A new calculation method is proposed for a real-time seismic intensity indicator (Ir), whose concept is similarly to the JMA seismic intensity (IJMA) defined by Japan Meteorological Agency. With the increasing requirements of earthquake early warning (EEW) system, it is much more obvious that IJMA has a real-time delay since the IJMA needs a filtering operation in frequency domain. In order to improve the real-time calculation suitable for the EEW system, a new real-time seismic intensity indicator, Ir (real-time seismic intensity), is defined by using an approximating filter in time domain instead of the original filter in frequency domain. This indicator, Ir, can be calculated as a time series on real-time and its maximum value, Ia (approximate seismic intensity), corresponds to an approximate value of IJMA. The relationships between IJMA and Ia value are examined by means of using a large number of strong motion records. Results show that Ia value estimates IJMA with reasonable accuracy in wide intensity ranges. For a small computing system like a strong-motion seismograph, it is easier to process Ir than processing IJMA. Therefore, Ir is suitable for using in an EEW system based on the concept of JMA seismic intensity.


Background: Many patients are affected by concurrent disease of the hip and spine, undergoing both total hip arthroplasty (THA) and lumbar spinal fusion (LSF). Recent literature demonstrates increased prosthetic dislocation rates in patients with THA done after LSF. Evidence is lacking on which surgery to do first to minimize complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of timing between the two procedures on postoperative outcomes. Methods: We queried the Medicare standard analytics files between 2005 and 2014. Four groups were identified and matched by age and sex: THA with previous LSF, LSF with previous THA, THA with spine pathology without fusion, and THA without spine pathology. Revision THA or LSF and bilateral THA were excluded. Comorbidities and Charlson Comorbidity Index were identified. Postoperative complications at 90 days and 2 years were calculated after the most recent surgery. Four-way chi-squared and standard descriptive statistics were calculated. Results: Thirteen thousand one hundred two patients had THA after LSF, 10,482 patients had LSF after THA, 104,820 had THA with spine pathology, and 492,654 had THA without spine pathology. There was no difference in the Charlson Comorbidity Index score between the THA after LSF and LSF after THA groups. There was a statistically significant difference in THA dislocation rate, with LSF after THA at 1.7%, THA without spine pathology at 2.3%, THA with spine pathology at 3.3%, and THA after LSF at 4.6%. There was a statistically significant difference in THA revision rate, with THA without spine pathology at 3.3%, LSF after THA at 3.7%, THA with spine pathology at 4.2%, and THA after LSF at 5.7%. Conclusion: LSF after THA is associated with a reduced dislocation rate compared with THA after LSF. Reasons may include decreasing pelvic mobility in a stable, well-healed THA or early postoperative spine precautions after LSF restricting positions of dislocation.


Relapse and recurrence following response to acute-phase treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) are prevalent and costly. In a meta-analysis of 28 studies including 1,880 adults, the authors reviewed the world's published literature on cognitive-behavioral therapies (CT) aimed at preventing relapse-recurrence in MDD. Results indicate that after discontinuation of acute-phase treatment, many responders to CT relapse-recur (29% within 1 year and 54% within 2 years). These rates appear comparable to those associated with other depression-specific psychotherapies but lower than those associated with pharmacotherapy. Among acute-phase treatment responders, continuation-phase CT reduced relapse-recurrence compared with assessment only at the end of continuation treatment (21% reduction) and at follow-up (29% reduction). Continuation-phase CT also reduced relapse-recurrence compared with other active continuation treatments at the end of continuation treatment (12% reduction) and at follow-up (14% reduction). The authors discuss implications for research and patient care and suggest directions, with methodological refinements, for future studies.


We introduce and study functor-functor and monad-comonad interaction laws as mathematical objects to describe interaction of effectful computations with behaviors of effect-performing machines. Monad-comonad interaction laws are monoid objects of the monoidal category of functor-functor interaction laws. We show that, for suitable generalizations of the concepts of dual and Sweedler dual, the greatest functor resp. monad interacting with a given functor or comonad is its dual while the greatest comonad interacting with a given monad is its Sweedler dual. We relate monad-comonad interaction laws to stateful runners. We show that functor-functor interaction laws are Chu spaces over the category of endofunctors taken with the Day convolution monoidal structure. Hasegawa's glueing endows the category of these Chu spaces with a monoidal structure whose monoid objects are monad-comonad interaction laws.


A dynamic modelling approach for heat emitters embedded within an existing third order lumped parameter building envelope model is reported in this work. The dynamic model has been found to provide more accurate results with negligible expense of computational time compared to a conventional quasi-dynamic model. The dynamic model also is preferred over the quasi-dynamic model as it allows for modelling emitters with high thermal capacity such as under-floor heating. Recommendation for this approach is justified through a series of analyses and comparative tests for various circuit options, timesteps and control volumes.


Biodiesel production is increasing internationally as an alternative fuel. This is due to the rapid depletion of non-renewable energy sources. Pure biodiesel product can be obtained by washing the product with hot water. This results in a huge quantity of wastewater that is unsafe for disposal in normal drainage systems. Treatment of this wastewater is thus important for reuse or safe disposal in the environment. There are a lot of existing treatment methods, but they are costly, produce large quantities of excessive sludge and are not economically feasible. Flocculation is widely used in water treatment as it is easy to use and affordable. Flocculants can be synthesized to treat the specific wastewater type focusing on the reduction of certain impurities. The reduction of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in the biodiesel wastewater was investigated through jar-tests using hydrophobic, non-hydrophobic and a combination of hydrophobic and non-hydrophobic polymers that were synthesized. Almost 68% COD removal was obtained with the non-hydrophobic polymer and about 56% COD removal was obtained with the hydrophobic polymer. The non-hydrophobic polymer has a better removal efficiency, as the wastewater contains a large quantity of hydrophilic organic matters. Although the hydrophobic polymer also removes COD, it could be seen that the hydrophobic polymer attracted the unreacted oil in the biodiesel wastewater.


In Kenya, there is a widespread perception that interest rate spread is too wide. Banks, on the other hand, have justified the wide interest rate spread on the basis of some economic variables that affect the banks. This study was largely a quantitative research given that the study sought to examine the determinants of the bank interest rates among commercial banks in Kenya. The study focused on the licenced large commercial banks according to the CBK which include in Kenya KCB, Equity, Standard chartered, Barclays Bank and Cooperative bank. The study used secondary data available from the annual financial reports from year period between 2010 and 2014. The collected data was organised into SPSS and analysed using descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The study found out that the model summary of multiple regression model, showed that all the three predictors (credit risk, operation cost and liquidity risk) explained 83.5 percent variation of interest spread considering the three study independent variables, there is a probability of predicting interest spread by 62.1% (R squared =0.621).The F statistic is equal to 63.391 and p value of 0.000<0.05 level of significance implying that the joint contribution of credit risk levels , liquidity and operating cost significantly predict interest spread. Thus justifying the following estimation model:- The study revealed that credit risk was positively and significantly associated with interest spread (r = 0.3661, ρ<0.01) indicating 36.61% positive relationship with interest spread. The study further found that operation cost was positively and significantly correlated to interest spread (r = 0.695, ρ<0.01) showing that operation cost has 69.5% positive relationship with interest spread. Finally, the study found that liquidity risk was positively correlated with interest spread (r = 0.778, ρ<0.01) an indication of 77.8% positive relationship with interest spread credit risk had a weak negative effect on interest rate spread (β = -.001, p = 0.997. Consistent with some past literature on the factors that influence interest rate spreads, the study concludes that credit risk had a significant effect on interest spread with each unit increase in interest spread for each unit increase in credit risk. The study also concluded that each unit increase in operation cost, there was -0.0215 units decrease in interest spread. The study concluded that liquidity risk has significant effect on interest spread for each unit increase in liquidity risk, there was up to 0.757 units increase in interest spread. The study also recommends that the Government, through the Central Bank of Kenya should be instrumental in developing policies and regulations to guide commercial banks in setting up of optimal interest rate spreads in order to promote loan uptake as well as improve performance of these commercial banks.


Abstract Crustacean decapod larvae have developed several adaptations to maximize their survival, including swimming behavior. Swimming improves larvae dispersal and contributes to their response to environmental stresses, including variations in abiotic factors, presence of predators, and search for food. Data on larval behavior can also assist in studies on conservation and in species management in aquaculture. Unfortunately, swimming behavior remains unstudied in many species. The present work aims to analyze the swimming behavior in newly hatched larvae of six common decapod crustaceans in coastal Southeast Brazil (Macrobrachium acanthurus, Macrobrachium olfersii, Emerita brasiliensis, Ucides cordatus, Minuca rapax, and Callinectes danae). The analysis included tests with larval responses to four isolated stimuli: gravity (geotaxis), vertical salinity gradients, low-pressure zones, and presence of the planktivorous fish, Atherinella brasiliensis (only for C. danae and M. rapax). The first two and the last two stimuli were used as indicators of dispersal and defensive behaviors, respectively. All larvae preferred water depth with higher salinity levels. Additionally, negative geotaxis was observed in M. olfersii, M. acanthurus, U. cordatus, and C. danae, being stronger in the last. Both Macrobrachium larvae responded to low-pressure zones, promptly moving away. Callinectes danae and M. rapax larvae avoided contact with the predatory fish by creating avoidance zones around it, even in the absence of light. This is an active defensive behavior that has never been reported for the newly hatched larvae of these two species.


Lee SC, Ishida AT. Ih without Kir in adult rat retinal ganglion cells. J Neurophysiol 97: 3790–3799, 2007; doi:10.1152/jn.01241.2006. Antisera directed against hyperpolarization-activated mixed-cation ("Ih") and K ("Kir") channels bind to some somata in the ganglion cell layer of rat and rabbit retina. Additionally, the termination of hyperpolarizing current injections can trigger spikes in some cat retinal ganglion cells, suggesting a rebound depolarization arising from activation of Ih. However, patch-clamp studies showed that rat ganglion cells lack inward rectification or present an inwardly rectifying K current. We therefore tested whether hyperpolarization activates Ih in dissociated, adult rat retinal ganglion cell somata. We report here that, although we found no inward rectification in some cells, and a Kir-like current in a few cells, hyperpolarization activated Ih in roughly 75% of the cells we recorded from in voltage clamp. We show that this current is blocked by Cs or ZD7288 and only slightly reduced by Ba , that the current amplitude and reversal potential are sensitive to extracellular Na and K , and that we found no evidence of Kir in cells presenting Ih. In current clamp, injecting hyperpolarizing current induced a slowly relaxing membrane hyperpolarization that rebounded to a few action potentials when the hyperpolarizing current was stopped; both the membrane potential relaxation and rebound spikes were blocked by ZD7288. These results provide the first measurement of Ih in mammalian retinal ganglion cells and indicate that the ion channels of rat retinal ganglion cells may vary in ways not expected from previous voltage and current recordings.


In our times, philosophy has been suffering from a spiritual crisis that takes the forms of the crisis of culture, the crisis of meaning, and the crisis of way of life. As the soul of culture, philosophy should contribute valuable responses to the problems of our times. Thus understood, this paper intends to analyze the concept of crisis in a phenomenological approach. The concept of crisis is concerned with the philosophical themes of time and death, and the crises of our times are primarily the crises of life-meaning and the life-world. Drawing sources from Husserl and other phenomenologists, as well as experiences from Chinese culture, I argue that a philosophy of crisis should find its point of departure from the crisis of philosophy.


This paper presents Compose*, a compilation and execution framework for the Composition Filters model. The Composition Filters model is designed to improve the composability of object-based programs. It is claimed that this approach is largely language-independent, and has previously been applied to languages such as Smalltalk, Java and C++. However, building a new Composition Filters compiler for each target language results in the duplication of compilation technology. Therefore, one of the aims of Compose* is to provide a language and platform independent compiler framework for the Composition Filters model. This paper provides the design rationale behind a tool architecture that supports this language and platform independence. It explains the use of language independent abstractions of the base program structure and how to include existing tools, such as compilers, to interface with the target language.
The language and platform independence of Compose* has been verified by applying the compiler framework to multiple languages of the .NET platform, the Java language and platform and the C language.


This paper is devoted to introducing a new three dimensions hyperchaotic system and adapting it to enhance the Hight algorithm. The proposal hyperchaotic system with one equilibrium point is mainly derived from the Lorenz system, which we called (3D-NSC). The dynamic analysis of 3DNSC presents some properties such as; stability of symmetric equilibria; phase diagram, bifurcation and Lyapunov exponents (LE), which are all investigated analytically and numerically. Also, the circuit design of the 3D-NSC is introduced with some properties. The proposed system is occupied with improving the Hight algorithm. The main propose system is to create a key schedule for the chaotic Hight algorithm. This system is then applied to encrypt different images types. Our proposed system showed high encryption efficiency compared to systems, based on some performance analyzes such as; histogram, pixel change rate (NPCR), standardized variable mean intensity (UACI), pixel correlation, and entropy.


The appearance of buildings and towns is ruined by graffiti drawn on walls made of concrete or brick. Much money and labor are spent in removing graffiti from such rough surface. This paper is a comparative study of the laser irradiation method and the high-pressure water jet method for removing graffiti from the surface of concrete. The former uses a YAG laser beam and the later uses water containing sodium bicarbonate particles. The graffiti were drawn in nine colors on the surface of concrete specimens using oil spray paint and emulsion spray paint. The main results of this study are as follows: Graffiti drawn with oil paint is easier to remove than that with emulsion paint. Yellow and orange colors are harder to remove compared to other colors. In both methods (laser irradiation and water jet) of removal, the surface of concrete is damaged only slightly. Overall, the laser irradiation method appears to be more effective for graffiti removal than the water jet method.


We evaluated the doping effect of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) on the phase formation, microstructure, critical current density (Jc), and upper critical field (Hc2) of MgB2 superconductor. All samples were sintered at temperatures ranging from 650 to 1000degC for 30 min. A typical high sintering temperature (900degC) sample was composed of well-consolidated MgB2 grain of 100 to 200 nm and nanosized particles, resulting in enhancement of Jc and Hc2. This indicates that lattice defects and microstructural change have occurred as a result of carbon (C) coming from SWCNT. On the other hand, a sample sintered at low temperature (700degC) contained relatively large grains. Specifically, SWCNT doped MgB2 wire sintered at 900degC exhibited excellent Jc > 104 Acm-2 up to 8 T at 4.2 K. This result indicates that flux pinning for sample produced at a high sintering temperature are enhanced by SWCNT doping. SWCNT is one of the promising C sources for MgB2 superconductor with excellent Jc.


This paper presents the findings of an inter-disciplinary literature review that seeks to provide an evidence-base from which discipline specific and cross-disciplinary modules aimed at nurturing and developing creativity can be developed. The review focuses on identifying theoretical frameworks guiding the pedagogy of creativity as well
 as on the environmental conditions that are associated with greater levels of
 creativity in student learning. The paper will present an overview of key theoretical frameworks (e.g. investment
 theory and design thinking) as well as an evaluation of the empirical research
 on the environmental factors that have been demonstrated as influencing student
 creative development. Amongst these are tolerance of and exposure to: risk, cycles of divergent and convergent thinking, an active learner-centred approach to education, rewarding originality, learning from failure and experimentation and an acceptance of
 diversity. The paper will also discuss methods of assessment and their influence on student creativity. The paper will offer a critical reflection on our understanding of the pedagogy of creativity and point to directions for future work in this important area.


Background: Immunoglobulin A vasculitis is the most common form of vasculitis in children. The diagnosis is made clinically and patients will present with a rash, together with gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and renal system involvement. Progress in the classification of the systemic vasculitides has facilitated better understanding of the pathogenesis underlying these inflammatory conditions. Over the past year, several cases of IgA vasculitis have been reported in both children and adults in association with SARS-CoV2 infection, raising the question of whether there is any causal or even a synergistic association.Methods: This systematic review was performed following the guidelines of Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology. A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, SciELO and Google Scholar using the search terms "COVID-19" or "SARS-CoV-2" in combination with "IgA vasculitis", or "Henoch-Schonlein Purpura". We considered articles to be eligible for inclusion if they reported a case report or series of cases of IgA vasculitis associated with proven COVID-19 infection. We excluded cases from further review if the case reported was a patient older than 18 years. WHO causality assessment categories were used to standardize case causality. Results: After reviewing the complete article and applying our exclusion criteria, 12 articles describing 12 cases of COVID-19 associated IgA vasculitis in children were included. In 83% of the cases the diagnosis of COVID-19 was made on presentation of IgA symptoms or on presentation to seek medical care. In 17% of cases the SARS Cov-2 test was positive before IgA vasculitis symptoms presentation. The mean age of the patients was 7.3 years of age (SD ±4.8). Male to female ratio was 3:1. Lower extremity purpura was present in all 12 patients. Gastrointestinal manifestations were present in 7 patients. Oligoarthritis was present in 7 patients. Three patients presented renal involvement with hematuria/proteinuria. Conclusions: During the pandemic, several autoimmune phenomena have been described to co-occur with or following COVID-19. The exact role of COVID-19 in the development of these IgA-related diseases is still being explored. Our review of case series and case reports with standardized causality assessment identified 12 cases of IgA vasculitis associated with COVID-19 infection in children.


As the practical interest for resilience engineering continues to grow, so does the need of a clear definition and of practical methods. The purpose of this short chapter is to propose a working definition of resilience and analyse it in some detail. The working definition, based on the work in the project described here, is as follows: A resilient system is able effectively to adjust its functioning prior to, during, or following changes and disturbances, so that it can continue to perform as required after a disruption or a major mishap, and in the presence of continuous stresses.


The attractiveness of biodiesel as an alternative fuel compared to fossil fuels because it has many advantages such as the availability of abundant raw materials, more environmentally friendly, high combustion efficiency, low sulfur content, high cetane number and biodegradability. Making biodiesel from callophylum inophyllum oil has been done through the hydrogenation process. Callophylum inophylum oil was treated via degumming and neutralisation to remove all impurities before hydroprocesing. Hydroprocessing was carried out in a 500ml autoclve at 30 – 50 MPa of initial hydrogen pressure, 300 – 400 oC of reaction temperature and equiped with stirrer and cooling sistem. NiMo/Al2O3 or NiW/Al2O3 was activated with CS2 mixture at 370 oC prior to the reaction. Some physical and chemical properties of the catalytic hydroprocessing product have been investigated in accordance to ASTM standard. The measurement result of product varies according to the operation condition. The result showed that calophyllum inophullum oil can be used as raw material for green diesel over NiMo/Al2O3 and NiW/Al2O3. Sulfided NiMo/Al2O3 catalysts are preferred due to high diesel yield.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) are considered a renewable source of dopamine producing neurons, and are of particular interest for their potential clinical use in Parkinson's disease. In this study, we characterized human dopaminergic neurons generated by stromal-derived inducing activity (SDIA) from BG01V2, a strain of human embryonic stem cell line, BG01, characterized by a chromosome 17 trisomy. Similar chromosomal changes have been repeatedly observed in hESC cultures in different laboratories, indicating the importance of chromosome 17 for growth and adaptation of hESC to culture.

METHODS
We investigated in vitro proliferation of differentiating cells using a BrDU incorporation assay, and monitored the cell population in long term cultures. Despite the cytogenetic abnormality, TH+ neurons were postmitotic at all stages of differentiation. After 30 days of differentiation, cell division ceased in 91% of the overall population of cells in the culture, indicating intact cell cycle regulation.

RESULTS
Expression of midbrain specific marker genes (Otx2, Pax5, Msx-1) showed differentiation of hESC-derived neural progenitor cells into midbrain specific dopamine neurons. These neurons expressed the dopamine transporter (DAT), and displayed functional DAT activity and electrical excitability.

CONCLUSIONS
TH+ cells derived from the BG01V2 hESC line using SDIA are postmitotic and have functional characteristics of normal dopaminergic neurons.


We demonstrate a random bit streaming system that uses a chaotic laser as its physical entropy source. By performing real-time bit manipulation for bias reduction, we were able to provide the memory of a personal computer with a constant supply of ready-to-use physical random bits at a throughput of up to 4 Gbps. We pay special attention to the end-to-end entropy source model describing how the entropy from physical sources is converted into bit entropy. We confirmed the statistical quality of the generated random bits by revealing the pass rate of the NIST SP800-22 test suite to be 65 % to 75 %, which is commonly considered acceptable for a reliable random bit generator. We also confirmed the stable operation of our random bit steaming system with long-term bias monitoring.


The goal of this paper is to generate the stability maps for an elastic cracked beam resting on elastic soils and loaded by a constant distribution of sub-tangential forces. The soil behavior is simulated by a two-parameter Pasternak model. Firstly, the extend version of the Hamilton principle is used to formulate the weak form of the governing equation for the undamaged beam problem. Secondly, a finite element procedure, in which the effect of an open surface crack is computed via the Line-spring model, leads to the discrete governing equation for the cracked beam. Finally, the effect of several parameters on divergence or flutter instability, such as the crack depth and location, the non-conservativeness of the applied load as well as the stiffness of the two soil parameters, is highlighted.


This paper evaluates the sovereign wealth fund of Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria administration with a view to empirically examine the factors that affect its creation and operations vis-a-vis its impacts on the growth of the economy. Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. The study was guided by five research objectives. All the 40 staff of Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) in the state constituted the target population. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 30 staff of the establishment for the study. Mean scores and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. Parametric statistics in forms of analysis of variance-ANOVA, co-efficient of correlation and simple linear regression were used to analyze the hypothesis. We determined the effect of SWF on the economic growth using gross domestic product as a major economic performance indicator. The study found that the link between SWF and economic growth in Nigeria is statistically significant but not positive. The reason is because the sovereign wealth fund is new in Nigeria, coupled with several challenges facing its operations hence has not contributed much to the GDP growth rate of the economy. Some remedial measures were suggested which include the need to ensure that the financial and operational independence of the organs of the NSIA be guaranteed by statute; the NSIA and its organs must be shielded from undue political influence through well defined administrative and operating procedures and that transparency and accountability in reporting must be seen as major watch words of the


The versatility in the synthesis of polymer nanocomposites has allowed researchers to tune the size, surface charge and their function for use in various biomedical applications. However the behaviours of these engineered nanomaterials in biological systems are still being elucidated. Due to the different physico-chemical properties and multifunctionality, nanoparticles may interact with various biological components causing different toxic/health concerns. With means to improve the efficiency and the performance of engineered nanoparticles, it is necessary to understand the interactions of nanoparticles in the biological systems. For this purpose, a library of polymer coated nanoparticles (gold and silica) was designed with different sizes (5 nm ~150 nm) and surface properties (hydrophilic/hydrophobic, postive, negative and neutral surface charge). The polymers used were prepared by RAFT-mediated polymerization and grafted onto the nanoparticle surface. Grafting of polymers made by RAFT onto gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) gave a densely packed polmyer shell as quantified by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). In comparison, polymers were found to have low grafting densities on SiNPs. The grafting desnity for the majority of polymers on the AuNP surface was around 0.7 ~1.4 chains/nm2. With such high grafting densities, the surface properties and the size of these hybrid nanoparticles were the only contributing factors affecting their behaviour in the biological system. The surface properties of the nanoparticles were known to play a crucial role in their interaction with cells. The uptake and transport of the nanoparticles library were investigated using epithelial Caco-2 cells, which represented an excellent model to resemble the human intestinal epithelium. The modification of the nanoparticle with the positively charged polymers (PAEA-AuNPs) gave the greatest uptake due to its high affinity to the negatively charged cell membrane. Interestingly, the uptake efficiency for PNIPAM-AuNPs (neutral charged but becomes hydrophobic at 37 oC) was much greater than the negative and neutral AuNPs. It is believed that this is caused by the hydrophobic interactions with the cell membrane or the increase in nanoparticle size. Despite the high level of cellular uptake of the hydrophobic and postive charged AuNPs, the translocation of these nanoparticles across Caco-2 cell monolayers was low. Instead these particles were trapped inside endocytic vesicles or endosomes in the cytoplasm as shown by TEM. Only the neutral PDHA, PEG-AuNPs and negative charged PAA-AuNPs were able to transport thorugh the Caco-2 cell monolayer with higher efficiency. Smaller nanoparticles were also found to have a greater translocation across cell monolayers compared to larger nanoparticles. All polymer-coated AuNPs displayed a marked effect on the translocation of small molecules across the cellular monolayer. This suggested that all tested nanoparticles can loosen the paracellular tight junction joing individual cells. The resistance values (TEER) of monolayers decreased upon the opening of tight junctions but generally recovered 12 h after removal of the polymer-coated AuNPs. The mechanism of nanoparticle cellular transport was investigated by endocytosis inhibition test. Transport of nanoparticle through the cell monolayer involved both a transcellular or paracellular pathway. The endocytic uptake and transport of nanoparticles underwent either a microtubule-dependent or microtubule-independent mechanisms. An interesting finding was that neutral polymer coatings (PEG and PDHA) facilitated different types of endocytic transport. The majority of the polymer coated nanoparticles tested also showed no apparent signs of toxicity from the in vitro assays. In summary, this thesis detailed the synthesis of nanoparticles with controlled sizes and presented a practical approach to modify the surface properties of different nanoparticles with polymers. These studies have provided insights on the influence of nanoparticle surface properties on their cellular interaction and toxicity. While numerous studies have started to examine the effect of nanoparticles surface properties on their biological interactions, many challenges and mystery in this area of research still remains to be solved. This nanoparticle library could potentially help researchers to forecast the biological properties of novel pharmaceutically important nanomaterials, aiding in their future design and use.


The rapid economic and cultural transformation of China during the past fifteen years has created an art scene of unparalleled energy and global impact. Throwing off restrictions on subject matter, embracing a new freedom to experiment, but also preserving and expressing Chinese identity on a monumental scale, this new art has enjoyed an astonishing surge of commercial and critical success. Featuring chapters organized by medium, including painting, sculpture and installation, photography, and performance, the book focuses on the most outstanding contemporary Chinese artists and their most important works. With a preface placing the art in the context of the whirlwind changes in the country's social and political environment, and a concluding critical appraisal, this book offers an authoritative and exciting introduction to art of the new China.


OBJECTIVE
To examine differences in access to health care and receipt of clinical preventive services by type of disability among working-age adults with disabilities.

DATA SOURCE
Secondary analysis of Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data from 2002 to 2008.

STUDY DESIGN
We conducted cross-sectional logistic regression analyses comparing people with different types of disabilities on health insurance status and type; presence of a usual source of health care; delayed or forgone care; and receipt of dental checkups and cancer screening.

DATA COLLECTION
We pooled annualized MEPS data files across years. Our analytic sample consisted of adults (18-64 years) with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities and nonmissing data for all variables of interest.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Individuals with hearing impairment had better health care access and receipt than people with other disability types. People with multiple types of limitations were especially likely to have health care access problems and unmet health care needs.

CONCLUSIONS
There are differences in health care access and receipt of preventive care depending on what type of disability people have. More in-depth research is needed to identify specific causes of these disparities and assess interventions to address health care barriers for particular disability groups.


This arcticle deals with personal liabilities of top managers represent as one of the most crucial risks in managing entrepreneurial subjects. The subject of this research was the insurance product, namely liability insurance against damage caused by company management. The issue was analyzed using the internet resources, legal documents and relevant professional publications and carried out follow-up description of finding condition.
The aim of this work is the presentation of situation review of this insurance product on the Czech insurance market.
A subject of liability insurance against damage caused by company management has respect to damage caused by members of statutory bodies, supervisory boards, directors, or any other managers in direct connection with their functions.
The safety protection is possible to arrange with this insurance to individuals only who function as managers on the basis of management contracts, not on the basis of the labour relations.
There is a need to carefully distinguish between the responsibility of employees towards employers and a member of the Board towards the company, even if the person is also a member of the Board and also performs a specific function on labour relation in the company.
The liability insurance against damage caused by company management, as compared to other insurance product, is not part of current supply for insurance applicants. This fact is influenced by certain unique characteristics of this product, as most is the really high risk o this product.
The offer for such a product is given to the very small amount of clients who are important and at the same time trusted clients.
In the world, especially in the United States, the D&O insurance has become a common part of insurance coverage and achieved great importance.
A number of insurers operating at our market offer this D&O insurance to the companies and this voluntary insurance gets more and more awareness in the business entities in the Czech Republic too.


A simple and effective method to extend the area of bias enhanced nucleation (BEN) for heteroepitaxial diamond growth is introduced. Two-inch substrates are placed on a flat and smooth surface of approximately 3-in. Mo substrate holder and then treated via BEN with or without metal-covered Si plates located right outside of the substrates. It is clarified that not only the plates themselves but also their thickness has a great impact on the BEN area, or in other words, the homogeneity of nucleation density on the substrates. As a result, the epitaxial diamond nucleation is successfully performed on nearly the whole area of a 2-in. Ir/YSZ/Si(001) substrate using the 1 mm thick half-ring plates. For a proof of this concept, finite element method simulations are also performed to investigate the influence of such plates on plasma (electron) density distributions above the substrates. Throughout this study, the significance of substrate holder configurations for the widely accessible wafer-scale diamond heteroepitaxy is revealed.A simple and effective method to extend the area of bias enhanced nucleation (BEN) for heteroepitaxial diamond growth is introduced. Two-inch substrates are placed on a flat and smooth surface of approximately 3-in. Mo substrate holder and then treated via BEN with or without metal-covered Si plates located right outside of the substrates. It is clarified that not only the plates themselves but also their thickness has a great impact on the BEN area, or in other words, the homogeneity of nucleation density on the substrates. As a result, the epitaxial diamond nucleation is successfully performed on nearly the whole area of a 2-in. Ir/YSZ/Si(001) substrate using the 1 mm thick half-ring plates. For a proof of this concept, finite element method simulations are also performed to investigate the influence of such plates on plasma (electron) density distributions above the substrates. Throughout this study, the significance of substrate holder configurations for the widely accessible wafer-scale diamond heter...


At the 2nd National Immunization Congress held in Chicago, IL, from August 31-September 2, 2010, partners from government, provider groups, academia, and manufacturers gathered to discuss the progress made and the future of financing child, adolescent, and adult vaccines. The meeting is a continuation of a solution-oriented vaccine financing dialogue held in February 2007 at the 1st Immunization Congress. The need for this forum arose from concerns that increased costs of immunization could hinder the ability of current financing and delivery systems to maintain access without financial barriers. Preventive care and additional financial coverage for vaccines are key points in federal health reform but some populations, especially adolescents and adults, could continue to experience challenges in accessing vaccines. Congress participants discussed adequate reimbursement in the public and private sectors for vaccine delivery and the potential financial resources, data, and infrastructure needed to increase vaccine uptake in the US. Participants agreed that partners from all sectors – manufacturers, providers, public health, employers, payors, insurers, and consumers – will collectively need to leverage their efforts to address financial gaps not covered by health care reform law to ensure the preventive benefits of vaccines are fully realized for all Americans.


Abstract Judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are prominent jurists of high merit. However, little is known about certain extra-legal factors of the candidates that guide states in their selection and appointment process. This article focuses on examining extra-legal factors that matter for states in the selection process. Such extra-legal factors demonstrate that elections of candidates to the Court constitute another aspect of a broader political struggle to define the meaning of international law. The article situates the discussion on the selection process in the broader context of the discussion on biases in international law to suggest that the election of candidates to the Court becomes both an instrument and a procedure for controlling the discourse. The characteristics of the judges thus matter as a proxy to control the production and direction of such discourse. This article then explores the ways in which some states have greater strategic advantage in the selection and election processes that enables them to control the discourse to define the meaning of international law effectively.


The aim of this work is to improve the understanding of the heating of copper cathodes under the action of a nonstationary electric arc in air. An experimental method is proposed for the measurement of the surface temperature distribution just after a very fast arc-controlled arc extinction. The arc current intensity is about 60-70 A, and the arc duration is in the range of 2.5-5 ms. Different kinds of surface temperature distributions have been observed depending on the arc root behavior. The measurement of the temperature decrease after the arc extinction was used to estimate the cathode surface temperature just at the moment of arc extinction. Two-dimensional thermal modeling taking into account phase changes is used to estimate the power balance at the cathode surface and to propose a second estimation of the surface temperature at the point of arc extinction. The comparisons between experimental results and thermal modeling lead in the present experimental conditions to a volt equivalent at the cathode in the range 6.7-10.7 V, to a surface power density in the range0.6 × 109 - 2.5 × 109 W/m2 and to a maximum surface temperature in the range 850°C-1300 °C .


Objective: This study aims to investigate the potency of matoa as a tyrosinase inhibitor and antioxidant and also to identify the chemical compounds in the most active fraction and an ethanol extract from the leaves and stem bark of matoa. Methods: The extracts were tested for their tyrosinase inhibitory activity by evaluating the formation of L-dopachrome at 490 nm. Antioxidant activity was tested using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The most active extract from liquid-liquid partition analysis was fractionated, and then, the assays were performed. Results: The ethanol extract of leaves and stem bark of matoa showed weak anti-tyrosinase activity (percent inhibition was 24.54±0.22% and 21.93±0.57%, respectively, final concentration 200 μg/mL), but they showed strong DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 values were 6.11 μg/mL and 5.47 μg/mL, respectively). The ethyl acetate fraction was the most active fraction with an IC50 value of 5.38 μg/mL. Ethanol extract from the leaves and stem bark of matoa and the ethyl acetate fraction contains flavonoids, tannins, saponins, triterpenoids, and glycosides. Conclusion: Matoa does not have potency as a tyrosinase inhibitor, but it has good antioxidant activity, although still lower than that of quercetin.


Context Rapid recognition of deterioration in a child's clinical condition improves their quality of care and outcome.1,2 Parents of children who unexpectedly deteriorate often report awareness of the child's decline prior to medical staff.3 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS'highlights the need for parents to be involved in all decisions regarding clinical care.4 Additionally, the Francis Report reinforces the need for 'openness, transparency and candour' in relation to all aspects of care.5 Problem In our tertiary children's hospital, a child on a medical ward deteriorated with acute renal failure. His parents recognised his worsening condition, but believed their concerns were not acknowledged, and felt powerless to intervene on their son's behalf. Child deaths reviews have highlighted parental concerns regarding delayed recognition of clinical deterioration. These incidences prompted awareness of a need for a practical framework that enables parents to initiate escalation of their child's care when they believe it is required. Intervention and Strategy for change across the Hospital A Standard Operational Policy (SOP) entitled 'Parent (Patient) Involvement in Escalation in Clinical Care' was developed by senior staff on PICU, the hospital liaison team, and parents. The SOP contained the following elements: A requirement for staff members to formally record parental concerns in the medical notes using specific SBAR stickers A requirement for staff members to record their actions in response to parental concerns Options for 'escalation' to include formal review by duty nurse, the clinical nursing site team, or the on-duty medical team as appropriate Option for parents to discuss their concerns with their own Consultant at an appropriate time The SOP was communicated to staff throughout the hospital at ward meetings, induction lectures, with posters in all in-patient and parent areas and via emails. Parental information was developed in Admission booklets and for the Hospital intranet. Measurement of improvement An audit was performed 4 months following initiation of the SOP. Feedback was received from staff, patient records, and from 24 parents. Assessment criteria included the visibility of posters, parental and staff awareness of the SOP, and correct use of the escalation pathway with accurate documentation and appropriate follow up. Additionally all cases in which the SOP was used were retrospectively reviewed. Results All ward areas had posters displayed, although the number in each area varied Matrons, Ward Sister's and the Clinical Site Team were all aware of the SOP pathway; junior nursing (Band 5 and 6) staff were less informed There was poor awareness by trainee Medical staff and some Consultants No parent surveyed had formally 'accessed' the pathway When used, correct documentation using the 'SBAR' sticker was evident in all cases. Each case was appropriately escalated and managed. No parents expressed ongoing concerns regarding their child's care. Effects of changes Where parents were aware of the SOP, the anecdotal feedback was positive. Additionally staff welcomed the escalation pathway. Preliminary results have prompted us to further raise awareness amongst the medical staff and to provide more comprehensive literature to families. This is being introduced in a sequential process with a need to re-audit once this work has been completed. Lessons learnt Assessment of the impact of this initiative would have benefited from a survey of parental views pre and post introduction of the SOP. Messages for others A formal pathway facilitating escalation of parental concerns empowers parents and may aid early recognition of clinical deterioration. This relatively simple intervention works to promote patient safety by integrating parental experience into clinical care. References Pearson G, Duncan H. Early warning systems for identifying sick children. Paediatr Child Health 2011; 21(5):230–233 Beckett CD, Kipnis G. Collaborative communication: Integrating SBAR to improve quality/patient safety outcomes. J Healthc Qual. 2009; 31(5):19–28 Power N, Franck L. Parent participation in the care of hospitalised children: a systematic review. J Adv Nurs. 2008; 62(6):622–641 Department of Health. (2011). Liberating the NHS: An Information Revolution. A summary of consultation responses. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/213823/dh_117794.pdf (accessed 28 Nov 14) Francis R. Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry. (2013). www.midstaffspublicinquiry.com/report (accessed 28 Nov 2014)


Games have their own economic models. Today, players can not only collect digital currencies, but they can also use real currencies to buy virtual goods. Business models in games such as freemium and in-app purchases, for example, sustain this structure. Within this context, there is also the expansion of models outside the game realm like eSports, which happens in the form of tournaments. With this, there is constant exchange of value that emerges from games, which could also include the use of cryptocurrencies. In this chapter, we give an overview of the current state of the art of economic models within games and eSports. The current chapter aims to situate and analyse the application of these business models derived from games, e-sport and the future of ludic economies.


We present the Temporal Graph Benchmark (TGB), a collection of challenging and diverse benchmark datasets for realistic, reproducible, and robust evaluation of machine learning models on temporal graphs. TGB datasets are of large scale, spanning years in duration, incorporate both node and edge-level prediction tasks and cover a diverse set of domains including social, trade, transaction, and transportation networks. For both tasks, we design evaluation protocols based on realistic use-cases. We extensively benchmark each dataset and find that the performance of common models can vary drastically across datasets. In addition, on dynamic node property prediction tasks, we show that simple methods often achieve superior performance compared to existing temporal graph models. We believe that these findings open up opportunities for future research on temporal graphs. Finally, TGB provides an automated machine learning pipeline for reproducible and accessible temporal graph research, including data loading, experiment setup and performance evaluation. TGB will be maintained and updated on a regular basis and welcomes community feedback. TGB datasets, data loaders, example codes, evaluation setup, and leaderboards are publicly available at https://tgb.complexdatalab.com/.


ABSTRACT T cell receptor (TCR)-redirected T cells target intracellular antigens such as Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1), a tumor-associated antigen overexpressed in several malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). For both chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)- and TCR-redirected T cells, several clinical studies indicate that T cell subsets with a less-differentiated phenotype (e.g. stem cell memory T cells, TSCM) survive longer and mediate superior anti-tumor effects in vivo as opposed to more terminally differentiated T cells. Cytokines added during in vitro and ex vivo culture of T cells play an important role in driving the phenotype of T cells for adoptive transfer. Using the OP9-DL1 co-culture system, we have shown previously that we are able to generate in vitro, starting from clinically relevant stem cell sources, T cells with a single tumor antigen (TA)-specific TCR. This method circumvents possible TCR chain mispairing and unwanted toxicities that might occur when introducing a TA-specific TCR in peripheral blood lymphocytes. We now show that we are able to optimize our in vitro culture protocol, by adding IL-21 during maturation, resulting in generation of TA-specific T cells with a less-differentiated phenotype and enhanced in vitro anti-tumor effects. We believe the favorable TSCM-like phenotype of these in vitro generated T cells preludes superior in vivo persistence and anti-tumor efficacy. Therefore, these TA-specific T cells could be of use as a valuable new form of patient-tailored T cell immunotherapy for malignancies for which finding a suitable CAR-T target antigen is challenging, such as AML.


Acoustic channel properties in a shallow water environment with moving source and receiver are difficult to investigate. In fact, when the source-receiver relative position changes, the underwater environment causes multipath and Doppler scale changes on the transmitted signal over low-to-medium frequencies (300 Hz-20 kHz). This is the result of a combination of multiple paths propagation, source and receiver motions, as well as sea surface motion or water column fast changes. This paper investigates underwater acoustic channel properties in a shallow water (up to 150 m depth) and moving source-receiver conditions using extracted time-scale features of the propagation channel model for low-to-medium frequencies. An average impulse response of one transmission is estimated using the physical characteristics of propagation and the wideband ambiguity plane. Since a different Doppler scale should be considered for each propagating signal, a time-warping filtering method is proposed to estimate the channel time delay and Doppler scale attributes for each propagating path. The proposed method enables the estimation of motion-compensated impulse responses, where different Doppler scaling factors are considered for the different time delays. It was validated for channel profiles using real data from the BASE'07 experiment conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Undersea Research Center in the shallow water environment of the Malta Plateau, South Sicily. This paper provides a contribution to many field applications including passive ocean tomography with unknown natural sources position and movement. Another example is active ocean tomography where sources motion enables to rapidly cover one operational area for rapid environmental assessment and hydrophones may be drifting in order to avoid additional flow noise.


Bandar Abbas (center of Hormozgan province) is the most important port city in the south of Iran because of its historical places, cultural, economic, social and political importance. High risk of earthquake occurrence in this city and its province indicates the necessity of surveying the seismic vulnerability of buildings. The object of this paper is collected from existing Buildings, compiled by aggregating data from sidewalk surveys and other observations. Estimated loss distributions and damage were mapped on area by area. Seismic hazard in the area was obtained using the seismic source zones for a probability level of 10 percent occurrence in 50 years. Finally value of vulnerability was mapped on seismic zones in each area. The older areas of the cities are expected to suffer the highest amount of damage and the highest seismic hazard occurs in these areas as well. We can realize the general vulnerability of the city.


AS1924269-00 is a promising orally applicable anticoagulant that inhibits FVIIa but has very low oral absorption. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to develop a prodrug of AS1924269-00, which possesses a carbamate-added amidine functional group, with high membrane permeability. We investigated the pharmacokinetics of the carbamate-type prodrug of AS1924269-00 in rats. The Caco-2 cell monolayer was used as an in vitro model and in parallel an artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) was performed to examine the transport mechanisms of the prodrug. The bioavailability of the active form was determined to be only 0.3% in rats, but the oral absorption of the prodrug was markedly improved, and its bioavailability was 36%. Our in vivo result was consistent with the finding that compared to AS1924269-00, the prodrug showed favorable permeability in Caco-2 cells and PAMPA. We introduced carbamate into the amidine functional group of the FVIIa inhibitor, which possesses the amidine backbone, and converted it to a prodrug using carboxylic acid ethyl ester. This novel prodrug had favorable absorption and membrane permeability in vivo and in vitro. Thus, we suggest a clinical application of the carbamate-added amidine prodrug of the FVIIa inhibitor.


This report focuses on three crucial questions about resources in California's K-12 schools. The first is how resources vary among schools, measured in terms of class size, curriculum, and teachers' education. Second, do schools serving disadvantaged populations receive fewer resources? And lastly, do existing inequalities in school resources contribute to unequal student outcomes? The report presents detailed measures of resources at the school and classroom levels and relates them to student achievement as captured in the first statewide administration of the Stanford 9 achievement test in 1998. The study does find differences in curriculum and in the supply of highly qualified teachers based on geography and SES. Low SES schools are also likely to have the lowest test scores. (Public Policy Institute of California Monograph, February 2000.)


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the validity of preoperative cardiac stress testing using clinical predictors from the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines on Perioperative Evaluation before Noncardiac Surgery in patients undergoing vascular surgery.

DESIGN
Prospective, randomized pilot study.

SETTING
Academic medical center.

PARTICIPANTS
Patients undergoing elective abdominal aortic, infrainguinal, and carotid vascular surgery.

INTERVENTIONS
After stratification by American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Guideline parameters, 99 patients were randomized to preoperative cardiac stress testing or to no stress testing and followed for up to 12 months postoperatively for adverse cardiac outcomes.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Before hospital discharge of 46 patients who underwent preoperative stress testing, 7 (15%) had inducible ischemia with no adverse postoperative cardiac outcomes, whereas only 1 (3%) of 39 patients (85%) with no ischemia had a nonfatal adverse cardiac outcome (p = not significant). Of 53 patients without preoperative stress testing, only 2 (4%) had a nonfatal adverse postoperative cardiac outcome. There were no cardiac deaths. At 12-month follow-up in 79 (80%) patients, there was 1 nonfatal adverse cardiac outcome (no stress test) and 1 cardiac death (abnormal stress test), reflecting a 1% 12-month cardiac morbidity and mortality.

CONCLUSION
In this small prospective, randomized study evaluating the validity of preoperative cardiac stress testing using ACC/AHA Guidelines before major vascular surgery, preoperative cardiac stress testing offered no incremental value for determining postoperative adverse cardiac outcomes. Larger randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate environmental surface materials used in healthcare environments for material composition, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) viability, and a comparison of two disinfectants, a bleach germicidal cleaner and Decon7, a novel disinfectant. Background: Contaminated environmental surfaces have been associated with outbreaks of healthcare-associated illness (HAIs). One in every 20 patients in U.S. acute care hospitals acquire a healthcare-associated illness, leading to consequences such as elevated morbidity, mortality, and a decrease in quality of life. In the patient environment, MRSA can remain viable from hours to up to 14 days. Methods: Environmental surface materials were evaluated as new and worn. Material composition and properties were assessed to evaluate surface integrity and the influence on the disinfection of MRSA. Inoculated materials were used to assess MRSA viability over time and the efficacy of a manufacturer's recommended cleaning and disinfection product compared to a novel disinfectant. Results: Environmental surface materials respond differently in appearance and roughness, when mechanically worn. When measuring MRSA survival, at 24 hr, MRSA colony forming unit (CFU) counts were reduced on the copper sheet surface and solid surface with cupric oxide. By 72 hr, all MRSA counts were zero. Bleach and the novel disinfectant were equally effective at disinfecting MRSA from all surface types. Conclusions: This study highlights a gap in knowledge about the impact of type and wear of environmental surface materials used in healthcare environments on contamination with epidemiologically important organisms. In conclusion, environmental surface material wear, properties, and cleaning and disinfection efficacy are important factors to consider when addressing HAIs.


Ensuring employees are satisfied with their jobs, committed, and engaged to the organizations for which they work are some of the most salient issues facing managers today. Despite a large amount of research describing the importance of managing all employees with strategic human resource practices, there have been increasing concerns about managing employees across all generations. For example, a number of popular press articles (Alsop, 2008; Lancaster & Stillman, 2009) bemoan the difficulty managers will likely face managing Millennials (individuals born between 1980 and 1995) who have different work values than previous generations, technology preferences, and ideas about work-life balance that are divergent from Baby Boomers (individuals born between 1946 and 1964) and Generation X'ers (individuals born between 1965 and 1979). Yet, many managers continue to grapple with how best to manage employees of all generational groups and many lack knowledge about whether or not learning about generations makes any difference in the workplace. Additionally, very little research on managing across generations is being conducted specific to the nonprofit sector (exceptions include Kunreuther, Kim, & Rodriguez, 2008; McGinnis, 2011; McGinnis Johnson & Ng, 2016; Ng & McGinnis Johnson 2015), and nonprofit managers may believe research on generations does not apply to them because nonprofit employees are inherently different from employees in other sectors.


Citizen Science (CS) and crowdsourcing are two potentially valuable sources of data for Earth Observation (EO), which have yet to be fully exploited. Research in this area has increased rapidly during the last two decades, and there are now many examples of CS projects that could provide valuable calibration and validation data for EO, yet are not integrated into operational monitoring systems. A special issue on the role of CS in EO has revealed continued trends in applications, covering a diverse set of fields from disaster response to environmental monitoring (land cover, forests, biodiversity and phenology). These papers touch upon many key challenges of CS including data quality and citizen engagement as well as the added value of CS including lower costs, higher temporal frequency and use of the data for calibration and validation of remotely-sensed imagery. Although still in the early stages of development, CS for EO clearly has a promising role to play in the future.


The New Hanover County Public Law Library is located within the Main Library, in downtown Wilmington & includes a wealth of legal resources, including West's NC General Statutes (annotated), Strong's NC Index & more.


Indonesian general election 2004 is the second general election after the fall of Suharto's regime. There have been revolutionary changes on Indonesian general election law and system compare to Indonesian general election that took place during the New Order Regime. Indonesian general election 2004 got very large attention from around the world. Other state were willing to assist in election by providing international observers to closely look at the fairness, impartial process of election have been well achieved. Observation on general election means gather information on the process of election and give opinions based on information on the process of election and give opinion based on information which gathered by people that do not have any authority to intervene on the process. In contrast, Pengawas Pemilu (Indonesian General Election Observer) as a formal body which takes part on general election process has duties to observe, take reports, carry on the reports and settle any disputes. Therefore, Pengawas Pemilu has different functions and authorities compare to others. However, as long as people still do not have any confidence on the process regarding the fairness and neutrality of the general election committee, the role of general election observers is still very important.


This paper examines the performance of a gradient-based point-to-point iterative learning control (ILC) algorithm applied to multivariable input, multivariable output (MIMO) systems. Whilst ILC is concerned with tracking a reference trajectory defined over a finite time duration, the point-to-point formulation addresses application domains where the output is not critical at all points over the task duration. The algorithm therefore enforces tracking of only an arbitrary subset of points, with the advantage that the convergence rate increases and input energy decreases as points are removed from the reference. Experimental results presented using a MIMO test facility which can be configured with variable levels of input-output interaction and exogenous disturbance/noise injection confirm the theoretical findings.


In 1832 Hamilton predicted conical refraction, concluding that if a beam propagates along an optic axis of a biaxial crystal, a hollow cone of light will emerge. Nearly two centuries on, cascade conical refraction involving multiple crystals has not been investigated. We empirically investigate a unique two-crystal configuration, and use this to demonstrate an ultra-efficient conical refraction Nd:KGd(WO(4))(2) laser providing multi-watt output with excellent beam quality independent of resonator design with a slope efficiency close to the theoretical maximum, offering a new route for power and brightness-scaling in solid-state bulk lasers.


Sound alignment of stakeholders' expectations and graduate ability forms the reputational hallmark of a university's education programmes. However, little is currently known about stakeholders' expectations of graduates of work-study nursing upskilling programmes in low- and middle-income settings. Information is needed to ensure the quality and adequacy of curricula in such settings. The main aim of the current study was to explore the nursing stakeholders' expectations of graduates of work-study nursing upskilling programmes. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted between March and October 2016 in three low- and middle-income countries in East Africa. Forty-two representatives of nursing employers, regulators and professional associations (PAs) participated. The data was collected during 27 key informant interviews (KIIs) and three focus group discussions (FGDs) using a pretested interview guide. Content analysis of the data was completed. Consolidated criteria for reporting of qualitative research guidelines were used as the standard for collecting data and reporting results. Stakeholders reported their expectations of a clinically and professionally competent nurse (an "all-round" graduate) with nursing management and leadership skills that facilitated sound clinical judgement and decision making and a high level of professionalism. The study highlighted nursing stakeholders' expectations of nursing graduates who had completed a work-study upskilling programme. These expectations should inform curriculum planning and development, and highlight the need for a strong focus on clinical competence, leadership, critical thinking and professionalism in nursing upskilling programmes.


This study explored the food challenges facing people living with HIV/AIDS in Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe. Tsholotsho is a socio-economically disadvantaged, rural district in Zimbabwe and has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the country. For this study, face to face in-depth interviews were held with men and women living with HIV/AIDS. The findings of the study indicate that the economic situation in the country coupled with the lack of adequate rainfall has posed challenges to the ability of HIV/AIDS patients to maintain a healthy diet. In addition, there were concerns about the departure of non-government organisations which used to provide them with food parcels. The interviews also reveal that indigenous foods are being replaced by processed foods that are less healthy. Lack of employment opportunities and safety networks were some of the other factors leading them to experience food challenges in their everyday lives particularly in terms of access. As food security and good nutrition are key for maintaining physical and emotional health, the cumulative effects of these factors create a difficult environment to access food.


The structure of the centrifugal pump with splitting blades is complex, and the law of the internal flow is not fully grasped. Therefore Reverse Engineering (RE) and numerical simulations of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are adopted to study the centrifugal pumps with splitter blades. In this process, the law of velocity and pressure distribution of internal flow about the centrifugal pump with splitter blades is preliminary disclosed. In addition, performance prediction was carried out in centrifugal pumps. Comparing to the calculation curve and text characteristic curve, it's obvious that simulation results are in good agreement with experimental results. The results verify the reliability and feasibility of the research method.


Background: Human hookworm infection has widespread socioeconomic and public health implications. Several coproculture techniques have been developed for morphological identification of hookworm larvae under limited resource availability. The objective of this study was to compare the performances of Harada–Mori culture (HMC), agar plate culture (APC), and modified APC (MAPC) of hookworm positive stool specimen for identification of hookworm species occurring in East Sikkim, India. Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study was performed using 180 stool specimen collected from children who attended Central Referral Hospital and Sir Thodup Namgyal Memorial Hospital, with the complained of gastrointestinal symptoms. Blood samples were also collected to correlate with the complete blood count (CBC). The hookworm positive stool specimen evaluated by microscopy was subjected to HMC, APC, and MAPC techniques to harvest hookworm larvae. Stoll's dilution egg count for determining egg intensity and CBC were also performed for the children who were positive for hookworm's eggs in their stool sample. Results: This study observed a predominance of Necator americanus (75%) over Ancylostoma duodenale (25%). CBC results showed high packed cell volume values in 9/12, low hemoglobin 9/12, and high eosinophil count in all the positive children. Stoll's dilution egg count showed moderate infection in 66.6%, light and heavy infections in 16.7% of children's. APC method was superior to HMC and MAPC in culturing and identifying hookworm species. Conclusions: APC was observed to yield better results and was easier to perform in limited resource laboratory setting compare to MAPC or Harada–Mori culture techniques.


A 50-year-old woman visited our clinic, complaining of a long-term foreign body sensation in her throat. Laryngeal examination revealed a subglottic nodular lesion posterior to the anterior commissure. Her laboratory data were within normal range and there was no particular abnormality in her history. A 2-mm sized stone was extracted after incising the nodule. The surrounding nodular tissue was removed carefully. The patient recovered completely after the surgery. This is the first case of a subglottic laryngeal stone reported in an English-language journal. J Med Cases. 2018;9(10):352-354 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3171


Purpose
This study aims to advance an international political economy (IPE) perspective that geo-political events can have long-lasting imprint effects on countries and their firms. The study also aims to explore the idea that shared political history and geography combine to create specific structural conditions that shape the international competitiveness of all firms in a region. In particular, the authors consider whether the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which asserted American influence in the Western Hemisphere, contributed to the creation of institutional structures across Latin America (LA) affecting the strategies of all firms to this day. The authors also illustrate the IPE perspective using the example of the contemporary international competitiveness of LA business groups.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors illustrate the IPE perspective using the example of the contemporary international competitiveness of LA business groups. The exploratory framework of this study leads to a proposition about the export performance of Latin American business group affiliates. The authors use firm-level performance data for 32,000 firms across emerging economies to explore the proposition empirically while controlling for alternative explanations. To do this, the authors draw on the World Bank Economic Surveys.

Findings
The authors derive a proposition that argues the Monroe Doctrine has had a long-run imprint effect on economic policymaking in LA, resulting in a common, persistent and negative impact on the international competitiveness of firms. The authors find strong and consistent evidence that in terms of export performance, all Latin American firms export less and group affiliates do not outperform independent firms, This finding contrasts with the results for all the other emerging market regions around the world.

Research limitations/implications
The main contribution of this study has been to suggest the potential importance of shared regional geopolitical history and geography in explaining firm-level outcomes. However, this study is preliminary and introductory, although the authors seek to control for alternative country-specific explanations of the results. The analysis considers the effects of one particular IPE phenomenon, the Monroe Doctrine, in one particular location: LA. Future work should seek to contrast LA with other geopolitical security and alternative IPE structures. They might also address the time dimension from a historical perspective: is imprinting in LA driven by the length of the Monroe Doctrine arrangements?

Practical implications
The most important managerial learning point concerns the relevance of geography and political economy factors for multinational enterprises strategy formation. There is widespread understanding that context is an important determinant of subsidiaries' performance, and that strategies need to be constructed to take account of country-specific characteristics, most importantly, in emerging economies and institutional arrangements. This paper proposes that managers also need to take account of IPE structures, including security arrangements, and to consider the resulting regional as well as national context.

Social implications
The analysis suggests that not only the performance of firms, including emblematic firms, but also the socially beneficial spillovers that might be generated from them, are contingent on the regional as well as national characteristics. Thus, business groups in most emerging economies are found to yield better performance and to provide higher levels of social impact, including concerning ESG goals. However, the findings of this study suggest that the former is not true for LA, which, the authors argue, is a consequence of imprinting as a result of the Monroe Doctrine. Further work is needed to establish whether the latter effect is also not true, but if that is the case, then regionally specific policies may be required to address the resulting corporate social shortfalls.

Originality/value
The core idea is that geo-political events can have long-lasting imprint effects on countries and their firms: that shared political history and geography create specific structural conditions that shape the international competitiveness of all firms in a region. The authors explore this concept with reference to the Monroe Doctrine, asking whether its assertion of US influence across the Americas contributed to the creation of institutional structures across LA affecting the strategies of all firms to this day.


Background: Several lines of evidence have shown that inactivation of tumor suppressor genes is closely associated with tumorigenesis in a wide variety of hematological malignancies. The role of downexpression of the RIZ1 gene in hematological malignancy has been reported in many studies, but its levels after receiving induction therapy in these patients have not been evaluated, which was the aim of this study. Objective: The current study aimed to find the relationship between expression of RIZ1 in cases of hematological malignancies before the start of induction therapy and at the end of induction therapy and its possible role as a risk factor in disease progression. Patients and methods: The study included two groups of patients: group I included 26 newly diagnosed patients with hematological malignancies before the start of induction therapy (day 0) and group II included 12 patients at the end of induction therapy (day 28). Group III included 10 individuals with another indication for bone marrow (BM) (such as peripheral blood unexplained cytopenia) who were age and sex matched with the patients and were enrolled in the study as a control group. The following investigations were performed for all the participants: complete blood count, BM sample for morphological examination, immunophenotyping, and cytogenetic analysis. The levels of RIZ1 gene expression were detected by real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) at diagnosis (day 0) and after induction therapy (day 28). Results: The mean levels of RIZ1 gene expression in day 0 patients were significantly lower than those of the control group, and at the end of induction therapy (on day 28), the level was significantly increased to reach close to that in the healthy controls. Furthermore, the levels of the RIZ1 gene were negatively correlated with the blast cell counts in peripheral blood and BM. Conclusion: We conclude that the RIZ1 gene is downexpressed in leukemic patients and its levels increased after induction therapy, indicating its possible role in disease pathogenesis. The relationship between its level and risk factors suggests its role in disease progression. A large-scale study is recommended for the use of the RIZ1 gene in the therapy of hematologic malignancies.


The rab family of small, ras-like GTPases regulate membrane trafficking events in the secretory and endocytic pathways. They appear to be involved in all stages of vesicular transport, from vesicle budding and cargo selection to motility, docking and membrane fusion. Through a cycle of GTP binding and hydrolysis, rab-effector proteins are recruited to membrane sub-domains in a temporally and spatially specific manner. Several rab proteins localise to the Golgi apparatus, the organelle consisting of stacked, flattened, membrane-bound cisternae through which newly-synthesised proteins are transited and modified, and where proteins and lipids are sorted and packaged for transport to other subcellular destinations. The structure of the Golgi is maintained by a matrix of proteins, many of which have now been shown to be rab-effector proteins. This thesis focuses on Golgi-localised rab proteins and their effector proteins. The cis-Golgi-localised rab protein, rabl, is shown to interact with the Golgi matrix/golgins GM130 and p115 while rab2 binds GM130 as well as a novel tethering factor named golgin-45. siRNA-mediated depletion of these rabs and golgins revealed them to be important for the maintenance of Golgi structure and suggested that p115 is primarily recruited to Golgi membranes by its interaction with rab1 rather than its association with GM130. A search for additional rab1 effectors revealed potential interactions between rab1 and the phosphoinositide- binding/metabolising proteins centaurin?2 and MTMR6. A search for novel effectors of the trans-Golgi-localised rab protein, rab6, was also made, revealing specific interactions with the dynactin subunit p150glued and the dynactin/dynein accessory proteins BicD1 and BicD2. These interactions are proposed to mediate the recruitment of dynactin/dynein to membranous cargo and control minus-end directed, microtubule-dependent vesicle motility. An additional rab6 effector, GOPC, was also identified, which may be responsible for cargo recognition and sorting. Finally, the cis-Golgi rab-effector and matrix protein, GM130, is shown to have a hitherto unsuspected role in the activation of a family of Golgi-localised Ste20 kinases. The implications of all these interactions for Golgi structure and function is discussed.


Human p14 (SF3b14), a component of the spliceosomal U2 snRNP, interacts directly with the pre-mRNA branch adenosine within the context of the bulged duplex formed between the pre-mRNA branch region and U2 snRNA. This association occurs early in spliceosome assembly and persists within the fully assembled spliceosome. Analysis of the crystal structure of a complex containing p14 and a peptide derived from p14-associated SF3b155 combined with the results of cross-linking studies has suggested that the branch nucleotide interacts with a pocket on a non-canonical RNA binding surface formed by the complex. Here we report a structural model of the p14 · bulged duplex interaction based on a combination of X-ray crystallography of an adenine p14/SF3b155 peptide complex, biochemical comparison of a panel of disulfide cross-linked protein-RNA complexes, and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). These studies reveal specific recognition of the branch adenosine within the p14 pocket and establish the orientation of the bulged duplex RNA bound on the protein surface. The intimate association of one surface of the bulged duplex with the p14/SF3b155 peptide complex described by this model buries the branch nucleotide at the interface and suggests that p14 · duplex interaction must be disrupted before the first step of splicing.


IT IS NECESSARY TO DETECT DANGER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID ROLLO-VER OF A VEHICLE IN SUDDEN EVENTS. USING ROLLOVER INDEX IN REAL TIME CAN BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE. THE TRADITIONAL ROLLOVER INDICES CU-RRENTLY APPLYING IN THE VEHICLES CAN ONLY DETECT THE UNTRIPPED ROLLOVER DUE TO SEVERE LATERAL ACCELERATION IN VEHICLES. THESE INDICES CANNOT DETECT THE TRIPPED ROLLOVER RESULTED FROM VERTICAL EXTERNAL FORCES IN A LONG DIRECTION. THERE ARE RECENTLY MANY QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ABOUT THE TRIPPED ROLLOVER AND AN INDEX WAS ALSO INTRODU-CED TO THIS KIND OF ROLLOVER. IN THIS RESEARCH, WE EXAMINED THE DYNAMICS OF A SUV TO IMPROVE THIS INDEX AND ALSO PRESENTED A NEW INDEX TO DETECT THE BOTH TYPES OF ROLLOVERS. THE PRECISION AND ACCURACY OF THE NEW INDEX WAS EVALUATED BY SIMULATION IN INDUS-TRIAL SOFTWARE OF CARSIM. THE NUMERICAL RESULTS OF THE NEW DEVELO-PED MODEL WERE COMPARED WITH THE TEST RESULTS OF AN AUTOMOBILE AT ONE-EIGHTH SCALE IN EQUAL CONDITIONS AND INPUTS. THE RESULTS ARE INDICATIVE OF THE BETTER PERFORMANCE OF THE NEW MODEL PRESENTED IN THIS RESEARCH.


The goal of the harmonious development of the economic activities in the EU is to achieve a continuous and balanced expansion by means of proper functioning of a home market which offers conditions, similar to those existing on a national market. In order to create a market of this kind and to strengthen its unity, not only the obstacles that hinder the free movement of goods and services should be removed, but also a regime that guarantees fair competition should be developed. It is necessary to provide for legal conditions that enable companies to adapt their production and distribution of goods or services activities throughout the entire Community. Among the legal tools which companies should have, especially suitable for this purpose are the trade marks as a tool to identify their goods or their services in one and the same way. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the role of Regulation No.207 / 2009, of the EU Council regarding the Community trade mark as well as the rules of the Madrid Agreement and the Paris Convention, providing companies with the right to acquire, under a single procedure, Community trade marks, of equal protection and of an effect on the entire Community territory. The national trade marks continue to be necessary for the companies that do not wish to protect their trade marks at Community level.


A theoretical model for the radio frequency (RF) heating system of a two current strap antenna in a tokamak is presented, considering a finite reflection of plasma waves and taking passive conducting components, e.g. conducting limiters, close to the antenna into account. Specifically, scenarios resulting in undesirable effects of the coupling, such as a lowering of the coupling resistance or the current drive, and variational structures of quantities in continuous parameter intervals are being investigated. A plane slab geometry is used, neglecting poloidal variations and using an equidistant discretization of toroidal coordinates. It is shown that most notable effects of passive components are found in the regime of low single pass damping. The quality factor (fraction of resistive power to apparent power transmitted to the plasma) and the plasma directivity averaged with respect to frequency is lowered when taking passive components into account. The presence of passive components also affects the spectrum of coupling resistance, but with no frequency averaged effects of the coupling resistance being observed. There are heavy oscillations of the coupling resistance, quality factor and plasma directivity for small variations of antenna frequency in the case of low single pass damping, which in turn relates to small variations of plasma density.


Wind loads encountered by wind turbine systems exhibit obvious randomness. Conventional researches of wind loads mainly target developing power spectrum density models or correlation functions. However, it is extremely difficult to deal with several key problems of stochastic dynamics of wind turbine systems in such a frame due to the absence of physical mechanisms. In this paper, the physical tradition in the study of stochastic dynamics is followed to investigate wind loads of wind turbine systems. Along the physical tradition, the physics-based modeling is primarily put forward. Based on the random function description of stochastic processes, a new concept of random Fourier function is proposed to establish two physical wind spectrum models of wind turbine systems. One of them is the random Fourier spectrum model which determines wind loads on wind turbine towers, the other is the rotational Fourier spectrum model which decides wind loads on rotating blades. As the two physical wind spectrum models can effectively prevent the essential drawbacks of the phenomenological ones, they are suggested to be adopted in the wind-induced dynamic reliability evaluation of wind turbine systems.


This paper discusses the summer school on engineering design research from a student perspective. The two-week course is aimed at postgraduate students who have completed 30-40% of their planned research duration. During the course, it became apparent that many design-research students encounter similar challenges. The course provided models and techniques aimed at clarifying the scope and contribution of the research work as well as research methodology to structure the PhD project. Lectures on design theory, advice from course leaders and overview gained from general discussions were also invaluable. We firmly believe that the course will strongly influence and improve our own research and that of the other students over the coming years.


In distributed design processes, individual design subsystems have local control over design variables and seek to satisfy their own individual objectives, which may also be influenced by some system level objectives. The resulting network of coupled subsystems will either converge to a stable equilibrium or diverge in an unstable manner. In this paper, we study the dependence of system stability on the solution process architecture. The solution process architecture describes how the design subsystems are ordered and can be either sequential, parallel, or a hybrid that incorporates both parallel and sequential elements. In this paper, we demonstrate that the stability of a distributed design system does indeed depend on the solution process architecture chosen, and we create a general process architecture model based on linear systems theory. The model allows the stability of equilibrium solutions to be analyzed for distributed design systems by converting any process architecture into an equivalent parallel representation. Moreover, we show that this approach can accurately predict when the equilibrium is unstable and the system divergent when previous models suggest that the system is convergent. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4004463]


The relationship between man and animals usually receives little if any attention in ethics. Albert Schweitzer and his 'reverence for life' (1923) was the only exception. The rapid and recent developments of biotechnological possibilities in the field of veterinary medicine have so far not been considered from the point of view of ethics. In agreement with Schweitzer, Karl Barth (1951) stressed the principle of life which man and animals have in common. Passages in the Bible attribute one and the same 'life' ('soul') to both (Book of Proverbs 12: 10) and presuppose 'salvation' or 'preservation' of the two (Psalm 36:7c). Human responsibility in associating with this related species will therefore have to be apparent from careful maintenance of the conditions of this form of life, in research as well as in management.


Thee enclosed basin has certain natural frequencies of seiche, depending on the geometry of
the water boundaries and the bathymetry of water depths. Therefore, the variation in the water
surface at a point becomes irregular, as caused by the combination of several natural frequencies,
which may be considered as the superposition of sinusoidal frequency components of dierent
amplitude. This paper is mainly concerned with the motion of an incompressible irrotational
uid
in a closed rectangular basin with internal impervious barriers. An analytical solution is presented
for predicting the characteristic of generated waves in these types of basin. The equations of free
water surface oscillations and its boundary conditions are reduced to a system of linear equations,
which is solved by applying the small amplitude water wave theory. The
ow potential, wave
amplitude,
ow patterns and the natural period of waves generated in the basin with impervious
internal barriers are found, based on the basin geometry. It is shown that the natural period of
the basin is strongly dependent on the location of the barriers and the size of the barrier opening.


Abstract Along the lines of the alter-globalisation hope that has sprung forth in the social forums of Porto Alegre and Mumbai among others, the present article analyzes the underlying communicative experiences in four phenomena or specific situations: the Zapatista movement, the social reaction after the March 11 terrorist attacks in Madrid (2004), the incidents in Venezuela in 2002, and the proliferation of alternative sites on the Internet.The author tries to demonstrate that in today's society Another Model of Communication (AMC) is possible and that it may also be effective in its objectives. It is a model that radically questions the functions of each and every one of the elements that are part of the communication process as we know it today.The article maintains that taking control of the media is not necessary in order to implement this model. It even states that it would not be desirable for this to happen.


We study equations in groups $G$ with unique $m$-th roots for each positive integer $m$. A word equation in two letters is an expression of the form$ w(X,A) = B$, where $w$ is a finite word in the alphabet ${X,A}$. We think of $A,B ∈G$ as fixed coefficients, and $X ∈G$ as the unknown. Certain word equations, such as $XAXAX=B$, have solutions in terms of radicals: $X = A^-1/2(A^1/2BA^1/2)^1/3A^-1/2$, while others such as $X^2 A X = B$ do not. We obtain the first known infinite families of word equations not solvable by radicals, and conjecture a complete classification. To a word w we associate a polynomial $P_w ∈ℤ[x,y]$ in two commuting variables, which factors whenever $w$ is a composition of smaller words. We prove that if $P_w(x^2,y^2)$ has an absolutely irreducible factor in $ℤ[x,y]$, then the equation $w(X,A)=B$ is not solvable in terms of radicals.


We address a variant of the Vehicle Routing Problem with Backhauls where delivery of the goods picked up from one node to another is allowed along the same vehicle route. The remaining goods in the vehicle are transported back to the depot. Two objectives exist: the primary one is to minimize the total distance traveled; the secondary is to maximize intra-route deliveries. To achieve these goals, we propose a hybrid metaheuristic which consists of an Ant Colony Optimization algorithm for the route construction and a Tabu Search algorithm for the route improvement. To test the performance of our approach, we generate benchmark data based on the well-known problem instances in the literature. Since the variant presented in this paper has not been addressed previously in the literature, only benchmark results with respect to the first objective are available. For this dual objective problem, we attempt to generate a Pareto curve for different levels of the first objective to investigate the trade-off between the two objective functions.


Black slates of different oxidation states and graphite samples as pure carbon source were incubated with the white‐rot fungus Schizophyllum commune 4‐39 for 3 months. Investigations by SEM showed fungal affinity to rough surfaces. Oxidatively weathered, bleached black slate samples have more micropores and increased surface roughness than unweathered samples. Unpolished and polished bleached black slate samples were colonized best by fungal hyphae. The hyphae often entered pores. Etch pits induced by fungal activity could be observed which were then quantified by vertical scanning interferometry (VSI). The etch pits measured 3 – 4 μm in width and 180 – 200 nm in depth. In contrast to black slate samples, more etch pits were found on graphite surfaces. Moreover, they showed a more elongated morphology and branches reminiscent of fungal growth morphology. Under laboratory conditions, Schizophyllum commune was able to degrade about 0.03 μm3/μm2 rock material during 3 months of incubation. It could be shown that collapsed hyphae material remained in their etch pits even after sample preparation which was caused by strong fungal fixation to the rock surfaces. The higher carbon content and the "softness" of pressed graphite thus allow for earlier fungal attachment and higher dissolution rates. Amounts of nitrogen could be proved by chemical analyzing techniques (x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron microprobe) at all incubated rock samples. Nitrogen increased eminently on rock surfaces due to fungal colonization. Amounts of nitrogen were detected both on hyphae and former hyphae attachment areas. This indicates the presence of fungus and/or fungal excreted proteins such as hydrophobins for attachment or enzymes for degradation. The accumulation of iron within fungal hyphae, which were grown on iron containing black slates, demonstrates microbial influence on metal mobility during rock alteration. Furthermore, biomineralization on incubated black slate and graphite samples could be observed. The biominerals were often spatially associated with fungal hyphae. Biominerals with amorphous or crystalline shapes varied between 3 and 100 μm in mean size. Chemical analyses suggested magnesium phosphate and calcium rich biominerals. Additionally, small lateral structures occurred at fungal hyphae, some of which extended into elongated structures attached to the rock surface or to other hyphae.


The present research work was done in Nadia district in the state of West Bengal during January, 2011 to December, 2013. From the study revealed that women were responsible for the tasks like taking the animals for grazing, fodder collection, chaffing and storage of fodder etc. Almost entire activities, so far as washing and cleaning of goat sheds and feeding of goats, were being performed by the women. Results indicated that the rural women participation in five blocks in breeding activities was found to be minor activities due to social mores and taboos in society. Analysis of the data revealed that women participation in health care activities was found to be minor activities due to lack knowledge regarding health care activities. The women in their late middle and old age actively participated in health care as they had learnt the things by seeing and out of experience. Most of the respondents interviewed were of the view that they require lot of training and knowledge with regard to the health care aspects. From the study it was seen that no women take decision without the permission of their spouse for selling the animals. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijssm.v2i2.12303 Int. J. Soc. Sci. Manage. Vol-2, issue-2: 119-122


SYNOPSIS Metal injection molding (MIM) process offers near full dense and net shaping of the complicate parts with a relatively low processing cost. Therefore, this MIM process is hoped to be an advanced powder processing technique for fabricating new and high functional materials, especially seems to be quite useful for improvement of the quality and productivity in the automotive sintered parts. In this work, MIM process has been applied to a wide variety of ferrous materials such as structural steels (4100, 4600 systems), high speed steels, 17-4PH and martensitic stainless steels, and ferrous composites with ceramics. Several processing variations were investigated to control the carbon and microstructure for high strengthening the above steels. Comments are particularly focused on the microstructure control needed for the MIM fabrication of high performance and functional sintered ferrous material components.