°C. At all temperatures the isotherms are of the high affinity type, i.e., strong adsorption at low solution concentration reaching a limiting value at higher concentration. The adsorption is strongly temperature dependent and increases with temperature. Thermodynamic analysis reveals that the only factor significantly affecting the temperature dependence of the adsorption of nonionic surfactants of NP-EOn type is the polyethylene oxide-water interaction. Adsorption measurements can therefore be used as a sensitive probe for this interaction. Two explanations are given for the temperature dependence of the polyethylene oxide-water interaction. The first is that the temperature dependence of this interaction is dominated by water structuring, normally occurring around hydrophobic molecules. The increase in adsorption with temperature is a result of the decreasing water structuring. The second explanation is that the polymer has a higher probability of occupying less favorable conformations as the temperature is increased, thus rendering the polymer less soluble in the water phase, which in turn increases the adsorption.


Pregnancy is the stage of development of foetus and also a transition in the anatomy and physiology of the mother. During this time various metabolic changes occur in the mother. These changes are necessary to support the growing embryo. Micronutrients, which include vitamins and minerals, are important during all stages of life particularly in pregnancy. Thus inadequate availability of micronutrients can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Antioxidant vitamins and certain minerals like zinc, copper and iron are of immense importance during this stage. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder and the disease has been found associated with altered micronutrient levels. Zinc is an essential micronutrient and is necessary for the proper functioning of various enzymes and transcription factors. Studies reveal that altered maternal zinc levels are found associated with preeclampsia. Can zinc contribute to the aetiology of preeclampsia? The relation remains unexplored. This review gives an overview of the difference in normal pregnancy and pre-eclampsia and the probable association of zinc with preeclampsia.


Abstract: the extent of roads damage and road safety are closely related. This article analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of Bayesian networks and it proposes that using matter-element Bayesian network model , the extent of road damage can be evaluated . The model is more scientific, more accurate and effectively ensures the unified state between subjective probability information with the objective state information . It provides accurate information for the investment decision of project maintenance .


: In the present paper the methyl mercury pollution in no. 2 Songhua river is reported. After ten years of continuous investigation, it was found that the health of fishermen who had eaten mercury polluted fish as a dietary for a long time was affected. There was an accumulation of methyl mercury in the fishermen's body and symptoms and pathologic changes related to toxication by methyl mercury. The average value of mercury content in fish (0.44-0.89 ppm) was shown to be above the maximum allowable concentration by one to three times. The intake of methyl mercury by the fishermen was in the range of 0.17-0.34 mg/per day and 90% of the mercury in the fishermen's body was from the polluted fish. The average mercury content in hair was 13-58 times higher than that of normal. The mercury concentration in urine after therapy was higher than that before by 10.6 to 33.3 times. There was a close correlation between mercury content in hair and in blood and the ratio was shown to be 250:1. The hazard of methyl mercury to fishermen was discussed.


As shown in former papers, the nonadiabatic Heisenberg model presents a novel mechanism of Cooper pair formation which is not the result of an attractive electron-electron interaction but can be described in terms of quantum mechanical constraining forces. This mechanism operates in narrow, roughly half-filled superconducting bands of special symmetry and is evidently responsible for the formation of Cooper pairs in all superconductors. Here we consider this new mechanism within an outer magnetic field. We show that in the magnetic field the constraining forces produce Cooper pairs of non-vanishing total momentum with the consequence that an electric current flows within the superconductor. This current satisfies the London equations and, consequently, leads to the Meissner effect. This theoretical result is confirmed by the experimental observation that all superconductors, whether conventional or unconventional, exhibit the Meissner effect.


The separation of suspended sediment in natural waters in the laboratories is usually determined by using the filtration method or gravimetric analysis. The type offilter used, however, differs from one user to another, the type being largely determined by the quality of data needed, cost or the effective filtering area required. In this experi ment, four commonly used and recommended filters by various researchers and agencies in the country were tested. They are the Whatman 542, Whatman GFC, Whatman cellulose nitrate and Millipore type HA. The experiment involved drying the filters in the oven at 105'C for over 24 h and ashing in the muffle furnace at 550'C for 2h, a normal procedure in determining the mineral sediment weight by eliminating any organic matter present. After ashing, the Whatman GFC registered the highest mean weight loss of 0.0712g which is 3.63% of the original weight, followed by Whatman cellulose nitrate membrane and the Whatman 542 (0.0014g) and the Millipore Type HA (0.0004g).


Two long-term series of curriculum studies have examined the characteristics of therapeutic recreation (TR) curricula in the United States, and Canada when possible. One series started in 1970 with the last reported data in 2010 (Anderson, Ashton-Shaeffer, & Autry, 2000; Anderson & Stewart, 1980; Autry, Anderson, & Sklar, 2010; Stein, 1970; Stewart & Anderson, 1990). The other series started in 1999 with the last reported data in 2013 (Stumbo & Carter, 1999a, 1999b; Stumbo, Carter, & Folkerth, 2007; Stumbo, Carter, & Kim, 2004a, 2004b; Stumbo, Carter, Wilder, & Greenwood, 2013). The purpose of this study was to examine the data across both series to identify curriculum trends over time. The major findings include that most TR programs were most likely to be housed in a College of Education and a Department of Recreation and Leisure Services. Faculty numbers have fluctuated slightly over time, with the number of persons at the instructor rank rising and the number of persons in full professor positions rising in the early 2000s and then trending downward. The percentage of TR faculty who hold doctorates has also risen and fallen in the last decade. Faculty loads continue to be high with an average of three to four classes being taught per semester. Student enrollments have trended downward since a high in 1990. The majority of enrolled students have been female. Generally, estimated graduation rates rose, while estimated employment rates and certification rates fell. The number of TR courses required at the undergraduate level has increased over time. Accreditation of TR programs by COA (COAPRT, 2012 revised) has evidenced a downward trend. In addition to this micro-analysis of the data, a macro-analysis of future implications for TR higher education is also provided.


This article considers Helen Fielding's two Bridget Jones novels as foundational texts in the genre of chick lit as it "produces, disseminates, and proliferates certain feminist and liberal subjectivities" (Butler and Desai 2008, 5). The focus is on tracing in these two novels a racialized, situated, national subject whose narrative leads not simply to romantic union but to reproduction. Engaging with Lee Edelman's important theory of reproductive futurism, this article undertakes to trace and to problematize chick lit's narrative with reference to its primary concern with women and maternity in a national context.


The imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, were introduced into the United States by way of Alabama in the mid 1930s. Their devastating impact on the agriculture of the south led to a project to eradicate them, which in turn resulted in the discovery of the antiangiogenic activity of a component of their venom. The discovery of 2-methyl-6-alkyl piperidines has led to the synthesis and study of solenopsin A, a trans-2-methyl-6-n-undecyl piperidine and analogs. Solenopsin A has proven effective in biological
testing of zebrafish for antiangiogenic studies, thus qualifying it and its analogs as viable
candidates for further studies. Angiogenesis, a term coined by P. Shubik in 1968, is the growth of blood vessels from previously existing vessels. Angiogenesis is a normal physiological process in humans during early childhood development, but seldom in adults. The dominant disease that is affected by angiogenesis is cancer, which progresses through tumor growth.
Angiogenesis inhibition, also termed antiangiogenesis, appears to have a very exciting
future in cancer therapy. Antiangiogenic molecules have been prepared and studied as
potential new therapeutics, and they should be advantageous over the commonly used cancer therapies. Several Williamson ether techniques were investigated to develop analogs of solenopsin A to submit for biological testing as antiangiogenic agents. Computational chemistry techniques were utilized to gain insight into
conformation preferences for the ether products. Each molecule was calculated using quantum and molecular mechanics in Spartan. The calculations were performed using equilibrium geometry and the Hartree-Fock model with the 6-31G* basis set. Each
structure was subject to a molecular mechanics conformer search followed by quantum
mechanical calculations for the lowest energy conformers. The dihedral angles were recorded for each conformer, and again for the minimized conformers.


We have shown previously that two populations of myeloid cells emerge in the anterior and posterior ventral blood islands (aVBI and pVBI) at the different stages in Xenopus laevis embryo. In order to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of myeloid cell differentiation in the aVBI, we examined the role of Nkx2.5, an essential transcription factor for heart differentiation, in regulation of the myeloid cell differentiation in this region. Knockdown of endogenous Nkx2.5 by introducing MO into the dorsal marginal zone (DMZ) suppressed the expression of MHCα as well as that of mpo and spib in the resultant embryos and in DMZ explants made from the injected embryos. Expression of c/ebpα was less affected in the embryos injected with Nkx2.5 MO. The effect of Nkx2.5 MO in myeloid cell differentiation was recovered by coinjection of nkx2.5 or c/ebpα mRNA, indicating that Nkx2.5 functions at the same or the upper level of C/EBPα for the specification of myeloid cells. An attempt to identify transcription factors for myeloid cell differentiation in ventral marginal zone (VMZ) explants demonstrated that coinjection of two transcription factors out of three factors, namely C/EBPα, Nkx2.5 and GATA4, was sufficient to induce a certain amount of mpo expression. We suggest that C/EBPα is an unequivocal factor for myeloid cell differentiation in the aVBI and that Nkx2.5 and GATA4 cooperate with C/EBPα for promotion of myeloid cell differentiation.


The power of computation and large memory of computers nowadays offer a great opportunity for information processing and storage. But information is not knowledge and one needs methods that permit to go from information to knowledge. Extracting automatically knowledge from storage data becomes then one of great challenge for the Information Technology (IT) industry. Pattern Recognition (PR) is the study of how machines can observe the environment, learn to distinguish pattern of interest from their background and make sound and reasonable decisions about the category of the pattern. The automatic recognition, classification, description, grouping of pattern is an important problem in engineering and sciences such as biology, psychology, medicine, marketing, computer vision, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, manufacturing, etc. Computer programs that help many professional in their daily work such as doctors diagnosing disease, policemen identifying suspects, engineers supervising manufacturing plants and energy production systems, etc. depend in some way on pattern recognition. One important field and goal of pattern recognition is classification: supervised or unsupervised also known as clustering. In this paper we present a mathematical tool named support vector machines (SVM) that permit to derive efficient algorithms of learning and classification.


Urban growth has been replaced by stagnation and shrinkage processes at many places in Europe during the last decades. Demographic changes and out-migration because of lack of jobs belong to the main impact factors. Urban planners are challenged by this new and dramatic development that impacts on housing markets, the utilization of infrastructure, local labor markets and the whole viability of urban structures. Urban Research is requested to elaborate new concepts and strategies for cities loosing population, facing a big amount of vacant building stock and a large-area re-use of brown-fields. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the chances and limits of urban modeling to explain and assess urban shrinkage processes in their quantitative and qualitative dimension. First, expertise of new shrinkage processes is investigated in order to explain the need for urban modeling concepts. Second, it is discussed to what extend often misrepresented 'fuzzy' social science knowledge about urban shrinkage can be brought methodically together with 'sizable'-data-based urban models. Third, variables and a prototype model structure are presented to approach to an urban shrinkage model. Finally, novel scientific questions and recommendations for further cooperation of social science and urban modeling are presented.


Seroprevalence data suggest that West Nile virus activity in southern Romania dates to the 1960s or earlier. In the summer of 1996, southeastern Romania and especially Bucharest experienced an unprecedented epidemic of West Nile encephalitis/meningitis, with at least 393 hospitalized cases and 17 deaths. Contributing factors included a susceptible avian population and urban/suburban infrastructural conditions that favored the production of large numbers of Culex pipiens pipiens. The epidemic ended spontaneously in early autumn. Results of serosurveys conducted as the epidemic waned pointed to the recent, novel introduction of West Nile virus to Bucharest. During 1997-2000, 39 scattered human cases of clinical West Nile virus infection (mean, 10 per year; range, 5-14 per year)--including 5 (13%) fatal cases--were diagnosed serologically throughout the region, but epidemic disease did not recur. Results of limited ecologic surveillance efforts during 1997-2000 suggested the existence of numerous focal areas of enzootic West Nile virus activity within the region. The authors explore the possible factors that led to the 1996 epidemic, review the ecologic and human data gathered during the postepidemic period of 1997-2000, summarize the public health lessons offered by the epidemic and its aftermath, and speculate on the future of epidemic West Nile virus activity in southeastern Romania.


Abstract Wood exhibits very different behavior and properties at different scales. One important scale is the cell wall (CW) that is commonly tested by nanoindentation. Common nanoindentation provides important insight into the material but has limitations because it does not apply uniaxial stress and provides data from single spots. Therefore, the aim was to examine beech CW using two state-of-the-art techniques: micropillar compression (MCo) and nanoindentation mapping (NIP). The mean strength of the beech CW was found to be about 276 MPa and the mean yield stress was 183 MPa. These values were higher than those in most cited literature, which was attributed to the fact that libriform fibers from beech late wood were measured. Mean E obtained from MCo was about 7.95 GPa, which was lower than the values obtained on a macrolevel and about 61% of the value obtained from NIP. NIP also showed that E of the CW around the middle lamella (ML) was about 64% of the value at the location attributed to the S2 layer. Lower E from MCo may be caused by sinking of the micropillar into the wood structure under the load. Failure of the micropillars showed gradual collapse into themselves, with debonding at the S3 layer or the MLs.


Abstract An ethological model of human procreative well-being is proposed and the goodness-of-fit of pornography's script to that model is considered. Deducing an evolutionary template for procreative well-being from an ethological analysis links attachment dynamics to procreative success. Alongside parent–child attachment, pair-bond attachment in the procreative couple looms large as an element of optimal procreative relationship structure and quality. Key elements of pair-bond attachment are documented. Turning next to an empirical examination of the sexual behavioral system in humans, we see evidence of an evolutionary design supportive of attachment as well as reproductive exigencies of procreative well-being. Sexual system mechanisms promoting both reproduction and attachment are evident in the evolutionary design. We next employ script theory to identify key elements of the sexual script promulgated by pornography. Joining these two analyses, we compare the evolutionary, attachment-based template for procreative success in juxtaposition to pornography's sexual script to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of pornography use to attachment success and, by extension, procreative well-being. We conclude that there is an ethological case to be made for considering pornography use as a public health risk. Implications of the model of procreative well-being for the practice of couple therapy are given mention.


In this paper, we use a case study approach to investigate the patterns of employment and income generation in cotton and rice value chains in Senegal and Benin. The purpose of the paper is to provide a comprehensive description of both value chains in both countries, emphasizing export potential and innovation entry points with the goal of assessing capacity to generate income, create jobs, and bring about food security. To this end, we have combined quantitative and qualitative data to identify direct and indirect value chains' effects on employment and income, paying special attention to vulnerable groups such as youth, women, and informal employees. Surveys data as well as Social Accounting Matrix, have been used to assess the effects of these value chains on employment and income. Our results show strong relationships between value chains and jobs and income patterns.


Among the deformities of the thoracic wall,pectus carinatum has not received the same attention as has pectus excavatum. Few pulmonologists, pediatricians, and thoracic surgeons are aware of the approaches to treating this condition. As a consequence, patients with pectus carinatum are not referred for treatment. This deformity, with an incidence of 1:1000 teenagers, is oligosymptomatic. However, for aesthetic and emotional reasons, it accounts for a large number of medical appointments. Such patients are introverted and do not engage in physical activities, since they are unwilling to expose their chest, which also discourages them from going to the beach or to swimming pools. The diagnosis is clinical and visual, and details are obtained through chest X-rays and computed tomography. The treatment is based on a well-known organogram that summarizes orthopedic and surgical procedures. Dynamic compression, combined with physical exercises, is indicated for teenagers with flexible thorax in inferior and lateral pectus carinatum, with limited indication for those with superior pectus carinatum. For individuals of any age with rigid thorax, surgery is indicated for aesthetic reasons. Among the techniques described, the modified sternum chondroplasty stands out due to the excellent aesthetic results achieved.


Influence of bioregulators on the phospholipid Langmuir monolayers made of distearoylphosphatidylcholine and its equimolar mixture with dimitrystoylphosphatidylcholine was investigated. The results obtained allow concluding that the presence of physiologically active compounds in the subphase weakens the lipid-lipid interaction and increases the free energy change of air-liquid interface in the case of pure distearoylphosphatidylcholine monolayers, but in the case of mixed monolayers it leads both to the increase and decrease of these parameters. Presence of the dimirystoylphosphatidylcholine molecules with the short fatty acyl chains in the monolayer destabilizes it. This effect is partially compensated by the interaction between lipid and subphase molecules.


The human diet contains a diverse spectrum of endogenous chemicals that exhibit either direct or indirect hormonal activity. These include natural compounds that bind the estrogen, androgen, aryl hydrocarbon, retinoic acid, and retinoic X receptors. In addition, several studies have identified a large number of chemical contaminants that exhibit estrogenic activity (xenoestrogens), and humans are also exposed to these compounds in the diet. Some of these chemicals include diverse phenolics such as bisphenol A, phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls, and diverse organochlorine pesticides. Most of the endogenous dietary estrogens (including flavonoids and other phytoestrogens) and xenoestrogens are weak estrogen receptor agonists, and based on mass intake, human exposure to phytoestrogens is much higher than to xenoestrogens. The relative importance of dietary exposure to estrogenic compounds is unknown, and their effects will depend on a number of factors, including metabolism and pharmacokinetics, compound potency, serum concentrations, relative binding to serum proteins, levels of exposure during critical periods, and interactions or cross‐talk with other endocrine response pathways.


This paper considers the harmonic oscillations of several simple model atmospheres. The oscillations are of two types. In the first, the kinetic energy per unit volume tends to zero at great heights; in the second, the kinetic energy per unit volume remains finite. A large explosion at ground level excites a spectrum of both types of oscillation. The pulse ultimately separates into two parts—a train of travelling waves which can be observed at ground level at great distances, and a train of travelling waves which disappear into the upper atmosphere. The complete range of experimental observations on the pressure oscillations caused by explosions of energies varying between 1020 and 1024 ergs can only be interpreted with model atmospheres having one or more sound channels, i.e. having at least one minimum in the temperature-height relationship of the atmosphere. In spite of the complexity of the phenomena, the theory throws light on some of the characteristic features of the observations. The average period of the largest waves is roughly proportional to the cube root of the energy released by the explosion. The amplitudes of the waves from large explosions can be calculated. Conversely, good records enable the size of the explosion to be estimated. The energy of the Siberian meteorite of 1908 was about 1016 cal, or 10 MT (T signifying a ton of t.n.t.).


In a recent walk-over survey along the Melamchi River in the Melamchi Valley, central Nepal Himalayas, the authors could record five mistletoe species, four belonging to four genera in the family Loranthaceae and one belonging to one genus in the family Viscaea i.e. Viscum monoicum Roxb. Ex DC. Viscum monoicum closely resembles V. Orientale but can be distinguished from V. Orientale by having usually 5-nerved leaves with acute tips and with characteristically oblong truncate fruits with entirely smooth and shining surface. We compared our specimens with Hara et al. (1982) and Press et al. (2000) and also checked the herbarium specimens deposited at the National Herbarium and Plant Laboratiories, Kathmandu (KATH) and found that Viscum monoicum has already been reported from the Eastern Himalayas of Bhutan and Sikkim (Hooker f. 1890), Bangledesh (Alam 1985) and Upper Gangetic plains (Duthie 1960). This species has a very wide distribution starting from Peninsula India and Sri Lanka to the Himalayas, South and South East Yunnan, and has its eastern limit as far as French Indo-China and Siam passing through Myanmar.


Peat deposits (>50 ka) in the montane Nilgiris (Western Ghats, India), have been central to the reconstruction of late Quaternary paleoclimate using paleovegetation changes in the forest-grassland vegetation mosaic that coexist here. However, it is well-known that short-term disturbances can also cause vegetation switches when multiple stable vegetation states exist. We studied paleovegetation changes within the alternative stable states framework using stable carbon isotopes (relative abundance of C3-C4 vegetation) on the cellulose fraction from two high-resolution radiocarbon-dated peat cores ~170 m apart in the Sandynallah valley: Core 1 closer to the hillslope (32,000 years old) and Core 2 from the centre of the valley (45,000 years old). Core 1 is located in an ecotone showing shola-sedgeland dynamics with vegetation switching at c.22 ka from shola (possibly due to fire) to a prolonged unstable state until 13 ka sustained by low waterlogging. Following a hiatus c.13 ka, sedgeland dominates, with a shift into shola at 3.75 ka driven by increasing aridity. Core 2 shows a stable sedgeland mixed C3-C4 composition responding to temperature, enriched in C3-vegetation in the last glacial with C4-dominance beginning c.18.5 ka, indicative of deglacial warming. The distinctive vegetation states at corresponding times in Cores 1 and 2 within the same valley, responding independently to disturbances and climate, respectively, is the first paleo-record from an alternative stable states landscape in the montane tropics. Thus, short-term disturbances and site attributes need to be accounted for before ascribing vegetation change to changing climate in such vegetation mosaics.


Prospective studies of intergenerational continuity in parenting quality remain scarce, with little attention given to the potential role of social competence as a mediator of continuity. This study examined social competence as a mediator in the pathway from 1st generation (G1) to 2nd generation (G2) parenting quality. A normative sample of children and their parents were assessed in childhood, and again 10 and 20 years later. Parenting quality of G1 parents was assessed at each time point with multiple informants, as was G2 social competence. G2 parenting was assessed at the 20-year follow-up for those who were parents. The mediational role of social competence in G1 to G2 parenting quality was tested via nested path analytic models, accounting for continuity and cross-domain relations. Social competence mediated the intergenerational relation of parenting quality; results were invariant across gender and ethnic minority status and were unchanged after controlling for age, IQ, socioeconomic status, rule-abiding conduct, and personality (i.e., constraint). The authors discuss results regarding developmental theories of close relationships and the potential for cascading benefits within and across generations from interventions to improve G1 parenting or G2 social competence.


This chapter briefly examines the political implications of COVID-19, focusing on the potential constraints and opportunities it poses for populism. Some initial comparative observations suggest the following patterns. First, populists in opposition are likely to be weakened electorally in the short-run, as voters support non-populists on the basis of valence voting. Second, this may not apply to populists in power, who may use emergency measures for democratic backsliding. Third, in the long-run, a potential economic crisis as a result of the pandemic may benefit populist parties, especially those in opposition as discontent voters may punish those in government for the poor managing of the health/economy trade-off. In sum, what will determine the direction of future political developments is the extent to which governments can balance the trade-offs involved in the Covid-19 crisis, including effective health management versus economic growth and individual freedoms versus collective security.


This study investigates the docudrama hypothesis—the idea that fiction based on real stories can influence audience members' perception of political reality—in the context of current debates on partisan selective exposure and reinforcement effects. It does so by analyzing the influence of an Oscar-nominated docudrama on viewers' attitudes and behavioral intention using propensity score matching. By means of a representative survey, we find strong evidence of partisan selective exposure and avoidance. Furthermore, among respondents with a similar likelihood of film attendance, actual attendance has a strong association with positive retrospective evaluations of the political coalition glorified in the movie, and an indirect relationship—via retrospective evaluations—with voting intentions. Discussion of the findings shed light into potential real-world political effects of partisan selective exposure using content other than news.


Between 1971 and December 1976, 27 children with congenital heart disease underwent right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction with conduits incorporating a Björk-Shiley valve. The conditions corrected were pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (14 patients), truncus arteriosus (6 patients), and complex disease (7 patients). At operation the children were aged from 12 days to 16 years (five patients were less than one year old). Overall mortality for the group was high (52%). There were nine early deaths and five late ones. Actuarial survival till death or reoperation was 55% at four years, 35% at eight years, and 28% at 12 years. Ten children subsequently underwent reoperation for conduit stenosis caused by neointimal proliferation and valve obstruction. The new conduits incorporated a biological valve. Mortality was highest in patients aged less than one year, and in those with truncus arteriosus, severe pulmonary hypertension, or complex heart disease. Mechanical valves should be avoided in conduit reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract for congenital heart disease.


In this paper, we propose a pedagogical presentation of the Lippmann–Schwinger equation as a powerful tool, so as to obtain important scattering information. In particular, we consider a one-dimensional system with a Schrödinger-type free Hamiltonian decorated with a sequence of N attractive Dirac delta interactions. We first write the Lippmann–Schwinger equation for the system and then solve it explicitly in terms of an N × N matrix. Then, we discuss the reflection and the transmission coefficients for an arbitrary number of centres and study the threshold anomaly for the N = 2 and N = 4 cases. We also study further features like the quantum metastable states and resonances, including their corresponding Gamow functions and virtual or antibound states. The use of the Lippmann–Schwinger equation simplifies our analysis enormously and gives exact results for an arbitrary number of Dirac delta potentials.


The study reported here addresses pre-service and in-service teachers' attitudes toward mathematical-geometrical definitions. The goal of the study is to investigate whether understanding the role of definitions as classification and identification criteria will guarantee that participants: (1) accept that there may be more than one equivalent definition for particular concept; and (2) accept the minimal definitions which include necessary and sufficient attributes to be legal definitions. Fifty-three math educators participated the study, including 22 pre-service junior teachers, 19 pre-service senior teachers and 12 in-service senior teachers. The findings indicate that considering (an) attribute/s as sufficient in order to classify examples and non-examples of the concept did not guarantee considering this/ese attributes as concept definition. 56% of the participants did not accept equivalent definitions as legal definitions, 36% of them (the participants) did not accept the minimal definitions, which include necessary, and sufficient attributes to be a legal definition. For many participants, the essence of the mathematical concept is more important than the essence of the mathematical definition.


In this paper, we discuss challenges for planning and executing qualitative research conducted by an international research project team. The study comprised an exploratory examination of strategies of offshoring and onshoring for software development. An important methodological challenge is that the members of the research team live in different countries, rely on different languages and originate from different cultures. These challenges are in many ways analogous to those inherent in the subject we are researching, distributed software development. To explore these issues, we present the difficulties we faced on collecting and analyzing the qualitative data. Our main contribution is the identification of challenges, strategies to overcome them, and a set of lessons learned.


The enantiomeric synthesis of carbocyclic cyclopropyl L-nucleosides has been accomplished from L-gulonic gamma-lactone. The key intermediate 3 was stereoselectively synthesized by DIBAL-H reduction and silyl protection followed by cyclopropanation from ester 2, which was in turn prepared from L-gulonic gamma-lactone (1) in five steps. Desilylation of cyclopropyl intermediate 3 gave alcohol 4, which was then converted to the urea derivative 5 and cyclopropylamine 7 by Curtius rearrangement of an acyl azide. The urea intermediate 5 was utilized to prepare thymine 10, uracil 11, and cytosine 14 derivatives. The hypoxanthine, adenine, and guanine nucleosides 21, 22, and 24 were synthesized from the amino intermediate 7.


BACKGROUND
Muscle wasting is a consequence of many primary conditions including sarcopenia, cachexia, osteoporosis, HIV/AIDS, and chronic kidney disease. Unfortunately, there is not a clinically accessible method to measure total body protein, which is the functional mass of muscle.

OBJECTIVE
We sought to derive a simple method to measure total body protein by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and bioimpedance analysis (BIA).

DESIGN
We retrospectively analyzed a clinical convenience sample of individuals with numerous metabolic conditions from the Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne, Australia, who had a concurrent protein measure by using neutron activation analysis-derived protein (NAA-TBPro), water measure by using BIA, and whole-body DXA scan. The study was split into calibration and validation data sets by using simple random sampling stratified by sex, BMI category, and age decade. We generated a protein estimate direct-calibration protein (DC-TBPro) derived from BIA water, bone mass, and body volume. We compared NAA-TBPro with DC-TBPro and 2 protein estimates from the literature, one that used the DC-TBPro equation with fixed coefficients [4-compartment Lohman method for analysis of total body protein (4CL-TBPro)] and another that used fat-free mass, age, and sex [Wang equation-derived protein (W-TBPro)].

RESULTS
A total of 187 participants [119 women; mean (±SD) age: 37.0 ± 15.4 y; mean (±SD) BMI (in kg/m(2)) 24.5 ± 7.7] were included. When plotted against NAA-TBPro, DC-TBPro had the highest correlation [coefficient of determination (R(2)) = 0.87], lowest root mean squared error (RMSE; 0.87 kg), and fewest outliers compared with 4CL-TBPro (R(2) = 0.75; RMSE = 1.22 kg) and W-TBPro (R(2) = 0.80; RMSE = 1.10 kg).

CONCLUSIONS
A simple method to measure total body protein by using a DXA system and BIA unit was developed and compared with NAA as proof of principle. With additional validation, this method could provide a clinically useful way to monitor muscle-wasting conditions.


In this paper, we present statistical approaches to enhance body-conducted unvoiced speech for silent speech communication. A body-conductive microphone called nonaudible murmur (NAM) microphone is effectively used to detect very soft unvoiced speech such as NAM or a whispered voice while keeping speech sounds emitted outside almost inaudible. However, body-conducted unvoiced speech is difficult to use in human-to-human speech communication because it sounds unnatural and less intelligible owing to the acoustic change caused by body conduction. To address this issue, voice conversion (VC) methods from NAM to normal speech (NAM-to-Speech) and to a whispered voice (NAM-to-Whisper) are proposed, where the acoustic features of body-conducted unvoiced speech are converted into those of natural voices in a probabilistic manner using Gaussian mixture models (GMMs). Moreover, these methods are extended to convert not only NAM but also a body-conducted whispered voice (BCW) as another type of body-conducted unvoiced speech. Several experimental evaluations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. The experimental results show that 1) NAM-to-Speech effectively improves intelligibility but it causes degradation of naturalness owing to the difficulty of estimating natural fundamental frequency contours from unvoiced speech; 2) NAM-to-Whisper significantly outperforms NAM-to-Speech in terms of both intelligibility and naturalness; and 3) a single conversion model capable of converting both NAM and BCW is effectively developed in our proposed VC methods.


The paper posits that the multiverse is reversible, so all universes in the multiverse are reversible cyclic universes which have the inexhaustible resources of space-time to expand. The collision of expanding universes is permanently irreversible, forbidden in the reversible multiverse, so every universe is surrounded by the zero-energy interuniversal void as the permanent gap among universes to keep universes apart. A zero-sum energy dual universe of positive energy universe and negative energy universe can be created in the interuniversal void, and the new dual universe is again surrounded by the interuniversal void. This paper also posits the reversible string theory with oscillating space-time dimension number oscillating between 11D (space-time dimension) and 4D without the conventional compactization of string. Dimension number decreases with decreasing speed of light, decreasing vacuum energy, and increasing rest mass. The 4D and the 11D have zero and the highest vacuum energies, respectively. The universes in the reversible multiverse oscillate reversibly between high and low dimension numbers. Under symmetry breaking as in our universe, the positive energy universe as our observed universe absorbed the interuniversal void, while the negative energy universe did not. The interuniversal void has zero vacuum energy, so the absorption of the interuniversal void by the positive energy universe forced the positive energy 10D universe with high vacuum energy to be transformed into the positive energy 4D universe with zero vacuum energy, resulting in the inflation followed by the Big Bang. The negative energy universe undergoes dimension number oscillation between 4D and 10D dimension by dimension. The negative energy >4D universe is hidden, and the negative energy 4D universe appears as dark energy. The calculated percentages of dark energy, dark matter, and baryonic matter and the calculated time for dark energy to start are in good agreements with the observed values.


OBJECTIVE: Fibrin glues have not been consistently successful in preventing the dehiscence of high-risk colonic anastomoses. Fibrinogen and thrombin concentrations in glues determine their ability to function as sealants, healers, and/or adhesives. The objective of the current study was to compare the effects of different concentrations of fibrinogen and thrombin on bursting pressure, leaks, dehiscence, and morphology of high-risk ischemic colonic anastomoses using fibrin glue in rats. METHODS: Colonic anastomoses in adult female Sprague-Dawley rats (weight, 250-350 g) treated with fibrin glue containing different concentrations of fibrinogen and thrombin were evaluated at post-operative day 5. The interventions were low-risk (normal) or high-risk (ischemic) end-to-end colonic anastomoses using polypropylene sutures and topical application of fibrinogen at high (120 mg/mL) or low (40 mg/mL) concentrations and thrombin at high (1000 IU/mL) or low (500 IU/mL) concentrations. RESULTS: Ischemia alone, anastomosis alone, or both together reduced the bursting pressure. Glues containing a low fibrinogen concentration improved this parameter in all cases. High thrombin in combination with low fibrinogen also improved adherence exclusively in low-risk anastomoses. No differences were detected with respect to macroscopic parameters, histopathology, or hydroxyproline content at 5 days post-anastomosis. CONCLUSIONS: Fibrin glue with a low fibrinogen content normalizes the bursting pressure of high-risk ischemic left-colon anastomoses in rats at day 5 after surgery.


Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a borderline neoplasm with uncertain malignant potential. The most frequent site of localization is the lungs. The localization in larynx in the head-neck area is rather rare. The 11-year-old female patient had the symptom of hoarse voice, which had been continuing for three years. The laryngoscopy performed showed a polypoid tissue with a wide base, which involved the left vocal cord at full length. The polypoid tissue was completely excised. The histopathological examination performed demonstrated several myofibroblasts with intranuclear pseudoinclusions, which were surrounded by mixed inflammatory infiltrates in a myxoid stroma. No significant atypia, mitosis and necrosis were observed. The immunochemistry stains were positive for Vimentin, ALK and EMA in neoplastic cells. Alcian blue stain was positive in the myxoid stroma. The case was diagnosed with laryngeal inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor in the light of histopathological and immunohistochemical findings. Laryngeal inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, a rare entity, should definitely be distinguished from malignant laryngeal tumors. Accurate diagnosis ensures that unnecessary and aggressive treatment methods are avoided and complete, organ-salvaging resection adequate for the inflam matory myofibroblastic tumor be conducted. J Clin Exp Invest 2015; 6 (3): 315-317 OZET Inflamatuar myofibroblastik tumor malignite potansiyeli


This study attempts to investigate the effect of the ownership structure characteristics (ownership concentration, managerial ownership and government ownership) on firm performance (ROA) among non-financial Omani companies during 2012-2014. For achieving the objective of this study, 81 firms were taken as a sample to test the above relations. The sampling was obtained from annual report of the companies for three years with a total sampling equal to 243 firms. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test the relationship between independent variables and dependent variable. In addition, this study tried to fill the gap in the existing literature concerning the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance in the developing countries such as Oman. This study found a positive and significant association between ownership concentration and government ownership to firm performance (ROA). The study provides some suggestions for future researchers before the conclusion.


We present the results of a λ = 2.7 mm continuum interferometric survey of 24 young stellar objects in 11 fields. The target objects range from deeply embedded class 0 sources to optical T Tauri sources. This is the first subarcsecond survey of the λ = 2.7 mm dust continuum emission from young, embedded stellar systems. These multiarray observations, utilizing the high dynamic u-v range of the BIMA array, fully sample spatial scales ranging from 0.″4 to 60'', thus allowing the first consistent comparison of dust emission structures in a variety of systems. The images show a diversity of structure and complexity. The optically visible T Tauri stars (DG Tauri, HL Tauri, GG Tauri, and GM Aurigae) have continuum emission dominated by compact (≤1'') circumstellar disks. In the cases of HL Tauri and DG Tauri, the disks are resolved. The more embedded near-infrared sources (SVS 13 and L1551 IRS 5) have continuum emission that is extended and compact. The embedded sources (L1448 IRS 3, NGC 1333 IRAS 2, NGC 1333 IRAS 4, VLA 1623, and IRAS 16293-2422) have continuum emission dominated by the extended envelope, typically ≥85% of the emission at λ = 2.7 mm. In many of the deeply embedded systems, it is difficult to uniquely isolate the disk emission component from the envelope extending inward to AU-sized scales. Simple estimates of the circumstellar mass in the optical/infrared and embedded systems are in the ranges 0.01-0.08 M☉ and 0.04-2.88 M☉, respectively. All of the target embedded objects are in multiple systems with separations on scales of ~30'' or less. Based on the system separation, we place the objects in three categories: separate envelope (separation ≥6500 AU), common envelope (separation 150-3000 AU), and common disk (separation ≤100 AU). These three groups can be linked with fragmentation events during the star formation process: separate envelopes from prompt initial fragmentation and the separate collapse of a loosely condensed cloud, common envelopes from fragmentation of a moderately centrally condensed spherical system, and common disk from fragmentation of a high angular momentum circumstellar disk.


ABSTRACT Williams, S.J., 2013. Sea-level rise implications for coastal regions. In: Brock, J.C.; Barras, J.A., and Williams, S.J. (eds.), Understanding and Predicting Change in the Coastal Ecosystems of the Northern Gulf of Mexico, Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 63, pp. 184–196, Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Sea-level rise, a dominant driving force of change for coastal regions, is becoming increasingly important as a hazard to humans and urban areas in the coastal zone worldwide as global climate change takes effect. The geologic record shows that sea level, due to past natural climate factors, has been highly variable, as much as 6-8 m higher than present during the last interglacial warm period and 130 m lower during the last glacial period. Sea level was fairly stable for the past 3,000 years until about the mid- 19th century. During the 20th century, sea level began rising at a global average rate of 1.7 mm/yr. The current average rise rate is 3.1 mm/yr, a 50% increase over the past two decades. Many regions are experiencing even greater rise rates due to local geophysical (e.g., Louisiana, Chesapeake Bay) and oceanographic (Mid-Atlantic coast) forces. A few regions experience rise rates less than the global average due to land uplift. Observations show the increase of carbon emissions since the Industrial Revolution has increased global mean temperature of the air and ocean, which is responsible for sea-level rise due to ice sheet melting and steric expansion, and many related environmental changes. Sea-level rise, with high regional variability, is exhibiting acceleration and is expected to continue for centuries unless mitigation is enacted to reduce atmospheric carbon. Low-lying coastal plain regions, deltas, and most islands are highly vulnerable. Adaptation planning on local, state and national scales for projected sea-level rise of 0.5–2 m by A.D. 2100 is advisable. Sustained global rise in sea level of 4 m to as much as 8 m is possible, but not likely until well after A.D. 2100.


Background: C-X-C motif chemokine 5 (CXCL5) is an important attractant for immune cell accumulation in tumor tissues. Recent evidence has shown that CXCL5 could promote carcinogenesis and cancer progression in a variety of cancer types. However, the relationships between CXCL5, immune cell infiltration and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain largely unknown. This study aimed to explore the role and regulative mechanism of CXCL5 in PDAC carcinogenesis. Materials and Methods: The expression of CXCL5 in PDAC was analyzed based on online databases and tissue microarray staining, and Western blotting of CXCL5 in PDAC cell lines and patient samples. The correlation between CXCL5 expression and clinicopathological features, prognosis and immune cell infiltration in tumor tissues was analyzed. Results: High expression of CXCL5 was observed both in PDAC tumor tissue and PDAC cell lines, compared to normal pancreas tissues and normal ductal epithelium cells. High CXCL5 expression in tumor tissues was positively correlated with an advanced T stage (p=0.036), a positive tumor lymph node metastasis (p=0.014), a poor differentiation status (p=0.003) and a poor prognosis (p=0.001). Combination of CA242 and CXCL5 expression (p<0.0001) served as a better prognostic factor than CA242 alone (p=0.006). In addition, PDAC patients with high CXCL5 expression had more intratumoral M2 polarized macrophages (p=0.0248), neutrophils (p=0.0068) and IgG+ plasma cells (p=0.0133) than patients with low CXCL5 expression. Conclusions: The expression of CXCL5 is elevated in pancreatic cancer cells. High CXCL5 expression is positively correlated with poor survival and the increased infiltration of several types of immune suppressive cells. Thus, CXCL5 could be a promising therapeutic target for PDAC immunotherapy.


Background Association studies use statistical links between genetic markers and variation in a phenotype's value across many individuals to identify genes controlling variation in the target phenotype. However, this approach, particularly conducted on a genome-wide scale (GWAS), has limited power to identify the genes responsible for variation in traits controlled by complex genetic architectures. Results Here we employ simulation studies utilizing real-world genotype datasets from association populations in four species with distinct minor allele frequency distributions, population structures, and patterns linkage disequilibrium to evaluate the impact of variation in both heritability and trait complexity on both conventional mixed linear model based GWAS and two new approaches specifically developed for complex traits. Mixed linear model based GWAS rapidly losses power for more complex traits. FarmCPU, a method based on multi-locus mixed linear models, provides the greatest statistical power for moderately complex traits. A Bayesian approach adopted from genomic prediction provides the greatest statistical power to identify causal genetic loci for extremely complex traits. Conclusions Using estimates of the complexity of the genetic architecture of target traits can guide the selection of appropriate statistical methods and improve the overall accuracy and power of GWAS.


The widespread use of digital data, storage and sharing for data mining has given data snoopers a big opportunity to collect and match records from multiple sources for identity theft and other privacy-invasion activities. While most healthcare organizations do a good job in protecting their data in their databases, very few organizations take enough precautions to protect data that is shared with third party organizations. This data is vulnerable to data hackers, snoopers and rouge employees that want to take advantage of the situation. Only recently has the regulatory environment (like HIPAA) tightened the laws to enforce data and privacy protection. The goal of this project was to explore use of value added software services to counter this invasion of privacy problem when data is shared with an external organization for data mining, statistical analysis or other purposes. Specifically, the goal of this service is to protect data without removing sensitive/non-sensitive attributes. Sophisticated data masking algorithms are used in these services to intelligently perturb and swap data fields making it extremely difficult for data snoopers to reveal personal identity, even after linking records with other data sources. Our software service provides value added data analysis with the masked dataset. Dataset-level properties and statistics remain approximately the same after data masking; however, individual record-level values are changed or perturbed to confuse the data snoopers.


Herein, we report a new flow process with immobilized enzymes to synthesize complex chiral carbohydrate analogues from achiral inexpensive building blocks in a three-step cascade reaction. The first reactor contained immobilized acid phosphatase, which phosphorylated dihydroxyacetone to dihydroxyacetone phosphate using pyrophosphate as the phosphate donor. The second flow reactor contained fructose-1,6-diphosphate aldolase (RAMA, rabbit muscle aldolase) or rhamnulose-1-phosphate aldolase (RhuA from Thermotoga maritima) and acid phosphatase. The immobilized aldolases coupled the formed dihydroxyacetone phosphate to aldehydes, resulting in phosphorylated carbohydrates. A final reactor containing acid phosphatase that dephosphorylated the phosphorylated product yielded the final product. Different aldehydes were used to synthesize carbohydrates on a gram scale. To demonstrate the feasibility of the flow systems, we synthesized 0.6 g of the D-fagomine precursor. By using immobilized aldolase RhuA we were also able to obtain other stereoisomers of the D-fagomine precursor.


A migraine is the most common cause of severe, recurring headache. With the recent advances in our understanding of migraine, it can be effectively treated and even prevented. Prophylactic treatment of migraines is indicated when patients have three or more severe migraine attacks a month that interfere with quality of life or when attacks are prolonged and symptomatic medication used alone is not satisfactory. The major objective of migraine prophylactic therapy is optimizing the patient's ability to function normally by reducing the frequency, duration, and intensity of attacks. The major migraine preventive therapies include β-blockers, calcium-channel blockers, and tricyclic medications. Preventive treatment should be tailored to individual patient needs. This requires that patient and healthcare professionals understand the rationale and participate actively in decisions regarding therapeutic intervention. Key words: Migraine, migraine management, prophylaxis.


The unequal distribution of species is due to different environmental conditions of the various regions of the globe. The environmental factors governing the occurrence, distribution and abundance of large herbivorous mammals may be divided into physical, historical and biotic. Vegetation is all-important in herbivore biology as it provides habitat, cover and food. Many of the distribution patterns and structural attributes of species are associated with living in and utilizing particular vegetation zones. Africa has an enormous diversity of habitats and animal species utilizing these habitats. An attempt is made to characterize the patterns of habitat preference of South African antelope species and the significance of the habitat requirements of the individual species is discussed in thelight of natural and artificial distribution patterns. It is stressed that artificial introduction of species without prior knowledge of the habitat requirements of such species may lead to disastrous consequences.


The existing data on experimental ocular contusion were analyzed in terms of a simple mathematical model which predicts the maximum contact force between the eye and the impacting projectile. It was shown that this force was related to the injury producing mechanism, eyeball expansion, which was widely advocated in the literature. The effect of loading rate was also accounted for in the model. A dimensional analysis allowed previous experimental data to be used to generate tolerance curves for ocular injury. The agreement between the prediction of the model and previous subjective opinions of a panel of ophthalmologists was considered to be satisfactory. When the model was used to predict the hazard potential of projectile toys which presently exist in the market place, it was found that the contusive injury producing capability of these products covered the full range from safe to hazardous.


Abstract There have been many studies of what influences consumers in their decisions to purchase or consume organic foods, mainly concerned with fresh organic foods. These show a discrepancy between attitudes and behavior with people being positive about organic foods but often not purchasing them. This discrepancy seems to be explained by the fact that consumers do not consider "organically produced" to be an important purchase criterion, that organic foods are not perceived to surpass conventional foods regarding taste and shelf life (two qualities rated to be of great importance), and because of the perceived premium prices of organic foods. In two Swedish studies, health benefits were demonstrated to be more strongly related to attitudes and behavior toward organic foods than were perceived environmental benefits. A new European Union (EU) project will investigate the influences on both fresh and processed organic foods and investigate the role of moral, ethical, and affective influences on choice across eight EU countries.


The Cameroon water connection scheme that started in 2008 is the first GPOBA project to be implemented under an affermage contract. It is also the first subsidized water connection program in West Africa to be implemented through an output-based aid (OBA) mechanism. This note highlights the emerging lessons learned from the design of the project, summarizing the challenges and opportunities in applying OBA to the affermage model and how they were dealt with. A second note will share lessons from the project's implementation.


The innovation of the new psychoactive substances (NPS) market requires the rapid identification of new substances that can be a risk to public health, in order to reduce the damage due to their use. Twelve seized products suspected to contain illicit substances were analyzed by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Synthetic cathinones (SCat) were found in all products, either as a single component or in mixtures. Infrared spectra of all products were consistent with the molecular structure of SCat, showing an intense absorption band at 1700–1674 cm‐1, corresponding to the carbonyl stretching, a medium/strong peak at 1605-1580 cm-1, indicating stretching vibrations in the aromatic ring (C=C) and bands with relative low intensity at frequencies near 2700–2400 cm-1, corresponding to an amine salt. It was possible to identify a total of eight cathinone derivatives by GC-MS and NMR analysis: 4'-methyl-α-pyrrolidinohexanophenone (MPHP), α-pyrrolidinohexanophenone (α-PHP), 3-fluoromethcathinone (3-FMC), methedrone, methylone, buphedrone, N-ethylcathinone, and pentedrone. Among the adulterants found in these samples, caffeine was the most frequently detected substance, followed by ethylphenidate. These results highlight the prevalence of SCat in seized materials of the Portuguese market. Reference standards are usually required for confirmation, but when reference materials are not available, the combination of complementary techniques is fundamental for a rapid and an unequivocal identification of such substances.


Time‐to‐event data are common in clinical trials to evaluate survival benefit of a new drug, biological product, or device. The commonly used parametric models including exponential, Weibull, Gompertz, log‐logistic, log‐normal, are simply not flexible enough to capture complex survival curves observed in clinical and medical research studies. On the other hand, the nonparametric Kaplan Meier (KM) method is very flexible and successful on catching the various shapes in the survival curves but lacks ability in predicting the future events such as the time for certain number of events and the number of events at certain time and predicting the risk of events (eg, death) over time beyond the span of the available data from clinical trials. It is obvious that neither the nonparametric KM method nor the current parametric distributions can fulfill the needs in fitting survival curves with the useful characteristics for predicting. In this paper, a full parametric distribution constructed as a mixture of three components of Weibull distribution is explored and recommended to fit the survival data, which is as flexible as KM for the observed data but have the nice features beyond the trial time, such as predicting future events, survival probability, and hazard function.


This article compares the relationship between patent quality and patent value in discrete and cumulative innovation. Using factor analysis and a set of various commonly used patent quality indicators including claims, citations and family size, we build a quality factor jointly driving all indicators for 9255 patents. We then test the significance of this quality factor for predicting patent renewal after 4, 8 and 12 years in an ordered logistic regression. Whereas we establish a robust and significant link between patent quality and value in samples of discrete and complex technology patents, there is no significant link for patents that are essential to technological standards. Consistently, neither the quality factor nor any single indicator allows predicting litigation on an essential patent. We conclude that while there is a robust link between patent quality and value in discrete innovation, this link is much weaker in cumulative innovation. Nevertheless, this affects only narrow, yet highly relevant, technological fields. There is no evidence that cumulativeness affects the relationship between quality and value in whole technological classes classified as "complex" by the literature.


In this work, a generic SMR design developed and analyzed with respect to xenon-induced power oscillations. A multi-physics coupling routine is implemented with MCNP/MCNPX for neutronics, semi-analytical single channel analysis for thermal hydraulics developed in-house and the SIGACE code from the IAEA for generation of Doppler broadened cross-sections for use with MCNP/ MCNPX. The coupling is fully automated using a PYTHON SCRIPT. The Power Axial Offset (PAO) and Xenon Axial Offset (XAO) parameters are chosen as the quantities of interest in order to quantify any potential oscillatory behavior observed. The methodology is benchmarked against literature for startup tests performed at a four-loop PWR in Korea. The pertinent features of the reactor are captured in the developed benchmark model within ten percent of the literature values. The results demonstrated that the developed methodology was indeed capturing the phenomena desired accurately. Subsequently, a high fidelity SMR core model is developed and assessed. Results of the analysis reveal a SMR design which is inherently stable at beginning of core life and end of core life under full power and half power conditions. Sensitivity studies undertaken investigated the effects of axial discretization, stochastic noise and convergence of the Monte Carlo tallies in the calculations of the PAO and XAO parameters. All are found to be quite small and the inherently stable nature of the core design with respect to xenon-induced power oscillations is confirmed. Finally a preliminary investigation into excess reactivity control options for the SMR design is conducted confirming the generally held notion that existing PWR control mechanisms can be used with similar effectiveness. A possible replacement for soluble boron in the reactor coolant is discussed. Committee Chair: Dr. Sunil Chirayath, Department of Nuclear Engineering


Background: Breast Cancer is the second most frequent malignancy suffered by women in Indonesia after cervic uterine cancer. According to the researchs, green tea can afford to combat proliverative diseases because of polyphenol contained. Green tea polyphenol can inhibit carcinogenesis through several ways. They can be antioxidant, cell proliferation inhibition, and apoptotic induction. The objective of this research was to observe the effect of green tea polyphenol on the histological grading score of adenocarsinoma mammae in C3H mice.
Method: Experimental study with post test only control group design. Samples were 15 C3H mice and divided into 3 groups. Group K were inoculated by cancer cells and got standard diet. P1 were administered by 0,8 mg green tea polyphenol per day orally during 3 weeks before inoculated by cancer cells. P2 were inoculated by cancer cells first before administrated by 0,8 mg green tea polyphenol.
Result: There was a significant difference on histological grading score among all groups (p=0,005). The mean of total histological grading score was significant between K and P1 (p=0,008), between K and P2 (p=0,045), and between P1 and P2 (p=0,016).
Conclusion: Green tea polyphenol has an effect in declining the histological grading score of adenocarsinoma mammae in C3H mice.
Keywords: Green Tea Polyphenol, histological grading score, adenocarcinoma mammae,


Effects of electrical stimulation of the hepatic nerves on acute liver damage were examined using isolated rat liver perfused in situ, 24 hours after intraperitoneal injection with D‐galactosamine (800 mg/kg). The leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) from the liver was used as markers of acute liver damage. In perfused livers after treatment with galactosamine, nerve stimulation (20 V, 20 Hz, 2 ms) increased the leakage of LDH and AST about 3‐fold over the basal level accompanied by the decrease in flow rate, whereas with control livers the leakage of LDH and AST into the effluent was almost undetectable throughout the perfusion. The rapid increase in the leakage of LDH and AST was observed during nerve stimulation even under conditions where perfusion flow was maintained constant. Such effects of hepatic nerve stimulation on galactosamine‐treated livers were mimicked well by infusion of noradrenaline or phenylephrine, and inhibited by the α1‐antagonist bunazosin. Artificial reduction of perfusion flow alone did not induce the rapid leakage of LDH and AST into the effluent. On the other hand, low concentration (10 nmol/L) of noradrenaline only minimally decreased the flow rate but apparently augmented liver cell damage. The acute liver damage augmented by noradrenaline was dependent on extracellular Ca2+. These results indicate that in the liver, already having been injured slightly, the activation of hepatic sympathetic nerves and circulating catecholamines exaggerates acute liver damage through an action on liver cells, which depends on the influx of extracellular Ca2+.


This paper discusses the empirical literature on the economic consequences of disclosure and financial reporting regulation, drawing on U.S. and international evidence. Given the policy relevance of research on regulation, we highlight the challenges with (1) quantifying regulatory costs and benefits, (2) measuring disclosure and reporting outcomes, and (3) drawing causal inferences from regulatory studies. Next, we discuss empirical studies that link disclosure and reporting activities to firm-specific and market-wide economic outcomes. Understanding these links is important when evaluating regulation. We then synthesize the empirical evidence on the economic effects of disclosure regulation and reporting standards, including the evidence on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption. Several important conclusions emerge. We generally lack evidence on market-wide effects and externalities from regulation, yet such evidence is central to the economic justification of regulation. Moreover, evidence on causal effects of disclosure and reporting regulation is still relatively rare. We also lack evidence on the real effects of such regulation. These limitations provide many research opportunities. We conclude with several specific suggestions for future research.


PurposeThrough the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has built bilateral relations with Latin American states. The purpose of this article is to explore the potential for using the Pacific Alliance (PA) as a negotiating frame as regards the Belt and Road Initiative.Design/methodology/approachWe use a descriptive and analytical methodology to recapitulate and analyze the factual and normative background of Latin American economic integration during the last three decades, a process that so far has culminated in the Pacific Alliance (PA) and an emphasis on the Asia–Pacific region.FindingsWe contend that the PA has been a learning process in terms of economic cooperation. In addition, it is a Latin American economic integration project that emphasizes its focus on the Asia–Pacific region. Considering the nature of BRI projects, as well as Latin American states' and China's interests, we contend that it would be beneficial if Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, the members of the PA, and China channeled their BRI relations through the PA. Thus, the PA should be China's negotiating partner.Originality/valueSo far, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Latin America has been built upon bilateral relations. This article explores the possibility of developing the BRI through the Pacific Alliance (PA).


Abstract This paper investigates the existence of seasonality anomalies in the stock returns of the oil and gas companies on the London Stock Exchange. It employs F-test, Kruskal–Wallis and Tukey tests to examine days-of-the-week effect. Generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity specification was also employed to investigate both the days-of-the-week and months-of-the-year effects. The analysis had been extended to some key FTSE indices. Our results showed no evidence of any regularity or seasonal fluctuation in the oil and gas stock returns despite the seasonal changes of demand in the companies' products. However, January effect has been observed in FTSE All Share and FTSE 100 indices.


Startups play a vital role in economic development, however, have a high rate of failure, partly due to insufficient knowledge resources. A business incubator is an institution aimed to assist startups with services and resources in order to facilitate their development. There is, however, a gap in previous research regarding knowledge flows and acquisition in business incubators. Furthermore, few scholars have conducted research from the startup perspective in this context. This study, therefore, aims to explore how startups acquire knowledge in a business incubator from the perspective of a startup. This has been investigated through a qualitative study of the business incubator Uppsala Innovation Centre where a selection of startups has been interviewed regarding their participation and potential knowledge acquisition. The empirical findings reveal that startups acquire knowledge from several sources e.g. business coaches, other startups; however, the extent of knowledge acquisition and nature of knowledge differs. Most of the knowledge is explicit knowledge acquired through the process of vicarious learning. Overall, the business incubator is argued to fulfill its operations and help startups in their development. This study contributes with needed insights into the business incubator operations from the startup's perspective and expands previous business incubator research by adding a knowledge acquisition perspective.


Gallium contamination is a well-known problem for InAlN layers grown in close coupled showerhead metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy reactors, and we have previously suggested a model explaining this gallium incorporation and the associated reduction in indium [Mrad, J. Cryst. Growth 507, 139 (2019)]. Here we propose the hypothesis that increasing the showerhead face temperature during GaN growth should encourage the growth of more stable GaN rather than metallic gallium, and reduce the reactions between tri-methyl indium and gallium on the showerhead. Using a hot deposition shield on the showerhead, we have confirmed this, to grow for the first time almost entirely gallium free InAlN layers in a showerhead reactor.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://iopscience.iop.org/page/copyright


We study with ARPES the renormalization and quasiparticle lifetimes of the $d_{xy}$ and $d_{xz}$/$d_{yz}$ orbitals in two iron pnictides, LiFeAs and Ba($Fe_{0.92}$ $Co_{0.08}$)${}_2As_2$ (Co8). We find that both quantities depend on orbital character rather than on the position on the Fermi Surface (for example hole or electron pocket). In LiFeAs, the renormalizations are larger for dxy, while they are similar on both types of orbitals in Co8. The most salient feature, which proved robust against all the ARPES caveats we could think of, is that the lifetimes for dxy exhibit a markedly different behavior than those for $d_{xz}$/$d_{yz}$. They have smaller values near $E_F$ and exhibit larger ω and temperature dependences. While the behavior of $d_{xy}$ is compatible with a Fermi liquid description, it is not the case for $d_{xz}$/$d_{yz}$. This situation should have important consequences for the physics of iron pnictides, which have not been considered up to now. More generally, it raises interesting questions on how a Fermi liquid regime can be established in a multiband system with small effective bandwidths.