Many insects are known to give response in adaptive way for seasonal changes in day lengths. Photoperiod control's many developmental responses and allows insects to survive periods of unfavorable environmental conditions. An experiment was conducted to study the effect of different photoperiod lengths on biological parameters of green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea. Four different photoperiod regimes were selected with varying lengths of light/dark hours (8/16, 10/14, 24/0 and 0/24) at a constant 26±2°C temperature with 70 % RH (relative humidity) in the laboratory. Photoperiod regimes affected the development of C. carnea from egg to adult. In complete darkness (L: 0 D: 24), minimum egg laying, hatching, larval survival and adult emergence were recorded. Incubation period for eggs, larval period and pupal duration were also significantly longer in complete darkness as compared to other treatments 8L: 16D and 10L: 14D. Whereas, the treatment with complete light hours (L: 24, D: 0) resulted in maximum egg laying hatching, larval survival and adult emergence. The incubation period for eggs, larval and pupal duration significantly shortened as compared to other treatments.Sex ratios skewed towards female when full light hours were provided for development.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with a gender prevalence observed in men. Recent genetic studies using knockout mouse models have revealed the causal role of androgen receptor (AR) in hepatocarcinogenesis but the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Here we used genome-wide location and functional analyses to show that cell cycle-related kinase (CCRK) is a direct critical mediator of AR signaling. Chromatin immunoprecipitation microarray identified over 200 high-confidence AR direct target genes in HCC cells of which cell cycle regulators were significantly enriched (n = 21; p < 0.0001). Because CCRK has the highest AR binding affinity amongst the identified cell cycle regulators, its regulation, function and expression in HCC were further investigated. Ligand-activated AR was recruited to the CCRK promoter and increased CCRK expression. AR-induced cell cycle progression was abrogated by siRNA-mediated knockdown of CCRK. On the contrary, over-expression of CCRK rescued the G1 arrest induced by AR knockdown. Ectopic CCRK expression in human immortal liver cells induced anchorage-dependent and -independent growth and tumor formation in immunodeficient mice, whereas CCRK inhibition decreased HCC cell growth in vitro and in vivo; demonstrating the strong oncogenic capacity of CCRK in HCC. Mechanistically, CCRK activated β-catenin/T-cell factor (TCF) signaling through phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β to increase the expression of downstream pro-proliferative genes, cyclin D1 and epidermal growth factor receptor. Inhibition of β-catenin/TCF signaling significantly attenuated CCRK-induced cell cycle progression, colony formation and tumorigenicity. Conversely, HCC cell growth inhibition by CCRK knockdown was rescued by constitutively active form of β-catenin or TCF. Importantly, AR, CCRK, and active β-catenin were markedly over-expressed and positively correlated among each other in HCC specimens (p < 0.001). Furthermore, CCRK over-expression was significantly associated with tumor staging and poor disease-free survival of patients (p < 0.05), emphasizing the clinical importance of CCRK in HCC. In conclusion, our findings reveal a novel interplay between AR and β-catenin where activated AR transcriptionally up-regulates CCRK expression, thereby activating β-catenin/TCF signaling to induce aberrant cell proliferation. Dissection of this highly activated AR-CCRK-β-catenin/TCF axis sheds new mechanistic insight into hepatocarcinogenesis and provides novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of this and other male-predominant cancers. Acknowledgements: This study was partially supported by the Research Grant Council General Research Fund (462710) and the Direct Grant from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2170. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2170


In Islamic Studies, charisma has usually been reserved for the study of marginalized individuals. I argue here that charisma may also be applied to leadership among legal scholars. To do so, I join a long line of scholars who have
modified Max Weber's initial insights, and put forth a new, dynamic model of charismatic authority. The purpose of my model is to account for the fact that religious histories emphasize the uniqueness of the originating charismatic
event, be that Prophet Muhammad's revelations, Jesus' theophany or the Buddha's enlightenment, while at the same time recognizing that the charismatic cycle never quite ends. In contrast with Weber, I argue that charismatic authority in religious traditions is best understood as a network of influence and interaction through which the routinization of charisma reinterprets and redefines the meaning of the originating charismatic event.


Although some plants accumulate excessive metal and can grow without any toxic symptoms, the consumption of these plants by humans can be extremely inconvenient for their health. Increasing doses of Cd (0, 10, and 20 mg kg-1 Cd) and chicken manure (0, 500, 1000, and 2000 kg da-1) were applied to the soil to evaluate the effects of cadmium and chicken manure on growth of spinach (Spinach oleracea L.) leaves and roots and on some heavy metal concentrations. Cadmium decreased the dry weight amounts of spinach both in leaves and in roots, decreased the amounts of Cd and also other heavy metals. The highest cadmium concentrations were determined at the second dose as 75.04 mg kg-1 in leaves, and 162.17 mg kg-1 in roots. Improved dry weight and decreased Cr, Pb, and Fe amounts were determined with chicken manure application. However it was not found proficient to decrease Cd which was found over the limits of WHO. Because of being highly toxic to humans, health-related limits of cadmium in soils, and in plants consumed by humans have to be carefully controlled in such conditions and the threshold limits must be changed.


Aim. The aim of the paper was to evaluate the practical prospects for preventing from relapsing or worsening in schizophrenia patients.

Selected literature review. Some of the recent publications deal with the prospects for preventing from relapsing or worsening symptoms in patients suffering from schizophrenia. This paper reviews publications highlighting the effectiveness of such prevention measures.

Conclusions. The review revealed that both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods of treatment may be useful in the clinical improvement of schizophrenia.


BACKGROUND
People who inject drugs (PWID) are at increased risk of deleterious sequelae due to infective endocarditis (IE). A standardized, hospital-wide drug use-associated infection protocol targeting medication safety, pain management, and limiting external risk factors was implemented at an academic medical center to improve outcomes in PWID with IE.

METHODS
A quasi-experimental study included patients with active injection drug use and definite IE from January 2013 to July 2017 (preintervention group) and from September 2017 to January 2019 (intervention group). The primary outcome of interest was the 90-day all-cause readmission rate. Secondary outcomes included infection-related readmission rates, in-hospital and all-cause mortality rates, and the frequency of patients leaving against medical advice.

RESULTS
A total of 168 patients were included, in the 100 preintervention and 68 in the intervention group. Patients in the intervention group had reduced odds of 90-day all-cause readmission (adjusted odds ratio, 0.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.08-0.6) after adjustment for confounding variables. The 12-month all-cause mortality rate was also significantly reduced in the intervention group (adjusted odds ratio, 0.25; 95% confidence interval, .07-.89). The intervention group had a higher proportion of patients leaving against medical advice (6% for the preintervention group vs 35% for the intervention group, P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS
A drug use-associated infection protocol demonstrated reduced 90-day all-cause readmission and 12-month all-cause mortality rates in PWID with IE. This study highlights the importance of standardized care processes for improving care in this specialized patient population.


Traffic congestion is a public policy issue and solicits a policy response which can strike a balance between urbanization and urban mobility. In the case of India, several policy initiatives have been undertaken but have not yielded desired outcomes. This is primarily because the focus has only been on public transport improvement measures, while traffic demand management measures have largely been neglected. This paper studies the traffic scenario in select Asian cities and the policy measures undertaken by their respective governments. It revisits relevant policies in India and assesses the gaps that deter the desired impact of such policies on reducing traffic congestion. It also suggests policy measures to overcome these gaps and the way ahead.


Temporal variations in the expression of phosphoprotein phosphatase 1 (PP1), phosphoprotein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) were monitored in the human acute, promyelocytic leukaemia cell line, HL60. Granulocytic differentiation was induced using all‐trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and monocytic differentiation by phorbol‐12‐myristate‐13‐acetate (PMA). Expression of the enzyme proteins in cell extracts was determined by SDS‐PAGE and Western immunoblotting using specific antibodies. For PP1, a single immunospecific band of molecular mass 38kDa was detected corresponding to the catalytic subunit; induction of differentiation with either ATRA or PMA showed differences in the patterns of expression and, in the case of the latter, the mean value. Two immunospecific bands, of mass 34 and 37kDa, possibly corresponding to dephosphorylated and phosphorylated forms, respectively, were detected for PP2A, as well as a minor band of mass 46kDa; dynamic variations in the expression of all 3 forms were observed and there were differences between the control and treated cells. The catalytic domain of PTP1B was detected as a 46kDa band. A 42kDa form of the protein was also seen, which may represent a change in phosphorylation state, or be the result of proteolytic cleavage; usually the 46kDa band was the major form, but on occasion there was a change to predominance of the 42kDa band.


This paper analyses the environmental effect of 100kw PV system installed in Tibet using Life Cycle Assessment(LCA). Then, energy payback time(EPT) and life-cycle CO2 emission rate are estimated based on life-cycle of the PV system. As a result of the estimation, 6 year of EPT and 20 g-C/kWh of CO2 emission rate are obtained. In China, average CO2 emission rate of fossil fuel power generation plant is 260 g-C/kWh. This shows that PV system would be very promising for global environmental issues. For advanced LCA, we need to collect detailed and various data about raw material of PV system.


It has been known for many years that metallic nanoparticles can catalyze various chemical reactions, both in the dark and under illumination, through different mechanisms. In the last decade or so, many claims of plasmon-assisted "hot" electron driven catalysis of bond-dissociation reactions have been put forward. These claims were challenged in a recent series of papers where both the underlying theory of "hot" electron generation and the use of specific experimental setups to discover them in chemical reactions were examined in detail. The conclusion that arose from these works is that as long as temperature gradients exist inside the system (as for typical experimental setups), a quantification of non-thermal effects is close to impossible. Instead, a standard thermal theory was shown to be capable of explaining the experimental findings quite accurately. Here, we review the central lines of thought that led to these conclusions from a personal point of view. We lay out the key aspects of the theory and point to the specific caveats one must be aware of in performing photo-catalysis experiments. Finally, we provide some future directions of study.


Value addition to coconut oil is highly desirable in order to increase the range of coconut products. A study was conducted to formulate palatable coconut oil (CNO) blends enriched with essential fatty acid (EFA) using sesame seed as the supplementary source of EFA. For this purpose, micro-expelling process was employed to extract oil blends out of the dried coconut grating mixed with varying proportion of sesame seed (w/w; 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10%). A sensory evaluation by a 30-member semi-trained panel was conducted using a seven-point hedonic scale in order to determine the critical limit of CNO fortification with sesame. Similarly, changes in fatty acid composition were determined using Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC). Statistical analysis of the sensory data showed that a mild odor of sesame started to appear in the oil blends at 4% level of sesame mixed with dried coconut gratings. According to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis, the relative increase in linoleic acid was only marginal although there was a substantial increase in unsaturated fatty acid component. At 5% level of fortification, the increment in linoleic acid was 9.2%.


PURPOSE
To compare the morphological parameters of the optic disc in patients with low myopia and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and in patients with glaucoma without refractive errors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
53 patients, aged 33-88 (56.2 +/- 11.9) with POAG were qualified for our study. The group was divided into two: first group consisted of 14 patients--11 women and 3 men, aged 41-83 (58.2 +/- 10.9) comprising 28 eye balls with low myopia (-0.5 Dsph to -3.5 Dsph) and POAG. The second group consisted of 38 patients: 24 women and 14 men, aged 33-80 (51.0 +/- 13.4) comprising 71 eye balls including 43 emetropic eyes, 26 eyes with hyperopia (+0.5 Dsph to +3.0 Dsph) and 2 eyes with astigmatism. All patients demonstrated early changes in visual field 1-2 stage due to the Aulhom classification. The measurements of the morphological parameters of the optic disc were made with confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy using Heidelberg Retina Tomograph--HRT II with glaucoma software. We analyzed the following parameters: optic disc area, cup area, rim area, cup/disc ratio, linear c/d ratio, mean cup depth, maximum cup depth. The statistical analysis was made using Kolomogarow-Smirnow test.

RESULTS
All analyzed parameters were higher in patients with low myopia and POAG than in patients with only POAG. The results in both groups were different but still no statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS
Low myopia has an influence on the optic disc morphology in patients with POAG.


Because universities often provide training in geographical information science (GISc) as part of geography, surveying as well as environmental and computer science programmes, the content, outcomes, extent and quality of training can vary significantly. Very little research has been done on how the existing sets of competency requirements for GISc overlap or differ. No literature exists that identifies commonalities and inconsistencies (gaps) at detail level that could assist with developing a framework that incorporates both South African and international GISc curricula guidelines. Three sets of competency guidelines, namely the U.S.-developed Geographic Information Science and Technology (GI S&T) Body of Knowledge (BoK) developed by the  University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), the South African Unit Standards-Based Qualifications (USBQ) and the South African Council for Professional and Technical Surveyors (PLATO) model, are compared qualitatively and quantitatively to identify commonalities and inconsistencies. The exercise identified duplication among the three models and highlighted themes that the South African GISc community deems to be important. The study further identifies topics in the GI S&T BoK that the GISc community in the U.S. considers to be essential knowledge for anyone wishing to practice in the GISc field. The BoK offers the most comprehensive and detailed set of GI competencies, but lacks generic competencies such as physics. Some competencies are unique to a specific set, for example physics and geographical science in the PLATO model, while training is unique to the USBQ. The authors conclude that a new competency set based on the findings of the research is needed to best serve the GISc industry and academia. Recommendations for further research are made.


Solvents used in chromatographic purification of intermediates and products are a major source of waste and expense in synthetic research and synthetic processes. The ethyl acetate–hexane mixtures most commonly used for flash chromatography on silica gel are not readily separable by distillation due to their similar boiling points and azeotrope formation. Potential solvents for chromatography that are more amenable to separation and recovery by distillation were thus explored. Acetone–heptane mixtures were found to be convenient and sufficiently separable for routine use and recovery for organic separations. The greater eluotropic strength and especially the transparent short-wavelength UV window of acetone provide additional advantages over the commonly used ethyl acetate. The recycling of solvents from chromatography can greatly reduce the volume of waste generated by synthetic laboratories while also reducing operating costs.


Abstract Background: For the past decade, science educators have been exploring the use of Socio-scientific Issues (SSI) as contexts for science teaching and learning, and research indicates that doing so can support significant learning gains. However, research related to how teachers take up the practice of SSI-based instruction is far more limited, due in part to a lack of tools for use in this kind of research. Purpose: The focus of this research is development and testing of a new classroom observation protocol specifically designed for SSI-based instructional contexts. Design and methods: Development of this SSI-Observation Protocol (SSI-OP) took place in four distinct phases: review of existing protocols and SSI-based instruction frameworks, writing and revision of protocol items, initial testing of the draft protocol, and soliciting feedback from SSI experts. Sample: Following the four stages of SSI-OP development, we progressed to a series of field tests. The field tests were conducted with three different samples. The first sample was an experienced (10 + years) high school biology teacher and one of her honors biology classes. The second sample consisted of seven Turkish Pre-service Science Teachers (PST) participating in a science methods course. The third sample included two Thai PST from a field experience course embedded within a teacher education program. Results: The final version of the protocol addressed five dimensions of SSI-based instructional activities: focus of instruction, teaching moves, role of teacher, role of students, and classroom environment. Conclusions: The SSI-OP could be used in a variety of ways for research including documentation of current practices, impacts of professional development and/or curricula on teaching practices, and changes in teaching over time. We offer the SSI-OP as a new tool with the potential to contribute to science teacher education and research that may advance the teaching and learning of science through SSI.


The article is an attempt to characterise Gunnar Bjorling's achievement as a writer by situating him in an aphoristic tradition, that he however transforms radically in terms of lyrical modernism. The argument is that the genre of aphorism generally has changed since romanticism, and become more subjective, temporally bound and lyrical in its rhetoric and syntactic structure. Bjorling enforces this change in the direction of formal fragmentation while keeping the traditional lyrical address and pathos. The argument is based on a chapter in the author's book Skillnadens konst. Sex kapitel om moderna fragment (2006).


Conventional machining of materials is often characterized by the generation of heat and elevation of cutting point temperatures. This induces thermal transformations and development of residual stresses. Therefore, there is a necessity to evaluate the interaction of machining temperatures with heat generation to identify the optimal values for the least heat generation. This is the main aim of this study, where an analysis of temperature is conducted during the computer numerical control (CNC) milling of medical-grade poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The samples were obtained from used optical lenses with an average Shore D hardness and transparency of 79.1 and 89.2%, respectively. The experiments were designed using the Taguchi methodology. The milling parameters used were the spindle speed, depth of cut, and feed rate. A special adjustable jig and several fixtures were developed for workpiece holding. During the milling process, in-situ temperature monitoring was undertaken using a FLIR-E63900 Infrared Thermometer. From the analysis, the parameter combination for the least values of maximum and average temperatures was a spindle speed of 1250 rev/min, a depth of cut of 0.3 mm, and a feed rate of 350 mm/min. A one-way analysis of variance depicted that the spindle speed was the most significant parameter toward the maximum and average milling temperatures owing to the generated friction and cutting forces. The depth of cut and feed rate were insignificant to the temperature of the process. It is also reported that the spindle speed exhibited a direct relationship produced by the machining forces whereas the feed rate exhibited an inverse relationship with the machining temperature, which was attributed to the reduced contact time and high chip removal, hence high heat dissipation. Lastly, a regression analysis was conducted, which showed that the maximum ( R2  =  0.7566) and average temperatures ( R2  =  0.7383) during the CNC milling of medical-grade PMMA could be predicted using linear regression models.


In the skin of Rana and of Bufo there are certain coarse medullated nerve-fibres which give off unmyelinated branches dividing repeatedly to form richly varicose endings at various levels, but mainly in the stratum spongiosum of the dermis. There is no capsule. These fibres are of a type distinct from those medullated fibres which end freely in the epidermis. Their function is discussed: it is possible that they are fast nociceptive fibres.


The paper deal about automated assembly manufacturing cell design. First part is about Methods and techniques used for assembly systems design. Next part describes specific CAD systems used for design process of our assembly cell. With help of this CAD toll we have design geometric disposition of all system elements by CATIA and also parts of control system by FluidSim. Whole design problematic was completed by process simulation model created in Witness environment.


In recent years, colleges have made extensive efforts to provide distance learning opportunities for adult students. At Southwest Texas State University, a required course in the Occupational Education program has been delivered in a modified video format. The video was made of an actual class being taught in a production studio. The main difference in the traditional use of a video course and this modified video course was that, instead of copies of the video being distributed to the students in the course, the video was packaged and shown to several remote live classes during the same week it was produced. Students who viewed the video at remote sites could communicate with the professor by telephone, e-mail, fax, actual appointments, regular mail, and through submission of homework and questions to a monitor at each remote site. The night monitor system was one of the unique features of the modified system. The monitor showed the video at each site, collected homework and assisted students with basic information. He or she also maintained weekly contact with the instructor through assisting with filming of the live video as well as discussion with the instructor. In order for the program to work, there must be competent monitors, reliable video equipment, strict classroom rules, and ease of communication with the instructor. The modified video method provides an alternative for students that is less expensive, offers some degree of interaction, and still promotes a classroom environment. (KC) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Modified Video Course Methodology for Distance Learning


Sepsis is a syndrome caused by a deregulated host response to infection, representing the primary cause of death from infection. In animal models, the mortality rate is strongly dependent on the time of sepsis induction, suggesting a main role of the circadian system. In patients undergoing sepsis, deregulated circadian rhythms have also been reported. Here we review data related to the timing of sepsis induction to further understand the different outcomes observed both in patients and in animal models. The magnitude of immune activation as well as the hypothermic response correlated with the time of the worst prognosis. The different outcomes seem to be dependent on the expression of the clock gene Bmal1 in the liver and in myeloid immune cells. The understanding of the role of the circadian system in sepsis pathology could be an important tool to improve patient therapies.


IoT devices are open to traditional control flow integrity (CFI) attacks resulting from buffer overflow and return-oriented programming like techniques. They often have limited computational capacity ruling out many of the traditional heavy-duty software countermeasures. In this work, we deploy hardware/software solutions to detect CFI attacks. Some of the medium capability IoT devices, for example based on Raspberry Pi, contain ARM Cortex A-53 (Pi 3) or Cortex A-73 (Pi 4) processors. These processors include hardware counters to count microarchitecture level events affecting performance. Lighter weight IoT devices, say based on ARM Cortex M4 or M7, include DWT (Debug, Watch & Trace) module. When control flow anomalies caused by attacks such as buffer overflow or return oriented programming (ROP) occur, they leave a microarchitectural footprint. Hardware counters reflect such footprints to flag control flow anomalies. This paper is geared towards buffer overflow and ROP control flow anomaly detection in embedded programs. The targeted program entities are main event loops and task/event handlers. The proposed anomaly detection mechanism is evaluated on ArduPilot [1] - a popular autopilot software on a Raspberry Pi 3 with PMU and DWT. A self-navigation program is evaluated on an iCreate Roomba platform with an ARM Cortex M4 processor with DWT only. We are able to achieve 97-99%+ accuracy with 1-10 micro-second time overhead per control flow anomaly check.


The p53 family has the following three members: p53, p63 and p73. p53 is a tumor suppressor gene that frequently exhibits mutation in head and neck cancer. Most p53 mutants are loss-of-function (LoF) mutants, but some acquire some oncogenic function, such as gain of function (GoF). It is known that the aggregation of mutant p53 can induce p53 GoF. The p73 activators RETRA and NSC59984 have an anti-cancer effect in p53 mutation cells, but we found that p73 activators were not effective in all head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines, with different p53 mutants. A comparison of the gene expression profiles of several regulator(s) in mutant HNSCC cells with or without aggregation of p53 revealed that nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is a key regulator of mutant p53 aggregation. An NAMPT inhibitor, to reduce abnormal aggregation of mutant p53, used in combination with a p73 activator, was able to effectively repress growth in HNSCC cells with p53 GoF mutants. This study, therefore, suggests a potential combination therapy approach for HNSCC with a p53 GoF mutation.


We present three generations (Mark.I, II and III) of spectrographs we put into operation with ANS Collaboration 0.61m, 0.70m and 0.84m telescopes. These spectrographs are of the Multi-Mode type, allowing for rapid interchange between Echelle high dispersion and two separate single dispersion modes (low and medium resolution). All three modes are long-slit, rotate to any angle (including parallactic compensation for atmospheric dispersion), allow to select among different comparison lamps, and are auto-guided by TV imaging the slit, which is continuously adjustable in width and by a step decker in height. The latest Mark.III model adds many new features including remote operation, spatial splitting of order overlap in single dispersion modes, interchange between prism and grating cross-dispersion in the Echelle mode, spectropolarimetry, a coronagraphic mode and direct filtered imaging without removing the spectrograph from the Cassegrain focus.


This paper investigates the global stability and controllability of switched Boolean networks (BNs) by using the semitensor product method. First, the model of switched Boolean networks is introduced and expressed into the algebraic form. Second, the concept of the switching reachability of points for switched BNs is defined and a necessary and sufficient condition is presented to verify the switching reachability of points by constructing the switching-state incidence matrix. Third, a necessary and sufficient condition is proposed to check the global stability of switched BNs under arbitrary switching signals by using the switching reachability of points. Finally, the concept of the controllability for switched Boolean control networks is given, and several necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained for the controllability. The study of two illustrative examples shows that the new results obtained in this paper are very effective in investigating the global stability and controllability of switched BNs.


Trend, detection, and attribution analyses were performed using naturalized streamflow observations and routed land surface model runoff for 10 subbasins in the Columbia River Basin during water years 1951–2008. The Energy Exascale Earth System land‐surface model (ELM) version 1.0 and the Routing Application for Parallel computatIon of Discharge (RAPID) routing model were used to conduct semi‐factorial simulations driven by multiple sets of bias‐corrected forcing data sets. Four main potential drivers, including climate change (CLMT), CO2 concentration (CO2), nitrogen deposition (NDEP), and land use and land cover change (LULCC), were analyzed during the assessment. All subbasins showed significant (α = 0.10) declines in the observed amount of annual total streamflow, except for the Middle and Upper Snake and Upper Columbia Subbasins. These declines were led by significant decreases in June–October streamflow, which also directly led to significant decreases in peak and summer streamflow. Except for the Snake River Subbasins, LULCC had the same pattern of declines in monthly streamflow, but the period was shifted to May–September. NDEP also had significant trends in June–October; however, rather than decreases, the trends showed significant increases in streamflow. While there were significant trends in CO2, NDEP, and LULCC, their signals of change were weak in comparison to the signal in CLMT and the natural internal variability found in streamflow. Overall, the detection and attribution analysis showed that the historical changes found in annual total, center of timing of, and summer mean streamflow could be attributed to changing climate and variability.


Recent research indicates that the estimated elevation changes and associated mass balance in East Antarctica are of some degree of uncertainty; a light accumulation has occurred in its vast inland regions, while mass loss in Wilkes Land appears significant. It is necessary to study the mass change trend in the context of a long period of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). The input-output method based on surface ice flow velocity and ice thickness is one of the most important ways to estimate the mass balance, which can provide longer-term knowledge of mass balance because of the availability of the early satellites in 1960s. In this study, we briefly describe the method of extracting ice velocity based on the historical optical images from 1960s to 1980s. Based on the draft ice velocity map of the EAIS using this method, we conduct a series of validation experiments, including comparisons with in-situ measurement, existing historical maps and rock outcrop dataset. Finally, we use the input-output method to estimate mass balance in some regions of EAIS using the generated velocity map.


The electrical resistivity tomography method has been widely used in geophysics for many purposes such as determining geological structures, water movement, saltwater intrusion, and tectonic regime modeling. Karstic springs are important for water basin management since the karst systems are highly complex and vulnerable to exploitation and contamination. An accurate geophysical model of the subsurface is needed to reveal the spring structure. In this study, several karst springs in the Gökova Bay (SW, Turkey) were investigated to create a 3D subsurface model of the nearby karstic cavities utilizing electrical resistivity measurements. For this approach, 2D resistivity profiles were acquired and interpreted. Stratigraphically, colluvium, conglomerate, and dolomitic-limestone units were located in the field. The resistivity values of these formations were determined considering both the literature and field survey. Then, 2D profiles were interpolated to create a 3D resistivity model of the study area. Medium-large sized cavities were identified as well as their locations relative to the springs. The measured resistivities were also correlated with the corresponding geological units. The results were then used to construct a 3D model that aids to reveal the cavity geometry in the subsurface. Additionally, several faults are detected and their effect on the cavities is interpreted.


Functional and structural age-associated changes in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) may affect the neurovascular unit and contribute to the onset and progression of age-associated neurodegenerative pathologies, including Alzheimer's disease. The current study interrogated the RNA profile of the BBB in an ageing human autopsy brain cohort and an ageing mouse model using combined laser capture microdissection and expression profiling. Only 12 overlapping genes were altered in the same direction in the BBB of both ageing human and mouse cohorts. These included genes with roles in regulating vascular tone, tight junction protein expression and cell adhesion, all processes prone to dysregulation with advancing age. Integrated mRNA and miRNA network and pathway enrichment analysis of the datasets identified 15 overlapping miRNAs that showed altered expression. In addition to targeting genes related to DNA binding and/or autophagy, many of the miRNAs identified play a role in age-relevant processes, including BBB dysfunction and regulating the neuroinflammatory response. Future studies have the potential to develop targeted therapeutic approaches against these candidates to prevent vascular dysfunction in the ageing brain.


Seismic waves can couple with the atmosphere and generate sound waves. The influence of faulting mechanisms on earthquake sound patterns provides opportunities for earthquake source characterization. Sound radiated from earthquakes can be perceived as disturbing, even at low ground-shaking levels, which can negatively impact the social acceptance of geoengineering applications. Motivated by consistent reports of felt and heard disturbances associated with the weeks-long stimulation of a 6-km-deep geothermal system in 2018 below the Otaniemi district of Espoo, Helsinki, we conduct fully coupled 3D numerical simulations of wave propagation in the solid Earth and the atmosphere. We assess the sensitivity of the ground shaking and audible noise distributions to the source geometry of the induced earthquakes based on the properties of the largest local magnitude ML 1.8 event. Utilizing recent computational advances and the open-source software SeisSol, we model seismoacoustic frequencies up to 25 Hz, thereby reaching the lower limit of the human audible sound frequency range. We present synthetic distributions of shaking and audible sounds at the 50–100 m scale across a 12 km × 12 km area and discuss implications for better understanding seismic nuisances in metropolitan regions. In five 3D coupled elastic–acoustic scenario simulations that include data on topography and subsurface structure, we analyze the ground velocity and pressure levels of earthquake-generated seismic and acoustic waves. We show that S waves generate the strongest sound disturbance with sound pressure levels ≤0.04 Pa. We use statistical analysis to compare our noise distributions with commonly used empirical relationships. We find that our 3D synthetic amplitudes are generally smaller than the empirical predictions and that the interaction of the source mechanism-specific radiation pattern and topography can lead to significant nonlinear effects. Our study highlights the complexity and information content of spatially variable audible effects associated with small induced earthquakes on local scales.


Abstract We consider the structure $({\Bbb Z}, + ,0,|_{p_1 } , \ldots ,|_{p_n } )$, where $x|_p y$ means $v_p \left( x \right) \leqslant v_p \left( y \right)$ and vp is the p-adic valuation. We prove that this structure has quantifier elimination in a natural expansion of the language of abelian groups, and that it has dp-rank n. In addition, we prove that a first order structure with universe ${\Bbb Z}$ which is an expansion of $({\Bbb Z}, + ,0)$ and a reduct of $({\Bbb Z}, + ,0,|_p )$ must be interdefinable with one of them. We also give an alternative proof for Conant's analogous result about $({\Bbb Z}, + ,0, < )$.


Electricity is a very important thing in everyday life, in the absence of electricity all things related to this heat energy will experience obstacles. The densely populated residential area located in Tambora Village, Kosambi District, West Jakarta, are a targeted area for an orderly area of electricity, where some of its people illegally stole electricity. This is very dangerous for users or harm PLN, for that criminal effort must be eradicated through the extension program or orderly socialization in order not to cause a fire. The method used is observation in the area of tambora village by looking at the connection installation used. The objectives of the program of orderly electricity socialization are: to give understanding to the people of Tambora Village due to electrical locking (stolen) and electrical installer failure of fire hazard due to short circuit.


This paper introduces a four-degree-of-freedom parallel manipulator dedicated to pick-and-place. It has been developed with the goal of reaching very high speed. This paper shows that its architecture is particularly well adapted to high dynamics. Indeed, it is an evolution of Delta, H4 and 14 robots architectures: it keeps the advantages of these existing robots, while overcoming their drawbacks. In addition, an optimization method based on velocity using adept motion has been developed and applied to this high speed parallel robot. All these considerations led to experimentations that proved we can reach high accelerations (13 G) and obtain a cycle time of 0.28 s.


To better understand the mechanism of in vivo toxicity of N-nitroso compounds (NNCs), the toxicity data of 80 NNCs related to their rat acute oral toxicity data (50% lethal dose concentration, LD50) were used to establish quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) and classification models. Quantum chemistry methods calculated descriptors and Dragon descriptors were combined to describe the molecular information of all compounds. Genetic algorithm (GA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) analyses were combined to develop QSAR models. Fingerprints and machine learning methods were used to establish classification models. The quality and predictive performance of all established models were evaluated by internal and external validation techniques. The best GA-MLR-based QSAR model containing eight molecular descriptors was obtained with Q2loo = 0.7533, R2 = 0.8071, Q2ext = 0.7041 and R2ext = 0.7195. The results derived from QSAR studies showed that the acute oral toxicity of NNCs mainly depends on three factors, namely, the polarizability, the ionization potential (IP) and the presence/absence and frequency of C–O bond. For classification studies, the best model was obtained using the MACCS keys fingerprint combined with artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm. The classification models suggested that several representative substructures, including nitrile, hetero N nonbasic, alkylchloride and amine-containing fragments are main contributors for the high toxicity of NNCs. Overall, the developed QSAR and classification models of the rat acute oral toxicity of NNCs showed satisfying predictive abilities. The results provide an insight into the understanding of the toxicity mechanism of NNCs in vivo, which might be used for a preliminary assessment of NNCs toxicity to mammals.


AIMS
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been considered a fundamental mechanism in complications of Crohn's disease (CD), especially intestinal fibrosis. However, the mechanism underlying EMT regulation in intestinal fibrosis remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) in the occurrence of intestinal EMT.

RESULTS
AOPPs accumulated in CD tissues and were associated with EMT marker expression in fibrotic lesions from CD patients. Challenge with AOPPs induced intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) phenotype transdifferentiation, fibroblast-like phenotype acquisition, and production of extracellular matrix, both in vitro and in vivo. The effect of AOPPs was mainly mediated by a protein kinase C (PKC) δ-mediated redox-dependent pathway, including phosphorylation of PKC δ, recruitment of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase, production of reactive oxygen species, and NF-κB p65 activation. Inhibition of AOPP-redox signaling activation effectively blocked AOPP-induced EMT in vitro. Studies performed in normal rats showed that chronic administration of AOPPs triggered the occurrence of EMT in rat intestinal epithelia, accompanied by disruption of intestinal integrity, and by promotion of collagen deposition. These effects could be reversed by inhibition of NADPH oxidase. Innovation and Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate that AOPPs triggered the occurrence of EMT in IECs in vitro and in vivo through PKC δ-mediated redox-dependent signaling. Our study identifies the role of AOPPs and, in turn, EMT in intestinal fibrosis and provides novel potential targets for the treatment of intestinal fibrotic diseases. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 27, 37-56.


THIS year's report on graduate medical education (GME) is based on information maintained in the American Medical Association's (AMA's) Medical Education Research and Information (MERI) database, which consists of extensive, current information about the residents, programs, and institutions that constitute the GME enterprise in the United States (Table 1). The report includes • special analyses of selected educational characteristics, resident workload, benefits, compensation, and program outcomes (described below) of specialties and subspecialties by type of institutional control and • descriptive statistics (Appendix II), published annually on all three categories (residents, programs, and institutions) of the database, using similar variables from year to year to permit viewing GME data over time. Most of the MERI database is updated through the AMA Annual Survey of GME Programs (which contains the Census of Graduate Medical Trainees [CGMT]) and the companion AMA Annual Survey of GME Teaching Institutions. The first survey, sent in August


This paper assesses the macroeconomic consequences of a prolonged period of low and falling inflation when monetary policy is constrained by the zero lower bound (ZLB) on short-term nominal interest rates, the private sector is indebted in nominal terms (debt deflation mechanism) and nominal wages are downward rigid. Cost-push shocks that in normal circumstances would reduce inflation and stimulate output have contractionary effects on economic activity, once the ZLB interacts with the debt deflation mechanism. The contractionary effects are larger and more persistent when nominal wages cannot be reduced and when the private sector is highly indebted.


The article deals with the development of the armament industry in Italy suggesting that its development was strictly tied to the industrialization of this country. Unti1 the First World War the Italian armament industry was technologically dependent from the big European armament firms, especially the British-ones. Italy was the ideal field to experiment different forms of foreign influence: from the direct investment to the joint ventures passing through the production under licences. After the war the Italian armament industry reached a technological maturity. Which made it more competitive in various sectors at international level, but the its structure remained weak mainly because of political and bureaucratic reasons. The article suggests that the spin-off theory probably fits with the first period, when the country was industrializing, but not in the interwars period, when Italy was already an industrial power.


ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE SIX-LIKE (RSL) genes control the development of structures – rhizoids, root hairs, gemmae, mucilage papillae – that develop from single cells at the surface of diverse groups of land plants. RSL proteins constitute a subclass (VIIIc) of the basic helix loop helix (bHLH) class VIII transcription factor family. We set out to determine if the function of RSL genes in the control of cell differentiation in land plants was inherited from streptophyte algal ancestor. The Charophyceae are a monophyletic class of streptophyte algae with tissue-like structures and rhizoids. We identified the single class VIII bHLH gene from the charophyceaen alga Chara braunii (CbbHLHVIII). Phylogenetic analysis suggests that this protein is sister to the RSL (bHLH subclass VIIIc) proteins and together they constitute a monophyletic group. Expression of CbbHLHVIII does not compensate for loss of the RSL function in either Marchantia polymorpha or Arabidopsis thaliana. Furthermore, CbbHLHVIII is expressed at sites of morphogenesis in C. braunii – the apices, nodes and gametangia – but not in rhizoids. This indicates that C. braunii class VIII protein is functionally different from land plant RSL proteins; they control rhizoid development in land plants but not in the charophycean algae. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that RSL proteins and their function in the differentiation of cells at the plant surface evolved in the lineage leading to land plants after the divergence of the land plants and C. braunii from their last common ancestor. This may have occurred by neofunctionalisation at or before the colonisation of the land by streptophytes.


This report presents the dataset and the evaluation setup of the Sound Event Localization & Detection (SELD) task for the DCASE 2020 Challenge. The SELD task refers to the problem of trying to simultaneously classify a known set of sound event classes, detect their temporal activations, and estimate their spatial directions or locations while they are active. To train and test SELD systems, datasets of diverse sound events occurring under realistic acoustic conditions are needed. Compared to the previous challenge, a significantly more complex dataset was created for DCASE 2020. The two key differences are a more diverse range of acoustical conditions, and dynamic conditions, i.e. moving sources. The spatial sound scenes are created using real room impulse responses captured in a continuous manner with a slowly moving excitation source. Both static and moving sound events are synthesized from them. Ambient noise recorded on location is added to complete the generation of scene recordings. A baseline SELD method accompanies the dataset, based on a convolutional recurrent neural network, to provide benchmark scores for the task. The baseline is an updated version of the one used in the previous challenge, with input features and training modifications to improve its performance.


Businesses are increasingly required to address the demands of key stakeholders, in addition to those of shareholders. There is an increasing role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to large businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) alike. However, research to support the degree of the application of CSR activities to SMEs with respect to customer loyalty is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the selected CSR activities that impact the customer loyalty of SMEs. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to selected SMEs in Kampala District, while Structural Equation Modeling was utilised to determine the influence of independent variables on the dependent variable. The study findings revealed that the selected CSR activities (Society-oriented CSR activities, Market-oriented CSR activities and Environmental-oriented CSR activities) positively influence the Customer loyalty of SMEs.


The purpose of this study was to examine empirically the causal relationships among push and pull travel motivations, destination image, and tourists' travel satisfaction on halal tourism. The research conceptual framework and hypotheses were constructed, based on previous theoretical and empirical studies. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 200 respondents to collect the primary data. Multiple regression and Path Analyses were conducted to test the research hypotheses. As a result, push and pull factors had directly positive influences on tourist's travel satisfaction. Besides, the results also showed that push and pull factors were slightly indirect effect tourist's travel satisfaction through the halal destination image. Consequently, local government and business organizations working in the tourism sector should pay attention to the essential roles of push and pull factors. To attract more potential visitors and improve their satisfaction, enhance their perceived on halal destination image by doing the facility improvement and marketing activities are the compulsory actions. Keywords: destination image, halal tourism, motivation, push, and pull, travel satisfaction.


Abstract : Since its origins in the years immediately following the Second World War, the Unified Command Plan (UCP) has evolved through the combined effects of external pressure from strategic planning for a global war with the Soviet Union and the internal bureaucratic and doctrinal infighting among the Joint Staff and the various services. This infighting was not merely over service' 'turf battles', but also touched the very heart of the individual services' philosophies on command in war. This thesis follows the history of that evolutionary process since World War II with an eye toward a future revision to the UCP. Given the fundamentally altered geo-strategic situation brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union, the author argues for a complete revision of the UCP based on distinct post-Cold War theater and regional missions. Instead of consolidating the bulk of U.S.-based forces into the U.S. Atlantic Command, the author proposes the retention of several separate (but joint) 'strategic' conventional forces commands based on mission, readiness, and deployability/sustainability criterion. Unified command, Atlantic command, Joint chiefs of staff, Strategic planning, World War two.


Key evidences are reported for the rectification mechanism of an aqueous ion diode based on polyelectrolytic plugs on a microfluidic chip by monitoring the ion flow crossing over the junction. The ion flow penetrating the polyelectrolyte junction is visualized by employing a fluorescent chemodosimeter, rhodamine B hydrazide and the pH-dependent dye, carboxy-fluorescein. How hysteresis phenomena, exhibited through the nonlinear behavior of the polyelectrolyte diode, are affected by a variety of parameters (e.g., switching potential, scan rate, and electrolyte concentration) is also investigated. The insights and knowledge from this study provide a crucial foundation for ion control at the iontronic diode in the aqueous phase, leading to more advanced aqueous organic computing devices and more diverse applications for microfluidic logic devices.


Climate Change is probably the greatest long term challenge facing the human race. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has overall responsibility for tackling climate change, but DTI has a major interest as a number of policies and measures affect the energy sector and business. Along with Defra and the Department for Transport, DTI shares a Public Service Agreement target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with UK Kyoto commitment and domestic goal. This paper presents an assessment of the current balance of efforts towards energy research and development (R&D) in the promotion of low-carbon electricity technologies in the UK and investigates the UK's main technological options in the medium term and the energy R&D spending with the current and expected future cost of renewable promotion policies. Policy and funding responsibilities for energy research, development and demonstration in the UK are fairly complex (perhaps this is inherently an issue in all countries, due to the wide range of sectors and government departments with a key interest). The signs that an energy R&D renaissance in the UK could be underway are positive and welcome.


Introduction: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains one of the only curative therapies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in adult patients. However, a high proportion of patients will relapse post-HSCT. Measurable residual disease (MRD) has emerged as highly predictive of relapse after chemotherapy and multiple studies have demonstrated inferior outcomes after HSCT for patients with pre-HSCT MRD. Fewer studies have evaluated post-HSCT MRD, but those have suggested that MRD is a powerful predictive tool in this setting as well. We have previously utilized droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) as an MRD platform to track 33 unique AML-associated mutations in a cohort of patients receiving either cytotoxic chemotherapy or targeted agents, and our preliminary data suggest that persistence or recurrence of these mutations during therapy is predictive of relapse and diminished overall survival. In the present study we sought to evaluate the utility of ddPCR specifically for post-HSCT MRD monitoring.
 Methods: Patients 18 years of age or older with AML who had received allogeneic HSCT were identified via retrospective chart review. Thirty-seven patients were identified who had sufficient diagnostic testing to identify AML-associated point mutations and had available DNA from serial bone marrow samples. Thirty-six of these patients had at least one pre-HSCT sample analyzed; post-HSCT day 28, day 80, and day 365 samples were available for 26, 25, and 11 patients, respectively. DdPCR was utilized to track 21 different AML-associated mutations in this patient cohort. MRD negativity was defined as variant allelic frequency (VAF) below the limit of detection for all assayed mutations (1-4 mutations per patient). Relapse-free (RFS) and overall (OS) survival were defined as time from date of transplant to relapse or death. Survival statistics were analyzed as Kaplan-Meyer curves, with p-values determined by the log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Outcome data for all patients were censored July 6, 2018.
 Results: Median follow-up from time of HSCT was 13.3 months. Of the 37 patients included in this cohort, the majority (73%) received regimens containing cytotoxic chemotherapy prior to HSCT; the remainder (27%) received targeted therapies +/- low-intensity chemotherapy prior to HSCT. Only 6 of 36 patients (17%) were MRD negative pre-HSCT, all of whom had received cytotoxic chemotherapy. All 37 patients had one or more post-HSCT samples available for MRD assessment. Of these, 30 achieved MRD negativity after HSCT (81%). Post-HSCT MRD status was predictive of both RFS and OS (Figure 1). This replicates previously published data with respect to ddPCR-based MRD, but is based on evaluation of both more patients and more mutations. In agreement with previously published data showing high predictive value of the 1-month post-HSCT MRD, we found this timepoint specifically to be predictive of RFS and OS in the 26 patients for whom a sample was assayable (Figure 2). Neither outcomes nor MRD status by ddPCR varied based on conditioning regimen (myeloablative versus reduced-intensity) in our cohort (data not shown).
 We also compared ddPCR MRD status with whole bone marrow chimerism measured by short tandem repeat (STR) analysis. Concordance between MRD negativity and >95% donor chimerism was 69% at 1 month post-HSCT and 93% at 80 days post-HSCT. Of 8 discordant samples at the 1 month post-HSCT time point, 3 had donor chimerism <95% but were MRD negative, with no relapses to date. The other five patients had full donor chimerism with positive MRD, and 3 of 5 patients have relapsed. Of two discordant samples at 80 days post-HSCT, both involved full donor chimerism with persistence of MRD, and one patient has subsequently relapsed.
 Conclusions: ddPCR-based molecular MRD assessment is predictive of relapse-free and overall survival post-HSCT in patients with AML, and may be a powerful adjunct to surveillance measures already in clinical use, such as chimerism. Presence of molecular MRD specifically at 1 month post-transplant showed significant correlation with relapse and with overall mortality. Detection of AML-associated mutations at this and later time points in a prospective manner could in many cases allow salvage of patients prior to clinical relapse, thus improving survival for this high-risk population.

 Pollyea: Gilead: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Curis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celyad: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Argenx: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Agios: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.


This study was performed to assess the physical activity, food habit and nutrient intakes by gender and age groups in 193 adults aged 20-59 years (84 men and 109 women) in Pusan. Data for physical activity and dietary survey was assessed by a questionnaire and 24hr recall method. The mean BMIs of men and women were 24.0 and 22.2 respectively and BMI of women in the 20-29 years group (20.9) was significantly lower than that of women in the 30-49 and 50-59 years group (22.7, 23.2) (p < 0.01). 56.0% for men and 44.0% for women exercised regularly. The mean exercise duration per once of men (69.7 minutes) was significantly higher than that of women (52.4minutes) (p < 0.01). The mean exercise duration per day was 36.0 minutes for men and 29.9 minutes for women. 67.9% for men and 78.0% for women often skipped meals and 68.4% for men and 69.4% for women skipped breakfast in the main. The mean energy intake of men was 2067.2 kcal and that of women was 1783.1 kcal comprised of 87.2% and 92.1% of the Estimated Energy Requirements (EER). The mineral intakes of men and women were over Recommended Intake (RI) and Adequate Intake (AI) except calcium and potassium. The mean calcium intake was 88.3% for men and 84.0% for women of RI. The mean potassium intake was 63.3% for men and 59.2% for women of AI. The mean vitamin intakes of men and women were over RI and AI except vitamin C and folic acid. The mean vitamin C intake was 92.5% for men and 85.6% for women of RI. The mean folic acid intake was 76.6% for men and 70.0% for women of RI. The mean energy, protein, sodium and zinc intakes of men were significantly higher than those of women (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05). The mean vitamin B6, vitamin C and folic acid intakes of men in the 20-29 years group were significantly lower than those of men in the 30-49 and 50-59 years group (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05). For energy, proportions of subjects with intake levels less than 90% EER were 64.3% for men and 56.0% for women. For calcium, proportions of subjects with intake levels less than Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) were 52.4% for men and 59.6% for women. For folic acid, proportions of subjects with intake levels less than EAR were 78.6% for men and 83.5% for women. For iron and phosphorus, proportions of women (36.7%, 14.7%)with intake levels less than EAR were significantly higher than those of men (6.0%, 1.2%) (p < 0.01, p < 0.001). For men, age was positively correlated with intakes of potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C and folic acid (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.01). For men, weight showed significantly negative correlations with intakes of carbohydrate, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, vitamin B6 and folic acid (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.01) and BMI showed significantly negative correlations with protein, lipid, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, vitamin E and folic acid (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05) For men, exercise duration per once showed significantly positive correlations with intakes of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin C and folic acid (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.05). Therefore, nutritional education for adult health management is needed by gender and age groups. (Korean J Community Nutrition 15(4): 460~474, 2010)


The purposes of the current study were to compare the relative effectiveness of procedures emphasizing prompting versus feedback in the development of conditional discriminations, and to investigate whether prompting and feedback interact with stimulus discriminability on their effects on the development of conditional discriminations. The task involved learning 32 different conditional discriminations. For half of these conditional discriminations, an experimenter-designated correct pair of sample and comparison stimuli was presented immediately after the observing response but before the choice phase of the trial (prompting). For the other half of the conditional discriminations, an experimenter-designated correct pair of sample and comparison stimuli was presented after a participant selected a comparison stimulus (feedback). In addition, effects of discriminability of sample and comparison stimuli were investigated by presenting combinations of simple (one-element) and complex (three-element) sample and comparison stimuli. Test trials, run without programmed consequences, presented the 32 conditional discriminations trials without prompting or feedback. All participants learned the conditional discriminations through non-differential prompting and feedback, but the feedback condition produced slightly more accurate performance on the test trials. Stimulus discriminability affected the development of conditional discriminations, but the effects of prompting and feedback on the development of conditional discriminations were not altered by the discriminability of sample and comparison stimuli and vice versa.


Abstract: Since few years there has been great demand for energy Audit as energy as become one of the most important factor for any industry. There has been constant efforts to minimize energy losses and energy audits are proper way to manage energy consumption of any industry. Energy Audit plays an important role as energy wastage is major issue in industries (energy spending accounts for ~ 10% of the average manufacturer's expenses). This growing trend should only continue as energy costs continue to rise. Energy Audit conducted time to time saves lot of money for industry, helps in preventive maintenance and also gives a broad aspect to the utilization of energy in different sections and its corresponding wastage. Such an audit programme will help to keep focus on variations which occur in the energy costs, availability and reliability of supply of energy, decide on appropriate energy mix, identify energy conservation technologies, retrofit for energy conservation equipment etc. In this paper an attempt has been made to calculate the thermal efficiency of industrial furnace which plays a major role in any manufacturing plant. We have tried to build a cheap software which would indicate the losses taking place in the furnace rather than going for high end CFD softwares. Keywords: Industrial Furnace, Energy Audit, Thermal Efficiency, direct & indirect method. Cite this Article  : Aniket S Deshmukh, Arpita V Harne. Case Study on Determination of Thermal Efficiency of Industrial Furnace by Direct & Indirect Method. Journal of Nuclear Engineering & Technology. 2020; 10(2): 19–25p.


Drawing on comparative resource curse literature and American literature on the determinants of corruption, we argue that the impact of natural resource extraction on corruption outcomes is state-dependent. That is, in environments where corruption is already high, natural resource windfalls allow political actors and economic elites to take advantage of state brokerage, further increasing corruption. However, in previously less-corrupt states, increased natural resource extraction will not induce corruption. We rely on hierarchical linear models to interpret federal corruption convictions data for the fifty American states between 1976 and 2012 and employ generalized method of moments estimators to account for potential endogeneity. The findings are robust to alternative specifications and have implications for the management of new resource extraction opportunities.


In the microwave solid-state oscillators using bulk effect and avalanche diodes, high dielectric constant ceramics have been used as a temperature compensator and excellent temperature stability is obtained. An X-band avalanche diode oscillator is tested over a wide temperature range. The frequency drift is improved to be less than +30 kHz//spl deg/C. Additional advantages of this technique are compact size and low cost.


Let $G:=(V,E)$ be a simple graph; for $I\subseteq V$ we denote by

 $l(I)$ the number of components of $G[I]$, the subgraph of $G$

 induced by $I$. For $V_1,\ldots , V_n$ subsets of $V$, we define a

 function $\beta (V_1,\ldots , V_n)$ which is expressed in terms of

 $l\left(\bigcup _{i=1} ^{n} V_i\right)$ and $l(V_i\cup

 V_j)$ for $i\leq j$. If $V_1,\ldots , V_n$ are pairwise disjoint

 independent subsets of $V$, the number $\beta (V_1,\ldots , V_n)$

 can be computed in terms of the cyclomatic numbers of

 $G\left[\bigcup _{i=1} ^{n} V_i\right]$ and $G[

 V_i\cup V_j]$ for $i\neq j$. In the general case, we prove that

 $\beta (V_1,\ldots , V_n)\geq 0$ and characterize when $\beta

 (V_1,\ldots , V_n)= 0$. This special case yields a formula

 expressing the length of members of an interval algebra \cite{s} as

 well as extensions to pseudo-tree algebras. Other examples are

 given.


Families from the pediatrics outpatient department at Lyari General Hospital in Karachi Pakistan were questioned on their knowledge of diarrhea and ORT. Children included in the examination were on average less than 5 years many with malnutrition and about half suffered from diarrhea. Parents were questioned as to what caused diarrhea in their children and over half believed ignorance of hygiene was the root cause 18% cited teething or artificial milk as the culprits and 34% were unaware of the cause of diarrhea; 2/3 of the parents interviewed however were fully aware diarrhea could lead to death. Of the 100 respondents 68 knew about oral rehydration therapy and responded to correct application of treatment as follows: Drugs and ORT - 63 drugs alone - 29 ORT alone - 5 not known - 32. When queried about the specifics of ORT 55 responded theyd use salt sugar solution and 1.3 did not know that to use. More than 1.2 the families said they became aware of ORT through doctors and hospitals: of 40 families interviewed only a few admitted they were aware of ORT through radio or TV. Lack of media exposure to ORT is probably due to governmental carelessness and slow response to ORS publicity. The publicity campaign has already showed results with increased awareness and successful use of ORT. A decrease in morbidity of children 5 years and under has been recorded.


Abstract Avian studies are often interpreted using dual (e.g. 13C, 15N) isotope models, assuming turnover of both isotopes occur at similar rates, but only a few studies have quantified turnover rates for more than one of those isotopes simultaneously. To test the generality of previous turnover and fractionation estimates and assumption of synchronous C and N patterns of turnover rates, we captured Dunlin (Calidris alpina pacifica) wintering in the Fraser River Delta, British Columbia, and derived isotopic turnover rates and diet-tissue fractionation factors by experimentally manipulating diet. Birds (n = 15) were initially fed a terrestrially derived diet (mean δ13C: −24.7‰, mean δ15N: 3.5‰) for 54 days. A treatment group (n = 11) was then switched to a marine-derived diet (mean δ13C: −18.3‰, mean δ15N: 13.7‰); a control group (n = 4) was maintained on the terrestrial diet for a further 59 days. An exponential model described patterns of isotopic turnover for 13C and 15N, and turnover rates and half-lives of the two isotopes were correlated, confirming the assumption of synchronous patterns of turnover for those isotopes. The half-lives for 13C and 15N in Dunlin whole blood were 11.2 ± 0.8 days and 10.0 ± 0.6 days, respectively, and are among the lowest values obtained to date for wild birds. Variation in turnover rate among individuals was not related to indices of body condition.


Introduction: Forehead and temple reconstruction poses a difficult challenge to the plastic surgeon owning to the aesthetical tantrums, non-hair bearing skin with hairline posteriorly into the scalp and the eyebrows and glabella in front. As per the nature and size of the defect a wide array of options ranging from skin grafting, tissue expansion, loco-regional flaps and microvascular free flaps are available and are customized in terms of the characteristics of the defect. Often higher microsurgical free tissue transfer is required in relatively smaller defects. Aims and objectives: This retrospective descriptive non-randomized purposive study over six months at a Government Medical College aimed at executing different free microvascular flaps and to assess the technical details, operative outcome and short term follow up with the rationale behind choosing each specific reconstruction. Methodology: Patients were selected based on the defects to be reconstructed, the pre operative work up and anesthesia check up were done, they were admitted and operated. Planning in reverse was done in every case, the source vessels and the perforators were identified and marked with hand held Doppler pre-operatively, the primary defect defined after excision and the flaps were harvested, inset given and donor sites managed accordingly. Post-operatively the flaps were monitored clinically, the complications and issues addressed, dressings changed on frequent intervals and results interpreted. After discharge, they were followed up at regular intervals. Results: Out of 5 free flaps (2 radial artery forearm, 2 ulnar artery forearm and 1 latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flaps) in 5 patients, all flaps survived. Superficial temporal vessels end to end were used in all cases as recipient vessels for microvascular anastomosis. The mean size of the defects was 13 x 5.8 cm (mean surface area was 75.4 cm 2 ). The mean operative time was 5.5 hours. There were minor complications of partial necrosis of 1 latissimus dorsi muscle flap in 1 patient and donor site issue of hypertrophic unsightly scar in forearm in another patient. All other wounds and donor sites healed well. The mean post-operative hospital stay was 6 days. Conclusion: In cases of defects in aesthetically important forehead and temporal regions with exposed calvarial bones not amenable for full thickness skin grafts or local flaps, free tissue transfer from non-hair bearing skin with good colour and texture should be considered as a primary option safely.


Background : crani-encephalic trauma is the first cause of death and morbidity in young people. At present, it is difficult to know the real benefit of the decompressing craniectomy and the right time is not clearly defined, especially in patients who have suffered crani-encephalic trauma. Objective : to assess the impact of the early decompressing craniectomy to control intracranial pressure (ICP), quality of life, and mortality in patients with severe crani-encephalic trauma, treated at "Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna" General Teaching Hospital in Las Tunas province from January, 2008 to December, 2013. Methods : an analytical, longitudinal and prospective study was carried out in the hospital and time period mentioned above. The investigation had two phases: the first one, from 2008 to 2011, with 202 patients and the second one, from 2012 to 2013, with 38 patients. Group I, of study, consisted of 120 cases, which was offered as initial treatment the decompressing craniectomy. Group II, of control, comprised 120 patients who initially received the conventional treatment. Results : in the study group, the intracranial pressure figures below 20 mmHg (72,5 %), deaths (17,5 %), moderate sequelae (40,83 %) and good functional recovery (18,3 %) predominated. In the control group, intracranial pressure values above 20 mmHg, deaths (35 %) and serious sequelae (41,6 %) predominated. Early surgical treatment had no significant impact on patients' mortality. Conclusions : early decompressing craniectomy was effective in the control of intracranial pressure, patients' quality of life improved, and the surgical technique at an early stage did not influence on the mortality of patients.


As our weapon systems age and fewer new systems are under development, the needs of the warfighter for more capable aircraft and systems dictate that these needs be met by modifications to the legacy aircraft the services are currently flying. For aircraft avionics, the needs for technological currency are also compounded by the mandates to operate within the safety boundaries of the National Airspace requirements. The result is a "full plate" for many weapon system managers in establishing a rational plan to acquire and install updated systems in the aircraft they are managing. The authors have defined an approach to this avionics planning process that is described as the AVPLEX (Avionics Planning and Execution) model. The model process shows how to incorporate avionics requirements and modification planning into an effective and integrated plan that considers technical and business case issues. Concepts such as the development of an overall avionics migration strategy, the application of open systems and the use of life cycle cost in the decision process are shown to be key elements of the AVPLEX process. Examples of the application of this planning method to execute on-going programs are provided.


While SpongeBob SquarePants on the surface might appear to project a counter-cultural, rejection of tradition and authority figures, on the contrary, the text projects many elements that support the American cultural ideal of the American Dream. Thus, in our analysis of the television show, SpongeBob SquarePants, we set aside a strictly entertaining form of popular culture to demonstrate the show's ability to equip both children and adults for contemporary society. In this essay, we describe and analyze four episodes of the SpongeBobSquarePants television series to determine the recurring elements that reinforce a traditional American ideology. More specifically, generic criticism will be used as a framework to identify and explain how an "American Dream" ideology is perpetuated in SpongeBob SquarePants in order to teach, instruct, and guide behavior while appealing to two different audiences: children and adults.


When reaching for an earth-fixed object during self-rotation, the motor system should appropriately integrate vestibular signals and sensory predictions to compensate for the intervening motion and its induced inertial forces. While it is well established that this integration occurs rapidly, it is unknown whether vestibular feedback is specifically processed dependent on the behavioral goal. Here, we studied whether vestibular signals evoke fixed responses with the aim to preserve the hand trajectory in space or are processed more flexibly, correcting trajectories only in task-relevant spatial dimensions. We used galvanic vestibular stimulation to perturb reaching movements toward a narrow or a wide target. Results show that the same vestibular stimulation led to smaller trajectory corrections to the wide than the narrow target. We interpret this reduced compensation as a task-dependent modulation of vestibular feedback responses, tuned to minimally intervene with the task-irrelevant dimension of the reach. These task-dependent vestibular feedback corrections are in accordance with a central prediction of optimal feedback control theory and mirror the sophistication seen in feedback responses to mechanical and visual perturbations of the upper limb.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Correcting limb movements for external perturbations is a hallmark of flexible sensorimotor behavior. While visual and mechanical perturbations are corrected in a task-dependent manner, it is unclear whether a vestibular perturbation, naturally arising when the body moves, is selectively processed in reach control. We show, using galvanic vestibular stimulation, that reach corrections to vestibular perturbations are task dependent, consistent with a prediction of optimal feedback control theory.


Worldwide, colon cancer is the third most common cancer in terms of incidence, following lung and breast cancer. Resistance to psoralidin frequently occurs following its use as an anticancer treatment. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of psoralidin on colon cancer, remain to be elucidated. Hence, the present study investigated the anticancer effects and potential mechanism of action of psoralidin on SW480 human colon cancer cells. In the present study, an MTT assay was performed to measure the viability of SW480 cells. Additionally, an Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide apoptosis detection kit, DAPI staining assay and caspase-3 colorimetric assay kits were used to analyze the cellular apoptosis of SW480 cells. The nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p65 activity and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)/Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) protein expression of SW480 cells was detected using NF-κB colorimetric assay kits and western blot analysis, respectively. Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-737 was added to SW480 cells and the subsequent effects and mechanism of action of psoralidin on SW480 colon cancer cells was studied. In the present study, psoralidin reduced SW480 cell viability and enhanced the cellular apoptosis of SW480 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Caspase-3 activity of SW480 cells was increased following treatment with psoralidin. Additionally, psoralidin was able to reduce the NF-κB p65 activity of SW480 cells. Furthermore, psoralidin was able to reduce Bcl-2 protein expression and increase Bax protein expression in SW480 cells. Notably, Bcl-2 inhibitor was observed to enhance the effects of psoralidin on SW480 cells. The results of the present study suggest that psoralidin may be a candidate drug for the treatment of colon cancer by inhibition of the NF-κB and Bcl-2/Bax signaling pathways.


We use a time-dependent ice-cap model to predict the pattern of growth and decay of the Patagonian ice cap during a simulated glacial cycle. The purpose is to illuminate the internal system dynamics and identity thresholds of stability related to the underlying topography. This is a necessary step if former ice-cap behaviour is to be linked to climatic change. The model, which is fully described elsewhere, portrays ice extent and surface altitude at intervals of 1000–5000 years. The modelling suggests that there are two stable ice-cap states largely influenced by topography, namely, the present distribution of upland ice fields and the long, linear ice cap along the Andes as represented by the Last Glacial Maximum. Both states can coexist in equilibrium with a climate similar to that of the present day. There is a third, larger variable state in which a more extensive ice cap extends into the adjacent plains, as occurred during early Quaternary glaciations. Warmer and/or drier conditions are required to remove all these ice caps. There are five ice centres during ice-cap growth.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the practice of service recycling. There is an end of life to every product. At this stage, recycling is one option: it is the process of converting waste materials into new products or raw materials. There is also an end of life to every service, which generally coincides with the end of service delivery. However, services are not made of materials or components that can be recovered or converted, so can they be recycled? If the concept of product recycling is something well established, then that of service recycling has not yet been sufficiently investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper introduces the perspective of service recycling, analyzing the modalities in which a service can be recycled by using an analogy with natural ecosystems. Some examples are also proposed to support this new vision.

Findings

This paper purports to formalize the practice of service recycling: recycling a service means recovering all the intangibles and tangibles resulting from the provision of a service that still may have a residual value. This practice may potentially lead to an increase in profits.

Originality/value

Although there are several examples of close relationships between two (or more) different services in which one of the two benefits from the externalities of the other, the concept of service recycling has not yet been structurally defined, and the authors believe that interesting perspectives of research may follow from its formalization.


To investigate the effect of fluid shear on uptake rates of low-diffusivity macromolecular substrates by suspended cultures, we measured the uptake of two compounds as models of macromolecules, a protein (bovine serum albumin [BSA]) and a polysaccharide (dextran), using pure cultures of Zoogloea ramigera and Escherichia coli, respectively. Oxygen utilization rates of stirred samples grown on BSA and dextran were 2.3 and 2.9 times higher, respectively, than those of undisturbed (still) samples. Uptake rates of 3H-BSA and [3H]dextran by stirred samples were 12.6 and 6.2 times higher, respectively, than those by still samples. These experimentally obtained increases are larger than those predicted with a mass transfer model. Model results indicated that stirring would increase uptake by factors of 1.6 and 1.8 for BSA and dextran. As predicted by the model, we also found that uptake rates of low-molecular-weight substrates with high diffusivities, such as leucine and glucose, were only slightly affected by fluid shear. Since macromolecules can make up a major portion of bacterial substrate in natural, laboratory, and engineered systems, the demonstrated effect of fluid shear has wide implications for kinetic studies performed in basic metabolic research as well as in the evaluation of engineered bioreactors used for wastewater treatment.


This article reviews reliability phenomena in thin silicon dioxide. We discuss a comprehensive framework for evaluating measured SiO2 breakdown data which enables assurance of built-in oxide reliability for scaled MOS technologies. Promising technological improvements for improving SiO2 reliability are also reviewed. We discuss an integrative view for explaining the many diverse observations about the process of oxide wear-out and failure.


Patients receiving effective thoracic epidural analgesia for postthoracotomy pain may still complain of severe ipsilateral shoulder pain. The etiology of this pain is unclear. In this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, we investigated the effect of phrenic nerve infiltration with lidocaine or saline on postoperative shoulder pain in 48 patients. After completion of a lung resection, patients received either 10 mL of 1% lidocaine or 10 mL of 0.9% saline infiltrated into the periphrenic fat pad at the level of the diaphragm. Shoulder pain was experienced by 33% of patients receiving lidocaine, compared with 85% of patients receiving saline (P < 0.008). Overall pain scores were lower with lidocaine (P < 0.05). Paco2 values were not significantly higher with lidocaine in the first 2 h. We conclude that pain transmitted via the phrenic nerve and referred to the shoulder is the most likely explanation for the ipsilateral shoulder pain experienced by patients receiving epidural analgesia for postthoracotomy pain.


An elevator (or lift) is a vertical transport vehicle that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building. They are generally powered by electric motors that either drive traction cables and counterweight systems, or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston. Speech recognition is used in this book for operating the elevator system by just giving and matching the voice commands. So the push buttons need not be used. Voice commands like "one ", "two" and "three" are used to move the elevator to a particular destination floor. A seven segment display is used to indicate the destination floor number. Speech to text conversion is done on the voice signal which is the input of the smart elevator system to provide the input to the seven segment display. Passive infrared sensors are used to count the number of the people entering the elevator enclosure. It is used for avoiding overloading problem. A text to speech conversion module is used to provide voice alerts in "The Voice Based Smart Elevator System". The voice alert system specifies the destination floor number on reaching the respective destination floor


The Schwarzschild metric and the Kerr metric describe the gravitational fields around static and rotating black holes, respectively. Here, we derive the Kerr metric in a simpler way than how it was derived originally and determine the stability of the Schwarzschild metric. The Kerr metric was derived by using the Einstein-Hilbert action as well as directly from the Einstein field equations. In order to do this, we first made an anzats with the help of the Weyl method. By using the same method as Chandrasekhar, we found that the Schwarzschild metric is stable.


The SEMAINE database consists of recordings of persons talking to different virtual characters. Each of the virtual characters speaks and behaves according to a repertoire of utterances. The repertoire designed the verbal and nonverbal behaviors of virtual character to influence the emotional state of persons via the conversational interaction. There are four characters - Obadiah, Poppy, Spike, and Prudence. The Obadiah character is gloomy and tries to make other person feeling depressed, whereas Poppy character is cheerful and is defined to make other person talking to it happily as well. The Spike character is angry and is intended to provoke other persons. The Prudence character is sensible. It tries to make other people sensible, too. The recordings have been annotated manually in several dimensions which indicating the emotional state of the person as it changes over the interaction.
 The first goal of the thesis is to find out whether the emotions of the participants
align with the character they interact with. Since there are 4 different characters, it is possible to explore how these characters differ in changing the emotions of participants. In the manual annotations, the emotional states were indeed changed among
characters. The changes in the dimensions of the Happiness, the Sadness, the Anger, and full rating dimensions (except the Intensity) were statistically different. The Poppy and Spike characters had unique impacts in the Happiness dimension. Compared to Poppy and Prudence characters, the Obadiah character had different impacts in the Sadness dimension. The Anger character had more advantages than Obadiah and Poppy characters in influencing the anger emotion of participants.
The second goal of the thesis is to investigate whether automatic emotion recognition tools assign the same emotions to the persons as the manual annotations. The selected tools included the FaceReader - a software program that recognizes the emotion of a person based on the detected facial expressions, and the LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count) - a tool which is based on the words used by a person.
 The emotions recognized by FaceReader match the annotated emotions more
closely than the emotions recognized by LIWC. In the results of FaceReader, the
dimensions of the happy, the sad, and the angry emotions were correctly correlated with the manual annotations in most characters. The FaceReader achieved almost 42% accuracy. In the results of LIWC, only the dimension of the Posemo (happy) well correlated with the Semaine annotation. The LIWC only had 33% accuracy.
 The whole thesis is divided into four steps as follows. In the first step, we
preprocess the samples to ensure the data is well organized. The second step is the Phase I which selected the facial expression and the pair of virtual characters (Obadiah and Poppy) with the strongest contrast of emotional impacts. The third step is the Phase II which increased the types of virtual characters (Spike and Prudence). The last step is the Phase III which added the modality of text into the analysis.


This study aims to produce office simulation media in groups for archives, finance, public relations protocol, and correspondence subjects. The design of this study adopts the Borg and Gall model which consists of 10 stages. This research was conducted in Malang City at the Office Management and Business Service Vocational High School. The trial subjects involved 15 students in the small group trial and 50 students in the large group trial. This research activity also involves expert valiators to determine the feasibility and validity of the products being developed. The results of this research and development are learning media called GOP-LeS that are feasible and valid to be applied in the learning process of managing office administration practices. This is based on the results of small group trials which obtained an average of 86% and large group trials obtained an average of 87%. While the results of the expert validator obtained an average score of 88%. So it can be concluded that the GOP-LeS learning media can be used as an alternative media for the practice of managing office administration in the Department of Office Management and Business Services.


Date Presented 04/05/19
 Although prison dog-training programs have increased in prevalence, little research on the topic exists. We used quantitative and qualitative methods in a repeated measures design to study effects of a dog-training program in a women's prison. We found positive effects on empathy and academic and workplace self-confidence. Further, the program fostered improved parenting attitudes. We are beginning a similar study in a male institution to compare outcomes between female and male offenders.
 Primary Author and Speaker: Samantha Bauer
 Additional Authors and Speakers: Regina Abel


Anthropogenic activities have led to the transformation of river basins and natural flow alteration around the world. Alteration in flow regimes have adverse effects on river ecosystems. Flow value changes signify the alteration extent and a number of flow related indices can be used to assess the extent of alteration in a river ecosystem. Selection of a few and ecologically relevant indices from a large set of available indices is a daunting task. Principal Component Analysis helps to reduce these large indices to a few ecologically significant indices and removes statistical redundancy of data to give uncorrelated data sets. These representative indices are useful in the primary investigation of a less studied area like the Kaligandaki River basin, Nepal. This paper uses reduced indices from the Kaligandaki River to calculate the alteration on the river section downstream of a hydropower facility using the Histogram Comparison Approach (HCA) combined with Hydrologic Year Types (HYT). The combined approach eliminates the potential underestimation of alteration values which may occur due to the exemption of hydrologic year types from the analysis, a feature equally relevant in river ecology. A new metric is used for the calculation of combined alteration using HCA-HYT in this paper. The analysis showed 60.71 percent alteration in the natural flow regime in the area past a hydropower construction, which is classified in the high alteration category. The study can be a guide for further analysis of the ecological flow management of a river section and a parsimonious approach to other areas where hydrological data is limited to historical flow records only.


PURPOSE
To investigate the relationships between social support, job satisfaction and intent to stay among Jordanian hospital nurses, and to compare the findings between private and public hospitals.

DESIGN
A correlational descriptive survey was used to investigate these relationships among convenience samples of Jordanian nurses in public (n = 288) and private hospitals (n = 195).

METHODS
Data were collected using a set of questionnaires that included the McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Scale, the Social Support Scale, the McCain's Intent to Stay Scale and a demographic form.

FINDINGS
The results indicated that when the levels of social support and job satisfaction increased, intent to stay at work increased as well. Nurses with high levels of social support indicated high levels of job satisfaction. Nurses in private hospitals reported higher levels of satisfaction and intent to stay than nurses in public hospitals.

CONCLUSION
Nurse administrators and managers need to (1) investigate on a regular basis the contributors to satisfaction, and (2) incorporate support systems in their organizations to promote satisfaction and retention.


Team-based learning (TBL) is a research-based instructional practice (RBIP) shown to increase students' content knowledge, class engagement, motivation, and science self-efficacy. After several years of using TBL in an upper-division biochemistry course and noting the same positive effects, we were hesitant to abandon TBL when forced to consider options for teaching online during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was little published research to inform efforts to adapt TBL for online instruction. But, by carefully considering the critical components of TBL it was possible to anticipate the potential challenges an online environment would present. In this paper, we describe how we created an online facsimile of the in-person TBL experience by prioritizing student–student and student–instructor interactions and present student performance data that suggest that learning outcomes were similar in both the online and face-to-face course offerings. Finally, we contribute to the TBL literature by reporting our challenges (e.g., keeping groups on similar pace) in implementing TBL in the online space and our efforts to minimize these obstacles (e.g., rotating through breakout groups, broadcasting messages). This work provides guidance for anyone considering online use of TBL, particularly instructors who might be concerned about pacing of activities or promoting positive team dynamics, or researchers who plan to systematically study the efficacy of TBL in the online environment. More broadly, this report supports the call for instructors and researchers to collectively consider how RBIPs can be adapted and leveraged to design more robust, effective online instruction.


Previous successful tests and promising results of a Centrifugal Particle Receiver (CentRec) for high temperature solar applications has been achieved in a lab scale prototype with 7.5 kWth [1, 2, 3]. In a next step this receiver technology is scaled up to higher thermal power for a future pilot plant.
This paper presents the optimization methodology of the design and technical solutions. It describes the manufacturing and assembly of the prototype and first tests and results of the commissioning including cold particle tests and prototype costs. Finally the paper gives an outlook on the planned further steps regarding hot lab tests and solar tests.