A new irrigating and soil-warming cultivation system was developed. There was only one porous ceramic pipeline that was used simultaneously as an irrigating pipe and as a warming pipe in this developed system. The cultivation experiment with lettuce verified that this system was practical for irrigating and warming soil simultaneously. Because the irrigating was also from the heating pipe, there was not the problem of the soil drying around the pipe. On the basis of surveying the longitudinal and cross-sectional temperature distributions in the bed soil, the heat sources for heating soil were analyzed under different conditions. The relationship between the soil temperature and the circulating water temperature was also studied in different air temperatures. The required water temperature for warming soil was obeyed to the power function of the air temperature in this ceramic pipe system. When the lowest air temperature at night was not less than 6.6°C, 30.0°Cwater was enough if the soil was warmed only to 15°C. The growth and yields of lettuce in the warming treatment were significantly better than those in the no-warming treatment.


Formation of the surface structure mechanism of the South Kuril waters in the last two years has undergone significant changes. Therefore, the "cold" type of hydrological conditions prevailed in the South Kuril area during August-November 2017. The surface water temperature was below the norm by 1–2 °C. On the contrary, the "warm" type of hydrological conditions prevailed in the South Kuril area during August-November 2018 and the water temperature in the area under consideration was 1–3 °C higher than the average for many years. Saury fishing in 2018, as in 2017, began in the second decade of August on the peripheral fronts of the Ask eddy and continued here until the second decade of September. At the end of September, the fishing area formed in the southwestern part of the EEZ of the Russian Federation and, unlike last year, it remained until the beginning of the third decade of October. The "warm" type of hydrological conditions causes this duration of the fishery. Saury moved outside the EEZ in late October. Fishing for sardines and mackerel began in mid-July 2018 and was carried out on the northern periphery of the eddy A'. However, at the end of October, unlike in 2017, fishing here practically stopped due to a decrease in the temperature drops at the peripheral fronts of the eddy caused by the high temperature of the surface waters of the Oyasio current. In late October — the first half of November in 2018, mackerel and sardine fished in high-gradient areas of the Northern Subarctic Front (NSAF) close to the eastern and southern borders of the Russian EEZ. During fishing season 2018, in contrast to the previous year, schools of sardines and mackerel remained much longer in the economic zone of Russia.


Precise vessel detection within retinal images is a vital and tedious task. Diagnosis of retinal images is actually more challenging in pathological images with all the latest presence of exudates along with other abnormalities. In this paper, the study indicates that segment exudates with an unsupervised approach which has come up with better outcomes but unfortunately it suffers from the adverse effect of the undesirable noise. So it can be further improved by using an adaptive form of Neighbourhood Estimator Before Filling filter (NEBF) in the Cellular domain using cellular automation. This paper mainly focuses on evaluating the effectiveness; designing and implementation of Adaptive NEBF filter based retina image segmentation technique in cellular domain


Size-dependent free vibration analysis of cantilever-type resonant micro-sensors made of non-homogeneous functionally graded materials with two material phases is the objective of the present paper. For this aim, the modified couple stress theory together with the Euler-Bernoulli beam model is considered, and the size-dependent equation of motion which accounts for the non-linear and distributed electrostatic force is derived using the Hamilton's principle. The natural frequencies of the system are extracted using the Galerkin weighted residual method. It is found that the fundamental frequency of the system is decreased with an increase of applied voltage and becomes zero when the input voltage reaches the pull-in voltage of the system. The findings of the present paper are compared and validated by available results in the literature and excellent agreements between them are observed.


SUMMARY Contemporary modelsofmultifactorial inheritance aredescribed and justified fromtheperspective oftheir intended useingenetic epidemiology andtheir developmental sequence. Substantial empirical dataandstatistical theory support thepractical adequacy oftheassumptions ofpath analysis formostmultifactorial traits thatshowvertical inheritance. Thechoice ofscale forquantitative traits mustbeconsidered onan individual basis. Frombothbiological andstatistical perspectives, transformations ofscale maybemoreappropriate foranalysis thanthe measurements arethemselves. Recent criticism ofcontemporary models andcomputational procedures isbased onacaricature ofpathanalysis rather thanonthemethodasitisactually practiced. Theutility ofpath analysis isprimarily limited byaninvestigator's biological insight and analytical skill, notbythemethod's assumptions. Model-free descriptive statistics areinherently inadequate tocharacterize thestable andautonomousfeatures oftheunderlying mechanisms that generate observable variation inmultifactorial traits. Incontrast, pathanalysis hasledto remarkably stable estimates ofstructural parameters forawidevariety ofimportant biological traits. Whileexploratory methods canbeuseful forpreliminary datainspection, theycannot substitute forformal tests ofhypotheses basedonexplicit, falsifiable models.


In delay- and disruption-tolerant wireless communication networks, capacity is commonly traded off for delay. That is the case of spatial intermittent connectivity (SIC) networks. SIC networks are designed to provide high data rates to mobile nodes in small disjoint geographical areas. However, because of userspsila mobility, these high data rates come at the expense of significant connectivity delay and service disruption that users may experience. In this paper, the spatial and temporal intermittent connectivity (STIC) network paradigm is introduced to improve system performance in terms of both connectivity delay and disruption connectivity. The STIC paradigm consists of one or more non-overlapping and coordinated sets of information nodes operating in a temporal intermittent and sequential fashion. This temporally intermittent and sequential operation mode allows STIC systems to spatially distribute the total system capacity. To quantify performance improvement of STIC over SIC wireless communication networks, a simple but an illustrative one-dimensional (drive-through) architecture is considered.


This article addresses the repercussions of Stern v. Delphi Internet Services Corporation and argues that the decision in Stern opens the door to a broader interpretation of "newsworthiness" and "public interest" that will enable advertisers broader First Amendment protections when using "unauthorized" likenesses. This article posits that artful advertisers could very well use the theory of Stern as a basis for virtually ensuring that every "unauthorized likeness" will enjoy First Amendment protection and not be considered as violative of the right of publicity.


As a high-energy feed for animals,oil provides essential fatty acids and energy which is easily absorbed and utilized,and enhances the feed's palatability and conversion rate;however,it can be easily oxidized in the process of storage,processing and utilization.Oxidative rancidity of oil in diet can destroy the normal physiological function of animals,decrease the healthy level of the body,cause economic losses,and it can also lead to the potential safety problem of animal products.The nutritional function of oil,mechanism of oxidative rancidity,the effects of oxidized oil on animals,and oil oxidation prevention and control measures were discussed.


With major pharmacological advances there has been a shift in psychiatry to focus on biological factors versus environmental and social factors. However, as our minority population grows and disparities in health outcomes in these communities persist, it will become increasingly important to address underlying societal issues. In the 1970's, there was increased passion for and awareness of racial pride and identity (reflected in psychiatry with ample research which appeared in books exploring race and mental health) within the intellectual communities (of all races) and the minority community at large. When I first entered medical school, leaving out the racial identity of a patient was deemed as an unacceptable omission. Today, some 10 years after I left medical school, it has become commonplace for me to see "comprehensive" evaluations with no mention of race in my daily practice. This ambiguous identification of patients has become so normal that several of my colleagues argue that racial identification of patients only feeds into preconceived notions/biases, which cloud one's psychiatric assessment. This harmful misconception reflects a societal change, which is juxtaposed to the visible increase in people of color in powerful positions. This has all led to the fallacious belief that we now live in a "post racial" society. In the aggregate, these attitudes have led to the minimization of the importance of a patient's racial identity and ultimately the persistence of racism. Many are choosing to cling onto these exceptional examples and look away from the more painful reality. As we move towards this optimistic ideal of a colorblind society, it has become increasingly difficult to address colorism and its profound impact. There have been several studies to suggest higher social stressors related to colorism. Within minority populations, despite the amazing accomplishments, major disparities remain based on skin color.For example:· Lighter skinned African American males with less education and work experience were preferred to dark skinned African American males with more education and work experience (Harrison and Thomas, 2009).· Darker skinned African Americans earned less than lighter skinned African Americans (72 cents to $1) (Hughes and Hertel, 1990).· Light-skinned Latinos made $5,000 more on average than dark-skinned Latinos (Vedantam, 2010).· Darker skinned African American defendants were twice as likely to receive the death penalty for crimes involving white victims (Eberhardt, Davies, Purdie-Vaughns, and Johnson, 2006).· Lighter skinned African American women received shorter prison sentences than their darker skinned counterparts (Viglione, Hannon, and DeFina, 2011).The above referenced information is shocking. Colorism has tainted darker minorities' American dreams, based solely on their pigmentation. As a child psychiatrist, I am particularly concerned about the impact of colorism on a developing child's mind.Psychological abuse is defined as "a form of mistreatment in which there is intent to cause mental or emotional pain or injury including verbal aggression or statements intended to humiliate or insult" (Medical-Dictionary, 2014). It has been well documented that repeated negative messages delivered through the mechanism of emotional abuse may be internalized by a child and warps the way in which a child sees himself. Colorism as a form of emotional abuse can be expressed directly (through word and /or deed) from peers, family members and caregivers or it can be expressed indirectly via an unending chorus of negative stereotypes in the media. As such, this can have negative effects on the development of a child's self-esteem and self-worth. Poor self-esteem increases a child's likelihood of engaging in disruptive behaviors (e. g., criminal acts, substance abuse, promiscuity, or truancy) as well as increased vulnerability to psychiatric disorders (e. g. …


The problem of suppressing the repeater spoofing interferences effectively has become a must for the design of military anti-jamming satellite navigation receivers.By analyzing the code phase characteristic of satellite signals and repeater spoofing interferences,this research proposes a method of FFT fast acquisition of long code based on delay-waiting strategy.The method distinguishes satellite signals from repeater spoofing interferences according to the code phase information of the correlation peak whose amplitude is above the threshold.Thus the acquisition performance in the scene of repeater spoofing interferences can meet the demand without degradation in normal conditions.The theory analysis and simulation results validate the effectiveness of proposed method.


Abstract Background Lack of reliable data in India drove the "Surveillance of Enteric Fever in India" (SEFI) concept. Hybrid surveillance, combining facility-based surveillance for the crude incidence, and a community-based healthcare utilization survey (HCUS) to calculate the factor needed to arrive at the adjusted incidence, was used in 6 sites. The HCUS aimed to determine the percentage of utilization of study facilities by the catchment population for hospitalizations due to febrile illness. Methods Population proportional to size sampling and systematic random sampling, in 2 stages, were used to survey 5000 households per site. Healthcare utilization was assessed. Results Febrile illness accounted for 20% of admissions among 137 990 individuals from 30 308 households. Only 9.6%–38.3% of those admitted with febrile illness sought care in the study hospitals. The rate of rural utilization of the private sector for hospitalization was 67.6%. The rate of hospitalization for febrile illness, per 1000 population, ranged from 2.6 in Manali to 9.6 in Anantapur; for 25.8% of the deaths associated with febrile illness, no facility was used before death. Conclusions One in 5 hospitalizations were associated with fever. Rural utilization of the private sector for hospitalization due to febrile illness was more than that of the public sector. Healthcare utilization patterns for hospital admissions due to febrile illness varied across sites. A meticulously performed HCUS is pivotal for accurate incidence estimation in a hybrid surveillance. Clinical Trials Registration ISRCTN72938224.


In the present work, thin films of ruthenium based metal–organic frameworks are synthesized using a layer-by-layer (LbL) technique and the film is characterized using XRD, FE-SEM, UV/visible spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and photoluminance spectroscopy. Further, the feasibility of the MOF film as a sensitizer in a solar cell is investigated. The HOMO–LUMO level of the frameworks is estimated and is found to be suitable to allow the use of the frameworks as a sensitizer for TiO2. When TiO2 mesoporous film is sensitized with the LBL thin film of the frameworks and a Gratzel type liquid junction solar cell is constructed, it demonstrates the cell performance of Isc = 2.56 mA cm−2, Voc = 0.63 V, FF = 0.63, and Eff = 1.22%. Photoluminescence spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy show that iodine doping into the frameworks is essential to facilitate the photogenerated electron transfer from the frameworks to TiO2.


PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the stress experienced by parents during the pandemic and their cyberchondria. The research was carried out in a descriptive and cross-sectional manner.Design/methodology/approachThe sample of the research: living in Turkey and has created 432 parents with at least one child between the ages of 6 and 15. Participant information form, parental stress scale and cyberchondria scale were used in the study. Data were collected through online surveys between July 1, 2020, and August 31, 2020.FindingsIn the study, when the scores obtained from the Parental Stress Scale and the Cyberchondria Scale were compared with the demographic characteristics, a significant difference was found between gender, age, marital status, education level, economic status, number of children and presence of chronic diseases (p < 0.05). It was determined that there is a significant difference between the responses of the parents regarding the pandemic process and the Parental Stress Scale and the Cyberchondria Scale (p < 0.05). A positive significant correlation was found between the Parental Stress Scale and the total and subdimensions of the Cyberchondria Scale (p < 0.05).Research limitations/implicationsThe research was carried out with only parents with children between the ages of 6 and 15, but it reveals the stress and cyberchondria of the parents during the pandemic.Originality/valueThe results obtained reflect the factors affecting the stress and cyberchondria levels experienced by parents during the pandemic process. Also, as the stress of the parent's increases, it has seen that the level of cyberchondria increases in parallel.


Applications towards 6G have brought a huge interest towards arrays with a high number of antennas and operating within the millimeter and sub-THz bandwidths for joint communication, sensing, and localization. With such large arrays, the plane wave approximation is often not accurate because the system may operate in the (radiating) near-field propagation region, namely the Fresnel region, where the electromagnetic field wavefront is spherical. In such a case, the curvature of arrival (CoA) is a measure of the spherical wavefront that can be used to infer the source position using only a single large antenna array. In this paper, we study a near-field tracking problem for inferring the position and the velocity of a moving source with an ad-hoc observation model that accounts for the phase-difference profile of a large receiving array. For this tracking problem, we derive the posterior Cramér-Rao Lower Bound (P-CRLB), and we provide insights on how the loss of positioning information outside the Fresnel region results from an increase of the ranging error rather than from inaccuracies of angular estimation. Then, we investigate the accuracy and complexity performance of different Bayesian tracking algorithms in the presence of model parameter mismatches and abrupt trajectory changes. Our results demonstrate the feasibility and high accuracy of most tracking approaches without the need for wideband signals and of any synchronization scheme.


Background:  Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a lysosomal storage disease with infantile and juvenile onset with a poor prognosis and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays a fundamental role in its diagnosis. Procedural sedation is needed to carry out MRI on children. Very few case reports have been published on anesthesia or sedation for MLD patients.


According to the registered surveyors system implemented in China for the past few years,teaching reformation ideas and methods of the engineering surveying course are systematically discussed from the teaching content,teaching method,teaching conditions to academic evaluation methods.Therefore,the graduates majoring surveying and mapping can satisfy the needs of today's society,and will obtain registered surveyors qualification certificate as soon as possible.


In this paper we present the results of the synthesis, crystal structure investigations and in situ X-ray diffraction studies of the order-disorder phase transition in cobalt substituted lithium titanate oxide spinels, Li 1.33x Co 2-2x Ti 1+0.67x O 4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1). Depending on the chemical composition the samples crystallize in two space groups (S.G.): Fd3m (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.40 and x = 1) and P4 3 32 (0.50 ≤ x ≤ 0.875). Samples crystallizing in the S.G. P4 3 32 are ordered spinels with a cation ordering of the 1:3 type at octahedral 4b and 12d sites. The cation ordering in octahedral sites is full in the sample with x = 0.75 (Li and Ti occupy 4b and 12d sites, respectively) and decreases for samples with higher/smaller x. Changes of the extinction conditions and nonlinearities in the concentration dependence of the lattice parameter in the regions 0.40 1173K. The mechanism of the phase transition is based on cation migration.


Objectives: The objective of the paper is study and select optimal set of parameters present in performance appraisal (PA). It will result into the best PA. For achieving this, the technique used is "feature selection" and "clustering" and it is supported with the data analytical tool "R". Methods/Statistical Analysis: The paper covers the data mining analysis. For achieving this, the technique used is "feature selection" and "clustering" and it is supported with the data analytical tool "R". Findings: This paper focuses on performance appraisal, the multiple parameters available; to be exact it is 34 parameters. To select set of parameters, 13 from the set of 34, which when focused by the employees can have optimum PA. For achieving this, the technique used is "feature selection" and "clustering" and it is supported with the data analytical tool "R". Applications/Improvements: Usable for every firm where employees have PA. In Organizations today, Human resource and performance appraisal has become very crucial. This is significant from the perception of both the management and the employees. The mechanism of measuring the performance appraisal has also evolved over a period. Recently there are multiple factors and parameters which are taken for measuring the performance appraisal of an individual employee. This complete process is very challenging for both, the employer and the employee. The employer i.e. the organization comes up with different mechanisms and keeps abreast with changing scenarios in order to be competitive in the industry. It is the employees who face the major difficulties in understanding and deciding what to address in their day to day work, which can get appreciation from the employers. Ultimately a good appraisal is every employee's desire


This work presents a recent investigation on corrosion behavior of carbon steel amine and ionic liquid based carbon dioxide absorbents. The first class focused on classical amine solutions: monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine, and methyldiethanolamine. The second class included activated amine blends using piperazine (PZ) amine promoter. The third class included novel aqueous mixtures of alkanolamine/hydrophilic room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), namely, [BMIM][BF4], [BMIM][Otf], [P4441][Acetate], and [Choline][Acetate]. Electrochemical corrosion experiments were conducted using polarization techniques to determine the corrosion rate of steel probing the effect of process temperature and CO2 loading. The findings of the investigation show that corrosivity of classical amines is governed by their characteristic CO2 absorption capacity whereas PZ-activated amines resulted in lower corrosion rates and higher CO2 absorption. The partial replacement of aqueous phase in MEA solution by RTILs was shown t...


Abstract : The Fluke 5700A/AN meter calibrator is a precision instrument designed to calibrate general purpose measuring and test equipment It provides a source of direct and alternating voltage, direct and alternating current, and resistance This unit is highly accurate and very user friendly, and because of these reasons, it was selected as the standard meter calibrator for use throughout the NAVAIR Metrology and Calibration (METCAL) program. Furthermore, because of its versatility, NAVAIR does not limit the use of the 5700A/AN to solely calibrating meters, it is also used in the calibration of other Ground Support Equipment (GSE) and General Purpose Electronic Test Equipment (GPETE). In all, the 5700A/AN meter calibrator is used in approximately 480 Instrument Calibration Procedures (ICPs). This paper describes the data collection method used to acquire failure information, the investigation into the failures of seven 5700A/AN meter calibrators, and the lessons learned as a result of the investigation. Finally, this paper contains recommendations for utilizing the 5700A/AN, which includes revisions to ICPs, appropriate safeguards, and good measurement practices.


C ompetitive nodulation abilities of Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains USDA110ET and A1017ET were significantly depressed by growing the strains in yeast extract-mannitol broth supplemented with 2 μM CdCl2. Soybean seedlings were co-inoculated with each test strain and its competitor strain 138NR, and the bacteria in nodules formed on 21 days old plant roots were identified by the antibiotic resistant markers. Cell surface hydrophobicity of each test strain increased by growing the s trains with 2 μM CdCl2, though definite increase in bacterial attachment to plant root surface was hindered by excessive secretion of exopolysaccharides of the strains. Polyacrylamide gel electro- phoresis revealed that growing the test strains in the medium with 2 μM CdCl2 induced the produc- tion of lipopolysaccharides of small molecular s izes. The results in this study suggest that cadmium of low concentration causes the weakening of competitive nodulation ability of rhizobia through in- hibition of the lipopolysaccharide synthesis.


In the present work, Flunarizine dihydrochloride, an anti-migraine drug has been formulated in to mouth dissolving tablets and the comparative evaluation of selected superdisintegrants on various physicochemical properties of the tablets was performed. Wetting time, water absorption ratio, in vitro dispersion time, disintegration time, and drug release was dependent on the nature and concentration of superdisintegrants. Tablets prepared with Crospovidone exhibited rapid disintegration than those prepared using Indion 414 and pregelatinised starch. The rank order of different superdisintegrants with respect to disintegration time was found to be Crospovidone> Indion 414> pregelatinised starch. However, Indion414 resulted in higher rate of drug dissolution than Crospovidone and pregelatinised starch. Poor correlation between the disintegration time and dissolution time observed with the tablets prepared using Crospovidone could be due to formation of larger particles which resulted into slower drug release. Overall, Indion 414 was found to be more effi cacious in rapid drug release than the Crospovidone and pregelatinized starch. Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) studies revealed the absence of any chemical interaction between the drug and the excipients used in the present study. Stability studies carried out as per the guidelines of International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) revealed the stability of drug with respect to drug content and in vitro drug release.


A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Addis Ababa University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Ph.D. in the field of Genetics under the Biology Department, Faculty of Science.


This research estimates a hazard model of forest conversion in southern Mexico using geographical information systems, household survey data, and satellite imagery. A utility-maximizing model consistent with agricultural frontier conditions is developed. The econometric methodology incorporates temporal dynamics into the otherwise static range of analyses possible using categorical satellite data.


Keywords: Kaempferia parviflora ; Microemulsion; Skin permeation Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop the novel microemulsion (ME) systems for transdermal delivery of Kaempferia parviflora (KP) extract. The effect of ME components on the intrinsic properties and in vitro skin permeation of KP extract-loaded ME was evaluated.  Methods: The solubility of KP in various oils (Oleic acid,caprylic/capric triglyceride, isopropyl myristate and isopropyl palmitate), surfactants (Tween 20, polyoxyethylene castor 35 oil and polyoxyethylene castor 40 oil) and co-surfactants (Propylene glycol(PG), ethoxydiglycol and butylene glycol) was studied in order to screen the suitable compositions of ME. The ME formulations composed of oil, surfactant, co-surfactant and water were selected by ME area of pseudo-ternary phase diagram. PG and ethoxydiglycol were found to be better than another investigated co-surfactant systems to construct the largest ME area of pseudo-ternary phase diagram. ME consisted of the mixture of surfactant/co-surfactant at the ratio of 1:2 was selected for incorporating KP extract. The effect of ME components on the mean droplet size, pH, conductivity and in vitro skin permeation of KP extract-loaded ME was determined. Results: The results showed that the mixture of oil, water and the surfactant system played an important role on characteristics and in vitro skin permeation of KP extract-loaded ME. The mean droplet size of KP extract-loaded microemulsions was in the range of 20-30 nm. The pH value and conductivity of microemulsions after loading KP extract were 5.19-5.25 and 76.0-83.0 µS/cm, respectively. These results indicated that KP extract-loaded microemulsion were o/w microemulsions. The skin permeation flux of the appropriate KP extract-loaded ME formulations (oleic acid/tween 20/PG/water and oleic acid/tween 20/ethoxydiglycol/water) were significantly higher than the KP extract in water (control). Conclusion: The results can be concluded that KP extract-loaded microemulsions were o/w microemulsions with nano-size range and enhanced skin permeation. Our finding ME system had a potential to be used for transdermal delivery of KP extract


Postoperative pain is still the most common and anticipated problem following surgery and inadequate post-operative pain management remains problematic. There is a significant variation in post-operative pain experience of patients following identical surgical procedures and this has been related to a variety of psychological factors. Depression has been considered a predictor of post-operative pain. The overall aim of the study was to determine the relationship between depressive symptoms and subjective pain experienced in dental surgery. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administrated to a sample of 35 patients presenting with dental impaction to assess general depression severity. Participants were assigned to one of two groups using a cutoff score of 10 on the BDI. Pain was measured by a Visual analog pain scale. The results showed that participants with pre-operative depressive symptoms had a trend to experience more pain pre-operatively but less pain post-operatively than participants without depressive symptoms this difference was however not statistically significant. No significant correlations were found between the presence of depressive symptoms pre-operative and pain perception pre-operatively and post-operatively. However significant relationships were found between the absence of depressive symptoms pre-operative and pain perception pre-operatively and post-operatively. Pre-operative depressive symptoms were also found to be predictive of post-operative depressive symptoms. The study concluded that pain and depression co-occur, but the direction of causality is not clearly understood. The use of psychotherapeutic tools for identifying pre-operative predictors for intense post-operative pain will enhance the quality of pain management and therefore has a positive impact on the quality of life of the patient. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za


Abstract Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films can be switched electrically from a light scattering off-state to a highly transparent on-state. Polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) initiated by electron beam irradiation has been used as a powerful method to obtain defined PDLC films. Blends of an aromatic polyester acrylate in additional monomers were prepared as polymer matrix precursors. The eutectic nematic mixture E7 was used as liquid crystal material in this work. Mixtures including different amounts of these materials were exposed to the electron beam radiation. The optical transmission properties of the obtained PDLC films were investigated as a function of composition and amplitude of the applied AC voltage. The electro-optical curves strongly depend on the liquid crystal concentration and are highly reproducible.


T"j~HIS is a continuation of a series of pricing studies of different consumer durable goods of high unit value. The studies have tested the degree of price variations for identical goods among stores, price variations by type of store, and price variations among cities. These studies on consumer durables of high unit value (automobiles, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.) have shown considerable price variations and differences among prices charged by retail institutions. The purpose of this study was to extend our analysis to the price variability of carpeting and its accessories." The importance of this market is indicated by estimates of the American Carpet Institute that 1964 shipments of domestic broadloom carpeting amounted to 255 million square yards with a value of $985 million. This compares with 1946 shipments of 52 million square yards with a value of $212 million. Growth has been accompanied by a number of changes in the market for carpeting since World War II. Important among these are the shift in consumer demand from rugs to wall-towall carpeting and consumer acceptance of a wide variety of new carpeting materials, particularly synthetics. Carpeting is not usually bought by itself; consumers generally purchase padding and installation service with it. The study found that retail prices of carpeting varied considerably less from store to store than did prices of other major commodities studied. In more than three-fourths of the sample cases, merchants were unwilling to sell carpeting below list price, even though carpeting is not fair-traded. At the other extreme, nearly all dealers in new cars did offer a discount. When a carpeting discount was given, it was generally less than half the percentage discount found on major appliances, despite the fact that the retail markups on carpeting and major appliances are quite similar. Carpeting differs from the other consumer durables studied in that there are great variations in quality offered by each manufacturer and that it is considerably more difficult to make direct comparisons of quality, or even to obtain price quotations, for a given brand. There were price differences among the types of retail institutions. These price differences occurred mainly because of relative differences in willingness to offer discounts by store classification. Those merchants offering discounts provided about the same average discount from list price for each group. Prices in New York and Chicago averaged lower than in other major cities.


Lutheran hymns. This was surprising not in itself, but because the ban is not discussed anywhere else. It seems highly relevant to the prior extended treatment of censorship and confessional relations (where people were being prosecuted for singing other songs). I would have liked to learn more about it. Quibbles aside, this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the dynamics of communication in the early modern city. Creasman's cases provide a fascinating look at how citizens interacted with their governors, with each other, and with conflicting religious ideas. She analyzes these engagements with much intelligence and insight. Historians of the Reformation have been learning not to assume a simple trickling down of the new teachings to a passive audience. Creasman offers strong evidence, from the ground up, for a more realistic social history of ideas.


Background: Androgen receptor (AR) is the key drug target in prostate cancer. AR splice variant-7 (AR-V7) is the most relevant AR variants implicated in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Detection of AR-V7 in both liquid biopsies and tissue biopsies predicts poorer response to novel AR-targeting drugs. However, because AR-V7 always coexists with the full-length AR (AR-FL), the functional importance of AR-V7 needs to be dissected in the context of AR-FL. Lack of relevant cell line models presented a hurdle for detailed dissection of the role for AR-V7. It is essential to develop cell lines that express endogenous AR-V7 at a level comparable to clinical specimens, with or without AR-FL, to facilitate functional studies. The goal of this study is to develop and characterize LNCaP95 lines following specific and complete knock-out of AR molecules by CRISPR-Cas9 system. Methods: Different AR isoforms were knocked-out in parental LNCaP95 cells by CRISPR-Cas9. AR-FL was knocked-out through sgRNAs targeting AR exon5 or exon6. AR isoforms with functional N-terminal domain (total AR) were knocked-out through sgRNA targeting AR exon1. Complete knockout of AR-FL and total AR was achieved in LNCaP95 cells. The on-target editing of AR genomic regions were verified by Sanger Sequencing. Results: Complete knockout of AR-FL protein and total AR protein was confirmed in two clones carrying homologous indels, ARfl-KO#1/2 and AR-KO#1/2. Antibodies against different AR domains were used to differentiate expression of different AR isoforms, by Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Cell proliferation was not affected by androgen in AR-FL or total AR knockout cells, as shown in cell growth and clonogenic assays. The expression of AR-target genes such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were analyzed by realtime-PCR. PSA was expressed at similar level compared to parental cells in AR-FL knockout cells, which was totally lost in total AR knockout cells. Interestingly, total AR knockout cells are more resistant to ionizing radiation and PARP inhibitor olaparib compared to parental cell line. Conclusion: We have successfully developed the first prostate cancer cell line expressing endogenous AR-V7 at a level comparable to clinical specimens without AR-FL, allowing dissection of the functions mediated by AR-FL and AR-V7. Initial functional characterization suggested AR-V7 maintained the baseline level of AR signaling activity, which was not dependent on androgen. The chromatin-binding pattern of AR-V7 in the absence of AR-FL is under investigation. We have also developed a novel total AR knockout cell model from the AR-positive parental cell line. This model suggested prostate cancer cells were able to survive in an AR-null manner, although loss of AR significantly inhibited cell proliferation. Preliminary studies have found loss of total AR confers resistance to ionizing radiation and PARP inhibition. Citation Format: Yezi Zhu, Pei Zhao, Changxue Lu, Shihua Chen, Jun Luo. Development and characterization of androgen receptor knockout prostate cancer cell lines by CRISPR-Cas9 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 909.


Financial literacy implies the ability of individuals to understand, manage, and plan their personal finances. By gaining financial literacy, people are likely to develop critical thinking, judgment, and other skills for making informed personal finance decisions. The current study has attempted to review the financial literacy research papers in a systematic manner incorporating the multiple facets ranging from impact of demographic factors to present state of financial literacy literature in the Indian context. Papers published by selective global publishers in the last two decades have been reviewed to trace the trend, the debates and literature gap in shaping the future studies.


Organizational changes are emotionally charged processes, and growing scholarly research has emphasized the impact of employee emotions on successful change management. Until now, this impact has r...


The electromagnetic fields associated with a nonlinear compressional Alfven wave propagating perpendicular to an arbitrarily strong external magnetic field are derived. While recovering the known properties of nonlinear Alfven waves in the weakly magnetized regime, new scaling laws are found for the strongly magnetized case. It is shown that the electric field increases only with the first power of the external magnetic field strength for the strongly magnetized and high phase velocity case relevant for ion acceleration to high energies. An experimental setup suitable for the pickup and acceleration of background plasma ions that is not subjected to detrapping of ions due to a v×B acceleration is sketched.


We consider the horospherical transform and its inversion in 3 examples of hyperboloids. We want to illustrate via these examples the fact that the horospherical inversion formulas can be directly extracted from the classical Radon inversion formula. In a more broad context, this possibility reflects the fact that the harmonic analysis on symmetric spaces (Riemannian as well as pseudo-Riemannian ones) is equivalent (homologous), up to the Abelian Fourier transform, to the similar problem in the flat model. On the technical level it is important that we work not with the usual horospherical transform, but with its Cauchy modification.


Background: Existing evidence suggests a close link among high levels of serum urate (SU), obesity and carotid atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the interrelations between SU levels and carotid atherosclerosis in subjects with different obesity phenotypes. Methods: In this study, a total of 2076 subjects (mean age 48.1 ± 13.1 years; 1307 women) were recruited: 59 with general obesity, 616 with central obesity, 715 with mixed (general–central) obesity and 686 non-obese. Anthropometric measurements, vascular risk factors, blood biochemistry analysis (including SU levels), and carotid ultrasound were performed. Ultrasound assessment included evaluation of intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque characteristics, including number, total area and type (vulnerable vs. stable) of plaques. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, the highest levels of SU were observed in subjects with mixed obesity, followed by subjects with central obesity, general obesity and the non-obese (309.4 ± 82.2 vs. 301.2 ± 73.1 vs. 272.9 ± 61.8 vs. 234.2 ± 59.8 μmol/L, respectively; F = 149.2, post hoc p < 0.001). Similarly, subjects with mixed and central obesity presented higher values of IMT compared to subjects with general obesity and the non-obese (0.68 ± 0.16 vs. 0.67 ± 0.16 vs. 0.62 ± 0.14 vs. 0.57 ± 0.13 mm, respectively; F = 54.2, post hoc p < 0.001). No difference in number, total area and type of plaques among obesity groups were attested (all p > 0.05). Significantly higher IMT values were observed in subjects with increased SU levels compared to subjects with normal SU levels (0.70 ± 0.10 vs. 0.62 ± 0.14 mm, p = 0.02) only within the central obesity group. Increasing levels of SU were associated with a higher frequency of increased IMT only in subjects with central obesity (OR 1.033, 95% CI 1.025–1.041). Similarly, SU levels yielded a satisfactory performance in detecting subjects with increased IMT (AUC 0.65, 95% CI 0.50–0.73, subjects with carotid plaques (0.62, 95% CI 0.55–0.68) and subjects with vulnerable plaque types (0.68, 0.59–0.76) only within the central obesity group. Conclusions: Among the studied obesity types, the association between SU levels and markers of carotid atherosclerosis was of particular significance in subjects with central obesity.


Aponeuroses play a crucial role in the transmission of mechanical load in the muscle-tendon unit. Their contribution is, however, still under debate and they are difficult to image with MRI due to their short T2* decay. In this work, we use high-resolution 3D ultra-short echo time imaging with 50 echoes to investigate the T2* decay of the aponeurosis and build a three-component model to quantify the T2* values. Additionally, we quantified T1 using variable flip angle imaging. To our knowledge, this work is the first to report T1 and T2* values of the aponeurosis.


There are manyargues on the development of aging Industry in recent years and the main disparity is the understanding of connotation and characters of aging Industry Based on the reconsideration of the connotation and character of Industry, this paper has reviewed the main concepts on the connotation and character of aging Industry, and suggest that aging industry should insist on the way of serving the old and going into market.


In sociology of organisation, as a special branch of sociology of work, prevailing opinions today are those that do not separate organisation of work from globalisation processes. No matter whether globalisation processes are seen from optimistic, pessimistic, or skeptical point of view, the fact that globalisation processes do exist in modern societies and that they do influence transformation of organisation of work is not disputable. Globalisation processes imposed distribution of risk, instead of earlier interior processes, which were happening within the frame of distribution of goods (and services) among agents in processes of work. Transformation of organisation of work has been happening in the direction of becoming more changeable, adaptable and temporary. Although on the path of transformation of organisation of work resistance can be seen, which come from prevailing bureaucratic structures and relations, globalisation processes "put" into them some dominant neo-liberal values. As value basis of these processes are mostly seen in the form of neo-liberal ideology, its influence to transformation of organisation of work cannot be neglected; behind each ideology is a function of "protection" of certain social agents. Neo-liberal ideology "makes sense" of changes of organisation of work in the way that it gives them legitimacy of "promoters" of globalisation processes, in the centre of which is the struggle for profit on the international market. This is the reason why globalisation processes appear as a good (international) frame for spreading of neo-liberal ideology, as like in economically high developed societies as in societies of post-socialistic transition. Neo -liberal ideology does not care much for characteristics of other aspects of work, which concern content of work and position of agents of work in its organisation. In accordance with neo-liberal ideology, today we can identify some influences of globalisation processes to organisation of work: organisation is getting smaller, more equal distribution of power in organisation and cutting off "auxiliary" functions of organisation.


Technology of new type of carbon reductant for silicon smelting process was created in Kazakhstan several years ago as a solution to the problem of charcoal shortage. In order to determine the influence of basic coking parameters – temperature and heating speed on reductant quality a series of high-temperature experiments simulating a real coking process was carried out. Experimental data were further used for assessment of coking parameters influence and optimization of coking process. Results of coke structure investigation show that selected parameters of coking process ensure satisfactory structural characteristics of new reductant important for application in the complex process of silicon recovery in submerged arc furnaces.


This paper is mainly devoted to discuss some topics concerning the organization of morphology and to show some of the theoretical and empirical advantages of a syntactic approach to word formation processes over the standard lexicalist approach. It is argued that complex. word formation 'obeys the same general principles that apply at each level of the' syntactic component, and that the differences between morphological and syntactic operations can be derived from the interaction of general conditions of the system. This move from the lexicalist approach to a syntactic view of morphology is possible due to two independent factors that have combined within the linguistic theory only in the last few years: on the one hand, the development of morphology th~ory itself has made evident a large number of regulariti~s in those processes that, I think, were misconceived in earlier stages of the inquiry; these properties manifest a highly complex organization of the morphological component and its relationship with other components of the grammar. On the other hand, a rather productiye development of comparative linguistics within what has been called, the Principles and Parameters approach has permitted a considerable extension in the range of linguistic studies on a variety of languages that show very different morphological and syntactic patterns. This new material reveals a considerable number of general properties that systematically appear in morphological processes even across languages that superficIally appear to be very different. The first section presents a study of the different thematic and structural relations among the internal constituents of complex words and the general mechanisms and conditions that apply in word formation processes. Based on the


For the journals of science and technology, quality is its core part. Combining with the Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, journal quality is evaluated by such quantization indexes as journal tenet, issue variation , ratio of the number of papers financially supported by foundations to the number of authors per paper, influence factor, cited frequency and the number of papers included in American Engineering Index,etc. Furthermore, it also points out that the quality of journals can be further improved only by continuing to keep track of academic hotspots,connect with the actual situation of engineering and improve the various evaluation indexes.


We found that isolated Escherichia coli K13 antigen conjugated to bovine serum albumin, in contrast to isolated, non-conjugated K13, was highly immunogenic and induced protection against acute pyelonephritis caused by E. coli O6K13H1 in rats.


Some of the articles in this issue orbit around the ethical topic, Education and Research. In particular, those who defend the ethical and anthropological vision of education, which continues to be a liability in the processes of reflection and formation. This is the case of editorial work by the Spanish pedagogue Pedro Ortega, creator of the Pedagogy of Otherness and member of the Redipe Quality Committee. With Professor Eduardo advance a relevant conversation on the subject.The other articles are articulated to topics of ethics and research, attitude, inclusion and coexistence, among others.


Fructus Psoraleae (FP) is commonly used in the treatment of vitiligo, osteoporosis and other diseases in clinic. However, the toxicity caused by FP is frequently encountered in clinical practice. Up to now, the toxicity mechanism of FP is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the toxic effect in rats treated with the ethanol extract of FP (EEFP) and to explore the underlying toxic mechanisms using a metabolomics approach. The toxicity was evaluated by hematological indicators, biochemical indicators and histological changes. In addition, a serum metabolomic method based on the UPLC-Q-TOF-MS had been established to investigate the hepatorenal toxicity of FP. Multivariate statistical approaches, such as PLS-DA and OPLS-DA were built to evaluate the toxical effects of FP and find potential biomarkers and metabolic pathways. 10 endogenous metabolites had been identified and the related metabolic pathways were involved in phospholipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, purine metabolism and antioxidant system. The results showed that long-term exposure to high-dose EEFP may cause hepatorenal toxicity in rats. Therefore, serum metabolomics can improve the diagnostic efficiency of FP toxicity and make it more accurately and comprehensively.


Politeness is to do with the way we behave socially and that social acceptability is related to how much care we show towards other's feelings when we interact. Being polite should not be equated with being friendly because one can be socially correct in behaviour but not necessarily friendly. Politeness may be gauged through the way a person speaks, particularly in making requests. This paper focuses on the strategies/techniques used by grandparents in their verbal interactions with their grandchildren. Strategies help the former to get involved in the latter's lives particularly when they are often separated by distance. This study focuses on the way grandparents make requests on their grandchildren to perform certain acts. It aims to understand how polite or impolite grandparents are when making such speech acts. By taking the framework offered by Brown and Levinson's (1987) theory of politeness, politeness is thus measured via the classification of Negative and Positive Politeness. Data was accumulated from the conversations of a couple of elderly grandparents and their grandchildren during one Chinese New Year. Although their interactions were captured through a video recorder over a period of 15 days, only data that contained the suggested speech act was used for analysis. Analysis of data does indicate that the older generation employs more than one strategy in their requests. It can be concluded from this study that the grandparents were generally not direct but there were reasons why this occurred.


The effects of the heat treatment of Si covered with a thermally-grown approx.50 nm overlayer of SiO/sub 2/ were probed by means of measurements of positron annihilation characteristics obtained with a variable-energy positron beam. From measurements at elevated temperature (approx.500/sup 0/C) it was observed that positrons implanted overlapping the SiO/sub 2//Si interface decay from a state with properties distinctively different from the state in Si and in SiO/sub 2/. The nature of the annihilation characteristics indicates the presence of open volume defects. 19 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.


This paper presents an analysis of historical failures of HV circuit breakers in Thailand's transmission network. The historical data of circuit breakers installed since 1989 to 2011 at 115 kV voltage levels are analyzed. The data has been classified according to different types of circuit breakers and subcomponents. The main components are classified as live parts and insulation, operating mechanism, and control circuit and others. Subsequently the main components are deeply differentiated into sub-components. The failure frequencies of those sub-components are then assessed in order to observe their failure characteristics in form of bath-tub pattern, which is classified into three zones as teething, random and ware-out zone. The results show failure patterns of sub-components and overall failure pattern of 115 kV circuit breakers. Finally, the spare parts of sub-components are calculated using normal distribution technique. Therefore, preventive maintenance for the circuit breakers can be effectively managed according to its actual failure behavior. Consequently, the failure rate of the equipment can be reduced, which results in the better reliability of power system.


Murraya koenigii (Linn) is the plant which posses strong antioxidant properties and enhance the metabolism of body by reducing human stress. The study is the comparison of antioxidant properties of Murraya koenigii such as Total phenol, Total flavonoid, Total saponins, Total terpenoid, Total tannin content in urban and coastal area. The total phenol content both in urban and coastal Murraya koenigii is 2.90mg/L. The flavonoid content in urban Murraya koenigii is 2.11 mg/L and coastal area is 2.00 mg/L.. The saponin content in urban and costal area is 2.33 mg/L and 2.71 mg/L respectively. The terpenoid content in urban Murraya koenigii is greater than urban area, is 0.12mg/L and in coastal area is 0.05mg/L. The tannins content in urban Murraya koenigii is 0.03 mg/L and coastal area is 0.06mg/L. The alkaloid content in urban Murraya koenigii is 0.24% and coastal area is 0.61%.


The present invention relates to a method for preparing chitin and chitosan oligosac charide. The method comprises the steps that usual raw materials such as the crust of shrimp and crab, the insect crust or the fungal mycelia, etc. are micronized through the dry process or wet process; the carapace material of the obtained fine powder raw material is decalcified with the chemical process, and then is defatted and deproteinized with the method of micro-organism compound enzyme coarse enzyme liquid co-enzymolysis, and the insect and fungus fine powder thereof is directly defatted and deproteinized; a whole cell immobilizing bioreactor of a chitin deacetylase high-yield producing strain is prepared, to perform the circulatory deacetylation to the chitin and then obtain chitosan with corresponding degree of deacetylatoion; obligate anaerobic acid-producing bacterium and high-yield producing chitosan bacterium are utilized, the chitosan is submerged and fermented in the liquid, to obtain chitosan oligosaccharide with high water solubility. The present invention has the advantages that the method is helpful to fully utilize the resources, and makes the waste to the worth, at the same time, the default of the manufacturing process of the chemical process can be avoided, the production efficiency is improved, the energy is saved, the consumption is reduced, the byproduct with corresponding high value added can be produced, the comprehensive economic benefits of the relative secondary industry are obviously improved, the industrial development is promoted, and the multi-win effect is attained.


A method for correcting the electrical impedance and open-circuit receive sensitivity of a hydrophone for the effect of an added extension cable is described. The method requires the measurement of the complex electrical impedance of both the hydrophone–cable combination and the extension cable alone. From these data, the impedance of the hydrophone alone and an electrical loading correction are calculated. The loading correction is applied to a measurement of the open-circuit sensitivity of the hydrophone–cable combination to derive the open-circuit sensitivity of the hydrophone alone (at the end of its integral cable). When compared to direct measurements of the hydrophone without the extension cable, the calculated values show good agreement within measurement uncertainties, with differences of less than 0.2% for the impedance and 0.5% for the loading correction.


Short term exposure to the enzymes actinidin and pepsin can be used to separate the stalked epiphytic diatoms Synedra tabulata (Agardh) Kutzing and Licmophora species (Araphidineae) from their brown or green algal hosts. Only actinidin can be used on red algae which disintegrate on acidified pepsin treatment. Cocconeis scutellum Ehrenberg and Achnanthes brevipes Agardh (Monoraphidineae) and Gomphonema pseudexiguum Simonsen (Biraphidineae) were, during the one minute exposure period, not sensitive to this separation technique. Enzyme separation can be used in conjunction with familiar radiotracer procedures to obtain primary productivity values for the components of a natural assemblage of epiphytic diatoms and their host. Preliminary experiments suggest that by varying the exposure period the technique may also be used to remove other groups of epiphytic diatoms.


Although the required capital investments for electricity generation infrastructure from 2018 to 2037 have been projected around USD 14,568 in Sri Lanka, Ceylon Electricity Board is not in a position to meet this requirement due to its negative cash flows. Full private investments are restricted by the law stating that any person to generate capacity above and over of 25 MW, shall Government hold 51% of ownership. Since the funding of power generation is a top urgent priority in the country, this paper investigates the challenges and critical factors involved in going for a public private partnership (PPP) by reviewing the related literature in other countries and identifying main themes that Sri Lanka needs to take into account. Narrative literature review with thematic analysis revealed that 1) Political Instability, 2) State Credibility on policies, 3) Regulatory and legal framework, 4) Transparent and efficient procurement process, 5) Financial Market, 6) Favourable investment environment, and 7) a strong and good private consortium as the mostly influencing macro factors to build PPP for power generation infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka.


Integration of the Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) for K Reactor operation into related technical areas at the Savannah River Site (SRS) includes coordination with several onsite organizations responsible for maintaining and upgrading emergency preparedness capabilities. Major functional categories of the PRA application are scenario development and source term algorithm enhancement. Insights and technologies from the SRS PRA have facilitated development of: (1) credible timelines for scenarios; (2) algorithms tied to plant instrumentation to provide best-estimate source terms for dose projection; and (3) expert-system logic models to implement informed counter-measures to assure onsite and offsite safety following accidental releases. The latter methodology, in particular, is readily transferable to other reactor and non-reactor facilities at SRS and represents a distinct advance relative to emergency preparedness capabilities elsewhere in the DOE complex.


Beryllium offers a unique combination of properties for the development of extraordinary scattering behavior. Therefore, many different potential applications call for an advanced material based on Beryllium. This paper summarizes something of today's knowledge about crystal growth behavior and the role of defect structures for the control of different scattering properties in this metal. While we are still at the beginning of true "defect structure design", which demands further theoretical and experimental investigation, Beryllium—also in the single crystal state—offers unique potential, if it can be developed for the achievement of custom tailored properties by proper control of the defect structure.


It is found that the electronic excited state 11Bu does not influence the intensity distribution in the electronic 11Ag 21Ag transition though it is partially allowed. It is determined with the help of the electron-vibrational interaction theory using the joint analysis of fluorescence spectra and fluorescence excitation spectra of three arylpolyenes in n-paraffin matrices at 4.2 K. Elastic forces, binding the polyene molecules with the environment, are shown to change in the phototransition.

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Objective: To describe the content of guidelines on the use of anticoagulant treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation and the impact of variations in guidelines on treatment. Design: Postal survey of guidelines, semistructured interview with lead developers of guidelines, and application of guidelines to patient sample. Subjects: 15 lead developers of the 20 guidelines identified in the postal survey were interviewed. 100 patients over 65 with atrial fibrillation to whom the guidelines were applied. Main outcome measures: Evaluation of guidelines and the methods of dissemination, implementation, review, and evaluation; proportion of patients recommended for anticoagulant treatment by each guideline; and level of agreement between guidelines. Results: There was considerable variation in whether anticoagulant treatment was recommended for subjects (range 13% to 100%, ê = 0.12). Guidelines varied greatly in advice on treatment by age, the use of echocardiography, and the target value or range of the international normalised ratio (8 of the 20 guidelines included values unlikely to be effective). Development was unsystematic; evidence based approaches were rarely used. 9 of the 15 lead developers had developed the guidelines themselves, and the 6 guidelines developed by groups relied on informal consensus. Methods to support effective dissemination, implementation, and evaluation were


The enhancement effects of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation on the efficiency of DNA mediated gene transfer were studied. Confluent Rat-2 cells were transfected with purified SV40 viral DNA, irradiated with either X-rays or ultraviolet, trypsinized, plated, and assayed for the formation of foci on Rat-2 monolayers. Both ionizing and ultraviolet radiation enhanced the frequency of A-gene transformants/survivor compared to unirradiated transfected cells. These enhancements were non-linear and dose dependent. A recombinant plasmid, pOT-TK5, was constructed that contained the SV40 virus A-gene and the Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) thymidine kinase (TK) gene. Confluent Rat-2 cells transfected with pOT-TK5 DNA and then immediately irradiated with either X-rays or 330 MeV/amu argon particles at the Berkeley Bevalac showed a higher frequency of HAT/sup +/ colonies/survivor than unirradiated transfected cells. Rat-2 cells transfected with the plasmid, pTK2, containing only the HSV TK-gene were enhanced for TK-transformation by both X-rays and ultraviolet radiation. The results demonstrate that radiation enhancement of the efficiency of DNA mediated gene transfer is not explained by increased nuclear uptake of the transfected DNA. Radiation increases the competence of the transfected cell population for genetic transformation. Three models for this increased competence are presented. The targeted integration model, the inducible recombinationmore » model, the partition model, and the utilization of DNA mediated gene transfer for DNA repair studies are discussed. 465 references.« less


Parker's model of coronal heating [E. N. Parker, Astrophys. J. 174, 499 (1972)] is considered within the framework of ideal reduced magnetohydrodynamics. It is shown that there can be at most one smooth magnetostatic equilibrium for a given smooth footpoint mapping between two end plates to which field lines are line-tied. If such a smooth equilibrium is deformed continuously by further footpoint motion so that it becomes unstable, there is no other smooth equilibrium for the plasma to relax to, and the system tends to a nonequilibrium state containing singular currents ("current sheets"). It is shown that this process can occur as the system relaxes asymptotically to a state of minimum energy (possibly in infinite time). Numerical simulations that begin from smooth initial conditions containing current layers are presented. As the current layers become increasingly intense due to footpoint motion and eventually cross a threshold for instability, the magnetic relaxation observed in the simulation shows a ...


Abstract: We have studied the effect of [Sar1]angiotensin II [S1‐AII; a degradation‐resistant analogue of angiotensin II (All)] on the release of [Met5]enkephalin (ME) and proenkephalin A (proENK) gene expression. Short‐term (15‐min to 1‐h) stimulation of bovine adrenal medullary chromaffin (BAMC) cells with S1‐AII at concentrations from 0.1 to 100 nM had no significant effect on secretion of ME, whereas high concentrations of S1‐AII (3 to 100 μM) produced a concentration‐dependent increase in the concentration of ME in the incubation media. In contrast, long‐term (3‐ to 24‐h) stimulation with low concentrations (0.1 nM‐1μM) of S1‐AII increased the secretion of ME in a concentration‐dependent manner (EC50= 1 nM). The intracellular level of ME was not changed by long‐term treatment with S1‐AII (100 nM). In addition to increased ME secretion, long‐term (24‐h) stimulation with S1‐AII increased the expression of proENK mRNA in a concentration‐dependent manner (EC50= 4 nM). Losartan (2‐n‐butyl‐4 chloro‐5‐hydroxy‐methyl‐l‐[(2′‐(l H‐tetrazol‐5‐yl)biphenyl‐4‐yl)‐meth‐yl]imidazole potassium salt, a type 1 All receptor antagonist inhibited these effects, whereas PD123319 (50 μM, a type 2 All receptor antagonist) was inactive. Our results suggest that All in BAMC cells exerts a major effect on the long‐term regulation of expression of proENK mRNA and secretion of ME. These effects appear to be mediated by type 1‐like All receptors.


Abstract The drone industry is one of the most important areas of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the drone industry, delivery systems using drones are now facing commercialization as they have undergone many experiments and discussions. The purpose of this study is to find the best route in a delivery system using a drone. In this study, we have developed the existing Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) into a more realistic mathematical model considering the two differences between drones and vehicles; one is that power consumption varies with the weight of the loaded cargo and the other is that velocity is influenced by wind. This study also presents an Ant Colony System (ACS) algorithm to effectively solve VRP, a well-known NP-hard problem. The methodology of this study is quite successful and is expected to enable more realistic and effective routing decisions.


The system is comprised of the following: 1. A magnetic digital video disk recorder which can be used for applications in on -line digital imaging systems and off -line fast access image storage and retrieval buffers. 2. An optical disk recorder and a magnetic tape system for archiving purposes. 3. A display workstation which would enable user access to the images and data. The system design permits location of display station and the storage subsystems in a conventional standalone mode or a geographically dispersed configuration using a local area network.


The long-term effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on nutrient build-up and their relationship with microbial properties in a rice-wheat cropping sequence were studied in surface (0–15 cm) and subsurface (15–30 cm) soil samples. This experiment has been in progress since 1990 in the Department of Agronomy, CSK, Palampur with twelve treatments involving combinations of organic and inorganic fertilizers. In these treatment combinations, 25 and 50% of the recommended nitrogen levels were supplemented with organic sources, i.e. FYM (farm yard manure), green manure and wheat straw. The buildup of organic matter, and the total and available pools of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur were determined in surface (0–15 cm) and subsurface (15–30 cm) soil samples. The substitution of 25 and 50% nitrogen through organic fertilizers proved to be better than inorganic fertilizers alone. Amongst the organic sources, the substitution of FYM resulted in higher organic carbon, total and available nitrogen, phosphorus ...


As technology scaling down allows multiple processing components to be integrated on a single chip, the modern computing systems led to the advent of Multiprocessor System-on-Chip (MPSoC) and Chip Multiprocessor (CMP) design. Network-on-Chips (NoCs) have been proposed as a promising solution to tackle the complex on-chip communication problems on these multicore platforms. In order to optimize the NoC-based multicore system design, it is essential to evaluate the NoC performance with respect to numerous configurations in a large design space. Taking the traffic characteristics into account and using an appropriate latency model become crucially important to provide an accurate and fast evaluation. In this tutorial, we survey the current progresses in these aspects. We first review the NoC workload modeling and traffic analysis techniques. Then, we discuss the mathematical formalisms of evaluating the performance under a given traffic model, for both the average and worst-case latency predictions. Finally, the advantages of combining the analytical and simulation-based techniques are discussed and new attempts for bridging these two approaches are reviewed.


This paper aims to assess whether and how current Portuguese national spatial planning policy and regional spatial plans are based on evidence revealing trends and patterns of population decrease and rural and urban shrinkage in Portugal. Firstly, built on a literature review, we identify the consequences of population decrease, the so-called characteristics of shrinkage, and we briefly look at dominant approaches and strategies to deal with it. Secondly, we review macro level policy documents to access global awareness and perception of shrinkage from a transnational perspective. Finally, after sketching an international framework on our subject matter shrinkage, a content analysis is applied to the Regional Spatial Plans of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon and of the Northern Region. Urban shrinkage and shrinking cities are not explicitly mentioned in these documents. This is partly understandable because it is an emergent phenomenon in Portugal, in comparison with other countries, and because the concept is recent and it has not yet come to light in Portuguese planning practice. In addition, results suggest that the doctrine of growth is still embedded in Portuguese planning culture. In sum, despite clear evidence of population decrease in Portugal, spatial planning policy and regional spatial plans have either disavowal or reactive character pertaining population decrease and shrinkage.


rules correctly, he or she will produce utterances that are meaningful, grammatical, and appropriate. If a learner's hypotheses of the language rules are occasionally incorrect, however, some of his or her utterances will contain errors of varying types and frequencies. It is virtually impossible to avoid errors when learning any new skill, particularly when learning a foreign language. It is logical, therefore, to ask a rather critical question: Can error correction benefit language learners?


The discharge prevalencia of third low molars not erupcionados is a constant worry for the odontologists in general for the diverse complications that he(she) carries on having remained in the jaw. It is necessary to to have knowledge of the factors that alter his(her,your) eruption but especially establish in an exact way the available space for his(her,your) eruption. An inadequate diagnosis would carry to generating patologías as(like) pericoronaritis, reabsorptions radiculares, cysts, periodontitis enclosed some studies affirm that they can aggravate the overcrowdings antero low. The unnecessary extraction of this piece carries that might not be used later as replacement of neighboring(similar) pieces or as elements protésicos which would harm the oral health of the person. The aim(lens) of this investigation(research) was to determine the available space of the third low molars. For it 50 clinical histories were examined by panoramic X-ray photographies by complete low dentition where the studied characteristics were Broad Mesio Distal of the wreath, relation of the third low molar with the ascending(rising) branch according to the analysis of Pell and Gregory, available space for the eruption of the third low molar. The results of the average for the Broad Mesio Distal of the third low molar of the sample selected for the feminine kind(genre) it(he,she) was of 11,84mm 68 (+/-DS=1.08) and for the masculine kind(genre) 1,25 was of 12,06mm (+/DS =), where there was no statistically significant difference. For the relation of the third low molar with the ascending(rising) pertaining to the jaw branch according to the index of Pell and Gregory there is predominance of the class the IIIrd in 60,42 % in the feminine kind(genre) and in the masculine kind(genre) it(he,she) predominates over the class the IIIrd in 62,22 %. With regard to the Available Space according to Ganns's index for the feminine kind(genre) the average was of 0,81 (+/-DS = 0,28), for the masculine kind(genre) the average was of 0,78 (+/-DS = 0,20) concluding that there were neither significant differences between kinds(genres) nor pertaining to the jaw sides. Likewise so much in the feminine population since(as,like) masculine the interval predominates with 70 % and 80 % respectively over from 0 to 0,99 according to Ganns's index and the rest of the population (30 % and 20 % respectively) they presented a major or equal index to 1, presenting both third molar included populations. Therefore one concludes that in the dimensions evaluated in the incorporation of third low molars significant difference does not exist in both kinds(genres), with regard to the index of Pell and Gregory there is predominance in both kinds(genres) of the class the IIIrd and with regard to the available space there does not exist significant difference between pertaining to the jaw sides and kinds(genres); but the interval predominates over from 0 to 0,99; this would mean according to Ganns that his(her,your) probability of eruption is 30 %, with these results the established is not fulfilled or found in other works of investigation(research) where they demonstrate a minor available space for the feminine kind(genre) and the pertaining to the jaw right(straight) side, but if there is congruity that to minor index of minor Ganns probability of eruption.


Books information work is not only the information centre to implement scientific construction of library in the construetion of library in higher college, but also a window to reflect the working quality of a library. It is an important gauge to embody the management standard of a libray as well. We should take effectioe measures to maximize the function of collecting information, polishing, publicity and feedback.


Economics is inextricably linked with HIV/AIDS. Economic conditions affect HIV/AIDS and, in turn, HIV/AIDS affects an economy at both the macro and micro levels. Thus, the link works in both directions. In this chapter, we examine the relationships between HIV/AIDS and poverty, inequality and social capital, and consider whether economic differences between countries explain differences in HIV prevalence. As we have noted in Chap. 3, HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects people of working age. In this chapter, we examine the potential economic impact of HIV/AIDS, using a macroeconomic model. This is followed by a review of microeconomic and epidemiological models that try to answer questions about the behavioral response of people who are either at risk of or actually living with HIV/AIDS. Such studies provide a useful mechanism for determining the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention strategies (a topic we explore further in Chap. 9). Economics plays a significant role in the propagation of HIV/AIDS in high incidence countries. The economics of HIV/AIDS also shows us the likely economic returns on different strategies to prevent HIV infections.


With the economic globalization, the international communication is more and more close, the international division of labor is more and more obvious, enterprises also from the past monopoly competition to win-win cooperation. In this era of big data, enterprises are faced with new opportunities and challenges. Data has become a symbol to measure all values, and the description and prediction of human society are more and more accurate. Meanwhile, supply chain management relies on data flow to optimize and integrate enterprise resources.


The major problem arises at shipyard is because of scarcity of space for arranging the building blocks of ship under construction. A standardized erection sequence diagram is generally available to provide the prioritized erection sequence and it serves as the frame work. In order to make a timely erection of the blocks a post plan has to be developed so that the blocks lie in the nearest possible vicinity of the material handling devices while keeping the priority of erection and the blocks are arranged in the pre-erection area. This kind of readiness of blocks leads to a very complex problem of space. This arises due to the least available space leading to an urgent need for intelligent spatial schedule without compromising the rate of production. There exists two critical problems ahead namely, the spatial occupation layout of pre-erection area and the evacuating pattern in the spatial vicinity. The block shape is assumed be rectangular. The related input data's are the dates of erection (earliest as well as the latest), geometrical parameters of block available on pre-erection area, slack time and the like. World over industrial engineers and decision makers are brainstorming hard to find an ideal solution for their unique problems. Every scheduling and decisional problems end up in complicated iterative loop system.


When Roman objects and artifacts are properly analyzed, they serve as valuable primary sources for learning about ancient history. This book provides the guidance and relevant historical context students need to see relics as evidence of long-past events and society. * Presents images of artifacts, relevant primary sources, and detailed explanations of each item's historical context together in a single resource, making the information conveniently accessible to both students and general readers * Provides students with the opportunity to work with, analyze, and interpret both artifacts and primary sources, making the book an excellent complement to curricula that are increasing their focus on the use of primary sources of all types * Allows readers to piece together an overall impression of Roman life and society through artifacts that range from a legionary weapon and a medical scalpel to a wax tablet for writing, a bread oven, and a sundial


Summary Objectives: The traditional techniques of data analysis are often not sufficient to characterize the complex dynamics of respiration. In this study the respiratory pattern variability was analyzed using symbolic dynamics. Methods: A group of 20 patients on weaning trials from mechanical ventilation were studied at two different pressure support ventilation levels. Breath duration (TTOT) time series and the relation TI/TTOT, that contains the influence of inspiratory time (TI), were considered. Length-3 words and 3 different symbols were proposed. The incidence of the overlapping τ and the parameter α were analyzed. Results: From the breath duration time series, the distribution of words with probability of occurrence higher than 6% was concentrated on one word for low respiratory variability, whereas high variability was characterized by 4 words, presenting a statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.0005). The probability occurrence of words "110" and "111" was also significantly different (p ≤ .0005) when comparing both variabilities. Conclusion: The analysis carried out obtained discriminant functions able to correctly classify all the testing set series. These results permit the consideration of symbolic dynamics as a promising methodology to study the respiratory pattern variability.


These vents, as commonly termed, were found to be surrounded by dense populations of benthic animals. Especially striking were the tightly packed clusters of mussels, clams (Fig. 2), and vestimentiferan tubeworms of unusual size (Ballard 1977, Corliss et al. 1979, Galapagos Biology Expedition Participants 1979). Early in 1979, more vents were located and visited by Alvin west of the original diving area and also further north along the East Pacific Rise spreading zone near the Mexican coast (see Fig. 1). What is the food supply that sustains these unusually rich communities, which are located at an ocean depth far removed from surface waters of only moderate photosynthetic production? An explanation discussed in a preliminary communication by Lonsdale (1977) proposes thermoconvective currents caused by rising warm water, which may lead to an entrainment of nutrient-rich bottom water. An alternate hypothesis originated from one of the first direct observations from the portholes of Alvin at close range: The most active vents emitted "milky bluish" water. This indicated the possible presence of suspended particulate or colloidal sulfur as a product of spontaneous oxidation and thereby the potential for bacterial oxidation of reduced sulfur species. The presence of hydrogen sulfide was soon confirmed. Since this process involves the conversion of inorganic into organic carbon, as in photosynthesis, the possibility arose that those unusual deepsea populations might be supported by primary


CATON'S SUMMER IN NORWAY.1From a careful reading of this attractive and unpretending book, and froin similar experiences in the southern and middle portions of Norway, we feel entitled to say that Judge Caton has given American readers a thoroughly reliable account of Norway, particularly the extreme north. English books about Norway are not so scarce as the author states, but the present volume gives the most complete and accessible general account of this interesting country we have seen. The author lays no claim to a knowledge of geology; the raised beaches and glaciers, on which he does not dwell,


Military helicopter pilots are relying more on night vision devices as the number of night operations continues to increase. However, previous studies have indicated that night vision devices do not provide adequate peripheral orientation and motion cues. This study aimed to develop a new technique for examining sustained reductions in the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) as a means of improving motion discrimination among pilots that use night vision devices. Nine participants performed a series of active head rotation tasks designed to establish a baseline VOR measurement in the control condition, and to suppress the VOR in the experimental condition. The results of the active head rotation tasks revealed that the VOR was not significantly reduced in the experimental condition. Future research will be aimed at altering the task duration and stimuli to determine whether active head rotation is capable of reducing the VOR.


Han-zhong is the tea collection and distribution center in the early northwest tea-horse trade, nearby uses the Qin-ba tea, does not need to consider the long-distance transportation the shortcoming. "The Ba-tea" along "the Ba-jian road" to Han-zhong, continues continuously to the tea-horse trade decline. Collects harshly the tea tax, the neglect technical change, has fettered the Qin-ba tea industry development.


Pluripotent stem cells rely on glycolysis for their energy needs and shift their metabolism towards mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation during differentiation in order to adapt to the metabolic needs of mature differentiated cells. Oxidative phosphorylation generates reactive oxygen species and can thus lead to collateral protein oxidation and damage. Excessive mitochondrial damage leads to mitochondrial autophagy or mitophagy during which mitochondria are marked for degradation. A key regulator of mitophagy is the outer mitochondrial membrane protein Mitofusin‐2 (Mfn2) which either directs mitochondria towards fusion with other mitochondria to optimize mitochondrial function or towards mitophagy. We hypothesized that differentiation of pluripotent stem cells would necessitate increased mitophagy to contain the oxidative damage due to enhanced oxidative phosphorylation.


The effective permittivity properties of several dry snow types are examined in the 18 to 90 GHz range. The experimental data on the extinction coefficient of dry snow /spl kappa//sub e/ are employed to derive the effective permittivity. A comparison between the derived effective permittivity and effective permittivity based on strong fluctuation theory is conducted. The range of validity of strong fluctuation theory model for dry snow effective permittivity is examined by using the experimental data.


In this paper, a novel device structure named as partially insulated (Pi-OX) junctionless transistor (JLT) is proposed and the simulated results below 20 nm have been compared with existing silicon-on-insulator (SOI) JLT. Further, drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL), subthreshold swing (SS), on-state drive current (ION), off-state leakage current (IOFF), ION/IOFF ratio and static power dissipation (PSTAT) of the proposed Pi-OXJLT and SOIJLT has also been compared. It has been found that, IOFF, DIBL and SS in the case of proposed Pi-OXJLT are reduced by 57%, 17% and 10% respectively over the existing SOIJLT device. The fabrication flow of the proposed Pi-OXJLT is proposed.


Emily Dickinson's experimental poetic compositions present exceptional challenges to the textual editor using TEI to mark up Dickinson's manuscript writings, particularly in the realm of tagging variants and versions. Focusing in particular on her use of intratextual and subtextual variant words, phrases, lines, and line groups, this paper examines several different scenarios for tagging variants and discusses each strategy's strengths and weaknesses. Bearing in mind textual theories that stress the autonomous nature of textual versions produced by variation, this essay also imagines future computing tools that rely upon TEI-conformant tagging to automate visual representations of variant versions. Ultimately, no entirely satisfactory method of encoding Dickinson's variants emerges, as more simple encoding strategies fail to capture Dickinson's complexities in a way that can generate automated display, and more complicated strategies produce awkward, cumbersome code and retain TEI's known difficulties with tagging multiple and overlapping hierarchies.


As the Nigerian population continues to increase, so does the number of youth. The population of youth (18-35 years) in Nigeria is 52.2 million (i.e. about 28% of total population) and more than the entire population of Ghana, London and Benin Republic put together. In spite of the prospects that this number holds, young people in Nigeria are largely marginalized from governance, leaving them helpless to counter their continued exclusion. This is evidenced by the lower percentage of youth that hold political and leadership positions in the country. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between youth political participation, good governance, and social inclusion in Nigeria. Using a quantitative approach, 1,208 youth aged 18-35, selected from Nairaland, participated in the study. Data gathered was analyzed with Spearman Correlation Coefficient and the result indicates that there is significant positive relationship between youth political participation and good governance in Nigeria (r s, (1206) = .615, p < .001) and that there is significant positive association between youth political participation and social inclusion in Nigeria (r s, (1206) = .875, p < .001). It was recommended that the government should create Leadership and Democratic Institutes [LDI] across the states of the Federation and establish an Online Leadership Orientation Agency [OLOA] to utilize various social networking sites to provide free leadership courses, webinars, and orientation on the art of governance and the promotion of social inclusion among youth.


It is a great challenge to plan motion for humanoid robots in complex environments especially when the terrain is cluttered and discrete. To address this problem, a novel method is proposed in this paper by planning the gait according to the stance sequence and ZMP (Zero Moment Point) reference. It consists of two components: an adaptive footstep planner and a walking pattern generator. The adaptive footstep planner can generate the stance path according to the walking rules and adjust the orientation of body relevantly. As the footstep locations are determined, Linear Inverted Pendulum Model (LIPM) is used to generate the walking pattern with a moving ZMP reference. As demonstrated in experiments on the humanoid robot HOAP-2, our method can successfully plan footstep trajectories as well as generate the stable and natural-looking gait in typical cluttered and discrete environments.


ABSTRACT The current article explores the relations between transnationalism and belonging using a study of Russian-speaking transmigrants from Estonia to Finland. Transnational belonging has been discussed as a way to overcome unipolarity in understanding belonging; transmigrants are believed to get attached to two or more countries simultaneously. However, the transnationals we interviewed refused to identify themselves with two states concurrently and, in some cases, with any state at all. Experiencing multiple pressures, transmigrants' national identities appear to be in a state of constant change. Our research suggests that national identification is a continuous time- and effort-consuming negotiation in which the personal agency of transnationals plays a determining role.


The case to be described seems to be of sufficient interest to justify its publication, chiefly because of the many-sidedness of the syphilitic changes and some peculiar features of the lesions. REPORT OF CASE History.— The patient was a girl, aged 18. A history of syphilitic infection of the parents was not obtained. The father had died of an indefinite illness. The mother was entirely free from symptoms; she had had four miscarriages; three children were living. The patient was the youngest of these; the other two, a sister and a brother, were known to have a similar condition. The brother was also brought for examination. During the first four years of life, the patient's health had been good. The first syphilitic manifestation, a parenchymatous keratitis, had started when she was 4 years of age, with the simultaneous appearance of deafness. When she was 10 years old, the first lesions


Solar cell converts visible light into Direct current (DC) electric power. The DC output of the solar cell depends on multiple factors that affect its efficiency i.e. solar irradiation falling over the cell, direct air around cell called local air temperature, cable thickness connected to solar panel, wave length of the photons falling, Ambient temperature, Shading effect, direct recombination of holes and electrons, Reflection of irradiation, Types of least efficient invertor, Batteries and charger controller used with solar cells panel. Any abnormality or deviation from reference level regarding these entire factors, limit the efficiency of the solar photovoltaic cells. This research paper presents the significant causes that affect efficiency of photovoltaic cells. Improving the said factors will increase the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells. Low efficiency reduces the output of solar cell and enhances the levelized cost respectively.


An efficient dehydrogenative sulfonylation of tertiary amines with thiosulfonates enabled by visible-light irradiation is developed. This protocol allows for the construction of a variety of cyclic and acyclic β-sulfonyl enamines...


This paper attempts to learn from the past two centuries of territorial claims to make projections about the most dangerous claims in today's world. These projections are based on an analysis of preliminary data on territorial claims across the world since 1816, as collected by the Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) project. Characteristics of each claim (such as strategic or economic value of the claimed territory, ethnic/identity ties between each claimant and the territory's inhabitants, and recent militarization of the claim) and of the claimants (such as relative capabilities and joint democracy) are used to draw lessons about the most conflict-prone situations. These lessons are then used to make projections about the claims that remain ongoing today, in order to predict which are most likely to experience serious armed conflict. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings' relevance for policymakers, an important direction that political scientists would do well to consider in our research. Territory has been a leading source of conflict for centuries (e.g., Holsti 1991; Vasquez 1993; Hensel 1996, 2012; Huth 1996). Territorial sovereignty has been involved in around one third of all armed conflict in the past two centuries, as well as a majority of all full-scale wars since 1648. Conflicts over territory are also more likely to escalate to serious levels than conflicts over other issues, particularly when the territory at stake is more valuable. Somewhat surprisingly, though, quantitative scholars of international conflict have made relatively little effort to discuss the implications of their findings for policymakers. While many quantitative studies conclude with an obligatory paragraph hinting at a few ideas that policymakers could consider, little effort is devoted to presenting these suggestions in a format that policymakers could actually understand (if, indeed, they actually came across the article). This has led to political criticism of research funding for the social sciences and repeated efforts to end National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for Political Science research, culminating in the 2013 congressional limitation of NSF Political Science funding to research that is certified as "promoting the national security or the economic interests of the United States." While critics of this limitation responded by highlighting a number of studies funded by NSF that had made just such a contribution, it seems clear that such work has not gotten the attention of policymakers. The current project represents the beginning of an effort to draw policy-relevant conclusions from the Issue Correlates of War (ICOW) research project, and to present those conclusions in a format that is accessible to those without high-powered training in quantitative methodology. This project begins by attempting to identify all territorial claims, or explicit


The design of distributed applications is a complex undertaking, especially if the designers are forced to immediately deal with the detailed behaviour of the underlying middleware. It would be better if the designers could first focus on the essentials of the applications using suitable abstractions of interaction mechanisms that are provided by communication middleware. In this paper we present a method for abstracting a structure of interactions into a more abstract interaction. We apply this method to obtain the abstractions of common interaction mechanisms. The abstractions of interaction mechanisms are defined using the same interaction design concept as used to define other interactions. The abstractions can thus be manipulated in the same way as any other interactions. The correctness of an abstraction with respect to the interaction mechanism it represents is assessed by checking whether a set of conformance requirements are satisfied.


The chapter reviews the development of green parties and their performance in European Elections from 1979 to 2014, and discusses their prospects for the 2019 elections.