Magnetic activity is known to be correlated to the rotation period for moderately active main sequence solar-like stars. In turn, the stellar rotation period evolves as a result of magnetised stellar winds that carry away angular momentum. Understanding the interplay between magnetic activity and stellar rotation is therefore a central task for stellar astrophysics. Angular momentum evolution models typically employ spin-down torques that are formulated in terms of the surface magnetic field strength. However, these formulations fail to account for the magnetic field geometry, unlike those that are expressed in terms of the open flux, i.e. the magnetic flux along which stellar winds flow. In this work, we model the angular momentum evolution of main sequence solar-mass stars using a torque law formulated in terms of the open flux. This is done using a potential field source surface model in conjunction with the Zeeman-Doppler magnetograms of a sample of roughly solar-mass stars. We explore how the open flux of these stars varies with stellar rotation and choice of source surface radii. We also explore the effect of field geometry by using two methods of determining the open flux. The first method only accounts for the dipole component while the second accounts for the full set of spherical harmonics available in the Zeeman-Doppler magnetogram. We find only a small difference between the two methods, demonstrating that the open flux, and indeed the spin-down, of main sequence solar-mass stars is likely dominated by the dipolar component of the magnetic field.


Simulation of problems involving different media that are flowing or deforming requires tracking the boundary between the media. These are called moving interface problems. Often the velocity of the moving interface is determined by some underlying physical model. Thus, moving interface problems usually require separate methods to track the interface and to determine the velocity of the interface. The level set method has become a popular way of numerically tracking a moving interface. This method represents the interface implicitly as the zero level set of a higher dimensional continuous function, and this function is evolved in time by a partial differential equation, known as the level set equation. The interface normal velocity must be determined concurrently by some separate method depending on the specific problem. Finite difference methods are well established for implementing the level set method, but finite difference methods are not ideally suited for solving problems involving arbitrarily shaped regions such as those that occur in moving interface problems. This is because they require a regular spaced grid that does not explicitly locate the interface. Thus, they cannot easily solve problems that depend on knowing the exact location of the interface. To address these difficulties, an interface-fitted finite element level set method is considered. This method uses a base mesh to solve the level set equation and track the interface. The base mesh is refined at each time step to explicitly locate the interface and separate regions defined by the interface. A finite element method can then be used to solve field equations on the refined mesh. Using the interface-fitted mesh, a new method of reinitializing of the level set function, a new method of extending the velocity away from the interface, and a new method of calculating curvature are proposed. The interface-fitted finite element level set method is applied to modeling solidification problems and determining optimal solute-solvent interfaces of solvation systems.


PURPOSE
By the development of a novel retinal microvascular endothelial and pericyte cell coculture system, this study determined the effects of pulsatile flow on the activation of the endothelial cell markers nitric oxide (NO), prostacyclin (PGI2), and endothelin (ET)-1.

METHODS
Monocultured bovine retinal endothelial cells (BRECs) and cocultured BRECs with bovine retinal pericytes (BRPs) were exposed to low flow (flow rate, 0.3 mL/min; pulse pressure, 6 mmHg; shear stress, 0.5 dyne/cm2) or high flow (flow rate, 25 mL/min; pulse pressure, 56 mmHg; shear stress, 23 dynes/cm2) for 24 hours, by using a novel perfused transcapillary culture system. The cells were characterized by immunohistochemistry and electron and confocal microscopy. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and phosphorylated-eNOSSer1179 (pp-eNOS) were determined by Western blot analysis. Nitrate, PGI2, and ET-1 levels were quantified in the medium perfusate by using fluorometric and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, respectively. Activation of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in BRECs was determined by measuring COX-2 promoter activity with a luciferase reporter assay.

RESULTS
The presence of BRPs and BRECs was confirmed by Western blot, immunocytochemistry, and scanning electron microscopy. Phosphorylated eNOS (pp-eNOS) protein levels in BRECs were significantly increased from low to high flow in both mono- and cocultures, concomitant with a significant increase in nitrate levels in the conditioned medium after exposure to pulsatile flow. In parallel cultures, PGI2 levels were also significantly enhanced concomitant with an increase in the transactivation of a COX-2 promoter BREC after exposure to pulsatile flow. ET-1 levels were also increased in both mono- and cocultured cells. conclusions. In this study a novel, functioning, in vitro model of retinal microvascular endothelial and pericyte cells that respond to changes in pulsatile flow was established.


Hybridization is an important evolutionary factor in the diversification of many plant and animal species. Of particular interest is that historical hybridization resulting in the origin of new species or introgressants has occurred between species now geographically separated by great distances. Here, we report that Senecio massaicus, a tetraploid species native to Morocco and the Canary Islands, contains genetic material of two distinct, geographically separated lineages: a Mediterranean lineage and a mainly southern African lineage. A time‐calibrated internal transcribed spacer phylogeny indicates that the hybridization event took place up to 6.18 Ma. Because the southern African lineage has never been recorded from Morocco or the Canary Islands, we hypothesize that it reached this area in the distant past, but never became permanently established. Interestingly, the southern African lineage includes S. inaequidens, a highly invasive species that has recently become widespread throughout Europe and was introduced at the end of the 19th century as a 'wool alien'. Our results suggest that this more recent invasion of Europe by S. inaequidens represents the second arrival of this lineage into the region.


The magnetic properties in CoNiP/Au multisegments nanowire were investigated. All the samples were prepared by electrodeposition method with pH of 5.5 and room temperature. The electrochemical potential of CoNiP was determined by cycle voltammetary. The crystalline structure and morphology of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Miroscopy (SEM) and High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), respectively. The hysteresis loops were measured at room temperature using vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The SEM and TEM image showed that the CoNiP/Au nanowires with diameters about 50 nm. The lattice spacing of the CoNiP samples were 0.205 nm. The obtained results of VSM show that, the coercivity is 1006 Oe. The 4-Aminothiophenol (4-ATP) functionalized CoNiP/Au were combined by inverse emulsion method in order to apply to biomedicine. The characteristic Surface Enhanced Raman peak positions of 4-ATP absorbed on the Au segments were occurred without any alterations, which significantly predicted attractive applicability of the colloids for biomedical labeling.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the effects of dorzolamide/timolol fixed combination (D/T) compared to latanoprost on intraocular pressure (IOP) and pulsatile ocular blood flow (POBF) in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients.

METHODS
Thirty patients with POAG were randomized in an open-label, cross-over study. Intraocular pressure reduction was achieved by 4 weeks medical therapy with D/T twice daily or latanoprost 0.005% dosed once in the evening. During a 4-week run-in and a 4-week wash-out period between study arms, patients ceased use of all other glaucoma medications and used timolol maleate 0.5% twice daily. Primary efficacy variables were IOP and POBF.

RESULTS
There was no difference in baseline IOP and POBF parameters between the two study arms. Both D/T and latanoprost statistically significantly reduced IOP by 4.6 mmHg (p < 0.0001) and 3.75 mmHg (p < 0.0001) and increased POBF by 2.048 microl/second (p = 0.0030) and 2.147 microl/second (p = 0.0009), respectively. Repeated measures anova detected significant changes in POBF with treatment (p = 0.0361). Dorzolamide/timolol fixed combination statistically significantly increased pulse volume by 0.767 microl (p = 0.0087), while latanoprost therapy had no significant effect (p = 0.2407).

CONCLUSIONS
Both drugs had similar effects in terms of IOP reduction. Dorzolamide/timolol significantly increased pulse volume while latanoprost had no effect. Further studies are necessary to establish whether the enhancement of choroidal blood flow can prevent glaucoma progression.


Abstract This article reports on the views of school nurses (n = 25) and students with recurrent pain (n = 24) in Sweden with regard to school-based pedagogic practices. A number of common categories with implications for pedagogic practice were identified by analysing qualitative interviews with these groups, using the coding techniques of grounded theory. The results indicate that a failure to develop trust made it difficult for some students to initiate contact with a school nurse and that some students perceive the issue of recurrent pain being of relevance to all young people, deserving coverage in the curriculum. We thus conclude that it is important to integrate personal, social and health education in the ordinary spaces of teaching and learning in order to complement and bolster the conventionally organised school health services in Sweden. However, this might be difficult to achieve because many of the school nurses emphasised that health and education were commonly treated on parallel tracks in their schools, under the management of different authorities.


Figural reading is reemerging as an approach to theological interpretation of Scripture. As a result, biblical scholars are beginning to speak of figural reading where they once talked about typology. Typology has been a contentious matter among biblical scholars, and a firm definition of it has eluded them. For that very reason, scholars would be remiss to discard typology too quickly, before determining how to define it in the first place and how the typological debates might inform current discussions of figural reading. The debates concerning the definition of typology (a study of types) are essentially debates concerning how to define a type. This article defines a type broadly as ikonic mimēsis, which denotes a correspondence in both fact and significance between persons, events, institutions, and so on. Within this broad definition, (at least) three subcategories, each with its own characteristics, can be identified: Christological, tropological, and analogical types. By defining types broadly as ikonic mimēsis and by delineating three subcategories of types, this article establishes categories that will allow for a more transparent discussion concerning typology and its relationship to figural reading.


Copper slag is a by-product yielded from a copper refinery. The annual amount of copper slag in Japan is two million tons. The copper slag has been used for cement material, sand blasting, reclamation and so on. However, most of the copper slag is stacked high as waste since the production exceeds demand. This study on the application of copper slag as fine aggregate for concrete has been started with the expectation of large amounts of consumption. Many researchers have already found it possible to use a copper slag as a concrete aggregate. However, it also has been clear that the concrete with copper slag has some problems. One of them is excess bleeding attributed to the glassy surface of copper slag. Another problem is the delay of setting time of concrete with copper slag nevertheless it produced at the same refinery. The delay of setting time is more than one week in some cases although the durability in concrete is not affected by it. In this paper, the strength, setting time and durability of concrete with copper slag is clarified. It is shown that the delay of setting time does not have a negative influence on durability. Furthermore, the solution will be given in this paper.


Sea urchin eggs were cut into halves. The nucleate and anucleate halves and whole eggs were irradiated with γ-rays and then fertilized with normal sperm. The first mitosis of the diploid half-egg was more delayed than the division of the whole egg. There was a small, but highly significant, delay of the mitosis of the haploid half-egg, thus demonstrating cytoplasmic sensitivity to ionizing radiation. Since the sensitivity of nucleate cells is influenced by cytoplasmic volume, the problem of the role of cytoplasm in repair is considered in relation to these data and other reports in the literature.


Background: the reduction in speech intelligibility is considered one of the main characteristics of individuals with speech disorders, and is an important issue for clinical and research investigation. In spite of its relevance, the literature does not present a consensus on how to measure speech intelligibility. Besides the diversity of existent methods, another important issue refers to the influence of certain variables on these measurements and, consequently, on the interpretation of the results. Aim: to investigate evidence on the agreement between speech intelligibility measurements, obtained through different methods, used in the assessment of speech disorders, and to identify the effect of variables related to assessment procedures or to the listener. A critical review of articles indexed in the databases Medline, Web of Science, Lilacs and Scielo, until October 2007, was carried out. The key-word used to perform the search was speech intelligibility. Conclusion: there was no evidence of agreement between the speech intelligibility measurements obtained through different methods in the investigated literature. This fact limits the comparison between clinic and research results on speech intelligibility of individuals with speech disorders. Besides that, it was observed that some variables can interfere in these measurements, such as: type of task and speech stimulus, signal presentation mode, type of required answer and listener's experience with the speaker. These must be considered when interpreting the results of speech intelligibility tests.


Recent EPA rulings allow State Implementation Plans (SIP) to include new urban tree plantings as a measure of air pollution abatement, creating an urgent need for accurate estimates of pollution removal by trees. Deposition velocities (Vd) of particulates to trees have been reported for a number of species without explicitly recognizing that observed deposition is a net process, the sum of particle deposition and re-suspension. This has implications for atmospheric models that include a separate re-suspension term to estimate PM loading to trees. Wind tunnel tests at 5 m/s wind speed report 2.5% resuspension with a conifer species over a half day (Ould-Dada). However, in the native environment higher wind speeds are suspected to be responsible for the majority of resuspension of PM2.5. In the present study, three conifer species were dosed with KNO3 Dp 2.5 μm particulates and exposed in a wind tunnel to winds of 6.5, 10, and 13 m/s for 5, 10, or 20 minutes, to determine PM2.5 resuspension rates. Deposition velocities were also determined over a range of PM concentrations. Though the removal of particles from the air is small, re-suspension from Pinus strobus increased from 0% at 6.5 m/s to 20% of the original dose removed at 10 m/s and 50% of the original dose removed at 13 m/s. Taxus cuspidata had low rates of resuspension (20% of the original dose) at all three wind speeds, while Tsuga canadensis had no resuspension. Vd are 0.02 cm/s for Tsuga, 0.01 cm/s for Pinus, and 0.005 for Taxus. Deposition velocity was found to be related to complexity of needle and branch arrangement, and not of total needle surface area as hypothesized. Resuspension is likely to result from mechanical jarring of needles at high wind speeds rather than direct scouring by the wind. An analysis of wind conditions in upstate New York revealed that wind events of a magnitude sufficient to cause resuspension in Pinus occur 1.25% of the time in January and 0.07% of the time in July. The implications of these findings are: models of pollution removal by urban trees (ie, The Urban Forest Effects Model, UFORE) underestimate the amount of PM2.5 retained by leaves by 50%.


Neurofeedback of specific brain activity patterns allows perceiving and learning to gain control over these otherwise unaware neuronal processes. Neurofeedback may improve underlying neuronal deficits, and/or establish more general self-regulatory skills for compensating behavioural difficulties in other domains. Treating ADHD is the most common clinical neurofeedback application. Standard neurofeedback protocols based on electroencephalography train self-regulation of oscillatory activity in certain frequency bands (targeting theta/beta ratio) or slow cortical potential shifts. Both protocols have demonstrated promising outcomes, particularly in improving inattention symptoms, although controlled effects remain heterogeneous and often attenuated in blinded ratings. Further randomized controlled and (as far as possible) blinded evaluation studies are needed for better understanding of the mode of action and to establish robust standard training protocols for routine care. In the current state of evidence, neurofeedback can be recommended as part of a multimodal treatment of ADHD.


This article presents a method for measuring the functional efficiency of agricultural futures markets in terms of social welfare using a standard futures market structural model. Employing the concept of social surplus, it can be shown that, when futures prices are used to estimate future spot prices, the errors in prediction produce to some degree resource misallocation, which in turn results in welfare losses. Therefore, the social welfare associated with the presence of futures markets can be measured using a Social Loss index. The indicator was calculated for the period 1975–2015 and for several subperiods, which allow us to analyse functional efficiency before and after the 2007–2008 spikes in the prices of agricultural commodities. Futures contracts for 12 products are evaluated. The products are grouped in three different categories: 'soft products', 'livestock' and 'grains and oilseeds'. The results indicate that livestock contracts tended to be more efficient than the rest of the contracts during the whole period, but in 2008–2015 their efficiency decreased vis-a-vis the rest of the products. Nevertheless, 2008–2015 proved to be the most efficient subperiod, confirming the remarkable development of agricultural futures markets over time.


This study aimed to investigate the acceptability, barriers, enablers, perceived benefits, and outcomes in undertaking an exercise intervention using a novel outdoor exercise park designed for senior citizens. This study was a parallel randomised controlled trial with pre- and post-intervention design (outcome assessments at baseline and at eighteen weeks after participation commencement). Twenty-seven independent community-dwelling adults (75.1 ± 7.9 years; seventeen females; ten males) underwent an interview after completing the eighteen-week exercise intervention. A thematic analysis approach was used to evaluate the content of the interviews. Participants reported that the exercise intervention proposed was very enjoyable and had varied perceived benefits. The exercise intervention has been positively rated by the participants. The main outcomes perceived from their participation were physical (e.g., improvements in muscle strength, balance, flexibility, and gait), psychological (e.g., improved confidence and well-being and reduced depression symptoms) and psychosocial (e.g., improved social interaction). Participants also perceived an improvement on their ability to perform activities of daily living (e.g. climbing stairs, tying shoelaces, and catching public transport). The exercise-park program has been shown to be a well-accepted, novel option for older adults to exercise outdoors and therefore might enhance exercise uptake and attendance and sustain participation in exercise programs for older adults in the community.


This work aims to evaluate the effect of cotton stalk fibers with styrene acrylic emulsion treatment, slag and ordinary Portland cement on the properties of crops fiber/gypsum composites. The results show that crops fibers with surface treatment, slag and ordinary Portland cement can increase the bending strength and improve the water-proof property of crops fiber/gypsum composites obviously. The fracture surface of crops fiber/gypsum composites were observed by SEM, and the action mechanism of the crops fibers, slag and ordinary Portland cement on crops fiber/gypsum composites were discussed.


This Article begins with an overview of the ecology of the Guarani Aquifer region before turning to the legal and ecological problems it faces. Because the majority of the Guarani Aquifer underlies Brazil (with the rest residing below Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay), the laws and policies of Brazil have a significant managerial impact. Consequently, the Brazilian legal regime forms the focus of the first Part of the Article. The Article then analyzes the international transboundary framework before turning to the recently enacted Agreement on the Guarani Aquifer. This Agreement, signed but not yet ratified by four countries, represents a major step forward in transnational cooperation. However, its language is so broad that it elides some of the principal management challenges facing this and all transboundary aquifers. This Article reviews the endogenous and exogenous challenges facing the Guarani Aquifer System, looking particularly at those within and arising from Brazil. It then offers an international dispute resolution framework, drawn from the United States' doctrine of equitable apportionment, and offers some proposed amendments to the multilateral agreement for managing the Guarani. The complexity and environmental importance of the region, as well as the looming threats presented by climate change, make the need for accurate and detailed scientific and technical information urgent and crucial. Yet, relying on such information to manage a complex natural resource also presents risks. Too often, the role of uncertainty in risk assessment and in legal and managerial decisions gets reduced or ignored. Lessening uncertainty requires reducing asymmetric information. The Agreement represents a significant (albeit preliminary) step forward. This Article argues that increasing knowledge over the regulated resource demands categorizing "hard" and "soft" uncertainties. In addition, the regulatory framework must acknowledge the unitary nature of the aquifer while remaining sensitive to differing national and local priorities.


Peracetic acid is produced directly in the bleaching liquor from acetic anhydride and hydrogen peroxide. The effects of process parameters (concentrations of hydrogen per oxide, acetic anhydride, treatment temperature, time, and pH) and also the interactions of the parameters as they affect the whiteness, bursting strength, and water absorbency of fabric, are investigated using a full factorial experimental design with Maximize 3.6 software, and the significance order of the process parameters is established. Then a central composite experimental design is used to determine an estimated optimized bleaching recipe with the help of the software. Estimated response values of the estimated optimized recipe are also obtained from the software, and the recipe is applied to cotton fabric samples. Measured response values of the applied optimized recipe show that the measured and estimated values are very close to each other.


The Gaze Visualizer tool is an implementation of eyetracking (gaze) data and a preliminary gaze responsive light driven (GRL) model, which enables to visualize gaze behavior in a 3D space, in Grasshopper3D. The workflow from obtaining the relevant photometric quantities, retrieving gaze data, intorduction of the GRL model to the tool and a simple data representation scheme are presented here. The final plugin is easy to use for Rhino/Grasshopper developers with only basic skills, and provides a quick estimations of the gaze respionsive visual comfort in an illustrative way, that gives the user an adequate overview of the glare-free zones in the room.


Mycotoxins constitute a real problem of public health because of their highly toxic effects for the populations. This study aims to evaluate the practices that favor aflatoxins and ochratoxin A development in rice sold on the markets of Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire). A food consumption survey was conducted among 45 traders and 135 consumers of rice in three markets in Abobo and Cocody communes. A simple, open-ended questionnaire was submitted to the rice traders and consumers. It covered socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, level of education), location and conditions of storage, place of supply, and knowledge of mycotoxins. Following the survey, 20 samples of rice, prized by the population, were collected and analyzed. Total aflatoxin and ochratoxin A levels were determined using HPLC coupled with mass spectrometry. The results revealed that all traders were unaware of the existence of mycotoxins. The storage and marketing of rice are housed in very unhygienic premises (lack of brick walls in some cases, poor quality tin roof, premises not swept regularly). Most traders renew their rice stocks over an average of one to two months (66.66% in Abobo; 79.99% in Cocody) and prefer to buy their supplies from large stores and other markets in Abidjan. Aflatoxin B1 (0.75±0.05 μg/kg) and total aflatoxin (1.73±0.34 μg/kg) were detected in the rice samples from Abobo market. The presence of Aflatoxins in rice could be related to poor post-harvest practices identified.


An analysis is made of the properties and problems of Maximum current interrupting ability and photos of contacts contacts, switching, and holding off high and low voltages, high which are interrupting up to 18,000 a are shown. and low currents ac, dc, and RF in a high vacuum environment with some relation to outer space problems. Characteristics of contacts from above atmospheric pressure down to less than 10-9mm of mercury of pressure are listed in detail. Sparkover and spacing vs pressure (or vacuum) level, "cold" field emission currents vs spacing and voltage are graphed up to 200 kv. Change in vacuum levels vs time and arcing for sealed enclosures is listed showing average change from 10-9to 10-5mmHg taking 20 to 50 years under static conditions. Arc voltages in the order of twenty to one hundred volts for 1 to 18,000 a interruptions are shown. Switching recovery voltages and transient over-voltages from switching in vacuum are shown to be compatible with normal switching requirements, but awareness should be made of transient generating circuitry and mechanisms. A detailed analysis is shown in photographs of tungsten contacts after interrupting various high and low currents ac and dc. Examination shows that most high vacuum contact surface pitting, welding or projections are created by the "make" of current and the "break" or interruption of current results in only slight relatively smooth erosion or build up. In all cases with tungsten, the metal transfer is from the negative to the positive electrode, the same direction as electron flow.


Years ago I intensively studied the grasses of the tribe of the Maydeae. The results of my investigations were published in an article "A contribution to the knowledge of the Indian Maydeae", issued in the "Mededeelingen van 's Rijks Herbarium" no. 67 (1931). In this paper the grasses of this tribe from the Old World were treated and especially the various genera were characterized according to their caryopses. The curious form and the place of the hilum of the caryopsis were accepted as characters of high importance to distinguish and to establish the various genera, and it was especially the genus Polytoca, which was more sharply defined by the place of the hilum, the lower margins of the grain enclosing a cavity at the bottom of which is found the hilum. In the genus Chionachne such a cavity is not present and the hilum is found at the back of the grain. I accepted 4 species of the genus Chionachne. One of them, viz. Ch. Koenigii (SPRENGEL) THWAITES, is rather widely distributed from British India and Ceylon to Tonkin and from Celebes to Queensland. Ch. biaurita HACKEL is endemic in the Philippines and Ch. semiteres (BENTH.) HENR. was only observed in the Deccan Peninsula and Burma. The fourth species was mentioned by me from Queensland as being Chionachne Sclerachne BAILEY. The type of BAILEY was not represented in the Kew Herbarium and I saw only a fragment from a plant collected by F. v. MUELLER, which I accepted as being BAILEY's species. DOMIN mentioned from Queensland only Polytoca cyathopoda (F. v. M.) BAILEY and not having seen DOMIN's plant I had only to accept that the identification was correct. Recently Mr. HUBBARD from the Kew Herbarium could examine DOMIN's plant and found that it belonged to the genus Chionachne.


Speeding problem in some area especially where there are high pedestrian flows mainly school children's and ederly people has becomes a major concern to the public. Many accidents reported which involves pedestrians at such area were caused by excessive speeding vehicles. To mitigate the situations, installation of traffic calming devices were implemented by the local government. Thus, the aims of this study were to find out the effectiveness of various type traffic calming devices installed at the roadway. Also, this research will gather all the relevant information on the standard design material used for the traffic calming devices. This sites were chosen for each type of traffic calming devices implementation is yellow rumble strips at Tabuan Jaya. speed hump at Jalan Song and speed table at Jalan Padungan. Spot speed studies were carried out at the selected sites to obtain the required data. Then, the normal and cumulative distribution curves were plotted based on the traffic data obtained. Further analyses by employing SPSS were carried out to find the relationship and the effectiveness of the devices. From the studies, it has found that yellow rumble strips at Tabuan Jaya to Samarahan reduce the average speed by 7.5 kph or 10.7%, the speed bump at Lorong Song 3 to BDC reduce the average speed by 6.8 kph or 14.1% and speed tables at Jalan Padungan reduce the average speed by 6.8 kph or 14.6%. From correlation analysis conducted, the entry speeds decreases very significantly as the width of traffic calming devices increases (R^2 ta 1.0). The effect of the height of the devices also highly significant at reducing the vehicle entry speed (R^2 = 0.9217). Potential recommendation for a better way or guidelines for traffic calming devices installation is also addressed or presented in this report.


This thesis investigates the last text published by Robert Southey, The Doctor, &c (1834-1847), and argues that while Southey may have moved to political conservatism as he grew older, his writing became even more radically experimental. Southey's text is a kaleidoscopic fusion and includes a range of topics that consists of the plot of Doctor Daniel Dove, autobiographical elements, Southey's religious and political views, historical retellings and musical compositions, which have all been embedded within a postmodern narrative. The reason for this research is that, while other influences on Southey focus predominately on his early works, life or politics, the concept that The Doctor, &c demonstrates early postmodern characteristics and self-reflective portraits has been neglected.
Five topics are identified within this thesis: identity, autobiography, postmodernism, religious politics and fairy tales, which combined establish the central argument that Southey's text contains a kaleidoscope of ideas all
combined together to create his most experimental composition. By examining the contextual background, The Doctor, &c is likened to Christopher Smart's The Midwife, Or Old Woman's Magazine (1751-1753) and recognises that the original tale of Doctor Daniel Dove first appeared within Smart's periodical.
Close readings of Southey's letters and the text itself draw out comparisons, which indicate Samuel Taylor Coleridge urged Southey to write The Doctor, &c. I argue that Coleridge was the primary link that connected Southey and Smart and, essentially, The Doctor, &c was formed on the basis of collapsed projects between Coleridge and Southey. Subsequently, this thesis demonstrates that the idea for the text occurred as early as 1807 and written throughout Southey's life until the first volume was finally published in 1834.


Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are more frequent chronic carriers of high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) strains compared with the background population—an important risk factor for developing cervical cancer—and patients with RA have an increased risk of high-grade cervical dysplasia (CD) and cervical cancer.1–3 Little is known about the safety of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD) treatment in arthritis patients with a history of premalignant lesions.

We aimed to investigate how often female patients with inflammatory arthritis (RA, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis or other) and a history of premalignant lesions of the uterine cervix developed cervical cancer or another HPV-associated cancer according to ever versus never exposure to bDMARDs.

The nationwide Danish DANBIO Registry started in 2000 and covers >90% of adults with rheumatological disease treated with bDMARDs in routine care.4 Since 2005, patients not treated with bDMARDs have also been registered. We linked 15 238 female patients identified in DANBIO …


A research can also reveal the cooperative effectiveness of agencies such as evaluation will lead to discover the weakness and strengths for further improvement of this program. The present study was designed in 2009 especially to see the effectiveness of the working of agricultural extension staff as perceived by farmers in district Okara-Pakistan. The data were collected with the help of a specifically designed and pre-tested interview schedule and total sample was 300 respondents. The results showed that most 45.0% of the respondents belonged to the old age (31-40 years) category and most 30% of the respondents were above illiterate. An overwhelming majority 77.33% of the respondents was in fall radio category. Whereas, only 29.33% of the respondents reported that they had contact with Extension Field Staff. An overwhelming majority 74.33% of the respondents indicated lack of mobility as the major constraints in approaching agricultural extension education services. It was concluded that different mass media were not fully utilized in the area which hindered not only awareness level of the respondents but also adversely effect the adoption level regarding the latest production technology related agriculture sector. On the basis of conclusions it was recommended that for first of all the educational level of the study area should be increased and Government should ensure adequate availability of rural infrastructure facilities to enable more of the dwellers cultivate the habit of utilizing medias channels as source of information in agriculture production.


This short paper elaborates on findings presented at the 2007 Donostia Bridges Conference [1], first bringing some classifying logic in the family of labyrinths of which the 'Classic' and 'Chartres' are the best known examples, with the interesting inclusion of spirals. Second, another 3-dimensional morphing is offered on the surface of a sphere, which underscores the inherent antisymmetric nature of the 'Classic' and Chartres' designs. Third, appealing 3-D forms can result from projections onto polyhedra, here the octahedron/cube duals. Fourth, a recent arrangement of the 'Classic' into a rose-shape is proposed for possible mathematical analysis. The figures of this paper, including an important erratum correcting a wrong figure that didn't make it in the printed Donostia Proceedings, are provided as an appendix in the CD-Rom of the Proceedings of the Conference, but not on the printed Proceedings. They are further expanded by entries at the accompanying Bridges 2009 Mathematical Art Exhibit [2].


AIM
Complex study of seropositivity of adult individuals and children to human herpes viruses of 6 types.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
2322 individuals (1000 adults donors and 1322 children aged 1 - 17 years) residing in St. Petersburg were examined. Seropositivity to human herpes viruses types 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 was studied by enzyme immunoassay methods.

RESULTS
A high proportion of individuals seropositive to cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) as well as high frequency of simultaneous presence of antibodies against various types of human herpes virus (HHV) was detected. A clear tendency of increase with age of frequency of detection of antibodies against most HHV was detected. The sharpest increase of seropositivity to HSV, HHV-8, CMV, Epsetin-Barr virus (EBV) is noted in a group of 12 - 17 year old children, that is probably connected with activation of sexual transmission. The proportion ofseropositivity in this age group was: to HSV - 65%, HHV-6 - 13%, HHV-8 - 3.3%, CMV - 80%, EBV - 61.7% against 74.8%, 68.4%, 2.7%, 80.9%, 41.8% in donors, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Further studies determining temporal trends of population infection, connection ofseropositivity with frequency of manifest forms of infections, seropositivity of risk groups are needed.


Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is an approach to communication and personal development focusing on how individuals organise their thinking, feelings, and language. While a growing number of academic articles highlight the application of NLP in organisational settings, a systematic review synthesising and evaluating the quality of this evidence has not been conducted to date. The aim of this article was to follow the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and conduct a systematic review of empirical studies evaluating the application of NLP in organisational settings. Targeted outcomes included self-esteem, trustworthiness, organisational commitment, and occupational stress. Academic research databases used to identify articles included ProQuest, PsycINFO, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and a specific NLP database. The literature search yielded 952 titles from which seven studies met all of the inclusion criteria. Findings indicate that NLP can be effective for improving a wide range of work-related psychological outcomes including self-esteem and occupational stress. However, there were concerns regarding methodological rigour. In general, the benefits of NLP were both over-promised and under-supported. Implications for future NLP application and research, with a focus on the relevance to current issues in the field of human resource development, are discussed.


This article discusses two opposing views in regard to Islamic teaching; whether it should be seen as a static entity or as a dynamic one and each
option has its own implication. Being seen as a static entity, Islamic teachings cannot be put on the table of criticism, because it is supposed to be perfect, correct, and its validity goes beyond time and space. In this position, Islamic teaching that is taught in Islamic education institutions is delivered in nondialogical way, assuming that it is doctrine, not knowledge. The author
argues that such view would possibly make Islamic teachings become normal science that loose their relevances to contemporary human life. In fact, what is considered as Islamic teachings cannot be separated from human intervention since parts of them are formulated by classical Muslim scholars. For this reason, it is necessary to liberate Islamic teachings fromnarrow-minded perspective and interpretation, as suggested by the proponents
of Liberal Islam. Islam should be interpreted in open-mind perspective so that it is possible to bear many different interpretations based on interpreters social and academic backgrounds. Achmad Dachlan is one of Muslim scholars who tried to take the essence of Islamic teachings. He argued that one of the main purposes and substantial point of Islamic teachings are the ethical kindness and human happiness. Dachlans concern with the marginalized and disfranchised people is based on his view on human ethics and it serves as the foundation of a movement to empower
marginalized people.


To the Editor. —In the JuneArchivesBlackshear et al1observed that renal insufficiency induced by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is more frequent in patients with the following risk factors: advanced age, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and use of diuretic drugs. We would like to add sulfinpyrazone to the list of these nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which can lead to renal dysfunction in these clinical settings. Although devoid of anti-inflammatory activity, sulfinpyrazone inhibits prostaglandin synthesis not only in the platelets, but also in the kidney.2-4We recently reviewed the reports of acute renal failure during sulfinpyrazone therapy. Eighteen patients who received this drug after myocardial infarction showed an average serum creatinine rising from 1.3 to 6.3 mg/dL. Their mean age was 60 years and eight of them had concomitant diuretic therapy.5Sulfinpyrazone therapy has also been advocated early after coronary bypass surgery. It was considered safe, but renal function was


In this paper we evaluate the performance implications of using a buddy scheme for contiguous node allocation, in conjunction with a backfilling job scheduler for clusters. When a contiguous node allocation strategy is used, there is a trade-off between improved run-time of jobs (due to reduced link contention and lower communication overhead) and increased wait-time of jobs (due to external fragmentation of the processor system). Using trace-based simulation, a buddy strategy for contiguous node allocation is shown to be unattractive compared to the standard noncontiguous allocation strategy used in all production job schedulers. A simple but effective scheme for selective buddy allocation is then proposed, that is shown to perform better than non-contiguous allocation.


INTRODUCTION
Traditionally, patients have been fasted from midnight on the night before elective surgery. With the advent of the enhanced recovery programme for elective colorectal surgery, there has been a major change in established practice with patients able to continue with clear fluids up to two hours prior to surgery and solids up to six hours prior to surgery. It has been suggested that nutritional supplements in the immediate pre-operative period enhance post-operative recovery. The aim of this review was therefore critically to appraise the evidence available regarding the use of pre-operative carbohydrate (CHO) supplements for elective colorectal surgery.

METHODS
A literature search was performed using: PubMed, MEDLINE(®), Athens and Google Scholar. The following keywords were used: 'pre-operative', 'carbohydrate supplements', 'enhanced recovery' and 'colorectal surgery', singly or in combination. To ensure an up-to-date literature search, the search was restricted to the last ten years. To maximise the search, backward chaining of reference lists from retrieved papers was also undertaken. Only English language articles were included.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of CHO drinks pre-operatively in colorectal surgery is both safe and effective. There is no increased risk of aspiration and it results in a shorter hospital stay, a quicker return of bowel function and less loss of muscle mass. On the basis of this evidence, the use of pre-operative CHO drinks should be standard in elective colorectal patients. Further research is nevertheless required for those with diabetes mellitus.


Biliomas are encapsulated collections of bile outside the biliary tree, caused mainly by trauma to the liver or bile ducts, or by acute obstruction of them, and not infrequently without an apparent cause. We present an 86 y.o. female patient who comes to the ER with right upper quadrant abdominal pain, fever and jaundice. Gallbladder had been removed previously but she had a dilated bile duct consistent with choledocolithiasis. Surgery was performed when she developed peritonitis and a sub-hepatic bilioma was found.


Introduction: PARP inhibitors such as Talazoparib and Olaparib exploit deficiencies in DNA repair pathways, making them attractive candidates for treatment of a number of different cancers. These drugs are particularly effective when used in combination with other DNA damaging agents such as chemotherapeutics and radiation therapy. Combination trials, however, have resulted in severe toxicities, necessitating either dose reduction or delay. Dose reduction leads to suboptimal dosing and provides little therapeutic benefit compared to monotherapy. Systemically administered nanoparticles offer a more effective way to selectively accumulate drugs in tumors and bypass toxicities associated with oral delivery. We have developed nanoparticle delivery systems for both Olaparib and Talazoparib in order to improve tumor accumulation while bypassing the toxicity associated with oral administration. Methods: Lipid nanoformulations of Olaparib and Talazoparib have been developed and characterized in regard to size, surface charge, drug loading, release, and stability. NanoTalazoparib has been tested in vitro in breast cancer cell lines including W0069, W780, and HCC1937 which exhibit BRCA1 and 2 mutations, and NanoOlaparib in the lung cancer cell line Calu-6 which also has a defective FA-BRCA pathway. Mice have been treated with NanoOlaparib and NanoTalazoparib alone and in combination with radiation or temozolomide in order to evaluate toxicity. Therapeutic efficacy studies are currently underway. Results: The nanoformulations have been formulated to encapsulate a clinically relevant dose of either Talazoparib or Olaparib and release at 37°C over a period of days, while remaining stable during storage at 4°C. In vitro, both nanoformulations show the same activity as free drug with IC50s in the nanomolar range for these cell lines with varying deficiencies in the BRCA pathway. Mice have shown no appreciable weight loss during treatment with either nanoformulation alone or in combination with other treatment modalities. Conclusion: Nanoformulations of Talazoparib and Olaparib have been developed and characterized to demonstrate activity in vitro and tolerable doses in vivo. We have found that mice tolerate NanoTalazoparib at higher doses when combined with Temozolomide than when given oral Talazoparib. The sustained release from the nanoparticles allows for the nanoformulation to be administered less often than the daily administration for oral drug and the improved tolerability opens the door for combination therapy with both chemotherapeutics and radiation therapy. Therapeutic efficacy studies are underway and we expect that as a monotherapy NanoTalazoparib will be more effective at lower doses than oral Talazoparib, based on the longer circulation time and more selective accumulation in tumors. We also anticipate that combination therapy will be more effective with the nanoformulation, as the maximum tolerated dose is higher than that of the oral drug. Citation Format: Paige Baldwin, Rajiv Kumar, Edward Favours, Karen Liby, Raushan Kurmasheva, David Kozono, Srinivas Sridhar. Nanoformulated Talazoparib and Olaparib for enhanced delivery [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3100. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3100


Zika virus (ZIKV) is responsible for an ongoing and intensifying epidemic in the Western Hemisphere. We examined the complete predicted proteomes, glycomes, and selectomes of 33 ZIKV strains representing temporally diverse members of the African lineage, the Asian lineage, and the current outbreak in the Americas. Derivation of the complete selectome is an 'omics' approach to identify distinct evolutionary pressures acting on different features of an organism. Employment of the M8 model did not show evidence of global diversifying selection acting on the ZIKV polyprotein; however, a mixed effect model of evolution showed strong evidence (P<0.05) for episodic diversifying selection acting on specific sites. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were predictably frequent across strains relative to the derived consensus sequence. None of the 9 published detection procedures utilize targets that share 100% identity across the 33 strains examined, indicating that ZIKV escape from molecular detection is predictable. The predicted O-linked glycome showed marked diversity across strains; however, the N-linked glycome was highly stable. All Asian and American strains examined were predicted to include glycosylation of E protein ASN154, a modification proposed to mediate neurotropism, whereas the modification was not predicted for African strains. SNP diversity, episodic diversifying selection, and differential glycosylation, particularly of ASN154, may have major biological implications for ZIKV disease. Taken together, the systems biology perspective of ZIKV indicates: a.) The recently emergent Asian/American N-glycotype is mediating the new and emerging neuropathogenic potential of ZIKV; and b.) further divergence at specific sites is predictable as endemnicity is established in the Americas.


This thesis is concerned with expletive clauses in Dutch. An example of such a construction follows in (1). (1) Er loopt iemand op straat. There walks someone on street 'Someone is walking in the street.' In this sentence the expletive pronoun er 'there' is supposedly in subject position, while the lexical subject iemand 'someone' remains lower in the clause (see Wesseling 2018 for a more detailed view of subjecthood and the subject position in Dutch). This begs the question what the syntactic function of er is. We also find expletive er in wh-subject questions, as in (2). (2) Wie komt er? who comes there 'Who is coming?' The wh-subject wie 'who' is in subject position, again the question is why er needs to be present. In this thesis I investigate the syntactic function of er. I argue that the pronoun er has an articulated internal structure. Cardinaletti and Starke (1999) argue that pronouns can be divided into three types: strong pronouns, weak pronouns and clitic pronouns. Depending on their morphosyntactic behavior, pronouns can be categorized as one of these types. Furthermore, these different types of pronouns have a different internal structure. In Chapter 2, it is shown that er (and its variants) should be analyzed as a weak pronoun. Furthermore, daar 'there' and hier 'here', which can also be used as expletive pronouns, are categorized as strong pronouns. This thesis argues that the internal structure of er and daar 'there' is similar, to the extent that they each contain a locative feature. The expletive pronoun er is also used in impersonal passive constructions in Dutch, as we can see in (3). (3) Werd er gelachen? was there laughed 'Was there laughing?' An extensive survey under 671 informants showed that instead of er the pronoun daar 'there' can also be used in such constructions. In these impersonal passive sentences, there is no lexical subject available to satisfy the EPP (Extended Projection Principle, Chomsky 1981). Apparently, er and daar 'there' adhere to the EPP here. In Chapter 3, it is argued that these pronouns are specifically suited to satisfy the EPP since they can satisfy the features on Io. In fact, Io is analyzed as having not only Tense and Phi features, but also a locative feature. This feature is satisfied by er/daar in impersonal passive constructions. In Chapter 4, the need for er in wh-subject clauses is investigated. A questionnaire filled in by 419 native Dutch speakers, demonstrated that there is much variety amongst speakers concerning the use of er. For many speakers er is not obligatory in such constructions, while for others er cannot be omitted. The analysis developed in this chapter regards this variation as a parametric difference with respect to moving wh-subject pronouns. For speakers who need er, the wh-pronoun moves from the vP to spec,CP in one go, whereby er spells out the locative feature on Io. In the grammar of speakers who can omit er, however, the wh-subject moves from the vP to spec,IP, and then to spec,CP. In those derivations spec,IP is occupied, hence er cannot be spelled out. In Chapter 5, this analysis of er is extended to the expletive pronouns in English and German. Furthermore, the diachronic development of er is discussed.


We provide the first quantitative estimate of the Holocene slip-rate on the Gowk strike-slip fault in eastern Iran. The main active strand of the fault cuts lakebed sediments within the South Golbaf pull-apart basin. Numerous channels incised into the palaeolake surface are displaced right-laterally by 30 ± 5 m at the fault. Radiocarbon dating of two terrestrial wood fragments constrains the lake desiccation at a maximum of 7.9 ± 0.1 cal ka BP, from which we estimate a minimum slip-rate for the Gowk fault of 3.8 ± 0.7 mm yr22121. This estimate indicates that the Gowk fault is one of the most important structures in the accommodation of regional tectonic strain in eastern Iran. The Gowk fault has generated five destructive earthquakes in the past 30 yr. At a minimum rate of 3.8 ± 0.7 mm yr22121 the average interval between earthquakes, assuming that the fault typically fails in events involving 223C3 m of slip, will be 6602013960 yr. The southern 223C90 km of the Gowk fault (the Sarvestan segment) has no record of historical earthquakes and constitutes a considerable remaining hazard in this region. Our estimated rate is consistent with geodetic measurements of deformation across the same area and hence suggests that the slip-rate on the Gowk fault has been constant since at least 223C8 ka ago. Determining whether or not Holocene and late Quaternary variations in slip-rate occur in general across eastern Iran requires similar quantitative studies of fault slip-rate across the major faults of eastern Iran.


Intercollegiate athletics have become an integral part of campus life (Denhart et al, 2010; Mixon & Trevino, 2005; Shulman & Bowen, 2001), and have grown exponentially in the resources universities put forth to participate in this extracurricular activity (Clotfelter, 2011). One of the biggest evolutions of intercollegiate athletics has been the collegiate athlete transfer phenomenon (Cooper & Hawkins, 2014); however, little research has been conducted on transfer collegiate athletes, or the transfer collegiate athlete experience. As such, the purpose of this instrumental case study was to discover and describe the experiences and perceptions of swirling-transfer collegiate athletes at Athletic State University. A purposive sample included nine collegiate athletes (six football and three baseball) interviewed and observed to gain a holistic experience of the swirling-transfer phenomenon, with multiple supporting documents also collected and analyzed. Participants of this study describe this unique experience as "the roller coaster experience." Each collegiate athlete perceives their participation in athletics and higher education as a means for social mobility and intends to pursue professional league opportunities. Recommendations to intercollegiate athletic governing associations, institutions, and scholars are included, with an emphasis of creating a database to track this subpopulation of transfer collegiate athletes, as well as educating practitioners who support these collegiate athletes every day.


Interlibrary Loan provides access to articles, books, and other materials that are not owned by the University of Louisville Libraries.


Protein glycosylation is one of the most common posttranslational modifications (PTMs) with several types. O-GlcNAcylation is an O-linked glycosylation with attachment of β-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) to Ser/Thr residues catalyzed by O-GlcNAc transferase (OGA), whose removal is catalyzed by O-GlcNAcase. Unlike mucin-type O-glycosylation, O-GlcNAcylation occurs primarily in nucleocytoplasmic proteins and the monosaccharide is not further extended. Moreover, O-GlcNAcylation is dynamic and often reciprocal to phosphorylation at the same or adjacent Ser/Thr residues. Growing evidences suggest that O-GlcNAcylation is very common and has broad roles in physiology as well as in diseases especially through its interplay with phosphorylation, e.g., regulation of insulin signaling, transcription, and roles in diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. In contrast to the enormous body of research on cellular roles of phosphorylation, the amount of research on O-GlcNAcylation has been disproportionally small and annotation of O-GlcNAcylated sites in protein databases is currently scarce. An O-GlcNAcylation site prediction program was developed in 2002, but it was based on a small data set with 40 O-GlcNAcylation sites known at that time. Here we seek to develop a database of O-GlcNAcylated proteins and sites, named dbOGAP, and also an O-GlcNAcylated site prediction system based on known sites data in dbOGAP to facilitate annotation and proteomic identification of the O-GlcNAcylation sites. We developed dbOGAP based primarily on O-GlcNAcylated proteins and sites published in peer-reviewed articles dated back to 1984 since it was first described. Most of these proteins were mapped to the UniProtKB protein IDs, except for some that could not be unambiguously mapped. The database currently contains 540 protein entries with experimental O-GlcNAcylation information, and 338 O-GlcNAc sites for 164 proteins. About 59% of these proteins are of humans, and other organisms include rat, mouse, fly and African frog. Among 164 proteins with known O-GlcNAcylation sites, 122 also have both phosphorylation (total 1634) and O-GlcNAc sites (total 263). The Gene Ontology (GO) profiling showed that the known O-GlcNAcylated proteins have a broad range of functions including developmental process, transcriptional regulation, cell signaling, metabolic regulation, and cellular transport and trafficking. The GO profile also showed that O-GlcNAcylated proteins are primarily nuclear and cytoplasmic, including membrane-associated intracellular proteins. The database is also populated with additional orthologous protein sequences to known O-GlcNAcylated proteins. Additional functional data, including other PTM features, biological pathways and disease information have been integrated to the database. We developed an O-GlcNAcylation site prediction program using Support Vector Machine (SVM). As positive instances, sequence fragments surrounding 322 O-GlcNAcylated Ser/Thr sites were extracted from 157 proteins in dbOGAP, and over 28 thousand sequence fragments surrounding the rest of the Ser/Thr sites in those proteins were assumed as negative instances. Two thirds of this data set was randomly selected as development data and was used for tuning parameters in SVM classifiers, while the rest of the data was set apart as a held-out test data set. To reduce the impact of imbalanced data on the performance of trained classifiers, we explored different ratio of positive to negative instances in a training data set, which was controlled by under-sampling negative instances in a training data set. The optimal parameters of the prediction system were sought in five-fold cross-validation tests conducted on the development data set, and the final classifier trained on the entire development data set was evaluated on the held-out test data set. We used four encoding methods for feature vector extraction, including binary encoding, composition of k-spaced amino acid pairs (CKSAAP), monomer spectrum (MS), and composition of monomer spectrum (CMS). These encoding methods yielded different prediction performance for O-GlcNAcylation sites. The results showed that the method obtained an AUC (area under curve) of ~80% on the test sequence set. The dbOGAP database and the O-GlcNAcylation site prediction program tool are being made web accessible and the web resource will be an important bioinformatics tool to facilitate exploration of the broad roles of O-GlcNAcylation in physiology and diseases.


I present new results from a continuing program to identify and characterize the low-mass stellar and substellar populations in the young cluster IC 348 (0.5-10 Myr). Optical spectroscopy has revealed young objects with spectral types as late as M8.25. The intrinsic J-H and H-K colors of these sources are dwarflike, whereas the R-I and I-J colors appear intermediate between the colors of dwarfs and giants. Furthermore, the spectra from 6500 to 9500 Å are reproduced well with averages of standard dwarf and giant spectra, suggesting that such averages should be used in the classification of young late-type sources. An H-R diagram is constructed for the low-mass population in IC 348 (K6-M8). The presumably coeval components of the young quadruple system GG Tau (White et al.) and the locus of stars in IC 348 are used as empirical isochrones to test the theoretical evolutionary models. The calculations of Burrows et al. do not appear to be consistent with the data at these earliest stages of stellar evolution. There is fair agreement between the data and the model isochrones of D'Antona & Mazzitelli, except near the hydrogen-burning limit. The agreement cannot be improved by changing the conversion between spectral types and effective temperatures. On the other hand, for the models of Baraffe et al., an adjustment of the temperature scale to progressively warmer temperatures at later M types, intermediate between dwarfs and giants, brings all components of GG Tau onto the same model isochrone and gives the population of IC 348 a constant age and age spread as a function of mass. When other observational constraints are considered, such as the dynamical masses of GM Aur, DM Tau, and GG Tau A, the models of Baraffe et al. are the most consistent with observations of young systems. With compatible temperature scales, the models of both D'Antona & Mazzitelli and Baraffe et al. suggest that the hydrogen-burning mass limit occurs near M6 at ages of ≲10 Myr. Thus, several likely brown dwarfs are discovered in this study of IC 348, with masses down to ~20-30 MJ.


This paper presents an Ultra-Low Leakage (ULL) 55nm Deeply Depleted Channel (DDC) process technology for low power Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The DDC ULL devices provide 67% reduction in threshold (VT) variation due to Random Dopant Fluctuation (RDF). Circuit techniques such as subthreshold operation and reverse body biasing (RBB) are co-designed with the technology to maximize the energy/power saving. A test chip implements a 1Kb 6T SRAM, an FIR filter, and a 51-stage RO to showcase how the technology works with circuit techniques to minimize energy. The 6T SRAM array operates reliably down to 200mV with a reduced leakage power of 7nW (85% lower compared to non-DDC devices). The FIR filter consumes just 4.5pJ/cycle operating at 0.36V at 200 KHz.


The growth and multiplication of cells are regulated, in part, by polypeptide growth factors that bind to high-affinity receptors typically found on the plasma membrane. One such receptor is human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). In around a quarter of all primary breast cancers, cells possess abnormally high numbers of (overexpress) HER2. [symbol: see text] Trastuzumab (pronounced tra-stoo-zoo-mab; Herceptin-Roche), a recombinant humanised mouse monoclonal antibody directed against HER2, is available as a treatment for certain patients with metastatic breast cancer. It is licensed as a first-line treatment in combination with [symbol: see text] paclitaxel for those whose cancer cells overexpress HER2 and for whom an anthracycline is unsuitable, and as a third-line treatment used alone when treatment with (where appropriate) an anthracycline, a taxane and hormonal therapy has failed. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended trastuzumab as a treatment option for metastatic breast cancer in accordance with the licensed indications. What does trastuzumab offer?


Background: The use of resveratrol as a dietary supplement is limited because it is easily oxidized and, after oral ingestion, it is metabolized into enterocytes and hepatocytes. Thus, new formulations are needed in order to improve its oral bioavailability. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and characterize a gastro-resistant formulation of resveratrol for oral administration as a dietary supplement. Method: Resveratrol was encapsulated in Eudragit-coated pectin-alginate microparticles. Results: The microparticle size was about 1450 µm, with an encapsulation efficiency of 41.72% ± 1.92%. The dissolution assay conducted, as specified in the European Pharmacopoeia for delayed-release dosage forms, revealed that our microparticles were gastro-resistant, because the resveratrol percentage released from microparticles in acid medium was less than 10%. In addition, the high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method developed for resveratrol content quantification in the microparticles was validated according to International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) Q2 (R1) guidelines. Finally, the biological activity of resveratrol was investigated in 3T3-L1 mature adipocytes, concluding that the encapsulation process does not affect the activity of resveratrol. Conclusion: In summary, the gastro-resistant microparticles developed could represent a suitable method of including resveratrol in dietary supplements and in functional foods used in obesity therapy.


In recent years, various frequency compressors are developed rapidly and successfully in household air conditioner area. However, it is difficult to make advance progress on compressor performance, noise and reliability. The innovation of structure and technique are indispensable impetus to make a breakthrough. This paper presents a novel structure of high efficiency rotary compressor, which focuses on the connection mode between roller and vane of a compressor. On one hand, the leakage gap between roller wall and vane tip is eliminated, which upgrades the capacity of compressor. On the other hand, through changing movement type of compressor parts, the mechanical state is meliorated and frictional loss is decreased. Several analysis are studied to validate the rationality of the above amelioration, which include strength and deformation simulation, frictional loss and leakage loss calculation. By comparison with conventional compressor, the performance of the novel compressor is improved obviously. In the end, the results of reliability and durability experiments reveal that they satisfy the national standard.


Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are members of the nuclear receptor family of transcriptional modulators. In addition to their known roles in regulation of metabolism and inflammation, PPARs have also been implicated in carcinogenesis based on studies showing their ability to modulate cellular differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. Of the 3 PPARs identified to date (PPAR&agr;, PPAR&bgr;/&dgr;, and PPAR&ggr;), PPAR&ggr; has been studied the most in part because of the availability of PPAR&ggr; agonists (also known as PPAR&ggr; ligands). In many tumor cells, including lung carcinoma cells, activation of PPAR&ggr; results in decreased cellular proliferation; this is particularly true for non-small cell lung carcinoma, the most common malignant lung tumor in the United States. Studies performed in xenograft models of lung cancer also show decreased tumor growth and progression in animals treated with PPAR&ggr; ligands. More recently, data are emerging from retrospective clinical studies that suggest a protective role for PPAR&ggr; ligands on the incidence of lung cancer. This review summarizes the available data that implicate PPARs in lung carcinogenesis while focusing on PPAR&ggr; as a potential target for the development of novel anti-lung cancer treatment strategies.


Many error-driven learning algorithms for constraint-based phonological grammars, including the Gradual Learning Algorithm for Optimality Theory and Harmonic Grammar, predict that more frequent input forms will be acquired earlier than less frequent input forms – a fact that has been commonly taken as a virtue of these models. These models also predict, however, that the rate of learning for more frequent input forms should be faster than the rate of learning for less frequent input forms. In other words, these models predict that sequence and rate of acquisition are related; structures acquired earlier in the course of learning will be acquired more rapidly, while those that are acquired relatively later will be acquired more slowly. This paper explicates these predictions and argues that they are not consistently supported by child language data.  Evidence from six children's acquisition of consonant clusters is presented, demonstrating that, contrary to the predictions of the learning models, learning sequence and rate of acquisition are largely disassociated.


Studying functional traits and their relationships with tree growth has proved a powerful approach for understanding forest structure. These relationships are often expected to follow the classical resource economics perspective, where acquisitive leaves combined with acquisitive roots are expected to enhance resource uptake and tree growth. However, evidence for coordinated leaf and roots trait effects on growth is scarce and it remains poorly understood how these traits together determine tree growth. Here, we tested how leaf and root trait combinations explain tree growth. We collected data on leaf and root traits of 10 common tree species, and on soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) concentrations in a temperate forest in Michigan, US. Tree growth was calculated as the stem diameter increment between three censuses measured across 13,000 trees and modelled as a function of different combinations of leaf and root traits and soil properties. The two best models explaining tree growth included both specific leaf area (SLA), root diameter and soil C or N concentration, but their effects on growth were contingent on each other: thick roots were associated with high growth rates but only for trees with low SLA, and high SLA was related to fast growth but only for trees with thin roots. Soil C and N% negatively impacted the growth of trees with high SLA or high root diameter. Synthesis. In this study, resource economics did not explain the relationships between leaf and root traits and tree growth rates. First, for trees with low or intermediate SLA, thick roots may be considered as acquisitive, as they were associated with faster tree growth. Second, trees did not coordinate their leaf and root traits according to plant resource economics but enhanced their growth rates by combining thick (acquisitive) roots with conservative (low SLA) leaves or vice versa. Our study indicates the need to re‐evaluate the combined role of leaves and roots to unveil the interacting drivers of tree growth and, ultimately, of forest structure and suggests that different adaptive whole‐tree phenotypes coexist.


List of Tables List of Figures Contributors Foreword Introduction 1 The State of Indigenous Knowledge in Bangladesh 3 2 Indigenous Technical Knowledge: Unexplored Potential for Sustainable Development 23 3 Towards an Understanding of Indigenous Knowledge 27 4 Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainability: On the Brink of Disaster or Revolution? 31 5 Development Disasters: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge and Practices 37 6 Investigating Indigenous Knowledge: A Review of the Bangladeshi Literature on Natural Resources 41 7 Use of Indigenous Knowledge in the Sustainable Development of Bangladeshi Farm Forestry 57 8 Tree Pathology and Bangladeshi Agroforestry Practices 65 9 In Praise of the Indigenous Neem Tree 71 10 Indigenous Knowledge of Plant Use in a Hill Tracts Tribal Community and Its Role in Sustainable Development 75 11 Wild Vegetables: A Valuable Natural Resource for the Rural Poor 79 12 Local Vegetable Seed Storage Methods and Women's Participation in Development 91 13 Medicinal Plants for the Survival of Rural People 97 14 Indigenous Medicinal Plant Use, Sustainabilty and Biodiversity: Learning from the Grameen Bank Experience 107 15 Indigenous Knowledge of Fish and Fisheries: A Pilot Study 117 16 Freshwater Fisheries: Indigenous Knowledge and Issues of Sustainability 127 17 An Indigenously Developed Pond Aquaculture System 131 18 Indigenous Knowledge and Agricultural Research: Conflicts and Complementarities 139 19 Cultivating Indigenous Knowledge on Bangladeshi Soil: An Essay in Definition 145 20 Actors and Rural Livelihoods: Integrating Interdisciplinary Research and Local Knowledge 161 21 Databases, Indigenous Knowledge and Interdisciplinary Research 179 22 Indigenous Knowledge Fieldwork: Interaction with Natural Resource Scientists 197 23 When a Bangladeshi 'Native' is not a Bangladeshi 'Native' 203 24 The Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Its Network 213 References 219 Index 239


Using the TL Single-Aliquot Regenerative-Dose Protocol for the Verification of the Chronology of the Teutonic Order Castle in Malbork The Teutonic Order Castle in Malbork is one of the precious medieval monuments in Europe. Because of the lack of natural rock resources in Pomerania, its walls are built almost exclusively of bricks. The huge volume and rich historical knowledge about the Malbork Castle makes it a marvellous object for TL dating. The parts of well known age can serve for the verification and improvement of dating method. Subsequently, gained in such way knowledge and experience can be applied for discovering the history of the rest of the castle. Here, the preliminary results of investigations which are still in progress, are presented for 5 brick samples. The applied TL dating procedure is described in detail. The very good accuracy of equivalent dose is achieved by the TL single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. The effect of wall inhomogeneity connected with the difference between the activity of the brick and mortar is discussed.


Abstract This article addresses the protracted state of political violence in and around the Borana and Guji zones of Oromia region after the introduction of ethnic federalism in Ethiopia. To account for the persistence of the conflict, we must elaborate on the connections between ethnic identity, natural resource and customary institutions by introducing the notion of "primary identity". Since the turn of the millennium there is in Ethiopia a theoretically grounded attempt to co-opt customary institutions and elders into modern governance, particularly in the pastoral sector. Field-research focused on the interplay of customary and modern politics during two electoral events, the 2004 referendum organised to solve the border issue between the Somali Regional State and Oromia, and the 2005 national elections. Analysis of local political dynamics indicates that the strategy of the federal government was shaped by the need to control the insurgency of the Oromo Liberation Front. Local political motivations also played a role. The combination of these two factors resulted in systematic abuse of human rights and the manipulation of development and refugees policies, involving an informal "demographic politics of space" that displaced the Borana Oromo from a large area of their customary territory, relegating them into a state of permanent food dependency. It is argued that the restoration and strengthening of customary governance holds the best prospect for improving this situation.


Abstract This paper summarizes the latest results in the development of a combined pressure-swirl-gas atomizer. The main goals of this investigation are to characterize the generated metal powders in terms of spray pattern and particle size distribution. With the combined pressure-swirl-gas atomizer it is possible to create 150 kg h – 1 of tin powder with mass medians between 30 and 110 μm (tin alloys) and geometric standard deviations below 1.9 with a nitrogen consumption of 100 kg h – 1. Gas flow and melt mass flow can be varied independently of each other, while their characteristic ratio of mass flows can be held below 0.7, which opens new potential for low gas consumption in gas atomization. The experiments were conducted with water and tin melts as model fluids. The comparison of the dimensionless numbers shows that the model experiments are comparable and basically extendable to other melts as long as the material characteristics allow this.


ABSTRACT In civil and criminal proceedings, there are factors inherent in the role of a treating physician such as advocacy and other duties owed the patient, in contrast to expert opinion provided by an independent assessor which is required to be objective. Misunderstanding or unawareness of the differences in treating versus expert physicians can lead to decision-makers relying on potentially biased information. Recent decisions in Canada have allowed for opinion evidence by treatment providers (Westerhoff v. Gee Estate), which seem to ignore the potential bias of the treatment provider. The lack of clarity by which decision-makers perceive the role of physician witnesses poses a significant issue for physicians, who must balance competing interests, equivocal processes and concerns regarding bias and conflict of interest when providing medical information to a decision-maker. This paper attempts to clarify the essential differences between information provided by a treating physician as opposed to an expert opinion provided by an independent consultant in Canada. Discussion around privacy legislation will be used to highlight some differences. It is hoped that a clearer understanding of the information the decision-makers are receiving will promote an improved understanding of that information and, subsequently, an improved decision-making process.


We evaluate a pedagogical intervention that aims to improve the learning quality of elementary school children by nurturing their curiosity. The pedagogy, aimed primarily at science teaching, was practiced by children's teachers for an entire academic year. We test the effectiveness of this pedagogy using objective test scores and a novel measure of curiosity. Our curiosity measure involves first creating a sense of information deprivation, then quantifying the urge to acquire information and the ability to retain information. We find that the intervention increases curiosity, the ability to retain knowledge, and science test scores. The intervention also makes friendship networks a potent tool to disseminate knowledge within classrooms. Our research design establishes the causal link between the urge to know and deep learning. The evidence can help design better pedagogical tools to increase pupil and teacher engagement and the quality of learning


We have studied the magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) in the diluted magnetic semiconductor Pb1-x-yMgxYbyTe. The magnetic susceptibility of this system is a superposition of the matrix diamagnetism, the paramagnetic contribution of electrons localized in the ytterbium band, and the Curie-Weiss paramagnetism provided by Yb3+ ions. The concentration of Yb3+ ions monotonically increases with the ytterbium content, while a significant fraction of ytterbium ions remains in a nonmagnetic Yb2+ state. A pronounced hyperfine structure was revealed in the EPR spectra. It was ascribed to the interaction between the electron magnetic moment of an unfilled electron shell of Yb3+ ions and nuclear magnetic moment of the 173Yb isotope. The estimated values of the effective g-factor (g1.997 0.002) and the hyperfine-interaction constant (173A=0,56 cm-1) were found to be almost independent of both alloy composition and temperature.


This study focused on the spring-fed upper reaches of the economically important Great Fish River with the aim of determining if diatoms could be used for biomonitoring in semi-arid conditions in southern Africa. Five sites were monitored monthly from 2010 to 2012. Of the 269 diatom taxa belonging to 51 genera identified, the dominant taxa were mostly those considered to be pollution-tolerant: Amphora pediculus, Craticula buderi, Fragilaria biceps, Nitzschia frustulum, Nitzschia paleacea, Planothidium lanceolatum and Rhopalodia gibba. A number of diatom-based numerical indices were used to infer water quality, including the generic diatom index, the specific pollution sensitivity index, the biological diatom index, and percentage pollution-tolerant valves, which forms part of the UK trophic diatom index. All index scores showed the Great Fish River to be impacted, and showed significant correlations of diatom species abundance with pH, NO3-N, electrical conductivity, NH4-N and CaCO3. Analysis revealed EC and NO3-N as the main environmental drivers affecting diatom community composition, followed by pH and PO4-P. The percentage of diatom deformities at all sites was high, at 3.5%. Diatom indices showed the river to be impacted by decades of agricultural activity, which was confirmed by chemical water analysis. Thus diatom indices can be used for biomonitoring in semi-arid areas.


Although Chinese educational reform has focused on creativity and innovation for over a decade, the transfer of educational philosophy to practice has not yet occurred.  Creative industries in China are still seen as imitative.  The main barrier for Chinese students becoming more creative and innovative may be the culture itself, which is modeled after Confucian philosophy and does not allow secondary students to act divergently or question any authority. In spite of sparse success in transforming education to focus on more student-centered approaches, the Chinese government still seeks to develop their creative industries through education reform away from test-focused, rote instruction to student-centered creative practices.


A new series of 3,4-dihydro-2H-1,3-oxazine derivatives of bakuchiol 1 was synthesized through the Mannich-type condensation–cyclization reaction of 1 with formaldehyde and appropriate primary amines. On cytotoxicity evaluation against a panel of four human cancer cell lines, most of the derivatives showed a higher cytotoxic profile than the parent molecule. The best results were observed for compound 15 with IC50 values of 2, 2, 2.4 and 3 μM against MIA-Pa-Ca-2, HCT-116, MCF-7 and HL-60 cells, respectively. A mechanistic study of compound 15 revealed that it caused a loss in the mitochondrial membrane potential in a concentration-dependent manner, accompanied by the activation of caspase-9 and -3, which cleave PARP-1. It also activated caspase-8, which is involved in the extrinsic apoptotic pathway. Therefore, we demonstrated that it induces apoptosis via both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways in human pancreatic cancer MIA-Pa-Ca-2 cells.


One of the most significant movements in the history of Christianity is Pentecostalism, and Brazil probably has the largest number of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians in the world.  Pentecostalism is a global phenomenon and exhibits diversity of expression, depending on a combination of factors that include culture, ecclesial traditions, and localized beliefs and practices.  Amid this religious diversity certain key ideas appear to be pervasive if not altogether universal.  One of these key ideas is the so-called "prosperity gospel", which refers to the belief that as part of the blessings of the kingdom of God believers have the right to expect both health and material benefit.  One of the contradictions with this kind of religious expression is the fact that the people who appear to hold to this view most ardently are in fact the poor of Pentecostalism.  Why is it the case the poorest of the poor hold on to a view that is often transmitted from the United States of America and appears to reflect the material aspirations associated with the "American dream" rather than the empirical realities of Latin American contexts?  This paper seeks to illustrate how [Neo-]Pentecostals hold on to their belief in the "prosperity gospel", identifying the key biblical text that is used in this hermeneutic, as well as the cultural practices that support its maintenance.  From this analysis, questions are raised about what aspects might inform the so-called historic churches when seeking to negotiate their relationship with [Neo-]Pentecostals.


─ Temperature rise and specific absorption rate distribution in a human head due to electromagnetic energy produced by an adjacent antenna are evaluated. An algorithm proposed in this paper provides these distributions at multiple frequencies using a single simulation. The head tissue parameters are used from the available three-term Debye coefficients obtained by the experimental data from 500 MHz to 20 GHz. The proposed algorithm is developed by integrating the Debye model of human head tissues parameters into the finite-difference time-domain method by using the auxiliary differential equation approach along with the use of bioheat equation for specific absorption rate and temperature computations. Index Terms ─ Dispersive material, FDTD method, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), temperature rise.


Purpose : Measuring the quality of service provided by the commercial banks in Jordan and establishing a database which can help the management improving the quality of services. Methodology : The study has been conducted on a sample of (1000) customer was randomly selected from the customers of all surveyed banks. The quality of service was measured by applying the gap model (the difference between the customers' perceived, and their expected quality).data required for this study has been collected by a question0naire which was designed for this purpose. Findings : The findings of the study indicate that the quality of services is low (unsatisfactory), and in turn the banks still have a lot of efforts to do regarding the quality of their services. Limitations: This study is based on sell-report perceptions of the customers. Data collected by this approach may or may not be an accurate to that extent which reflects the respondent's real feelings. Practical implications: The results of this study should enable the management in the commercial banks in Jordan to design internal marketing programs aimed at building a strong service-minded employees and improving the quality of their services. Originality: The study is a first research attempt which aims to measure the quality of bank service in Jordan using the Gap analysis approach.


Introduction: Priapism is a penis erection that lasts longer than 4 hours without sexual stimulation and is a urological emergency that requires immediate treatment.Priapism can be seen rarely after hemodialysis.We aimed to present the patient with resistant priapism who underwent hemodialysis.Case Report: A 47-year-old man who underwent hemodialysis for two months due to end-stage renal disease admitted to the emergency department due to priapism.The penis was painful and rigid.Despite the drainaged of approximately 150 cc venous blood from corpus cavernosum with in 30 minutes,no detumescence was achieved.We performed a T-shunt combined with corporal tunneling.In the follow-up visits,the patient who was not able to have detumescence was informed and planned to have an early implantation of penile prosthesis due to necrosis, fibrosis,permanent loss of erection.Conclusion: Mechanism of priapism in hemodialysis patient is accused of inadequate heparinization and dialysis-induced hypoxemia and acidosis. First line treatment for ischemic priapism in emergency department is very important.The patient should be intervened quickly and directed to the urologist


AuNi alloy was synthesized by vacuum arc melting in high-purity argon atmosphere. The AuNi alloy was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results of EDS indicated that Au and Ni atoms were well-distributed in the alloy. Moreover, the results of XPS exhibited an electronic transfer from Ni to Au in AuNi phase. The Electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and the methanol tolerance of the AuNi alloy were respectively investigated using the RDE method and the electrochemical cyclic voltammetry. The results suggested that O2 was directly oxidized to H2O on the AuNi catalyst via an approximate four-electron reduction pathway, and that the AuNi catalyst had a high electrocatalytic activity for the ORR and an acceptable methanol tolerance, simultaneously.


In the current research, we were interested in testing the impact of integrating technology on student's perception of different mathematical courses regarding the constructivist versus traditional approach to teaching/learning. The study was performed in the mathematics department of our College of education. We analysed the students' perception of our mode of teaching as well as of their own level of involvement in the learning process with respect to the usage of different digital tools according to the basic characteristics of the traditional versus the constructivist classroom. We compared the students' assessment of the mathematical classroom in different courses that were taught with and without technological tools. The obtained results show that the students' perception of mathematical class while integrating technology corresponds to the basic characteristics of the constructivist class, whereas the class without the use of technology corresponds to the description of the traditional one. This result strengthens our suggestion that the appropriate usage of technology in teaching mathematics enables to transform the classroom from traditional to constructivist one.


Coronary heart disease is a major cause of death in developed countries. There are some factors like cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity that increase the risk of having coronary heart disease. Early detection of the disease may have a better treatment response. Cardiac imaging methods require new processing analysis approaches. In this paper, new segmentation system has been studied in order to develop a semi-automated methodology for left ventricular myocardium segmentation from cardiac MR CINE images based on figure detection and active contours. Different image preprocessing techniques like the Hough Transform, centroid detection and snakes were integrated in a pipeline that permits the analysis and generation of structured reports with imaging biomarkers of the cardiac function in different cardiomyopathies. To implement the new segmentation method, a new segmentation and image analysis software has been created. Cardiac reports are made automatically with this tool using bull eyes and biomarkers like ejection fraction (EF), myocardial mass, cardiac output or thickening.


Microwave dielectric ceramics are key materials in low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology. In many material systems, Mo-based microwave dielectric ceramics have attracted world-wide attention in recent years due to their low intrinsic sintering temperature and high quality factor (Q × f). In combination with its low dielectric constant (er), Al2Mo3O12 is a very promising LTCC candidate, but the very negative temperature coefficient of its resonant frequency (τf) limits its application. In this work, novel (1 − x)Al2Mo3O12–xTiO2 (x = 0–0.4) microwave dielectric ceramics were designed and prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction. The effects of TiO2 addition on the phase composition, microstructure, and microwave dielectric properties of the obtained Al2Mo3O12-based ceramics were investigated. It was revealed that rutile TiO2 could co-exist with monoclinic Al2Mo3O12 in the samples after they were prepared under optimized conditions. With increasing addition of TiO2, the er value of the obtained ceramics increased from 5.69 to 6.85, the value of Q × f decreased from 73 910 to 45 720 GHz, and τf varied from −32.3 to +9.2 ppm °C−1. When x = 0.3, microwave dielectric ceramics of near-zero τf (er = 6.23, Q × f = 51 630 GHz, and τf = −3.3 ppm °C−1) could be obtained. Such high-performance microwave dielectric ceramics would be promising for LTCC applications.


In this paper, we investigate how members' participation in off-topic social forums in electronic networks of practice (eNoPs) influences their propensity to participate in their domain-specific forums. Currently, the literature offers two theoretical arguments that would predict opposing outcomes concerning the impact that off-topic forum participation has on domain-specific forum participation. We argue that investigating the network structure of the off-topic forum has the theoretical flexibility to reconcile these opposing theoretical arguments. Specifically, we hypothesize that an off-topic forum's overall network structure (network cohesion as determined by the global clustering coefficient) moderates the impact of off-topic forum participation on domain-specific forum participation. We theorize that, given equal conditions, off-topic forum participation creates social bonds that positively affect domain-specific forum participation when the off-topic forums have a highly cohesive network structure. Contrarily, however, we posit that off-topic forum participation becomes a noisy distraction when the off-topic forum has a less-cohesive network structure. We provide empirical support for these hypotheses via a 10-year longitudinal study of software developers' participation in an electronic network of practice (eNoP). Our paper highlights new theoretical insights on the network effects in an eNoP whereby network structures in one section (off-topic forums) have ramifications for behaviors in a different section (domain-specific forums).


Farmers face a particular set of risks that complicate the decision to borrow. We use a randomized experiment to investigate (1) the role of crop-price risk in reducing demand for credit among farmers and (2) how risk mitigation changes farmers investment decisions. In Ghana, we offer farmers loans with an indemnity component that forgives 50 percent of the loan if crop prices drop below a threshold price. A control group is offered a standard loan product at the same interest rate. Loan uptake is high among all farmers and the indemnity component has little impact on uptake or other outcomes of interest.


A method for in vitro regeneration of Maerua oblongifolia (Capparaceae) from nodal shoot explants is outlined. Percent shoot response with multiplication rate (21.1± 2.33) shoots per explant (30 mm length) was achieved when cultured on semisolid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 3% sucrose and supplemented with 2.0 mgl-1 of (Benzylaminopurine) BAP + additives (25.0 mgl-1adenine sulphate + 25.0 mgl-1 citric acid + 50.0 mgl-1 ascorbic acid). Further amplification of shoots was achieved when concentration of BAP was lowered (0.25 mgl -1) and Kinetin (0.25 mgl -1) along with 0.1 mgl -1 IAA was incorporated in the MS medium. A maximum of 58.1 ± 3.88 shoots of length 4-5 cm were obtained. The in vitro regenerated shoots rooted in vitro on half-strength MS medium containing 3.0 mgl-1 of IBA. About 85% of shoot rooted (4.04 ± 0.96 roots per shoot) on this medium. Other auxins such as NOA also promoted rooting but, the response in terms of percentage of rooting (75%) and shoot number (2.9 ± 1.59 roots per shoot) was low as compared to IBA. In vitroregenerated shoots of length 4 to 5 cm having 1-2 nodes were excise individually and pulse treated with 200.0 mgl-1 of IBA for 3.0 min for ex vitro rooting. After an initial acclimatization period of 2-3 months in a green house, about 80% plants were successfully hardened and were then transferred to earthen pots in nursery. Protocol developed is highly reproducible and economical as commercial agar and sugar cubes has been used. Multiplication rate is very high in vitro reported so far for this plant species. This standard protocol of mass propagation of M. oblongifolia eliminates the dependence on natural stands for seed production and will also serve for conservation of this threatened species.

 Key words: Acclimatization, ex vitro rooting, in vitro, micropropagation, Maerua oblongifolia, soilrite


Presented during Session 14: Decision Making II, moderated by Brian Ferne, at the 9th International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets (ICMPA9) in Alexandria, VA