This paper describes technologies we have developed
to perform autonomous large-scale off-world excavation.
A scale dragline excavator of size similar to that
required for lunar excavation was made capable of autonomous
control. Systems have been put in place to
allow remote operation of the machine from anywhere
in the world. Algorithms have been developed for complete
autonomous digging and dumping of material taking
into account machine and terrain constraints and
regolith variability. Experimental results are presented
showing the ability to autonomously excavate and move
large amounts of regolith and accurately place it at a
specified location.


Introduction Inversion of chromosome 9 had been widely discussed among geneticists and evolutionary biologists because of its significant impact on various hereditary disorders and in the evolution of man. The role of such inversions in human disease evolution is an area hitherto unclear. Case Presentation We present the case of a chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patient who showed intermittent relapse on treatment, with a rare appearance of clones with dual inversion (9) breakpoints [inv(9)(p22q34); inv(9)(p11q21)]. We also present the first report of inv(9)(p11,q13) as the sole abnormality in a patient with chronic myeloproliferative disorder(CMPD). Both the patients registered in 2012 and were from Kerala, India. Conclusions Both the cases discussed in our study have inv(9) as the sole abnormality and are found to confer a relatively poor prognosis.


The development of an integrated low-noise sweeping superheterodyne receiver is described. Based upon a receiver performance tradeoff study, a group of components were designed and integrated within a single housing occupying 5.9 in/sup 3/, less connectors. The integrated receiver weighs 6.4 oz, including magnets, and contains the following components: a wide-band low-noise tunnel-diode amplifer (TDA), an image-rejection balanced mixer, a varactor-tuned Gunn oscillator, a four-stage IF amplifier, and a quasi-complementary IF output filter. The housing also contains an interstage ferrite isolator, a bias distribution network with subminiature potentiometers, and a branch-line coupler. This coupler permits the injection of an external oscillator and allows the system to be evaluated outside the band covered by the internal Gunn oscillator. This receiver is the first kind to integrate within a minimum volume all the components necessary for a wide-band low-noise rapid-scan X-band imageless superheterodyne receiver. Varactor tuning permitted the entire receiver to be integrated in a package having about one fifth the weight and two fifths the volume of other similar receiver designs (e.g., a receiver utilizing a YIG-tuned oscillator).


Main-group ( s - and p -block) metals are generally regarded as catalytically inactive due to the delocalized s / p -band. Herein, we successfully synthesized a p -block antimony single-atom catalyst (Sb SAC) with the Sb-N 4 configuration for efficient catalysis of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The resulting Sb SAC exhibits superior ORR activity with a half-wave potential of 0.86 V and excellent stability, which outperforms many transition-metal (TM, d -block) based SACs and commercial Pt/C. In addition, it presents an excellent power density of 184.6 mW cm -2 and a high specific capacity (803.5 mAh g -1 ) in Zn-air battery. Both experiment and theoretical calculation manifest that the active catalytic sites are positively charged Sb-N 4 single-metal sites, which have closed d shells. Density of states (DOS) results unveil the p orbital of the atomically dispersed Sb cation in Sb SAC can easily interact with O 2 - p orbital to form hybrid states, facilitating the charge transfer and generating appropriate adsorption strength for oxygen intermediates, lowering the energy barrier and modulating the rate-determining step. This work sheds light on the atomic-level preparing p -block Sb metal catalyst for highly active ORR, and further provides valuable guidelines for the rational design of other main-group-metal SACs.


Water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsions and emulsions based on medium chain triglycerides (MCT) were successfully formulated with the addition of emulsifiers and used as encapsulation matrices for hydroxytyrosol (HT), an antioxidant naturally found in extra virgin olive oil. The digestibility of these edible W/O dispersions by recombinant dog gastric lipase (rDGL) and porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) was then tested at different pH values using a pHstat device. rDGL and PPL displayed a much lower activity on the W/O microemulsion than that on the W/O emulsion and MCT alone. This was explained by the presence of higher amounts of emulsifiers (4.9% w/w lecithin and monoglycerides) in the composition of W/O microemulsions compared to W/O emulsions (1.3% w/w emulsifiers). These surfactants also induced a shift of maximum lipase activity towards lower pH values, which usually reflects the competition between surfactants and lipases for binding at the lipid-water interface. rDGL and PPL were then used consecutively in a two-step digestion model mimicking the conditions found in the human gastrointestinal tract. Direct titration and back-titration of free fatty acids allowed the continuous estimation of lipolysis rates under both gastric and duodenal conditions. Gastric lipolysis of W/O microemulsions was reduced 6 to 9-fold compared to W/O emulsions. This inhibition had a major impact on the overall lipolysis, although duodenal lipolysis was less affected by the dispersion type. The presence of HT had also some minor effects on lipolysis rates.


A novel method is presented that permits one to locate a moving object. According to this method, the change in location of a moving object can be detected from its Fourier spectrum. This method has the advantages of a high-precision locating mechanism and the capacity to permit one to ignore the change in the orientation and the size of the moving object. The principles are introduced, a computer simulation and experimental demonstration are given, and the practicality of this method is discussed.


This article analyzes how the postwar accounts by female prisoners of Birkenau presented the character of Zofia Kossak, the famous writer and the activist of the Polish Underground State. The accounts are held today in the Archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and were hitherto unpublished. They shows Zofia Kossak in an unheroic way, contrary to the published testimonies of her camp experience. The accounts are reminiscent of the famous article Alice's Adventures in Wonderland published by Tadeusz Borowski in 1947.


Ultra-cold quantum turbulence is expected to decay through a cascade of Kelvin waves. These helical excitations couple vorticity to the quantum fluid causing long wavelength phonon fluctuations in a Bose-Einstein condensate. This interaction is hypothesized to be the route to relaxation for turbulent tangles in quantum hydrodynamics. The local induction approximation is the lowest order approximation to the Biot-Savart velocity field induced by a vortex line and, because of its integrability, is thought to prohibit energy transfer by Kelvin waves. Using the Biot-Savart description, we derive a generalization to the local induction approximation which predicts that regions of large curvature can reconfigure themselves as Kelvin wave packets. While this generalization preserves the arclength metric, a quantity conserved under the Eulerian flow of vortex lines, it also introduces a non-Hamiltonian structure on the geometric properties of the vortex line. It is this non-Hamiltonian evolution of curvature and torsion which provides a resolution to the missing Kelvin wave motion. In this work, we derive corrections to the local induction approximation in powers of curvature and state them for utilization in vortex filament methods. Using the Hasimoto transformation, we arrive at a nonlinear integro-differential equation which reduces to a modified nonlinear Schr\"odinger type evolution of the curvature and torsion on the vortex line. We show that this modification seeks to disperse localized curvature profiles. At the same time, the non-Hamiltonian break in integrability bolsters the deforming curvature profile and simulations show that this dynamic results in Kelvin wave propagation along the dispersive vortex medium.


This article is based on the research project Contemporary Debates on the Legal Business. The purpose of this text is to review some of the most relevant discussions on the contract and its functionality in our current society from different points of view such as the economic analysis of law, solidarism, relational contracts, and sustainable contracting, among others. We analyze the movement of proactive contracting in general terms and also in a particular case, as we study the communications regulation in Colombia as an expression of this proposal. We suggest that the application of proactive contracting changes the paradigm of traditional contracting as an answer to the proposed questions.


This manuscript builds upon previous statistical models for hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico to make a temporally resolved forecast. This work is potentially valuable for management of the ecosystem's fisheries and offers some important insights regarding the contributions of different sources of uncertainty to this type of forecast. The manuscript is well written and will be of interest to readers of HESS. I have one substantial concern and a number of comments for the authors to consider.


A procedure for the preparation of optically pure alpha-methyltryptamines (AMTs) from substituted indoles was developed. The key step in the sequence was the reductive amination of substituted indole-2-propanones with the commercially available pure enantiomers of alpha-methylbenzylamine, followed by the chromatographic separation of the resulting pair of diastereomeric amines by preparative centrifugal (Chromatotron) chromatography. Catalytic N-debenzylation then afforded the pure AMT enantiomers. Optical purity was established by chiral HPLC analysis of the 2-naphthoylamide derivatives. An improved procedure for the preparation of indole-2-propanones was also developed. To probe structure-activity relationships of serotonin receptors, affinities of the alpha-methyltryptamine enantiomers were then measured at the 5-HT2 antagonist receptor subtype, with displacement of [3H]ketanserin, and were estimated at the 5-HT1B receptor, with displacement of [3H]serotonin, respectively, in rat frontal cortex homogenates. Enantioselectivity at the receptor subtypes varied, depending on aromatic substituents. For a 5-hydroxy or 5-methoxy, the S enantiomer had higher affinity or was equipotent to the R enantiomer. This selectivity at [3H]serotonin binding sites was reversed for 4-oxygenated alpha-methyltryptamines, where a 4-hydroxy or 4-methoxy did not enhance affinity over the unsubstituted compounds. These results can be explained, for the [3H]serotonin displacement data, if the binding conformation is one where the ethylamine side chain is trans and lying in a plane perpendicular to the indole ring plane.


Village of Karang Besuki Malang is one of the areas that get help from the local government for poverty alleviation and community empowerment in the form of Family expectations program (PKH).

Objective: The purpose of this research is to know the description of PKH participants hope to their children education.

Methodology/Technique: Results of the initial assessment has been done to 52 participants, found that levels of educational expectations participants PKH village Karang Besuki on average are medium-sized category percentage of 63,5%. Furthermore, researchers used 9 participants to describe their educational hope. The research method used was the qualitative case study approach in each participant. Data collection techniques used are in-depth interviews, intervention in the form of counseling and observation.

Findings: The results showed that each participant has an unique ways to reach their educational hope. The participants were able to set a goal and develop a pathway thinking and agency thinking that high. Different internalizing values and parenting style from the accepted families of children in everyday life will provide a characteristic in visualizing the expectations of education. Previous research (Setiati, 2006) shows that socialization of children nursing/nurture and nutrition is crucial to improve mother's knowledge, behaviour, and practice nutrition nursing/nurture pattern.


Physical and motor disability is a disorder that greatly limits some of the individual main life activities. These disorders affect children in many countries of the world. In addition, it is a difficult process for physically and motorly disabled individuals to be classified by doctors with appropriate occupational treatments. Because, there are many variables that must be considered. The aim of this study is to classify the self-care skill problems of children with physical and motor disabilities by the minimal error using deep neural networks (DNN). For this purpose, DNN models with different parameters were created. The number of hidden layers, the number of neurons in the hidden layers, the activation function, the optimization algorithm, the loss function and the epoch value are taken into consideration in the creation of the models. The DSA models were trained and tested with the SCADI (Self-Care Activities Dataset based on ICFCY) data set. The classification performance of the models was demonstrated by using the F-1 score, precision (P), recall (R) and accuracy (ACC) metrics. Details of the 8 models with the best grading performance are presented. According to the findings, the best classification performance was obtained in the DSA-1 model using Adadelta optimization algorithm, Elu activation function and Categorical crossentropy loss function. The P, R, ACC and F1 scores of this model are 1. In other words, this model predicts the self-care skills problems of physical and motor disability children with 100% accuracy. In addition, in order to increase the validity of the three best models (DSA-1, DSA-2 and DSA-3), the training and testing process was performed with 10-fold cross-validation method. Mean cross validation accuracy values were calculated as 85.71%, 85.71% and 87.14% respectively. Occupational therapists can be used developed DSA models as a validating tool for diagnosing self-care problems.


Restricting salt intake not only leads to a decrease of blood pressure and a reduction in the incidence of arterial hypertension but also to a fall in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. But high sodium intake is not only a risk factor for hypertension but also for cardiovascular diseases. Moderate reduction of daily salt intake in the entire population of Germany from the present level of 8-10 mg to 5-6 mg is of great benefit for disease load and to the economy. Any possible risk for a few groups of persons is predictable and can be coped with. General sodium reduction cannot be achieved only by individual advice, instruction or information campaigns but requires a reduction in the sodium content of industrially processed foods, in fast-food chains, restaurants and canteens because they supply 80% of total daily sodium intake. To achieve the target of restricting the sodium intake of the whole population it is recommended that an interdisciplinary and interprofessional task force, "Less salt for all" be established. This is to bring together the expertise of scientific societies and institutions that see their main task in the reduction of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity by primary prevention. Individual prevention in patients at risk can be very significantly improved by population-related preventive measures. These include, in addition to general limitation of sodium intake, continuing change in lifestyle.


Humanities majors engage in interdisciplinary study of the circumstances and lives of humans in the past, of literature, the English language and the arts, and of ethical problems and systems of thought in order to understand and interpret the world today. Students also acquire essential intellectual skills through close analysis of texts, critical thinking, and expository writing. The study of humanities offers preparation for any profession that requires knowledge and understanding of humanity and society, or that involves proficiency with communication and the organization of information.


In this paper, we present a model of takeover bidding. Grossman and Hart (1980a) argue that small shareholders in a diffusely held firm would hold on to their shares rather than tendering and earn the higher post takeover return. This "free rider" problem precludes profitable takeovers from ever occurring. However, this problem does not exist in our model. In equilibrium every type of the raider successfully hides her private information in the offer stage, thus earning positive profits. We also show that the higher the fraction of the shares the incumbent initially holds, the higher the equilibrium tender offer price. Contrary to Grossman and Hart (1980b), voluntary full disclosure of private information may not be the outcome even when misrepresenting is not feasible. Moreover, enforcement of disclosure laws may lead to a sub-optimal outcome. Finally, we discuss the design of the optimal corporate charter and show that the optimal choice of the supermajority rule depends on the incumbent's initial holdings.


and three minutes. Second and third challenges follow, the inhalation lasting one and two minutes respectively. Afterwards, as with the first challenge, the specific airway resistance is measured at one, two, and three minutes. If water is inhaled through the nose the bronchial response is greatly reduced or abolished; for this reason a face mask must be avoided unless a nose clip is worn to prevent nasal inhalation. The response is considered positive when an increase in specific airways resistance of at least 50 "', is observed.


Most children with developmental conditions survive to adulthood. To improve adult outcomes there is a need to synthesize our existing knowledge regarding their developmental trajectories. The synthesis in this paper was guided by interactional, life course perspectives and definitions of development and disability. Evidence from 107 published articles, grey literature, and expert opinion demonstrated that there are currently more negative than positive psychosocial and mental health outcomes for youth with disabilities. Evidence is mounting that youth with disabilities experience similar trajectories to their peers without disabilities through positive, developmentally appropriate life experiences and regular opportunities with adequate supports to develop adult social roles.


The ferroelectricity of (Al1−xScx)N (x = 0–0.34) thin films with various thicknesses was investigated. (Al1−xScx)N films were prepared at 400 °C on (111)Pt/TiOx/SiO2/(001)Si substrates by the radio frequency dual-source reactive magnetron sputtering method using Al and Sc targets under pure N2 gas or a mixture of N2 and Ar gases. The film deposited under N2 gas showed larger remanent polarization than those under N2 + Ar mixture. Ferroelectricity was observed for films with x = 0.10–0.34 for about 140-nm-thick films deposited under N2 gas. The x = 0.22 films showed ferroelectricity down to 48 nm in thickness from the polarization–electric field curves and the positive-up-negative-down measurement. The ferroelectricity of the 9 nm-thick film also was ascertained from scanning nonlinear dielectric microscopy measurement. These results reveal that ferroelectric polarization can switch for films with much broader compositions and thicknesses than those in the previous study.


As VLSI circuits become larger and more complex, the need to improve design automation tools becomes more urgent. Interconnect effects dominate performance and power in the Deep Submicron regime, and Computer Aided Design tools and methodologies need to focus more on interconnect optimization. In addition, there is a push for dramatic levels of on-chip integration in modern circuits. The cumulative effects of the two make design of leading-edge electronic products difficult. In this work, we propose improved techniques and methodologies for layout design of modern VLSI chips. These techniques can be classified as floorplanning, mixed-size placement and VLSI placement for physical synthesis. The proposed algorithms address novel problem formulations and design concerns that arise in modern VLSI designs.


This paper studies the combination fluid viscous dampers in the outrigger system to add supplementary damping into the structure, which purpose to remove the dependability of the structure to lower variable intrinsic damping. It works by connecting the central core, comprising either shear walls or braced frames, to the outer perimeter columns.
     The modal considered is a 36 storey square high rise reinforced concrete building. By constructing a discrete lumped mass model, and using frequency-based response function, two systems of dampers, parallel and series systems are studied. The maximum lateral load at the top of the building is calculated, and  this load  will be applied at every floor of the building, giving a conservative solution. For static study Equivalent Lateral Force (ELF) was conducted. MATLAB software, has been used in this study.
     From analysis data, it is observed that the parallel system of dampers result lower amplitude of vibration and achieved more efficiently compared to the series system, and the horizontal displacement for each configurations by using MATLAB software is less than the analytical solution using a uniformly distributed load of 36 nodal point forces that divided the total height.


This paper studied the design of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control system for the attenuation of the residual vibration in the swing roller cam-follower system designed for horizontal narrow loom. The dynamic model for the system was developed and the PID controller  coefficients were synthesized to ensure that the follower and beater systems behaved in a desired manner. The controller for the system is designed and implemented on the MATLAB® and Simulink®. Basic concepts of feedback for closed-loop control regulators is used to maintain the system stability and to improve the system's performance using the classical structure of proportional, integral, and derivative controllers. The performance of the mechanism is assessed according to the extreme residual vibration amplitude value of the working links. The variation in the gains of the derivative controller was found to have substantial influence on the reduction rate of the residual vibration of the mechanism during operation.
Keywords: Cam, mechanism, residual, vibration, modeling, control, feedback.


In this article we present an expansion of the supersense inventory. All new super-senses are extensions of members of the current inventory, which we postulate by identifying semantically coherent groups of synsets. We cover the expansion of the already-established supernsense inventory for nouns and verbs, the addition of coarse supersenses for adjectives in absence of a canonical supersense inventory, and super-senses for verbal satellites. We evaluate the viability of the new senses examining the annotation agreement, frequency and co-ocurrence patterns.


Load management, which involves tailoring electric energy use to match electric energy supply, has been frequently suggested as an alternative for increasing the efficiency of the electric energy system. However, traditional utility analysis tools are frequently inadequate for assessing the costs and benefits of alternative load management options. One such problem is the consideration of active utility load control in the unit commitment/ economic dispatch problem. A model has been developed to determine how a power system with an active load control system should be operated to make the best use of its available resources. The model uses a dynamic programming successive approximation technique called gradient dynamic programming developed during the project to solve this control problem for realistically sized systems. The development of the model and its computer implementation are presented. The use of the model is demonstrated on several case studies of current interest. The case study results indicate that the production cost savings that can be achieved through the use of direct load control are highly dependent on utility characteristics, load characteristics, storage capacity, and penetration.


Electroabsorption modulators (EAMs) based on the quantum confined Stark effect have advantages in applications that require high speed, low drive voltage, and high extinction ratio. They are promising devices for external signal modulation in high-bandwidth optical communication systems. EAMs can be integrated with other devices like laser diodes, semiconductor optical amplifiers, and mode transformers. We have previously fabricated InGaAsP/InP multi-quantum well EAMs with a bandwidth of 25 GHz and a drive voltage of 1.2 V and 20 dB extinction ratio. Further optimization of our devices requires a detailed analysis of internal physical processes and their interaction. In this paper, we employ a two-dimensional electro-optic device model to analyze our EAMs. The model self-consistently combines kp bandstructure and absorption calculations with a carrier drift-diffusion model and optical waveguiding. The required low polarization sensitivity of EAMs leads to strong valence band mixing so that usual effective mass models cannot be applied. Optical transmission characteristics are calculated which are in good agreement with measurements. Modulation efficiency and linearity are analyzed in detail. Optimum operation voltages are identified.


This RFC marks the fiftieth anniversary for the RFC Series. It
includes both retrospective material from individuals involved at key
inflection points, as well as a review of the current state of
affairs. It concludes with thoughts on possibilities for the next
fifty years for the Series. This document updates the perspectives
offered in RFCs 2555 and 5540.


Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine how the Swedish policy of neutrality has changed between the years 1990-2008. The research method used for this essay has been comparative case study, which strives to answer four research questions. Two of these questions are: Which specific occurrences have been fundamental in changing the Swedish policy of neutrality? How have the Swedish policy of neutrality and the policy of non-alignment changed between the years 1990-2008? The theoretical frame work of this study consists of Europeanization as a comprehensive theoretical perspective. In order to explain the Swedish act regarding the policy of neutrality, Logic of Consequences and Logic of appropriateness are used. The conclusion of the study points out that Sweden has become much more flexible in terms of policy of neutrality and policy of security. The years between 1990-2008 are distinguished due to the fact that the international cooperation has become much more important in the Swedish act of security. Sweden still has the policy of non-alignment, but cooperation between the states is more and more prioritized to secure peace around the world.


The paper reports on a research project which focuses on the control of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) in facilities management (FM) services (specifically domestic services). The main aim of this paper is to provide a detailed discussion on some of the findings of the research, which relates to knowledge management (KM). The findings are based on a case study and a questionnaire survey carried out during the mid-stages of the research. The paper discusses the practices of KM adopted by the domestic services in the control of HAI. It was identified that there are some challenges in domestic services that inhibit practices of KM, and the paper discusses this in detail. Finally, several recommendations are made to improve effective KM practices in the control of HAI; for example, there is a great need to improve Information Technology (IT) facilities in FM services in hospitals. Even if knowledge is captured (e.g. through expert groups) and stored (e.g. in the NHS e-library), getting the staff to utilise this stored knowledge is a challenge due to the lack of IT facilities. With this comes further challenges; for instance, the electronic documents are stagnated because staff are either unaware of or cannot access the involved technology.

Keywords: challenges, domestic services, healthcare associated infections, Information Technology (IT), knowledge management (KM)


Variations in transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), bacterial biomass production (BP) and primary productivity (PP) were followed over 52 h at a deep water station in the Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat, Israel) during the spring, in April 2008. About 20 h after the start of the study, there was a short (similar to 15 h) but intense storm event that probably caused a nutrient pulse and, subsequently, a brief outgrowth of diatoms in the euphotic layer. Concentrations of TEP and BP ranged from 23 to 228 mu g gum xanthan equivalents l(-1) and from 0.2 to 0.6 mu g C l(-1) h(-1), respectively. Concentrations of TEP and BP were measured in unfiltered and in GF/C (1.2 mu m)-prefiltered samples. Most of the TEP (59 +/- 21% of total TEP, mean +/- SD) were in the smaller (GF/C-filtered) size fraction (0.4-1.2 mu m); however, after the crash of the diatom bloom, the majority of TEP were in the >1.2 mu m size fraction. In the GF/C-filtered fraction, BP averaged 59 +/- 12% and 93 +/- 5% of total BP in the upper water column and from 300 m, respectively. Significant correlations were observed between TEP and BP, suggesting that active heterotrophic bacteria may have been associated with these particles. During the 3 d of our study, PP and BP in the euphotic zone averaged 480 and 225 mg C m(-2) d(-1), respectively, suggesting that about half or more of the primary produced carbon was metabolized by heterotrophic bacteria in the upper water column. Coincident with strong mixing caused by the storm, TEP concentrations decreased in the surface water and increased at depth. We suggest that TEP acted to link carbon flux between the primary producers and heterotrophic bacteria, and that the downward movement of TEP from the upper water layers may be an important process in transferring organic carbon to deeper waters of the Gulf of Aquaba. Sinking TEP could provide not only organic carbon substrates for associated bacteria but also form `hot spots' of elevated microbial metabolism and nutrient cycling throughout the water column.


This paper addresses challenges created by physical objects that occlude screen contents on interactive ta-bletops. We propose novel techniques to support awareness, access and overview of occluded digital objects. These techniques take into account different functional zones on tabletops to provide information at varying levels of detail. We also contribute the PressView technique, a pressure-based interaction technique to get a quick overview of occluded objects.


'Formats are king!' or so declares the trade publication TV Formats Weekly. Indeed there are solid grounds for such claims regarding the current place of this type of programming in television schedules around the world. Formats are perceived to be highly effective in mitigating commercial uncertainties brought about by multi-channelling, and the social uncertainties associated with cultural mobility and de-territorialization. However, their ubiquity also presents us with an interesting geo-cultural paradox. As an industrial commodity, formats have a highly mobile, readily transferable quality. However, as a social and cultural artefact, they can take on a form that is specific to the particular community for which they are adapted. In this article, we explore the characteristics of these multi-layered geographic interrelationships and consider the conceptual value (and limitations) of some of the key terms around which the role and function of formats have been understood.


Background Bladder cancer (BC) is the ninth most common cancer and the fourteenth leading death worldwide. CARD-containing MAGUK 3 (CARMA3) protein is a novel scaffold protein known to activate NF-κB pathway and is overexpressed in BC tissues. Purpose The objective of this study was to identify how CARMA3 affects the metastasis of BC cells via the β-catenin signaling pathway. Materials and methods In the present study, 5637 and T24 BC cells with stable low expression of CARMA3 were established, and their migratory and invasive capabilities were further evaluated by wound-healing and transwell assay. The activity and expression of β-catenin were determined by Luciferase assay and immunofluoresence staining. The mRNA and protein expression levels of CARMA3, matrix metallopeptidase (MMP) 9 and MMP2 were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot analysis. The nude mouse tumor xenograft model was established for in vivo study. Results By comparison to the control cells, CARMA3-silenced cells acquired a less aggressive phenotype: decreased migration and invasion. More importantly, we confirmed that CARM3 knockdown could inhibit β-catenin mRNA and protein expression and activity, and reduce the expression and/or activity of matrix metallopeptidase (MMP) 9, MMP2 and C-myc. Also, CARM3 silencing increased E-cadherin expression and attenuated the expression of β-catenin. Moreover, we demonstrated that β-catenin overexpression reversed the inhibiting effect of CARMA3 silencing on cell invasion and migration. Furthermore, our study illustrated that knockdown of CARMA3 suppressed BC cells xenograft tumor growth in nude mice. Conclusion We demonstrated that CARMA3 contributes to the malignant phenotype of BC cells at least by activating β-catenin signaling pathway, and it may serve as a therapeutic target for clinic treatment in BC.


Charge-pump high voltage inverter for Plasma backlight using CIM(Current Injection Method) is proposed in this paper. Adoption of ERC(Energy Recovery Circuit) is a new attempt in high voltage inverter so that it is not only energy recovery but also improvement of discharge stability and system unstability which is interrupted by noise. Using a charge-pump technique enables low voltage switches to be usable, the cost can be reduced. CIM is adopted to achieve high speed energy recovery in proposed circuit. Operations of the proposed circuit are analyzed for each mode. The proposed circuit is verified to be applicable on a 32 inch plasma backlight panel by experimental results.


We investigate three issues that have been discussed in the context of inflation: Fading of the importance of quantum non-commutativity; the phenomenon of quantum squeezing; and the ability to approximate the quantum state by a distribution function on the classical phase space. In the standard treatments, these features arise from properties of mode functions of quantum fields in (near) de Sitter space-time. Therefore, the three notions are often assumed to be essentially equivalent, representing different facets of the same phenomenon. We analyze them in general Friedmann-Lemaitre- Robertson-Walker space-times, through the lens of geometric structures on the classical phase space. The analysis shows that: (i) inflation does not play an essential role; classical behavior can emerge much more generally; (ii) the three notions are conceptually distinct; classicality can emerge in one sense but not in another; and, (iii) the third notion is realized in a surprisingly strong sense; there is exact equality between completely general $n$-point functions in the classical theory and those in the quantum theory, provided the quantum operators are Weyl ordered. These features arise already for linear cosmological perturbations by themselves: considerations such as mode-mode coupling, decoherence, and measurement theory --although important in their own right-- are not needed for emergence of classical behavior in any of the three senses discussed. Generality of the results stems from the fact that they can be traced back to geometrical structures on the classical phase space, available in a wide class of systems. Therefore, this approach may also be useful in other contexts.


Part I. Principles: 1. Introduction 2. Foundational ideas in measurement 3. Components of error or uncertainty 4. Foundational ideas in probability and statistics 5. The randomization of systematic errors 6. Beyond the standard confidence interval Part II. Evaluation of Uncertainty: 7. Final preparation 8. Evaluation using the linear approximation 9. Evaluation without the linear approximations 10. Uncertainty information fit for purpose Part III. Related Topics: 11. Measurement of vectors and functions 12. Why take part in a measurement comparison? 13. Other philosophies 14. An assessment of objective Bayesian methods 15. A guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement 16. Measurement near a limit - an insoluble problem? References Index.


Few attempts have been made in Iraq to investigate the genetic variation in barley accessions using molecular markers. In this context, the objective of this study was to investigate the diversity of 59 accessions of barley using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR), conserved DNA-derived polymorphism (CDDP), and start codon targeted (SCoT) markers. A total of 391 amplified polymorphic bands were generated using 45 ISSR, 9 CDDP, and 12 SCoT primers that produced 255, 35, and 101 polymorphic bands, respectively. The average values of gene diversity were 0.77, 0.67, and 0.81 for ISSR, CDDP, and SCoT markers, respectively. The mean values of polymorphism information content for ISSR, CDDP, and SCoT markers were 0.74, 0.63, and 0.80 respectively. The discrimination power of the three approaches for assessing allelic diversity in barley accessions was as follows: SCoT > ISSR > CDDP. The barley accessions were classified and clustered into two main groups. Molecular variance analysis revealed 15, 9, and 14% variability among populations with ISSR, CDDP, and SCoT markers, respectively. The mantel test results revealed that the three molecular marker matrices had significant positive relationships. The SCoT markers have the potential to be useful tools for selecting appropriate parents for breeding program.


A new wire-loaded nuclear emulsion 4π detector has been used to study multiplicities and angular distributions of charged particles produced in 340 MeV/nucleon Ne + W interactions. The spectra are compared to predictions from a simple thermal spectator-participant model in which we assume the particle emission to originate exclusively from three ideal nucleon gas systems in equilibrium. The shapes of the inclusive experimental angular spectra are in good agreement with the predictions, while the multiplicity of grey prong producing (high energy) particles is slightly overestimated by the model. A much more poor agreement is found for high multiplicity events alone under the assumption that these are central reactions.


This research is based on the phenomenon of adolescents still in the period of identity search. Teenagers are also still confused in determining their future careers. Adolescent career choices are usually still unstable influenced by the environment and parents. The main problem formulation in this research is the preparation of an effective Islamic career guidance program to increase career insight of students. The purpose of this study is the establishment of an effective Islamic career guidance program to increasing career insight of junior high school students. With this program students are expected to know the potential that exists in him so that he can determine his career in the future. The research method used is qualitative research with the type of field research and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) method. This research was conducted at SMP Sekolah Alam Bogor and SMP N 5 Kota Bogor. The results of this research islamic career guidance program for junior high school students refer to the four program components namely basic services, responsive services, specialization services and individual planning and system support services.


ABSTRACT:This article takes a critical look at the "Notorious RBG" iconography that has proliferated since the 2010s, when shifts in the ideological makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court caused Ginsburg to find herself more frequently in dissent. Attending to the trope's origins in the "King of New York" photo shoot featuring Christopher George Latore Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, it situates Notorious RBG rhetoric in the long history of Jewish racial ventriloquism in the United States. Through close readings of children's literature, memes, film, pop biography, and merchandise, I consider what the racial codings of RBG's crown tell us about Jewish feminisms in contemporary pop culture. The identification of Ginsburg with Wallace registers tensions between assimilationist and de-assimilationist Jewish identities, liberal and intersectional feminisms, and the affective politics of stoicism and rage. I argue that Notorious iconography problematically works to install Ginsburg as the standard-bearer of both the white Jewish Second Wave and its Black feminist critique.


The hormonal control of the adipose conversion of 3T3 L1 cells was studied in a chemically defined medium and compared to that under serum-containing conditions. Addition of insulin to a chemically defined medium (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium-Ham's F-12, 1:1) resulted in a dose-dependent increase in glycero-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, a lipogenic marker enzyme. The maximally effective concentration of insulin was in the range of 10(-8) and 10(-7) mol/liter. Glucocorticoids were ineffective in the absence of insulin and exhibited an inhibitory action in serum-containing medium. In the presence of insulin, corticosterone and other glucocorticoids showed a potent adipogenic activity, with a maximally effective concentration at 10(-8) mol/l. 1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine (MIX), a cAMP-elevating agent, was also found to induce the adipose differentiation process in the presence of insulin. The effect of MIX could be partly replaced by (Bu)2cAMP. A combination of insulin and, for the first 2 days, glucocorticoids and MIX promoted a complete conversion of 3T3 cells within 6-8 days. The concentrations of the factors required for adipose conversion were substantially lower than those in serum-containing medium. The adipose conversion in serum-free medium was associated with an increase in cell number, since 0.3 micrograms/ml cytosin arabinoside not only inhibited cell replication, but also prevented the expression of glycero-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity. Our results demonstrate a complete adipose differentiation of 3T3 L1 cells in a chemically defined culture system supplemented with insulin, glucocorticoids, and factors that increase the cAMP content of the cells. This system may provide an improved model to study adipogenic and antiadipogenic factors under defined conditions.


In the modern world with climate changes and increasing pollution, different types of stress are becoming an increasing challenge. Hence, the identification of reliable biomarkers of stress and accessible sensors to measure such biomarkers are attracting increasing attention. In the current study, we demonstrate that the activity, but not the expression, of the ubiquitous enzyme topoisomerase 1 (TOP1), as measured in crude cell extracts by the REEAD sensor system, is markedly reduced in response to thermal stress in both fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and cultivated human cells. This effect was observed in response to both mild-to-moderate long-term heat stress and more severe short-term heat stress in D. melanogaster. In cultivated HeLa cells a reduced TOP1 activity was observed in response to both cold and heat stress. The reduced TOP1 activity appeared dependent on one or more cellular pathways since the activity of purified TOP1 was unaffected by the utilized stress temperatures. We demonstrate successful quantitative measurement of TOP1 activity using an easily accessible chemiluminescence readout for REEAD pointing towards a sensor system suitable for point-of-care assessment of stress responses based on TOP1 as a biomarker.


Current guidelines suggest the maintenance of systolic blood pressure (SBP) at >90 mmHg and mean arterial pressure (MAP) at >65 mmHg in postcardiac arrest patients. There remains a lack of clarity regarding optimal values and timing of blood pressure parameters associated with the improvement of neurologic outcome. We investigated the association of time-weighted average (TWA) blood pressure parameters with favorable neurological outcome (FO) in postcardiac arrest patients. This was a registry-based observational study with consecutive adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors who were treated using targeted temperature management (TTM). During 72 hours of TTM period, we abstracted hemodynamic parameters such as SBP, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate (PR), and MAP. Shock index (SI; PR/SBP) and modified shock index (MSI; PR/MAP) were calculated from each measured hemodynamics. Logistic regression was performed to assess the associations between TWA blood pressure parameters and FO, defined as cerebral performance category 1 or 2 at hospital discharge. Among the 173 patients (median age: 58 years; 64% male), 51 (29.3%) had FO in this study. MAP, SI, and MSI at 6 hours after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) showed considerable differences in patients with FO (MAP: 89.1 ± 14.7 vs. 83.6 ± 15.8 mmHg, p = 0.033, SI: 0.7 ± 0.2 vs. 0.9 ± 0.9, p = 0.002, MSI: 1.0 ± 0.3 vs. 1.2 ± 0.3, p ≤ 0.001). Among them, MSI, especially at 6 hours, had the highest area under the curve for prediction of FO (0.685; 95% confidence interval: 0.597-0.772, p < 0.001). Also, MSI <1.0 had a sensitivity of 64.7%, a specificity of 64.2% to predict FO. In comatose survivors of OHCA with TTM, MSI at 6 hours after ROSC had the highest prognostic value for neurologic outcome among blood pressure parameters.


Productivity growth is the backbone of the economy and the key to a sustained economic growth. The important role of human capital in productivity growth has been widely recognized since the seminal works of Schultz (1961), Becker (1964), Welch (1970) and Mincer (1974). Nelson and Phelps (1966) argued that highly-skilled workers are relatively more productive than low-skilled ones and expected to lead to higher productivity growth. Consequently, in an effort to enhance the education quality to boost the economic and productivity growth, many governments invest more in their "driven- growth" sectors including the education sector to yield productive workforce. On this ground, and through the application of Johansen Co-integration test and Error Correction Methodology (CI/ECM), this paper aims at investigating the role of human capital quality in productivity growth in Egypt over the period (1980- 2014). Results reveal that owing to the "drag" type of the education system and the "over-education" phenomenon besides the brain drain, the highly educated workers negatively impact labor productivity growth. Therefore, more efforts should be carried in order for the resulting "output" of the education system to be productive as thought to be.


The watershed area of Coruh River in Yusufeli Region with its untouched landscape values is one of the distinguished potential areas where recreational and nature tourism activities can be carried out. In this research, the natural and cultural potentials of the area have been studied. In addition, recreational and touristic areas as well as the general recreational tendencies of people in the study area have been determined. A total of 500 questionnaire forms, which were prepared in the light the data gathered from this preliminary research, were applied to people living in the research area at both residential and temporary residential areas in 1994-1995. 3 different questionnaire forms were, on the other hand, answered by 138 foreign and native tourists according to the type of activity they took part in. The data obtained in the studies were analyzed statistically and the preference of natural landscape elements of people living in the area was carefully examined. Coefficients were determined for each landscape element in the light of these data. A mathematical evaluation method developed by Kiemstedt (1967) was used to determine mathematically the suitability of natural landscape elements for recreation. The topographic map to the scale of 1/100.000 was used in the applied studies. Natural landscape elements were analyzed in each cartographic grid square unit. The data obtained from the landscape analysis were first collected on tables then were multiplied by the coefficients and "Values of Suitability for Recreation" (VSR) were calculated for each unit.


A high resolution Doppler model of the walking human was developed for analyzing the continuous wave (CW) radar gait signature. Data for twenty subjects were collected simultaneously using an infrared motion capture system along with a two channel 10.525 GHz CW radar. The motion capture system recorded three-dimensional coordinates of infrared markers placed on the body. These body marker coordinates were used as inputs to create the theoretical Doppler output using a model constructed in MATLAB. The outputs of the model are the simulated Doppler signals due to each of the major limbs and the thorax. An estimated radar cross section for each part of the body was assigned using the Lund & Browder chart of estimated body surface area. The resultant Doppler model was then compared with the actual recorded Doppler gait signature in the frequency domain using the spectrogram. Comparison of the two sets of data has revealed several identifiable biomechanical features in the radar gait signature due to leg and body motion. The result of the research shows that a wealth of information can be unlocked from the radar gait signature, which may be useful in security and biometric applications.


Al/Ni-ZrO2 gradient thermal barrier coatings are made on aluminum substrate using plasma spraying method and one direction thermal shock properties of the coatings are studied in this paper. The results show that pores in coatings link to form cracks vertical to coating surface. They go through the whole ZrO2 coating once vertical cracks form. When thermal shock cycles increase, horizontal cracks that result in coatings failure forms in the coatings and interface. And vertical cracks delay appearance of horizontal cracks and enhance thermal shock property of coatings. Failure mechanisms of coating thermal shock are discussed using experiments and finite element method.


E-waste is a generic term encompassing various forms of waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEE) that are old, end-of-life electronic appliances and have ceased to be of any value to their owners. Among the various categories, e-waste is considered to be most advanced and fastest growing type of solid waste streams in the urban environment worldwide. In general, e-waste comprises of all old, end-of-life appliances like computers, laptops, audio and video products, refrigerators, freezers, mobiles phones, etc. along with their peripherals. The sources of e-waste are relatively expensive and essentially durable products used for data processing, telecommunications, or entertainment in private households and businesses. It is known that e-waste contains over thousand different substances. Heavy metals form a significant part of inorganic fraction of e-waste accounting for 20-50%. These include hazardous metallic elements like lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, arsenic, selenium and precious metals like silver, gold, copper and platinum. Since these elements are non-renewable in nature there recovery from e-waste stream is the key. This paper, based on previous studies carried out by authors; make an effort to propose an innovative strategic model for the recovery of valuable metal for the management of e-waste by employing combined technological strategies viz. chemical and biological. Chemical technology involves the leaching of silver from electronic scrap using toxic chemical like cyanide. The complex silver-cyanide form is then subjected to biological technology using passive low-cost material. The strategy proposed by the authors will help to strengthen supply chain elements for efficient management of e-waste.


Morphological identification of spiral nematodes of the genus Helicotylenchus is a difficult task because most characters used for their diagnosis vary within species. In this paper we provide morphological and molecular characterisations of several spiral nematodes, H. broadbalkiensis, H. digonicus, H. dihystera, H. microlobus, H. paxilli and H. pseudorobustus, collected in different geographical areas of USA, Switzerland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, UK, South Korea and Russia. We suggest that H. microlobus and H. pseudorobustus are valid species separated from each other morphologically and molecularly. Seven species with distinct molecular characteristics are also distinguished, but are not ascribed morphologically to any specific taxon because of the low number of specimens available. Phylogenetic relationships of H. pseudorobustus with other Helicotylenchus species are given as inferred from the analyses of 154 sequences of the D2-D3 of 28S rRNA gene and 37 sequences of ITS rRNA gene.


The population of short DNA molecules (less than 10(3) nucleotides) in 3T3 cells has been studied using in vivo and in vitro pulse labeling techniques and in vitro end-labeling. There is a large number of molecules of less than 100 nucleotides present in equal numbers in both Go and S phase cells. In S phase cells, most of these molecules are not replicating intermediates because they do not become density-labeled after a moderate period of substitution of BrdUMP, although they are detected by end-labeling in vitro. This population includes the nascent Okazaki pieces that can be labeled in a short pulse with [3H]dThd or [3H]dTTP, however, these represent less than 10% of the total population. Alkaline hydrolysis of the molecules that had been end-labeled with 32P using [gamma32P]ATP and polynucleotide kinase did not reveal significant release of [32P] 2'(3'), 5' ribonucleoside diphosphates.


Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) often metastasise to the cervical lymph nodes. It is known for HNSCC as well as other cancers that progression from normal tissue to primary tumour and finally to metastatic tumour is characterised by an accumulation of genetic mutations. DNA methylation, an epigenetic modification, can result in loss of gene function in cancer, similar to genetic mutations such as deletions and point mutations. We have investigated the DNA methylation phenotypes of both primary HNSCC and metastatic tumours from 13 patients using restriction landmark genomic scanning (RLGS). With this technique, we were able to assess the methylation status of an average of nearly 1300 CpG islands for each tumour. We observed that the number of CpG islands hypermethylated in metastatic tumours is significantly greater than what is found in the primary tumours overall, but not in every patient. Interestingly, the data also clearly show that many loci methylated in a patient's primary tumour are no longer methylated in the metastatic tumour of the same patient. Thus, even though metastatic HNSCC methylate a greater proportion of CpG islands than do the primary tumours, they do so at different subsets of loci. These data show an unanticipated variability in the methylation state of loci in primary and metastatic HNSCCs within the same patient. We discuss two possible explanations for how different epigenetic events might arise between the primary tumour and the metastatic tumour of a person.


The radioactive releases from the Chernobyl accident reached Syria on 7 May 1986. Levels of radioactive contamination in milk, soil, grass, etc, were measured using gamma spectrometry. Population dose by a number of routes was calculated. Projected doses were below the emergency action levels.


The rich mineral wealth of the African continent has been known for centuries with gold, copper and iron mining and metallurgy having been developed in Egypt in the second and third Millenia BCE. The continent now boasts significant resources of every important mineral commodity known to mankind and deposits are still being discovered as exploration continues unabated. The continent is one of the world's last frontiers of untapped minerals and many exploration and mining opportunities still exist.

The 35th International Geological Congress (35 IGC), which was held in Cape Town from 27th August to 4th September 2016, provided an ideal opportunity to showcase Africa's mineral wealth and mineral exploration opportunities for the benefit of the 4000 delegates who attended the event. As a legacy project of the 35th IGC and a contribution to the "Resourcing of Future Generations" initiative of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), a special issue of Episodes , the official journal of the IUGS, was produced. This volume (39-2) entitled, The Great Mineral Fields …


We have created synthetic neutral hydrogen (H i) Galactic Plane Survey data cubes covering 90° ≤ l ≥ 180°, using a model spiral galaxy from smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations and the radiative transfer code TORUS. The density, temperature and other physical parameters are fed from the SPH simulation into TORUS, where the H I emissivity and opacity are calculated before the 21-cm line emission profile is determined. Our main focus is the observation of outer Galaxy 'Perseus arm' H I, with a view to tracing atomic gas as it encounters shock motions as it enters a spiral arm interface, an early step in the formation of molecular clouds. The observation of H I self-absorption features at these shock sites (in both real observations and our synthetic data) allows us to investigate further the connection between cold atomic gas and the onset of molecular cloud formation.


An inquiry on the diffusion of the carriers of faecal pathogen staphylococco between the alimentarist people was performed in the province of Milan during 1966-72. Among 29804 persons examined, 1374 carriers of staphylococci were detected with a frequency of the 4.61 per cent. The strains of isolated staphylococci were with the test of the mannite, coagulase and hemolysins alpha and beta classified as 170 pathogens (12.37 per cent), 511 partially pathogens (37.19 per cent) and 693 non pathogens (50.44 per cent). The strains were sensibles to Rifamycin, Nalidixic Acid, Gentamycin, Kanamycin, and much resistent to the Sulfametoxazin and Ampicyllin.


BACKGROUND
Fasting and other catabolic states are characterized by reductions in the rate of protein synthesis. Most studies have investigated tissues such as skeletal muscle or liver, but impairments in the biochemistry of cardiovascular tissues also contribute to enhanced morbidity. The objectives of the present study were (1) to determine the response of protein synthesis in the heart and lung of young rats to overnight fasting; and (2) to determine whether protein synthesis could be ameliorated or modulated by refeeding or provision of enteral or parenteral nutrition.

METHODS
Fractional rates of protein synthesis (ie, the percentage of tissue protein renewed each day, ks) were measured in vivo in the ventricular muscle and lungs of young male Wistar rats (body weight, 100 to 130 g) with a "flooding" dose of L-[4(3)H]phenylalanine. Rats were fed ad libitum or fasted overnight. Fasted rats were subjected to various treatments.

RESULTS
When nutrient supply in fasted rats recommenced by refeeding for 1 hour, there were small but significant increases in the rates of ventricular protein synthesis, although the infusion of amino acids and glucose for 1 hour had no significant effect. Increases in ventricular ks were also obtained when amino acids were infused for 6 hours. Infusion of glucose alone for 6 hours did not cause a significant increase in ventricular ks. The effect of infusing a mixture of glucose plus amino acids for 6 hours was similar to the effects of amino acids alone. In all instances, ventricular ks in rats infused with amino acid for 6 hours did not attain rates observed in fed rats. ks was reduced in the lung after overnight fasting but was unresponsive to refeeding or to acute or chronic provision of amino acids and glucose by either IV or oral routes. Measurements also suggested that changes in neither insulin nor glucagon per se were responsible for the amino acid-induced increases in heart protein synthesis. However, acute treatment of rats with anti-insulin serum reduced rates of ventricular ks below values observed in fed rats. Anti-insulin serum also increased lung ks.

CONCLUSIONS
It was concluded that rates of heart protein synthesis could be increased by the chronic provision (ie, 6 hours) of nutrients by oral or IV routes. In contrast, the lung was insensitive to these treatments. The observations have important implications for clinical situations, which are characterized by diminished cardiopulmonary protein synthesis.


Virtual or digital currency or popularly known as Cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, is pressurizing central banks to manage the looming threat of redundancy as cryptocurrency is seen to slowly overshadow fiat currency in a world of infinite Fintech possibilities. It is slowly descending on regulators to make a change in the way they conceptualise money and what money can be. Traditionally we have known money to serve as a medium of financial exchange, legal tender for repayment of debt, standard of value, unit of accounting measure and a means to save or store purchasing power. Unlike fiat money, a cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure the transactions and control creation of additional units of the currency. It uses blockchain technology to make electronic payment possible between two people directly, without going through a third party (like a bank) or expensive intermediaries and cutting out the middlemen. Cryptocurrency like Bitcoins are produced through a virtual "mining" process and stored in a virtual wallet and designed to have scarcity value to make it more valuable than dollar minted in unlimited supply. The interest in cryptocurrency is further intensified by the growing distrust in fiat money which is based on a lending/debt concept, whereas cryptocurrency is asset based. This study will explore the possibilities of adopting  cryptocurrency in Malaysia and mainstreaming it.It will critically examine the claim that cryptocurrencies have more "intrinsic value" than government issued money (fiat currency) and whether there is a real or perceived threat to central banks' monetary and exchange rate policy. To protect consumers, the concerns/issues on legality of cryptocurrency will be addressed whilst highlighting the likely consequences of an unregulated global economy,where cryptocurrency is used as an alternative currency. Recommendations are made in this study for a regulation of cryptocurrency to prevent webcrimes, tax evasion, fraud, online black markets and money laundering. This research will also explore the possibility of making cryptocurrency a Shariah-compliant digital currency. It should also be made a study in Islamic finance on whether it can be backed by gold.


This report evaluates the U.S. and world wheat markets for the 2007-2017 period using the Global Wheat Policy Simulation Model. This analysis is based on a series of assumptions about general economic conditions, agricultural policies, weather conditions, and technological change. Both the U.S. and world wheat economies are predicted to remain strong for the next ten years. World demand for both common and durum wheat are expected to remain strong. The price levels in 2007, due to high corn demand in the ethanol industry, should be maintained since increases in production are limited due to land constraints in most countries. World trade volumes of both classes of wheat are expected to expand, but trade volume of durum wheat may grow faster than that of common wheat.


The author examines the materialization of geographical knowledges in relation to the ongoing neoliberalization of urban space where the latter is based on processes of compulsory land purchase. The specific context for the study is two recently planned commercial redevelopments for the south London borough of Croydon in the United Kingdom, and the arguments mustered in support of these proposals. The author identifies and discusses three principal sets of geographical knowledges, which he examines under the headings symbolic, biopolitical, and scalar. In each case, he shows that the knowledges have strong modernist overtones. The paper seeks both to understand and contextualize these historical connections, and to consider the contemporary political work performed by the knowledges in question.


ChiIV3, a chitinase of pepper (Capsicum annuum),stimulates cell death in pepper plants. However, there is scarce of reports on its role in resistance against bacterial wilt disease, such as that caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, and their transcriptional regulation. In this study, the silencing of ChiIV3 in pepper plants significantly reduced the resistance to R. solanacearum. The transcript of ChiIV3 was induced by R. solanacearum inoculation (RSI) as well as exogenous application of methyl jasmonate and abscisic acid. The bioinformatics analysis revealed that the ChiIV3 promoter is consist of multiple stress-related cis-elements, including six W-boxes and one MYB1AT. With the 5' deletion assay in the ChiIV3 promoter, the W4-box located from -640 to -635 bp was identified as the cis-element that is required for the response to RSI. In addition, the W4-box element was shown to be essential for the binding of the ChiIV3 promoter by the WRKY40 transcription factor, which is known to positively regulate the defense response to R. solanacearum. Site-directed mutagenesis in the W4-box sequence impaired the binding of WRKY40 to the ChiIV3 promoter. Subsequently, the transcription of ChiIV3 decreased in WRKY40-silenced pepper plants. These results demonstrated that the expression of the defense gene ChiIV3 is controlled through multiple modes of regulation, and WRKY40 directly binds to the W4-box element of the ChiIV3 promoter region for its transcriptional regulation.


The current research intended to employ a facile and economical process, which is also ecofriendly to transform camel waste bones into novel heterostructure for cleansing of diverse waste waters. The bones of camel were utilized for preparation of hydroxyapatite by hydrothermal method. The prepared hydroxyapatite was applied to the synthesis of cerium oxide-hydroxyapatite coated with natural polymer chitosan (CS-HAP-CeO2) heterostructure. Being abundant natural polymer polysaccharide, chitosan possesses exceptional assets such as accessibility, economic price, hydrophilicity, biocompatibility as well as biodegradability, therefore style it as an outstanding adsorbent for removing colorant and other waste molecules form water. This heterostructure was characterized by various physicochemical processes such as XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM, and FT-IR. The CS-HAP-CeO2 was screened for adsorption of various industrially important dyes, viz., Brilliant blue (BB), Congo red (CR), Crystal violet (CV), Methylene blue (MB), Methyl orange (MO), and Rhodamine B (RB) which are collective pollutants of industrial waste waters. The CS-HAP-CeO2 demonstrated exceptional adsorption against CR dye. The adsorption/or removal efficiency ranges are BB (11.22%), CR (96%), CV (28.22%), MB (47.74%), MO (2.43%), and RB (58.89%) dyes. Moreover, this heterostructure showed excellent bacteriostatic potential for E. coli, that is liable for serious waterborne diseases. Interestingly, this work revealed that the incorporation of cerium oxide and chitosan into hydroxyapatite substantially strengthened antimicrobial and adsorption capabilities than those observed in virgin hydroxyapatite. Herein, we recycled the unwanted camel bones into a novel heterostructure, which assists to reduce water pollution, mainly caused by the dye industries.


1 Abstract: The paper examines capital budgeting process and techniques of risk analysis in the process of selecting optimal project. Corporate manager in process of capital budgeting uses numerous techniques some of them are based on intuition and experience of manager, and some of them are analytic based on sensitive, scenario, decision tree and Monte Carlo method. All methods are used to determinate and to predict risk influence on the projects. Article deals with analytical techniques and real problems that can arise in capital budgeting process. Trough case study in article we analyzed risks that may emerge from different techniques. Conclusion that emerges from analyzing different methods of risk techniques is that only with right combination of these techniques corporate manager could decide correctly to choose optimal capital project.


The success of machine learning on a given task dependson, among other things, which learning algorithm is selected and its associated hyperparameters. Selecting an appropriate learning algorithm and setting its hyperparameters for a given data set can be a challenging task, especially for users who are not experts in machine learning. Previous work has examined using meta-features to predict which learning algorithm and hyperparameters should be used. However, choosing a set of meta-features that are predictive of algorithm performance is difficult. Here, we propose to apply collaborative filtering techniques to learning algorithm and hyperparameter selection, and find that doing so avoids determining which meta-features to use and outperforms traditional meta-learning approaches in many cases.


Abstract This article reported two cases of brucellosis in children on the waiting list for a cardiac transplant who have been referred with the diagnosis of Fever of Unknown Origin. The serology was positive and patients were treated with cardiac transplantation in the 6th week. They had no recurrence or rejection. Therefore, brucellosis should be considered in patients on the waiting list for cardiac transplants.


Giorgio Levi Della Vida (1886-1967) was not only an eminent Islamologist, he was also a man with solid roots in his own time. He taught in Naples and Rome, then for the ten years 1939-1948 at the University of Pennsylvania. He was one of the few university teachers who, when the oath of loyalty to the Italian fascist regime was introduced in October 1931, opted not to accept that act of submission. His memoirs, Fantasmi ritrovati, were published in 1966; the book, now out of print, conjures up a tableau vivant of half a century of intellectual encounters in Italy and Europe between the wars. Among the portraits he paints there is the astounding story of those crucial days in June 1924 when the fascist government became a full-blown regime. This article presents extended extracts from that story.


The paper deals with the current tactics for managing epilepsy during pregnancy. Based on the data available in the literature and their extensive experience, the authors have developed and successfully introduced an observation scheme for pregnant women with epilepsy, stated contraindications for pregnancy, and determined the volume of clinical, laboratory, and instrumental studies, as well as observation frequency and the composition of specialists. Emphasis is placed on practical issues.


In order to investigate rice stem proteome in response to heat stress, rice plants were subjected to heat treatment at 42℃, and total soluble proteins were extracted from stem tissues, and were fractionated with 15% PEG (poly ethylene glycol) and separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE). After staining of 2-DE gels, 46 of differentially expressed proteins were extracted, digested by trypsin, and subjected to matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis. Proteins were identified through database search by using peptide mass fingerprints. Among them, 10 proteins were successfully identified. Seven proteins were up- and 3 proteins were down-regulated, respectively. These proteins are involved in energy and metabolism, redox homeostasis, and mitochondrial small heat shock proteins. The identification of some novel proteins in the heat stress response provides new insights that can lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of heat-sensitivity in plants, and also useful to molecular breeding of thermotolerant forage crops.


Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between authentic leadership (AL), work engagement (WE), and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) among United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals working in the petroleum sector. This study further intends to examine the mediating effect of psychological empowerment (PE) on above mentioned relationship. Design/methodology/approach - – Quantitative method involving self-reported questionnaire was used in this study. Data were collected from 189 UAE national employees from one of the major petroleum companies in the UAE. An extensive online questionnaire consisting of 70 questions was designed in Version 2.05+ of LimeSurvey, an open source-based survey tool. Structural equation modeling using Lisrel was deployed to examine the relationship between AL, PE, WE, and OCB. Findings - – The results revealed that AL significantly increases WE and OCB. Results also indicated that PE increases the strength of relationship between AL with WE and OCB while acting as a mediator. Practical implications - – The research results suggested that leaders and discussion makers in the petroleum sector in UAE should encourage their managers to adopt a more AL style. Given that AL is strongly related to WE, PE, and OCB, AL training programs is consequently important in building employees that would be more empowered and engaged. Originality/value - – This study contributes to organizational behavior and industrial psychology literature. The study is unique in respect to the research model that was developed and validated. It's one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the direct relationship among AL, PE, WE, and OCB in Middle-East context. This study was conducted in UAE, where AL concept has been rarely investigated and finding from this study may help in filling up the gap in knowledge.


Purpose of reviewThis review focuses on the evolution of protease inhibitor resistance and replication capacity in the presence and absence of protease inhibitor pressure. Recent findingsClassically, HIV escapes through mutations in the protease itself causing a decrease in affinity to the inhibitor, leading to resistance. These changes also affect the binding of the enzyme to the natural substrate, and as a consequence cause a decrease in replication capacity of the virus. Continuous replication of these viruses may result in the acquisition of compensatory changes, which will fixate the drug-resistant variant in the viral population. Furthermore, novel treatment strategies have been developed to combat the development of classic protease inhibitor resistance. Using these strategies, the development of resistance in the viral protease is blocked because single or double mutations do not confer significant resistance. Alternative protease inhibitor resistance pathways are described, which enable the virus to escape these novel strategies. SummarySuboptimal protease inhibitor pressure clearly results in the selection of mutations conferring resistance and in the acquisition of mutations compensating the initial reduction in viral replicative capacity. The major implications of the selection of these compensatory changes on evolution in the absence of protease inhibitor pressure are discussed.


This study aims to know the effect of a decrease in the 120 kV, 100 kV and 80 kV the estimated value of DLP (Dose Length Product) and image quality in CT 16 slice, 64 slice and 128 slice by applying the same parameter values on several factors eksposi (mA), pitch, beam width and rotation time.
The method used in this research is a comparative descriptive method with quantitative approach, using 3 kV different variations on CT Scan 16, 64 and 128 slice and produce nine samples. With media research is a head phantom. Positioning the head phantom on the examining table and set center point like a CT scan of the head. Next, fill the experimental data, each experiment 1, 2, and 3. Then change the 3 kV different variations and fills the same parameter values on each trial. After the scanning process.
As a proof based on the calculation results can be seen that the "Sig" is smaller than the error rate (α) = 0.05 then it can be concluded that refused so with a confidence level of 95% can be said that kV significant effect on DLP on CT Scan 16, 64 and 128 slice. While the image quality assessment questionnaires to PPDS Radiology can be concluded that the results of the assessment questionnaires in terms of resolution and the anatomical structure of the bones clearly with the largest average are at 120 kV with the criteria of excellent results and vice versa average yield was lowest for the 80 kV with poor results as well.
From the results of this research can be concluded that the decline kV have an impact on the estimated value of DLP. So, the smaller kV is given, then the estimated value of DLP is getting smaller. And the greater the value of kV is given, then the greater the estimated value of DLP.
Keyword: kV, mA, pitch, beam width, rotation time, DLP, Slice


A practical bioassay for the acid-ethanol soluble non-suppressible insulin-like activity (NSILA-S) of individual serum samples has been developed utilizing the incorporation of 14C-glucose into the lipid faction of isolated adipocytes. NSILA-S activity was correlated with somatotropin status. Thus, the mean potencies (+/-SD) relative to an extract of pooled normal human serum were: normal samples 1.11 +/- 0.14, acromegalic 2.91 +/- 0.72, and somatotropin deficient 0.13 +/- 0.06. This variation in NSILA-S was not due to variability in extraction recoveries. The within assay precision was 9% (coefficient of variation) and the between assay 23%. This method allows the simultaneous extraction and processing of relatively large numbers of samples, and compares favorably with other more complex methods. Because of the evidence that NSILA-S may be related to the somatomedins, the present method should provide a simpler and more reliable alternative to the cartilage bioassays used to measure somatomedin activity.


In writing this book, Palda intended to supplement the extensive marketing literature with a text outlining areas of economic theory and econometric methods relevant to marketing problems. Also, he wanted to draw on these techniques to highlight and suggest new approaches to questions currently occupying marketing specialists. This objective is admirable, although the book is not always successful in achieving it. Chapters 1 through 5 and Chapter 8 deal with basic microeconomic theory of the firm, at a level that roughly corresponds to an introductory undergraduate theory course. This part of the book includes chapters on the firm's production and investment decisions, demand theory and measurement, costs, and some aspects of imperfect competition. Examples given have a marketing "flavor," and the marginal analysis treated in this part of the book is later applied to more conventional marketing topics: nevertheless, this section on microeconomics is probably better treated in many introductory economics texts. Chapters 6, 7, and 9, dealing respectively with product, pricing, and advertising policies, contain material of a specifically marketing nature. But "marketing" is never defined, leaving the layman with the impression that perhaps production theory and the theory of imperfect competition are part of marketing. The chapter on advertising decisions is probably the best in the book. The last three chapters deal with multinational marketing, feedback and control systems in the marketing department, and the welfare implications of marketing decisions. These topics are of peripheral interest and could have been excluded. A number of minor textual criticisms can be made. For example, there is circularity in the definition of the demand function (p. 42), poor notation (p. 74), and poor statistical properties of estimates proposed for the model (pp. 81-3). The most serious criticism of the book in my opinion is a sin of omission. It seems paradoxical that in view of the emphasis Palda rightly puts on measurability of the concepts introduced, he gives little attention to estimation problems from a statistical viewpoint. Econometric work introduced is simple almost to the point of naivety. It is hoped that the author


Thermal piles are piled foundations that can be used both to extract heat at shallow depth from the ground and to transfer load from the structure to the ground. Despite an increased number of applications of thermal piles in recent years, knowledge of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of thermal piles is still limited. The literature reveals that additional thermal loading results in considerable induced axial load and stress along the pile, that can lead to a reduction in safety factor down to 1. Also, there are inconsistencies in the literature regarding the thermo-elastic/plastic, reversible/irreversible response of thermal piles and also on the effects of cyclic thermal loading on the side shear friction at the soil–pile interface. Moreover, the framework proposed in the Thermal Pile Standard (Ground Source Heat Pump Association, 2012) has not been tested for various soils conditions. In this study, the effect of thermo-mechanical loading on the mechanical performance of thermal piles and the soil–pile interface is investigated. A 1g laboratory model was developed using a stainless steel model pile embedded in medium-dense, dry sand. Strain and temperature along the pile were monitored using multiplexed fibre Bragg grating sensors. A 2D finite difference heat transfer model was developed in Matlab, predicting the temperature profiles within the soil. Findings from the numerical model were used to design the location of the temperature sensors in the soil. Laboratory tests were divided into five scenarios, involving both shaft resisting and shaft and base resisting piles. It was found that under thermo-mechanical loading, up to 68.4% of the maximum induced load was transferred to the pile toe for the shaft resisting pile, compared to virtually none under mechanical loading. It was further found that the level of restraint caused by medium-dense sand with a relative density of 57% was rather limited in the absence of surcharge load and the degree of freedom varied between 0.97 and 1.0. Moreover, it was found that the location of the null point shifts during each heating/cooling period. For a shaft and base resisting pile heated up to 50°C, the maximum induced thermal load was found to be 90% of the ultimate capacity of the pile. The maximum induced stress remained below the BS 8004:1986 (British Standards Institution, 1986) recommendations. Irreversible settlements were observed for both types of pile. The load threshold, where the limit to thermo-elastic behaviour was observed, was found to be up to 18% of the ultimate pile capacity, while this value was up to 31% in the case of shaft and base resisting pile. Despite an increase in the side friction during heating periods (up to 32% compared to the friction under ultimate state mechanical loading), the subsequent cooling periods seemed to reduce the friction level, and cyclic skin friction degradation and accumulation of pile settlement were observed in the heating and cooling cycles. The results also show deviations from the proposed framework for a model pile in sand mainly due to a variable friction angle at the soil–pile interface.


Naresi were the second largest paople in Naronian convent (Narona conventus). Their historical development can be tracked from the late Iron Age to the 3rd century AD. The process of this community's formation is related to the breakdown of Autariates ethnical complex, which makes them post-Autariat Illyrian people. It seems like Naresi populated areafrom the source of Neretva river in the North to Prenj mountain in the South. Nowadays, it would refer to the area of municipalities: Kalinovik, Konjic, Jablanica and some parts of Prozor-Rama and Nevesinje. Literally, their name could be interpreted as Neretljani. It needs to be emphasized that they belong to Pliny's Ilyrii proprie diciti, or Illyrians in the narrow sense. Naresi are one of the peoples that became a part of the Illyrian state which can be described as peoples alliance,although sources don't imply it. They are mentioned in the works of: Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus Maior), Appian of Alexandria ('Aππιανός 'Aλεξανδρεΰς) and Claudius Ptolemy (Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος). Although it's also not mentioned in thesources, there's a big probability that Naresi participated in Bato's revolt (AD 6–9). Their ethnic name appears on two epigraphic sacral monuments. Both monuments are dating from 2nd century AD when Illyrians ethnic awareness was not strong enough. In mentioned century started intensive romanisation of Naresi, which can be concluded based on detailedanalysis of epigraphic monuments from their registration area. Specifically, a large percentage of Aelius (41%) that exist on epigraphic monuments is a good enough proof for that conclusion. Domestic Illyrian names that were given by Naresi in the age of Roman Empire are: Boio, Laiscus, Dazas, Carvus, Iacus, Mandeta, Pines, Temus and Pinnius. In onomastics, Celticnames appear, but statements that Naresi are Celtic- Illyrian are unfounded. In need to be emphasized that Celtic material and onomastics are represented in a very poor percentage and mostly came to teritory of Naresi by trade or matrimonial relations.


Abstract.We report on an injection-seeded 9.5-W 82-MHz-repetition-rate picosecond optical parametric generator (OPG) based on a 55 mm long crystal of periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) with a quasi-phase-matching (QPM) grating period of 29.75 μm. The OPG is excited by a continuously diode pumped mode-locked picosecond Nd:YVO4 oscillator-amplifier system. The laser system generates 7 ps pulses with a repetition rate of 82.3 MHz and an average power of 24 W. Without injection-seeding the total average output power of the OPG is 8.9 W, which corresponds to an internal conversion efficiency of 50%. The wavelengths of the signal and idler waves were tuned in the range 1.57–1.64 μm and 3.03–3.3 μm, respectively, by changing the crystal temperature from 150 °C to 250 °C. Injection seeding of the OPG at 1.58 μm with 4 mW of single frequency continuous-wave radiation of a distributed-feedback (DFB) diode laser increases the OPG output to 9.5 W (53% conversion efficiency). The injection seeding increases the pulse duration and reduces the spectral bandwidth. When pumped by 10 W of 1.06 μm laser radiation, the duration of the signal pulses increased from 3.6 ps to 5.5 ps while the spectral bandwidth is reduced from 4.5 nm to 0.85 nm. Seeding thus improved the time-bandwidth product from 1.98 to a value of 0.56, much closer to the Fourier limit.


PURPOSE
Bladder cancer specific nuclear structural alterations have been identified. We examined the expression pattern of one of these proteins, BLCA-1, in tissue and urine samples from individuals with bladder cancer as well as in samples from normal controls.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
BLCA-1 sequence data were used to produce antibodies to this protein, which were used in immunoblot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

RESULTS
BLCA-1 was detectable in tissue from patients with bladder cancer but not in normal adjacent areas of the bladder or in normal donor bladder tissue. This protein was also detectable in the urine of patients with bladder cancer by immunoblot and immunoassay. Using a cutoff of 0.025 optical density units (absorbance value) BLCA-1 was detected in 20 of 25 urine samples from patients with bladder cancer but in only 6 of 46 normal, high risk, prostate or renal cancer samples tested, resulting in a test with 80% sensitivity and 87% specificity. Expression of this protein did not appear to correlate with tumor grade.

CONCLUSIONS
This research indicates that BLCA-1 is a urine based marker of bladder cancer which may be useful for the detection of this disease.


Background. Keep Well, an anticipatory care programme aimed at reducing health inequalities in Scotland, commenced in 2006. There is currently little evidence exploring how frontline staff respond to the delivery of anticipatory care. Aim. To understand how staff view changes in practice resulting from the implementation of Keep Well. Methods. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample of 12 Keep Well staff. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Results. Keep Well was viewed positively, especially in terms of increased knowledge and skills for staff and the benefits of a holistic health check to patients. Staff believed that Keep Well has improved their practice beyond the project. Concerns were raised, relating to potential inconveniences for patients, staff turnover, increased workload and procedures. There was a view that anticipatory care should continue to be delivered to deprived communities, provided that there are adequate resources, such as staff and funding, to do so. Conclusion. Keep Well staff believe that the project should continue to be offered as a 40-minute holistic health check targeted at patients in deprived areas.


Background Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is a fusion technique with reliable and rapid fusion results. The traditional technique describes the use of two cages filled with bone graft and inserted in a straight-ahead direction within the prepared disc space. Bone graft used is usually harvested from the posterior iliac crest. This study evaluates the use of a single cage inserted diagonally through unilateral discectomy and filled with bone fragments obtained from the local decompression procedure. Patients and methods Fourteen patients underwent pedicle screw-rod supplemented PLIF and spinal canal decompression for symptomatic spinal canal stenosis, instability, or spondylolisthesis refractive to conservative treatment. PLIF was performed using a single PEEK cage filled with impacted graft from the locally excised bone. The PEEK cage was inserted into the prepared intervertebral disc space in an oblique (diagonal) manner to obtain near-symmetrical end-plate loading across the midline. Results The mean follow-up period was 15 months. The mean duration of surgery was 170 and 225 min for single-level and double-level fusions, respectively. The mean volume of blood loss was 850 and 1050 ml for single-level and double-level fusions, respectively. The mean duration for hospital stay was 5 days. Postoperative radiographs showed a mean increase in the disc height by 24.4% and a mean increase in lordosis angle by 4.3°. Pain and functional scores showed marked improvement. The mean Visual Analog Scale decreased from 7.8 to 2.2. The mean Oswestry Disability Index decreased from 82 to 28. The mean Economic Prolo Scale was 3.2 whereas the Functional Prolo Scale was 3.8. Interbody fusion was assessed using lateral radiographs. Loss of demarcation of the bony end-plates with consolidation of graft through the cage was the indication of successful fusion. At final follow-up, 10 patients showed solid fusion, three patients showed delayed fusion, and one patient showed loss of reduction of spondylolisthesis after a traumatic incident and required a revision surgery. Yet, patients with delayed union did show similar improvement to those with early union on the Visual Analog Scale and Oswestry Disability Index. Conclusion The use of single unilateral and obliquely inserted PEEK cage is an effective safe procedure for interbody fusion that gives comparable results to the traditional double-cage technique while shortens the operative time, lowers the blood volume loss, and also lowers the cost for implants used without endangering reliability of the technique.


Mangroves are amongst the most productive ecosystems (2500 mg C d-1) on Earth; are intertidal tropical ecosystems covering up to 60–75% of the coast, that strongly impact the global carbon budget. Coastal residents rely on mangroves to sustain their traditional cultures, food production, medicines, fishery, where as muddy/sandy sediments of mangroves provide home to a variety of invertebrates. In addition, mangroves protect coastal inhabitants from natural calamities like tsunami and cyclones. Organic matter (OM) from both autochthonous and allochthonous sources accumulates in estuarine systems. These organic compounds derive from coastal wetlands and/or salt marsh, mangrove forests, benthic vegetation, riverine sediments, and freshwater and marine phytoplankton. While mangrove ecosystems are a source of organic carbon and nutrients to adjacent coastal systems on one hand they are also a sedimentary sink for organic carbon. The aim of this study is to assess the utility of a combined approach using natural product biomarkers (hydrocarbons, sterols, and triterpenoids) to differentiate terrestrial and algal derived OM inputs to sediments of the Pichavaram mangrove estuarine complex in south-eastern India. The five sediment core samples were collected, extracted with various organic solvents, and the extracts analyzed on a GCMS. In general, the mangrove sediments extracts have higher concentration of different biomarkers compared to the extracts from the estuarine area. The higher abundance and unimodal distribution of the long-chain n-alkanes (mainly C25, C27, C29; and predominance of phytosterols (β-sitosterol and stigmasterol) and triterpenoids namely taraxerol, β-amyrin, germanicol, and lupeol indicate the presence of higher plant matter preserved in these sediments.


Methods of exceeding the detailed balance limit for a single junction solar cell have included down-converting high energy photons to produce two photons; and carrier multiplication, whereby high energy photons produce more than one electron-hole pair. Both of the methods obey the conservation of energy in similar ways, and effectively produce a higher current in the solar cell. Due to this similarity, it has been assumed that there is no thermodynamic difference between the two methods. Here, we compare the two methods using a generalized approach based on Kirchhoff's law of radiation and develop a new model for carrier multiplication. We demonstrate that there is an entropic penalty to be paid for attempting to accomplish all-in-one splitting in carrier multiplication systems, giving a small thermodynamic - and therefore efficiency - advantage to spectral splitting prior to reaching the solar cell. We show this analytically using a derivation of basic thermodynamic identities; numerically by solving for the maximal efficiency; and generally using heat-generation arguments. Our result modifies the existing literature on entropy generation limits in solar cells, and creates a new distinction among 3rd generation photovoltaic technologies.


This research aims to develop an efficient system for screening of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is the major cause of blindness. Severity of diabetic retinopathy is recognized by some features, such as blood vessel area, exudates, haemorrhages and microaneurysms. To grade the disease the screening system must efficiently detect these features. In this paper we are proposing a simple and fast method for detection of diabetic retinopathy. We do pre-processing of grey-scale image and find all labelled connected components (blobs) in an image regardless of whether it is haemorrhages, exudates, vessels, optic disc or anything else. Then we apply some constraints such as compactness, area of blob, intensity and contrast for screening of candidate connectedcomponent responsible for diabetic retinopathy. We obtain our final results by doing some post processing. The results are compared with ground truths. Performance is measured by finding the recall (sensitivity). We took 10 images of dimension 500 * 752. The mean recall is 90.03%.


Among the various means and techniques used in the rehabilitation process, the use of elastic bandage has gained prominence in the market and also reached the practice of the professional speech therapist, who has used these techniques to intervene more assertively in several areas of the same Speech Therapy. From this, the need arises to understand the methodological pathways that they see being developed with the use of the elastic bandage and to understand how Speech Therapy has accompanied this evolution. The objective of this study was to carry out a literature review at national and international level on the publications regarding the use of elastic bandage. To do so, a research was carried out on the Scielo platform using the terms "elastic bandage", "bandage" and "therapeutic taping" as the descriptors for the last 21 years. As a result, a total of 78 articles containing the bandage described in its summary were found on said platform. After the application of the relevance test I followed in the study the total of 38 articles, being excluded in the test of relevance II those that were not in full or were not exactly about the elastic bandage, but of other types of bandage. Therefore, the equivalent of 17 articles in the sample was added, with only 1 being produced by a team of speech therapists. It was concluded that there is a great need in scientific publications in all areas of knowledge about the use of elastic bandage, especially in Speech Therapy.