Traffic congestion is a nuisance for urban centers. Traditional congestion management policies, like road pricing and road expansion, increase urban sprawl and inequity between road users. Recent developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enabled Advanced Travel Information Services (ATIS) that provide road users with real-time traffic information. Road users can benefit from this information by avoiding congestion. Travel information may hamper the traffic condition, as perfect information held by rational road users leads to a state known as User Equilibrium (UE), where travel times on all routes between an origin and a destination are equal. UE is not overlapping with the concept of System Optimum (SO)where the aggregate travel time of all road users is minimized. Achieving SO was long considered impossible, as certain road users must take a slower route than they would under UE in contradiction to the rational character of road users. Use of prescriptive travel information that leads to SO can theoretically work in repeated interactions — if road users know that in order to guarantee a shorter travel time on average, once in a while they have to sacrifice and experience a longer trip, they might agree to comply with the prescriptive travel information recommendation. We carry out a behavioral economic experiment that examines the efficiency of such prescriptive travel information in a binary road network. The participants interact over many rounds in which they are provided with basic travel information and with prescriptive travel information, and are rewarded for travel time savings. The experiment includes two treatments — one where the participants are only provided with prescriptive information, and one where participants are penalized for not complying with the recommendation of the prescriptive information, and rewarded for complying. Preliminary results show that the effect of punishment and rewards is significant, as opposed to having only pure information. The results are compared to a computer simulation that examines different decision making heuristics in the same scenario. This research highlights the necessary and sufficient conditions for using prescriptive travel information as a measure of reducing congestion.


The multi-armed bandit (MAB) problem refers to the dilemma encountered by a gambler when deciding which arm of a multi-armed slot machine to pull in order to maximize the total reward earned in a sequence of pulls. In this paper, we model the scheduling of a node-wise sequential LDPC decoder as a Markov decision process, where the underlying Tanner graph is viewed as a slot machine with multiple arms corresponding to the check nodes. A fictitious gambler decides which check node to pull (schedule) next by observing a reward associated with each pull. This interaction enables the gambler to discover an optimized scheduling policy that aims to reach a codeword output by propagating the fewest possible messages. Based on this policy, we contrive a novel MAB-based node-wise scheduling (MABNS) algorithm to perform sequential decoding of LDPC codes. Simulation results show that the MAB-NS scheme, aided by an appropriate scheduling policy, outperforms traditional scheduling schemes in terms of complexity and bit error probability.


Objective:To investigate the level changes of plasma adiponectin in type 2 diabetic patients and type 2 diabetic patients with increased carotid intima-media thickness(IMT). Methods:Sixty-six type 2 diabetic patients,thirty-seven type 2 diabetic patients with increased carotid IMT and thirty-five healthy people were investigated. Their plasma adiponectin levels, heights and weights were measured.The level changes of plasma adiponectin and other relative factors were compared. Results:The levels of plasma adiponectin in type 2 diabetic group were significantly lower than those in control group (P 0.001).!The levels of plasma adiponectin in the group which had both type 2 diabetes and increased carotid IMT were significantly lower than those in type 2 diabetic group ( P 0.01). The levels of plasma adiponetin were negatively correlated to the systolic pressure in type 2 diabetic patients ( P 0.001).Conclusion:The level of plasma adiponectin in type 2 diabetic patient is significantly decreased. The level of plasma adiponectin in the group of type 2 diabetes with increased carotid IMT is the lowest among the three groups.


This article analyses social representations of climactic change among university students. The study was designed to test the hypothesis that the academic field or training may influence students' knowledge and beliefs. The sample consisted of 284 students from four different Bachelor's degree programs at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Two programs MEIRA-CARTEA, P. A.; ARTO-BLANCO, M. Representaciones del cambio climatico... Educar em Revista, Curitiba, Brasil, Edicao Especial n. 3/2014, p. 15-33. Editora UFPR 16 were from the physical-natural sciences (Biology and Chemical Engineering) and two were from the humanities (History and Education). The results showed that a majority of the student sample recognized human causality in the source of the problem, the main consequences and possible solutions. This fits the standard scientific interpretation of climactic change. There was also greater social representation of the consequences rather than the solutions, and a persistence of mistaken beliefs such as a causal connection with the ozone layer and the perception of low scientific consensus on this matter. The statistical analysis only revealed significant differences among degrees and courses for three of the variables examined. Finally, particular identities to the academic culture were of special interest as factors that conditioned representations of climactic change.


In the United States, health disparities are well documented in minority populations such as African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos.1 When compared to whites, these minority groups experience higher incidence of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic diseases, higher mortality from these diseases, and poorer health outcomes.2 There is a significant relationship between socioeconomic status and disease, with those most economically disadvantaged being most health disadvantaged as well.3 Several studies have postulated that poverty is the major factor that contributes to the widening racial health-disparity divide because it is associated with a lack of resources, information, and knowledge; substandard living conditions; risk-promoting lifestyles; diminished access to health care; and a mistrust of the healthcare system.4-10

Health disparities are particularly significant across the cancer continuum. The burden of cancer in racial and ethnic minorities is great. The most recent cancer statistics from ACS confirm that minority populations continue to have poor chances of survival once cancer is diagnosed, suggesting possible influence of disparities in access to and receipt of quality health care and in co-morbid conditions.11 In lieu of a full understanding of the etiology of the disparities, efforts can be directed to provide opportunities for participation in state-of-the art cancer therapies for those diagnosed with cancer.

Clinical trials provide effective and often improved cancer care in a way that does not tax the health care system, and over the past half century have allowed remarkable progress in the treatment of some cancers. Furthermore, clinical trials provide a valid methodology with which to compare treatments. For ethical, social, and scientific reasons, trials require the recruitment of participants from diverse population groups. However, less than 10% of all patients enrolled in clinical trials are minorities. Recent evidence from a population study examining trial effect in solid organ cancers found that enrollment into cancer trials predicted lower overall and cancer-specific mortality among common cancer sites.12 Because access to cutting-edge medical treatments and state-of-the-art care that clinical trials provide is not equally available to people in minority communities, this inequity in participation contributes to the ongoing health disparities.

There is long-standing consensus in the scientific community that the enrollment of adult cancer patients in clinical trials is woefully low. For example, enrollment fractions, defined as the number of trial enrollees divided by the population-based estimated cancers diagnosed, in therapeutic non-surgical National Cancer Institute Clinical Trial Cooperative Group studies are below 2%13 and are even lower, less than 1%, for surgical trials.14 When trial eligibility is taken into account, the rates rise but still may be as low as 10%.15 A recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), commissioned by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), includes as one of its key recommendations that participation of both patients and physicians in cancer clinical trials must be expanded.16 This report generated extensive media coverage,17 leading to Congressional attention18 and a consensus in the medical literature that our system for cancer clinical trials is in crisis.19

When trials enlist participants from underrepresented populations (i.e., low-income or minority populations) difficulties inherent to the recruitment process are compounded even further.20,21 Historically, large teaching hospitals and research institutions have had complicated relationships with the minority communities they serve. While members of the minority community may feel that these institutions provide state-of-the-art care, they are often skeptical of the motives of these organizations. Moreover, common among minority communities are feelings of mistrust, alienation, and lack of ownership in the institutional programs.22Although these barriers are often systemic in nature, the impact can be felt at the personal level.23It is clear that successful recruitment of minority participants to clinical trials needs to begin with efforts to develop trusting relationships between the minority community and the research institution. Mounting evidence 23-25 also suggests that efforts to recruit minorities are more labor intensive and need to involve more personal contacts.

For the first time ever, a consortia system national in scope has come together to develop and implement a coordinated approach to address minority accrual into clinical trials on multiple levels.

Each of the five consortium institutions (University of Minnesota; University of Alabama, Birmingham; Johns Hopkins University, MD Anderson Cancer Center; University of California, Davis) represents a distinct U.S. region and has both a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded cancer center and a National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)-funded health disparities program. Combining these two types of NIH-established centers of excellence via a national network of regional consortia provides a unique opportunity to affect minority participation in clinical trials on a national level. Each cancer center serves a patient population with ethnic and racial composition reflective of its geographic region, therefore providing the ability to develop and evaluate recruitment and retention efforts for each major US ethnic/racial category. These efforts provide the infrastructure that will pay dividends for years to come and potentially be one of the few trans-NIH initiatives to actively transform the clinical trial recruitment and outcomes landscape and reduce health disparities.

In particular, Dr. John Ruffin, Director of the National Institute of Minority Health and Disparities, has been a visionary leader in moving forward the critical issues of health disparities. Dr. Ruffin led the effort to the establishment of the NIMHD Centers of Excellence Program that have made possible significant advances in reducing health disparities through basic research, applied population and community-based research. Since 2002, 88 Centers of Excellence have been established in 31 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S> Virgin Islands. He also led the establishment of the NIMHD loan repayment program that has funded more 1,200 doctoral level health researchers in a variety of disciplines. Approximately 70 percent of the recipients are from health disparity populations. Minority accrual in clinical trials which may arguably be one of the greatest disparities in this country where less than 3% of our patients are enrolled in the clinical trials broadly with less than 0.3% of minorities are enrolled in clinical trials.26-29 This significantly creates a disparity and burden for those patients to be perpetuated because of the lack of focused and targeted therapies for minority patients.

This supplement provides an overview of the interventional efforts as well as scientific data regarding undertaken by this consortium to document the scope of the problem and the results from multiple methods of interventions for increasing minority accrual in clinical trials. Initially ARRA funded for two years, this consortium continues to rigorously evaluate the efficacy of trial enrollment interventions through a U24 cooperative agreement with the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. This supplement now provides an insight as well as a number of manuscripts that will hopefully provide the basis for further intervention, clinical trials, as well as enhancement of minority accrual in these efforts for cancer and other chronic illnesses.


The accessibility of transportation services for handicapped, low income, and elderly persons in Jackson, Mississippi was studied. Problems faced by the elderly who are on a fixed income are listed. The alternative to public transportation, paratransit, was studied, and it is noted that both public and paratransit are plagued with problems that limit their capacity to serve the transportation disadvantaged. Problems faced by paratransit are listed and discussesd. A ridership profile is given, and a survey of handicapped and elderly users of public transportation about the efficiency of the system is described. Characteristics of non-work-related travel of the elderly, low income, and handicapped transportation users are discussed. Service availability was analyzed including travel time between origin and destination, waiting time, walking time, travel time, and transfers. Conclusions drawn from the study are presented.


Standard triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication has a worldwide success rate of less than 80%, and this rate varies with the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and the specific H. pylori strain. Might the eradication rate be better if the therapy were administered sequentially rather than simultaneously? …


Abstract : Gulf Stream warm core rings are intense, isolated eddies which form to the north of the Gulf Stream from cutoff meanders which detach from the Stream. After their formation they are embedded in the cooler Slope Water which flows generally westward, impinging on the continental slope near 70 W. Observations indicate that the Slope Water flows westward at approximately 5 cm/ s. In this study, the effect of background shear flows on anticyclonic eddy motion is examined using a two layer primitive equation model. The effect of various lateral shear profiles is considered for barotropic and equivalent barotropic eddies. Results indicate that eddy zonal propagation is dependent on the eddy initial vertical profile and form of the background shear lateral profile. Eddy meridional speeds are found to be insensitive to background shear profile or strength.


Background: Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) have increased prevalence of malnutrition
for various reasons. This study aimed to identify prevalence and predictors of malnutrition in children
with symptomatic CHD. Methods: This study included 110 children with symptomatic CHD (78 acyanotic and 32 cyanotic
CHDs). Clinical Evaluation and Laboratory Assessment of Nutritional Status were documented. Anthropometric measurements
were recorded and Z scores for weight for age (WAZ), weight for height (WHZ), and height for age (HAZ) have been calculated.
Malnutrition was dened as weight, height, and weight/height Z score ≤–2. Results: The overall prevalence of malnutrition was
87.0 % in patients with CHD. Severe malnutrition was diagnosed in 49 % of cases. In both group of CHD patients, stunting and
wasting was high. Malnutrition correlated with pulmonary hypertension, recurrent respiratory tract infections and feeding
difculties but not statistically signicant levels. Conclusion: Malnutrition is a very common problem in children with
symptomatic CHD and presence of feeding difculties, pulmonary hypertension, recurrent lower respiratory tract infections are
additional risks for malnutrition.


A nonlinear emission mechanism of electromagnetic waves at the fundamental plasma frequency has been examined by Chian & Alves. This mechanism is based on the electromagnetic oscillating two-stream instability driven by two oppositely propagating Langmuir waves. The excitation of the electromagnetic oscillating two-stream instability is due to nonlinear wave–wave coupling involving Langmuir waves, low-frequency density waves and electromagnetic waves. In this paper the Chian & Alves model is improved using the generalized Zakharov equations. Attention is directed toward the influence of induced low-frequency and Langmuir waves on the properties of the electromagnetic oscillating two-stream instability. Presumably, the properties derived in the present context may be relevant to both space and laboratory plasmas.


Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome,which can be accompanied by all types of arrhythmia. The mechanism of heart failure with arrhythmia is complicated. Arrhythmia may aggravate the symptoms of heart failure and affect prognosis in patients. The first step of treatment for heart failure with arrhythmia is to treat the underlying diseases,improve cardiac function,and then choose the appropriate anti-arrhythmia drugs.


For the realization of target detection and monitoring of a wide range with the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an UAV-based reconnaissance and surveillance system was proposed. The main optical system was consisted of visible camera with narrow field of view (FOV), mid-wave infrared camera (MWIR) and long-wave infrared camera (LWIR). The aperture was shared and the spectrum was disparted in the terminal. The diameter of primary mirror was 170mm. The focal length was 880mm and field of view was 0.86º for visible camera with narrow FOV, the focal length was 880mm and field of view was 0.8º for MWIR camera, the focal length was 220mm and field of view was 3.2º for LWIR camera. Considering the influence of temperature on the imaging quality, a kind of material with good thermal property was used as mirror substrate. The athermalization method was introduced to realize a high image quality in a wide temperature range of -40℃~+65℃. Zoom optical system was adopted in the visible camera with middle FOV and wide FOV, the view of it was 3.4º~34º. The operating distance of laser channel was designed to 20km. The results of the design indicated that this set of optical system could be used for ground target detection and monitoring of a wide range, met user's requirement.


The article presents algorigthms of a strapdown inertial gyroscopic compass which allows obtaining a course angle estimation being nondivergent in time. Error equations of such gyrocompass are derived and error sources of a course angle estimation are analyzed.


For most purposes, cloning protocols based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using either the template-independent terminal transferase activity of Taq DNA polymerase in TA cloning schemes (8,9) or blunt-endbased procedures involving Pwo or Pfu DNA polymerase or polished Taq-generated PCR products are quite satisfactory. Nevertheless, both techniques have been proven less straightforward than anticipated and yield low numbers of recombinant clones. To remedy this obvious disadvantage, many ligationindependent cloning schemes have been introduced (1,10). In contrast, subcloning of PCR products from genomic or plasmid DNA with restriction sites of the scientist's choice is often desired. To use cohesive-end cloning schemes, oligonucleotide primers, which exhibit convenient restriction endonuclease recognition sequences, are commonly used. Despite many improvements made in the past, many laboratories describe this approach as difficult, usually failing or inefficient for unknown reasons (1,5,10), even with the recognition sites placed at a sufficient distance from the end of the PCR primer [because many restriction endonucleases fail to cleave when their recognition sequences are located within a few bases of the end of a DNA fragment (6)]. As a consequence, most researchers complain that no reliable protocol is available, especially when using high-fidelity proofreading enzymes or enzyme mixtures for amplification. Recently, evidence was provided that remnants of Taq DNA polymerase surviving successive purification routines in a fully active state [e.g., phenol/chloroform extraction, ethanol precipitation, gel electrophoresis, and column purification (2,3)] are a major cause of low cloning efficiency. Also, because significant numbers of dNTPs survive such treatments, residual DNA polymerase efficiently counteracts subsequent restriction enzyme digestions; i.e., it continuously fills up 5′ staggered ends (2). In our hands, the clonability of PCR products was not significantly improved by modified procedures suggested to eliminate all carryover traces of DNA polymerase, primers and dNTPs before restriction endonuclease digestion, such as removal of polymerase by digestion with proteinase K (3), precipitation of PCR products with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and high salt (2,7) or clean-up of PCRs with widely available column purification kits from different commercial providers (Figure 1). We present a novel protocol for sticky-end cloning of PCR products using a combination of purification steps that reliably eliminate all carryover traces of DNA polymerase, interfering dNTPs, primers and salts, thus markedly improving the cloning efficiency of all PCR products tested so far. The following protocol exemplifies ready-to-go purification for a 3253-bp fragment containing the nls-lacZ reporter gene [nuclear localization sequence linked E. coli lacZ gene (4)] with restriction endonuclease sites of the researcher's choice. Amplification reactions were carried out on a GeneAmp System 9600 Thermal Cycler (Perkin-Elmer, Weiterstadt, Germany) in a total volume of 100 μL consisting of 50 mM KCl, 10 mM TrisHCl (pH 8.6), 2 mM MgCl2 in the presence of 200 μM each dNTP, 100 nM of forward and reverse primer, 0.1–10 ng of template DNA (ca. 106 copies of target DNA) and 3.5 U of Expand High Fidelity DNA Polymerase (Boehringer Mannheim GmbH, Mannheim, Germany). Each 30-nucleotide (nt) primer contained 10 nt of noncomplementary sequence at the 5′ end consisting of a 6-nt endonuclease restriction site and a 4-nt clamp added to improve endonuclease activity in subsequent PCR product digestion. Samples were initially heated to 94°C for 1 min to denature the template DNA. PCR was carried out for 30 cycles, each at 94°C for 15 s, 61°C for 15 s and 72°C for 2.5 min, followed by a final extension step for 5 min at 72°C.


Field-cum-laboratory experiment was conducted to study the effect of pre-harvest spray of insecticides for control of pulse beetle in Redgram at Seed Research and Technology Centre, Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, during Kharif 2016 and 2017. The design used was split plot design consist of five treatments and three spraying schedules with three replications. Adult emergence of pulse beetle and seed damage differed significantly due to pre- harvest spray of insecticides and different spraying schedules. The lowest number of adult emergence were recorded in treatment profenophos 50 EC followed by emamectin benzoate 5 SG and neemazal 10000 ppm. In case of spraying scheduled lower number of adult emergence and seed damage were recorded in spraying at 50% pod maturity and maturity as compared to others. In interaction effect significantly lowest adult emergence as well as seed damage were recorded in pre-harvest spraying of profenophos 50 EC 0.012 (1 ml/ litre of water) at 50% pod maturity and maturity stage to check the infestation of pulse beetle during storage up to two months.


Apoptosis, the main form of programmed cell death, is associated to a complex and dynamic transcriptional and post‐transcriptional programme. By microarray analysis, we have previously implicated 241 genes differentially expressed in rat cortical neurons exposed to β‐amyloid (Aβ) protein, the major constituent of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease. A large number of identified genes have no name or known function. In the present study, we have investigated one of these genes that encodes for a natural antisense transcript against Rad18 (NAT‐Rad18). Real‐time quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) confirmed differential expression of this transcript in cortical neurons exposed to Aβ. In situ hybridization, qRT‐PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to assess the regional and cellular distribution of NAT‐Rad18 in adult rat brain. These experiments showed a widespread distribution of NAT‐Rad18, with the highest levels in the cerebellum, brainstem and cortex, where it was specifically expressed by neurons. NAT‐Rad18 was also strongly expressed in epithelial cells of choroid plexus and cerebral vessels. At the cellular level, expression of Rad18 was counterbalanced by that of its natural antisense transcript, as shown by both in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. These experiments suggest the existence of a NAT that exerts a post‐transcriptional control over Rad18.


Management at finished goods warehouse owned by PT. FSCM Manufacturing Indonesia is less effective. That problem makes the warehouse becomes disorganized. The suggested designs to improve warehouse management include optimizing the warehouse capacity, redesigning of the warehouse layout, and improving goods placement system. Additionally, measurement of warehouse performance makes warehouse management better. As the results, after the implementation of the new design, the warehouse is now well organized and itsperformance is improved.


The horizontal segmentation of handwritten text lines is a key step to detect handwritten texts has slant. In this paper, a novel method is proposed based on the fuzzy triangles to bring together and connecting the text lines. This proposed method has been tested on data banks in Chinese languages. In the experiments on the Chinese handwritten texts, a performance of 94.53% was obtained. Abbreviations


Serum testosterone levels were monitored in female subjects who received therapy with human gonadotropins of urinary origin (menotropins) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Serum testosterone levels were not elevated in those subjects who did not experience side effects with therapy (Group A); among the other 7 subjects (Group B) with either moderate or severe ovarian hyperstimulation, serum testosterone levels rose distinctly (range 1.4–9.0 ng/ml). Total menotropin dosage and serum estradiol-17β levels were higher in Group B than in Group A. Ovarian hyperstimulation and elevation of serum testosterone were not restricted to patients with the syndrome of polycysticovaries. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 40: 889, 1975)


The purpose of this paper is to compare and integrate leader-member exchange (LMX) and leader identification (LID) as concurrently functioning mediators between three leadership styles (individual-focused transformational, contingent reward, and benevolent paternalistic) and two citizenship behaviors (helping and taking charge).,Data included 395 stable, independent leader-follower dyads from numerous Chinese organizations. Partial least squares structural equation modeling and relative weight analysis were used in data analyses.,In established, steady-state leader-member alliances, LMX was the dominant explanation between various leadership styles and helping; whereas LID explained leadership effects on taking charge. Three-stage indirect effects of leadership-LMX-LID-taking charge were found. Also, LMX and LID related to the three focal leadership styles in distinct ways.,Limitations include cross-sectional data. Strengths include a large, multi-source field sample. Implications include that LMX and LID provide different prosocial motivations; LMX indirectly engenders stronger other-orientation through LID; and the nature of indirect leadership effects via LID is more sensitive to the nature of the focal leadership styles. LMX and LID together provide a package of prosocial motivations.,Leaders interested in increasing employees' helping vs taking charge behaviors can be more effective by understanding the different motivational potentials of LMX vs LID. Leaders also need to choose appropriate behavioral styles when they activate LMX vis-a-vis LID.,This study integrates multiple leadership theories to provide a nuanced account of how social exchange and self-concept explain leadership at the interpersonal level when leadership styles, LMX, and LID are stable.


joints shquadra te , small, the first funicle joint smallest, joint six largest, four times or more larger than the first; all funicle joints short, the distal joint alone longer than wide ; funicles two and three subequal, four and five subequal, the latter twice the size of the former, each taken separately, six over twice longer than four or five. Club long, accuminate-ovate, as long as the whole fi~nicle, or very nearly, subequal to the scape; obtusely pointed. From two specimens, %-inch objective, I-inch optic (Bausch and 1,onib.) f1fale.-Unknown. A species unique for this group because of its antenna1 structure. (See the figure in its original description.) Black, with a yellowish band about the base of the abdomen. Described from a single female specimen found in the collections of the United States National Museum, Washington, D.C., labelled "Ex ovo Codling Moth, Tallapoosa, Ga." Remounted in balsam from a tag. Also another specimen captured on the window of an old pig-shed on a farm at Centralia, Illinois, August 25, r g r o (A. A. Girault). T h e species must be widely distributed in the United States. Habitat : United States-Tallapoosa, Georgia ; Centralia, Illinois ; IVashington, D. C. There is a specimen in the U. S. National hluseum collection and one in the collections of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, Urbana, Illinois. (Accession No. 42,221.)


Objective To observe the clinical effect of Smecta,Smecta with Mediac-vita in treating children diarrhea.Methods Two hundred and twenty eight patients with diarrhea were divide into two groups,all which given oral feeding,liquid therapy,the treatment group of patients with Smecta and Mediac-vita,while the control group with Smecta,The clinical effect were observed after the treatment.Results The total efficiency of the treatment group was 83.48,while the one of the control group was 68.14%,with the statiatically signficant difference.Conclusion The treatment of Smecta and Mediac-vita has the curative effect,prior to the treatment of Smecta.


Cybersecurity is an emerging and fast-growing field, and there has been a large and increasing demand for cybersecurity experts, leaders and college faculty with advanced education. Doctoral education is expected to produce advanced researchers and leaders in various areas, and working professionals are a significant part of doctoral student population, who prefer online education to accommodate their busy work schedules. Doctoral program curriculum, courses and learning activities should be designed to support and achieve the course learning outcomes, program objectives as well as educational and professional goals for students. This paper proposes a doctoral curriculum design model and a new Ph.D. program in Cybersecurity for working professionals using the case of a private non-profit university in northeastern United States. The program proposal presents the doctoral program and curriculum design based on the proposed design model and survey findings among working professionals for doctoral education in Cybersecurity, discusses key components of the curriculum design and examines their value and relationships to the goals and objectives of doctoral education.


Casino gambling on American Indian reservations provides revenues for many tribal governments. Tribes use those revenues to improve infrastructure, provide social services on the reservations, supplement members' incomes, and start related tourist and other businesses. The potential for tribes and nearby non-Indian communities to use casinos as the ''engine" for local economic development depends on location and accessibility, local amenities, management skill, and intercommunity cooperation. Not all casino operations have been successful, however, and the future growth of American Indian gaming in an increasingly competitive market is uncertain.


By analyzing the features of time parameters of activities, put forward the idea of decomposing activities before optimization and, more important, a method of network optimization after decomposing paralleling activities into sequential activities.


Guided waves hold great potential for applications in non-destructive testing. An example of research in this field is the development of novel procedures for ultrasonic testing and structural health monitoring of wheelset-axles which can be described as cylindrical structures with varying cross-section. A major drawback of the well established mesh based numerical procedures that are available for the simulation of guided wave propagation through such structures, like for example the finite element method, is that they can be very expensive in terms of computation time in cases where large geometries have to be discretized with a comparatively fine mesh. The use of a multimodal method seems to be a promising alternative approach that can be expected to provide results significantly faster than a mesh based procedure. This method uses the guided wave modes of a corresponding waveguide with a constant cross-section as base in which the local sound field at any given position in a waveguide with varying size of the cross-section can be expressed thus reducing the problem to solving the one dimensional differential equation that governs the evolution of the coefficients in the mode spectrum along the waveguide. Once the sound field along the waveguide has been calculated, a time dependence that also allows the simulation of pulse propagation can easily be included. In this work, the implementation of a multimodal method for simulation of guided waves in plates with varying thickness is adapted to cylindrical structures with varying radius. An overview of the results obtained for simulations of guided waves in cylindrical rods is presented and the multimodal approach is compared to the finite element method with respect to its efficiency.


Objective
To investigate the effects of stress caused by iron excess on biologic activity of murine myoblast C2C12 cells and related mechanism.

Methods
Murine preosteoblast myoblast C2C12 cells were incubated in a medium supplemented with different concentrations (50, 100, 200 μmol/L) of ferric ammonium citrate (FAC) under induction of horse serum. The proliferation were assessed by cell counting kit (CCK-8). The apoptotic hallmarks were detected by flow cytometer. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured using dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA). The quantity of intracellular mitochondria was measured using mitochondrial assay kit. The expression of autophagy proteins microtubule-associated protein 1 light 3Ⅰ (LC3Ⅰ), LC3Ⅱ, bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19-kilodalton interacting protein3 (BNIP3), and bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19-kilodalton interacting protein3-like (BNIP3L) were detected by Western blotting. The expression of cytochrome C in the cytoplasm and mitochondria were detected by Western blotting respectively. The cells were treated with 2.5 mmol/L antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and FAC, the proliferation and apoptosis indexes of the cells were tested again.

Results
Proliferation of C2C12 cells was significantly inhibited by FAC in dose dependent manner (P<0.01). The apoptotic rate, level of ROS, and number of mitochondria were increased by FAC in dose dependent manner (P<0.01). The protein expression of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ, BNIP3, and BNIP3L were increased by FAC in dose dependent manner (P<0.01). The protein expression of Cyt C cytoplasm/mitochondria increased by FAC in dose dependent manner (P<0.01). The proliferation indices in FAC+ NAC, FAC groups were 1.46±0.05 and 0.63±0.04 respectively, and apoptotic rate were 4.72±0.57 and 15.78±0.57 respectively. The statistically significant differrence (P<0.01) suggested that addition of NAC partly reversed the decrease of proliferation and the increase of apoptosis in C2C12 cells induced by FAC.

Conclusion
The stress caused by iron excess can significantly inhibit biologic activity of skeletal muscle cells, and the mechanism behind inhibition may involve activation of autophagy and apoptosis of mitochondria induced by oxidative stress.

Key words:
C2C12 cell; Iron accumulation; Sarcopenia; Mitochondrion; Autophagy; Apoptosis


It analyzes the impact of HSDPA on the former WCDMA radio network. By comparing the test data and the emulation,it analyzes the impact on WCDMA R99. The above analysis can provide reference for network planning and optimization.


Between 1860 and 1920, a staggering number of collections of Indian folklore was published by British administrators, missionaries, wives and daughters of officials, and Indian scholars. Rich in local detail, these collections of folklore contain copious prefaces, notes and explanatory appendixes. I examine the prefatory material of two folktale collections - Mary Frere's Old Deccan Days (1868), and Georgiana A. Kingscote and S.M. Natea Sastri's Tales of the Sun (1890) - for their display of multiple levels of engagement between co-authors, informants, and representatives of colonial authority, calling into question the concept of a stable authorial center. I argue that these collections comment on how collectors of folklore delineated alterity and subjectivity while themselves experiencing shifting subaltern positions.


In this paper, the performance improvement and modeling of small onboard generator were described. As the characteristics of the field coil which are a major parameters of generator were improved, the system bandwidth could be increased, therefore the generator could also be satisfied with fast characteristic loads. Established the brief control model of the generator, it could be possible to do the analysis of generator performance, and improve the operational stability of the generator system using the control model.


The system developed for Projek Sarjana Muda (pSM) is entitled FKP
Visualization Floor Plan System which is a web based system that can view the position
of lecturer room, laboratory, technician room, store, staff room and etc.The user,
especially students can search the lecturer' s room based on the floor plan. It can search
by lecturer's name. Besides that, it is easier for the students and lecturers to search the
lecturer room and it can view a position of lecturer room in the map. With this system,
users will get the information about the location in the faculty. It should interest the
users to search the location of the whole faculty very easily. Then, the users only choose
what place they need to know such as the laboratory. The administrator can maintain this
system with edit, update and delete staff and facilities. It can help the system more
interactive and suitable to use to user because the interesting interface and user friendly
can attract the lecturer, staff and student to use the system. Besides, they also can
register a new staff and facilities. The administrator generate a report of lecturers in the
faculty and statistics of lecturer who take study leave whether they active or not.
Hopefully, FKP Visualization Floor Plan System capable to help users to search the
location easily.


The Hurwitz action of the n-braid group Bn on the n-fold direct product (Bm) n of the m-braid group Bm is studied. We show that the orbit of any ntuple of the n standard generators of Bn+1 consists of the (n− 1)th powers of n + 1 elements.


This study used data from different sources to identify the extent of the unmet need for postprandial glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) after the initiation of basal insulin therapy in Europe, Asia Pacific, the United States, and Latin America.


The polyparametric intelligence information system for diagnostics human functional state in medicine and public health is developed. The essence of the system consists in polyparametric describing of human functional state with the unified set of physiological parameters and using the polyparametric cognitive model developed as the tool for a system analysis of multitude data and diagnostics of a human functional state. The model is developed on the basis of general principles geometry and symmetry by algorithms of artificial intelligence systems. The architecture of the system is represented. The model allows analyzing traditional signs - absolute values of electrophysiological parameters and new signs generated by the model - relationships of ones. The classification of physiological multidimensional data is made with a transformer of the model. The results are presented to a physician in a form of visual graph - a pattern individual functional state. This graph allows performing clinical syndrome analysis. A level of human functional state is defined in the case of the developed standard ("ideal") functional state. The complete formalization of results makes it possible to accumulate physiological data and to analyze them by mathematics methods.


Computer-Assisted Learning realized with "Learn assist" is web application suitable for everyone. It is a tool made for making your everyday organization easier. Application allows user to add unlimited number of goals and makes keeping track of each goal simple so user has insight on amount of work that has been done and the amount yet to be done. User can make big goals simpler by separating them into steps. For each step it is possible to add tasks necessary for step completion. Keeping track of tasks status gives user insight in his progress simply by comparing ration of finished and unfinished tasks. User is also able to add notes for each step so he can remind himself of things need for each step. To make completing each step easier user is provided with repository page where he can upload various types of materials and then download them or look at them when needed.


AUTHOR Luhring, Richard TITLE A Preliminary "Basic Math Program" Proposal. INSTITUTION Contra Costa Coll., San Pablo, CA. PUB DATE 1997-04-00 NOTE 23p. PUB TYPE Reports Evaluative (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Academic Achievement; *College Curriculum; *Community Colleges; Educational Change; High Risk Students; Instructional Innovation; *Mathematics Instruction; Pacing; Program Development; *Student Attrition; Student Needs; Two Year Colleges IDENTIFIERS Contra Costa College CA; Flexible Learning


The problems existing in the medical system's reformation are caused by "market-oriented approach" rather than "market failure".To tackle the problems,it is necessary to relocate the function of government.Specifically speaking,the functions of government in the medical system should be protector,purchaser,resources planner,and supervisor.Such relocation is based on the current change from "government-domination" to "society-domination",and reflects a fundamental tendency that the public sectors are cooperating more closely with the private ones.


The invention discloses a hoisting device for steel truss sections of a steel truss cable-stayed bridge and a hoisting method of the hoisting device. The device comprises a longitudinal movement track (3), wherein a front truss transporting trolley (4) and a rear truss transporting trolley (5) are sequentially arranged on the longitudinal movement track (3); a vertical lifting hoist (6) is further arranged above the longitudinal movement track (3). The device and the method have the characteristics that the construction workload is reduced, the construction cost is reduced, the construction time is shortened and the construction efficiency is improved.


Phonetic categories are generally assumed to have multiple cues available, which listeners can reliably use for identification. Moreover, there is considerable evidence that such cues are perceived integrally as a unit [Best et al. (1981), Kemler Nelson (1993)]. This paper presents results from two experiments exploring cue perception by comparing Mandarin and American English listeners' perception of the Polish alveopalatal ∼ retroflex sibilant contrast. This contrast is native to Mandarin listeners [Stevens et al. (2004)] and is difficult for English listeners to discriminate [Lisker (2001)]. In the first experiment, listeners discriminated pairs of syllables having fully correlated cues, pairs differing in a single dimension (fricative noise, formant transition), or fully conflicting cue pairs. Results demonstrate that only Mandarin listeners are negatively affected by conflicting cue information. In a second experiment, the same listeners labeled a two‐dimensional continuum varying in fricative noise and formant transition cues. Mandarin listeners reliably used both cues and showed an effect of integration. English listeners relied solely on vocalic information and ignored fricative variation. Together these results provide more evidence that cue use is language specific and suggests that listeners do not automatically generalize cue information used in other contrasts to a new context.


In alloys, solute segregation at grain boundaries is classically attributed to three driving forces: a high solution enthalpy, a high size mismatch, and a high difference in interfacial energy. These effects are generally cast into a single scalar segregation energy and used to predict grain boundary solute enrichment or depletion. This approach neglects the physics of segregation at many competing grain boundary sites, and can also miss electronic effects that are energetically significant to the problem. In this paper, we demonstrate that such driving forces cannot explain, nor thus predict, segregation in some alloys. Using quantum-accurate segregation spectra that have recently become available for some polycrystalline alloys, we predict strong segregation for gold in aluminum, a solvent-solute combination that does not conform to classical driving forces. Our experiments confirm these predictions and reveal gold enrichment at grain boundaries that is two orders of magnitude over the bulk lattice solute concentration.


The Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is transmitted by the whitefly vector (Bemisia tabaci) and can cause big losses in tomato yields in Egypt and worldwide. Several genes linked to resistance to TYLCV (Ty-1, Ty-2 and Ty-3) and whitefly (Mi-1.2) in wild species and cultivated tomatoes were detected. Cleaved amplified Polymorphic Sequence (CAPS) and Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) markers are used as tools in tomato lines carrying different combinations of Ty-1, Ty-2, Ty-3 and Mi-1.2 alleles. In this study, a total of nineteen tomato genotypes have been selected for the existence of resistance alleles, using five CAPS and three SCAR markers. Resistant allele-specific fragments for TYLCV and whitefly have been identified in some of the genotypes used in the current research. Thus, CAPS markers closely linked to Ty-1 and Mi-1.2 discriminated homozygous and heterozygous tomato genotypes. In addition, Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) markers linked to Ty-2 and Ty-3 genes separated both dominant and recessive alleles in tomato plant materials. On the contrary, CAPS (Ty-2 and Ty-3) and SCAR (Mi-1.2) markers gave false positive results. These molecular markers are considered advantageous tools for pyramiding resistance genes of several genotypes into a single line, improving the resistance to begomoviruses.


The wastewater treatment process has developed with the primary goals of protecting receiving water ecosystems and human health. Over time, there have been continuous innovations in process efficiencies, energy recovery, and nutrient removal. Wastewater offers opportunity for recovery of resources of various economic values, and recent research aims at process innovation to optimize resource recovery while still achieving the primary goals of the treatment process. The objective of this study is to assess the logistical and economic feasibility of recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus at two municipal treatment plants in the Tampa Bay area, one employing aerobic digestion and the other anaerobic digestion. The study is conducted using literature review of applicable processes, mass balance on the fate of nutrients (N and P) through the treatment plants and special attention to sludge handling.


ABSTRACT Automatic drainage network characterization provides basic information on lithology. Thus, a new Tortuosity and Confluence Organization (TACO) index, based on the notion of confluence density coupled with the calculation of tortuosity, is proposed. This index can be used to compare thinned riverbeds as they appear on topographic maps or when extracted from a digital elevation model. This new index distinguishes meanders with a high degree of tortuosity from linear and parallel structures or meanders with low tortuosity. The distinction between meanders and linear patterns from dendritic arrangements depends on the number of confluences observed in a moving window. The tested area belongs to the Coatzacoalcos basin, which presents the configurations considered by this index. Results show that the meander configuration has values lower than 80, linear patterns have values around 100, and dendritic configurations are between 120 and 200. Thus, this index can be used to map a region according to the drainage network configuration.


Widely used in geoscience, global or large-scale digital elevation model (DEM) is an essential depiction of the 3-dimenional information of the bare earth [1] . Among others, the most popular DEMs include the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM (1" for USA and 3" for global), ASTER GDEM (30m), and several other similar ones [1] . The most significant problem for these existing global DEMs is the temporal latency (more than 20-year-old for SRTM [2] , more than 10-year-old for ASTER [3] ). Furthermore, some of these foundation data lack consistencies due to the inclusion of multiple data sources collected over a long period of time [1] . The successful launches of the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission in December 2018 [4] and the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission [5] in September 2018 provide current, complementary, and dense on-orbit global elevation with unprecedented accuracy and coverage in the history of space laser altimetry. However, many researchers have found that GEDI and ICESat-2 data have inconsistent quality, e.g., a root mean square error (RMSE) of 4.48 m for GEDI terrain height [6] and an uncertainty ranging from 0.2 m to 2 m for ICESat-2 ATL08 terrain height [7] . Beyond the abundant research focusing on quality assessment, there are a significant amount of work on wall-to-wall mapping by integrating GEDI and other Earth observations to overcome the spatial heterogeneity of spaceborne lidar data [8] - [11] . However, there are no recent studies to generate terrain height using GEDI since it is originally designed for forestry studies; and the capability and accuracy of its terrain measurements are less promising than canopy measurements [6] , [7] . Subsequently, few research was reported to combine the terrain measurements from GEDI and ICESat-2 to achieve an even denser coverage than using GEDI or ICESat-2 alone.


The notions of complex q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets (Cq-ROFSs) and linguistic sets (LSs) are two different concepts to deal with uncertain information in multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problems. The Heronain mean (HM) and geometric Heronain mean (GHM) operators are an effective tool used to aggregate some q-rung orthopair linguistic fuzzy numbers (q-ROLFNs) into a single element. The purpose of this manuscript is to propose a new concept called complex q-rung orthopair linguistic sets (Cq-ROLSs) to cope with complex uncertain information in real decision-making problems. Then the fundamental laws and their examples of the Cq-ROLSs are also given. Furthermore, the notions of complex q-rung orthopair linguistic Heronian mean (Cq-ROLHM) operator, complex q-rung orthopair linguistic weighted Heronian mean (Cq-ROLWHM) operator, complex q-rung orthopair linguistic geometric Heronianmean (Cq-ROLGHM) operator, complex q-rung orthopair linguistic weighted geometric Heronian mean (Cq-ROLWGHM) operator are proposed and their basic properties are also discussed. Moreover, we develop a novel approach to MAGDM using proposed operators and a numerical example is used to describe the flexibility and explicitly of the initiated operators. In last, the comparison between proposed method and existing work is also discussed in detail.


Because of concerns about potential hazards to surgical personnel of the plume associated with laser refractive surgery, this study was performed to characterize the composition of such plumes. Filter elements were removed from the smoke evacuator of a VISX S3 excimer laser (filter pore size ~0.3 microns) and from a Mastel Clean Room ( filter pore size ~0.2 microns) used with a LADARVISION excimer laser. The filters from both laser systems captured the laser-induced plumes from multiple, routine, LASIK patient procedures. Some filters were processed for scanning electron microscopy, while others were extracted with methanol and chloroform for biochemical analysis. Both the VISX "Final Air" filter and the Mastel "Clean Room" filter captured material that was not observed in filters that had clean operating room air only passed through them. In the VISX system, air flows through the filter unit parallel to the filter matrix. SEM analysis showed these filters captured discrete particles of 0.3 to 3.0 microns in size. In the Mastel Clean Room unit, air flows orthogonally through the filter, and the filter matrix was heavily layered with captured debris so that individual particles were not readily distinguished. Amino acid analysis and gel electrophoresis of extracted material revealed proteinaceous molecules as large as 5000 molecular weight. Such large molecules in the laser plume are not predicted by the existing theory of photochemical ablation. The presence of relatively large biomolecules may constitute a risk of allergenic reactions in personnel exposed to the plume, and also calls into question the precise mechanism of excimer laser photochemical ablation.


— Namahn, a Belgian User Centered Design consultancy, researches on methodologies for creating user centered designs for critical systems. In this context, we are currently conducting field studies at the signal cabins of the Belgian national railway organization. We devised a specific approach for conducting field studies in supervisory control systems, based on ethnomethodology, situation awareness, and mental models represented as an abstraction hierarchy. The field studies are particularly targeted at uncovering important aspects of human computer interaction for supervisory control: interaction among humans, interactions between the human operator and the computer, situation awareness, and decision making. The field study is aimed at providing a clear overview of the work environment, tasks and cognitive load of the signalers and of possible bottlenecks in the current way of operating.


A heterogeneous doping method was used for the first time to modify the transport properties of the oxygen-ion conductor La(2)Mo(2)O(9). The effect of temperature and oxygen partial pressure in the gas phase on conductivity of the obtained composite {0.85La2Mo2O9–0.15La2Mo3O12} was studied. Introduction of 15 mol. % an inert low-conductive additional phase La(2)Mo(3)O(12) results in an increase in conductivity of the matrix phase by nearly 1 orders of magnitude. It is associated with appearance of a composite effect. However, there is no suppression of the α-La(2)Mo(2)O(9)↔β-La(2) Mo(2)O(9) phase transition. It is shown that the conductivity type of both lanthanum dimolybdate and composite based on it is predominantly ionic in the wide range of oxygen partial pressures


The main aim of this work is to propose a new system of a hybrid photovoltaic system working with batteries and supercapacitors and to analyze its efficiency. The preliminary results of the study on the operation of the system are discussed. The results obtained while testing the operation of a hybrid system and a PV system working separately with batteries and supercapacitors are compiled and compared. The tests covered the systems efficiency for the following electrical loads: heater warming up water in a tank, and lighting - a LED light. The work of batteries and supercapacitors during discharge has been analysed. The use of a hybrid system made it possible to increase energy storage efficiency and the system operation flexibility, compared to solar systems offered by the sector.


In the present research, steam cracking of two types of feedstocks i.e., naphtha and ethane is simulated for Pyrocrack1-1 and 2/2 coil configurations considering two key parameters of coil outlet temperature (COT) and coil capacity using a radical based kinetic model. The computer model is confirmed using the industrial data obtained from Amirkabir Petrochemical Complex. The results are in good agreement with performance data for naphtha cracking in a wide range of severity (0.4-0.7), and for ethane cracking on various conversions (50-70). It was found that Pyrocrack2-2 coil type is an appropriate choice for steam cracking of ethane at reasonable ethylene yield while resulting in much lower tube wall temperature while Pyrocrack1-1 coil type is a proper selection for liquid feedstocks i.e. naphtha. It can be used for cracking of liquid feedstocks at optimal ethylene yield whereas not exceeding the allowable maximum tube temperature. Keywords—Coil configuration, Ethane, Naphtha, Steam cracking.


The current study examines the Armstrong – Frederick cyclic plasticity model and evaluates its performance on simulating structural steel member behavior. The formulation of the constitutive equations and their numerical implementation in an in-house finite element code are discussed in detail. The performance of the model on the prediction of the cyclic plasticity related phenomena such as the Bauschinger effect and the accumulation of plastic strain is evaluated through appropriately selected examples. The behavior of a pipe subjected to cyclic bending and cyclic bending in the presence of constant internal/external pressure is examined with the use of finite element models adopting the Armstrong – Frederick model. Finally, the UOE manufacturing process and the effect it has on the maximum collapse pressure of the produced pipe is simulated accurately. The predictions of the isotropic hardening model, the linear kinematic hardening model and the Armstrong – Frederick model are compared with the corresponding predictions of more elaborate model developed and implemented elsewhere adopting the "Bounding Surface" concept. Institutional Repository Library & Information Centre University of Thessaly 04/04/2020 22:28:01 EEST 22.214.171.124 v Εφαρμογή του Μοντέλου Κυκλικής Πλαστικότητας Armstrong – Frederick για την Προσομοίωση της Συμπεριφοράς Μεταλλικών Δομικών Στοιχείων


This paper took one 330MW unit boiler in one power plant as an example, then doing some research about the boiler system energy change through doing exergy analysis. After this, the exergy flow equation was established, the energy transfer, utilize and loss of the thermal power plant production was revealed, the exergy efficiency of the boiler was defined. So the paper can provide a basis for energy utilization of power plant.


Objective In order to explore the mechanizms of thymosin action on hypothalamus. Methods RT-PCR and in situ hybridization histochemistry (ISHH)were used. Results The expression of prothymosin α1-mRNA was detected in preoptic area of hy- pothalamus by using RT-PCR technique. The results of ISHH showed that prothymosin α1-mRNA was expressed in the preoptic mag- nocellular nucleus, suprachiasmatic nuclei and paraventricular nuclei of hypothalamus. In addition, the positive signal of prothymosin α1- mRNA was also observed both in the microglicyte near the third ventricle and in medium to small sized pyramidal cells in cerebral cor- tex. Conclusion Prothymosin α1 is produced in preoptic area of the hypothalamus by means of paracrine, which indicates that prothy- mosin α1 participates in the regulation of hypothalamic function.


Biological sand filter is an economical and effective process and the NH~+_4-N removal effect is better than that of general sand filter.Influencing factors such as temperature,concentration of NH~+_4-N and COD_(Mn) of the raw water on NH~+_4-N removal from micro-polluted water of Fuyang River were studied.The results show that temperature is the most important factor,the higher the temperature of the raw water,the higher the removal rate of NH~+_4-N.The raw water NH~+_4-N concentration can affect its removal rate apparently under the condition of normal NH~+_4-N concentration and normal or high temperature of the water.The higher the NH~+_4-N concentration,the higher the removal rate,but the change of concentration has less influence on removal efficiency.At the same temperature,when the concentration of COD_(Mn) and NH~+_4-N are both higher,COD_(Mn) concentration affects NH~+_4-N removal apparently.


Background: User stories are artifacts largely used to describe requirements in agile software development. However, the writing of user stories usually is focused on describing functional aspects of the software, leaving aside non-functional aspects as usability and user experience. Objective: This paper aims to present the findings of an investigation on how developers use the techniques/methods of the Human Computer Interaction to support them in the writing of user stories; and if, in fact, when the developers use them, they add the usability and user experience aspects in the user story description. Method: An experimental study was conducted to catch and understand the participants' rationales of using each technique/method. Results: Based on the participants' notes, a qualitative analysis was carried out, considering the 92 user stories produced by 42 participants. The results have shown that, in most cases, the participants recognized the importance and the role of the techniques/methods in the writing of user stories. Conclusions: As a conclusion, we can pinpoint that some techniques/methods are used only to unfold functional requirements and not to report aspects regarding the usability and the user experience.


The quasi 2 day wave (QTDW) is a traveling planetary wave that can be enhanced rapidly to large amplitudes in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region during the northern winter postsolstice period. In this study, we present five case studies of QTDW events during January and February 2005, 2006 and 2008–2010 by using the Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Mesosphere Electrodynamics‐General Circulation Model (TIME‐GCM) nudged with the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System‐Advanced Level Physics High Altitude (NOGAPS‐ALPHA) Weather Forecast Model. With NOGAPS‐ALPHA introducing more realistic lower atmospheric forcing in TIME‐GCM, the QTDW events have successfully been reproduced in the TIME‐GCM. The nudged TIME‐GCM simulations show good agreement in zonal mean state with the NOGAPS‐ALPHA 6 h reanalysis data and the horizontal wind model below the mesopause; however, it has large discrepancies in the tropics above the mesopause. The zonal mean zonal wind in the mesosphere has sharp vertical gradients in the nudged TIME‐GCM. The results suggest that the parameterized gravity wave forcing may need to be retuned in the assimilative TIME‐GCM.


Recreational beaches depend on wide space and good water quality as well as amenities in order for them to be popular with the public. When such beaches lose popularity, it is often related to the loss of beach space, erosion or degradation of the surrounding environment. In the case of erosion or loss of beach space, beach nourishment is now accepted as the best solution. It provides the sand and profile that is required to reduce wave energy but also provides economic returns as additional area for social and economic activities are created. This paper discusses the conceptual design of beach nourishment for erosion
protection of sandy beaches and the impacts and issues arising from the implementation of beach nourishment projects on holiday beaches. The cases featured in the discussions and drawn from the experiences and records of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia, Coastal Engineering Division in undertaking coastal protection work throughout the country.


Introduction This fascinating detective story began a few years ago when I was working on a chapter entitled 'Dysfunction in the flow of food' for a fivevolume treatise on plant pathology (Zimmermann & McDonough, 1978). Tyloses, occasionally regarded as causing interruption of water flow in the xylem, are more likely the result of cessation of water conduction (Klein, 1923). During a search for older literature on tyloses I came across the paper of Wieler (1888), and found in the same volume an article by Prael (1888). The latter contained a very peculiar paragraph. Freely translated, it reads as follows: 'Tyloses formation has been explained by an anonymous paper in 1845. His (correctly her) observations indicated that tyloses were outgrowths, through the pits, of neighboring wood parenchyma cells. This was generally accepted until it was questioned by Bohm who maintained that 'those peculiar structures are the result of accumulation of cytoplasm between the lamellae of the vessel wall, whose innermost layer grows into a tylosis.' However, Reess (1868) and Unger (1867) defended the earlier view successfully.' The German grammar (here translated by 'his' and 'her') implies that the author was a lady. I immediately went to the library of the Harvard University Herbaria to look up Volume 3 of the 'Botanische Zeitung' where, indeed, I found an anonymous paper, published in two parts in two successive issues. Interestingly, the wording 'von einem Ungenannten' (by an anonymous author) implies a male author. My fascination increased as I read the text: here was such a comprehensive description of tyloses, based on such careful observations that many later papers seemed redundant. Who was the author of this? After a long search I finally came across the answer in the . 'Physiological Plant Anatomy' of Haberlandt (1914) who begins his section on tyloses, 'These intrusive vesicles, the development of which was first studied and explained by Hermine von Reichenbach, are known as tyloses.' In the bibliography Haberlandt cites the paper under the name


A 71-year-old man presented in August 2018 with gradual diminution of vision in the left eye followed by complete vision loss for 4 months. The patient, a known diabetic, had undergone right radical nephrectomy in 2013 for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). On examination, there was no perception of light and projection of rays in the left eye in comparison to normal perception in the right eye. Pupillary reaction was also sluggish on the left side. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed focal thickening in the chorioretinal membrane posteriorly at the level of optic attachment which was hypointense on T2W and iso to hyperintense on T1W. B-scan of left eye showed dome-shaped choroidal lesion suspicious of choroidal melanoma. Positron emission tomography with 18F-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose integrated with computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) revealed a 14 mm × 14 mm FDG avid well-defined soft-tissue lesion in the left lower lung lobe (SUV max 5.37) with multiple lesions in both lung fields, FDG avid lytic lesion in neck of the left femur (SUV max 3.37) along with multiple FDG avid mediastinal lymph nodes (SUV max 6.61). There was no FDG uptake in the eyes. Patient underwent myo-conjunctival enucleation and the specimen was sent for histopathological examination. Gross evaluation revealed a 1.8 cm × 1.2 cm × 0.6 cm whitish firm tumor in the inferotemporal quadrant of the globe. The tumor had an endophytic growth pattern. On microscopy, the tumor was arranged in an organoid pattern with polygonal cells having clear cytoplasm and prominent nucleolus on the choroid in the posterior segment (PS) of the left eye [Figures 1a, b and 2a]. The morphological diagnosis was of a metastatic conventional/clear RCC. On immunohistochemistry (IHC), the tumor showed sparse weak positivity for Paired box gene 8 (PAX8) [Figure 2b], strong positivity for Cluster of Differentiation 10 (CD10) [Figure 2c] and was negative for Cytokeratin 7 (CK7), S100 [Figure 2d], and Human Melanoma Black 45 (HMB45), thus confirming a metastatic RCC and ruling out a malignant melanoma. Patient was later started on multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Sunitinib.


Zr-Th-U minerals, namely baddeleyite, zircon and U-Th-oxide, were found in high-Mg diorite from the Late Devonian – Early Carboniferous synplutonic dyke in granodiorites of the Chelyabinsk massif, South Urals. Micron-sized minerals were investigated by electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. Their chemical compositions were determined by electron probe microanalysis that was optimized to ensure more precise measurements of the composition of minerals. Baddeleyite grains are found as inclusions in amphibole crystals and reside in intergranular areas. The former retain their composition and show no traces of corrosion or substitution. In the intergranular areas, baddeleyite grains were replaced by polycrystalline zircon due to the reaction with an acid melt, and the U-Th-oxide precipitated inside baddeleyite simultaneously, which suggests the restite origin of baddeleyite. The main features of the baddeleyite composition are extremely high concentrations of ThO2 and UO2 (to 0.03 wt. % and 1.0 wt. %, respectively), which may be due to the metasomatic interaction between the mantle peridotite and the crustal or carbonatite fluid or melt.


Cement production is the primary source of global CO2 emissions in the construction industry. Blast furnace slag (BFS) has been examined as a potential substitute for cement to reduce CO2 emissions. In addition, this substitution increases the long-term strength and improves the chemical resistance of mortar. However, a glassy film is formed on the surface of BFS while it is generated as a byproduct, lowering the initial strength of mortar. Notably, this film is destroyed in an alkaline environment. Thus, several studies have used solutions with various alkali activators. However, alkali activators are unsafe, as they are strong alkaline materials, and have low economic efficiency. This study experimentally improved the initial hydration reactivity of a mortar containing BFS as a substitute for cement, thereby improving its initial strength. We observed an increase in carbonation resistance. In addition, this study focused on evaluating the compressive strength and carbonation resistance of mortar prepared using BFS and alkaline water obtained from the electrolysis of a K2CO3 electrolyte. Results show that alkali-activated mortar using an electrolyzed alkaline aqueous solution has higher strength and contains more hydration products than that using conventional mixing water.


Blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome (BRBNS) is a rare clinical entity characterised by multiple haemangiomas commonly occurring in the skin and the gastrointestinal (Gl) tract. The association between these cutaneous cavernous haemangiomas and similar lesions in the U l tract was first described in 1860 and the acronym B R B N S was given by Bean in 1958 [ l J, Patients may present with massive GI bleeding or anaemia due to chronic occult bleeding.


Successful commercialization of electric vehicles has been hindered by a lack of data pertaining to both desirable vehicle configurations and potential market size. The objective of the study on which this paper is based was to redress these data inadequacies pertaining to commercial sector fleet vehicles through information obtained from fleet managers about vehicle travel requirements, cost and range trade-offs, and operational practices. The study was commissioned by the Electric Power Research Institute and the Detroit Edison Company as part of their ongoing research agendas that focus on electric over-the-road vehicles (EVs). The study's findings with respect to the size and characteristics of the potential market for electric vehicles in commercial fleets are presented. Information is given on fleet size, range requirements, and vehicle use patterns. In addition to general information about commercial fleets, the data are analyzed in terms of key factors associated with EV performance, such as miles traveled per day, availability for recharging, and the need for high-speed travel. Data for the study were obtained through telephone interviews with fleet managers in commercial establishments throughout the United States. A total of 583 interviews were conducted during 2 months of the fall of 1983. The probability sample of establishments was drawn from a comprehensive list compiled by Dun and Bradstreet. Because scientific sampling procedures were used, it was possible to translate the sample data into estimates for the entire nation with known degrees of precision.


Simple Summary Fracture healing is a complex process that includes a framework of events triggered by tissue injury. Clinical experience with bone healing revealed a series of cellular and biochemical actors encompassing the repair mechanisms in human beings. However, the different responses of individuals in this scenario are still a matter of debate. We analyze herein in some detail the disparity between men and women in this process. Based on the literature, we suggest that different mechanisms could underlie bone healing in men and women and that the role of estrogen could be pivotal in delayed fracture repair observed in women. Abstract Fracture healing is a long-term and complex process influenced by a huge variety of factors. Among these, there is a sex/gender disparity. Based on significant differences observed in the outcome of bone healing in males and females, in the present review, we report the main findings, hypotheses and pitfalls that could lead to these differences. In particular, the role of sex hormones and inflammation has been reported to have a role in the observed less efficient bone healing in females in comparison with that observed in males. In addition, estrogen-induced cellular processes such as autophagic cell cycle impairment and molecular signals suppressing cell cycle progression seem also to play a role in female fracture healing delay. In conclusion, it seems conceivable that a complex framework of events could contribute to the female bias in bone healing, and we suggest that a reappraisal of the compelling factors could contribute to the mitigation of sex/gender disparity and improve bone healing outcomes.


The paper describes a reform of the exhaust turbine supercharged with 465Q gasoline engine,then research the supercharged engine performance and discharge changes with the different intake pressure.The engine power performance improves obviously after supercharge.The higher intake compression ratio is,the higher specific power is.After the thermal efficiency is improved,the effective fuel consumption rate is down,the fuel economy is improved.In low intake pressure,with intake pressure increasing,Carbon monoxide and Hydrocarbon emissions reduce,Nitrogen oxygen exhaust emissions increase.In high intake pressure,with intake pressure increasing,Carbon monoxide and Hydrocarbon emissions increase,Nitrogen oxygen exhaust emissions reduce.With speed increasing,Carbon monoxide,Hydrocarbon and Nitrogen oxygen exhaust emissions reduce after the increase in the first.The higher the intake pressure is,the higher the engine's heat release rate and pressure rise ratio is.


Scripture exhorts the faithful to "Sing a new song!" but for many worshipers their songs are still predominantly those of a bygone theological era in terms of the language and imagery with which both God and people are described. Since hymns have long been understood to be major contributors to the shaping of personal theologies, and with inclusivity a contemporary justice issue in the United Church of Canada, it seemed desirable to find a way to address this perceived problem. Based on the commonly accepted premise that one learns best by doing, and supported by the dialogic adult learning strategies developed by educators Jane Vella and Patricia Cranton, a workshop in hymn-text writing for parishioners was designed and tested with ten volunteer participants. The purpose of this intervention was two-fold: to evaluate the structure and teaching efficacy of the workshop itself while teaching participants the basics of hymn construction, style and content, and to offer participants an opportunity for theological reflection and discovery. An open-ended, process theology approach was the underlying orientation; the researcher was interested to learn what types of transformative thinking or behaviours the participants might experience as a result of their hymn text writing and small-group discussions.


Comparative evaluation of two iso-nutritional feeds (crude protein- 22%) viz. mash and pellet upon the water quality and effectiveness in terms of survival and production of two Indian major carps namely column- bottom feeder rohu (Labeo rohita) and bottom feeder Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) under mixed culture condition was carried out in outdoor experimental tanks (180 L) for 96 days. Though, increase in body weight of the test fishes was not influenced by the feed types; water and soil quality parameters, feeding efficiency, survivability and total fish biomass significantly varied. Though, feeding efficiency remained lower in mash feed (23.97%) than pellet (83.81%), net weight gain of the test fishes remained slightly higher in mash (108.60%) than pellet (106.52%) fed treatments. However, the percentage in fish biomass gain in mash fed treatment (65.92%) was lower than pellet (83. 81%). The environmental health of the treatments with respect to water and sediment quality subjected to mash and pellet feed application under identical stocking composition of fish did not differed significantly. N: P ratio in both mash and pellet fed treatments tended to increase overtime and remained congenial (4 to 6.4). Increase in available phosphorous and organic carbon of sediment under both the feed types supported by the physico-chemical exchange and microbial mineralization process was slightly higher in mash fed treatment as evidenced from higher presence of heterotrophic load (72.57 CFU x 10 2 ml -1 ) than pellet (61.86 CFU x 10 2 ml -1 ) fed treatments. Therefore, mash type of feed was highly


Kinetics of oxidation of some aliphatic primary and secondary alcohols viz., ethanol, propan-1-ol, propan-2-ol, butan-1-ol, butan-2-ol and 2-methyl butanol by pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) have been studied in water- perchloric acid medium. The reaction shows first order dependence with respect to pyridinium chlorochromate [PCC] and hydrogen ion [H


A method was reported for simultaneous determination of diphenyl ether herbicides enantiomers in soil by chiral high performance liquid chromatography.After extracted by acetonitrile and salted-out by sodium chloride,diphenyl ether herbicides enantiomers were partitioned into upper acetonitrile layer and purified on a Florisil solid-phase extraction column.The average recoveries of diphenyl ether herbicides enantiomers ranged between 84.4% and 98.3%.The limits of detection ranged between 0.013mg/kg and 0.016mg/kg and the limits of quantification ranged between 0.043mg/kg and 0.053mg/kg.


According to the requirement of automatic target recognition(ATR) evaluation research,this paper first clarifies several important concepts in the field of ATR evaluation.Then,it introduces four types of measures of performance(MOP)(confusion metrics,probability measures,ratio measures and some measures based on ROC curve),including their concepts,definitions and the directions.It also proposes some principles of how to select the MOP,and analyses the four types of MOP contrastively according to the principles,and the conclusions have some reference to actual ATR performance evaluation applications.


Half a century ago, Jean Piaget suggested a new approach to the study of moral (and non-moral) behavior which we have called Dual Aspect Model, and which, as we shall see, has opened up a new, very prosperous field of research into the nature and development of human morality. When I came across Piaget's suggestion, in the early 1970s, I was thrilled. I imagined that if this notion, which has received little attention in research on moral behavior and development, were fully understood, it could revolutionize psychology and education.


TRMM‐observed mature‐stage squall lines during late spring and early summer in the central USA over a 9‐year period are compiled and compared with a case simulation by the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model with a spectral bin microphysical scheme. During the quasi‐steady state of the simulation, a forward radiative transfer model calculates TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) reflectivity and 85 GHz brightness temperatures from simulated particle size distributions. Comparisons between model and TRMM observations using radar Contoured Frequency with Altitude Diagrams (CFADs) and 85 GHz brightness temperature probability density distributions are performed, in addition to CFADs from a surface C‐band radar for the same case. Radar CFADs comparisons reveal that the model overestimates sizes of snow/aggregates in the stratiform region.


In this survey, we briefly review some recent advances in the field of indirect reciprocity and reputation mechanism along the routes of theoretical modeling and behavior experiments. Firstly, various game models with reputation evaluation are proposed, and large quantities of numerical simulations demonstrate that introducing the reputation evaluation drastically enhances the level of collective cooperation within the population. In particular, the so-called leading eight rules are found to be evolutionarily stable strategies. Secondly, through extensive human experiments played in the laboratory or via the online labor market, it is validated that providing enough information on the individual strategy or reputation status will help players to select the cooperative partners or perform the rational decision, which eventually facilitates the evolution of cooperation, but some experiments also indicate that allowing the link rewiring may dominate the human cooperation. Finally, several potential and valuable directions are pointed out so as to further explore how the cooperation evolves within the real-world population.


Diabetes mellitus (DM) is among the top 10 patterns of disease in Surakarta. The prevalence of DM in Surakarta was 5,470 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018. Dm sufferers can occur neuropathic disorders, structural changes, callus skin protrusions, skin and nail changes, leg wounds, infections and vascular abnormalities. 50% of DM sufferers have a disability in the legs, 24% have peripheral neuropathy and another 11% have peripheral vascular disease. 60% of all patients have a risk of leg ulcers occurring. To do this prevention, it is necessary to detect diabetic foot ulcers and blood sugar levels on a regular basis. From the examination conducted to 49 dm sufferers obtained 19 dm sufferers have high blood sugar levels. From the Ankle Brachial Index (ABI) examination there were 4 people with ischemia, and from the examination of foot sensitivity there were 5 people experiencing a decrease in foot sensitivity. Based on the results of the examination, DM sufferers know their blood sugar levels and also know the level of risk of diabetic foot ulcers, so as to take precautions so as not to occur diabetic wounds, especially in the legs.


New World vultures have been considerably studied regarding their sense of smell. Cathartes species present a remarkable development of their olfactory apparatus, and experiments conducted with the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) demonstrated that they can locate carrion exclusively by smell at considerable distances. Black vultures (Coragyps atratus), because of their less developed olfactory apparatus, have been compared with the turkey vulture as a phylogenetically related species lacking the sense of smell. However, little evidence from behavioural studies supports the lack of olfaction of black vultures. We conducted a field experiment where we presented urban black vultures a binary choice of decaying fish and sand (serving as control) inside plastic bags. Birds chose the fish bait in 81% of the times they approached the plastic bags. The probability of reaction decreased significantly with the distance between the birds and the fish bait, being virtually null at 40–50 m away. Furthermore, birds clearly reacted more when the fish presented higher decaying time (7 compared to 2 days). These results show that olfaction is not only used by black vultures but is probably the most relevant sense when they search for food hidden in plastic bags and in piles of unsorted waste, which is the most common foraging environment for this species in urban areas where they are very abundant.


The present invention relates to a method for removing hydrolyzate polyphosphoric acid from the fiber after subjected to hydrolysis in polyphosphoric acid in the fiber.


In this paper, in order to accelerate BDD based algorithms, we propose implementing BDD operations by hardware. We have designed a RTL model of the proposed hardware, and expressed it by C language so that we can count the number of clocks needed for each BDD operation. We have examined its performance improvement with respect to the original software library by using several benchmark circuits.


Abstract Human dignity is a complex, though essential, concept for students to master. Inserting human dignity into existing curricula provides students with more opportunities to consider the problems of vulnerable classmates and the status of human dignity and rights in the United States and around the world. Using parts of the US modern Civil Rights Movement curricula, as an example, this lesson exposes students to activities and research sources that support their critical thinking about human dignity, real-life discrimination, and human-rights violations. The article includes (a) an inquiry-based learning framework borrowed from the College, Career, and Civic (C3) Life Framework for Social Studies Standards; (b) National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) standards; and (c) a lesson plan/unit structured within The Inquiry Design Model (IDM) Blueprint™. The lesson plan/unit is teaching-ready. All resources are prepared and ready for teachers and students, including some suggestions for useful, current digital tools. Ultimately, the lesson aims to reach educators who aspire to facilitate students' conceptual understanding of human dignity and question the effects of discrimination.


Spectrum monitoring is important, not only to regulatory bodies for spectrum management, but also to the military for intelligence gathering. In recent years, it has become part of spectrum sensing process which is the key in cognitive radio system. Among the features of a spectrum monitoring system is to obtain spectrum usage characteristics and determining signal modulation parameters. All these required a powerful signal analysis technique suitable for use with classifier network. The loss of phase information in the Quadratic Time–Frequency Distributions (QTFDs) makes it an incomplete solution as Phase Shift Keying (PSK) modulation is widely employed in many wireless communication applications nowadays. Therefore, Cross Time–Frequency Distribution (XTFD) which can provide localised phase information is proposed in this research. The Adaptive Windowed Cross Wigner– Ville Distribution (AW–XWVD) and Adaptive Smoothed Windowed Cross Wigner– Ville Distribution (ASW–XWVD) are developed to analyse a broader class of signals such as PSK, Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) and Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) signals without any prior knowledge. In non–cooperative environment, two kernel adaptation methods are proposed: local and global adaptive. The developed XTFD is proven to be an efficient estimator as it meets the Cramer–Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) for phase estimation at Signal-to- Noise Ratio (SNR) =4 dB and Instantaneous Frequency (IF) estimation at SNR =–3 dB. Other TFDs such as the S–transform never meet the CRLB in both phase and frequency estimation. A complete signal analysis and classification system is implemented by combining the AW–XWVD and ASW–XWVD for signal analysis. In the presence of Additive White Gaussian Noise, the classifier gives 90% correct classification for all the signals at SNR of about 6 dB. Thus, it has been demonstrated that the XTFD is a complete solution for the analysis and classification of digitally modulated signals.


In this paper, the average equations are given through using the multi-scale approach method. By using the Melinkov function, the nonsingular linear transformation and the Poincaré map, the sufficient condition for existence of periodic solution of the nonlinear dynamical system about the FGM subjected to aero-thermal load is derived.


We will show that we can always construct $a(-\epsilon, \delta)$ Freudenthal-Kantor triple system from a given $(\epsilon, \delta)$ Freudenthal-Kantor triple system. Moreover, we will prove that we can construct a structurable algebra from any $(-1,1)$ FreudenthalKantor triple system with a distinguished element $e$ satisfying $eex=x$ for the triple product. AMS classification: $17C50;17A40;17B60$


A resonant current limiting device, for a resonant current passage (15,33,47) having a loop shape including at least one capacitor (C2) and a wiring passage with at least one inductor (L1,L2,CML1,CML2) or inductance component, includes: an electric storage element (C0) connected in series with the capacitor; a driving power source (11,45); and a voltage controller (22,34,44,51) that charges and discharges an electric charge in the electric storage element, which is supplied from the driving power source, controls a terminal voltage of the electric storage element to be a predetermined instruction voltage, and restricts a resonant current component flowing through the wiring passage.


Abstract A mobile sheep laparotomy cradle particularly suited to routine ovarian examinations on large numbers of ewes is described. A modification of the sheep laparotomy cradle designed by Lamond and Urquhart (1961) has been described by Hulet and Foote (1968). A sliding support allows the table to be lowered to ground level for easy loading, and the patient is immobilised by restraining the front legs. An alternative modification (Figs. 1 and 2) has been used for 2 years at this research station for ovarian examination of large numbers of ewes. The two main features are the addition of wheels to give general mobility, and the rotatable surgical table. The anterior of the ewe is restrained by a rubber band passing across the shoulders and attached to an anchor point. The anchor point is fixed to a tray which supports the suspended animal's head and shoulders. An animal in position for laparotomy is shown in Fig. 1. For the laparotomy described by Lamond and Urquhart (1961) it has been found an advantage...


Brands are a means of differentiating a company's products and services from those of its competitors; customers will pay a substantial price premium for a good brand. This article considers what brands are, and why they are important. It notes that branding is not something that can only be applied to the end product. The brand is a way of representing the customer's experience of buying and owning the product, and the organisation's processes and attitudes are part of its creation.


All papers published in this volume have been reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. • Type of peer review: Double Anonymous • Conference submission management system: Email • Number of submissions received: 84 • Number of submissions sent for review: 84 • Number of submissions accepted: 32 • Acceptance Rate (Submissions Accepted / Submissions Received × 100): 38.1 • Average number of reviews per paper: 2 • Total number of reviewers involved: 8 • Contact person for queries: Name: Prof. Dr. Muhammad Natsir Abduh, M.Si. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Affiliation: Universitas Bosowa, Makassar, Indonesia


Affecting 1 in 500 individuals; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an autosomal dominant cardiovascular disorder which is prevalent throughout the world. Surgical myectomy (SM) and alcohol septal ablation (ASA) are two methods currently used for the management of drug refractory hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). ASA may prove to be a useful, less invasive treatment in patients with HOCM


Objective: This study assessed the relationship of dietary patterns (derived from the frequency of food consumption) with hypertension among stroke-free controls recruited from Nigeria and Ghana in the Stroke Investigation Research and Educational Network (SIREN) study. Design and Methods: This study was a matched case-control study with 1500 hypertensives randomly selected and matched for the country of residence, age and sex with 1500 normotensives in the SIREN study. Factor analysis using principal component analysis was used to summarise food information and seven dietary patterns (DP); vegetables, poultry product and organ meat, whole-grain and fruit drinks, fried foods and sweetened drinks, red meat, processed foods and fruits were identified. Hypertension was defined as one of the following conditions; systolic blood pressure of 140mmHg/greater or diastolic blood pressure of 90mmHg/greater or previous diagnosis or use of antihypertensive medications. Multivariable adjusted logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for hypertension by the median of factors scores in each DP (adjusting for age, education, income, smoking, alcohol use, physical inactivity, family history of cardiovascular diseases and obesity) at a two-sided P < 0.05. Results: Mean age was 56.2 ± 13.5years and multivariable-adjusted OR (95%CI) for odds of hypertension by the median (with < median of factor score as reference) of DPs revealed higher consumption of whole grains and fruit drinks; 0.83 (0.73, 0.96; P = 0.01) was associated with lower odds of hypertension, but higher consumption of processed foods; 1.18 (1.00, 1.40; P = 0.04) was associated with higher odds of hypertension. Furthermore, multivariable-adjusted OR (95%CI) of hypertension for other DPs include; 0.88 (0.74, 1.04; P = 0.13) for vegetables; 0.89 (0.75, 1.05; P = 0.16) for poultry product and organ meat; 0.90 (0.76, 1.06; P = 0.21) for fruits; 0.90 (0.77, 1.07; P = 0.23) for fried foods and sweetened drinks and 1.03 (0.87, 1.21; P = 0.76) for red meat. Conclusion: Diet rich in whole grains was associated with lower hypertension risk, but higher consumption of processed foods was related to a deleterious hypertension risk. Also, higher consumption of plant-based diets presented a suggestive inverse relationship with hypertension, but diets dense with red meat presented a suggestive deleterious hypertension risk.


Abstract : In September 2003 the United Nations (UN) authorized a 15,OOO member United Nations peacekeeping force to intervene in Liberia to stop the fighting restore law and order establish a peaceful society and a democratic government. Prior to that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had been the primary organization monitoring and negotiating peace in Liberia. Unfortunately and despite oversight from the international community the ECOWAS's efforts to end the war failed and the fighting and lawlessness escalated. Now in 2004 the United Nations mission in Liberia (UNMIL) is actively engaged in peacekeeping and security operations in the country. The UN mission is authorized for 12 months but the global war on terrorism and other competing requirements may prevent countries from committing forces up to or beyond the 12 month UN resolution. UNMIL must therefore ensure ECOWAS is soundly integrated into the current security and nation building efforts. ECOWAS and the new Liberian government once established must be capable of exploiting the UNMlL's success with peace enforcement security and stability. ECOWAS's long term involvement in regional security rule of law and nation building offers the people of Liberia the best chance for stability in their country and in the region.