: The article reviews the factors of abiotic and biotic environments liable to provoke convulsions. An assumption is made that the common element of their action on the organism are hypoxic states of varying types and depth. Animals with high individual tolerance of acute hypoxia were found to possess a better resistance to the convulsing effect of penicillin. In these animals the epilepsy-form discharges appear with longer latent periods and the epilepsy-form seizures are generated much more seldom in contrast to rats with poor tolerance of hypoxia. Training of resistless rats in the altitude chamber increases their ability to oppose the convulsing effect of penicillin to the level of animals with moderate but not high hypoxia tolerance.


This is a review of pulmonary tuberculosis in pregnancy with special emphasis on co-infection with HIV and the situation in Sub Saharan Africa. PTB in conjunction with HIV has significantly impacted maternal morbidity, mortality and poor pregnancy outcomes in Sub Saharan Africa. Active tuberculosis is often asymptomatic or initially masked by the physiologic changes of pregnancy. Further more, most active PTB cases in pregnancy are smear negative for Acid Fast Bacilli. The diagnostic complexity reaches a maximum in HIV positive pregnant women. These findings necessitate more serious thought on the issue of targeted TB screening during pregnancy keeping in mind the consequences of late diagnosis and the specific needs and vulnerabilities of both mother and fetus. Key words: Tuberculosis; Human Immunodeficiency Virus; pregnancy; Africa


Abstract. Aquatic ecosystems are major sources of greenhouse gases
(GHGs). Robust measurements of natural GHG emissions are vital for evaluating
regional to global carbon budgets and for assessing climate feedbacks of
natural emissions to improve climate models. Diffusive and ebullitive
(bubble) transport are two major pathways of gas release from surface
waters. To capture the high temporal variability of these fluxes in a
well-defined footprint, we designed and built an inexpensive device that
includes an easily mobile diffusive flux chamber and a bubble counter all
in one. In addition to automatically collecting gas samples for subsequent
various analyses in the laboratory, this device also utilized a low-cost
carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) sensor (SenseAir, Sweden) and methane ( CH4 )
sensor (Figaro, Japan) to measure GHG fluxes. Each of the devices was
equipped with an XBee module to enable local radio communication (DigiMesh
network) for time synchronization and data readout at a server controller
station on the lakeshore. The software of this server controller was operated on
a low-cost computer (Raspberry Pi), which has a 3G connection for remote
control and monitor functions from anywhere in the world. This study shows
the potential of a low-cost automatic sensor network system for studying GHG
fluxes on lakes in remote locations.


Summary

1. Birds inhabiting farmland are of conservation concern around the world. In Australia, conservation management has focused primarily on woodland environments. By contrast, semi-natural open areas have received less attention. We argue that long-term conservation strategies should consider broad gradients of environmental conditions. Otherwise, there is a risk that semi-natural open areas will degrade through 'benign neglect', and currently common species using these areas will become uncommon.

2. We examined how birds responded to three environmental gradients in an Australian livestock grazing landscape: tree density, grazing intensity and nutrient enrichment. First, we investigated changes in species composition across the environmental gradients in multivariate space. Secondly, we modelled species richness and the response of selected individual species in relation to the gradients. Thirdly, we examined if there were patterns in guild composition and body mass distribution.

3. Tree density was the primary driver of virtually all patterns observed. Species richness peaked at moderately high tree densities. With increasing tree density, species composition changed, foraging guild composition changed and the median body mass of bird species decreased. Small insectivores were more likely to occur in areas with high tree densities, whereas large granivores were more likely to occur in areas with relatively low tree densities. Grazing intensity and nutrient enrichment were less strongly related to bird distribution patterns, although the indirect effects of these gradients may be substantial because they affect tree regeneration.

4. sSynthesis and applications. Relatively dense woodland patches were important for species already of conservation concern, lending support to their active conservation management, for example through livestock exclusion. However, semi-natural open areas also were used by many birds, which represented a different mix of body sizes and foraging guilds. Scattered trees occurring at a range of densities are key habitat elements in semi-natural open areas. However, many scattered trees are dying and are not being replaced by natural regeneration or tree planting. If areas with scattered trees continue to degrade, there is a risk that currently common farmland birds will decline. Management strategies aiming to maintain scattered trees therefore are important, including the planting of individual trees and the adoption of grazing practices that allow for natural tree regeneration.


seriously irresponsible conduct on the part of the patient and requires or is susceptible to medical treatment") was clearly applicable in the case of this patient. It followed therefore that as the conduct was caused by brain damage, the Act required the classification to be that of "psychopathic disorder" and not "mental illness," with the consequences which are set out in your correspondent's article. I seriously doubt whether any mental disorder which is a disability of the mind caused by brain damage can be classified as "mental illness" for the purposes of the Act. This would not prevent a classification of "mental illness" if such a patient suffered from some secondary disorder also (such as. dementia), amounting to mental illness. The position of a patient who suffers from mental illness which results in "seriously irresponsible conduct," etc., is unclear, having regard to the watertight compartments laid down in section 4. It is difficult to see how a classification of "mental illness" in such a case could be faulted.-I am, etc., JAMES A. COOKE Chairman, Mental Health Review Tribunal for the South-west Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board Area


Background: Nutrient deficiency such as antioxidants is a common problem in the elderly; it can result in different diseases such as cancer. Accordingly, assessment of the dietary intake of antioxidants is necessary to design a specific plan for solving this problem. Methods: This case–control study was conducted on 152 old people (≥60 years) with and without nursing care in nursing care centers in Isfahan, Iran, in 2017. Nutritional assessment was performed by an expert nutritionist using semi-quantitative validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Nutrition IV software was used as food analyzer. Analysis of covariance and independent t-test were used for data analysis. Results: The mean age of the participants was 68.6 ± 4.9 and 68.9 ± 6.1 years in case and control groups, respectively, and the percentage of male/females in these groups was 46.3%/53.7% and 51.4%/48.6%, respectively. Dietary intake of energy, vitamin E, and selenium was significantly higher (P = 0.041; 0.007; 0.017) while beta-carotene intake was significantly lower in the elderly under nursing care than in the control (P = 0.002). Conclusions: The findings indicated that nursing care leads to improved intake of energy, vitamin E, and selenium, while diminished beta-carotene intake in the elderly. Intake of vitamin E, A, C, zinc, and selenium was high among elderly people with and without care, compared with the dietary reference intake. It seems that further studies are required to confirm these findings.


BACKGROUND
Multiple-micronutrient deficiencies often coexist in low- to middle-income countries. They are exacerbated in pregnancy due to the increased demands, leading to potentially adverse effects on the mother. Substantive evidence regarding the effectiveness of multiple-micronutrient supplements (MMS) during pregnancy is not available.

OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the benefits to mother and infant of multiple-micronutrient supplements in pregnancy and assess the risk of excess supplementation and potential adverse interactions between micronutrients.

SEARCH STRATEGY
We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (30 December 2005).

SELECTION CRITERIA
All prospective randomised controlled trials evaluating micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy and its effects on the pregnancy outcome.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted the data.

MAIN RESULTS
Nine trials (15,378 women) are included. When compared with supplementation of two or less micronutrients or no supplementation or a placebo, multiple-micronutrient supplementation resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the number of low birthweight babies (relative risk (RR) 0.83; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76 to 0.91), small-for-gestational-age babies (RR 0.92; 95% CI 0.86 to 0.99) and in maternal anaemia (RR 0.61; CI 0.52 to 0.71). However, these differences lost statistical significance when multiple-micronutrient supplementation was compared with iron folic acid supplementation alone. No statistically significant differences were shown for the outcomes of preterm births and perinatal mortality in any of the comparisons. A number of prespecified clinically important outcomes could not be assessed due to insufficient or non-available data from the included trials. These include placental abruption, congenital anomalies including neural tube defects, premature rupture of membranes, pre-eclampsia, miscarriage, maternal mortality, neurodevelopmental delay, very preterm births, cost of supplementation, side-effects of supplements, maternal wellbeing or satisfaction and nutritional status of children.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
The evidence provided in this review is insufficient to suggest replacement of iron and folate supplementation with a multiple-micronutrient supplement. A reduction in the number of low birthweight and small-for-gestational-age babies and maternal anaemia has been found with a multiple-micronutrient supplement against supplementation with two or less micronutrients or none or a placebo, but analyses revealed no added benefit of multiple-micronutrient supplements compared with iron folic acid supplementation. These results are limited by the small number of studies available. There is also insufficient evidence to identify adverse effects and to say that excess multiple-micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy is harmful to the mother or the fetus. Further research is needed to find out the beneficial maternal or fetal effects and to assess the risk of excess supplementation and potential adverse interactions between the micronutrients.


: More than 2,000 bone marrow transplants (BMT) are performed in the United States each year. Hepatic veno-occlusive disease is a relatively frequent complication of BMT, occurring in up to 21% of patients treated with chemotherapy for malignant conditions. This potentially serious complication can have a major impact on the treatment and care of these patients. Knowledge of the pathophysiology, clinical features, and risk factors of this disease can assist nurses with early detection, management, support, and education for the patient and family.


Abstract This paper presents solutions to handle ranking, equalities and bounds for the parameter estimates of a linear adaptive controller scheme used in the production of commercial fuels by blending. The control problem under consideration is a multi-variable output regulation problems with large uncertainties in the plant parameters. It can be solved using a specifically designed adaptive controller which combines constrained optimization and a closed-loop estimator of the plant parameters. As in numerous applications of adaptive control, while output convergence is usually guaranteed under feasibility assumptions, little is known about the asymptotic behavior of the parameter estimates themselves. Yet, from an application view-point, it is desired that these estimates satisfy some physical properties. In particular, parameters ranking, equalities and bounds are of practical importance and assert the consistency of the estimation. In this paper we expose techniques that guarantee this desired behavior.


The increased use of violence risk assessment tools in professional practice has sparked the development of best-practice guidelines for communicating about violence risk. The present study examined 166 pre-sentence reports, authored by clinicians and probation officers, to determine the extent to which they are consistent with those guidelines. We examined the frequency with which reports contained information about five topics: the presence of risk factors; the relevance of risk factors; scenarios of future violence; recommended management strategies; and summary risk judgments. Analyses revealed that the topics addressed most frequently in reports were the presence of risk factors and recommended management strategies, but none of the five topics was addressed consistently, completely, or clearly in reports. This was especially the case for probation reports. The findings highlight the need to improve practice through better implementation of guidelines for risk communication. Also needed is research on the extent to which information in risk communications is comprehended, accepted, and used by various stakeholder groups.


The response of synoviocytes to wear particles has been implicated in several orthopaedic pathologies, including the synovitis associated with the failure of synthetic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) replacements. To study the interactions of particles with synovial fibroblasts at the level of the individual cell, we employed immunocytochemistry, with use of antiserum, to lapine interstitial collagenase. Cultures of the HIG‐82 lapine synovial cell line showed only weak immunofluorescence under resting conditions. Incubation with phorbol myristate acetate or autocrine factors known as cell‐activating factors (CAFs) induced marked changes in morphology and intense immunofluorescence. This technique then was used to study the effects of standard particles of latex and of particles generated from two prosthetic ACL materials, Dacron and carbon. Internalized particles of latex, Dacron, and carbon all induced collagenase. Particles of latex that were too large for endocytosis failed to induce collagenase, whereas particles of carbon and, in particular, Dacron that remained extracellular, still provoked considerable synthesis of collagenase. Thus, both the size and the physical properties of these materials influence their ability to activate synoviocytes. Certain cells that appeared by visual inspection to contain no particles nevertheless produced collagenase when in co‐culture with cells that did contain particles. This is consistent with earlier biochemical data showing that phagocytosis, in addition to inducing collagenase, also provokes the release of CAFs, which then activate additional cells in the culture. More rarely, cells were identified which, although containing particles, did not stain positively for collagenase. Since carbon and Dacron are the major components of certain prosthetic ligament replacements, the cellular responses to their wear particles and to debris generated from other prosthetic materials merit further close attention.


The Noisy Scrub-bird Atrichornis clamosus is a secretive bird, seldom seen but often heard. Its song is loud and distinctive and can be heard up to 1.5km away on a still day. Noisy Scrub-birds are censused on an annual basis by mapping the locations of singing individuals (all assumed to be males). This study investigated the potential for the identification of individuals using consistent individuality of voice. It assessed the use of this method as a tool to calibrate current census techniques, as well as examining more general aspects of the singing behaviour of Noisy Scrub-birds, and develops a model to explain the observations.

Noisy Scrub-bird territorial song was recorded at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve from June 2002 to May 2003. At each of the 25 territories studied, the singing individual was found to use a repertoire of between 3 and 8 different song types at any one time. The size of the repertoire was generally larger during the breeding season (May-September) and about half the maximal size in the summer, non-breeding months. Generally, birds avoided repeating the same song type in immediate succession. However, outside the breeding season, repetition was more likely, probably due to the smaller repertoire size.

There was substantial song sharing amongst clusters of 2-7 neighbouring birds, deemed to comprise a song group. In some cases, there was entire repertoire overlap between some members of the group. Song groups were discrete, with neighbouring song groups having no song types in common. Often there were no acoustic or other barriers between neighbouring song groups and the distance between two members of the same song group could be greater than between two individuals in adjacent .song groups. Despite the similarity of shared songs, one song type shared between three individuals, when analysed in detail, did show significant differences between the renditions given by different individuals. Presumably this would be applicable to other song types as well. However, further analysis was not practicable due to the extremely time-consuming nature of the task, combined with the presence of repertoire change.

Repertoires changed with time as song types were modified, old song types were abandoned, and new song types were introduced. More than half of all song types in a repertoire could be replaced, or at least significantly modified, over a month, with complete repertoire renewal over 6 months. However, song groups remained cohesive over a year, with all group members changing their song types to maintain repertoires that were identical or nearly identical among all members.

The presence of song sharing, combined with repertoire change, meant that the initial proposal for identification of individual Noisy Scrub birds by voice is unlikely ever to be feasible.


Background: Oral hygiene maintenance is difficult for patients who are receiving fixed orthodontic treatment.
Objective: The aim of the study was to find out deterioration of oral hygiene status during treatment of fixed orthodontic appliances in the Department of Orthodontics in BSMMU.
Methodology: This cross sectional study was carried out in the Department of Orthodontics at Bang-  abandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka from July 2013 to July 2014. All the patients taking treatment with fixed orthodontic appliances for more than 6 months were included as study population. During treatment in the OPD all the information of the patients' oral hygiene maintenance like brush-  ing, dental floss use, use of mouthwash, and history of sugar consumption, taking sticky food were recorded.  The  Orthodontic  Plaque  Index  (OPI)  was  calculated  and  recorded.  In  addition  to  that frequency of brushing, type of tooth brush, technique of brushing and inter dental brush were also considered.
Result: A total number of 100 patients were studied. Mean OPI was 81.78 (22.97). Mean value of OPI was 86.35 (13.27) among patients who brushed their teeth once a day but it was decreased gradually as the  patients  increased  frequency  of  toothbrush  use  per  day  and  became  85.74  (±26.12)  among  the patients who brushed their teeth thrice a day. Mean value of OPI was 81.98 (±23.27) who did not use dental floss and 75.00 (±7.00) who used dental floss once a day. Mean value of OPI was 84.65 (±23.10) who used inter dental brush irregularly but 35.00 (±0.00) who used it thrice a day. Mean value of OPI was 85.70 (±22.43) who did not use mouth wash whereas it reduced to 46.00 (±0.00) among them who used mouth wash thrice a day.  Conclusion: All the indexes of oral hygiene are increased in patients treated with fixed orthodontic appliances in the Department of Orthodontics in BSMMU.
Ban J Orthod & Dentofac Orthop, April 2017; Vol-7 (1-2), P.16-19


Abstract The main objective of this study is to present the distribution of different chemical elements in soil samples from the Skopje region, North Macedonia. To determine the level of presence of chemical elements, soil samples are collected from a total of 60 locations. From each location, from an area of 5 × 5 km2 samples of soil are collected: topsoil (0–5 cm) and subsoil (20–30 cm). The soil samples were analyzed for 69 elements by using two instrumental methods: inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) for macro-elements and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for trace elements. A factor analysis was applied to analyze the factors affecting the linear combination variables grouped at the same factor. Spatial distribution maps of each factor as well as distribution maps for the analyzed elements were prepared by universal kriging interpolation. It was found that the distribution of most elements follows the lithology of the examined area, except for some elements (Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, and Zn) whose higher contents are found in the area of the city of Skopje as a result of urban and industrial activities (traffic, metal processing, fossil fuel combustion for heating).


Testing is not only a vital element of agile projects, it is an integral part of agile software development. In traditional software development environments test levels like system test, user acceptance test and production acceptance test are commonly executed. In an ASDE, all team members have to work together to get the work done. All disciplines have to work together and support each other when necessary. There are no designer, developer, user or test teams in an agile project. In such an environment it does not make much sense to talk about system test and/or acceptance test teams. Instead all team members have to accept the feature (or user story or use case, etc.) with their own acceptance criteria in mind. For instance, an end-user should test the suitability and user-friendliness of the feature. Operations should, for instance, test the performance, the manageability and continuity of the feature. And the designer should test the functionality of the feature. In short, in an ASDE test levels are replaced by combinations of acceptor and quality characteristics important to the acceptor per feature. This approach requires a different mind-set of the team members, a different product risk analysis approach and a different view on establishing the test strategy.


Vilnius University This article discusses the problem of the research expeditions to foreign lands during the period of national seclusion in Japan. Each historical period has its specific geographical perspective. The geographical thinking in Tokugawa Japan was influenced by a policy of self-isolation. In the Tokugawa period, Japan was more interested in protecting the boundaries than expanding its geographical horizons. There were, nevertheless, several expeditionary ventures launched by the government. This article presents the background of research expeditions dispatched by the shogunate and then moves to a discussion of the mechanism of these official expeditions and motivation behind them, as well as the nature of the political statements implied by the explorations and their results. The Japanese expeditions to the Pacific islands and northern region were mostly limited to scientific observation, mapping, and geographical survey, and the reasons for expeditionary ventures were security concerns rather than territorial expansion or the pursuit of economic interests. Although the links between the geographical exploration of the Tokugawa period and colonialism were weak, the expeditions had a considerable degree of political effect on the state policy of modern Japan.


Distance education, and therefore the writing of distance materials, is a growing field in South Africa. This makes it potentially a site of innovation and change as writers experiment with ways of creating effective teaching situations at long range. The Fort Hare Distance Education Project materials seem to be a response to both the increased need for teacher upgrade programmes and the need for innovation to tailor those programmes to the needs of local teachers in a changing society. This innovative attempt to communicate with tertiary distance students has unusual features which suggest that they are worth investigation. Using discourse analysis, including the work of Scollon and Scollon on politeness theory, and an analysis of visual elements using categories developed by Kress and van Leeuwen, this study focuses on 18 pages of a sample text, booklet 9, "A Whole Language Approach," to investigate how the writer-reader relationship and the identity of the reader are constructed. The analysis reveals a complex, interlocking construction of identity and relationship, producing and resolving apparent contradictions as writers move from one position to another while they negotiate their ongoing and evolving relationship with the readers. Features of identity and relationship operating through the text include issues of authority, changing roles of teachers and learners, trust, what constitutes appropriate language and materials, acknowledging prior learning in under-qualified professionals, ownership of the text, hierarchy and egalitarianism, and stereotyping. The study suggests that the Fort Hare Distance Project materials offer an example of strategies suited to local students which should benefit those who design such courses. It further suggests that visual analysis together with discourse analysis provides insights which seem not to be accessible through a study of the verbal text, and that an analysis of visual elements may widen a researcher's options. It reveals ways in which writers can negotiate conflicting positions and consciously or unconsciously attempt to resolve contradictions and ambivalence. It suggests issues which need to be negotiated in any text written in South Africa for a similar audience.


The history of medical attempts to combat the effects of bacterial infection over the last century has been characterised by the discovery of agents with antimicrobial activity, and their widespread introduction into clinical practice to treat infection, with dramatic effects on morbidity and mortality. This has been followed by the development of resistance mutations in the pathogens, rendering these agents impotent and necessitating the development of new agents which circumvent these mechanisms of resistance.

The production of β-lactamase by bacteria has long been recognised as an important mechanism by which they can neutralise the action of penicillins. These enzymes are encoded on plasmids, rather than in chromosomal nucleic acid, thus enabling rapid transmission of resistance between bacterial species.1 β-Lactamase production is now common in Staphylococcus , Haemophilus influenzae , Neisseria gonorrhoeae and a wide variety of Gram-negative coliforms. Antibiotics have now been developed which are able to resist these β-lactamases oxyimino β lactams such as cephalosporins, and monobactams which were introduced into clinical practice in 1981. These have an oxyimino side chain which prevents β-lactamase from binding. An alternative strategy was the development of β-lactamase inhibitors such as clavulinic acid and sulbactam, and combining them with agents which had become ineffective when acting alone (eg, co-amoxyclav)2

ESBLs are viewed as new β-lactamases, although they were first described in Germany as long ago as 1983.3 They are able to hydrolyse the oxyimino group, thus conferring resistance to most β-lactam antibiotics, except for carbapenems (eg, meropenem) and cephamycins (a class not in common use in the UK). They are inhibited by β-lactamase inhibitors, and this property assists their identification in the microbiology laboratory, distinguishing them from other resistance mechanisms—for example, AmpC. They are often encoded on large plasmids, which means that additional resistance mutations can be carried by the …


The surrounding media in which transport occurs contains various kinds of fields, such as particle potentials and external potentials. One of the important questions is how elements work and how position and momentum are redistributed in the diffusion under these conditions. For enriching Fick's law, ordinary non-equilibrium statistical physics can be used to understand the complex process. This study attempts to discuss particle transport in the one-dimensional channel under external potential fields. Two kinds of potentials—the potential well and barrier—which do not change the potential in total, are built during the diffusion process. There are quite distinct phenomena because of the different one-dimensional periodic potentials. By the combination of a Monte Carlo method and molecular dynamics, we meticulously explore why an external potential field impacts transport by the subsection and statistical method. Besides, one piece of evidence of the Maxwell velocity distribution is confirmed under the assumption of local equilibrium. The simple model is based on the key concept that relates the flux to sectional statistics of position and momentum and could be referenced in similar transport problems.


In order to develop structure-property relationships in composite systems, it is often necessary to know the properties of the fiber and matrix constituents. Much research indicates that natural-fibers exhibit a complicated anisotropic structure. Unfortunately, the property anisotropy of most natural fibers has been left undetermined. In this study, dynamic mechanical and thermal mechanical techniques have been employed to measure the elastic and thermal expansion characteristics of a model composite system containing jute fibers over a broad temperature range. The results of these measurements were in turn incorporated into a number of pertinent micro-mechanical models to estimate the thermoelastic properties of the natural fibers. The jute fibers investigated in this study exhibited considerable elastic and thermal expansion anisotropy. The longitudinal Young's modulus of the fibers has been determined to exceed the transverse fiber modulus by as much as an order of magnitude in certain temperature regimes. The fibers exhibit negative thermal expansion coefficients along their lengths; however, large positive thermal expansion coefficients, similar in magnitude to many polymeric materials, have been estimated in the transverse directions.


The lithium vanadium phosphate (Li3V2(PO4)3 solid cathode materials were synthesized by microwave-heated sol-gel method using lithium hydroxide, ammonium metavanadate, phosphate and citric acid as starting materials. The test was conducted with orthogonal experiment method. The optimal conditions for (Li3V2(PO4)3 synthesis were determined to be microwave heating time of 10 min, microwave power of 700 W, Li/V molar ratio of 3.05:2.0 and pH value(gel solution) of 7.0. The synthesized (Li3V2(PO4)3 under the optimal conditions demonstrated perfect crystal growth and good electrochemical performance with initial charge/discharge specific capacity of 172.42 mAh·g-1/154.93 mAh·g-1 and discharge decay rate of 2.25 % after 50 cycles. The lithium ion diffusion coefficient was determined to be 1.434 ×10-8 cm2·s-1 by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and mathematical models derived from simulative equivalent circuit.


There continues to be a lack of a commonly agreed perspective of entrepreneurship despite the concept being studied for a long period of time. Definitions of the concept and constructs of study in the field have depended on the researcher's conceptualisation of what constitutes entrepreneurship and as a result there are variations in the study focus and measurement of entrepreneurship. An analysis of literature was therefore conducted to untangle the concept of entrepreneurship towards a common perspective despite similar failed attempts by scholars in the past. The analysis showed that researchers and theorists trace entrepreneurship through the same early theorists that include Cantillon, Say, Marshall, Walker, von Thunen, Menger, von Mises, Schumpeter, Knight, Kirzner, Shane and Venkataraman etc. That means the background to the concept is the same but with varying interpretations. The underlying perspective however is that entrepreneurship is a human behaviour with identifiable driving motives and it requires definitive competencies; skills, knowledge and abilities. The behaviour is purposively exerted, involves various activities and judgmental decisions that are undertaken through a process of identifying, evaluating and exploiting opportunities to create socioeconomic value under conditions of uncertainty. Although the socioeconomic value manifests in new products or services, new sources of supplies, new methods of production, new markets and/or new organisations, it is the new organisation that is commonly recognised as the output of the entrepreneurship process. This perspective narrows and limits the understanding of the concept of entrepreneurship to new and small business ventures with implications on measurement of entrepreneurship. Our analysis shows that all variations of entrepreneurship such as sole entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship, necessity motivated entrepreneurship, opportunity motivated entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship etc are connected within the broader view of the same concept, thereby presenting a common perspective of entrepreneurship.

 Key words: Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship behaviour, entrepreneurship process, entrepreneurship outputs, outcomes and impacts.


Improved understanding of citrus water use and soil moisture distribution in Huanglongbing (HLB) ( Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus) infected and affected groves is critical for devising appropriate recommendations for optimizing water use and sustaining citrus yields. Thus, a study is being conducted to investigate water use patterns and soil moisture movement in central, south-central and southwest Florida. Treatments being evaluated include: 1) daily irrigation (Daily); 2) Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) recommended scheduling; and 3) irrigation scheduled half the number of days between irrigation recommended by IFAS (Intermediate). The irrigation amounts of the daily and intermediate irrigation schedule are reduced to provide similar amounts of water to the IFAS recommendation over long periods of time. Preliminary results indicate that water use per unit leaf area ranged from 0.09 to 0.10 oz/inch2/ day at all sites depending on irrigation schedule. Moisture contents were similar among irrigation schedules varying between 5% to 20%, 1% to 14%, and 5% to 25% at 6-, 12-, and 18-inch soil depths, increasing with depth possibly as a result of uptake in the top 12 inches. These preliminary findings should help in refining limits for available water contents and estimating irrigation demand estimations to sustain citrus productivity of HLB infected trees.


In the era of mobile internet, Location Based Services (LBS) have developed dramatically. Seamless Indoor and Outdoor Navigation and Localization (SNAL) has attracted a lot of attention. No single positioning technology was capable of meeting the various positioning requirements in different environments. Selecting different positioning techniques for different environments is an alternative method. Detecting the users' current environment is crucial for this technique. In this paper, we proposed to detect the indoor/outdoor environment automatically without high energy consumption. The basic idea was simple: we applied a machine learning algorithm to classify the neighboring Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication cellular base station's signal strength in different environments, and identified the users' current context by signal pattern recognition. We tested the algorithm in four different environments. The results showed that the proposed algorithm was capable of identifying open outdoors, semi-outdoors, light indoors and deep indoors environments with 100% accuracy using the signal strength of four nearby GSM stations. The required hardware and signal are widely available in our daily lives, implying its high compatibility and availability.


The present work is based in designing sustained release Aceclofenac tablets that could be given once daily for the symptomatic treatment of pain and inflammation. Hydrophilic matrix Aceclofenac tablets by direct compression were formulated with HPMC K4M and HPMC K100M in the concentration of 6%, 9% and 11%. A total of such six formulations were analyzed in terms of pre-compresion and post compression parameters. They were then compared with marketed products in terms of dissolution. The results revealed that drug release decreases with increase in viscosity of polymer and on increasing polymer concentration, the dissolution retards. The dissolution of formulated tablets showed good similarity and difference factor with marketed products. The formulation with highest similarity factor and lowest difference factor was chosen as an optimized formulation and the correlation of dissolution of marketed product with optimized formulation was carried which showed good correlation with R 2 =0.961. The drug release was fitted in different mathematical models to study model dependent analysis which showed that most formulations followed Higuchi model, some followed peppas and some zero order. Therefore, sustained release Aceclofenac tablets prepared using HPMC K100M could be the best rather than HPMC K4M for its sustaining actions.


In the last years we developed a system that integrates through a virtual 3D-dynamic heart model all the pertinent clinical and instrumental information obtained in patients hospitalized for suspected or documented ischemic heart disease (IHD). In the present study we retrospectively compared the diagnosis formulated by the cardiologist in the discharge record with the one automatically provided by the system. Divergences were found in 27% of the 110 patients studied and classified into four types: I) inability of the system to provide the correct diagnosis because of the lack of the pertinent diagnostic parameters in the model (3%), cardiologistis diagnosis which was either II) not supported by objective data (3%), or III) in conflict with the available information (10%), or IV) incomplete (11%). An experimental trial has been started in which the cardiologist in charge of the patient uses the automatic system during the diagnostic process and the compilation of the discharge report.


Accurate and compact representation of music signals is a key component of large-scale content-based music applications such as music content management and near duplicate audio detection. This problem is not well solved yet despite many research efforts in this field. In this paper, we suggest mid-level summarization of music signals based on chord progressions. More specially, in our proposed algorithm, chord progressions are recognized from music signals based on a supervised learning model, and recognition accuracy is improved by locally probing n-best candidates. By investigating the properties of chord progressions, we further calculate a histogram from the probed chord progressions as a summary of the music signal. We show that the chord progression-based summarization is a powerful feature descriptor for representing harmonic progressions and tonal structures of music signals. The proposed algorithm is evaluated with content-based music retrieval as a typical application. The experimental results on a dataset with more than 70,000 songs confirm that our algorithm can effectively improve summarization accuracy of musical audio contents and retrieval performance, and enhance music retrieval applications on large-scale audio databases.


ABSTRACT Permanent memory effect (PME) in polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) allows a greater applicability range than traditional PDLCs. One of the most interesting application could be the possible storing of optical information, the so-called Digital Optical Memory (DOM) devices. To test this application it would be required a display structure having an array of pixels addresses. Each pixel was filled with PDLC film with PME and electric field can be independently applied to different PDLC elements to define on/off pixel states (transparent or scattering states).PDLC films were obtained from a mixture of E7 nematic liquid crystal and poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate with 875 g mol-1oligomer as precursor of the polymeric matrix. The effect of the curing temperature and the UV light intensity as well time exposure during the polymerisations on the electro-optical performance of PDLC films were investigated. In this way, a high transparency state (TOFF=55%) for a long period of time at room temperature even after the applied voltage has been switched off were obtained, started from an opaque state (T0=0%) and after reaching a transparent state (TMAX=75%), which causes 73% PME. The application to an 8x8 passive matrix using PDLC with PME is also demonstrated as proof-of-principle. Graphical abstract


OBJECTIVE
Posttraumatic stress symptoms related to sexual assault have been linked to greater suicidal ideation, yet little is known about protective factors that may weaken this link and reduce thoughts of suicide in the context of posttraumatic stress. Drawing on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and prior research, psychological strengths associated with resilience, such as optimism and gratitude, have the potential to be associated with attenuated suicidal ideation among sexual assault survivors.

METHOD
We tested this possibility in a sample of 425 undergraduate women who reported unwanted sexual experiences during adolescence or adulthood.

RESULTS
A linear regression analysis revealed that greater sexual assault-related posttraumatic stress symptoms in the past month were associated with greater concurrent suicidal ideation. However, moderation analyses revealed the link between assault-related posttraumatic stress and suicidal ideation was attenuated for individuals higher in optimism and gratitude. Further, at the highest levels of optimism and gratitude, there was no longer a significant association between posttraumatic stress and suicidal ideation.

CONCLUSIONS
Given optimism and gratitude are modifiable strengths that individuals can develop and grow over time, these results suggest boosting optimism and gratitude may be a valuable way to attenuate thoughts of suicide in interventions for college women who have experienced sexual assault. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


Considering the customer demand increase on electrical energy, it is obviously seen that the new system requirements such as providing instantaneous data flow, remote monitoring and controlling, would occur. These new system requirements should be adapted to existing electrical infrastructure with minimum cost. In this paper, the system control requirements and communication architectures of electrical grids are discussed. The possibility of the usage of the power line communication (PLC) for the smart grid system is examined. In order to improve communication quality of the smart grid, a new PLC system model is designed in MATLAB . Then Medium (MV) and Low Voltage (LV) applications are simulated using the MATLAB. The applicability of this new PLC system model to smart grid communication systems is discussed.


OBJECTIVES
We used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to plan and implement free TB skin testing at an adult education center to determine the efficacy of CBPR with voluntary tuberculosis (TB) screening and the prevalence of TB infection among immigrant and refugee populations.

METHODS
We formed a CBPR partnership to address TB screening at an adult education center that serves a large immigrant and refugee population in Rochester, Minnesota. We conducted focus groups involving educators, health providers, and students of the education center, and used this input to implement TB education and TB skin testing among the center's students.

RESULTS
A total of 259 adult learners volunteered to be skin-tested in April 2009; 48 (18.5%) had positive TB skin tests.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results imply that TB skin testing at adult education centers that serve large foreign-born populations may be effective. Our findings also show that a participatory process may enhance the willingness of foreign-born persons to participate in TB skin-testing efforts.


Cloud computing technology is very popular today, many organizations and institutions earnestly interested to use it. Reasons of efficiency and effectiveness to be one of the main considerations, in serving the management of information systems management with a larger scale. Universities as institutions engaged in higher education, has a service with the scalability and segmentation pegguna wide. It is appropriate to consider the use of cloud computing technology as the basis of his ministry. Some vendors have provided a framework for cloud computing as a framework mengimplentasikannya, one of which is a framework that is released by Cisco. The concept of cloud computing implementation designed using the framework cisco in college is aplicable and in accordance with the characteristics of high perfuruan information systems. Keywords: Cloud Computing, Cloud Computing Cisco refference Framework, University


In highly invaded ecosystems, restoration of native plant communities is dependent upon reducing exotic species relative to native species. Even so, in monitoring, the native–exotic species richness ratio has been shown to be scale‐dependent. Measurement at small spatial scales (<1 m2) can reveal a negative native–exotic richness relationship, where niche occupation may prevent invasion. Conversely, at larger scales, a positive correlation may exist, where environmental heterogeneity and equally favorable conditions may drive native–exotic relationships. Here, we compare slopes of native–exotic relationships across spatial scales in a prairie undergoing active restoration. The observed native–exotic richness ratios varied considerably over scales ranging from 1 to 1,000 m2, emphasizing the importance of choosing a measurement scale that is most pertinent to the treatment and ecological mechanism used to evaluate restoration success. Our native–exotic richness slopes were positive over all scales, but lower than would be expected in a random community assembly, suggesting the influence of niche‐based competition. Correspondingly, our native–exotic cover slope was more negative than a null model; however, areas of frequent fire treatments showed a significant deviation from null only for richness, indicating that burning may enhance native–exotic competitive dynamics for number of species but not cover. The negative native–exotic cover relationships appear to be driven in this system mainly by exotic graminoids, across burn treatments and native functional groups, supporting the concept that frequent burning can alter the dominant competitive mechanism from coverage of these exotic grasses to an improved environment for germination and dispersal of more native species.


Supernova remnants (SNRs) interacting with molecular clouds are potentially exciting systems in which to detect evidence of cosmic ray acceleration. Prominent γ-ray emission is produced via the decay of neutral pions when cosmic rays encounter nearby dense clouds. In many of the SNRs coincident with γ-ray sources, the presence of OH (1720 MHz) masers is used to identify interaction with dense gas and to provide a kinematic distance to the system. In this Letter we use statistical tests to demonstrate that there is a correlation between these masers and a class of GeV- to TeV-energy γ-ray sources coincident with interacting remnants. For pion decay the γ-ray luminosity provides a direct estimate of the local cosmic ray density. We find the cosmic ray density is enhanced by one to two orders of magnitude over the local solar value, comparable to X-ray-induced ionization in these remnants. The inferred ionization rates are sufficient to explain non-equilibrium chemistry in the post-shock gas, where high columns of hydroxyl are observed.


The stabilization effect of collision in impact-controlled manipulator-object systems is discussed. The stability of system behavior is analyzed by the Lyapunov direct method. Some simulation results are shown to confirm the effect. Collision is one of the nonlinear problems where the dynamical structure changes. In industrial fields, the phenomenon is utilized effectively to suppress vibrations, but collision is a difficult problem to treat in the field of control because the methodology is mostly based on linear theory. The nonlinear impact force is modeled as a Hertz-type force with damping. A nonlinear matrix and a quadratic form is defined to examine system stability. As a results, stable control with collision phenomena is obtained. >


Exchange of biomedical data through the internet has achieved tremendous success in the recent past, with the necessity of security in every transmission. It has become indispensable to replenish secrecy in biomedical data by avoiding the access of illegitimate users. To evade such disclosure of medical data, a proposal of encryption system along with Cognitive Radio (CR) has been employed. In this paper, CR has been programmed to choose the non-availability of the primary user and by automatically detecting the presence of available spectrum in the channel using Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP). Then using the identified free spectrum, encrypted medical data has been transmitted and exchanged between the authenticated users in rural healthcare units. The proposed encryption technique initiates Latin Square Image Cipher (LSIC) which offers double encryption by making use of two different random keys. Then the output has been subjected to a quantum computation encryption method in which Quantum Walks (QW) serves as a key generator which is meant for its natural nonlinear chaotic behaviour. QW is followed up by the disintegration of Knight's tour permutation process which helps in tamper proofing and authentication. Finally, shear based affine transform has been employed to avoid imperfections in the medical data. The proposed scheme curtails the insecure medical image communication in biomedical research by creating an authenticated communication link among peers. Metrics such as Number of Pixel Changing Rate (NPCR), Unified Average Changing Intensity (UACI), correlation coefficients, chi-square tests, global and local entropies were estimated and compared with the available literature results.


Prediction is an appealing objective for self-supervised learning of behavioral skills, particularly for autonomous robots. However, effectively utilizing predictive models for control, especially with raw image inputs, poses a number of major challenges. How should the predictions be used? What happens when they are inaccurate? In this paper, we tackle these questions by proposing a method for learning robotic skills from raw image observations, using only autonomously collected experience. We show that even an imperfect model can complete complex tasks if it can continuously retry, but this requires the model to not lose track of the objective (e.g., the object of interest). To enable a robot to continuously retry a task, we devise a self-supervised algorithm for learning image registration, which can keep track of objects of interest for the duration of the trial. We demonstrate that this idea can be combined with a video-prediction based controller to enable complex behaviors to be learned from scratch using only raw visual inputs, including grasping, repositioning objects, and non-prehensile manipulation. Our real-world experiments demonstrate that a model trained with 160 robot hours of autonomously collected, unlabeled data is able to successfully perform complex manipulation tasks with a wide range of objects not seen during training.


The shallow water equations are of quite an importance for modelling oceanic flows as a simple approximation of the water wave equations, which describe the gravity-driven free surface flows, when the fluid is incompressible, homogeneous, inviscid, and the pressure is only hydrostatic, owing to the shallowness assumption, that is the horizontal length scale is much larger than the vertical one. For the shallow water equations, the Froude number characterises the dominance of advective modes compared to gravity (acoustic) modes as the ratio of the bulk velocity to the speed of gravity waves. For the large-scale oceanic phenomena, the Froude number is often small; so, the gravity waves are too fast to contribute to the bulk motion, i.e., they do not affect the solution of the large-scale macroscopic model. For a time-explicit numerical treatment, though, one should devise a method to tackle these fast waves to avoid high computational costs as they restrict the time step through the Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) condition. The approach considered throughout this manuscript is to decompose the system into slow and fast parts and to employ an implicit-explicit (IMEX) strategy, i.e., to treat the fast part implicitly and the slow part explicitly. In addition to the efficiency problem attached to this singularly-perturbed system, one should be careful about the limiting scheme, i.e., if the scheme provides a consistent and stable approximation of the zero-Froude system (lake equations). Even if the convergence to the limit can be shown for the continuous model, preserving such a convergence for the discrete (numerical) model, along with stability and consistency, is by no means trivial and should be carefully analysed. This motivates adopting the framework of asymptotic preserving (AP) schemes introduced by [Jin, SIAM J. Sci. Comp. 21(2) (1999), pp. 441–454], with the Froude number as the scaling singular parameter. AP schemes are defined as schemes mimicking such a convergence to the limit for the discrete model, e.g., in virtue of uniform consistency and stability. In this manuscript, we consider two IMEX flux-splitting finite volume schemes for the shallow water equations with uniform consistency and stability w.r.t. the Froude number: the Lagrangeprojection IMEX scheme and the reference solution IMEX scheme. The LP-IMEX scheme is a Godunov-type scheme, which decomposes the system into the acoustic and the transport systems, and employs a Lagrangian formulation for the former. Unfortunately, it is involved in some inherent accuracy issues especially in multiple dimensions, which need to be taken care of; so, we investigate it only for the one-dimensional system. The primary focus would be on the RSIMEX scheme, which decomposes the solution into the (asymptotic) reference solution and a perturbation around it in order to split the system. We study the RS-IMEX scheme in one and two space dimensions with the bottom topography, and finally, with the additional Coriolis force. For both of these schemes, we present a (rigorous) asymptotic analysis to justify the uniform consistency and stability of the scheme w.r.t. the Froude number, and to corroborate the AP property. We also test the quality of the solutions computed by the RS-IMEX scheme in several numerical examples, particularly for the low-Froude regime.


This paper is concerned with the problem of robust observer design for linear systems with neutral-type time-delays. Delay-independent and delay-dependent conditions are presented to solve the observation/filtering issue under noisy output measurements. Stated as linear matrix inequalities conditions, these sufficient conditions enable the determination of the observer gains that guarantee both asymptotic convergence of the observer in case of noiseless measurements and robust filtering in case of presence of measurements errors. The proposed linear matrix inequality conditions are derived without any major approximation or assumption on the neutral type time-delay system which make the observer design straightforward and less conservative.


This research is concerned with the development of distributed real-time systems, in which software is used for the control of concurrent physical processes. These distributed control systems are required to periodically coordinate the operation of several autonomous physical processes, with the property of an atomic action. The implementation of this coordination must be fault-tolerant if the integrity of the system is to be maintained in the presence of processor or communication failures. Commit protocols have been widely used to provide this type of atomicity and ensure consistency in distributed computer systems. The objective of this research is the development of a class of robust commit protocols, applicable to the coordination of distributed real-time control systems. Extended forms of the standard two phase commit protocol, that provides fault-tolerant and real-time behaviour, were developed. Petri nets are used for the design of the distributed controllers, and to embed the commit protocol models within these controller designs. This composition of controller and protocol model allows the analysis of the complete system in a unified manner. A common problem for Petri net based techniques is that of state space explosion, a modular approach to both the design and analysis would help cope with this problem. Although extensions to Petri nets that allow module construction exist, generally the modularisation is restricted to the specification, and analysis must be performed on the (flat) detailed net. The Petri net designs for the type of distributed systems considered in this research are both large and complex. The top down, bottom up and hybrid synthesis techniques that are used to model large systems in Petri nets are considered. A hybrid approach to Petri net design for a restricted class of communicating processes is developed. Designs produced using this hybrid approach are modular and allow re-use of verified modules. In order to use this form of modular analysis, it is necessary to project an equivalent but reduced behaviour on the modules used. These projections conceal events local to modules that are not essential for the purpose of analysis. To generate the external behaviour, each firing sequence of the subnet is replaced by an atomic transition internal to the module, and the firing of these transitions transforms the input and output markings of the module. Thus local events are concealed through the projection of the external behaviour of modules. This hybrid design approach preserves properties of interest, such as boundedness and liveness, while the systematic concealment of local events allows the management of state space. The approach presented in this research is particularly suited to distributed systems, as the underlying communication model is used as the basis for the interconnection of modules in the design procedure. This hybrid approach is applied to Petri net based design and analysis of distributed controllers for two industrial applications that incorporate the robust, real-time commit protocols developed. Temporal Petri nets, which combine Petri nets and temporal logic, are used to capture and verify causal and temporal aspects of the designs in a unified manner.


Cultural competence (Puren, 2013) has been considered a critical aspect for foreign language (FL) teaching and learning due to the wide range of cultural elements associated with the learning of FLs. Hence, this case study aims to describe and understand how encounters with peripheral individuals and rural communities contribute to developing learners' cultural competence in a Spanish as a foreign language course. The participants were three learners who got involved with peripheral individuals and rural communities as part of a voluntary program included in the syllabi of their course. The current study provides an emic perspective following the research participants' views and was guided by the principles of qualitative research. Data were gathered from a variety of sources: an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, classroom observation field notes, and audiotaped social interactions. Content and interpretive analyses were carried out on the data. The findings support the importance of social action and experiential learning for cultural competence development. In addition, the outcomes suggest that the studied encounters not only provided learners with opportunities to enhance knowledge about cultures, but also helped them to encounter otherness and to expand understandings of professional cultures.


This report is an introduction to business models in use on the Internet and their applicability in the Renardus context. The report has five main strands. It first attempts to define what business models are and outlines some popular business models in use on the Internet, both commercial and non-commercial. A second section includes examples of business models used by other services in the cultural heritage sector. The report then takes a brief look at the business models of existing Renardus Data Providers, both gateways and brokers. It then describes some business models that could be adopted by the Renardus Consortium to help develop a sustainable service.


We report a single frequency lasing phenomenon with a narrow linewidth of ~3 kHz in cascaded fiber that is composed of three types of low-loss communication fibers. The Rayleigh scattering of the Brillouin Stokes light created in the middle fiber section along both directions is enhanced by the other two fiber sections. When the Brillouin gain of the middle fiber exceeds the effective loss of the Brillouin stokes light in a roundtrip, a narrow linewidth lasing is observed on the top of the Brillouin spectrum line of the middle fiber. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report on Rayleigh scattering-assisted Brillouin lasing with single frequency and narrow linewidth in cascaded low-loss communication fibers.


When algorithmic skeletons were first introduced by Cole in
late 1980 (50) the idea had an almost immediate success. The
skeletal approach has been proved to be effective when application algorithms can be expressed in terms of skeletons composition. However, despite both their effectiveness and the progress made in skeletal systems design and implementation, algorithmic skeletons remain absent from mainstream practice. Cole and other researchers, respectively in (51) and (19), focused the problem. They recognized the issues affecting
skeletal systems and stated a set of principles that have
to be tackled in order to make them more effective and to
take skeletal programming into the parallel mainstream. In
this thesis we propose tools and models for addressing some
among the skeletal programming environments issues. We
describe three novel approaches aimed at enhancing skeletons
based systems from different angles. First, we present a model we conceived that allows algorithmic skeletons customization exploiting the macro data-flow abstraction. Then we present two results about the exploitation of metaprogramming techniques for the run-time generation and optimization of macro data-flow graphs. In particular, we show how to generate and how to optimize macro data-flow graphs accordingly both to programmers provided non-functional requirements and to execution platform features. The last result we present are the Behavioural Skeletons, an approach aimed at addressing the limitations of skeletal programming environments when used for the development of component-based Grid applications.
We validated all the approaches conducting several test,
performed exploiting a set of tools we developed.


Despite their obvious advantages in terms of static reasoning, the adoption of effect systems is still rather limited in practice. Recent advances such as generic effect systems, lightweight effect polymorphism, and gradual effect checking, all represent promising steps towards making effect systems suitable for widespread use. However, no existing system combines these approaches: the theory of gradual polymorphic effects has not been developed, and there are no implementations of gradual effect checking. In addition, a limiting factor in the adoption of effect systems is their unsuitability for localized and customized effect disciplines. This paper addresses these issues by presenting the first implementation of gradual effect checking, for Scala, which supports both effect polymorphism and a domain-specific language called Effscript to declaratively define and customize effect disciplines. We report on the theory, implementation, and practical application of the system.


The Aluminum (III) phosphate samples were synthesized and were treated at 105 and 4000C respectively for 24 hours. XRD, FTIR, aluminum to phosphate ratio, point of zero charge (PZC) and hydrolytic dissolutions were carried out for the characterization of the non-activated and activated AIP04. XRD showed the AIPO4 to be amorphous before and after heat treatment, FTIR showed a deduction in framework water molecules with activation, while the PZC was observed to rise with activation. However, the hydrolytic dissolution was almost equal for both non-activated and activated
AIPO4.Potentiometric titrations were performed for both the adsorbents in the presence of different concentrations of metal cations at 293 to 323 K, which showed a decrease in the ion exchange capacity of Al (111) phosphate
with heat treatment. pKa values calculated from Gaines-Thomas plot were found to be greater in case of activated
AIPO4 showing that the activated AIPO4 is more weakly acidic type than the non-activated AIPO4. Further the pKa values were observed to decrease with concentration for both the forms of AIPO4.Sorption/ desorption studies showed the ion exchange mechanism in case of non-activated
AIPO CU2+> Zn2+> Cd2+> CO2+ which was in the order of the hydrolysis constants (pK) of the metal cations in aqueous system. Hydrolytic dissolution in the presence of metal cations showed an increase in hydrolytic stability with heat treatment. The dissolution was also noted in both the cases to increase with temperature while with pH the dissolution of the activated solid increased from pH 3 to 5 and decreased above pH 5. However, in non-activated case the dissolution was found to decrease with pH. Further, the sorption equilibrium was established earlier in case of non-activated as compared to the activated form of the AIPO4. The rate constants calculated from the first order Lagregren's plots, were observed to decrease for both the solid while activation energy, enthalpy, entropy and free energy of activation were observed to increase with activation. A new equation was developed from the proposed ion exchange mechanism in case of non-activated AIPO4 and was applied successfully. The stoichiometry of surface -hydrogen ions release to metal ions uptake was observed to lie between 1 to 2. The constant pK (-log K) values calculated from the intercept of the new equation increased with pH and decreased with temperature of the system and lied in the increasing order for the metal cation, Pb2+> Cu Zn2+ Cd2+ Co2'and were calculated from the constants of new equation and were found in the range cited in the literature for ion exchange. In contrast to the new equation the Freundlich equation was found applicable both in case of non-activated and activated AIPO4. The Freundlich constant K values increased with heat treatment and were found to be in the same increasing order as observed in case of sorption for the solids. The ;Ho,o and G o values were positive and were observed to decrease with pH before and after heat treatment of AIPO4. However, these values decreased with heat treatment of AIPO4. The isosteric heats of sorption decreased with increase in sorption for both
non-activated and activated AIPO4. The DH values were also larger for all the metal ions sorption on activated AIPO4 in comparison to the non-activated AIPO4.FTIR spectrometry was employed for the confirmation of the proposed mechanisms, which also supported the conclusions about the proposed mechanism for non-activated and activated AIPO4. The FTIR studies showed no sign of precipitation, co-precipitation of the corresponding metal phosphates and changes in lattice structure of non-activated and activated AIPO4 except a decrease in lattice water molecules with heat treatment.


Koi Herpesvirus (KHV) is a malignant virus infecting the goldfish and koi in all stadia and cause mortality up to 95%. The purpose of this study was to determine the potency and efficacy of inactivated-vaccine in addition with adjuvant against KHV in koi fish. The viral propagation was done using a KF-1 cell line in 25 cm3 flask. The cultured virus was harvested on 12 days post inoculation, and then the harvested virus was inactivated with 0.1% formalin as inactivated-vaccine. Three hundred of test fish (10.38 ± 1.25 g) maintained in 126 L of plastic containers with aeration, and fed with pellets twice a day. After 14 days of adaptation, the fish were divided into five treatments (A= vaccine; B= vaccine + Complete Freund's Adjuvant; C= vaccine + Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant; K+= positive control, and K-= negative control) and each treatment has four replicates. Vaccine was given by injecting intramuscularly of 0.1 mL per fish. All fish were challenged by injecting intramuscularly of 0.1 mL of KHV virus with concentration of 104.58 TCID50/mL after 21 days post vaccination. The results showed that the B treatment had higher (P<0.05) values of hematocrit level, lysozyme activity, and titer of antibody compared with positive control. In addition, the survival of fish in B treatment also had the highest percentages and significantly different compared to other treatments (P<0.05). The conclusion of this research was the application of inactivated KHV vaccine in 0.1% formalin with the addition of Complete Freund's Adjuvant through the injection dose 0.1 mL fish-1 in 104.58 TCID50/mL capable to enhance the immune responses and raised the optimal protection of KHV antibody in koi fish.


Silicon is the most attractive for the largest theoretical insertion capacity of all known host materials except lithium metal. In this paper, the course of lithium insertion into Si material, especially of the first cycle, has been discussed. Anode phase structure, impedance and character, morphology is presented and discussed in this paper. Changes on different crystal lattices revealed the possibility that the structure collapsed firstly began on lattice (220). Distinct crack on the surface of silicon particles has been observed when the anode was discharged to 0.02V.


This study is a preliminary examination of heavy metal pollution in sediments close to two mine sites in the upper part of the Jequetepeque River Basin, Peru. Sediment concentrations of Al, As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn, and Zn were analyzed. A comparative study of the trace metal content of sediments shows that the highest concentrations are found at the closest points to the mine sites in both cases. The sediment quality analysis was performed using the threshold effect level of the Canadian guidelines (TEL). The sediment samples analyzed show that potential ecological risk is caused frequently at both sites by As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn. The long-term influence of sediment metals in the environment is also assessed by sequential extraction scheme analysis (SES). The availability of metals in sediments is assessed, and it is considered a significant threat to the environment for As, Cd, and Sb close to one mine site and Cr and Hg close to the other mine site. Statistical analysis of sediment samples provides a characterization of both subbasins, showing low concentrations of a specific set of metals and identifies the main characteristics of the different pollution sources. A tentative relationship between pollution sources and possible ecological risk is established.


This study develops understanding of vegetation change and water, sediment and carbon dynamics in semi-arid environments. Objectives were addressed using an integrated ecohydrological and biogeochemical approach. Fieldwork, over two contrasting grass-woody transitions at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, USA; quantified vegetation structure, soil structure and the spatial distribution of soil carbon resources. Over both transitions; woody sites showed a lower percentage vegetation cover and a greater heterogeneity in vegetation pattern, soil properties and soil carbon. Soil organic carbon differed in both quantity and source across the sites; with levels higher under vegetation, particularly at the woody sites. Biogeochemical analysis revealed soil organic carbon to be predominantly sourced from grass at the grassland sites. In contrast, at the woody sites soil organic carbon under vegetation patches was predominantly sourced from woody vegetation, whilst inter-patch areas exhibited a strong grass signature. Investigation of function focussed on the hydrological response to intense rainfall events. Rainfall-runoff monitoring showed woody sites to exhibit greater; runoff coefficients, event discharge, eroded sediment and event carbon yields. In contrast to grass sites, biogeochemical analysis showed the loss of organic carbon from woody sites to exhibit a mixed source signal, reflecting the loss of carbon originating from both patch and interpatch areas. To examine the linkages between vegetation structure and hydrological function, a flow length metric was developed to quantify hydrological connectivity; with woody sites shown to have longer mean flow pathways. Furthermore, in addition to rainfall event characteristics, flow pathway lengths were shown to be a significant variable for explaining the variance within fluxes of water, sediment and carbon. Results demonstrating increased event fluxes of sediment and carbon from woody sites have important implications for the quality of semi-arid landscapes and other degrading ecosystems globally. It is thus necessary to translate the understanding of carbon dynamics developed within this study to the landscape scale, so changing fluvial carbon fluxes can be incorporated into carbon budgets, research frameworks and land management strategies at policy-relevant scales.


OBJECTIVES
Despite much health care interest in quality and Continuous Quality Improvement, there is little quantitative information about it. The purpose of this study was to measure the attitudes, activities, and organizational cultures concerning Continuous Quality Improvement in a group of Midwestern primary care clinics.

METHODS
Three surveys of the clinicians, nurses, and other staff in 44 primary care clinics in the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul were conducted. These surveys assessed: (1) attitudes about quality improvement, (2) previous efforts in these clinics to use process improvement teams, and (3) the extent to which the clinics' organizational cultures were perceived as supporting quality. The Provider Attitude Survey was completed by clinicians and nurses; the Process Improvement Progress was completed by members of the best Continuous Quality Improvement teams, if any; and the Quality Systems Inventory was completed by all personnel.

RESULTS
Most of the clinical personnel reported support for various Continuous Quality Improvement concepts, but their understanding and experience were limited. Only 20 (45%) clinics had had at least one Continuous Quality Improvement team in the past, only five of the 12 teams with adequate information had completed an improvement cycle, and only seven reported improving a process with it. The mean clinic scores for quality culture were no better than those in other types of organizations.

CONCLUSIONS
Despite relatively favorable attitudes and some Continuous Quality Improvement activities, there appears to be a need to help clinics build skill and experience for the required care improvements.


Along with the deepening reform in power system, Electric Power Enterprise Marketing Management becomes an important management tool to ensure the effective operation of power enterprises. In this paper, on the basis of relevant principles, we have developed a market economy to adapt to the current situation of the development, marketing, and service sectors of the Power Marketing Strategy. At the same time, we designed to power enterprise marketing performance evaluation index system. And we introduced the quantitative analysis of power marketing effectiveness: AHP, according to the power of quantitative analysis method to evaluate and analyze marketing results.


This paper examines the notion of linguistic competence within the context of developing professional standards for foreign language teachers. It focuses on specific language deficiencies recorded during observation of Spanish teachers in the classroom, and provides an initial indication of the need to provide some degree of structured support for competence enhancement in the foreign language. The observation is made that whereas FL teachers may have "latent" knowledge of some fundamental lexical and semantic areas of the language, this knowledge does not always translate into appropriate application. Essentially, the role of the FL teacher as model, resource, and inspirer is diminished when the language used in the classroom shows hesitation, insecurity, inaccuracy, and lack of practice. Finally, some suggestions are made about how teachers can access opportunities for improving their proficiency in the foreign language, at both the personal and the policy level.


The article uses a thick synthetic analytical framework, derived from the established coalition literature to examine the process of coalition formation in the context of the German party system at the time of the 2009 federal election. It argues that increasing party system fragmentation and fluidity are long-term effects of the critical changes that took place between 1983 and the mid-1990s. These changes have shifted coalition power away from the smaller parties, and in particular the FDP, and towards the two Volksparteien. In terms of the coalition game, the article argues that outcomes cannot be explained by pure office-seeking but that these motives do become important once the desire to avoid unnecessary co-ordination costs, achieve ideological adjacency and reduce ideological range to a minimum has been satisfied. The article concludes by asserting that, rather than being a re-constitution of the default coalition model in Germany, the logic of the 2009 Black–Yellow coalition is consistent with more recent coalition games and therefore is a reflection of change rather than continuity.


The value of H+ efflux in assessing and understanding metal interactions with Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated for its potential use as a rapid means of toxicity assessment for a range of metals Toxicity decreased in the order Cu2+ > Cd2+ > Pb2+ > Co2+ > Sr2+. Toxic effects can be alleviated by external Ca2+. The effect of Cu2+ and Co2+ on S cerevisiae growth, and the intracellular localisation of Cu2+, were studied in order to gain a better understanding of their toxicity.

S cerevisiae, Amorphotheca resinae and Azolla filiculoides biosorbed various metals, with concomitant K+ and Mg2+ release and pH change in certain situations S cerevisiae adsorbed Cu2+ and Cd2+ maximally to ca 150|jmol g'1 and Sr2+ to ca 90|amol g" 1 2 1 2+ 2+ 1 Cu , Cd and Sr were adsorbed maximally to ca 70, 40 and 45|imol g respectively by A resinae. The data were also fitted to the Langmuir and Scatchard adsorption models.

Both Cu2+ and Cd2+ were adsorbed to maximum uptake levels o f 350 and 245 ^mol g 'l respectively by native A filiculoides (Azolla) Native milled-sieved Azolla and epichlorhydrm-immobilised Azolla exhibited Cu2+ uptake levels o f ca 363 and 320|jmol g'1 respectively from solutions with an initial Cu2+ concentration o f lOOmg I"1.

Milled-sieved Azolla and epichlorhydrm-immobilised Azolla, along with the native Azolla, successfully biosorbed influent Cu2+ during column studies. Packed bed biosorption columns containing 1Og and 25g of epichlorhydrm-immobilised Azolla were capable of complete removal of metal from ca 4 and 12 litres, respectively, of influent 5mg I'1 Cu2+ Even after 22 litres of influent solution had passed through, the 25g column was still at less than 75% saturation. These columns were more efficient than those containing the same corresponding quantities of milled-sieved Azolla (ca 3 and 105 litres for 10 and 25g columns respectively), which in turn were more efficient than native Azolla (ca 3-4 litres for a 25g column). Selected results were compared to a computer model used to predict column profile The biosorbed Cu2+ was successfully recovered using Chelaton 3.


Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is retinal disease associated with diabetes. DR is the leading cause of blindness among working aged adults around the world. High blood pressure is an established risk factor for the development of macular edema and is associated with the presence of PDR. Objective: To find the influence of factors in the prediction of DR by using multiple regression analysis approach and find out the thickness of the center of retina (macula). Methods: 200 diabetic retinopathy patients were selected through simple random sampling by using pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire. Macular edema thickness is to be measured by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in the unit of μm and to find other influencing factors age, gender, duration of diabetics, level of hyperglycemia (HbA1c), HDL, triglycerides, family history, hypertension, LDL related to DR. Results: Out 200 patients, 133 (66.50%) were male and 67 (33.50%) were female. Mean age of the patients was 59.78 ± 11.31 years and range was 24 – 87 years. The mean thickness of the center of the retina (macula) was 452.30 ± 138.92 μm. In this paper, the influencing factors were indentified, gender and HDL were had no influence over for developing DR. Conclusion: The influencing factors have been indentified and on the basis of which prediction of DR for a person is identified. By finding the influencing factors of DR and one can protect themselves from the development of DR.


This paper aims to introduce Results Based Costing (RBC) System as an alternative accounting tool by questioning the unit of analysis in ABC. By focusing on 'Results' instead of 'Activities', it investigates its manifest and underlying agendas as a newly innovative idea, with a view to determining its degree of cost management focus and Results Based Management (RBM). Adoption of ABC in different countries especially developed countries has not fulfilled early expectations. Its influence on organizational performance, depending upon how successful performance is defined, has not been evident (see Langfield-Smith 2008). The study thus uses historical and website analysis methodologies for investigating innovative diffusion philosophies related to ABC practices and discourse. These are examined through the theoretical lenses of institutional logics theories. It thus distinguishes between institutional logics and situated logics, and their variances. ABC implementation can be characterized as an encounter between the ABC's inscribed institutional logic and the situated institutional logic that is embedded in the existing practices in a given organization. The paper moves on to consider the surrounding emergence of RBM approach and then introduces RBC as new accounting tool along with its developments, its processes, intentions and claimed advantages. RBC's dominant agenda are overhead cost reduction, cost management, performance management and results orientation. Accounting research into the management accounting system and its processes is much needed. This has been largely neglected in favor of management accounting change and innovative diffusion literature. In a world dominated by IT industries, RBC system as a center of organizational and accounting management merits greater attention by researchers. Practitioners in this way can better design and implement systems that build on past knowledge and learning. This study thus presents itself as a first study about RBC currently available in the accounting and management research literatures. It also represents one of the very few referred studies of the Results Based Accounting in the accounting research literature globally.


Distance learning programmes force us to reconceptualise the boundaries of time, place and process that structure traditional face-to-face forms of learning in higher education. We know that distance learning works and that assessment of student work is central to this process (Gikandi, Morrow and Davis, 2011). Online educators bring with them a collection of interrelated competencies to support distance learners' academic achievements (Simonson, Smaldino and Zvacek, 2015), which can be evidenced in multiple ways in a professional learning context. While we know that formative and summative assessment share iterative and related diagnostic functions (Wiliam and Black, 1996), feedback as a key process supporting this is known to be differentially effective (Hattie and Timperley, 2007). To fully understand the potential of online formative feedback we must therefore investigate how feedback works in the online learning process. This paper explores statistical analyses of formative and summative assessment data from three cohorts of trainee teachers (n=1104) undertaking a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. It identifies the relationship between the grade achieved at the formative stage of an assignment and the grade achieved at the summative stage of the same assignment: in other words, the impact of formative feedback on summative outcomes. To contextualise the findings, patterns and themes in the data are highlighted to identify the use of a continuum of different levels of targeted feedback, ranging from feedback-as-elaboration to feedback-for-challenge, in line with Hattie and Timperley's (2007) feedback questions.


Sizeable natural resource endowments and potentially large financial inflows from their extraction provide an unparalleled opportunity for economic growth and development in a growing number of sub-Saharan African countries. Empirical evidence suggests, however, that translating this resource wealth into stronger economic performance and a higher standard of living has proven challenging. Much has been written about the resource curse. This publication focuses on solutions to the challenges and outlines the main policy considerations and options in managing natural resource wealth, drawing on experience within and outside sub-Saharan Africa and referring closely to the latest analysis and policy advice in this area by the IMF, the World Bank, and leading academic research. A key feature of each chapter is a recommended reading list for those who wish additional, more in-depth material on these issues to further inform policymakers and other stakeholders on the theoretical and analytical underpinnings of the policy advice.


Within the productive skills when learning a foreign language, is the writing skill. This skill helps you to detect the problems that students face when they write compositions. The present paper deals with the final term compositions of 256 students which were analyzed in order to find grammatical errors and indicators of evaluation used in the Specialized Language Department. The result of the analysis of each of the compositions showed that there are grammatical errors in adverbs, prepositions, determiners and pronouns. regarding the indicators of evaluations: the spelling and organization were the main problems observed. Despite the implementation of the feedback process in the non-control group, it was possible to reduce the number of errors, in relation to the control group measured by test t student, however, students continue making the same mistakes from level-to-level. KeywordsWritten Composition, language, English, University Students.


Bone is a kind of biomaterial in nature. It behaves favorable strength, stiffness and fracture toughness which are closely related to its fine microstructures. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation on a shinbone shows that the bone is a kind of natural bioceramic composite consisting of hydroxyapatite layers and collagen matrix. The hydroxyapatite layers are arranged in a parallel distribution and consist of many hydroxyapatite sheets. The fracture toughness of the bone was analyzed based on the representative model of the microstructure in the bone and the idea of maximum pullout energy. The analytical result shows that the long and thin shape as well as the parallel distribution of the hydroxyapatite sheets increase the maximum pullout energy of the sheets and enhance the fracture toughness of the bone.


In this work, a morphological representation of a template matching algorithm for gray-scale images is presented. The algorithm is the composition of the so-called template matching operator with the maximum gray-level location operator, which can be both expressed in terms of the following classes of mathematical morphology elementary operators: dilations, erosions and anti-dilations. Moreover, the algorithm is applied to remote sensing images.


Some experimental results measuring P-wave phase velocity and seismic attenuation in laboratory under dry and water-saturated conditions at ultrasonic frequencies and atmospheric pressure on sandstone samples of the Milk River Formation in the Writingon-Stone Provincial Park (WOSPP), southern Alberta, are presented and are correlated with petrophysical data obtained from these samples as clay content, porosity and permeability. These sandstone samples present transverse anisotropy (TI) after analyzing its measured phase velocities under dry conditions along three orthogonal axis. In addition, these sandstone samples present different degree of permeability anisotropy. The principal objective of this study is try to estimate how these petrophysical properties and permeability anisotropy affect the observed behavior of P-wave phase velocities and attenuations on sandstone samples from WOSPP. Additionally, from this analysis is expected to sight which geophysical parameter, P-wave velocity or seismic attenuation, is more important for predicting permeability and its behavior from ultrasonic seismic data.


Methods to determinate the reasonable cost of an urban public transport provider are essential for Chinese governments to figure out how much the financial subsidy should be supplied for sound development of urban public transport. Through research on the cost regulation of urban public transport in cities, as Shenzhen and Shanghai, authors put forward the objectives, principles, indicators and systems of the cost determination methods, based on analyzing the relevant laws, regulations, standards of the urban public transport industry, and the technical and economic features, cost levels of the providers in recent years. Case studies demonstrate that these methods can effectively identify the regulated cost of urban public transport providers, and make it acceptable by related aspects.


In the first part of the paper, a novel architecture of impedance spectrometer is presented. The instrument is dedicated to the characterization and diagnostic of large fuel cell stacks operated in galvanostatic mode. It allows impedance measurements on cells located in the middle of the stack, where common mode potentials are usually too high for commercial devices. In the second part of the article, probabilistic methods (Bayesian Networks) are used to provide efficient diagnostic of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack. Experiments are performed on a twenty cell assembly using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and from the test results, a Bayesian Network is proposed to ensure the diagnosis of the investigated fuel cell (study of drying and flooding phenomena). A maximum rate of good classification equal to 91% has been reached.


Background: Health education has been regarded as an important aspect of nursing for years. To be able to provide health education, nursing students need to know about the content of health education programs and the pedagogical role of the nurse. Methods: For nursing students to acquire knowledge about the pedagogical role of the nurse, they carried out a learning assignment where they explored the pedagogical role of the nurse in the ward for one week of an eight-week clinical rotation. A study was then conducted to explore whether the learning assignment influenced the students' awareness of the nurse's pedagogical role. Twenty-three third-year bachelor of nursing students, 12 in 2007 and 11 in 2008, participated in focus group interviews. Results: The findings showed that the students became more aware of nurses' pedagogical role after the one week of exploring patient education with ward nurses. The students increased awareness was founded on their experiences, which were that the nurses seldom planned the health education and information given. Further that the nursing staff did not utilize planned educational materials for their patient education and that they seldom documented health education. Despite these finding, the patients were generally informed during caring interactions. Conclusions: A learning assignment related to the nurses' pedagogical role seemed to have increased the students' critical awareness of the nurse's pedagogical role and the legal demands related to the obligation of nurses to educate patients.


In the Kücükdeveci judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed the Mangold precedent and shed light on the legal effects of the general principles of the Union, which are directly applicable in dispute between private parties. Without referring to it expressly, the Court seemed to use the notion of incidental direct effect, which scholars had coined with respect to directives. This interpretation might have a consequential impact on horizontal controversies (especially after the entry into force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights) and could perhaps bring about an expansion of the principle of solidarity in the Union. Indeed, for the first time, private citizens are not only beneficiaries of fundamental rights under EU law, but they are also responsible (jointly and severally with the States) for their protection and implementation.


Regional chronostratigraphic correlation of middle Atlantic upper Coastal Plain and Fall Zone fluvial deposits, long thought to represent the updip, proximal facies of a well-dated, post-Oligocene marine sequence in the Salisbury Embayment, remains incomplete, in part, because of the paucity of biostratigraphic data. Petrography-based lithostratigraphic correlations provide an opportunity to extend age control present in downdip marine deposits, updip to fluvial deposits, thus establishing the means for a regional chronostratigraphic correlation. Previous stratigraphic studies in New Jersey, Delmarva, southern Maryland, Virginia, and the central Appalachian Piedmont are linked by a crucial sequence of fluvial deposits at the head of Chesapeake Bay. Here petrography-based lithostratigraphic correlations demonstrate (1) late Oligocene-late Miocene, Susquehanna River-dominated, polygenetic, quartzose fluvial aggradation (Bryn Mawr Formation); (2) Pliocene, heterolithic, but quartz-dominated fluvial-terrace and alluvial-fan deposition (Perryville formation); (3) Pliocene-early Pleistocene, paleo-Delaware-Hudson River- dominated, lithic- and feldspathic-rich, fluvial aggradation (Pensauken Formation); and (4) the initiation of estuarine conditions (Turkey Point beds) by early Pleistocene time. These results are synthesized to propose a new late Cenozoic regional chronostratigraphic correlation and depositional history for the Salisbury Embayment. The correlation elucidates a complex interaction between passive margin isostasy, tectonics, eustasy, and sediment source.


Neural systems of organisms derive their functionality largely from the numerous and intricate connections between individual components. These connections are costly and have been refined via evolutionary pressure that acts to maximize their functionality while minimizing the associated cost. This tradeoff can be formulated as a constrained optimization problem. In this paper, we use simulated annealing, implemented through Gibbs sampling, to investigate the minimal cost placement of individual components in neural systems. We show that given the constraints and the presumed cost function associated with the neural interconnections, we can find the configuration corresponding to the minimal cost. We restrict the mechanisms considered to those involving incremental improvement through local interactions since real neural systems are likely to be subject to such constraints. By adjusting the cost function and comparing with the actual configuration in neural systems, we can infer the actual cost function associated with the connections used by nature. This provides a powerful tool to biologists for investigating the configurations of neural systems.