Perovskite quantum dots (P-QDs) is a new kind of optoelectronic materials in recent years. Compared with organic perovskite QDs (MAPbX3), inorganic perovskite QDs (CsPbX3) have a better stability. Inorganic P-QDs can be prepared at low temperature. Those novel QDs can be applied in solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), display, and biolables. Typical synthesis process to prepare CsPbX3 QDs is used oleic acid (OA) and cesium carbonate (Cs2CO3) to form Cs-oleate complex first. Moreover, the oleylamine (OLA) and octadecene (ODE) are used as capping agents. Cs-oleate complex then reacts with PbX2 to form CsPbX3 QDs (reacts for 5 s). As we know that the CsPbBr3 QDs emits green light, and its emission wavelength can be tuned by adding Cland Iions to replace Brion. However, the reaction rate of CsPbX3 QDs is fast, and it is not easy to control the emission wavelength by particle size. In this study, we use the saturated alkyl amines with difference of carbon chain length such as dodecylamine (DDA), hexadecylamine (HDA), and octadecylamine (ODA) to prepare CsPbBr3 QDs. The result shows that the emission spectra for all samples range from 489 (ODA) to 514 nm (DDA), the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) is between 23 to 28 nm, the surface morphologies of all samples are nearly spherical, and the quantum yields (QYs) are higher up to 130 % (compared with R6G and the excitation wavelength is 450 nm). Based on emission spectra we can find that the emission peaks are fixed even under different excitation wavelength, imply that the particle size distribution of QDs is uniform. Moreover, the emission wavelength blue shifts with increasing carbon chain length of amines. The stability of alkyl amine-capped CsPbBr3 QDs is good, especially for DDA-capped sample. We also find that a small emission peak around 462 nm can be only observed for DDA-capped sample. Furthermore, this small peak also can be observed even prolong the reaction time to 10 min. The emission wavelengths of CsPbBr3 QDs can be controlled by carbon chain length of alkyl amines. The small FWHM and high QYs of CsPbBr3 QDs meaning that it is benefit to enhance the color gamut of display.


Oleic acid (OA) complexes of human alpha-lactalbumin (α-LA) and several other proteins are effective in the killing of a variety of tumor cells. While debate on whether the key component of the complexes is the OA or protein continues, studies probing the mechanism of action of the complexes at the tumor cell surface or in the cell interior assume the action of a molecule in the form of an undissociated complex. Recent evidence however suggests that OA complexes of protein are stripped of bound OA on interaction with artificial or natural membranes before entering the cell. Properties of BAMLET stripped of its OA by exposure to erythrocytes (ET-BAMLET) were investigated in the study. ET-BAMLET resembled α-LA in its inability to induce hemolysis of erythrocytes and behaviour in a gel filtration column. Spectroscopy techniques-fluorescence, far- and near UV CD as well as calorimetry and proteolysis however suggest the molecule to be different both from native α-LA and the apo form. Remarkably, unlike native α-LA and apo-α-LA, ET-BAMLET binds OA and turns hemolytic by simple mixing with the fatty acid around neutral pH. Since BAMLET/HAMLET incubated cells take up large amounts of OA, the study suggests the possibility of ET-BAMLET combining with OA and reforming the complex inside the cells.


Title of Dissertation: The Hot Atmospheres of X-Shaped Radio Galaxies Edmund Hodges-Kluck, Doctor of Philosophy, 2011 Dissertation directed by: Professor Christopher Reynolds Department of Astronomy We present an observational and numerical study of X-shaped radio galaxies, a subset of the double-lobed radio galaxies with a second set of lobes or "wings." These sources have been proposed as the "smoking gun" of supermassive black hole mergers, in which case the secondary lobes would be fossil remnants following a black hole spin-flip jet reorientation. However, they may instead originate in the interplay between giant radio lobes and their hot plasma environments, since radio lobes can be considered as bubbles of light fluid in the heavier intracluster medium. Circumstantial evidence from studies of the host galaxies at optical wavelengths indicates that this may indeed be the case, leading to two important questions we attempt to answer in this work: (1) Does it appear that X-shaped radio galaxies are aware of their environments? (2) Can radio galaxies respond to their environments in such a way as to form X-shaped morphology? We use radio, optical, and X-ray imaging data to investigate the first question, finding that, in general, X-shaped sources have jets co-aligned with the major axes of their hot (X-ray emitting) atmospheres and wings co-aligned with their minor axes. However, in at least one case (where the jet clearly does not follow this trend), a deep X-ray observation suggests that rapid reorientation of the jet axis is the best explanation. Moreover, despite the trend we discover, the hydrodynamic models of wing formation have significant theoretical problems. Thus, the second major component of this thesis is concerned with using hydrodynamical simulations to determine whether X-shaped radio galaxies can be produced in response to asymmetries in the atmosphere. We inject jets as light fluids into a model cluster or galactic atmosphere previously in hydrostatic equilibrium, thereby forming bubbles similar to those observed in radio galaxies. Since we inject the jet along the major axis of an asymmetric atmosphere, distortions to the canonical double-lobed radio galaxy result from different responses to the local pressure gradient. With a significantly anisotropic atmosphere and a powerful but decaying jet, we find that X-shaped morphology indeed results for reasonable jet and cluster parameters. However, it is unclear whether our simulated mechanism would be effectual in nature because of the high degree of anisotropy required and the differences between some observed wings and our model wings. We make a number of predictions which we would expect to be observed in the future if the hydrodynamic model is at work. The Hot Atmospheres of X-Shaped Radio Galaxies by Edmund Hodges-Kluck Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland at College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2011


In the past ten years, public institutions including Kenyatta University have experienced a surge in population growth, exacerbated by a demand for higher education. The university population has increased eight times more between the year 2006-2016 leading to inadequacy in accommodation services within university premises, thus three quarters of these students reside in the neighboring areas. This study aimed at looking at the impact of this population increase on the water systems. Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed; three FGDs, key informant interviews and 220 respondents were interviewed comprising of; students, households, caretakers and small business owners. The study established that 62% of the residents used water from municipal water integrated to borehole supply. There were high water shortages marked with rationing as supply was only 2-3 times a week during student peak sessions. Most residents reverted to boreholes that were sunk without following set standards. 60% stored water in locally made tanks with low storage capacity inadequate to meet demand. The respondents felt the need to have an integrated holistic approach and coordination among all relevant stakeholders including; government, management institutions, households, students, public institution administrators, and businesses in order to comprehensively manage the water resources effectively.


In 2002 the American remake of the Japanese horror movie called The Ring (1998) made the hair of millions of viewers stand on end when an evil little girl crawled out of the television set and went on to murder innocent people. Even though a physical manifestation of this situation is impossible, the fear that something might come out of television and tear the fragile boundary between reality and fiction is a real phenomenon accompanying the ascent of this medium. However, to date this fear has not been systematically explored in research. This paper addresses this research gap by conducting a retrospective analysis of the fears and concerns aroused by a mini-series that was screened in West Germany in the early 1980s. The story of Tod eines Schulers ( Death of a Schoolboy ) depicts a pupil's growing problems during his final year at secondary school which eventually lead to his suicide. Based on press articles, psychological research and archive materials this case study will explore how the fictional interpretation of a pupil's tragic death caused and contributed to medial, political and scientific agenda setting.


Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. In this article, the parasitic and host factors contributing to the pathophysiology of P carinii pneumonia will be reviewed. In particular, P carinii adherence to alveolar epithelial cells plays a central role in the development of pneumonia. Potential mechanisms mediating this attachment include cell surface glycoproteins, exogenous fibronectin and components of the parasitic cytoskeleton. Host factors contributing to respiratory impairment also have been recently evaluated. Inflammatory responses, aimed at ridding the lung of P carinii, may result in further deterioration of respiratory function. A better understanding of the host-parasite relationship in P carinii pneumonia eventually will lead to the development of novel therapies for this increasingly common respiratory disorder.


The Ecuadorian shoreline is considered highly susceptible by impacts of tsunamis triggered by marine quakes or submarine landslides occurring close or nearby the subduction zone between the Nazca, Caribbean and South American plates. Since 1877 one dozen known tsunamis have been witnessed along this coast, mostly related to short-distanced seismic activities (earthquakes between Mw 6.9 to 8.8). However, no evidence of these impacts has been recorded in the sedimentary stratigraphy on the Ecuadorian platform so far. Nonetheless, in the southwestern part of the Gulf of Guayaquil, due to a biological, chemical, stratigraphic and geochronologic study of a few cored samples an anomalous horizon to the other sedimentary layers has been identified and recognized as a paleo-tsunami deposit. This layer having a thickness of up to 10 cm and up to 1100 meters away from the actual shore, demonstrates various criteria which confirm its origin such as deep sea foraminifera like Pullenia bulloides , run-up and backwash features, fragments of molluscs, which are absent in other sedimentary levels, matrix of weathered chlorite potentially originated by glauconite besides other. Geocronologic evidence together with the calculated sedimentation rate, implies that a the tsunami surged the coastal lowlands around Villamil Playas about 1250 ± 50 yrs ago and must have been a major event originated from the western or northwestern direction.


Aluminium alloy composites reinforced with aluminium borate whiskers (ABw), developed recently by SHIKOKU KASEI KOUGYOU Co. Ltd., Japan, were fabricated using squeeze casting. The large mismatch in the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between the reinforcement material and the matrix can generate significant stress and strain in composites during thermal cycling or during fabrication of the composites when using squeeze casting. When a transmission electron microscope is used to irradiate a very small area of a thin film of the material with a convergent electron beam of several nm in diameter, High Order Laue Zone patterns (HOLZ patterns) are obtained. These HOLZ patterns can reveal fine strain fields in the reinforcement materials that are used in composites fabricated using squeeze casting. Each (001) plane in the ABw was rotated towards the [020] direction by up to 0.5 ゚. With a unit of nearly 400 nm × 400 nm, each (100) plane was rotated towards the [020] direction in a corkscrew pattern. In addition the strain and the stress generated during the fabrication of the composites were estimated by using the finite element methods taking into account the anisotropies in both the CTE and the elastic modulus of the reinforcement material.


This paper presents the high-speed ultrasonic testing methods for steel pipes currently, and points the existing difficulties, such as the instability in signal transmission, the problem of water coupling, and so on. Then the inspection method based on linear reciprocating probes is proposed to achieve the purpose of fewer probes and higher detecting speed. The mathematics model which adopts the slider-crank mechanism to realize the probes swinging fast in line is established as there is blind spot between the adjacent probes in high-speed inspection. With the help of simulation of Matlab, the relation curve between the rotation speed of crank and the rotation angle of crank is acquired, as well as the line speed of the steel pipe and the rotation angle of crank. The experiment platform is set up according to the simulation data, and the results verify the feasibility of the method.


May-Thurner syndrome (MTS) predisposes individuals to develop lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT) because of compression of the left common iliac vein. Diagnosis of the anatomic obstruction is critical for effective therapy, as treatment by interventional radiology is often required in addition to anticoagulation to prevent thrombus progression and recurrence. The authors performed a retrospective review of adolescent patients who presented with MTS-associated DVT at a pediatric tertiary care center from 2009 to 2018 to assess for delays in MTS diagnosis after the presentation. Fourteen patients (median age 16.5 y, range, 13.8 to 17.9 y) were included, no DVTs were provoked by a central venous catheter. The median time from DVT to MTS diagnosis was 0.65 months (range, 0 to 21.5 mo). The initial imaging modalities used for DVT diagnosis were not able to diagnosis MTS. All patients were treated with anticoagulation and 13 underwent interventional therapy. Four patients had thrombus progression or recurrence, whereas 6 had complete thrombus resolution on follow-up imaging. Three patients who had a delayed MTS diagnosis had clinical worsening despite therapeutic anticoagulation requiring rehospitalization. Adolescent patients with "unprovoked" left lower extremity DVT should undergo appropriate imaging to diagnose MTS to allow for adequate medical and interventional therapy.


Using data from national samples, we examine the convergent and predictive validity of explicit and implicit measures of racial prejudice. First, we show that explicit measures diverge from a measure of implicit racial bias. The number of respondents classified as prejudiced on the implicit measure substantially exceeds the corresponding number based on explicit indicators, suggesting that survey respondents may be masking their racial attitudes. Second, in three different experimental contexts, we demonstrate that implicit racial bias predicts a preference for individuals with lighter complexions. People classified as prejudiced on the basis of explicit measures, however, do not discriminate on the basis of complexion. Our findings suggest that future efforts to assess prejudice should incorporate both implicit and explicit racial attitudes.


Friction effects during a progressive microforming process for production of micropins of various diameters were experimentally investigated and were analytically modeled, using a hybrid friction model. The response surface method and ANOVA analysis were used to generalize the findings for various pin diameters. Besides, it was shown that to get an accurate result in simulation, the friction model must be considered locally instead of a global friction model for the whole process. The effect of friction factor on the final micropart dimensions (the effect on the instantaneous location of the neutral plane) and the forming pressure were investigated. The results showed a reduction in the friction factor as die diameter increased. Following that, the optimum frictional condition to obtain the highest micropart aspect ratio was defined as the maximum friction on the interface between the die upper surface and the punch surface, together with a minimum friction inside the die orifice.


In recent years, wide-field sky surveys providing deep multiband imaging have presented a new path for indirectly characterizing the progenitor populations of core-collapse supernovae (SNe): systematic light-curve studies. We assemble a set of 76 grizy-band Type IIP SN light curves from Pan-STARRS1, obtained over a constant survey program of 4 yr and classified using both spectroscopy and machine-learning-based photometric techniques. We develop and apply a new Bayesian model for the full multiband evolution of each light curve in the sample. We find no evidence of a subpopulation of fast-declining explosions (historically referred to as "Type IIL" SNe). However, we identify a highly significant relation between the plateau phase decay rate and peak luminosity among our SNe IIP. These results argue in favor of a single parameter, likely determined by initial stellar mass, predominantly controlling the explosions of red supergiants. This relation could also be applied for SN cosmology, offering a standardizable candle good to an intrinsic scatter of ≲ 0.2 mag. We compare each light curve to physical models from hydrodynamic simulations to estimate progenitor initial masses and other properties of the Pan-STARRS1 Type IIP SN sample. We show that correction of systematic discrepancies between modeled and observed SN IIP light-curve properties and an expanded grid of progenitor properties are needed to enable robust progenitor inferences from multiband light-curve samples of this kind. This work will serve as a pathfinder for photometric studies of core-collapse SNe to be conducted through future wide-field transient searches.


The declining importance of money in transactions can explain the well-known fact that U.S. interest rate policy was passive in the pre-Volcker period and active after 1982. We generalize a standard cashless New Keynesian model (Woodford, 2003) by incorporating an explicit transaction role for money. In the pre-Volcker period, we estimate that money did play an important role and determinacy required a passive interest rate policy. However, after 1982, money no longer played an important role in facilitating transactions. Correspondingly, the conventional view prevails and an active policy ensured equilibrium determinacy.


Aims. The role of group cohesion in improving morale and performance of military forces has confirmed in investigations. On the other hand, aggression and suicide are common problems of these forces, especially in conscript soldiers due to their armed. Of course, aggression and suicide are not moment events and have been started of thought and followed to design and implement. In order to prevent the aggression and suicide ideation, must first the factors of their inhibition and facilitates be studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors of group cohesion and their relation with aggression and suicidal ideation in conscript soldiers . Methods. This survey and applied research was performed in all conscript soldiers of one of the military forces and 237 soldiers were selected by categorized sampling method. The instruments were Siebold & Kelly group cohesion questionnaire, Huesmann, Miller & Zelli aggression questionnaire (revised version), Beck scale for suicide ideation (BSSI) and the researcher-made demographic questionnaire. Data was analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regressions. Results. There was a significant correlation among group cohesion's factors, aggression and suicide ideation, but they were not valid for predicting. Therefore, linear model had not a good fitness in multiple regressions. Conclusion. Group cohesion's factors are not determinants in control of aggression and suicidal ideation.


The cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation is the oldest light in the universe - it is literally the remnant heat left over from the Big Bang. This fossil relic has survived largely intact and it provides us with a unique probe of conditions in the early universe, long before any stars or galaxies had formed. NASA has now flown two satellites devoted to studying the CMB: 'COBE' and 'WMAP'. In this lecture I will describe what we have learned from these missions including: evidence for the Big Bang itself; new measurements of the age, shape, and content of the universe; and new evidence that all structure in the universe emerged from microscopic quantum fluctuations in the primordial soup.


With modern medicine and advances in technology, people are living longer and expecting a higher quality of life. Individuals may not be receiving the ideal assistive devices because they are not sure where to obtain the proper equipment, or what is available. An increased flow of informational publications needs to reach the consumers so they are able to make better informed decisions about their quality of life. Addressing the issue of limited resources, this study places a focus on the use of service dogs as a form of assistive technology. The main objective of this study was to collect data from individuals who had wheelchair service dogs and to compare the data to individuals who did not have a wheelchair service dog. Data were collected and analyzed on variables of assistive technology use, disability, human assistance used, depression, pain, fatigue, and activities of daily living. This information was collected as a baseline, after three months and after nine months. Of the 172 individuals who participated from the beginning of this study, 117 successfully completed all three surveys. For the baseline, there were significant relationships between the dog groups and the individuals who used assistive technology (p=0.02); between the dog group and the depression (CES-D) score (p=0.047); and between the dog group and the Pain I (Total Pain Rating Index) of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (p=0.01). Individuals in the control group used less assistive technology, and individuals in the service dog and wait list groups used the most assistive technology devices. Individuals on the wait list had significantly higher CESD scores, and individuals who had recently received a service dog had lower scores than those in the pet and control groups. Overall, depression scores increased for individuals who were on the waiting list to receive a dog, although not to a significant degree. Depression scores increased (insignificantly) at the second visit for service dog owners, but decreased at the third visit. Although not to a significant degree, pain generally decreased for service dog owners. Individuals with service dogs are able to participate in more activities of daily living, although they do still need help.


Intervention was implemented with an infant identified at 9 months of age with a behavioral profile consistent with autistic spectrum disorder. The intervention approach, the Early Start Denver model, consisted of a 12-week, 1.5-hr-per-week individualized parent–child education program. Results of this case study demonstrated that the parent acquired multiple teaching tactics that were associated with growth in the infant's social communication behaviors. Improvements were also noted with respect to the severity of behavioral indicators related to autism between 18 and 24 months of age. Findings are discussed in relation to providing an intervention model that may equip parents with the necessary intervention skills to engage, communicate with, and teach their very young children with or at risk for autism.


Primary angiosarcoma of the breast is an unusual neoplasm generally associated with a dismal prognosis. In order to determine if there is a relationship between the histological characteristics of angiosarcoma and the clinical behavior, we studied 15 such cases obtained from the Connecticut Tumor Registry between the years 1954 and 1980. Histologically the cases were classified in three types: well differentiated, moderately differentiated, and poorly differentiated. The results show that the histologic patterns of the tumors correlated closely with the prognosis. Four of the five patients with well-differentiated lesions have remained free of disease for as long as 24 years. Three of four patients with moderately differentiated lesions and three of the six patients with poorly differentiated tumors died of disease in intervals up to 4 years. We believe that careful histologic evaluation of these tumors may be of significance in the prognosis of the patients.


In 1977, the Federal Government designated Hampton University as a Selective Depository for housing government publications. We currently select, receive, and retain approximately 22 % of the items that are distributed by the United States Government. Compilation of Presidential Documents


The effect of ultrasonic treatment under low frequency and power condition on the surface adsorption state and photocatalysis activity of nanosized TiO2 photocatalyst was studied. Results obtained from UV-Vis absorption spectra revealed that obvious differences of adsorption state on TiO2 powder surface were found after ultrasonic treatment, which agreed with the DTA-TG results that the thermal peaks varied with increasing ultrasonic treatment time. Furthermore, the photocatalysis activity for methyl-orange solution under visible light irradiation (≥450 nm) varied in a similar way with increasing ultrasonic treatment time. Present study revealed that the ultrasonic treatment was an effective way to study the relation between the surface adsorption state and photocatalysis activity of present nanosize TiO2 photocatalyst.


Background Today, euthanasia has become the option for terminally ill persons, in order to die with dignity. Palliative care on the other hand seeks to re-assure people with terminal or chronic ailments that they are still worthy of living. Aim To show case Palliative care as an efficient alternative to euthanasia for terminally ill persons. Methods I examined request for euthanasia and or assisted suicide on the basis of personal interviews carried out on terminally ill patients in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria in the last 24 months; current arguments for and against the concept and views expressed by stake-holders on the concept. Results Outcome of the study carried out shows that request for euthanasia and or assisted suicide, are largely due to the fear of being a burden and abandoned by families and relatives. Discussion Since it deals with care rather than cure, a combination of doctors, nurses and social work palliative care specialists, Massage therapists, pharmacists, nutritionists, chaplains, amongst others, will re-assure terminally and chronically ill patients that they are not a burden, and that the remaining part of their lives are worth living. Conclusion Palliative care should be the focus of all government across the globe so that, terminally and chronically ill persons can be adequately catered for as they approach their end of life. If this is wholly embraced, the request for euthanasia and or assisted suicide will be condemned to the dustbin of history.


ABSTRACT This article discusses the implication of the 2021 CASAC v Ingonyama Trust judgment on South Africa's land governance policy trajectories. It explores the extent to which there are missing links between policy imperatives, the legal system, court processes and socio-economic emancipation. It argues that the failure of the state in policy design and implementation has turned courts into contradictory sites of struggle for emancipating land rights. In particular, we examine some of the key specific and broader implications that emanate from the landmark ruling in the case that was lodged by the Council for the Advancement of South African Constitution and Rural Women's Movement against the Ingonyama Trust and Board, where the conduct of Ingonyama Trust was found to be illegal and unconstitutional, as it undermined the indigenous land rights of people occupying the land by converting their land tenure rights into leasehold. The verdict was a huge affirmation of indigenous land rights, but the judgment is unlikely to translate into clear policy. Instead, it has unleashed confusion and dilemma tied to colonial and apartheid legacies as well as competing jurisdictions. Our main argument is that court judgments become de facto policy statements, but those policies are not easily implemented because they are intersectional. We show that current land policies, including the one involving the Ingonyama Trust, has an intersectional genesis that includes old apartheid legislation and policies, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as well as legislature and other political deals (such as negotiations to bring about reconciliation) that cannot be easily undone by any one court judgment.


The first symptom of this condition is usually a hoarse voice, which is due to deposits in the vocal cords. In infancy the hoarseness is expressed as a weak cry. The voice abnormalities persist throughout life and can ultimately cause difficulty speaking or complete loss of speech. Involvement of the throat, tonsils, and lips can result in breathing problems and upper respiratory tract infections. Deposits in the tongue can result in a thick and shortened tongue. They can also thicken the band of tissue that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth (frenulum), making it difficult to extend the tongue. The tongue may also have a smooth appearance due to damage to the taste buds.


67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) is a Jupiter-family comet and the object of investigation of the European Space Agency mission Rosetta. This report presents the first full 3D simulation results of 67P's neutral gas coma. In this study we include results from a direct simulation Monte Carlo method, a hydrodynamic code, and a purely geometric calculation which computes the total illuminated surface area on the nucleus. All models include the triangulated 3D shape model of 67P as well as realistic illumination and shadowing conditions. The basic concept is the assumption that these illumination conditions on the nucleus are the main driver for the gas activity of the comet. As a consequence, the total production rate of 67P varies as a function of solar insolation. The best agreement between the model and the data is achieved when gas fluxes on the night side are in the range of 7% to 10% of the maximum flux, accounting for contributions from the most volatile components. To validate the output of our numerical simulations we compare the results of all three models to in situ gas number density measurements from the ROSINA COPS instrument. We are able to reproduce the overall features of these local neutral number density measurements of ROSINA COPS for the time period between early August 2014 and January 1 2015 with all three models. Some details in the measurements are not reproduced and warrant further investigation and refinement of the models. However, the overall assumption that illumination conditions on the nucleus are at least an important driver of the gas activity is validated by the models. According to our simulation results we find the total production rate of 67P to be constant between August and November 2014 with a value of about 1 × 1026 molecules s−1.


This is the brief for the Plaintiff-Appellant Lucas Rosa v. Park West Bank and Trust Company in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. This appeal is from a Final Judgment, entered October 18, 1999, that disposed of all claims in the case. This case involves an action brought pursuant to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Massachusetts statutes forbidding discrimination in places of public accommodation, and credit, against a bank for refusing to issue and accept a loan application from a bank customer because of the customer's sex.


Block copolymers have shown the potential to self-assemble into a rich variety of nanostructures with well-defined shapes and functions. Linear ABC triblock terpolymers are the first polymer architecture to allow the sequential collapse of polymer blocks and thus the formation of patchy micelles qualifying for hierarchical self-assembly into complex superstructures. Although solution self-assembly has become progressively more sophisticated, the controlled hierarchical structuring of linear triblock terpolymers in aqueous solution still remains challenging. Here, we show the synthesis and self-assembly of a bishydrophilic, pH-responsive triblock terpolymer into discrete patchy micelles followed by the hierarchical assembly into supracolloidal chains in water. The polymer features a water-soluble non-ionic polyethylene oxide (PEO) corona block, a hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) core block, and a poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP) block able to switch from corona to core depending on pH. Using solvent sequences, we first form micelles with a PS core and a mixed PEO/P2VP corona. The P2VP block length was thereby chosen to be smaller than that of PS to give a large fraction of micelles with VSV core symmetry and to direct aggregation into linear supracolloidal chains of (VSV)n. We analyze these supracolloidal chains under various preparation conditions to identify the most suitable path for extended growth. The results foster our understanding of the subtleties involved in the aqueous self-assembly of linear high molecular weight block copolymers and may in the future support the hierarchical self-assembly of linear multiblock and sequence-edited copolymers.


A fuzzy neural network (FNN) model embedded with a modified particle swarm optimizer (MPSO) is proposed in this study for cost estimation of construction projects. The proposed method has advantages over traditional FNN approaches in ways of generalization ability and automatic parameter optimization. Comparative studies show that this improved model is also superior to those of BP (back propagation) neural network, PSO-BP and PSO-FNN. Effectively improved accuracy of the developed model in cost estimation of construction project was discussed in case studies. This study provides a base for decision-making in the management of construction project.


Industrial inspection robots, which are to move around in a nuclear power plant and carry out inspection tasks, must follow a given route while observing static and dynamic features of the environment. A stereo active vision system has been developed, equipped with foveated wide-field image acquisition and mounted on a mobile robot. With this or other types of active sensors, only the foveated center of the field of view can extract precise information, so the camera pose must be controlled to fixate the target area for execution of a particular visual task. The activities of inspection robots lead to multiple visual tasks, requiring both reactive and premeditated types of attention, and therefore the robot must apply its sensing resources sequentially among multiple possibilities. In this paper, we propose a new framework for visual attention control for a mobile robot, describe the implementation of the proposed framework, and show some examples in which the camera pose is controlled to achieve multiple visual tasks.


Normal feline peripheral blood mononuclear cells demonstrated increased phytomitogen blast transformation after a 24 hr delay in mitogen addition as compared to 0 hr mitogenesis. Increased stimulation after 24 hr which is not due to enhancing factors accumulating in the culture medium has been attributed to a short-lived suppressor cell which loses its effect after 24 hr in culture. This short-lived suppressive phenomenon was studied in normal specific-pathogen-free cats and compared to experimental animals infected with retrovirus (FeLV). Experimental cats demonstrated a subsequent loss of this function following acquisition of a persistent viremia.


First published in 1836 by John Arrowsmith of London. "This map provides a great deal of historical and geographical information regarding the important part of the Cape Colony which was the scene of nine frontier wars between the Cape government and the Xhosa tribe." Inset shows 'Statistical notes 1833'. Dedicated to Sir Benjamin D'Urban.


This paper presents continuous review two-echelon inventory systems with two different substitutable items in stock. The demand for the products follows independent Poisson with rates λ1 and λ2 respectively for product and A and B. The operating policy at the lower echelon for the products are (si , Si) that is whenever the inventory level drops to 'si' on order for Qi = (Si-si) items is placed, the ordered items are received after a random time which is distributed as exponential. We assume that the demands accruing during the stock-out period are lost. The retailer replenishes the stock of products from the supplier which adopts (0,Mi) policy. The joint probability disruption of the inventory levels of the products, at retailer and the products at supplier are obtained in the steady state case. Various system performance measures are derived and the long run total expected inventory cost rate is calculated. Several instances of numerical examples, which provide insight into the behavior of the system, are presented.


Implementing electronic performance monitoring in the workplace might improve the efficiency and quality of employee data that are collected. These intended benefits might be discounted or even eliminated if employees have a negative reaction to the monitoring process. The goal of this exploratory study was therefore to investigate which electronic performance monitoring techniques and monitoring characteristics are associated with negative employee reactions using survey responses from 190 student workers. Results showed that close performance monitoring (via cameras, data entry, chat and phone recording) had significant negative effects on job attitudes such as job satisfaction and affective commitment. Similar effects were observed for employee self-efficacy and perceived control. Attitudes were furthermore negatively impacted when the monitoring was focused on individuals and unpredictable, which also reduced organisational citizenship behaviour while continuous monitoring reduced self-efficacy. These findings suggest that the benefits of close monitoring may be overshadowed by negative employee reactions.


Introduction: Green marketing is a phenomenon which has developed particular importance in the modern market. This concept has enabled re-marketing and packaging of existing products. Additionally, the development of green marketing has opened the door of opportunity for companies to co-brand their products into separate line. India is a world leader in green IT potential, according to a recently released global enterprise survey. Among the companies that have succeeded so far in their green marketing strategies are Apple, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Sony and Dell. People around the world are becoming more aware of the environmental stresses. As resources are limited and human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to utilize the resources efficiently without any wastage so as to achieve the organization's objectives as a result of an organization. Statement of Problem: More than 30 years ago, the environmental problems seem to concern all active citizens, enterprises and institutions all over the world. International researches show that the consumers worry more about the environment and change gradually their behavior. The term "Green marketing" refers to the planning, development and promotion of products or services that satisfy the needs of consumers for quality, output, accessible prices and service, however without a negative effect on the environment, with regard to the use of raw material, consumption of energy etc. From the point of view of an organization, an individual is a means to environmental effectiveness. The viability of a Green concept depends on the efficiency that it achieves in meeting its goals of green marketing by protecting the nature.Indian organizations are under transition today, bringing lot of changes in developing marketing concepts towards the environmental protection. The changing attitude of the marketer and the consumer leads them to step forward towards safe and pollution free society.Considering the importance of Green Marketing in an organization, an attempt has been made to write this paper entitled "A Descriptive Study on Green Marketing Trends in India" Scope of the study: The scope of this paper would include the following aspects: • Focus and try to understand the awareness level of green products,• An insight about the consumer's perception about green products, and the parameters they consider for buying green products and,• Whether Green Marketing really affect the consumers decision to buy products?Limitation of the study: This paper suffers from the following limitations:• Prejudice from the respondents might have caused errors. • Due to time and monetary constraints, a micro level study has been conducted on the topic. Objective of the study: The objective of this paper includes:• To identify the segments of green consumers.• To explore the challenges and opportunities businesses have with green marketing.• To understand awareness level of green products.• To examines the present trends of green marketing in India and its future.Methodology of the study:The present study is based on interview method where an in depth interview were conducted with 10 people who were selected as a sample from the general consumer segment.


Abstract In the Mackenzie Mountains, an arcuate foreland thrust-fold belt of Late Cretaceous–Paleocene age in the northern Canadian Cordillera, two discrete glacial–periglacial sequences of Cryogenian age (the Rapitan Group and the Stelfox Member of the Ice Brook Fm.) are separated by c. 1.0 km of non-glacial strata. The older Rapitan diamictite occurs in an amagmatic rift basin; the younger Stelfox diamictite occurs on a passive-margin continental slope. The Rapitan Group consists of three formations. The lower Mount Berg Fm. is a complex of diamictites and conglomerates of limited extent. The middle Sayunei Fm. is a thick sequence of maroon-coloured mudrocks hosting innumerable graded layers of silt- and fine-grained sandstone. It lacks wave- or traction current-generated bedforms, and is lightly sprinkled with granule aggregates ('till pellets') and lonestones of dolostone and rare extrabasinal granitoids. It is capped by a hematitic Fe-formation that was reworked into the disconformably overlying Shezal diamictite. The Shezal Fm. is a complex of olive-green coloured boulder diamictites with subordinate, dark-grey shales, siltstones and parallel-sided sandstones. Some of the boulders are faceted and striated, and include dolostone, quartzite, siltstone and gabbro in declining order of abundance. Diamictite terminates abruptly at the top of the Shezal Fm., which is sharply overlain by dark shales or by <52 m of fetid, dark-grey, 13C-depleted limestone with graded bedding. The Stelfox Member is dominated by non-stratified, carbonate-clast diamictite with faceted and striated clasts, locally associated with subordinate, well-laminated shales containing till pellets and ice-rafted dropstones. It is thin or absent on the palaeocontinental shelf, but thickens seaward (southwestward) on the palaeocontinental slope. A thin clay drape separates it from a laterally continuous post-glacial 'cap' dolostone, which is a very pale coloured, micro- to macropeloidal dolostone with low-angle cross-laminae, giant wave ripples and local bioherms of corrugated stomatolites. In the NW, the dolostone is followed by reddish and greenish marls, followed by black shale of the Sheepbed Fm. In the SE, the dolostone is overlain by pink or grey limestones with well-developed sea-floor cements pseudomorphic after aragonite. In this area, the top of the dolostone is ferruginous and contains digitate rosettes of sea-floor barite cement, variably calcitized. The dolostone–limestone contact is perfectly conformable, and synclinal structures previously intepreted as karst features are tectonic in origin. The grand mean palaeomagnetic pole for the well-studied Franklin Large Igneous Province (c. 718 Ma) of Arctic Laurentia, coeval with the basal Rapitan Group in the Mount Harper area, Yukon Territory, places the Mackenzie Mountains firmly in the tropics, at 18±3°N palaeolatitude, at the onset of the Rapitan glaciation. Carbon (δ13C), oxygen (δ18O) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopes have been measured in carbonates bracketing the Rapitan and Stelfox diamictites. Sulphur isotope data (δ34S) have been obtained from carbonate-associated sulphate and barite above the younger diamictite, and calcium isotope data (δ44Ca) from the younger carbonate itself. The results are broadly consistent with data from other areas. Iron isotope (δ57Fe) and cerium anomaly (Ce/Ce*) values increase systematically upwards through the Sayunei Fe-formation, supporting an interpretation that deposition occurred within a redox chemocline through which the basin floor descended as a consequence of isostatic loading by the advancing Shezal ice sheet. Supplementary material: Data are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18470.


As the public expenditure for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) - formerly the Food Stamp Program (FSP) - increases, improving the effectiveness of the policy becomes pivotal to limit further surges in public spending. Along with social stigma, transaction costs, associated in part to the accessibility and proximity to food outlets, are the main deterrent to program participation. This study presents an empirical assessment of the relationship between food access and FSP participation among eligible population. The analysis uses county-level data for the continental U.S., distinguished by different stores formats (grocery stores, convenience stores and a non-traditional, low-priced alternative, Wal-Mart Supercenters) accounting for the endogeneity of their location decision. To estimate the parameter of the model we use a relatively novel estimator: the spatial generalized two-stage least square (GS2SLS) estimator with heteroskedastic autoregressive disturbances of order (1,1) or SARAR(1,1), developed by Kelejian and Prucha (2010). Empirical results show that, among eligible individuals, the presence of small convenience stores, large grocery stores, and Walmart supercenters entice participation in the food stamp program. In sum, increasing the number of stores for which commuting by car is not strictly necessary (convenience stores) or the proximity to stores with wider assortment of low-priced items may act as catalysts to ability to the policy ability to reach the underprivileged.


Few-shot segmentation, which aims to segment unseen-class objects given only a handful of densely labeled samples, has received widespread attention from the community. Existing approaches typically follow the prototype learning paradigm to perform meta-inference, which fails to fully exploit the underlying information from support image-mask pairs, resulting in various segmentation failures, e.g., incomplete objects, ambiguous boundaries, and distractor activation. To this end, we propose a simple yet versatile framework in the spirit of divide-and-conquer. Specifically, a novel self-reasoning scheme is first implemented on the annotated support image, and then the coarse segmentation mask is divided into multiple regions with different properties. Leveraging effective masked average pooling operations, a series of support-induced proxies are thus derived, each playing a specific role in conquering the above challenges. Moreover, we devise a unique parallel decoder structure that integrates proxies with similar attributes to boost the discrimination power. Our proposed approach, named divide-and-conquer proxies (DCP), allows for the development of appropriate and reliable information as a guide at the "episode" level, not just about the object cues themselves. Extensive experiments on PASCAL-5i and COCO-20i demonstrate the superiority of DCP over conventional prototype-based approaches (up to 5~10% on average), which also establishes a new state-of-the-art. Code is available at github.com/chunbolang/DCP.


AIM
To explore the role of MAPK signal transduction pathway in killing tumor cells by Mycobacteria tuberculosis antigen (Mtb-Ag) activated human gammadeltaT cells.

METHODS
Normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were stimulated with Mtb-Ag and expanded in rIL-2-containing medium to induce gammadeltaT cells. The highly purified gammadeltaT cells were isolated by positive selection with MACS separator. Proportion of gammadeltaT cells was detected by flow cytometry (FCM). The cytotoxicity and CD69 expression of gammadeltaT cells pre-treated with or without PD98059 (Erk inhibitor) or SB203580 (p38 inhibitor) were detected by MTT colorimetry assay and FCM, respectively.

RESULTS
The percentages of gammadeltaT cells in freshly isolated PBMCs, Mtb-Ag-activated PBMCs and cells sorted by MACS were 3.56%, 74.63% and 98.20%, respectively. The cytotoxicities of gammadeltaT cells to tumor cell lines (K562 and Raji cells) were inhibited by PD98059. The inhibitory rate of cytotoxicity to K562 cells by gammadeltaT cells (39.27%) was higher than that to Raji cells(26.58%). CD69 expressions on gammadeltaT cells induced by K562 or Raji cells were decreased by pretreatment with 100 mumol/L of PD98059. But SB203580 had no effects on the cytotoxicity and CD69 expression on gammadeltaT cells induced by K562 and Raji cells.

CONCLUSION
Erk MAPK pathway, not p38 MAPK, plays an important role in triggering cytotoxicity of gammadeltaT cells. The Erk pathway may affect on the granule exocytosis of gammadeltaT cells more than the Fas/FasL-mediated cytotoxicity of gammadeltaT cells. Moreover, Erk MAPK pathway is also involved in expression of activation molecule CD69 on gammadeltaT cells induced by tumor cells.


Performance appraisal, an effective method for human resource management, is getting increasing attention by more and more foundry enterprises. Traditional manual methods, though laborious and not conductive to the management, have been widely used to appraise employee's performance in the past years. Most domestic foundry enterprises have achieved a certain extent of informationization, during which lots of valuable data are accumulated, but these data rarely play a significant role in performance appraisal. In order to solve these problems, this paper analyzes the features of performance appraisal methods of these foundry enterprises, then designs and implements a Performance Appraisal System (PAS) based on data integration. PAS is suitable for enterprises at different informationization levels. The aim of PAS is to achieve a more rapid, fair and accurate performance appraisal and help to promote informationization of foundry enterprises.


Objective Implementation of National Health Insurance in 1995 improved the control of hypertension due to comprehensive coverage of medical costs for all residents in Taiwan. However, the role of individual socioeconomic status (iSES), namely, education and personal income, in awareness, treatmen, and control of blood pressure, has not been well studied in Taiwan. Design A nationwide cross-sectional survey was executed in this study. Setting A systematic, multistage sampling scheme from a nationwide cohort in Taiwan was adopted to select adult participants. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mm Hg or the use of antihypertensive medications. Participants A total of 4599 subjects completed door-to-door household interviews and physical examinations. Primary and secondary outcome measures A summing z score of iSES was constructed by two domains of the iSES, namely, income and education, through which participants were classified into three SES levels. Logistic regression models were used to assess associations of awareness, treatment, and control in younger (<65 years) and older (≥65 years) participants with hypertension. Results Younger people in the highest tertile of iSES were less likely to be aware of their hypertension (OR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.64, p<0.0001) or to have it treated (OR: 0.49, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.64, p<0.0001) but more likely to have their hypertension controlled (OR: 1.52, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.94, p=0.0009). We did not detect an association in people aged >65 years. Conclusion Health education to improve awareness and treatment of hypertension should focus on younger people with higher iSES in Taiwan.


Background and Purpose: One emerging power mobility device (PMD) option that has gained recognition as a means for a cost-effective introduction to power mobility for young children is the battery powered modified ride-on toy car. Many groups, nationally and internationally, have been modifying battery powered ride-on toy cars by adding seating support and a large center placed push button switch for motor activation. The purpose of this technical report is to introduce an enhanced steering and drive system based on proportional control through a joystick. Key Points: This report offers (1) a technical description of these modifications that allow directional steering and programmable starting and driving velocity, (2) an example of a modified ride on toy, including common seating modifications, and (3) a short summary of results from a group of 7 children under the age of six with complex, severe disabilities. Clinical Impact: Although proportional joystick modifications are more complex than the common single switch activation, they allow children greater control to achieve self-initiated, self-directed movement that allow play, peer interaction, and exploration in their natural environments, even in the most highly complex cases. All seven children were able to intentionally self-initiate activation of the modified ride-on car and experience the subsequent movement.


We present a new theoretical analysis of the PSR B1620-26 triple system in the globular cluster M4, based on the latest radio pulsar timing data, which now include measurements of five time derivatives of the pulse frequency. These data allow us to determine the mass and orbital parameters of the second companion completely (up to the usual unknown orbital inclination angle i2). The current best-fit parameters correspond to a second companion of planetary mass, m2 sin i2 ≃ 7 × 10-3 M☉ , in an orbit of eccentricity e2 ≃ 0.45 and semimajor axis a2 ≃ 60 AU. Using numerical scattering experiments, we study a possible formation scenario for the triple system, which involves a dynamical exchange interaction between the binary pulsar and a primordial star-planet system. The current orbital parameters of the triple are consistent with such a dynamical origin and suggest that the separation of the parent star-planet system was very large, ≳50 AU. We also examine the possible origin of the anomalously high eccentricity of the inner binary pulsar. While this eccentricity could have been induced during the same dynamical interaction that created the triple, we find that it could equally well arise from long-term secular perturbation effects in the triple, combining the general relativistic precession of the inner orbit with the Newtonian gravitational perturbation of the planet. The detection of a planet in this system may be taken as evidence that large numbers of extrasolar planetary systems, not unlike those discovered recently in the solar neighborhood, also exist in old star clusters.


Background: Limited evidence exists on the effectiveness of using an entertainment-education methodology to address multiple public health issues and of using participatory street theatre to improve public understanding related to public health. Objective: To assess the feasibility, acceptability and impact of the Actor–Doctor project, an intervention involving theatre professionals and medical specialists to jointly deliver street-theatre-based public health education. Design: A real-world, mixed-methods post-intervention study evaluated the Actor–Doctor project among 486 participants in Ahmedabad, India, in 2017. Setting and method: Focus group discussions with actors and semi-structured interviews with doctors and implementers assessed project feasibility, acceptability and perceived impact. Post-intervention surveys among actors, audience and a control group assessed impact on knowledge and attitudes related to select public health issues. Quantitative data were analysed using multivariable regression, and qualitative data were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis. Results: The Actor–Doctor project was feasible to implement, as 20 street theatre performances on five public health themes were developed and staged. Members of the audience showed higher knowledge of environmental health, anaemia and openness to discussing sexual health issues, compared to a control group (omega squared 0.03–0.24; p < .001). Actors and doctors collaborating to create theatre-based public health education derived satisfaction from the project. Balancing scientific accuracy and entertainment, especially humour was challenging. Conclusion: The Actor–Doctor project was instrumental in improving public-health-related engagement between actors, doctors and the public.


Secretion of vesicular contents by exocytosis is a fundamental cellular process. Increasing evidence suggests that post-fusion events play an important role in determining the composition and quantity of the secretory output. In particular, regulation of fusion pore dilation and closure is considered a key regulator of the post-fusion phase. However, depending on the nature of the cargo, additional mechanisms might be essential to facilitate effective release. We have recently described that in alveolar type II (ATII) cells, lamellar bodies (LBs), which are secretory vesicles that store lung surfactant, are coated with actin following fusion with the plasma membrane. Surfactant, a lipoprotein complex, does not readily diffuse out of fused LBs following opening and dilation of the fusion pore. Using fluorescence microscopy, atomic force microscopy and biochemical assays, we present evidence that actin coating and subsequent contraction of the actin coat is essential to facilitate surfactant secretion. Latrunculin B prevents actin coating of fused LBs and inhibits surfactant secretion almost completely. Simultaneous imaging of the vesicle membrane and the actin coat revealed that contraction of the actin coat compresses the vesicle following fusion. This leads to active extrusion of vesicle contents. Initial actin coating of fused vesicles is dependent on activation of Rho and formin-dependent actin nucleation. Actin coat contraction is facilitated by myosin II. In summary, our data suggest that fusion pore opening and dilation itself is not sufficient for release of bulky vesicle cargos and that active extrusion mechanisms are required.


Introduction Anxiety is the most common psychological problem reported among children with visual impairments. Although cognitive behavior therapy interventions have proven successful in treating childhood anxiety, it is unclear whether they are suitable and accessible for children who have visual impairments. This study aimed to determine if and how traditional cognitive behavior therapy–based interventions could be adapted for use with this specific population by interviewing children with visual impairments themselves. Methods A qualitative research design was used. Sixteen children with visual impairments (aged 9 to 13 years) participated in two focus group interviews. Participants attended two special schools in the Western Cape, South Africa. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and content analysis was undertaken. Results Three primary themes emerged from the focus group data: (1) difficulties encountered by children with visual impairments; (2) existing coping strategies; and (3) insight into the concepts of feelings, thoughts and behaviors (central to cognitive behavior therapy). Discussion The emergent themes and their implications for the adaptation of a cognitive behavior therapy–based anxiety intervention are discussed. Implications for practitioners Results provide practitioners with guidelines to consider when using or adapting therapeutic techniques such as cognitive behavior therapy for children with visual impairments.


The characteristic of natural history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the depletion of CD4 lymphocytes from blood, lymphoid nodes and mucosal tissues, both by direct cytopathic mechanism and chronic immune mechanisms, through the alteration of lymphocytic homeostasis. At the beginning of HIV infection, loss of LCD4 lymphocytes from the intestinal mucosa is faster than of peripheral blood lymphocytes and depends on the amplitude of viral replication. The alteration of intestinal barrier integrity allows microbial translocation, contributing to immune chronic activation. Bacterial translocation in HIV infection influences the progress of HIV infection and the results of antiretroviral therapy. On the other hand, the antiretroviral therapy impacts gut microbial composition and the microbial translocation. The diversity of intestinal microbial species is most altered by the protease inhibitor regimen, while the integrase inhibitors have the least impact. The objectives of restoration therapy for gut microbiome are to limit the microbial translocation by antibiotics and probiotics use, to increase the competence of the intestinal barrier by immunomodulatory biological therapies and to neutralize the translocated microbial products from the intestine.


Dr. Madelene McWha (Blaer) is a Tourism Lecturer at William Angliss Institute and a specialist in tourism and the media. Prior to this position, she worked for La Trobe University in the Business School teaching tourism, hospitality and event studies. She has published in the leading A* ranked academic tourism journals and been engaged as an expert speaker, panelist, and reviewer. Awarded a PhD in 2016 from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, Dr. McWha's doctoral dissertation focussed on the changing roles and experiences of contemporary travel writers in the digital age. The catalyst for this research was a personal interest in cultures, especially those different to her own, and how they were portrayed in travel texts. She is passionate about her research and was a grateful recipient of an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), bestowed by the Commonwealth Government of Australia for students of exceptional research potential undertaking higher degree research in Australia. Her thesis highlighted that digital innovations in publishing have dramatically changed travel writing across the globe. After interviewing 47 professional travel writers, primarily from Australia, NZ, the UK and the US, a variety of issues affecting interviewees emerged, ranging from self-branding and interacting with readers through to managing social media platforms and ethics involving sponsorship. A theory of contemporary travel writers' experiences was developed in her thesis, which argues that these lived experiences are multifaceted and differ depending on the influence and intensity of ten dimensions. The research also found that contemporary travel writers feel an accountability to write responsibly and mindfully, yet to get published, they must cultivate and maintain relationships with sponsors, editors, and publishers, as well as adapt to digital spaces and online interactivity with their readers. Madelene has since focussed on actively disseminating her research and publishing her findings. Her record of publication includes book chapters, refereed conference papers and articles in the top-tier academic journals, Annals of Tourism Research in 2018, Journal of Sustainable Tourism in 2017 and Current Issues in Tourism in 2016. Madelene benefitted from great apprenticeship under highly experienced writers, her PhD supervisors, Dr. Warwick Frost, Dr. Jennifer Laing and Dr. Gary Best, who continue to mentor and support her in her academic career. While her published research is highly qualitative in nature, she also has familiarity with statistical analysis through teaching three different research methods subjects (at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels). She has also used statistical data as she was appointed project leader of a research team engaged in an ongoing project to explore the use of simulations as a teaching-learning tool in higher education. Most recently, she was the primary co-editor with Professor Sue Beeton of a Special Issue for Tourist Studies titled "Engaging with popular media through tourism", which has been a new and interesting role for her. To further disseminate and leverage the impact of her research findings, she also delivers guest lectures and presentations at various domestic and international universities and conferences. Through her research and travels, she has developed a keen interest in sustainable tourism development, management, and marketing. While she has published research on the concept of sustainable travel writing that promotes cross-cultural understanding, socio-cultural and environmental advocacy and the benefits of tourism to communities, she would like to conduct more research in this field and is interested in exploring how different destination management organisations manage, promote and contribute to sustainable tourism development. Madelene previously completed a Bachelor of Business (Tourism and Hospitality Management) for which she received the Dean's Commendation, and Master of Tourism (First Class Honours) from La Trobe University, for which she received the Dean's Commendation and Dean's Medal, awarded by the Vice Chancellor of La Trobe University to the outstanding postgraduate coursework student in the School of Management. She has great memories of her own under-graduate and post-graduate studies and hopes to inspire and engage the next generation of students. An advocate for scholarly and reflective teaching practices, she is proficient with new and engaging educational and teaching technologies and tries to use them to their full potential, such as Learning Management Systems (LMS), interactive online lectures, apps, and simulations. She has received awards for her teaching and innovation at La Trobe University and William Angliss Institute. Madelene sees connecting academia and industry as a key driver to foster applied research and relevant teaching. This interest led her to executive leadership positions on academic and tourism industry committees and boards. She was elected Treasurer of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) Asia Pacific Chapter, which is a member-based association that unites the research community, including academics, professional practitioners, and users of research. In this role, Madelene has helped to coordinate and stage a number of conferences, including the TTRA Asia Pacific 2017 conference held at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the TTRA International 2018 conference held at Biltmore Hotel in Miami and the TTRA Asia Pacific 2018 conference hosted by RMIT University in Vietnam. Enjoying this role, she was pleased to accept an invitation to be the academic co-chair of the TTRA International conference to be held in Melbourne in 2019. Having been a member for many years, she joined the Young Tourism Network (YTN) committee in 2016. YTN is a member-based association that develops and delivers programmes and professional development and networking events to bring students, tourism professionals and new entrants in the Victorian tourism industry together through engaging learning environments. She was elected onto the committee firstly as an Event Coordinator, and presently, as Deputy Chair. In this role, together with her team, Madelene helped to prepare a winning application for the Victorian Tourism Awards in 2017, where YTN won 'Outstanding Contribution by Volunteers'. Based in Melbourne, Madelene is a seventh generation Australian on both ancestral sides, with ties back to Ireland and Germany. Her maiden surname is Irish in origin and pronounced 'Mc-War'. She was recently married and has started using another surname (which is German and pronounced like the English 'Blair'). Outside academia, Madelene enjoys travelling overseas with her husband and finding dog-friendly places in regional Victoria to take their Schnauzer. Madelene is also an avid reader and her favourite authors and characters include Alain de Botton, Margaret Atwood, Tintin, and Snowy.


Poly-β- hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is short chain fatty acids and accumulated by many of microbes and utilizes as source of energy and carbon, the present study is planned to check the effect of dietary supplementation of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate on the growth, gut enzymatic activity and body composition of Rainbow Trout (Onchorynchus mykiss). The fish were fed with four types of feeds containing different levels of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB1%, PHB2%, PHB3%) and a control (PHB0%) feed without addition of any agent three times a day at feeding rate of 3% of the fish wet body weight. The results of current study revealed that dietary supplementation of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate increased the growth performance, improves body composition and immune response in rainbow trout (Onchorynchus mykiss) fingerlings. Overall growth performance was found satisfactory in all the treatment groups with significant difference. PHB1 group showed significant difference with the other entire group regarding FCR (1.23 ± 0.01), %weight gain (503.92 ± 14.02), SGR (3.10 ± 0.04) and weight gain (26.15 ± 0.92). There was significant difference observed in PHB1 group for crude protein, crude lipid. It was observed that PHB groups showed significantly lower value for crude fat and significantly higher value of crude protein as compare to control (PHB0) group. There was a non-significant differences present between PHB fed group and control group for fatty acid analysis There was a significant differences present between PHB fed group and control group for digestive enzymes activity. Specifically PHB1 showed significant difference with all other treatment groups. There was a significant differences present between PHB fed group and control group for hematological studied.PHB2 showed significant difference with all other treatment groups. In conclusion, the current study indicated that PHB is a valuable dietary supplement for improving growth performance, body composition and immune responses of rainbow trout fingerlings.


BACKGROUND
Several infectious agents have been investigated since the association between atherosclerosis and infection was demonstrated; however, the results of these studies are contradictory.

OBJECTIVE
To test the association between serum titers of anti-Chlamydia and anti-Mycoplasma antibodies in different forms of acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

METHODS
One hundred and twenty-six patients were divided in 4 groups: ACS with ST-segment elevation (32 patients), ACS without ST-segment elevation (30 patients), chronic coronary artery disease (30 patients) and blood donors without known coronary disease (34 patients--control group). In the two first groups, serum samples were collected at hospital admission (first 24 hours of hospitalization) and after a 6-month follow-up. In the other two groups, only a basal sample was collected. Anti-Chlamydia and anti-Mycoplasma antibodies were measured by indirect immunofluorescence in all samples.

RESULTS
Significant differences were observed between the basal sample and the one measured after a 6-month follow-up in patients with myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation for Chlamydia (650+/-115.7 versus 307+/-47.5, p=0.0001) as well as Mycoplasma (36.5+/-5.0 versus 21.5+/-3.5, p=0.0004). The groups with ACS had higher anti-Chlamydia and anti-Mycoplasma serum antibody levels in the basal measurement, when compared to the patients with chronic coronary disease and the control group, but the differences were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION
The present study showed an association between the serum titers of anti-Chlamydia and anti-Mycoplasma antibodies in the acute phase of patients with unstable angina or myocardial infarction.


The MEdium Resolution Spectral Imager (MERSI) is the keystone instrument onboard FengYun-3 (FY-3). After FY-3A, FY-3B MERSI is the second launched in November 2010. Nineteen of the 20 MERSI spectral bands are the reflective solar bands, which cannot be absolutely calibrated onboard. The annual vicarious calibration (VC) based on synchronous in situ measurements at the Dunhuang site is the baseline calibration method for MERSI. To assure frequent and stable calibration updates, a multisite calibration tracking method is developed. This paper presents the FY-3B MERSI postlaunch daily calibration updating method based on multisite calibration tracking with the Dunhuang VC correction, the long-term sensor response on-orbit change, and the calibration performance evaluation. A reflectance-based method is used for the Dunhuang VC, and the reflectance calibration uncertainties are within 3% for most MERSI bands. The multisite calibration tracking method relies on simulated radiation over several stable sites without synchronous in situ measurements. A postlaunch daily calibration updating model is established using a linear function of days since launch to describe the long-term trend. The calibration updating model is validated by the Dunhuang VC, showing the relative bias within 3.5% for most bands. It is found that the shortwave channels of MERSI experience large degradation, particularly the 412-nm band with an annual degradation rate of approximately 18%, whereas most red and near-infrared bands are relatively stable. Using the calibration updating model with the Dunhuang VC correction, the recalibrated MERSI data are validated against Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer by near synchronous-nadir-observation analysis, and good agreement is achieved.


This research was conducted by the researcher in the research organization of the High School  2. has been computerized using Microsoft Excel, but not in accounting standards such as ledgers, books large, balance sheets, operating reports and calculation results. Report on Accounting Information System Design Calculation Results of Operations in Residents of Vocational School 2 Bandung Using PHP and MySQL. Where data becomes input data for members, savings, loan applications, loan payments and payment of cooperative operating costs. Descriptive analytical research and survey research design using quantitative. The system development method used is iteration. The used starts system context model context, data flow diagrams and data dictionaries, document flow charts, normalization and entity relationship diagrams. The results of this study will be general journals, ledgers, trial balance calculations and report on the results of operations.


This paper presents a case study of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's delegitimisation discourse on the European Union in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. We focused on how the EU and its member states were depicted metaphorically in PM Orbán's weekly radio interviews. Relying on the discourse dynamics approach, we identified the metaphorical expressions the PM used to legitimise the crisis management of the Hungarian government and delegitimise critical comment from international voices in the context of the European Union. Our results showed that supranational bodies were depicted as authority figures and this image was reinforced by the use of particular verbal motifs. Rhetorical ambiguity was also found regarding Western Europe, whereas the notion of friendship was propagated when referring to the relationship between Hungary and the Visegrád countries Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia.


Early stopping is a widely used technique to prevent poor generalization performance when training an over-expressive model by means of gradient-based optimization. To find a good point to halt the optimizer, a common practice is to split the dataset into a training and a smaller validation set to obtain an ongoing estimate of the generalization performance. We propose a novel early stopping criterion based on fast-to-compute local statistics of the computed gradients and entirely removes the need for a held-out validation set. Our experiments show that this is a viable approach in the setting of least-squares and logistic regression, as well as neural networks.


We have cloned and sequenced a polyubiquitin gene from Neurospora crassa that is organized in a four repeat-tandem array. The first repeat contains a small intron and the last is fused to an extra glutamine codon. In Northern blots, two RNA species of 1.3 kb and 0.7 kb hybridize to the isolated clone. The larger ubiquitin (UBI) transcript accumulates after partial inhibition of protein synthesis with cycloheximide, and the smaller one preferentially accumulates in conidia after germination. Unexpectedly, constitutive expression of UBI transcripts in exponentially grown mycelia is not altered by heat-shock or exposure to arsenite.


Because race in Brazil is highly subjective, the racial classification of workers in any sort of survey requires careful consideration by survey administrators and those who would use the data for analysis. This paper provides an examination of how race is reported in administrative and survey settings, how the differences between the two affect measures of racial wage gaps and what conventional earnings decomposition can tell us about reporting differences and the nature of inequality in Brazil. I show that estimates derived from administrative data smaller wage gaps, driven by racial bias; estimates from survey data yield much larger wage gaps, driven not just by racial bias, but also by differences in observable worker characteristics. In addition to providing a warning about the importance of data source selection, these results provide a range of possible values for the race-wage gap, and its components, in Brazil that vary with assumptions on the nature of Brazilian racial identity.


We use a sample of z ∼ 3 Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) to examine close pair clustering statistics in comparison to Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM)-based models of structure formation. Samples are selected by matching the LBG number density, n_g, and by matching the observed LBG 3D correlation function of LBGs over the two-halo term region. We show that ultraviolet (UV) luminosity abundance matching cannot reproduce the observed data, but if subhaloes are chosen to reproduce the observed clustering of LBGs we are able to reproduce the observed LBG pair fraction (N_c) defined as the average number of companions per galaxy. This model suggests an overabundance of LBGs by a factor of ∼5 over those observed, suggesting that only one in five haloes above a fixed mass hosts a galaxy with LBG-like UV luminosity detectable via LBG selection techniques. This overdensity is in agreement with the results of a Millennium 2 analysis and with the discrepancies noted by previous authors using different types of simulations. We find a total observable close pair fraction of 23 ± 0.6 per cent (17.7 ± 0.5 per cent) using a prototypical cylinder radius in our overdense fiducial model and 8.3 ± 0.5 per cent (5.6 ± 0.2 per cent) in an abundance matched model (impurity corrected). For the matched spectroscopic slit analysis, we find N_cs(R)= 4.3 ± 1.55 (1.0 ± 0.2) and 5.1 ± 0.2 (1.68 ± 0.02) per cent, the average number of companions observed serendipitously in randomly aligned spectroscopic slits, for fiducial slits (abundance matched), whereas the observed fraction of serendipitous spectroscopic close pairs is 4.7 ± 1.5 per cent using the full LBG sample and 7.1 ± 2.3 per cent for a subsample with higher signal-to-noise ratio. We conduct the same analysis on a sample of dark matter haloes from the Millennium 2 simulation and find similar results. From the results and an analysis of the observed LBG 2D correlation functions, we show that the standard method of halo assignment fails to reproduce the break, or up turn, in the LBG close pair behaviour at small scale (≲20 h^(−1) kpc physical). To reconcile these discrepancies we suggest that a plausible fraction of LBGs in close pairs with lower mass (higher density) than our sample experience interaction-induced enhanced star formation that boosts their luminosity sufficiently to be detected in observational sample but are not included in the abundance matched simulation sample.


This article presents a new approach to the management of evolutionary prototyping projects. The prototyping approach to systems development emphasizes learning and facilitates meaningful communication between systems developers and users. These benefits are important for rapid creation of flexible, usable information resources that are well-tuned to present and future business needs. The main unsolved problem in prototyping is the difficulty in controlling such projects. This problem severely limits the range of practical projects in which prototyping can be used. The new approach suggested in this article uses an explicit risk mitigation model and management process that energizes and enhances the value of prototyping in technology delivery. An action research effort validates this risk analysis approach as one that focuses management attention on consequences and priorities inherent in a prototyping situation. This approach enables appropriate risk resolution strategies to be placed in effect before the prototyping process breaks down. It facilitates consensus building through collaborative decision making and is consistent with a high degree of user involvement.


Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex bacteria, is one of the most pressing health problems. The development of new drugs and new therapeutic regimens effective against the pathogen is one of the greatest challenges in the way of tuberculosis control. Imidazo[1,2-b][1,2,4,5]tetrazines have shown promising activity against M. tuberculosis and M. smegmatis strains. Mutations in MSMEG_1380 lead to mmpS5–mmpL5 operon overexpression, which provides M. smegmatis with efflux-mediated resistance to imidazo[1,2-b][1,2,4,5]tetrazines, but the exact mechanism of action of these compounds remains unknown. To assess the mode of action of imidazo[1,2-b][1,2,4,5]tetrazines, we analyzed the transcriptomic response of M. smegmatis to three different concentrations of 3a compound: 1/8×, 1/4×, and 1/2× MIC. Six groups of genes responsible for siderophore synthesis and transport were upregulated in a dose-dependent manner, while virtual docking revealed proteins involved in siderophore synthesis as possible targets for 3a. Thus, we suggest that imidazo[1,2-b][1,2,4,5]tetrazines may affect mycobacterial iron metabolism.


We show that it is possible to synthesize chaotic systems that have improved characteristics for use in communications. These include whiter spectrum, low-time correlation, hyperchaotic behavior, and little or no phase space structure. These systems are based on locally volume-preserving (or expanding) maps. We show how to construct a circuit that produces such characteristics.


In recent years, the images captured by AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) on the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) series of satellites have been used very widely for environment and land cover monitoring. In order to use NOAA images, they need to be accurately transformed from the image coordinate system into map coordinate system. This paper proposes a geometric correction method that corrects the errors caused by this transformation. In this method, the errors in NOAA image are corrected in the image coordinate system before transforming into the map coordinate system. First, the elevation values, which are read from GTOPO30 database, are verified to divide data into flat and rough blocks. Next, in order to increase the number of GCPs (Ground Control Points), besides the GCPs in the database, more GCPs are generated based on the feature of the coastline. After using reference images to correct the missing lines and noise pixels in the top and bottom parts of the image, the elevation errors of the GCP templates are corrected and GCP template matching is applied to find the residual errors for the blocks that match GCP templates. Based on these blocks, the residual errors of other flat and rough blocks are calculated by affine and Radial Basis Function transform respectively. According to the residual errors, all pixels in the image are moved to their correct positions. Finally, data is transformed from image into map by bilinear interpolation. With the proposed method, the average values of the error after correction are smaller than 0.2 pixels on both latitude and longitude directions. This result proved that the proposed method is a highly accurate geometric correction method.


Therapeutic contact lenses (TCLs) have proved to be an effective tool in the management of a wide variety of ophthalmic disorders. Conditions recalcitrant to other treatment modalities may heal readily with the use of a TCL. With proper patient selection, observation and management, TCLs provide an extremely effective therapeutic adjunct. Drug delivery through therapeutic contact lenses enhances the bioavailability of drug by controlled and extended release on the eye surface and enhances the residence time of drug in eye cavity. The contact lenses prevent the drug from being lost to tear drainage by releasing the drug into tear layer on the contact lens, where it ultimately diffuses into the eye. In this review focus has been made on developing drug eluting contact lens using three techniques like nanoparticle encapsulated therapeutic contact lens, molecularly imprinted therapeutic contact lens and Particle-laden soft contact lenses.KEY WORDS: Contact lenses, Visual, Ocular


This study aims to identify and analyze training, competency, and organizational commitment; It also analyzes the effect of training on organizational commitment, the effect of competency on organizational commitment, the effect of training and competency on organizational commitment at PT Bank Danamon in Ambon City. The method applied is a survey research method to 60 employees of PT Bank Danamon in Ambon. Technical analysis used to test the hypothesis is multiple linear regres-sion.The results indicate that training shows the effect of 89.5%, and competency of 13.0%. Since other factors also are predicted to affect the improvement of organizational commitment in addition to training and competency, it is necessary to include the provision of motivation and clarity of career. From the point of view of the relationship with the employees, both variables are considered as important parts. Leaders are also expected to actively involve in the implementation of the tasks so that interaction between leaders and subordinates can be interwined, and this cumulatively helps leaders know the problems faced by employees. Thus, the employees would feel cared for and this subsequently has impact on loyalty to the company or higher commitment. organisasi; Bank


Despite attention to the role of gangs in urban gun violence, much remains to be learned about the spatial distribution and consequences of residential gang membership. This study uses data from St. Louis to examine the effects of resident gang membership on rates of gun assault. We also consider whether gun violence is conditioned by the level of gang membership in surrounding communities. As anticipated, communities with the highest number of gang members also have the highest rates of gun assault. However, much of the impact of gang membership on gun assaults extends outside of the boundaries of gang neighborhoods, especially those neighborhoods with few or no gang members. The number of gang members in surrounding neighborhoods has no discernible effect on gun assaults in communities with higher rates of gang membership. Finally, controlling for the spatial proximity of residential gang membership helps to account for some of the association between neighborhood disadvantage and gun assaults.


Currently there are many companies offering Content Analytics and Social Internet Mining services for the purposes of Opinion Mining and Reputation Management. A high percentage of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are active offering niche solutions to specific segments of the market and/or domains. However, acquiring or developing the base qualifying technologies required to enter the market is an expensive undertaking that redirects the already limited resources of SMEs away from offering products and services that the market demands.The main goal of the OpeNER european project is the reuse and repurposing of existing language resources and data sets to provide a set of underlying technologies to the broader industrial and academic community.


The aim of software fault tolerance is to introduce programming techniques which will allow the embedded software to maintain performance in the presence of hardware faults which include data, address and control bus corruptions. A case study is described in which the navigation and control software of a remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) is subjected to such transient fault conditions. The embedded software was designed to detect and recover from such faults. Various aspects of the design, fault conditions, experimental setup and results are discussed.


Dynamic properties of an existing nine‐story reinforced concrete building were monitored during its demolition period, in Istanbul. Based on the municipal regulations, the number of the story of the building was reduced to five first by the removal of the top stories one by one. Later on, the remaining building was demolished by an excavator‐like vehicle working on the ground. At the particular stages of the demolition, vibration measurements were taken from the present phase of the building to obtain its dynamic properties within the basis of operational modal analysis. The stage of the building and its dynamic properties were elaborated in detail to analyze the effects of the structural changes into the dynamic properties of existing reinforced concrete buildings. Thereby, the effects of floor removal and area reduction in the dynamic properties of existing reinforced concrete buildings were revealed.


Optical beam induced resistance change (OBIRCH) is a very well-adapted technique for static fault isolation in the semiconductor industry. Novel low current OBIRCH amplifier is used to facilitate safe test condition requirements for advanced nodes. This paper shows the differences between the earlier and novel generation OBIRCH amplifiers. Ring oscillator high standby leakage samples are analyzed using the novel generation amplifier. High signal to noise ratio at applied low bias and current levels on device under test are shown on various samples. Further, a metric to demonstrate the SNR to device performance is also discussed. OBIRCH analysis is performed on all the three samples for nanoprobing of, and physical characterization on, the leakage. The resulting spots were calibrated and classified. It is noted that the calibration metric can be successfully used for the first time to estimate the relative threshold voltage of individual transistors in advanced process nodes.


Objective:We have demonstrated that a return of spontaneous circulation in the first 3 mins of resuscitation in swine is predicted by ventricular fibrillation waveform (amplitude spectral area or slope) when untreated ventricular fibrillation duration or presence of acute myocardial infarction is unknown. We hypothesized that in prolonged resuscitation efforts that return of spontaneous circulation immediately after a second or later shock with postshock chest compression is independently predicted by end-tidal CO2, coronary perfusion pressure, and ventricular fibrillation waveform measured before that shock in a swine model of ischemic and nonischemic ventricular fibrillation arrest. Design:Animal intervention study with comparison to a control group. Setting:University animal laboratory. Subjects:Twenty swine. Interventions:Myocardial infarction was induced by steel plug occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Ventricular fibrillation was untreated for 8 mins in normal swine (n = 10) and acute myocardial infarction swine (n = 10). Measurements and Main Results:End-tidal CO2, coronary perfusion pressure, and ventricular fibrillation waveform characteristics of amplitude spectral area and slope were analyzed before second or later shocks. For an amplitude spectral area >35 mV-Hz, the odds ratio for achieving return of spontaneous circulation after that shock was 72 (95% confidence interval, 3.8–1300; p = .004) compared with an amplitude spectral area <28 mV-Hz and with an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of 0.86. For slope >3.6 mV/s, the odds ratio for achieving return of spontaneous circulation was 36 (95% confidence interval, 2.7–480; p = .007) compared with slope <2.72 mV/s with an area under the curve of 0.86. End-tidal CO2 and coronary perfusion pressure were not predictive of return of spontaneous circulation after a shock, although coronary perfusion pressure was significantly related to both amplitude spectral area (p < .001) and slope (p < .001). Conclusions:In prolonged untreated ventricular fibrillation arrest, the waveform characteristics of amplitude spectral area and slope predict the attainment of return of spontaneous circulation with a second or later shock. This has implications for the ideal means to customize the timing of shocks and chest compressions when return of spontaneous circulation is not promptly obtained.


De-recognitions of statehood are by any account an exceptional phenomenon in international practice, which the doctrine of international law has never systemically discussed. By examining a rather extraordinary recent series of de-recognitions of Kosovo as a state, this article aims at filling the void. This article challenges the dominant doctrinal stance which considers that recognition is irrevocable, save in exceptional cases when statehood itself would objectively cease to exist. It argues that recognition of statehood is revocable under international law, and finds support for this position in the lack of international laws prohibiting de-recognitions, the state practice pertaining to Kosovo's de-recognition, and the political nature of the act of recognition.

At the same time, the article demonstrates that a de-recognition does not affect the existence of a de-recognized state, nor its enjoyment of rights that stem from statehood on the international plane. However, de-recognition can lead to it being denied future enjoyment of the rights within the domestic legal orders of de-recognizing states. The article also argues that the "consummation" of rights after recognition reduces the possibility of de-recognition, or, at least, offsets its adverse effects. Finally, the article suggests that viewing state recognition as revocable – primarily on the basis of the absence of any legal rule to the contrary – recognizes limits of international law in managing contested social realities, such as the statehood of Kosovo. In these cases, it seems prudent for international law to remain silent, while allowing its principles, processes and mechanisms to contribute to the solution, which ultimately must be reached within the political process.


Abstract We present a detailed study of the 3.4-μm "cometary organics feature" in Comet P/Swift-Tuttle (1992 XXVIII). The study is based on spectra acquired from Kitt Peak and Mauna Kea Observatories on UT 1992 November 8, 9, 12, 13, 26, and 27, during which time the heliocentric distance decreased from 1.12 to 0.99 AU. Two distinct components are present, cometary methanol (CH3OH), and another as yet unidentified organic volatile responsible for an emission feature centered at ∼3.424 μm. We obtain a CH3OH abundance of 4.3 ± 0.5% relative to H2O, revising our previously reported value of 7 ± 1%. The revisions result from improved data analysis, inclusion of additional P/Swift-Tuttle observations, and use of corrected CH3OH g-factors. The unidentified feature consistently accounted for one-half of the flux contained in the 3.4-μm feature and exhibited a heliocentric dependence consistent with a volatile parent species, in agreement with conclusions based on observations of several recent comets. We present the first echelle spectrum of this feature (resolving power λ/Δλ ≈ 8000), which reveals spectral structure in the form of a pronounced peak centered at a rest frequency of(2920.24 ± 0.09) cm-1. We suspect this to be representative of asymmetric CH2 (or CH-X) vibrational stretching in some as yet unidentified organic compound. Our results indicate the presence of an additional abundant form of volatile carbon in comets. If the unidentified band(s) possess g-factors similar to those of the adjacent methanol bands, the inferred abundance of the unidentified emitting species would be comparable to that of methanol.


This paper addresses the issue of word-sense ambiguity in extraction from machine-readable resources for the construction of large-scale knowledge sources. We describe two experiments: one which ignored word-sense distinctions, resulting in 6.3% accuracy for semantic classification of verbs based on (Levin, 1993); and one which exploited word-sense distinctions, resulting in 97.9% accuracy. These experiments were dual purpose: (1) to validate the central thesis of the work of (Levin, 1993), i.e., that verb semantics and syntactic behavior are predictably related; (2) to demonstrate that a 15-fold improvement can be achieved in deriving semantic information from syntactic cues if we first divide the syntactic cues into distinct groupings that correlate with different word senses. Finally, we show that we can provide effective acquisition techniques for novel word senses using a combination of online sources.