The objective of the research is to evaluate the degree of success in applying profitsharing as a form of participation in developing command economies, Egypt being the model. Participation is spoken of as a new management ideology to overcome workers' alienation resulting from the introduction of the factory system - and to guarantee their support for its objectives. There are many studies of participation in Western countries whose overriding concern is with the success or failure of application, a subject which is seen to be debatable. Yet in command economies, where the application is compulsory, studies are very rare. This research may help to fill some of the void. Furthermore, the difference between the voluntary application of profit sharing in Western societies and its compulsory application in command economies is of a significance which cannot be too emphasised. Investigation has been performed by questionnaire and through personal interviews with employees from the Egyptian industrial public sector. This information is analysed against a background of the Egyptian environment in order better to understand employees' satisfaction with such schemes. The analysis attempts to highlight existing problems and to answer the question of how to improve the scheme. The research concludes that participation cannot be achieved by law, being subject to culture, tradition, habits, norms and skills of members.Compulsory application of profit sharing has led to many problems which affect its success. The application of such schemes in developing countries which does not satisfy the basic needs of individuals cannot guarantee its effectiveness. Workers behave individually as well as collectively, therefore personal factors such as their individual position in the hierarchy and market place are effective in determining their attitudes. Awareness of profit sharing among shopfloor workers seems to be limited to the money they get, that is the simple cash transaction. Little has been achieved in terms of the wider political goals of raising worker.identity wih the enterprise or state. The research recommends several related procedures be adopted. These are essential elements to the achievement of a political awareness among participants in such schemes.


For a long time inadequate understanding of causes and nature of persisting wage differentials has been a source of dissatisfaction to analysts. The neo-classical wage theory postulates that such differentials could not persist. The empirical research, however, uniformly shows that they do. Factors that influence inter-skill, inter-firm, interplant or inter-industry wage differentials are many. Given adequate competition in the concerned market the forces of supply and demand should shape a unique rate of wage in each occupation. The existence and power of trade unions, however, could significantly alter the level of this competitive wage rate. Recent research has documented enough evidence to demonstrate it. Size of the firm influencing the level of wage rates has also been reported. This is an attempt to present and analyse the changing pattern of wages and earnings in the organized industrial sector of Baroda city. The focus of this study are: (i) skill based wage differentials in small, medium and large units, (ii) inter plant wage differentials between plants of varying sizes, (iii) changes in real wages and, (iv) changes in employment vis-a-vis changes in wages at different levels of skills


Autologous monocyte-derived synthetic mRNA electroporated dendritic cells (TriMixDC-MEL) are immunogenic and can induce anti-tumor activity in pretreated advanced melanoma patients when administered by the intradermal (id) and intravenous (iv) route. We investigated the safety and activity of TriMixDC-MEL in stage III/IV melanoma patients who are disease free following the local treatment of macrometastases. We performed a randomized, controlled, non-comparative phase II clinical trial where TriMixDC-MEL was administered iv (20.106 DCs) and id (4.106 DCs) at 2 separate sites of the body every 2 weeks for a total of 4 administrations and a fifth administration after 16 weeks in patients randomized to the treatment arm. Patients on the control arm did not receive treatment but were allowed to "cross-over" and be treated with TriMixDC-MEL at the time of non-salvageable recurrence. Tumor evaluations on both arms were performed by total-body 18-FDG-PET/CT every 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients who were alive and free from melanoma macrometastases at 1 year following randomization. Patients were allowed to undergo local salvage treatments for loco-regional melanoma recurrences during the study (week 0-52). If local salvage treatment during the study resulted in a disease-free status that was confirmed at any of the planned assessment, but not earlier than 16 weeks after the salvage treatment, these patients were considered not to have reached the primary endpoint of the study. Between November 2012 and November 2014, 41 eligible patients were randomized between the TriMixDC-MEL treatment arm (n = 21) and control-arm (n = 20). Baseline characteristics (22M/19F; median age 57.5y (range 24-81); AJCC stage III/IV-M1a/-M1b/-M1c: 33/1/6/1 patients, ulcerated primary melanoma: 12 patients) were well balanced between both groups. After a median follow-up of 28 months (range 15 to 40 months) 21 patients experienced a non-salvageable melanoma recurrence (7 on the DC- and 14 on the control-arm). The rate of patients who were disease-free at 1 year (evaluable population = 41 patients) was higher in the TriMixDC-MEL treated group (68% [95%CI 46-86] vs. 35% [14-55]). The time-to-non-salvageable melanoma recurrence was significantly lower in the TriMixDC-MEL treated group (log-rank p = .021). Seven patients in the TriMixDC-MEL group and 3 patients in the control arm were offered local salvage therapy at first recurrence (surgery: 9 patients; RT: 1pt). TriMixDC-MEL was well tolerated (there were no grade ≥3 AE related to TriMixDC-MEL). AE were limited to: local skin injection reactions (grade 1-2; 17/21 patients), flu-like symptoms (grade 1-2; 4/21 patients), and post-infusion chills (grade 1-2; 4 [19%] patients). The results of this non-comparative randomized controlled phase II clinical trial of TriMixDC-MEL id/iv versus observation support the further evaluation of TriMixDC-MEL as a well-tolerated adjuvant therapy for melanoma patients following the resection of macrometastases. Citation Format: Bart Neyns, Yanina Jansen, Jurgen Corthals, Sofie Wilgenhof, Max Schreuer, Carlo Heirman, Kris Thielemans. A randomized controlled phase II clinical trial on mRNA electroporated autologous dendritic cells for stage III/IV melanoma patients who are disease-free following the local treatment of macrometastases [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; 2016 Sept 25-28; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B003.


SUMMARY: Resting organisms of Shigella flexneri 3 were able to synthesize protein and nucleic acids in a chemically defined medium. Protein synthesis was markedly inhibited while ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis was stimulated by low concentrations of chloramphenicol; deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis was inhibited slightly. Neither glycine, l-phenylalanine nor l-tyrosine annulled the action of the antibiotic. Inhibition of protein synthesis and stimulation of RNA synthesis in resting organisms of a chloramphenicol-resistant mutant of S. flexneri 3 was observed only in the presence of high concentrations of chloramphenicol. The results presented in this paper show that chloramphenicol suppresses the growth of S. flexneri 3 by interfering with the synthesis of protein. The stimulation of RNA synthesis suggests that chloramphenicol may exert its inhibitory action by promoting the formation of RNA with altered biological activity.


Increasing waiting lists and a structural staff shortage are putting pressure on the health system. Because care production is lower than care demand, there is no longer competition. Competition is over and we are beginning to see the contours of the new health system. The new system takes health instead of care as its starting point by legally embedding health goals in addition to the duty of care. The new system is based on health regions, but does not require a regional health authority. It is based on health manifestos that include agreements about cooperation in good and bad times.


Learning organization and knowledge-based firm are challenges of the beginning of the 21st century. The new paradigm involves new questions and new tasks. We speak about human capital of the firm and its development, but who is owner of the capital? How can we develop and use the capital effectively and where is the border between individual development and learning of the firm as a complex? How can we measure the contributions of the knowledge development? This contribution can not answer such range of complex questions. The foundation for specific research activities was set by the involvement of Tomas Bata University in Zlin in the Europe Union projects of human resource development. Tomas Bata University in Zlin managed to win a new project within the framework of the Operational Programme for Human Resources Development, for Creating and Testing of a New Programme for Further Education at Universities entitled Work Smarter. Partner of the University in this project is Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Business and Management. The first part of the project was focused on the research of the needs of the enterprises and their employees in HRD and this contribution analyses the first results. The project is focused on the transfer of knowledge among the Czech small and medium enterprises. Universities help to this process with their professional staff and facilities. The mission of this project is to bring up and enforce innovative approaches and methods in Human and Resource Development (HRD) in the Czech small and medium enterprises, to create a "learning environment" and to exercise the concept of lifelong learning in day-to-day practice of our enterprises.
The first part of the project was focused on the research of the needs of the enterprises and their employees in HRD and the universities prepared a lot of videos from the enterprises and database of best practices. Then the e-Learning environment was prepared and tested in the specific conditions of the Czech enterprises. The last part of the project is focused on the wide use of the case studies and knowledge.
The transfer of knowledge (the best practices) as development of human capital of the firm is important as the cooperation of the research team with top managers of the Czech successful enterprises has confirmed. The workshops helped to create the list of 50 important topics for training of employees. The following selection has chosen 30 core topics and they were offered to employees of randomly chosen small and medium enterprises. The research with employees affirmed that such training is possible and the employees accepted most of the offered topics as contributing both the firm knowledge development and their individual development.
The research was focused on the barriers on the recipient's part; especially the potential lack of motivation and the lack of absorptive capacity. The results of the research confirmed that the motivation of employees is conditioned by the possibility of potential contribution of the training (transferring best practices) for their individual development. The contributions only for the development of the firm knowledge capital are not sufficient for the employee's motivation.


Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase is virtually inactive in erythrocytes from patients with the classical Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. In one such patient, activity of this enzyme ranged from 8 to 34 percent of normal in erythrocytes when assayed with a very high concentration of magnesium 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate. In addition, the mutant enzyme exhibited sigmoidal kinetics with this substrate as well as an increased Michaelis constant for both guanine and hypoxanthine. These findings provide the first evidence for genetic heterogeneity within the group of patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.


This study examined the pedagogical techniques of secondary school band teachers in southwest Virginia in the area of composition. The goal of this study was to provide a snapshot of current practices in composition pedagogy in secondary school instrumental ensemble classes in southwest Virginia, and to determine to what extent teachers consider and utilize aspects of the musical creative process in their instructional design and teaching methods, particularly in regards to respect for individual creative pathways and time dedicated to exploration and reflection. A preliminary survey on teaching composition was distributed to band teachers in southwest Virginia. Based on survey results, three teachers were chosen for further case study. These three teachers were observed teaching in the classroom and also participated in interviews, which were transcribed, analyzed, and codified for common themes. Results indicated that these teachers addressed the need for individualized composition instruction, but were lacking in the incorporation of exploratory time and reflection leading to revision. The teachers held many aspects of composition instruction in common, in particular a reverence for composition as a deliberate decision-making process and a sequence of instruction moving gradually from restriction to freedom, but varied widely in their tasks, goals, and understanding of the creative process. The study indicates a need for the pedagogy of composition to be addressed in music education, particularly in teacher preparation programs.


Using 50 mongrel dogs with alveolar flooding produced by oleic acid administration, the possible roles of vasoactive cyclooxygenase products on intrapulmonary shunt flow (QS/QT) and extravascular lung water (ETVI) in acutely injured lungs were assessed. Suppressing cyclooxygenase activity with indomethacin administration diminished the concentrations of thromboxane (TX) B2 and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1 alpha) in arterial blood, resulting in a significant reduction in QS/QT. Furthermore, indomethacin completely suppressed the increase in ETVI. Inhibition of TXA2 generation by OKY-046 (thromboxane A2 synthase blocker) diminished the concentration of TXB2 while increasing that of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha in blood. Administration of either OKY-046 or synthetic prostacyclin (PGI2) markedly enhanced QS/QT, in association with an increase in ETVI. In conclusion, the potent vasodilator prostacyclin was considered to enhance shunt flow, leading to the augmentation of edema formation.


The paper aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and possible future global epidemic events on shopping behavioral patterns. Specifically, the paper investigates consumer pandemic-related isolation behavior (which manifests itself via preference for shopping without leaving home, and avoiding contact with other people while shopping offline) as a consequence of consumer interdependent self-construal, with the mediating role of consumer pandemic-related emotions of disgust, fear for oneself, fear for others, and sadness. The results of two surveys conducted in different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (October 2020, and January 2021, respectively) suggest two opposing indirect effects of interdependent self-construal on isolation behavior: a positive effect through disgust, and a negative effect through sadness. Additionally, a positive indirect effect through fear was visible in the second study. Moreover, two dimensions of interdependent self-construal (i.e., vertical and horizontal) are demonstrated to have opposing effects (a positive effect and a negative one, respectively) on pandemic-related disgust, and in turn on isolation behavior. The above results indicate that, in the context of the pandemic, consumer self-construal influences pandemic-related emotions, and in turn consumers' tendency to isolate themselves. Implications for marketers and society were discussed from the perspective of economic and sustainability goals.


Constraints on the directivity reduce the available bandwidth of antennas. We develop here a formulation that determines the smallest Q-factor for an arbitrary shaped embedded antenna for a given partial or total directivity. An embedded antenna is an antenna that is located within a device often as part of a circuit board, where the main volume of the device is dedicated to non-antenna functions. We show that semi-definite relaxation can be used to predict the lowest Q-factor in an embedded antenna for a partial or a total directivity in a given direction, and that the bound is tight. The paper ends with an example.


To block, or not to block in advanced cirrhosis and ascites: that is the question; Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous non-selective β-blockers (NSBB), or to take arms against a sea of criticism. These words rephrase Prince Hamlet's contemplation of death and suicide in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet . He bemoans the pains and unfairness of life but acknowledges that the alternative may still be worse.

NSBBs have been studied since the early 1960s and have been a cornerstone in clinical hepatology where they have benefitted more patients and saved more lives than any other drug in this field over the past three decades (table 1).1 ,2 In addition, NSBBs continue to be intensively studied and have become the Holy Grail in portal hypertension.

View this table:

Table 1
Meta-analytical data on the efficacy of NSBBs for primary and secondary prophylaxis treatment of variceal bleeding

In 2010, the scientific community was shocked as data came out suggesting that NSBBs were associated with poor survival in patients with refractory ascites.3 That study led to subsequent debates and a number of additional observational studies with conflicting results (table 2). Nevertheless, a serious concern regarding the safety of NSBB in advanced cirrhosis has been raised3 ,4 which should be weighed against the potential benefit of NSBBs and alternative treatment options (table 1, figure 1). None of the randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on NSBB to date have specifically assessed safety and efficacy in advanced stage disease and consequently no strong recommendations can be made. Previous RCTs on NSBB excluded patients with advanced liver disease or only included a small number of these patients.5 ,6 Until we have specific RCTs evaluating NSBB in late stage cirrhosis, large observational studies are needed and may …


In this paper, I will discuss the academic critique of secularism that is emanating from Western academic discourse and some of its limitations. I will also discuss how this scholarly critique of secularism has been used in Palestine, among other places, to defend symbolic as well as real repressive social norms within Muslim societies, and to defend the call for creating an Islamist state. This discussion is to be taken in the context of the Arab Spring, where political Islamist movements that embody fantasies about a certain past are calling for a return to a "real," "non-secular," "Islamic" state. Both such academic and political arguments base their analyses and arguments on false assumptions—epistemological as well as historical. My paper will attempt to discuss these assumptions and propose a possible political future that does not dichotomize secularism, religion, and politics, while drawing evidence from within Islamic knowledge on the rational rather than religious approach to organizing societies and states.


Health information networks (HINs) have become increasingly important in the structure of the health care industry. In this paper, we develop decision models and decision-support systems for designing and performing cost-benefit analyses of HINs. Our models prioritize the connection of various types of health providers to the network based on the costs and benefits of all participants: the network owners, information providers and information users of the HIN. The business strategy underlying this analysis is to design the system with the maximum value for the network owner(s), while ensuring that the network provides positive added value to each of its nodes. Our framework could be used to examine the design of and to perform a cost-benefit analysis for an existing network, for the expansion of an existing network, or for the development of a new network. One can also use the models for break-even point and scenario analyses. We have used our approach to examine an existing HIN [the Wisconsin Health Information Network (WHIN)] and to perform a scenario analysis for a possible restructuring of the network. Our empirical results in this case show that HINs could be highly profitable for all network participants.


The strain distribution around the unstiffened and stiffened circular cutout of the isotropic stainless steel (ANSI type 304) and the GFRP laminated composite cylindrical shells subjected to axial compression are studied. The experimental results are obtained and compared with numerical analysis. In experiment, the strain is measured around the circular cutout by strain measuring system under the axial uniform compression loading. The numerical analysis is performed by the commercial finite element code ANSYS. The strain concentration factor (SCF) is defined to investigate the strain concentration around the circular cutout. The SCF of the stainless steel cylindrical shell with a stiffened cutout is decreased 39% in experiment and 50 % in numerical analysis. The SCF of GFRP laminated composite cylindrical shell is decreased 22% in experiment and 31 % in numerical analysis.


How do citizens evaluate democracy? Previous literature trying to address this question has often relied on single indicators to assess citizens' assessment of democracy. This article contributes to this debate by using multiple indicators measuring different attributes to find a summary measure of citizens' evaluations of democracy. Using the special module of the sixth round of the European Social Survey 'Europeans' understandings and evaluations of democracy' and applying Bayesian factor analysis with country random effects, this article tests whether multiple indicators form an underlying trait measuring citizens' evaluations of democracy. It finds the scores of this measure at the individual and country levels and validates this measure against other measures built at the system level, including the 'satisfaction with democracy' indicator, also illustrating its functioning as a dependent and an independent variable.


Seed dispersal is a major factor of species distribution and propagation. It was hypothesized that Nypa palm seed will float more than mangrove seeds in water due to its outer fiber coat. An experiment was conducted with 30 seeds each of both mangrove (Rhizophora racemosa) and Nypa palm (Nypa fruticans). Buoyancy experiment was conducted in the laboratory. The weights of all the seeds were recorded. A small basin full of water was placed in an empty bigger basin. The seeds of each species were sequentially placed inside the inner container that was full of aqueous media. The amount of water spilled was collected and measured in milliliter (ml). The weight of the seed and the weight of the water spilled were then used to calculate the floatability of each seed. If the weight of the seed is greater than the mass of water spilled the seed floats while if the weight of the seed is less than the mass of water spilled the seed sinks. The result indicates that there was no significant difference in the amount of spill between tap and river water (F1,119=3.76, p>0.05). But there was a significant difference in the amount of spill between mangrove and Nypa palm seeds (F1,119=163.2, p<0.0001). Five Nypa palm seeds floated in tap water while one floated in river water, as for mangrove none of the seeds floated in both water types. Nypa palms seeds were heavier (0.13 ± 0.01 kg) than mangrove seeds (0.026 ± 0.001 kg). This implies that Nypa palm seed has higher buoyancy than mangrove seeds. Similarly, salinity influenced seed floatation, as the tap water (control) had higher floatation than river (saline) water.


Selective attention is related to a range of cognitive abilities, including executive function (Lawson et al., 2014). Orienting attention to visual and auditory targets are component skills inherent in many cognitive assessments, making it often difficult to parse cognitive capacities from selective attention abilities.The fundamental, early-developing nature of somatosensory processing (Saby et al., 2015) make it a compelling sensory domain within which to study top-down attentional processes. This presentation describes the initial results of a study examining how the electrophysiological indicators of selective attention, specifically the ability to focus attention on tactile stimuli, relate to children's executive function. Results will parse the relations between a composite of executive function tasks and the EEG mu rhythm response of participants when anticipating tactile stimulation of the hand. The implications of individual differences in somatosensory selective attention are discussed in light of cognitive assessment design, SES-related discrepancies in attention, and bodily awareness.


The disposal of radioactive waste into the environment is of public interest. The individual discharges of radionuclides from medical institutions are relatively small but the number of such discharges are quite large and the levels of radioactivity discharged to the environment may be readily measured. The aim of this survey is to demonstrate the variation in the radioactive waste that different medical institutions are authorised to dispose of by various routes. Other relevant factors such as availability of on site incineration, monitoring of ash, etc. are also discussed. This work was accomplished by distributing a questionnaire throughout the United Kingdom to medical physicists who advise and supervise the disposal of radioactive waste in most of the National Health Service hospitals and medical academic institutions. Hence a wide distribution was achieved from a small hospital to a large teaching establishment in a large city. A wide variation was found to exist in the arrangements connected with the disposal of radioactive waste. This variation was found in the activity limits, storage times, ash monitoring frequency and in other organisational aspects of radioactive waste disposal.


OBJECTIVES
To estimate age-, sex- and region-specific associations of blood pressure with cardiovascular diseases.

DESIGN
Relative risk estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated from Cox models, stratified by sex and cohort, and adjusted for age at risk on individual participant data from 37 cohort studies. Repeat measurements of blood pressure were used to adjust for regression dilution bias.

SETTING
Studies included in the Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration from Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 425 325 study participants.

MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES
Stroke, ischaemic heart disease, total cardiovascular death.

RESULTS
During over 3 million person-years of follow-up, 5178 strokes, 3047 ischaemic heart disease events and 6899 cardiovascular deaths were observed. Continuous log-linear associations were seen between systolic blood pressure and the risks of all three endpoints down to at least 115 mmHg. In the age groups < 60, 60-69, and > or = 70 years, a 10 mmHg lower usual systolic blood pressure was associated with 54% (95% CI 53-56%), 36% (34-38%) and 25% (22-28%) lower stroke risk, and 46% (43-49%), 24% (21-28%) and 16% (13-20%) lower ischaemic heart disease risk, respectively. All associations were similar in men and women. Blood pressure was at least as strongly associated with cardiovascular events in Asian populations compared to Australasian populations.

CONCLUSIONS
About half of the world's cardiovascular burden is predicted to occur in the Asia Pacific region. Blood pressure is an important determinant of this burden, with considerable potential benefit of blood pressure lowering down to levels of at least 115 mmHg systolic blood pressure.


Huxley was one of the first adherents to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection and advanced its acceptance by scientists and the public. Man's Place in Nature was explicitly directed against Richard Owen, who had claimed that there were distinct differences between human brains and those of apes. Huxley demonstrated that ape and human brains were fundamentally similar in every anatomical detail, thus applying evolution to the human race.


This paper attempts to trace the achievements and failures that have affected the Arab nation (the Ummah), and the impediments that have been strewn in its path, preventing the realization of the visions it had for its future, since the end of the Second World War. It discusses the reasons behind the subjugation of the Arab nation to the hegemonic interests of external factors, primary actors and stakeholders. It elaborates on how foreign interests and interventions have conspired, along with internal factors and determinants endemic to the various infrastructures of Arab regimes, to fragment the Arab nation and perpetuate the divisions between the Arab countries and their underdevelopment/backwardness. It analyses the current situation, and proposes a set of recommendations that may help to extricate it from the current impasse in which the Arab nation is blocked.


Through the examination of the "stubborn and rebellious son" (Deuteronomy 21) and later rabbinic understandings and resolution of this case, Mendelsohn Aviv expounds an alternative pedagogy that integrates classical perspectives with more recent research on adolescent behavior and embodied learning. Jewish tradition touts numerous examples of what Mendelsohn Aviv calls orthophagy or "right eating"-which not only reflects divine commandment (as in the case of dietary laws), but also attests to a person's wisdom and scholarly stature. Moreover, orthophagy lays the groundwork for orthopraxy, or "right doing." In other words, eating right is a lesson in and for doing right.


This paper proposes a novel method for detecting the optimal sequence of prosodic phrases from continuous speech based on data-driven approach. The pitch pattern of input speech is divided into prosodic segments which minimized the overall distortion with pitch pattern templates of accent phrases by using the One Pass search algorithm. The pitch pattern templates are designed by clustering a large number of training samples of accent phrases. On the ATR continuous speech database uttered by 10 speakers, the rate of correct segmentation was 91.7% maximum for the same sex data of training and testing, 88.6% for the opposite sex.<<ETX>>


Stray inductance of the DC bus in switching power converters causes transient overvoltages across the power devices, creating a need for higher rated, more costly switches. Moreover, EMI filters become necessary to mitigate the high frequency noise generated by the inductive loop of the busbar. In automotive applications, due to low cost and improved power density requirements, low inductance busbars are critical to avoid these added component costs. This paper discusses the factors affecting parasitics of laminated busbars. A methodical approach to design and analyze a low impedance busbar using electromagnetic analysis tools has been presented and a busbar design is proposed for a bidirectional boost converter for an electrified powertrain application. The relationship between converter component selection, properties of its busbar and power density is also discussed.


The use of polymer matrix composites (PMC) for manufacturing primary load-bearing structural components has significantly increased in many industrial applications. Specifically in the aerospace industry, PMCs are also being considered for elevated temperature applications. Current aerospace-grade composite components subjected to fatigue loading are over-designed due to insufficient understanding of the material failure processes, and due to the lace of available generic fatigue prediction models. A comprehensive literature survey reveals that there are few fatigue studies conducted on woven and braided fabric reinforced PMC materials, and even fewer at elevated temperatures. It is therefore the objective of this study to characterize and subsequently model the elevated temperature fatigue behaviour of a triaxial braided PMC, and to investigate the elevated temperature of fatigue properties of two additional woven PMCs.

An extensive experimental program is conducted using a unique test protocol on the braided and woven composites, which consists of static and fatigue testing at various test temperatures. The development of mechanically-induced damage is monitored using a combination of non-destructive techniques which included infrared thermography, fiber optic sensors and edge replication. The observed microscopic damage development is quantified and correlated to the exhibited macroscopic material behaviour at all test temperatures. The fiber-dominated PMC materials considered in this study did not exhibit notable time or temperature-dependent static properties. However, fatigue tests reveal that the local damage development is in fact notably influenced by temperature. The elevated temperature environment increases the toughness of the thermosetting polymers, which results in consistently slower fatigue crack propagation rates for the respective composite materials. This has a direct impact on the stiffness degradation rate and the fatigue lives for the braided and woven composites under investigation. The developed analytical fatigue damage prediction model, which is based on actual observed damage mechanisms, accurately predicted the development of damage and corresponding stiffness degradation for the braided PMC, for all test temperatures. An excellent correlation was found between the experimental the predicted results to within a 2% accuracy. The prediction model adequately captured the local temperature-induced phenomenon exhibited by the braided PMC material. The results presented in this study are novel for a braided composite material subjected to elevated temperature fatigue.


The discovery of mirror neurons and the mirror neuron system is one of the most interesting breakthroughs in the field of neuroscience in recent years. The topic stretches over a wide spectrum of research fields but one of the more prominent areas is concerned with the role of mirror neurons in autism spectrum disorder. It is hypothesized that an impaired mirror neuron system may be one of the main causes underlying the deficits seen in autistic individuals. Parallel to the broken mirror theory of autism there are critical voices claiming there is not enough empirical evidence to support such a theory. Research carried out in the area seems to offer support for both contradictory approaches making it hard to conclude the definite role of mirror neurons in this developmental disorder. Future research may offer conclusive answers concerning the role of the mirror neuron system in autism spectrum disorder as well as other important questions regarding the functional properties of the brain areas under question.


Agriculture in both terrestrial and space-controlled environments relies heavily on artificial illumination for efficient photosynthesis. Plant-growth illumination systems require high photon flux in the spectral range corresponding with plant photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) (400–700 nm), high spatial uniformity to promote uniform growth, and high energy efficiency to minimize electricity usage. The proposed plant-growth system takes advantage of the highly diffuse reflective surfaces on the interior of a sphere, hemisphere, or other nearly enclosed structure that is coated with highly reflective materials. This type of surface and structure uniformly mixes discrete light sources to produce highly uniform illumination. Multiple reflections from within the domelike structures are exploited to obtain diffuse illumination, which promotes the efficient reuse of photons that have not yet been absorbed by plants. The highly reflective surfaces encourage only the plant tissue (placed inside the sphere or enclosure) to absorb the light. Discrete light sources, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), are typically used because of their high efficiency, wavelength selection, and electronically dimmable properties. The light sources are arranged to minimize shadowing and to improve uniformity. Different wavelengths of LEDs (typically blue, green, and red) are used for photosynthesis. Wavelengths outside the PAR range can be added for plant diagnostics or for growth regulation (see figure). The advantage of this approach over previous artificial illumination methods is that it facilitates the use of a few discrete point light sources to illuminate an extended plant volume/surface area while minimizing canopy shadow effects and providing nearly perfect uniform illumination. The lighting system method efficiently mixes light, recycles photons, and enables nearly 100 percent spatial mixing of various colors. This system also makes it possible to conduct plantgrowth research in diffuse light fields with various spectral distributions. In theory, this efficient mixing of different light sources, as well as the spatial uniformity enabled by the dome/hemisphere environment, should minimize plantgrowth variability and optimize growth. This work was done by George May of the Institute for Technology Development and Robert Ryan of Science Systems and Applications, Inc. for Stennis Space Center. Inquiries concerning rights for the commercial use of this invention should be addressed to: Institute for Technology Development Building 1103, Suite 118 Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 Phone No.: (228) 688-2509 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Refer to SSC-00272, volume and number of this NASA Tech Briefs issue and the page number. Diffuse-Illumination Systems for Growing Plants Discrete sources produce spatially and spectrally mixed light. Stennis Space Center, Mississippi


The proper resolution of applications for challenge (self-challenge) of a judge (investigative judge, court) is important for further criminal proceedings, as a judicial error in this matter may result in the violation of a person's right to 'lawful composition of the court' or the right to defence, which is grounds for the cancellation of the court decision in the case and its referral to a new trial (Art. 412 of the CrPC), the violation of the principles of reasonable time terms, and the legal certainty (finality) of court decisions as part of the rule of law.
In judicial practice, proceedings on challenges belong to separate common proceedings, which usually end with a refusal to satisfy the challenge. Lawyers assess the institute of criminal proceedings of Ukraine as ineffective.
The purpose of the present study is to examine the grounds for challenge using the comparative method, so that views on their understanding are consistent in the professional environment and in judicial practice.
The article outlines the list of grounds for challenge of a judge (investigative judge, court) under the CrPC of Ukraine and presents their classification as unconditional and evaluative, which is crucial for the selection of methods of proof. The correlation between the national classification of grounds for challenge and the criteria for determining the impartiality of the court in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is shown. The main focus is on the analysis of unconditional grounds for challenge according to the national classification, and their content is revealed in relation to the positions of the ECtHR.
It is substantiated that the grounds for challenge are not only circumstances that cast doubt on the impartiality of a judge (investigating judge, court) found in para. 6 of Chapter 3 of the CrPC of Ukraine 'Challenge', but also circumstances that indicate that the judge does not meet the requirements of 'legal composition of the court' (Part 2 of Art. 412 of the CrPC) or 'Court established by law' (in the wording of part 1 of Art. 6 of the ECHR) found in various structural parts of the CrPC and in the Law 'On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges'. It is substantiated that the wording of Part 1 of Art. 76 of the CrPC of 14 January 2021 is not consistent with the principle of access to justice by an impartial court (Art. 21 of the CrPC) since the right to an impartial tribunal (part 1 of Art. 6 of the ECHR) creates a conflict with Chapter 18 of the CrPC on the procedure for election, change of precautionary measures, does not meet the requirements of legal certainty, and may be grounds for complaints to the ECtHR.


James Joyce's Ulysses first appeared in print in the pages of an American avant-garde magazine, The Little Review, between 1918 and 1920. The novel many consider to be the most important literary work of the twentieth century was, at the time, deemed obscene and scandalous, resulting in the eventual seizure of The Little Review and the placing of a legal ban on Joyce's masterwork that would not be lifted in the United States until 1933. For the first time, The Little Review "Ulysses" brings together the serial installments of Ulysses to create a new edition of the novel, enabling teachers, students, scholars, and general readers to see how one of the previous century's most daring and influential prose narratives evolved, and how it was initially introduced to an audience who recognized its radical potential to transform Western literature. This unique and essential publication also includes essays and illustrations designed to help readers understand the rich contexts in which Ulysses first appeared and trace the complex changes Joyce introduced after it was banned.


The process of initial ice formation in brine is a highly complex problem. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model that captures the dynamics of nucleation and development of ice inclusions in brine. The primary emphasis is on the interaction between ice growth and salt diffusion, subject to external forcing provided by temperature. Within this setting two freezing regimes are identified, depending on the rate of change of the temperature: a slow freezing regime where a continuous ice domain is formed; and a fast freezing regime where recurrent nucleation appears within the fluid domain. The second regime is of primary interest, as it leads to fractal-like ice structures. We analyse the critical threshold between the slow and fast regimes by identifying the explicit rates of external temperature control that lead to self-similar salt-concentration profiles in the fluid domains. Subsequent heuristic analysis provides estimates of the characteristic length scales of the fluid domains depending on the time-variation of the temperature. The analysis is confirmed by numerical simulations.


Ki-1 (CD30) antigen expression has been considered to be restricted to hematopoietic tissues including the recently described anaplastic large cell lymphoma and Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells in Hodgkin's disease. Its presence on some activated lymphocytes in non-neoplastic lymphoid tissues has been used as evidence that such cells might represent the physiologic counterpart of RS cells. In this study expression of CD30 antigen in 117 nonhematopoietic tumors was investigated using monoclonal antibody Ber-H2. The antigen was regularly expressed in frozen section (strongly) and paraffin section (less strongly) by embryonal carcinomas (8 of 10 studied) and the embryonal elements of mixed germ cell tumors (4 of 4), but not in other types of germ cell tumors (0 of 11) or nonhematopoietic tumors (0 of 92). Normal adult, neonatal, and fetal testes were negative for CD30 antigen, as were other fetal tissues and placenta. Ki-1 antibody gives similar results in frozen section. These findings have implications for theories suggesting an origin of RS cells from activated lymphocytes. They are also important for determining the diagnostic significance of CD30 positivity in a tumor of unknown origin, and suggest possible new uses for CD30 antibodies in routine diagnostic immunohistology.


LTE standard defines classes with granular requirements in order to provide QoS with fast connectivity and high data rates. The basic Release-8 of LTE and the subsequent modifications do not specify any scheduling algorithm making the task of improving user satisfaction more difficult. In our work, we proposed a two-level scheduler with game theoretic application that distributes resources among classes with fairness and then implements a delay based scheduler to satisfy the strict levels of delay budget requirements of LTE classes. A coalition is formed between different class flows by use of bargaining cooperative game that allows for distribution of physical resource blocks in a fair manner via Shapely function. The delay based scheduler checks and compares users packet delay in a service class to make scheduling decisions in the downlink utilizing recent user reported channel conditions. Simulation results carried out with key performance matrices like packet loss ratio, throughput, fairness index and system delay prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach as compared to Exponential Rule, Proportional Fair and M-LWDF algorithms and its usefulness for supporting both real time and non-real time traffic is verified.


Research in construction is often confronted with a trade-off of selecting either in-depth studies of small-N cases, which may affect generalization of findings, or statistical large-N studies, which may limit examination of causal links. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) provides a middle ground between these options, allowing researchers to analytically determine different combinations of conditions that produce an outcome in comparative studies. QCA has been applied extensively in other fields; however, the method has only recently started to gain traction in construction research. Guidance on the implementation of QCA is provided, including: a description of the method and its variants; stages required for its application; its benefits and critiques; applications in the construction field; and recommendations for scholars employing the method. QCA is a promising approach for probing causal links via investigations between variable-based, large-N analyses and qualitative, case-based, small-N studies. However, researchers must not use the method in haste or simply to obtain quantitative results from qualitative data. It requires significant time and rigour to determine and justify the conditions, outcomes and cases used in its application. QCA is well suited for research where interactions between conditions and outcomes are not well understood and can be used to build theory in the complex environment of construction.


Adherence to anti-retroviral treatment (ART) has been a significant step towards improving quality of life among people living with HIV. However, stigma has been described to influence adherence to ART. A cross-sectional mixed methods study was conducted to explore factors related to stigma and perceived influence of stigma on adherence to treatment amongst ART-prescribed patients and health care providers, respectively in Tanzania. Stigma was assessed through interviewer administered survey among 295 patients. The results from patients showed that 279/295 (95%) were satisfied with the services provided at the Care and Treatment Centres (CTCs). The set up of CTCs 107/295 (36%), and queuing at the CTCs 88/295 (30%) were associated with stigma (P < 0.001). The perceived influence of stigma on adherence to ART was assessed using focus group discussions (FGDs) of 33 health care providers (HCPs). Through FGDs, HCPs perceived the set up of CTCs as friendly yet violated confidentiality. The HCPs reported that ART-prescribed patients hide identifiable cards to avoid being recognised by other people. Some patients were reported to rush to avoid familiar faces, and due to the rush they picked wrong medicines. Also some patients were reported to throw away manufacturers' box with dosage instructions written on the box, resulting in use of doses contrary to the prescriptions. We conclude that despite the fact that most patients were satisfied with the services provided at the CTCs, it is important that HCPs provide dosage instructions on another piece of paper or use disposable bags. A common dispensing window for all patients regardless of the diagnosis may be useful to minimize stigma. Also HCPs may introduce appointment system to avoid long queue at the CTCs.


Image retrieval is an important research field which has received great attention in the last decades. In this paper, we present an approach for the image retrieval based on the combination of text-based and content-based features. For text-based features, keywords and for content-based features, color and texture features have been used. Query in this system contains some keywords and an input image. At first, the images are retrieved based on the input keywords. Then, visual features are extracted to retrieve ideal output images. For extraction of color features we have used color moments and for texture we have used color co-occurrence matrix. The COREL image database have been used for our experimental results. The experimental results show that the performance of the combination of both text- and content- based features is much higher than each of them which is applied separately.


Develop a search strategy using keywords and boolean operators. Dig deeper to learn about different ways to search and locate information.


The article, based on an analysis of data obtained empirically represented species, the structure of the levels of development of the professional competence of officers in educational psychology. The authors substantiate the relevance of such work, consider the results of the formation of each of the components of professional competence and indicate what function they perform in the system. On the basis of these conclusions are drawn, which can be used in educational practice of military high school.


First measurements of balance functions (BFs) of all combinations of identified charged hadron ( π , K , p ) pairs in Pb–Pb collisions at √ s NN = 2 . 76 TeV recorded by the ALICE detector are presented. The BF measurements are carried out as two-dimensional differential correlators versus the relative rapidity ( (cid:4) y ) and azimuthal angle ( (cid:4) ϕ ) of hadron pairs, and studied as a function of collision centrality. The (cid:4) ϕ dependence of BFs is expected to be sensitive to the light quark diffusivity in the quark–gluon plasma. While the BF azimuthal widths of all pairs substantially decrease from peripheral to central collisions, the longitudinal widths exhibit mixed behaviors: BFs of ππ and cross-species pairs narrow significantly in more central collisions, whereas those of KK and pp are found to be independent of collision centrality. This dichotomy is qualitatively consistent with the presence of strong radial flow effects and the existence of two stages of quark production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Finally, the first measurements of the collision centrality evolution of BF integrals are presented, with the observation that charge balancing fractions are nearly independent of collision centrality in Pb–Pb collisions. Overall, the results presented provide new and challenging constraints for theoretical models of hadron production and transport in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. © 2022 European Organization for Nuclear Research, ALICE. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY


ABSTRACT Background: Informal carers often play an integral role in the lives of people with intellectual disability (ID) residing in the community. In this study, we explored the extent to which carers of people with ID believe that the health care needs of the person they care for are being accommodated by general practice. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 informal carers to people with ID living in Australia. Results: Carers of people with ID report that they experience considerable barriers to accessing general practice care on behalf of the people they care for. Conclusions: Given the ever-increasing number of people with ID now living in the community and their vulnerability to health problems, it is imperative that future research focuses on the development of strategies to overcome the barriers identified in this study.


We propose a depth cache that keeps the depth data in compressed format, when possible. Compared to previous work, this requires a more flexible cache implementation, where a tile may occupy a variable number of cache lines depending on whether it can be compressed or not. The advantage of this is that the effective cache size increases proportionally to the compression ratio. We show that the depth-buffer bandwidth can be reduced, on average, by 17%, compared to a system compressing the data after the cache. Alternatively, and perhaps more interestingly, we show that pre-cache compression in all cases increases the effective cache size by a factor of two or more, compared to a post-cache compressor, at equal or higher performance.


This paper presents the development and validation of a simplified dynamic model of a Venturi channel. The existing dynamic models on open channels are based on the open channel flow principles, which are the shallow water equations. Although there are analytical solutions available for steady state analysis, the numerical solution of these partial differential equations is challenging for dynamic flow conditions. There are many complete and detailed models and numerical methods available for open channel flows, however, these are usually computationally heavy. Hence they are not suitable for online monitoring and control applications, where fast estimations are needed. The orthogonal collocation method could be used to reduce the order of the model and could lead to simple solutions. The orthogonal collocation method has been used in many chemical engineering applications. Further, this has been used in prismatic open channel flow problems for control purposes, but no literature is published about its use for non–prismatic channels as per the author's knowledge. The models for non–prismatic channels have more non–linearity which is interesting to study. Therefore, the possibility of using the collocation method for determining the dynamic flow rate of a non–prismatic open channel using the fluid level measurements is investigated in this paper. The reduced order model is validated by comparing the simulated test case results with a well–developed numerical scheme. Further, a Bayesian sensitivity analysis is discussed to see the effect of parameters on the output flow rate.


The Thesis attempts a comparative examination of literary techniques used by Chaucer and Langland in their characterisation of religious figures and their reflection of the religious practices in the fourteenths century. The study is divided into three main sections, the first two of which accord separate treatment to ecclesiastical characters in the Canterbury Tales and Piers Plowman respectively. The third section attempts to draw together the separate observation made previously in a comparative study of particular literary techniques under the five separate heading of characterisation, Irony, Metaphor, word play and conventional devices. The choice of ecclesiastical figures as the basis of a comparative treatment has been made because of the large amount of space devoted by each poet of these figures. The thesis attempts to show that Chaucer's characters are invested with humanly recognisable traits which make them a blend of individual human beings with unique characteristics and ecclesiastical types, representatives of a total class. Chaucer seems more tolerant of human foibles, less ready to criticise directly, more willing to reveal what he sees and to permit the reader to judge for himself. However, he appears to assume in the reader a knowledge of the ideals of behaviour incumbent upon the characters he portrays. Landland, on the other hand, appears to lack the tolerance, or willingness, simply to reveal the weakness of his ecclesiastics. Throughout his poem his method is to express an opinion directly and to reinforce his attack by example examples drawn from literature and from scripture. The element of realistic characterisation is rare in his treatment of ecclesiastical figures, so that his work has a more consciously serious tone, which draws a dark picture of the consequences of religious abuse. The thesis concludes by attempting to show just how particular techniques demonstrate a difference in attitude between the two poets.


In this study we propose that norms of fairness are salient to top decision makers and show that over- or underpayment of the CEO cascades down to lower organizational levels. Moreover, it appears that CEOs use their own power not only to increase their own salaries, but also those of their subordinates. One implication of such a process may be that the overpayment of a top executive has higher costs than have previously been realized. We also find evidence suggesting that CEOs serve as a key referent for employees in determining whether their own situation is "fair," and this influences their reactions to their own compensation. More specifically, we find that when lower-level managers are underpaid relative to the CEO---that is, underpaid more than the CEO or overpaid less---they are more likely to leave the organization. Results obtained from testing our hypotheses on a sample of more than 120 firms over a five-year period demonstrates the importance of considering fairness in the setting of CEO pay. Implications for the design of executive compensation packages are discussed.


B asic biophysical principles of the eye, such as the retinal projection of the visual field, bidimensional image inversion, blind point determination, visual field and retinal quadrants, perimetric principles? and determination of scotoma, are seen on a working anatomic model of the eye and its visual field that can easily be constructed at very low cost and from easily obtained materials: an opaque glass globe, a Styrofoam hemisphere, a wood screen bulbs, sockets, wire, and switches. This model has been used for many years in our undergraduate medical physiology courses and has replaced the classical model of candle image inversion by a converging lens.


A time-encoding machine (TEM) based new analog-to-digital converter (ADC) architecture is presented in this paper. The main advantage of this architecture is that it relies on asynchronous process and removes an important performance limiting factor in conventional ADCs: the clock jitter. Therefore, this architecture is suitable for very high speed ADCs. To expand the bandwidth coverage, the compressive sensing techniques is employed to reconstruct sparse signals with very high frequency. The system can run under two different modes: the normal mode where the signal is sampled at above Nyquist rate and the compressive sensing mode. Nonidealities in circuits and system parameter setting tradeoffs are analyzed to determine the best parameters for the system to reach optimal performance.


In recent numerical, theoretical, and experimental papers, the short-scale electron cyclotron drift instability (ECDI) has been studied as a possible contributor to the anomalous electron current observed in Hall thrusters. In this work, features of the instability, in the presence of a zero-electron emission material at the thruster exit plane, are analyzed using coherent Thomson scattering. Limiting the electron emission at the exit plane alters the localization of the accelerating electric field and the expected drift velocity profile, which in turn modifies the amplitude and localization of the ECDI. The resulting changes to the standard thruster operation are expected to favor an increased contribution by the ECDI to electron current. Such an operation is associated with a degradation of thruster performance and stability.


or severe to COVID-19 normal static lung PEEP levels compromising performance. Other studies that patients with moderate to severe due to COVID-19 had low lung compliance, similar to the lung compliance in patients with conventional ARDS. seemingly contradictory observations suggest that patients with COVID-19 and ARDS are a heterogeneous population, and assessments for responsiveness to higher levels of PEEP should be individualized based on oxygenation and lung compliance. Clinicians should patients for known side effects of higher levels of PEEP, such as barotrauma and hypotension.


Progressive crush is an important mechanism by which the kinetic energy associated with an impact event is dissipated. Unfortunately, the mechanisms governing the progressive-crush response of advanced composite materials are not well understood. Also, many of these materials are known to exhibit responses that are sensitive to loading rate. Therefore, understanding the influence of impact velocity and laminate design on the crush response is critically important for modelling the crashworthiness of a given composite structure. Laminate design of composite structures can be tailored by placing the fiber in the direction of the applied load. For axial progressive crush the fiber path can play a different role by promoting certain failure or energy absorbing mechanisms. To quantify this by experimentation, tubes were chosen as the primary structural component and different geometries (circular and square cross-sections) and laminate architectures were then chosen with the goal being to initiate different damage mechanisms. Three different layups were designed so that their failure modes corresponded to the three broad classifications (fragmentation, fiber splaying, and brittle fracture) that are typically observed during axial crushing. Tests were conducted using a servo-hydraulic test machine in closed-loop mode at quasi-static rates (less than 100 mm/s) and in open-loop mode for dynamic rates (up to 6000 mm/s). High speed video was used during testing, in conjunction with postmortem inspection, to identify the damage mechanisms associated with the different test configurations. Results showed that circular cross sections were more efficient than square cross sections when comparing similar test variables. Quantitative


1 ~.-Results are reported from an exploratory Investigation of stand-level periodic volume growth of uneven-aged mixed loblolly pine (flou.Uu.d.I. L.)-upland hardwood stands on good sites In southeastern Arkansas. A restricted set of replicated observations was extracted from an extensive CFI database involving varying pine-hardwood mixtures to form an array of plots with different levels of pines and hardwoods. Analysis was conducted of the 5-year periodic annual increment of the pine, the hardwood, and the total (pine plus hardwood) in relation to the stand density of the pine and hardwood components. Results show that at low to moderate pine basal area levels, an added hardwood component increases total stand growth but decreases total growth at higher pine levels. There seems to be little or no economic justification for mixed stands baaed on these growth predictions and current stumpage prices. The implications of these results and other factors regarding mixed stand management are also discuaaed.


Video observations made in 16 boreholes drilled through a deforming valley glacier affirm that temperate glacier ice may be reasonably well represented as homogeneous in glacier flow models, but raise warnings about the complexities of basal boundary conditions and glacier sliding. Discrete englacial structures, including clear-ice layers, voids, and water conduits, compose a total of <3% of the ice mass. Planar features (clear-ice layers) are oriented near vertical and are not aligned with the sense of shear strain, meaning that the layers probably do not influence the homogeneity of the strain. Both direct observations of the ice and analysis of its light reflectance suggest an increase in crystal size and decrease in bubble content with depth. However, previous laboratory work indicates that such changes are unimportant in terms of the viscosity of the ice. Observations of the basal boundary or sliding surface indicate that there are areas of both "hard" bedrock and "soft" deformable till, which should cause spacial and temporal gradients in sliding rate.


Tectonics and climate are usually seen as the main controlling factors of denudation rates, which seem to rise with the tectonic activity and to decrease when the climate becomes drier. However, the low denudation rates observed in semi‐arid to arid contexts are generally measured on orogenic plateaus where the respective influence of the flat relief and the dry climate cannot really be unravelled. The Chinese Tian Shan was chosen as a case study. In the northern piedmont of this mountain range, a series of well‐preserved Quaternary alluvial fans offer the opportunity to perform a mass balance study at the scale of several catchment areas and several hundreds of thousands of years. Based on a geometrical reconstruction of these fans, the volumes of sediments exported out of 10 drainage basins during the Middle–Late Pleistocene (from ∼300 to ∼12 kyr) and the Holocene (from ∼12 kyr to present) have been estimated. From these volumes, an average denudation rate of ∼135 m/Myr was determined in the Tian Shan Range for the last 300 kyr. In agreement with other mass balances performed in the same area, the typical denudation intensity of the northern Tian Shan is thus of a few hundred meters per million years at most, regardless of the space and time scales considered. From a comparison with denudation rates in other mountain ranges throughout the world, we suggest that a dry climate can dramatically limit the denudation intensity even in active orogenic systems with a high topographic gradient like the Tian Shan. As a result, the time required to reach equilibrium between denudation and rock uplift in these systems could be extremely long (i.e. of more than several million years). Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This article explores in-depth interviews with elite and Olympic rowers to examine transformative value, dimensions of value creation that generate uplifting change and greater well-being, and the resources integrated to cocreate or destroy these benefits. This study is the first to demonstrate transformative value in a sport setting, extending theorizing on value in sport studies and demonstrating the utility of the multidimensional frameworks with five dimensions: emotional, social, functional, epistemic, and community value. The authors also uncover the cocreative "social support" and "restorative" resources, the cocreative and codestructive resource of "coperformance," and the codestructive resources of "interpersonal misbehavior" and "sport misbehavior." This study provides greater understanding of transformative value by concurrently examining resource integration from both a cocreation and codestruction perspective.


This paper describes an experimental investigation of the interaction noise in a jet impacting isolated aerofoils. The authors conducted the study in a low-speed wind tunnel ending in an anechoic chamber, and focussed on the tip region of two types of isolated low speed axial fan cambered aerofoils. The authors set the Mach number, Reynolds number and blade incidence angles in a static frame of reference to reproduce a flow field condition kinematically similar to that in the rotating frame. They correlated far-field noise measurements with near-field pressure measurements which they took at different chord-wise positions in the blade's tip region. The aim was to find, by means of a cross correlation technique, a causal relationship between the aerodynamic sources in the tip region and noise emissions in order to establish the role of aerofoil self-noise associated with turbulent structures which turbulent inflow and blade tip geometry interaction produced.


A new holographic technique is suggested to reduce computing time and storage requirements by orders of magnitude in comparison with conventional computer-generated Fresnel holograms. Sizable holograms are achieved by a vertical repetition of the basic pattern. The image to be reconstructed is specified in several planes in depth in the vicinity of a Fourier plane, and a cylindrical phase factor is superimposed onto each component. The reconstructed image is shift invariant in the vertical direction and slightly astigmatic. The feasibility of this technique is demonstrated by optical reconstructions.


In last decade, banking landscape has faced different constraints and witnessed significant changes in Pakistan. That is the reason, the economy of Pakistan and banking sector has faced several challenges. Pakistani banking sector is lacking in entrepreneurial activities, in reflection, banking industry is suffering from low performance. To resolve this issue of lower level of entrepreneurial activities, the current study comes up with the prime objective to highlight the significant entrepreneurial factors to boost up the banking sector performance. To achieve this objective, this study adopted the survey approach to collect the data by using area cluster sampling. Total numbers of 500 questionnaires were distributed among the employees of banking sector from different localities of Pakistan. The results of the study found that entrepreneurial factors such as management support, work discretion, entrepreneurial education, previous entrepreneurial experience and time availability have significant positive impact on business performance in banking sector. Moreover, it is found that entrepreneurship passion for inventing moderating the relationship between these factors and business performance, except time availability. Thus, the current study is contributing to the body of knowledge by determining the entrepreneurial success factors in banking sector. For the reason, this study is beneficial for practitioners to boost up the banking sector performance in Pakistan.


In cases of locally advanced cancers involving the junction between the hypopharynx and cervical oesophagus, the curative surgical treatment is total circular laryngo-pharyngectomy with resection of the upper cervical oesophagus, coupled with modified radical neck dissection. Techniques used to re-establish the continuity of the digestive tract have been pectoral transposition flap, gastric pull-up, jejunum or colon transposition and free pedicled fascialcutaneous flap reconstruction. Prosthetic reconstruction was thought of and used only as a temporary solution. In our clinic, we adapted the Montgomery oesophageal prosthesis as more than just a temporary solution and used it in 63 patients operated from 2004 to 2014 with advanced (stages III and IV) cancer involving most of the hypopharynx or extending towards the upper cervical oesophagus. Following total circular laryngo-pharyngectomy with bilateral modified radical neck dissection, prosthetic reconstruction was performed using the Montgomery oesophageal tube. Patients were followed up on, and their status was monitored. Favourable results encouraged the authors to further develop a new active prosthesis, with advanced design and materials that better mimic the anatomy and physiology of the replaced segment. Prosthetic reconstruction of the upper digestive tract following radical oncologic surgery is a viable option, with advantages compared to other laborious plastic techniques. The new active model is under development, hopefully offering soon a safe and more cost-effective alternative to the other techniques.


Software process engineering has been the challenging in the past 40 years, in the sense that it has been the underpinning of software engineering. On the other hand it has been one of the fundamental and much importance notions in this field; however, the improvement of software process has been the most challenging in software engineering. In the sense, several software process models have been proposed but none of them pay any concrete attention to the security assessment during the software process. Paying less attention to this fact could ultimately cause devastating on public life and national assets. In this paper we intend to analyze the SDLC models to find out the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within these models specially with focus on security aspects and as a result of this research work we show that none of these models have any concrete attention to the software product security.


Fires associated with agricultural and plantation development in Indonesia impact ecosystem services and release emissions into the atmosphere that degrade regional air quality and contribute to greenhouse gas concentrations. In this study, we estimate the relative contributions of the oil palm, timber (for wood pulp and paper), and logging industries in Sumatra and Kalimantan to land cover change, fire activity, and regional population exposure to smoke concentrations. Concessions for these three industries cover 21% and 49% of the land area in Sumatra and Kalimantan respectively, with the highest overall area in lowlands on mineral soils instead of more carbon-rich peatlands. In 2012, most remaining forest area was located in logging concessions for both islands, and for all combined concessions, there was higher remaining lowland and peatland forest area in Kalimantan (45% and 46%, respectively) versus Sumatra (20% and 27%, respectively). Emissions from all combined concessions comprised 41% of total fire emissions (within and outside of concession boundaries) in Sumatra and 27% in Kalimantan for the 2006 burning season, which had high fire activity relative to decadal emissions. Most fire emissions were observed in concessions located on peatlands and non-forested lowlands, the latter of which could include concessions that are currently under production, cleared in preparation for production, or abandoned lands. For the 2006 burning season, timber concessions from Sumatra (47% of area and 88% of emissions) and oil palm concessions from Kalimantan (33% of area and 67% of emissions) contributed the most to concession-related fire emissions from each island. Although fire emissions from concessions were higher in Kalimantan, emissions from Sumatra contributed 63% of concession-related smoke concentrations for the population-weighted region because fire sources were located closer to population centers. In order to protect regional public health, our results highlight the importance of limiting the use of fire by the timber and oil palm industries, particularly on concessions that contain peatlands and non-forest, by such methods as improving monitoring systems, local-level management, and enforcement of existing fire bans.


Previous studies have shown that the overexpression of betA (encoding choline dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli) or AtNHX1 (a vacuolar Na(+)/H(+) antiport from Arabidopsis thaliana) gene can improve the salt tolerance of transgenic plants. However, little is known about the effects of the transgene pyramiding of betA and AtNHX1. Here, betA + AtNHX1 transgene pyramiding tobacco was produced by sexual crossing, and the salt tolerance was evaluated at the cellular and plant levels. In NaCl stress, the Na(+) concentration in vacuoles and vacuolar membrane potential of transgene pyramiding cells were similar to those of AtNHX1-transgenics, and much higher than those of betA-transgenics when detected using fluorescent dye staining; transgene pyramiding cells showed a higher protoplast viability and comparable mitochondrial activity as compared with single transgenics; and transgene pyramiding plants showed comparable Na(+) content in leaves as compared with AtNHX1-transgenics and remarkably higher than betA-transgenics; and transgene pyramiding lines exhibited higher percentage of seed germination, better seedling growth and higher fresh weight than lines that had betA or AtNHX1 alone. Based on the integrative analysis of salt tolerance, the consistency between the cellular level and the whole plant level was confirmed and the transgene pyramiding plants exhibited improved salt tolerance, but compared with the plants with betA or AtNHX1 alone, the differences were relatively small. Other mechanisms involved in salt tolerance should be considered to further enhance transgene pyramiding plants salt tolerance.


India is entirely dependent on the imports of tungsten bearing materials e.g. tungsten powder, tungstic acid, etc, generating considerable quantity of tungsten-copper (W-Cu) alloy scraps. NML has developed a novel process of direct leaching of W-Cu borings, a waste product from the M/s Miapalloy, Chennai in the ammonium solution, separat-ing the dissolved copper by the solvent LIX 84 (2-(N-Hydroxyethanimidoyl)-4- nonylphenol C17H27NO2) and then
crystallising the separated ammonium paratungstate solut-ion as ammonium paratungstate (APT). In the present work a detailed investigation on the reduction of APT having purity of 99.95 was used as the starting material to pro-duce the tungsten powder. In the present investigations were conducted on the effect of temperature at different time intervals, effect of flow rate of hydrogen gas, effect of time and evaluation of kinetics at various temperatures of hydrogen gas. Under the optimised conditions, the amount of hydrogen gas required at diff-erent quantity of APT used was also reported.


The aim of the paper is to present the effects of business operations in the world market for commodities, services and capital, focusing in particular on the growth in foreign debt.This aim is reflected in the structure of the paper. First the extent and character of business participation in the international labour organisation are shown. Next the contribution of companies to Polands foreign debt, as well as the development and dynamics of their debt are investigated. Eventually, the structure of instruments generating foreign debt is presented.Based on the transformations in the size and structure of debt of the analysed entities, four conclusions are formulated to complete the study.


Although women representation in managerial positions is gradually increasing, the
phenomenon of women being restricted to lower levels, under the glass ceiling effect is still
valid in many countries. Different studies in several countries show that the increase of
women in managerial positions is unbalanced compared to the total number of the workforce.
According to the recent statistics, women managerial representation is less than 1% of the
total construction work force in the UK.
Several barriers for women's career advancement have been identified, most notably gender
stereotypes. The stereotypical belief is that if women in managerial positions possess
traditional male characteristic it is a better predictor for success, which reinforces the belief of
"think manager-think male" and this discriminates women from reaching the higher positions
with characteristics commonly associated with females. Since construction is one of the
highest male dominated industries, the effect of stereotypes as a barrier for women's career
progression in construction is salient.
This paper reviews academic literature on gender stereotypes and its consequent effects on
women managers. It attempts to discover the pertinent issues for women in the construction
industry in order to reduce the stereotypical image.


Abstract This work focuses on two of the more frequent practices in financial (especially capital) markets -the use of hidden orders and High-Frequency Trading (HFT). Although the use of each of them may reach 40% of the market turnover - even 60% for HFT, the actual knowledge on how they affect liquidity, prices, and market structure is still limited - especially if they are combined. The presence of both of these practices may look controversial, as it seems to be going in the opposite direction to what some of the goals that market regulators try to reach - transparency and increase of market liquidity. Additionally, their use suggests first, to give a clear advantage to some traders while not knowing the exact consequences to others. The aim of this paper is, by performing a literature study, to structure the current knowledge on a very specific topic in the area of market microstructure - the use of hidden orders and High-Frequency Trading. This paper tries to show the motivations, strategies, and eventual price effects behind hidden orders and High-Frequency Trading. It is also important to mention that this paper is based on scarce empirical research available (mainly for the US market) and as such, it is intended to encourage further analysis and research on this important topic.


OBJECTIVE
To assess whether radiographic findings predict outcomes among children hospitalized with pneumonia.

METHODS
This retrospective study included children <18 years of age from 4 children's hospitals admitted in 2010 with clinical and radiographic evidence of pneumonia. Admission radiographs were categorized as single lobar, unilateral or bilateral multilobar, or interstitial. Pleural effusions were classified as absent, small, or moderate/large. Propensity scoring was used to adjust for potential confounders, including need for supplemental oxygen, intensive care, and mechanical ventilation, as well as hospital length of stay and duration of supplemental oxygen.

RESULTS
There were 406 children (median age, 3 years). Infiltrate patterns included: single lobar, 61%; multilobar unilateral, 13%; multilobar bilateral, 16%; and interstitial, 10%. Pleural effusion was present in 21%. Overall, 63% required supplemental oxygen (median duration, 31.5 hours), 8% required intensive care, and 3% required mechanical ventilation. Median length of stay was 51.5 hours. Compared with single lobar infiltrate, all other infiltrate patterns were associated with need for intensive care; only bilateral multilobar infiltrate was associated with need for mechanical ventilation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-7.9). Presence of effusion was associated with increased length of stay and duration of supplemental oxygen; only moderate/large effusion was associated with need for intensive care (aOR: 3.2, 95% CI: 1.1-8.9) and mechanical ventilation (aOR: 14.8, 95% CI: 9.8-22.4).

CONCLUSIONS
Admission radiographic findings are associated with important hospital outcomes and care processes and may help predict disease severity.


The results of a numerical investigation of the electromagnetic scattering from two-dimensional (2-D) targets on a time-evolving sea surface are presented. The 2-D radar cross section (RCS), or "echo width," is computed as a function of time as the sea surface evolves linearly using the spectrally accelerated generalized forward-backward method. It is shown that the RCS varies with time on the order of seconds, which is much longer than the typical pulse width or pulse repetition rate of search radars. It is also observed that for low-grazing angles of incidence the primary sea surface influence on the RCS comes from the long waves in the ocean spectrum.


The purpose of this paper is to discuss the operative treatment of chronic encapsulated abscess of the brain and to report the results of operation in a small series of abscesses of this type. In view of the high mortality, any method of operation for brain abscess should be carefully scrutinized to exclude technical errors, which may not only prevent the eradication of a localized suppuration, but actually spread the infection to uninvolved regions of the brain. It is generally appreciated that the principles utilized in the successful treatment of abscess in other regions of the body must be radically modified in operations for brain abscess. An unfailing adherence to these principles in the treatment of the various types of abscess of the brain will often convert a walled-off, more or less quiescent lesion into a rapidly fatal septic encephalitis, the most frequent terminal complication of an unsuccessful operation for


The proliferation of mobile devices that support the acceleration of data services (especially smartphones) has resulted in a dramatic increase in mobile traffic. Mobile data also increased exponentially, already exceeding the throughput of the backhaul. To improve spectrum utilization and increase mobile network traffic, in combination with content caching, we study the cooperation between primary and secondary networks via content caching. We consider that the secondary base station assists the primary user by pre-caching some popular primary contents. Thus, the secondary base station can obtain more licensed bandwidth to serve its own user. We mainly focus on the time delay from the backhaul link to the secondary base station. First, in terms of the content caching and the transmission strategies, we provide a cooperation scheme to maximize the secondary user's effective data transmission rates under the constraint of the primary users target rate. Then, we investigate the impact of the caching allocation and prove that the formulated problem is a concave problem with regard to the caching capacity allocation for any given power allocation. Furthermore, we obtain the joint caching and power allocation by an effective bisection search algorithm. Finally, our results show that the content caching cooperation scheme can achieve significant performance gain for the primary and secondary systems over the traditional two-hop relay cooperation without caching.


We study spatial changes in labour market inequality for US states and MSAs using Census and American Community Survey data between 1980 and 2010. We report evidence of significant spatial variations in education employment shares and in the college wage premium for US states and MSAs, and show that the pattern of shifts through time has resulted in increased spatial inequality. Because relative supply of college versus high school educated workers has risen faster at the spatial level in places with higher initial supply levels, we also report a strong persistence and increased inequality of spatial relative demand. Bigger relative demand increases are observed in more technologically advanced states that have experienced faster increases in R&D and computer usage, and in states where union decline has been fastest. Finally, we show the increased concentration of more educated workers into particular spatial locations and rising spatial wage inequality are important features of labour market polarization, as they have resulted in faster employment growth in high skill occupations, but also in a higher demand for low wage workers in low skill occupations. Overall, our spatial analysis complements research findings from labour economics on wage inequality trends and from urban economics on agglomeration effects connected to education and technology.


Summary form only given. Introduction of distributed generation (DG) to the power system may lead to nonselective protection actions. For every future DG installation, the relay settings need to be modified to guarantee protection coordination that can lead to numerous changes in relay settings. This paper presents a novel approach to plan relay protection coordination considering future DG installations. Thus, this paper aims at proposing a method capable of optimally identifying one set of relay settings valid for all possible future DG planning scenarios. The proposed algorithm is formulated as a linear programming problem and the simplex algorithm is utilized to solve it. The proposed approach is tested on the distribution part of the modified meshed IEEE 14-bus system and the IEEE 13-bus radial test system. Comparative studies have been conducted to highlight the advantages of the proposed approach under various planning scenarios considering application of fault current limiters.


The UK government has set timescales for the house building industry to significantly increase the number of new homes built and to improve the sustainability performance of these as defined by the Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH). These dual requirements are generating a range of demands that require a corresponding range of innovative solutions. There is considerable uncertainty within the house building sector on the focus, scope and intrinsic risk of these innovation challenges. There is an urgent need, therefore, for this uncertainty to be transparent and calibrated. This will enable house builders to channel and optimise their innovations to meet government targets whilst developing new sources of competitive advantage. This paper sets out and substantiates a theoretical framework developed from the relevant literature that identifies and links the issues that house builders need to consider if they are to deliver against the dual requirements of sustainability and increased quantity. The questions generated by this theoretical framework are informing ongoing case study research on sustainable housing and innovation being carried out by the Salford Centre for Research and Innovation in the Built Environment, and the methodology for this work will be described.


Binary hashing is a well-known approach for fast approximate nearest-neighbor search in information retrieval. Much work has focused on affinity-based objective functions involving the hash functions or binary codes. These objective functions encode neighborhood information between data points and are often inspired by manifold learning algorithms. They ensure that the hash functions differ from each other through constraints or penalty terms that encourage codes to be orthogonal or dissimilar across bits, but this couples the binary variables and complicates the already difficult optimization. We propose a much simpler approach: we train each hash function (or bit) independently from each other, but introduce diversity among them using techniques from classifier ensembles. Surprisingly, we find that not only is this faster and trivially parallelizable, but it also improves over the more complex, coupled objective function, and achieves state-of-the-art precision and recall in experiments with image retrieval.


We suggest a so-called Dirac type tensor equation with nonabelian gauge symmetry on pseudo-Riemannian space. This equation reproduce some of the properties of spinor Dirac equation. A geometrical interpretation of results in terms of Riemannian geometry is given.


To cope with globalisation and other changes in the industry, in the last 20 years the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture has reorganised its system for education, extension and research considerably. It moved away from the concept of a linear process of innovation to that of an agro-innovation system. This paper describes the main changes. The paper argues that an evaluation of the changes is problematic. In an open economy where a large part of the public investments are targeted to reduce negative externalities of production (especially on environmental impact), a part of productivity is due to persons leaving the sector and income in farming is dependent on value added processes in its multinational cooperatives, causes and effects are hard to disentangle. The changes in the education, extension and research system cannot easily be evaluated by productivity analyses. Most research on this topic tries to develop methods for monitoring and evaluation from social learning or public administration.


This paper presents some numerical implementation issues and the performance of Berenger's perfectly matched layer (PML) boundary condition for modeling wave propagation in waveguide structures by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The relation between the thickness and the conductivity profile of the perfectly matched layer is studied and a guideline for the selection of PML parameters is given. It is shown that the standard Yee's time-marching scheme results in virtually the same numerical solution as the exponential time-marching scheme. Numerical tests are provided for parallel-plate and rectangular waveguides and microstrip lines. It is found that PML is very effective in absorbing TEM and quasi-TEM waves, as well as nonTEM waves somewhat above cutoff frequencies, but ineffective in absorbing evanescent waves and nonTEM waves near cutoff frequencies. The reason for the ineffectiveness of PML for absorbing evanescent waves is explained. Comparative study of PML and Higdon's boundary condition shows that high-order Higdon's boundary condition can reach the same performance of 16-cell PML and can be adjusted for absorbing evanescent waves, but PML is in general more robust to implement. Performance of the boundary condition obtained by combining PML and Higdon's boundary condition is evaluated.


Fierce competition in many industries causes switching behavior of customers. Because foregone profits of defected customers are significant, an increase of the retention rate can be very profitable. In this paper, we focus on the treatment of companies' most promising current customers in a non-contractual setting. We build a model in order to predict chum behavior of top clients who will (partially) defect in the near future. We applied the following classification techniques: logistic regression, linear discriminant analysis, quadratic discriminant analysis, C4.5, neural networks and Naive Bayes. Their performance is quantified by the classification accuracy and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). The experiments were carried out on a real life data set obtained by a Belgian retailer. The article contributes in many ways. The results show that past customer behavior has predictive power to indicate future partial defection. This finding is from a companies' point of view even more important than being able to define total defectors, which was until now the traditional goal in attrition research. It was found that neural networks performed better than the other classification techniques in terms of both classification accuracy and AUROC. Although the performance benefits are sometimes small in absolute terms, they are statistically significant and relevant from a marketing perspective. Finally it was found that the number of past shop visits and the time between past shop incidences are amongst the most predictive inputs for the problem at hand.


With the rapid growth and wide application of electronic commerce, lots of information comes forth to people. However, our experiences and knowledge often do not enough to process the vast amount of information. The problem of obtaining useful information becomes more and more serious. To deal with the problem, the personalized service and recommender system play a more important role in many fields and collaborative filtering is one of the most successful technologies in recommender systems. However, with the tremendous growth in the amount of items and users, most collaborative filtering algorithms suffer from data sparsity which leads to inaccuracy of recommendation. Aiming at the problem of data sparsity, a hybrid personalized recommendation method based on dynamic Bayesian networks is presented. This method uses the dynamic Bayesian network technique to fill the vacant ratings at first, and then employs the user-based collaborative filtering to produce recommendations.


This paper employs the torsional split-Hopkinson bar to investigate the dynamic shear deformation behavior and fracture characteristics of a 304L stainless steel Gas Tungsten Arc Welded (GTAW) joint at room temperature under strain rates in the range of 8 x 10 2 s -1 to 2.8 x 10 3 s -1 . The experimental results indicate that the strain rate has a significant influence on the mechanical properties and fracture response of the tested GTAW joints. It is found that the flow stress, total shear strain to failure, work hardening exponent and strain rate sensitivity all increase with increasing strain rate, but that the activation volume decreases. The observed dynamic shear deformation behavior is modeled using the Kobayashi-Dodd constitutive law, and it is shown that the predicted results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Observation of the fractured specimens indicates that the fracture features are closely related to the preceding flow behavior. At all values of strain rate, it is noted that the specimens all fracture within their fusion zones, and that the primary failure mechanism is one of extensive localized shearing. The fracture surfaces are characterized by the presence of many dimples, which suggests a ductile fracture mode. It is shown the strain rate has a significant influence upon the appearance of the dimpled surface. A higher strain rate tends to reduce the size of the dimples and to increase their density. Finally, it is determined that the presence of weld inclusions also influences the appearance of the fracture. These inclusions cause the initiation of micro-voids, which grow and coalesce within the fusion zone, and eventually form a continuous fracture surface.