In the chapter "The Adjustment of Controversies" in his eponymous work, Zhuangzi has the character Nanguo Ziqi declare "I effaced myself," thereby holding that one can return to the state of naturalness only after breaking with the "self" that is in opposition to "objects," abandoning his subject-object standpoint and entering a state of "effacement" wherein one fuses with the Dao. Coincidently, the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard also repeatedly stresses the "disappearance of the subject" in his later philosophy, trying to dissolve subject-centrism by means of a counterattack by the object wherein its logic would entrap the subject. Although they lived in different times, both Zhuangzi and Baudrillard note the same human predicament—the situation wherein the "I as subject" constantly obscures the "real I." Their resolutions of the predicament are similar: both put their hopes in the dissolution of the "I" or self in subject-object relations, with Zhuangzi declaring "I effaced myself" and Baudrillard mooting the "disappearance of the subject." They differ, however, on how to dissolve the "I" (myself). Briefly, Zhuangzi advocates "effacing myself through the Dao," that is, quitting one's "fixed mindset" and "egoism" and returning to the Dao by means of "forgetting" or "effacing"; Baudrillard, on the other hand, proposes to "efface oneself through the object," i.e., replace the supremacy of the subject with that of the object. Baudrillard's theory has often been criticized as pataphysics because of its nihilism without transcendence; in contrast, Zhuangzi's view, which construes the whole world as the unfolding of the Dao, seems more thought-provoking.


A 5 year-old Chilean pure breed rodeo gelding was evaluated for lameness in the right forelimb and effusion of the common carpal sheath of the digital flexor tendons. Radiographs revealed exostosis with rounded margins arising from the palmar cortex of the distal metaphysis of the radius. Ultrasonographic examination revealed a thickened and proliferative synovium, excessive anechoic fluid and a hiperechogenic mass protruding from the cortical bone. Tenoscopic exploration confirmed the presence of the mass, and removal was successfully performed through thecotomy. At 4 months postoperatively, the horsed was successfully competing although present mild right forelimb lameness and improving.


This paper estimates UK capital adjustment costs, using a data set for 34 industries spanning the whole UK economy for the period 1970-2000. The results show that it is costly to install new capital, and that it has been more costly to adjust the level of non-ICT capital (plant, machinery, buildings and vehicles) compared to the level of ICT capital (computers, software and telecommunications). The results are applied to an analysis of total factor productivity (TFP) growth. That analysis is focused on the 1990s - a period when the growth rate of the standard measure of TFP fell in the United Kingdom, while rising sharply in the United States. The estimates suggest that capital adjustment costs accounted for around two thirds of the observed slowdown in UK TFP growth. However, the adjustment is not large enough to reverse the finding that UK TFP growth declines in the second half of the 1990s, unlike the US experience of rising TFP growth.


This paper discusses recent research findings within the borderland regions of
southern Galicia and northern Portugal regarding the linguistic continuity and the
use of language as a symbol of ethnic identity. A brief historical overview outlines
the social, ethnic and cultural borders and their configuration within geographical
and political frontiers. The notion of border regimes and synchronic cross-border
geolinguistic diffusion is examined to determine the extent of mutual intelligibility,
the distribution of contextual functions within the borderland communities and the
extent of the dialectal continuum. The opinions of the borderland communities
r egarding the issue of ethnolinguistic identities, their emblematic and unifying
characterisations and impact within cross-border cultures are then examined, taking
into consideration the official language status of both Galician and Portuguese
within their respective territories. Speculative conclusions indicate that because of
increased cross-border contact, phonetic levelling is occurring between the varieties.


One of the important features for human machine interaction is its ability to recognize human faces. This paper presents a novel architecture suitable for real time robotic face recognition by learning a person's face incrementally, where the Gabor features at respective feature locations of a face are used to derive a similarity measurement. A face tracking followed by a clustering technique is used to learn a person's face appearance variance when the system interacts with the person. The recognition by learning proposed in this paper is similar to the partial memory incremental learning method, where we proposed a novel approach to the learning and updating process. Experiment shows significant improvement in the face recognition performance after learning over the time and with more interaction between a person and the system.


Abstract During several archaeological excavations on a river terrace of the river Meuse near the village of Lomm (southeast Netherlands) information was gathered for a reconstruction of the sedimentation and vegetation history during the Holocene. Various geoarchaeological methods – geomorphological, micromorphological and botanical analyses – were applied, while accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating provided an accurate chronology for the sediments. During the Early Holocene, many former braided river channels were deepened due to climate amelioration. Later, river flow concentrated in one main river channel to the west, at the location of the modern Meuse. The other channels were only active during floods, and infilling continued until the Bronze Age. Because of the higher setting of the Lomm terrace, it was only occasionally flooded and therefore formed an excellent location for habitation. Humans adapted to the changing landscape, as most remains were found on the higher river terraces or their slopes, a short distance from the Maas river. The Lomm terrace was more or less continuously inhabited from the Mesolithic onwards. During the Early Holocene, river terraces were initially densely forested with birch and pine. From the Boreal (Mesolithic) onwards, dense mixed forests with deciduous shrubs and trees such as hazel, oak, elm and lime developed. During the Atlantic (Meso/Neolithic), the deciduous forests became dominated by oak. Due to human activities from the Late Subboreal (Late Bronze Age) onwards, forests slowly became more open, yet remained relatively dense in comparison to other Dutch areas. The botanical data, however, show that within the Lomm study area there was a large difference in the composition, distribution and openness of the vegetation. The spatial variation in openness came into existence during the Late Bronze Age, as soon as the higher areas started to be used for human activities (i.e. habitation, agriculture and livestock herding). Due to human activities, the northern part of the study area became very open during the Early Roman period. In the lower-situated areas of the southern part, however, forests remained present much longer, until the Early Middle Ages. Due to large-scale deforestation in the Lomm area and hinterland during the Roman period and Middle Ages, the sediment load of the river increased, large floods occurred and overbank sediments were deposited, burying the archaeological remains. The largest increase in sedimentation occurred after the Middle Ages.


Feature subset selection (FSS) is an important preprocessing step for the classification task, specially in the case of datasets with high dimensionality, i.e., thousands of potentially predictive attributes. There is an extensive literature on methods for performing FSS, but most of them do not apply to datasets with high dimensionality because of the prohibitive computational cost. This paper proposes a simple feature subset selection algorithm which is suitable for datasets with high dimensionality. Our proposal is based on the execution of a constructive procedure followed by a local search strategy, in just one iteration. We also presented a multi-iteration version of our algorithm (which characterizes a GRASP implementation) and included an experimental evaluation on this strategy. The experiments were conducted over a variety of high-dimensional datasets, showing that the proposed method can reach, in most cases, better accuracies -- with a much lower computational cost -- than some well-known algorithms.


Asymmetry of east-west-trending valleys is a prominent landscape feature in the Salinas Valley and Gabilan Mesa area of the central California Coast Ranges. North-facing side slopes in these valleys are significantly steeper, less dissected and more heavily vegetated than south-facing side slopes. This systematic asymmetry persists throughout terrains of widely varying lithology, structural style, and tectonic history, and it is most strongly developed in areas that are underlain by horizontal to very gently dipping semiconsolidated sedimentary rocks. Asymmetric distribution of fill terraces and beheaded streams and close correlation between valley side-slope angle and valley gradient demonstrate that preferential lateral stream erosion has played a dominant role in the development of this valley asymmetry. For most of the valleys studied, this preferential lateral erosion is not related to tectonic movement; it is caused mainly by the asymmetric operation of slope-wasting processes arising from microclimatic differences on opposing valley side slopes.


Abstract The most common procedure to manage hydrocephalus is a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Other alternatives include a ventriculoatrial (VA) shunt, ventriculopleural shunt, lumboperitoneal shunt, or ventriculocisternal shunt. The VA shunt is a relatively rare procedure for hydrocephalus. As reported, several complications of VA shunt include obstructions, malposition, shunt infections, endocarditis, heart failure, tricuspid regurgitation, intra-atrial thrombus, and pulmonary hypertension. In this case report and literature review, we discuss a rare case of intramuscular migration of a venous tube 1 year after VA shunt implantation. We also report all the possible locations of migration after placement of VA shunt.


The purpose of the 'Scottish regional appraisal' internal report prepared for Water Powered Technologies (WPT) as part of the Zero Energy Distributed Micro Pumped Hydro project (The Technology Strategy Board file reference 132394) aims to investigate the potential of large scale deployment of low-energy water pumping technology in Scotland. The potential deployment in the Scottish content of Venturo pumps which use kinetic energy of the flow with 'zero-energy' input from electrical energy to operate the pump is appraised in this report. This report is divided into three main parts. The first part of the report is focused on the "Application of the Venturo pump in rural industry: a case study of North East Scotland", where the economic, social and environmental visibility of Venturo pump is assessed. It investigates the agricultural, food and drink industries, including breweries and distilleries businesses in order to provide the best guidelines for the use of 'zero-energy' pump in rural industry. Avenues of further investigation are highlighted. The second part of this report investigates the "Scottish financial framework" that looks at both opportunities and financial encouragements in Scotland potentially supporting WPT products. This section focuses on the energy saving potential of the Papa/Venturo pump and energy generation, storage and load balancing incentives. While the third part is a continuation of the financial framework, it primarily looks at Feed in Tariffs schemes (FiTs) for hydro generation. It reviews the principles and impacts of the FiT schemes and investigates four sites with hydro power potential which are downgraded due to different FiT bands and higher financial benefits. The difference in energy output between the unrestricted schemes and the restricted schemes can be considered as a loss of potential energy. There opportunities for Zero-energy pumps to exploit these gaps The last part of this report investigates the "Social Impact Assessment (SIA)" for 'zero-energy' water pump integration into water and utility facilities. It provides the pros and cons of SIA in the project development. The regulatory framework for Scotland, wider UK, Scandinavia, Ireland, Europe and Uganda have been discussed in this report.


The strings of stringed musical instruments are subject to both reciprocating sliding wear due to contact with the player's fingers and repetitive impact with a plectrum, therefore, they gradually lose their brilliance and responsiveness. Nevertheless, there has been almost no scientific investigation about the effects of play-wear on music strings and its determination. In this study, the investigation of play-wear on the strings of C1085 steel wire was performed using the lute-like Baglama stringed instrument. The wear loss of the strings was investigated using atomic force microscopy and the low level resistance measurement method. Increasing the number of wear cycles increased the surface roughness and material removal, identified by increased electrical resistance of the strings. The increase in the resistance and frequency were due to both a reduction and variations in the cross sectional area caused by wear.


Overexpression and secretion of the enzymes cathepsin D (CathD) and cathepsin L (CathL) is associated with metastasis in several human cancers. As a superfamily, extracellularly, these proteins may act within the tumor microenvironment to drive cancer progression, proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Therefore, it is important to discover novel therapeutic treatment strategies to target CathD and CathL and potentially impede metastasis. Graphene oxide (GO) could form the basis of such a strategy by acting as an adsorbent for pro-metastatic enzymes. Here, we have conducted research into the potential of targeted anti-metastatic therapy using GO to adsorb these pro-tumorigenic enzymes. Binding of CathD/L to GO revealed that CathD/L were adsorbed onto the surface of GO through its cationic and hydrophilic residues. This work could provide a roadmap for the rational integration of CathD/L-targeting agents into clinical settings.


The transformation of a river into a reservoir and the subsequent occupation of the riverbed by a reservoir can impact freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity. We used the National Lake Assessment (134 reservoirs) and the National Rivers and Streams Assessment (2062 rivers and streams) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in order to develop empirical characterization factors (CFs; in Potentially Disappeared Fraction of species [PDF]) evaluating the impacts of reservoir occupation on macroinvertebrate richness (number of taxa) at the reservoir, ecoregion and country spatial scales, using a space-for-time substitution. We used analyses of variance, variation partitioning, and multiple regression analysis to explain the role of ecoregion (or regionalization; accounting for spatial variability) and other potentially influential variables (physical, chemical and human), on PDFs. At the United States scale, 28% of macroinvertebrate taxa disappeared during reservoir occupation and PDFs followed a longitudinal gradient across ecoregions, where PDFs were higher in the west. We also observed that high elevation, oligotrophic and large reservoirs had high PDF. This study provides the first empirical macroinvertebrate-based PDFs for reservoir occupation to be used as CFs by LCA practitioners. The results provide strong support for regionalization and a simple empirical model for LCA modelers.


A survey of lumbar punctures performed in adults in a district general hospital over a two year period was carried out. As well as being used for conventional, specific indications, lumbar puncture was often employed as a screening investigation in undiagnosed neurological illness. Although this was not inappropriate in patients with meningeal symptoms and signs, or patients with disordered consciousness, lumbar puncture was also used in patients with focal neurological signs. Although the dangers of lumbar puncture in these latter patients, and the fact that it is unlikely to yield information unobtainable by other investigations have been stated by many authorities, almost 20% of patients fell into this group. This suggests that these points require further emphasis.


AbstractThis article examines the influence of covariance inflation on the distance between the measured observation and the simulated (or predicted) observation with respect to the state estimate. In order for the aforementioned distance to be bounded in a certain interval, some sufficient conditions are derived, indicating that the covariance inflation factor should be bounded in a certain interval, and that the inflation bounds are related to the maximum and minimum eigenvalues of certain matrices. Implications of these analytic results are discussed, and a numerical experiment is presented to verify the validity of the analysis conducted.


Snow cover maps provide information of great practical interest for hydrologic purposes: when combined with point values of snow water equivalent (SWE), they enable estimation of the regional snow resource. In this context, Earth observation satellites are an interesting tool for evaluating large scale snow distribution and extension. MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on board Terra and Aqua satellites) daily Snow Covered Area product has been widely tested and proved to be appropriate for hydrologic applications. However, within a daily map the presence of cloud cover can hide the ground, thus obstructing snow detection. Here, we consider MODIS binary products for daily snow mapping over the Po River basin. Ten years (2003–2012) of MOD10A1 and MYD10A1 snow maps have been analysed and processed with the support of a 500 m resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM). We first investigate the issue of cloud obstruction, highlighting its dependence on altitude and season. Snow maps seem to suffer the influence of overcast conditions mainly in mountain and during the melting period. Thus, cloud cover highly influences those areas where snow detection is regarded with more interest. In spring, the average percentages of area lying beneath clouds are in the order of 70%, for altitudes over 1000 m a.s.l. Then, starting from previous studies, we propose a cloud removal procedure and we apply it to a wide area, characterized by high geomorphological heterogeneity such as the Po River basin. In conceiving the new procedure, our first target was to preserve the daily temporal resolution of the product. Regional snow and land lines were estimated for detecting snow cover dependence on elevation. In cases when there was not enough information on the same day within the cloud-free areas, we used temporal filters with the aim of reproducing the micro-cycles which characterize the transition altitudes, where snow does not stand continually over the entire winter. In the validation stage, the proposed procedure was compared against others, showing improvements in the performance for our case study. The accuracy is assessed by applying the procedure to clear-sky maps masked with additional cloud cover. The average value is higher than 95% considering 40 days chosen over all seasons. The procedure also has advantages in terms of input data and computational effort requirements.


The conventional two-step oxidation-esterification process has many defects due to its time-wasting, energy-consuming and quality-damping. To improve this, we developed a novel pseudo-single-step process (PSSP). In brief, to starch 400 g, 600 mL of sodium hypochlorite (0.7 M) (1.8% of starch) was added, pH adjusted to 8.0 and left to react for 1 h, then 1% acetic anhydride was added, pH adjusted to 8.0 and left to react for 3 h. The finished oxidized-esterified Cassava starch (COAEC) exhibited peak-, trough-, breakdown-, final- and setback viscosities as 3,507 ± 22 cp, 1,742 ± 33 cp, 1,765 ± 44 cp, 2,642 ± 34 cp and 900 ± 7 cp. FTIR identified the formation of carbonyl and carboxyl content. While X-ray diffractometry and differential scanning calorimetry further confirmed the destruction of microcrystalline structure. Sensory evaluation indicated COAEC had a score 5.3–5.7 compared to 4.9–5.2 of the native Cassava starch (score 7.0 = like extremely).

Practical Applications

Pseudo-single step oxidation-esterification process has successfully modified the Cassava starch (COAEC).
COAEC exhibits promisingly improved physico-chemical and sensory properties.
COAEC meets the requirement for manufacturing the oriental special snacks and cold dishes.


The main goal of this investigation is to use the fuzzy systems of Takagi Sugeno for the modelling of the solar radiation data. Generally, the process of identifying a fuzzy inference system (or fuzzy model) requires two types of tuning designated as structural and parametric tunings. The first one concerns the structure of the rules and deals with problems such as the partition of the universe of discourse, the number of fuzzy if-then rules and the number of membership functions for each input. The second one is the identification of the parameters of the system. In this work we used the fuzzy clustering techniques to determine the adequate structure, and the weighted least square (WLS) algorithm to estimate the linear parameters. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed fuzzy modelling method, the identified TS fuzzy model is applied to predict the global solar radiation data. The numerical results are then compared with the results of a model using the SOS techniques. It is shown that the fuzzy modelling approach is not only more accurate than the SOS techniques but also provides some qualitative information.


The spatial and temporal variations of fine particulate matter bound trace metals were investigated in three industrial estates namely Ota Industrial Estate (OTE), Ewekoro Community (EWC) and Agbara Industrial Estate (AGE) and one background (Covenant University Farm Ota) in Ogun State. The sampling period was six (6) months covering the wet and dry seasons. One hundred and fifty (150) samples were collected according to standard methods using environtech gravimetric sampler, after which fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass concentration was computed gravimetrically. The total trace metals and chemical sequential extraction of twenty-two (22) trace metals (As, Cr, Pb, Ni, Cd, Mn, Ti, V, Ba, Fe, Al, Mo, Ca, Zn, Cu, Mg, Sr, Se, Ag, K, Na, and Sb) were further analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Daily mean meteorological parameters for the study period were obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency. Cumulative lifetime cancer risk, air quality index and source apportionment of pollutants were also assessed. Spatio-temporal mass distribution of PM2.5 in the investigated sites indicated that the average annual PM2.5 mass concentrations were fifteen to twenty six (15-26) times and twelve to twenty two (12-22) times higher than the current annual World Health Organisation (WHO) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) guideline of 10 and 12 μg/m3 respectively. OTE and CUF recorded the highest and lowest PM2.5 levels across seasons respectively while distinct seasonal variations trend showed dry > wet. Comparison of the annual average concentrations of Pb, As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Mn, V trace metals to the appropriate standard limit values reveals that out of these 7 trace metals, only V (0.199 - 0.862 μgm-3) was below the existing WHO limit of one (1 μg/m3).The meteorological parameter results revealed that relative humidity and rainfall significantly decreased the accumulation of fine particles whereas increased wind speed and temperature, showed a corresponding increase in the concentration of PM2.5. Speciation and bioavailability studies identified Cr, V, Cu, Cd and Cr, V Cu, Zn as the most labile metals present in OTE and EWC respectively. The sum of the cumulative lifetime cancer risk of inhalation exposure route was above EPA's acceptable risk range of 1 × 10-6 to 1× 10-4 for both adults and children with the highest occurrence (9.53 × 10-2) in Ewekoro community. The absence of 0 to 50 gradations representing the good air quality index category was conspicuously highlighted. Scanning electron microscopy images of fine particles indicate that they are clustered into the following groups: soil dust mineral, soot aggregation, alumino silicate and fly ash particles. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering analysis of fine particles indicated major clustered groups while source identification using principle component analysis identified the origin of this source such as industrial processes, vehicle emissions, re-suspended and crustal dust, biomass burning, solid waste combustion and coal oil combustion. To improve on the present status of air quality, Nigerian Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) should enforce environmental laws, ensure that all industries adopt standard emission control strategies and encourage the cultivation of green belts.


A novel navigation assistance for extended range telepresence is presented. The haptic information from the target environment is augmented with guidance commands to assist the user in reaching desired goals in the arbitrarily large target environment from the spatially restricted user environment. Furthermore, a semi-mobile haptic interface was developed, one whose lightweight design and setup configuration atop the user provide for an absolutely safe operation and high force display quality.


This paper considers two questions about the role of self-serving biases in legal conflict: when are they a problem worth worrying about, and what can the law do to ameliorate them? With respect to the first question, the paper argues that not all self-serving biases are of equal concern. We should distinguish between self-serving predictions, which have the potential to create significant inefficiencies, and self-serving judgments of fairness, which have a more complicated normative standing and in some instances may not be problematic at all. Second, once a bias is found objectionable there are a number of possible strategies for dealing with it; the paper proposes a distinction between personal and structural strategies. Personal strategies are attempts to take people likely to be in the throes of self-serving biases and "debias" them. Structural strategies are attempts to put distance between biased parties and decisions their biases might affect. There are practical strategies that fit each of those descriptions, and others that fall between them; the paper suggests that structural strategies tend to be preferable to personal strategies, but also more expensive, and that the law may already be taking most steps that would be optimal to reduce disputants' problematic self-serving biases and their impact.


PURPOSE
Based on evidence that suggests pentoxifylline can inhibit tumor necrosis factor, we set out to evaluate the activity and toxicity of this drug in patients with cancer-associated anorexia and/or cachexia.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Seventy patients with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 to 2 with cancer anorexia and/or cachexia (defined by a weight loss of > or = 5 lb in the preceding 2 months or a caloric intake < 20 kcal/kg/d) were stratified and then randomly assigned to receive pentoxifylline or identical-appearing placebo tablets in a double-blind fashion. Patients' weights were monitored and patient questionnaires were used to assess appetite, toxicity, and perception of benefit.

RESULTS
Pentoxifylline failed to improve the appetites of study patients. Pentoxifylline did not appear to cause any toxicity.

CONCLUSION
This study failed to demonstrate any benefit of pentoxifylline at this dose and schedule as therapy for cancer anorexia and/or cachexia.


: In so-called late cases, the correction of a diastema will frequently be achieved only by prosthetic measures, co-operation with an orthodontist being recommendable. The various possibilities of treatment are represented by case reports.


In this article, Pt nanoparticles protected by 1-dodecanethiol (DDT) were self-assembled on iron surface forming mixed self-assembled films. Those nanoparticles were prepared in aqueous solution and transferred from water phase to toluene phase. The self-assembled films of nanoparticles protected by DDT were prepared on iron surface. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), polarization curves, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were applied to characterize the self-assembled films on iron surface.


Is social media becoming a new form of interview? This is a quantitative study about the use of quotations from social media in Swedish newspapers. We chose the online editions of two of Sweden's biggest newspapers for this, namely aftonbladet.se and dn.se.Although we noticed a big difference between the more serious dn.se and the more scandal-oriented aftonbladet.se both newspaper still frequently used quotations from social media.The thing that we found most troublesome about this phenomenon was the fact that we found that journalists very rarely contacted the person whose quotations they used. That meant that the interviewee had a very slim chance of correcting any misunderstandings.It also opened up the opportunity for certain people to use the media to spread their own agendas without getting questioned.We used the social institutionalizing theory and the social responsibility theory to verify our findings. We also used the concept of the Megaphone effect to help better understand this phenomenon.The study concludes that use of quotations from social media, without the element of an interview, is a danger to the credibility of the Swedish press.


Numerical and analytical study of natural convection in a vertical porous cavity filled with a non-Newtonian binary fluid is presented. The density variation is taken into account by the Boussinesq approximation. A power-law model is used to characterize the non-Newtonian fluid behavior. Neumann boundary conditions for temperature are applied to the vertical walls of the enclosure, while the two horizontal ones are assumed impermeable and insulated. Both double-diffusive convection (a = 0) and Soret-induced convection (a = 1) are considered. Scale analysis is presented for the two extreme cases of heat-driven and solute-driven natural convection. For convection in a thin vertical layer (A ≫ 1), a semianalytical solution for the stream function, temperature, and solute fields, Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are obtained using a parallel flow approximation in the core region of the cavity and an integral form of the energy and constituent equations. Numerical results of the full governing equations show the effects of the governing parameters, namely the thermal Rayleigh number, RT, the Lewis number, Le, the buoyancy ratio, φ, the power-law index, n, and the integer number a. A good agreement between the analytical predictions and the numerical simulations is obtained. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 1704–1716, 2012


The means of gathering information of manufacturing supply chain information sharing platform at the present stage are traditional and affect the speed of real-time sharing of information. Therefore, with the new rising technology of Internet of Things (IOT), this thesis establishes information real-time sharing platform architecture of manufacturing industry supply chain based on IOT in order to improve the efficiency of information collection and sharing. This thesis also provides a new solution for the information transparency construction of the supply chain.


In recent years the wind turbine blade has been the subject of comprehensive study and research amongst all other components of the wind turbine. As our appetite for renewable energy from the wind turbine continues to increase, companies now focus on rotor blades which can go up to 80m in length. The blade material not only have to face large aerodynamic, inertial and fatigue loads but are now being designed to endure environmental effects such as Ultraviolet degradation of surface, accumulation of dust particles at sandy locations, ice accretion on blades in cold countries, insect collision on blades and moisture ingress. All this is considered to ensure that the blades complete its designated life span. Furthermore exponential increase in composite blade manufacturing is causing a substantial amount of unrecyclable material. All these issues raise challenges for wind blade material use, its capacity to solve above mentioned problems and also maintain its structural integrity. This paper takes on this challenge by optimizing from the properties, merits, demerits and cost of different possible competing materials. Then the material is checked for its structural integrity through Finite Element Analysis simulation using standards like IEC-61400-1.This paper also shows the future direction of research by elaborating the influence nanotechnology can have in the improvement of the wind blade.


The body of 19-year-old Sinoxolo Mafevuka was found in a communal toilet in the Cape Town, South African urban township of Khayelitsha. Sinoxolo had been viciously raped, strangled to death, and her body discarded, with her head under the toilet seat and her genitals displayed openly. Tragically, while Sinoxolo's murder is a particularly brutal example, using a neighborhood toilet in many informal settlements is an incredibly dangerous activity, and there are estimates that 10.5 million South Africans do not have ready access to toilets. "Women, children and men of all ages are frequently robbed, raped, assaulted and murdered on the way to relieve themselves in a toilet, bushes or empty clearings often very far from their homes."
Nor is South Africa an outlier. Similar incidences have been reported in India. For example, in 2014, two teenage girls were gang-raped then murdered by being hanged from a tree while going to the toilet outdoors in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the home of the iconic Taj Mahal monument. In Kenyan slums, women have suffered rape and other forms of violence when traveling to and from toilet facilities. One Kenyan mother of three had just exited a community toilet in Nairobi when five men dragged her to an abandoned house and sexually assaulted her, infecting her with HIV. Horrendous accounts such as these have been reported across the globe.
Sexual violence is but one of the disproportionate consequences that the lack of adequate sanitation imposes on women and girls. Poor nutrition and harmful health impacts can result when women restrict their food and liquid intake or "hold" their need to go the toilet. Girls' educations suffer incommensurately too from a lack of sanitation as they are more frequently absent than their male counterparts. There also is a loss of dignity, a shame, that women feel when being heard or seen while relieving themselves at a community toilet or in a public outdoor space.
Obviously, the consequences of these conditions are severe, for both individuals and governments. One such consequence is a high financial burden. A study by researchers from Yale calculated the costs associated with "toilet travel" sexual assaults in Khayelitsha to be approximately US$40 million per year, including tangible costs such as medical expenses, lost earnings, and the cost of legal proceedings and penal institutions as well as intangible costs such as pain and suffering and the risk of homicide. Advocates for the women and girls experiencing this gendered, humiliating, and potentially life-threatening daily struggle to access toilets are not making extravagant or unusual demands; they are simply attempting to gain non-discriminatory access to the basic human right to sanitation "contained in existing human rights treaties and is therefore legally binding" under international law.


Led by artist Magz Hall, participants will construct a simple bespoke transmitter on forest wood, and begin broadcasting their own material.

The session will draw on the DIY processes that formed the basis of the 'mini FM' movement in Japan and Italy in the 1970s. Ultra-low wattage of the transmitters circumvented public broadcasting laws, enabling communities to build their own autonomous local broadcasting networks. The workshop invites participants to consider how these pioneering experiments in radical social networking might inform our interaction with one another in contemporary post-digital society.

This workshop is open to individuals over the age of 16 living or studying in Southwark. This event is free to attend, but places are limited.


Recent realizations that prehispanic cities in Mesoamerica were fundamentally different from western cities of the same period have led to increasing examination of the neighborhood as an intermediate unit at the heart of prehispanic urbanization. This book addresses the subject of neighborhoods in archaeology as analytical units between households and whole settlements. The contributions gathered here provide fieldwork data to document the existence of sociopolitically distinct neighborhoods within ancient Mesoamerican settlements, building upon recent advances in multi-scale archaeological studies of these communities. Chapters illustrate the cultural variation across Mesoamerica, including data and interpretations on several different cities with a thematic focus on regional contrasts. This topic is relatively new and complex, and this book is a strong contribution for three interwoven reasons. First, the long history of research on the Teotihuacan barrios is scrutinized and withstands the test of new evidence and comparison with other Mesoamerican cities. Second, Maya studies of dense settlement patterns are now mature enough to provide substantial case studies. Third, theoretical investigation of ancient urbanization all over the world is now more complex and open than it was before, giving relevance to Mesoamerican perspectives on ancient and modern societies in time and space. This volume will be of interest not only to scholars and student specialists of the Mesoamerican past but also to social scientists and urbanists looking to contrast ancient cultures worldwide."


In this paper DMA (Dynamic Averaging Model) is expanded by adding certain probabilities based on Google Trends. Such a method is applied to forecasting spot oil prices (WTI). In particular it is checked whether a dynamic model including stock prices in developed markets, stock prices in China, stock prices volatility, exchange rates, global economic activity, interest rates, production, consumption, import and level of inventories as independent variables might be improved by including a certain measure of Google searches. Monthly data between 2004 and 2015 were analysed. It was found that such a modification leads to slightly better forecast. However, the weight ascribed to Google searches should be quite small. Except that it was found that even unmodified DMA produced better forecast than that based on futures contracts or naive forecast.


The speed with which the Indian Government accustomed itself to the conduct of foreign policy can be explained by the interest taken in external affairs by the nationalist movement, the Indian National Congress, which was founded as early as 1885. Originally its attention was directed towards issues closely related to India's neighbours. The use of the Indian army and the consequent drain on Indian resources by various British expeditions caused early protests. The first session of the Congress passed a resolution condemning the annexation of Upper Burma, largely because of fears of increased taxation, and advocated separate status for Burma as a Crown Colony. In 1891 reference was made to the subject again as a possible source of a clash with China. The Younghusband expedition to Tibet in 1904 was severely criticised by the Congress President, Sir Henry Cotton, as an "act of wanton violence and agression." Another member condemned the action, because there were no indications of fresh provocation by Russia in Tibet or Central Asia, which in any case would not necessarily concern India.1 In view of the importance they would later acquire, relations with Tibet deserve further attention.


Wood has strongly anisotropic cellular structure with 50-80 vol% porosity. It can be converted into porous ceramics (e.g., SiC, SiC/Si, TiC, C/C, and TiO2) replicating the wood structure by various processes. Previously porous cellular SiC ceramic was prepared by reaction of wood charcoal with gaseous SiO generated remotely from an equimolar mixture of Si and SiO2. In the present work, poplar charcoal was simply embedded in the powder mixture of Si and SiO2 and heated at 1600°C for 1 h in Ar to produce porous SiC. Samples were also prepared by infiltration of Si melt (1500-1600°C, 2 h) and vapor (1700°C, 2 h) into the charcoal for comparison. Samples prepared by Si melt infiltration showed 15-52% conversion to SiC. Samples prepared by Si vapor infiltration showed severe damage such that the conversion degree could not be measured. In contrast, samples prepared by the embedding process showed full conversion to SiC (mostly β form) with good retention of the cellular structure of the original wood. The embedding process is a simple and efficient way to produce porous cellular SiC from wood.


The development of wind power generation has rapidly progressed over the last decade. With the advancement in wind turbine technology, wind energy has become competitive with other fuel-based resources. The fluctuation of wind, however, makes it difficult to optimize the usage of wind power. The current practice ignores wind generation capacity in the unit commitment (UC), which discounts its usable capacity and may cause operational issues when the installation of wind generation equipment increases. To ensure system reliability, the forecasting uncertainty must be considered in the incorporation of wind power capacity into generation planning. This paper discusses the development of an artificial-neural-network-based wind power forecaster and the integration of wind forecast results into UC scheduling considering forecasting uncertainty by the probabilistic concept of confidence interval. The data from a wind farm located in Lawton City, OK, is used in this paper.


Sputtered Cu films containing various insoluble substances, such as Cu(W2.3), Cu(Mo2.0), Cu(Nb0.4), Cu(C2.1) and Cu(W0.4C0.7), are examined in this study. These films are prepared by magnetron sputtering, followed by thermal annealing. The crystal structure, microstructure, SIMS depth-profiles, leakage current, and resistivity of the films are investigated. Good thermal stability of these Cu films is confirmed with focused ion beam, X-ray diffractometry, SIMS, and electrical property measurements. After annealing at 400°C, obvious drops in resistivity, to ~3.8 μ-cm, are seen for Cu(W) film, which is lower than the other films. An evaluation of the leakage current characteristic from the SiO2/Si metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure also demonstrates that Cu with dilute tungsten is more stable than the other films studied. These results further indicate that the Cu(W) film has more thermal stability than the Cu(Mo), Cu(Nb), Cu(C), Cu(WC) and pure Cu films. Therefore, the film is suitable for the future barrierless metallization.


This paper touches on ideas of wilderness in the North and in particular visiting artists and writers. There's a connection with my earlier article on Scottish landscape Contemporary Scottish Art and the Landscape of Abandonment for Visual Culture in Britain. That article discussed how a north directed journey towards an empty landscape is a common theme in contemporary visual art, not just in Scottish art, and one imbued with an intangible sense of an abandoned landscape. What I didn't say then was while there is always the opportunity of a further North. For the Northern visitor the ideal is that the North offers up a place of personal arrival which has no 'beyond', i.e. a place one need not go beyond, and that seemingly what needs to be left behind can be left behind.


Measurements are made of the changes in state of visual adaptation before and after a change in conditioning stimulus. Liminal test stimulus is used as a measure of visual adaptation. It is found that the liminal test stimulus begins to rise 0·1 sec. before the eye is exposed to the conditioning stimulus. The regularity of the rise of liminal test stimulus with decrease of the interval between it and the conditioning stimulus precludes any purely psychological explanation, and the effect is presumed to be due to some nervous interaction in the higher centres of visual reception. The paper further records results of measurement of liminal test stimulus after exposure of the eye to conditioning stimuli of brief duration (recovery of dark adaptation) under a wide variety of conditions, including reversal of test field contrast, effect of superimposed steady background, effect of area of test field, use of equivalent background transformation, personal variation, effect of intensity of conditioning stimulus, effect of spatial and temporal pattern of conditioning stimulus, colour of conditioning stimulus, etc.


Although sediment yield reflects a catchment’s erosive processes, material transfer from hillslopes to rivers depends on a series of phenomena occurring on variable and continuous range of scales. Physically based, distributed models can be used to evaluate erosion’s spatial variability within a catchment and to identify hotspots. Sediment fingerprinting allows source type discrimination based on sediment and soil properties. The analysis of these dynamic systems could be coupled by addressing hillslope processes with modeling, while fingerprinting enlightens the connection between them and the drainage network. We aimed to evaluate the erosive susceptibility and its spatial distribution in three environmentally fragile paired headwater catchments, nested within Guarda Mor catchment, located in the border of the volcanic plateau in southern Brazil. This catchment is characterized by intense agricultural use, diverse geology, and complex terrain. WATERSED model was used as a dynamic method to evaluate the spatial distribution of hydrologic and erosive fragility during rainfall events. WATERSED was parameterized for modeling surface runoff volume, sediment yield and interrill erosion, based on monitored data from a zero-order no-till catchment and literature data. Modeling results were analyzed for each land use. For fingerprinting, two sediment sampling strategies and source groupings were considered. One considered spatial sources, and the endmembers were the sub catchments, the other considered land use source types within each sub catchment. Deposited bed sediment samples were collected at the outlets of each sub catchment and the main outlet. Soil source samples were collected in crop fields, grasslands, stream channels, forests, and unpaved roads. Crop fields and grasslands compose the source type topsoil. Samples were analyzed by near-infrared spectroscopy. Artificial mixtures were made to calibrate the prediction models. Fifteen Support Vector Machine (SVM) models were built and independently trained. Modeled erosion indicates that the steepest areas and those near the drainage network can be the most susceptible to erosion and runoff. The spatial distribution of runoff-prone areas shows the connectivity from upper segments of these catchments increases with higher magnitude events. In fingerprinting, calibration results’ predictors show good performance by the models, validation results vary from poor to good. SVM models for unpaved roads and forest had the best validation performance. For sourcing tributaries, results and poor validation statistical results indicate the need to use different tracers, and to consider unsampled sources associated to soil and geological differences found downstream from the sub catchment’s outlets. As for the sub catchments, there is a variation among the main sediment sources and a significantly constant contribution from unpaved roads in all of them. Other important sources are topsoil and stream channels, while forests did not show significant contribution. These methodologies were useful in seeking a more holistic process understanding, as physical processes were addressed and later integrated with the resulting sediment yield. Despite the results are modelled, the complementation of their insights indicates that there is a possibility for validating the sediment fingerprinting technique once modelling is validated by monitored and measured data.


Seam Carving, the popular content-aware image resizing technique, removes or inserts seams of low energy iteratively without sufficiently considering their impact on the global visual quality of the image. However, sometimes seams pass through the regions of interest (ROIs) with low energy and distort the geometric shapes of the important objects. In this paper, we propose an improved resizing method based on improved seam carving method that can prevent the seams going through the ROIs and better preserve the content of the image. With considering frequency-tuned saliency map and the distance to the image center for each pixel in the importance map, it can protect the ROIs when the image is resized to the target size. Moreover, a developed two-dimension search scheme for seam carving and an switching scheme between seam caving and scaling are also proposed to efficiently protect the global visual of the image. Experiments demonstrate that resizing results of the proposed method are more pleasant than those of cropping, uniform scaling and other several methods.


Multimedia transmission over wide-area networks currently only considers the server and network resource constraints and client device capabilities. It is also essential that the accessibility of the multimedia content for different users with diverse capabilities and disabilities be considered. As a first step in building an adaptation framework we need to automatically predict the accessibility requirements of a user, given the abilities the user possesses to access the multimedia information. In this paper we develop an adaptation technique to present the multimedia content to suit diverse disabled user groups by using an ability based classification approach. Using ability-based prioritization, appropriate alternate modalities and quality levels are chosen, to replace the inaccessible modalities. The adaptation process allows for refinements to cater to specific types and degrees of impairments. Our performance results illustrate the benefits of the ability-based adaptation approach.


The authors report their experience with the free osseous and osteocutaneous fibular flap used in the complex mandibular reconstruction. After a short review of the mandibular reconstruction possibilities and description of the fibular flap characteristics, the clinical cases are reported and the operative technique used by these authors is detailed. The discussion of the advantages and the disadvantages of this flap in the complex mandibular reconstruction ends the paper.


Abstract The Hong Kong Library Association (HKLA) has been the core organization serving the library and information science (LIS) community in Hong Kong since its establishment 62 years ago. It organizes activities and events continually to enrich professional knowledge of LIS professionals in Hong Kong. It has been observed that the number of student members has risen constantly in recent few years. In view of the pressing demand for better support to student members, the HKLA launched the Mentoring Program in 2013 to enhance informal communication between student members and other members of the Association. The Mentoring Program received an overall positive feedback from the local LIS community and made a positive impact to participants, especially mentees. Apart from the successful experience of this program, there are issues that can be improved in sustaining this program in long term. This paper summarizes the experience of implementing the Mentoring Program in the first two years and identifies the challenges and opportunities ahead. The finding indicates that the Mentoring Program was a well-received professional development program for the student members of the Association. However, this program can be further enhanced in terms of mentor solicitation, mentor-mentee eligibility, mentor-mentee relationship, knowledge-based interaction, and program sustainability. The Program Committee may consider collaborating with other LIS agencies to solicit more potential mentors. In view of the population of the potential mentors, it makes very good sense for the past mentees to serve as peer-to-peer partners for non-degree student members. More incentive should be devised to encourage the mentoring pairs in joining library events in addition to the activities related to the Mentoring Program. To facilitate communication and experience sharing among program participants and HKLA members, it is desirable to set up an online discussion platform to address the increasing demand for more opportunities on this. Lastly, it is vital to improve communication among the Program Committee, HKLA Council members and HKLA members. Besides reviewing the operation and management of the Mentoring Program, the Program Committee should also study the feasibility of sustaining this program in the long run. This paper can be served as an empirical study on the implementation of library and information science mentoring programs in one of the major cities in Asian region. The results of the study can be referenced by the LIS community not only locally but also internationally.


This report was commissioned by the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) as part of a
programme of work aimed at promoting greater sharing of business data between regulatory
organisations. The research on which this report is based investigated the perceptions of
regulators on the subject – i.e. their views on what promotes or inhibits data sharing.
Findings and recommendations are summarised below:
• There is a distinct gulf between large data-rich and small data-poor regulatory
organisations. The former have the power to acquire the data they need and tend to
question whether the benefits warrant the costs involved in sharing data with others.
• Inequalities between the data-rich and data-poor could potentially be reduced if a
codified duty and power for regulatory organisations to share data was introduced -
incorporating ideally the comply-or-explain principle, to allow for operational flexibility
and to avoid the need for legislation to address existing prohibitions.
• Successful inter-regulator data sharing relationships are typically built upon pre-
existing social and organisational networks. Regulatory organisations should
consider where they have such resources and how these could be utilised to
increase data-sharing where potential social and economic benefits can be shown to
exist.
• Type of data is critical. Technical and legal considerations make data-mining of
shared datasets of even simple factual information more resource-intensive than
sharing discrete intelligence on criminal noncompliance - the latter benefits from Data
Protection Act exemptions and the well-established networks of regulatory
intelligence staff.
• Constraints on data sharing arise in part from the operation of the legal and
regulatory regime governing data protection. Problems include uncertainty,
complexity, and disproportionality of sanctions. A particular issue is the way the Data
Protection Act overlaps with, or sometimes cuts across, statutes applying to specific
public bodies.
• A perception that the sanctions available under the Data Protection Act are
disproportionate to the objectives of the legislation appears to be having a chilling
effect on data sharing between public bodies.
• A 'National Data Strategy', recommended in the Shakespeare Review, could help
break down technical barriers to data sharing focusing perhaps on encouraging joint
working on data sourcing and mandatory publication of data catalogues, as well as
consideration of a new public sector data sharing standard.
• Some government departments already take a lead in supporting data-sharing
amongst their reporting organisations. This is helpful as realising the potential
benefits from increased data sharing requires such support, particularly to overcome
technology issues which disproportionately affect smaller, data-poor organisations.


Navigation and wayfinding are key human factors in information processing and performance in the virtual worlds. Earlier studies have focussed on finding effective navigational aids that would support skilled wayfinding behavior of humans in large virtual worlds. Also, on a separate but related field there have been speculations that there exist biological differences between men's and women's directional sense that leads to differences in performances on everyday spatial tasks in the real world . This research focuses on findings of an experiment that was designed to elucidate the gender differences in navigating a dense, large virtual world, namely the virtual ISU campus simulated in the projection based C2 virtual reality system. Equal numbers of subjects, from both the genders, with varied background (age, computer skills, etc.) were assigned tasks that required them to navigate their way from one location to another within the school campus. Performance in the virtual world was studied in terms of time taken, distance traveled, number of wrong turns, number of times the subject got lost and navigation strategies/ techniques used by the subjects. We conclude that there are reliable gender based differences in navigating large virtual


Cavity measurements of a high frequency (60 GHz) electron spin resonance (ESR) have been carried our for a single crystal of EuB6 at temperatures 4.2-50K in magnetic field up to 7 T, which has been aligned along [001] crystallographic direction. The influence of the experimental geometry on the parameters of the resonance line has been studied. It is found that in conditions of a homogeneous magnetic field the ESR spectrum in EuB6 is formed by a single resonance line at all temperatures including the ferromagnetic ordering region. The presence of the gradient of the magnetic field in the sample causes strong broadening of the resonance line at low temperatures and even may induce a double peak ESR structure. The analysis of the linewidth temperature dependence in EuB6 shows the anomalous growth of the line width below Curie temperature TC ~15 K.


Reasons for the large uncertainty in land use and land cover change (LULCC) emissions go beyond recog- nized issues related to the available data on land cover change and the fact that model simulations rely on a simplified and incomplete description of the complexity of biological and LULCC processes. The large range across published LULCC emission estimates is also fundamentally driven by the fact that the net LULCC flux is defined and calculated in differ- ent ways across models. We introduce a conceptual frame- work that allows us to compare the different types of models and simulation setups used to derive land use fluxes. We find that published studies are based on at least nine different def- initions of the net LULCC flux. Many multi-model synthe- ses lack a clear agreement on definition. Our analysis reveals three key processes that are accounted for in different ways: the land use feedback, the loss of additional sink capacity, and legacy (regrowth and decomposition) fluxes. We show that these terminological differences, alone, explain differ- ences between published net LULCC flux estimates that are of the same order as the published estimates themselves. This has consequences for quantifications of the residual terres- trial sink: the spread in estimates caused by terminological differences is conveyed to those of the residual sink. Fur- thermore, the application of inconsistent definitions of net LULCC flux and residual sink has led to double-counting of fluxes in the past. While the decision to use a specific def- inition of the net LULCC flux will depend on the scientific application and potential political considerations, our analy- sis shows that the uncertainty of the net LULCC flux can be substantially reduced when the existing terminological con- fusion is resolved.


This paper introduces Fuzzy Delphi method as an educational tool to evaluate a technology-mediated education implementation model as part of a larger study. Specifically, the aim of the present study is to evaluate a mLearning implementation model as learning support for undergraduate students in formal language learning which was developed by the authors prior to this study. The study adopted the Fuzzy Delphi method to evaluate the model. Overall, from the findings presented in this paper, as the defuzzification values for all items in the questionnaire exceeded the minimum value of 33.6, the findings conclusively suggest that the participants have consensually agreed to all four aspects of evaluation of the model: 1) suitability of the elements (learning activities), 2) domain classification of the learning activities, 3) relationships among the learning activities, and 4) suitability of the model in teaching and learning activities in assisting students to fulfill their language learning needs and course outcomes. Thus, according to the participants or experts of the study, based on these aspects, the model is suitable to serve as a guide in the implementation of mLearning as learning support for undergraduate formal English language learning for Professional and Communication Skills course. The findings not only serve to introduce mLearning implementation model for language learning but also contribute to how the Fuzzy Delphi method could innovate assessment and evaluation of technology aided learning initiatives like mLearning. © Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.


This paper presents a MPEG-4 video codec (MoVa) that is based on an ARM core and AMBA. The MoVa includes an ARM embedded microprocessor and several hardwired modules, using pseudo-advanced microprocessors bus architecture (AMBA). The MoVa performs 30 frames/s of QCIF (SQCIF) or 15 frames/s of CIF at 27 MHz and meets the requirements for MPEG-4 SP@L2. Co-verification, HDL simulator and logic synthesis tools are used for hardware-software design and verification. It contains 1.7 million gates with a power consumption of about 0.5 W at 3.3 V.


Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a class of algorithms to sample complex and high-dimensional probability distributions. The Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm, the workhorse of MCMC, provides a simple recipe to construct reversible Markov kernels. Reversibility is a tractable property which implies a less tractable but essential property here, invariance. Reversibility is however not necessarily desirable when considering performance. This has prompted recent interest in designing kernels breaking this property. At the same time, an active stream of research has focused on the design of novel versions of the MH kernel, some nonreversible, relying on the use of complex invertible deterministic transforms. While standard implementations of the MH kernel are well understood, aforementioned developments have not received the same systematic treatment to ensure their validity. This paper fills the gap by developing general tools to ensure that a class of nonreversible Markov kernels, possibly relying on complex transforms, has the desired invariance property and lead to convergent algorithms. This leads to a set of simple and practically verifiable conditions.


ABSTRACT We provide new kinematic data from the Potwar Plateau (Pakistan) to evaluate the tectonic evolution of the region during the Neogene. The plateau is bound by two major strike-slip faults in the west and the east, accommodating its southwards translation. We have recognized two Neogene deformation phases in the plateau, based on paleostress inversion and Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) tensors. The first phase lasted until the early Pliocene and was characterized by vertical minor stress and N-S compression, implying thrust tectonics. The second deformation phase is characterized by a near-vertical intermediate principal stress and near-horizontal major and minor stresses, interpreted to be associated with strike-slip tectonics since the late Pliocene. Kint vectors from 21 sites are relatively compatible with the major principal stress orientations (σ1) and indicate two distinct domains. This is possibly because Kmin orientations are related to compaction, whereas Kint orientations were always parallel to tectonic shortening and hence compression direction during both strike-slip (post-late Pliocene) and thrusting (pre-late Pliocene) phases. These phases are characterized by swapping of (σ2) and (σ3) orientations while (σ1) maintained its orientation. The most prominent change occurs at the western part of the Potwar Plateau, where major principal stress directions (σ1) and Kint axes fan out south-westwards. The eastern domain is dominated by NE-SW trending folds and thrust faults, which are absent in the western domain. These structural features are interpreted to be the result of the distribution of deposits of the Neoproterozoic Salt Range Formation as a substratum below the Potwar Plateau. The Salt Range Formation is very thick and widespread in the west area and almost absent in the east. This factor led to unconstrained southwards gliding of the Potwar Plateau over the salt deposits in the west as opposed to frictional sliding and substantial internal deformation in the east.


The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) are the rules by which people who lack mental capacity can be deprived of liberty, most commonly in care homes or hospitals but also in supported accommodation and in the community more broadly.  The present DOLS are not viewed as a success, and the Law Commission has a mandate to propose revisions to them.  This paper is to start a debate as to what those revisions might look like. The paper argues that the current focus on deprivation of liberty as contained in Article 5 of the ECHR is insufficient, both because the law is moving beyond this, and also because it has resonance with neither the professional carers who are likely to be the primary administrators of the new system nor the people perceived to lack capacity and their families.  Our starting point should instead be to ask what will have a practical and beneficial effect on the rights and experiences of the individuals concerned.  The paper further considers the advantages and disadvantages of a system restricted to people lacking mental capacity.  It makes tentative proposals as to administrative systems which might be used as a basis for discussion, and proposes that enhanced advocacy may be a useful approach.


Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to use blockchain and has been the market leader since the first bitcoin was mined in 2009. After the birth of Bitcoin with the genesis block, more than 1,000 altcoins and crypto-tokens have been created, with at least 919 trading actively on unregulated or registered exchanges. This entire class of cryptocurrencies and tokens has been classified by some tax authorities as having the same status as commodities. If cryptocurrency is viewed in the same class as commodities, how different is it in terms of its risk and return structure? This article sets out to help readers understand cryptocurrencies and to explore their risk and return characteristics using a portfolio of cryptocurrency represented by the Cryptocurrency Index (CRIX). Substantial discussions are centered on Bitcoin and its close variants. Some questions are raised about the potential of cryptocurrencies as an investment class. Results show that the return correlations between cryptocurrencies and traditional assets are low and that adding CRIX returns to a traditional asset portfolio improves risk–return performance. Sentiment analysis also indicates the CRIX has a relatively high Sharpe ratio. Although we should view the results with care, a new form of financing for cryptocurrency and blockchain start-ups is born. The disruption brought about by Bitcoin may be felt beyond payments through what is known as initial crypto-token offerings or initial token sales.


Stem cell and biotechnological research is a flourishing industry around the globe. The growth of the industry can be attributed to its promise to lead to a cure for numerous human diseases that are currently considered unconquered. Within this industry, the patentability of researched innovations has been a hot topic in the past decade. Through the patenting process, the industry itself can be a source of economic opportunity for countries willing to extend patent protection for the inventions produced by stem cell and biotechnological research. Because it takes significant resources for research to produce a patentable invention, investors desire assurances that their time and money will head a result from which they can benefit, whether that be a financial benefit, a status benefit, or some other benefit. Despite the medical promises of stem cell and biotechnological research, there are concerns in some places around the world such as the European Union about potential policy implications that would stem from patenting innovations in this industry. These concerns are displayed in the two leading sources of law governing stem cell and biotechnological research: the European Union's Directive 98/44/EC and the European Patent Convention. This Article discusses the patentability of stem cell and biotechnological inventions under both European Union law and the European Patent Convention. The Article continues by discussing several other topics that a practitioner must be familiar with when analyzing a patentability issue. A few of these topics include the morality debate, the promise of stem cell and biotechnological research, taxation of stem cellrelated products, access to records, legal notice, research funding, and the free movement of goods. This Article also examines the key case law from both the European Court of Justice as well as the two judicial organs of the European Patent Office, the Board of Appeal and the Enlarged Board of Appeal, that provide insight into this area of law. Additionally, this Article identifies the discrepancies between the law governing stem cell research and biotechnological research within the European


The Department of Pharmacy is a part of the hospital that is responsible for managing drugs which includes the selection, procurement, distribution and use of drugs. This study aims to analyze the level of efficiency of drug management in the Pharmacy Department of Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares (HNGV) Dili. TimorLeste. The research uses descriptive designs for retrospective and concurrent data. Retrospective observations include planning and drug use reports, financial reports, drug procurement reports, invoices, stocktaking reports. Concurrent observation includes the average waiting time for patient prescription services. Data is collected quantitatively and qualitatively. Data obtained from all stages of drug management in the Pharmacy Department of the HNGV Dili were analyzed by efficiency indicators using the Ministry of Health indicators (2008) and WHO (1993) when compared with other standards or research results. The results of the study show that the management system that is not yet in accordance with the standards is: the selection stage, the suitability of the drug with DOEN TL (96.19%); stage of procurement, capital / funds available with all the funds needed (86.03%); allocation of funds for drug procurement (4.23%); suitability of planning with the actual use for each drug item (88.12%); procurement of each drug item per year (4.97 times); distribution stage, drug expiration and damage (20.76%); compatibility between physical medicine and stock card (76.90%); level of drug availability (18 months); stage of use, number of items per prescription sheet (4.07 items for outpatient care and 8.23 items for hospitalization); Stage that fits the standard: the distribution stage, the average time used to serve the recipe to the patient's prescription in outpatients is 28.15 minutes, while for concoction recipes at 53.60. It ishoped that the TimorLeste hospital will improve the effective and efficient management of drugs to ensure health services.


Rural areas are inhabited by a large proportion of Poland's population, and farming production is responsible for a considerable quota of the country's economy. The production is characterized by the occurrence of a large number of individual farms. The quality of life of farmers and other country dwellers plays an important role in sustainable farming and this is why measuring of farmers' satisfaction level, verifying if their production provides them with satisfying income, and defining prospects and development opportunities are so vital. The aim of the study was twofold. The author wanted to check if Polish farmers can see any possibilities of developing their production, and if so, to establish its direction. The data for the study were obtained during 2014 and 2017 and provided by 155 respondents who filled in questionnaires. The study proved that almost half of the farmers were not satisfied with the income they obtained from farming production. At the same time, most of the respondents stressed that they were willing to pursue alternative operations in order to improve their inadequate economic situation.


Background: Sickle cell disease, the inherited blood disorder characterized by anemia, severe pain and other vaso-occlusive complications, acute chest syndrome, disproportionate hospitalization, and early mortality, has significant financial, social, and psychosocial impacts and drains individuals, families, and health systems globally. Hydroxyurea could improve the health of the 300,000 individuals born each year with sickle cell disease in sub-Saharan Africa; however, challenges to adoption and adherence persist. This study assessed the barriers to therapeutic use of hydroxyurea for sickle cell disease within the Nigerian healthcare system, specifically from the level of the patient, provider, and health system. Methods: We used purposive sampling to recruit participants from 13 regions in Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey was administered to physicians (n = 70), nurses or counselors (n = 17), and patients or their caregivers (n = 33) at 13 health centers. Findings were mapped onto the appropriate Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) domains. Results: This study was able to identify factors that mapped onto the inner setting, outer setting, and characteristics of individuals domains of CFIR. The majority of physicians (74.3%) prescribe hydroxyurea, and half stated hydroxyurea is the standard of care. Among clinicians, barriers included limited knowledge of the drug, as well as low self-efficacy to prescribe among physicians and to counsel among nurses; perceived side effects; perceived patient preference for traditional medicine; cost for patient and expense of accompanying laboratory monitoring; and limited availability of the drug and equipment for laboratory monitoring. Among patients and caregivers, barriers included lack of knowledge; perceived side effects; cost; religious beliefs of disease causation; and lack of pediatric formulation. Conclusions: Findings suggest that patient, provider, and health systems-level interventions are needed to improve hydroxyurea uptake among providers and adherence among patients with sickle cell disease in Nigeria. Interventions such as patient education, provider training, and policy change could address the disproportionate burden of sickle cell disease in sub-Saharan Africa and thus improve health equity.


This thesis, focusing on the engagement of women and technology in agriculture in developing countries and in the beef industry in particular, contributes to the discussion surrounding benefits to rural women, men and families from using technology. It aims to contribute to small business management in farming and to expanding knowledge on technology adoption behaviour by rural women. Adoption of agricultural technology such as remote cameras, remote weather stations, bore cameras, and other livestock management systems in the beef industry is inconsistent. Marketing of these technologies has previously been aimed solely at men as the decision makers in rural relationships. Past studies, which are traditionally linked to men's decision-making, indicate that there are several barriers to technology adoption, such as age, attitude, and education. Barriers may also be attributed to male beef producers' own perceptions that they do not know how to use technology or that they are not capable of using technology. This perception means technology-based decisions have been falling to rural women who are often identified as invisible farmers and therefore not recognised for their work. This thesis highlights the importance of rural women's use of, and role in managing, technology and the valuable skills and attributes that rural women bring to decision-making in management and in leadership. The study supports the research's rationale by confirming that women adopting technology is modifying gender divisions away from traditional separate roles towards productive partnerships. The thesis also highlights that technological properties may be more attractive to both children in terms of succession and workers in terms of connectivity and may be a solution to issues surrounding an ageing rural workforce and a shortage of rural workers and it sheds some light onto technologies contribution to positive well-being. A mixed methods approach using face-to-face interviews, an online survey and focus groups was used to view and understand women's motives, actions and intentions in terms of technology use and management, technologies effect on succession and staff retention and if technology is improving well-being in rural families. The results show that technology that is more portable, such as laptops, smart phones, and tablets are being used on farm, demonstrating that technology is being used outside of the homestead. Women are using both practical and communication technology but are moving away from things like searching on the internet, towards using social media where they run off-farm businesses or where they sell their cattle. The results of the studies reported in the thesis indicate that more men are using technology than in a previous study, but women are still responsible for purchasing, programming and teaching male producers how to use the selected technology. Having access to the internet is also increasing quality of life for both women and men as well as children and workers. While some women are still somewhat reluctant to take on technology on-farm, others feel empowered and valued in their work. The research supports previous findings that as technology are diffusing into rural settings, it is modifying gender divisions, and supporting women as they move from traditional separate roles in decision making to productive partnerships in farming families. The research encourages stakeholders to see women as both decision makers and community leaders.


Perovskite materials have demonstrated remarkable optoelectronic properties, which have placed them at the crux of the photovoltaic technology. In this era of striving for clean and economical methods of energy production, lead-based perovskites have become the key materials in photovoltaics owing to their facile solution processability and phenomenal performance. Unfortunately, lead toxicity poses a major hurdle to their scalability and widespread commercialization. Hence, to fulfill the indisputable need for energy, lead-free perovskites are considered to be a boon to the future of photovoltaic technology. In this perspective, we provide a comprehensive assessment of lead-free perovskite solar cells enabled by hetero-valent substitutes. These comprise A3B2X9-structured perovskites, halide double perovskites, and mixed metal halide–chalcogenide perovskites. Importantly, we emphasize the effects of cationic–anionic sites, metal substitutions, and solvents on the chemical and structural properties of A3B2X9-structured perovskites. Moreover, we also focus on antimony(V) perovskite-like materials and antimony-based perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) in the fabrication of devices. Two types of halide double perovskites are described, including A2B(I)B(III)X6 and A2B(IV)X6 double perovskites. Subsequently, chalcogenide perovskite solar cells are also discussed. Overall, the primary purpose of this perspective is to explicitly describe lead-free perovskite solar cells enabled by hetero-valent substitutions more broadly as a category of next-generation optoelectronic materials. Finally, we propose that mixed halide–chalcogenide perovskites offer a promising pathway towards achieving highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells.


Possibility of making queries on a spatial database, in order to obtain a decisional support is one of the most interesting features of GIS systems. This is possible through the expression of information which are implicit into database and useful for Geoprocessing operations in order to make a sort of data clustering. However, it is not sufficient to represent a priori non-modeling interactions, even if they are present into the informative layers. Case study presented in this paper just concerns this category, taking into account tracking of isoseismic lines on a well-known geographical area. It is very useful in order to generate an affordable map for seismic risk. Proposed procedure, exploiting Neural Networks, can retrieve information about isoseismic lines propagation, starting from information related to examined territory, hypocenter of considered earthquakes, and seismic intensity calculated by standard procedures. Preliminary results we obtained have been used in a GIS software in order to create an Artificial Intelligence informative layer (called OverlayAI). Experimentation carried out shows a preliminary nature and needs further tests and refinement; however, it illustrates useful results to realize an operative plan based on perception of seismic risk in a defined territory. Key-Words: GIS OverlayAI algorithm Neural Network isoseismic lines earthquakes seismic hazard.


Rock mechanics is a multidisciplinary subject combining geology, geophysics, and engineering and applying the principles of mechanics to study the engineering behavior of the rock mass. With wide application, a solid grasp of this topic is invaluable to anyone studying or working in civil, mining, petroleum, and geological engineering. Rock Mechanics: An Introduction presents the fundamental principles of rock mechanics in a clear, easy-to-comprehend manner for readers with little or no background in this field. The text includes a brief introduction to geology and covers stereographic projections, laboratory testing, strength and deformation of rock masses, slope stability, foundations, and more. The authors-academics who have written several books in geotechnical engineering-have used their extensive teaching experience to create this accessible textbook. They present complex material in a lucid and simple way with numerical examples to illustrate the concepts, providing an introductory book that can be used as a textbook in civil and geological engineering programs and as a general reference book for professional engineers.


For many years, containment for errant racing vehicles traveling on oval speedways has been provided through rigid, concrete containment walls placed around the exterior of the track. However, accident experience has shown that serious injuries and fatalities may occur through vehicular impacts into these nondeformable barriers. Because of these injuries, the Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, later joined by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), sponsored the development of a new barrier system by the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln to improve the safety of drivers participating in automobile racing events. Several barrier prototypes were investigated and evaluated using both static and dynamic component testing, computer simulation modeling with LS-DYNA (a nonlinear finite element analysis code), and 20 full-scale vehicle crash tests. The full-scale crash testing program included bogie vehicles, small cars, and a full-size sedan, as well as Indy Racing League open-wheeled cars and NASCAR Winston Cup cars. A combination steel tube skin and foam energy-absorbing barrier system, referred to as the SAFER (steel and foam energy reduction) barrier, was successfully developed. Subsequently, the SAFER barrier was installed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in advance of the running of the 2002 Indianapolis 500 race. From the results of the laboratory testing program as well as analysis of the accidents into the SAFER barrier occurring during practice, qualification, and the race, the SAFER barrier has been shown to provide improved safety for drivers impacting the outer walls.


This is the first biography of Sir Simonds D'Ewes, a member of England's Long Parliament, Puritan, historian and antiquarian who lived from 1602-1650. D'Ewes took the Puritan side against the supporters of King Charles I in the English Civil War, and his extensive journal of the Long Parliament, together with his autobiography and correspondence, offer a uniquely comprehensive view of the life of a seventeenth-century English gentleman, his opinions, thoughts and prejudices during this tumultuous time. D'Ewes left the most extensive archive of personal papers of any individual in early modern Europe. His life and thought before the Long Parliament are carefully analyzed, so that the mind of one of the Parliamentarian opponents of King Charles I's policies can be understood more fully than that of any other Member of Parliament. Although conservative in social and political terms, D'Ewes's Puritanism prevented him from joining his Royalist younger brother Richard during the civil war that began in 1642. D'Ewes collected one of the largest private libraries of books and manuscripts in England in his era and used them to pursue historical and antiquarian research. He followed news of national and international events voraciously and conveyed his opinions of them to his friends in many hundreds of letters. McGee's biography is the first thorough exploration of the life and ideas of this extraordinary observer, offering fresh insight into this pivotal time in European history.


In constitutional law, first-order perfectionism represents an effort to cast the Constitution's ideals in the best constructive light. Ronald Dworkin's conception of law as "integrity" can be seen as a form of first-order perfectionism. By contrast, second-order perfectionism attempts to set out an account of constitutional adjudication that is sensitive to the fallibility of federal judges. Originalism is best defended as a form of second-order perfectionism; the same can be said of Thayerism, captured in the view that judges should uphold statutes unless they are unquestionably violative of the Constitution. Minimalism, which calls for narrow, incompletely theorized judgments, is another form of second-order perfectionism. Whether first-order perfectionism is best, and what kind of second-order perfectionism might be chosen instead, cannot be decided without an appreciation of the characteristics of relevant institutions. Under certain institutional assumptions, originalism is preferable; under other assumptions, first-order perfectionism, Thayerism, or minimalism may be the right approach. Freestanding normative assessments are also inescapable. For example, originalism cannot be evaluated without some kind of assessment of the results that it would produce. These claims have implications for first-order perfectionism of the sort defended by Dworkin and more recently by James Fleming.


From his publication, the Tourist, Dean Maccannell has shed light on an entire generation. His legacy opened a new focus of attention in the cultural studies of geography, territory, authenticity and mobility. However, his negative view about tourism as an alienable activity paved the ways for the trivialization of tourism as a scientific discipline. This essay review not only is aimed at reviewing deeply from various works, ranging from the Tourist to Empty meeting grounds, but also we focus on the methodological inconsistencies of structuralism to be applied on tourist-related studies. Our thesis is that Maccannell misunderstood the real nature of tourism and its difference from the tourist destination. His outcomes are illustrative to examine the life of tourist destinations but are invalidated at time of studying tourism from a macro-sociological perspective. Maccannell is a hero of tourism applied research because of his merit; our efforts are placed to debunk his contributions.


The transformation of Bocar Automotive Products from an aluminium products fabricator to an innovative manufacturer supplying automakers with accessory product systems has required the adaptation of forming processes and product capabilities to address the relatively small volumes in the Australian market, strategic change in the company's target markets and cultural change in its internal operations. The strategy for developing new capability in the casting and forming of aluminium alloy products has taken place over 5 years beginning with the bending of extruded shapes, progressing into the forming of sheet aluminium alloys and the casting of bumper bar components, and finally into the integration of these processes into bumper systems for a number of 4 Wheel Drive models. This paper describes the product design, metal forming and production changes that Bocar has introduced and integrated with its marketing strategy to become a recognized innovator in the accessories market in Australia.


Abstract The metamorphic rocks associated with the Semail ophiolite in the Oman Mountains represent two different facies series. Amphibolites and greenshists at the base of the Semail ophiolite constitute a metamorphic sole formed in a high-temperature, lowpressure environment. Eclogites, blueschists, lawsonite schists and other metasediments occurring at different structural levels in the basement and shelf deposits of the continental margin formed at high pressures and low temperatures. The amphibolites of the metamorphic sole formed as a result of heat transfer from the hot overthrust ophiolitic slab to the underlying oceanic sediments and volcanics shortly following intraoceanic detachment at a collapsed spreading centre about 100–90 Ma. The underlying greenschists represent sediments and volcanics that were metamorphosed farther away from the spreading centre as the ophiolitic slab became cooler and moved closer to the continental margin. Eclogites, blueschists and crossite epidote schists formed in the Saih Hatat window as a result of A-type subduction (crustal thickening) of the basement and shelf units of the Oman continental margin in response to a change in plate motion between Africa and Eurasia and transpression or collision with a fragment of Gondwanaland about 131 Ma. A-type subduction along an east-dipping zone resulted in the burial of the eastern edge of the continental margin to a minimum depth of 30 km. High P/T metamorphic rocks formed by this process followed 'clockwise' P-T paths. The Late Cretaceous emplacement of the ophiolite onto the continental margin of Oman resulted in the imbrication of the continental shelf deposits, the development of low-grade, high-P/T metamorphic rocks in the 'internal' thrust piles due to tectonic overloading and the juxtaposition of the metamorphic rocks representing different facies series. Extensional deformation associated with culmination collapse in the Late Cretaceous and Tertiary led to the exhumation of the various high P/T metamorphic rocks and the distortion of the metamorphic zones.


We present a method for including inelastic scattering in a first-principles density-functional computational scheme for molecular electronics. As an application, we study two geometries of four-atom gold wires corresponding to two different values of strain and present results for nonlinear differential conductance vs device bias. Our theory is in quantitative agreement with experimental results and explains the experimentally observed mode selectivity. We also identify the signatures of phonon heating.


We consider hybrid inflation for small couplings of the inflaton to matter such that the critical value of the inflaton field exceeds the Planck mass. It has recently been shown that inflation then continues at subcritical inflaton field values where quantum fluctuations generate an effective inflaton mass. The effective inflaton potential interpolates between a quadratic potential at small field values and a plateau at large field values. An analysis of the allowed parameter space leads to predictions for the scalar spectral index n_s and the tensor-to-scalar ratio r similar to those of natural inflation. Using the range for n_s and r favoured by the Planck data, we find that the energy scale of the plateau is constrained to the interval (1.6 - 2.4) * 10^16 GeV which includes the energy scale of gauge coupling unification in the supersymmetric standard model. The tensor-to-scalar ratio is predicted to have the lower bound r > 0.049 for 60 e-folds before the end of inflation.


On an individual level, criminal offending is linked to resource deficiencies. Since evictions tend to affect society's weakest groups, we would expect evicted individuals to be convicted of crime to a higher degree than others even before eviction. But is there also a direct effect of eviction on criminal convictions? The aim of this study was to isolate the effect of eviction on criminal convictions. Propensity score matching was used and the analyses included all individuals evicted in Sweden from 2009 to 2010 (n = 5050), and a 10% sample of the adult population (n = 770,000). After matching based on relevant background factors, the analyses showed a significant increase in criminal convictions from the year of eviction until the end of the period studied, two to three years later. The pattern was similar for men and women. Future research should investigate eviction in relation to different types of crime.


The primary objective of this study was to analyse how organisational politics affects work
relations at Tsholotsho District Hospital. This study was motivated by the structure of the
institution which is a recipe for organisational politics. The health delivery system in
Zimbabwe structure is composed of three arms the Clinicians (Medical), Para-medical and
administration staff which are sometimes referred to as nonmedical staff, and the composition
is a recipe for organizational politics to affect relations.
A review of literature further indicated the institution set up is a recipe for organisational
politics as postulated by many different authors. As stated by Kacmar and Carlson (1997) who
said politics consist of at least two parties with the potential to possess different interests must
be involved. Studies have long argued that politics is epidemic phenomenon in organization
and that it deserves more attention and empirical examination Gandaz &Marray (1980).
The research study carried out involved consisted of thirty-eight respondents from the
Tsholotsho District Hospital staff. The respondent were made up of twenty-three medical staff,
five paramedical and ten nonmedical staff. The research design used was descriptive research
method and questionnaires were disseminated to respondents as the research methods so as to
get their views on the subject. Data presentation was done with the aid of tables, pie charts and
bar graphs. The data was then described and interpreted in a way understandable to readers.
From the research study it was revealed that in Tsholotsho hospital organisational politics affect
work relations as it interfere with organisational process such as decision making. It also affect
the flow of information as communication lines are disturbed by withholding of information by
other individual for their own benefit. It was also revealed that the most affected components of
work relations are Interdepartmental communication and collaboration of departments which are
vital in a hospital for a good health delivery system. While Self-interest and control power came
out in the research as the two main components which drive organisational politics in the
institution.


Bovine mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland with local and or symptoms that occasionally result in a systemic infection. This disease has a profound impact on animal welfare and milk quality, and the most costly disease affecting dairy cows. The bacteria Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most frequently isolated pathogens from both subclinical and clinical infections. This study was conducted to investigate the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of S. aureus involved in dairy cow mastitis in West Algeria. A total of 141 isolates of S. aureus isolated from quarter milk samples were collected from dairy cows. All retained S. aureus species contained gyr gene and were identified by molecular typing. The presence of resistance was evaluated in S. aureus. Staphylococci antimicrobial resistance was performed by detection of mecA gene. Several virulence factors including toxin of the Pantin Valentine leukocidin coding gene (pvl) were also investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Only one strain of S. aureus was mecA - and pvl+ gene.