OBJECTIVE
To identify specific comorbid factors that are present in US decedents with ARDS.

DESIGN
We searched the 1993 National Mortality Followback Study for all decedents who had a code for ARDS mentioned on their death certificate. We also searched for comorbid conditions both on the death certificates (sepsis, medical or surgical misadventures, cirrhosis) and in the study database (current or former smoking, use of alcohol at least 3 d/wk, race, gender, and age). We calculated proportional mortality ratios (PMRs) for these risk factors.

RESULTS
Of the 19,003 decedents for whom data were available, 252 decedents, representing an estimated 19,460 US decedents, had ARDS listed on their death certificate. PMRs among decedents with ARDS were significantly increased for medical or surgical misadventures (PMR, 11.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.8 to 36.7), sepsis (PMR, 5.6; 95% CI, 2.0 to 16.0), nonwhite race (PMR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.4 to 5.0), and cirrhosis (PMR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.1 to 4.6). PMRs were increased but not statistically significant for current smokers (PMR, 1.2; 95% CI, 0.5 to 3.0) or former smokers (PMR, 1.8; 95% CI, 0.7 to 4.3) compared to never smokers, and drinking alcohol on > or = 3 d/wk in the year prior to death, when compared to drinking alcohol less than < 3 d/wk (PMR, 1.8; 95% CI, 0.6 to 4.9).

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study confirm the positive associations between ARDS mortality and the presence of sepsis and cirrhosis, and suggest possible new relationships between ARDS mortality and nonwhite individuals and patients with medical or surgical misadventures.


A general analytical model that describes both drained and undrained, anisotropic, elastoplastic, path-dependent stress-strain-strength properties of inviscid saturated soils is presented. For any loading (or unloading) history, the instantaneous configuration of the field of yield surfaces is determined by calculating the translation and contraction (or expansion) of each yield surface during successive changes in load. The material behavior can thus be determined for complex, and, in particular, for cyclic loading paths. The inverse stress-strain relations always exist and are uniquely defined if and only if the yield surfaces do not overlap. In order to avoid such overlappings, a new isotropic/kinematic hardening rule is introduced which couples the simultaneous translation of consecutive surfaces. The isotropic/kinematic hardening of the outer surfaces is thus made compatible with any isotropic/kinematic hardening rule assumed for the inner surfaces.


An inverse artificial neural network (ANN) assessment for locating defects in bars with or without notches is presented in the paper. Postulated void defects of 1mm x 1mm were introduced into bars that were impacted with an impulse step load; the resultant elastic waves propagate impinging on the defects. The resultant transient strain field was analyzed using the finite element method. Transient strain data was collected at nodal points or sensors locations on the boundary of the bars and used to train and assess ANNs. The paper demonstrates quantitatively, the effects of features such as the design of ANN, sensing parameters such as number of data collection points, and the effect of geometric features such as notches in the bars.


In recent years, many technological interventions have surfaced, such as virtual worlds, games, and digital labs, that aspire to link young people's interest in media technology and social networks to learning about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas. Despite the tremendous interest surrounding young people and STEM education, the role of school libraries in these initiatives is rarely examined. In this article, we outline a sociocultural approach to explore how school library programs can play a critical role in STEM education and articulate the need for research that examines the contributions of school libraries as potential hybrid spaces for STEM learning. We propose that school library programs become active participants in STEM learning through the specific roles that school librarians currently play in schools, such as information specialist, instructional partner, and technology ally. We also highlight how these roles can be tailored toward helping young people develop STEM identities.


OBJECT
Aneurysm clip reliability after long-term implantation in vivo has not been examined. In this study the authors evaluated the mechanical properties and surface elemental composition of Co-Cr alloy aneurysm clips implanted for more than 10 years in patients with cerebral aneurysms.

METHODS
Five aneurysm clips implanted for ruptured or unruptured intracranial aneurysms were retrieved and examined. New aneurysm clips were applied to the regrown aneurysms. The implantation period ranged from 11 to 20 years. Four new and unused aneurysm clips were also examined as controls. The mechanical properties of the clips were tested by measuring their closing force and bending strength. The surface elemental composition of the aneurysm clips was evaluated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The closing force of the retrieved clips exceeded the minimum force requirement at the time of manufacture. The bending strength was similar between the retrieved and control clips. Chromium oxide was the predominant constituent on the surface of all clips, and its concentration on the retrieved clips was higher than that on the control clips.

CONCLUSIONS
Data in the present study demonstrated that Co-Cr alloy aneurysm clips retain their mechanical properties in vivo for a long time, which indicates the reliability of these clips.


Research on social networks has grown exponentially in recent years. However, despite its relevance, the field of psychology has been relatively slow to explain the underlying goal pursuit and resistance processes influencing social networks in the first place. In this vein, this article aims to demonstrate how a dynamic network theory perspective explains the way in which social networks influence these processes and related outcomes, such as goal achievement, performance, learning, and emotional contagion at the interpersonal level of analysis. The theory integrates goal pursuit, motivation, and conflict conceptualizations from psychology with social network concepts from sociology and organizational science to provide a taxonomy of social network role behaviors, such as goal striving, system supporting, goal preventing, system negating, and observing. This theoretical perspective provides psychologists with new tools to map social networks (e.g., dynamic network charts), which can help inform the development of change interventions. Implications for social, industrial-organizational, and counseling psychology as well as conflict resolution are discussed, and new opportunities for research are highlighted, such as those related to dynamic network intelligence (also known as cognitive accuracy), levels of analysis, methodological/ethical issues, and the need to theoretically broaden the study of social networking and social media behavior.


No scientific data is available on emerging contaminants like brominated flame retardant (BFRs) including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polybrominated biphenyl (BB 153) levels in the abiotic environment of Fiji Islands. Concentrations of PBDEs and BB 153 were determined in soil and sediment from various land-use types from Fiji Islands. Generally, total concentrations of PBDEs and BB 153 was <10 ng g -1 dwt, indicative of a relatively "low contaminated" environment. Total PBDE and BB 153 concentrations ranged from 300 - 2700 pg g -1 dwt and 0.1 -14 pg g -1 dwt, respectively. Noticeably, BDE 209 and 47 were typically the dominating congeners (up to 75% and 35% contribution to sum BDE, respectively). Comparatively higher levels of PBDE 209 and PBDE 47 were found near open dump sites within the vicinity of urban and industrial land-use areas. The presence of BB 153 in all soil and sediment samples and its correlation to BDEs in soil samples may indicate sources from some local anthropogenic activity.


Not all important network properties need to be enforced all the time. Often, what matters instead is the fraction of time / probability these properties hold. Computing the probability of a property in a network relying on complex inter-dependent routing protocols is challenging and requires determining all failure scenarios for which the property is violated. Doing so at scale and accurately goes beyond the capabilities of current network analyzers. In this paper, we introduce NetDice, the first scalable and accurate probabilistic network configuration analyzer supporting BGP, OSPF, ECMP, and static routes. Our key contribution is an inference algorithm to efficiently explore the space of failure scenarios. More specifically, given a network configuration and a property φ, our algorithm automatically identifies a set of links whose failure is provably guaranteed not to change whether φ holds. By pruning these failure scenarios, NetDice manages to accurately approximate P(φ). NetDice supports practical properties and expressive failure models including correlated link failures. We implement NetDice and evaluate it on realistic configurations. NetDice is practical: it can precisely verify probabilistic properties in few minutes, even in large networks.


Objective: To revealed the effect of beetroot juice onan expansionof Hb levelon adolescent girls andto evaluate the association between Hb levelwith a selected demographic variable. Method:It is a true experimental study withanevaluative approach that was adopted and the study was based on the conceptual framework of J. W. Kenny's Open System Model. The sample of 46 GNM students was divided into 23 in each experimental and control group. Data collected by using socio-demographic variable and nutritional status of them. The tool was validated by verifying it with a different expert from professionals of medical science, nursing science, and statistician. Result:In the present study among the total sample of both experimental and control group majority of girls that are 41 (89.13%) wasthe age of 17-19 years, 29 girls (63.04%) were from the Hindu religion. Majority of the girls that was 27 (58.69%) had family income between 12.5 lakh, 29 girls (63.05%) had BMI between 18.5-24.9, most of the girls, 27 came from a joint family that is 58.70%, among them, 23(50%) had regular Menstrual cycle of 28-30 days. Most of the girls, 22(47.82%) of the duration of Menstruation is 3-5 days/month. Among them, 19 girls (41.31%) had normal menstrual bleeding Parten and 30 girls (65.22%) were non-vegetarian. In the pre-test it shows that girls ofthe Experimental group were 13(56.53%) normal, 7(30.43%) mild anemia, 3 (13.04%) of them are in moderate anemia. In the control group, 10(43.48%) were normal, 7(30.43%) were in mild anemia, 6 (26.09%) of them were in moderate anemia. After the intervention in the Post-test level of hemoglobin in young ladies of the Interventional group was 17(73.92%) were in normal, 4(17.39%) were in mild anemia, 2(8.69%) were in moderate anemia. In control group 10(43.48%) girls were in normal, 8(34.79%) were in mild anemia, 5(21.73%) were in moderate anemia. In the pretest, the degree of hemoglobin among girls in the Interventional group was Mean 9.68 and European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine ISSN 2515-8260 Volume 7, Issue 11, 2020 4975 SD 2.54 and in post-test mean score was 11.20 and SD 0.56. the mean difference among preand post-test was 1.97. The paired "t" value was 9.67 which was high than the tabulated value. There was an association between the level of Hb with BMI, Menstrual cycle, duration of bleeding, and type of diet as the tabulated value which is 5.991 at P value less than 0.05. Thus, there was no noteworthy relationship among the level of hemoglobin with the socio-demographic variables such as Religion, family income, and amount of bleeding at P<0.05. Conclusion: The researcher concluded that Beetroot juice can help to increase the Hb level effectively.


Many researchers, academics or philosophers see capital punishment as a deterrent to crime. Several states in the United States apply the death penalty to try to reduce crime. Other states do not agree with the application of this repressive law arguing that a crime should not be solved with another crime. From a theoretical view, the principal point of analysis about capital punishment in this present work is to state that capital punishment can reduce crime. Here also it will be examined some of the collateral consequences of the application of capital punishment, and its implications for the Criminal Justice System. I will compare the benefits and the costs of the application of capital punishment. Although the application of this law has its collateral consequences that can affect innocent individuals, juveniles, insane, or minorities, it is important to consider that this law can prevent criminal acts if used to penalize convicted murderers.


The natural language processing subfield known as sentiment analysis or opinion mining has seen an explosive expansion over the last decade or so, and sentiment analysis has become a standard item in the NLP toolbox. Still, many theoretical and methodological questions remain unanswered and resource gaps unfilled. Most work on automated sentiment analysis has been done on English and a few other languages; for most written languages of the world, this tool is not available. This paper describes the development of an extensive sentiment lexicon for written (standard) Swedish. We investigate different methods for developing a sentiment lexicon for Swedish. We use an existing gold standard dataset for training and testing. For each word sense from the SALDO Swedish lexicon, we assign a real value sentiment score in the range [-1,1] and produce a sentiment label. We implement and evaluate three methods: a graph-based method that iterates over the SALDO structure, a method based on random paths over the SALDO structure and a corpus-driven method based on word embeddings. The resulting sense-disambiguated sentiment lexicon (SenSALDO) is an open source resource and freely available from Språkbanken, The Swedish Language Bank at the University of Gothenburg.


This study aims to analyze the housing satisfaction of 55 years and older (55+) single-person householders in U.S. urban communities with the 2011 American Housing Survey Data. Single-person householders younger than 55 years of age (55-) were used as a reference group. Housing Adjustment Theory was used to develop a research framework to depict the relationships of housing satisfaction (dependent variable) with demographic and housing variables (independent variables). The regression analysis revealed that age, health status, government income, race, gender, age of house, housing quality, neighborhood, structure type, and tenure status had a significant effect on housing satisfaction levels of both those aged 55- and 55+. However, for the cohort of 55+, education, census region, housing affordability, and structure size also affected their housing satisfaction. Neighborhood satisfaction had the strongest effect on housing satisfaction of both groups. These variables were discussed in terms of resources and constraints contributing to their housing satisfaction. This study highlights the present and future housing trends and challenges of U.S. single householders in U.S. urban communities.


The most commonly practiced MSICS techniques are Blumenthal, visco-expression, irrigating wire vectis and fish hook needle. These techniques require a 7 to 9 mm large incision, which leads to more astigmatism. Intratunnel phaco fracture is a new technique innovated by us, where the lens nucleus is broken inside the sub 6 mm sclerocorneal tunnel. We are going to demonstrate this technique in this article.


Network-on-chip (NoC) designs have emerged as a replacement for traditional shared-bus designs for on-chip communication. As with all current very large scale integration designs, however, reducing power consumption in NoCs is a critical challenge. One approach to reduce power consumption is to dynamically scale the voltage and frequency of each network node or groups of nodes (DVFS). Another approach is to replace the balanced clock tree with a globally-asynchronous, locally-synchronous (GALS) clocking scheme. In both DVFS and GALS designs, the chip as a whole is multi-synchronous. As the NoCs interconnecting those nodes must communicate across these clock domain boundaries, they tend to have high latencies as packets must be synchronized at the intermediate nodes. In this paper, we propose a novel router microarchitecture which offers superior performance with respect to typical synchronizing router designs for multi-synchronous networks. Our approach features asynchronous bypass channels which allow flit traversal of intermediate nodes within the network without the latching or synchronization overheads of typical designs. We also propose a new network topology and routing algorithm that leverage the advantages of the bypass channel offered by our router design. We present a detailed analysis of design decisions which affect the performance of the asynchronous bypass channel network. Our experiments show that our design improves the performance of a conventional synchronizing design with similar resources by up to 26% at low loads and increases saturation throughput by up to 50% for a uniform random traffic.


This study seeks to explore the problems of genetics learning and to identify possible ways forward. The work was carried out at junior high school level in Taiwan.

Genetics is often thought of as a subject or a topic in biology that is difficult to learn and understand, especially for novices. A review of literature on learning difficulties in genetics is provided to explore the nature of the difficulties, with likely explanations for the difficulties observed.

Undoubtedly, many would acknowledge that genetics is an important subject to learn in these days and age where its applications are ubiquitous and even the cause of many debates. However, due to the nature of the subject matter and the way learning processes occur and, possibly, the way it is being taught, the understanding of genetics ideas of the majority of students is thought to be very poor and full of confusions and alternative views.

Thus, the overall aim of this study is to explore learning difficulties and problems in genetics and then to develop and test ways by which the situation might be improved. The research for this thesis was carried out in three stages.

In the first stage, the adolescent learners' preconceptions about genetics were explored before they move to the formal course. The result indicated that the essential foundational concepts, such as structure and function of cells and its organelles, cell divisions (mitosis and meiosis), reproduction, and basic mathematical requirements and the concept of probability, are generally vague and misconceptions are widespread.

In the second stage, factors that might affect the learning of genetics for adolescent learners were investigated. The factors were prior knowledge related to genetics and the effects of the limitation of learners' psychological characteristics (namely, perceptual fields or the degree of field dependence and the working memory space). Results showed that students' performance in genetics examination revealed a significant correlation with their prior knowledge, the working memory capacity and the degree of field dependence.

Based on the findings from the first and second stage of the research, a set of teaching material of genetics course for the first year of junior high school students was developed in the third stage. The teaching material was deliberately constructed not only to minimise demands on the working memory, but also to encourage attitude development. The performance of students was found to be significantly better than for those who had been taught by the traditional approaches. Numerous comparisons of attitudes between the two groups revealed that attitudes of social awareness as well as attitudes towards aspects of the learning processes involved were more positive for those who had used the new materials

It should be pointed out that all conclusions derived from this study must be treated tentatively. Inevitably, any new approach will have a novelty factor which may enhance performance. Nonetheless, the evidence taken together does support the hypothesis that learning arranged in line with information processing insights is more effective. In addition, the strategies used were designed in line with understandings of the ways attitudes develop and the effectiveness of these approaches has been demonstrated. Overall, the study has highlighted several problems and, on the basis of the evidence obtained, suggests possible ways forward for a better approach to genetics learning.


Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract: On the fully Variable Light Speed (VSL) universe derived by alliance of Mach inertia principle and Planck's quantized natural units and generalized Minkowski metric, it is extracted the fundamental equation of variable light speed called here Alpha Genesis Prime. Then the fundamental gravity is defined as a vector to justify the light speed variation accordingly. Gravitational vector via a tangential component does set the light speed to be matched with the Alpha Genesis Prime and according to the Pythagorean Theorem; it has also a component normalized to the light velocity. Interestingly by the gravity divided to the tangent and normal components relative to the light velocity we argue the Snell's law of the light refraction and we find that dependency of the refractive index to the volume density is not fundamental but fundamentally the refractive index follows gravitational potential in bound quantum systems. The gravity is enhanced in bound quantum systems extended from Femto-scale (Nucleuses and strong nuclear force), Micro-gravity (fundamental rainbow's gravity), the galaxies and clusters as the large scale bound quantum systems, up to the observable universe which the variable gravitational G is Newtonian (constant G in short cosmic time). The refraction of the light is sourced potentially by Rainbow's gravity in bound quantum systems which the potential integration domain is limited to the wavelength of the photons. Quantum mechanically the photons are force carrier in the range of their wavelength to enhance gravitational G inasmuch as large that atoms to bend the photons similar to the enhanced gravity in the nucleuses in the range of hadron wavelengths. In fact reestablish of the Newtonian mechanics yields to the fundamental gravity which is identical with the refraction of the light and we find that the mechanical potential of the light's refraction is the gravity.


Fundamental understanding of microphase separation in ABC miktoarm copolymers is vital to access a plethora of nonconventional morphologies. Miktoarm stars based on poly(cis 1,4-isoprene) (I), poly(styrene) (S), and poly(2-vinylpyridine) (V) are model systems, which allow systematic studies of the effects of composition, chemical microstructure, and temperature on the thermodynamics of microphase separation. Eleven ISV-x (I:S:V = 1:1:x, v:v:v) miktoarm copolymers were synthesized by anionic polymerization affording well-defined copolymers with a variable V arm. Equilibrium bulk morphologies of all samples, as evidenced by smallangle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and self-consistent field theory, showed a systematic transition from lamellae (x ≈ 0–0.2) to [8.8.4] tiling (x ≈ 0.6–0.9) to cylinders in undulating lamellae (x ≈ 2–4) and, finally, to hexagonally packed core–shell cylinders (x ≈ 5–8). Chemical microstructure of the I arm [poly(cis 1,4-isoprene)] versus poly(3,4-isoprene) is shown to play important role in affecting morphological behavior. To reconcile differences between ISV-x star morphologies reported in the literature and those reported herein, even for the same composition, effects of the microstructure of I arm on the Flory–Huggins parameter between I and V arms were taken into account in a qualitative manner. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018


Clinical and pathologic variables of Salmonella typhisuis infections were studied in weanling pigs. The influence of daily feeding of low concentrations of chlortetracycline, penicillin, and sulfamethazine on S typhisuis infection also was determined. Ten pigs (group 1) given feed containing low concentrations of chlortetracycline, penicillin, and sulfamethazine when orally inoculated with S typhisuis became pyretic, developed a mild neutrophilia, and had increased serum agglutinating antibody titers, but were clinically normal. Lesions were not present, and S typhisuis was not isolated from 2 group-1 pigs that were killed and necropsied on postinoculation day 8. Then, the antimicrobial agents were withdrawn from the feed of the remaining 8 pigs for 6 days. The pigs were reinoculated with S typhisuis on postinoculation day 16 and developed mild clinical disease with sustained high rectal temperatures. Severe necrotizing typhlocolitis and ulcerative proctitis were found at necropsy in all 8 of the pigs. Similar findings were induced in 7 additional pigs (group 2) that were concurrently inoculated with S typhisuis, but that had no previous exposure to S typhisuis. Successful isolation of S typhisuis required special care and media.


Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were dispersed in an aqueous solution containing water-soluble poly(ethylenimine), and used to prepare MWCNTs modified glassy carbon electrode (GC/MWCNTs). A scanning electron microscopy was employed for characterizing the surface morphology of the modified electrode. The electrochemical behaviors of coenzyme (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, NADH) on GC/MWCNTs were studied by both cyclic voltammetry and amperometry, and it is found clearly that the high overpotential for the direct oxidation of NADH on bare GC electrode was largely decreased in the presence of MWCNTs. The GC/MWCNTs electrode exhibited excellent properties as a platform for the construction of electrochemical biosensors based on NAD-dependent dehydrogenases, and an alcohol biosensor was successfully developed by immobilizing alcohol dehydrogenase on GC/MWCNTs.


Provider-sponsored organizations say they keep third party players from meddling in the doctor-patient relationship. While their viability is uncertain, their focus on quality is raising the competitive stakes.


Mobile Encounters presents a selection of ephemera and artworks documenting the early years of performance art in Ireland.

The exhibition is curated in partnership between the National Irish Visual Arts Library (NIVAL) and IMMA. NIVAL is a public research resource that holds the world's largest collection of documentary information on Irish 20th and 21st century art. An important objective of IMMA's newly established Project Spaces is to consider how a museum engages with its collection, artists, curators and visitors.

Drawing on both national collections, the exhibition traces the people, organisations and events that contributed to shaping a culture of 'mobile encounters' for performance art from the early 1970s to the late 1990s.

The task of documenting an inherently impermanent artform such as performance raises critical questions about how recordings of 'live action' are invariably mediated. The residual traces presented in this exhibition are as much a visual and documentary record of what happened as an indicator of the gaps in collecting–they signpost what is not known about the history of performance art in Ireland and lead us to consider why.

Mobile Encounters presents a selection of videos digitised from NIVAL's Audiovisual Collection and ephemera from NIVAL's Artist, Gallery and Subject files. A selection of posters documenting twenty five years of activity at various art centres in Ireland and abroad are presented alongside works from IMMA's collection.


Exercise confers metabolic benefits to both normal weight and overweight populations. Responses of the metabolome to acute aerobic exercise may predict cardiovascular fitness and longer-term outcomes, including the development of diabetes and its complications. We applied an LC-MS based untargeted metabolomics platform to evaluate the effect of acute exercise on the serum metabolome of overweight trained (OWT, n = 11, HOMA-IR 1.6 ± 0.1) and normal weight trained (NWT, n = 14, HOMA-IR, 0.9 ± 0.2, p < 0.01) runners. Trained individuals were studied to limit the effects of a deconditioned acute stress response. While NWT and OWT metabolic profiles shared increased circulating acylcarnitines and free fatty acids (FFAs) with exercise, intermediates of adenine metabolism, inosine and hypoxanthine, were strongly correlated with body fat percentage (R = 0.67) and VO2max (R = 0.70) . Untargeted metabolomics-guided follow-up quantitative lipidomic analysis revealed that, as expected, baseline levels of fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs) were generally diminished in the OWT group. FAHFAs negatively correlated with visceral fat mass and HOMA-IR. Strikingly, a 4-fold decrease in FAHFAs was provoked by acute aerobic running in NWT, an effect that negatively correlated with circulating IL-6 (R ≤ -0.7) . These effects of exercise were not observed in the OWT group. Machine learning models based on a profile including FAHFAs, FFAs, and adenine intermediates predicted 53% of the variation in cardiovascular fitness. Taken together, these findings in relatively insulin resistant overweight human participants and healthy controls have implications for metabolic crosstalk between adipose tissue and skeletal muscle and support the notion that FAHFAs could modulate the inflammatory response, fuel utilization, and insulin resistance.

 A.B.Nelson: None. L.S.Chow: Other Relationship; Dexcom, Inc. C.C.Hughey: None. C.Myers: None. X.Han: None. P.A.Crawford: Advisory Panel; Abbott Diabetes, Johnson & Johnson Global Services. P.Puchalska: None.

 NIH (DK091538, AG069781, DK098203, TR000114, UL1TR002494)


Abstract Evidence on the effectiveness of foreign exchange (FX) interventions is either limited to short horizons or hampered by debatable identification. We address these limitations by identifying a structural vector autoregressive model for the daily frequency with an external instrument. Generally we find, for freely floating currencies, that FX intervention shocks significantly affect exchange rates and that this impact persists for months. The signaling channel dominates the portfolio channel. Moreover, interest rates tend to fall in response to sales of the domestic currency, whereas stock prices of large (exporting) firms increase after devaluation of the domestic currency.


A novel thermoplastic composite preforming process has been developed. This thermoplastic programmable powdered preforming process (TP-P4) uses commingled glass and polypropylene yarns, which are chopped to a desired length and deposited onto a vacuum screen. The as-placed fibers are then heat-set for improved handling, before potential preconsolidation, and final conversion with preheating and press forming. This work investigated the effect of using either a double belt lamination preconsolidation stage or using an improved heat-setting stage. Polymer degradation was examined using gel permeation chromatography analysis, and the void content evolution tracked using image analysis techniques from the heat setting stage until the final part. It was shown that without preconsolidation, preforms prepared for a 2 mm thick final pressed part could be compression molded into a substantially void free, non degraded part. By using the lamination route, this limit could be increased to 4 mm, but without allowing local thickness changes in the preform. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers


We report the discovery of eight new giant planets, and updated orbits for four known planets, orbiting dwarf and subgiant stars using the CORALIE, HARPS, and MIKE instruments as part of the Calan–Hertfordshire Extrasolar Planet Search. The planets have masses in the range 1.1–5.4 M J 's, orbital periods from 40 to 2900 d, and eccentricities from 0.0 to 0.6. They include a double-planet system orbiting the most massive star in our sample (HD147873), two eccentric giant planets (HD128356 b and HD154672 b ), and a rare 14 Herculis analogue (HD224538 b ). We highlight some population correlations from the sample of radial velocity detected planets orbiting nearby stars, including the mass function exponential distribution, confirmation of the growing body of evidence that low-mass planets tend to be found orbiting more metal-poor stars than giant planets, and a possible period–metallicity correlation for planets with masses >0.1 M J , based on a metallicity difference of 0.16 dex between the population of planets with orbital periods less than 100 d and those with orbital periods greater than 100 d.


There are many places on the internet where FREE legal information can be found. However, it is critical to know that the sites you visit are well-researched and adhere to high standards of quality. The sites included here are among the best.


The effect of the conventional Cherenkov instability on the cyclotron-Cherenkov maser is investigated for the case of a relativistic electron beam propagating along a background magnetic field in a dielectric using particle simulations. Both Cherenkov and cyclotron-Cherenkov instabilities are excited when the phase velocity of light in the dielectric is less than the beam velocity. It is demonstrated in the high-power regime, where the cyclotron-Cherenkov mode has the higher growth rate, that the Cherenkov mode has little effect on the nonlinear efficiency of the cyclotron-Cherenkov mode. High-efficiency is possible, confirming previous predictions based on single mode calculations. The effect of beam momentum spread is studied. >


Gentamicin is extensively used in the treatment of severe Gram-negative bacterial infections. A loading dose of 7 mg/kg is recommended to achieve a maximum concentration (C(max)) above 16 mg/L. We studied gentamicin pharmacokinetic data from patients treated between January 2006 and June 2008 in two intensive-care units. The Sawchuk and Zaske one-compartment pharmacokinetic model was used to estimate the gentamicin volume of distribution (the 32 patients had a median age of 68 years (23 men)). The median volume of distibution (V(d)) per kilogram of body weight (V(d)/kg) was 0.41 L/kg (interquartile range of 0.36-0.46 L/kg), with no correlations with age, Charlson comorbidity score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score and creatinine serum level (r(2) = 0.016, 0.058, 0.037, and 0.067, respectively). Women had a significantly higher median V(d)/kg (0.50 vs. 0.40 L/kg, p 0.002) and lower C(max) (15.2 vs. 18.5 mg/L, p 0.016), despite similar dose/kg. In a logistic regression model, only sex (female: OR 0.032; 95% CI 0.03-0.387) and dose/kg (per mg/kg: OR 3.21; 95% CI 1.17-8.79) were significantly associated with the achievement of C(max) above 16 mg/L. Gentamicin clearance was 57 mL/min (interquartile range of 44.7-78 mL/min) and decreased with age (r(2) = 0.178, p 0.016), SOFA score (r(2) = 0.199, p 0.011) and creatinine clearance (r(2) = 0.258, p 0.003). Gentamicin V(d) was increased in critically ill patients, particularly in women. Therefore, high gentamicin loading doses should be given to all patients, especially women, independently of organ failure. Gentamicin clearance decreases with age, SOFA score, and renal failure.


The regions of the Russian North occupy 70 % of the territory of the country. These areas considerably differ in the level of socio-economic development. Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (KhMAO) — Yugra is the most developed industrial region of the Russian North. KhMAO is also the main supplier of oil and gas resources. Thus, KhMAO is the focus of the research. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate how the traditional natural resource management transforms on the developing territories and to assess its impact on the lifehoods of the Small Indigenous Peoples of the North (SIPN). The study is based on the hypothesis of the negative impact of industrial development on the territory of the traditional residence of SIPN and, accordingly, on their social and economic development and the quality of life. We have found certain intraregional distinctions of this territorial subject of the Federation. These differences are caused by the features of natural and resource potential, transport security and geographical location. It is true for both the separate municipal entities and larger territorial and administrative sub-regions. We have identified the most acute problems in the development of traditional natural resource management on the territories of active industrial and transport development. The main industries there are reindeer breeding and fishery. We also identified the problem of the northern legislation set up to protect the rights of SIPN. The paper considers the evolutionary changes in the formation of the institution of ancestral domains and the territories of traditional natural resource management, as well as the practice of coordinating the interests of subsoil users and SIPN's representatives with the help of economic agreements. We have demonstrated the problem associated with the difficulties of social adaptation of SIPN. We have analyzed the ecological situation and current state of traditional environmental management to compare the conditions of municipal entities of the region. Using ethnic social and ecosystem approach, we have evaluated the lifehoods of SIPN in the developed and poorly developed regions of KhMAO. The results of the assessment support the hypothesis of the research. The findings of the research can be used when working out on the roadmap of the development of traditional industries and SIPN in the municipal districts of various development level.


We extend an approach to component allocation on heterogeneous embedded systems using Coloured Petri Nets (CPNs). We improve the CPN model for the embedded systems and outline a technique that exploits CPN Tools, a well-known CPN tool, to efficiently analyze embedded system's state space and find optimal allocations. The approach is model-based and represents an advancement towards a model-driven engineering view of the component allocation problem. We incorporate communication costs between components by extending the CPN formalism with a non-trivial technique to analyze the generated state space. We also suggest a technique to improve the state space generation time by using the branching options supported in CPN Tools. In the evaluation, we demonstrate that this technique significantly cuts down the size of the generated state space and thereby reduces the runtime of state space generation and thus the time to find an optimal allocation.


We present the results of an investigation into the use of a probabilistic neural network (PNN) based methodology to model the 48-60-h ICG50 (inhibitory concentration for population growth) sublethal toxicity to the ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis . The information fed into the neural network is solely based on simple molecular descriptors as can be derived from the chemical structure. In contrast to most other toxicological models, the octanol/water partition coefficient is not used as an input parameter and no rules of thumb, or other substance selection-criteria, are involved. The model was trained on a 1,000 substances data set and validated using an 84 substances external test set. The associated analysis of errors confirms the excellent recognitive and predictive capabilities of the model.


This paper presents a new method for real-time SLAM calculation applied to autonomous robot navigation in large-scale environments without restrictions. It is exclusively based on the visual information provided by a cheap wide-angle stereo camera. Our approach divide the global map into local sub-maps identified by the so-called SIFT fingerprint. At the sub-map level (low level SLAM), 3D sequential mapping of natural land-marks and the robot location/orientation are obtained using a top-down Bayesian method to model the dynamic behavior. A high abstraction level to reduce the global accumulated drift, keeping real-time constraints, has been added (high level SLAM). This uses a correction method based on the SIFT fingerprints taking for each sub-map. A comparison of the low SLAM level using our method and SIFT features has been carried out. Some experimental results using a real large environment are presented.


We describe a method of morphometric characterisation of landform from digital elevation models (DEMs). The method is implemented first by classifying every location into morphometric classes based on the mathematical shape of a locally fitted quadratic surface and its positional relationship with the analysis window. Single‐scale fuzzy terrain indices of peakness, pitness, passness, ridgeness, and valleyness are then calculated based on the distance of the analysis location from the ideal cases. These can then be combined into multi‐scale terrain indices to summarise terrain information across different operational scales. The algorithm has four characteristics: (1) the ideal cases of different geomorphometric features are simply and clearly defined; (2) the output is spatially continuous to reflect the inherent fuzziness of geomorphometric features; (3) the output is easily combined into a multi‐scale index across a range of operational scales; and (4) the standard general morphometric parameters are quantified as the first and second order derivatives of the quadratic surface. An additional benefit of the quadratic surface is the derivation of the R 2 goodness of fit statistic, which allows an assessment of both the reliability of the results and the complexity of the terrain. An application of the method using a test DEM indicates that the single‐ and multi‐scale terrain indices perform well when characterising the different geomorphometric features.


Recent research has clearly demonstrated that economic development is closely related to environmental quality. In last two decades this relationship has been described by the Environmental Kuznets Curves that postulates an inverted U-shaped relationship between pollution and income. However, while theoretical and empirical research has focused on the polluting effects of economic development, few have identified the policy instruments which can be introduced to counteract such negative effects. This paper concentrates on one of these instruments and examines how environmental taxation is related to economic development. The introduction of environmental taxes usually requires strong regulation capabilities such as effective monitoring and enforcement. We assume that these capabilities reflect the integrity of the institution of rule of law and examine how the strength of rule of law affects the environmental taxation-income path. Data from 28 European countries analysed confirm the existence of an inverse U-shaped relationship between environmental taxation and per capita income. The empirical results clearly demonstrate that the environmental taxation-income relationship is strongly influenced by the rule of law which, when strong, ensures that environmental policies are implemented effectively. A strong rule of law thus contributes to achieving a turning point at lower levels of per capita income. Our analysis also made it possible to identify differences in environmental taxation-income paths among European countries, showing that post-transition economies may have not yet reached the turning point of the curve due to the presence of a weaker rule of law.


BACKGROUND: Significant progress has been made in clinical small bowel transplantation over the last decade mainly due advances in biotechnology and new immunosuppressive regiments. This transplantation has now been indicated to treat special cases of intestinal failure. AIM: This review highlights recent developments in the area of small bowel transplantation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Over 600 reports on clinical and experimental small bowel transplantation were reviewed. Aspects concerning research development, different immunosuppressive strategies, patient and graft monitoring, and improvements in surgical techniques are discussed. RESULTS: About 700 small bowel transplantation were performed in 55 transplant centers, 44% intestine-liver, 41% isolated intestinal graft and 15% multivisceral transplantation. Rejection and infection are the main limitation of this procedure. Actual 5 years post transplantation graft survival of the total international experience is 46% for isolated intestinal graft, 43% for combined intestine-liver and nearly 30% for multivisceral transplantation. Higher graft and patient survival are seen at the more experienced centers. In a series of 165 intestinal transplantation at University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA, actuarial patient survival was reported to be over 75% at one year, 54% at 5 years and 42% at 10 years. Over 90% patients from Pittsburgh program resume an unrestricted oral diet. CONCLUSION: Small bowel transplantation has advanced from an experimental strategy to a feasible alternative for patients with permanent intestinal failure. Further refinements in graft acceptance, immunosuppressive regiments, infection management and prophylaxis, surgical techniques as well as appropriated patient referral and selection are crucial to improve outcomes.


We examined the effects of diltiazem on transmural myocardial blood in the presence of a flow-limiting stenosis and during acute total coronary artery occlusion in awake, chronically instrumented dogs. Regional myocardial perfusion was estimated with left atrial injections of 15-u-diameter radionuclidelabeled microspheres. An electromagnetic flowmeter probe and hydraulic occluder were used to monitor blood flow and produce total and subtotal occlusions of the left circumflex coronary artery. A 10-second total arterial occlusion produced intense coronary vasodilation and a pronounced reactive hyperemic response. When a proximal coronary stenosis prevented reactive hyperemia, ischemic coronary vasodilation after a 10-second arterial occlusion caused transmural redistribution of blood flow toward the subepicardium, resulting in subendocardial underperfusion despite a normal net volume of arterial flow. Although diltiazem did not increase coronary collateral flow during acute arterial occlusion, it did blunt the vasodilation that occurred in response to a 10-second total coronary occlusion, and partially corrected the subendocardial underperfusion that occurred with a proximal flow-limiting coronary stenosis.


This thesis explores the work and critical thought of Oscar Wilde from the perspective of postmodernism, and presents the argument that Wilde's thinking can be read as strikingly similar to various postmodern approaches. It positions Wilde as a 'proto-postmodernist': not as a forerunner of postmodernism, nor a full postmodernist, but rather someone who employs ideas and practices that would now commonly be regarded as postmodern, but who had those ideas and engaged in those practices before postmodernism arrived on the scene. The thesis is divided into three parts, each of which groups similar theoretical fields in a discussion of similarities (and, sometimes, differences) between Wilde and postmodernism. In part one, the discussion moves from a basic look at binaries, though deconstruction, to a discussion of truth and falsehood in postmodernism. In part two, there is a discussion on simulacra, hyperreality, and postmodern ideas on surface and depth. Finally, the third part discusses the disappearance of a naturally delineated field of expertise by discussing intertextuality, word and music studies, moving finally to ekphrasis and postmodern theories on the photograph.


Students with high incidence disabilities in the public school system often perform multiple grade levels below their typically-developing peers in mathematics achievement. These students exhibit lower levels of on-task behavior that limits their access to effective instruction, thus requiring instructional interventions that personalize learning, differentiate materials, and ultimately promote academic engagement. In recent years, the use of technology-mediated and computer-assisted instruction has shown to have positive results with students with disabilities. Blended learning, an intervention that combines face-to-face instruction with computer-based instruction, has been shown to improve the on-task behavior and achievement of students with disabilities. In Chapter One, a systematic review of the literature was conducted in an effort to locate blended learning math studies for secondary-level students with disabilities and to assess the scientific rigor of those studies. Twelve intervention studies were synthesized and categorized in three major areas: (a) onlineand computer-based curricula for independent practice/instruction, (b) media-based interventions with video prompting, and (c) strategy instruction. Blended learning intervention studies that found positive results in math achievement and on-task behavior of students with disabilities utilized a station-rotation format. Additionally, studies that met the high standards of special education research (CEC, 2014) saw stronger gains for student math achievement. In Chapter Two, blended learning was implemented with three middle school students with emotional behavior disorders in a therapeutic setting. Using a multiple baseline across participants single case design, this study examined the relationship between blended learning mathematics instruction and student on-task behavior, teacher engagement, and mathematics achievement. Both student and teacher engagement increased with the use of station-rotation blended learning. Math achievement, measured through the AIMSweb curriculum-based math probes, improved for two of three student participants. Social validity questionnaires revealed that students and teacher enjoyed the blended learning intervention; however, continued use depended on properly functioning technology. Future research in the area of blended learning math instruction should strive to accurately measure onand off-task behavior under the computer-based condition. Additionally, researchers should develop measurements of math achievement that accurately assess the content that is taught during instruction. INDEX WORDS: Blended Learning, High-Incidence Disabilities, Alternative Education School, Mathematics Achievement, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, On-Task Behavior USING BLENDED LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS WITH HIGH INCIDENCE DISABILITIES IN AN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION SCHOOL by Zachary G. Johnson


Foliar fungicides applied at the flag leaf stage can improve wheat grain yield in Kansas, but there is limited information on the impact of earlier or combined applications of fungicide on wheat grain yield. We conducted a field study in six Kansas locations during the 2020–2021 growing season to evaluate the yield and test weight of the winter wheat variety WB-Grainfield in response to different fungicide application timings. The trial was conducted in a randomized complete block design with four replications to evaluate (1) a non-treated control; Topguard applied at 5 ounces per acre at (2) jointing, (3) heading; and (4) jointing plus heading. The study was conducted in two locations with contrasting soil textures near Ashland Bottoms, in two locations with different previous crops resulting in optimumand late-sowing dates near Belleville, in one location near Hutchinson, and another near Manhattan. Statistical analysis indicated that for both grain yield and grain test weight, there were significant fungicide timing by location interactions, suggesting that the response to fungicide was location-specific. Grain yield ranged from 28 bushels per acre in the no fungicide treatment in Manhattan to 109.9 bu/a with dual-fungicide in the Belleville field sown at the optimum time. Depending on environment, the increase in yield due to the fungicide application as compared to the untreated control ranged from 0.7 to 8.0 bu/a in the jointing application, from -1.8 to 19.3 bu/a in the heading application, and from -1.4 to 17.7 bu/a in the dual application. Grain test weights ranged from 54.1 pounds per bushel without fungicide in one of the trials near Ashland Bottoms, to 62.8 lb/bu near Hutchinson with the dual fungicide application. Test weight benefits due to fungicide depended on location and ranged from -0.1 to 1.7 lb/bu in the jointing application, from -0.9 to 2.6 lb/bu in the heading application, and from -0.3 to 3.9 lb/bu in the dual application. This research is an initial step in determining the benefits of foliar fungicide timing to winter wheat yield and test weight. The results from this study suggest that benefits are substantial, however, the magnitude depended on the environmental conditions experienced during the growing season.


Spray pyrolysis (SP) method is simple and cost-effective method and is capable of depositing numerous metal oxide and composite thin films with precisely control over the chemical composition and morphology. The physico-chemical properties of the film can be controlled by adjusting the deposition parameters such as substrate temperature, concentration of precursor solution and spray rate, etc. In this paper an intensive review on spray pyrolytic deposition of CuInS2 (CIS) thin films and its use as a light absorbing layer in solar cell have been presented. Due to fascinating optoelectronic properties, the CIS thin films are mostly suited for their application in solar cells. The CIS is one of the promising alternatives material to the firstgeneration solar cells. The advantages like non-toxic elements, suitable energy band gap, high absorption coefficient make it one of the promising candidates in the photovoltaic market. Here, we review studies conducted on the deposition, structural, optical and electrical properties of spray deposited CIS thin films. The performance of spray deposited CIS absorber layer in solar cell is also discussed. In addition, some strategies towards the enhancement of quality of CIS thin-film deliberated in detail.


OBJECT
The anterior upper thoracic spine (T1-3) is difficult to access because most neurosurgeons are unfamiliar with the anatomy. This study was performed to evaluate the different surgical options by retrospectively analyzing data on operations performed for anterior upper thoracic compression at the authors' institution.

METHODS
Eighteen patients underwent surgery between November 1993 and May 2001. There were eight men and 10 women; their mean age was 55 years (range 28-80 years). All patients presented with pain and/or neurological deficits. The causes of anterior compression were diverse, although metastatic spinal tumor was most common. The approach chosen was primarily dictated by the axial involvement of the lesion. Anterior approaches, mainly the transmanubrium approach, were performed in six and posterior approaches in 12. In all cases except one, in which only an iliac bone graft was placed, instrumentation was used. The mean follow-up period was 11.4 months (range 1-57 months). One postoperative death occurred. Postoperative follow-up imaging studies, especially plain radiography, demonstrated no instrumentation failure. Improvement was shown in eight patients, an aggravation of symptoms in one, and stable clinical status in eight.

CONCLUSIONS
Decompression may be achieved on the anterior side of the upper thoracic spine if the operative approach is scrupulously chosen; this choice involves consideration of the locations of the lesion, the nature of the primary disease, and the surgery-related risk.


Consumers are increasingly more interested in the issues associated with high-quality food (organic food); consequently, the number of organic farms and commercial establishments which off er organic products with quality certifi cates is growing. Podkarpackie voivodeship, thanks to certain advantages, is a favorable place for the development of organic farming. For the needs of this research, a survey was conducted in spring 2015 among 137 inhabitants of Rzeszow and the surrounding areas who declared to be consumers of organic food. An analysis of the results provides the conclusion that organic products are very positively evaluated by the respondents, since in their opinion they have a great impact on their health, which is the main reason for purchasing them. Sales and consumption growth of organic foods can be achieved by intensive advertising using the latest methods and techniques, as well as by educating society. These activities should be particularly targeted at the inhabitants of mediumsized towns, and a convincing argument should be made to draw attention to the ingredients in organic food.


The chapter provides details of operations and activities in evaporative pattern casting (EPC) Process. The process was developed in the year 1956 to tackle some of the inadequacies of the traditional sand casting processes but has in itself some challenges that should be taken care of if sound castings would be obtained. The challenges come mainly from the evaporative pattern employed as pattern material in the process. The material makes the process to be sensitive to process variables such that proper and adequate control should be ensured to have castings of sound integrity. Some of the known process variables are pouring temperature, refractory coating, vibration and pattern and molding materials. In the whole the EPC is known to have edge over the traditional sand casting methods.


In this paper, I argue that participation in face-to-face social groups can make a crucial contribution to the inclusion of strangers into the social life of liberal democratic polities. First, I critically assess Alfred Schutz's (1964) phenomenological analysis of "The Stranger" within the context of his overall conception of the "life-world." I then argue that linguistic communication can only enable a partial integration of strangers into an alien group. This is due, I claim, to what Schutz calls the "irreversibility of inner time," i.e., the meta-structure of temporality which prevents outsiders from fully internalizing the structures of an alien life-world. Nevertheless, I conclude that strangers can join small groups and associations and, by participating in face-to-face relationships and activities, integrate into the common life of these groups. Thanks to a pre-communicative interaction with the other members of these groups, strangers can grasp those more intangible elements of the groups' cultural background which cannot be rationalized and communicated through language. Participation in the social activities of face-toface groups provides strangers with a starting point for gradually integrating into the mainstream society


Three patients with Bartter's syndrome were studied under metabolic ward conditions. Renal function and the reninangiotensin system were evaluated in three different settings: before and during captopril treatment and during administration of captopril and indomethacin. Captopril induced renal vasodilation with an increase in renal plasma flow by 23%. The addition of indomethacin abolished this change. Captopril increased the release of renin and the concentration of angiotensin II in plasma decreased without being completely normalized. Indomethacin thereafter reduced plasma concentration of renin, which was, however, still higher than the control level. The plasma concentration of angiotensin II did not change significantly. In conclusion, prostaglandin synthetase inhibition annihilated the effect of captopril on renal hemodynamics and renin release.


Background Two audits were undertaken evaluating current practice relating to corneal donation in Kingston General Hospital (KGH) and Princess Alice Hospice, Esher (PAH). Current guidance recommends 100% identification of potential donors and a 100% rate of referral. A secondary aim assessed potential missed donors. Method Fourty-one patients were identified at KGH, 38 at PAH. The KGH data comprised two sets of audit data from a complete audit cycle. Eligibility for donation was ascertained via Moorfield's Hospital Eye Bank. Medical records were examined determining eligibility for donation, written evidence of assessment for eligibility, discussion with patient or family and referral for donation. Results In PAH 55% patients had no contraindications. No patient had documented evidence of eligibility, patient preference, family discussion or of referral. In KGH 54% had no contraindications. KGH data includes a re-audit designed to evaluate the impact a new formulation of LCP documentation and a teaching session had on practice. Preintervention there were no documented episodes. Postintervention data demonstrated three documented assessments for eligibility, and three documented discussions with families. Despite similar percentages of potential missed donors in the two centres, the reasons for exclusion in KGH were all related to underlying medical conditions, whereas in PAH 14/17 contraindications resulted from systemic steroid use. Conclusion Many patients receiving end of life care in hospital or hospice settings could donate corneal tissue. Patient wishes were not sought in either centre. Specific assessment fields in LCP documentation and targeted education improve awareness of the issue among ward medical staff. Impending interventions at PAH include a proforma with a standard question concerning corneal donation and an information pack for staff to be given on induction. The use of adjuvant corticosteroids may prevent a patient from donating corneal tissue. If a patient wishes to donate this should influence decision making.


The Borderline Personality Disorder (BDP) is defined as "a pervasive pattern of instability which affects regulation, impulse control, interpersonal relationships, and self-image". Bateman model & Fonagy model, being a connection between the psychoanalytic tradition – especially the attachment theories and the cognitive approach, identifies the inability to mentalize as a fundamental problem of borderline patients, which is meant as "the capacity to make sense of ourselves and others, implicitly and explicitly, in terms of subjective states and mental processes". Due to the considerable number of empirical evidence on the connection between mentalization and attachment, the authors defined the obstacles related to interpersonal relationships, which represent the distinctive feature of patients with BDP and which give rise to their typical impulsive behaviours. Such behaviours can be selfinflicted by means of self-destructive acts and attempted suicide and other-directed by means of aggressiveness and violence.This study aims to verify the differences related to impulsiveness and behavioural disorder, which can emerge from the comparison between an experimental group of borderline patients and a control group of non-patients. The experimental plan considered the administration of the Rorschach test and MMPI-2. The scoring of the Rorschach test, conducted according to the Comprehensive System has showed that patients with BDP proved to be clearly more impulsive than normal individuals and less capable to control their responsiveness on the personality level. Furthermore they have fewer abilities to plan and modulate the emotional response than the control group. In this study the Rorschach test had well identified the emotional dysregulation as a meta-representative distinguishing deficit, by pointing out the BDP patients who could more probably act impulsively by means of aggressive behaviours.


This paper discusses time poverty (well-being) of the individual and puts it in the Ghanaian perspective. The paper examines hours adults as well as children allocate to work. The paper measured time poverty from the Ghanaian context. Using the Ghana Living Standard Survey, round six (GLSS, 6) and employing OLS, Logit and Quantile analysis, interesting and intriguing results are presented. The paper found females (both adult and young) to be more time poor individuals and engages in household or non-paid activities than their counterpart males. The paper further found education and time poverty to be positively associated. Results suggest that traditionally, females are noted for time poor than males but as one moves up on the education ladder, the demand to work more increases. This has implication for health issues. JEL: B54, D13, E01, I3 I32, J16, J22


ABSTRACT Purpose: Influence of orthokeratology on corneal biomechanics is equivocal using Ocular Response Analyzer, ORA. Implementing indentation method, corneal tangent modulus was measured and monitored in short-term orthokeratology. Materials and Methods: Sixteen young subjects with refractive errors between –4D to –5D sphere and astigmatism within –1.50D were recruited. One randomly selected eye wore orthokeratology lens (treatment), and the fellow eye wore conventional rigid gas permeable lens (control). Lenses were worn for 30 and 60 minutes and one night separately with a week of washout period in between. The first two visits were randomly scheduled and before the overnight visit. Eyes were kept closed during all the lens wearing periods. Corneal radius, thickness, and biomechanics (using both ORA and an indentation device) were compared between eyes prior to each visit, and then before and after lens wear. Associations between baseline corneal biomechanics and central cornea from overnight visit were investigated. Results: Corneal parameters were similar in each visit before lens wear. Significant corneal flattening was observed in treatment eyes, and flattening increased with wearing time. Control eyes showed no significant corneal curvature changes. Corneal resistance factor (CRF) reduced by 0.42mmHg (± 0.68mmHg) after 30 minutes of orthokeratology treatment. Corneal hysteresis (CH) reduced by 0.42mmHg (+/- 0.63mmHg) in control eyes from overnight wear. Both eyes showed stable tangent modulus, E, throughout the study. A lower CH (r = 0.51, p = 0.046) and a higher E (r = 0.53, p = 0.037) at baseline was significantly associated with greater corneal flattening along the flattest meridian in treatment eyes. Conclusions: Short‐term orthokeratology had no significant effect on corneal tangent modulus. Changes in CH and CRF could be related to their intrinsic measurement variability. Corneal tangent modulus provided another measure of corneal biomechanics. Long-term study is required to investigate predictive role of corneal biomechanics in orthokeratology.


In this study, both tonal and broadband analytical models for the prediction of fan noise based on low computational costs simulations or experimental data are applied and validated. Various inflow conditions are considered to verify the ability of the tonal noise model to reproduce the tendencies between the different cases. The tones predictions are in very good agreement when using the numerical input data. For the prediction based on the experimental data the reduction of the tones with the flow control devices is well captured and the frequency-dependent variation of the tones amplitude is reproduced. The broadband noise is well predicted by a trailing-edge noise model over a wide frequency range and confirms that the trailing edge noise is the main broadband noise source mechanism in case of isolated axial fans.


This paper presents a new approach for on-chip test pattern generation. The set of test patterns generated by a pseudo-random pattern generator (e.g., an LFSR) is transformed into a new set of patterns that provides the desired fault coverage. The transformation is performed by a small amount of mapping logic that decodes sets of patterns that don't detect any new faults and maps them into patterns that detect the hard-to-detect faults. The mapping logic is purely combinational and is placed between the pseudo-random pattern generator and the circuit under test (CUT). A procedure for designing the mapping logic so that it satisfies test length and fault coverage requirements is described. Results are shown for benchmark circuits which indicate that an LFSR plus a small amount of mapping logic reduces the test length required for a particular fault coverage by orders of magnitude compared with using an LFSR alone. These results are compared with previously published results for other methods, and it is shown that the proposed method requires much less overhead to achieve the same fault coverage for the same test length.


Objectives: To determine if mild cognitive impairment (MCI) represents a continuum of cognitive and functional deficits. Methods: Clinical data of 164 subjects with no dementia (ND, n = 52), uncertain dementia (n = 69), and mild probable Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 43) were reviewed. Uncertain dementia patients were classified as pre-MCI (n = 11), early amnestic MCI (e-aMCI, n = 15) and late amnestic MCI (l-aMCI, n = 15). Cognitive assessments [Chinese Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE) and a validated neuropsychological battery], functional assessments (Lawton's scale for instrumental activities of daily living) and neuroimaging (ischemic lesions and medial temporal lobe atrophy) were reviewed. Results: ND, aMCI and mild AD subjects demonstrated a significant trend for worsening performance for all cognitive and functional measures (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Pre-MCI subjects performed significantly better than aMCI subjects in all verbal memory domains (p < 0.001), while l-aMCI had worse functional performance (p = 0.007), a trend towards greater depressive symptoms (p = 0.05) and higher medial temporal lobe atrophy scores (p = 0.06). l-aMCI subjects were more likely than either pre-MCI or e-aMCI to progress to dementia over a mean follow-up period of 2.5 years (46.7 vs. 9.1 and 20.0%, respectively). Conclusions: Clinical delineation of aMCI allows the differentiation of those likely to progress for better correlation to biomarker development.


1. Isolated salivary glands of Calliphora have been used as a system on which to study the mode of action of a hormone. 2. Cyclic AMP, which is thought to mediate the action of many different hormones, can stimulate fluid secretion equally as well as 5-HT. 3. Methyl xanthines, which inhibit the hydrolysis of intracellular cyclic AMP by phosphodiesterase, can stimulate secretion and prolong recovery time after removal of 5-HT. 4. Methyl xanthines can sensitize salivary glands to both 5-HT and cyclic AMP. 5. Butyryl derivatives of cyclic AMP can stimulate secretion, but their effect is slower and lasts longer. 6. Certain amino acids and malate support fluid secretion more effectively than trehalose or glucose. 7. It is concluded that cyclic AMP plays an important role in the ability of 5-HT to control fluid secretion by salivary glands.


We have utilized serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) to analyze the temporal response of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) to short-term chronic hypoxia at the level of transcription. Primary cultures of HAECs were exposed to 1% O2 hypoxia for 8 and 24 h and compared with identical same passage cells cultured under standard (5% CO2-95% air) conditions. A total of 121,446 tags representing 37,096 unique tags were sequenced and genes whose expression levels were modulated by hypoxia identified by novel statistical analyses. Hierarchical clustering of genes displaying statistically significant hypoxia-responsive alterations in expression revealed temporal modulation of a number of major functional gene families including those encoding heat shock factors, glycolytic enzymes, extracellular matrix factors, cytoskeletal factors, apoptotic factors, cell cycle regulators and angiogenic factors. Within these families we documented the coordinated modulation of both previously known hypoxia-responsive genes, numerous genes whose expressions have not been previously shown to be altered by hypoxia, tags matching uncharacterized UniGene entries and entirely novel tags with no UniGene match. These preliminary data, which indicate a reduction in cell cycle progression, elevated metabolic stress and increased cytoskeletal remodeling under acute hypoxic stress, provide a foundation for further analyses of the molecular mechanisms underlying the endothelial response to short-term chronic hypoxia.


This paper explores the relationship between human rights and social analysis within the main historical and theoretical perspectives adopted by social sciences. In particular, religious freedom will be analysed as one of the central issues in the recent engagement of the social sciences with human rights. After examining current narratives and mainstream approaches of the social sciences towards the right to religious freedom, this article will then underline the importance of a social epistemology which goes beyond a normative and legal perspective, bridging the gap between the framework of human rights and the social roles of religion in context. Within this framework, religious freedom represents a social construct, whose perception, definition and implementation dynamically evolves according to its influence, at different levels, in the lived dimension of social relations. The second part of the article proposes a context-grounded analysis of religious freedom in the Republic of Moldova. This case study is characterised by the impressive growth of Orthodoxy after the demise of the Soviet Union and by a complex and contradictory political approach towards religious freedom, both as a legal standard and as a concept. Emerging through the analysis of local political narratives and some preliminary ethnographical observations, the social importance of religion will be investigated both as a governmental instrument and as an embodied means of dealing with widespread socio-economic insecurity, creating tensions between religious rootedness and religious freedom. The local debate on religious freedom will then be related to the influence of geopolitical borders, the topic of traditional identity and the religious form of adaptation to the ineffectiveness of the new secular local policies, with orthodox institutions and parishes having new socio-political roles at both a global and local scale.


An electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma reactor developed at the European Spallation Source Bilbao has been operated in pulsed mode at 50 Hz to study the breakdown-process dynamics by time-resolved diagnostics. Injected power, reflected power, electrical-biased probe saturation current, and light emission were measured simultaneously for three different magnetic fields: under ECR, ECR, and asymmetric over ECR profiles. Gas pressure, power, and duty cycle have been used in a parametric study obtaining information about microwave (MW) coupling and plasma formation stages during the breakdown process. The study is relevant for designers that need to extract short beam pulses from a 2.45 ECR ion source for any application because the total breakdown time measured is defined as corresponding to reach the steady-state plasma parameters. A simple model of residual electron density evolution between pulses is proposed to describe the MW coupling as a function of incoming power and duty cycles.


An increased use of information technology has enabled new opportunities for companies to
interact both internally and externally, resulting in new organizational processes that better
capture the need of customers. One of these processes is crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing has
recently seen an uptake in both practice and research. However, companies still struggle to
incorporate employees into strategic activities, and future research on crowdsourcing is called
for. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to analyse the participation rate and results of an
internal crowdsourcing initiative at Ericsson AB. This was achieved by addressing three
research questions; what are the essential components of a business model for distributed
cloud? What variables may influence the participation rate in an internal crowdsourcing
initiative? What variables may influence the results of an internal crowdsourcing initiative?
To meet this purpose and to answer these research questions, both qualitative and quantitative
methods were used. Interviews were held in order to address the first research question, and
statistical data analyses were conducted to answer the other two research questions.
In total, seven hypotheses were formulated. Five hypotheses were supported by the statistical
analyses, i.e., presence of monetary incentives increases the participation rate in
crowdsourcing; the higher the perceived non-conformity (independence and criticality), the
higher the participation in crowdsourcing; the presence of a moderator effect of monetary
incentives on non-conformity (independence * criticality) decreases participation in
crowdsourcing; the presence of a disruption setting in a crowdsourcing initiative increases the
novelty of the resulting business models; the presence of a disruption setting in a
crowdsourcing initiative decreases the workability of the resulting business models.
Factors affecting the participation rate and the results of a crowdsourcing initiative have been
identified in this study, which may be of great importance for similar studies in the future.
However, further research on crowdsourcing initiatives in other companies and with other
contexts are called for.


We present an atomistic tight-binding approach to calculating the electronic structure of semiconductor nanostructures. We start by deriving the strain distribution in the structure using the valence force field model. The strain field is incorporated into the tight-binding electronic structure calculation carried out in the frame of the effective bond orbital model and the fully atomistic sp3ds approach. We apply the method to a vertically coupled self-assembled double-dot molecule. Using the effective mass approach, we establish the existence of electronic bonding and antibonding molecular orbitals for electrons and holes, whose probability density is shared equally between the dots. In the atomistic calculation we recover the molecular character of electron orbitals, but find that structural and atomistic details of the sample modify the hole orbitals, leading to a strongly asymmetric distribution of the probability density between the dots. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


ABSTRACT Multi-period multi-product distribution planning problems are depicted as multi-commodity network flow problems where parameters may change over time. The corresponding mathematical formulation is presented for a discrete time setting, and it can also be used as an approximation for a continuous time setting. A penalty-based method which employs a cost-scaling approach is developed to solve some auxiliary penalty problems aiming to obtain an optimal solution for the original problem. The experiments on both random instances and case study problems show that the algorithm finds good-quality solutions with reasonable computational effort.


Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease caused in 10% of cases by inherited mutations considered "familial". An ever-increasing amount of evidence is showing a fundamental role for RNA metabolism in ALS pathogenesis, and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) appear to play a role in ALS development. Here, we aim to investigate the expression of a panel of lncRNAs (linc-Enc1, linc–Brn1a, linc–Brn1b, linc-p21, Hottip, Tug1, Eldrr, and Fendrr) which could be implicated in early phases of ALS. Via Real-Time PCR, we assessed their expression in a murine familial model of ALS (SOD1-G93A mouse) in brain and spinal cord areas of SOD1-G93A mice in comparison with that of B6.SJL control mice, in asymptomatic (week 8) and late-stage disease (week 18). We highlighted a specific area and pathogenetic-stage deregulation in each lncRNA, with linc-p21 being deregulated in all analyzed tissues. Moreover, we analyzed the expression of their human homologues in SH-SY5Y-SOD1-WT and SH-SY5Y-SOD1-G93A, observing a profound alteration in their expression. Interestingly, the lncRNAs expression in our ALS models often resulted opposite to that observed for the lncRNAs in cancer. These evidences suggest that lncRNAs could be novel disease-modifying agents, biomarkers, or pathways affected by ALS neurodegeneration.


We examine how managers orchestrate their eco-control package in reaction to different perceived environmental stakeholder pressures. Using survey data from Canadian manufacturing firms, our results show that environmental pressures perceived from societal stakeholders have a greater influence on the integration of environmental objectives into strategic planning than pressures perceived from business stakeholders. This suggests that business stakeholders act as a force that mostly maintains the scope of strategic environmental orientations, while societal stakeholders act as a force that mostly expands the scope of strategic orientations by stimulating further consideration of environmental issues as strategic objectives. The integration of environmental objectives in strategic planning stimulates a domino effect within the eco-control package, where the adaptation of strategic objectives leads to greater mobilization of other eco-controls. This domino effect represents successive effects among components of the eco-control package, revealing how stakeholder pressures play a role in stimulating multi-layered changes in eco-control mobilization.


-The material (c. 2800 samples) for this study was collected from planted grassland or the borders of fields throughout the conutry in 19661970. Rhynchosporium orthosporum Caldwell was observed to occur commonly on cultivated and wild grasses in many localities from Helsinki to Lapland . Spores of the fungus were most abundant in the leaves of the grass in early spring and were least abundant in mid summer. R . orthosporum was the most common causer of leaf spot diseases on Dactylis glomerata L. , during the growing season and in part also under the snow. It was also common on Alopecurus pratensis L., especially towards the beginning of the growing season. R. orthosporum also occurred commonly on Phleum pratense L., Festuca pratensis Huds. , Lolium perenne L ., Poa pratensis L. and Festuca rubra L. On these grasses the significance of R. orthosporum was smaller than on the grasses first mentioned. In addition native spores of R . orthosporum were found sporadically on the following species of grass: Agrostis stolonifera L., A. tenuis Sibth., Alopecurus geniculatus L., Calamagrostis arundinaceae (L.) Roth. , C . epigeios (L.) Roth., Deschampsia caespitosa (L.) PB., Lolium multiflorum Lam. and Poa annua L. Rhynchosporium secalis (Oud.) Davis was observed rather commonly on Agropyron repens (L.) PB. and sporadically on Bromus inermis Leyss.


Abstract:The article focuses on David Wolach's Hospitalogy and Amber DiPietra and Denise Leto's Waveform in order to examine how experimental poetry allows them to write through and with the pain that is a part of their disabilities. Instead of responding to the stereotype that disability is reducible to suffering by writing around or writing off this pain, they re-envision their ongoing suffering as a productive constraint that leads them to collaboration and formal innovation. For all three poets, this formal innovation coheres into a prosody of disability that includes indeterminacy, unstable analogy, and dysfluency. However, while Wolach focuses on making a space for revolution via the critique from inside the "hospital-industrial complex," DiPietra and Leto focus on producing alternative concepts of time and the disabled body (Hospitalogy 123). Despite their differences, Hospitalogy and Waveform are testaments to the ethical necessity of both maintaining the avant-garde as a site where linguistic openness and experimentation are encouraged, and of maintaining disability poetry as a site where aesthetic innovation can be deployed in order to initiate critique, meaning-making, and world remaking.


The aim of this study was to observe the effect of Xuesaitong on senile Severe Acute Pancreatitis (SAP) patients by selective artery interventional therapy. Sixty senile SAP patients were divided into a control group (32 cases) and an observation group (28 cases). In addition to Xuesaitong injection in the observation group, both the groups received the same local pancreatic artery infusion drugs. The curative effects of the two groups were compared. Blood amylase reduced in the observation group faster than in the control group (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the results of the observation group were much better with regards to abdominal pain relief, recovery of bowel sound, radiographic improvement, reducing the complications and shorter hospital stays (P<0.05). The levels of serum TNF-α and IL-6 in the observation group decreased significantly than that in the control group (P<0.05). Selective arterial interventional therapy combined with Xuesaitong was more effective and helped to reduce complications, mortality, and length of hospital stay and improved the prognosis in elderly patients with SAP.


Increased temperature of a solution increases its solubility, allowing for a greater level of dissolution of the solute. A greater level of dissolution will result in a change in the density of the solution. When a localized area of the solution is of a different temperature, this will affect the localized density. Density is one of the factors affecting rate of sinking and the difference in temperature will lead to a change in the rate of sinking. Thus, when an object is at different temperatures, it will transfer heat to or from the solution in different manners and the rate of sinking will be different. This study tested whether sinking rate in a solution with excess solute could be used to judge the temperature of an object and the effect was confirmed with impure Graphite blocks in a Potassium Iodide solution.


Implementation and Optimization of Time Reversal for Use in Nondestructive Evaluation of Stress Corrosion Cracking Sarah Marie Young Department of Physics and Astronomy, BYU Master of Science The time reversal (TR) process manipulates a system's impulse response in order to focus a peak of acoustic energy at a specific location in space and time. This technique has been implemented in both fluid and solid media for purposes ranging from communications to source localization. This thesis will examine both the implementation and processing of TR for nondestructive evaluation in steel, specializing in nonlinear detection methods. A series of steel samples are inspected for stress corrosion cracking (SCC) using TR focusing to excite nonlinearities inherent in cracks. It is determined that SCC exists in the expected regions of the steel samples and that an induced increase in SCC corresponds to an increase in detected nonlinearity. In addition to this, a study is shown wherein TR signal processing is optimized for the detection of cracks. The TR impulse response is modified in a number of ways with the primary goal of increasing the amplitude of the TR focus. Each of these modifications is experimentally scrutinized for characteristics necessary for application to nondestructive evaluation, and ultimately one is chosen that amplifies TR focusing without increasing system nonlinearity. The optimized technique, decay compensation TR, is employed in the detection of SCC and is found to be as or perhaps even more successful than typical TR nondestructive evaluation methods.


A series of ultra-light aerogels made of oxidized carbon nanotubes and cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol has been prepared by freeze drying of hydrogels, characterised, and tested as amine impregnated solid supports for CO2 capture. The prepared spongy aerogels have demonstrated mechanical, chemical and thermal stabilities, and are electrically conducting. Polyethyleneimine impregnated aerogels with an amine content of 75–83% demonstrated CO2 capacity values ≥3.3 mmol g−1 in a dilute gas stream, which makes the prepared aerogels highly promising supports for amine impregnation in carbon capture applications.


Optical tracking in vivo experiments reveal that diffusion of particles in biological cells is strongly enhanced in the presence of ATP and the experimental data for animal cells could previously be reproduced within a phenomenological model of a gel with myosin motors acting within it (Fodor É. et al., EPL, 110 (2015) 48005). Here, the two-fluid model of a gel is considered where active macromolecules, described as force dipoles, cyclically operate both in the elastic and the fluid components. Through coarse-graining, effective equations of motions for idealized tracer particles displaying local deformations and local fluid flows are derived. The equation for deformation tracers coincides with the earlier phenomenological model and thus confirms it. For flow tracers, diffusion enhancement caused by active force dipoles in the fluid component, and thus due to metabolic activity, is found. The latter effect may explain why ATP-dependent diffusion enhancement could also be observed in bacteria that lack molecular motors in their skeleton or when the activity of myosin motors was chemically inhibited in eukaryotic cells.


Background and Hypothesis: Preterm delivery is a major source of infant morbidity and mortality and is difficult to predict. The process of cervical ripening prior to delivery has known histologic changes including breakdown of collagen and increasing water content. It is hypothesized that the diffusion of water, which can be measured on MRI, will increase as the cervical water content increases. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is a form of MRI that measures the random Brownian motion of water molecules (represented as the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)). Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) MRI further subdivides the ADC into microcapillary perfusion (D*) and diffusion (D). We hypothesize that as the pregnant cervix ripens near delivery, diffusion of water within the cervix (ADC and D) will increase without changes in the capillary perfusion (D*). We sought to determine the relationship between ADC, D*, D, gestational age, and time to delivery in a cohort of volunteer pregnant females.
Experimental Design or Project Methods: DWI and IVIM MR studies from a cohort of 45 volunteer pregnant females with no known underlying fetal anomalies were examined. Subglandular and stromal cervix thickness and cervical length were measured along with the ADC, D*, and D of the subglandular and stromal cervix. Gestational history and delivery information was documented.
Results: Subglandular ADC inversely correlated with time to delivery (r=-0.393, p=0.052). Although not significant, subglandular D revealed a trend of increasing with increased gestation age (r=0.261, p=0.149). Subglandular ADC also varied inversely with thickness of the subglandular cervix (r=-0.352, p=0.047). Subglandular D* varied inversely with maternal age (r=-0.380, p=0.028).
Conclusion and Potential Impact: Our data support the hypothesized trend of increased diffusion of water within the cervix with unchanged capillary perfusion as a normal pregnancy progressed throughout the second and third trimesters. This study suggests that diffusion measures (ADC and D) follow a predictable progression during the course of a normal pregnancy and have the potential to provide a means of predicting preterm labor in the setting of preterm cervical ripening.


Introduction: In a recent study, a new Turkish personality assessment tool, Nile Personality Assessment Tool (NPAT), was developed and validated based on the Enneagram principles. The aim of the present study was to validate the NPAT for English-speaking people and to test its reliability in English-speaking population. Methods: After the translation and grammar validation of Turkish NPAT, the final tool was applied to a sample of 203 participants. The sample was drawn from 600 English-speaking community. Expert validation, convergent validity, test-retest, and internal consistency were applied. Its categorization was validated against the personality type classification made by an expert. Results: Of the participants, 68 were females (33.5%), and 135 were males (66.5%). The mean age of the participants was 27.14±8.52 years. The Cohen's Kappa for test-retest reliability of the NPAT was calculated as 0.89 (p<0.001). Also, there was a substantial agreement between test-retest measurements of the NPAT main personality types as well as the personality wings. Taking the author's categorization as the gold-standard, the sensitivity and specificity of the NPAT in detecting the different personality types ranged from 65.0% to 100.0%. The overall performance of the NPAT was calculated as 89.9%. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the NPAT (Nile Enneagram Personality Test) is a useful tool in identifying personality types according to the Enneagram principles in English-speaking people.


Macrophages in vitro rapidly ingest and kill Borrelia burgdorferi, yet some spirochetes in vivo may survive in the host and lead to complications of Lyme disease. One strategy for such survival may be the down-regulation of the immune system. To test this, we evaluated the degree of macrophage activation in a site of active disease-the heart-by examining cytokine expression in murine macrophages from control and B. burgdorferi-infected animals. Using double-label immunofluorescent staining in situ, we showed that infiltrating macrophages in infected hearts produce interleukin (IL)-1. By semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis, increased levels of mRNA were measured for the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and IL-12 during peak and resolving disease. No increases in the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and transforming growth factor-beta were detected. In an infected site without active disease--the peritoneal cavity--no increases in levels of proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory cytokines were detected in local macrophages. Thus, there is no evidence of pressure toward the down-regulation of inflammatory activity in the regions tested.


The purpose of this study was to investigate Chinese college studentsâ?? experience of and their perceived attributes of Open Educational Resources (OER). Students from Zhejiang University were selected as target population. A two-part questionnaire was developed and randomly sampling was used to collect data. The results of data analysis found that: three fourth of participating students had OER usage experience; students tended to have strong agreement with perceived relative advantage and compatibility of OER, while studentsâ?? perceived trialability, complexity and observability of OER are not satisfactory; gender has no significant influence on college studentsâ?? perceptions about all of the five attributes of OER, while having OER usage experience or not would significantly impact on studentsâ?? perception about attributes of OER. Based on the findings, the study concluded by putting forward some suggestions.


Over the last quarter of a century female fertility in Czechia has undergone dynamic and dramatic change. One of the main indications of this is the postponement of births and associated fertility ageing. This article analyses the spatial differences in the character and intensity of fertility in the early 1990s and the current era and attempts to highlight any stability or change in the spatial patterns resulting from the changes in reproductive behaviour. The authors use a number of indicators to analyse the rate, timing and distribution of fertility by woman's age at the district level (LAU1). Additional indicators are also used to assess the level of birth postponement in young people and recuperation during the second half of the reproductive life span. Since the results suggested that there were some areas which exhibited similarities in the characteristics and trajectory of the fertility postponement transition, cluster analysis was used to produce a spatial classification. Although all Czech districts are undergoing a fertility postponement transition, the tendency is for it to deepen the spatial pluralisation of reproductive behaviour, particularly the timing and internal structure of fertility by woman's age, which is the main spatial differentiation factor affecting fertility.


Pretreatment is an essential step in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugar that used for biobutanol production. Among pretreatment processes, microwave is considered to improve pretreatment efficiency due to its high heating efficiency, easy operation, and easily to combine with chemical reaction. The main objectives of this work are to investigate the feasibility of microwave pretreatment to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis of corncobs and to determine the optimal conditions using response surface methodology. Corncobs were pretreated via two-stage pretreatment in dilute sodium hydroxide (2 %) followed by dilute sulfuric acid 1 %. Pretreated corncobs were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis to produce reducing sugar. Statistical experimental design was used to optimize pretreatment parameters including temperature, residence time and solid-to-liquid ratio to achieve the highest amount of glucose. The results revealed that solid-to-liquid ratio and temperature had a significant effect on the amount of glucose. Keywords—Corncobs, Microwave radiation, Pretreatment, Response Surface Methodology.