Railroads are important to the U.S. economy. They transport freight efficiently, requiring less energy and emitting fewer pollutants than other modes of surface transportation. While the railroad industry has steadily improved its fuel efficiency--by 16% over the last decade--more can, and needs to, be done. The ability of locomotive manufacturers to conduct research into fuel efficiency and emissions reduction is limited by the small number of locomotives manufactured annually. Each year for the last five years, the two North American locomotive manufacturers--General Electric Transportation Systems and the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors--have together sold about 800 locomotives in the United States. With such a small number of units over which research costs can be spread, outside help is needed to investigate all possible ways to reduce fuel usage and emissions. Because fuel costs represent a significant portion of the total operating costs of a railroad, fuel efficiency has always been an important factor in the design of locomotives and in the operations of a railroad. However, fuel efficiency has recently become even more critical with the introduction of strict emission standards by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to be implemented in stages (Tiers 0, 1, and 2) between 2000 and 2005. Some of the technologies that could be employed to meet the emission standards may negatively affect fuel economy--by as much as 10-15% when emissions are reduced to Tier 1 levels. Lowering fuel economy by that magnitude would have a serious impact on the cost to the consumer of goods shipped by rail, on the competitiveness of the railroad industry, and on this country's dependence on foreign oil. Clearly, a joint government/industry R&D program is needed to help catalyze the development of advanced technologies that will substantially reduce locomotive engine emissions while also improving train system energy efficiency. DOE convened an industry-government workshop in January 2001 to gauge industry interest. As a result, the railroads, their suppliers, and the federal government5 have embarked on a cooperative effort to further improve railroad fuel efficiency--by 25% between now and 2010 and by 50% by 2020, on an equivalent gallon per revenue ton-mile basis, while meeting emission standards, all in a cost-effective, safe manner. This effort aims to bring the collaborative approaches of other joint industry-government efforts, such as FreedomCAR and the 21st Century Truck partnership, to the problem of increasing rail fuel efficiency. Under these other programs, DOE's Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies has supported research on technologies to reduce fuel use and air emissions by light- and heavy-duty vehicles. DOE plans to bring similar efforts to bear on improving locomotives. The Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration will also be a major participant in this new effort, primarily by supporting research on railroad safety. Like FreedomCAR and the 21st Century Truck program, a joint industry-government research effort devoted to locomotives and railroad technology could be a 'win' for the public and a 'win' for industry. Industry's expertise and in-kind contributions, coupled with federal funding and the resources of the DOE's national laboratories, could make for an efficient, effective program with measurable energy efficiency targets and realistic deployment schedules. This document provides the necessary background for developing such a program. Potential R&D pathways to greatly improve the efficiency of freight transportation by rail, while meeting future emission standards in a cost-effective, safe manner, were developed jointly by an industry-government team as a result of DOE's January 2001 Workshop on Locomotive Emissions and System Efficiency and are presented here. The status of technology, technical targets, barriers, and technical approaches for engine, locomotive, rail systems, and advanced power plants and fuels are presented.


communication. In this case, the researcher analyzed the humour expressions appeared in a famous talk show in Indonesia, Mario Teguh Golden Ways. The research is focused on the types of humour expressed by Mario and the audiences during the show. The method of this study was descriptive qualitative since the researcher intended to obtain the conversations among the keynote speaker and participants. . The data were taken from the video of the talk show. The research subjects of this study are the keynote speaker and participants of the talk show Mario teguh golden ways "how to begin to be a richman" episode. The data collections were done as follows: first, the researcher downloaded the videos and transcribed of The Mario teguh talk show. Second, the researcher observed the videos; compared the videos and the transcriptions. Later, the researcher transcribed the parts of the transcription that contain humour to be analyzed further. The findings show that there are many humourous expressions appeared during the show. There are seven extracts which is divided into three classifications of humour; they are irony, teasing and joking. None of the humour expression can be categorized as banter or language play. All of the humour expression are conceptual humour.


Morphometric variability of the filamentous diazotroph Nodularia was determined in natural, mixed-species samples during a summer cyanobacterial bloom in the Central Baltic Sea using epifluorescence microscopy coupled with image analysis. A total of 1350 cyanobacterial filament images were acquired and a number of morphometric parameters measured for individual trichomes present in the samples and used to distinguish Nodularia from Aphanizomenon and Anabaena. The approach allowed automatic estimates of linear dimensions of Nodularia, Aphanizomenon and Anabaena, enabling us to evaluate their biovolume and vertical distribution, and to observe a high degree of morphometric variability in Nodularia filaments. We statistically analyzed this phenotypic diversity using previously collected datasets and adding further measurements. The data obtained were used to assess the variability in Nodularia trichome width and morphology and to establish the possible existence of 3 Nodularia 'morphotypes' by discriminant analysis.


W hile the proportion of the adult population that smokes has declined steadily in several westernized societies, the rate of successful quit attempts is still low. This is because smokers develop nicotine dependence, a powerful addiction that may require multiple attempts and long-term treatment to achieve enduring abstinence. Currently available first-line agents for smoking cessation therapy include nicotine replacement therapy (available in several formulations, including transdermal patch, gum, nasal spray, inhaler, and lozenge), bupropion (an atypical antidepressant), and varenicline (a partial agonist of the α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that was recently developed and approved specifically for smoking cessation therapy). Second-line agents are nortriptyline (a tricyclic antidepressant agent) and the antihypertensive agent clonidine. With the exception of varenicline, which has been shown to offer significant improvement in abstinence rates over bupropion, all of the available treatments appear similarly effective. The adverse event profiles of nortriptyline and clonidine make them more appropriate for second-line therapy, when first-line treatments have failed or are not tolerated. However, the currently marketed smoking cessation drugs reportedly lack high levels of efficacy, particularly in real-life settings. New medications and vaccines with significant clinical advantage are now in the advanced stage of development and offer promise. These include nicotine vaccines and monoamine type B inhibitors. In this review article we discuss current and emerging pharmacotherapies for tobacco dependence focusing on their mechanisms of action, efficacy and adverse event profiles.


This study aims to identify factors causing structural poverty in the research area. Villagers left behind in Sukoharjo District are set up as research populations. While selected as a sample is the villagers left behind in the District Weru, namely the village Weru, Tegalsari, Alasombo, Karangmojo and Karakan. Each village is represented by five heads of households, bringing the total sample to 100 households. Data needed to achieve the purpose of this study is the primary data obtained by the method of observation and interview in depth. Analysis of this research data using logistic regression, because considering dependent variable using category scale, that is not poor given code 1, and poor is coded 0. The result of this result show that education of KRT, access to capital, entrepreneur skill, profit sharing system, ownership of land area a positive and significant impact on poverty. While the presence of agricultural technology has no significant effect on poverty


A protocol that supports the sharing of resources that exist in different packet switching networks is presented. The protocol provides for variation in individual network packet sizes, transmission failures, sequencing, flow control, end-to-end error checking, and the creation and destruction of logical process-to-process connections. Some implementation issues are considered, and problems such as internetwork routing, accounting, and timeouts are exposed.


Measured channel impulse response estimates are used to predict the parameters of the channel model needed to evaluate the performance of RAKE receivers in microcellular CDMA systems. A channel model consisting of a number of resolvable multipath components is assumed. The parameters of interest are the relative average powers of the multipath components, the probability distribution of multipath fading on each path, and the cross-correlation coefficients of multipath fading among the different multipath components. This paper presents statistics on these parameters for measurements made in outdoor urban microcellular and indoor environments at 910 MHz. >


This paper presents an approach that estimates the thickness of the porous sediments on the bottom of a circular pipe by comparing the measured propagation modes' frequencies to that calculated by finite element method (FEM). It is validated by comparing the calculated results to the theoretical results for the circular pipes with rigid boundary condition and to the experimental results with sediments laid on the bottom of the pipe. The comparison results show that the disagreements between measured thickness and the calculated thickness are less 3 percent. This method can be used to monitoring or measuring the depth of the sediments on the bottom of a pipe in confined situations.


Abstract Marine mammals are known to harbor Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp., especially species or genotypes commonly associated with humans. In animals of the North and Baltic Seas, this information is missing. In this study, fecal samples (n = 97) from harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) present in German waters were examined via microscopic examination (by using a modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique [MZN]) to estimate the prevalence of these parasites. Additionally, intestinal tissue samples (n = 1,049) from specimens of 10 marine mammal species were submitted for histopathologic examination (HP). A low prevalence was detected (2.1 and 1.3%, for MZN and HP, respectively), associated with Cryptosporidium spp. Giardia spp. was not observed. Current results suggest a low prevalence of these parasites in marine mammals present in Germany. However, methods with higher sensitivity, such as molecular methods, are crucial to confirm the prevalence, establish origin routes, and determine epidemiologic factors associated with the low prevalence observed.


1. Potassium citrate did not significantly increase plasma flow to the renal papilla in normotensive Dahl R rats on either low or high NaCl diets. Similarly, potassium citrate did not significantly increase papillary plasma flow in mildly hypertensive Dahl S rats on low NaCl diets. Thus potassium citrate feeding did not ordinarily alter papillary plasma flow. 2. When S rats were fed on a high (4%) NaCl diet for 24 weeks, they became severely hypertensive and developed nephrosclerosis with nephron loss. This accounted for the significant reduction in papillary plasma flow in S rats on 4% high NaCl diet with no potassium supplementation. 3. When S rats on high NaCl diet were given a supplement of KC1, they still developed severe hypertension and almost the same fall in papillary plasma flow, suggesting a similar degree of nephron loss from nephrosclerosis. 4. However, when S rats on high NaCl diet were given a supplement of potassium citrate, they still developed the same severe hypertension but, in contrast, they did not have a decrease in papillary plasma flow. This actually increased to 7% higher than in comparable S rats eating the low NaCl diet. Moreover, S rats receiving potassium citrate supplements in their high NaCl diet had a papillary plasma flow which was 34% higher than that of S rats receiving no potassium supplement in the high NaCl diet (P < 0.005) and was 19% higher than that of S rats receiving KC1 supplements in the high NaCl diet (P < 0.04). This occurred even though the rats receiving potassium citrate were severely hypertensive. 5. Thus potassium citrate feeding protected


The effects of changes in geometries and material properties of rotating band and long range artillery projectile shell body on gun tube stress are presented. The results are based on numerical calculations (finite element analysis, FEA). Numerical explicit dynamic analyses were performed assuming elastic–plastic material behavior and nonlinear kinematics. Mechanical loading of shell body was controlled by pressure–time relationship based on the simulation of internal ballistic cycle. One degree slice of projectile and forcing cone section of gun tube was modeled as simplified smooth bore 3D analysis model. The results were in agreement with the measured results in firing trials and also with the results presented in open literature. Although simplified computations were used, the influences of the structural modifications of the rotating band and the shell body were shown.


This study examines the potential of mobile media and gameplay to develop critically literate, civically engaged inner-city high school students. Theoretically, this study is based on tenets of critical pedagogy as well as sociocultural and critical literacies theory. I also look to research on civic engagement and gameplay in structuring parts of this study.
Conducted over the course of a year, this study was divided into two phases. First, I conducted a qualitative study of student social practices with mobile media devices in an urban school. Conducting observations, focus groups, and interviews, this data focused on the student perspective of mobile device use within the school space. Inductively coded for the patterns and practices of mobile use, I analyzed this data to develop a framework for a wireless critical pedagogy and a curriculum to teach a class of ninth grade English students within the school site.
In the second phase of this study I taught the curriculum developed during my qualitative analysis of student mobile use. Handing out a set of iPods to the students in the English class, I led the class through an alternate reality game that I created. "Ask Anansi" was a game that guided in-class youth participatory action research and critical literacy development. During the game, students identified areas of inequity to research and document, created and participated in a campus-wide scavenger hunt, and edited their school's Wikipedia page. Daily fieldnotes, audio-recordings of the classroom interactions, and student work were coded and analyzed.
This study found that most students perceived time at school as fluidly social and academic. Students also demonstrated limited opportunities for civic engagement as a result of mobile device use and illustrated that leveraging mobile devices for academic purposes in schools was largely a matter of mutual trust between teachers and students. Findings from the second half of this study revealed how mobile devices and games could cultivate youth research and engagement in issues of equity within their school environments. The nature of producing and interpreting media on mobile devices also signaled shifts in reading and literacies for today's youth.


: An efficient and reproducible protocol for in vitro multiplication of gloxinia has been developed. Leaf discs used as explants were surface sterilized with HgCl 2 (0.1%) and Bavistin (2%). Sterilized explants were cultured on MS media augmented with BAP (2 mg/l) and NAA (0.5 mg/l) which proved most appropriate for shoot induction. Sprouted shoots were sub cultured on medium with different concentrations of BAP which resulted in varying degrees of multiple shoots. Increasing the concentration of BAP resulted in reduction in number of shoots per explant. Maximum proliferation of shoots was observed in MS medium augmented with BAP (2.0 mg/l) and NAA (0.5 mg/l) within 2 weeks and average number of shoots per explant was 7.3. The in vitro raised shoots of gloxinia were successfully rooted in MS media fortified with NAA and IBA. Rooted plantlets could be successfully established in potting mixture of cocopeat and sand (1:1).


Abstract Phage therapy is one of the alternatives to treat infections caused by both antibiotic-sensitive and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with no or low toxicity to patients. It was started a century ago, although rapidly growing bacterial antimicrobial resistance, resulting in high levels of morbidity, mortality, and financial cost, has initiated the revival of phage therapy. It involves the use of live lytic, bioengineered, phage-encoded biological products, in combination with chemical antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Importantly, phages will be removed from the body within seven days of clearing an infection. They target specific bacterial strains and cause minimal disruption to the microbial balance in humans. Phages for medication must be screened for the absence of resistant genes, virulent genes, cytotoxicity, and their interaction with the host tissue and organs. Since they are immunogenic, applying a high phage titer for therapy exposes them and activates the host immune system. To date, no serious side effects have been reported with human phage therapy. In this review, we describe phage–phagocyte interaction, bacterial resistance to phages, how phages conquer bacterial resistance, the role of genetic engineering and other technologies in phage therapy, and the therapeutic application of modified phages and phage-encoded products. We also highlight the comparison of antibiotics and lytic phage therapy, the pros and cons of phage therapy, determinants of human phage therapy trials, phage quality and safety requirements, phage storage and handling, and current challenges in phage therapy.


This completely revised and updated edition of Marcia Pointon's guide introduces school and undergraduate students to the kinds of practices, challenges and questions that they will encounter in studying the history of art. Marcia Pointon vividly conveys the excitement of Art History as a multi-faceted discipline addressing all aspects of the study of media, communication and representation. She describes and analyses different methods and approaches to the discipline - structuralism, post-structuralism, Marxism, psychoanalysis - explaining the history of these differences and their effects of the day-today learning process. She also discusses the relationship of Art History to related disciplines including film, literature, design history and anthropology. The Handbook covers training and vocational aspects of Art History, providing a wealth of information on the different kinds of courses available and on the relationship between, for example, museum and gallery work and academic art history. The third edition includes: * Discussion of recent debates and the New Art History' * Twenty brand new illustrations * Guide to careers in art history


Additions of barley flour alone or with combination of chestnut and acorn flour (30%; 30+5%; 30+10%) were aimed at increasing the dietary fibre content in wheat bread. In this regard, enhancement by acorn flour elevated the dietary fibre by a greater extent (up to 7.80%) compared to barley or chestnut flours. Increasing the proportion of non-traditional raw materials also influenced flour pasting properties during the amylograph test as well as the farinograph and extensigraph properties of non-fermented dough. In contrast to the wheat flour, analysis of Falling Number and Zeleny values showed a decrease in technological potential of flour composites of approximately 30%. Water absorption increased about 2 percentage points, mainly with enhancement by chestnut flour. All the non-traditional raw materials slowed dough development, whilst dough softening degree differed according to actual composition. Dough viscous and elastic properties worsened as shown by a decrease in energy absorbed, depending on the type and the addition of the non-traditional products. Changes in flour composition were reflected in amylograph viscosity maximum, which became lower with increasing amounts of chestnut and acorn flour. A significant worsening of the bread specific volume as well as of bread shape (vaulting) corresponded with a partial dilution of the gluten matrix. Compared to the wheat bread, 10% chestnut flour caused bread size to diminish to less than one half of the wheat loaf. Statistically, the principal features were water absorption, dough softening degree and extensigraph energy together with specific bread volume. In terms of wheat flour and bread quality, the influence of barley flour overcame the effects of adding chestnut or acorn flours.


Resource allocation, as an integral part of business process management (BPM), is more widely acknowledged by its importance for process-aware information systems. Despite the industrial need for efficient and effective resource allocation in BPM, few scientifically-grounded approaches exist to support these initiatives. In this paper, a new approach of resource allocation optimization is proposed, built on the concepts that is part of an operation-oriented view on process optimization. Essentially, the proposed approach automatically generates a specific task operation model (TOM) for a particular business process. In addition, in order to support end users in making sensible resource allocations, an ant colony optimization-based algorithm is presented, which makes it possible to search an optimal task operation path on the generated TOM. This allows one to suggest how a business user should efficiently allocate resources to perform the tasks of a particular process case. The feasibility of the presented approach is demonstrated by a simulation experiment. The experimental results show that the proposed approach outperforms reasonable heuristic approaches to satisfy process performance goals, and it is possible to improve the current state of BPM.


Specific binding of [3H]SCH 23390 to dopamine D1 receptors in the striatum and olfactory tubercle in 14-day alloxan-induced diabetic rats was investigated. The Scatchard analysis revealed decreased D1 receptor density in the striatum (Bmax values were 548 ± 23 fmol/mg protein for the control and 466 ± 33 fmol/mg for the diabetic rats). No change was observed in the olfactory tubercle (Bmax; 299 ±27 fmol/mg for the control and 317 ± 32 fmo/mg for the diabetic rats). Thus, specific binding of [3H[SCH 23390 to striatal and olfactory tubercle membranes showed region-specific changes of brain dopamine D1 receptors in alloxan diabetic rats.


The taxation of sovereign wealth funds is an important issue for governments as they are both investors and need to attract investment. Operating in global markets, how these funds are taxed can affect investment location decisions. In Australia there are currently no legislative provisions for these investments and issues of residency, applicability and terminology hamper the use of tax treaties. The basis of how sovereign wealth funds are taxed in Australia is administrative where tax exemptions are provided on the basis of private ruling applications. It is an inefficient and costly process which lacks certainty. Over the period 2009 to 2011 the government of the day proposed legislating its practices dealing with sovereign wealth funds. In 2010 Singapore introduced a fund exemption scheme, markedly different from that proposed in Australia. Yet it is a method that is able to be adapted to the Australian income tax legislation. It avoids definitional issues by targeting the entities the policy aims to cover, is compatible with a self-assessment system and provides flexibility in policy making. Recommendations with accompanying considerations are made with respect to incorporating Singapore's tax exemption for sovereign wealth funds into the Australian tax legislation.


Several cellular molecules have been identified as putative receptors for Hepatitis C virus (HCV): CD81 tetraspanin, scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), mannose-binding lectins DC-SIGN and L-SIGN, low-density lipoprotein receptor, heparan sulphate proteoglycans and the asialoglycoprotein receptor. Due to difficulties in propagating HCV in cell culture, most of these molecules have been identified by analysing their interaction with a soluble, truncated form of HCV glycoprotein E2. A recent major step in investigating HCV entry was the development of pseudoparticles (HCVpp), consisting of unmodified HCV envelope glycoproteins assembled onto retroviral core particles. This system has allowed the investigation of the role of candidate receptors in the early steps of the HCV life cycle and the data obtained can now be confirmed with the help of a newly developed cell-culture system that allows efficient amplification of HCV (HCVcc). Interestingly, CD81 and SR-BI have been shown to play direct roles in HCVpp and/or HCVcc entry. However, co-expression of CD81 and SR-BI in non-hepatic cell lines does not lead to HCVpp entry, indicating that other molecule(s), expressed only in hepatic cells, are necessary for HCV entry. In this review, the molecules that have been proposed as potential HCV receptors are described and the experimental data indicating that CD81 and SR-BI are potentially involved in HCV entry are presented.


Stent prosthesis is a high efficacious method with low complication rates. However, the ideal adjunctive therapy following stent implantation remains controversial. The authors compared the effectiveness and complication rates of aspirin-ticlopidine antiplatelet therapy vs anticoagulant therapy with acenocoumarol within 30 days following stent prosthesis. They prospectively studied 404 patients following stent prosthesis while randomly receiving anticoagulant (Group A: 201 patients) vs antiplatelet treatment (Group B: 203 patients). Groups A and B were similar in demographic data (age, gender), stent location, clinical presentation, indication of stenting, and type of implanted stent. Chi-square test, t test, and Wilcoxon test for two samples were used for statistical analysis of the results. Stent implantation was attempted in 434 cases. This was successful in 70/85 (82%) of the bailout, 122/135 (90%) of the suboptimal, and 212/214 (99%) of the elective cases. In 201 patients anticoagulant treatment with acenocoumarol was administered for 4 weeks (group A), while 203 received antiplatelet treatment with ticlo pidine (group B). The need for reintervention was less and total cardiac events were fewer in group B than in group A: three (1.5%) and nine (4.4%) vs 18 (9%) and 29 (14.4%), p < 0.0008 and p < 0.006 respectively. Hemorrhagic complications and total noncardiac events were fewer in group B than in group A: six (3%) and six (3%) vs 18 (9%) and 19 (9.5%), p < 0.01 and p < 0.007 respectively. The length of hospital stay was shorter in group B than in A, p < 0.0001. In conclusion, in this study of intracoronary stenting the authors had a high success rate in 434 attempted cases. Antiplatelet therapy was accompanied by fewer cardiac and noncardiac 1 month events when compared with anticoagulant therapy, supporting its role as the adjunctive treatment of choice post- stenting for the time being.


The method of reconstruction following total gastrectomy decisively influences early and late post-operative results. The ideal form of reconstruction would create a reservoir resembling a stomach, it would prolong intestinal transit time, preserve orthograde passage through the duodenum, prevent reflux of bile into the oesophagus, and should not be very difficult technically. A new method of gastric replacement and its radiological investigation is described. The passage from the oesophagus to the duodenum is reconstructed by the interposition of an iso- and anisoperistaltic jejunal segment. The iso- and anisoperistaltic segments result in contrary movements which can be divided into various basic types. Type I is by far the most common form, comprising 70% of the patients examined; it shows characteristic to-and-fro motion of the food-contrast mixture, resulting in a reservoir function of the isoperistaltic segment and intermittent emptying into the duodenum. In type II, incomplete local ring contractions can be observed in the isoperistaltic segment, with reservoir function and intermittent emptying. In type III emptying results from overflow. The operative technique and clinical results are described.


SIR,-In their interesting multicentre trial (Gut 1990; 31: 653-6), the Cooperative Study Group concluded that omeprazole 40mg heals gastric and duodenal ulcers more rapidly than ranitidine 150mg twice a day, and this result may be due to the more effective control of gastric acid secretion by omeprazole. Although there is no doubt that omeprazole causes a more profound and prolonged acid inhibition than ranitidine at the above doses, part of the conclusion does not seem to be sustained by the experimental findings. In fact, while the differences in healing rates were significantly higher for omeprazole at both two and four weeks of treatment in duodenal ulcer patients, the same was not true at both four and eight weeks in gastric ulcer patients. It may be argued that the number of gastric ulcers was so small that a type II error is responsible for the lack of significant difference and, in fact, it was pointed out that the healing rates in the study are in accord with those obtained by Walan et al,' who showed in a much larger trial on gastric ulcer patients that omeprazole is significantly more effective than ranitidine. We believe, however, that another critical point is worth emphasising. Once again we have a study which provides no information about the location of the ulcer crater in the stomach. In using a powerful antisecretory drug, such as omeprazole, it can be expected that its pharmacological effect is greater in cases associated with increased acid secretion. Unlike duodenal ulcers, gastric ulcers have normal or reduced levels of acid secretion compared to control subjects2 and, although patients with gastric ulcer respond to antisecretory treatment, the relation between acid inhibition and gastric ulcer healing is not as clear cut as it is for duodenal ulcer.3 The most plausible explanation for this is that acid plays a smaller part in the pathogenesis of gastric ulcers than in duodenal ulcers. The functional heterogeneity of gastric ulcers is particularly striking in relation to the site of the niche and, using continuous pH monitoring,4 we recently found that the 24 hour gastric acidity of patients with ulcers located at or above the angulus is much lower than that of control subjects matched for sex and age' and of patients with prepyloric ulcers.6 Thus the circadian acidity pattern7 of proximal gastric ulcers should be clearly distinguished from that of distal ones, and assessing the efficacy of potent antisecretory drugs in the whole group ofgastric ulcers, independently oftheir location in the stomach, may be misleading. This seems to be confirmed by the results ofanother recent large clinical trial comparing omeprazole 30mg and cimetidine 1 g/day in patients with only gastric body ulcers.8 There was no significant difference between the healing rates obtained with the two drugs, even though the dose of 30mg omeprazole has been shown to cause a maximal decrease in 24 hour gastric acid secretion.9 This means that extreme acid inhibition is of no help in conditions characterised by low acid secretion, and the differences in acid secretory patterns in the populations sampled in the various clinical trials are likely to be responsible for the conflicting results of Gastric ulcer healing


A new diferrous complex with asymmetric coordination sites, [Fe2(μ-OBz)(L)](ClO4)2 (1) (L = N,N-bis(6-methyl-2-pyridylmethyl)-N',N'-bis(6-pivalamido-2-pyridylmethyl)-1,3-diaminopropan- 2-ol), was synthesized, which was immobilized in the internal surface of mesoporous silica (FSM-16) to construct a functional material (1A). The reaction of 1 with O2 in acetone at –50°C generated a peroxo complex 2 [λmax = 589 nm (ε = 2200 M-1 cm-1), ν16O-16O = 890 and 908 cm-1 (ν18O-18O = 852 cm-1)]. The μ-peroxo complex 2 was decomposed by bubbling of Ar gas without releasing O2, but the reaction of 1A with O2 at ambient temperature also formed a peroxo complex (2A) without decomposition. The reflectance spectrum of 2A showed a band assignable to the LMCT band from peroxo to a Fe(III) ion at 588 nm. Compound 2A is very stable, whose half-life time is 45 min, in contrast to a short life of 2 (310 sec). 2A released dioxygen by heating up to 75°C in vacuo, which was regenerated by bubbling of dioxygen at ambient temperature.


Contrary to conventional accounts, the United States did not immediately adopt a set of sweeping commitments to Europe after World War II. Instead, it pursued a buck-passing strategy until the early 1960s that sought to craft Western Europe into an independent pole of power capable of balancing the Soviet Union largely without the assistance of the United States, thereby facilitating the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the continent. Only under President John F. Kennedy did the United States adopt a balancing strategy, making permanent forward commitments to the defense of Europe. A new theory of liberal ideas and foreign policy explains this shift. "Negative liberals," who see freedom in terms of opportunity and minimal state intervention, adopted a buck-passing strategy to pass the costs of foreign policy to other actors and minimize state intrusion at home. "Positive liberals," who see freedom as the exercise of capabilities and often welcome state intervention, had no such compunctions. Starting with Kennedy, positive liberals welcomed firmer balancing commitments in part as a measure to protect the liberal regimes that had emerged in Western Europe after World War II.


Abstract In the field of media art, mailinglists such as nettime, -empyre-, SPECTRE and CRUMB have functioned as important para-institutional formations that have influentially played host to a diverse community of artists, critics, curators, activists and academics since the 1990s. These lists, we suggest, are of particular epistemological and methodological interest for the field of internet history due to their critical and experimental nature. This stems mainly from the cultivation of highly reflexive, at times ambivalent, stance towards the technical, social and aesthetic limits of such networking activity itself. In this sense, they present unique objects of study for exploring what difference computational methods might make for understanding mailinglist cultures over time; what we refer to in this article, drawing on Wolfgang Ernst, as counting and recounting the past. Our aim in this paper is, therefore, to both introduce these lists to the emerging field of internet history and scope out medium-specific methods that take the measure of concepts, discourses, cohorts, and events that have taken place through them over time.


Works using the perspective of comprehensive network system to study the interaction of components within the network of entrepreneurial ecosystem are still limited. These studies must maximize the performance of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The present work attempted to appropriately analyze the interaction within the entrepreneurial ecosystem relative to the knowledge transfer that occurs through various networks within the same ecosystem. This study was conducted in East Priangan region, Indonesia, considering its competitive advantage. It used a mixed method with exploratory sequential mixed strategy through a network theory perspective. Results indicate that market and community actors have dominant involvement in knowledge transfer processes related to the progress of creative industries. In knowledge transfer processes, another main leverage factor to support innovation in creative industries includes market actors, who are the main impetuses for business actors to productively (productive entrepreneurship) innovate products assisted by community actors (surrounding communities) through the demand for their products (market conditions). On the contrary, government, banking, and professional actors have very limited involvement and interaction with business actors in the knowledge transfer process in the creative industry's entrepreneurial ecosystem in East Priangan region.


It has long been recognized that the acoustic impedance is the chief characteristic of the performance of acoustical materials. The impedance tube provides an easy way of measuring this characteristic at normal incidence. It is also known that the effect of tube attenuation must be included in the impedance tube analysis for accurate measurements. Although theoretical prediction can be deduced from the well‐known Helmholtz–Kirchhoff formulation, disagreements with experimental results (up to 15%) have been reported. Previous results relied on locating and measuring the pressures as a number of maxima and minima along the standing wave pattern inside the tube. The method was tedious. A more rapid method for measuring the tube attenuation is possible based on the recently proposed three microphone method for impedance tube measurements [W. T. Chu, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92, 2315(A) (1992)]. The procedure will be presented together with results from both computer simulations and actual experiments.


This article seeks to explore the right to health with special focus on people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Tanzania. It adopts an historical analysis by firstly focusing on the general position of the right to health at the international level. The article later centres its discussion on the international instruments on the right to health to people with HIV and AIDS. Having highlighted international position of the right to health, the study concentrates its discussion by providing, albeit in summary, the evolution and development of Tanzanian health system. It informs the legal position of the health system and submits on how the right to health is reflected in the Tanzania constitution. It later sets a specific focus on the accessibility of the right to health to people with HIV and AIDS in the country.


The growth of online higher education has presented important questions for social workers in academia. Can a human-based profession be properly taught online? In macro courses, are social work students able to gain a complex understanding of human experience, social justice, and oppression without the benefit of face-to-face debate and dialogue? In an undergraduate social welfare policy course, pre and post anonymous opinions surveys were collected on the causes of poverty. Students in both a face-to-face and an online course section, were asked to rate their agreement with the statements "Poverty is usually caused by individual actions" and "Poverty is usually caused by societal actions." While no statistically significant changes appeared for face-to-face students, online students were more likely to decrease blame for individual actions and increased attribution for societal actions at posttest. Reasons for this difference will be discussed, including the possible role of peer influence in face-to-face course sessions.


This study assessed the socio-economic factors affecting the marketing of garri in Port Harcourt city of Rivers State. Specifically it examined the organization of garri marketing in Port Harcourt; the marketing cost and margin and recommended ways of improving the marketing system of garri in the study area. Four major markets (Mile one market, Mile three market, Oil mill market and Creek market) in Port Harcourt city were purposivefully selected for this study out of which 20 respondents were randomly selected from each of the market giving a total of 80 respondents. Interview schedule was used to elicit information from the respondents. Data collected include socio economic characteristic of the traders, purchases and sales transaction, marketing cost and returns and finally problems encountered by the traders. Analysis of the data obtained showed that majority (83%) of the respondents were female, 78% had basic education which help them in keeping proper record and in performing marketing function effectively. Also 87.5% had been in the business for between one to ten years while 75% were retail traders. Furthermore 50% of the garri traders buy their product from outside Port Harcourt while the major means of transportation used by the traders was taxi (40%). Some of market information was mainly from colleagues (61%). The total average marketing cost per ton is N2372.9. The respondents earn fairly high net returns in relation to the marketing function they perform but cannot be said to be excessive. The major problems encountered in the marketing of garri in the study area include transportation problem and lack of capital. It was therefore recommended that micro credit facilities through formal financial institution should be made accessible to the traders so as to help them acquire sufficient capital for the transaction. Also marketers can pool their resources together to find a lasting solution to the problem of transportation by either buying a bus or hiring one to convey them to and fro at cheaper rates and more convenient situation.


Abstract One in four of the Cu-filled cation sites in clinoatacamite, the monoclinic polymorph of atacamite and botallackite, is angle- rather than Jahn-Teller-distorted. Experiments show that this site alone is susceptible to substitution by a non-Jahn-Teller distorting cation of suitable radius and charge, such as Zn2+, and also Ni2+, Co2+, Fe2+, Cd2+ and Mg2+. The crystal symmetry changes to rhombohedral when ~⅓ of the Cu in this site is substituted by e.g. Zn, thus giving paratacamite; the Zn is essential for stability and forms, with larger proportions of Zn, a series to the end-member in which the site is fully occupied by Zn. This end-member, rhombohedral stoichiometric Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2, has been characterized using natural specimens from Chile and Iran and is named herbertsmithite. The other cations mentioned behave similarly, producing stabilized rhombohedral paratacamites and end-members analogous to herbertsmithite, which if found in nature, as the Ni analogue has been, should be named species. Clinoatacamite, paratacamite and herbertsmithite have rather similar X-ray powder diffraction patterns, but are readily distinguished by infrared spectroscopy. Zn-stabilized paratacamite forms blue-green crystals of rhombohedral habit, with vitreous lustre, ε = 1.828-1.830, ω = 1.835, uniaxial negative, weakly pleochroic O > E, density: 3.75 g cm-3, Mohs hardness: 3-3½; space group R3̄, a = 13.654(5), c = 14.041(6) Å, Z = 24, with pronounced R3̄m substructure; six strongest XRD lines 5.452 (100), 2.895 (20), 2.760 (74), 2.262 (52), 1.817 (18), 1.708 (21). Herbertsmithite forms dark green crystals of rhombohedral habit, with vitreous lustre, ε = 1.817, ω = 1.825, uniaxial negative, weakly pleochroic O > E, density: 3.95 g cm-3, Mohs hardness: 3-3½; space group R3̄m with no superstructure observed, a = 6.834(1), c = 14.075(2) Å, Z = 3; six strongest XRD lines 5.466 (55), 4.702 (14), 2.764 (100), 2.266 (36), 1.820 (13), 1.709 (18).


We consider the construction of spline features on spline surfaces. The approach taken is a generalization of the hierarchical surface introduced in [Forsey88]. Features are regarded as spline-defined vector displacement fields that are overlain on existing surfaces. No assumption is made that the overlays are derived from the base surface. They may be applied with any orientation in a non-hierarchical fashion. In particular, we present a ``cheap'''' version of the concept in which the displacement field is mapped to the base surface approximately, through the mapping of its control vectors alone. The result is a feature that occupies the appropriate position in space with respect to the base surface. It may be manipulated and rendered as an independent spline, thus avoiding the costs of a true displacement mapping. This approach is useful for prototyping and previewing during design. When a finished product is desired, of course, true displacement mapping is employed.


The aim of this prospective and blinded study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of conventional cytopathology of oral brush biopsies taken from suspicious oral lesions. In addition we checked slide based DNA image cytometry as an adjuvant diagnostic tool. Our hypothesis is that DNA aneuploidy is a sensitive and specific marker for earliest detection of oral cancer using brush biopsies. Therefore the nuclear DNA contents were measured after Feulgen re-staining using a TV image analysis system. DNA aneuploidy was assumed if abnormal DNA stemlines or cells with DNA content greater 9c were observed. Sensitivity of our cytological diagnosis in oral smears for the detection of cancer cells thus was 91.3%, specificity for the detection of non-neoplastic cells was 95.1%, positive predictive value 94.4% and negative predictive value 92.3%. The adjuvant DNA image cytometry reached a sensitivity of 97.8%, the specificity and the positive predictive value were 100% and negative predictive value was 98.1%, respectively. Smears from oral brush biopsies of all visible oral lesions are an easily practicable, cheap, minimal invasive, painless and safe screening method for detection of oral precancerous lesions and squamous cell carcinomas in all stages. We conclude that DNA image cytometry is a very sensitive and highly specific, objective and reproducible adjuvant tool for identification of neoplastic cells in oral smears.


OBJECTIVES
This study investigated whether previous findings of an increased risk of gliomas among workers in some pulp and paper mills could be confirmed for all Swedish pulp and paper mill workers and whether the increase could be attributed to certain occupational groups.

METHODS
The study was based on the Swedish Cancer Environment Register, which links the incidence of cancer from 1971 to 1990 and the 1960 and 1970 census data on codes of occupation and industry for the whole population. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were used to estimate the risks for men in different occupations in pulp (N = 28,142) and paper (N = 39,169) mills in 1960, 1970 or both years as compared with those of all gainfully employed men in Sweden.

RESULTS
Maintenance workers employed in pulp or paper mills in 1960, 1970 or both years, as well aspulp workers, showed an increased incidence of gliomas in 1971-1990 [SIR 1.5, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.1-2.1 and SIR 1.5,95% CI 1.0-2.2, respectively], whereas the incidence among process workers in paper mills was lower than expected (SIR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3-0.9). Taken together, all employed men in the pulp mill industry had an increased incidence of gliomas (SIR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.7).

CONCLUSIONS
Pulp mill workers, but not paper mill workers, were found to have more gliomas in 1971-1990 than expected. There was an increased risk of gliomas among maintenance workers in both pulp and paper mills. Few risk factors for brain tumors are recognized, and the causes of the increase are not obvious.


The current bout of land annexation expresses a particular moment in modern history—specifically the condensation of a series of linked crises. Arguably the world is at an ecological tipping point, and how land resources are managed now is of paramount concern. Of course, land management has variable meaning, with quite different ontological consequences. The difference registers in the distinct visions expressed, for example, by the World Bank and the United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur, Olivier de Schutter, regarding the implications of the land grab for global food security. While the bank proposes responsible investments in "land acquisition," the rapporteur argues that this is a way of "responsibly destroying the world's peasantry." The former, concerned with governing the rights of capital, expresses a form of neoproductivism, signaled in the concept of "sustainable intensification" increasingly underwritten by agribusiness. The latter, concerned with protecting the material rights of rural inhabitants, expresses an ontology centered on the sustainability of agroecological methods used by farmers who know and value their landscapes. More than simply alternative visions, these represent different responses to the combined food, energy, and climate crises, informing quite distinctive ontologies concerning the relationship between "food security," environmental crisis, and land management, which I address in this article in terms of the "ecology of food security."


The rapid discovery of potential driver mutations through large-scale mutational analyses of human cancers generates a need to characterize their cellular phenotypes. Among the techniques for genome editing, recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)-mediated gene targeting is suited for knock-in of single nucleotide substitutions and to a lesser degree for gene knock-outs. However, the generation of gene targeting constructs and the targeting process is time-consuming and labor-intense. To facilitate rAAV-mediated gene targeting, we developed the first software and complementary automation-friendly vector tools to generate optimized targeting constructs for editing human protein encoding genes. By computational approaches, rAAV constructs for editing ∼71% of bases in protein-coding exons were designed. Similarly, ∼81% of genes were predicted to be targetable by rAAV-mediated knock-out. A Gateway-based cloning system for facile generation of rAAV constructs suitable for robotic automation was developed and used in successful generation of targeting constructs. Together, these tools enable automated rAAV targeting construct design, generation as well as enrichment and expansion of targeted cells with desired integrations.


In this paper, a dynamic model for removal of edge burrs with a compliant brushing tool is reported. Description of the burr geometry is assumed to be known through on-line measurement methods such as a computer vision system in the flexible manufacturing cell. Dynamic response of the brush/workpiece system is evaluated on the basis of experimentally obtained data. Master Curves are introduced as machining descriptors which characterize the incremental burr removal performance of the brush/workpiece system, leading to the development of an analytical dynamic model for orthogonal burr removal using a finite-width brushing tool. Based upon the dynamic model for material removal, a control strategy for automatic deburring is presented for burr configurations having constant height as well as variable height. A closed-form solution for transverse brush feed rate is obtained which is applicable for removal of burrs having variable height, as described by suitable geometry functions. For illustrative purposes, simulations are carried out for a straight-edge burr profile and sinusoidal burr geometry. Results are reported which identify important relationships among brush feed rate, brush penetration depth, and brush rotational speed. In order to help assess the validity of the proposed analytical model and control strategy, experimental results are reported for a combination ramp/straight-edge burr configuration. The results demonstrate generally good correlation between the predicted and actual profile for the edge burr that has been machined. In addition, some important observations include; (1) burr removal is most rapidly carried out by using the highest brush speed and deepest brush/workpiece penetration depth, subject to the condition that the brush fiber is not damaged, (2) Currently available polymer abrasive brushing tools exhibit very slow machining characteristics and must be improved in order to be used in a production environment where burr size is appreciable, (3) Material removal characteristics of the leading and trailing edge of brushes may be a source of error which merits further investigation.


Atmospheric measurements were performed during a 1 month period in early summer of 1997 at the Dead Sea in Israel in an attempt to identify bromine monoxide BrO, and evaluate its effect on ozone chemistry. The differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique was utilized to identify and measure BrO present in the air masses. Concurrent to the DOAS measurements, continuous monitoring of SO2, NO/NOx, O3, and CO was performed. Filter samples for aerosol analysis and whole air canister samples for bromocarbon analysis were also collected. The present paper reports the complete comprehensive data set of the measurements at the Dead Sea site and is a continuation to our preliminary communication [Heberstreit et al., 1999]. The more complete data now available enable a more detailed examination of the sources and mechanisms of the reactive halogen species and the presentation of new conclusions. The results showed a diurnal repeating cycle of O3 and BrO variations, correlated with solar radiation and wind direction. During the elevated BrO events, where bromine oxide rose to daily maximum values often exceeding 100 ppt, a clear negative correlation with O3 was observed. During these episodes, the O3 regularly decreased from noontime levels of 50–80 ppb or higher down to 10–30 ppb and occasionally to levels below the detection limit of 2 ppb. The enhanced BrO levels were associated with southerly winds that are typical for the location during midday hours. This suggests that a possible source for the reactive bromine species is the interaction of atmospheric oxidants with bromide at the surface of the large salt pans located at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Research flights flown over the area showed that ozone destruction to levels well below the background values were observed over large areas of the Dead Sea Valley.


The optimization of low-alcohol litchi wine brewing process through orthogonal design L9(34) and the comparison of influence of pre- and post-fermentation on the volatile compounds by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis were studied. The low-alcohol litchi wine which fermented using the mixed aroma-producing yeasts Kloeckera apiculata (Y2) and Hansenula anomala (Hansen) H. et P. Sydow (Y4) at 14°C, with ratio Y2/Y4 of 1:2 (vol.) and inoculum size of 4 (%,vol.), had the typical characteristics of low alcohol, light yellow color, fresh litchi-like and refined wine aroma, refreshing sweet taste. The volatile compounds of the fermented wine invented a marked improvement in flavor of the low-alcohol litchi wine, because the esters were increased 1.16-fold, alcohols (0.96-fold), acids (2.38-fold), while the terpenes decreased more than 39% compared with samples before fermentation. The results would explain the technological differences and superiorities in the aroma compounds contributed by the aroma-producing yeasts.


Centred on the development of discussions around independent curatorial practice from 1987 to 2007 - a time of expanded understanding of the role of the curator - this dissertation illustrates how curatorial discourse has generated a significant body of knowledge within contemporary art discourses.
This research has both theoretical and practical outcomes, represented within a dissertation that is divided into three parts:
1. An historical survey of key developments within curatorial practice and discourse, forming the main body of text in three chapters.
2. Four exhibition projects realised and analysed alongside this research (with Power Point presentation submitted as Appendix Two).
3. Forty-four original interviews with leading curators, artist-curators, exhibition historians, critic-curators, graduates from curatorial training programmes and leaders of these courses working between 1987 and 2007 (Appendix One).
1. Chapter One reveals how, with the first appearance of independent exhibition-makers, `demystification' of the curatorial position offered a critique of artistic autonomy in the late 1960s. It illustrates how curating became a form of self-presentation with the `curator-as- auteur' in the late 1980s, and how the `super-visibility' of a new generation of curators took place in the mid-to-late 1990s when curatorial debates and published anthologies began to appear as a way of correcting gaps in historical curatorial knowledge. Chapter Two traces the globalisation of Curating in the context of biennials and large-scale international exhibitions from 1989 to 2006. It considers how, since `Les Magiciens de la Terre' in 1989, curators have embraced globalism, transculturalism and a move towards collective models of curating. Chapter Three expands on the concept of the `curator«a bst' and reveals a
convergence of istic and curatorial practice in the 1990s, which provides a theoretical hacktop to the Practical component of this research project.
2. Employing a curatorial strategy of dividing an exhibition into three spatial categories - the background, the middle-ground and the foreground - four related exhibitions were realised as
practical examples of how differences between collaborative and authorial structures converge in processes of co-production. These exhibitions reflect upon the dominant issues of the theoretical research in order to practically demonstrate how the group exhibition is based on organisational structures that are the results of co-operation between artists and the curator(s), leading to co-authored exhibition formations.
3. Interviews represent the methodological approach employed as the main means of gathering knowledge and provide the primary basis of the analysis of key issues emerging during this period. They not only establish an historical trajectory for curatorial practice but also allow identification of key moments of historical conjuncture within the field.
Through an examination of interview transcripts alongside literature published between 1987 and 2007 and the four inter-connected exhibitions, this research re-evaluates the relationship between artist(s) and curator(s) by demonstrating how the group exhibition form has become a creative medium of communication in and of itself.


In this article, we examine how standard exchange-traded fixed-income derivatives (futures and options on futures contracts) can be included in a sound risk and asset management process so as to improve risk and return performance characteristics of managed portfolios. Our results show that the non-linear character of the returns on protective option strategies offers appealing risk reduction properties in the pure asset management context. Consequently, such strategies should optimally receive a significant allocation, especially when investors are concerned with minimising extreme risks. In an asset liability management context, we also show that fixed-income derivatives in general, and recently launched long-term futures contracts in particular, offer significant shortfall risk reduction benefits. These results have potentially significant implications in the context of an increased focus on matching liability portfolios.


This article examines challenges to the quality of life experienced by autistic adults. The author, who is an autistic researcher, first shares how a neurodiversity perspective offers an important alternative to the deficit model of autism. Whereas the deficit model portrays autistic people as ill, broken, and in need of fixing, the neurodiversity perspective portrays it as a form of human diversity with associated strengths and difficulties. The article's discussion then shifts to presenting Schalock's (2000) quality of life framework as a neurodiversity-compatible lens through which domains of quality of life can be viewed. The article analyzes in detail these core domains in relation to the lives of autistic adults. The author suggests that a collaborative approach between professionals/researchers and autistic adults is needed to develop meaningful solutions to these challenges, and he presents possibilities for collaboration. Keywords Autism, Neurodiversity, Quality of life, Autistic Adults


A randomized controlled double-blind trial was undertaken in south Wales to prevent the recurrence of neural-tube defects in women who had had one child with a neural-tube defect. Sixty women were allocated before conception to take 4 mg of folic acid a day before and during early pregnancy and 44 complied with these instructions. Fifty-one women were allocated to placebo treatment. There were no recurrences among the compliant mothers but two among the non-compliers and four among the women in the placebo group. Thus there were no recurrences among those who received supplementation and six among those who did not; this difference is significant (p = 0.04). It is concluded that folic acid supplementation might be a cheap, safe, and effective method of primary prevention of neural-tube defects but that this must be confirmed in a large, multicentre trial.


Analysis of continuous sap flux and stem growth measurements can help to elucidate how environmental conditions influence water status and stem growth in trees. Stem radius variations and sap flux densities of the drought-tolerant conifer Cedrus libani were measured using automatic point dendrometers and heat dissipation sensors, respectively. The study was conducted at the Elmali Cedar Research Forest at 1665 m a.s.l. From April to September 2009, stem radius variation was measured hourly for nine C. libani trees. Concurrently, environmental variables (e.g., air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, soil water content) were monitored within the study site. From the dendrometer records, maximum daily shrinkage (MDS) of the stem radius was calculated. From June to August, a time period of 2 months, four of the nine study trees were selected for hourly measurements of sap flux density (Js). Daily courses of stem radius variation and Js were very uniform and similar for all studied trees. A daily hysteresis effect was observed, reflecting the pattern of water storage and retrieval. Means of MDS and Js varied between 0.09 and 0.15 mm and between 4.3 and 10.6 g m-2 s-1, respectively. Daily maximum Js varied between 8.0 and 33 g m-2 s-1. Correlation and regression analyses between MDS and Js and environmental variables revealed that MDS and Js were most closely related to vapor pressure deficit and photosynthetic active radiation, respectively. We conclude that C. libani is well adapted to the current environmental conditions at the study site (natural habitat) and that atmospheric conditions play a primary role in transpiration and tree growth.


Numerous studies have reported that countries tend to become more similar to their immediate geographic neighbors with respect to democracy. We show that a similar process of mutual adjustment can be found within very different international networks: geographically dispersed colonial empires, especially those that were founded early and lasted a century or more. The causal mechanisms for the diffusion of democracy are notoriously vague, but the existence of diffusion within colonial networks helps narrow the possibilities. Where these relationships are significant, the net tendency is overwhelmingly convergence: colonies have tended to democratize more quickly than similar countries that were never colonies, and some colonizers have tended to democratize more slowly than similar countries that never had colonies. We distinguish between effects that took place during colonial rule and later relations between former colonies and their colonizers. These estimates also confirm, and control for, convergence among immediate neighbors, using an electoral democracy index from the Varieties of Democracy project, which includes historical democracy ratings for colonies.


Prose is a part of literary work, in literature is also called a fiction. Fiction is an imaginary work, offering some humans and humanity, live and life problems. The writer comprehend the problems totally which expressed through the fiction based on his thought. The writer in making literary work just to express his heart idea. If it really happens in society, just by chance, his feeling can catch the symbols. Based on the analysis, the writer is to discuss a title The Opposition to The Feodalism in novel of Gadis Pantai by Pramoedya Ananta Toer: The Theory of Sociology of Literary. The purpose of the research is to describe kinds of opposition by aristocrat, kind of opposition done by society (lower classes) and describe the reason of the opposition to feodalism. The method used is descriptive and technic of analysis content methods which is usually used in qualitative research. The results research are (1) the kinds of opposition done by aristocrat consist of marriage, familial relationship, life level and livehood system. (2) kinds of opposition from the lower classes (the characters of Gadis Pantai and Bujang) namely, they didn't want the existence of limitation among aristocrats and lower classes, and bravery to uphold the rightness and the justness eventhough there was limitation among aristocrats and lower classes. (3) the reason of opposition to feudalism, because of the two factors, namely, the factor of the writer background and the story itself which showed attitude and behavior who didn't appreciate human rights. So it caused a willing from the lower classes to defend the rights possessed by the human.


area where the formalin is used to lessen the effect of accidental escape of formalin vapour. It may also be possible to substitute the Dipenidam for formalin in the Lucas machines in the near future. It is interesting to speculate why this particular unit should have suffered in this way, as other units use formalin and have not had the incidence of formalin dermatitis. Formalin is widely used also in anatomy dissecting rooms without similar outbreaks of dermatitis occurring. It is possible that the primary irritant effect of Tego, a detergent, has lowered the resistance of the skin to the formalin vapour. Other factors may be the high temperature in the unit and the high concentration of formalin in the preparation room.


Abstract Preparation for quality health care must begin in the basic education and should be integrated in the clinical education to be more meaningful. The aim of the study is to explore and describe the opinions of nursing students regarding the use of PBL scenario in addressing quality improvement in the health care unit; Problem based scenario was used to address quality improvement at unit level for the level 4 nursing students and followed collaborative assessment after placement in the clinical services for four weeks preparing for quality inspection. Sequential explorative mixed method was used. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants in the qualitative component and convenient sampling in quantitative strand. Ethical clearance was obtained from NWU ethics committee (Ethics No. NWU-00033-11-A9) and permission to conduct the study was obtained from North West Provincial Health Department. Themes that emerged from the interviews included: empowerment from Problem Based Learning (PBL) scenario and clinical project; preparedness to address quality improvement in clinical setting; contribution to the unit readiness for quality improvement; and strengthening of inter-institutional and interdisciplinary collaborations. PBL scenarios are very effective teaching quality improvement and in closing the theoretical and clinical learning gaps and collaboration in assessment of students benefit students.


Afrikaans live theatre and Afrikaans film theatre often make use of the same actors, writers and producers; and the sustainability of these industries are dependent on the ticket purchases of a very specific and selective market segment. The purpose of this article was therefore to firstly determine the key factors that contribute to the ticket purchases of Afrikaans film theatre attendees to gain insights that apply to the film-industry specifically. Secondly, these factors were compared with the factors that contribute to Afrikaans live theatre ticket purchases to determine possible differences/similarities between these two types of theatre markets. This was done to explore possible options that better utilises the festival platform to increase the exposure of Afrikaans films. Two datasets were used in this article. The primary dataset for Afrikaans film theatre ticket purchases was obtained from a survey conducted at the KKNK in 2013. A secondary dataset for live theatre ticket purchases at the KKNK was acquired from a study by Botha (2011). An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on 36 aspects contributing to Afrikaans film theatre ticket purchases, revealing five factors: Proudly Afrikaans, Production credentials, Quality facilities, Marketing and Leisure experience. Thereafter two confirmatory factor analyses consisting of 4 factors (Media/Marketing, Quality facilities, Credentials and Experience) were conducted on 20 overlapping aspects from the two datasets. A t-test revealed differences between the contributing factors of the two datasets. Afrikaans film theatre attendees are more influenced by Media, Quality facilities as well as the Experience; while live theatre attendees are more influenced by Credentials. Implications for the Afrikaans film theatre industry are consequently made.


ABSTRACT Proactive interference is when a previously performed task impairs performance on a current task. It is often associated with memory tasks and has not been reported to interfere with writing or drawing. We evaluated a left-handed man diagnosed with corticobasal syndrome who had a two-year history of progressive agraphia. On the sentence writing and clock drawing tasks, he initially wrote letters and numbers correctly but revealed an increase of movement errors as the tasks progressed. We propose the term "proactive interference apraxic agraphia" for this novel disorder. Prefrontal dysfunction may cause an impairment in disengaging from previously activated motor programs.


This article provides a survey of Spanish cultural and literary references within the magazine L'indice dei Libri del mese throughout its first 15 years of existence (1984-99). Thanks to the scrutiny and analysis of 180 Spanish-themed articles, it was possible to profile the editorial line adopted by this prestigious magazine with reference to the Iberian area, as well as the attention (and disattention) paid to Spanish literature by the Italian publishing industry. Reviews have been classified by subject, period and typology, and their argumentative structures were analysed, allowing to highlight the controversial issue related to the real or presumed peripherality of Spanish literature in the Italian and European cultural context.


Thirty years ago, when the Treaty of Rome came into effect, agriculture and manufacturing dominated activity in the European Community (EC). Today, in every member state, services account for more production and employment than agriculture and manufacturing combined. The growing role of services in domestic economies is the result of both demand and supply factors. On the demand side, the major impetus has come from firms that have shifted from providing services they require `in-house' to purchasing these services outside the firm. On the supply side, the main factors have been technological change and deregulation. This paper is part of a study of the impact of 1992 on European service industries. Its purpose is to provide a methodological framework for analysing the structure of the market for services in Europe on the eve of 1992. The paper identifies three essential features that distinguish services from other economic activities. These features are used to examine in detail factors that determine the market structure of service industries. The conclusion offers conjectures about the future shape of service industries in Europe.


A novel microbial transglutaminase-catalyzed aqueous-organic biphasic reaction system was successfully developed to prepare caseinate derivatives by cross-linking and incorporating nonpolar octyl tails for the first time. SDS-PAGE and (1)H NMR analysis confirmed that cross-linking and octyl conjugation occurred simultaneously. The octyl substitution degree (SD) was measured by (1)H NMR and used as an index to determine a suitable reaction condition. It was found that at the condition of 0.125% (w/v) protein concentration and 6 h of reaction time, the modified caseinate had the highest SD of 28.96%. The modified caseinate also had an increased surface hydrophobicity, better emulsifying activity, and improved thermal and salt stabilities. However, its emulsion stability or in vitro enzymatic digestibility was slightly lower than that of the native caseinate.


Introduction: Pyogenic granuloma is a reactive hyperplastic change commonly encountered in the skin and oral cavity. Very rarely they can occur in the urinary bladder. Case Report: 73 year old male presented with obstructive urinary symptoms and pain during micturition. He had an open prostatic surgery 25 years ago. His investigations were not contributory and there was no improvement with alpha blockers. Cystoscopy revealed a solitary, pedunculated 1 cm lesion in the posterior wall of the bladder along with inflammatory changes. Biopsy from the lesion revealed a diagnosis of pyogenic granuloma along with follicular cystitis. His symptoms resolved after the procedure and he was treated with a prolonged course of antibiotics. His imaging and follow up cystoscopy after six months were normal. He remains asymptomatic at 1 year of follow up. Conclusion: Pyogenic granuloma of the bladder is very rare and till now only eight cases have been reported worldwide. The important factor in management is to differentiate this condition from malignancy and treatment with transurethral resection and antibiotics may suffice.


There is a growing interest worldwide for the production of renewable oil without mobilizing agriculture lands, fast and reliable methods are needed to identify highly oleaginous micro-organisms of potential industrial interest. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the relevance of ATR spectroscopy to achieve this goal. To do so, the total lipid content of lyophilized samples of five Streptomyces strains with varying DOI: 10.1177/0003702817709459 lipid content was assessed with two classical quantitative but time consuming methods, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy in transmission mode with KBr pellets and the fast ATR method, often questioned for its lack of reliability. A linear correlation between these three methods was demonstrated allowing the establishment of equations to convert ATR values expressed as CO/amide I ratio, into μg of lipid per mg of biomass. The ATR method proved to be as reliable and quantitative as the classical GC-MS and FT-IR in transmission mode methods but faster and more reproducible than the latter since it involves far less manipulation for sample preparation than the two others. ATR could be regarded as an efficient fast screening method to identify natural or genetically modified oleaginous microorganisms by the scientific community working in the field of bio-lipids.


Owners are driven by safety requirements to monitor and predict the behaviour of their structures with increasing surety. Historically Engineers used deflection and strain measurement but more recently dynamic assessment of full-scale structures using vibration testing is being used to meet the owner's needs. Generally, this testing requires the installation of many transducers over the structure. The time and cost associated with installation limits the use of structural monitoring and therefore the safety of structures. Microwave interferometry, is a new technology that can monitor both the deflection and vibration of many points on a structure. No contact is required during testing, and the system can be set up within 1km from the structure, and detects static and dynamic deflections of multiple points on the structure down to 0.01mm at up to 50Hz using its radar sensor. This paper studies the use of the microwave interferometry in monitoring of bridge structures for deflection under static and dynamic loading to ultimately monitor the overall health of the bridge. A new move to investigate the deflection "signature" of new bridges after construction to use as a base-line for future monitoring is also discussed. It includes a step by step description of the deployment of the sensor in the field and treatment of the resulting data. Case studies from Australia and around the world will be used to illustrate the information collected with the system and will focus on comparing the technology to existing sensors to bench-mark the system.


In this paper, we present the agent programming language TEAMGOLOG, which is a novel approach to programming a team of cooperative agents under partial observability. Every agent is associated with a partial control program in Golog, which is completed by the TEAMGOLOG interpreter in an optimal way by assuming a decision-theoretic semantics. The approach is based on the key concepts of a synchronization state and a communication state, which allow the agents to passively resp. actively coordinate their behavior, while keeping their belief states, observations, and activities invisible to the other agents. We show the usefulness of the approach in a rescue simulated domain.


Esomeprzole and naproxen are available in tablet dosage form in the ratio 1:25. Two simple, accurate, precise and economic methods; simultaneous equation method and multicomponent method have been described for the simultaneous estimation of esomeprzole and naproxen in tablet dosage form. Absorption maxima of esomeprzole and naproxen in distilled water were found to be 301.0 nm and 262.0 nm respectively. Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range 5-50 µg/ml for esomeprzole and 5-50 µg/ml for naproxen. The methods allow rapid analysis of binary pharmaceutical formulation with accuracy. Results of two methods were validated statistically and by recovery studies and were found to be satisfactory.


User retention is important to the success of online social media, particularly in virtual world settings where users shape one another's online experience. We study a rich set of variables, including social network and group membership, chatting, and transactions, in order to predict which users will stay and which ones will leave. We find that simple variables directly measuring the intensity and diversity of a user's interaction with others are most predictive.


Cloud computing enables the users to access the outsourced data from the cloud server without the hardware and software management. Data stored on a cloud service-provider's equipment must be encrypted for data security. Encrypting data prior to storage is a common method of data protection, and service providers will be able to build firewalls to ensure that the decryption keys associated with encrypted user data are not disclosed to third party. However, if the decryption key and the encrypted data are held by the same service provider, it raises vulnerability in data security, thus presenting a risk for the unauthorized disclosure of the user data. This paper provides an unique approach/model of cryptography where crypto keys are distributed across the user and service provider with adoption of such a model mainly the CSP insider attack an form of misuse of valuable user data can be treated secured. Thus, the proposed method not only encrypts the sensitive data, but also detects the dishonest party to access the data using combined hash functions.


Examining the different characteristics of open-source software in relation to security vulnerabilities, can provide the research community with findings that can lead to the development of more secure systems. We present a dataset where the reported vulnerabilities of 8694 open-source project versions, can be correlated with the corresponding source code and a number of software metrics. The metrics were obtained by analyzing the project's source code via well-established tools. Apart from commonly used metrics (e.g. loc), we also provide data related to modern development trends such as continuous integration and testing. We outline motivational examples based on the dataset we describe.


The theological revolution that Karl Barth inspired was by no means a dismissive reaction to modern culture but, rather, was a dynamic and carefully nuanced encounter with the concerns of his day. This excellent new work by Paul Lewis Metzger provides an exposition and extension of Barth's engagement of culture in view of his doctrine of the Word. Metzger demonstrates that Barth endeavored to relate Christ to culture in inseparable terms while maintaining a distinction between them. Working from an intimate knowledge of all of Barth's writings, Metzger shows how Barth's doctrine of the Word provides a sound basis on which to build a theological model of culture that guards against the two extremes of either the divinization or the secularization of culture, while at the same time nurturing a healthy appreciation for the secular domain. The first part of the book analyzes Barth's formative theological period, which is characterized by his engagement with culture and what is termed "Culture Protestantism." The second part of the book focuses on how Barth's answer -- a dialectical model of the Word -- enabled him to offer a constructive synthesis of Christ and culture. The final section of the book traces the way Barth was able to frame culture within his theological model and yet continue to champion the secular domain. "The Word of Christ and the World of Culture is a superb volume that will benefit anyone studying Barth, modern theology, or the relation of Christianity and culture.


In Tula Province [correction of Region], the affliction of its population with cryptosporidiosis has been first estimated at 0.2%. Cryptosporidium infection has been recorded in 0.5% of cases among patients with acute gastrointestinal diseases, in 0.6% among cattle-breeders, and in 7.2% among agricultural animal (pigs). Low-immunity children under 4 years mainly suffer. Cryptosporidiosis ran as a moderate monoinfection and in one case it was severe. Two cases of cryptosporidiosis were simultaneously detected in the familial focus. The source of infection could not be established.


A woman of 50 had unidergone the formidable operation of combined total cystectomy and total hysterectomy, for a growth of the urinary bladder invading the uterus. She left the operating theatre in good condition; nevertheless I had taken the precaution of placing a sternal marrow trocar and cannula in position in order that plasma might be administered by this route as soon as she had returned to the ward. In this particular case every convenient vein had been utilized for oft-repeated blood transfusions, rendered necessary because of haematuria. Suddenly, in the " no-man's-land " to which I have referred, she collapsed. Respirations had ceased except for an intermittent gasp, and the pulse at the wrist was imperceptible. Hastily summoned from the theatre and fearing that the suddenness of the untoward symptoms bespoke of cardiac arrest, I was contemplating pricking the ventricle when the anaesthetist, who had been summoned from the anaesthetic room, pronounced that he could detect a flicker in the carotid puise. A courier dispatched to the ward for the plasma had not returned. A courier dispatched to the theatre for saline solution and apparatus was no doubt collecting the units. By a stroke of good fortune the highly efficient theatre sister (who was not on duty) appeared, and was able to produce from a stock-cupboard a bottle of saline and, thirty seconds later, a 20-ml. Record syringe and an enamel bowl. Using the syringe, I injected the saline solution into the bone marrow, and in under a minute my house-surgeon was alternating with me in the procedure with a second syringe he had fetched. In this manner we injected 1 pints (700 mi.) in under three minutes with remarkable benefit, that happily proved to be the turning point in her recovery.


Aims: The purpose of this study was to assess whether work characteristics and morbidity are predictors of physical, psychological, and social functioning in physicians. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken of 1,126 Norwegian physicians. For comparison of health status scores, the Short Form 36 questionnaire was used, adjusting for differences in age and gender where applicable. Somatic morbidity was classified on the basis of self-reported conditions and psychiatric morbidity with score on the 25-item Hopkins symptom checklist using a cut-off indicating clinical psychiatric disease. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used with SF-36 dimension score below/above the 10th percentile as the dependent variable. Results: In the multivariate model, psychiatric comorbidity was a significant predictor in 7 of 8 dimensions of health status (odds ratio 0.17 to 0.49), and somatic comorbidity in 6 of 8 dimensions of health status (odds ratio 0.33 to 0.59). Working hours was a significant predictor of only one dimension of health status, general health, after adjustment for demographic and work-related variables. Conclusions: The most important predictors for most dimensions of health status among Norwegian physicians were the presence or absence of self-reported somatic or psychiatric morbidity, while working hours, choice of specialty, and position were less important.


Scaling and multifractal properties of the hourly PM2.5 average concentration series at the four air monitoring stations of Chengdu (southwestern China) were explored by using a multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis method, during a typical haze episode (from 1 March to 17 March, 2013). Using shuffling procedure and phase randomization procedure, the major sources of multifractality in these PM2.5 series are studied. The results show that the multifractality nature of PM2.5 series is mainly due to long-range correlation. At the same time, the non-Gaussian probability distributions also partly contribute to the multifractal behaviour. The scale-free power laws behaviours are found to govern the cumulative distributions statistics for PM2.5 concentration fluctuations. The temporal evolutions of the multifractality were investigated by the approach of a sliding window. Further, we attempt to find the answers to the following questions: how does longrange correlation and power-law distribution in PM2.5 evolution emerge? It is inviting to do it in a self-organized criticality (SOC) framework, which was specially designed to model the dynamics of complex systems. A novel PM2.5 evolution model is developed on the bases of SOC theory. The model displays robust power law behaviour in certain dynamical region. The self-organized criticality properties of PM2.5 evolution are discussed. This SOC behaviour is related to a statistically steady state that implies the presence of long-range correlation and power-law distribution in PM2.5 evolution during the haze period. It is the stability of SOC that causes the haze period to be sustained for a long time in Chengdu.


Nunavik, the northern Quebec region of Inuit Nunangat, had stronger labour market performance than the other three Inuit Nunangat regions between 1996 and 2011. For example, Nunavik's employment rate was 54.1 per cent in 2011, while the aggregate employment rate for Inuit Nunangat excluding Nunavik was only 42.9 per cent. Nunavik enjoyed this higher employment rate despite the fact that its Inuit population had, on average, 0.2 fewer years of schooling than Inuit Nunangat as a whole. In this paper, we examine a number of factors that could explain this paradox. Of all the factors examined, (1) public sector job provision and (2) child care availability and cost appear to have the most important impact on Nunavik's labour market outcomes. First, Nunavik's public sector, representing two-thirds of the experienced labour force, is a more important component of the overall economy than the public sector in the other three Inuit Nunangat regions, where it represents approximately half of the experienced labour force. Second, due to the implementation of the First Nations and Inuit Child Care Initiative and the Quebec Government's family policies in the late-1990s, Nunavik has the greatest availability of child care services and the lowest daily child care fee of the four Inuit Nunangat regions. Both the ample supply of child care and the low cost have contributed to large increases in female labour force participation since 1996 (7.4 percentage points).


A distributed architecture articulated around the CODGER (communication database with geometric reasoning) knowledge database is described for a mobile robot system that includes both perception and navigation tools. Results are described for vision and navigation tests using a mobile testbed that integrates perception and navigation capabilities that are based on two types of vision algorithms: color vision for road following, and 3-D vision for obstacle detection and avoidance. The perception modules are integrated into a system that allows the vehicle to drive continuously in an actual outdoor environment. The resulting system is able to navigate continuously on roads while avoiding obstacles. >


Policy Points Evidence suggests that bundled payment contracting can slow the growth of payer costs relative to fee-for-service contracting, although bundled payment models may not reduce absolute costs. Bundled payments may be more effective than fee-for-service payments in containing costs for certain medical conditions. For the most part, Medicare's bundled payment initiatives have not been associated with a worsening of quality in terms of readmissions, emergency department use, and mortality. Some evidence suggests a worsening of other quality measures for certain medical conditions. Bundled payment contracting involves trade-offs: Expanding a bundle's scope and duration may better contain costs, but a more comprehensive bundle may be less attractive to providers, reducing their willingness to accept it as an alternative to fee-for-service payment.

CONTEXT
Bundled payments have been promoted as an alternative to fee-for-service payments that can mitigate the incentives for service volume under the fee-for-service model. As Medicare has gained experience with bundled payments, it has widened their scope and increased their duration. However, there have been few reviews of the empirical literature on the impact of Medicare's bundled payment programs on cost, resource use, utilization, and quality.

METHODS
We examined the history and features of 16 of Medicare's bundled payment programs involving hospital-initiated episodes of care and conducted a literature review of articles about those programs. Database and additional searches yielded 1,479 articles. We evaluate the studies' methodological quality and summarize the quantitative findings about Medicare expenditures and quality of care from 37 studies that used higher-quality research designs.

FINDINGS
Medicare's bundled payment initiatives have varied in their design features, such as episode scope and duration. Many initiatives were associated with little to no reduction in Medicare expenditures, unless large pricing discounts for providers were negotiated in advance. Initiatives that included post-acute care services were associated with lower expenditures for certain conditions. Hospitals may have been able to reduce internal production costs with help from physicians via gainsharing. Most initiatives were not associated with significant changes in quality of care, as measured by readmission and mortality rates. Of the significant changes in readmission rates, the results were mixed, showing increases and decreases associated with bundled payments. Some evidence suggested that worse patient outcomes were associated bundled payments, although most results were not statistically significant. Results on case-mix selection were mixed: Several initiatives were associated with reductions in episode severity, whereas others were associated with little change.

CONCLUSIONS
Bundled payments for hospital-initiated episodes may be a good alternative to fee-for-service payments. Bundled payments can help slow the growth of payer spending, although they do not necessarily reduce absolute spending. They are associated with lower provider production costs, and there is no overwhelming evidence of compromised quality. However, designing a bundled payment contract that is attractive to both providers and payers proves to be a challenge.


The most prevalent form of Internet fraud is auction fraud. As fraud affects both the profits of Internet auction houses as well as honest traders of auction goods, they have a mutual incentive to reduce fraud. However, existing research suggests that little effort has been made by the Internet auction industry to control fraud. As a result, there have been increasing calls for government intervention to regulate the Internet auction marketplace. In this study, we perform a grounded theory analysis of fraud in the Internet auction marketplace. Specifically, this research explores the institutions that experienced traders and auction houses employ to reduce the incidence of fraud. Preliminary evidence suggests that, contrary to common perception, the Internet auction industry has developed many sophisticated institutions for combating fraud. These institutions operate primarily by reducing information asymmetries that con artists exploit. However, due to the ease of entry into Internet auction markets, new entrants become easy prey for con artists.


This study analyzes the role of foreign direct investment in contributing to regional differences in productive efficiency in Chinese agriculture. We use a stochastic frontier production function model, explicitly incorporating foreign capital, to investigate the relative performance of the aggregate agricultural sector across provinces and over time. Thus we can determine if foreign direct investment policies might reasonably be expected to change the competitive environment of regional agricultural sector. We calculate an index of productive efficiency and estimate the determinants of regional variations in it.


Using long-ignored constitutions of various Jewish organizations, this unique book uncovers the political history of Canadian Jewry since its beginning during the 1700s. Building on the premise that Jews, since time immemorial, have written down their values and ideologies, this study effectively demonstrates how these writings record the principles and values that motivated a community.


The structural acoustic problem, wherein an acoustic domain is confined within a partly flexible laminated composite enclosure is presented. From the finite element free vibration analysis of the laminated folded plate structure a mobility relation is derived between the normal velocity of the structure and normal pressure on the structure. A boundary element solver for the Helmholtz equation with quadratic isoparametric elements is developed using pressure‐velocity formulation. Velocity is known over certain parts of the boundary, the rest being the interactive boundary, where the mobility relation correlates nodal pressures and velocities, neither explicitly known. The pressure boundary values are solved from the boundary element and the mobility relations, while the nodal particle velocities and domain pressures are computed at desired points thereafter. New results presented here reveal the effects of the variation in magnitude of structural damping, fiber angles and the thickness of walls.


Environmental development and protection measures such as feasibility studies, land-use planning and soil and water conservation are some of the issues that need to be considered in watersheds management. Apparently, integrated watershed management is emerging as an approach for the sustained development and management of natural resources. The integral enactment of different environmental frameworks, strategies and policies could positively impact watershed- based developmental approaches. Sediment which is brought through water erosion can hamper the proper functioning of waterways as well as the quality of water in dams. Knowhow on soil erosion and the sedimentation process is among the requisites that need to be considered for the control of sedimentation. Other elements like climate, edaphic factors, land management, topography, and land cover, etc. will also determine the sedimentation process. Integrated Watershed Management approach is a worthy approach to manage the ecological, social and economic watershed development challenges in countries like Ethiopia. Thus, this article is intended to assess watershed characteristics that will help to explore the possibilities of reducing sedimentation and its related effects.