ACROMIOCLAVICULAR dislocation has been a difficult lesion to treat by conservative means. After reduction of a dislocation, various forms of strappings, splints, plaster spicas, and braces have been advocated. After external fixation the joint remains in partial or complete separation in many cases. This results, either early or late, in pain and limitation of motion in the shoulder or in an obvious deformity which is objectionable, particularly to women. Many operative procedures have been published, the most popular of which are internal fixation of the joint by wire or screws, coracoclavicular screw fixation, arthrodesis, and resection of the outer end of the clavicle. Each has certain disadvantages. As the clavicle rotates on its long axis with abduction of the arm, any fixation of the acromioclavicular joint will limit abduction of the shoulder. Inman and Saunders 1 state that with loss of clavicular rotation, abduction is limited to approximately 120 degrees.


Today's network traffic are dynamic and fast. Conventional network traffic classification based on flow feature and data mining are not able to process traffic efficiently. Hardware based network traffic classifier is needed to be adaptable to dynamic network state and to provide accurate and updated classification at high speed. In this paper, a hardware architecture of online incremental semi-supervised algorithm is proposed. The hardware architecture is designed such that it is suitable to be incorporated in NetFPGA reference switch design. The experimental results on real datasets show that with only 10% of labeled data, the proposed architecture can perform online classification of network traffic at 1Gbps bitrate with 91% average accuracy without loosing any flows.


We consider a two player finite strategic zero-sum game where each player has stochastic linear constraints. We formulate the stochastic constraints of each player as chance constraints. We show the existence of a saddle point equilibrium if the row vectors of the random matrices, defining the stochastic constraints of each player, are elliptically symmetric distributed random vectors. We further show that a saddle point equilibrium can be obtained from the optimal solutions of a primal-dual pair of second-order cone programs.


The compulsive use of dopamine replacement therapy (DRT) or dopamine dysregulation syndrome (DDS) is one of the behavioural disturbances reported in some patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and other disorders who are receiving DRT. We draw this phenomenon to the attention of the addiction field as a topic deserving of more systematic study. We outline: the clinical features, epidemiology and clinical correlates of the disorder; the unresolved issues in its definition and diagnosis; and its potential relevance to neurobiological models of psychostimulant addiction. We argue that compulsive DRT use may provide a useful model for drug addiction, while advancing our understanding of the neurobiology of addiction and improving the management of PD patients with the disorder.


B272 Backgound: Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC) represents an unmet medical need. Despite its rising incidence, the overall prognosis of HCC is poor as systemic chemotherapy is of low efficacy. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) have demonstrated anticancer activity in various cancers. We therefore investigated the effect of the novel HDACi Panobinostat (LBH589) on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines in vitro and in a subcutaneous xenograft model in vivo.
 Methods: HepG2 (p53wt) and Hep3B (p53-/-) cells were cultured under standard conditions and incubated with various concentrations of Panobinostat for 6 to 120 h. Cell viability was determined by trypan blue staining, apoptosis was quantified by flow cytometry after propidium iodide staining. Mitochondrial transmembrane potentials (ΔΨm) were determined by JC-1 and DiOC6 staining. Quantitative RT-PCR and westernblotting was used to investigate signalling pathways involved in Panobinostat mediated apoptosis. ChIP was performed to investigate p53-dependent transcriptional regulations of Panobinostat target genes.
 In vivo, HepG2 cells were xenografted to male NMRI mice (n/group = 8) and treated with daily intraperitoneal injections of 10 mg/kg Panobinostat. Tumor size and animal weight were determined daily. Tumor samples were obtained for further analysis (immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR, westernblotting). Liver transaminases were determined from blood samples as a surrogate marker for toxicity.
 Results: In vitro studies showed a pronounced growth inhibitory and pro-apoptotic effect of LBH589 on both HCC cell lines at low micromolar concentrations (IC50 approx. 0.1 µM). Interstingly, the pro-apoptotic effect of Panobinostat was not paralleled by a breakdown of ΔΨm. p53wt HepG2 cells were more sensitive than the p53-/- Hep3B cells. Quantitative PCR and western blotting showed an involvement of the cell cycle regulators p21cip1/waf1 and Chek1 but not the bax/bcl-2 system. Panobinostat regulated the expression of p21cip1/waf1 via a transcriptional upregulation as evidenced by ChIP.
 In vivo, the daily application of Panobinostat significantly reduced the growth of HepG2 xenografts (mean tumor diameter: 12 mm vs. 16 mm in untreated controls) and prolonged the overall survival of animals (100% vs. 43% in controls). Macroscopically, a marked reduction of tumor angiogenesis was observed and the PCR results confirmed the in vitro findings, too. No signs of toxicity or elevation of liver transaminases was observed (ALT: 238 U/l vs. 320 U/l in controls).Conclusion: Panobinostat is a potent novel HDACi for the treatment of human HCC.


Distributed denial of service attacks pose an immense threat to the internet. In this work the effect of TCP SYN flood attacks on traffic features are examined. Using traffic features and correlation coefficient matrix and anomaly vector obtained from these features; a network health function is calculated. Applying a threshold to network health function gives alarms that are used to detect beginning and end points of TCP SYN flood attacks. This method is tested using data obtained from experiments of DETER testbed. Keywords—DDoS, intrusion detection, denial of service, signal processing.


Synonymies, diagnoses, descriptions, illustrations, an identification key, and meristic frequency tables are provided for all species of Lonchopisthus. Most of the skeletal anatomy of L. higmani is also illustrated. A new jawfish, Lonchopisthus ancistrus n. sp., is described from the Gulf of Mexico and off Honduras based on 21 specimens 41–89 mm SL. The new species differs from other congeners by the following combination of characters: the posterior end of the maxilla strongly hooked; the cheek and opercle without scales; the membrane connecting the maxilla and premaxilla and the inner membrane covering the posterior part of the dentary pale; segmented dorsal-fin rays 11–13, with unbranched rays 2–5; longitudinal body-scale rows 33–39; and very long pelvic fins, 39.4–75.3% SL. Lonchopisthus lemur (and its synonym L. meadi) shares most characters with L. ancistrus, but differs in having shorter pelvic fins, 19.2–29.9% SL; fewer longitudinal body-scale rows, 26–33; the cheek and opercle scaled; and 5 infraorbitals (vs. 4). Both are relatively deep-water species, occurring from 100 m to at least 375 m (vs. 3–139 m in the other species). Lonchopisthus micrognathus is unique in having no branched caudalfin rays at any size and the middle caudal-fin rays with free tips that may be used to maintain tactile contact with the substrate while hovering over its burrow. The western Atlantic Lonchopisthus higmani and eastern Pacific L. sinuscalifornicus are sister species that differ from the other Atlantic species in having the posterior end of the maxilla with a notch instead of a strong hook, the opercle with a large dark blotch, and one supraneural (vs. no supraneural).


Hydrogen embrittlement is classified into three types: internal reversible hydrogen embrittlement, hydrogen reaction embrittlement, and hydrogen environment embrittlement. Characteristics of and materials embrittled by these types of hydrogen embrittlement are discussed. Hydrogen environment embrittlement is reviewed in detail. Factors involved in standardizing test methods for detecting the occurrence of and evaluating the severity of hydrogen environment embrittlement are considered. The effects of test technique, hydrogen pressure, gas purity, strain rate, stress concentration factor, and test temperature are discussed. Additional research is required to determine whether hydrogen environment embrittlement and internal reversible hydrogen embrittlement are similar or distinct types of embrittlement. (auth)


Forest disturbances caused by insects can lead to other disturbances, risks, and changes across landscapes. Evaluating the human dimensions of such disturbances furthers understanding of integrated changes in natural and social systems. This article examines the effects of changing forest disturbance regimes on local risk perceptions and attitudes in Homer, Alaska. Homer experienced a spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreak with large‐scale tree mortality and a 5,000‐acre fire in 2005. Qualitative interviews and quantitative analysis of mail surveys are used to examine community risk perception and relationships with land managers pre‐ and post‐fire. Results show a decrease in the saliency of the spruce bark beetle as a community issue, a coalescence of community risk perceptions about fire, and conflicting findings about satisfaction with land managers and its relationship with risk perception.


We use a simulation model called 'SISCO' to examine the effects in supply chains of stochastic lead times and of information sharing and quality of that information in a periodic order-up-to level inventory system. We test the accuracy of the simulation by verifying the results in Chen et al. (2000a) and Dejonckheere et al. (2004). We find that lead-time variability exacerbates variance amplification in a supply chain, and that information sharing and information quality are highly significant. For example, using the assumptions in Chen et al. (2000a) and Dejonckheere et al. (2004), we find in a numerical experiment of a customer-retailer-wholesaler-distributor-factory supply chain that variance amplification is attenuated by nearly 50 percent at the factory due to information sharing. Other assumptions we make are based on interviews or conversations with managers at large supply chains.


Leptospiral lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are the main antigens responsible for immunity in leptospirosis. In this investigation we studied the nature of the antigenic determinants of LPS extracted from Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo (reference strain Hardjoprajitno). The reactions of anti-LPS monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) MUM/F1-4/hardjo (IgM) and MUM/F1-6/hardjo (IgG) with whole cell lysates in Western immunoblotting analysis were unaffected by proteinase K treatment. Periodate treatment of the LPS destroyed the binding of MUM/F1-6/hardjo but preserved that of MUM/F1-4/hardjo. Alkaline phosphatase decreased significantly the binding of MUM/F1-4/hardjo to the LPS but only slightly that of MUM/F1-6/hardjo. On the other hand, phosphodiesterase totally destroyed the binding capacity of both monoclonal antibodies in enzyme immunoassays (EIA). A number of mono- and oligosaccharides was used in EIA inhibition studies. Mannose-6-phosphate and galactose-6-phosphate inhibited the binding of MUM/F1-4/hardjo (50% inhibition at a concentration of 5 mM) to the antigen, but glucose-6-phosphate did not. Galactosamine and mannosamine inhibited the binding of MUM/F1-6/hardjo (50% inhibition at a concentration of 3-4 mM), whereas only a weak inhibition was observed with glucosamine. In contrast, N-acetylated amino sugars did not show any inhibition. An O-acetyl group also appears to be involved in the antigen-antibody binding process.


The toxicity of most halogenated solvents is associated with their biotransformation. The bioactivation can be due to the formation of stable, toxic metabolites or the formation of reactive, electrophilic intermediates. The paper summarizes present knowledge on the biotransformation of several halogenated compounds, ie, methyl halides, methylene halides, haloforms, carbon tetrachloride, chlorinated ethanes, and chlorinated alkenes. Some of the relevant enzymatic metabolic reactions are also discussed.


This paper considers disturbances of identity and developmental breakdown in the phase of 'emergent adulthood' with young adults together with a disturbance of the capacity of the Self for coniunctio. It is proposed that the capacity for effective intrapsychic linking as conceptualized in analytic psychology with the concepts of the coniunctio and the transcendent function, is disturbed because of an unconscious identification with an infertile 'couple'. This unconscious couple fantasy can lead to a standstill of the transcendent function and prevents the growth of meaning via the linking between parts of the psyche. This can lead to considerable clinical disturbances. A clinical vignette from the treatment of an adolescent girl should illustrate these hypotheses. The patient had developed a not good enough internal space and she suffered from fragmentation anxieties. She tried to control these anxieties by obsessive behaviour and by forms of adhesive identification. The standstill of the transcendent function was manifested when the patient developed a negative therapeutic reaction.


Ever since their discovery as key regulators of the jasmonate (JA) signaling pathway, repressor proteins of the JASMONATE ZIM-domain (JAZ) family are rising stars in research on hormonal regulation of plant growth and defense. In plant cells, JAZ repressor proteins interact with an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex (SCFCOI1) that together functions as a JA receptor. In uninduced cells, JAZs block the activity of transcriptional regulators of JA responses by physically binding to them. Upon perception of bioactive JAs, JAZ proteins are rapidly degraded via the ubiquitin/26S proteasome-dependent proteolytic pathway. This releases the JAZ-bound transcription factors, resulting in the activation of downstream JA responses. JAs play a dominant role in regulating defense responses against herbivorous insects and necrotrophic pathogens, and in adaptive responses to beneficial soil-borne microbes. In addition, JAs have a signal function in a myriad of other processes, including abiotic stress reactions and plant growth responses to environmental cues. The JA pathway functions in the context of a complex network of hormone-regulated signaling pathways that, depending on the environmental or developmental condition, can act antagonistically or synergistically on each other to finely balance resource allocation between growth and defense and minimize fitness tradeoffs. In the process of balancing plant growth and defense, gibberellins (GAs) emerged as dominant antagonists of the JA signaling output. GAs regulate different aspects of plant growth via DELLA repressor proteins that block the activity of transcriptional regulators of GA responses by physically binding to them. Analogous to the role of JAZs in the JA pathway, DELLAs are degraded upon perception of GAs, resulting in the activation of downstream growth responses. Interestingly, DELLAs also interact with JAZs, thereby mutually limiting the cellular binding capacity to their cognate transcription factors. Consequently, GA-mediated degradation of DELLAs enhances the cellular binding capacity of JAZs to their cognate transcription factors, thus reducing the potential JA signaling output. This GA-mediated antagonistic effect on the JA pathway becomes apparent during the shade-avoidance response of plants that grow in dense vegetation stands. Shade-intolerant plant species respond to competition for light by increasing apical dominance and accelerating stem and petiole elongation. These growth and developmental responses occur in response to a drop in the red:far-red (R:FR) light ratio that is sensed by the phytochrome photoreceptors, predominantly phyB, and are GA-dependent through GA-mediated degradation of DELLA proteins. This allows them to outgrow neighboring plants, but at the cost of a reduced defensive capacity against necrotrophic pathogens and insect herbivores. In this issue of New Phytologist, Leone and co-workers zoomed in on the specific role of the Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) JAZ10 protein in this process and shed light on the involvement of DELLAs in GA-JA crosstalk during the shade avoidance response. Besides growth-related hormones, also effector proteins of pathogens and plant growth-promoting mycorrhizal fungi have recently been shown to target JAZ repressor proteins, thereby changing the defense-related signaling circuitry for their own benefit. Hence, JAZ repressor proteins are emerging as central targets in the rewiring of the hormone-regulated signaling circuitry that regulates growth and defense.


Moyamoya disease is an unusual form of occlusive, cerebrovascular disorder that affects the arteries of the central nervous system, causing acquired language alterations and learning difficulties. The study aim was to describe the oral/written language and cognitive skills in a seven-year-and-seven-month-old girl diagnosed with Moyamoya disease. The assessment consisted of interviews with her parents and application of the following instruments: Observation of Communicative Behavior, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Academic Performance Test, Profile of Phonological Awareness, Raven's Progressive Matrices Test, Special Scale, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Two episodes of stroke in the left and right temporal-parietal and left frontal areas occurred until the age of six years and five months. Revascularization surgery and medication treatment were conducted. The audiologic and ophthalmologic assessments indicated normality. At the time of the study, the girl was attending the second grade of elementary school. She presented changes in oral and written language (syllabic-alphabetic), non-naming of all graphemes, low arithmetic and writing means, reading skill below first grade level and psycholinguistic delay, and pre-school level phonological processing skills. The psychological evaluation indicated satisfactory intellectual level; however, it also showed cognitive performance impairment in verbal and execution tasks and limitations on graphic-perceptual-motor skills and sequential logic organization. The stroke episodes influenced the performance of learning processes, affecting the analysis, integration, and interpretation of relevant visual and auditory information.


The Mini-Mental-State Examination (MMSE) is widely used as a screening tool for dementia in epidemiological studies. Its applicability in population-based studies is nevertheless limited by its low specificity. The effect of age and educational level have been usually ignored when cut-off scores have been selected. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of age and educational level on the MMSE scores in a representative sample of subjects older than 70 and provide adjusted normalised data according to these two variables, after excluding subjects with dementia or cognitive decline. Population-based, cross-sectional and longitudinal study of a representative cohort of 1367 subjects older than 70. All subjects with suspected dementia or cognitive decline received a neurological evaluation where clinical and etiological diagnosis were established. Normal MMSE scores, as defined by the 10th percentile, varied significantly across age and educational level groups. Exclusion of demented or cognitively declined patients from the reference population reduced the variability and "range of normality", but this remained excessively high in the older and less educated groups. The use of different cut-off points for each age and educational level groups may improve the specificity and applicability of the MMSE in population-based epidemiological studies. However, the wide amplitude of the range of normality suggests that different approaches, other than this vibariate analysis, may prove more adequate in the selection of cut-off scores for the MMSE.


The aim of the current research work was to develop a stable herbal cosmetic formulation and to study its rheological characteristic and their impact on solar protection factor (SPF). The formulations possess good antioxidant potential and virtuous sensory attributes. An accelerated stability study was performed under variant thermal conditions for 60 days in order to evaluate any variation in droplet size and thixotropy. The droplet size of fresh formulations F1 (WSEA) and F2 (SNEA) was found to be 2.04 ± 0.577 μm and 2.31 ± 0.532 μm with thixotropic value 16964 ± 41 (D/cm2.s) and 16471 ± 35 (D/cm2.s) respectively. The solar protection factor at optimum thixotropic values of both formulations F1 and F2 was 3.11 ± 0.34 and 2.34 ± 0.12 respectively. At accelerated stability conditions, there was a minute reduction in the formulation consistency due to decrease in viscosity and increase in droplet size. The good SPF in these herbal cosmetic formulations was attributed to the presence of polyphenols, which protect the skin from harmful UV radiations.


The paper discusses the involvement of regional authorities in the implementation of programs of structural transformation. It suggests that regional authorities are more likely to discover and develop previously undetected competitive advantages of their territories, and it is easier for them to stimulate the cooperation of local economic agents. This predetermines the necessity to integrate regional authorities in the implementation of structural policies pursued by the federal government. The paper reviews recent experiences with the implementation of structural policies by the regions of the Russian Federation using the cases of Voronezh and Kaluga Oblasts and the Republic of Tatarstan. It highlights the success factors that have been shaping the development strategies in these regions, as well as challenges these regions face, including excessive centralization in decision-making; the underutilized role of small and medium-sized business; weaknesses in educational and training systems. Furthermore, the paper points to the fundamental constraints faced by Russia's regions in their pursuit to replicate the best regional practices.


SUMMARY Given the livers importance in controlling metabolic homeostasis in mammals, we sought to establish (i) whether the thermal status of this organ was involved in the link between sleep, thermoregulation and food intake and (ii) how the hypothalamic structures affect the functional interactions between processes involved in regulation of the bodys energy balance. In 10 freely moving rats, the liver was heated artificially to and maintained at set-point temperatures of 39.5, 40.0 and 40.5 � C for 4 h. Each animals feeding activity, cortical temperature and brown adipose tissue (TBAT) temperature were measured continuously. Sleep organization and wakefulness were scored from electroencephalograms. Each animal served as its own control. Heating the liver induced a decrease in food intake and TBAT, corresponding to the development of a hypometabolic hypothermic status. The total amounts of wakefulness and rapid eye movement sleep fell, whereas the total amount of slow wave sleep increased accordingly. Our findings show that the liver is involved significantly in the bodys thermodynamic equilibrium. The organs thermal status can induce well-coordinated behavioural and autonomic adaptive responses involved in the control of food intake and in the maintenance of body homeothermia. Our study provides indirect evidence of the existence of hepatic thermosensors afferent to feeding and sleeping hypothalamic integrating centres that can be stimulated by physiological increases in liver temperature.


Analysis of a coastal chalk cliff collapse at Puys, on the NW coast of France, illustrates the combined role of lithological discontinuities within chalk (marl seams and hardground levels) and groundwater circulation on the dynamic and the triggering factors of this collapse. The Puys rockfall, witnessed on the 17th May 2000, was polyphase, with at least two clear collapse events and involved a displaced rock volume of about 85 000 m 3 , which has induced a maximum cliff retreat of 12.5 m. Deduced from on-site examination of the deposit, completed by stratigraphical dating, the resulting collapse forms a debris-avalanche runout within which the original stratigraphy is retained. On-site structural analysis of the scar suggests an overall mechanism of sliding characterized by an outward tearing process in the upper part of the cliff and a shearing mechanism in its lower part. Heavy rainfall is suggested as the main triggering factor for this collapse. The suggested hydrogeological conceptual model consists of a multilayered aquifer, controlled horizontally by impervious marl seams and hardgrounds and vertically by pre-existing joint systems. Concentration of stresses by means of local water overpressure may thus occur on marl seams. This process is sustained by a mechanical conceptual model, which indicate rock mass displacements and local stress concentration with high water table.


Supaglutide (Supa) is a weekly dosing GLP-1 analog. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple dose-escalation study to investigate the safety, PK/PD and efficacy of Supa in patients with T2D. 40 subjects were randomized in a 4:1 ratio to receive Supa (sc., 1, 2, 3 and 4mg) or placebo. We performed intensive PK blood sampling for two weeks after the first dose, followed by weekly repeated dosing for 4 consecutive weeks. The 4mg group received an adaptive dose of 1mg to reduce gastrointestinal reactions. The PK results revealed that the T1/2 of Supa was ∼207 h with median Tmax of 60∼84 h. The PD results showed that after 7 weeks of therapy, Supa significantly reduced fasting blood glucose, and HbA1c decreased by 1.3%. Supa increased fasting insulin/C-peptide while decreasing body weight. OGTT results showed significantly reduced glucose excursion, and the glucose-stimulated insulin secretion assay demonstrated significantly increased insulin secretion, suggesting improved glucose tolerance and enhanced β-cell function. AEs identified during the study were mainly mild to moderate gastrointestinal symptoms. None of the subjects developed anti-drug antibodies. Safety assessments including AEs, vital signs, ECGs and laboratory parameters, revealed that Supa was safe and well-tolerated. These data suggest Supa is a novel alternative therapy for T2D and metabolic disorders.

 Y. Zhou: None. X. Jiang: None. Y. Lou: None. A. Ma: None. J. Li: None. Y. Zhao: None. G. J. Prud'homme: None. Q. Wang: None.


Purpose of reviewChronic overhydration contributes to the development of left ventricular hypertrophy and a high cardiovascular mortality in end-stage renal disease. Assessment of dry weight is highly dependent on clinical assessment. Bioimpedance technology offers the potential to quantify body fluid compartments and to facilitate dry weight prescription. This review covers recent innovative approaches to dry weight assessment using bioimpedance technology. Recent findingsThree different bioimpedance approaches to determine dry weight have been published. The normovolemic/hypervolemic slope method applies whole body multifrequency bioimpedance to assess predialysis total body extracellular fluid volume and compares the extracellular fluid volume/body weight relation at hypervolemia with the standard value in normovolemic individuals. The resistance–reactance graph method uses whole body single frequency bioimpedance for assessment of hydration state and nutritional status from height-adjusted resistance and reactance. The resulting resistance–reactance vector is set in relation to a distribution range in a normovolemic population. An alternative method uses segmental bioimpedance in the form of continuous intradialytic calf bioimpedance to record changes in calf extracellular volume during dialysis. Dry weight by this method is defined as the weight at which calf extracellular volume is not further reduced despite ongoing ultrafiltration. SummaryAlthough promising, none of these methods has gained much popularity, probably due to the difficulties in understanding bioimpedance and the lack of gold standard methods for dry weight determination. Bioimpedance will improve dry weight assessment, but further refinement of the methods as well as large-scale clinical studies to demonstrate the accuracy and the clinical value of objective dry weight determination are needed.


One hundred and eighty individuals with clinically negative regional lymph nodes are the basis of this study. One hundred and ten of these underwent an elective lymph node dissection. The incidence of histologically positive lymph nodes was 0 percent, 17 percent, and 42 percent for those with thin, intermediate thickness and deeply invasive lesions. Of these 25 patients with histologically positive lymph nodes, the metastases were micro in size (less than or equal to 2 mm) in 75 percent of the intermediate thickness group compared with 38 percent of the deeply invasive group. At the present time, the size of lymph node metastases appears to correlate with disease-free estimates: at 2 years, the disease-free estimates are 70 percent for those with micro metastases and 24 percent for those with macro metastases. Therapeutic success is influenced greatly by the number of circulating cancer cells challenging the host's defense mechanism. The large cell mass of clinically evident metastatic disease would appear to present most patients with an uncontrollable number.


 Citation: Maleky A, Yazdani-Charati J, Abdollahi F. The Prevalence of Pediculosis Capitis and Its Related Risk Factors in Primary School Students in Kalaleh, Iran in 2015. Journal of Health Research in Community. Autumn 2016;2(3): 23-31. ABSTRACT Introduction and purpose: Pediculosis capitis is one of the parasitic skin diseases, which is widespread in many parts of the world since it is contagious. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of pediculosis capitis and its related risk factors among the elementary students in Kalaleh, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on the primary students in 2015. For the purpose of the study, 541 students were examined for head lice infestation using a two-stage sampling method. The survey data were collected through direct examination of the skin, hair, and head cover as well as a questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test by SPSS version 20 software. Results: As the results of this study demonstrated, the prevalence of pediculosis capitis among the elementary school students in Kalaleh was 6.5%. There was a significant relationship between the pediculosis capitis and gender, using of personal belongings, sleeping in the same room, and observing personal hygiene such as washing hands frequently with detergents, changing clothes regularly, and taking a bath at least two times a week. However, no significant relationship was observed between the pediculosis capitis and level of education, place of residence, age, father's occupation, education level of parents, number of household members, having a bathroom in the house, having a health educator, and type of hair. Conclusion: As the findings of the present study indicated, the head lice infestation is highly prevalent among the primary students in Kalaleh city. Regarding this, it is recommended to train the health educators, teachers, parents, and students in order to prevent this infestation.


Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is an important fruit crop in many tropical and subtropical countries; it is commercially propagated through seeds, which lead to production of non true-to-type plants. Grafting for mass multiplication of the selected variety is therefore necessary. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of rootstock age and grafting season on the success of cleft grafting and growth of grafted plants under greenhouse conditions. The trial was conducted using an experimental randomized complete block design with 4A × 2B factorial scheme, four blocks, and 15 grafted plants per experimental unit. Factor A represented four rootstock ages (1, 2, 3, and 6 mo) and factor B represented two grafting seasons (summer and autumn). Results showed that rootstock age and grafting season had a significant effect on all the parameters: sprouting time, percentage of graft success, scion sprout length, and number of new leaves per graft. The youngest rootstock age (1 mo) achieved the best results for all the parameters. The best season for grafting was summer. The treatment combination of 1-mo-old rootstocks in summer produced minimum sprouting time (8.40 d), the highest percentage of graft success (93.33%), and graft growth in the greenhouse. Therefore, 1-mo-old rootstocks and grafting in summer or autumn should be used to propagate papaya by cleft grafting.


Peer support workers - people with their own lived experience of mental illness - provide mutually supportive relationships in secondary mental health services. Increasing numbers are being employed, both in this country and elsewhere. But good quality evidence on the effectiveness of this form of service delivery is in short supply and even less is known about its cost-effectiveness. This paper makes a first attempt at assessing whether peer support provides value for money, looking specifically at whether peer support workers can reduce psychiatric inpatient bed use. Because of the very high cost of inpatient care, the savings that result from even small changes in bed use may be sufficient to outweigh the costs of employing peer workers.


Previous work in single-processor ray casting methods for volume rendering has concentrated on algorithmic optimizations to reduce computational work. This approach leaves untapped the performance gains which are possible through efficient exploitation of the memory hierarchy.

Previous work in parallel volume rendering has concentrated on parallel partitioning, with the goals of maximizing load balance and minimizing communication between distributed nodes. This implies a simplified view of the memory hierarchy of a parallel machine, ignoring the relationship between parallel partitioning and memory hierarchy effects at all but the top level.

In this thesis, we progressively develop methods to optimize memory hierarchy performance for ray casting: 1) on a uniprocessor, using algorithmic modifications to isolate cache miss costs, specialized hardware to monitor cache misses on the bus, and a software cache simulator; 2) on the a shared-memory Power Challenge multiprocessor, examining the fundamental dependence of algorithmic design decisions regarding parallel partitioning upon memory hierarchy effects at several levels; and 3) on a distributed array of interconnected Power Challenge multiprocessors, on which we implement a logical global address space for volume blocks, and investigate the tradeoff between replication (caching) and communication of data.

The methods we develop permit us to exploit the coherence found in volume rendering to increase memory locality, and thereby increase memory system performance. This focus on the optimal exploitation of the entire memory hierarchy, from the processor cache, to the interconnection network between distributed nodes, yields faster frame rates for large (357 MB to 1 GB) datasets than have been previously cited in the literature, and allows us to efficiently render a 7.1 GB dataset, the largest ever rendered.

Our results have implications for the parallel solution of other problems which, likeray casting, require a global gather operation, use an associative operator to combine partial results, and contain coherence. We discuss implications for the design of a parallel architecture suited to solving this class of problems, specifically, that these algorithms are best served by a deep memory hierarchy.


One of the past control procedures is the PID control which is used many industries. It can be comprehended on the grounds that it is tuneable effectively and the control structure is basic. In the meantime a few tasteful results have been demonstrated utilizing PID control as a part of control system, in mechanical control despite everything it has an has a widespread variety of presentations. As per a study it has been found that each control area requires PID type for process control systems directed which was studied in 1989. For a long time PID control has been an energetic study subject. Since numerous process plants have comparable dynamics which is PID controlled and it has been found from less plant data it is possible to set acceptable controller. In this few controller design techniques is been presented for PID-type, and resulting details for the tuning algorithms is discussed. The PID control are all described fully, and some differences of the classic PID structure are presented. The perceived experimental Ziegler–Nichols tuning formula and for the PID controller design algorithms approaches have been made for finding the corresponding FOPDT model. Some other simple PID setting formulae such as the Cohen–Coon formula, Chien–Hrones–Reswick formula, Zhuang–Atherton optimum PID controller, Wang–Juang–Chan formula and is presented. Some of the design techniques on PID control is presented, such as Smith predictor design and IMC control design. At long last, a few thoughts on the structure of the controller determinations for process control system are given.


Despite of the observed Cloud Services' (CS) heterogeneity, e.g., different APIs (Application Programming Interface), different accounting and charging models, and different security and privacy levels, one common aspect is that CSs provide a large amount of storage. CSs provide generic storage when it accepts to store data in any data type (e.g., Dropbox, Amazon S3). CSs provides data-specific storage when it accepts to store data only represented in specific data types (e.g., Google Picasa, SoundCloud). Therefore, PiCsMu (Platform-independent Cloud Storage System for Multiple-Usage) was developed to (1) aggregate multiple CSs' storage despite of the accepted data type, (2) provide enhanced privacy, and (3) enable a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing network relying on CSs' storage instead of peers' storage. The demonstrator use case shows how a PiCsMu user can upload, download, and share files with other PiCsMu users, especially highlighting: (a) the hybrid approach used by the PiCsMu system, showing that data is stored in CSs and the P2P network acts as a management overlay; (b) the PiCsMu social capabilities, showing that PiCsMu users are able to find and share content to existing Online Social Network friends; and (c) the fragmentation and data encoding, showing that both processes enable higher privacy levels since data is stored in multiple different CSs and is imperceptible to CSs' data validation.


British objectives for their occupation were many, and the means of achieving them often conflicted with one another; this conflict caused chaos in the British Zone and detracted from British efforts to rebuild a stable and self-supporting Germany in all areas. This thesis examines the early years of the British occupation from a German perspective, and analyzes British efforts in denazification, democratization, and repairing the economy while also discussing the geopolitical motivations and pressures that affected British decisions regarding many of their objectives. It concludes that in attempting to achieve all of their objectives, the British made contradictory policies, and although they endeavored to rectify these contradictions by later compromising between their different objectives, these compromises only served to further hinder their occupational efforts. The contribution of British prejudices, poor planning, and bureaucratic stagnancy to the hindrance of their occupational goals is also examined. Finally, the impact the British occupation had on the German people within the British Zone is investigated, with emphasis on the ways in which the conflicting motivations and objectives of the British contributed to the continuation of German suffering during the early years of the occupation.


In today's globalization, as in all spheres of society, the family structure has undergone significant changes. This important social process typical of countries in different political structures and at different stages of development. Today, not only the family structure but the attitudes of people to family values have changed. Such changes occur not only in industrialized countries but also in developing countries; however, this process is not going smoothly. For example, in China, which is the world's leading population, the number of family divorces growing faster than in Western Europe, but as in other emerging economies in Asia. Divorces are manifested as a breakdown of family relationships. Causes of family divorces, types of rulings, and specific types of rulings. Triple to avoid problems with the world sociological interest.


Biochemical interactions in ecosystems have revealed the ecophysiological significance of secondary metabolites. Biochemical interaction underlies the novel weapons hypothesis thus presenting one of numerous explanations for the spread of invasive species. The knowledge of how invasive species spread in a new environment might be important for their management control. This study was aimed to determine the total phenolics content in Impatiens parviflora (I parv) and evaluate the germination response of monocot and dicot species to phytotoxicity. Wheat and rapeseed germination response to allelopathic activity of worldwide invasive Impatiens species (Balsaminaceae), namely, I. parviflora (native to Central Asia) was assessed ex situ at Aleksandras Stulginskis University in 2016. Phenolic content ranged between 0.32 and 5.53 mg g–1 in aqueous extracts of donor Impatiens. These allelopathic compounds are phytotoxic and usually reduce the growth of neighbouring plants. The data revealed their inhibition of germination and the seedling growth of both recipient species. However, the germination response was different for each recipient species due to different morphology of the seed coat. Inhibition of Impatiens extracts was recorded stronger for rapeseed (R) germination (mean 51.0%) than that for wheat (W) germination (mean 23.8%), possibly due to different seed coat anatomy and, consequently, its permeability. Therefore the strongest inhibition (93.0%) was recorded for rapeseed germination (4.5%) in 0.2% flower and fruit+seed extract of I. parviflora. Parameters of wheat seedlings also exhibited a weaker response to the extract of I. parviflora than that of rapeseed. The data revealed that Impatiens parviflora might negatively affect the regeneration of neighbouring native species in invaded habitats.


This thesis seeks to understand and attempt to solve some of the problems that are facing many decision makers at container terminals. The growth of containerization, transporting goods in a container, has created many problems for ports, i.e. higher requirements on terminals and infrastructure. many container terminals are reaching their capacity limits and increasingly leading to traffic and port congestion. the focus of the research involves the performance from the container terminal manager´s perspective and how to improve the understanding of the factors of productivity and how they are related to each other.


This paper presents a new verification and validation (V&V) technique for simulation using dynamic policy enforcement. Constraints are formally specified as policies, and they will be used to check whether simulation satisfies these policies at runtime. This paper also proposes a development framework where policies are developed along with system development and V&V. Once policies are extracted from requirements and specified in a policy specification language, the rest of the development work is automatically performed by the tools in the framework. Both security requirements and functional requirements can be specified as policies and dynamically enforced during the simulation. An automated tool is available for policy specification and enforcement, and it is fully integrated with the simulation infrastructure. This paper also presents a sample system that is modeled and simulated, and policies are used to verify and validate the system model. The paper also discusses the overhead imposed to perform this kind of automated policy-based V&V compared to the hard-coded implementation of the same approach.


Computer vision researchers are developing new approaches to object recognition and detection that are based almost directly on images and avoid the use of intermediate three-dimensional models. Many of these techniques depend on a representation of images that induces a linear vector space structure and in principle requires dense feature correspondence. This image representation allows the use of learning techniques for the analysis of images (for computer vision) as well as for the synthesis of images (for computer graphics).


This essay examines the ways in which the U.S. public, media, interest groups, and foreign policy elite, including Congress, influence the making of American policy toward political Islam. After analyzing the focal historical, cultural, and current political developments that inform Americans9 attitudes on Islamic resurgence, the paper argues that contemporary security and strategic considerations, not just culture and ideology, account for America9s preoccupation with Islamism.


Seed dormancy is one of the most important adaptive mechanisms in plants, which pro‐ tects seeds from precocious germination in the presence of the inappropriate conditions for growth continuation. Numerous environmental and molecular signals regulate seed dormancy. Maintenance or release of seed dormancy is dependent on light, temperature, and water availability. Precise response of seeds to environmental factors is mediated by different phytohormonal pathways. ABA is considered as a main phytohormone regulat ‐ ing seed dormancy induction and maintenance. ABA‐ and GA‐responsive components, ensure crosstalk between the GA and ABA pathways and enable seed response adequate to the environment. Phytohormonal regulation mechanism of seed dormancy is similar in dicot and monocot plants. Recently, it is suggested that other phytohormones, such as auxin, jasmonates, brassinosteroids, and ethylene, also take part in seed dormancy regu‐ lation. Auxin regulators, enhance ABA action and positively influence seed dormancy. However, jasmonates, brassinosteroids, and ethylene reduce seed dormancy level. Here, we describe recent advances in understanding the complex process of seed dormancy regulated by many phytohormonal pathways and their components. Seed dormancy studies can help obtain crop varieties producing seeds with the most desirable timing of germination.


Author(s): Quan, Jennifer; Teachout, Emily | Abstract: The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) listed the Coastal/Puget Sound Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) as threatened on November 1, 1999, under Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The bull trout population in the Washington State region is unique in that it contains the only known anadromous life history form of bull trout. This anadromous life form migrates through, and forages in urbanized river and estuarine shorelines of the Puget Sound.Since more transportation projects occur in urban versus rural areas, and because seemingly minor activities like routine maintenance can adversely affect bull trout, the number of Section 7 ESA Consultations has significantly increased. Stormwater run-off, increased impervious surface, urban growth and the related increases in capacity demands, overlapping regulatory jurisdictions, the lack of opportunity for minimizing impacts, and difficulty in assessing impacts to a degraded baseline are just a few of the issues that both USFWS and the transportation industry currently struggle with during consultation.Case-by-case review of these projects under the ESA must mesh the regulatory requirements (time-lines and political pressures) with the biological needs of the endangered species. Current efforts are underway to streamline the regulatory process in Washington State. These efforts include the development of tools such as programmatic biological assessments, providing agencies with liaison personnel, and refining guidance on assessing indirect effects. Tracking the overall impacts to threatened and endangered species (as mandated by ESA) resulting from transportation projects is overwhelming, as adequate tools are still lacking.While perceived conflicts over the needs of people versus ESA species are not new issues, they are amplified in the urban setting. Incorporation of existing tools—such as transportation demand management, high capacity transit, removal of impervious surface and restoration of hydraulic functions—into transportation planning is likely needed to recover listed species in the urban environment, yet remain to be embraced.We will draw from our experience conducting Section 7 ESA consultations, participating in long-term transportation planning processes under NEPA, and close coordination with Federal, state, and local transportation agencies to provide a discussion of these challenges and suggestions for overcoming them as we move toward recovery planning efforts for bull trout.


Electron and hole charge and discharge dynamics are studied on plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition grown metal-oxide-silicon germanium nanocrystal flash memory devices. Electron and hole charge and discharge currents are observed to differ significantly and depend on annealing conditions chosen for the formation of nanocrystals. At low annealing temperatures, holes are seen to charge slower but to escape faster than electrons. They discharge slower than electrons when annealing temperatures are raised. The results suggest that discharge currents are dominated by the interface layer acting as a quantum well for holes and by direct tunneling for elec-trons.


Fifty-one fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli isolates recovered from pigs, workers and environmental samples in one pig farm were screened for 16S rRNA methylase genes and qepA, a fluoroquinolone efflux pump gene, by PCR. Clonal relatedness of the E. coli isolates was examined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing and phylogenetic analysis. Plasmids from the E. coli isolates were characterized by incompatibility group, restriction enzyme digestion and Southern hybridization analysis. The genetic environment of rmtB and qepA was also determined by PCR mapping. Eleven isolates that were highly resistant to amikacin and fluoroquinolones were positive for rmtB and qepA. All of these isolates belonged to phylogenetic group A, but most of them had different PFGE patterns or belonged to different sequence types (STs). Four isolates from different sources (two from pigs, one from a farm worker and one from an environmental sample) belonged to the same ST (ST160). Both rmtB and qepA were located on approximately 75-kb IncFII conjugative plasmids with nearly the same EcoRI digestion pattern. Tn3, IS26 and ISCR3 were found to be associated with rmtB and qepA. This study has found, for the first time, the transmission of rmtB and qepA among E. coli isolates from pigs, farm workers and the environment. Both horizontal transfer of IncFII plasmids and clonal dissemination have occurred and been seen to contribute to the dissemination of these resistance genes in a pig farm.


Metabolic fingerprints of 148 strains ofXanthomonas campestris pv. citri originating from 24 countries and associated with various forms of citrus bacterial canker disease (CBCD) were obtained by using the Biolog substrate utilization system. Metabolic profiles were used to attempt strain identification. Only 6.8% of the studied strains were correctly identified when the commercial Microlog 2N data base was used alone. When the data base was supplemented with data from 54 strains ofX. campestris pv. citri (40 CBCD-A strains, 8 CBCD-B strains, and 6 CBCD-C strains) and data from 43 strains ofX. campestris associated with citrus bacterial spot disease, the percentage of correct identifications was 70%k. Thus, it is recommended that users supplement the commercial data base with additional data prior to using the program for identification purposes. The utilization of Tween 40 in conjunction with other tests can help to differentiate strains associated with CBCD and citrus bacterial spot disease. These results confirmed the separation ofX. campestris pv. citri into different subgroups (strains associated with Asiatic citrus canker [CBCD-A], cancrosis B [CBCD-B], and Mexican lime canker [CBCD-C]). The utilization of L-fucose, D-galactose, and alaninamide can be used as markers to differentiate strains associated with these groups. A single strain associated with bacteriosis of Mexican lime in Mexico (CBCD-D) was closely similar to CBCD-B strains.


During the cyclic changes in intrathoracic pressure, changes in stroke volume characterize the state at which both ventricles are preload dependant. Determining stoke volume variations may thus help to predict fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients. Selected review of the articles having investigated the stroke volume variations in critically ill patients. Stroke volume variations can effectively predict preload dependency in mechanically ventilated patients. Stroke volume can either be measured directly or estimated using the analysis of the arterial pressure waveform. Alternatively, pulse pressure variations can be calculated. However, these index are sensitive to tidal volume. During mechanical ventilation with low tidal volumes, the ventilatory-induced changes in preload may be too small to generate changes in stroke volume, even in preload dependant patients. Stroke volume variations can be useful to detect fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients.


ABSTRACT Bouguer anomaly maps are powerful cartographic tools used mainly by geoscientists and natural resources' companies (oil, mining, etc.) since they reflect rock density distribution at different depths, allowing the identification of different tectonic features. At upper crustal levels, Bouguer anomaly maps can help, for instance, in characterizing possible ore deposits, ground water reservoirs, petroleum resources, CO2 storage sites and sedimentary basins; at deeper crustal levels they can help to further refine seismic velocity models or other integrated geophysical models and thus help in deciphering the lateral density variations within the crust and the geometry of the base of the crust. This new Bouguer anomaly map at a 1:1,500,000 scale is based on the compilation of 210,283 gravity stations covering the Iberian Peninsula (c. 583,254 km2). The new map upgrades previous maps in two ways: (1) it is built up from a database with a 15% more spatial coverage than previous compilations and (2) it is freely available. This map show shorter wavelengths than previous published maps thus allowing investigation of smaller geological features.


Despite the relevant increase in clinical trials on the efficacy of various systemic and/or topical antifungal agents in onychomycosis therapy, the evaluation of the results is largely subjective. The aim of this study was to set up and ensure an objective, reproducible and reliable method to measure nail plate involvement in onychomycosis. In order to validate a specifically designed software for the computerized image analysis of affected areas of the nail, standardized clinical pictures of onychomycosis were prepared by six different clinicians using a sample of 11 affected nails. Diseased areas and total nail plates were measured both on the clinical pictures and on their drawings traced by the different clinicians on transparent tapes adhering to sample nails. The computerized procedure was undertaken by a trained operator who was not a dermatologist. The variation coefficients of measurements on clinical pictures (automatically detected) and on drawings were compared. In addition, the agreement between automatic evaluation and drawing was evaluated by means of Bland-Altman analysis. To consider the effect of possible variations linked to different operators using the computerized method, 11 clinical pictures (one for each clinical case considered) were selected and submitted to computerized image analysis by six different trained operators. The computerized detection of affected nail areas showed a coefficient of variation (vc=8.5%) lower than that observed on drawings (vc=14.7%). The two methods showed appreciable agreement, as demonstrated by Bland-Altman plot. The coefficient of variation of image analysis conducted by six different operators was very low for the total area calculation (vc=0.9%) and acceptable for pathological area detection (vc=4.8%). Based on the results obtained, we conclude that automatic evaluation is a reliable and helpful method for the measurement of the clinical involvement of the nail plate in onychomycosis and for the evaluation of therapies, since it can increase the objectivity and reproducibility of data. However, in a minority of difficult cases, expert dermatological evaluation is needed.


PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Closed reduction and percutaneous fixation of nondisplaced talar neck fractures have been applied by some authors. The aim of this paper is to assess the results and complications of this minimally invasive technique. MATERIAL AND METHODS In the period from 2009 to 2014, twenty-one patients with a talar neck fracture were observed after closed reduction and percutaneous screw fixation in the Traumatological Hospital in Brno. The mean age of the patients was 38 years (range 18-56 years). The mechanism of injury was a motor vehicle accident in 11 cases, a fall from height in six cases, a sports injury in 3 cases, and a fall from stairs in one case. Injuries were classified according to the Hawkins classification. Conventional preoperative 3-dimensional CT scans of the fractures were analysed. Under the guidance of C-arm fluoroscopy, Kirscher wires were used for closed reduction and temporary percutaneous fixation. Subsequently, 3.5 and 4.5 mm diameter cannulated screws were inserted. The outcome was evaluated on the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scoring scale. RESULTS The average follow-up was 32 months (21-42 months). The average healing time was 15.5 weeks (13-19 weeks). The average AOFAS score was 82.3 points (69-96 points). 75% of patients with type I injury achieved excellent results and 72% of patients with type II injury achieved excellent or good results. None of the patients developed wound complications. Two patients developed partial avascular necrosis and three patients subtalar traumatic arthritis after surgery. DISCUSSION Talar neck fractures are relatively uncommon fractures. Most of the published studies are small. Tenuous blood supply and displaced talar neck fracture predispose to avascular necrosis of the talus. Closed reduction and percutaneous fixation can reduce the soft tissue damage and disturbance to the blood supply. CONCLUSIONS Preoperative 3D CT scans, early surgery, anatomic articular surface reduction and percutaneous screw fixation increase the fracture healing rate and reduce the incidence of talar avascular necrosis. Key word: talus, closed reduction, percutaneous fixation, screw.


An automatic load shedding scheme considering the pumped-storage units at Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) is proposed in this paper. Taipower owns ten pumped-storage units which can be shed with higher priority when operated in pumping mode in order to restore the system frequency. In this way, the amount of customer load required to be shed can be significantly decreased. The system reliability and stability can also be enhanced. In the paper, a load frequency control model is developed. An automatic load shedding scheme that is adaptable to Taipower operation is thus developed. The proposed method has been validated through the utility data and compared with the utility shedding scheme. Test results solidify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method for the applications.


In some daily tasks such as drilling, laser marking or spot welding
application, the Cartesian robot is requested to reach with its hand tip to a desired
target location. Such tasks become more complex if it has to handle multiple points
in shortest travelling time and space. It is with these reasons that this study was
conducted with the primary objective to develop a computational intelligent system
that would contribute towards encouraging a productive and quality way of material
handling and processing. The objective of this project is to design, develop and
optimize the performance of a Cartesian robotic arm in terms of its positioning and
speed to perform spot welding application. The genetic algorithm (GA) will be
introduce, it will be able to look for the optimum sequences to solve its path planning
via evolutionary solutions. GA will determine the best combination paths in order to
minimize the total motion of welding time in shortest travel distance. The new
algorithm is tested and implemented in this Cartesian robot. Laser pointer will
replace the spot welding torch for the demonstration purpose in this project. This
project involves in developing a machine learning system that is capable of
performing independent learning capability for a given tasks. The design and
development of this project will involve two major sections. First section concerns
about the hardware construction, wiring and testing. Second section involves
software design to control the movement of the robot for the spot welding. The
hardware design can be categorized into two aspects i.e. the electrical design and
mechanical design. The electrical design involves wiring of control components such
as the stepper motor controller, input and output devices as well as the power supply
and the safety devices. Finally, the developed algorithm will been tested and
implemented into in this Cartesian robot system.


We present SCANimate, an end-to-end trainable framework that takes raw 3D scans of a clothed human and turns them into an animatable avatar. These avatars are driven by pose parameters and have realistic clothing that moves and deforms naturally. SCANimate does not rely on a customized mesh template or surface mesh registration. We observe that fitting a parametric 3D body model, like SMPL, to a clothed human scan is tractable while surface registration of the body topology to the scan is often not, because clothing can deviate significantly from the body shape. We also observe that articulated transformations are invertible, resulting in geometric cycle-consistency in the posed and unposed shapes. These observations lead us to a weakly supervised learning method that aligns scans into a canonical pose by disentangling articulated deformations without template-based surface registration. Furthermore, to complete missing regions in the aligned scans while modeling pose-dependent deformations, we introduce a locally pose-aware implicit function that learns to complete and model geometry with learned pose correctives. In contrast to commonly used global pose embeddings, our local pose conditioning significantly reduces long-range spurious correlations and improves generalization to unseen poses, especially when training data is limited. Our method can be applied to pose-aware appearance modeling to generate a fully textured avatar. We demonstrate our approach on various clothing types with different amounts of training data, outperforming existing solutions and other variants in terms of fidelity and generality in every setting. The code is available at https://scanimate.is.tue.mpg.de.


OBJECTIVE
To show how malignant mesothelioma (MM) surveillance not only identifies settings of exposure representing past industrial history, but it may also detect conditions of current exposure relevant for the prevention, if the wide spectrum of asbestos uses is considered.

DESIGN
Active search of MM cases and exposure assessment at individual level through a questionnaire; identification of exposure circumstances relevant for prevention.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS
Italy, all the Regions where a Regional Operating Centre (COR) is established to identify all MM cases diagnosed in the population and analyze their occupational, residential, household and environmental histories. Period of diagnosis: 1993-2008.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Descriptive analysis of MM cases and of asbestos exposures.

RESULTS
ReNaM includes 15,845 cases of MM diagnosed between 1993 and 2008.The male/female ratio is 2.5. Mean age at diagnosis is 69 years. Pleural MMs represent 93% of all cases. Exposures have been investigated in 12,065 cases (76%). The median latency time is 46 years. In addition to clusters of MM cases in activities well known to entail asbestos use, different current exposure circumstances requiring intervention have been evidenced.

CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of this experience, epidemiological surveillance of all occupational cancers should be implemented to foster synergies with the compensation system and the Local Health Authorities' occupational safety and health services, as required by the Italian Legislative Decree N. 81/2008.


A standard preterm formula was supplemented with calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) (F-CaP: Ca 87 mg/dl, P 43 mg/dl) and compared to the non-supplemented form (F: Ca 62 mg/dl, P 36 mg/dl). VLBW and small-for-gestational-age infants (n = 79) were included in the study which was performed to look for adverse effects and to decide about a reasonable start and duration of supplementation. In preterm infants with a birth weight lower than 1500 g and a body weight of more than 2000 g, the additional supplementation with Ca and P lead to a significant higher Ca- and P-retention without further load for the kidney. In addition, preterm infants with a body weight lower than 1500 g also had a better retention of Ca and P. Both, F-CaP and F lead to a high urinary excretion of phosphorus, a high renal net acid excretion and a relatively high activity of serum alkaline phosphatase. Anthropometric measurements did not reveal any evidence for an impaired caloric absorption due to an increased fecal fat excretion. Hypercalcemia or hyperphosphatermia was not seen. Hypercalciuria occurred in less than 5% of the samples studied. The results of this study indicate that a continuation of the supplementation with Ca and P is justified in VLBW infants with a body weight of more than 2000 g. There was no evidence for adverse effects of Ca and P supplementation in VLBW infants with a body weight lower than 1500 g, who might therefore also benefit from supplementation. Further studies are necessary to investigate unsatisfactory metabolic conditions of these children e.g. the high renal load.


The computer-vision problem of determining object orientation from the consensus of orientations of individual symbols or marks is examined. The problem arises in automatic inspection where orientation can be detected from printed text but there is no knowledge of the content of the text. This is a high-dimensional classification problem, and there is a requirement for highly accurate detection and rapid processing. The typical multilayer threshold networks are seen as unsuitable, and the optimal Bayesian detector is derived and found to have the highly parallel structure of a feedforward network. The learning vector quantization neural network method of T. Kohonen (1988) is also applied. Experimental results, comparisons, and a complete implementation are described. >


For the rendering of multiple scattering effects in participating media, methods based on the diffusion approximation are an extremely efficient alternative to Monte Carlo path tracing. However, in sufficiently transparent regions, classical diffusion approximation suffers from non‐physical radiative fluxes which leads to a poor match to correct light transport. In particular, this prevents the application of classical diffusion approximation to heterogeneous media, where opaque material is embedded within transparent regions. To address this limitation, we introduce flux‐limited diffusion, a technique from the astrophysics domain. This method provides a better approximation to light transport than classical diffusion approximation, particularly when applied to heterogeneous media, and hence broadens the applicability of diffusion‐based techniques. We provide an algorithm for flux‐limited diffusion, which is validated using the transport theory for a point light source in an infinite homogeneous medium. We further demonstrate that our implementation of flux‐limited diffusion produces more accurate renderings of multiple scattering in various heterogeneous datasets than classical diffusion approximation, by comparing both methods to ground truth renderings obtained via volumetric path tracing.


Despite the important role of vendors in the IT procurement process, very few studies have considered vendor characteristics and their effects on the decision outcome of IT managers. In this paper,we present a discrete choice model to examine the effects of vendor characteristics on the purchase decisions of IT managers. Our intent is to empirically assess the effects of product variety, brand name, average price, and network externalities in the selection of computer vendors. To ensure that the effects are not technology-dependent, we deliberately use long time series data to calibrate the model.Annual data at the vendor level from 1965 to 1993 is used to infer the choice criteria of IT managers in three computer categories: mainframe, minis, and small systems. Our empirical findings indicate that a broader product line and a strong brand can effectively enhance the choice probability of a vendor. Implications of these findings and possible extensions are also discussed.


Over-the-counter (OTC) financial derivatives are increasingly used in a globalising financial market as tools for risk management. However, the advent of large financial crises as a result of their use raises issue as to the risks derivatives themselves might pose to the players who use them, as well as to the international financial system as a whole. It is, therefore, a key question to ask what regulation might be apt for trade in OTC derivatives. This thesis considers how a post-structuralist account might offer important insight into how this question is understood. Post-structuralist, as well as broader social constructivist and non-rationalist critiques help illustrate some of the limits to objectivist rationalism in practices of financial risk management. This thesis argues that the danger of ignoring such critiques include a continued "illusion" of individual and state-actor control over macro-economic processes, such as the phenomenal volume of trade in OTC derivatives contracts today. In this light, therefore, the regulation of OTC derivatives is not just a political question of who does and should have explicit policy control over economic and regulatory processes; but it is also a political question over knowledge constructs, and how particular technologies and specialist discourses are developed that enable "experts" legitimacy and power where it is not necessarily justified.


The quality of day old chicks is crucial for profitable broiler production, but a difficult trait to define. In research, both qualitative and quantitative measures are used with variable predictive value for subsequent performance. In hatchery practice, chick quality is judged on a binomial scale, as chicks are divided into first grade (Q1-saleable) and second grade (Q2) chicks right after hatch. Incidences and reasons for classifying chicks as Q2, and potential of these chicks for survival and post-hatch performance have hardly been investigated, but may provide information for flock performance. We conducted an experiment to investigate (1) the quality of a broiler flock and the relation with post-hatch flock performance based on a qualitative score (Pasgar©score) of Q1 chicks and based on the incidence of Q2 chicks and (2) the reasons for classifying chicks as Q2, and the potential of these chicks for survival and post-hatch growth. The performance was followed of Q1 and Q2 chicks obtained from two breeder flocks that hatched in two different hatching systems (a traditional hatcher or a combined hatching and brooding system, named Patio). Eggs were incubated until embryo day 18, when they were transferred to one of the two hatching systems. At embryo day 21/post-hatch day 0, all chicks from the hatcher (including Q2 chicks) were brought to Patio, where the hatchery manager marked the Q2 chicks from both flocks and hatching systems and registered apparent reasons for classifying these chicks as Q2. Chick quality was assessed of 100 Q1 chicks from each flock and hatching system. Weights of all chicks were determined at days 0, 7, 21 and 42. There were no correlations between mean Pasgar©score and post-hatch growth or mortality, and suboptimal navel quality was the only quality trait associated with lower post-hatch growth. Growth was clearly affected by breeder flock and hatching system, which could not be linked to mean Pasgar©score or incidence of Q2 chicks. Q2 chicks showed lower post-hatch growth compared to Q1 chicks but effects on flock performance at slaughter weight were limited because early mortality in Q2 chicks was high (62.50% at 7 days). We concluded that chick qualitative scores and the incidence of Q2 chicks may be informative for the quality of incubation, but are not predictive for post-hatch flock performance. Culling Q2 chicks after hatch is well-founded in terms of both animal welfare and profitability.


Much research into the fundamentals of membrane formation and separation has been performed in order to improve the efficiency of the manufacture of ultrafiltration membranes. Determination of the membrane characteristics is a key problem in these investigations. In this paper, we report on a study of membrane morphology by fractional rejection measurements, using low molecular weight saccharides as the test solute, and by electron microscopy. Using a simple model for solute/solvent transport through cylindrical pores, a "characteristic pore size" was derived from saccharide rejection data. This pore size of a hypothetical isoporous membrane, interpreting the measured separation characteristics, provides a promising means of describing differences between membranes with respect to pore size and pore size changes caused by solute adsorption. From high resolution electron micrographs, information was obtained on the skin layer morphologies and, for some membranes the sizes of the larger pores could be estimated.


Digital platforms play an increasing role in the logistics industry and start-ups are challenging traditional logistics providers with new business models. It is, however, not clear whether these platforms have the potential to disrupt current industries. As a response, this paper contributes a more nuanced view on the notion of disruption and disruptive innovation and is concerned with digital freight forwarders (DFFs) in particular. To distinguish between disruptive and sustained innovations, we develop a framework from literature that allows characterizing digital platforms and their disruptive potential along the initial target market, the value contribution, the ecosystem network and the industry supervision. We apply this framework to a comparative dual-case study of two DFFs and reveal important differences. Beyond its very contribution, the paper invites researchers to expand on the given approach, in particular to advance the predictive ability of the proposed framework.


The development of β-metastable titanium alloys that combine low Young's modulus, good mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility has attracted industry interest. This type of alloy is an alternative to commercial alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V, avoiding the cytotoxic effect that occurs with Al and V in the human body in the manufactured orthopedic prostheses. In this scenario, the present work aims to characterize the effect of Nb concentration in the properties of Ti alloys based on the Ti-12Mo-xNb stoichiometry (x = 0, 3, 8, 13, 17 and 20). All alloys were produced by arc melting with non-consumable tungsten electrode in an argon atmosphere and the ingots were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM), Vickers microhardness and Young's modulus was measured by impulse excitation and density was measured using the Archimedes' principle. The Ti-12Mo alloy and the Ti-12Mo-20Nb alloy showed the lowest Young's modulus. The best hardness/ modulus was found for the Ti-12Mo-3Nb alloy. All the alloys studied in this work showed hardness/ modulus ratio above the traditional Ti-6Al4V alloy (2.85), presented great potential for the biomedical application.


Management is very important as it will serve as a basis for companies' action measures this is because management system will guide the company in any decision making such as planning, leading, organizing and also controlling. Therefore, for the company to maintain and move to higher level affective management system will be act as backbone for the company's strategies and later turn to action that will determine the overall result of success. In financial industries, the company faces many challenges especially to the company that involved directly in unit trust industries. This is due to the unpredictable market condition and public awareness. CIMB Wealth Advisors is among the company that involved directly in unit trust industries. Therefore, it is very important for the company to effectively adapting effective management system so that the company will be able to stand strong in this industry. Under the concept of managing your own business, CIMB Wealth Advisors have encouraged and provide certain guidelines so that the entire consultant will be able to own their agency. As it will improve leadership skills, it will also help CIMB Wealth Advisors to monitor consultants' performance in smaller scope. Wealth Supremacy Agency is one of the agencies that are established under the concept of managing your own business. As the agency involve in providing total financial solution to the clients, they are facing challenges from this industry. This study will focus on the management challenges and also its counter actions to face the challenges. Besides that, this study also will explain on fund performances of unit trust fund managed under CIMB Principal Asset Management.


The Firearm Injury Reduction Education (FIRE) Program is a comprehensive community-based initiative aimed primarily at reducing the number of unintentional firearm injuries and deaths in Michigan. The FIRE Program is a multifaceted intervention that includes the following components: (1) videotaped testimonials; (2) radio public service announcements (PSAs); and (3) pamphlet distribution. In all cases, target audience members have an opportunity to receive a free gun trigger-lock. Several aspects of the social marketing model will be adopted by the FIRE Program. Pre-production formative evaluation is one important part of social marketing. The information reported here contains results of formative evaluation conducted to obtain feedback to develop and improve program components. Specifically, focus groups ( N = 6) were conducted with adults and children who owned firearms and/or were members of an at-risk population. Individual in- depth interviews were also conducted ( N = 11) with law enforcement officers and gun shop owners and/or operators. Results suggest that one can learn a reasonable amount of information from a limited number of focus groups and interviews. Injuries and deaths from guns represent a pervasive problem in American society. Firearms are the second-leading cause of fatal injuries in this country (Kellermann, 1994), and have surpassed automobile accidents in many states to become the leading cause of fatal injuries (Marwick, 1995). In 1994, firearms were involved in 17,866 homicides, there were 1,356 deaths due to unintentional gun injuries and 18,765 individuals prematurely ended their lives through suicide with a firearm (Singh, Kochanek, & MacDorman, 1996). Though fewer individuals died from unintentional shootings, estimates suggest that for every unintentional gun- related death, there are 13 unintentional gun-related injuries (Annest, Mercy, Gibson, & Ryan, 1995). Overall, for every gun-related death, estimates indicate that approximately seven people are injured by guns (Kellermann, 1994). The availability of a gun in a home is cited as a major contributing factor in each of these cases (Michigan Task Force on Interpersonal Violence Prevention and Reduction, 1994; Cook, 1979; Zimring, 1968; McDowall, 1991; Brent et al., 1991; Kellermann et al., 1992; Cotton, 1992), especially when the gun is stored loaded but not locked (Wintemut, Teret, Kraus, Wright, & Bradfield, 1987). Funding for this program was provided by the Michigan Department of Community Health to the Michigan Public Health Institute. Gun-related injuries and deaths carry a heavy price tag in terms of years-of-life lost and money spent to treat victims. National estimates indicate that annual costs related to firearm injuries and deaths average $14 billion (Voelker, 1995). Additionally, the life lost is often a young one, losing the potential for many years as a productive citizen. With regard to intentional firearm deaths, 20- to 24-year-olds have the highest death rate (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 1993). Unintentional gun injuries are the third leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds and the fourth leading cause of death for 5- to 14-year-olds in the United States (Kellermann, Lee, Mercy, & Banton, 1991). The populations at greatest risk for gun-related suicide include males 10- to 34-years-old and those 70 and older (Rosenberg, 1993). These statistics illustrate the seriousness of firearm injuries and deaths. Treating this issue as a public health concern has been growing in popularity as a realistic option to reduce gun violence. Firearm injuries and deaths are increasingly being referred to as an "epidemic" (Mason & Proctor, 1992; Novello, Shosky, & Froehlke, 1992; Randall, 1990), "a public health emergency" (Novello et al., 1992), and one of "the most critical health problems this country faces" (Randall, 1990).


Oxford in India Readings in Sociology and Social Anthropology have been carefully planned to suit and needs of the general reader, students, teachers, as well as scholars from other disciplines. Problems have been posed in general theoretical terms, but Indian enthnography has been used as far as possible to illustrate them. Each volume is devoted to a core areas in sociology and social anthropology and brings within one cover important writings, some of which are very difficult to find. In this way it serves the useful purpose of short-circuiting the vast body of writing in a discipline, and at the same time presenting the current state of art in it. Religion in India attempts to capture the great diversity of religious phnomena in India. All the great religions of the world - Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism are found within the geographical confines of the country, affecting the lives of its people in a vital way. Religion is a central concern in sociological and anthropological investigations and this volume tries to cover all the major theoretical approaches to its study evolutionary, functionalist, structuralist, cultural analytical, phenomenological and hermeneutic. The readings have been organized under five sections: Sacred Knowledge, Sacred Space, Sacred Time, Sacred Person and Reorientations to the Sacred. They offer the best of recent work as well as some celebrated classical writings in the field. The volume editor has a long introduction followed by short section introduction explaining the ratioanale behind his selections in each section. He also intervenes explain the text when he feels it to be necessary in the form of editiorial notes. This paperback edition has an additional article. Each section ends with an annoted biblography of additional readings and there is an exhaustive bibliography at the end of the book.


Early embryonic development in Drosophila melanogaster is marked by a series of thirteen very rapid (10-15 min) and highly synchronous nuclear divisions, the last four of which occur just beneath the embryo surface. A total of some 6000 blastoderm nuclei result, which are subsequently enclosed by furrow membranes to form the cellular blastoderm. We have examined the fine structure of nuclear division in late syncytial embryos. The mitotic spindle forms adjacent to the nuclear envelope on the side facing the embryo surface. During prophase, astral microtubules deform the nuclear envelope which then ruptures at the poles at the onset of prometaphase. The nuclear envelope remains essentially intact elsewhere throughout mitosis. A second envelope begins to form around the nuclear envelope in prometaphase and is completed by metaphase; the entire double layered structure, referred to as the spindle envelope, persists through early in the ensuing interphase. Pole cell spindles are enclosed by identical spindle envelopes. Interphase and prophase nuclei contain nuclear pore complexes (PCs) of standard dimensions and morphology. In prometaphase PCs become much less electron-dense, although they retain their former size and shape. By metaphase, no semblance of PC structure remains, and instead, both layers of the spindle envelope are interrupted by numerous irregular fenestrae. PCs are presumably disassembled into their component parts during mitosis, and reassembled subsequently. Yolk nuclei remain among the central yolk mass when most nuclei migrate to the surface, cease to divide, yet become polyploid. These nuclei nonetheless lose and regain PCs in synchrony with the dividing blastoderm nuclei. In addition, they gain and lose a second fenestrated membrane layer with the same timing. Cytoplasmic membranes containing PCs (annulate lamellae) also lose and regain pores in synchrony with the two classes of nuclear envelopes. The factors that affect the integrity of PCs in dividing blastoderm nuclei appear to affect those in other membrane systems to an equivalent degree and with identical timing.


The paper derives a vectorial model for expressing transmitter and receiver trajectories for arbitrary transmitter and receiver motion (nonidentical velocity vectors) in a bistatic synthetic aperture radar constellation. The point target response is first modeled in the space-time domain and then transformed to the frequency domain by the method of stationary phase giving the point target reference spectrum. In the reference spectrum, two phasor functions can be identified, the first one resembling some quasi-monostatic contribution and the second one being a bistatic deformation phasor transforming into an elliptic arc in the spatial domain. The multiplication of the two phasors in the frequency domain transforms into a convolution like operation in the space-time domain, indicating that the bistatic dataset can be expressed as a convolution like (range and azimuth variant) mapping of a monostatic dataset. In this regard, the paper extends the solution for the constant offset case known from the geophysical literature (associated with "Rocca's smile operator") showing that this case is a specialization of the more general one considered in this work.


Beside having significant values that would enrich the Indonesian nation, tribal, cultural, and religious diversity brought seeds of conflicts that could potentially disrupt social order and threaten national unity. The conflicts that occurred in Ambon from 1999 to 2004 were conflict examples that were caused by religious plurality that had appeared many societal problems that could not be fully resolved until today. The trust among Ambon's plural communities had not returned well and it was even worsened by settlement segregation separating Muslim and Christian communities that factually brought potential for further conflicts. In the present life of Ambon's segregated societ today public spaces inspired by brotherhood and "unity in diversity" spirits thatt could be meeting and socializing means of the communities and to reduce the social polarization were to be absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, the existing public spaces in Ambon for the time being served only as stages of activities and they did not connect with the communities' social spectrums so that the public spaces remained meaningless. A public space here served just as a witness, not as a means of socializing in accordance with the communities' cultures and characters. This paper would discuss how to integrate the communities' cultures and characters into a public space design that had significant meaning in overcoming the polarization of Ambon's segregated communities. The public space would be designed by taking into account a location choice where two segregated communities could easily meet. In the public space a macro space concept where the sea as the front page of Ambon communities should be applied and even forwarded since such a concept tended to be forgotten. Beside the spatial format, the public space should also be designed by facilitating various cultural-based activities so that the communities' characteristics that were integrated in the urban culture and daily activities would appear in the public spaces.


The study examined the effect of entrepreneurial education on unemployment reduction among students in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbaria. The problem of the study is as a result of increasing rate of unemployment in Nigeria. The study was anchored on Human Capital Theory and risk taking theory. As a cross-sectional survey research design, a structured instrument developed by the researcher to reflect such options as strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree and strongly disagree popularly referred to as five (5) points likert scale was used to obtain information from the respondents. The population of the study was limited to final year students of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship Studies Department in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam. The total population was 195. Business administration was 128 while entrepreneurship was 67. The study used convenience sampling technique in selecting the sample size for the study based on convenience and easy accessibility to the respondents. Research hypotheses were tested using Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA) which was carried out with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Findings from the study revealed that Skill acquisition has significant effect on unemployment reduction, Entrepreneurship empowerment affects unemployment reduction, Infrastructural development has significant effect on unemployment reduction in Anambra State. The study recommended that Entrepreneurial education in tertiary institutions should be practical oriented rather than theory as this will exposed the students to various lucrative skills. Government should provide a means of getting loans by small scale business owners in order to enhance the activities of small scale business in Nigeria.


Abstract Graphitization in fault zones is associated both with fault weakening and orogenic gold mineralization. We examine processes of graphitic carbon emplacement and deformation in the active Alpine Fault Zone, New Zealand by analysing samples obtained from Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) boreholes. Optical and scanning electron microscopy reveal a microtextural record of graphite mobilization as a function of temperature and ductile then brittle shear strain. Raman spectroscopy allowed interpretation of the degree of graphite crystallinity, which reflects both thermal and mechanical processes. In the amphibolite-facies Alpine Schist, highly crystalline graphite, indicating peak metamorphic temperatures up to 640°C, occurs mainly on grain boundaries within quartzo-feldspathic domains. The subsequent mylonitization process resulted in the reworking of graphite under lower temperature conditions (500–600°C), resulting in clustered (in protomylonites) and foliation-aligned graphite (in mylonites). In cataclasites, derived from the mylonitized schists, graphite is most abundant (<50% as opposed to <10% elsewhere), and has two different habits: inherited mylonitic graphite and less mature patches of potentially hydrothermal graphitic carbon. Tectonic–hydrothermal fluid flow was probably important in graphite deposition throughout the examined rock sequences. The increasing abundance of graphite towards the fault zone core may be a significant source of strain localization, allowing fault weakening.


To assess hydrological sensitivity to climate variability, improved understanding is needed of the process cascade linking large‐scale climate to river flow. For northern Europe such knowledge is limited, and is further complicated by mountainous terrain. This research gap is addressed through composite analysis of large‐scale climate drivers of monthly high and low river flow across northern Europe for the period 1968–1997. As an organizational framework for this investigation, the study is performed on a regional basis, using cluster analysis for identification of river flow regions. Results of the composite analysis show that the occurrence of high and low flow across northern Europe is associated with large‐scale patterns of temperature and precipitation variation. Especially in winter, these patterns are linked to changes in large‐scale geopotential height and wind fields, and in particular variation in the Azores High and Icelandic Low atmospheric centres of action. This is suggestive of a link between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and river flow, but is too complex to be described solely in terms of the NAO. Outside the winter half‐year, an inverse climate–river flow relationship is found between northern and southern Scandinavian river flow regions. This relationship is associated with differences in the relative contribution of meltwater to river flow between these regions, their latitudinal separation and orographic effects on precipitation distribution. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Nursery activities were one important step in producing quality seedling. This study used a very low quality Gmelina seed with germination value of 9.8%. This value affected the ability of plants in responding to treatment. Input technology of growing media treatment and biostimulan needed to improve the quality of seedling. Sample of media planting collected from IPB permanent nursery. Applications biostimulan was using to help increased amount of plant roots. This study used a completely randomized factorial design with 7 replications. Observations for 8 weeks after planting (MST) found the media's treatment plant and biostimulan has significant effect on the parameters of diameter, height and total dry weight compared to control. Compost was the best medium in this study who had the highest NPK value compared to other media. Biostimulan concentration of 4% was proved improving the quality of Gmelina seedling in all media by increased the compactness of the roots of seedlings. The percentage increased in root dry weight (BKA), the largest found in the media mix of compost and mud. The best treatment in improving the quality of seeds Gmelina found in compost media and biostimulan 4% on all parameters of growth.Keywords: biostimulant, root compaction, seedling quality


Monitoring and analysis of the land and rapid environmental change, leads to the use of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) classification approaches from remote sensing data. The main focus of this aper is to illustrate the practical approach to analysis and mapping of land use and land cover features using high resolution satellite images. The study is carried out for two different places, Basel and Tel Aviv. For this purpose, Quickbird satellite imagery is used for Basel and WorldView2 imagery for Tel Aviv. The classification method chosen for the Quickbird image is Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier and Maximum Likelihood method for the WordView2 satellite imagery. Both of the methods are applied using ENVI 5.0 Remote Sensing software. An accuracy assessment is also applied to the classified results based on the ground truth points or known reference pixels.


Jewish women played important roles in many aspects of the birth control movement, as activists, consumers, and distributors. Yet just as the legal system was not yet sure what to make of contraception, neither was the American Jewish community. While hundreds of thousands of Jewish women clearly limited their family size, both ambivalence toward birth control and pockets of outright opposition also persisted. This essay briefly examines the developments in the birth control movement during the pivotal year of 1916 in which Jewish women played important roles. The essay then turns to analysis of two Yiddish plays on the topic written that year. Neither play has ever before been translated in full. Because the Yiddish theater was a central American Jewish cultural institution, the production of plays on the subject of birth control in 1916 dramatized the importance of the issue within the American Jewish community. Though the plays quite possibly loom larger in retrospect than they did at the time and are notable more for content than literary merit, they nonetheless provide a critical lens through which to explore the complex relationship between American Jewry and the birth control movement.