COVID-19 emerged as the biggest threat of this century for mankind and later it spread across the globe through human to human transmission Scientists rushed to understand the structure and mechanism of the virus so that antiviral drugs or vaccines to control this disease can be developed A key to stothe progression of the disease is to inhibit the replication mechanism of Sars-Cov-2 RNA-dependent-RNA polymerase protein also called RdRprotein is the engine of Sars-Cov-2 that replicates the virus using viral RNA when it gains entry into the human cell Numerous drugs proposed for the treatment of COVID-19 such as Camostat Mesylate, Remdesivir, Famotidine, Hesperidin, etc are under trial to analyze the aftermath of their medicinal use Nature is enriched with compounds that have antiviral activities and can potentially play a pivotal role to inhibit this virus This study focuses on the phytochemicals that have the potential to exhibit antiviral activities A large number of compounds were screened and a cohort of most suitable ones are suggested via in-silico techniques which are used worldwide for drug discovery such as docking, binding analysis, Universal Force Field Analysis, Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (BFGS) Method, Molecular Dynamic Simulation, and Electrostatic Potential Calculation The proposed compounds are naturally occurring substances with low toxicity, very few side effects, proven anti-pathogenic effects, and most importantly are easily available


Dopamine (DA) and other neurotransmitters affect nonneuronal tissues in insects by circulating in the hemolymph. In several organisms, DA has been shown to modulate distinct aspects of cardiac function but the signal trans-duction pathways that mediate dopaminergic effects on the heart are not well characterized. Here, we used a semiintact Drosophila melanogaster larva preparation and drugs targeting DA receptors and canonical second messenger pathways to identify signaling cascades that mediate the effect of DA on a myogenic heart. DA has a positive chronotropic effect that is mimicked by SKF38393 (type-1 DA receptor agonist) and quinpirole (type-2 DA receptor agonist). SCH23390 and spiperone (type-1 and type-2 DA receptor antagonists) are moderately effective at inhibiting DA's effect. An adenylate cyclase inhibitor (SQ,22536) is also effective at blocking the stimulatory effect of DA but the drug has its own dose-dependent effect. Activation of protein kinase C with a diacylglycerol analog has a stimulatory effect on heart rate (HR). These results suggest that (1) both DA receptor subtypes are expressed in third instar larva cardiac myocytes to increase HR in response to rising levels of DA in the hemolymph, and (2) canonical second messenger pathways modulate HR in D. melanogaster larvae. Having these disparate signaling cascades converge toward a common modulatory function appears redundant, but in the context of multiple cardioactive chemicals this redundancy is likely to increase the fidelity of signal transduction.


Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that causes severe problems in patients' thinking, memory, and behavior. An early diagnosis is crucial to prevent AD progression; to this end, many algorithmic approaches have recently been proposed to predict cognitive decline. However, these predictive models often fail to integrate heterogeneous genetic and neuroimaging biomarkers and struggle to handle missing data. In this work we propose a novel objective function and an associated optimization algorithm to identify cognitive decline related to AD. Our approach is designed to incorporate dynamic neuroimaging data by way of a participant-specific augmentation combined with multimodal data integration aligned via a regression task. Our approach, in order to incorporate additional side-information, utilizes structured regularization techniques popularized in recent AD literature. Armed with the fixed-length vector representation learned from the multimodal dynamic and static modalities, conventional machine learning methods can be used to predict the clinical outcomes associated with AD. Our experimental results show that the proposed augmentation model improves the prediction performance on cognitive assessment scores for a collection of popular machine learning algorithms. The results of our approach are interpreted to validate existing genetic and neuroimaging biomarkers that have been shown to be predictive of cognitive decline.


Purpose - The defense industry is one of the leading business sectors in Israel and also worldwide. Competitive Intelligence (hereafter CI) is embedded into this sector and supports its decision making process. In recent years more information about this industry and about the CI activity is available while characterized by fierce competition and quick changes in the competitive environment. It is evident that CI is used widely by the leading firms in this sector while it has become an integral part of the business activity, and its added value seems to be significant. It is possible to define a framework of CI activity in this industry and to reflect on its advantages and limitations. It is my hope that this paper will encourage further research on this topic. Methodology/approach – Gathering information that has been published in Israel and abroad that was analyzed and thus offers insight into this issue. Findings – The defense industry in general and especially in Israel is using CI intensively in the highly competitive environment of defense products to support the decision making process. Research limitations – For many years, the information on this sector was not available. It is in now in a process of change and this enables us to build up a comprehensive picture. Practical implications – This study can make a contribution to global corporations competing in highly dynamic sectors, especially those that are operating in the governmental sectors. Originality/ value – This is the first work in Israel on the use of CI in the defense sector. Paper type: A case study analysis.


This study is an exploration of the self-translation process I experienced while translating my autobiography/memoir, originally written in Japanese, my native and first language (L1), into English, my second language (L2). Entitled Samurai and Cotton: A Story of Two Life Journeys in Japan and America, the English edition was published in the United States in November of 2011. Prior to that, the original work in Japanese was published in Japan in June of 2010. The study is unique in that the process of self-translation is examined by the author-translator herself, who is an applied linguist by training. Moreover, the story, being autobiographical in nature and narrated by the translingual writer and protagonist, serves as metanarrative providing clues about the author-translator's psyche and transformation as she transitions through geographical, cultural, and linguistic changes. Another uniqueness lies in the fact that the book was translated from Japanese to English. Self-translation between languages as typologically distant as those is extremely rare, whereas self-translation is commonly practiced be-tween Indo-European languages. Japanese and English being so different, linguistically and culturally, translation between these two languages is uniquely challenging. The present study is also significant in that it investigates the dynamic process of self-translation, being one of the pioneering works in self-translation research, a newly emerging branch of translation studies, while focusing on a theme that has not received much attention in the field—loss and gain. As reflected in the title of the study, "Lost and Found in Self-Translation," the main question being asked is: What is lost and gained in self-translation, especially from L1 to L2 and between languages as remote as Japanese and English? While asking this question, the study investigates the process of self-translation that was experienced by the author-translator, in search of an answer to the broader and more fundamental question: What is self-translation? As suggested by its subtitle, "Author-Translator's Re-encounter with the Past, Self, Inner Voice, and Hidden Creativity," this study also explores the hidden creativity fighting against, and creating value out of, the multiplicity of constraints in self-translation as the author-translator re-encounters the past, self, and inner voice through the mirror of self-translation reflecting the dual selves. Centering upon the main goal of unveiling the dynamics of loss and gain in self-translation, the present study examines the aforementioned topics and questions from interdisciplinary perspectives—not only linguistic, but also textual (e.g., original and second original), motivational (e.g., pain and pleasure), and sociocultural or social psychological (e.g., loss and gain of self-identity). By so doing, this study attempts to "bind" these issues in self-translation by examining the relation-ship between the creativity and the multiplicity of constraints that are linguistic and cultural (e.g., untranslatability), textual (e.g., fidelity, audience), interlingual (e.g., L1 interference), sociolinguistic (e.g., transfer, L1 sociolinguistic norms), rhetorical (e.g., L1 norms), sociocultural or social psychological (e.g., identity crisis), sociopolit-ical (e.g., displacement, immigration), and spatiotemporal (e.g., distance). Each topic is explored and discussed closely with examples drawn from the original and the translated text of Samurai and Cotton.


Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) are commercially important species that have been harvested extensively for foods. Currently, this and related species (American and European eels) are difficult to breed on a commercial basis. Wild stock is used for aquaculture. Due to pollution, overfishing, and international trafficking, eel populations are declining. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Japanese eels as critically endangered and on its red list. Here we presented a high-quality genome assembly for Japanese eels and demonstrated that large chromosome reorganizations occurred in the events of third-round whole-genome duplications (3R-WRD). Following multiple chromosomal fusion and fission rearrangement, the Anguilla lineage has reduced the haploid chromosomal number of 19 from the ancestral proto-chromosomal number of 25. Phylogenetic analysis of expanded gene families showed the gene families of olfactory receptors and voltage-gated Ca2+-channel expanded significantly. The expansion of olfactory receptors (group δ and ζ genes) and voltage-gated Ca2+-channel gene families are important for olfaction and neurophysiological functions. Following 3R-WGD, additional tandem (TD) and proximal (PD) duplications occurred to acquire immune-related genes for adaptation. The Japanese eel assembly presented here can be used to study other Anguilla species that are related to evolution and conservation.


Background: Blepharis integrifolia is in the preparation of traditional formulation for the treatment of various diseases, including digestive disorders such as flatulence and dysentery. Although a very few studies have assessed the pharmacological properties, nothing is known about the phytochemicals present and the effect of extracts on its pharmacological activities. Objectives: Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to assess the role of methanol extract of B. integrifolia (MBI) for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities. Materials and Methods: The phytochemicals present in the extract were evaluated using high-resolution liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (HR-LCMS). The extract and the isolated compound were subjected to antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory studies. Results: MBI exhibited an effective antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities at a more significant level than the standards. HR-LCMS analysis of MBI revealed the presence of kaempferol, rutin, and several phytochemicals. The activity-guided repeated fractionation of the methanol extract by silica gel column chromatography yielded a compound that exhibited strong antioxidant activity. Based on various physicochemical and spectroscopic analyses (ultraviolet, infrared, proton nuclear magnetic resonance [NMR], carbon-13 NMR, and MS), the bioactive compound isolated was elucidated as 3,5,7-trihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-chromen-4-one (kaempferol). Furthermore, the molecular docking studies for kaempferol revealed that it binds β-lactamase at MEG binding site and was found to interact with binding site residues PHE91, TRP94, ASN109, MET148, GLU147, ASN36, and ILE201. Conclusion: The results from the present study suggest that the potent antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities observed are a result of the presence of these bioactive compounds within the extract. In addition, these results also demonstrate the antioxidant potency of kaempferol which could be the basis for its alleged health-promoting potential.


Due to Pauli blocking of intermediate states, the scattering matrix (or T matrix) of two fermionic atoms in a Fermi gas becomes different from that of two atoms in free space. This effect becomes particularly important near a Feshbach resonance, where the interaction in free space is very strong but becomes effectively suppressed in the medium. We calculate the in-medium T matrix in ladder approximation and study its effects on the properties of collective modes of a trapped gas in the normal-fluid phase. We introduce the in-medium interaction on both sides of the Boltzmann equation, namely in the calculation of the mean field and in the calculation of the collision rate. This allows us to explain the observed upward shift of the frequency of the quadrupole mode in the collisionless regime. By including the mean field, we also improve considerably the agreement with the measured temperature dependence of frequency and damping rate of the scissors mode, whereas the use of the in-medium cross section deteriorates the description, in agreement with previous work.


Background: Seasonal variation in the incidence of and mortality from myocardial infarction (MI) has been well recognised for many years. Haemopericardium (HP) is usually a fatal complication of MI. No data exist in the literature with regard to the seasonal variation in mortality from HP. Aims: To perform a necropsy based study to confirm seasonal variation in mortality from MI in a London population and to determine whether seasonal variation in mortality from HP can be established. Methods: Postmortem causes of death issued by several pathologists, working in two public London mortuaries over a five year period from 1999 to 2004 were analysed. Deaths caused by HP secondary to traumatic or iatrogenic causes were specifically excluded, as were deaths caused by HP secondary to bicuspid aortic valve and aortic dissection. The results were subdivided into winter (1 November to 31 March) and summer (1 April to 31 October). Results: In total, there were 2266 cases of MI and 135 cases of HP. Significantly more deaths from HP (83 of 135; 61.5%; p = 0.004) and MI (1051 of 2266; 46.4%; p = 0.016) occurred in the five month winter period. Furthermore, there was a significantly higher incidence of HP compared with MI during the winter (83/1051; 7.9%) than the summer (52/1215; 4.3%; p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the age or sex of patients dying in either the winter or summer. Conclusion: There is seasonal variation in mortality from both MI and HP in the London population, as confirmed by a postmortem study.


Coherent communication over a waveform channel corrupted by thermal noise and by an unknown and arbitrary interfering signal of bounded power is considered. For a fixed encoder, a random modulator/demodulator (modem) and detector are derived. They asymptotically minimize the worst-case error probability as the blocklength of the encoder becomes large. This optimal modem is independent of the encoder, and the optimal detector is the standard correlation receiver. A simple upper bound to the performance of any encoder when used with the optimal modem and detector is presented. These results provide a benchmark with which the performance of spread-spectrum modems and robust detection rules can be compared. >


MicroRNAs are a family of small non-coding RNAs that constitute a prevalent gene regulation. In this study, we showed the expression of miR-512-5p is downregulated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient tumor samples compared to its paired normal lung tissues. Moreover, expression of miR-512-5p was increased by retinoic acid treatment. Overexpression of miR-512-5p induced apoptosis of NSCLC cell lines A549 and H1299, and miR-512-5p inhibitor reversed this effect in H1299 cells stably expressing miR-512. miR-512-5p inhibited glycolysis and migration in NSCLC cells, but shows no effect on cell proliferation. We identified p21 as a target gene of miR-512-5p. Overexpression of miR-512-5p led to the decrease of p21 protein and mRNA level. Knockdown of p21 resulted in similar effects on apoptosis and glycolysis as that observed of miR-512-5p overexpression, as well as rescued the effect of miR-512-5p inhibitor on cell apoptosis in H1299 cells stably expressing miR-512. In conclusion, our present study revealed miR-512-5p was able to target p21 to induce apoptosis and inhibit glycolysis in A549 and H1299 cell lines.


Obscurins are a family of giant cytoskeletal proteins, originally identified in striated muscles where they have structural and regulatory roles. We recently showed that obscurins are abundantly expressed in normal breast epithelial cells where they play tumor and metastasis suppressing roles, but are nearly lost from advanced stage breast cancer biopsies. Consistent with this, loss of giant obscurins from breast epithelial cells results in enhanced survival and growth, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), and increased cell migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. In the current study, we demonstrate that loss of giant obscurins from breast epithelial cells is associated with significantly increased phosphorylation and subsequent activation of the PI3K signaling cascade, including activation of AKT, a key regulator of tumorigenesis and metastasis. Pharmacological and molecular inhibition of the PI3K pathway in obscurin-depleted breast epithelial cells results in reversal of EMT, (re)formation of cell-cell junctions, diminished mammosphere formation, and decreased cell migration and invasion. Co-immunoprecipitation, pull-down, and surface plasmon resonance assays revealed that obscurins are in a complex with the PI3K/p85 regulatory subunit, and that their association is direct and mediated by the obscurin-PH domain and the PI3K/p85-SH3 domain with a KD of ∼50 nM. We therefore postulate that giant obscurins act upstream of the PI3K cascade in normal breast epithelial cells, regulating its activation through binding to the PI3K/p85 regulatory subunit.


Neoliberal economic frameworks threaten the ability of marginalized people worldwide to grow, harvest, and access sufficient healthy food because they deny traditional collective seed ownership and preclude subsistence as a viable livelihood. Many internationally-oriented counter-responses work to reframe intellectual property law in favor of traditional farmers. In the United States, various grassroots agricultural biodiversity conservation projects designed to re-establish the control of open-pollinated seeds within communities have emerged with similar intent. This article situates and explores the role of open-pollinated seeds and agricultural biodiversity conservation strategies in local food sovereignty. The authors direct applied research projects that collaboratively document and disseminate open-pollinated seed varieties throughout the Southeastern United States with a specific focus on the Ozark Highlands and Appalachian Mountains. The research methods represent an activist anthropology—participant observation and ethnographic interviewing while collaboratively growing and sharing seed varieties with local farmers, gardeners, seed-savers, and activists—with the explicit purpose of forging more sustainable, integrated, and sovereign local food systems. Keywords: agricultural anthropology, agrobiodiversity, grassroots strategies, in situ conservation, seed saving


Distribution transformers are generally assumed to block high frequency power line carrier signals and to require bypass networks where signals must cross a transformer. In this work, however, we show experimentally that significant coupling occurs at some frequencies both across distribution transformers and between different transformer phases in various commercial transformers. This suggests that the transformers may pass noise and coupled RF signals between low and medium voltage power lines much more readily than predicted by simple models. It also suggests that frequency adaptive or spread-spectrum methods should be able to communicate across distribution transformers without bypass networks. Measured results are applied to a commercial simulator model suitable for use within large simulations.


Dimensionality reduction and clustering are often used as preliminary steps for many complex machine learning tasks. The presence of noise and outliers can deteriorate the performance of such preprocessing and therefore impair the subsequent analysis tremendously. In manifold learning, several studies indicate solutions for removing background noise or noise close to the structure when the density is substantially higher than that exhibited by the noise. However, in many applications, including astronomical datasets, the density varies alongside manifolds that are buried in a noisy background. We propose a novel method to extract manifolds in the presence of noise based on the idea of Ant colony optimization. In contrast to the existing random walk solutions, our technique captures points which are locally aligned with major directions of the manifold. Moreover, we empirically show that the biologically inspired formulation of ant pheromone reinforces this behavior enabling it to recover multiple manifolds embedded in extremely noisy data clouds. The algorithm's performance is demonstrated in comparison to the state-of-the-art approaches, such as Markov Chain, LLPD, and Disperse, on several synthetic and real astronomical datasets stemming from an N-body simulation of a cosmological volume.


The present study contains a detailed analysis of the road load of a vehicle, the single road load components and their most important influencing factors. Furthermore, two different methods are described in detail, which are allowed by law. The first method uses coastdown runs on a proving ground, to determine the road load of a vehicle. This method is called coastdown method. However, the result quality using this method strongly depends on environmental influencing factors, but also on the road surface conditions. With the inception of WLTP (Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedures) in September 2017, it is now possible for the first time to determine the vehicle road load using the so-called wind tunnel method. According to this method, the aerodynamic drag is measured in the wind tunnel and the remaining components are determined using a flat belt dynamometer.
At the beginning of this study, the flat belt dynamometer of the BMW Group was just in commissioning. Therefore, the test procedure and the influencing factors on the determined road load, such as test bench temperature, vehicle position at the test bench, tyre inflation pressure and the additional airstream of the cooling fan, are initially investigated in detail. Due to this analysis, it was found that an additional correction factor is necessary for the wind tunnel method, to simulate the road load existing on a real road. Therefore, the so-called wind tunnel method extended was developed, which contains a further rolling resistance correction factor to simulate this.
Moreover, Untermaierhofer, Petz and Vogeler developed a measurement method which enables the separation of the measurement result of the flat belt dynamometer into its two components rolling resistance and drivetrain losses with one single measurement using a custom-built torque meter. Thus, this method can be used to analyze and develop different vehicle components in vehicle installation position with the flat belt dynamometer in more detail.
Furthermore, the possibility to determine the total road load of a vehicle in a wind tunnel was investigated. With the newly developed AEROLAB method it is possible to determine the road load of a vehicle excluding the residual brake forces using the AEROLAB wind tunnel of the BMW Group. In this study, the missing residual brake forces are determined using the flat belt dynamometer. It is shown that, in contrast to the wind tunnel method, no further correction factor is necessary using the AEROLAB method, to simulate the absolute value of the vehicle road load determined by the coastdown method on a proving ground. It is pointed out that mainly the lower tyre tread temperatures and transmission oil temperatures as well as an additional wheel ventilation resistance are responsible for the higher road load measured with the AEROLAB method. The measurement of the missing residual brake forces in the wind tunnel is not possible at present, because extensive constructional measures would be necessary initially. If these were implemented, it would be possible to determine the total road load of a vehicle under laboratory conditions at one single test bench for the first time. From a business perspective, using this method represents a potential to reduce test bench and proving ground booking times as well as vehicle transportation.
The total analysis of the road load determination according to these methods is completed with an error calculation using GUM (Guide to the expression of Uncertainty in Measurement).


This article focused on the effect of group counseling in classes building and students' positive explanation style in Chinese colleges. The authors adopted group counseling activity into Psychological teaching and estimated its effect with Sociometry and Attributional Style Questionnaire. The result showed that group counseling was better at classes building than traditional Psychological healthy teaching, and especially take advantage of the later approach at positive explanation style obtain. As a result, the program proved the group counseling's advantage, defined validity of group counseling activity and finally found some effective Group counseling activity schemes which would bring benefit to mental health teaching.


The information capacity of wireless communication systems may be increased dramatically by employing multiple transmit and receive antennas. The goal of system design is to exploit this capacity in a practical way. An effective approach to increasing data rate over wireless channels is to employ space-time coding techniques appropriate to multiple transmit antennas. These space-time codes introduce temporal and spatial correlation into signals transmitted from different antennas, so as to provide diversity at the receiver, and coding gain over an uncoded system. For large number of transmit antennas and at high bandwidth efficiencies, the receiver may become too complex whenever correlation across transmit antennas is introduced. This paper dramatically reduces encoding and decoding complexity by partitioning antennas at the transmitter into small groups, and using individual space-time codes, called the component codes, to transmit information from each group of antennas. At the receiver, an individual space-time code is decoded by a novel linear processing technique that suppresses signals transmitted by other groups of antennas by treating them as interference. A simple receiver structure is derived that provides diversity and coding gain over uncoded systems. This combination of array processing at the receiver and coding techniques for multiple transmit antennas can provide reliable and very high data rate communication over narrowband wireless channels. A refinement of this basic structure gives rise to a multilayered space-time architecture that both generalizes and improves upon the layered space-time architecture proposed by Foschini (see Bell Labs Tech. J., vol.1, no.2, 1996).


Plants are known to have many secondary metabolites and phytochemical compounds which are highly explored at biochemical and molecular genetics level and exploited enormously in the human health care sector. However, there are other less explored small molecular weight proteins, which inhibit proteases/proteinases. Plants are good sources of protease inhibitors (PIs) which protect them against diseases, insects, pests, and herbivores. In the past, proteinaceous PIs were considered primarily as protein-degrading enzymes. Nevertheless, this view has significantly changed and PIs are now treated as very important signaling molecules in many biological activities such as inflammation, apoptosis, blood clotting and hormone processing. In recent years, PIs have been examined extensively as therapeutic agents, primarily to deal with various human cancers. Interestingly, many plant-based PIs are also found to be effective against cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, inflammatory diseases and neurological disorders. Several plant PIs are under further evaluation in in vitro clinical trials. Among all types of PIs, Bowman-Birk inhibitors (BBI) have been studied extensively in the treatment of many diseases, especially in the field of cancer prevention. So far, crops such as beans, potatoes, barley, squash, millet, wheat, buckwheat, groundnut, chickpea, pigeonpea, corn, and pineapple have been identified as good sources of PIs. The PI content of such foods has a significant influence on human health disorders, particularly in the regions where people mostly depend on these kind of foods. These natural PIs vary in concentration, protease specificity, heat stability, and sometimes several PIs may be present in the same species or tissue. However, it is important to carry out individual studies to identify the potential effects of each PI on human health. PIs in plants make them incredible sources to determine novel PIs with specific pharmacological and therapeutic effects due to their peculiarity and superabundance.


Abstract: This research aims to uncover the benefits of the introduction of information and communication technology in education. The researcher analyzes documents from formal and non-formal institutions in facilitating the use of information and communication technology to meet the needs of today's students. In order to maximize the benefits of having ICT in education, universities have to have more interactions with the world community through communication with pople in the community and their leaders. The universities should also take advantages of available possibilities to ensure the comprehensive and sustainable development, which we desperately need them at this critical juncture for our just cause. DOI:  10.15408/tjems.v1i1.1122


By examining newspaper articles from two different timeperiods in a public library's life, specifically the main citylibrary of Gothenburg 1964-68 and 2004-2015, thismaster's thesis studies the discourse of library practice aswell as its societal role during the building and re-buildingof the library. The empirical material is examined byapplying the discourse theory and method of ErnestoLaclau and Chantal Mouffe. With this methodology wealso aim to analyze how the power is distributed betweenthe different roles that emerge depending on in what waythey speak about or is being spoken of in the material.In the analysis of the material, we have identified severalmore or less dominant discourses that construct certain,and often contradictory, views on the city library's practiceand role in society. The major discourses that emergedin the material during the 1960's were the book discourseand the cultural centre discourse. The book discoursepromotes traditional and authoritarian views of themediation and conservation of printed, quality books aswell as being associated with strong ideals of enlightenmentand education. The culture centre discoursepromotes a wide library practice, entailing many differentcultural and political activities as well as a wide range ofpeople. The book discourse can be seen all the waythrough the 2000's, but the later period is dominated bythe information mediation discourse that places the userand its needs at the core of the library's mission.


Symonds.— Eight Cases of Cysts and Adenomata of the Thyroid treated by Extir-I**-**' pation of the Growth. Lancet," December 21, 1889. Six of these cases occurred in women and two in men ; one, a woman, was fifty-four years old ; the others were under thirty. In one of sternum. empty, Mr. Symonds The was after


The land inhabited by the Paeligni is one of the most interesting area with respect to linguistic variation among both Sabellian languages and Latin. In the last fifty years, the epigraphic evidences coming from that area have been carefully investigated, in the perspective of its linguistic position at crossroad of Sabellian and Latin varieties. Particularly this area was diachronically and synchronically influenced by both Northern and Southern Sabellian languages and dialectal Latin. The personal names, which form the main part of the epigraphic corpus chronologically concentrated in the stage of the Romanization, reflect typical features pointing to a specific identity of that area, through alternating standardization and non-standardisation.


This paper presents tracking analysis of a gradient-based simplified algorithm for an allpass filter-based adaptive infinite impulse response (IIR) notch filter with a linear chirp input signal. A first-order difference equation with respect to steady-state instantaneous frequency tracking error is derived first. Then tracking error mean, variance and mean square error (MSE) are derived from the difference equation using the power spectral density (PSD) method. Computer simulation results are presented to validate the analysis.


Titanium alloys has been widely used in many fields, while in high temperature and rigorous corrosive environment, it is very necessary to do some work on the surface of titanium alloys to satisfy with application purpose. In this paper, four kinds of sol film were prepared on titanium alloys with and without anodic oxidation film. The prepared sol included Al2O3, Al2O3-ZrO2 and doped sol by adding additive into them respectively. The film thickness, high temperature oxidation resistance and corrosion resistance after high temperature oxidation for some time were investigated. The results show that the sol film obtained on the anodic oxidation film of titanium alloys is thicker than that without anodic oxidation film. Compared with the other three kinds of film, the doped Al2O3-ZrO2 sol film has the best high temperature oxidation resistance and corrosion resistance due to insulation effect of the sol film, and the composition of additive and zirconic.


One of the main ways of improving the balance method of planning is the working out of a balance showing the production and distribution of products in the branches of industry. The inter-branch balance gives an overall and detailed picture of the process of socialist reproduction, and is a specification of the social product balance. Like the latter, it reflects the key national economic proportions, such as the relation of the replacement fund and the national income, the accumulation and consumption funds, material outlays and net output, the necessary and surplus product.


Carbon Governance systems – institutional arrangements in place for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions – are different in emerging countries. Indeed, carbon is the same everywhere but Carbon Governance isn't: in Brazil, the financial community is actively interested in carbon trading, but Chinese banks have hardly any interest in it; and while the Chinese government takes an active interest in providing capacity to project developers, the Brazilian authorities see their role uniquely as guarantors of environmental integrity of emissions reductions projects.  In the case of India, carbon governance offers specific features of patterns and interactions mostly because India strongly developed the Clean Development Mechanism and its market. This article proposes a study to the research and understanding of how exactly carbon governance works in the Indian case, knowing that India is the second largest host of CDM projects. Keywords: India, Carbon Governance, Clean Development Mechanism Received 21 July 2012; accepted 29 April 2013 urn:nbn:de:hebis:34-2014021045000


CONTEXT
Valid patient-based outcome instruments are necessary for comprehensive patient care that focuses on all aspects of health, from impairments to participation restrictions.

OBJECTIVE
To validate the Slovenian translation of Medical Outcome Survey (MOS) Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and to assess relations among various knee measurements, activity tested with Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and health-related quality of life as estimated with SF-36 domains.

DESIGN
Descriptive validation study.

SETTING
Isokinetic laboratory in outpatient rehabilitation unit.

PARTICIPANTS
101 subjects after unilateral sport knee injury.

INTERVENTIONS
All subjects completed the SF-36 and OKS, and isokinetic knee-muscle strength output at 60°/s was determined in 78 participants. Within a 3-d period, 43 subjects completed the SF-36 and OKS questionnaires again.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Reliability testing included internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Correlations between SF-36 subscales and OKS were calculated to assess construct validity, and correlation between SF-36 subscales and muscle strength was calculated to assess concurrent validity.

RESULTS
Chronbach α was above .78 for all SF-36 subscales. ICCs ranged from .80 to .93. The correlation between OKS and the physical-functioning subscale, showing convergent construct validity, was higher (r = .83, P < .01) than between OKS and mental health (r = .50, P < .01), showing divergent construct validity. Knee-extensor weakness negatively correlated with physical-functioning (r = -.59, P < .01) and social-functioning (r = -.43, P < .01) subscales.

CONCLUSIONS
The Slovenian translation of the SF-36 is a reliable and valuable tool. The relationships between knee-muscle strength and activity and between knee-muscle strength and SF-36 subscales in patients after sport knee injury were established.


Over the past century, Venice Lagoon (Italy) has experienced a high rate of wetland loss. To gain an understanding of the factors leading to this loss, from March 1993 until May 1996 the soil accretionary dynamics of these wetlands were studied. Vertical accretion, short term sedimentation, soil vertical elevation change and horizontal shoreline change were measured at several sites with varying sediment availability and wave energy. Short term sedimentation averaged 3–7 g dry m−2day−1per site with a maximum of 76 g m−2 day−1. The highest values were measured during strong pulsing events, such as storms and river floods, that mobilized and transported suspended sediments. Accretion ranged from 2–23 mm yr−1and soil elevation change ranged from −32 to 13·8 mm yr−1. The sites with highest accretion were near a river mouth and in an area where strong wave energy resuspended bottom sediments that were deposited on the marsh surface. A marsh created with dredged spoil had a high rate of elevation loss, probably due mainly to compaction. Shoreline retreat and expansion of tidal channels also occurred at several sites due to high wave energy and a greater tidal prism. The current rate of elevation gain at some sites was not sufficient to offset relative sea-level rise. The results suggest that reduction of wave energy and increasing sediment availability are needed to offset wetland loss in different areas of the lagoon. Using the data collected as part of this project, we developed a wetland elevation model designed to predict the effect of increasing rates of eustatic sea-level rise on wetland sustainability. The advantage of this model, in conjunction with measured short-term rates of soil elevation change, to determine sustainability is that the model integrates the effects of long term processes (e.g. compaction and decomposition) and takes into account feedback mechanisms that affect elevation. Specifically, changes in elevation can result in changes in allogenic sediment deposition, decomposition and autogenic primary production. Model results revealed that, given the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ' best estimate ' eustatic sea-level rise scenario of 48 cm in the next 100 years, only one site could maintain its elevation relative to sea level over the next century. Under the IPCC ' current conditions' scenario of 15 cm in the next 100 years, four of seven sites remained stable. This work demonstrates that more accurate predictions of the future of coastal wetlands with rising sea level will be obtained with a combination of short-term measurements of accretion and soil elevation change and long-term modelling.


Belowground processes, such as fine root demography and soil water redistribution, can alter carbon, nutrient and water cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. Although these processes are known to differ significantly across broad spatial scales and plant functional types, little is known about the differences among species in narrow geographical scales. Studies were conducted in a group of five tree species that grow in the sandhills of the fall-line region of southeastern United States. Four Quercus species (Q. laevis, Q. incana, Q. margaretta and Q. marilandica) and the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) co-occur in areas of intermediate fertility, but have different distribution along soil resource gradients. Species differences in fine root demography and hydraulic lift were studied by growing roots of adult trees in field rhizotrons and recording fine root production, death and lifespan and the water potential of the soil near the roots. The effect of variation in resource availability (water and nutrients) on fine root demography was also studied in greenhouse studies using seedlings. The species able to colonize xeric habitats (Q. laevis and Q. incana) exhibited fine roots with greater longevity but lower rates of production, death and percent mortality than species dominant in mesic habitats (Q. margaretta and Q. marilandica). The generalist species (P. palustris) exhibited intermediate fine root demography. Fine root death increased under high resources and under localized drought, especially in mesic species. Fine root production in mesic species was greater at high resource availability and after re-enrichment of dry surface soil. Only xeric Quercus species and the generalist P. palustris exhibited hydraulic lift ability. Consistent with optimality theory, these results suggest that greater fine root lifespan and hydraulic lift ability in xeric and generalist species may favor root persistence in dry soils, potentially reducing rates of resource loss. In contrast, greater fine root growth in mesic and generalist species may favor competition for resources. Results also indicate that species differences can be substantial even across congeners and narrow spatial scales. Hence, speciesspecific belowground processes deserve further investigation in order to understand how carbon and nutrient cycling respond to environmental change and shifts in species composition.


Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is one important option for CO2 mitigation (International Energy Agency, 2009) . Post-combustion capture processes using amines are considered one of the preferred options for CCS. However, the cost of avoided CO2 is very large and must be reduced. The present article aims to show that combining different simulation tools used on different scales makes possible afine analysis of CO2 capture costs and the associatedparameters responsible for these costs on different scales. It is first shown, from a macro-scale techno-economic analysis, that investments represent about one half of the total CO2 cost. Focusing on this cost, a sensitivity analysis, via Aspen calculations performed on a meso-column scale, enables one to identify key mass-transfer parameters that control absorption column design. It is shown that the most important mass-transfer parameter is the interfacial area, the gas and liquid mass transfer coefficients having almost no influence. Finally, from CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics ) simulations performed both on a large and on a local scale, some insights are given in order to optimize column design, first via the determination of large-scale distributor/packed bed interactions, and second via the determination of local pressure drop or local mass transfer parameters. It is also discussed how simulations should be performed on different scales in a two-way coupling approach in order to ensure fruitful results in the development of new technologies and further in CO2 capture cost reduction.


BACKGROUND
Incidence of delirium after liver transplantation (LT) has been reported to occur in 10%-47% of patients and is associated with increased hospital and intensive care unit lengths of stay and poor outcomes.

METHODS
Our primary objective was to evaluate the incidence and predisposing risk factors for developing delirium after LT. Our secondary objectives were to describe how delirium is managed in patients after LT, to examine the utilization of resources associated with delirium after LT, and to analyze the outcomes of patients who were treated for delirium after LT.

RESULTS
In a population of 181 consecutive patients who received an LT, 38 (21.0%) developed delirium. In the multivariate analysis, delirium was associated with pretransplant use of antidepressants (odds ratio [OR] 3.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29-8.70) and pretransplant hospital admission for encephalopathy (OR 4.39, 95% CI 1.77-10.9). Patients with delirium spent more time on mechanical ventilation (2.0 vs 1.3 days, P=0.008) and had longer intensive care unit stays (4.6 vs 2.7 days, P=0.008), longer hospital stays (27.6 vs 11.2 days, P=0.003), and higher 6-month mortality (13.2% vs 1.4%, P=0.003) than patients who did not develop delirium.

CONCLUSION
The presence of delirium is common after LT and is associated with high morbidity and mortality within the first 6 months posttransplant. Pretransplant factors independently associated with developing delirium after LT include prior use of antidepressants and pretransplant hospital admission for encephalopathy. Efforts should be made to identify patients at risk for delirium, as protocol-based management may improve outcomes in a cost-effective manner.


Background: The aim of this study was to compare the complete visible surface area of the radial head, neck, and coronoid in the Kaplan and Kocher approaches to the lateral elbow. The hypothesis was that the Kaplan approach would afford greater visibility due to the differential anatomy of the intermuscular planes. Methods: Ten cadavers were dissected with the Kaplan and Kocher approaches, and the visible surface area was measured in situ using a 3-dimensional digitizer. Six measurements were taken for each approach by 2 surgeons, and the mean of these measurements were analyzed. Results: The mean surface area visible with the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) preserved in the Kaplan approach was 616.6 mm2 in comparison with the surface area of 136.2 mm2 visible in the Kocher approach when the LCL was preserved. Using a 2-way analysis of variance, the difference between these 2 approaches was statistically significant. When the LCL complex was incised in the Kocher approach, the average visible surface area of the Kocher approach was 456.1 mm2 and was statistically less than the Kaplan approach. The average surface area of the coronoid visible using a proximally extended Kaplan approach was 197.8 mm2. Conclusions: The Kaplan approach affords significantly greater visible surface area of the proximal radius than the Kocher approach.


The quality of the vineyard soils has a direct impact on grapes and wine quality and represents a key component of the "Terroir concept." However, information on the impact of soil microbiota on grapevine plants and wine quality are generally lacking. In fact, over the last few years most of the attempts made to correlate soil microbial communities and wine quality were limited by overlooking both the functional traits of soil microbiota and the spatial variability of vineyards soils. In this work, we used a functional gene microarray approach (GeoChip) and soil enzymatic analyses to assess the soil microbial community functional potential related to the different wine quality. In order to minimize the soil variability, this work was conducted at a "within-vineyard" scale, comparing two similar soils (BRO11 and BRO12) previously identified with respect to pedological and hydrological properties within a single vineyard in Central Tuscany and that yielded highly contrasting wine quality upon cultivation of the same Sangiovese cultivar (BRO12 exhibited the higher quality). Our results showed an enrichment of Actinobacteria in BRO12, whereas Alfa- and Gamma-Proteobacteria were more abundant in BRO11, where an enrichment of bacteria involved in N fixation and denitrification occurred. Overall, the GeoChip output revealed a greater biological activity in BRO11 but a significant enrichment of sulfur-oxidation genes in BRO12 compared to BRO11 soil, where a higher level of arylsulfatase activity was also detected. Moreover, the low content of sulfates and available nitrogen found in BRO12 suggested that the reduced availability of sulfates for vine plants might limit the reduced glutathione (GSH) synthesis, which plays an important role in aroma protection in musts and wines. In conclusion, in addition to nitrogen availability, we propose that soil microbial sulfur metabolism may also play a key role in shaping plant physiology, grapes and wine quality. Overall, these results support the existence of a "microbial functional terroir" effect as a determining factor in vineyard-scale variation among wine grapes.


Introduction and objective. There is an evidence suggesting that obesity may influence the timing of puberty and growth patterns. There are few research on the reactions of the craniofacial complex to an overall increase in the body mass. Thus the objective of the study was to investigate if overweight or obesity may influence craniofacial morphology in adolescent orthodontic patients. Material and methods. In total, 77 patients aged 11–16 years were selected for the retrospective analysis. The study group comprised 37 overweight or obese individuals (mean age: 13,45±2,15). The control group included 40 normal-weight subjects (mean age: 13.79±1.81). Body mass index (BMI) percentile of each patient was assessed with the use of BMI score and ageand sex specific growth charts in accordance with International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Craniofacial measurements included in the study were performed on the tracings of lateral cephalometric radiographs. The data was analyzed by STATISTICA 10 for Windows Software. Results. Both females and males of the study group exhibited significantly greater mandible length (Cd-Gn), corpus length (Go-Pg), midfacial length (Cd-A) and lower anterior facial height (Ans-Me) (p<0.05), as well as SNB, SNPg and ML/SN angles (p<0.05) compared to the normal-weight controls. Moreover, high BMI females showed greater maxillary length (Pm-A) and SNA angle (p<0.05), whereas males exhibited greater posterior facial height (S-Go) (p<0.05) compared to the controls. Conclusions. Weight status is an important factor that can affect craniofacial growth pattern and should be taken into consideration when planning orthopaedic treatment in adolescent patients.


Technologies capable of imaging subsurface tissue structures offer improved visualization for surgical diagnostics and guidance. Endoscopic ultrasound catheters have been used for imaging the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract with 50 - 100 micrometers resolution. However, these resolutions are insufficient to resolve epithelial layers or early epithelial changes which occur in neoplasias and Barrett's esophagus. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a fiber- optic based imaging technology capable of acquiring in vivo image data of biological tissue at real-time rates and at resolutions 10 times higher than clinical endoscopic ultrasound. Using a compact amplifier super-luminescent diode light source, a portable OCT system has been constructed for use with minimally invasive endoscopic and surgical instruments including catheters, laparoscopes, microscopes, and hand-held surgical probes. The in vivo rabbit gastrointestinal tract is used as a model system. Beam delivery is accomplished with a radial-imaging OCT catheter that can be inserted into the working channel of an endoscope. This in vivo demonstration suggests that resolutions and acquisition rates are sufficient for imaging the human gastrointestinal tract. OCT shows promise for high-resolution image-guidance during diagnostic and surgical procedures.


Fc receptors (FcR) on U937, HL-60, ML-1, and K562 cells were characterized by using competitive binding assays and EA rosette inhibition studies. Like human monocytes, U937, HL-60, and ML-1 cells bound monomeric human IgG Fc with high affinity and mildly reduced and alkylated human IgG and Fc with a somewhat diminished affinity. In contrast, K562 cells had a much lower affinity for monomeric human IgG or Fc. Concentrations of these proteins as high as 10(-5) M were needed to completely block EA rosette formation. There was no binding of reduced and alkylated IgG and Fc. We assessed the influence of various segments of IgG on FcR interactions by using human pFc', rabbit Facb, mouse IgG2b-IgG2a hybrid Ig, and also studied the effect of reduction of the interchain disulfide bonds. The FcR on all four cell types bound rabbit IgG but not rabbit Facb or human pFc', suggesting that rabbit C gamma 3 domains are required for FcR interaction and that isolated human C gamma 3 domains do not have a human FcR binding site. Murine IgG2a, but not IgG2b, was cytophilic for U937, HL-60, and ML-1 cells. Binding studies with the use of several mouse myeloma variant Ig molecules having hybrid gamma 2b-gamma 2a heavy chains showed that variants with a complete gamma 2a Fc region bound to these FcR-like IgG2a, whereas those having gamma 2a sequences only in the C gamma 3 region and in a short adjacent segment of the C gamma 2 region behaved like IgG2b and did not bind. These results suggested that additional murine gamma 2a sequences are required for FcR binding. Interestingly, the Fc fragments from murine proteins with a complete gamma 2a Fc region bound only to a limited extent. These fragments are shorter than the human IgG1 Fc fragments, and they lack that segment of the hinge region that includes the interchain disulfide bonds. Cleavage of the interchain disulfide bonds of murine Ig having a complete gamma 2a Fc region diminished binding to a similar extent as that observed with human IgG. Together, these findings provide additional insight into the roles of the hinge, C gamma 2, and C gamma 3 regions of human, rabbit, and mouse IgG in their interaction with the FcR of human tumor cells.


Selective self-assembly processes were identified in an aged colloidal dispersion containing CeO2 cube-like and polyhedral nanocrystals as building blocks, resulting in two types of 2D microarrays. The cube-like nanocrystals were hierarchically self-assembled to form cubic nanoblocks with a mesostructure size of ca. 100 nm and a 2D microarray size of over 100 μm. The hierarchical assembly of the cube-like nanocrystals triggered the direct self-assembly of polyhedral nanocrystals, which then formed 2D microarrays. The hierarchical assembly of nanocrystals with a similar morphology was the dominant assembly process in the colloidal dispersion, and the cube-like nanocrystals tend to assemble through an oriented axis; otherwise, the fusion between the oriented nanocrystals is random.


The capacity to amplify and detect trace amounts of nucleic acids has made the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) the most formidable molecular technology in use today. Its versatility and scope was further broadened first with the development of reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, which opened up the entire RNA field to thorough exploration and then, most conspicuously, with its evolution into real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Speed, simplicity, specificity, wide linear dynamic range, multiplexing and high throughput potential, reduced contamination risk, simplified detection and data analysis procedures as well as availability of increasingly affordable instrumentation and reduced reagent cost have made qPCR the molecular method of choice when quantifying nucleic acids. Detection of pathogens, SNP analyses and quantification of RNA, even real-time analysis of gene expression in vivo have become routine applications and constant enhancements of chemistries, enzymes, mastermixes and instruments continue to extend the scope of qPCR technology by promising added benefits such as extremely short assay times measured in minutes, low reagent usage and exceptionally rapid heating/cooling rates. The whole process is driven by the insatiable demand for ever-more specific, sensitive, convenient and cost-effective protocols. However, it has also become clear that variable pre-assay conditions, poor assay design and incorrect data analysis have resulted in the regular publication of data that are often inconsistent, inaccurate and often simply wrong. The problem is exacerbated by a lack of transparency of reporting, with the details of technical information wholly inadequate for the purpose of assessing the validity of reported qPCR data. This has serious consequences for basic research, reducing the potential for translating findings into valuable applications and potentially devastating implications for clinical practice. In response, guidelines proposing a minimum standard for the provision of information for qPCR experiments ("MIQE") have been launched. These aim to establish a standard for accurate and reliable qPCR experimental design as well as recommendations to ensure comprehensive reporting of technical detail, indispensable conditions for the maturing of qPCR into a robust, accurate and reliable nucleic acid quantification technology.


Objective Maternal lipid metabolism is altered during pregnancy but little is known about the influence of these alterations on intrauterine fetal development. To examine the relationship between offspring birth weight and both fasting cholesterol and triglycerides in women screened selectively for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). Methods Prospective observational study in a large university maternity hospital. Women were recruited when they were screened selectively for GDM with a diagnostic 75 g Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). At the time the fasting glucose was obtained an additional sample was taken for a lipid profile. Results Of the 189 women recruited, the mean age was 32 years, 35.4% (n = 67) were primigravidas, 44.1% (n = 82) were obese and 11.6% (n = 22) had an abnormal OGTT. On univariate analysis, increased birth weight was correlated positively with multiparity, increased first trimester Body Mass Index (BMI), GDM and hypertriglyceridaemia but not cholesterol. On multivariate analysis, increased birth weight correlated positively only with hypertriglyceridaemia. Conclusions This study provides further evidence that maternal hypertriglyceridaemia may be important in programming intrauterine fetal development and raises questions about whether women should be screened selectively for dyslipidaemia before, during and after pregnancy.


Audio source separation comes with the need to devise multichannel filters that can exploit priors about the target signals. In that context, experience shows that modeling magnitude spectra is effective. However, devising a probabilistic model on complex spectral data with a prior on magnitudes is non trivial, because it should both reflect the prior but also be tractable for easy inference. In this paper, we approximate the ideal donut-shaped distribution of a complex variable with approximately known magnitude as a Gaussian mixture model called BEADS (Bayesian Expansion Approximating the Donut Shape) and show that it permits straightforward inference and filtering while effectively constraining the magnitudes of the signals to comply with the prior. As a result, we demonstrate large improvements over the Gaussian baseline for multichannel audio coding when exploiting the BEADS model.


The interactions of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) with proteins underlie a wide range of important biological processes. However, the study of such binding reactions has been hampered by the lack of a simple frontline analysis technique. Previously, we have reported that cold plasma polymerization can be used to coat microtiter plate surfaces with allyl amine to which GAGs (e.g., heparin) can be noncovalently immobilized retaining their ability to interact with proteins. Here, we have assessed the capabilities of surface coats derived from different ratios of allyl amine and octadiene (100:0 to 0:100) to support the binding of diverse GAGs (e.g., chondroitin-4-sulfate, dermatan sulfate, heparin preparations, and hyaluronan) in a functionally active state. The Link module from TSG-6 was used as a probe to determine the level of functional binding because of its broad (and unique) specificity for both sulfated and nonsulfated GAGs. All of the GAGs tested could bind this domain following their immobilization, although there were clear differences in their protein-binding activities depending on the surface chemistry to which they were adsorbed. On the basis of these experiments, 100% allyl amine was chosen for the generation of a microtiter plate-based "sugar array"; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that similar relative amounts of chondroitin-4-sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and heparin (including two selectively de-sulfated derivatives) were immobilized onto this surface. Analysis of four unrelated proteins (i.e., TSG-6, complement factor H, fibrillin-1, and versican) illustrated the utility of this array to determine the GAG-binding profile and specificity for a particular target protein.


PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to present our experience with metallic stents (Wallstent) for palliation of dysphagia due to malignant esophageal obstruction and esophagotracheal fistula. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From August 1994 to July 1996 20 uncovered and 6 covered stents were inserted in 16 consecutive patients with dysphagia grade 3 (n = 4) or grade 4 (n = 12) caused by incurable malignant obstructions. The obstruction was in the proximal (n = 4), in the middle (n = 3) and the distal (n = 9) third of the esophagus. Five patients presented with esophagotracheal fistula. The stent insertion was performed under fluoroscopic control. RESULTS: Exact positioning of the stent with reduction of the dysphagia was obtained in all patients. There were no complications related with the procedure. Esophagotracheal fistula was solved in those patients treated with covered stents. Six patients had recurrent dysphagia due to tumor ingrowth or overgrowth. In these patients an additional overlapping stent was placed. In latest evaluation 2 patients presented dysphagia grade I, 5 grade III, and 4 grade IV. CONCLUSION: Implantation of stents proved to be an effective and safe method of palliating dysphagia and occluding esofagotracheal fistula. Placement of stents was feasible without major procedure-related complications.


Introduction: The human society has become complex. However, our physiological responses designed to cope with the ever-increasing adverse situations have not evolved appreciably during the past thousand years. The failure of successful adaptation during stressful situations has resulted in stress-related illnesses. Methods: The objective of the present study was to carry out a comparative assessment of anti-stress effect of Vitis vinifera and Withania somnifera using unpredictable chronic mild stress model in rats. Long-term exposure to multiple stressors can cause depression. The unpredictable chronic administration of various mild stresses, a procedure known as "unpredictable chronic mild stress", is one of the best-validated rodent models to study stress in animals, for its good etiological and predictive validity. Result: Diazepam, Withania somnifera, Vitis vinifera administration dose dependently reversed the increase in immobility period in stressed rats. In the study of locomotion activity of rats in elevated plus maze apparatus, Stress treated control group rats showed less no of entries in open arm and also less time spent in open arm. Vitis vinifera treated (p<0.0001), Withania somnifera treated (p<0.0001) and Diazepam treated group showed (p<0.0001) no. of entries in open arms which were more than control group and stressed groups. Stressed group produce less average time spent in open arm as compared to treatment groups as Withania somnifera (p<0.05), Vitis vinifera and diazepam. Withania somnifera group showed significant antistress locomotry behaviour in rats. Administration of Vitis vinifera, Withania somnifera and diazepam during stress period restored the ambulatory behaviour of the rats which can be correlated with restoration of plasma corticosterone level. Finally, the results of the present study justified that Withania somnifera, Vitis vinifera and diazepam exhibited significant antistress activity in rats.


This paper describes the NeuroBot system, which uses a global workspace architecture, implemented in spiking neurons, to control an avatar within the Unreal Tournament 2004 (UT2004) computer game. This system is designed to display humanlike behavior within UT2004, which provides a good environment for comparing human and embodied AI behavior without the cost and difficulty of full humanoid robots. Using a biologically inspired approach, the architecture is loosely based on theories about the high-level control circuits in the brain, and it is the first neural implementation of a global workspace that has been embodied in a complex dynamic real-time environment. NeuroBot's humanlike behavior was tested by competing in the 2011 BotPrize competition, in which human judges play UT2004 and rate the humanness of other avatars that are controlled by a human or a bot. NeuroBot came a close second, achieving a humanness rating of 36%, while the most human human reached 67%. We also developed a humanness metric that combines a number of statistical measures of an avatar's behavior into a single number. In our experiments with this metric, NeuroBot was rated as 33% human, and the most human human achieved 73%.


The application of medicinal plants to maintain health and treat disease started since time immemorial and still is a part of medical practice.Terminalia arjuna is a tree with simple leaf, smooth and thick bark belonging to the family Combretaceae. Flowers are small, regular, sessile, cup-shaped, polygamous, white, creamy or greenishwhite and robustly honey-scented and flowering from April to Julys. Its fruit is a drupe, 2.5–5 cm long, ovoid or oblong, fibrous-woody, smooth-skinned with five hard angles or wings.Ancient Indian physicians used the powdered tree bark of Terminalia arjuna Wight & Arn. for alleviating ―hritshool‖ (angina) and othercardiovascular conditions. Also believed to be a natural liver tonic, Arjuna regulates cholesterol by decreasing LDL levels in the liver. Arjuna is a best hepatitis reliever and heart strengthener for humankind. Leaves of Terminalia arjuna are best healing for hepatitis .Its stem bark possesses glycosides, large quantities of flavonoids, tannins and minerals. Arjuna contains specific active constituents namely Arjunilic acid, Tomentosic acid, Sitossterol, Triterpine glycosides like Arjunetosides , Arjunine and Arjunetein. The bark is rich in Saponnins, natural anti-oxidants (flavonoids-arjunone,arjunolone,leteilin), gallic acid, ellagic acid, phytosterols, rich in minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc and copper, reducing sugars & coloring matter.The Arjuna bark with its remarkable medicinal properties helps, maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Arjuna is known to possess diuretic properties This have been recorded as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and lipid lowering effects while glycosides are cardiotonic, thus making Terminalia arjuna unique amongst currently used medicinal plants. In this review an attempt has been made to discuss various aspects of its ethnomedical, phytochemical, pharmacological, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, insecticidal, antihelmintic, immunomodulatory, antidiabetic, radioprotective, antimutagenic properties for benefit of mankind. Experimental studies have revealed that whole plant is highly useful staring from its use in cardiovascular tonic to asthma. There is ample evidence of its beneficial effect in coronary artery disease. The extracts of Arjuna are known to help in strengthening the heart muscles, relieving stress, and hypertension. Arjuna is effective for a variety of heart related conditions like high blood pressure, heart palpitations, rapid heartbeat and high cholesterol. These reports are very encouraging and indicate that this should be studied more extensively for its therapeutic benefits.


Using epitope scanning of 272 short, synthetic peptides representing the amino acid sequence of the CB-11 peptide of type II collagen, we have shown that five strains of rat, immunized with type II collagen, produce antibodies to a region 37-45 amino acids from the amino end of CB-11 peptide. Antibodies to this region always gave the highest binding values suggesting that it is an immunodominant region. Wistar rats immunized with a synthetic peptide representing this region, coupled to keyhole limpet haemocyanin, produced antibodies to this peptide which could still be detected at 1:4000 to 1:8000 dilution but none developed clinical arthritis. All sera also showed binding of antibodies to denatured bovine type II collagen but not to native type II collagen, keyhole limpet haemocyanin or to bovine serum albumin by ELISA. Sera from peptide-immunized rats were examined for antibody binding to the 272 short peptides of the CB-11 peptide and to the synthetic peptides representing shortened forms of the immunodominant region and forms of it with substituted amino acids. These results showed that the antibodies in the peptide-immunized rats were not identical to those produced to that peptide by rats immunized with type II collagen but may represent subpopulations of them. These findings suggest caution in interpreting the role of antibodies to individual peptides in arthritis induction without knowledge of their fine specificity.


In this paper, a substrate-dependent lumped-element model for ceramic multilayer capacitors is presented. The height and dielectric constant of a substrate have a significant impact on the frequency response of a chip capacitor, and these effects cannot be treated independently from the capacitor model. Rather, the equivalent-circuit parameters in the model must be made to vary in accordance with changes in the substrate. The model presented in this paper is suitable for microstrip-mounted components, and has been applied up to 10 GHz for values from 0.5 pF to 0.47 F, and for FR-4 substrates ranging in height from 5 to 62 mil. The modeling and extraction procedure is demonstrated for 0805- and 1206-style capacitors.


The fusion of digital and real worlds in all dimensions will be the driving force for future sixth-generation (6G) wireless systems. Ubiquitous in-time and on-time communication services between humans, machines, robots, and their virtual counterparts are essential, and they expand from the ground to air, space, underground, and deep sea. 6G systems are not only data pipelines but also large-scale distributed computing systems with integrated sensing, processing, storage, communication, and computing capabilities. It is challenging to build ubiquitous and intelligent 6G systems, handling stringent quality-of-service (QoS) requirements, providing a rich set of communication modes, including unicast, multicast, broadcast, in-cast, group-cast, and supporting user-centric mobile applications. In this article, we propose a new protocol architecture: Self-Evolving and Transformative (SET) architecture, that can provide a wide range of control functions, and be intelligently configured for different types of 6G applications and networking environments. Its design principles, potentials, and open issues are discussed.


Background: It is very critical to understand that awareness of family planning and proper utilization of contraceptives is an important indicator for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. It also plays an important role in promoting reproductive health of the women in an underdeveloped country. According to NDHS 2011 the knowledge of at least one contraceptive method was universal in Nepal but only 49.7% of the married women aged 15-49 years were currently using any method. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 209 married women of reproductive age in selected wards of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City. Simple random sampling was used to select the wards and population proportionate sampling for selecting the sample numbers from each ward. Semi-structured self-prepared questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to interpret the data considering p-value 0.05. Results: Most (53.1%) of the respondents were of the age group 20-34 years. Majority (92.3%) of the respondents had ever heard of contraception. Popular known method was Inj. Depo-provera (92.7%). Mass media (85.8%) was the major source of information. Mean percentage score of knowledge was 45.23%. Majority (90.4%) of the respondents had positive attitude and only (64.6%) were usingcontraceptives currently. Education, occupation and total income of the family was associated with knowledge regarding contraceptives. Logistic regression showed significant correlates of attitude with distance to the nearest health centre, education and age group whereas that of practice showed significant association with education, encouragement from husband, women's participation in decision making, distance to nearest health centre and type of family. A positive correlation was found among knowledge, attitude and practice of contraception. Conclusion: The study concludes that contraceptive practice is relatively low. Improved education on contraception and counselling are needed to solve these problems.


The aim of program verification is to prove the correctness of a program S with respect to a formal specification, that consists of a pre- and a postcondition V and N. In other words: are program S and specification (V, N) consistent? -- V S -- N Program S is correct, if S starts in a state that fulfills V and terminates in state that fulfills N. The form al definition of correctness is S is correct wrt. (V, N) if [V => wp(S, N)]. wp(S, N) is the wea kest precondition, that guarantees termination in a state fulfilling N. For the purpose of program verification the axiomatic or relational semantics is necessary. These two kinds of formal semantics are equivalent. Axiomatic semantics uses the wp-function, that works on the complete lattice of predicates. Relational semantics uses the LP (largest preset)-function, that works on the complete lattice of state sets. These two lattices are isomorph thru the characteristic predicate function of a set. In order to work efficiently with the wp-function some properties of that function are necessary and useful. Two new properties are shown: strong disjunctivity for comparable predicates and the substitution lemma for wp. Furthermore it turns out, t hat all properties of the wp-function are easily provable in the lattice of state sets with elementary set theory. A VC is defined to be a condition that implies correctness, formally [VC => [V => wp(S, N)]. A distinction is made between exact and ap proximate VCs. The major results of the thesis are verifying loops without an invariant and falsification conditions. In order to verify loops without a given invariant, two strategies are possible: 1. generate the invariant or 2. compute the wp-function for the loop Strategy 1 is used to compute invariants for for-loops. The invariant is generated by substituting a constant in the postcondition by a variable, more exactly the upper limit of the loop is substituted by the loop variable. In gener al the upper limit is not a variable. Therefore the loop is transformed into a semantically equivalent loop. Strategy 2 is used to compute the wp of while-loops by a new method that uses E-unification. Falsification conditions (FCs) are very useful i n practical program verification. They explicitly prove the incorrectness of a program and facilitate a localization of program errors. FCs are defined in an analog way as VCs: an FC implies the incorrectness of a program, formally [FC => not [V => w p(S, N)]. FCs are reduced to constraint programming problems (cpp) or, in the case of integer types, to integer programming problems (ipp). ipp also arise in data dependence analysis. Therefore similar methods can be applied.


Implicit feedback, such as user clicks, is a major source of supervision for learning to rank (LTR) model estimation in modern retrieval systems. However, the inherent bias in such feedback greatly restricts the quality of the learnt ranker. Recent advances in unbiased LTR leverage Inverse Propensity Scoring (IPS) to tackle the bias issue. Though effective, it only corrects the bias introduced by treating clicked documents as relevant, but cannot handle the bias caused by treating unclicked ones as irrelevant. Because non-clicks do not necessarily stand for irrelevance (they might not be examined), IPS-based methods inevitably include loss from comparisons on relevant-relevant document pairs. This directly limits the effectiveness of ranking model learning.
In this work, we first prove that in a LTR algorithm that is based on pairwise comparisons, only pairs with different labels (e.g., relevant-irrelevant pairs in binary case) should contribute to the loss function. The proof asserts sub-optimal results of the existing IPS-based methods in practice. We then derive a new weighting scheme called Propensity Ratio Scoring (PRS) that takes a holistic treatment on both clicks and non-clicks. Besides correcting the bias in clicked documents, PRS avoids relevant-relevant comparisons in LTR training in expectation and enjoys a lower variability. Our empirical study confirms that PRS ensures a more effective use of click data in various situations, which leads to its superior performance in an extensive set of LTR benchmarks.


Design thinking skill is perhaps the most directly related thinking skill of mathematical thinking skill, because design thinking contains a strong problem-solving process in itself. In this study, it was aimed to provide students to avoid thinking about mathematics only procedurally or instrumentally and to introduce them to mathematical studying methods and mental habits. Therefore, tasks were chosen that would encourage students to think and design using real-life mathematical elements and thus encourage effective mathematical thinking. According to Freudenthal, the theorist of the Realistic Mathematics Education, mathematics should be related to the social life of students, close to their experiences, relevant to the society they live in, and compatible with human values. The research is designed as "action research" which is one of the qualitative research methods. Participants were selected using the convenience sampling method. Edmodo software was used as an electronic portfolio. Activities were prepared within the framework of RME approach. The responses are given by the students to those activities distributed when examined under 5 main headings: designing products, expressing the mathematical opinions clearly, using the mathematical knowledge, the research skills and the originality. These criteria generated after taking an expert opinion, subjected to qualitative analysis and interpreted. Consequently, it can be concluded that the educational process which is carried out with design-based activities provides learning, and is relevant to daily life, is interesting and is motivating. The integration of face-to-face teaching with technology and online approaches also help teachers manage design-based activities in a more effective way.


Barium strontium titanate (BST) has a field-dependent permittivity and can be used as a dielectric in voltage tunable capacitors or varactors. These BST-based varactors are passive devices and have significantly different properties compared to semiconductor varactors. A voltage tunable oscillator using a BST thin film varactor was designed and characterized. The frequency of oscillation varied from 34.8 MHz to 44.5 MHz (28% tuning) upon application of 7 V tuning voltage. The VCO gain was 1.38 MHz/V and the 2nd harmonic was over 23 dB below the fundamental throughout the tuning range.


Based on a rigorous vectorial formulation, the surface integral equation method is used to solve the vectorial mode patterns and the coupling characteristics of weakly fused fiber-optic couplers. Form birefringence versus aspect ratio of the coupler cross-section for different normalized frequencies V are calculated. A dramatic feature-that there is a local maximum of form birefringence for the weakly fused couplers with large V-values-is found. The dependence of the aspect ratio at which the coupler is isotropic on the V-value is also presented. The fused coupler with large V-value is isotropic as the aspect ratio is close to 1.8, but its polarization effect is still significant when the aspect ratio is 2.0. >


1. In June to September 1993 a transhumant flock of sheep on the Schwabische Alb was examined with respect to which plants and animals are transported on and in the wool of sheep within calcareous grasslands. Several factors possibly influencing the attachment and detachment of diaspores on fleeces were studied, as well as the distribution of diaspores on the various body-parts of a sheep. The effects of different modes of sheep locomotion on dispersal were examined with the help of a sheep dummy. In order to assess the retention time of diaspores and animals on sheep, some experiments with marked diaspores and animals were carried out on two tamed sheep. 2. In 16 intensive examinations of the fleece of a single sheep, over 8500 diaspores of 85 vascular plants species were found. The highest numbers of diaspores were attached at the breast and neck of the sheep. 3. Height of diaspore presentation, surface structure of diaspores and sheep locomotion were found to be the decisive factors for the reception and transport of diaspores in the wool. In addition, plant frequency and the length of the disseminating period are of importance. 4. Marked diaspores with both adhesive and smooth surfaces remained on the sheepskin for up to seven months, and can consequently be dispersed over the entire roaming area of the sheep. 5. Amongst the animals transported by sheep, only grasshoppers (13 species) were observed frequently on the flock of sheep. The period of time marked grasshoppers stayed on sheep ranged from I to 69min, with an average of 14 min. During this period sheep can cover distances of over 100m when grazing and well over 500m when roaming. 6. Our study indicates that the importance of the dispersal of diaspores, and especially animals, by animals has so far been largely underestimated. This is mostly due to the methods previously used to examine dispersal mechanisms. 7. Conservation management of rare and endangered species should consider the importance of sheep for maintaining the species richness of calcareous grasslands. It is likely that transhumant sheep farming is irreplaceable in the restoration of grasslands threatened by fallow and woody successional stages. Moreover, traditional shepherding facilitates the exchange of individuals of both plants and animals between isolated patches. That is, sheep are able to maintain dynamic processes even in our greatly fragmented landscape; this is probably essential to long-term population viability of many species.


Bronchial thermoplasty is a new endoscopic therapy for patients with severe asthma. In his thesis, Dr Langton discovers the physiological changes that occur in patients after treatment, linking the histological changes to the symptomatic improvement. The thesis then explores the effectiveness and safety of this treatment in Australia. The patients most likely to benefit from treatment are defined, as is the place of this treatment in the therapeutic approach to severe asthma. Recommendations are made on ways to improve the surgical technique. This body of work provides bronchial thermoplasty with a solid evidence base for clinical use.


Widespread alcohol misuse has implications for the physical, mental and social health of the population, and alcohol-related morbidity and mortality are problems throughout the U.K. One way healthcare practitioners are attempting to reduce alcohol-related harm is to identify patients who misuse alcohol when they attend, or are admitted to, acute care settings. This article gives an overview of the various screening tools that can be used to identify such patients.


This research originated from the fact that in Rajo Sulah PAUD Kerinci Regency tahat yaung children's gross motor skills deloped optimally, children were unable to bend both legs and when jumping into a child's activity were still not balanced. Lack of gross motoric devalopment activities of children in the learning process. School in developing development. Therefore this rabbit jumping game is thought to have an influence on the child's motoric development. This study has an influence on the gross motor development of children. This study aims to determine the effect of rabbit jumping games on the gross motoric development of children in Rajo Sulah ECD Kerinci Regency. This type of researth is quantitative wiyh quasy experimental research menthods in the form of quasy experiments. Using the rabbit jumpng game affects the gross motoric development of children in Rajo Sulah ECD Kerinci Regency. Based on analysis, the average test results of the experimental proup were 84,89 and elementary school was 74,598 while in the control group there were 77,08 and elementary school at 67.274 in testing the hypothesis obtained tcount of 2.1764498 and ttable of 2.074 at the real leve α =0,05 and dk=22, it can be concluded that the rabbit jumping game proved to have a large influence on the gross motoric development of children in Rajo Sulah PAUD Kerinci Regency.


Abstract. Female sea turtles are promiscuous, with clutches of eggs often sired by multiple males and rates of multiple paternity varying greatly within and across species. We investigated levels of multiple paternity in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from three rookeries in Western Australia by analysing polymorphic species-specific genetic markers. We predicted that the level of multiple paternity would be related to female population size and hence the large rookery at Dirk Hartog Island would have higher rates of multiple paternity than two smaller mainland rookeries at Gnaraloo Bay and Bungelup Beach. Contrary to our prediction, we found highly variable rates of multiple paternity among the rookeries that we sampled, which was unrelated to female population size (25% at Bungelup Beach, 86% at Gnaraloo Bay, and 36% at Dirk Hartog Island). Approximately 45 different males sired 25 clutches and the average number of sires per clutch ranged from 1.2 to 2.1, depending on the rookery sampled. The variance in rates of multiple paternity among rookeries suggests that operational sex ratios are variable in Western Australia. Periodic monitoring would show whether the observed patterns of multiple paternity for these three rookeries are stable over time, and our data provide a baseline for detecting shifts in operational sex ratios.


Objective: We performed a study to investigate the association of EC-SOD Ala40Thr (rs2536512), Arg213Gly (rs8192291) and Leu53Leu (rs1799895) polymorphisms and haplotypes with the risk of T2DM, and their correlation with environmental factors.
Methods: A total of 612 Chinese patients with T2DM and 630 healthy volunteers were enrolled in our study between Jun 2013 and Jun 2015. An iPlex GLOD SNP genotyping analysis of EC-SOD Ala40Thr (rs2536512), Arg213Gly (rs8192291) and Leu53Leu (rs1799895) was run in a 384 well plate format using the Sequenom MassARRAY® System.
Results: The CT (OR=1.46, 95% CI=1.13-1.90) and TT (OR=1.92, 95% CI=1.30-2.84) genotype were associated with a moderate increased risk of T2DM, in comparison to the CC genotype. The CT+TT genotype also displayed an elevated risk of T2DM when compared with the CC genotype (OR=1.44, 95% CI=1.14-1.80). The TT+CT genotype was correlated with risk of T2DM in those with older age (OR=1.59, 95% CI=1.19-2.14), never drinkers (OR=1.82, 95% CI=1.25-2.63), a family history of T2DM (OR=1.44, 95% CI=1.14-1.82) and a higher BMI (OR=1.56, 95% CI=1.13-2.17). The G-C-C and G-C-G haplotypes were associated with a reduced risk of T2DM, while the G-T-C haplotype was correlated with an increased risk.
Conclusion: The EC-SOD Arg213Gly (rs8192291) polymorphism is correlated with an increased risk of T2DM, especially in males, never drinkers, those with a family history of T2DM and overweight subjects. The G-C-C, G-C-G and G-T-C contribute to the pathogenesis of T2DM.


Coordination polymers (CPs) of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are relatively rare, though recent studies show how these forms can afford improved solubility and stability. Here, the hygroscopicity of two coordination polymers of lithium and their solid solutions is investigated. The two systems exhibit different behaviour, impacting their potential utility as drug substances. In particular, the solid solutions of {[(PRO)Li(MBNZ)1−x(BNZ)x]}n (1x) show lower stability than both the pure compounds whereas in the solid solutions of {[Li2(SUC)1−x(MAL)x]}n (2x), the hygroscopicity varies more regularly with composition.


The Health of the Nation Outcomes Scales (HoNOS) provides an overview of a person's behaviour, impairment, clinical symptoms, and social functioning. This study investigated the profile of people who had been secluded in New Zealand's adult mental health inpatient services using 12 individual HoNOS ratings. Routinely collected clinical data were extracted from the Programme for the Integration of Mental Health Data (PRIMHD). This is the national data set for mental health and addiction services. A logistic regression model was fitted to the data which adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, bed nights, compulsory treatment, and district health board. After adjustment, three HoNOS items significantly predicted the risk of seclusion: overactive, aggressive, disruptive, or agitated behaviour (adjusted OR = 4.82, 95% CI [3.88, 5.97], P < 0.001); problem drinking or drug-taking (adjusted OR = 1.51, 95% CI [1.25, 1.82], P < 0.001); and problems with hallucinations and delusions (adjusted OR = 1.33, 95% CI [1.09, 1.63], P = 0.006). In addition, two HoNOS items were protective for seclusion: nonaccidental self-injury (adjusted OR = 0.65, 95% CI [0.51, 0.83], P < 0.001) and depressed mood (adjusted OR = 0.58, 95% CI [0.47, 0.72], P < 0.001). Thus, responding effectively to agitation and/or aggression, substance use, and psychosis plays an important role in reducing the use of seclusion. Mental health nurses and other workers can reduce seclusion through early assessment, effective communication, de-escalation techniques, reduction tools, trauma-informed care, and consulting with consumers and whānau.


Many of the state-of-the-art algorithms for gesture recognition are based on Conditional Random Fields (CRFs). Successful approaches, such as the Latent-Dynamic CRFs, extend the CRF by incorporating latent variables, whose values are mapped to the values of the labels. In this paper we propose a novel methodology to set the latent values according to the gesture complexity. We use an heuristic that iterates through the samples associated with each label value, estimating their complexity. We then use it to assign the latent values to the label values. We evaluate our method on the task of recognizing human gestures from video streams. The experiments were performed in binary datasets, generated by grouping different labels. Our results demonstrate that our approach outperforms the arbitrary one in many cases, increasing the accuracy by up to 10%.


The aim of this research was to find out if a specific model of education for sustainability known as the 'Whole School Approach' could apply successfully to formal junior secondary education in Rivers State in Southern Nigeria. The research findings show that, whilst the Whole School Approach is a commendable model for raising awareness about sustainable development, there are challenges in applying it to junior secondary education in Rivers State. These challenges arise because the Whole School Approach assumes certain criteria from formal education, which Rivers State did not meet; such as adequate funding, adequate infrastructure and adequate teacher training.

The research used a qualitative, case-study strategy of four junior secondary schools in Rivers State. Methods of data collection were observations in the schools, interviews of teachers and educational policymakers, and focus groups with students at the schools. Data was also drawn from content analysis of Nigerian education policy documents and curricula in the following subject areas: basic science, basic
technology, religion and national value and cultural and creative arts.

The empirical research is underpinned by a theoretical evaluation of the concept of sustainable development, which shows it is a flexible rather than a fixed idea. And by a critical survey of education for sustainability pedagogies, focussing on a critical analysis of the Whole School Approach in particular.

The research contributes to new knowledge in two main ways; first, by evaluating the Whole School Approach in the novel context of Nigerian secondary education; and second, by an empirical investigation into education for sustainability in Nigerian junior secondary schools. The research findings are beneficial to education policymakers in Nigeria, scholars of Nigerian education and to education for sustainability scholarship more widely.


A simple dynamic model to describe the grinding behavior in bound abrasive microgrinding of optical materials with CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) machining equipment is discussed and compared with data collected from direct measurement of grinding force. The model involves the relation between grinding force and material removal rate, machine stiffness, and tool condition. Measurements have shown that the tool's effectiveness and the workpiece surface quality are closely tied through the normal load exerted by the tool on the workpiece during grinding.


The sensorless vector control system of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) is a system with uncertainty and external disturbance. According to sliding mode control theory, this paper realized robust control of the uncertainty and external interference by use of the equivalent control matched with switching control. Meanwhile, in order to eliminate the adverse effect produced by the chattering of the sliding mode, this paper adopts the saturation function of quasi-sliding mode instead of the traditional sign function. Furthermore, the exponential reaching law is used to further weaken the chattering and to ensure the rapidity of the system. Simulation and experimentation show that this control method has good dynamic and static performance.


ABSTRACT Background: Other-sex friendship (girls with boy friends, boys with girl friends) has been associated with substance use, but how the gender composition of schools influences substance use has not been known. Objectives: We analyzed the influence of other-sex friendship on substance use and took into account the proportion of each gender group at the schools, and hypothesized that other-sex friendship is associated with higher levels of substance use and that schools with a majority of males have higher levels of use than female-majority schools. Methods: In 2013, a social network survey was carried out in six European cities. In each city, schools were selected and 11,015 adolescents (aged 14-16) were recruited (participation rate = 79.4%). We collected data on smoking, binge drinking, cannabis use, and peer group composition. Results: Other-sex friendship was associated with smoking, binge drinking, and cannabis use for girls and with smoking for boys. Substance use was more frequent in schools with a majority of males. Conclusions/Importance: Adolescent girls are best protected from substance use if they are in gender-balanced schools, but in same-sex friendship. This offers new perspectives on gender mixing at school. In schools with a majority of boys, more attention should be paid to girls, and gender-specific health promotion programs should be implemented. This European study is the first to take into account both individual (other-sex friendship) and contextual (gender composition of schools) gender interactions. It confirms previous studies on other-sex friendship, while shedding light on the influence of gender-normative contexts on substance use.