Session of Thursday Afternoon, December 29 The Mineralogical Society of America held its eighth annual meeting at Case School of Applied Science and Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, in conjunction with the Geological Society of America. At 2 p. m. the meeting was called to order by President Austin F. Rogers in the Geology-Mineralogy Lecture-room of the Case Main Building. Many members of the Society of Economic Geologists were present as visitors. On motion of the Secretary, the reading of the minutes of the last annual meeting was dispensed with, in view of the fact that they have been printed on pages 71–83 of volume 12, number 3, of the American Mineralogist . ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND FELLOWS The Secretary announced that 142 ballots had been cast for the officers as nominated by the Council. Of these, 139 were unanimous and three were negative in part. For Fellows there was . . .


Radio-over-fiber (RoF) networks is the integration of wireless and optical networks. RoF networks is considered as a potential solution for increasing capacity and mobility as well as decreasing costs in the access network. RoF can also be called as Fiber radio networks or Hybrid optical-wireless networks. The concept of RoF means to transport information over optical fiber by modulating the light with the radio signal. This modulation can be done directly with the radio signal or at an intermediate frequency. RoF technique has the potentiality to be the backbone of the wireless access network. Such architecture can give several advantages, such as reduced complexity at the antenna site, radio carriers can be allocated dynamically to the different antenna sites, transparency and scalability. The Fiber-Radio networks transmits data from Central office (CO) to Base station (BS) as optical signal and Base station (BS) to Mobile station (MS) as wireless signal. Due to the signal degradation mechanisms present both in fiber and wireless transmissions, the radio signals transmitted using RoF technology undergoes degradation in their quality, which in turn reduces the overall performance of the RoF system. This paper aims to analyze and evaluate the performance of RoF System, by considering Millimeter wave and UWB signal transmission for WLAN. Special attention is made on chirp effect caused by Mach Zehender (MZ) external optical modulator.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the diagnostic utility of anti-citrullinated protein antibody (anti-CCP) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and compare it with rheumatoid factor (RF).

STUDY DESIGN
Analytical study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
Section of Chemical Pathology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology and Medicine, the Aga Khan University, Karachi, from January to May 2010.

METHODOLOGY
A review of medical records of patients presenting to the clinics with complaints of muscular or joint pains and who were tested for their serum anti-CCP was done. Inclusion criteria were presence of clinical synovitis in at least one joint and an absence of alternative diagnosis. Patients with arthralgia alone or with missing acute phase reactants information were excluded. Scoring and classification of RA was done using the 2010 RA Classification Criteria by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

RESULTS
Out of the 98 charts reviewed, ACR criteria showed 54 cases with RA. The mean age of the group was 46 ± 15 years, 82.7% being females. High titers of anti-CCP corresponded with the ACR scores. The sensitivity and specificity of anti-CCP and RF reactivity for the diagnosis of RA were 54.7% and 95.5% versus 59.3% and 88.4% respectively.

CONCLUSION
Anti-CCP is useful for the diagnosis of RA due to its higher specificity as compared to RF and can predict disease severity.


We are interested in building and maintaining semantic nets in general, and hierarchical semantic nets in particular. In [Mili, 1988], we developed a model of hierarchical semantic nets that generalizes taxonomic models by replacing the concept of property inheritance by a more general behavior of properties that we called regularity [Mili & Rada, 1990a]. We are also interested in the generation of structured documents from hypertext. We argue that authors structure their descriptive documents based on personal but systematic traversals of a model of the domain of discourse [Mili & Rada, 1990b]; when that model consists of a semantic net that exhibits regularity, the traversal can be rationalized and described concisely. Within the context of our research, we acquired an electronic copy of the Cyc knowledge base [Lenat & Guha, 1990] to: 1) use the semantic net underlying Cyc to support the generation of argumentative and explanatory documents, and 2) identify regularity patterns. Interestingly, the sheer size and richness of Cyc posed challenging performance problems to its designers, who had to constrain proof and inference procedures in such a way as to make it ill-adapted to 1LARC, in French, stands for Laboratoire pour l'Acquisition et la Représentation des Connaissances. the kind of open-ended lengthy logical inferences required for generation of argumentative text. The study of regularity patterns in Cyc led us to generalize the concept of regularity, and to formulate a number of hypotheses about the semantic structure of Cyc, and of common sense knowledge in general, proving once more that regularity is a powerful tool for managing the complexity of large knowledge bases.


In the 1950s and 1960s, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and official donors tended to pursue different development agendas. Beyond support to emergencies, they were usually disinterested in each other's activities and occasionally suspicious of the other's motives. This began to change from the early 1970s when most donors followed the earlier example of countries such as Norway and Canada in directly supporting NGO development programmes. The shift of official funding towards NGOs accelerated in the 1980s. Part of this shift is explained by the growth in emergency assistance in the period but it also reflected a growing recognition of the role of NGO programmes in meeting official aid objectives in areas such as poverty reduction, environmental conservation, health and education. This Briefing Paper focuses on the various, and changing, ways in which NGOs interact with official donors and discusses possible new directions in the relationship between NGOs and donors. The emphasis is upon development activities, rather than emergency assistance and relief.


Abstract. Simultaneous positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MR) is an innovative and promising imaging modality that is generating substantial interest in the medical imaging community, while offering many challenges and opportunities. In this study, we investigated whether MR surface coils need to be accounted for in PET attenuation correction. Furthermore, we integrated motion correction, attenuation correction, and point spread function modeling into a single PET reconstruction framework. We applied our reconstruction framework to in vivo animal and patient PET-MR studies. We have demonstrated that our approach greatly improved PET image quality.


This study was designed to examine the effects of Informal financial Institutions on socio-economic development of Adikpo town. Specific objectives were: to determine the effect of informal financial institutions on poverty reduction; to ascertain if informal financial institutions facilitate more access to credit facilities; and to ascertain whether informal financial institutions have affected the level of investment. The study randomly sampled 200 respondents as questionnaires were used to collect data. Chi-square was employed in the test of hypotheses using SPSS version 16.0. Dependency theory was used in analysing the study. Findings showed that Informal Financial Institutions were more effective in reducing poverty among members than non-members. Furthermore, the institutions guaranteed more access to credit than non-members and lastly, Informal Financial Institutions were effective in promoting investment among members as compared to non-members. It was therefore concluded that Informal Financial Institutions have been effective in promoting socio-economic development of the town. The study recommended for inclusion of the institutions in poverty reduction programmes of government, utilisation of the institutions in accessibility of credit by the masses and initiation of programmes that will enhance the multiplication and growth of Informal financial Institutions.


ABSTRACT We characterized the regions involved in replication and mobilization of the 40-kb plasmid pNZ4000, encoding exopolysaccharide (EPS) production in Lactococcus lactis NIZO B40. The plasmid contains four highly conserved replication regions with homologous rep genes (repB1, repB2,repB3, and repB4) that belong to the lactococcal theta replicon family. Subcloning of each replicon individually showed that all are functional and compatible in L. lactis. Plasmid pNZ4000 and genetically labeled derivatives could be transferred to different L. lactis strains by conjugation, and pNZ4000 was shown to be a mobilization plasmid. Two regions involved in mobilization were identified near two of the replicons; both included an oriT sequence rich in inverted repeats. Conjugative mobilization of the nonmobilizable plasmid pNZ124 was promoted by either one of these oriT sequences, demonstrating their functionality. One oriT sequence was followed by a mobA gene, coding for atrans-acting protein, which increased the frequency of conjugative transfer 100-fold. The predicted MobA protein and theoriT sequences show protein and nucleotide similarity, respectively, with the relaxase and with the inverted repeat andnic site of the oriT from the Escherichia coli plasmid R64. The presence on pNZ4000 of four functional replicons, two oriT sequences, and several insertion sequence-like elements strongly suggests that this EPS plasmid is a naturally occurring cointegrate.


Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ST313 is a relatively newly emerged sequence type that is causing a devastating epidemic of bloodstream infections across sub-Saharan Africa. Analysis of hundreds of Salmonella genomes has revealed that ST313 is closely-related to the ST19 group of S. Typhimurium that cause gastroenteritis across the world. The core genomes of ST313 and ST19 vary by just 1000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We hypothesised that the phenotypic differences that distinguish African Salmonella from ST19 are caused by certain SNPs that directly modulate the transcription of virulence genes. Here we identified 3,597 transcriptional start sites (TSS) of the ST313 strain D23580, and searched for a gene expression signature linked to pathogenesis of Salmonella. We identified a SNP in the promoter of the pgtE gene that caused high expression of the PgtE virulence factor in African S. Typhimurium, increased the degradation of the factor B component of human complement, contributed to serum resistance and modulated virulence in the chicken infection model. The PgtE protease is known to mediate systemic infection in animal models. We propose that high levels of expression PgtE of by African S. Typhimurium ST313 promotes bacterial survival and bacterial dissemination during human infection. Our finding of a functional role for an extra-genic SNP shows that approaches used to deduce the evolution of virulence in bacterial pathogens should include a focus on non-coding regions of the genome.


This paper concentrates on the collaborative target tracking control of a pair of tracking vehicles with formation constraints. The proposed controller requires distance measurements between tracking vehicles and the target. Its novelty lies in two aspects: 1) the elliptic coordinates are used to represent an arbitrary tracking formation, which can be deduced from inter-agent distances, and 2) the regulation of the tracking vehicle system obeys a binocular coordination principle, which simplifies the design of the control law by leveraging rich physical meanings of elliptic coordinates. The tracking system with the proposed controller is proven to be exponentially convergent when the target is stationary. When the target drifts with a small velocity, the desired tracking formation is achieved within a small margin proportional to the magnitude of the target's drift velocity. Simulation examples are provided to demonstrate the tracking performance of the proposed controller.


In Religion, Technology, and the Great and Little Divergences Karel Davids analyses the influence of religious contexts on technological change in China and Europe between c.700 and 1800.


Carbon doped TiO2 and pure TiO2 thin films were prepared by atmospheric metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method. Both pure TiO2 and carbon doped TiO2 films are in anatase structure. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) of the carbon doped TiO2 film indicate carbon atoms occupy oxygen sites and form Ti-C bonds in TiO2 lattice. In UV-VIS absorption spectra, it can be found that the carbon doped TiO2 film has a red-shifted absorption edge compared with the pure TiO2 film. In the photocatalytic decomposition experiment of Rh.B, carbon doped TiO2 exhibited remarkably visible light activity.


Access to palliative care is limited, especially in rural India. Children needing care by palliative teams may themselves be patients, or siblings and children of patients. Armed forces families face characteristic lifestyle challenges – frequent transfers, living in difficult and remote areas, serving personnel staying apart from families for long periods – very different from issues faced by civilians. Military service increases the risk of psychosocial burden for serving personnel as well as families. Most depend on private and state medical services for palliative care so it is important for the palliative community to understand their issues. This study aimed to explore the issues related to children – faced by armed forces families when caring for patients in palliative care.

Qualitative study based on thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with caregivers – either serving personnel or their dependents, in three centres.

Analysis of the 15 interviews showed that armed forces families face complex challenges related to children when caring for the palliative patient due to frequent movement, lack of paediatric palliative services in far-flung areas, disruption of the continuity of care, social isolation, language, and cultural barriers when living in non-native areas, inability to build and access family and community support and financial burden due to restrictive reimbursement policies.

Although medical and administrative support within the organisation provides a cushion, wives have to manage alone in the father's prolonged absence, and safety is a concern for children when living outside the campuses and serving personnel report guilt, anger, and helplessness at not being present when needed. Awareness of these issues can enable palliative workers to provide more meaningful support tailored to the needs of service families.


A membrane architecture that facilitates access from both sides in microfluidic environments provides a flexible platform for the study of biosystems. Here, we report for the first time on a simple and low cost fabrication process via nanoimprint lithography (NIL) for a thin, fully released SU-8 membrane with perforated micro- and sub-micron pores and a modular microfluidic system integrated with the membrane. A modified NIL process which combines thermal and UV NIL was employed to define the pore structures in an SU-8 layer coated on a sacrificial layer. We have demonstrated the production of large area SU-8 membranes of as large as 4 inch diameter that are fully covered with perforated micropores. The released SU-8 membrane was easily integrated as a modular component into a microfluidic system by sandwiching the membrane between two microfluidic chips. Important aspects to reliably produce the membrane architecture such as materials selection and process conditions for fabrication are discussed. After demonstrating selective adsorption of lipid vesicles at the micropore sites of the SU-8 membrane, we have reconstituted lipid bilayers at the micropores within the microfluidic system following the method developed by Suzuki et al (2004 Lab Chip 4 502–5). This implies that the membrane architecture can potentially be used as a microfluidic platform with lipid bilayers that can sustain external mechanical stress for biophysical studies of membrane proteins.


This paper examines parallel process between clients and workers as a group phenomenon occurring in the milieux of sunport groups and concomitant supervision groups. We have observed that psychosocial processes are mutually reflected between these two settings. This phenomenon is examined in the context of work with the bereaved parents of men and women who died while serving in the Israeli armed forces. The process is described as it unfolds along two continua defined by two sets of polarities: (1) anger versus idealization; (2) competition versus cooperation. This is considered in regard to three principal roles of the participants in both of the groups: (1) as individual members of their group; (2) in their capacities as clients and workers; (3) as paired co-leaders of a support group or as bereaved couples. Obtalning a better understanding of parallel process in these settings may be useful in helping us to enhance and enlarge the scope of the coping capacities both of bereaved couples and of workers ...


This paper addresses the subject of inter-turn short circuit estimation in the stator of an induction motor. In the paper an adaptive observer scheme is proposed. The proposed observer is capable of simultaneously estimating the speed of the motor, the amount turns involved in the short circuit and an expression of the current in the short circuit. Moreover the states of the motor are estimated, meaning that the magnetizing currents are made available even though a fault has happened in the motor. To be able to develop this observer, a model particular suitable for the chosen observer design, is also derived. The efficiency of the proposed observer is demonstrated by tests performed on a test setup with a customized designed induction motor. With this motor it is possible to simulate inter-turn short circuit faults.


INTRODUCTION This study explores the baseline knowledge and interest of faculty and graduate students at a Carnegie-classified Doctoral/Professional University regarding different components of scholarly communication. METHODS A survey was developed to inquire about such topics as scholarly research, scholarly publishing, access to research, copyright, measuring impact, promoting research, and open-educational resources. Responses more significantly represented the humanities and social sciences versus the natural and applied sciences. RESULTS & DISCUSSION Results showed some hesitancy in embracing the open access (OA) publishing model, especially the use of article processing charges (APCs). Faculty largely collect original data and believe public access to original data is important, but this varies by college and includes almost one-fourth of faculty who do not feel that sharing data is important. The areas in which respondents expressed the highest level of knowledge correlate directly with the areas in which respondents expressed the most interest in professional development. Preferences in professional development modality were split between virtual and in-person sessions. With virtual sessions specifically, graduate students prefer synchronous sessions while faculty prefer pre-recorded sessions. CONCLUSION Respondents were generally aware of the library's current scholarly communications services, but additional promotion and marketing is still needed, especially for colleges with the lowest areas of engagement.


Aims.We discuss the results of the relationships between theK-band and stellar mass, FIR luminosities, star formation rate, and the masses of the dust and gas of nearby galaxies computing the bivariateK-band-luminosity function (BLF) and bivariateK-band-mass function (BMF) of theHerschelReference Survey (HRS), a volume-limited sample with full wavelength coverage.Methods.We derive the BLFs and BMFs from theK-band and stellar mass, FIR luminosities, star formation rate, dust and gas masses cumulative distributions using a copula method, which is outlined in detail. The use of the computed bivariate taking into account the upper limits allows us to derive a more solid statistical ground for the relationship between the observed physical quantities.Results.The analysis shows that the behaviour of the morphological (optically selected) subsamples is quite different. A statistically meaningful result can be obtained over the whole HRS sample only from the relationship between theK-band and the stellar mass, while for the remaining physical quantities (dust and gas masses, far-infrared luminosity, and star formation rate), the analysis is distinct for late-type (LT) and early-type galaxies (ETG). However, the number of ETGs is small to perform a robust statistical analysis, and in most of the case results are discussed only for the LTG subsample. The luminosity and mass functions (LFs, MFs) of LTGs are generally dependent on theK-band and the various dependencies are discussed in detail. We are able to derive the corresponding LFs and MFs and compare them with those computed with other samples. Our statistical analysis allows us to characterise the HRS which, although non-homogeneously selected and partially biased towards low IR luminosities, may be considered as representative of the local LT galaxy population.


OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the prognostic value of surrogate markers (HIV RNA copy number, CD4 counts and CDC clinical and immunologic categories) in HIV-infected children through a 2-year period.

METHODS
Eighty-six HIV-infected children followed by the Duke Pediatric HIV Clinic in the fall of 1994 were evaluated for plasma HIV RNA concentration (viral load), CD4 lymphocyte percentage, age, antiretroviral treatment status and CDC clinical and immunologic categories. Follow-up evaluations were performed for approximately 2 years, and the time to progression to a new CDC category C diagnosis or death was noted.

RESULTS
Of 86 children 22 had progression to new Category C diagnosis or death. Seven children died, 17 had a new Category C diagnosis and 2 had both. Among children who progressed, the median CD4 percentage at entry was 3% (absolute count, 75 cells/mm3), whereas children who had no disease progression entered with a median of 29% (868 cells/mm3). The overall median viral load at study entry was 4.58 log10 copies/ml (38,019 copies/ml, with a range of 1.7 to 6.78 logs). Children who had no disease progression had a median log copy number of 4.43, whereas 5.18 was the median for children whose disease progressed. Log copy number declined over time in children < 3 years of age, whereas it remained fairly consistent for children 3 years or older. Progression rates were determined by entry plasma HIV RNA concentration quartiles [quartile boundaries < 4.18, 4.58, > 5.08 log RNA copy/ml (< 15,136, 38,019 and > 120,226 copies/ml, respectively)]. Progression rates by quartile were 0 of 21, 4 of 22, 5 of 21 and 13 of 22. Kaplan-Meier survival curves defined by CD4% less than or greater than 15 and log RNA less than or greater than 5.0 (100,000) revealed that patients with CD4% less than 15 and plasma HIV RNA concentration > 5 log10 copies/ml did least well: 11 of 12 (92%) had a progression event at a median of 179 days. Patients with a high CD4 percentage and high viral load, or a low CD4 percentage and low viral load did similarly; 5 of 14 (36%) and 4 of 12 (33%) had progression events, respectively. Patients with high CD4 percentage and low viral load did best: only 2 of 48 (4%) had a progression event.

CONCLUSIONS
The two most significant prognostic indicators of disease progression were the initial CD4 percentage and the plasma HIV RNA concentration, and a combination of CD4 percentage and virus load best predicted which children had progression events. Progression was less common in children who had < 100,000 HIV RNA copies/ml initially (6 of 60 vs. 16 of 26; P < 0.001; relative risk 0.16). Therefore it seems reasonable that in a child for whom complete suppression is not possible, a threshold of 100,000 (5 log10 copies/ml) can be used to mandate a change in therapy.


The human computer interaction will be more natural if computers are able to perceive and respond to human nonverbal communication such as emotions. Although several approaches have been proposed to recognize human emotions based on facial expressions or speech, relatively limited work has been done to fuse these two, improve the accuracy and robustness of the emotion recognition system. This paper analyzes the strengths and the limitations of systems based only on facial expressions or acoustic information. It also analyses two approaches used to fuse these two modalities: decision level and feature level integration, and proposes a new multilevel fusion approach for enhancing the person dependant and person independent classification performance for different emotions. Two different audiovisual emotion data corpora was used for the evaluating the proposed fusion approach - DaFEx[1,2] and ENTERFACE[3] comprising audiovisual emotion data from several actors eliciting five different emotions – anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. The results of the experimental study reveal that the system based on fusion of facial expression with acoustic information yields better performance than the system based on just acoustic information or facial expressions, for the emotions considered. Results also show an improvement in classification performance of different emotions with a multilevel fusion approach as compared to either feature level or score-level fusion.


OBJECTIVE
To report the psychometric properties of the Psychological-Behavioral Acculturation Scale (P-BAS), a tool gauging behavioral and psychological acculturation after adapting it through formative research to people of Mexican origin in the United States.

METHODS
We analyzed data from adapted P-BAS questionnaires in the TalaSurvey study, using standard methods to establish internal consistencies (Cronbach's alpha), construct validity, and ascertain if the value orientation profile differed by ethnic group.

RESULTS
In 2012-13, 505 respondents (mean age 45.2 ± 14.1, 56% female) participated: 250 European Americans (EA) and 255 people of Mexican origin (MA).

CONCLUSIONS
Although internal consistencies of 15 value orientation measures were occasionally low, overall results were encouraging. A weighted combination of value orientation scores strongly discriminated between EA and MA. Additionally, the pattern of relationships among MAs identified between acculturation scores and the validity contrasts supported the construct validity of the proposed dual framework. The trend was particularly evident for most behavioral variables.


In 1994, J.P. Morgan alongside Deutsche bank developed the Credit Default Swap (CDS), an innovation of its time but a product that has only created consistent controversy ever since. Although there is nothing ground breaking about the product itself, as it is a version of an insurance contract designed to offload credit risk to a third party. Much of the blame for the financial crisis has been attributed to its role. This was due mainly to financial institutions leveraging up their books and using CDS as a get out of jail card so that they couldn't be held responsible in the case of default. Since the turn of the century, there has been a huge growth in the research of credit derivatives and the correlated relationship between CDS and bond spreads specifically known CDS-Bond basis. In this paper we propose an analysis of the deviation of CDS from their respective bond spreads and its potential relationship in predicting systemic risk. The author proposes that using two time-frames, one defined as economically sound and the other with high levels of volatility will be able to determine the answer to this analysis. The first aspect of the paper will be reviewing the current literature that exists in the scope CDS, CDS and bond spreads and its association with systemic risk and the models used to determine this. The statistical tests, the data used and the methodology it is based upon are then outlined. Finally, the analysis is presented through a discussion where the results of the two-time frames are compared and critically evaluated where we come to the conclusion that yes there is a statistical significance to suggest that the deviation of a CDS from the associated bond spread could potentially be used a metric in predicting systemic risk.


Image translation with convolutional neural networks has recently been used as an approach to multimodal change detection. Existing approaches train the networks by exploiting supervised information of the change areas, which, however, is not always available. A main challenge in the unsupervised problem setting is to avoid that change pixels affect the learning of the translation function. We propose two new network architectures trained with loss functions weighted by priors that reduce the impact of change pixels on the learning objective. The change prior is derived in an unsupervised fashion from relational pixel information captured by domain-specific affinity matrices. Specifically, we use the vertex degrees associated with an absolute affinity difference matrix and demonstrate their utility in combination with cycle consistency and adversarial training. The proposed neural networks are compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms. Experiments conducted on three real data sets show the effectiveness of our methodology.


Presenilin-1 (PS1) facilitates γ-secretase cleavage of the β-amyloid precursor protein and the intramembraneous cleavage of Notch1. Although Alzheimer's disease-associated mutations in the homologous presenilin (PS2) gene elevate amyloid β-peptide (Aβ42) production like PS1 mutations, here we demonstrate that a gene ablation of PS2 (unlike that of PS1) in mice does not result in a severe phenotype resembling that of Notch-ablated animals. To investigate the amyloidogenic function of PS2 more directly, we mutagenized a conserved aspartate at position 366 to alanine, because the corresponding residue of PS1 is known to be required for its amyloidogenic function. Cells expressing the PS2 D366A mutation exhibit significant deficits in proteolytic processing of β-amyloid precursor protein indicating a defect in γ-secretase activity. The reduced γ-secretase activity results in the almost complete inhibition of Aβ and p3 production in cells stably expressing PS2 D366A, whereas cells overexpressing the wild-type PS2 cDNA produce robust levels of Aβ and p3. Using highly sensitive in vivo assays, we demonstrate that the PS2 D366A mutation not only blocks γ-secretase activity but also inactivates PS2 activity in Notch signaling by inhibiting the proteolytic release of the cytoplasmic Notch1 domain. These data suggest that PS2 is functionally involved in Aβ production and Notch signaling by facilitating similar proteolytic cleavages.


Novel (1→3)-β-D-glucans (GPBCD, GPECD, GP6CD, and GP3CD) having reducing glucose side chains were prepared from a linear (1→3)-β-D-glucans (curdlan : CD) with halogeno glucose isopropylidene derivatives in dimethyl sulfoxide containing dimsyl sodium, followed by treatment with 40% trifluoroacetic acid to remove protecting isopropylidene groups. The side chain glucose moiety was linked directly or through a spacer at various positions except for its anomeric carbon.


In the Sahel of tropical Africa, the degradation of natural pastures is part of the desertification process mainly due to increasing human rural activities. A quick analysis of the vegetation changes describes the phenomenon, leading to understand the main causes: after excessive use of vegetation, a bad water balance and storage in soils due to compaction of topsoil and erosion increase. Several trials using agricultural technologies and tools, carried out in the past, are revisited and the results analysed. The best procedures create artificial obstacles to run-off, such as ploughing interrupted strips or crescents (demi-lunes). Water is stopped behind these mini-dams and penetrates into the soil. But following the mechanical works on soil, the protection of the area is essential. The actual conditions of success for operating regeneration programmes over wide areas are linked to the communal status of the rangelands. Based on past experience, a four-step rehabilitation procedure is proposed: i) stop the causes of degradation; ii) reach a wide consensus among rangeland users on the limits of the area to be improved and as to how regeneration should be implemented; iii) select the technologies and soil profile modifications adapted to the soils; iv) protect the area a sufficient number of years for the regeneration process to become spontaneous.


During the past six years several best practices in teaching and learning have been implemented in our Introduction to Materials Engineering course to transform the course from a traditional lecture only course to a course that is centered on conceptual and active learning. In addition, this academic year the content of the course was also reshaped so that this course also serves as the fundamental materials engineering component of a new three course sequence within a new minor in materials science. The minor is interdisciplinary so the student audience now includes engineering technology, chemistry, physics, geology, and manufacturing and supply chain management majors. Biomedical devices and case studies, nanoengineering, and bioinspired materials have been introduced as focus areas with the intention of improving student learning in fundaments from crystal structure, to materials selection based on mechanical properties/design criteria, and to phase transformations. Also, the course content was changed to build student interest while also finding new and challenging ways to improve the course based upon previously identified course learning objective outcomes that needed improvement. Conceptually, teaching fundamentals in multiple ways, especially in ways which build scaffolds from the students' previous knowledge base, should be effective for a wide range of learners. As it turns out, the materials used in biomedical devices which experience significant loads during service, such as orthopedic replacement devices (knees, shoulders, and hips) and stents, provide another accessible platform to enhance materials engineering education. Students who enter the course have some conceptual idea of what a hip replacement is or why an arterial stent might be needed. But, they have no idea of what materials are used in these devices or why particular materials are selected for components. To illustrate, it is essential that the elastic constant of the femoral stem in a hip replacement match the elastic constant of bone or bone loss will occur from stress shielding. Conceptually this is very easy for the student to grasp. Since ultra high molecular weight polyethylene is used in orthopedic wear components, it is possible to conceptually link the required mechanical properties of components to the effect of the degree of polymerization, examine the difference between semi-crystalline and amorphous plastics, and probe wear properties. Arterial stents are often made from shape memory materials which are excellent venues for hands-on learning about phase transitions. Device recall case studies provide an opportunity to link manufacturing to materials to in-service failures. This paper describes the detailed learning objectives for the course that are addressed with this new strategy and specifics on the biomedical devices, including materials, selection criteria and case studies, so that other faculty may use them in their courses. Initial assessment data that examines the effectiveness of the approach, preliminary data on student learning styles, and student perceptions about the effectiveness of this approach are also discussed in the paper. Preand post-course concept questionnaires and traditional tests scores were also used to evaluate this approach. The paper concludes with summary of the assessment information and future directions for this course. P ge 14567.2


The sensitivity and angular resolution of photometric surveys executed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) enable studies of individual star clusters in galaxies out to a few tens of megaparsecs. The fitting of spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star clusters is essential for measuring their physical properties and studying their evolution. We report on the use of the publicly available Code Investigating GALaxy Emission (cigale) SED fitting package to derive ages, stellar masses, and reddenings for star clusters identified in the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS–HST (PHANGS–HST) survey. Using samples of star clusters in the galaxy NGC 3351, we present results of benchmark analyses performed to validate the code and a comparison to SED fitting results from the Legacy Extragalactic Ultraviolet Survey. We consider procedures for the PHANGS–HST SED fitting pipeline, e.g. the choice of single stellar population models, the treatment of nebular emission and dust, and the use of fluxes versus magnitudes for the SED fitting. We report on the properties of clusters in NGC 3351 and find, on average, the clusters residing in the inner star-forming ring of NGC 3351 are young (<10 Myr) and massive (105 M⊙) while clusters in the stellar bulge are significantly older. Cluster mass function fits yield β values around −2, consistent with prior results with a tendency to be shallower at the youngest ages. Finally, we explore a Bayesian analysis with additional physically motivated priors for the distribution of ages and masses and analyse the resulting cluster distributions.


Abstract: The present research was conducted to study NGOs services for children in Mumbai through a child rights perspective. The study was exploratory in nature and aimed to assess the implementation of child rights by the NGOs. 35 NGOs working for children in the city of Mumbai comprised the sample and were studied using a questionnaire and rating scale as tools. Findings revealed that education (74 percent) and health (54 percent) were the most common concerns of the organizations. Only 17 percent of the NGOs considered child rights to be a concern. The NGOs implemented the right to participation better than any other right. The right to survival was, however, grossly neglected. It was concluded that there are several gaps and areas of lack in the services offered to children. There is also an urgent need to spread awareness amongst the NGO workers themselves to make child rights a part of organizational mandates.


The Canaries have recently served as a test‐bed island system for evaluating newly developed parametric biogeographical methods that can incorporate information from molecular phylogenetic dating and ages of geological events. To use such information successfully, knowledge of geological history and the fossil record is essential. Studies presenting phylogenetic datings of plant groups on oceanic islands often through necessity, but perhaps inappropriately, use the geological age of the oldest island in an archipelago as a maximum‐age constraint for earliest possible introductions. Recently published papers suggest that there is little chance of informative fossil floras being found on volcanic islands, and that nothing could survive violent periods of volcanic activity. One such example is the Roque Nublo period in Gran Canaria, which is assumed to have caused the extinction of the flora of the island (c. 5.3–3.7 Ma). However, recent investigations of Gran Canaria have identified numerous volcanic and sedimentological settings where plant remains are common. We argue, based on evidence from the Miocene–Pliocene rock and fossil records, that complete sterilization of the island is implausible. Moreover, based on fossil evidence, we conclude that the typical ecosystems of the Canary Islands, such as the laurisilva, the Pinus forest and the thermophilous scrubland, were already present on Gran Canaria during the Miocene–Pliocene. The fossil record we present provides new information, which may be used as age constraints in phylogenetic datings, in addition to or instead of the less reliable ages of island emergences or catastrophic events. We also suggest island environments that are likely to yield further fossil localities. Finally, we briefly review further examples of fossil floras of Macaronesia.


UNLABELLED
The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and characteristics of malignant neoplasms of the skin of the head and neck region in the Osijek-Baranya County during the 2004-2012 period according to gender, age, place of residence, place of work, occupation, type and location of the neoplasm, and phenotypic characteristics of patients.

SUBJECTS
The study included all subjects with the diagnosis confirmed by histopathology finding and residents of the Osijek-Baranya County. The study included a total of 2952 persons, 1487 (50.4%) male and 1465 (49.6%) female, yielding an approximate annual incidence of 104/100,000. Mean age was 72 years. Respondents were mostly from rural areas (n = 1952, 66.2%). There were 2137 (72.4%) of respondents mostly working outdoors, mainly farmers (n = 907, 42.4%) and construction workers (n = 889, 41.6%).

RESULTS
According to the type of neoplasm, the basal cell type was most common with 2160 (73.2%) patients. Ninety-three (3.1 %) patients had malignant melanoma. According to localization, face was the most common site of malignant neoplasms with 839 (28.7%) and nose with 643 (22.0%) patients. Squamous cell carcinoma was significantly more common in men (n = 341, 56.6%) as compared with women (n = 262, (43.4%; p = 0.005). Subjects with malignant melanoma were significantly younger, with median age of 67 years. There were no significant differences according to the type of malignant neoplasms and place of residence, place of business, and occupation with regard to working outdoors or indoors. According to localization, significantly more squamous cell malignancies were found on the ears and lips (p = 0.039 and p < 0.001, respectively), malignant melanomas on the neck, head and eyes (p = 0.004, p < 0.001 and p = 0.026, respectively), and basal cell neoplasms on the nose (p = 0.002). There were no significant differences in the type and frequency of malignant neoplasms according to hair and eye color.

CONCLUSION
It is obvious that the disease occurs after a decades-long incubation period and the cumulative effect of exposure to risk factors, with direct sun exposure, seems to have a significant role. Additional research is needed.


BACKGROUND
The causative agents for the current national outbreak of electronic-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) have not been established. Detection of toxicants in bronchoalveolar-lavage (BAL) fluid from patients with EVALI can provide direct information on exposure within the lung.

METHODS
BAL fluids were collected from 51 patients with EVALI in 16 states and from 99 healthy participants who were part of an ongoing study of smoking involving nonsmokers, exclusive users of e-cigarettes or vaping products, and exclusive cigarette smokers that was initiated in 2015. Using the BAL fluid, we performed isotope dilution mass spectrometry to measure several priority toxicants: vitamin E acetate, plant oils, medium-chain triglyceride oil, coconut oil, petroleum distillates, and diluent terpenes.

RESULTS
State and local health departments assigned EVALI case status as confirmed for 25 patients and as probable for 26 patients. Vitamin E acetate was identified in BAL fluid obtained from 48 of 51 case patients (94%) in 16 states but not in such fluid obtained from the healthy comparator group. No other priority toxicants were found in BAL fluid from the case patients or the comparator group, except for coconut oil and limonene, which were found in 1 patient each. Among the case patients for whom laboratory or epidemiologic data were available, 47 of 50 (94%) had detectable tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or its metabolites in BAL fluid or had reported vaping THC products in the 90 days before the onset of illness. Nicotine or its metabolites were detected in 30 of 47 of the case patients (64%).

CONCLUSIONS
Vitamin E acetate was associated with EVALI in a convenience sample of 51 patients in 16 states across the United States. (Funded by the National Cancer Institute and others.).


It is well known that R-410A is the predominant refrigerant used globally in air conditioning systems. However, there has recently been growing interest in R-410A use in commercial refrigeration applications in Japan. Along with the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down use of HFCs, Japan has enacted HFC regulations with specific GWP limits. For commercial condensing units and larger refrigeration systems, a GWP limit of <1500 GWP will be implemented starting in 2025. To address the need for a lower GWP R-410A alternative, a nonflammable hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) refrigerant mixture named XP41 (R-463A pending) has been developed. XP41 is a five-component mixture of HFO-1234yf with HFC-32, 125, and 134a and a small amount of CO2. HFO1234yf is included in the formulation to reduce the GWP. HFC-32 and CO2 have been added to increase the cooling capacity and provide comparable performance to R-410A. For large building air conditioning where variable refrigerant flow (VRF) use is growing, there is also a significant challenge to safely use flammable refrigerants due to large charge sizes. XP41 could potentially address this need as well. This paper will provide detailed information on the properties and other key characteristics of XP41, including drop-in testing in an air conditioning system.


Exercise is an important factor in maintaining physical and cognitive health throughout the lifespan. However, adherence to exercise regimens is poor with approximately 50% of older adults dropping out within 6 months, which makes it difficult to observe exercise-induced biological changes. Unfortunately, there are few known predictors for exercise adherence, but it is likely that a combination of social-cognitive factors, including self-efficacy, social support, personality traits, executive functions, and self-regulation all relate to exercise adherence. Importantly, all of these factors may rely upon the structural integrity of brain networks. In this study we tested whether grey matter volume prior to the initiation of an exercise intervention would predict adherence to the intervention. Participants included 159 adults aged 60-80 that were randomly assigned to either a moderate-intensity aerobic walking condition or a non-aerobic stretching and toning condition. Participants engaged in supervised exercise 3 times per week for 12 months. Structural magnetic resonance images were collected on individuals before randomization and used for analysis. An optimized voxel based morphometry (VBM) protocol was used to analyze gray matter volume using FSL. We used ordinary least squares regression models with bootstrapping using the Bootstrap Regression Analysis of Voxelwise Observations (BRAVO) toolbox to test the association between voxel-based grey matter volume and exercise adherence. We found a broad array of regions that significantly predicted exercise adherence (p<.01), including medial prefrontal cortex, superior parietal cortex, inferior temporal cortex, and cerebellum. Greater volume in these regions explained 20% of variance in adherence, above and beyond variance explained by self-efficacy. Our results suggest that greater gray matter volume predicts more successful adherence to a 12-month supervised exercise regimen.


A PROMISCUOUS WALLFLOWER: THE RARE ZAYANTE SANDHILLS ENDEMIC, ERYSIMUM TERETIFOLIUM (BRASSICACEAE) BENEFITS FROM OUTCROSSING by Miranda K. Melen The Zayante sandhills ecosystem of Santa Cruz County, California, contains a rich mosaic of plants and animals adapted to unusual soils and microclimates. In this environment, local adaptation of populations is expected to lead to greater endemism and outbreeding depression. Anthropogenic fragmentation has further isolated populations, however, which paradoxically could result in inbreeding depression. One of these plants, Erysimum teretifolium (Ben Lomond wallflower) is an endangered endemic herb in the Brassicaceae family. This study assessed genetic mixing across remnant patches of E. teretifolium in order to estimate the effects of fragmentation and the reliance on pollinators. A captive breeding colony was established from seeds collected from four locations across the Zayante sandhills and used in 161 pollinations. Individual allele frequencies were measured using microsatellites, and pollination potential was evaluated through insect camera trapping. Self-pollinations produced 6.5 times fewer seeds than outcrosses. There is no evidence of outbreeding depression. Results suggest that there is a potential for inbreeding depression; however, it is possible that self-incompatibility and reliance on pollinators for outcrosses across geographic divides may be buffering effects. Implications for managers include evidence that geographic origin of individuals may not be critical for reintroduction; however, conservation of the pollinator community should


Far-infrared transmittance and reflectance of PbTiO3, PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3 and PbZr0.75Ti0.25O3 thin films deposited by a sol-gel technique on sapphire substrates were measured between room temperature and 650 degrees C. The spectra were fitted with a classical oscillator model to calculate the dielectric response. Polar-mode parameters are more accurate than data on bulk ceramic materials and are in good agreement with them. An analysis of the soft-mode behaviour and comparison with the low-frequency permittivity data clearly indicate the existence of additional relaxation that is always present in the several cm-1 range, even at room temperature.


Cyanobacteria are the evolutionarily oldest organisms with the capability of evolving oxygen, giving rise to the present day atmosphere. These prokaryotic microorganisms have the unique ability to perform oxygenic photosynthesis and respiration in the same cellular compartment. Some cyanobacteria can also fix atmospheric nitrogen alongside oxygenic photosynthesis and respiration. The redox components of these electron transport pathways are known to intersect in cyanobacteria. Majority of the energy-intensive processes occur in specialised membranes known as thylakoids. The coexistence of such remarkably complex metabolic pathways in a single cyanobacterial cell provides them with the potential to thrive in a wide variety of ecosystems. This metabolic complexity has sparked significant interest towards cyanobacterial research for the production of various high-value compounds with applications in the food, feed and fuel industry.

Key Concepts

Cyanobacteria are the only prokaryotic microorganisms with the extraordinary capability of converting sunlight to chemical energy and evolving molecular oxygen as a byproduct.
Complex metabolic processes such as photosynthesis and respiration coexist and predominantly occur in highly specialised thylakoid membranes.
The photosynthetic and respiratory electron transport chain shares several components between these processes, a situation unique to oxygenic photosynthetic organisms.
In ambient light conditions, photosynthetic electron transport chain has a much higher capacity for ATP synthesis than respiration.

Keywords:

reaction centres;
photosystem I;
photosystem II;
cytochrome b6f complex;
oxidases;
electron transfer;
NAD(P)H dehydrogenase;
succinate dehydrogenase;
ATP synthase


Many mobile games implement paywalls, a monetization strategy whereby players are periodically forced to stop playing the game for a short period of time unless payments are made. While potentially effective at generating revenue, our survey results of over 50 people found that paywalls can frustrate players, reducing player retention and overall game ratings. As an alternative to the classic paywall, we propose an exerwall where players have the additional option of exercising to continue playing. The goal is to encourage physical activity, which is often reduced by playing games, while mitigating player frustration with paywalls. We designed and developed a mobile game called Laser Planets to evaluate the viability of exerwalls, incorporating walking as an alternative to waiting to continue play. Our week-long evaluation with over 20 players shows that exerwalls can be successful at both reducing frustration and increasing physical activity, and could potentially be used to integrate exercising into games that currently use paywalls.


Large area X-ray propositional counter (LAXPC) instrument on AstroSat is aimed at providing high time resolution X-ray observations in 3–80 keV energy band with moderate energy resolution. To achieve large collecting area, a cluster of three co-aligned identical LAXPC detectors, is used to realize an effective area in access of ∼6000cm2\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\sim }6000\,\hbox {cm}^{2}$$\end{document} at 15 keV. The large detection volume of the LAXPC detectors, filled with xenon gas at ∼\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\sim }$$\end{document}2 atmosphere pressure, results in detection efficiency greater than 50%, above 30 keV. In this article, we present salient features of the LAXPC detectors, their testing and characterization in the laboratory prior to launch and calibration in the orbit. Some preliminary results on timing and spectral characteristics of a few X-ray binaries and other type of sources, are briefly discussed to demonstrate that the LAXPC instrument is performing as planned in the orbit.


Nanotechnology is a rapidly emerging technology dealing with so-called nanomaterials which at least in one dimension have size smaller than 100 nm. One of the most potentially promising applications of nanotechnology is in the area of tissue engineering, including biofabrication of 3D human tissues and organs. This paper focused on demonstrating how nanomaterials with nanolevel size can contribute to development of 3D human tissues and organs which have macrolevel organization. Specific nanomaterials such as nanofibers and nanoparticles are discussed in the context of their application for biofabricating 3D human tissues and organs. Several examples of novel tissue and organ biofabrication technologies based on using novel nanomaterials are presented and their recent limitations are analyzed. A robotic device for fabrication of compliant composite electrospun vascular graft is described. The concept of self-assembling magnetic tissue spheroids as an intermediate structure between nano- and macrolevel organization and building blocks for biofabrication of complex 3D human tissues and organs is introduced. The design of in vivo robotic bioprinter based on this concept and magnetic levitation of tissue spheroids labeled with magnetic nanoparticles is presented. The challenges and future prospects of applying nanomaterials and nanotechnological strategies in organ biofabrication are outlined.


The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of high-grade histologic diagnoses in women who had low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) on Pap smear in an area with high incidence of cervical cancer. We conducted a retrospective study of 220 women with LSIL cytology undergoing colposcopic examination in Chiang Mai University Hospital between January 1999 and July 2004. The histologic diagnoses, obtained from colposcopically directed biopsy or electrical loop excision after initial colposcopy, showed that 80 (36.4%) women had histologically confirmed high-grade lesions and 11 (5%) women had microinvasive (9) and frankly invasive (2) carcinomas. Overall, 41.5% of women with LSIL on Pap smear had significant underlying lesions, requiring appropriate treatment. In conclusion, in the region with high incidence of cervical cancer, women with LSIL cytology are at increased risk of having underlying high-grade lesions and invasive cancer. Immediate referral for colposcopy is warranted.


ABSTRACT This paper presents a set of four derived attributes that define and operationalize the concept of ecotourism. Using these four attributes, data collection focused on interviews with officials and tour operators from 25 ecotourism agencies in Ghana, and analysis of six most recent and relevant national tourism documents to determine how congruent the documents reflected the practice of ecotourism. Findings indicated variations in understandings of the ecotourism concept amongst ecotourism officials, with national tourism documents in some cases stating various intentions to implement ecotourism. The analysis showed a disconnect between these national tourism documents and the implementation and practice of ecotourism as ecotourism actions are not consistent with the provisions in the tourism documents, and implementation strategies are lacking. A number of local factors emerged from the interviews as contributors: land tenure uncertainties, seasonal fluctuation of demand, commodification, and limited capacity building. Recommendations to improve the situation are proffered.


Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain of an individual. In recent years nutritional antioxidants study have gain more attention in minimizing the stress like oxidative stress. The stress resistant ability in an organism can be increased by the supplementation of herbal resources. However, few plant extracts are known to have stress resistant ability and increases the tolerance capacity. Plants containing high antioxidant and other bioactive compounds promote tolerance capacity. An antioxidant rich plant has been proved to decreases the lipid peroxidation. Here, we investigated the potential protective effect of ethanolic extract of Withania somnifera (WS), against Paraquat toxicity on stress tolerance capacity using Drosophila melanogaster. Wild-type fruit flies of Oregon-K strain were fed with standard food media with 1mg/ml and 10 mg/ml of WS. The oxidative stress was induced by exposing the extract supplemented flies to Paraquat (20 mM). The stress tolerance capacity of flies was measured by subjecting to desiccation and oxidative stresses. Further, locomotor activity, lipid peroxidation were also studied along with the quantification of triglycerides, glycogen in WS fed flies under stress conditions. Our result reveals that PQ induced WS fed flies showed greater survivability, better locomotor ability when compared to PQ induced flies.WS fed flies increases about 73.55% of resistance ability under oxidative conditions and increased by 59.15% under desiccation than PQ induced flies. WS was more effective in protecting against Paraquat toxicity. The flies fed with high dose of WS (10mg/ml) showed greater improvement of the tolerance ability when subjected to desiccation and oxidative stresses. Further, the data on biochemical analysis reveals that lipid peroxidation activities were found to be significantly low and the triglyceride as well as glycogen quantities were found to be significantly high in WS fed flies compare to –ve control under both desiccation and oxidative stress conditions. Together, these findings suggest that WS promotes stress resistant ability by modulating metabolism and reducing oxidative damage.


A theory of strongly interacting Fermi systems of a few particles is developed. At high excitation energies (a few times the single-particle level spacing) these systems are characterized by an extreme degree of complexity due to strong mixing of the shell-model-based many-particle basis states by the residual twobody interaction. This regime can be described as many-body quantum chaos. Practically, it occurs when the excitation energy of the system is greater than a few single-particle level spacings near the Fermi energy. Physical examples of such systems are compound nuclei, heavy open shell atoms (e.g. rare earths) and multicharged ions, molecules, clusters and quantum dots in solids. The main quantity of the theory is the strength function which describes spreading of the eigenstates over many-particle basis states (determinants) constructed using the shell-model orbital basis. A nonlinear equation for the strength function is derived, which enables one to describe the eigenstates without diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix. We show how to use this approach to calculate mean orbital occupation numbers and matrix elements between chaotic eigenstates and introduce typically statistical variables such as temperature in an isolated microscopic Fermi system of a few particles. }


R. J. Twitchett writes: Palaeontologists grudgingly accept that the fossil record of most taxa is very patchy and incomplete. A particular taxon will appear in the fossil record, and then disappear for any number of millions of years, only to reappear again, apparently unchanged, in younger strata. This disappearance and reappearance is termed the Lazarus effect. Thus, in any particular interval of time a Lazarus taxon is one that is not present in the fossil record, but which we know must have existed by virtue of the presence of older and younger specimens.

⇓Wignall & Benton (1999) are concerned with the importance of the Lazarus effect during extinction‐recovery intervals. Traditional explanations for this phenomenon are: (i) a reduction in the quality of the fossil record, and/or (ii) a migration of taxa into (as yet) undiscovered refugia. Wignall & Benton make the novel suggestion that the Lazarus effect is, instead, due to periods of low abundance. Implicit in this argument is the hypothesis that population size has to exceed a critical threshold before a taxon stands any chance of becoming fossilized. Below this threshold the population remains viable, but we simply have no record of its existence. They make the reasonable assumptions that this threshold will vary between environments (presumably also between taxa), and is essentially 'impossible to quantify'.

While I agree that this is a credible explanation for the Lazarus effect, I do not consider that the tests constructed by Wignall & Benton are sufficiently rigorous to disprove the traditional alternatives.

#### Testing the 'quality' of the fossil record

For the Permian–Triassic event the authors use the number of fossiliferous, shallow‐marine formations from each stage as a measure of the quality of the fossil record. As there is no change in the number of formations from the Changxingian to the Griesbachian, they infer that the quality of …


Data transmission in ad hoc networks involves interactions between MAC-layer protocol and data forwarding along network-layer paths. These interactions have been shown to have significant effect on system performance. In this paper, their impact on the multipath data transmission system over multihop IEEE 802.11 MAC-based ad hoc networks is studied. An analytical model is developed to demonstrate the mechanism of multipath multihop transmission system. Two methods are proposed to estimate the effect of 802.11 DCF backoff scheme on packet service time in such system. The system throughput is evaluated and its bounds are obtained based on these estimation methods. The model is validated by means of simulation at various scenarios.


Automatic structuring (feature coding and object recognition) of topographic data, such as that derived from air survey or raster scanning large-scale paper maps, requires the classification of objects such as buildings, roads, rivers, fields and railways. The recognition of objects is largely based on the matching of descriptions of shapes. Fourier descriptors, moment invariants, boundary chain coding and scalar descriptors are widely used in image processing and computer vision to describe and classify shapes. They have been developed to describe shape irrespective of position, orientation and scale. The applicability of the above four methods to topographic shapes is described and their usefulness evaluated.


The education system and its ecosystem – with its many stakeholders and ramifications – is an essential resource for strengthening processes of social inclusion in contexts of significant cultural diversity caused by growing international migration. There is therefore a need for greater openness and permeability towards its social and local frame of reference: the community should know how to identify and capitalise on the opportunities offered by more inclusive approaches to education on all levels. The intercultural approach explores the value of relationships and constantly reframes the collective identity, built from multiple contributions, with diversity itself one of its central pillars. Such intersections are beneficial, with a noticeable impact on schools and in their respective contexts. This is particularly so if initiatives are long-term and structural as well as developed in such a way that they encourage participation and transformative processes


Plasmid pRt032 which has a 14-kb HindIII fragment containing nodulation genes from Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii ANU843 was transferred into R. fredii USDA 193. A transconjugant CT24 was isolated whose host range was extended to white clover. However, nodulation on the original host soybean was strongly inhibited in CT24 as compared with that of wild-type R. fredii USDA 193. The inhibition of nodulation on soybean was investigated with R. fredii USDA 193 carrying a derivate of pRt032 (nod218) in which the lac operon and Tn5 (MudI1734) was inserted downstream of the nodA promoter. This strain, AF218, restored efficient nodulation on the soybean.The NodD-mediated induction of the R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii nodA-lacz fusion in R. fredii USDA 193 was also monitored during the growth cell cycle following exposure to 7, 4′-dihydroxyflavone (DHF), clover extracts, and soybean extracts for 3h. The nodA induction was observed in ratios of 11:7:3, respectively. However, nodA induction was inhibited using 7, 4′-dihydroxyisoflavone (daidzein), an inducer of R. fredii nod genes.The factor that induces the R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii nod gene expression in soybean extract is not the daidzein, but other unidentified plant factors. In strain CT24, heterologous common nod genes are expressed. These genes interfere with R. fredii nod gene products, causing poor nodulation on its original host soybean.


This study defines the composition and biomass characteristics of 5 of 6 previously described faunal assemblages that form a mosaic community on hydrothermal sulfide edifices of the Juan de Fuca Ridge (northeast Pacific). Quantitative samples of each assemblage were acquired during 'ROPOS' Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) dive programs in 1994 and 1996. Total abundance, and species richness, as well as wet and dry weights, were calculated for each assemblage, and sampled surface area was measured directly or from scaled images of sample scars. These data were used to compare species composition, richness and biomass of the distinct assemblages and to estimate total biomass of a sulfide edifice. In addition to major compositional differences, we observed an increase in density, biomass and species richness along a proposed successional sequence from the Paralvinella sulfincola (annelid polychaete) assemblage (Assemblage I) to the low-flow Ridgeia piscesae (vestimentifera) community (Assemblage V-LF). Biomass (dry weight without vestimentiferan tubes) of the different sampled assemblages ranged from 0.011 kg m -2 for Assemblage I to 4.68 kg m -2 for Assemblage V-LF and 2.33 kg m -2 for the rarer high-flow Ridgeia piscesae community (V-HF). Resulting quantitative information was used to refine a previous model of community succession. Comparisons with other marine ecosystems showed that the biomass of these and other hydrothermal assemblages dominated by symbiont-bearing organisms (vestimentifera, bivalvia) is similar to those found in the most productive photosynthetically based assemblages. Tubeworm growth and sulfide accretion greatly increase total surface area available to vent organisms, and may attenuate competition for space. The 3-dimensional habitat formed by Ridgeia piscesae tubes may influence species distribution and enhance species richness. The tube worm assemblages comprise the major and probably the most stable component of total edifice biomass. At one site, over a 4 yr period, there was substantial environmental change and major shifts in coverage by other assemblages but relatively little change in total coverage by R. piscesae. As a result total edifice biomass (219 to 251 kg dry weight) varied by only 16% over 1 to 3 yr intervals Considerable quantitative ecological information can be derived from analyses of submersible-collected imagery, with sampling serving primarily as a ground truthing tool. Limitations of sampling and surtace area determinations are considered.


Aortic rupture and dissection are life-threatening complications of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (aTAAs) and the risk assessment has been largely based on the monitoring of a lumen size enlargement. Temporal changes of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which has a critical influence on aortic remodeling, are not routinely evaluated nor cardiovascular biomarkers exist to predict aTAA formation. Here, we performed Raman microspectroscopy and imaging and identified marker spectra specific for aTAAs in mice and humans by multivariate data analysis (MVA). Multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) combined with Lasso regression successfully identified elastic fiber-derived Ce1 and collagen fiber-derived Cc6 components, which were significantly increased in aTAA lesions of murine and human aortic tissues. Cc6 detected the changes in amino acid residues, including phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, cysteine, aspartate, and glutamate. Ce1 and Cc6 may serve as a diagnostic Raman spectral marker that detects alterations of amino acids derived from aneurysm lesions.


As the COVID-19 pandemic slowly subsides, this journal, which focuses on learning and technology, is overwhelmed with article submissions. The education response to the health and safety requirements of the pandemic included the use of new technologies for learning in many education spaces and geographic places. Suffice to say that the interest in the topic of technology-enabled learning has increased exponentially. Over the last year we have received more than double our usual number of submissions. While an exciting transformation in the field of education, we were unprepared for the influx. Many of our authors and reviewers work in some sector of education, as does the editorial team of the journal. Currently caught up with our response to submissions, there continues to be some delay in securing agreement and support from reviewers, many of whom are still dealing with the demand on education to continue near-normal delivery. As interest and expertise in the field develops, and with hope that the pandemic continues to subside, we expect to see these recent time delays diminish over the next year.


In this paper, the spatial distributions and seasonal dynamics of soil microbes and microbial biomass were investigated in a typical reed marsh in Zhalong natural wetlands.We wanted to explore the main factors that impacted their spatio-temporal patterns. The results showed that: Bacteria were dominant, followed by actinomyces and fungi were at least in the soil microbes community. The seasonal dynamics of soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen were more regularly, and their change patterns were significantly as "W" types. The response of soil microbial biomass in Bottom (10-30cm) to time was slower than the surface, and it fluctuated tinily in every months. The correlation analysis shows that the soil nutrient and soil microbial activity had close relationship. Soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen were all significantly positively correlated to quantities of fungus, organic carbon content and Alkali-hytrolyzabel N content(P<0.01), but negative extremely significantly correlated with pH (P<0.01).


The goal of this paper is to study the speech-gesture relation in topic organization in English as L1 and as L2. Twenty subjects (ten Spanish, ten American) aged 19-21 participated in this experiment. They were asked to watch a 7-minute-long animated cartoon and then they were asked to narrate what they had seen to a partner. We analyzed the following features, both in English as L1 and in English as L2: (1) average of gestures per informant; (2) percentage of gestures with new and old topics; (3) rate of pictograms with gestured new and old topics; and (4) rate of gestured new and old topics with action and state verbs. Then, we compared the Spanish speakers' behaviour in English as L2 with their behaviour in L1, in order to discern whether they use the same gestures and topic organisation in both languages or they don't. The results showed important verbal and nonverbal differences in topic organization in English as L1 and as L2.


Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases in the world. Some of the researches have suggested that the serum vitamin D level may relate to disease activity. The current study was designed to identify the correlation between serum vitamin D level and the disease activity index (DAI). Materials and Methods: In this sectional study, 108 patients (diagnosed based on the American Committee of Rheumatology criteria) were enrolled. In all cases after determining the serum vitamin D level and ESR, complete joint examination were done. The normal range of vitamin D was 47.7 144 nm/lit. Then, the specified disease activity form (DAS28) and visual analog scales (VAS) were filled out. The correlation between disease activity index, (based on VAS, tendered or swelled joints and ESR) and serum vitamin D was analyzed using Chi square, Mann Whitney and t-tests. Results: Seventy nine (73.14%) out of 108 patients had normal serum vitamin D and 29 (26.86%) had low serum vitamin D level. The mean age of patients with normal and low serum vitamin D level were 52.22±11.6 and 48.48±12.51, respectively (P=0.075). The mean DAI in normal and low vitamin D patients were 3.75±1.37 and 5.19±1.56, respectively (P=0.00). The mean number of swollen joints in normal and low vitamin D patients was 1.24±1.39 and 3.65±3.3, respectively (P=0.001). The mean number of tender joints in normal and low vitamin D patients were 6.84±4.41 and 9.44±3.62, respectively (P=0.042). The mean ESR in normal and low vitamin D patients were 19.40±12.40 and 37.91±21.72, respectively (P=0.002). Moreover, the mean VAS in normal and low vitamin D patients was 23.29±19.42 and 50.68±30.78, respectively (P=0.003). Conclusion: The more active the RA, the less serum vitamin D level.


It is over 20 years since South Africa was one of the inaugural signatories to the United Nations
Convention on the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses ('UNWC'). With
the UNWC entering into force in 2014 and given the escalating water scarcity and freshwater
pollution challenges facing Southern Africa, it is thus timely to evaluate how complementary
it is with subsequent legal regimes governing South Africa's transboundary watercourses. This
paper examines the development of South Africa's international river agreements since ratifying
the UNWC. Their compatibility in relation to South Africa's UNWC obligations is thus analysed
regarding a regional legal framework and agreements governing three of the country's main
transboundary river basins: Orange-Senqu; Incomati-Maputo; and Limpopo.
Keywords: watercourses convention; international river; basin agreement; treaty; South Africa


Consider a sequence of $n$ random variables $\mathrm{X}\ {\buildrel \triangle\over=} (X_{1},\cdots, X_{n})$ forming a random field (RF). X is assumed to be generated according to one of the two possible classes of probability measures $\mathcal{P}\ {\buildrel \triangle\over=}\ \{\mathbb{P}_{i}: i\in\{1,\cdots, m\}\}$ and $\mathcal{Q}\ {\buildrel \triangle\over=}\ \{\mathbb{Q}_{i}: i\in\{1, \cdots, m\}\}$. Up to $s$ realizations of each random variable $X_{i}$ are available for sampling. This paper addresses the following two questions. 1) Given a target classification reliability, what is the minimum number of samples, on average, required to classify X? 2) What is an optimal sequence of sampling the random variables such that a classification decision can be formed with the fewest number of samples? This paper addresses these questions in the asymptote of large $n$.


Since the 1950s when African and Africanist historians began to use oral evidence as a veritable source for historical reconstruction of Africa's pre-colonial past, traditional histories have continued to occupy a central stage in modern African historiography. In spite of its limitations, no serious historical inquiry into the past of Africa's non-literate societies would ignore traditional material. The use of traditional accounts of the origin and early history of Ilorin has continued to pose serious challenges to historians and non-historians. Some reasons may be responsible for this including Ilorin's multiethnic and multicultural configuration; inexhaustive analysis and interpretation of various versions of Ilorin's traditional history in existing attempts at reconstructing its origin and early history, and the fact that much of Ilorin's history up to the 1820s has not been reconsidered in the light of historical and archaeological evidence from various parts of the Old Oyo Empire and the entire region within which context the origin and early history of Ilorin is located. This paper adopts a multidisciplinary approach to reexamine the traditional accounts on the "origin" and "early" history of Ilorin and posits that various elements in the traditions suggest different phases in the historical evolution of Ilorin and of the developments before the late 18th century.


A prolonged (within 4 days) administration of hydrocortisone or protamin-Zn-insulin into preadolescent male rats with body weight of 70-90 g caused a distinct increase in the synthesis of DNA-like RNA, precursor of ribosomal RNA in nuclei and ribosomal RNA in cytoplasma of liver tissue. Protamin-Zn-insulin, after simultaneous administration with hydrocortisone, suppressed the increase in the synthesis of liver RNA fractions studied. The data obtained suggest that DNA-like RNA, precursor of ribosomal RNA from nuclei and ribosomal RNA from cytoplasma of liver tissue of preadolescent male rats participate in the synthesis of transaminases in liver tissue. The signigicant role of androgenes was assumed to consist in carring out the inducing effect of glucocorticoids and insulin, which influenced to a variable degree the synthesis of DNA-like RNA, of ribosomal RNA precursors from nuclei and of ribosomal RNA from liver tissue cytoplasma in preadolescent and adult animals.


Different tasks in forensic anthropology require the use of three-dimensional models of forensic objects. Since range scanners do not allow to capture the whole object in a single image, multiple scans from different views are needed to supply the information to construct the 3D model. Range image registration methods study the accurate integration of the different views acquired by these scanners. Specifically, pair-wise image registration methods manage every adjacent pair of scanned views. Our proposal is based on the adaptation of a previous work in order to apply the scatter search evo- lutionary algorithm to pair-wise image registration in forensic anthropology applications. To measure the performance of this adaptation, we design an experimental setup considering some of the most recent and accurate evolutionary techniques for the problem to compose a 3D model of one skull from our Physical Anthropology Lab.


— This paper exposes a methodology which allows us to address constrained optimal control of non linear systems by interior penalty methods. A constructive choice for the penalty functions that are introduced to account for the constraints is established in the article. It is shown that it allows us to approach the solution of the non linear optimal control problem using a sequence of unconstrained problems, whose solutions are readily characterized by the simple calculus of variations. An illustrative example is given. The paper extends recent contributions, originally focused on linear dynamics.


Abstract Childhood is characterised by diversity and difference across and within societies. Street children have a unique relationship to the urban environment evident through their use of the city. The everyday geographies that street children produce are diversified through the spaces they frequent and the activities they engage in. Drawing on a range of children-centred qualitative methods, this article focuses on street children's use of urban space in Kampala, Uganda. The article demonstrates the importance of considering variables such as gender and age in the analysis of street children's socio-spatial experiences, which, to date, have rarely been considered in other accounts of street children's lives. In addition the article highlights the need for also including street children's individuality and agency into understanding their use of space. The article concludes by arguing for policies to be sensitive to the diversity that characterises street children's lives and calls for a more nuanced app...


The concept of cultural competence has become ubiquitous in human services
language and settings. Though the literature from various disciplines is replete with
discussions on the topic, there still exists much disagreement regarding the definition of
cultural competence as well as how to operationalize, test, and apply concepts related to
cultural competence in social service settings. A related issue stems from debate
regarding whether cultural competence is a theory, model, paradigm, framework, or
perspective. Though cultural competence has been referred to as a theory by some
scholars from different disciplines (e.g., Lum, 2005; Blue, Thiedke, Chessman, Kern, &
Keller, 2005; Wu & Martinez, 2006), there is still disagreement about whether the
concepts related to cultural competence actually meet the criteria for a theory and,
consequently, whether they can be used to generate hypotheses and allow for
independent observations that can be used to continue building theory, conduct empirical
research, and provide evidenced-based practice implications. The authors join in this
theory debate through an analysis of the elements of theory and conclude that it has
better fit with the definition of social perspective than it does social theory.


Abstract Hong, S.-J., Kang, S.-Y., Chung, Y.-B., Chung, M.-H., Oh, Y.-J., Kang, I., Bahk, Y.Y., Kong, Y., and Cho, S.-Y. 2000. Paragonimus westermani: A cytosolic glutathione S -transferase of a σ-class in adult stage. Experimental Parasitology 94, 180–189. We purified cytosolic glutathione S -transferase (GST) of adult Paragonimus westermani monitoring its activity with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB). The enzyme was purified 18.4-fold to electrophoretic homogeneity with 21% recovery rate through a three-step procedure. The purified enzyme (Pw28GST) has a subunit molecular weight of 28 kDa with an isoelectric point at 4.6. Monoclonal antibody (anti-Pw28GST) against Pw28GST did not cross-react with GSTs from other helminths. cDNA library was constructed in λZAP II bacteriophage and screened with anti-Pw28GST. The corresponding gene containing a single open reading frame of 804 bp encoded 211 amino acids. The predicted amino acid sequence exhibited a higher homology with catalytic domain near N-terminus of class σ GSTs (58%) than with schistosome 28-kDa GSTs (45–41%) or with class σ GSTs themselves (33–31%). The sequence contained both Tyr-6 and Tyr-10 that are highly conserved in mammalian and helminth GSTs. The apparent K m value of a recombinant enzyme was 0.78 mM. Both native and recombinant enzymes showed the highest activity against CDNB, relatively weak activity against ethacrynic acid and reactive carbonyls, and no activity against epoxy-3-( p -nitrophenoxy)-propane. The activities were inhibited by bromosulfophthalein, cibacron blue, and albendazole, but not by praziquantel. These findings indicate that adult P. westermani has a class σ GST.


Generally in the grinding of modern aviation materials such as nickel-based superalloys, problems frequently occur in terms of burr formation, profile loss of the wheel, high heat generation in the contact zone, high grinding forces as well as low process reliability. A recent and promising method to overcome these technological constraints is the use of ultrasonic assistance, where high-frequency and low amplitude vibrations are superimposed on the movement of the workpiece. This paper presents the design of an ultrasonically vibrated block sonotrode and the experimental investigation of ultrasonically assisted profile grinding of Inconel 718. The profile wear, radial wear of the wheel, grinding forces and surface roughness by ultrasonic-assisted and conventional profile grinding were measured and compared. The obtained results show that the application of ultrasonic vibration can decrease the radial wear of the wheel, profile wear, grinding forces and surface roughness considerably.


Abstract Genetic diversity and the optimal genetic composition are essential for the adaptability and adaptation of tree populations. Artificial regeneration of stands might reduce the genetic diversity and increase family structures if the seeds were collected from a limited number of mother trees. We did a genetic inventory in 12 pedunculate oak stands in Russia using a set of 366 nuclear gene markers (361 SNPs, 5 Indels) in order to look for differences in the genetic composition among natural and artificial stands. Our results did not reveal any systematic differences among both types of stands. However, we found two extreme cases of limited genetic diversity and increased proportion of full-sibs and half-sibs in urban man-made stands. The implications for the forestry and gene conservation programs were discussed.


The Brentwood Memberof the Bloyd Formation conformably overlies the Prairie Grove Member, Hale Formationin the type Morrowansuccession of northwestern Arkansas. At its type locality, the Brentwoodis separated fromthe underlying PrairieGroveMemberby nearly 6 m of dark shale. Away fromthis area, the shale thins rapidly and the Hale-Bloydboundary may be placed withdifficulty. At some localities east of type section, the boundary is thought to be erosional rather than the more typical gradational contact. TheBrentwoodconsists of discrete carbonate bodies separated by dark shales. The carbonates consist principally of open shelf deposits, such as crinozoan biosparites and oolites. All carbonate lithologies contain varying amounts of fine to mediumgrained, rounded, quartz sand. Regionally, the BrentwoodMember becomes more shaly to the west of its type locality and loses the quartz sand content in its carbonate lithologies. To the east, the Brentwoodshales becomeless prominent and quartz sandstone intervals characterize the succession. TheWoolsey Memberoverlies the BrentwoodMemberand consists of light to dark, argillaceous shales with occasional sandstones, carbonates, and a thin coal. Thecoal is confined essentially to Washington and northern Crawfordcounties and never exceeds 45.7 cm. The shales are thought to be of terrestrial origin, but marine fossils and thin limestones in the lowerpart of typical Woolsey strata indicate a transitional change withinthe member rather than at its base. In contrast, the detrital fraction of the upper Brentwoodcarbonates seem to decrease rather than increase towards the Woolsey contact. To the west of the type area, the Woolsey gives rise to marineshales and carbonates. To the east, the Woolsey is equivalent to a thick, quartz pebble-bearing sandstone of fluvialorigin. The top of the Woolsey Memberis a regional unconformity withthe overlying DyeShaleMember, Bloyd Formation.


This report gives the characteristics of a wing with an auxiliary airfoil mounted near its trailing edge and used as a flap. The tests were made with a 10 by 60 inch Clark Y main airfoil and an NACA 0012 flap having a chord equal to 15 percent of the main wing chord. The axis of the flap in all cases was on the flap chord and 20 percent back from its leading edge. The optimum location of the flap axis relative to the main wing for maximum lift was found to be 1.25 percent of the main wing chord behind the trailing edge and 2.5 percent below the chord. In this position C(sub L max) was increased from 1.250 (for the plain wing) to 1.810 at 45 degrees deflection of the flap and C(sub D min) was decreased form 0.0155 to 0.0146 at minus 5 degrees deflection, the coefficient in each case being based on the sum of the flap and wing areas. No serious adverse change in lateral stability was found to result from the use of the flap in the optimum position.


In
lack of vaccination and therapeutic drugs, the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic affected millions of people, causing 1,018,957 deaths
worldwide (World health organization; 1st
October 2020). The conventional drug design pipeline for effective
and safer drug development is a costly and time-intensive affair. It
takes around ten years in general from identifying a clinical
candidate to get the approvals for actual applications. An effective
way to cut short drug design pipeline in such emergency cases could
be the repurposing of already approved drugs against novel targets.
Here in this work, we explored the structure-based drug screening
approach to find potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV2 main protease
(Mpro)
from the library of already FDA approved commercially available
drugs. The site-specific and blind docking studies, in combination,
suggest three potential inhibitors of Mpro,
Ergotamine (ZINC000052955754), Nilotinib (ZINC000006716957) and
Naldemedine (ZINC000100378061). Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations
and binding free energy calculations using the MMPBSA method further
reinforced the efficiency of the screened Mpro
inhibitor candidates. The work yields enough evidence to conduct
rigorous experimental validation of these drugs before utilizing them
for the therapeutic management of SARS-CoV2 infection.


The psychometric properties of functional and quality of life outcome measures that were used for the purpose of showing changes in antidementia drug trials for Alzheimer's disease are described and critiqued. The seven functional scales reviewed for reliability, validity, and responsiveness to change included the Geriatric Evaluation by Relative's Rating Instrument, the Physical Self-Maintenance Scale, the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, the Blessed Dementia Scale, Part 1 and its revised version, the Interview for Deterioration in Daily Living with Dementia, the Unified Activities of Daily Living, and the Dependence Scale. The Progressive Deterioration Scale and Quality of Life Assessment were classified as quality of life scales. The majority of the scales were found to exhibit serious limitations, such as incomplete reliability and validity assessment for the intended uses. The most pervasive problem was a lack of data on responsiveness to change. It is recommended that further research be conducted to develop new tools or enhance existing measures for the assessment of both quality of life and functional ability. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2000; 13:170-180).


A compound having structures of both vitamins E and C, L-ascorbic acid dl-alpha-tocopherol phosphoric acid diester potassium salt (EPC-K), which was proven to have both anti-oxidative3%!d moisturizing effects, has been formulated in the quasi drug hair growing products to mainly prevent dandruff and itching which may be one of the causes for the hair loss. Stabilities of EPC-K in 75% ethanolic solutions with various pHs (2-10) were examined extensively by storing them at 50 degrees C for 30 d and by sunlight exposure for 30 d. Decomposition of EPC-K was only observed under pH 2 at a level of 50% and under sunlight exposure at 25% level. A main decomposition product was identified as tocopheryl phosphate (EP), suggesting that a decomposition route was through hydrolysis. EPC-K was found to decompose by as much as 20% under 30 d storage at 50 degrees C when the concentration of the aqueous ethanolic solution was 0-30%. 1H, 13C and 31P-NMR studies in addition to a micelle formation test using pyrene fluorescent probe revealed that EPC-K formed a micelle at such low concentration of ethanol, which was assumed to be a cause for unstableness of EPC-K in that range. Hydrolytic decomposition of EPC-K was found by the reaction rate study to be a pseudo first order reaction with activation energy of 16.98 kcal/mol.


In the treatment of gastroduodenal ulceration both the reduction of gastric acidity and the defence of mucosal membrane have an important role. The development of H2-receptor antagonist has brought a significant change in the decrease of acid secretion in the last two decades. After the development and clinical application of cimetidine and ranitidine, a newly developed H2-receptor blocker, the famotidine has been introduced. Both the pharmacological and clinical investigations demonstrated the efficacy of this drug either in gastric or in duodenal ulcerations. The clinical pharmacological studies expressed mainly the advantageous character, that in the achievement of therapeutic effect smaller quantity is required than that of the other H2-receptor blocker. In the dosage of 40 mg (bedtime once, or daily twice) significantly decreases the basal and the stimulated gastric acid secretion as well as the daily and the nocturnal pains of the patients. Experience for several years have demonstrated efficacy in a 20 mg dosage of this drug in defence of ulceration relapses. It can be very well tolerated without significant side effects. Its long term applications is safety and economically advantageous.


The objectives of this paper are threefold: (a) to bring to the attention the dimension of LAC's infrastructure maintenance problems; (b) to document and analyze the institutional, technical, policy and operational changes needed to improve infrastructure maintenance; and (c) to identify the role of lending agencies in improving maintenance in LAC. The paper deals with the roads, power, and water and sanitation sectors separately. The road sector was selected for transport because it is by far the most predominant mode and because the study's findings and recommendations for the power and water sectors would apply in general to railways, ports, water transport and airports, which are also revenue-earning public utilities. More detailed discussions and supporting data are provided in three separate sectoral volumes and the fourth volume on routine maintenance by contract. In this paper, maintenance is conceived as that set of activities which enables systems to deliver efficiently the outputs for which they were designed. Therefore, maintenance covers the upkeep not only of the physical infrastructure but also of the management systems and institutional capacity necessary to obtain the maximum benefits from this infrastructure.


Government subsidies have driven rapid growth in U.S. wind and solar generation. Using data on hourly outputs and prices for 25 wind and nine solar generating plants, some results of those subsidies are studied in detail: the value of these plants' outputs, the variability of output at plant and regional levels, and the variation in performance among plants and regions. Output from solar plants was about 32% more valuable on average than output from wind plants. Output variability differs substantially among plants and, on some dimensions, among regions. Policy implications of high generation when prices are negative and dramatic differences in capacity factors are discussed.


Abstract: Intergeneric hybridization is not rare in Cactaceae, even between genera with very different pollination syndromes: thus, it appears that geographic barriers are more important than intrinsic reproductive barriers in this group. Here, we used nuclear microsatellite and chloroplast markers to examine reticulate evolution involving Haageocereus and Espostoa. Microsatellite data indicate that hybrids between Espostoa and Haageocereus are present and that hybridization has gone beyond the F1 generation, with sampled plants being either F2 or backcrosses, including several individuals that based on morphology were initially identified as Haageocereus. These populations meet the criteria of hybrid swarms. Together, plastid and nuclear markers indicate that Haageocereus, more abundant in the populations, was the pollen donor in all cases examined.


Rinto Noviantoro, Umar Purwoko; This research was aimed to determine the effect of growth and equity financing murabahah about returns in the form of return on assets in the Bank's Credit Rakyar Sharia (SRB) in the island of Java in the period quartalan ie Balance Sheet reporting period March 2011 s / d in December 2012 were published. The hypothesis testing using multiple linear test that examines the effect between murabaha and growth equity capital structure as an independent variable to variable yields as dipenden. Secondary Data collection method is by using quantitative analysis. Test statistics using Classical Test assumptions. The results of this study indicate that the murabahah and equity capital structure significantly influence yield, whereby the different results that the growth murabaha significant negative effect on BPR Syariah then capital structure itself significant positive effect on the yield on Syariah BP. Key Words:  Murabahah  , Own Capital Structure , and yields