This article advances a theory of the 'relative' nature of victim status, demonstrating that whether an individual is identified as a victim is, in part, conditional on their relationships with others. Using the example of victim identification in cases of child criminal exploitation, this article demonstrates that youth justice practitioners' perceptions of young people's peer relationships and their relationships with their families had a significant impact on whether young people were identified as victims of child criminal exploitation. To explain this dynamic, this article then further explores the conceptual nature of victim status, focusing on its transient and finite qualities. In doing so, this article begins to address the relational gap in the study of processes of victim identification.


That microbial fermentation in the rumen can progress without added amino acids, peptides or proteins was elegantly demonstrated by Virtanen (1966) who maintained lactating dairy cows for prolonged periods on purified diets with urea as the only N source. However, there have also been numerous studies which have demonstrated benefits of feeding pre-formed amino acids, either as free amino acids, peptides or proteins, in terms of increased microbial growth and/or fibre breakdown in the rumen (Hume, 1970; Maeng & Baldwin, 1976; Maenget al. 1976; Cotta & Russell, 1982; Rooke & Armstrong, 1989; Merry et al. 1990; McAllan, 1991; Chikunyaet al. 1996). Pre-formed amino acids will become available to the rumen during the degradation of dietary protein and may also be added as dietary amino acid or peptide supplements, and a clear understanding of the optimum balance of NH 3 N to preformed amino acid N is required if rations are to be formulated for optimal rumen fermentation, and hence animal production. Together with the obvious economic significance of getting this balance correct, urea N is almost always cheaper than dietary protein N. Unbalanced N metabolism in the rumen may also have wider significance. Excess NH3 in the rumen is absorbed into the bloodstream and converted to urea in the liver, before at least a fraction being excreted in the urine. Excessive urea formation will have deleterious consequences; for the environment, in terms of N-scorching of pasture and N leaching into watercourses (Tamminga, 1996), and also potentially animal health, in particular fertility (Butler, 1998). With such concerns in mind, modern ruminant rationing programs have moved from an empirical approach to estimating animal production to a more mechanistic approach based on modelling of reactions in both the rumen and the animal's tissues. Prominent among such models are the various implementations based on the Cornell net carbohydrate and protein system (Russell et al. 1992; Pittet al. 1996). The Cornell net carbohydrate and protein system recognizes the importance of peptides and amino acids in rumen fermentation. However, the requirement for such N sources is assumed to be limited to bacteria fermenting non-structural carbohydrates, with bacteria that utilize structural carbohydrates assumed to utilize only NH3; in addition the requirement of the non-structuralcarbohydrate-fermenting bacteria for pre-formed amino acids is assumed to be fixed. Recently several authors have questioned these assumptions. It is now clear that in non-structural-carbohydrate-fermenting bacteria the proportion of cellular N derived from NH3 is not fixed and varies in accordance with the N source available (Atasoglu et al. 1998, 1999). Furthermore, pure culture studies have shown that structural-carbohydrate-fermenting bacteria can derive a significant amount of their cellular N from sources other than NH3, although the extent to which this proportion varies with different N sources is less clear (Ling & Armstead, 1995; Wallacet al. 1999). Indeed the division of rumen bacteria into those that ferment structural and nonstructural carbohydrates may be simplistic. In this issue, Carro & Miller (1999) report the responses of rumen bacteria to added amino acid sources with structural carbohydrate (neutral-detergent fibre) as the only available energy source and note that there are distinct differences in the responses of solid-attached and liquid-associated bacteria. Solids-attached bacteria failed to show any consistent response to added amino acids, peptides or protein while the yield of liquid-associated bacteria increased and the proportion of their cellular N derived from NH 3 decreased when pre-formed amino acids were added. This may reflect differences in the microbes present in the two pools even with relatively homogeneous substrates such as neutral-detergent fibre. It may also reflect differences in the fermentation of essentially the same bacteria on different energy sources. Cruz Soto et al. (1994) found that the growth of the cellulolytic bacteria Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus albus andR. flavefacienswas stimulated by amino acids and peptides when the bacteria were grown with cellobiose but not when they were grown on cellulose. They speculated that the stimulatory effect of amino acids was dependent on the energy source, with pre-formed amino acids being stimulatory only when the energy source in the diet was capable of sustaining high rates of microbial growth in the rumen. This hypothesis was apparently confirmed by Chikunya et al. (1996) who found that added pre-formed amino acids stimulated DM digestion and microbial protein synthesis in the rumen of sheep fed on a diet of readily degradable sugarbeet pulp but not when more recalcitrant hay was given. However, in agreement with the lack of an effect of pre-formed amino acids on solids-attached bacteria in the study of Carro & Miller (1999), the number of cellulolytic bacteria in the rumen did not increase (Chikunya et al. 1996). Fibre digestion in the rumen is carried out by a consortia of microbes, with non-cellulolytic organisms important in the removal of the products formed by the cellulolytic organisms, thus preventing feedback inhibition of cellulolysis (Cheng & McAllister, 1997). Possibly the stimulation in fibre breakdown when pre-formed amino acids are fed results from a stimulation of the non-cellulolytic partners of the microbial consortia associated with the fibre rather than a direct effect on the cellulolytic organismsper se. Thus, while a clear argument can be made for adequate provision of pre-formed amino acids to the rumen to maintain maximal growth and fibre breakdown, more work is required to define both the British Journal of Nutrition(1999),82, 81–82 81


poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels have interesting properties to be used in electronic, microelectronic, optoelectronic industry and medicine. A studio of dielectric properties permit to know their behavior, specially, their capacity how electric insulator and in this way to define their applications in the areas aforementioned. This study, presents the dielectric behavior of poly(vinyl) alcohol hydrogels obtained by freezing/thawing technique chacterized by means dielectric relaxation spectroscopy, DRS. Due to presence of water inside the hydrogel, the results show the different phenomenon that this water can gives rise to them. The dielectrical properties of the PVA hydrogels are completely depend on the percentage of water trapped within their structure.


This work highlighted the significance of the Al distribution in the CHA-type zeolite to the formation of active Cu species for oxidative conversion of CH4; isolated Al atoms in the...


Why do industrial firms require quick paybacks on energy efficiency measures? Real options pricing models can shed light on this question. The discounted cash flow (DCF) model that energy analysts typically use to assess energy efficiency projects fails to consider the dynamic setting in which firms operate. Requiring quick paybacks may be an ad hoc way for firms to consider the flexibility and timing considerations that are absent from the DCF approach. In other words, maybe requiring quick paybacks on energy efficiency projects is economically rational after all.


The QWERTY keyboard has a long history and remains persistent as the primary computer text entry interface. The requirement to transition fingers between multiple keys and its intended two handed use make this keyboard arrangement poorly suited to users with vision impairments, physical disabilities (such as amputations or motor control diseases) and those with high mobility requirements. The later case shows great potential with the emergence and growing popularity of tablet computers and the untethering of the digital workspace. This report examines the design problems for chorded keyboards as a potential solution to the above cases and the application of metaheuristic search algorithms to optimising their input.


This paper describes a non-contact optical technique for measuring the thermal contact conductance between thin, wafer-like solid samples. In this technique, one solid surface is heated with a modulated laser beam and the corresponding temperature modulation of the other solid surface across the interface is monitored using the reflectance of a probe laser beam. Since each sample can become slightly bent if its edge is compressed by the sample holder, the contact pressure between the samples in the range of 0.8∼10 MPa is calculated using elastic and plastic numerical analysis. The correlation between the contact pressure and the thermal contact conductance is rearranged to derive the function of the calculated contact pressure. Also, proper thickness of glass boards used to fix samples is derived through the reconsideration of sample loading unit.


Communication strategies and culture are fundamental components to HIV / AIDS prevention. It is important to explore how basic levels of sexual communication playa role in how well HIV prevention interventions are received and how effective individuals can communicate learned information to others. The purpose of this project was to conduct formative research with Xhosa speaking men and women to determine how language use is affected by an individual's level of politeness and need to protect one's face during sexual communication. Interviews were conducted with 17 men and 15 women in a township in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants were asked to free-list words that are used to des·cribe sexual anatomy and sexual acts. Using ethnographic research methods, terms were pile sorted to obtain consensus for denotative and connotative meanings and consensus for which words people felt free to use or not use. A politeness scale was also obtained through triadic comparisons. Participants were also presented with different scenarios in which they may have to discuss a sexual matter, such as condom use, to examine how language choice and communication changes depending on whom you address. Results showed that tern1S deemed to be the most polite were euphemisms, followed by English terms. Xhosa terms that directly name sexual anatomy were considered to be the most vulgar. To avoid disrespecting their culture, Xhosa speakers in Cape Town felt more comfortable to communicate about sex using euphemistic Xhosa language and English instead of direct Xhosa terminology.


For the problem that the position tracking accuracy of permanent magnet linear synchronous motor (PMLSM) servo system is easily affected by uncertain factors such as parameters change, load disturbance and friction and so on, an adaptive neural network nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode control (ANNNFTSMC) method is proposed. Firstly, the PMLSM dynamic mathematical model with uncertainty is established. Then, the nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode control (NFTSMC) can avoid the singularity problem and make the state of the system converge to the equilibrium point quickly, so as to improve the response speed of the system. Secondly, in order to minimize the influence of disturbance and dynamic uncertainty, the dynamic model of PMLSM servo system is estimated by RBF neural network, and the uncertain upper bound of PMLSM servo system is estimated in real time combined with adaptive control, which weakens the chattering phenomenon and enhances the robustness of the system. It is proved theoretically that the control scheme can make the system achieve fast convergence and good tracking. Finally, the system experiments show that the proposed control scheme has the advantages of high tracking accuracy, good robustness, fast response speed and small position error.


......................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................... v FIGURES ....................................................................................................... x TABLES ............................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Purpose Statement .................................................................................... 7 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................. 7 Research Questions .................................................................................. 10 Definitions of the Terms ............................................................................ 11 Researcher Method .................................................................................. 14 Researcher's Positionality ......................................................................... 14 Summary .................................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................ 17 Government Intervention ........................................................................... 20 Educational Efforts to Assist Foster Children ............................................ 23 Three Major Forms of Foster Care Agencies ............................................ 33


The objective of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ) adapted to Physical Education (PE) in a Spanish sample. The purpose is to determine whether it is a valid and reliable tool to be used in future research. It was administered to a total of 758 high school students from 12 to 18 years old, analyzing the structure of the instrument using confirmatory procedures. Analyses support the hypothesized theoretical model of a specific factor, the autonomy support. The Spanish version of the instrument for PE showed acceptable levels of internal consistency and temporal stability. Concurrent validity was explored by examining the relationship of the dimension studied with different types of self-determined motivation, using structural equation modeling.


The authors report the use of semiconductor septum electrochemical photovoltaic (SC-SEP) cell, modeled after green plant photosynthesis, in an application of solar energy conversion. A SC-SEP cell consists of a thin film of CdSe deposited on a metallic substrate (Ti, Ni, or stainless steel) as a bipolar septum electrode separating two aqueous solutions. It has been established that, upon irradiation of the septum electrode with visible light of the solar spectrum, photogenerated electron-hole pairs are separated under the influence of electric field. On the side of the septum electrode facing the light, the most powerful oxidant (holes) will oxidize species in the bathing solution, while the most powerful reducing agent (electrons) present on the dark side will carry out reduction of heavy metal ions or evolve hydrogen from aqueous solutions including seawater. Specifically, the authors report the use of photon energy generated electrons and holes for the cleavage water to hydrogen and/or valuable chemicals in SC-SEP cells.


Both Yasunari. Kawabata and KenzaburoOe were awarded Nobel Prize in Literature. Although influenced deeply by western culture, they showed without exception the inner spiritual insistence in Japanese tradition. However, owing to different ways of thinking, their writings display different artistic world. This paper compares the novel art of these two writing artists from three aspects -themes, formality skills and artistic styles, so as to make readers draw certain literary inspiration from this comparison.


Viruses are known to be agents of important diseases of Insecta and Acarina, and many vertebrate and plant viruses have arthropods as propagative vectors. There is fossil evidence of arthropod pathogens for some micro-organisms, but not for viruses. Iso- lated virions would be hard to detect but, in fossil material, it could be easier to find traces of virus infection, mainly virus-induced cellular structures (VICS), easily recognisable by electron microscopy, such as virions encapsulated in protein occlusion bodies, aggregates of membrane-bounded virus particles and crystalline arrays of numerous virus particles. The following main taxa of viruses that multiply in arthropods are discussed both for some of their evolutionary aspects and for the VICS they cause in arthropods: A. dsDNA Poxviridae, Asfarviridae, Baculoviridae, Iridoviridae, Polydnaviridae and Ascoviridae, infecting mainly Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera and Acarina; B. ssDNA Parvoviridae, infecting mainly Diptera and Lepidoptera; C. dsRNA Reoviridae and Bir- naviridae, infecting mainly Diptera, Hymenoptera and Acarina, and plant viruses also multiplying in Hemiptera; D. Amb.-ssRNA Bunyaviridae and Tenuivirus, that multiply in Diptera and Hemiptera (animal viruses) and in Thysanoptera and Hemiptera (plant vi- ruses); E. -ssRNA Rhabdoviridae, multiplying in Diptera and Acarina (vertebrate vi- ruses), and mainly in Hemiptera (plant viruses); F. +ssRNA Togaviridae, Nodaviridae, Tetraviridae, Flaviviridae and Picornaviridae, multiplying mainly in Lepidoptera, Hy- menoptera, Diptera and Acarina (animal viruses), and in Hemiptera the plant Marafivi- ruses; G. RNA-RT Metaviridae and Pseudoviridae, multiplying in Diptera and Lepidoptera. Fossil arthropods included in amber or similar material derived from plant resins, that had the ultrastructure preserved, would be the best material for viral palaeontological studies. Volcanic ash and carbon deposits could also give good preservation.


Elaboration of criteria for natural resorts areas in Ukraine provides an overview of foreign legislation in the resort area. We present regulations, which covered the research questions of natural sanatory resources and natural resorts areas, as well as defining the resort status. Defining criteria will differentiate natural resorts areas for pretended status in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On resorts".


We examine the complex band structures and effective medium descriptions of a periodic acoustic composite system. It is shown that if the system exhibits a negative velocity band, the assignment of the system as a phononic crystal or as a "double negative" metamaterial is unambiguous only in some cases. An example is given where the system properties can be tuned gradually and continuously from an acoustic metamaterial to a phononic crystal, and there is no sharp dividing line between these two regimes.


Combustion instabilities are unsteady phenomena that can affect premixed and diffusion flame combustors. They are spontaneously excited by a feedback loop between an oscillatory heat release and on ...


Motion Estimation (ME) is a major bottleneck of a Video encoding pipeline. This paper presents a low power near memory Sum of Absolute Difference (SAD) accelerator for ME. The accelerator is composed of 64 modular SAD Processing Elements (PEs) on a Reconfigurable fabric, offering maximal parallelism to support traditional and futuristic Rate-Distortion-Optimization (RDO) schemes consistent with HEVC/AV1/JEM. The accelerator offers up-to 55% speedup over State-of-art accelerators and a 7x speedup when compared to a 12 core Intel Xeon E5 processor. Our solution achieves 93 TOPS/Watt running at 500MHz frequency, capable of processing real-time 4K 30fps video. Synthesized in 22nm process, the accelerator occupies 0.08mm2 and consumes 5.46mW dynamic power.


While an annular intensely relativistic electron beam (IREB) is going through an equi-potential resonant cavity, because of the space-charge effect, static electric field is formed in the cavity, and annular static magnetic field is formed by the IREB itself at the same time. The strong electric field and magnetic field make the electron beam oscillate continuously, which is called self-modulation. Based on this mechanism, the structural design and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of a novel microwave oscillator are given. After optimization, 1.7GW microwave output power with a dominant frequency of 4.44GHz can be obtained while a 13.5kA, 1.29MeV electron beam is injected into a 4.5cm long resonant cavity. The efficiency of this oscillator is about 10%.


Prebiotics are dietary fiber components that cannot be digested by the human gastrointestinal tract but can be selectively fermented by bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, prebiotics provides health effects for humans. The specificity of prebiotics is determined by the bacteria that are specifically capable of fermenting the prebiotic substrate. The characteristics of prebiotic substrate need to be investigated in-vitro and in-vivo to determine the function and effectiveness of the substrate as a prebiotic. The prebiotic production process must be able to keep the prebiotic components stable. Raffinose is an oligosaccharide that has potential as a prebiotic. This article will discuss raffinose chemical structure, degrading enzymes, and health benefits as a prebiotic. Raffinose consists of 3 monomers, namely α-D-galactose, α-D-glucose, and α-D-fructose. Substrates containing raffinose-family oligosaccharides (RFOs) are the source of raffinose. Those substrates can be degraded to raffinose by the α-1,6-galactosidase. Raffinose can increase the growth of lactic acid bacteria, suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria, increase short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), reduce constipation, inhibit the formation of putrefactive compounds from protein, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.


Tungsten substituted mesoporous molecular sieves W-SBA-15 catalysts with different Si/W ratios were directly synthesized under hydrothermal conditions by using Na2WO4 as tungsten precursor and tetraethyl orthosilicate(TEOS)as silica precursor.The prepared W-SBA-15 catalysts were characterized by means of XRD,HRTEM,UV-Vis DRS,NH3-TPD and H2-TPR.The characterization data indicated that amorphous tetrahedral and octahedral tungsten species were mainly incorporated into the framework of SBA-15(Si/W mole ratio of 44),and further increase of the amounts of tungsten species led to the appearance of WO3 in the channels of W-SBA-15(Si/W mole ratio of 30 and 20).The metathesis catalytic performance of W-SBA-15 catalysts was better than that of the conventional WO3/SiO2 catalysts prepared by impregnation.Under the conditions of 300℃,3.0 MPa and 6.4 h-1,butene conversion was more than 50% with the propylene selectivity exceeding 96% during the 24 h continuous operation,using W-SBA-15 as the catalyst.The W-SBA-15 with the Si/W mole ratio of 44 exhibited the best dispersion of tungsten species inside the SBA-15 and the best catalytic performance of olefin metathesis among the W-SBA-15 catalysts.


Hidden Markov models (HMMs) are well known for their application in temporal pattern recognition. However, they have such problems that easy to converge to local optimal solutions and not fit well with sparsely connected time-series data. It is therefore imperative to have good methods to explore a more suitable choice, which can avoid the problems mentioned above as much as possible. We proposed a recurrent hidden Markov models (RHMM) and particle swarm optimisation (PSO) approach. Under this framework, convergence of local optimal solutions and fit with sparsely connected time-series data are solved by adjusting disturbed extremum. Furthermore, PSO is used to train the RHMM and determine the model parameters. Our approach has been applied to cursive handwriting recognition. The results demonstrate that the RHMM/PSO can provide meaningful insights for pattern recognition like fast lexicon-free recognition. It makes lexicon-free result alternatives extraction efficiently, word hypotheses evaluation quickl...


ABSTRACT - By combining molecular genetic techniques with a non-lethal sampling technique, it was possible to undertake a preliminary study of the population structure of Myotis punicus Felten, 1977 in the Maltese Islands. Twelve sites spread around the Maltese Islands were investigated and a total of 36 individuals found in four of these sites were sampled over a period of 6 months. Tissues for analysis were obtained by 4 mm biopsy punches and morphometric data (forearm length, ear length, tragus length, wing-span and weight) were collected. The comparison of average values for these measurements showed sexual dimorphism, with females being the larger sex. A recapture rate of 19% was achieved, and population size was estimated by Lincoln-Petersen technique to be ca. 200 individuals. Nei's Genetic Identity (I) showed values from 0.954 to 0.686, while Genetic Distance (D) values ranged from 0 to 0.047. The results obtained in this study suggest that the population on the Maltese Islands represents a single panmictic unit, even though the overall value of the Fixation Index, 0.272, indicates that breeding groups are relatively iso-lated, probably as a consequence of high roost fidelity.


Interstitial pulmonary edema is more common than is generally appreciated. Heretofore, it has been recognized almost always in association with chronic left ventricular failure or with mitral stenosis. Nevertheless, acute interstitial pulmonary edema does occur not infrequently in a variety of other clinical conditions. Such[See figure in the PDF file]patients may be asymptomatic or markedly dyspneic, but frequently do not manifest physical findings of pulmonary edema. Consequently, the diagnosis becomes a roentgenographic one. The roentgen picture may mimic interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. However, the presence of an interstitial pattern in an acutely dyspneic person or an interstitial pattern which develops or clears rapidly should strongly suggest the diagnosis of acute interstitial pulmonary edema. The presence of "A" lines should support a diagnosis of acute interstitial pulmonary edema, since they occur in very high incidence in this condition and much less frequently in interstitial processes of ot...


Germany's first and only solar tower power plant for experimental and demonstration purposes has been erected in the town of Julich, North-Rhine-Westphalia. The central receiver plant, which has been designed with an open-volumetric receiver, supplies the grid with a nominal power of 1.5 MWe. Through the open-volumetric receiver ambient air is drawn in and due to the concentration high temperatures from 600°C to 800°C can be achieved. These temperatures are in a range to fire a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) that produces steam in a conventional water-steam-cycle.
The presented work describes the development of a transient heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) in the simulation environment MATLAB/Simulink. The implemented simulation model has been validated by comparing the computed results with real performance data of the solar tower power plant Julich. The results show that the model can describe the transient behaviour in a exact way. Additionally, the preciseness of the model could be validated by a deviation less than 9%. The developed HRSG model is integrated in a simulation tool that models the whole power plant. With this simulation tool the annual electricity production of different plant configurations at various sites can be computed as well as optimised plant operations investigated and developed.


In this paper, we give several new refinements of generalized Aczél's inequality. Moreover, as applications, some new refinements of integral form of generalized Aczél-type inequality are given.


This presentation is an interim report on an investigation of the cognitive processes and use of language and content knowledge by test takers while completing the New TOEFL listening test tasks. We employ a three-pronged approach for data collection and analysis: verbal protocol analysis of participants' test -taking processes, screen capture of their online behavior, and analysis of their handwritten notes to investigate the following research questions: tasks. 12 and takers Analysis will on strategies knowledge and how notes process. Findings will provide support for interpreting test performance as evidence for language knowledge and communicative language use as defined in the test construct. The presentation will report on the results of the pilot study focusing on the research methodology. proficiency supports the linguistic threshold hypothesis: the linguistic threshold hypothesis claims that a certain minimum level of competence in L2 is required in order for the literacy knowledge acquired in L1 to transfer to L2. The latent interaction effect is tested. The findings support the presence of threshold level. The modeling of L2 writing performance will lead to a better understanding of the construct being measured in the ATWE. The findings will contribute to enriching our understanding of the multidimensional characteristics of L2 writing and provide pedagogical applications useful both for EFL writing instructors and EFL writing learners. on an exploratory case study of the effects of high-stakes statutory testing on primary English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners in the UK. The study involved interviews with EAL learners, teachers and parents, classroom observation, and analysis of samples of learners' work and test papers. suggest manifestations of both their congruence with guidance on the of EAL have for may of arise between the demand to complete the task successfully and the requirement to produce a piece of accurate language. For raters, the tension between assessment of content and of language is equally difficult to resolve. Research on the utility of feedback to raters in the form of performance reports has produced mixed findings (Lunt, Morton, & Wigglesworth, 1994; Wigglesworth, 1993) and has thus far been trialed only in oral assessment contexts. This paper reports on a study investigating raters' attitudes and responsiveness to feedback on their ratings of an analytically-scored writing task administered in the context of a large-scale university writing assessment program. After participating in an online refresher training program, 50 scripts were rated independently by eight raters. A multifaceted Rasch analysis (using FACETS) was used to generate individualized reports on each rater's pattern of bias with respect to particular categories of the rating scale as well as their overall consistency and relative severity in relation to others in the group. Reports were explicated at a group briefing session and raters were asked to attend to the feedback when scoring a further batch of 60 scripts. Qualitative data on rater attitudes to the feedback were also elicited via questionnaire. Results showed that most raters found the feedback useful and showed enhanced awareness of their rating behaviour. A comparison of ratings before and after feedback (again using Rasch analysis) revealed that many were able to modify their scoring, resulting in greater intra-group consistency and a reduced incidence of item bias. There was nevertheless variation in receptivity to feedback and questionnaire responses are used to suggest reasons for this. Gains in rater reliability moreover had the effect of reducing the test's discriminatory power suggesting that the costs of implementing this rather elaborate approach to training may outweigh the benefits in this instance. Further research is advocated, in particular on high stakes tests where reliability of scoring is at a premium. The compared operational raters. and and the implications for rater training and refinement of rating scale. An analytic approach to the rating of a speaking test assumes that raters can a valid assessment of of the takers' One range use. In applied research, the nature of oral vocabulary research until based on written texts. for studies of vocabulary use by learners in oral assessment contexts. study on of performances under operational by candidates in the IELTS which as The first phase of the analysis involved the calculation of a number of lexical statistics to measure lexical output, lexical variation, lexical sophistication the of key words topic. This quantitative approach, which is based on the counting of individual word forms, was complemented by a qualitative analysis of the transcripts to investigate the role of multiword formulaic expressions, particularly in distinguishing the performance of candidates at three distinct proficiency levels: Bands 8, 6 and The paper reports selected results of the analysis, which suggest that the lexical features in the speech of candidates at the different levels are not easy to separate. The implications of the findings for the training of raters and the definition of the rating scale for Lexical Resource will be discussed. 2000) for the Writing and Speaking subtests. The selection and qualifications of the panellists will be outlined, along with the training given to them. The paper will illustrate how such studies can assist policy makers in the setting of reasonable and defensible cut scores. using the findings of three surveys conducted with It the design the political progress years. The presentation concludes with an attempt to link these findings to broader issues in the assessment of for Specific Purposes. between proficiency and strategy use. The validity implications of these results and their links to previous research are discussed and recommendations are put forward for both EAP test design and test-taker preparation. This study examined rater biases in assessing pronunciation performance. A total of 60 Japanese EFL college students read aloud two different texts (a prose type reading and a dialog type reading) that were designed to diagnose learners' pronunciation problems. Their audiot aped performances were rated by three L1 English instructors and three L1 Japanese instructors. The assessment items consisted of 15 items that examined three aspects of the sound system of General American English (segmentals, suprasegmentals, and paralinguistic features). Segmental features included vowel, diphthong, consonant, consonant cluster, and aspiration. Suprasegmentals consisted of word stress, sentence stress, rhythm, intonation, and weak form. Paralinguistic features included loudness, rate/tempo, smoothness, energy, and clarity. The data were analyzed using Multifaceted Rasch Analysis. The results of the study were: (1) Raters showed unique significant bias interactions with person abilities, tasks, and items. These bias interactions indicated that individual raters had unique patterns in their ratings; they rated certain persons, tasks, or items leniently or harshly. (2) Significant differences in severity were found among the six raters, but they were not peculiar to the rater s' L1 backgrounds. (3) Rater -by-person bias interactions revealed that a higher percentage of significant biases was found for the persons with higher abilities. These rater-related biases suggest that employing multiple raters is important in pronunciation assessment because it helps to offset biases peculiar to specific raters. Furthermore, the findings of this study suggested that highly proficient L2 English speakers are as suitable as native speakers of English when assessing pronunciation ability. Advances in research on language learning have led to improved understanding passages were lengthy and the tasks required understanding of text meaning, typically at the paragraph and passage levels. Key strategies included the reading strategy of paraphrasing text meaning and the test-taking strategy of using paragraph meaning to select and discard options. A brief description of strategies used for each of the ten item types and a comparison of the three broad categories of item formats will be provided. Our findings would tend to lend validity to TOEFL's claims that this new test does in fact assess the comprehension of academic texts. Development of tests for students of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) and delivery of tests to such students are hampered because LCTL programs are small, scattered throughout the nation and under-resourced. Because of the dearth of appropriate tests, LCTL students often take the same proficiency tests repeatedly as they are learning a language. In addition, many students studying more difficult LCTLs may never reach very high levels of proficiency. If such students must take a long test with many items beyond their ability level, test affect can be negatively impacted. This poster describes the development and validation of web-delivered, listening and reading proficiency tests in Arabic and Russian. The tests are semi-adaptive, or adaptive not at the level of individual items but by sections (i.e., testlets). An examinee's performance on a placer test determines the level of the next testlet presented. Thus, an examinee can take the same language test several times without encountering the same items. Scores are reported as scale-scores, and equated to the ACTFL Proficiency scale. We use the software program Questionmark Perception for Web to develop, deliver and score the test. This program provides sufficient security for the test, and offers the scoring and multimedia capabilities needed. Although the poster will describe the entire test development process, including issues of test security, Web delivery, item development and adaptivity through the use of testlets, the focus will be on the logistic and statistical challenges of programming a


Тhe article examines the usage of English articles in the discourse of a popular microblogging service Twitter, with the aim to clarify how the functions of the articles are reflected in the discourse and if the usage deviates from grammatical norms. Articles are examined from the morphological and syntactic points of view. The number of tweets analyzed in the paper is ninety-two. The conclusion is that the articles the discourse of Twitter are used according to the standards of written communication.


There is a server problem in the goniometry system using amplitudes and phase,which SNR in comparing am- plitudes embranchment is great,so the nonlinear distortion is serious and the system depend on environment in high de- gree.Aim at this fact.this paper raises an arithmetic base on adaptive RLS.It can relieve ambiguity in the phase though adjusting power vectors.This arithmetic not only needn't know the environment's statistical characteristic.but also possesses real-time capability,which may apply to practice project.


In this study, an economic model was developed to evaluate the feasibility of installing small-scale, grid-connected PV systems. Net present value and internal rate of return methods were used for model evaluation with the guide of a simple payback period calculation. The study identified the range of the PV system's market price that renders the system feasible to install. The results were related to the subsidized as well as the unsubsidized electricity tariffs. The study also highlighted the importance of providing governmental financial support to promote renewable energy in the Kingdom of Bahrain. To capitalize on the PV installation benefits, its impact on the stakeholders - beyond the household - was also investigated. Advantages such as reducing natural gas consumption and related emissions, potential benefits to the Electricity and Water Authority, creating a new line of jobs in the local market, and raising awareness were discussed.


Sanda of Wushu is an event originated in China. The rules of Sanda evolved continuously with the development of Sanda itself. The evolution is adaptable not only to its characteristics of severe opposability and enjoyment, but also to the benefit of the popularization and improvement of the event so as to promote the modern Sanda exercises to develop gradually in depth.


The convey of the right of signature of works can be divided into three types: complete convey,incomplete convey and renunciative convey.Being a typical performance in the convey of the right of signature,the complete convey can be called an "ideal model" of the legal norms.In the convey of the right of signature,a voluntary principle should be observed while compulsory convey should be legally prohibited.The right of signature can be conveyed separately or with other rights.With non-gratuitous convey of the right of signature,the selling party should bear the responsibility for flaw warranty.


Thank you for reading a nietzschean defense of democracy an experiment in postmodern politics. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look numerous times for their favorite novels like this a nietzschean defense of democracy an experiment in postmodern politics, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some infectious bugs inside their desktop computer.


Laboratory batch and column studies were conducted to develop permeable reactive mixtures to remove phosphorus from the effluent of onsite wastewater disposal systems. Mixtures can be placed in situ, as horizontal or vertical reactive barriers in sediments receiving wastewater discharge, or can be used in single pass, self-contained treatment modules in alternative treatment systems. Reactive mixtures composed of silica sand, high calcium crushed limestone, and readily available metal oxides were tested to evaluate phosphorus attenuation. Iron/calcium oxides, produced from steel manufacturing, and fine-grained activated aluminum oxide outperformed other oxides tested during batch experiments. These materials removed greater than 99% of PO4 from a 10 mg/L PO4−P solution within 1 h of contact. Long-term attenuation capacities of the mixtures were assessed by continually loading bench-scale columns with a 3.3 mg/L PO4−P solution, at representative groundwater flow rates. A column containing 50 wt % silica sa...


Scanning Super-conducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) Microscopy, also known as SSM, is a current density imaging technique that has been used in failure analysis to localize package- and die-level shorts. New developments have extended this technology to localizing resistive opens, augmenting other non-destructive failure analysis tools like TDR and assisting destructive deprocessing by further pin pointing defect locations. A new method to isolate resistive opens with Scanning SQUID microscopy will be presented in this paper, and demonstrated on actual resistive open yield failures in both wire-bond and flip-chip devices.


Objective To explore a kind of accurate and sensitive method to detect intracellular cytokines, and to provide the method for research on relationship between profile of T lymphocytes and pathogenesis of some disorders. Methods In this report, blood was cultured in RPMI 1640 medium with a combination of PMA and ionomycin to reveal the cytokine synthetic potential of each cell, together with monensin to increase the sensitivity by retaining cytokines within the cell to detectable level, directly conjugated anti CD4/CD8 antibodies and anticytokines(IFNγ,IL 4) antibodies were used to label correspond antigens respectively,flow cytometry was employed to determine the expression of cytokines in CD4/CD8 T lymphocytes (namely,Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2) . Results Assessment of IFNγ and IL 4 production within the CD4/CD8 lymphocytes from 18 normal persons and 12 patients with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) showed that more CD4/CD8 lymphocytes from patients with PIH produced IFNγ, however,less CD4 + lymphocytes secreted IL 4 than that of the control group (P0.01). Conclusion This technique could be useful to determine whether cytokine assays are of value in the investigation of immune disorders. There is an abnormal profile of T lymphocytes from patients with PIH.


A method of manipulating sets of hidden Markov models (HMMs) by applying various kinds of parameter tying operations is described, the aim being to synthesize compact and robust context dependent models. The method is illustrated via an experiment to build a set of generalized triphone models for the TIMIT database in which triphones are constructed by joining together left and right dependent biphones. Although simple, the method results in good performance and avoids the need to train large numbers of triphones. The use of tying to increase model robustness is also investigated. Tying the center states within triphones of the same phoneme class and tying variances within states is beneficial, but larger-scale tying of variances leads to degraded performance.<<ETX>>


an identical amount of that or some other cereal in the same or another position. Spreading has many ramifications, and there is probably no definition that would adequately cover all phases of its operations. For example, in spreading corn and oats, many operators would contend that it is not proper to buy and sell an identical number of bushels, because of the difference in weight per bushel. The same reasoning would apply to the spreading of barley and wheat


Early diagnosis is critical for positive outcome of cancer treatments. In many cases, lives would be saved if the tumor could be detected at a very early stage. Nanoparticles have the property of passively targeting tumor sites due to their enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect. Thus they can play a critical role in improving the ability to find cancer in its earliest and most treatable stages. Furthermore magnetic resonance imaging is one of the most precise techniques for cancer screening since it can show 3D images of the tumors. For a better enhancement of the sensitivity of this method, MRI contrast agent (DOTA)Gd was attached to poly(propylene imine) dendrons of third generation and the obtained dendrons were used for modification of gold nanoparticles.


Political polarization and antipathy has grown greatly in the last few decades, causing more than simple political issues, having the ability to hurt regular peoples' livelihood. The best way to help remedy this issue is for all people, regardless of ideological stance, to see those with a differing stance as decent people with perhaps a different approach. Therefore, understanding what factors make people think a certain way is a must. A two-variable axis was developed for this paper to more objectively measure ideology and to limit false ideological moderation as much as possible. This study used a 3 survey system with 16 unique ideological questions based on common political issues. The study asked for demographic information like Age and Gender, as well as unique factors theism, GPA, and tolerance. Results corroborated those of polling studies, as well as showed that Theism has a strong grip on ethical issues, GPA has very little effect, and those that tolerated opposing ideas tended to have a more traditional ethical view.


High-grade gliomas remain clinically challenging and under current therapies the prognosis is generally dismal. Intratumoral heterogeneity, therapy resistance, and tumor recurrence likely caused by glioma stem cells (GSCs) still represent major challenges, which need to be addresses by novel, multimodal therapies. We attempted to combine rQnestin34.5, an oncolytic herpes simplex virus expressing its ICP34.5 virulence gene under the glioma-specific nestin promoter, with specific inhibition of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6). We have previously reported that pan-HDAC inhibition using valproic acid enhances rQnestin34.5's antitumor activity and our data obtained in established glioma cell lines indicate that sole inhibition of HDAC6 can at least in part be accounted for this effect. We now analyzed the influence of the specific HDAC6 inhibitor Tubacin on rQnestin34.5 replication in GSC lines originating from proneural, classic, and mesenchymal glioma subtypes. Time-lapse microscopy revealed that plaque formation and spread were accelerated within the first 48 hours after infection when cells were pre-treated with Tubacin, translating into significantly increased cytotoxicity in the respective time frame. Viral DNA replication was enhanced after combination treatment as increased viral copy numbers per cell were detected by qPCR. Furthermore, HDAC6 inhibition increased mRNA expression levels of immediate early and late genes. Importantly, the positive effect of Tubacin on rQnestin34.5 replication and spread in GSCs was critically dependent on drug pre-treatment regimens and very low infectious titers. We also noted that the benefit of rQnestin34.5 oncolysis from HDAC6 inhibition varied quantitatively between GSCs. While responsiveness was not determined by glioma subtype or HDAC6 expression levels, we are currently investigating whether the choice of the exact viral entry mechanism can be used as a predictive marker. Future studies will also aim at establishing a therapeutic regimen demonstrating the potential benefit of HDAC6 inhibition in addition to herpes simplex oncolysis in a GSC-derived orthotopic glioma model.


A commercial active carbon has been tested as an adsorbent for the removal of lead ions from aqueous solutions. Optimum conditions for maximum adsorption in terms of shaking time, lead ion concentration, temperature and concentration of different acids were established. The results obtained reveal that the adsorption of lead ions on active carbon is athermic (ΔH = 0) in nature and follows first-order kinetics. The first-order rate constant was evaluated as 0.049 min−1 and the intraparticle diffusion rate as 3.07 × 10−4 (g/g min1/2). The data also obey the Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm equations over the concentration range studied. The magnitude of the adsorption energy, 7.61 kJ/mol, calculated from the β-constant of the D-R equation lies in the energy range for physical adsorption which is attributed to weak bonding between the lead ions and the active carbon.


Background: Congenital anomalies, present at birth, can cause physical or mental disabilities and even be fatal. Globally, eight million children are born with such anomalies yearly, and 3.3 million do not survive past five. Among the survivors, 3.2 million may experience mental and/or physical disabilities. This prospective hospital study, conducted in 2021-2022 at a Northern Indian tertiary care hospital, centered on pregnant women beyond 10 weeks of gestation visiting the Antenatal OPD who underwent NT/NB scans. Patients with abnormal NT/NB scans or congenital malformations were included in the study, which aimed to determine the incidence of fetal congenital anomalies through pregnancy ultrasounds and investigate associated risk factors and fetal outcomes. The study found a 1.43% incidence of fetal congenital malformations. Among the patients, 22.8% underwent first-trimester medical termination of pregnancy, while 76% had abnormal Level 2 scans at 18-22 weeks. At birth, 1.14% of babies were found to have congenital malformations. Early detection of major anomalies


Fractional calculus is a generalization of the integration and differentiation to the fractional (non-integer) order. In this paper, for the first time, we devised a fractionalorder adaptive compensation (FO-AC) method for cogging effect minimization for permanent magnetic synchronous motors (PMSM) position and velocity servo system. Cogging effect is a major disadvantage of PMSM. In our FO-AC scheme, a new fractional order adaptive compensator for cogging effect is designed to guarantee the boundedness of all signals. Stability properties have been proven for the systems with the traditional integer order adaptive compensation method and the proposed fractional order adaptive compensation method, respectively. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the advantage of the proposed FO-AC method for cogging effect compensation over the conventional integer order scheme.


Abstract
The case study in this chapter describes the planning and implementation of a single service desk or "one desk" model, merging the circulation and reference desks at a large academic library. The transition to a single service desk model was proposed as a way to utilize library staff more efficiently and effectively. The project included a literature review, interviews with libraries that had recently moved to a one-desk model, and a recommendation that included a method as well as timeline for implementation. As a result of the recommendation, three committees were formed to lead the transition, each with representation from both the circulation and reference departments. One committee oversaw the physical implementation and assessment, while the second committee created training program for all staff teaching core competencies for both reference and circulation. The third committee recruited student peer research leaders as part of a pilot program for student assistants. Through the implementation process, the chairs of the three committees concluded that implementing a single service desk involved much more than just moving furniture and relocating equipment. Combining two departments with distinct organizational cultures was the key to making the transition successful. The details of the implementation can be used as a model for other libraries of any type contemplating a similar transition.


This study assessed the active effects of inter-planting Coffea arabica and Machilus odoratissima Nees, planted over seven years in small-scale farms in Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province, Vietnam; purpose to evaluate the effectiveness of inter-planting farm of Coffea arabica and Machilus odoratissima in the study site. The results show that the environmental conditions for growing and developing the coffee trees have been improved in the area of mix-planting Coffee and Machilus. The coffee productivity, as a result, has also been increased. In comparison with the living condition at the monoculture farms, wind speed was reduced to 1.67ms-1, soil moisture was increased by 5.1% and soil temperature was decreased by 3.60C at the inter-planting farms. The coffee productivity correspondingly increased by approximately 7.5%. In addition, the value of Machilus products contributed to economic efficiency and economically ensured the sustainability of coffee farms. It also shows that the harvesting Machilus products after seven years of planting contributed over 716.52 USD/ha to the farmer incomes. This could be considered as an economic support to the farmers to maintain the coffee plantation in hash weather conditions or in uncertain prices of productions.


" Business and human endeavors are systems : : : we tend to focus on snapshots of isolated parts of the system, and wonder why our deepest problems never seem to get solved.


Coal char samples of different porosity, non-porous, slightly porous, or highly porous, were used for gas-carbon reaction studies. The total particle reaction rate was found to be a summation of the intra-particle reaction rate and the external surface reaction rate and is dependent upon the type of char. Measured activation energy for the reaction either increased, decreased, or remained constant with the introduction of solid catalysts, but no definitive relationship was determined. Results of studies of the reaction of CO/sub 2/ with the chars indicated that the CO/sub 2/ exchanged oxygen with the char surface, apparently at active site locations. The activation energy for this reaction, 214 kJ/mole, was similar for catalyzed and uncatalyzed char; however, the reaction rates were very different. No difinitive data were obtained to explain whether these different catalyzed rates were due to different degrees of external contacting or to true differences in catalytic properties. (BLM)


A new synthetic approach for the regiospecific alkylation of the 6-position of the tropane ring system has been developed. Alkylation, desulfonylation and deprotection of tropanes 5 and 12 furnished a series of 6-endo-alkyltropan-2-one derivatives 8a-e, 15a-e and 16a-e (R = Me, Et, n-Pr, n-Bu, Bn) stereoselectively in good yields. The 6-endo isomers 15a-e and 6-exo isomers 16a-e were easily obtained as pure diastereoisomers.


Background and purpose: In human studies the association between different biological and psychosocial aspects is clearly understood. It is believed that physical problems lead to some psychosocial problems, thereby creating more health problems. Cardiovascular diseases are good examples of these associations. Emotional and psychosocial problems could increase the incidence rate and condition of physical disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of resilience in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Material and Methods:. This casual comparative study was performed in 232 people including 87 healthy individuals, 77 patients hospitalized for myocardial infarction (MI) and 68 patients with other cardiovascular diseases. The patients were those admitted in two hospitals affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. The subjects were selected based on their availability. The Connor- Davidson Resilience Scale was used to collect the data. Results: This study showed higher resilience scores in healthy individuals compared to that of the patients with cardiovascular diseases. Regression analysis indicated significant associations between coping styles and resilience with cardiovascular diseases. We found resilience as the main predictor of cardiovascular diseases (β = -0/6). Conclusion: The results showed a significant relationship between resilience and cardiovascular diseases. There were also significant differences between healthy subjects and patients in their resilience score


In this article, we present an in-depth study of the effects of the structural and optical properties of InAs "dots in an In0.2Ga0.8As well" (DWELL) and InAs "dots in an asymmetric In0.2Ga0.8As well" (asym. DWELL) grown by migration-enhanced molecular beam epitaxy. The energy spacing (ΔE1) between the ground-state and the first-excited-state transitions increases from 66 meV for the DWELL to 73 meV for the asym. DWELL. These results are consistent with ΔE1 measured by photoluminescence excitation and the values of activation energy fitting. The photoluminescence linewidth of the asym. DWELL (40 meV) is narrower than that of the DWELL (70 meV), which shows superior uniformity in the former over the latter. The trends of the properties of the DWELL and the asym. DWELL deduced from the structural properties are in good agreement with those from the optical properties. From the results, it is strongly supported that the asym. DWELL is more suitable for application to long wavelength optical communication than...


We present a general framework and algorithmic approach for incremental approximation algorithms. The framework handles cardinality constrained minimization problems, such as the k-median and k-MST problems. Given some notion of ordering on solutions of different cardinalities k, we give solutions for all values of k such that the solutions respect the ordering and such that for any k, our solution is close in value to the value of an optimal solution of cardinality k. For instance, for the k-median problem, the notion of ordering is set inclusion and our incremental algorithm produces solutions such that any k and k', k < k', our solution of size k is a subset of our solution of size k'. We show that our framework applies to this incremental version of the k-median problem (introduced by Mettu and Plaxton [30]), and incremental versions of the k-MST problem, k-vertex cover problem, k-set cover problem, as well as the uncapacitated facility location problem (which is not cardinality-constrained). For these problems we either get new incremental algorithms, or improvements over what was previously known. We also show that the framework applies to hierarchical clustering problems. In particular, we give an improved algorithm for a hierarchical version of the k-median problem introduced by Plaxton [31].


Most sedimentary basins in China have undergone multi-stage tectonic evolution. This paper takes the eastern Sichuan region as the research object and relies on modern geological research methods to systematically study the basin's dynamic characteristics and tectonic evolution process in the eastern Sichuan region. The results show that the tectonic squeezing of SW and NW from the Daba Mountain orogenic belt and the Jiangnan-Xuefeng Mountain orogenic belt, respectively, make eastern Sichuan a complex structural interference zone that is both combined and compounded. The eastern Sichuan NE and NW structural combinations The type clearly records the structural transformation effect of the two. The history of tectonic evolution since the Middle Paleozoic in the eastern Sichuan Basin is divided into five phases: the deposition of source rocks of the Wufeng Formation-Longmaxi Formation in the Caledonian Period and the parallel unconformity contact with the overlying strata caused by the end of Silurian tectonic compression; Haixi The tectonic transformation of the Early-Indochina period is mainly manifested by the inheritance of the Caledonian period, and the interaction between the Devonian-Early Carboniferous strata and the early Indosinian marine facies and terrestrial sediments is lacking, and the fold deformation in the region is weak. In the early period, a series of NE-directional faults formed mainly in the eastern Sichuan region during the NNW-SSE compression. In the late Yanshan-Early Himalayan period, the NNW-SSE ~ NWW-SEE compression became stronger than in the early Yanshan period, and the eastern NE NE-boundary faults formed. In the late Himalayan period, NE-SW was squeezed. The Wujiang fault system at the border of the southeast of Sichuan was mainly formed during this period, and the southern strata were obviously transformed by this period.


Heraclitus observed that all things flow and nothing remains still; "you cannot step into the same river twice". So what is a stream in computer science, and where did this notion come from? We divide streaming abstractions into four categories: a) as a means of processing lots of data in limited memory; b) as event processing and correlation; c) to capture the semantics of I/O; and d) as iteration abstractions. Following these four axes, we unfold the history of streams, and give an overview of how this abstraction started to come into existence as a mainstream programming language facility. Our goal is to present briefly the related concepts through literature review, drawing connections between programming language features and technologies. This discussion will be of interest to the young computer science researcher, the curious software engineer, and the grizzled database query optimization specialist.


The 100th anniversary of a renowned Lithuanian ethnologist – professor Angelė Vyšniauskaitė (1919–2006) was widely celebrated by the Lithuanian academic community. Professor has dedicated all her life to promoting the Lithuanian ethnology: she worked at the Lithuanian Institute of History (in its Department of Ethnology) for more than four decades (1948–1993), writing books, editing collections, supervising dissertations and generously sharing her professional advice with colleagues and students. Her main research interests included Lithuanian family customs, community and calendar traditions, as well as regional and local culture, and Lithuanian historiography. She also published on agricultural traditions, particularly those related to flax growing, and traditional architecture. She was actively engaged in pedagogic activities (entire generation of contemporary ethnologists and folklorists are proud to be able to call her their teacher and advisor), and various social initiatives related to fostering traditional ethnic culture. In 1998, Professor Angelė Vyšniauskaitė was awarded the prestigious national Jonas Basanavičius' Prize.


The article deals with the question of educational policy in the Russian Federation. The author distinguishes quality of education as the significant basis of the further development and consolidation of the Russian state educational policy. Tasks which higher educational establishments must necessarily settle due to the transfer to the new educational standards are also defined in the article.


This paper presents a critical comparison of four optimisation algorithms for training a multilayer perceptron. The chosen algorithms are backpropagation, simulated annealing, genetic algorithms and Bayesian learning. We use a petroleum reservoir data set to compare the performance of these algorithms. The data set is randomly splitted into a training set and a test set. Error bounds are generated for all the test data. We use various statistics as performance indicators. The study shows that simulated annealing is the best algorithm for fast and efficient learning of the data set.


This paper analyzes how the attempt by feminist epistemologies to overcome the impasse between objectivity and relativism has led to various formulations of the concept of 'location' and to the standpoint theory. As a result, the political project of a transnational community of interpreters fostered by transnational feminism can be seen as deriving from such enduring process.


Facial expression recognition, which plays a vital role in human-machine interaction (HMI), has attracted increasing attention from researchers over the past few years. However, it is still a challenging task for identifying significant discriminative facial features that represent the characteristics of each expression. In this paper, we apply a strategy of curriculum learning (CL) to facial expression recognition to produce effective and discriminative facial representations. Firstly, a learning curriculum is designed by measuring the complexity according to the distance between each sample and the clustering center determined by unsupervised density-distance clustering method in the feature space. Secondly, we develop a multistage training process where a main model is trained by continuously increasing the complexity of training set. The experiment results indicate that our proposed model can achieve a high recognition accuracy of 72.11% on the FER-2013 dataset for seven facial expressions, which outperform other state-of-the-art methods.


The relationship between the respiratory system and the environment involves a complex, dynamic interaction of genetic susceptibility, host defense, and toxicity. The problems of tobacco addiction have evolved over centuries. The possible relationship between smoking and oral cancer was recognized as early as the 19th century. The use of tobacco results in an estimated 4 million deaths each year worldwide. Approximately 3000 adolescents start smoking every day; 4.5 million children and adolescents smoke cigarettes; 1 million use smokeless tobacco (1). ''Environmental tobacco smoke'' (ETS) is a term widely used to refer to the mixture of side-stream smoke and exhaled mainstream smoke that pollutes air in locations where tobacco smoking takes place (2). ETS contaminates the indoor air in homes and workplaces. The adverse effects of ETS on the respiratory tract have been extensively characterized (3, 4). Among children, ETS causes lower respiratory infections, middle-ear disease, sudden infant death syndrome, and asthma (5). Half of the world's children may be exposed to ETS, exacerbating symptoms in 20% of children with asthma. Recent reports have reinforced previous conclusions that exposure to ETS causes the onset of childhood asthma and exacerbation of symptoms throughout life (6–10). However, the effects of ETS exposure on adult asthma have not yet been investigated extensively, and the available data are limited (11). Specific questions which have to be answered to understand the effects of ETS in asthma in adults include


The invention relates to an adjustable, transversely divided back for a vehicle seat consisting of a lower back section secured to a seat frame to pivot on an axis running transversely to the direction of travel and an upper back section secured to the lower and having a section supporting the head. According to the invention, the back is characterized in that the upper back section (1) is both adjustable for height and pivoted with the shoulder support (1b) region and the headrest (1a) forming one piece. The lower back section (2) is an upward-facing extension (20) in the spinal region which can engage in a matching downward-facing aperture (10) in the upper back section (1), the extension of the lower back section (2) completely filling the aperture (10) when the upper back section (1) is in its lowest position.


—In this paper, we are focusing on comparing solutions for localizing an unknown radiation source in both a Gazebo simulator and the real world. A proper simulation of the environment, sensors, and radiation source can significantly reduce the development time of robotic algorithms. We proposed a simple sampling importance resampling (SIR) particle filter. To verify its effectiveness and similarities, we first tested the algorithm's performance in the real world and then in the Gazebo simulator. In experiment, we used a 2-inch NaI(Tl) radiation detector and radiation source Cesium 137 with an activity of 330 Mbq. We compared the algorithm process using the evolution of information entropy, variance, and Kullback-Leibler divergence. The proposed metrics demonstrated the similarity between the simulator and the real world, providing valuable insights to improve and facilitate further development of radiation search and mapping algorithms.


This study compares pregnancy outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients post renal transplant with recipients with other primary diagnoses, utilizing data from the National Transplantation Pregnancy Registry, Philadelphia, PA. Recipients were referred from transplant centers nationwide.


The influence of preferential diffusion on soot formation in a laminar ethylene/air diffusion flame was investigated by numerical simulation using three different transport property calculation methods. One simulation included preferential diffusion and the other two neglected preferential diffusion. The results show that the neglect of preferential diffusion or the use of unity Lewis number for all species results in a significant underprediction of soot volume fraction. The peak soot volume fraction is reduced from 8.0 to 2.0 ppm for the studied flame when preferential diffusion is neglected in the simulation. Detailed examination of numerical results reveals that the underprediction of soot volume fraction in the simulation neglecting preferential diffusion is due to the slower diffusion of some species from main reaction zone to PAH and soot formation layer. The slower diffusion of these species causes lower PAH formation rate and thus results in lower soot inception rate and smaller particle surface area. The smaller surface area further leads to smaller surface growth rate. In addition, the neglect of preferential diffusion also leads to higher OH concentration in the flame, which causes the higher specific soot oxidation rate. The lower inception rate, smaller surface growth rate and higher specific oxidation rate results in the lower soot volume fraction when preferential diffusion is neglected. The finding of the paper implies the importance of preferential diffusion for the modeling of not only laminar but maybe also some turbulent flames.


Laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive surgical technique where surgeons insert a small video camera into the patient's body to visualize internal organs and small tools to perform surgical procedures. However, the benefit of small incisions has a drawback of limited visualization of subsurface tissues, which can lead to navigational challenges in the delivering of therapy. Image-guided surgery (IGS) uses images to map subsurface structures and can reduce the limitations of laparoscopic surgery. One particular laparoscopic camera system of interest is the vision system of the daVinci-Si robotic surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA). The video streams generate approximately 360 megabytes of data per second, demonstrating a trend towards increased data sizes in medicine, primarily due to higher-resolution video cameras and imaging equipment. Processing this data on a bedside PC has become challenging and a high-performance computing (HPC) environment may not always be available at the point of care. To process this data on remote HPC clusters at the typical 30 frames per second (fps) rate, it is required that each 11.9 MB video frame be processed by a server and returned within 1/30th of a second. The ability to acquire, process and visualize data in real-time is essential for performance of complex tasks as well as minimizing risk to the patient. As a result, utilizing high-speed networks to access computing clusters will lead to real-time medical image processing and improve surgical experiences by providing real-time augmented laparoscopic data. We aim to develop a medical video processing system using an OpenFlow software defined network that is capable of connecting to multiple remote medical facilities and HPC servers.


The present paper deals with eight species of Gamasellodes. Three new species, viz., Gamasellodes islandicus, G. spinosus and G. sternalis are described and illustrated along with their affinities. Four other species, viz., G. americanus (Garman, 1948), G. garmani Hurlbutt, 1970, G. insignis (Hirschmann, 1962) and G. vulgatior Athias-Henriot, 1961 are recorded from India for the first time. G. bicolor (Berlese, 1918) is recorded from a new locality. A key to differentiate the above eight species has been included.


OBJECTIVE We have recently demonstrated that GnRH deficient male patients have increased nocturnal melatonin secretion which decreases to normal levels during testosterone treatment. The results suggested that sex steroids, rather than LH, modulate pineal melatonin in an inverse fashion. The purpose of this study was to characterize circulating melatonin levels in untreated males with hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism due to Klinefelter's syndrome (KS).


The effectiveness of glucocorticoid (GC) therapy in SLE is beyond doubt and has been confirmed by the experience gained over many decades of their use. However, with prolonged use of GC, even in low and medium doses, there are many problems. In particular, the development of organ damage associated with GC significantly worsens the prognosis, leads to a decrease in the quality of life, social adaptation. Currently, attempts are being made to use therapeutic programs without the use of GC or with their appointment in minimal doses.Achieving stable remission in patients with SLE. Cancellation of oral GC or the use of therapy without GC in patients with SLE.3 clinical cases. Two patients (N1, N2) had a combination of SLE with Sjogren's syndrome with predominantly musculoskeletal syndrome. In these patients, severe organ lesions (lupus nephritis, vasculitis, central nervous system damage) were excluded. SLEDAI-2K in these patients was 9 and 8 points. Both patients had a decrease in C3, C4 complement component, ANA positivity, arthritis, hematological disorders. In N2, an increase in at to ds-DNA was determined. Therapy with oral GC, immunosuppressive drugs was not carried out in them. Patient N3 with lupus nephritis (hematuria, leukocyturia), exudative pleurisy, polyarthritis, high immunological activity (SLEDAI-2K - 16 points) was prescribed GC at a dose of 2 tab per day. Creatinine and urea were within normal limits. The patient had high immunological activity: low C3, C4 complement, at to dsDNA 200 IU/ml, ANA positivity (1:1280). Due to the presence of lupus nephritis, the patient received mycophenolate mofetil 1500 mg per day. All patients received double anti-B-cell therapy with the sequential use of Rituximab (RTX) 1000 mg intravenously in patients N1 and N2, and N3 at a dose of 2000 mg per day with premedication of 6-methylprednisolone at a dose of 250-500 mg intravenously. After 1-3 months, belimumab infusions were started at a dose of 10 mg/ kg / month. The observation period is 1 yearAnti-B-cell therapy allowed patients to be treated without oral GC. A patient with LN (N3) was prescribed low doses of GC at the time of initiation of therapy with RTX, however, they were subsequently completely canceled by the 6th month of therapy. Clinical remission of the disease was achieved in all three patients. Clinical manifestations of the disease were stopped. SLEDAI-2k was 0-2 points due to minor hypocomplementemia (Figure 1). No new irreversible organ damage and relapse of the disease were registered. Patients continued to receive monthly infusions of BLM, there were no repeated courses of RTM. The patient with kidney damage continued to take MM.Figure 1.Consistent therapy of RTX and BLM allowed to achieve not only a high clinical and immunological effect, but also the possibility of reducing and even abandoning the oral dose of GC, which is consistent with the concept of "Treat to target" in SLE. In addition, all patients were closely monitored by a rheumatologist once a month, which was partly achieved thanks to monthly infusions of BLM, which were carried out in the clinic.None declared


Objective To screen TGF-β_1 specific siRNA expression plasmid by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.Methods Human lung adenocarcinoma A549 as tumor cell model,siRNA sequences were selected by Angela principle and siRNA plasmids were screened by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.Then A549 cells were transfected with the reformed plasmids.The expression level of TGF-β_1 were detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay(IFA) and Western blotting.Results POligo 1210,pOligo 1216,pOligo 1363 TGF-β_1were constructed successfully.The insert sequence can be distinguished in 12% nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.SiRNA plasmids were screened by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis successfully.TGF-β_1 expression can be inhibited with three plasmids ranged from 50% to 83.2%.Conclusion TGF-β_1 specific siRNA plasmids were screened by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis successfully.It will be helpful to the study of TGF-β_1 in tumor cells.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of aerobic exercise in combination with core muscle training on minute ventilation in healthy individuals. Materials and Methods: Forty healthy volunteers (8 male and 32 female) aged 21.35±1.93 years were recruited. Factor of age, gender and level of lumbopelvic stability were used in randomization. They were randomly divided into aerobic exercise with core training group (n=20) and control group (n=20). The aerobic exercise in combination with core muscle training group was performed aerobic exercise with core muscle training program for 30 minutes, whereas the control group had aerobic exercise only for 30 minutes. They trained 3 times/week for 8 weeks. Minute ventilations (VE) were measured by breath-by-breath gas analysis mechine (MedGraphic®, Ultima PFX®, UK) during exercise before and after 8 weeks of training. Data were statistically analyzed by mixed model 2-ways repeated-measures ANOVA using SPSS program version 17.0 with p-value of 0.05. Results: The results showed that the effect of aerobic exercise in combination with core muscle training on VE under the experimental group had a significant increase after 8 weeks training ( p <0.05) and significantly greater than the control group ( p <0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the aerobic exercise in combination with core muscle training had a significant improvement in minute ventilation greater than the aerobic exercise alone. This finding could guide for application in exercise program for improving the pulmonary performance in healthy individuals.


Environmental issues and the desire to be less dependent on fossil fuel have intensified research efforts towards the production of biofuels since they are a safe and clean alternatives to fossil fuels. However, the cost of carbohydrate raw materials has become a limiting factor for large-scale production, hence the need to source for low cost feedstock. This study analyzed the processes and optimization involved in the production of bioethanol from oil palm fronds from Okada, Edo State, Nigeria, as an alternative source of energy. In this study, solidstate fermentation was carried out for the production of fermentable sugars from oil palm fronds inoculated with local isolate Aspergillus niger, the results from this analysis show that the pretreatment of oil palm frond substrate using Aspergillus niger was effective, The process was effectively optimized within the confines of the following parameters; temperature X3 (36-42oC), pH, X2 (5.1-5.7), inoculum, X4(4-22) and fermentation time X1 (0-36hr), an optimum Ethanol yield Y, of 110% was obtained.


This article is dedicated to determination of consent of criminalistic characteristic of criminal acts, as well as to identification of criminalisticsally significant, evidentiary and orienting information in each single case that allows organizing their qualitative detection. Authors show that criminalistic characteristic of acts of terrorism is aimed to reflect, broadly, peculiarities of commitment of concerned socially-dangerous acts, and in more specific consideration – to define regular mutually conditioned connections between its elements with the aim of advancement of particular typical investigative leads as a basis for investigation forming according to a defined program. The act of terrorism must be considered from the perspective of its dominant elements: the identity of the criminal as part of the criminalistic characterization of an act of terrorism committed by self-incrimination (suicide bomber); the relationship of the method, the crime under investigation to the situation under which a socially dangerous act is committed. Cognition process during criminal investigation can be presented as an algorithm of consistent achievement of constantly forming tasks, emphasizing of which compiles investigation differentiation into certain stages, where its features and content are identified.


Yeasts can act as important pathogens both in animals and
 humans and it is well known that most of them occur as saprophytes
 in the environment, being able to grow on not viable organic matter


PURPOSE: To provide a pharmaceutical composition useful for the treatment of pain and tussis, which comprise a tramadol substance and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and shows synergistic analgesic effects with a small amount of dosage wand with less side-effects such as abuse liability, tolerance, constipation, respiratory depression. CONSTITUTION: The pharmaceutical composition is composed of tramadol, i.e., (1R,2R or 1S,2S)-2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexanol, its N-oxide derivative and O-desmethyl derivative, or their mixture, and non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (e.g. ibuprofen, salicylate, suprofen, etc.). Especially, the composition comprising the tramadol substance and the ibuprofen is preferable one, and the ratio of the former to the latter is 1:2-1:20.


Annona muricata L. is a plant commonly used in Southern Nigeria, for nutritional and medicinal purposes. This study wascarried out to determine the larvicidal potentials of ethanol extract and fractions of the leaf of A. muricata. The ethanol leafextract was subjected to phytochemical screening using standard protocol. The leaf crude extract and fractions (i.e., ethylacetate and n-hexane) were used for larvicidal assay. The stock solution (5g each in 100ml of water) was prepared. From thestock solution 0.15, 0.30, 0.45, 0.60 and 0.75_ %w/v concentrations of extract and fractions were prepared and eachconcentration of the extract and fractions had 5 replicates. The control (100ml water and larval nutrient only) was alsoreplicated . Twenty (20), third instar, larvae of Aedes aegypti were exposed to each extract concentration and fractions andtheir controls. Larval nutrient was added to each experimental set up. Observations were made after 24 and 48 hours exposureperiod. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of some plant metabolites (alkaloids, saponins, tannins etc).Mortality of larvae exposed to the extract and fractions increased with increased in extract concentration and exposure time.This study revealed a differential potency of the extract and fractions used and a difference in susceptibility of larvae to theextract and fractions as evident by the 48hLC values obtained. Exposure of larvae to 0.75_ %w/v of ethanol extract and ethyl 50acetate fraction resulted in 100 _% mortality after 48 hours exposure period. Probit analysis gave 48hr_LC50 values of 0.33and 0.24_ %w/v for ethanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction, respectively. The n-hexane fraction was the least potent with48h_LC50 value of 0.5461%w/v. Results obtained from this study suggest that the leaf extract and fractions of A. muricatahold potential as larvicides against Ae. aegypti. Its active ingredient should be isolated, characterized and formulated for usein larval habitats.
Keywords: Potency, Extract, Fractions, Annona muricata, Aedes aegypti


This paper makes a quite systematic statistical analysis for the total 22 tropical cyclones which landed on Southern China and affected the Guangxi area during 1981~2001, these cyclones' intensities are all at grade 11 or the above. It concludes that strong tropical storms and the typhoons' influences to the rainfall of Guangxi, their landing traces and channels, and their Weakening Characteristics as well as weakening speed all mainly depend on the atmospheric circulation and so on.


We present a state feedback control law for uncertain robotic systems such that the error between the generalized coordinates and the trajectory of a reference model is uniformly ultimately bounded with respect to any arbitrarily small set of ultimate boundedness


The evaluation of medicinal-assistance population of the Republic of Bashkortostan in government guarantees and social support. It was established that the medicament ensuring of citizens in the Republic of Bashkortostan is carried out in full: in hospitals based on the Republican list, and at the expense of budgets RB, municipal districts, urban districts, and the fund mandatory health insurance; for the seven high-cost nosology with funds from the federal budget; regional benefit recipients by the centralized budget of the Republic of Bashkortostan and funded budgets of municipalities and urban districts of the Republic of Bashkortostan.


Taking the organic active substrate produced by Huaiyin Vegetable Research Institute as control,we studied the effects of ten self-made wormcast substrates on the pepper seedlings' height,stem diameter,expansion degree,chlorophyll content,leaf number,over-ground part's fresh weight and dry weight,and underground part's fresh weight and dry weight at the early,middle and later seedling stages respectively.The results showed that the treatment T0(wormcast+vermiculite+N2+P+K) had significantly better effects on the quality of pepper seedlings,and the seedlings grew vigorously and possessed excellent quality,thus the substrate formula of T0 treatment was ideal for cultivating pepper plug-seedlings.


Despite several existing legal provisions to provide equal rights for women and men, Indian women agricultural workers remain restricted from getting their agricultural entitlements due to various socio-cultural reasons including discriminatory gendered norms. The study attempts to understand the accessibility of entitlements among women agricultural workers in the Goalpara district of Assam – the region where women's dependency on agriculture is overwhelming. The study is based on a mixed-methods approach, using data collected from the field survey. The study reveals that rural agricultural women workers face substantial hindrances in accessing basic agricultural entitlements like land, credit and modern technology, making them socially and economically vulnerable.


In modern electronic warfare, physical‐layer security threats have evolved from traditional jammers to smart jammers. Smart jammers, due to their stealthy nature, make wireless communication systems vulnerable. They can easily deceive a detection system. In this paper, a physical‐layer intrusion detection system (PLIDS) for direct‐sequence spread‐spectrum systems is developed against smart jammers, which is efficient due to its high detection rates, usability, and accuracy. Smart jamming noise is modeled as wide‐sense stationary, additive, and colored. This random process is decomposed into a series expansion of independent and uncorrelated random variables. The decomposition helps in designing a signal processing algorithm for PLIDS. The algorithm is easily implemented via correlators. PLIDS is evaluated using a simulated electronic warfare environment, and its performance is measured in terms of detection capability, precision, and accuracy. It performs error‐free detection by adjusting its tuning parameter. Moreover, different performance tradeoffs are observed for different values of the tuning parameter. Finally, comparisons of PLIDS are done with competitive intrusion detection systems.


Since last decade, CSR is at the forefront of corporate consciousness. Particular organizations in questionable industries seem to use CSR as a buffer against the negative effects of a crisis. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted into the use and effects of CSR initiatives in times of an organizational crisis. This study examines how CSR initiatives and message framing can be optimally used during a crisis. The influences of CSR fit, crisis type and message framing on specific consumer attitudes including attitude, trust, credibility, (non)skepticism and forgiveness were examined. A 2 (CSR fit: high vs. low) x 2 (crisis situation: accidental vs. preventable) x 2 (message framing: rational vs. emotional) between-subjects experimental design based on fictional scenarios was used. A survey among 340 respondents was conducted. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of the eight conditions. Not surprisingly, results revealed that preventable crisis situations have led to more negative consumer attitudes compared to accidental crisis situations. Furthermore, crisis responses with emotional framed messages generally had a more positive influence on consumer attitudes compared to crisis responses with a rational framing method included. Consumer attitudes were most negative when companies with a high CSR fit in a preventable crisis situation used a rational framing method. On the other hand, when organizations in accidental crisis situations used an emotional appeal regardless of their CSR fit, consumer attitudes were most positive. Findings indicate that organizations with a high CSR fit in preventable crisis situations should use emotional framing methods to increase attitude, non-skepticism and forgiveness. On the other hand, organizations in accidental crisis situations regardless of their fit, should use an emotional message framing in order to increase attitude, credibility, non-skepticism (non-skepticism applies just for low CSR fit organizations) and forgiveness. The current research can serve as a guideline for organizations to choose an appropriate framing strategy during a given crisis situation which suits their CSR fit.


Third harmonic, 100% stator ground fault protection schemes are becoming economically viable for small and mid size generators used in cogeneration applications. Practical considerations must be observed in order that such schemes are successfully applied for different machines. This paper introduces an experience with the applications of 3rd harmonic schemes in cogeneration applications and depicts their advantages and limitations. For a 50 MVA generator, actual measurements of produced third harmonics are portrayed and analyzed. In light of the experience and analysis, applications of certain third harmonic scheme configurations are contemplated.


Turkey experienced a severe economic and political crisis in November 2000 and again in February 2001. The IMF has been involved with the macro management of the Turkish economy prior to and after the crisis, and provided financial assistance of $20.4 billion between 1999 and 2003. Following the crisis, Turkey implemented an orthodox strategy of raising interest rates and maintaining an overvalued exchange rate. The government was forced to follow a contractionary fiscal policy to attain a primary surplus of 6.5% of the GNP, and promised to satisfy the customary IMF demands: reduce subsidies to agriculture, privatize, and reduce the role of the public sector in economic activity. Contrary to the traditional stabilization packages that aim to increase interest rates to constrain domestic demand, the new orthodoxy aimed at maintaining high interest rates to attract speculative foreign capital. The end result in Turkey was shrinkage of the public sector; deteriorating education and health infrastructure; and failure to provide basic social services to the middle class and the poor. Furthermore, as the domestic industry intensified its import dependence, it was forced to adopt increasingly capital-intensive, foreign technologies with adverse consequences on domestic employment. In the meantime the transnational companies and the international finance institutions have become the real governors of the country, with implicit veto power over any economic and or political decision that is likely to act against the interests of global capital.


Designers of information visualization systems have the choice to present information in a single integrated view or in multiple views. In practice, there is a continuum between the two strategies and designers must decide how much of each strategy to apply. Although high-level design guidelines (heuristics) are available, there are few low-level perceptual design guidelines for making this decision. We performed a controlled experiment with one, two, and four views to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these strategies on target detection and trend finding tasks in the context of multidimensional glyphs overlaid onto geographic maps. Results from the target detection tasks suggest that visual encoding is a more important factor when detecting a single attribute than the number of views. Additionally, for detecting two attributes, the trend indicates that reusing the most perceptually salient visual feature in multiple views provides faster performance than an integrated view that must map one of the attributes to a less salient feature.


The invention provides a method for stimulating a mouse, which can stimulate the mouse of a computer through a hand-held mobile electric device. The hand-held mobile electric device comprises a touch screen and a Bluetooth apparatus of the hand-held mobile electric device, the computer comprises a computer Bluetooth device and a display screen. The method includes steps of connecting the Bluetooth apparatus of the hand-held mobile electric device with the computer Bluetooth device, defining the proportion of a touch moving distance on the touch screen and that of a mouse pointer on the display screen, synchronizing the touch screen of the hand-held mobile electric device and the mouse pointer of the computer, thereby enabling the moving operation on the touch screen and the moving operation of the mouse pointer of the computer on the display screen to be corresponding. The invention further provides a system for stimulating a mouse. The invention can be utilized to stimulate the mouse of the computer through the hand-held mobile electric device.


BACKGROUND
Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations play a role in carcinogenesis and are found in both tumors and cancer cell lines. TERT promoter methylation, transcription factor binding, chromatin remodeling, and alternative splicing are also known to play an integral role in TERT regulation.

METHODOLOGY
Using nanopore Cas9 Targeted-Sequencing, we characterized allele-specific methylation in thyroid cancer cell lines heterozygous for the TERT promoter mutation. Furthermore, using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by Sanger sequencing, we probed allele-specific binding of the transcription factors GABPA and MYC, as well as the chromatin marks H3K4me3 and H3K27me3. Lastly, utilizing coding SNPs and the long read sequencing, we examined cDNA for monoallelic expression.

RESULTS
We found the mutant TERT promoter allele to be significantly less methylated than wildtype, while more methylated in the gene body in heterozygous TERT mutant cell lines. We demonstrated the transcriptional activators GABPA and MYC bind only to the mutant TERT allele. In addition, the activating and repressive chromatin marks H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, respectively bind mutant and wildtype alleles exclusively. Lastly, in heterozygous mutant cell lines, TERT exhibits monoallelic expression from the mutant allele only.

CONCLUSIONS
In summary, by employing new long read sequencing methods, we were able to definitively demonstrate allele-specific DNA methylation, histone modifications, transcription factor binding, and the resulting mono-allelic transcription in cell lines with heterozygous TERT mutations.