Eligible applicants are invited to submit a pre-proposal and travel plan. Selected pre-proposals will be considered for further development and subsequent funding. The China Gateway will select plans and proposals that address priority issues and have the potential to become successful collaborations that support the development of sustainable programs. Up to 10 travel grants of $1,000 each will be awarded in 2018. Pre-proposals are due on November 1. Please contact Keira Williams, Global Gateways academic program manager, for more details.


Nucleotide sequence analysis is increasingly being used to identify bacteria. In this work, a PCR assay based on degenerate primers was used to obtain the partial sequence of infB, the gene encoding translation initiation factor 2 (IF2), in 39 clinical isolates of different Enterobacteriaceae. The partial sequence encodes the GTP-binding domain of IF2. Together with sequences from the literature, a total of 15 species, each represented by one to seven strains, was investigated. Phylogenetic analysis yielded an evolutionary tree which had a topology similar to a tree constructed using available 16S rRNA sequences. It is concluded that the inter-species variation of the infB gene fragment is sufficient for its use in the characterization of strains that have aberrant phenotypic reactions.


The evidence on whether school quality affects house prices is uncertain. This paper employs meta-regression analysis on 48 studies to understand what factors influence the discrepancy among analogous studies. We estimate Fischer's Z transformation, ordered probit, and linear regression models to incorporate eight different school quality variables. Our results suggest the Fischer's Z model is less preferred to the ordered probit model given the entire sample of school quality measures, and to the linear regression model given a reduced sample of studies with only the primary school test score measure.


ABSTRACT Spirituality groups led by healthcare chaplains have been found to aid patients' recovery processes in US psychiatric units. In Norway, existential groups (EGs) led by healthcare chaplains and co-led by healthcare staff members are offered at psychiatric units; these groups share commonalities with spirituality groups, group psychotherapy, existential therapy and clinical pastoral care, facilitating patients' reflections regarding existential, spiritual and religious issues. The study aimed to examine associations between patients' participation and topics discussed in the EGs and their experiences of psychological distress, crisis of meaning and meaningfulness. A cross-sectional design was applied among 157 patients attending EGs led by healthcare chaplains across Norway. Multivariate regression analyses assessed the strength of possible associations, adjusted for relevant demographical variables. Significant association was found between lengthier EG participation and lower levels of psychological distress, while discussion topics concerning religious and spiritual issues were significantly associated with the experience of meaningfulness.


The clinical, biochemical and pathological studies of the first case of Tangier's disease that, to our knowledge, has been detected in Spain are reported. The patient had all the characteristic features of the disease: hypercholesterolemia with very pronounced reduction of plasmatic high density lipoproteins, splenomegaly, orange yellow tonsils and peripheral neuropathy. In addition, he had pneumonia and pancytopenia. Neurological examination and computed tomography suggested cerebral involvement, not previously reported in this condition. Biopsies demonstrated lipid accumulation in the reticuloendothelial cells of diverse localizations and in Schwann's cells.


Charles Koechlin: Compositeur et humaniste. Edited by Philippe Cathe, Sylvie Douche, Michel Duchesneau and Marie-Helene Benoit-Otis. (Musi - cologieS, no. 3.) Paris: Vrin, 2010. [609 p. ISBN 9782711623167. i44.] Music examples, illustrations, index. The essence of good biography is found in the space between hagiography and apostasy, somewhere between a broadstroke overview and a dry reporting of archival statistics. This is no small undertaking, even when motivated by the impulse to rehabilitate a good name to its welldeserved place in the musical-or in this case, humanist-pantheon. The task is more manageable, which is not to say simpler, when shared by a consortium of authors and when the subject has been generous enough to leave an abundance of evidence, written and otherwise. As editors Philippe Cathe, Sylvie Douche and Michel Duchesneau highlight in their introduction, the scope of this book is in itself evidence of Koechlin's "astonishing diversity" of interests and areas of intellectual expertise (p.11; translations throughout are mine). One of the founders of the Societe musicale independante in 1910, Koechlin was a passionate advocate for musical modernism, yet refused to be limited by association with any aesthetic ideology or "school." A prolific author-of music criticism, public lectures, pedagogical treatises and radio broadcasts-as well as a composer of 226 works with opus number, Koechlin vigorously defied classification during his lifetime. This was no ordinary figure, as the twenty-four contributors to this volume make abundantly clear. Collectively, they present a nuanced portrait of a complex figure whose works contributed significantly to intellectual and musical life during the mercurial twentieth century. Their goal is to provide "the first French-language synthesis of Koechlin's oeuvre in the hope that new paths of inquiry will be opened" in exploring his extraordinarily diverse body of work (p. 14). If form follows function, it is no surprise that this work exceeds the boundaries of ordinary biography. After an introductory survey of Koechlin's life and works by Otfrid Nies, the body of this volume is organized into five sections, each focusing on a different facet of Koechlin's wide ranging, humanist contributions. The lead section, "Music and Society," examines his activities as politically engaged lecturer and critic. Liouba Bouscant's two chapters provide an excellent overview of Koechlin's conferences between 1909 and 1948, then a closer look at his political activities during the 1930s. Aude Caillet presents a candid investigation of the lectures between 1915 and 1918, in the context of prevailing anti-German sentiments in France. Even more specific is Michel Duchesneau's examination of Koechlin's encounter and sympathies with socialism. In all, these chapters shed light on fascinating contradictions: a "musical elitist" (p. 75) who, in his ardent defense of the avant-garde, sought to enlighten a universal audience about "[artistic] freedom conjoined with respect for musical instinct and sustained by deep knowledge of craft" (Koechlin, quoted on p. 124). Musical analysis takes the forefront in the next section, "Aesthetics and Compo si - tion," where specific works are discussed in detail. Sylvain Caron investigates Koechlin's religious ideology as manifested in his early work L'Abbaye for chorus and organ. Sylvie Douche makes the case for Koechlin as one of the most significant composers of the melodie in the early twentieth century. Stephan Etcharry's comparison of settings of Leconte de Lisle's "Colibri" by Ernest Chausson and Koechlin explores compositional characteristics of a single work, as does Patrick Otto's discussion of Koechlin's programmatic work for orchestra La Course de printemps. Christophe Corbier examines the influence of hellenomanie, or French enthusiasm for the spirit of ancient Greece. The strongest chapters in this section are Francois de Medicis's assessment of Koechlin as "quartomancier" in a cogent analysis of the melodie "Amethyste" and Danick Trottier's consideration of Schoen - berg's considerable influence on Koechlin. …


In an era of declining labor power, police unions stand as a rare success story for worker organizing—they exert political clout and negotiate favorable terms for their members. Yet, despite broad support for unionization on the political left, police unions have become public enemy number one for academics and activists concerned about race and police violence. Much criticism of police unions focuses on their obstructionist nature and how they prioritize the interests of their members over the interests of the communities they police. These critiques are compelling—police unions shield officers and block oversight. But, taken seriously, they often sound like critiques of unions in general, not just police unions. To the extent that public-sector unionism remains a social good because of concerns for economic inequality and worker power, wholeheartedly embracing these critiques seems like a risky proposition.

This Article examines the strange case of police unions and asks how they are (and are not) representative of U.S. unionism. More pointedly, this Article asks what increasingly common critiques of police unions should mean for policing reform and the future of public-sector unionism. In an effort to construct a more nuanced picture of police unions' functions, I situate the role of police unions within two disparate scholarly debates: (1) the literature on policing reform; and (2) the literature on public sector unions. How are police unions different from other public-sector unions, and how might critiques and defenses of police unions apply to other public-sector unions?

Ultimately, I argue that the challenge in articulating a theory of what makes police unions different highlights both the problem with police and the problem with the way scholars think about unions. If police unions are objectionable because of their views and the conduct of police, this concern speaks to a problem with police—full stop. The problems with the unions are only issues by extension. If the unions are objectionable because of their commitment to their members' interests over those of the public at large, though, the critiques are properly understood as undercutting public-sector unions generally.


In direct torque control, the selection of an applied voltage vector is based on the measured parameters at the beginning of the sampling period. The delay between the measurement and the application of the voltage vector is the origin of an extra torque ripple. In this paper, a new predictive controller is proposed for compensating this delay and reducing the torque ripple. The stator current is measured twice in each sampling period and its expected value at the end of the period is predicted according to a linear extrapolation algorithm. Therefore, none of the machine parameters are used in the prediction, and consequently, the algorithm is quite robust against machine parameter variations. The calculation of the electromagnetic torque is performed using the predicted value of the stator current. Therefore, the selection of the voltage vector is more realistic and prevents extra torque ripple. This controller is quite suitable for high power drives where the sampling frequency is low, and there is enough time for the extra measurements. Simulation and experimental results which confirm the ability of this method to considerably reduce the torque ripple are presented.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using case study method in chemistry laboratory course on preservice teachers' anxieties who were studying in science education department. Matched pretest-posttest control group experimental design was used in the research. This study was conducted in state university located in Eskisehir during spring semester of 2010-2011 academic years. 53 preservice science teachers who were taking chemistry laboratory course participated in the study. Four dimensional "Chemistry Laboratory Anxiety Scale" was used as a data collection tool. In the analysis of research data, frequency, mean, standard deviation, and ANCOVA after verifying its assumptions were used. According to the anxiety scale data of preservice teachers in experimental and control groups, only one statistical significant difference was found in the sub dimension of "use of laboratory equipment's and chemical substances". This finding showed that case study and traditional methods might have different effects on decreasing the anxieties of students toward chemistry laboratory course. In line with the research results, it was proposed that not only quantitative studies including larger samples and examining students' anxieties on different classes, departments, and courses, but also experimental studies considering each sub-dimension of the anxiety scale should be conducted


Against the background of the many attacks on the school as being outdated, alienating, ineffective and reproducing inequalities we offer a morphological understanding of the school as distinguished from functionalist understandings (sociological or economical perspectives in terms of functions and roles) and idealistic understandings (philosophical ones in terms of 'ideas of education'). Our educational morphology approaches the school as a particular scholastic 'form of gathering' i.e. a particular time–space–matter arrangement (including concrete architectures, technologies, practices and figures) that deals in a specific way with the new generation, allows for a particular relation to the world, and for a particular experience of potentiality and of commonality (of making things public). We elucidate how this form performs particular operations of suspension, profanation and formation of attention and how these operations imply a slowing down and an opening of future. Finally, we emphasise the potentially revolutionary character of the scholastic form and discuss contemporary attempts at taming or neutralising the school.


AsTRAcT. In this paper we derive limiting distributions for branching Brownian motion. The cases considered are where the state space is (1) the line and (2) the plane where (a) initially there's but one particle and (b) where there's initially a random number of independent particles. In all cases, the branching process is critical and we obtain results for the growth of selectively neutral mutant types. We use moment generating functions to derive these results.


The effect of the supraoptimal temperature (38, 40 degrees C) on the chemostat culture of Candida utilis was studied. The above factor caused a part of the biomass to float as a thin layer of foam to the surface of the medium. After an hour, the concentration of the cells on the surface could be four times as high as that within the medium. The content of protein was the same in the cells taken from the surface and from the depth. Singular cells or their groups (2 or 4--8 cells) were found deep in the medium whereas cells on the surface were aggregated forming conglomerates of 20--100 and more cells. The simultaneous action of the elevated tmperature and the acid pH value made flotation of cells onto the surface more stable and protracted (it could be maintained in a chemostat for weeks).


Background: Leptin is an important adipokine hormone released from adipose tissue which is associated with obesity and diabetes in different populations.
Objective: To investigate the serum leptin concentrations for its correlation with diabetes, obesity and gender in a small population from Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Methods: From our sample collection of more than 500 subjects for metabolic disorders research, we have carefully selected 80 subjects for the present case-control comparison study. These subjects were grouped on the basis of diabetes, obesity and gender status. Equal number of subjects was taken for each comparison group to minimize the effects of confounding factors. For diabetes, these eighty subjects were divided into two groups (n=40 non-diabetic and n=40 type 2 diabetics). While considering obesity, these eighty subject were divided on the basis of their Body Mass Index (n=40 non-obese and n=40 obese). For gender based analysis, the groups based on diabetes and obesity were made (n=20 in each sub-group) and further analyzed while keeping n=10 males and n=10 females in each sub-group. Serum leptin and biochemical analytes were measured for all subjects and data were analyzed by SPSS 18.0 software.
Results: Leptin levels were found significantly low in nonobese as compared to obese subjects (Mean ± SD: 5.2 ± 2.0 vs. 7.1 ± 2.1 ng/ml, p<0.001). No significant difference was found for non-diabetics and diabetics (6.4 ± 2.4 vs. 5.9 ± 2.2 ng/ml, p=0.35). Gender dimorphism showed significant differences for leptin (p<0.0001). Spearman's analysis showed strong correlation between leptin and obesity (r=0.43, p=0.0001), gender (r=0.24, p=0.02) irrespective of obesity or diabetes.
Conclusion: The leptin levels were high in obese and female subjects.


Environmental pollution and risks to human health can result from diffuse sources of pollution originating from decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DWTS). In particular, phosphorus pollution can lead to eutrophication and the downgrading of the quality of water bodies, for example, under the Water Framework Directive in the EU, and pathogen pollution can result in increased risks of human exposure to pathogens and impacts on industries such as shellfish growing and tourism. The study reported in this paper reviews the effectiveness of various DWTS in removing phosphorus and pathogens from on-site systems. It was found that DWTS are typically not designed to specifically treat these pollutants, and the most common type of DWTS, septic tanks, provides only basic treatment. Additional treatment such as filtration-based or wetland systems must be used to achieve desired levels of treatments. The performance of these systems is affected by site-specific conditions, such as input load and sources, and climatic conditions, and as such operational characteristics and treatment measures must be designed to take account of these factors.


The use of internet services for time sensitive applications like voice and video, requires the forecasting quality of service. The TCP/IP differentiated services structure is given to achieve this target. However, network congestion control is limited and comes from the high priority. Some studies are still seeking a replacement techniques such as random early detection (RED) and its modification to manage congestion. In this paper we present neural network control research results to implement RED, called NRED. We found that with neural network we can perform better for discrimination acts to cancel the packets for gathering traffic flow, and also provide better quality services to all types different traffic while ensuring high utilization.


In the Netherlands, law as an academic discipline seems to be moving from the humanities towards the social sciences. This transition has an impact on how the quality of legal research is perceived and assessed. Legal scholars appear to have different epistemic and strategic agendas with regard to what counts as an academic or professional publication, whether law journals and legal publishers should opt for peer review or the use of metrics to evaluate the quality of legal research, and what the purpose of research evaluation by law schools should be. Behind this are long-term developments that have an impact on legal scholarship, such as a movement from national-oriented research towards a more European and international focus, a shift in focus from monodisciplinarity to multi- and interdisciplinarity in legal research, and a potential shift from financing legal research via lump sum budgeting towards more competition for research funding. These developments are important for the identity of Dutch academic legal research. This is the reason why we undertook a survey among Dutch legal scholars in order to ask them how they feel about the quality of research in general and publications in particular, as well as how this quality should be valued and assessed.


This paper studies the variables influencing the financing decisions of a sample of Italian firms. Using balance sheets of a sample of about 25.000 Italian firms, we construct a data set which allows us to evaluate which variables influence the probability to choose among different financing instruments. We estimate a "multinomial logit" model in which the values of the dependent variable correspond to alternative form of financial choice, with particular emphasis on the choice between financial debt and equity. In line with the standard empirical literature, we study the impact of variables representing the problem of asymmetric information between managers and shareholders and between firm and capital market, of non-debt tax shields (NDTS) and of financial distress cost. In order to consider the lower financial development and the greater imperfection of capital market in southern Italy, we enter a dummy variable to control for the impact of firms' geographical residence. The estimation reveals that in general Italian firms behave accordingly to the predictions of economic theory regarding firms' financial decisions.


nformation does not equal knowledge. For information to become knowledge, we need to interpret and understand it. Visualization in general responds directly to this need. However, even after producing a visual representation, we must address issues involving exploration, navigation, and interpretation of the data. This article addresses visual exploration of 3D information layouts. Several visual exploration techniques have been proposed for 2D information layouts. Many of these try to take advantage of humans' natural visual pattern-recognition abilities to understand global relationships while simultaneously integrating this knowledge with local details. This desire for detail-in-context views (also called fisheye, multiscale, and distortion views) has fueled considerable research in the development of distortion viewing tools. Generally, these tools provide space for magnification of local detail by compressing the rest of the image. In considering a possible detail-in-context view for 3D layouts, we first examine 2D distortion techniques , bearing in mind the particular 3D problem of occlusion. While our technique can extend to any type of 3D information display, here we focus on graphs. Most previous distortion viewing work dealt only with discrete displays (principally graphs). Also, graphs are structures well suited to information display. A graph can display a set of objects or entities as nodes and relationships between these entities as edges. This basic entity-relationship structure parallels the basic subject-predicate structure of language. It also arises in cognitive science discussions about the distinction between knowledge as declarative or procedural. The same structure has been suggested as forming the basis for the mental models we use to store information internally. Its prevalence across such a variety of areas concerned with the way humans interact with knowledge or information indicates that related tools and techniques may eventually find quite diverse applications. To preserve the representational power inherent in a graph, a distortion-based navigational tool should not disrupt certain properties or relationships in the graph. For example, an entity's spatial position and adjacency relationships may each carry specific meaning. They therefore should be minimally disturbed. Partly because a graph's structure does not limit the size or complexity of the information it can represent, problems arise, such as a disparity between the information size and display size, and the number of information variables compared to the availability and length of display variables. Three-dimensional layouts offer the possibility of some increase in functional display space and an extra positional display variable. Ware's studies 1 examined the …


Mythmaking and Metaphor in Black Women 's Fiction. Jacqueline de Weever. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991. 194 pp.Mythmaking and Metaphor in Black Women's Fiction is a work of serious scholarship and deserves close reading. Seventeen novels of seven Black-American women writers are examined to "demonstrate how they reshape figures from old mythologies, how they create new myths from old structures and how they give new meaning to particular motifs of myth...by transforming them into metaphors for psychological growth" (1). de Weever argues persuasively that Black-American female writers are ROW our contemporary mythographers. That Black-American writers utilize myth should not be surprising given this country's history. The painful results of three centuries of oppression, de Weever asserts, is too great to confronted in a realistic mode. This text identifies four sources of mythology which are woven together into Black-American women's writing--European, African, Black-American and Native American--with the most frequently recurring motif being that of suffering that brings transformation and life.de Weever examines novels that portray the Black-American woman's complex experience, noting that "syncretism and synthesis, evident in the world's richest cultures, have begun in the novels of Black-American women, where the three worlds of American civilization--the Indian world, the African world and. the European world--are integrated through their mythologies" (16). Chapter One is entitled "Mythmaking: Intertextuality, Inversion, and Metaphor." Chapter Two, "Metaphors of Transformation: Birds, Insects, Snakes," argues that "the capacity of metaphor to illuminate 'untranslatable experiences' is startlingly borne out in the metaphors of insects and animals," yet de Weever cautions that a writer may use an image for decidedly opposite experience in various works. Incorporating images closely connected with the earth and metaphors connected with it are invaluable for exploring the theme of psychological growth of characters.Chapter Three, "Metaphors of Alienation: Madness, Malaise, and Solitude," argues convincingly that the ideal of the chaste, passive wife "is not and cannot be relevant for black women, who face the struggle for economic, personal and intellectual viability every day of their lives" (96-97) but that "introspective, interior suffering has gradually become a topic in black women's fiction during the last thirty years" (97). …


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the following research question: What are the perceptions of professionals and consumers regarding the antecedents of client referrals in the financial advice sector?

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 61 qualitative interviews were conducted, with the following three key groups: independent financial advisers (IFAs; 20 interviews), clients of IFAs (26 interviews) and consumers who manage their own financial affairs and do not use the services of an IFA (15 interviews).

Findings

The financial advisers interviewed believe that client referrals are important to their business success, that they can influence clients to become ambassadors who will consciously seek out new clients and that excellent service will motivate clients to provide referrals. However, the interviews with the clients painted a different picture. While advisers believe that they can influence client referral behavior, the clients did not believe that they were influenced by the adviser to make referrals.

Research limitations/implications

The sampling method was non-random and relied on the professional contacts of the principal researcher as a starting point, from which a network of contacts was established to identify interviewees. The study casts doubt on the ability of professional service providers to influence client referral behavior. This novel finding deserves further research investigation.

Practical implications

There is clearly scope for greater measurement in connection with referrals in professional service businesses. The propensity for clients to refer should be included as a metric in the performance measurement of professional service providers, in addition to standard financial measures. This would encourage the service provider to consider referrals during client interactions.

Originality/value

The study reports on a substantial qualitative study involving both professional service providers and their clients. While the providers believe that client referrals are critical to their business success, the evidence collected provides little or no support for this belief. Clients report they are not motivated to refer. Advisers do not explicitly measure referrals. The reality of referrals seems not to match the mythology.


Background: Ways of perceiving evidence by public health managers, practitioners and policy makers is one of the key determinants of evidence uptake. Recent public policy in Ontario requires programs to be based on evidence. Therefore, understanding views about evidence in both practice and policy contexts is important to bridge the research-policy-practice gap in public health. Objective and Methods: This qualitative descriptive study examined understandings about evidence in Ontario public health units by comparing perspectives from managers and frontline staff across six geographically-diverse units. A secondary qualitative content analysis was used to re-analyze transcripts of focus groups from the Renewal of Public Health Systems (RePHS) research project. Results: Similarities and differences were revealed with respect to how public health managers and frontline staff view evidence. Although both managers and frontline staff understand that multiple forms of evidence exist and that these forms must be integrated when making decisions regarding program development and implementation, frontline staff highlighted the role of practice-based evidence. Both groups named tools and processes that were available to assist their decision-making. Frontline staff indicated capacity building as important for supporting evidence use. Both groups noted that leadership could present a challenge to evidence-based programs if not supportive of the evidence-based solution for public health problems. However, the understanding of leadership differed between frontline staff and managers. Conclusion: Findings from this study provide insight into how use of evidence can be promoted and how to better support policy implementation efforts within practice contexts.


The study deals with the pedagogical possibilities of text books as a resource for Physical Education (PE) classes based on sports, specifically team sports. It started from a bibliographical review on the cited terms and after that we advanced our studies in order to propose a didactic text book on Team Sports for PE classes considering two benchmarks: one technical-tactic and the other social-educational. In order to do so, we used methods from linguistics, and the development of a Didactic Sequence allowed the selection and distribution of the contents to be presented in the book in an orderly and judicious way. The focus in Team Sports is justified by its social-cultural insertion and by the need to transform recent studies into new pedagogical procedures for practicing them. The didactic text book, as well as the adequate preparation of the professionals who will use it, is pointed out as facilitator in the process of teaching, experiencing and learning team sports.


The UK Higher Education sector has made only limited progress in reducing its paper consumption. Despite
paper having high costs both environmentally and financially, HE is estimated to print on average 10,000
sheets per person per annum (James & Hopkinson 2009a, b). Advantages of paper are portability and ease
of reading compared to a computer screen, attributes also provided by e-readers which have a smaller
environmental footprint than printed material (James & Hopkinson 2009a, b).
Students liked the lightness of e-readers compared to traditional textbooks, but lack of 'search' and
annotation features hindered their usefulness (Rickman et al. 2009). For tutors marking electronically PAGE 112 | ALT-C 2010 Conference Introduction and Abstracts | Section two: Abstracts
submitted assessments stored on e-readers lightness was advantageous and they reported less eyestrain
compared to VDU, however there were drawbacks to this method (Liversidge et al. 2009).
This JISC funded e-reader demonstrator project will involve senior university staff who will become e-reader
experts by trialling the potential for print substitution by using e-readers in two institutional committee
meetings and other work situations. The initial evaluation of readily available e-readers selected the 'best fit'
model, the Sony Touch Edition e-reader, for the one year pilot. The aim is to determine if current generation
e-readers, with annotation features, are a viable substitute for paper in such meetings. The key to the success
of this project is recognition of the need to understand, adapt and evaluate individual motivations and
behaviours around the introduction of new technologies.
This paper discusses the methodology for benchmarking of e-readers against criteria for committee
usage; user needs analysis to assess both experience and feelings towards the e-reader before the start,
ongoing observations and criteria for the green assessment. This paper will share results of the ongoing
e-reader evaluation and results of the ongoing trial within committees, reflecting the initial challenges of the
behavioural changes and the coping strategies adopted by participants, with lessons learned so far, including
the potential that e-readers may offer for shaping the university as a workplace. As leaders of change
participants are able to promote appropriate teaching and learning uses for e-readers.


The role of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) complex formation with water-soluble 2-hydroxyalkyl methacrylates is described. The impact of the complexation on both the polymerization kinetics and the formation of a copolymer structure initiated by radical initiators has been studied. The activating effect of iron(II) and iron(III) sulfates has been revealed for the initiator-free polymerization of the formulation. An analytical approach to determining the molecular weight of the chain fragments located between two neighboring crosslinking nodes in the polymer network (Mn) has been developed depending on the values of the stability constant (Кst) for the charge-transfer complexes. The basic regularities of hydrogels obtaining based on PVP copolymers with high sorption capacity and diffusion characteristics are presented. The main directions of practical application of synthesized hydrogels are considered.


The angular dependence of terahertz (THz) emission from birefringent crystals can differ significantly from that of cubic crystals. Here we consider optical rectification in uniaxial birefringent materials, such as chalcopyrite crystals. The analysis is verified in (110)-cut ZnGeP2 and compared to (zincblende) GaP. Although the crystals share the same nonzero second-order tensor elements, the birefringence in chalcopyrite crystals cause the pump pulse polarization to evolve as it propagates through the crystal, resulting in a drastically different angular dependence in chalcopyrite crystals. The analysis is extended to {012}- and {114}-cut chalcopyrite crystals and predicts more efficient conversion for the {114} crystal cut over the {012}- and {110}-cuts.


The selective N-alkylation of amines with alcohols via the borrowing hydrogen strategy represents a prominent sustainable catalytic method, which produces water as the only by-product and is ideally suited for the catalytic transformation of widely available alcohol reaction partners that can be derived from renewable resources. Intensive research has been devoted to the development of novel catalysts that are mainly based on expensive noble metals. However, the availability of homogeneous or heterogeneous non-precious metal catalysts for this transformation is very limited. Herein we present a highly active and remarkably easy-to-prepare Ni based catalyst system for the selective N-alkylation of amines with alcohols, that is in situ generated from Ni(COD)2 and KOH under ligand-free conditions. This novel method is very efficient for the functionalization of aniline and derivatives with a wide range of aromatic and aliphatic alcohols as well as diols and exhibits excellent functional group tolerance including halides, benzodioxane and heteroaromatic groups. Several TEM measurements combined with elemental analysis were conducted in order to gain insight into the nature of the active catalyst and factors influencing reactivity.


Objective: The objective is to develop and validate a fundamental, specific, novel and exact RP-HPLC (Reverse phase-High performance Liquid chromatography) methodology for the synchronous determination of Glycopyrrolate and Formoterol in pharmaceutical dosage form. Methods and Materials: The column utilized was BDS C18 (250mm x 4.6 mm, 5μm) in isocratic mode, with mobile phase consist of phosphate buffer and acetonitrile (40:60 v/v). The buffer was made by adding 1 ml of Orthophosphoric acid in a 1000ml of volumetric flask and about 900ml of milli-Q water, degas to sonicate and lastly make up the quantity with water. The flow rate used was 1.0ml/ min and effluents were monitored at 241 nm. Results: The retention times of Glycopyrrolate and Formoterol are 2.290 min and 2.853 min, respectively. The linearity for Glycopyrrolate and Formoterol are 2.25-13.5μg/ml and 1.2-7.2μg/ml respectively. The recoveries of Glycopyrrolate and Formoterol were observed to be 99.17 to 100.66% and 98.36 to 100.79% respectively. Conclusion: The validation was performed for the proposed method and applied successfully for the determination of Glycopyrrolate and Formoterol. The method was found to be precise, accurate for the synchronous determination of Glycopyrrolate and Formoterol in pharmaceutical dosage form.


Scores of studies have explored the news media representation of terrorism in the last ten years. Much of this scholarship, however, has been from a western perspective, mostly relating to the international media. This study shifts the focus to the Nigerian press to consider the representation of Boko Haram in its national media. Boko Haram is one of the most violent groups in the world currently and has officially been designated as a terrorist organisation by every major government in the world. The study aims to show how an African press has reported terrorism within its national borders. Through an analysis of 851 news stories from three Nigerian newspapers, the thesis examined the portrayal of Boko Haram focusing on three main aspects: the news framing of Boko Haram in the Nigerian press, the sourcing patterns present in the news reporting of Boko Haram and the challenges Nigerian journalists face in reporting Boko Haram. Semi-structured interviews were used to provide further insights into major trends determined from the analysis of news texts. The study found that the news coverage predominantly focussed on two aspects: government response to Boko Haram and Boko Haram as the other. Boko Haram was also framed, in descending order, as a political conspiracy, as prevailing, and as instilling fear. Ethnicity, regionalism and religious affiliation appeared to be a significant determinant of the reportage, with journalists legitimising violence against the group and failing to promote or explore non-violent approaches. The study also showed that newspapers preferred official sources, especially from the security forces, while other key actors such as Boko Haram received little news space. Religious sources were given priority in most newspapers and used differently, depending on the ethnoreligious leanings of editors. Daily Trust, for instance, showed a significant statistical difference in its preference of Muslim sources over Christian sources. News reports of Boko Haram, thus, were largely presented from a political and ethnoreligious understanding. Alternative narratives like radicalisation were absent likely because of the absence of source groups such as experts who are not interested parties in the conflict. Thematic analysis of journalists' interviews showed that inadequate funding, safety concerns and ethnoreligious politics were factors contributing to the news trends. The study underlined the need for media training for journalists to foster a more nuanced and conflict-sensitive news coverage in the Nigerian context.


The article analyzes the use of accounting information in Russia. We assess reporting behaviour in the lending process for a sample of Russian companies in the years 1999-2004 and postulate that Russian companies manage their earnings in order to avoid showing losses when applying for bank financing. Once a credit has been granted, companies are predicted to manage earnings because of the bank's monitoring activities. By means of univariate and multivariate analysis we are able to attribute the discontinuity around a zero target in the earnings distribution with firms' response to the banks' assessment of accounting performance. This implies that financing considerations affect the reporting incentives of Russian companies.


ABSTRACT In April 2019, educators from around Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia came together to share their experiences of teaching Indigenous public health. The inaugural International Indigenous Public Health Education Leadership Symposium provided an opportunity to (i) discuss the range of challenges of this work, and (ii) to affirm a collective aspiration to strengthen the contribution of public health education to improved Indigenous outcomes. Talking across the borders of individual institutions, distinct cultures and nations enabled a rich conversation about the interface of health and Indigenous education. We explored the twin agendas of decolonisation and indigenisation, meeting the respective needs of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and how to best mobilise Indigenous public health leadership. This article will outline the discussion that unfolded and that led to the establishment of an inclusive Australia/Aotearoa/South Pacific Indigenous public health education entity and network.


Drawing on case studies from the telecommunications and auto industries, we argue that the vertical disintegration of major German employers is contributing to the disorganisation of Germany's dual system of in-plant and sectoral negotiations. Subcontractors, subsidiaries, and temporary agencies often have no collective bargaining institutions, weaker firm-level agreements, or are covered by different sectoral agreements. As core employers move jobs to these firms, they introduce new organisational boundaries across the production chain and disrupt traditional bargaining structures. Worker representatives are developing new campaign approaches and using residual power at large firms to establish representation in new firms and sectors, but these have not been successful at re-building coordinated bargaining.


Phenology is a bio-indicator of climate evolution. Measurements of phenological stages on perennial species provide actually significant illustrations and assessments of the impact of climate change. Phenology is also one of the main key characteristics of the capacity of adaptation of perennial species, generating questions about its consequences on plant growth and development or on fruit quality. Predicting phenology evolution and adaptive capacities of perennial species needs to override three main methodological limitations: 1) existing observations and associated databases are scattered and sometimes incomplete, rendering difficult implementation of multi-site study of genotype-environment interaction analyses 2) there are not common protocols to observe phenological stages 3) access to generic phenological models platforms is still very limited. In this context, the PERPHECLIM project, which is funded by the Adapting Agriculture and Forestry to Climate Change Meta-Program ( ACCAF) from INRA ( French National Institute of Agronomic Research), aims to develop the necessary infrastructure at INRA level ( observatories, information system, modeling tools) to enable partners to study the phenology of various perennial species ( grapevine, fruit trees and forest trees). Currently, the PERPHECLIM project involves 28 research units in France, mainly from INRA institutes. Five activities have been developed: define protocols and observation forms to observe phenology for various species of interest for the project : organize observation training, develop generic modeling solutions to simulate phenology ( Phenological Modelling Platform software and modelling platform solutions), support the building of research projects at national and international levels, develop environment/genotype observation networks for fruit-tree species, and develop an information system to manage data and documentation concerning phenology. Finally, the PERPHECLIM project aims to build strong collaborations with public ( Observatoire des Saisons) and private ( technical institutes) sector partners in order to allow a more direct transfer of knowledge.


Background Previous studies of bipolar disorders indicate that childhood abuse and substance abuse are associated with the disorder. Whether both influence the clinical picture, or if one is mediating the association of the other, has not previously been investigated. Method A total of 587 patients with bipolar disorders were recruited from Norway and France. A history of childhood abuse was obtained using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Diagnosis and clinical variables, including substance abuse, were based on structured clinical interviews (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders or French version of the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies). Results Cannabis abuse was significantly associated with childhood abuse, specifically emotional and sexual abuse (χ 2 = 8.63, p = 0.003 and χ 2 = 7.55, p = 0.006, respectively). Cannabis abuse was significantly associated with earlier onset of the illness (z = −4.17, p < 0.001), lifetime history of at least one suicide attempt (χ 2 = 11.16, p = 0.001) and a trend for rapid cycling (χ 2 = 3.45, p = 0.06). Alcohol dependence was associated with suicide attempt (χ 2 = 10.28, p = 0.001), but not with age at onset or rapid cycling. After correcting for possible confounders and multiple testing, a trend was observed for an interaction between cannabis abuse and childhood abuse and suicide attempt (logistic regression: r 2 = 0.06, p = 0.039). Significant additive effects were also observed between cannabis abuse and childhood abuse on earlier age at onset (p < 0.001), increased rapid cycling and suicide attempt (logistic regression: r 2 = 0.03–0.04, p < 0.001). No mediation effects were observed; childhood abuse and cannabis abuse were independently associated with the disorder. Conclusions Our study is the first to demonstrate significant additive effects, but no mediation effects, between childhood abuse and cannabis abuse on increased clinical expressions of bipolar disorders.


It has been widely thought that measuring the misalignment angle between the orbital plane of a transiting exoplanet and the spin of its host star was a good discriminator between different migration processes for hot-Jupiters. Specifically, well-aligned hot-Jupiter systems (as measured by the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect) were thought to have formed via migration through interaction with a viscous disc, while misaligned systems were thought to have undergone a more violent dynamical history. These conclusions were based on the assumption that the planet-forming disc was well-aligned with the host star. Recent work by a number of authors has challenged this assumption by proposing mechanisms that act to drive the star–disc interaction out of alignment during the pre-main-sequence phase. We have estimated the stellar rotation axis of a sample of stars which host spatially resolved debris discs. Comparison of our derived stellar rotation axis inclination angles with the geometrically measured debris–disc inclinations shows no evidence for a misalignment between the two.


Background: To elucidate potential markers of endometriosis and endometriosis-associated endometrioid and clear cell ovarian carcinomas using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Methods: A total of 21 fresh, frozen tissues from patients diagnosed with clear cell carcinoma, endometrioid carcinoma, endometriosis and benign endometrium were subjected to an in-depth liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis on the Q-Exactive Plus. Protein identification and quantification were performed using MaxQuant, while downstream analyses were performed using Perseus and various bioinformatics databases. Results: Approximately 9000 proteins were identified in total, representing the first in-depth proteomic investigation of endometriosis and its associated cancers. This proteomic data was shown to be biologically sound, with minimal variation within patient cohorts and recapitulation of known markers. While moderate concordance with genomic data was observed, it was shown that such data are limited in their abilities to represent tumours on the protein level and to distinguish tumours from their benign precursors. Conclusions: The proteomic data suggests that distinct markers may differentiate endometrioid and clear cell carcinoma from endometriosis. These markers may be indicators of pathobiology but will need to be further investigated. Ultimately, this dataset may serve as a basis to unravel the underlying biology of the endometrioid and clear cell cancers with respect to their endometriotic origins.


Power system reactive power planning requires the computation of the reactive power margin from the point of voltage collapse in the steady-state in order to quantify the adequacy of the level of installed reactive power plant. This reactive margin is the difference between the maximum reactive load distributed across selected power system nodes and the reactive load at the planned system operating point. The margin can be estimated by applying an optimisation method using the total reactive load as the objective, with the load flow equations as equality constraints, whilst including system limits such as generator reactive capability limits as inequality constraints. This paper describes a full AC formulation of the optimisation problem. It is solved using an interior point implementation of the Newton method developed for the optimal power flow. This avoids potential difficulties in identifying the binding inequality constraints.


The heat shock protein RrmJ (FtsJ), highly conserved from eubacteria to eukarya, is responsible for the 2′-O-ribose methylation of the universally conserved base U2552 in the A-loop of the 23 S rRNA. Absence of this methylation, which occurs late in the maturation process of the ribosome, appears to cause the destabilization and premature dissociation of the 50 S ribosomal subunit. To understand the mechanism of 2′-O-ribose methyltransfer reactions, we characterized the enzymatic parameters of RrmJ and conducted site-specific mutagenesis of RrmJ. A structure based sequence alignment with VP39, a structurally related 2′-O-methyltransferase from vaccinia virus, guided our mutagenesis studies. We analyzed the function of our RrmJ mutants in vivo and characterized the methyltransfer reaction of the purified proteins in vitro. The active site of RrmJ appears to be formed by a catalytic triad consisting of two lysine residues, Lys-38 and Lys-164, and the negatively charged residue Asp-124. Another highly conserved residue, Glu-199, that is present in the active site of RrmJ and VP39 appears to play only a minor role in the methyltransfer reaction in vivo. Based on these results, a reaction mechanism for the methyltransfer activity of RrmJ is proposed.


Language variation and change are driven both by individuals' internal cognitive processes and by the social structures through which language propagates. A wide range of computational frameworks have been proposed to connect these drivers. We compare the strengths and weaknesses of existing approaches and propose a new analytic framework which combines previous network models' ability to capture realistic social structure with practically and more elegant computational properties. The framework privileges the process of language acquisition and embeds learners in a social network but is modular so that population structure can be combined with different acquisition models. We demonstrate two applications for the framework: a test of practical concerns that arise when modeling acquisition in a population setting and an application of the framework to recent work on phonological mergers in progress.


In this article, I reflect on the pedagogical decisions I made when I taught a course on gendered literacies during the 2008/2009 presidential campaign. I specifically focus on what I term the "Hillary" phenomenon, the media's often negative and unflattering portrayal of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. I start with a brief exploration of my goals for teaching current events; I then discuss student perceptions of Hillary Clinton's role in politics, and I show the importance of paying attention to students' social influences that, in Arizona, are often marked by "fear and trepidation" when it comes to political change. I show the importance of using examples from Clinton's writing, and I point toward pedagogical reasons for engaging students in discussions that address our positionalities in a variety of discourse communities. I conclude by pointing out that we need to encourage students to think critically about their own roles in perpetuating current value systems by challenging their assumptions about gender roles, race relations, sexual orientation, or class systems.


In 1990, Mozambique had fewer than 3,000 university-trained persons. Less than 15 percent of civil service personnel had a university degree, and more than a third of civil servants had less than seven years of primary education. Highly trained and professionally experienced Mozambicans tended to gravitate towards the private sector. Consequently, the planning and management of both public and private sector activities were adversely impacted. This Infobrief focuses on the expansion in the quantity and improvement in the quality of university graduates, a specific objective of the World Bank-assisted Capacity Building: Human Resources Development project which was implemented between 1993 and 2001. The number of students graduating annually from UEM has increased five times during project implementation (1994-2001), from 148 in 1994 to 695 in 2000. The percentage of graduates who complete all degree requirements within the official prescribed time has increased from 5 percent in 1997 to 15 percent in 2000. The overall average examination pass rate has improved from 39 percent in 1994 to 53 percent in 2000. Under the project, 4,350 book titles were imported and 159 textbook titles were produced locally. While the targeted number of books distributed to each student was five, survey questionnaires to a sample of economics and engineering students found that each student had 7-10 books. Critical capacity building needs in the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) were addressed through a strategy based on linking with selected universities outside the country. Libraries and reading space serving the faculties of agriculture, architecture, economics, veterinary science and medicine were expanded. Overall, about 50 percent of the university infrastructure was rehabilitated as planned.


Abstract:Robert Burns's poetic address 'To Mary in Heaven', also known as 'Thou Ling'ring Star', was once immensely popular among Scottish expatriates and Burns enthusiasts in British colonies. Unusually for Burns, it is written in a highly formal mode of English, and set to a deliberately composed tune rather than one 'found' in the context of traditional Scottish musical culture. In New Zealand, it has an extensive history of performance, in verse and song, from the earliest colonial period through to the aftermath of the First World War. An investigation into the poem's reception in early colonial New Zealand reveals the works of Burns to be not just 'a symphony and a synthesis of Scottish song and nationality', as some contemporary commentators suggested, but the foundation upon which a new, transcultural Scots–New Zealand cultural identity could be established.This essay uses nineteenth- and early twentieth-century New Zealand newspapers to map the ways in which 'Thou Ling'ring Star' was used by emigrant Scottish communities. It engages with critical debates about the diasporic Burns to argue for the importance of "minor" Burns pieces in that diaspora.


This paper examines the contents of perceptual experience, and focuses in particular on the relation between the representational aspects of an experience and its phenomenal character. It is argued that the Critical Realist two-component analysis of experience, advocated by Wilfrid Sellars, is preferable to the Intentionalist view. Experiences have different kinds of representational contents: both informational and intentional. An understanding of the essential navigational role of perception provides a principled way of explaining the nature of such representational contents. Experiences also have a distinct phenomenal content, or character, which is not determined by representational


Federated Learning (FL) is a method of training machine learning models on private data distributed over a large number of possibly heterogeneous clients such as mobile phones and IoT devices. In this work, we propose a new federated learning framework named HeteroFL to address heterogeneous clients equipped with very different computation and communication capabilities. Our solution can enable the training of heterogeneous local models with varying computation complexities and still produce a single global inference model. For the first time, our method challenges the underlying assumption of existing work that local models have to share the same architecture as the global model. We demonstrate several strategies to enhance FL training and conduct extensive empirical evaluations, including five computation complexity levels of three model architecture on three datasets. We show that adaptively distributing subnetworks according to clients' capabilities is both computation and communication efficient.


— Loop detectors report traffic characteristics in real time. They are at the core of traffic control process. Intuitively, one would expect that as density of detection increases, so would the quality of estimates derived from detector data. However, as detector deployment increases, the associated operating and maintenance cost increases. Thus, traffic agencies often need to decide where to add new detectors and which detectors should continue receiving maintenance, given their resource constraints. This paper evaluates the effect of detector spacing on freeway travel time estimation. A freeway section (Interstate-15) in Salt Lake City metropolitan region is examined. The research reveals that travel time accuracy does not necessarily deteriorate with increased detector spacing. Rather, the actual location of detectors has far greater influence on the quality of travel time estimates. The study presents an innovative computational approach that delivers optimal detector locations through a process that relies on Genetic Algorithm formulation.


The present study concerns a work on the investigation of the effect of the dehydration temperature on the dissolution process of a boron mineral, ulexite, in sulfuric acid solution. In the experiments, the dehydration temperature and dissolution temperature were chosen as the parameters. First, the dehydration of ulexite was performed isothermally in an oven, and DTA and X-ray analysis were carried out to observe the structural changes in the mineral. The effect of the dehydration temperature on the dissolution rate of ulexite in sulfuric acid solutions was then investigated, using a batch reactor made of glass. The kinetic parameters of the dissolution process, frequency factor and activation energy, were evaluated using dissolution data.


Non–stationarity relates to the variation over time of the statistics of a signal. Therefore, signals from practical applications which are realizations of non–stationary processes are difficult to represent and to process. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive discussion of the asynchronous representation and processing of non–stationary signals using a time-frequency framework. Power consumption and type of processing imposed by the size of the devices in many applications motivate the use of asynchronous, rather than conventional synchronous, approaches. This leads to the consideration of non–uniform, signal–dependent level–crossing and asynchronous sigma delta modulator (ASDM) based sampling. Reconstruction from a non– uniform sampled signal is made possible by connecting the sinc and the Prolate Spheroidal Wave (PSW) functions — a more appropriate basis. Two decomposition procedures are considered. One is based on the ASDM that generalizes the Haar wavelet representation and is used for representing analog non–stationary signals. The second decomposer is for representing discrete non– stationary signals. It is based on a linear-chirp based transform that provides local time-frequency parametric representations based on linear chirps as intrinsic mode functions. Important applications of these procedures are the compression and processing of biomedical signals as it will be illustrated.


. Health determinants in irregular migrants with chronic diseases: analysis of the accesses to the clinic of a non-governmental organization. INTRODUCTION Of the 112 thousand irregular migrants in Lombardy, 49 thousand reside in the area of Milan. Data on their health conditions and needs are scarce and fragmented, especially about their socio-demographic and clinical determinants. AIM To describe the main socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of irregular migrants with chronic diseases who access the clinic of a non-governmental organization that provides primary care and their association with the number of accesses. METHOD Retrospective observational study of a dataset containing information on irregular migrants with chronic diseases (N = 411) carried out at the Naga Onlus clinic in 2017. RESULTS The males come essentially from Africa and are often affected by back pain or low back pain (BP-LBP); females, mostly from East Europe or Central-South America, are frequently hypertensive. Up to 24 years of age, anxiety or depression prevails; at 25-44 years BP-LBP, at 45-64 years diabetes and in advanced age, hypertension. The knowledge of a EU language and the diagnosis of BP-LBP are respectively positively and negatively associated to the number of accesses. DISCUSSION Following the progressive aging with the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions, marginalization and stigma, the "healthy migrant" effect once characterizing irregular migrants is being replaced by the "exhausted migrant" effect and the assimilation of a state of health similar to that of native counterparts.


In a celebrated paper of 1893, Hadamard established the maximal determinant theorem, which establishes an upper bound on the determinant of a matrix with complex entries of norm at most 1. His paper concludes with the suggestion that mathematicians study the maximum value of the determinant of an $n \times n$ matrix with entries in $\{ \pm 1\}$. This is the Hadamard maximal determinant problem.
This survey provides complete proofs of the major results obtained thus far. We focus equally on upper bounds for the determinant (achieved largely via the study of the Gram matrices), and constructive lower bounds (achieved largely via quadratic residues in finite fields and concepts from design theory). To provide an impression of the historical development of the subject, we have attempted to modernise many of the original proofs, while maintaining the underlying ideas. Thus some of the proofs have the flavour of determinant theory, and some appear in print in English for the first time.
We survey constructions of matrices in order $n \equiv 3 \mod 4$, giving asymptotic analysis which has not previously appeared in the literature. We prove that there exists an infinite family of matrices achieving at least 0.48 of the maximal determinant bound. Previously the best known constant for a result of this type was 0.34.


The effect of sodium sulfate on the dispersion of polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PC) was studied in this paper. The study of fluidity of cement paste shown that the carboxyl groups did more to improve the fluidity of cement paste than the sulfonic groups, and a quick loss of fluidity was much more likely arisen by slufonic groups in PC comparing with the carboxyl groups. The methods of zeta potential and fluidity of cement paste were applied to investigate the dispersal ability of cement particles when different PC used in the present of different concentration of sodium sulfate. The result showed that the sulfonic group was more sensitive to sodium sulfate than carboxyl groups in PC.


In the hospital setting, a small percentage of recurrent frequent patients contribute to a disproportional amount of healthcare resource usage. Moreover, in many of these cases, patient outcomes can be greatly improved by reducing reoccurring visits, especially when they are associated with substance abuse, mental health, and medical factors that could be improved by social-behavioral interventions, outpatient or preventative care. To address this, we developed a computationally efficient and interpretable framework that both identifies recurrent patients with high utilization and determines which comorbidities contribute most to their recurrent visits. Specifically, we present a novel algorithm, called the minimum similarity association rules (MSAR), balancing confidence-support trade-off, to determine the conditions most associated with reoccurring Emergency department (ED) and inpatient visits. We validate MSAR on a large Electric Health Record (EHR) dataset. Part of the solution is deployed in Philips product Patient Flow Capacity Suite (PFCS).


This article reviews how and why the authors have used the cross-cultural simulation BAFA BAFA in a 1styear social sciences inquiry course on social identity. The article discusses modifications made to Shirts's original script for BAFA BAFA, how the authors conduct the postsimulation debriefing, key aspects of the student-written reflection of the simulation, and research results on how students perceive and rate BAFA BAFA relative to their learning. Students enrolled in the course find the simulation to be important to various aspects of their learning, including helping them to understand cultural diversity. This is particularly true for students who score highly on measures of deep learning, that is, the ability to connect course content with meanings in other situations and experiences in reflective ways.


The advance of graphene-based nanoelectronics has been hampered due to the difficulty in producing single- or few-layer graphene over large areas. We report a simple, scalable, and cost-efficient method to prepare graphene using methane-based CVD on nickel films deposited over complete Si/SiO2 wafers. By using highly diluted methane, single- and few-layer graphene were obtained, as confirmed by micro-Raman spectroscopy. In addition, a transfer technique has been applied to transfer the graphene film to target substrates via nickel etching. FETs based on the graphene films transferred to Si/SiO2 substrates revealed a weak p-type gate dependence, while transferring of the graphene films to glass substrate allowed its characterization as transparent conductive films, exhibiting transmittance of 80% in the visible wavelength range.


BACKGROUND
Abnormal bleeding is common in hormone therapy (HT) users. We aimed to determine how HT alters endometrial blood vessels and stromal factors known to regulate vascular growth and integrity.

METHODS
Prospective observational study of 165 post-menopausal women in Western Australia. The following were measured in endometrial biopsies: vascular density (vessels/mm(2)), total vessel area (total area enclosed by peripheral vascular immunostaining for perivascular pericytes in mm(2)), total luminal area (mm(2)) and vessel wall area (total vessel area minus luminal area), stromal expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) -1, -3, -9 and -14, their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) -1-4 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS
Total vessel area was greater during bleeding compared with HT users with no bleeding (P = 0.028) or with a prior irregular bleeding (P = 0.039). Total vessel area was greater in non-HT users compared with HT users with no bleeding (P = 0.021). In HT users, vessel luminal area was greater during bleeding compared with HT users with no bleeding (P = 0.030) and vessel wall area was also increased (P = 0.025). During bleeding there was an increase in stromal TIMP-2 staining (P = 0.044). No significant changes in endometrial MMP or VEGF were seen.

CONCLUSIONS
Abnormal bleeding in HT users is associated with changes in endometrial vessel size and in stromal expression of factors known to regulate vascular growth and integrity. These changes may contribute to abnormal bleeding.


This Article analyzes and reconstructs the law of third party copyright liability as it applies to providers of peer-to-peer technology. By doing so, the Article accomplishes three things. First, it identifies doctrinal tension between broad third party copyright liability endorsed by lower courts and the Supreme Court's skepticism of such liability as expressed in Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios. Second, it describes how existing interpretations of the law fail to direct judicial attention to important considerations that ought to influence the third party copyright liability of peer-to-peer providers. Third, it uses concepts borrowed from common law torts to improve the law by resolving doctrinal tension and directing judicial attention to important considerations that are presently overlooked.An effective doctrinal analysis of the peer-to-peer puzzle has proven elusive because the existing law of third party copyright liability does not cogently analyze facts important to the liability of peer-to-peer providers. As an intuitive matter, the third party copyright liability of any technology provider ought to depend on two things. First, it matters why the defendant created or distributed the technology. A defendant who creates technology and hopes that others will use it to infringe becomes culpable in a way that strongly supports liability. By contrast, a defendant who acts to facilitate noninfringing behavior is far less culpable if it turns out that others deliberately misuse the defendant's technology to infringe, and the case for his liability would be debatable.Second, it matters what the social costs and benefits of a particular technology are. Peer-to-peer technology obviously causes copyright infringement, but there are social benefits associated with the technology as well. People can use peer-to-peer networks to distribute copies of their own work, public domain works, and works they have permission to distribute. Peer-to-peer networks are also relatively easy to maintain and reliable because they frequently operate with little reliance upon a central actor whose disruption will destroy the network. These relative costs and benefits need to be measured, and it is likely that they will vary with the design of particular peer-to-peer systems. Liability makes more sense when the infringement associated with a particular system seems large in relation to any anticipated social benefits, and it makes less sense when the amount of infringement seems small in relation to those benefits. Unfortunately, the doctrinal elements that govern third party copyright liability do not direct judicial attention to these considerations. Vicarious liability depends on a defendant's control over and financial interest in another's infringement, while contributory liability depends on a defendant's knowledge of and contribution to another's infringement. These elements may affect the desirability of third party liability, but they do not get to the heart of the matter. Courts will therefore find it almost impossible to construct an effective solution to the peer-to-peer puzzle without reconstructing the law of the third party copyright liability. This Article will show that the application of common law tort principles accomplishes the necessary reconstruction. In so doing, the Article does not argue for a particular result in any particular case. The point is simply to demonstrate that principles drawn from intentional torts, negligence, respondeat superior, and strict products liability do better than existing doctrine at accounting for the motivations of defendants and the social costs and benefits of peer-to-peer technology. If courts were to use these principles to analyze peer-to-peer cases, their analysis of peer-to-peer cases would become more responsive to basic policy concerns and the wisdom of Sony. This increases the likelihood of decisions that serve the greater public good.


The aims of this paper are to present fundamental chemical reactions of metals in soils treated with industrial residues and to compare the two methods of trace elements phytoavailability estimation: sequential extraction method and plant bioassay method. Trace elements solubility and availability in land-applied industrial residues is governed by fundamental chemical reactions between metal constituent, soil and residual components. Organic matter, phosphates, carbonates, sulphides, iron, manganese and aluminium oxides are important sinks for trace elements in soil – residues system. The most important chemical property that govern trace elements availability, solubility, precipitation and sorption is pH of soil-residues system. Trace elements phytoavailability in soils treated with industrial residues is often estimated using soil /residues extraction methods. Spectroscopic studies shown that sequential extraction methods may not be accurate in soil-residues system. The best method to measure the effect of trace elements from industrial residues on phytoavailability seems to be plant bioassay. The key concepts use to describe phytoavailability are: the salt effect, the plateau concept and the soil plant barrier. Metals availability in soils from metal salts addition is higher than availability of metals from industrial residues. Metals content in plant show plateau at high residual loadings corresponding to the residuals metal concentration and sorption capacity. The soil plant barrier limits transmition of many trace elements through the food chain. Cadmium, an important human health concern, can bypass the soil-plant barrier. For trace elements phytoavailability estimation we used sequential extraction of trace elements from soil treated with mining steril (industrial residue), and plant bioassay method. Results of many studies that support these concepts provides a basis for understanding the relationship between trace elements chemistry and phytoavailability in industrial residues treated soils. Researches are needed to determine mechanisms for trace elements retention in soils and predict the long term bioavailability of trace elements in soil – industrial residue system.


PURPOSE
Here we report the results of a phase III study, to evaluate whether the addition of cisplatin to radiation therapy (XRT) would improve progression-free survival or overall survival for patients with locally advanced unresectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Two hundred forty patients with biopsy-proven unresectable NSCLC without distant metastases or lower-stage medically inoperable patients were randomized to one of two treatment arms. Arm A consisted of thoracic XRT alone, 60 to 65 Gy total tumor dose in daily fractions of 1.80 to 2.00 Gy; and arm B consisted of identical XRT with the addition of cisplatin 70 mg/m2 every 3 weeks for three cycles beginning on the first day of irradiation.

RESULTS
Two hundred fifteen patients were eligible and assessable. The overall response rate was 50% on the combination arm versus 38% on the XRT-alone arm (P = .076). The median progression-free survival time was 23 versus 22 weeks, respectively (P = .0537). The median survival time was 43 weeks on the combination arm versus 46 weeks on the XRT arm (Poverall = .3469). The 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival rates were 43%, 18%, and 5% on the combination arm versus 45% 13%, and 2% on the XRT arm, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Cisplatin, administered every 3 weeks, does not significantly improve response rate, progression-free survival, or overall survival when added to thoracic XRT for locally advanced unresectable NSCLC.


Hydraulic fracturing is used in the oil industry in order to increase the index of production and processing in the wells whose efficiencies have been dropped due to a long-term harvest or the rocks around the wells are of low permeability. Since the hydraulic fracturing operation is costly, it is of special importance to the project managers to determine the pressure required for hydraulic fracturing and the suitable pump for this operation. The numerical modelings used in this work are aimed to investigate the fracture pressure in the carbonate rocks of Bangestan reservoir in Ahvaz, Iran, and to determine a relationship between the pressure required for fracturing and the confining pressure. In this work, unlike the other ones in this field, the developed numerical models had no initial crack or fracture, and the path of the crack and how the crack grows were studied without any pre-determination and presumption. The results obtained show that, in most cases, the crack starts from the central part of the sample, and is extended to its two ends. The crack extension direction was along the borehole axis inside the sample and perpendicular to the lateral stress. The numerical modeling results were well-consistent with the experimental ones, indicating that the pump capacity constraints in the laboratory could be overcome through numerical modelings.


In recent years, there has been a desire to reduce CT radiation dose to children because of their susceptibility and prolonged risk for cancer induction. Concerns arise, however, as to the impact of dose reduction on image quality and thus potentially on diagnostic accuracy. To study the dose and image quality relationship, we are developing a simulation code to calculate organ dose in pediatric CT patients. To benchmark this code, a cylindrical phantom was built to represent a pediatric torso, which allows measurements of dose distributions from its center to its periphery. Dose distributions for axial CT scans were measured on a 64-slice multidetector CT (MDCT) scanner (GE Healthcare, Chalfont St. Giles, UK). The same measurements were simulated using a Monte Carlo code (PENELOPE, Universitat de Barcelona) with the applicable CT geometry including bowtie filter. The deviations between simulated and measured dose values were generally within 5%. To our knowledge, this work is one of the first attempts to compare measured radial dose distributions on a cylindrical phantom with Monte Carlo simulated results. It provides a simple and effective method for benchmarking organ dose simulation codes and demonstrates the potential of Monte Carlo simulation for investigating the relationship between dose and image quality for pediatric CT patients.


To find a kind nanoparticles can be used as additive in lubricants, oil-soluble calcium borate nanoparticles were prepared in the present of Na2B4O7.10H2O, CaCl2, and oleic acid as modifier by in-situ method, and the effects of different reaction conditions on the coil-solubility of the nanoparticles were investigated. The results indicate that the surface of calcium borate was altered from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity after the modification with oleic acid, and so the nanoparticles possess high solubility in mineral base oils. Moreover, TT-IR confirms that the bond of oleic acid onto the surface of calcium borate nanoparticles exists.


ABSTRACT The Contessa megabed is a basin-wide turbidite bed in the Marnoso-arenacea Formation (Miocene) of the northern Apennines (Italy). It has a mixed siliciclastic/carbonatoclastic composition and was derived from the southern end of the elongate, NW-SE-trending Periadriatic foreland basin. Heavy-mineral contents of fifteen Contessa samples taken across the whole outcrop area vary systematically. Zircon, tourmaline, rutile, garnet, chloritoid, picotite and monazite are ubiquitous. Staurolite and, to a lesser degree, titanite are absent along the southwestern margin of the basin and become increasingly present toward the foreland to the northeast, where the basin fill becomes progressively thinner. Other petrologic parameters of the Contessa light-mineral composition depict a similar geographic trend. Intrabasinal carbonate clasts are progressively more abundant northeastward toward the shallowest part of the basin, whereas the relative percentage of sparite cement increases toward the southwest, where the basin fill is thickest. Among the clay minerals, mixed-layer illit /smectite is more abundant in the shallowest part of the basin and decreases progressively toward the deepest part of the basin. Petrologic parameters of mostly siliciclastic sandstone beds stratigraphically close to the Contessa megabed and derived from the Alps to the northwest ("non-Contessa" samples) depict similar trends, in spite of their different provenance. Assuming that the respective compositions of the Contessa and non-Contessa samples were initially homogeneous across the entire basin, these areal differences in mineralogy are interpreted to result from varying degrees of diagenesis due to differential sedimentary/tectonic load in the asymmetrical Periadriatic basin. Provenance studies must consider this possibility to avoid erroneous reconstructions of sediment paleodispersal systems.


Stored nutrient reserves are closely correlated with survival and growth of transplanted seedlings. Previous studies have proven that combining pre-hardening fertilization (PF) with fall fertilization (FF) built seedling nutrient reserves more effectively; however, their effect on transplanting performance is poorly documented. We investigated the independent and interacting effects of 2 levels of PF and 4 levels of FF on seedling growth, nutrient acquisition and accumulation during different growth phases 1 year after transplanting of Quercus variabilis Blume in a nursery. High PF benefited nutrient reserves and subsequent transplanted seedling growth and tissue nutrient storage at the end of the rapid growth and hardening phases. Fall fertilization with 36 mg N increased stem dry mass and tissue nutrient content at the end of the hardening phase. At the conclusion of establishment, PF and FF showed a significant interaction for N and K uptake from soil. At the end of the rapid growth and hardening phases, high PF consistently increased nutrient uptake. Enhanced N and K uptake occurred following application of 36 mg N of FF at the end of the hardening phase. Distinct roles for PF and FF on 3 phases of transplanted seedlings demonstrated the necessity to evaluate fertilization in terms of nutrient reserves and subsequent transplanting performance in consecutive phases. Combining 100 mg N seedling–1 during pre-hardening with 36 mg N seedling–1 during fall yielded ideal transplanting performance for Quercus variabilis seedlings.


This article examines the television show Play School and the consistency with which it has engaged Australian children for over 40 years. Drawing on Susan Howard's findings that relate the effects of television on children to their perceptions of reality, Play School is deconstructed to reveal the techniques used to appeal to the preschool aged child's own experience of what is 'real'. Examining episodes produced 20 years apart, these strategies are seen as constants throughout the show's history, and are further shown to accommodate a changing socio-cultural landscape and remain relevant to their young audience.


The current Covid-19 pandemic situation changed the education system bringing forth the importance of virtual classrooms across the globe. The use of virtual classrooms to support and complement language teaching and learning process in several educational institutions has become a prime concern. This paper focuses on some of the synchronous techniques and strategies used by the instructorsof Qassim University, English department that augment the teaching and learning process in a felicitous virtual atmosphere. This could be done in the light of EFL teachers' viewpoints regarding the promotion of a synchronous virtual classroomaided with collaborative and learner-centered teaching. An electronic survey was administered asking instructors to describe the methods and approaches used regarding teaching in the virtual environment. The responses from the participants most frequently cited making their virtual classrooms easier and a more comfortable place for their students to learn. Pre-test and posttest were also administered based on synchronous techniques. The findings indicated significant influence of virtual techniques on learning and teaching. However, instructors seemed to prefer some virtual tools over the others.Less common use of webcams and video-conferencing can be attributed to cultural values, and tothe settings and protocols of the current situation of virtual home classrooms. Private chat, though, it was unlikely used by instructors, it proved to be more appealing collaborate tool to interact with shyintroverted and low level learners, and to tackle online class troubles.Some virtual class constraints have been reported by some researchers,but they were less common.These findings provide meaningful data for research and instructors to enrich EFL classrooms and to promote technology-enhanced learning in the educational institutions.


Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a subset of regulatory T lymphocytes that recognize glycolipid antigens presented by the major histocompatibility complex class I-related glycoprotein CD1d. NKT cells have been implicated in regulating the progression of Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in human patients and in an animal model for T1D. In addition, glycolipid agonists of NKT cells have been successful in preventing diabetes in mice, raising enthusiasm for the development of NKT cell-based therapies for T1D.


Rapid development in Information technology are creating learning and teaching more interactive and efficient through innovative technology. The potential use of Internet and computer technology in the education has been widely recognized globally. Bhutan although with its limited ICT (Information and communication Technology) infrastructure shares the same view and wishes to yield the benefits of the technology into their education curriculum.The aim of the project is to demonstrate the capability of web technology in developing web portal with low-end technology to teach school children the basic skills of mapping and GIS. The basic skills on map reading and application of simple query related to GIS forms the core component of this application which will help children learn map reading.The application is created with low-end technology and is simple and easy to use. The project is not a complete portal and will not cover all aspect of mapping but will supplement the conventional classroom curriculum and can be developed into a full cross-curriculum portal with further contribution.


The 1989 Johnson Space Center (JSC) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program was conducted by Texas A and M University and JSC. The 10-week program was operated under the auspices of the ASEE. The program at JSC, as well as the programs at other NASA Centers, was funded by the Office of University Affairs, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. The objectives of the program, which began nationally in 1964 and at JSC in 1965, are: (1) to further the professional knowledge of qualified engineering and science faculty members; (2) to stimulate an exchange of ideas between participants and NASA; (3) to enrich and refresh the research and teaching activities of participants' institutions; and (4) to contribute to the research objective of the NASA Centers.


Background Globally 1.2 million children die every year from pneumonia and it remains amongst the leading causes of under 5 childhood mortality. Auditing current practice is an essential step in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with childhood pneumonia and helping to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4. The Kenyan Paediatric Association (KPA) has evidence based guidelines on the management of pneumonia. The aim of this study was to compare the management of children with pneumonia to this standard. Method A retrospective audit was carried out in two government hospitals and one missionary hospital in Kenya over a 1 month period in 2013. The study population included all patients admitted with a clinical diagnosis of pneumonia and data was collected directly from patient notes. Results - 148 children admitted with pneumonia were included with a median age of 21 months and a 5% mortality. - 69% of patients were classified correctly and 55% of patients were given the correct antibiotics. - 37% of patients across all three hospitals had their observations checked 24 hly or less than 24 hly. - 35% of patients who had not improved after 5 days of treatment had their HIV status checked. Conclusion Clearly displayed guidelines and the distribution of Kenyan Paediatric Handbooks would support medical staff in classifying and managing children with pneumonia correctly. Regular observations are crucial in recognising clinical deterioration to enable early intervention to reduce mortality. As healthcare providers we are failing to check the HIV status of high risk children. All children should have their HIV status checked as good practice. While great progress has been made in the management of pneumonia, we have demonstrated the need to further improve practice, to limit the morbidity and mortality associated with pneumonia in Kenyan children. The future Our plan to improve care for children with pneumonia involves delivering the following interventions at each of the hospitals: - A targeted teaching session on childhood pneumonia to all healthcare professionals; - Ensuring each acute area has the KPA pneumonia protocol clearly displayed; - Meeting with nursing staff regarding observations of acutely unwell children; - To re-audit and complete the audit cycle.


Invasive species often evolve rapidly in response to the novel biotic and abiotic conditions in their introduced range. Such adaptive evolutionary changes might play an important role in the success of some invasive species. Here, we investigated whether introduced European populations of the South African ragwort Senecio inaequidens (Asteraceae) have genetically diverged from native populations. We carried out a greenhouse experiment where 12 South African and 11 European populations were for several months grown at two levels of nutrient availability, as well as in the presence or absence of a generalist insect herbivore. We found that, in contrast to a current hypothesis, plants from introduced populations had a significantly lower reproductive output, but higher allocation to root biomass, and they were more tolerant to insect herbivory. Moreover, introduced populations were less genetically variable, but displayed greater plasticity in response to fertilization. Finally, introduced populations were phenotypically most similar to a subset of native populations from mountainous regions in southern Africa. Taking into account the species' likely history of introduction, our data support the idea that the invasion success of Senecio inaequidens in Central Europe is based on selective introduction of specific preadapted and plastic genotypes rather than on adaptive evolution in the introduced range.


Excretion of albumin in the urine is highly variable, ranging from nondetectable quantities to milligrams of albumin and even grams of albumin. Microalbuminuria is defined as low levels of urinary albumin excretion of 30 to 300 mg/d. Microalbuminuria is highly prevalent; in hypertensive and diabetic populations, its prevalence varies from 10 to 40%. It is interesting that microalbuminuria also is found frequently in seemingly healthy individuals (5 to 7%). The variable excretion of albumin in the urine is related to the risk for the individual to develop cardiovascular (CV) disease: Absence or very low levels of albuminuria is associated with low CV risk, whereas the CV risk increases markedly with increasing amount of albumin in the urine (even within the now considered normal range). The predictive power of urinary albumin levels for CV risk is independent of other CV risk factors and not only is present in individual with diabetes and/or hypertension but also in healthy individuals. Treatments that lower albuminuria are associated with CV protection, as demonstrated in randomized, controlled trials of patients with diabetes as well as in patients with hypertension. There is preliminary evidence that albuminuria lowering is CV protective in healthy individuals with an elevated albumin excretion rate. Differences between individuals in their level of albumin excretion are already observed at a very early age (just after birth). In fact, the interindividual variability seems to be relatively constant in the first 5 decades of life, indicating that microalbuminuria is not necessarily a consequence of vascular damage at later age. Higher levels of urinary albumin seem to reflect the ordinary interindividual variability in (renal and systemic) endothelial function. Experimental data show that between strains and even within strains, rats at young age show a remarkable difference in individual endothelial function, and this is strongly related to the susceptibility of that rat to organ damage. In conclusion, albuminuria seems to be a sensitive marker very early in life for the susceptibility of an individual to CV disease. It therefore may be an ideal target for early primary prevention using CV-protective therapy regimens.


In this paper we study properties of tight contact structures on solid tori. In particular we discuss ways of distinguishing two solicl tori with tight contact structures. We also give examples of unusual tight contact structures on solid tori. We prove the existence of a 2-valued and a llt/27rE-valued invaria.nt of a closed solid torus. We call them the self-linking number and the rotation number respectively. We then extend these definitions to the case of an open solid torus. We show that these invariants exhibit certain monotonicity properties with respect to inclusion. We also prove a number of results which give sufficient conditions for two solid tori to be contactomorphic. At the same time we discuss various ways of constructing a tight contact structure on a solid torus. We then produce examples of solid tori with tight contact structures and calculate self-linking and rotation numbers for these tori. These examples show that the invariants we defined do not give a complete classification of tight contact structure on open solid tori. At the end, we construct a family of tight contact structure on a solid torus such that the induced contact structure on a finite-sheeted cover of that solid torus is no longer tight. This answers negatively a question asked by Eliashberg in 1990. We also give an example of tight contact structure on an open solid torus which cannot be contactly embedded into a sphere with the standard contact structure, another example o1: unexpected behavior.


The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of organizational justice on job commitment in Jordanian ministries. Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to 450 employees in three Jordanian ministries, namely, the Ministry of Education; Ministry of Health; and Ministry of Awqaf Islamic Affairs and Holy Places. Data were analyzed via descriptive, simple linear regression analysis, and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. The hypotheses of the research were tested and the probabilities of their acceptance were rejection. Findings revealed a statistically significant impact between organizational justice and job commitimnt. Results also indicated that informational justice has the highest influential effect on employee job commitmint, while procedural justice had the lowest impact on it. Furthermore, this study reports differences between the dimensions of the (OJ) in their impacts on the dimensions of job commitment. Moreover, the study found that the three dimensions of organizational justice (information justice, personal justice, and distributive justice) combined had a higher predictive capacity of job commitment than that of any independent dimension or two dimensions of organizational justice. In view of the results, the researcher gives some recommendations to the decision makers in Jordanian ministries that may guide them to promote the concept and practice of organizational justice in their ministries such as the need for increasing the levels of organizational justice, especially the distributive justice, and focusing on compatibility of income of the employee with their academic level and practical experience, in addition to necessity of improving the system of rewards in the Jordanian ministries because the rewards have a significant impact on the employees' perception of justice and on her/his interest in supporting her/his colleagues when doing additional work in the ministry. In other respects, this study has practical implications for future research such as attracting attention to the need to study job satisfaction and job engagement as mediatingvariables of association of employee's job commitment with organizational justice. This is in addition to conducting studies similar to the present one in different environments inside and outside Jordan.


Let's learn about how to get connected to the technology, our peers and lecturers, different forms of support, and most importantly, our learning. This online orientation offers strategies for dealing with the challenges and opportunities around learning online. Let's get connected and learn how to learn online together!