In everyday life we talk about someone having "behaved inappropriately," and we all have an understanding of what that means that in some way the behaviour was not "right" for the circumstances. Health professionals and the lay public alike also talk and write about the appropriateness of health care interventions in the same sense. It is important therefore to attempt to define what is appropriate and to distinguish this from effectiveness and efficiency.


Previously it had been shown that native lysozyme has three discontinuous antigenic sites (comprising spatially adjacent residues that may be distant in sequence) that were mimicked by surface-simulation synthetic peptides that had the capacity to bind the bulk (97-99%) of the antibody response against native lysozyme. In the present work these three surface-simulation synthetic peptides were coupled to succinoylated bovine serum albumin, and the conjugates were injected into rabbits. Antibodies against each peptide reacted, as expected, only with that peptide, but it was also found that the antibodies could bind with lysozyme, and the complete specificity of this binding was rigorously established. The advantages of these findings in conformational and immunological investigations are outlined.


We focus on the geometric nature of minimum energy crossing point (MECP) and give a reduced vibrational analysis (RVA) method for testing sufficiency of MECP candidate solution. Furthermore, an example is used to illustrate the risk if the test is ignored. In the support information, a detailed algorithm is given. The Gaussian and GaussView software are used in the example.


This paper examines and discusses the rules and standards set by parents for their children on Internet usage at home. Data that supports the paper have been obtained by surveying a representative sample of children in the Balearic Islands aged between 6 and 16 years; the analysis dimensions are: access by minors to the Internet from home; location of the computer from which have online access; level of autonomy or accompaniment while surfing the Net; norms imposed by their parents; types of rules imposed; relationship between norms and gender; the minors' opinion and assessment of the knowledge and abilities of their parents on use of the Internet and, finally, the accompanying strategies of parents when their children access the Internet. The main results shows that just over 53% of minors between 6 and 14, and 62% of those between 15 and 16, surf the Internet without their parents' presence and free of any norms and/or limitations. Where standards are established, these are mainly to do with temporary restrictions. Therefore, it appears that parents are unaware of the dangers of the Internet or at least act irrationally. This shows the need for awareness and provision of skills, knowledge and abilities to enable parents to assume their responsibilities in the Internet usage of minors.


An explicit dynamic model of the AdeptOne industrial manipulator is presented. A systematic derivation procedure based on the Euler-Lagrange formulation is used for deriving five nonlinear second-order differential equations of motion. A summary of the arm's inverse kinematics solution for position, velocity and acceleration is included which is accomplished by using a symbolic algebraic matrix manipulation package MAPLE. Extensive simulation results are presented to illustrate the relative significance of inertial (including inertial coupling), velocity-related (Coriolis and centrifugal), and gravity forces which are experienced at the individual joints while a 3-D motion of the hand wrist is executed in real-time. This kind of analysis allows the system cycle time to be minimized, facilitating the efficient implementation of the multivariable control algorithms.<<ETX>>


In the context of MDE (Model-Driven Engineering), our objective is to define the semantics for a given DSL (Domain Specific Language) either to simulate its models or to check properties on them using model-checking techniques. In both cases, the purpose is to formalize the DSL semantics as it is known by the DSL designer but often in an informal way. After several experiments to define operational semantics on the one hand, and translational semantics on the other hand, we discuss both approaches and we specify in which cases these semantics seem to be judicious. As a second step, we introduce a pragmatic and instrumented approach to define a translational semantics and to validate it against a reference operational semantics expressed by the DSL designer. We apply this approach to the XSPEM process description language in order to verify process models.


of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Ph.D. (Economics) TRADE BETWEEN NEW ZEALAND AND LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES: A MODIFIED GRAVITY MODEL by M.V. Cortes-Rodriguez The thesis studies the evolution of bilateral trade between New Zealand and seventeen Latin American countries over the period 1958 to 1997. The period includes the early stage of erratic emergent trade as well as the foreign tradeoriented phase of the nineties. The work has two objectives. The first is to understand the qualitative nature ofthe evolution of bilateral trade. In this part we focus on the emergence of specific product groups and country patterns. We find that much of the evolution has been influenced by factors like the economic policy orientation of participating countries, local politics and diplomatic and marketing efforts factors that usually fall outside the scope of standard trade theoretic analysis. The second objective is to model quantitative evolution using a modified gravity model. Unlike in most of the gravity model literature that uses crosssection analysis, we use a country-specific time-series model. This allows us to incorporate the effects of political and military developments as well as structural changes specific to each country. We find that while traditional explanatory variables like income and population of participating countries are important, to explain the time series data more adequately we need to incorporate additional attributes like local political and military events into the model. The estimated import equations are then analysed and interpreted to focus on the aspects of bilateral relation that may be of use for the future evolution of New Zealand trade with Latin American countries.


Language-guided human motion synthesis has been a challenging task due to the inherent complexity and diversity of human behaviors. Previous methods face limitations in generalization to novel actions, often resulting in unrealistic or incoherent motion sequences. In this paper, we propose ATOM (ATomic mOtion Modeling) to mitigate this problem, by decomposing actions into atomic actions, and employing a curriculum learning strategy to learn atomic action composition. First, we disentangle complex human motions into a set of atomic actions during learning, and then assemble novel actions using the learned atomic actions, which offers better adaptability to new actions. Moreover, we introduce a curriculum learning training strategy that leverages masked motion modeling with a gradual increase in the mask ratio, and thus facilitates atomic action assembly. This approach mitigates the overfitting problem commonly encountered in previous methods while enforcing the model to learn better motion representations. We demonstrate the effectiveness of ATOM through extensive experiments, including text-to-motion and action-to-motion synthesis tasks. We further illustrate its superiority in synthesizing plausible and coherent text-guided human motion sequences.


Introduction: Heterotopic pregnancy is the coexistence of intrauterine pregnancy (IUP) and extrauterine gestation. It is a rare and dangerous life-threatening situation that is difficult to diagnose and easily missed. The incidence in the general population is estimated to be 1 in 30,000. Risk factors for ectopic pregnancy are pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA), previous ectopic pregnancies, or previous surgery.
Case: A 22 year old gravida 2 para 1-0-0-1 presented to the emergency department (ED) and was diagnosed with heterotopic pregnancy despite lack of any notable risk factors. Transvaginal ultrasound showed live IUP and right ovarian/adnexal ectopic pregnancy with heartbeat, along with moderate hemoperitoneum. She underwent operative laparoscopy and right salpingectomy, being discharged home on post-operative day 1 with a stable hemoglobin concentration. She delivered the IUP at 38 weeks 5 days gestation via spontaneous vaginal delivery.
Discussion: This case represents a spontaneous heterotopic pregnancy in a 22-year-old patient with no previous risk factors identified and demonstrates laparoscopy as a successful treatment modality for heterotopic pregnancy.


Diffusion of autocrine and paracrine signaling molecules allows cells to communicate in the absence of physical contact. This chemical-based, long-range communication serves crucial roles in tissue function, activation of the immune system, and other physiological functions. Despite its importance, few in vitro methods to study cell-cell signaling through paracrine factors are available today. Here, we report the design and validation of a microfluidic platform that enables (i) soluble molecule-cell and/or (ii) cell-cell paracrine signaling. In the microfluidic platform, multiple cell populations can be introduced into parallel channels. The channels are separated by arrays of posts allowing diffusion of paracrine molecules between cell populations. A computational analysis was performed to aid design of the microfluidic platform. Specifically, it revealed that channel spacing affects both spatial and temporal distribution of signaling molecules, while the initial concentration of the signaling molecule mainly affects the concentration of the signaling molecules excreted by the cells. To validate the microfluidic platform, a model system composed of the signaling molecule lipopolysaccharide, mouse macrophages, and engineered human embryonic kidney cells was introduced into the platform. Upon diffusion from the first channel to the second channel, lipopolysaccharide activates the macrophages which begin to produce TNF-α. The TNF-α diffuses from the second channel to the third channel to stimulate the kidney cells, which express green fluorescent protein (GFP) in response. By increasing the initial lipopolysaccharide concentration an increase in fluorescent response was recorded, demonstrating the ability to quantify intercellular communication between 3D cellular constructs using the microfluidic platform reported here. Overall, these studies provide a detailed analysis on how concentration of the initial signaling molecules, spatiotemporal dynamics, and inter-channel spacing affect intercellular communication.


With the emergence of large digitized collections of historical texts, scholarship in the humanities has increasingly turned to studying texts as data. This article argues that seeing text as data is particularly apt for the study of conceptual history. The quantitative perspective allows for rethinking the analytical terminology used to study the transformation of political and social terminology. Further, quantitative conceptual history requires re-evaluation on four levels. First, it forces scholars of conceptual history to reconsider the role of reception in the spread and lexicalization of linguistic innovations. Second, it forces them to assess how to interpret quantitative analyses of linguistic change. Third, the use of quantitative methods calls for clarity in describing what is being measured and what is being interpreted based on quantitative analyses. Fourth, the use of machine-learning methods for conceptual history should remain careful. They can be very useful for exploration, but should be combined with count-based methods to provide concrete proof.


The theme of this study is a distinct examination of the issues regarding health policy, social representations and mass media. The analysis of the mass media influence on the impact of health policy leads to a portrayal of the related programs and the way they are received by citizens through mass media. Owing to the mass media quality to be an indicator of democracy it is very important to study its role in setting people daily agenda considering how it is able to maintain and create trends merely through recurrent messages. The issues frequently conveyed by media industry influences citizens' interest with regard to community, producing effects on public policy. We must bear in mind that the more persistent in media they are, the more relevant for community this issues will be. The authors of the study put forward a method through which diverse programmes can be analysed. A comparative analysis of mass media and citizens' social representations and its findings provide information about the influence between them. According to agenda setting theory and many international studies on health policy the authors conclude that mass media institution highly influence the impact of the health policy in health. Moreover, it is important to mention that the impact refers to all the stages of a policy-making: beginning with the problem identification and ending with the evaluation of the implementation process.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), an interleukin-1beta-inducible, bone-resorbing peptide that is produced in increasing amounts by the synovium in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), may play a role in the pathophysiology of joint destruction in RA.

METHODS
PTHrP expression and the effect of PTHrP 1-34 neutralizing antibody on disease progression were tested in streptococcal cell wall (SCW)-induced arthritis, an animal model of RA.

RESULTS
As has been reported in RA, while serum levels of PTHrP did not change during SCW-induced arthritis, PTHrP expression dramatically increased in the arthritic synovium. Treatment with PTHrP neutralizing antibody (versus control antibody) did not affect joint swelling in SCW-treated animals. However, PTHrP antibody significantly inhibited SCW-induced joint destruction, as measured by its ability to block increases in serum pyridinoline (a marker of cartilage and bone destruction), erosion of articular cartilage, decreases in femoral bone mineral density, and increases in the numbers of osteoclasts in eroded bone. Unexpectedly, granuloma formation at sites of SCW deposition in the liver and spleen was also inhibited by PTHrP antibody, an effect associated with significant decreases in the tissue influx of PTH/PTHrP receptor-positive neutrophils and in SCW-induced neutrophilia. In vitro, neutrophil chemotaxis was stimulated by PTHrP 1-34.

CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that PTHrP, consistent with its previously described osteolytic effects in metastatic bone disease, can also be an important mediator of joint destruction in inflammatory bone disorders, such as RA. Moreover, this study reveals heretofore unknown effects of PTHrP peptides on neutrophil function that could have important implications in the pathogenesis of inflammatory granulomatous disorders.


Background/aims Ageing of the population will result in unprecedented numbers of older adults living with age-related vision loss (ARVL). Self-management models improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs; however, the principles have rarely been applied in low vision services. Methods A two-armed randomised controlled trial of older adults (n=77) with ARVL compared 'usual care' provided by a not-for-profit community agency with an extended model of care (usual care+self-management group intervention). The primary outcome variable (participation in life situations) was measured using the Activity Card Sort. Secondary outcome measures examined general health and vision-specific domains. Results The intention-to-treat analysis demonstrated that the extended model produced significantly better participation in life situations at post-test when compared with the usual care only group. Gains were made regardless of whether participants were, or were not, depressed at baseline. The addition of the self-management group was also successful in significantly reducing depression, increasing physical and mental health, generalised and domain-specific self-efficacy, and adjustment to ARVL. With the exception of adjustment and mental health, differences were still apparent at 12 weeks' follow-up. Conclusion Addition of self-management significantly improved general health and vision-specific rehabilitation outcomes for older adults with ARVL.


A sliding mode controller employing the RBF neural network is designed for the anti-lock braking system in automotive technology according to the requirement that the braking process must be fast and robust. The usual drawback of control chattering occurred in the classical sliding mode control can be alleviated with the proposed control scheme. Also the robustness of adaptive control system employing neural network is improved to some extent. Simulation investigation for scenario of vehicle activating brakes on dry road situation is carried out using Matlab/Simulink platform. Simulation results demonstrate both feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed ABS control scheme.


Meningococcal disease outbreaks recently have occurred in several U.S. cities among men who are HIV-infected and who have had sex with other men. This article describes the first similar case of meningococcal meningitis serogroup C in Minnesota, which was confirmed this summer. It also offers vaccination guidance for physicians who care for patients who may be at high risk for the disease.


Abstract. During an intensive field campaign on aerosol, clouds, and ice nucleation in the Eastern Mediterranean in April 2016, we measured the abundance of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the lower troposphere from unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). Aerosol samples were collected by miniaturized electrostatic precipitators onboard the UASs at altitudes up to 2.5 km. The number of INPs in these samples, which are active in the deposition and condensation modes at temperatures from −20 to −30 °C, were analyzed immediately after collection on site using the ice nucleus counter FRIDGE (FRankfurt Ice nucleation Deposition freezinG Experiment). During the 1-month campaign, we encountered a series of Saharan dust plumes that traveled at several kilometers' altitude. Here we present INP data from 42 individual flights, together with aerosol number concentrations, observations of lidar backscattering, dust concentrations derived by the dust transport model DREAM (Dust Regional Atmospheric Model), and results from scanning electron microscopy. The effect of the dust plumes is reflected by the coincidence of INPs with the particulate matter (PM), the lidar signal, and the predicted dust mass of the model. This suggests that mineral dust or a constituent related to dust was a major contributor to the ice nucleating properties of the aerosol. Peak concentrations of above 100 INPs std L−1 were measured at −30 °C. The INP concentration in elevated plumes was on average a factor of 10 higher than at ground level. Since desert dust is transported for long distances over wide areas of the globe predominantly at several kilometers' altitude, we conclude that INP measurements at ground level may be of limited significance for the situation at the level of cloud formation.


Both emphasising dilemmas that have been confronted by the Chineseamerican family, ang lee's The Wedding Banquet (1993) and alice Wu's Saving Face (2004) highlight the image of homosexuality as incompatible with traditional Chinese family values. Through detailed narrative analyses of these two films with a focus on the structure of the plot, the key characters, and camera work, this article aims to answer the questions of how traditional Chinese culture continues to play into and conflict with the experiences of modern Chinese american families and how each film presents and resolves the tensions arising from a culture in transition. The article argues that the importance of studying the ways in which the protagonists try to come to terms with incompatible value systems, lies in the capacity of film to reveal the complex negotiation between tradition and modernity, as well as the socio-cultural specificity of the conceptions of modernity.


CrAlSiN hard coatings were fabricated on the Si substrate from metallurgical Cr0.45Al0.45Si0.10 alloy target by reactive r.f. magnetron sputtering. The oxidation resistance of CrAlSiN coatings was investigated after annealing at temperatures between 900 and 1100°C for 1 hr in air. The phase identification and microstructure of CrAlSiN coatings after heat treatment were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The hardness of CrAlSiN coating after heat treatment at 900oC for 1hr in air is slightly decreased from 30.2GPa to 28.3±1.3GPa, which was caused by the thin oxide formation on the surface of the film. The microstructure of CrAlSiN coating after heat treatment at 1000oC from 1 hr analyzed by TEM revealed two types of layer feature, including the nanocrystalline grain embedded in the Al-riched amorphous layer and reaction interface with relative high content of Si.


This paper considers alternative approaches to the evaluation of the economic cost of alcohol consumption in Australia. It calculates the impact of alternative tax rates on beer, wine and spirits separately and the welfare cost of these taxes in terms of the distortion caused to consumption patterns. Two separate analyses are carried out. First optimal taxation is calculated which minimises the total welfare plus economic cost. Secondly, the benefits of life are separated from other benefits and the impact of tax expressed in terms of the cost per life year gained.


A child is considered in conflict with the law when he/she has committed or has been accused of committing an offence (UNICEF, 2006). According to local context, a child can also be in conflict with the law, when it is taken up by the justice system for minors or for adults, due to the alleged dangers faced by the child in view, or behavior or environment (IDE, 2016:2). The family is a primary agency that influences the child socio-psychological formation. In the case of children in conflict with the law, on one hand family can contribute on creating causes of antisocial and deviant behaviors of children, but on the other hand, it can be an important factor for rehabilitation and correction of the children attitudes.Recently, in Albania, children in conflict with the law have been in center of the attention of policymakers and researchers, but very few of them have explored in depth the role that the family plays on the education of children in contact with the law. This paper aims to fulfill that gap of researches in Albanian context.The methods used to gather data are based on: (a) the use of the secondary data such as international and national literature about the topic, researches with the focus on children in conflict with the law, statistics and other data from different Albanian institutions; (b) the use of the primary data taken from the interviews with experts who work in Probation Service in Albania, school psychologist, experts and professionals in prisons etc. The study revealed that the role of the family is crucial, especially for the children in conflict with the law. Empirical evidence from Albanian context shows that children in conflict with the law came mainly from families with socio - economical problems and/or lack of the attention to the education of the children. The collaboration of the family with other socialization agencies such as schools etc., can be an effective way for the correction of the attitudes of this category of children.


In this paper, the method of microwave reduction roasting was applied to investigate the heating and weight loss process from hematite to magnetite in crude niobium concentrate under the protection of argon. The kinetics of microwave reduction roasting of hematite in crude niobium concentrate were analyzed and calculated at the temperature range of 500°C ~850°C by way of non-isothermal thermogravimetry and isothermal gravimetric analysis. Results from this investigation demonstrated that the activation energy of microwave reduction roasting calculated by non-isothermal thermogravimetry was 26.5769kJ•mol-1, and the activation energy calculated by isothermal gravimetric analysis was 64.1203kJ•mol-1. Compared with the method of reduction roasting under resistance heating, the activation energy of microwave reduction roasting was small, and the reaction rate was fast.


Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of informal care support networks on the health status, life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety of elderly individuals in Argentina and Cuba. Recent economic changes, demographic changes, the structure of families and changes in women"s labor participation have affected the availability of informal care. Additionally, the growing number of elderly as a percentage of total population has significant implications for both formal and informal care in Argentina and Cuba. Methods: The SABE Survey on Health, Well-Being, and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2000 was used as the data source. The survey has a sample of 10,656 individuals aged 60 years and older residing in private households occupied by permanent dwellers in 7 cities in the Latin American and Caribbean region. My study will focus on the Buenos Aires and Havana samples in which there were 1043 individuals and 1905 individuals respectively. General sampling design was used to establish comparability between countries. Individuals requiring assistance are surveyed on their source of help and the relative impact of informal versus paid help is measured for this group. Other measures of social support (number of living children, companionship and number of individuals living in the same dwelling) are used to measure networks for the full sample. Multivariate probit regression analyses were run separately for Cuba and for Argentina to evaluate the marginal impacts of the types of social support on health status, life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety. Results: For Argentina, almost all of the family help variables positively impact good health. Getting help from most other members of the family negatively impacts satisfaction with life. Happiness is affected differently by each of the family help variables but community support increases the likelihood of being happy. Although none of the family or community help variables show statistical significance, most negatively affect anxiety levels. In Cuba, all of the social support variables have a positive marginal impact on the health status of the elderly. In this case, some of the family and community help variables have a negative marginal impact on life satisfaction; however, it appears that having those closest to the elderly, children, spouse, or other family, positively impacts life satisfaction. Most of the support variables negatively impact happiness. Receiving help from a child, spouse or parent is associated with a marginal increase in anxiety, whereas receiving help from a grandchild, another family member or a friend actually reduces anxiety. Discussion: The study highlights the necessity for enhancing the coordination of various care networks in order to provide adequate care and reduce the burdens of old age on the individual, family and society and the need for consistent support for the caregivers. More qualitative work should be done to identify how support is given and what comprises the support. The constant change and advancement of the world, and the growth of the Latin American and Caribbean region, suggests that more updates studies need to be done.


Ultrafine NiFe2O4 particles with spinel structure were prepared in the system of water-in-oil microemulsion of water/Triton X–100/n-hexanol/cyclohexane. The effects of calcining temperature and the other operation conditions were systematically discussed based on the techniques of SEM, XRD, VSM and so on. The result showed that NiFe2O4 nanoparticles, with a narrow size distribution(30-70nm), could be obtained by microemulsion method. The crystal grain diameter of the ultrafine NiFe2O4 particles could be enhanced with the improvement of the calcining temperature, the molar ratio of water to surfactant (w=[H2O]/ [surfactant]) and the concentration of Fe3+(or Ni2+), respectively. The VSM plots showed that the ferrimagnetic behavior was expected for this type of magnetic material. The XRD patterns and DTA-TG curves revealed that the optimal calcining temperature of NiFe2O4 sample was at around 500°C. The relation between the average particle size (D) and the value of w could be expressed as D=13.911+0.2628w. Moreover, it was indicated that low concentration of Fe3+(or Ni2+) was beneficial to the formation of small and regular NiFe2O4 particles.


For decades, chitchat bots are designed as a listener to passively answer what people ask. This passive and relatively simple dialogue mechanism gains less attention from humans and consumes the interests of human beings rapidly. Therefore some recent researches attempt to endow the bots with proactivity through external knowledge to transform the role from a listener to a speaker with a hypothesis that the speaker expresses more just like a knowledge disseminator. However, along with the proactive manner introduced into a dialogue agent, an issue arises that, with too many knowledge facts to express, the agent starts to talks endlessly, and even completely ignores what the other expresses in dialogue sometimes, which greatly harms the interest of the other chatter to continue the conversation. To the end, we propose a novel model named Initiative-Imitate to interact with adaptive initiative throughout a dialogue. It forces the agent to express in parallel with the appropriate role during the whole conversation. The corresponding experiments show the proposed Initiative-Imitate obtains competitive results both on the automatic and manual metrics. And the fluency and engagement of the chatbot have also been improved significantly. Besides, the case study indicates the Initiative-Imitate can constantly transfer to appropriate role timely and response more properly during the whole continuous conversation.


We examine whether the recognition versus disclosure of identical accounting information affects the credit rating process and ultimately corporate credit ratings. The primary input into corporate credit ratings is adjusted financial statements, which the rating agencies create by modifying reported financial statements to reflect credit-relevant items not recognized under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The rating agencies have claimed that this process means that accounting changes that move previously disclosed information onto firms' financial statements have virtually no effect on firms' adjusted financial statements or their credit ratings. We show that this claim is incorrect using the implementation of Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 158 (SFAS158). This standard did not prescribe any new financial information. Rather, it simply required the balance sheet recognition of a previously disclosed item. We find that firms recognizing an additional pension liability due to SFAS158 had lower leverage on the rating agency adjusted financial statements and received higher corporate credit ratings. This counterintuitive result occurs because the rating agency adjustments made before SFAS158 were punitive relative to the combination of the SFAS158 changes and the rating agency adjustments made after SFAS158. The difference in rating agency adjustments before and after SFAS158 was primarily due to rating agency adjustments in the pre-SFAS158 period that did not account for minimum liability adjustments, an aspect of pension accounting eliminated by SFAS158. Overall, our results indicate that SFAS158 generated real changes in rating agency adjustments and that these changes had real consequences for firms' credit ratings.


In this article, we report on the observations that in the aqueous electrolyte of aluminum nitrate, the thin metallic conducting films on both internal and external surface of porous silicon (PS) thin films that emit visible photoluminescence at room temperature prior to electrochemical deposition have been obtained under electrochemical deposition condition. Add to this high surface-to-volume ratio and these make it a good candidate for the catalyst supporter. We have investigated the surface morphology of PS after the interval of about 30 hours of electrochemically deposited aluminum by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has been shown from SEM images that not only micrometer-sized pores are smoothed by deposition of aluminum microcrystal, but also the presences of semi-sphere aluminum microcrystal which rooted in the tip of micrometer-sized pores are observed. On the one hand, this extremely interesting phenomenon which the micrometer-sized pores are smoothed may be explained in terms of principle of electrochemical deposition; on the other hand, we have laid the formation mechanism of semi-spherical aluminum microcrystal at the door of Gibbs free energy.


The temperature sensitivity of pK(a) values for a data set of 10 amino acids and 5 carboxylic acids is studied using PCM and SM8T continuum solvation models coupled with density functional theoretical calculations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. The data set of amino acids was chosen on the basis of their potential to be solvents for postcombustion CO2 capture processes and available literature data. Calculated results are compared with experimental data in a temperature range of 273-393 K. Both solvation models predict temperature sensitivity of pK(a) of the amino group of amino acids very nicely. It is observed that the temperature dependencies of pK(a) of the carboxyl group of amino acids and carboxylic acids predicted by these models do not agree well with experimental temperature dependencies of carboxylic acids. This issue is discussed in the context of the basic parametrization of these continuum solvation models.


Purpose of this research is to find out and analyse some item such as Return on
Asset (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Net Profit Marging (NPM) and Debt to
Equity Ratio (DER) could influence simultaneously and partial to the Stock's
Price at Property and Real Estate's Company which Establish at Indonesia Stock
Exchange in periode 2009 – 2013. This research use Data Panel to describe the
problem. The methode to supporting the research are Descriptive Statistic,
Quality Data Test, and Multivariate Regression. The conclusions of this final
report show Return on Asset (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Net Profit Margin
(NPM) and Debt to Equity Ratio (DER) simultaneously influence the Stock's
Price. Return on Asset (ROA) partially describe negative influence to the Stoct's
Price, Return on Equity (ROE) and Net Profit Margin (NPM) didn't influence the
Stock's Price, Debt to Equity Ratio (DER) significantly influece the Stock's Price.
Suggestion for the company's management should maintain and improveing to
manage asset and equity of the company, and net profit also should be ballanced
with cost efficiency. For the next research should improve the case and adding
some variable for the better research.
Keywords: Return On Asset, Return On Equity, Net Profit Margin, Debt to Equity
Ratio and Stock Price.


We have discovered a D1 Hz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) present in the persistent X-ray emission of the globular cluster source, dipper, and low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1746[37. The QPO was also observed during type I X-ray bursts. The QPO properties resemble those of QPOs found recently in the LMXB dippers 4U 1323[62 and EXO 0748-676, which makes 4U 1746[37 the third source known to exhibit this type of QPO. We present evidence for X-ray spectral changes in this source similar to those observed in LMXBs referred to as atoll sources. We detect two states, a lower intensity and spectrally hard state and a higher intensity and spectrally soft state. This may explain the di†erent spectral characteristics reported for 4U 1746[37 earlier. The high-intensity state resembles the banana branch state of atoll sources. The QPOs are seen only in the low-intensity state and are absent when the source is in the banana branch. This strongly suggests that either the accretion disk or an extended central source changes shape between the low-intensity state and the banana branch. Twelve bursts were detected, of which Ðve took place while the source was on the banana branch and seven while the source was in the low-intensity state. The bursts occurring on the banana branch had an e-folding time D3 times longer than those that occurred in the low-intensity state. Whereas previously detected dips showed a decrease in count rate of only D15%, we found a dip in one observation for which the count rate dropped from D200 counts s~1 to D20 counts s~1. This dip lasted only D250 s, during which clear spectral hardening occurred. This is the Ðrst time strong evidence for spectral changes during a dip have been reported for this source. Subject headings : accretion, accretion disks È stars : individual (4U 1746[37) È stars : neutron È X-rays : stars


Abstract Recently, several algorithms have been suggested for solving the discrete logarithm problem in the Jacobians of high-genus hyperelliptic curves over nite elds. Some of them have a provable subexponential running time and are using the fact that smooth reduced ideals are suÆciently dense. We explicitly show how these density results can be derived. All proofs are purely combinatorial and do not exploit analytic properties of generating functions.


The two most common disposal alternatives for animals contaminated with radioactive materials are incineration and burial. For most of the country burial has entailed shipping the carcasses to a commercial disposal facility at Barnwell, South Carolina, where it was landfilled along with other solid radioactive waste. Unfortunately, since 30 June 1994, this facility accepts waste generated by the states of the Southeast Compact only. Therefore, burial is no longer an option for most of the country's generators and incineration is an option only for those institutions which have, or have access to, an incinerator that is permitted to burn radioactive materials and that accepts animal carcasses with de minimis levels of radioactive contaminants. Many institutions, especially those in congested urban areas where the public does not support incineration, do not have viable outlets for radioactive animal carcasses. Interim, on-site storage poses problems of its own. Biodegradation of animal carcasses with dermestid beetles is an inexpensive approach to this waste management problem.


From the outset Collective Memory-Work was intended to be a method for research and emancipatory learning with a consciously open form. Over three decades the method has been successfully used in academic research in a variety of fields. It has been adapted and adjusted according to purposes of the applications, institutional frameworks, organisational necessities and methodological considerations, leading to further developments of the method. Narrative transformation, collective autoethnographic memory-work, mind-scripting, collective biography are some of the terms that reflect these developments. The symposium in August, 2021 in Maynooth is meant to:

foster an exchange about the use of CMW (its timeliness, its variations, the potential fields of application, its value in teaching, learning, research, social activism);
create an opportunity to build networks for cooperation and knowledge exchange across geographical and disciplinary boundaries;
build bridges for an increased transfer of CMW into non-academic areas.


This paper considers the design of a "long-pulse" modulator supply rated at 25kV, 10A (250kW peak power, duty ratio 10%, 25kW average power, pulse length ≈ 1 − 2ms). The supply is based on direct modulation of a multi-phase resonant power supply, fed by an active rectifier. The objectives of the development are to produce a compact power supply, with low stored energy and with high power quality at the utility supply. The paper provides a brief overview of the technology, followed by a discussion of the design choices. Initial results from the laboratory prototype are included.


BACKGROUND
Previous studies have found an association between maternal obesity and overweight and breastfeeding (BF) difficulties, including delayed lactogenesis and shorter duration of BF. Biological, psychological, and mechanical causes have been linked with poor BF outcomes. Other review articles on this topic have included studies that measured maternal body mass index (BMI) in the postpartum period instead of prenatally, presenting difficulties in teasing out the role of gestational weight gain and prepregnancy BMI on BF success. My objective was to evaluate the relationship between maternal prepregnancy BMI, including comorbidities associated with overweight and obesity such as diabetes mellitus, and BF initiation and duration.

METHODS
Four PubMed searches were conducted, retrieving 13 articles.

RESULTS
Of the 12 studies reviewed that assessed the association between prepregnancy maternal BMI category and BF initiation, 9 found an association between maternal overweight or obesity and delayed lactogenesis or failure to initiate BF. One study found increased risk for not initiating BF only in Hispanic women, and 1 found the association only among women with medical comorbidities in addition to obesity. Of the 13 studies retrieved that assessed the association between BMI category and BF duration, 10 found an association between higher BMI categories and shorter duration of BF. Ten of the 13 studies reviewed adjusted for multiple confounders, including maternal smoking status, parity, type of delivery, and infant birthweight. The studies that found an association between BMI category and reduced duration did so in some cases only for certain ethnic/racial groups or BMI categories or if other comorbidities were present in addition to overweight/obesity.

CONCLUSIONS
Higher BMI levels can adversely impact BF initiation and duration. Further studies need to be conducted to better understand the role of race/ethnicity, gestational weight gain, and such comorbidities as diabetes in increasing risk for reduced BF initiation and duration in overweight and obese women.


Properly quantifying the potential exposure of hyper-arid regions to climate extremes is fundamental to developing frameworks that can be used to manage these extremes. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), rapid growth may exacerbate the impacts of climate extremes through urbanization (increased runoff), population and industrial development (more water demand). Water resources management approaches such as Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) application may help mitigate both extremes by storing more water from wet periods for use during droughts. In this study, we quantified the volumes of runoff from coastal watersheds discharging to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf that could potentially be captured to replenish depleted aquifers along the coast and help reduce the adverse impacts of urban flooding. To this aim, we first downloaded and processed the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (IMERG) rainfall data for a recent wide-spread storm event. The rainfall product was then used as input to hydrologic models of coastal watersheds for estimating the resulting runoff. A multi-criteria decision analysis technique was used to identify areas most prone to runoff accumulation. Lastly, we quantified the volumes of runoff that could potentially be captured from frequency storms of different return periods and how rapid urbanization in the region may increase these runoff volumes creating more opportunities for the replenishment of depleted aquifers. Our results indicate that the average runoff from watersheds discharging to the ocean ranges between 0.11 km3 and 0.48 km3 for the 5-year and 100-year storms, respectively. We also found that these amounts will substantially increase due to rapid urbanization in the coastal regions of the UAE. In addition to water supply augmentation during droughts, potential benefits of application of MAR techniques in the UAE coastal regions may include flood control, mitigation against sea-level rise through subsidence control, reduction of aquifer salinity, rehabilitation of ecosystems, cleansing polluted runoff and preventing excessive runoff into the Gulf that can contribute to red tide events.


Using molecular dynamics simulation, we investigated the mechanism by which the intercalation of a surfactant solution reduces the contact thermal resistance of two solid surfaces. We constructed a model system where two solid surfaces with a gap were immersed in a surfactant solution, and the gap was filled with permeating molecules to form a molecular thin film. By varying the concentration of the surfactant and the distance between the confining surfaces, factors affecting the intersolid heat transfer were explored. It was demonstrated that the overall thermal resistance of the present system was determined by interfacial thermal resistance between the solid and the solution and can be reduced by increasing the surfactant concentration. The surface separation, i.e., the distance between the two solid surfaces, had a significant impact on interfacial thermal resistance, whether or not surfactant molecules were involved. Interfacial thermal resistance was an oscillatory function of the surface separation and displayed minimum values not at the most adsorption amount of liquid molecules but when the density profile of liquid molecules showed a sharp peak, i.e., when the surface separation was commensurable with the size of the solvent molecule. This tendency was most remarkably seen when the liquid film was composed of a single molecular layer. The findings in this study provide helpful insights into the reduction of interfacial thermal resistance utilizing surfactant solutions.Using molecular dynamics simulation, we investigated the mechanism by which the intercalation of a surfactant solution reduces the contact thermal resistance of two solid surfaces. We constructed a model system where two solid surfaces with a gap were immersed in a surfactant solution, and the gap was filled with permeating molecules to form a molecular thin film. By varying the concentration of the surfactant and the distance between the confining surfaces, factors affecting the intersolid heat transfer were explored. It was demonstrated that the overall thermal resistance of the present system was determined by interfacial thermal resistance between the solid and the solution and can be reduced by increasing the surfactant concentration. The surface separation, i.e., the distance between the two solid surfaces, had a significant impact on interfacial thermal resistance, whether or not surfactant molecules were involved. Interfacial thermal resistance was an oscillatory function of the surface separation...


This paper present the five level three phase cascaded inverter. This paper focuses on improving the efficiency of the multilevel inverter and quality of output voltage waveform. The modified PWM technique is also developed to reduce harmonics. Five level reduced switches topology has been implemented with only 24 switches. Fundamental Switching scheme and Selective Harmonics Elimination were implemented to reduce the Total Harmonics Distortion (THD) value and switching losses. The simulation diagrams of multilevel inverter are carried out in MATLAB (R2013A) / Simulink environment to evaluate the performance of the system.


The relevance of automatically identifying rhetorical moves in scientific texts has been widely acknowledged in the literature. This study focuses on abstracts of standard research papers written in English and aims to tackle a fundamental limitation of current machine-learning classifiers: they are mono-labeled, that is, a sentence can only be assigned one single label. However, such approach does not adequately reflect actual language use since a move can be realized by a clause, a sentence, or even several sentences. Here, we present MAZEA (Multi-label Argumentative Zoning for English Abstracts), a multi-label classifier which automatically identifies rhetorical moves in abstracts but allows for a given sentence to be assigned as many labels as appropriate. We have resorted to various other NLP tools and used two large training corpora: (i) one corpus consists of 645 abstracts from physical sciences and engineering (PE) and (ii) the other corpus is made up of 690 from life and health sciences (LH). This paper presents our preliminary results and also discusses the various challenges involved in multi-label tagging and works towards satisfactory solutions. In addition, we also make our two training corpora publicly available so that they may serve as benchmark for this new task.


PURPOSE
To report a case of Purtscher-like retinopathy after weightlifting.

METHODS
A 17-year-old man presented with a sudden visual loss in his left eye after weightlifting two weeks ago. Fundus examination of the left eye showed cotton-wool spots and scattered retinal hemorrhages in the posterior pole. Fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography with a scanning laser ophthalmoscope were performed.

RESULTS
Angiography showed hypofluorescent areas adjacent to the optic disc and in the posterior pole and partial filling insufficiency in the inferior and inferotemporal branch retinal veins. Complete venous filling was noted in late phases of angiography.

CONCLUSIONS
The pathogenesis of weightlifting suggests the Purtscher-like changes as a result of Valsalva maneuver in our case. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of Purtscher-like retinipathy associated with weightlifting. (Eur J Ophthalmol 2003; 13: 395-7).


These experiments were designed to study selected respiratory and metabolic responses to exercise in hyperoxia. Four subjects were examined during 30-min bicycle ergometer rides at both 40% and 80% of their aerobic maximum. The VO2 was significantly increased at both work levels breathing 60% O2 versus 21% O2, while VCO2 showed no significant change during the 40% exercise tests but was significantly decreased during the 80% intensity rides. The average increase in the volume of O2 taken up during 30 min of hyperoxic exercise, compared with normoxia, was 3.3 liters at the 40% exercise level and 5.6 liters at the 80% level. Neither the magnitude of the O2 nor the CO2 storage calculated for the exercise bouts could explain these increases. Steady-state criteria for the gas stores were established by the stable values of PETCO2, VO2, VCO2, and VI from minute 6 through 30 at both work levels. R values decreased during the hyperoxic tests suggesting the possibility of a shift toward increased fatty acid metabolism.


ad hoc networks (MANET) comprise mobile devices to form an ad hoc network for some ad hoc purpose. So, this special feature of a MANET allows it to be the most demanding technology amongst the users, and the most concerned topic of research in the field of wireless networks. Following the latest trends of research in the field of wireless communication, this paper attempts to focus on some growing issues in MANETs. Security, one of the most important aspects of communication, which faces severe challenges due to various constraints imposed by MANET, is discussed in this paper including vulnerabilities, attacks, various security goals and the applications of MANET. Along with the security, it also describes the routing protocols and the related work that has already been done in this field.


We describe a solution to the problem of determining the kinematic feasibility of a dextrous hand to grasp a given object at a desired configuration in the two dimensional space. We refer to this problem as kinematic graspability. The kinematic configuration of a grasp is defined in terms of a set of contact pairs between the topological features of the hand and the object. We derive the sufficient conditions in order for the hand to make the desired contact and avoid collision. These conditions are then formulated as a constrained nonlinear global optimization problem, whose solution yields a definitive answer to kinematic graspability for a grasp configuration. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the method.


Introduction. Airport territories are large, containing a high variety of biotopes, mostly open type, and are relatively protected against intense human activity, thus creating favorable conditions for many mammal species that serve as trophic source for many bird species.
Material and methods. The studies were performed during 2012-2014 on the territory of Chisinau airport and within the adjacent ecosystems. The mammals were recorded by direct observations, based on traces and trophic activity on routes ranging from 1 to 3 km. The small mammals were assessed with traps. The bat species were identified according to their flight pattern and using the ultrasound detector.
Results. In the airport, 31 species of mammals were registered: 5 insectivore species, 7 bat species, 14 rodent species, 1 hare species and 4 carnivorous species. The most widespread, common and abundant were the rodents and the fox. Among small rodent species, the most abundant was Apodemus sylvaticus with 51.6%, followed by the Microtus arvalis (38.9%), while on the airport grassland, the field vole dominated with more than 60%. The diet of Athene noctua included predominantly Mus musculus with over 51%, followed by M. arvalis with 23.7%. 7 species are rare and 5 protected – bicolor shrew and 4 bat species.
Conclusions. The airport territory and adjacent ecosystems provide favorable conditions for many mammal species. The presence of rodents favors the occurrence of rather high number of prey birds, which represent a threat for the safety of aircraft flights. The fox can pose direct threat to flight safety.


Neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) is associated with cognitive function, independently of individual demographic, health, and socioeconomic characteristics. However, research has been largely cross-sectional, and mechanisms of the association are unknown. In 1992-1993, Cardiovascular Health Study participants (n = 3,595; mean age = 74.8 years; 15.7% black) underwent cognitive testing and magnetic resonance imaging of white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and their addresses were geocoded. NSES was calculated using 1990 US Census data (block groups; 6 measures of wealth, education, and occupation). The Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) was used to assess general cognition, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) was used to assess speed of processing annually for 6 years. Associations of race-specific NSES tertiles with 3MS, DSST, and WMH were estimated using linear mixed-effects models accounting for geographic clustering, stratified by race, and adjusted for demographic, health, and individual socioeconomic status (education, income, lifetime occupational status) variables. In fully adjusted models, higher NSES was associated with higher 3MS scores in blacks (mean difference between highest and lowest NSES = 2.4 points; P = 0.004) and whites (mean difference = 0.7 points; P = 0.02) at baseline but not with changes in 3MS over time. NSES was marginally associated with DSST and was not associated with WMH. Adjustment for WMH did not attenuate NSES-3MS associations. Associations of NSES with cognition in late adulthood differ by race, are not explained by WMH, and are evident only at baseline.


A dc injector capable of 75-keV, 110-mA proton beam operation is under development for the Low Energy Demonstration Accelerator (LEDA) project at Los Alamos. The injector uses a dc microwave proton source which has demonstrated 98% beam availability while operating at design parameters. A high-voltage isolation transformer is avoided by locating all ion source power supplies and controls at ground potential. The low-energy beam transport system (LEBT) uses two solenoid focusing and two steering magnets for beam matching and centroid control at the RFQ matchpoint. This paper will discuss proton source microwave window design, H/sub 2/ gas flow control, vacuum considerations, LEBT design, and an iris for beam current control.


Developing objective standards and indicators, and establishing the transparency of the evaluation process have significant importance in reducing negative teacher opinions and ensuring healthy functioning of the performance evaluation system. The purpose of this study is to compare teacher performance indicators in Turkey and United States. This study was conducted using document review, which is one of the qualitative research methods. In the study, document review was used as the data collection method. In the first stage, the official documents of the two countries were accessed via websites. The authenticity of the obtained documents was checked. Finally, the analysis was done with the classification form developed by the researchers. In the study, the analysis of the documents was done by descriptive analysis technique. General Proficiencies of Teaching Profession consist of 233 performance indicator and Core Teaching Standards consist of 74 performance indicators. The findings of the study were examined under five themes determined by considering the General Proficiencies of Teaching Profession and Core Teaching Standards: Student and learning, content knowledge, instructional practice, assessment and professional development. General Proficiencies of Teaching Profession lists the knowledge, skills, and behaviors expected from teachers as performance indicators. In Core Teaching Standards, the performance indicators provide suggestions and explanations for the development of teaching in accordance with the requirements of today's world. the preparation of performance indicators to provide teachers' development and the realistic use of these indicators in evaluating will help improve the quality of teacher performance evaluation.


Abstract The Prehensile-Tailed Skink (Corucia zebrata) (Scincidae) is endemic to the Solomon Archipelago, where it inhabits all major islands. The species is evolutionarily distinct and diverged from its nearest relatives during the Oligocene. To expand on the limited information available with respect to the life history and ecology of C. zebrata in the wild, we explored the species' prevalence to group living and the fine-scale genetic structure of a large and isolated population. Fifty-one lizards were sampled in a 900-ha study plot within a larger area of continuous rain forest on Ugi Island in the Solomon Islands, an area that represents approximately 20% of the C. zebrata habitat on the island. Using information from eight polymorphic DNA microsatellite loci, we conducted Bayesian assignment analysis and pairwise kinship estimates between individual lizards. No geographically induced subpopulation structure was detected. The majority of lizards were not found in immediate proximity of other individuals; however, pairwise kinship analysis showed that lizards located less than 150 m from each other were likely to share alleles identical by descent and, thus, were more related than by chance. Additionally, we found indications that individual lizards have moved several kilometers within the study area. We have uncovered information on dispersal and genetic structure in a large population of C. zebrata, a species whose natural habitat across the Solomon Archipelago is increasingly fragmented and degraded because of unsustainable logging.


ABSTRACT Gopalakrishnan, T. and Kumar, L., 2020. Potential impacts of sea-level rise upon the Jaffna Peninsula, Sri Lanka: How climate change can adversely affect the coastal zone. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(5), 951–960. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Sea-level rise (SLR) is anticipated to be one of the most crucial factors putting pressure on the livelihood of human life in the 21st century. The Jaffna Peninsula, located at the northern tip of Sri Lanka, is no exception. This area lies entirely within 10 km of the coast and has an almost flat topography with a maximum elevation of 15 m above mean sea level (a.s.l.), whereas 50% of the total land area is less than 2 m a.s.l., making it highly vulnerable to coastal hazards, including SLR. An attempt was made to estimate the extent of land and paddy fields area that will be potentially inundated by 2050 and 2100 on the basis of different Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. Across four SLR scenarios, the total land area of the Jaffna Peninsula that will be directly inundated by 2050 is 6.8–13% and by 2100 this value will rise to 10–35%. Moreover, the Jaffna Peninsula is projected to lose approximately 7193–13,595 ha of paddy fields by 2050 and 10,630–36,786 ha by 2100. Considering the uncertainty in the inundation model, the total land area that could be under risk of inundation is 46.3% and 49.1% by 2050 and 2100, respectively, under the low-end scenario (RCP2.6), and 47% and 58.5% under the high-end scenario (RCP8.5). The areas surrounding the lagoons and the adjacent islands are identified as being the most vulnerable to SLR. The scale of the anticipated inundation on land and paddy fields underscores the urgent need for action to ensure the sustainable livelihoods of the region's population.


This research is a classroom action research that aims to see whether there is an influence on the application of the CTL learning model in an effort to improve the learning achievement of PAI and character. The subjects in this study were students of class XII IPA-1, Laha Ambon High School LKMD with a total of 24 students in the 2018/2019 school year. This study uses instruments namely: (1) Teacher and student observation sheets; (2) List of students' attendance; (3) List of grades, (4) Student questionnaire sheet to determine student responses. This CAR procedure consists of 2 cycles with 2 meetings per cycle. Each cycle consists of four stages as follows: 1) planning; 2) implementing actions; 3) observation and evaluation of actions; and 4) reflection of actions. Data in this study were collected by interview and observation. This study uses a combination of qualitative data analysis techniques and quantitative data analysis techniques because some of the data obtained in the form of quantitative data. Qualitative data analysis from this research will be carried out through 3 stages, namely: Data reduction, data exposure, and inference. This research is said to be successful if students in Islamic religious education learning get a value of 70 (KKM = 70) or more with an average completeness level of 80% or more. The results of the study show that: (1) The contextual teaching learning model is very suitable for growing students' criticality in analyzing, differentiating, generalizing, and hypothesizing problems; (2) With the increase in student learning activities, student achievement shows a significant increase, namely by increasing the average value of student achievement from the first cycle of 67.1 with a level of student learning completeness of 25.0% increased to 83, 7 with the level of mastery learning students 87.5% at the end of the second cycle. The more intensive the application of the contextual teaching learning model, the more learning achievement and motivation of students increases. The more intensive in applying the contextual teaching learning model, the more the number or percentage of students experiencing mastery learning increases, if implemented consistently based on the correct cycle path.


The metal framework of the Mineral Wells Convention Hall is all that it readily visible during its demolition in 1975/1976. Built on the rock foundation of the Electric Plant that Galbraith had erected in order (Unsuccessfully, it is guessed) to light the city. The Convention Hall was built for the West Texas Chamber of Commerce Convention in 1925. It served as the site of numerous local functions including High School Graduation Exercises. The landmark Hexagon Hotel, Mineral Wells' first electrically-lighted hotel, stood on the vacant corner lot in the left foreground of this picture from 1897 to 1959.


Prices at different levels of the supply chain are linked through long-run relationships and tend to differ by the marketing costs. However, several aspects intervene in making price dynamics along the supply chain quite complicated and erratic. In particular, several issues on how marketing margins evolve over time and across commodities, as well as how prices are transmitted along the supply chain are still debated. The implications for the understanding of the economy, the management of the firms, and the regulations of the markets are important and pushed scholars to dedicate particular attention to these topics. In particular, how prices evolve in the supply chain of perishable products is an intriguing challenge that has stimulated a hot debate. We review the literature on price analyses, marketing margins, and vertical price transmission with particular emphasis on perishable products (fruits and vegetables) in order to conclude on the open issues worth further investigation.


In wireless networks, the mechanism to adaptively select a link transmission rate based on channel variations is referred to as RA (rate adaptation). The operation may have a critical impact on the upper-layer application, specifically video streaming which has strict QoS requirements. Thus, RA should consider the QoS requirements and radio conditions at the same time. In this paper, we present a CV-RA (cross-layer video-oriented rate adaptation) scheme for video transmission over multi-rate wireless networks. The transmission rate is switched in a cross-layer optimized way, by simultaneously considering video R-D (rate-distortion) characteristics as well as wireless conditions. At the radio link layer, transmission rate selection is made using cross-layer optimization. As a result of RA, the effective link throughput dynamically changes. At the application layer, video source rate is adaptively controlled using cross-layer adaptation. CV-RA is compared to three traditional RA schemes. It can realize the highest possible visual communications for any channel condition. For the previous schemes, the variations of visual quality is high due to dynamic packet error rates. In contrast, for CV-RA, visual quality improves with the channel condition.


Organizing nanoparticles (NPs) into periodic structures is a central goal in materials science. Despite progress in the last decades, it is still challenging to produce macroscopic assemblies reliably. In this work, the analysis of the pervaporation‐induced organization of gold octahedra into supercrystals within microfluidic channels using a combination of X‐ray scattering techniques and FIB‐SEM tomography is reported. The results reveal the formation of a single‐domain supercrystal with a monoclinic C2/m symmetry and long‐range order extending over the dimensions of the microfluidic channel, covering at least 1.7 × 0.3 mm2. Time‐resolved small angle X‐ray scattering analysis shows that the formation of the superlattice involves an accumulation of the NPs within the channel before the nucleation and growth of the supercrystal. The orientation of the crystal remains unchanged during its formation, suggesting a growth mechanism directed by the channel interface. Together, these results show the potential application of the pervaporation strategy to providing spatially determined control over NP crystallization, which can be used for the rational fabrication of nanomaterial architectures.


CONTEXT
Oral cancers represent a disparate group of tumors with diverse clinical behavior and chemosensitivity profile. Currently, it is difficult to predict whether a tumor will respond to chemotherapy and which drug(s) will achieve the maximum clinical response.

AIMS
To study in vitro chemosensitivity profile of oral cancers and to correlate the in vitro chemosensitivity of oral cancer to clinical response to chemotherapy.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN
Prospective study in a tertiary cancer care center.

METHODS AND MATERIAL
We prospectively studied the chemosensitivity profile of 57 untreated, advanced, unresectable oral cancers to cisplatin, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil and their combinations by using histoculture drug response assay (HDRA) and correlated them to the clinical response to chemotherapy.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED
Chi Square test.

RESULTS
Biopsy samples were successfully histocultured in 52/57 (91%) cases. Of these 52 evaluable patients, 47 had primary gingivo-buccal cancers and five had tongue / floor of mouth cancers. Based on the assay, 27 (52%) tumors were sensitive to cisplatin, 27 (52%) to methotrexate, 24 (46%) to 5-fluorouracil, 38 (73%) to combination of cisplatin and methotrexate and 36 (69%) to combination of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. Of these, 31 patients with good performance status received two cycles of chemotherapy using one or more of these test drugs. There was a significant correlation (p=0.03) between the in vitro chemosensitivity and the clinical response. Negative predictive value of the test was 80%, positive predictive value-69%, sensitivity-79% and specificity -71%. The overall accuracy of the assay was 74%.

CONCLUSIONS
We found HDRA to be a fairly good predictor of chemo-response of oral cancer.


Student Transition into and out of higher education (HE) is a theme where a lot has been written, explored and analysed. The aim of this opinion piece is to suggest a new pragmatic definition of 'transition', based on multilingual approaches to teaching and learning. It will also demonstrate some areas of relevance for this type of theory, providing a novel perspective in monoglot cultures. After reviewing some definitions of transition suggested by existing academic literature, the paper calls for the establishment of a 'multilingual mindset' in the field of HE. A 'multilingual mindset' could inform theoretical debate on transition, addressing the existing strong trends for the encouragement of Internationalisation in higher education. It recognises those challenges with transition which stem from cultural and linguistic difference and emphasises particularly those which are invisible, or difficult to approach, in monoglot cultures. Accounts of current practice within the scope of a 'multilingual mindset', along with personal reflections from a Scottish University perspective, are considered. The paper is written in the hope of providing food for thought, encouraging further experimentation and, perhaps, public exploration and enhancement of this culturally important perspective: that is dealing with Student Transition in Higher Education with a 'multilingual mindset'.


Low-rank recovery models have shown potential for salient object detection, where a matrix is decomposed into a low-rank matrix representing image background and a sparse matrix identifying salient objects. Two deficiencies, however, still exist. First, previous work typically assumes the elements in the sparse matrix are mutually independent, ignoring the spatial and pattern relations of image regions. Second, when the low-rank and sparse matrices are relatively coherent, e.g., when there are similarities between the salient objects and background or when the background is complicated, it is difficult for previous models to disentangle them. To address these problems, we propose a novel structured matrix decomposition model with two structural regularizations: (1) a tree-structured sparsity-inducing regularization that captures the image structure and enforces patches from the same object to have similar saliency values, and (2) a Laplacian regularization that enlarges the gaps between salient objects and the background in feature space. Furthermore, high-level priors are integrated to guide the matrix decomposition and boost the detection. We evaluate our model for salient object detection on five challenging datasets including single object, multiple objects and complex scene images, and show competitive results as compared with 24 state-of-the-art methods in terms of seven performance metrics.


A fiber gyroscope is reported that uses polarization-holding fiber in the coil, the phase modulator, and the coupler. The random-drift coefficient, calculated from rms noise levels, was 8.10−4deg/h, within a factor of 2 of an experimentally determined quantum and thermal limit. White-noise behavior was observed for integration time constants from 1 to 40 sec. Device characteristics and performance are presented.


Risks in logistics financial business are identified and classified. Making the failure of the business as the root node, a Bayesian network is constructed to measure the risk levels in the business. Three importance indexes are calculated to find the most important risks in the business. And more, considering the epistemic uncertainties in the risks, evidence theory associate with Bayesian network is used as an evidential network in the risk analysis of logistics finance. To find how much uncertainty in root node is produced by each risk, a new index, epistemic importance, is defined. Numerical examples show that the proposed methods could provide a lot of useful information. With the information, effective approaches could be found to control and avoid these sensitive risks, thus keep logistics financial business working more reliable. The proposed method also gives a quantitative measure of risk levels in logistics financial business, which provides guidance for the selection of financing solutions.


Cochlear Implants in Children: Ethics and Choices addresses the ongoing controversy about implanting cochlear hearing devices in children as young as 12 months old and in some cases, younger. Authors John B. Christiansen and Irene W. Leigh and contributors Jay Lucker and Patricia Elizabeth Spencer analyzed the sensitive issues connected with the procedure by reviewing 439 responses to a survey of parents with children who have cochlear implants. They followed up with interviews of the parents of children who have had a year's experience using their implants, and also the children themselves. Their findings shape the core of this useful and telling study. Cochlear Implants begins with a history of their development and an explanation of how implants convert sound into electric impulses that stimulate the brain. The second section focuses on pediatric implants, starting with the ways parents coped with the discovery that their child was deaf. Parents share how they learned about cochlear implants and how they chose an implant centre. They also detail their children's experiences with the implants after surgery, and their progress with language acquisition and in school. The final part treats the controversy associated with cochlear implants, particularly the reaction of the Deaf community and the ethics of implanting young children without their consent. Cochlear Implants concludes with sage observations and recommendations for parents and professionals that complete it as the essential book on the pros and cons of this burgeoning technology.


Historic buildings located in areas exposed to dynamic effects caused by natural or technical seismicity are one of the most vulnerable types of structures. Masonry buildings often have timber-ceiling structures with insufficient rigidity and not fully functional system of wall and beam ties, therefore being extremely sensitive to the dynamic effects caused by natural or technical seismicity. Main focus of the article is the outline of possible rehabilitation and restoration design approaches for strengthening of historic buildings in terms of dynamic loads. Brief information about the research performed in the field of masonry vaults' reinforcement due to the dynamic loading is presented.


Beethoven's 'Kreutzer' Sonata transgressed the expectations – and likely captivated the minds – of early nineteenth-century musicians and audiences alike. The 'Kreutzer' is stylistically removed from his Op. 10 No. 1 composed less than six years earlier; it demands virtuosic technical proficiency from both performers. Through the combination of harmonic evasion playing on audience expectations in the first movement and the conversational interplay between the personalities of both performers and instrumental parts alike, this audacious work has fascinated the minds of both listener and critic from the 1803 premiere through to the modern day.  In 1805 an Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung review suggested that it would require two virtuosi to study the work in order to communicate the 'Groteskeste' work to an audience – this is indicative of not just technical difficulty but also the importance of the dynamic relationship between the two partners of the duo to the 'Kreutzer'. This highly charged relationship inspired Tolstoy and Prinet (and by extension Janacek and many twentieth-century film and multimedia artists) to create adaptations of 'Kreutzer'.  High-quality musical arrangements of 'Kreutzer' appeared as early as 1827, when Carl Czerny completed a four-hand version of 'Kreutzer'. This was closely followed by an anonymous string quintet arrangement released by the Simrock publishing house in 1832. These arrangements translated the virtuosic sonata into different mediums for wider dissemination, making it more readily available to both musicians active in the chamber music scene, and domestic students and dilettantes proficient at the piano. Both arrangements manage to transform the 'Kreutzer' into a different format while retaining aspects of both the conversational relationship between musicians as well as the technical demands of Beethoven's original sonata.  The string quintet arrangement tends to fragment melodic ideas between parts, rather than transplanting entire phrases or providing a direct transcription – exceptions generally occurring at important transitions or particularly special moments. This generates a highly differentiated conversational landscape to that the original, which manifests also in the visual shift to five performers. While the arranger also reworks some of the piano writing into more idiomatic string writing, it still demands a high level of technical proficiency from all five players.  The four-hand arrangement reworks the same dialogue and thematic ideas into a more intimate setting, taking an almost entirely opposite approach to the quintet. As the two instrumental parts are combined for one instrument, the difficulties from Beethoven's piano part are divided quite literally between primo and secondo. In a similar manner, the conversational and thematic interplay resemble Beethoven's original in a far more direct manner than the quintet. Although the four-hands medium is recognised more for study and wider transmission of concert pieces, it is difficult enough that the virtuosic essence of Beethoven's 'Kreutzer' is maintained.  This dissertation closely examines the relationship between the two instruments within Beethoven's 'Kreutzer' Sonata, and the manner in which both the contemporary arrangements above maintain and alter that relationship through the transformation into another format. In addition, it explores why the textural and idiomatic changes in both arrangements – fundamental and ornamental – remove none of the virtuosic and captivating essence of Beethoven's 'Kreutzer', while simultaneously allowing them to bridge the divide between the emergent nineteenth-century concert hall scene, close study of the score, and domestic music-making.


An experimental formulation based on copper oxychloride and gluconates, which is able to penetrate vine foliar tissue, was tested for wood treatment against some of the fungi involved in the diseases included in the esca disease complex. In vitro trials were carried out to: i) test the effect of the formulationon the mycelial growth rate of Phaeomoniella chlamydospora (Pch), Phaeoacremonium aleophilum (Pal) and Fomitiporia mediterranea (Fmed), and on the conidial germination of Pch and Pal; and ii) conduct a preliminaryinvestigation of the presence of the copper formulation on the ability of Pal to produce toxic metabolites. Trials were also conducted on potted vines to i) measure copper penetration into the trunk of potted vines using atomic absorption spectrophotometry; and ii) test the effect of the copper formulation on colonization ofthe fungus in trunks. Finally, the copper formulation was field-tested in vineyards showing leaf stripe. The implications of the tests in the control of the esca disease complex are discussed.


As we move around, in a real or virtual environment, the process of keeping track of where we are, in relation to the portions of the environment that are out of view, is referred to as spatial updating. Studies have shown that in the real world, when we use real walking to get around, this process is both effortless and automatic, but that in virtual environments, when purely virtual methods of locomotion are used, the accuracy and ease of spatial updating is significantly diminished. In this paper, we present the results of an experiment intended to assess the impact, on spatial updating performance, of enabling people to physically move about in an immersive virtual environment using a motorized wheelchair. This study is motivated by an interest in probing the potential of re-directed driving as an alternative method for enabling people to effectively explore a relatively larger virtual space while physically moving about in a smaller actual space. A total of 24 participants in our within-subjects experiment traveled through a 24' wide circularly symmetric virtual room, searching the contents of 16 randomly positioned and oriented boxes to locate 8 hidden targets, using each of the following four locomotion methods: real walking (R), virtual translation with real rotation by standing and using a body-worn joystick (S), real driving in a motorized wheelchair (W), and virtual translation with real rotation by sitting in a swivel chair and using a joystick mounted on one of its arms (J). We computed four measures of search efficiency: total distance traveled, total number of targets revisited, proportion of perfect trials, and total search time. Overall, we found that performance was significantly better with real walking than with either of the virtual travel methods, consistent with most previous findings, and that performance with the wheelchair was intermediate. These results suggest some advantage in enabling actual, as opposed to purely virtual, translational movement in a locomotion interface, and lend support to the potential viability of a re-directed driving implementation.


This study found that increasing the pacing of antisubstance radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) increased perceived effects on self and diminished perceived differences between effects on self and on others. This was more evident for messages with arousing content than for those with calm content. The study used a mixed multivariate design with arousing content (2), production pacing (3), and message (4) as within-subjects factors and order of presentation (4) as a between-subjects factor. The impact of increased pacing was greater for those who made third-person (3P) judgments (others more affected than self) than by those who made first-person (1P) judgments (self more affected than others). In addition to message features, behavior also influenced perceived message effects. Analysis of a subset of PSAs using antismoking messages found that smokers were more likely to make 3P judgments and nonsmokers 1P judgments about message effects. Implications for PSA design are discussed.


The study describes a series of experiments in which bovine corneal buttons, both with and without edematous epithelium, were hydrated to different thicknesses. The degree of light scattering and turbidity were determined for each thickness and related to visual acuity and glare sensitivity. For corneal buttons without epithelium, visual acuity dropped below 20/20 when thickness increased to 30% above base value, while glare sensitivity changed when thickness increased 10%. For edematous corneas with epithelium, visual acuity dropped below 20/20 when total corneal thickness increased 10%; glare sensitivity changed significantly when total corneal thickness increased 5%. Light scattering measurements and turbidity calculations in both kinds of corneas correlated with changes in visual acuity and glare sensitivity.


Aim: This study was conducted to determine the fear of birth and coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnant women who applied to the high-risk pregnancy outpatient clinic during the pandemic and investigate whether there is a relationship between these fears. Method: This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study using questionnaires. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale and Fear of Birth Scale for Pregnant Women were validated in Turkish in outpatient women with high-risk pregnancies. The study was carried out with 238 pregnant women between February 15 - April 15, 2021. Results: The mean age of the pregnant women participating in the study was 30.22 ± 6.01, the mean week of gestation was 30.87 ± 5.56, the total mean of Fear of COVID-19 Scale score was found to be 18.23 ± 6.41, and Fear of Birth Scale for Pregnant Women total mean score was 62.30 ± 25.66. An increased prevalence of anxiety has been found in high-risk pregnant women during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. It was observed that there was a significant, positive, and low-level relationship between Fear of COVID-19 Scale-19 and Fear of Birth Scale for Pregnant Women of high-risk pregnant women (r = .268; p = .000). Conclusion: Prenatal anxiety was prevalent among high-risk pregnant women who required routine anxiety screening and psychosocial support during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic.


High-speed quasi-planar-structure InAlGaAs-InAlAs superlattice avalanche photodiodes (SL-APDs) have been fabricated with a newly proposed Ti-implanted guard-ring. The APDs exhibited a uniform multiplication profile at a multiplication factor of 50 with no edge-multiplication. The dark current was 2.2 /spl mu/A at a multiplication factor of 10. High-speed response characteristics were confirmed with a gain-bandwidth product of 110 GHz and a high cut-off frequency of 15 GHz, even at a low multiplication factor of 1.5. These characteristics are the first demonstration of planar-structure SL-APDs for 10 Gb/s optical receivers use.


This paper will approach Mayoyao history quite differently from previous treatments of Ifugao history and culture. Drawing from both primary and secondary sources, this study will use an in-depth analysis of a particular extant tradition in Mayoyao—death ritual and funeral rites ( cholar and pfu-ah )—to determine and analyze the village transformations from 1857 to 1960. This way, the analysis of the transformations in the death ritual and funeral rites is used as the tool to reconstruct historical events in Mayoyao. It will examine early accounts on Mayoyao that show the world view, cosmology, complex ritual, and elaborate funeral observances of the Mayawyaw—e.g., Alarcon (1857), Malumbres (1918), Lambrecht (1932), and Barton (1919). Perhaps the most comprehensive account is Fr. Francis Lambrecht's seven-series outstanding work on the "Mayawyaw ritual. " 1 The paper will also examine oral sources on specific aspects of village transformations. These include the introduction of cash economy and public health programs. It will also probe the religious transformations that took place beginning in the 1930s, when the work of the CICM missionaries was felt in central Mayoyao and that of the Esperitista ( Union Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas Incorporada ) in southern Mayoyao, and in the mid-1950s, the influential role played by Pentecostal Missionaries and the establishment of the Evangelical United Brethren Missionaries (EUBM), now called United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). It will also include postwar transformations such as the construction of the Banaue- Mayoyao road and its impact on the economic institutions, the dynamics of trade and other forms of exchange, the expansion of commercial goods, and the transport system.


The human immunodeficiency virus productively infects and integrates into cells that have been arrested in the cell cycle with either gamma irradiation or aphidicolin. Integration by oncoretroviruses such as the murine leukemia virus (MuLV), on the other hand, depends on cell proliferation. Although the entire cell cycle is not necessary for MuLV infection, it is essential that the infected cells pass through mitosis. The long terminal repeat circle junction, a marker for nuclear entry, is first observed in MuLV-infected cells immediately after mitosis. These results suggest that mitosis is necessary for nuclear entry of MuLV, but not human immunodeficiency virus, unintegrated proviral DNA.


Spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), oat (Avena sativa L.) and triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack) monocrops and their intercrops with two forage varieties (40-10 and Tucker) and one seed variety (Cooper) peas (Pisum sativum L.) were evaluated for forage production, nutrition quality and suitability in the beef cattle diet. Pea + cereal intercrops were compared to respective cereal monocrops in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Plant height of cereals tended to be reduced in intercrops compared to respective monocrops. Taller 40-10 forage type pea tended to cause lodging in 2009 and 2011, not observed with other pea varieties. Fresh forage of pea + cereal intercrops had higher moisture than respective cereal monocrops. Fourteen of the 18 intercrops had less dry matter yield (DMY) than respective cereal monocrops. Shorter Tucker pea had less negative impact on DMY than taller 40-10 pea. Treatments with barley had lower DMY than respective oat and triticale systems. Intercrops improved forage crude protein (CP) content over the respective monocrops, which was enough to overcome the DMY penalty and produce more CP yield than their monocrops. The forage Ca and Mg contents were improved by intercrops over their monocrops, and they were greater with 40-10 pea than other pea varieties and with barley than oat or triticale. The forage P content also tended to be higher in intercrops than corresponding monocrops, without a consistent effect of cereal type or pea variety. The forage K and S contents were not consistently influenced by the cereal types, pea varieties or intercrops. Forage Na content was greater from oat than respective barley and triticale treatments. The monocrops and intercrops had similar forage Cu content, and treatments with barley had more Cu than with oat or triticale. Forage Zn content tended to be intercrops > monocrops; and barley > triticale > oat. Treatments had no influence on the forage Fe and Mn contents. Levels of acid (ADF) and neutral (NDF) detergent fibres in the forage were similar for the corresponding intercrops and monocrops, and greater for oat than barley or triticale treatments. Some of the intercrops improved total digestible nutrients (TDN) content in forage over their monocrops. Monocrop of oat had less TDN than barley or triticale. Drought reduced the ADF, NDF and TDN contents. The forage NEL, NEM and NEG as well as RFV and NFC showed similar trend as the TDN. Overall, the tested pea + cereal intercrops did not increase DMY over the respective monocrops, but they indicated several nutritional quality benefits. These improvements present opportunities to substitute some grain or supplements in the beef cattle diet with better quality forage by intercrops.


The gene pkaC encoding the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase has been isolated from the industrially important filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger. A probe for screening A. niger phage libraries was generated by a polymerase chain reaction using degenerate primers. cDNA and genomic DNA clones were isolated and sequenced. An open reading frame of 1440 bp, interrupted by three short introns, encodes a polypeptide of 480 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 53813 Da. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (PKA-C) from A. niger has a 126 amino acid extension at the N-terminus compared to the PKA-C of higher eukaryotes that-except for the first 15 amino acids, which are homologous to the Magnaporthe grisea PKA-C-shows no significant similarity to the N-terminal extension of PKA-C of other lower eukaryotes. The catalytic core of PKA-C of A. niger shows extensive homology with the PKA-C isolated from all other eukaryotes. Low-stringency hybridization did not reveal any other pkaC homologue in A. niger. The cloned pkaC was used for transformation of A. niger, leading to increased levels of pkaC mRNA and PKA-C activity. Transformants overexpressing pkaC were phenotypically different with respect to growth, showing a more compact colony morphology, accompanied by a more dense sporulation, especially on media containing trehalose and glycerol. A number of transformants also showed a strongly reduced or complete absence of sporulation. This phenotype was quickly lost upon propagation of the strains.


1. Few studies have assessed the effects of macroconsumers, such as fishes and shrimps, on detritus and detritivores.

2. We used an underwater electric field to prevent macroconsumers from feeding in and on leaf packs in a lowland stream in Costa Rica and thus to determine their effects on the density of insect detritivores and decay rates of leaves.

3. Exclusion of macroconsumers resulted in significantly higher densities of small invertebrates inhabiting leaf packs. Most of these were collector–gatherers, none were shredders.

4. Despite the increase in invertebrate density, decay rates of leaves were not statistically different. These findings contrast with results from temperate streams showing that increases in the density of invertebrates in leaf packs typically result in an increased rate of decay.

5. Leaf decay rates and invertebrate densities were also compared between leaf packs placed in electric exclusion treatments and those placed in coarse (2 cm) plastic net bags (as used in many previous studies). Our results suggest that using such netting in tropical streams may deter macroconsumers, which can affect insect density and, potentially, decay rates of organic matter.


The automatic launch and recovery of an AUV from a USV presents a challenging control problem because control parameters are chosen based on the dynamics of the vehicle, which can change abruptly and significantly when an AUV is jettisoned or docked. Tight control of the vehicle state is required to conduct an underway recovery, with looser requirements for the launch. Experimental testing of an unmanned surface vehicle has been performed to evaluate the performance of several low-level controllers when displacement and drag properties are time-varying and uncertain. Variable mass and drag tests show that the vehicle is best controlled by a model reference adaptive backstepping speed and heading controller. The backstepping controller developed by Liao et. al (2010) is modified to account for an overprediction of necessary control action and motor saturation. It is shown that when an adaptive algorithm is implemented for the surge control subsystem of the modified backstepping controller, the effects of variable mass and drag are mitigated.


A method for measuring the complex reflectivity associated with a localized defect existing inside a laser diode cavity is presented. It relies on analyzing the magnitudes of resonant peaks in the Fourier transform of a subthreshold laser spectrum. Reflectivities between 0.01 and 0.02 with zero phase have been measured in a laser with a deliberately induced scattering center produced by standard lithographic techniques.


This paper summarizes the results of several studies conducted at Langley Research Center over the past few years. The purposes of these studies were to investigate parameters of pictorial displays and imaging sensors that affect pilot approach and landing performance. Pictorial displays have demonstrated exceptional tracking performance and improved the pilots' spatial awareness. Stereopsis cueing improved pilot flight performance and reduced pilot stress. Sensor image parameters such as increased field-of-view. faster image update rate, and aiding symbology improved flare initiation. Finer image resolution and magnification improved attitude control performance parameters.


In the wake of the War of 1812, the Madison and Monroe administrations oversaw the institution of a series of protective tariffs meant to shield fledgling American industries from British product dumping. While southerners supported these protectionist measures early on, they quickly came to disapprove of them as severe impediments to trade with the West Indies, an important source of sugarcane and tobacco. In the decades that followed, tariffs became a hotly contested issue, the North favoring protectionism and the South advocating for free trade.Debates over the new protective system involved political, economic, constitutional, and even social considerations. The debate set different regions and a multitude of socioeconomic interests against one another; ultimately, it helped spawn the second American party system and define the nature of partisan politics for decades.In "The Triumph of the Antebellum Free Trade Movement," William Belko provides a full and detailed investigation into the heated tariff debate of the late 1820s, focusing on its fascinating climax: the Philadelphia Free Trade Convention of 1831. As such, this intriguing volume is the first in-depth examination of the events directly preceding the famous Compromise Tariffs that were meant to bind Americans together but ultimately hastened the loosening of the cords of the Union."