This study explores the connections between the Long Wave and the Leadership Cycle by examining their possible effect on long-term patterns in major power war and colonial expansion. Building directly upon the Leadership Cycle work of Modelski and Thompson, Goldstein's Long Wave analysis, and the Modern World System School, a new analytical framework is developed. This framework treats the Leadership Cycle and Long Wave as separate, though interconnected processes, and permits derivation of empirically testable hypotheses concerning the effects of the Leadership Cycle and Long Wave on armed conflict in the system, and on the timing of colonial expansion by major powers into the periphery. This "phase-pair" framework also allows assessment of the effect of each systemic process while controlling for the effect of the other. The results of our analysis suggest that the Long Wave and Leadership Cycle not only are associated with the most severe or systemic wars, but may affect conflict more broadly within the system. We also find strong identifiable effects of these processes on colonization. Finally, all results taken together indicate the Long Wave and Leadership Cycle should be treated as distinct, though interrelated processes.


Fiber optics have many advantages over copper wire as a medium for transmitting signals. These advantages include large bandwidth (data capacity), immunity to radio-frequency or electromagnetic interference, low weight and bulk, and the absence of spark hazards and unwanted radiation. As a result, fiber optic data links and networks are increasingly replacing copper wire in various telemetry applications. This article discusses applications that involve the passage of optical data through rotational surfaces, as is the case for such devices as turrets, marine winches, tether swivels and radar antennas. It reviews the options available for the design of the needed fiber optic rotating joint.


There is a very long way from diagnosis to treatment of the developmental dysplasia of the hip. Everything is complex: clinical examination is subtle and requires a long training. Treatment is not as simple as could be thought. The risks include approximate examinations and of standard, ready-made ones. The discussion has not been settled as to whether all children with hip instability can be clinically detected at birth. The complexity of the problem arises from the fact that only 10% of children who have instability at birth develop long-term problems if they are left untreated. It is well known, affirmed by several different studies that at birth the incidence of hip instability in approximately 1–4% of patients, with figure being higher in girls. There is also a consensus that a large majority of these unstable hips will become stable during the first few days of life, even without treatment. What is not known , however, is how many of those hip that become stable will become completely normal as the child grows. These two fundamental issues are of the utmost importance. They emphasize the significance of early examination (first 48 hours) in order to detect instability and employ careful follow-up of any newborn in whom hip instability has been identified. Some children are at particular risk of hip instability. Those infants are labeled as "high risk". They include children born in families with hip instability, those presented by breech, first born children or products of oligohydramniotic pregnancies, particularly girls, those with the generalized joint laxity, those with torticollis and scoliosis, those with foot deformities and increased birth-weight over 4000g. Whilst all children should be screened at birth by a doctor experienced in clinical examination with particular attention directed to those children, who are considered high risk. It must be emphasized that clinical examination is the most important for the detection of hip instability in newborns. Clinical examination should be very delicate, gentle, based on feelings rather than signs. Clinically, hip instability can be divided into: 1. irreducible dislocation, 2. reducible dislocation, 3. dislocatability, 4. subluxability. The clinical tests of instability were described by Ortolani and Barlow. Fully dislocated irreducible hip is a very rare condition and may be associated with neuromuscular abnormality. It represents dislocation well before delivery. In this form acetabulum is vacant, femoral head palpable posteriorly. There are no singns of Ortolani and Barlow tests. We can only find the sings of "pump", which means there exists a movement along the long axis of the leg. This is the most severe pathology of the hip in DDH.The reducible dislocation is characterized by the Ortolani maneuver. With the hip flexed 90 degrees, we abduct the hip and than we feel and hear the click which is the sign of the reduction of the hip. Dislocatable and subluxatable are the most common types of pathology of the hip in DDH. This deformity arises at the end of pregnancy. This is characterized by positive Barlow test, which is the provoked-dislocation test. Using it we can dislocate or subluxate the hip. It is very rare to find restricted hip movements in newborns. The limited abduction of the affected hip is the sign typical for older children, more the 3 months of age. It is crucial to repeat the clinical examination even during the same office visit. Ultrasonography has changed our diagnostic ability for DDH. These direct examinations help us in hip evaluation in the first days of the newborn period. The exact Graf classification and methodology makes possible to classify all types of hip pathology irrespective of the examiner. Another important feature of ultrasonography is the ability to monitor the treatment not only in newborn period. How to start with the prevention of DDH in newborn period? There is no any really good screening without collaboration of orthopedics surgeons and pediatricians. To achieve this, we must control our own environment, especially maternity hospitals and constantly keep pediatricians, pediatric nurses and obstetricians informed. There is no consensus in screening programs – general or limited. I personally recommend limited program. All newborns should be examined clinically after the delivery. The infants with positive or doubtful clinical signs and those with signs of high risk should be examined ultrasonographically immediately after delivery within first 2 weeks. The other children should be screened ultrasonographically at the time when most of the hips are mature enough. It is important, that if we live in the region with high percentage of late detected DDH (more than 3 months of age) the general clinical and ultasonographical screening program should be used.


The purpose and objectives of the study. The study purpose was to investigate trends in the winter rye production volumes and factors on farms in the Kharkiv Region and to analyze effects of some technological factors (namely, forecrops and sowing rates) on winter rye yield.
Materials and research methods. We used data of the statistical collection "Silske Hospodarstvo Kharkivskoi Oblasti (Agriculture of the Kharkivska Oblast)" and the statistical bulletin "Osnovni Ekonomichni Pokaznyky Vyrobnytstva Produktsii Silskoho Hospodarstva v Silskohospodarskykh Pidpryiemstvakh (Major Economic Indicators of Agricultural Production at Agricultural Enterprises)" as a starting basis. The main methods of analysis were summarizing statistical data, absolute and relative values, mean values, variations, dynamics series, tabular and graphic methods. The following methods were used to analyze the influence of forecrops and sowing rates on the yield: field surveys, determination the winter rye yield structure, measurements of plant growth and development, determination of yield, phenological observations; mathematical and statistical methods to test significance of results (variance analysis, correlation analysis).
The discussion of the results. From 1990 to 2021, the largest areas on the farms in the Kharkiv Region were sown with winter rye in 1990 (17,218 hectares), and the smallest (1,900 hectares) – in 2018. The economic theory says that area is an extensive factor in grain production development. Its mean value over the studied period was 7,102 hectares. The fluctuation degree of the winter rye-sown area in absolute units was very high, as evidenced by the coefficient of variation of 65.6%. The winter rye yield experienced the smallest fluctuation (coefficient of variation 24.5%), ranging 15.4 cwt/ha in 2010 to 38.3 cwt/ha in 2020. We believe that this is not a very good sign, because within 32 years reserves for increasing yields of this crop (indicator of intensive development, i.e. production growth solely at the expense of increasing the productivity of a unit of land area) could have been invented. In 1990, 17,218 hectares were sown with winter rye in the Kharkiv Region, which was by 8.3 times larger that the winter rye-sown area in 2021. During the investigated 32-year period, the winter-rye sown area decreased annually by approximately 610 hectares or 9%. The linear regression model of the post-sunflower sown winter rye yield dependence demonstrates that with an increase in the sowing rate from 4 to 5 million seeds /ha, we get a gain in the yield of 2.7333 cwt/ha. It turned out that with an increase in the sowing rate to 6 million seeds/ha, the yield decreases by 4.1 cwt/ha.
Conclusions. The winter rye grain production intensification should be associated with outpacing rates of yield growth compared to the growth of costs for ensuring this yield growth. Analytic quantization of the dynamic series of winter rye yields by 4th degree polynomial showed that with a probability of 0.95 we could note periods of decline in theoretically expected yields from 1990 to 2005 (from 32.2 cwt/ha to 18.3 cwt/ha) and from 2016 to 2019 (from 31 cwt/ha to 27.44 cwt/ha). We also have periods of rising yields in 2010-2015 (from 21.6 cwt/ha to 31 cwt/ha) and in the last two years (2020-2021) (from 30.4 cwt/ha to 38.5 cwt/ha). We do not recommend safflower as a forecrop in winter rye production, since it decreases yields because of lower moisture content in the soil is caused by a higher density of safflower plants and later harvest times compared to sunflower. Safflower is the most appropriate forecrop in spring cereal cultivation.


This paper deals with an application of Intelligent Computer Aided Learning in the field of control engineering. First we analyze Conventional Computer Aided Learning, with th 3 use of quantitative...


The sports performance of primary school students is influenced by factors like body shape, physiology, and physical fitness. Analysis and prediction on sports performance are of vital importance to facilitate the development of reasonable sports courses and help select talents scientifically for the sports department. In this paper, we aim to use indicators in Physical Fitness Test to provide various prediction models with high generalization performance and high accuracy. We implement correlation analysis and factor analysis to find indicators that greatly influence students' sports performance by using Physical Fitness Test records of students in grade six. Based on the analysis results, we establish three types of prediction models, including multiple linear regression models, factor analysis regression models, and support vector regression models. Adjusted R squared and root mean square error are used to evaluate model performance. The experimental result shows the multiple linear regression model has the best performance on the data set we study, and this result is consistent with previous researches.


This thesis is focused on sonatas for violoncello in the work of composer Paul Hindemith. The main goal was summarizing of information , which could be useful for advanced readers and interprets. The opening chapter contains brief biographical review, embedded for better understanding of historical context and characterization of P.Hindemith as an important musical personality. This Chapter is completed by review of his compositions for violoncello in general and some remarks on his technigue of composition. Next four chapters contain description of published Hindemith sonatas in more detail. Information about sonatas origin and its structure are presented. The analysis is completed by many examples of the music stave. The main result of this indeed commented information useful for interpretation. Regarding to different periods, when the sonatas were written, we can see also the development of Hindemith´s composition technigue.


The pump wavefront which generates photon pairs by spontaneous parametric down conversion is optimized using a feedback which optimize the coincidence count after propagation along a suitable path. The active element is a deformable mirror.


As a tool of communication and a carrier of information, language learning needs to pay the price and cost, language ability is also a form of human capital, which has an impact on income and employment. In order to found the economics effects of language ability, we studied relationship between language ability and income using China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data from 2010 to 2016. We found that improvement of both Mandarin proficiency and English proficiency can significantly promote the total income and wage income. Considering the missing variables in the model and the endogeneity problem of reverse causality, instrumental variables were used to deal with the endogeneity problem, and the income effect of language ability still existed. From the perspective of the influence mechanism, social capital is an important channel through which language ability affects the total income of employees.


Russia's peasants and their culture in postreform Russia have enjoyed the attention of an ever-increasing number of scholars over the past two decades. One central aspect of that culture, however, has remained virtually unexplored: Eastern Orthodox Christianity as it was practiced and understood by peasant believers, and especially by peasants who considered themselves members of the official Orthodox Church. At least two explanations may exist for such scholarly neglect. First, historians of Russia have traditionally viewed "official" Orthodoxy as somehow forcibly imposed on the people by secular and ecclesiastical authorities.


PurposeIn the New Public Governance (NPG) paradigm, citizens play a vital role in the decision-making of public organisations and are fundamental to aligning their expectations with service delivery. Citizen engagement could be realised in the budgeting process by adopting participatory budgeting (PB) even if previous literature on PB does not focus on this tool design issue. Therefore, this study aims to understand which PB institutional design arrangements help enhance citizen participation.Design/methodology/approachA deductive content analysis and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis were carried out on the PB regulations of 100 Italian municipalities.FindingsThe results suggest that the PB design can be elaborated in different ways that do not always guarantee the involvement of citizens. Virtuous municipalities engage citizens from the start of the process and in the most relevant discussion and deliberation phases. A simple legislative provision does not guarantee a real introduction of participatory governance.Originality/valueThis study theorises citizen participation in PB and examines it through empirical evidence to define relationships between PB design arrangements and citizen engagement.


In this paper, we analyze a Cognitive Radio-based Internet-of-Things (CR-IoT) network comprising a Primary Network Provider (PNP) and an IoT operator. The PNP uses its licensed spectrum to serve its users. The IoT operator identifies the white-space in the licensed band at regular intervals and opportunistically exploits them to serve the IoT nodes under its coverage. IoT nodes are battery-operated devices that require periodical energy replenishment. We employ the Microwave Power Transfer (MPT) technique for its superior energy transfer efficiency over long-distance. The white-space detection process is not always perfect and the IoT operator may jeopardize the PNP's transmissions due to misdetection. To reduce the possibility of such interferences, some of the spectrum holes must remain unutilized, even when the IoT nodes have data to transmit. The IoT operator needs to decide what percentage of the white-space to keep unutilized and how to judiciously use the rest for data transmission and energy-replenishment to maintain an optimal balance between the average interference inflicted on PNP's users and the Quality-of-Service (QoS) experienced by IoT nodes. Due to the periodic nature of the spectrum-sensing process, Discrete Time Markov Chain (DTMC) method can realistically model this framework. In literature, activities of the PNP and IoT operator are assumed to be mutually exclusive, for ease of analysis. Our model incorporates possible overlaps between these activities, making the analysis more realistic. Using our model, the sustainability region of the CR-IoT network can be obtained. The accuracy of our analysis is demonstrated via extensive simulation.


CONTEXT
Frequent participation in cognitively stimulating activities has been hypothesized to reduce risk of Alzheimer disease (AD), but prospective data regarding an association are lacking.

OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that frequent participation in cognitive activities is associated with a reduced risk of AD.

DESIGN
Longitudinal cohort study with baseline evaluations performed between January 1994 and July 2001 and mean follow-up of 4.5 years.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING
A total of 801 older Catholic nuns, priests, and brothers without dementia at enrollment, recruited from 40 groups across the United States. At baseline, they rated frequency of participation in common cognitive activities (eg, reading a newspaper), from which a previously validated composite measure of cognitive activity frequency was derived.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Clinical diagnosis of AD by a board-certified neurologist using National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria and change in global and specific measures of cognitive function, compared by cognitive activity score at baseline.

RESULTS
Baseline scores on the composite measure of cognitive activity ranged from 1.57 to 4.71 (mean, 3.57; SD, 0.55), with higher scores indicating more frequent activity. During an average of 4.5 years of follow-up, 111 persons developed AD. In a proportional hazards model that controlled for age, sex, and education, a 1-point increase in cognitive activity score was associated with a 33% reduction in risk of AD (hazard ratio, 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.49-0.92). Results were comparable when persons with memory impairment at baseline were excluded and when terms for the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele and other medical conditions were added. In random-effects models that controlled for age, sex, education, and baseline level of cognitive function, a 1-point increase in cognitive activity was associated with reduced decline in global cognition (by 47%), working memory (by 60%), and perceptual speed (by 30%).

CONCLUSION
These results suggest that frequent participation in cognitively stimulating activities is associated with reduced risk of AD.


The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences.
Rice root-knot disease is caused by different Meloidogyne species (Meloidogyne graminicola, M. hainanensis, M. incognita, M. javanica, M. arenaria, M. oryzae, M. salasi, and M. tryticoryzae). However, Meloidogyne graminicola is considered the most damaging root-knot species to Asian rice cultivation due to its ability to survive under flooded soil conditions. This nematode has been found in rice nurseries, rainfed upland rice and lowland rice but is also widespread in deep-water, irrigated rice production systems. Yield loss due to Meloidogyne graminicola ranges from 28%–87% depending on disease severity and cultivar.


The data we report on in this column come from the Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. Since 1987, the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) have sponsored the High School Teacher Survey. Prior to our initial study, much of the previous literature focusing on high school physics employed anecdotal evidence or qualitative surveys for curriculum reviews or explorations of teachers' experiences and pedagogical techniques. As a direct response to this dearth of data, the Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers was initiated in 1986–87 to answer questions about the number of teachers teaching physics, the educational background of these teachers, the number of students enrolled in physics, the variety of physics classes being offered, the demographics of the students and teachers, the textbooks being used, and the number of high schools offering physics regularly. Since the beginning of this study, we have surveyed both public and p...


The SWOT analysis on the development of the medical tourism in Guangxi mainly included: the advantage analysis on the transportation,resources and industry base;the disadvantage analysis on the weak foundation,input,path and species of tourism products.Also,there are so many opportunities on the development the of medical tourism in Guangxi: the promising future of the international medical tourism,the policy support to medical tourism from our country and the importance to the medical tourism from Guangxi.The paper also mentioned the fierce competitive stress of the medical tourism in Guangxi.


The linear combination of molecular orbitals (LCMO) approximation has been employed to calculate the energy-independent conductivity term for some homopolymers of the bases found in the nucleic acids. The conductivity was assumed to be along the stacked bases; consequently, the sugar-phosphate backbone was neglected. The results are compared to the band-theory results of Ladik and co-workers and to the experimental results of Eley and co-workers. Reasonable agreement with the experimental results was obtained.


The purpose of this article is numerical verification of the thory of weak turbulence. We performed numerical simulation of an ensemble of nonlinearly interacting free gravity waves (swell) by two different methods: solution of primordial dynamical equations describing potential flow of the ideal fluid with a free surface and, solution of the kinetic Hasselmann equation, describing the wave ensemble in the framework of the theory of weak turbulence. Comparison of the results demonstrates pretty good applicability of the weak turbulent approach.


months had shown light roundworm infections but no trematodes. January 5, 1931, both cats were coughing badly and eggs of Paragonimus were found in the feces of the one first fed. The second and apparently more severely affected animal was killed. Examination revealed 24 young flukes, measuring from 4 to 6 mm in length, encysted in pairs in the lungs. Although no eggs were yet being produced, stained and cleared specimens left no doubt as to their being Paragonimus kellicotti. It is thus evident that at least one species of our native crayfish serves as second intermediate host of the lung fluke. Further studies on the life history and significance of the parasite in North America are being undertaken as a cooperative project of the departments of zoology and of entomology and economic zoology at the University of Minnesota.


offense committed, if not heard then let a committee inform the Governor of their methods, and I am sure we will get action or a new board. If the Board of Examiners is not a paying organization, then why have it? Why not do away with it and invest the State Board of Health with the power to examine candidates wishing to obtain a license in this state? In this way we might become economical enough to create a fund to prosecute these cases with, or if the present board will demonstrate to us that they are willing to perform this duty and the funds are not sufficient, which they receive for this work, then I am willing to donate my part to create a protective fund. But, gentlemen, I am going to be hard to convince that it takes seven or eight thousand dollars annually to pass on the candidates coming before this board. Now if you, gentlemen, find this matter of sufficient importance to be worthy of any consideration whatever, then let us as representatives of the medical profession see that the principal purpose of the medical act is satisfied.


Fermions play an essential role in many areas of quantum physics and it is desirable to understand the nature of entanglement within systems that consists of fermions. Whereas the issue of separability for bipartite fermions has extensively been studied in the present literature, this paper is concerned with maximally entangled fermions. A complete characterization of maximally entangled quasifree (gaussian) fermion states is given in terms of the covariance matrix. This result can be seen as a step towards distillation protocols for maximally entangled fermions.


ABSTRACT The Montney and Doig formations, and equivalent outcrop units in northeastern British Columbia, are examined as potential sources for hydrocarbons using various geochemical and organic petrographic techniques. In the subsurface, sediments of the Montney and Doig formations show increasing thermal maturity in a southwesterly direction, from mature (Tmax values of about 440°C) close to the eastern subcrop edge, to overmature (Tmax >460°C) close to the edge of the disturbed belt. The Montney Formation yields Total Organic Content (TOC) values up to 4.7% and Hydrogen Indices (HI) rarely exceed 300. The lower beds of the Doig Formation are commonly highly radioactive (high gamma-ray response), phosphatic, and organic-rich. Rock-Eval/TOC analyses of the lower Doig "Phosphate Zone" indicate moderate to high maturity, with TOC values commonly greater than 4.0%, and HI/OI values that suggest a predominance of Type II organic matter. This is consistent with optical analyses of moderately mature, "Phosphate Zone" samples, which show yellow to orange fluorescing algal and amorphous material. Analyses of over 50 Lower and Middle Triassic outcrop samples show variable maturity south of the Pine River (Whistler and Vega-Phroso members), but Triassic rocks between Pine and Peace rivers (Toad and Grayling formations) are overmature. The Whistler Member shows the best hydrocarbon potential of all Triassic outcrop units examined, containing Type II organic matter with TOC values generally >2.0% and ranging up to 15%. Twenty-one oils from Triassic reservoirs in the Peace River Embayment area were examined, and have been assigned to two groups on the basis of biomarkers. Group 1 is divided into 1A and 1B, which show subtle differences in their biomarker characteristics. Biomarker analyses (GC, GC-MS) of rock extracts have been used to correlate the "Phosphate Zone" at the base of the Doig Formation with the 1A oils found in Doig and Halfway reservoirs. The 1B oils, which occur primarily in Charlie Lake reservoirs, are less mature 1A oils, and have their source in the "Phosphate Zone". Group 2 oils have as their source the Lower Jurassic "Nordegg Member", based on the comparison of the biomarker compositions of the Group 2 oils with "Nordegg" extracts. RESUME Les formations Montney et Doig, et les unites d'affleurements equivalentes dans le nord-est de la Colombie britannique, sont examinees comme sources potentielles d'hydrocarbures a l'aide de differentes methodes geochimiques et de petrographie organique. Dans la subsurface, les sediments des formations Montney et Doig montrent une augmentation du niveau de maturite thermique en direction du sud-ouest, de matures (Tmax d'a peu pres 440°C) pres de la marge est du sous-affleurement, a surmature (Tmax >460°C) pres de la marge de la zone de mouvemnt tectonique. La formation Montney a des teneurs en matiere organique totale (TMOT) allant jusqu'a 4, 7% et des indices d'hydrogene (IH) depassant rarement 300. Les couches inferieures de la formation Doig sont ordinairement tres radioactives (taux eleve de rayons gamma), phosphates, et riches en matiere organique. Les analyses Rock-Eval/TMOT de la "zone de phosphate" de la formation Doig inferieure indiquent un niveau de maturite de moyen a eleve, avec des TMOT ordinairement plus grandes que 4,0%, et des valeurs du rapport IH/IO qui suggerent une predominance de la matiere organique de type II. Ces observations sont en accord avec les analyses optiques d'echantillons de la "zone de phosphate" qui ont un niveau de maturite moyen, et qui revelent de la matiere alguaire et amorphe qui emet de la fluorescence jaune a orange. L'analyse de plus de 50 echantillons d'affleurements du Triassique inferieur et moyen montrent des degres de maturite variables au sud de la riviere Pine (membres Whistler et Vega-Phroso), mais les roches du Triassique entre les rivieres Pine et Peace (formations Toad et Grayling) sont surmatures. Le membre Whistler montre le meilleur potentiel de production d'hydrocarbures de toutes les unites triassiques examinees en affleurement, renfermant de la matiere organique de type II avec des TMOT generalement >2,0% et allant jusqu a 15%. 1 Geological Survey of Canada Contribution no. 33190 End_Page 218------------------------ Vingt-et-un echantillons d'huile provenant de reservoirs du Triassique de la region de la baie de Peace River ont ete examines et separes en deux groupes en se basant sur des biomarqueurs. Le groupe 1 est divise en 1A et 1B, qui montrent des differences subtiles dans les caracteristiques de leurs biomarqueurs. L'analyse de biomarqueurs (CPG,CPG-SM) d'extraits de roche ont ete utilises afin correler la "zone de phosphate" a la base de la formation Doig avec les huiles 1A se trouvant dans les reservoirs Doig et Halfway. Les huiles 1B, qui se trouvent principalement dans les reservoirs Charlie Lake, sont des huiles 1A moins matures, et trouvent leur source dans la "zone de phosphate". Les huiles du groupe 2 ont leur source dans le membre Nordegg du Jurassique inferieur, en se basant sur la comparaison de la composition de biomarqueurs des huiles du groupe 2 avec des extraits de roche du membre Nordegg Traduit par Marc Charest


Transient faults are rising as a crucial concern in the reliability of computer systems. As the emerging trend of integrating coprocessors into symmetric multiprocessors, it offers a better choice for software-oriented fault tolerance approaches. This paper presents coprocessor-based process level redundancy (PLR) which makes use of coprocessors and frees CPU cycle to other tasks. The experiment is conducted by comparing the performance of one CPU version of PLR and one coprocessor version PLR using a subset of optimised SPEC CPU2006 benchmark. It shows that the proposed approach enhances performance by 32.6% on average. The performance can be enhanced more if one application contains more system calls. This common technique can be adapted to other software-based fault tolerance as well.


Abstract Objective. The effect of preoperative total parenteral nutrition (TPN) on the rate of early (within 30 days) postoperative complications in patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD) was examined. Material and methods. A series of 15 consecutive patients with CD (mean CD activity index score, 270) given preoperative TPN for 18–90 days (mean, 46 days) and undergoing bowel resection and primary anastomosis was compared with matching controls (105 patients) consecutively selected from all CD patients operated in Stockholm County during a preceding 20-year period without preoperative TPN. Results. During the preoperative TPN, all the patients studied displayed clinical remission of CD as reflected in improvement in their general well-being, relief of abdominal pain, and abatement of fever and diarrhea. There was no significant early postoperative complication in the TPN-treated group, whereas there were 29 patients with early postoperative complications in the control group, which means a significantly higher rate of postoperative complications when preoperative TPN was not provided. During the preoperative TPN, some crucial variables increased such as the body weight, the serum concentrations of albumin and triiodothyronine reflecting improved nutritional state, whereas the serum concentration of haptoglobin and the white cell count decreased reflecting decreased inflammatory activity. Conclusions. This study shows that preoperative TPN for at least 18 days may be recommended to be given to patients with moderate to severe CD until clinical remission is achieved in order to minimize the risk of early postoperative complications.


The emergence of the Covid-19 outbreak for the first time in China killed thousands to millions of people. Since the beginning of the emergence of the number of cases of Covid-19 continues to increase until now. The increase in Covid-19 cases has a very bad impact on health, social and economic life. The need for future forecasting to predict the number of deaths and recoveries from cases that occur, so that the government and the public can understand the spread, prevent and plan actions as early as possible. Several previous studies have forecast the future impact of Covid-19 using the Machine Learning method. Time series forecasting can be done using traditional methods with Linear Regression or Artificial Intelligent methods with neural networks. In this study, it has been proven that there is a linear relationship in the time series data of Covid-19 recovered cases in China, so it is proven that the performance of Linear Regression is better than the Neural Network.


Spatially resolved estimates of change in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks are necessary for supporting national and international policies aimed at achieving land degradation neutrality and climate mitigation through better land management. In this work we report on the development, implementation and application of a data-driven, statistical space-time method for mapping SOC stocks, using Argentina as a pilot area. We used the Quantile Regression Forest machine-learning algorithm to predict SOC stock at 0-30 cm depth at 250 m resolution for Argentina between 1982 and 2017, on an annual basis. The model was calibrated using over 5,000 SOC stock values from the 36-year time period and 35 environmental covariates. Most covariates were static and could only explain the spatial SOC distribution. SOC change over time was modelled using time series maps of the AVHRR NDVI vegetation index. These NDVI time series maps were pre-processed using a temporal low-pass filter to allow the SOC stock for a given year to depend on the NDVI of the current as well as preceding years. Spatial patterns of SOC stock predictions were persistent over time and comparable to baseline SOC stock maps of Argentina. Predictions had modest temporal variation with an average decrease for the entire country from 2.55 kg C m‑2 to 2.48 kg C m‑2 over the 36-year period (equivalent to a decline of 210.7 Gg C, 3.0% of the total 0‑30 cm SOC stock in Argentina). The Pampa region had a larger estimated SOC stock decrease from 4.62 kg C m‑2 to 4.34 kg C m‑2 (5.9%) during the same period. For the 2001-2015 period, predicted temporal variation was 7-fold larger than that obtained using the Tier 1 approach of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Prediction uncertainties turned out to be substantial, mainly due to the limited number and poor spatial and temporal distribution of the calibration data, and the limited explanatory power of the covariates. Cross-validation confirmed that SOC stock prediction accuracy was limited, with a Mean Error of 0.03 kg C m-2 and a Root Mean Squared Error of 2.04 kg C m-2. The model explained 45% of the SOC stock variation. In spite of the large uncertainties, this work showed that machine learning methods can be used for space-time SOC mapping and may yield valuable information to land managers and policy makers, provided that SOC observation density in space and time is sufficiently large.


Disclosed is a truncated ball lens, and method of making same, in which a ball lens, having a focal point internal to (i.e., inside of) the ball lens, is constructed by removing a surface of the ball lens so as to expose the focal point. The exposed side of the truncated ball lens faces the endface of a fiber directing light towards the lens. In a preferred embodiment, an optical axis of the truncated ball lens coincides with an optical axis of the fiber.


Almost all research into "evaluated wellbeing" in subjective well-being (SWB) scholarship to date has been conducted using life satisfaction scale questions. The majority of SWB scholars take the data these scale questions produce at face value and interpret what they see therein as "strong adaptation." This is the idea that people rapidly acclimatise to shocks to their life satisfaction and return to a baseline or "set-point" level of life satisfaction. This paper presents an alternate interpretation: people "scale-norm" in response to shocks. This means that they use qualitatively different scales to respond to life satisfaction scale questions in different waves of a survey. Scale-norming can make responses to different scale questions neither inter-personally nor inter-temporally comparable, even ordinally. This paper presents results from a study using a novel life satisfaction metric designed in part to identify scale norming. 15% of the sample appear to be scale norming, which calls into question most regression-derived results in existing life satisfaction research. The extent and severity of scale-norming demands further investigation.


Nowadays, one of the major challenges of the Portuguese Army is motivate young people to the ranks, through both volunteer and contract situations These forms of serving the nation were created to fulfill the needs in specific areas of the human resources that couldn't be only satisfied by career military. However, reality shows that the number of volunteer candidates is far from being reasonable, and that the number of those who quit is very significant as well. The aim of this study was to analyse the main reasons why these military quit, through a questionnaire applied to a sample of 716 individuals in these conditions. Our findings indicate that the decision to quit is not influenced by factors that intrinsically characterise the military way of life, but rather by specific contractual conditions An enlargement of the discussion over this theme is required, so that solutions to improve volunteer and contractsituations can be found. 36 IAMPS Split, CROATIA 2000


The oranges used in the investigation and ob tained from Central Florida were—Parson Brown, grown on rough lemon and sour orange rootstocks; Boone's Early, "Sixteen-to-One," Hamlin, Homosassa, Jaffa and Pineapple, grown on rough lemon rootstock; Conner's Seedless and Lue Gim Gong, on sour orange rootstock; Seedlings; and Valen cia, grown on rough lemon, sour orange, grape fruit, Cleopatra and sweet orange rootstocks and Valencia grown on both rough lemon and sour orange rootstocks on Merritt Island, Florida East Coast.


Background. The ORCHESTRA FOUNDATION Registry study was a prospective, multicenter, observational, post-market study investigating the use of an insulin pump with or without continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) [i.e., sensor-augmented pump (SAP) or sensor-integrated insulin pump (SIP)]; before, during, and after pregnancy, in women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Methods. Study participants enrolled in 24 centers, in Poland, and contributed intake and follow-up data for up to 22 months (i.e., up to 12 months pre-conception, throughout pregnancy, and 6 weeks after delivery). Participants who were already pregnant were enrolled up to the 16th week of pregnancy. Investigated outcomes included HbA1c before and during pregnancy, and serious adverse events (e.g., severe hypoglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, miscarriage, and hospitalization due to any bleeding or any symptoms suggesting premature delivery). Routine clinical data including maternal weight, body mass index, and daily insulin use were also recorded. The insulin delivery devices used in the study were the MiniMed™ Paradigm™ REAL-Time insulin pump with CGM (via the MiniMed Sof-sensor™ sensor) or without CGM, and the MiniMed Paradigm Veo™ with CGM (via the Enlite™ sensor). Results. Study enrollment began in May 2013 and the last patient completed the study in August 2017. Conclusions. The ORCHESTRA FOUNDATION Registry study provides an opportunity to assess the effects of automated insulin delivery in pregnant women with T1DM using insulin pumps with or without continuous glucose monitoring.


We report on an electronically tunable continuous-wave (CW) Ytterbium doped polarization maintaining fiber laser with more than 100 nm tuning range and more than 10 W linearly polarized single spatial mode laser output. The laser can be continuously tuned from 1027 nm to 1103 nm without any parasitic lasing peak with the 10dB linewidth of 0.1 nm. The maximum achievable tuning range of the fiber laser was from 1025 nm to 1124 nm with companying parasitic lasing peaks around 1040 nm. The usage of an intra-cavity acousto-optic tunable filter allows for the fast electronic tunability with less than 50 &mgr;s response time and random wavelength access capability.


We present an infrared reflectance and transmission study of a pressure-induced phase transition of boron nitride from the hexagonal layered structure to the wurtzitic phase. The transition is completed at about 13 GPa. The phase transition is nonreversible and the optical features of the metastable wurtzitic phase are retained after a pressure cycle from 20.5 GPa down to ambient pressure. This allows the infrared-active optical phonons and the dielectric properties of the cold-pressed wurtzitic boron nitride sample to be studied over the whole range of pressures. Experimental permittivity values of e0 = 6.65 ± 0.03 and e∞ = 4.50 ± 0.05 are determined from fits to the reflectance spectra at ambient pressure. Accurate values of the refractive index in the mid-infrared and visible–ultraviolet regions are evaluated from the interference patterns. Contrary to the h-BN case, the refractive index of w-BN decreases slightly with pressure, on account of the much lower compressibility of the close-packed structure. The pressure coefficients for the longitudinal optical and transverse optical modes are determined, and an overall good agreement with ab initio calculations is found.


The complex formation of Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions with streptocide (R 1 ) and streptomycin (R 2 ) was studied by means of metal-indicator method for the development of the new methods of determining R 1 and R 2 . Such complexes as Cd(II) and Pb(II) with Xilenol orange (XO) were used as metal-indicator systems. The correlation component in complex M:R (С 2 О 4 2– ) = 1:1 is determined by the method of balance shift. Conditional constants of the balance reaction complex formation were calculated (pК Pb(R1) = 5.70, pК Cd(R1) = 4.38, pК Pb(R2) = 5.68, pК Cd(R2) = 4.40) The stability of complex increases when Cd


This article seeks to explore the specificities of Scottish architecture in relation to English architecture. It focusses first on the orthodoxies presented within past literature, and how these have been sometimes unhelpful to scholars wishing to address this question. The article then seeks to identify, and then to analyse, what clearly is a national style of architecture which can be characterised, in summary, as castellated. The discussion that follows on Revivalism(s) is articulated relative to long-standing issues of nationhood; considering Scotland first as an independent European state, over many centuries until union with England in 1707; and secondly, thereafter, Scotland's attempt to define its status within both the British union and the empire; an arrangement in which the paradigms were those of England; but an England which tolerated a degree of cultural individuality so long as political adherence to the "core" was assured. The article builds upon recent research in social and political history, as well as architecture and visual culture, and demonstrates that Scotland's interest in its own past heritage, and its clear individuality (or "different-ness") in architectural style, is closely connected to the nation's recurring attempts to find a voice in a larger political entity.


The purpose of this letter is to introduce a mechanism that relies on a stress induced phase transformation to generate a large static friction coefficient (μf). Tribological principles were used to design a frictional interface with pseudoelastic nickel titanium (NiTi) and stainless steel with etched features. At loads large enough to form stress induced martensite increasing the applied load increased μf values. This indicates that mechanical friction instead of adhesive friction may be the dominant mechanism. Using a mechanical model combined with experimental mechanical data, the authors we estimate that μf=0.7 is achievable without substantial plastic deformation.


Biological characteristics observation and ISSR markers were used to verify homology and distinction between crossbred Azolla,MMC3-3,MMC5-1,and MMC1-7,with the parents.The results indicated the three Azolla hybrids were separated with the parents on genotype.MMC3-3 is heat resistant,while MMC5-1 and MMC1-7 are cold resistant.The results of ISSR markers showed that MMC3-3,MMC5-1and MMC1-7 were Azolla hybrids,and had differences with the parents.By clustering analysis,there was close genetic relationship between MMC3-3 with 3001,MMC1-7 with MMC5-1.


Appeared more than 3.5 billion years ago, microbialites represent one of the oldest ecosystems on Earth. These architects of oxygenic photosynthesis dominate the fossil record for nearly 80% of Earth's history, having influenced the evolution of the planet notably by changing the properties of the atmosphere. Despite a dramatic decline in their abundance from the start of the Phanerozoic, they still develop today in a wide spectrum of depositional environments (The Bahamas, Australia, Brazil, etc.). The spatio-temporal distribution of microbialites therefore make them a valuable archive of both life and Earth evolution. However, after nearly 100 years of research, their origin as well as their environmental significance is still a matter of debate. Little is known about microbialite formation, in particular the relative roles of microbial versus environmental factors ruling their growth. Laguna de Los Cisnes located at 53 ° 25' S and 70 ° 40' W in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, provides us with a unique site to fill this gap. This basin was formed during the retreat of the ice following the last glaciation about 10,000 years ago. Subsequently, the lake was densely colonized by microbial mats that developed the presently living and fossil carbonate microbialites. We have explored the relative contribution of environmental versus biological factors controlling microbialite morphogenesis across various scales.


Introduction. The problem of timely activation of fire sprinkler systems is highly relevant for effective fire suppression before the critical moment, when calculated values applied to extinguish the fire, become ineffective. A number of works address the problem of effective application of the fire sprinkler system to Class A fires. The application of such methods to Class B fires has not yet been considered.The model simulating a fire in a room with an automatic fire extinguishing system. The response time assessment model, developed by the co-authors for an automatic water-consuming fire sprinkler system, allows to identify the velocity of flame spreading over the surface of an HFL/CL spillage and the temperature rise rate in the ceiling area in the case of a B class fire.A sprinkler is triggered by the bulb bursting caused by the thermal effect produced by the ascending convection flow. A model has been developed to determine the response time of a fire sprinkler system exposed to the effect of a heat flow, caused by the Class B fire, on a heat-sensitive sprinkler bulb.Activation of a fire sprinkler system by the rate-of-rise heat detector. A model, designated for determining the activation time of a rate-of-rise heat detector, was developed.Examples. A number of examples, illustrating the response time of traditional, deluge, and forced launch fire sprinkler systems, are provided in the article.Conclusions. The obtained formula allows to quickly check the applicability of different types of fire sprinkler systems to ensure the effective protection of premises in which class B fires may break out.


Forests are the largest natural wealth owned by Indonesia, which contains thousands of species of living things, both animals, plants and the human race. Forests must be protected and preserved by the caliphs of the earth for their survival. But the greedy attitude of humans makes forests in Indonesia arid because the environment does not have enough water absorption so that disasters occur everywhere and become a problem in Indonesia every year. The purpose of this research is to collect information based on data from the location and provide insights so that the public is aware of and understands the importance of preserving the beautiful natural environment in the Kendeng Mountains area which frequently occurs flash floods and landslides. This research method uses a literature study research method from two references, namely the primary reference, namely data collection which is carried out directly without intermediaries and secondary references obtained from documents, books, journals, etc. The results of this study indicate a relationship between environmental damage that occurs with human actions who lack awareness of environmental preservation. The Wonosoco people who live in the foothills of the Kendeng mountains still need socialization about the importance of preserving nature. The need that makes their excuse to cut trees so that the forest becomes deforested, but there must be an effort to replant it to reduce major risks.


Abstract Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) is a third‐generation sequencing technology that is gaining popularity in ecological research for its portable and low‐cost sequencing possibilities. Although the technology excels at long‐read sequencing, it can also be applied to sequence amplicons. The downside of ONT is the low quality of the raw reads. Hence, generating a high‐quality consensus sequence is still a challenge. We present Amplicon_sorter, a tool for reference‐free sorting of ONT sequenced amplicons based on their similarity in sequence and length and for building solid consensus sequences.


The case of Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology is based on the weaving between experience and expression of experience. From this point of view, the article examines Merleau-Ponty's reflections on children's drawing and on modern art. Bot try to get back the raw perception of the world - beyond the idealisations of perspective art and of geometry - and rediscover the expressive and symbolic dynamics in our body experience.


Leptin has recently been related to myocardial remodeling in animal experimentation studies on heart failure (HF). Furthermore, leptin has been reported to be related to diastolic dysfunction, however only in healthy population. With the emergence of new medical therapies targeting cardiac remodeling, there needs to be a better understanding of the metabolic pathways involving leptin. Our study aims to investigate leptin's correlation to parameters of systolic and diastolic heart function, as well as epicardial and pericardial adipose tissue (EAT and PAT) in heart failure (HF) patients.

 The study included 51 patients with chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) of ischemic (n=22) and non-ischemic (n=29) origin (NYHA II-III, mean EF 29.56%, SD 8.1; mean BMI 28.08, SD 5.8). Serum concentrations of leptin, NT-proBNP, HbA1c, LDL, and total cholesterol were also measured. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) and other LV function parameters were assessed in transthoracic echocardiography, as well as EAT and PAT in parasternal long and short-axis views.

 We found a significant correlation between leptin serum concentration and epicardial, as well as pericardial adipose tissue (EAT r=0.336, p=0.030; PAT r=0.565, p<0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between leptin and GLS (r=−0.332; p=0.045), as well a positive correlation between Leptin and E/E' ration (r=0.373; p=0.039). There was no significant difference between ischemic and non-ischemic HF patients.

 We provide evidence of serum leptin correlation to remodeling parameters, as well as epicardial and pericardial fat tissue in HF patients. Whether leptin has positive effects on reversing or preventing remodeling in heart failure, needs further investigation.
 Correlation of leptin vs. GLS

 Type of funding source: None


We introduce several EM-based multiuser detectors for an optical CDMA system. The detectors have soft and hard stages. In the soft stage, a soft estimation of the interference is obtained by solving an unconstrained maximum-likelihood (ML) problem via an iterative expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. Then, the hard stage detects the user information bit by solving a one-dimensional Boolean constrained problem conditioned on knowing the interference. Our results reveal that the proposed detectors have very low complexity and are robust against changes in parameters. Moreover. the numerical results illustrate that, despite their simplicity, our detectors substantially outperform other well-known suboptimum detectors, such as multistage and decorrelating detectors.


EDITORIAL COMMENT: We accepted this paper for publication to remind readers that women in Australia with severe medical disease, which in the past would be considered grounds for sterilization or even termination of pregnancy (Case 2) now expect or hope to tackle pregnancy successfully. It will be a challenge for obstetricians to maintain the maternal mortality rate in Australia at 1 in 7,860 births with current expectations of low and high‐risk mothers (A). In Case 2 the mother died more than 6 weeks after delivery and so would not be classified as a maternal death. Such cases explain why Henry et al have discussed the value of the maternal mortality definition being changed to include all deaths of women dying within 1 year of confinement (B). This paper informs us that women with a past history of significant myocardial infarction can cope safely with pregnancy and the puerperium.


The construction of a differential electric manometer depending upon the variation of resistance of manganin coils with pressure is described. A special form of plug resistance is employed in the bridge circuit, whereby the number of plugs in use is always the same, thus decreasing variation due to contact resistance.


Stochastic processing networks arise as models in manufacturing, telecommunications, transportation, computer systems, the customer service industry, and biochemical reaction networks. Common characteristics of these networks are that they have entities—such as jobs, packets, vehicles, customers, or molecules—that move along routes, wait in buffers, receive processing from various resources, and are subject to the effects of stochastic variability through such quantities as arrival times, processing times, and routing protocols. The mathematical theory of queueing aims to understand, analyze, and control congestion in stochastic processing networks. In this article, we begin by summarizing some of the highlights in the development of the theory of queueing prior to 1990; this includes some exact analysis and development of approximate models for certain queueing networks. We then describe some surprises of the early 1990s and ensuing developments of the past 25 years related to the use of approximate mode...


Aim. To develop theoretical models of changes in haemodynamic parameters of patients with univentricular haemodynamics. Methods. We analysed the effects of redistributing blood flow between the two circulatory systems (pulmonary and systemic) on systemic oxygen delivery and examined changes in the arterial and venous blood gas compositions. Mathematical analyses on the basis of oxygen flow into the pulmonary circulatory system and its consumption during circulation were performed according to Fick principle for cardiac output. Calculations were performed using equations describing changes in the delivery and consumption of oxygen during univentricular circulation. Furthermore, computer simulations were employed to investigate changes in haemodynamic parameters and gas exchange associated with pathological processes such as pulmonary venous hypoxemia, reduction in systemic flow rate and mixed venous blood desaturation. Calculations were performed under conditions with oxygen concentration of >0% or <100%. Results. A number of theoretical models were developed, which described (i) the distribution of systemic and pulmonary blood flow and changes in arterial oxygenation depending on Qp/Qs; (ii) the ratio of systemic blood flow to Qp/Qs; (iii) changes in arterial oxygenation depending on Qp/Qs at different levels of central venous saturation; (iv) changes in pulmonary venous saturation depending on arterial saturation and Qp/Qs under conditions of normal and reduced blood flow; (v) level of central venous saturation depending on changes in Qp/Qs and SpvO 2 at systemic SaO 2 of 75% and (vi) PaO2 dynamics depending on changes in PpvO 2 and Qp/Qs. Conclusion. Changes in the oxygen status of patients with univentricular haemodynamics with sufficient combined cardiac output are indicative of the distribution of blood flow. Assessments of the developed models demonstrated that a number of additional factors affect changes in the oxygen composition of blood including (i) the initial level of arterial oxygenation; (ii) the level of oxygenation in the pulmonary veins and (iii) the ratio of pulmonary to systemic blood flow. In addition, the results indicated that PCO 2 recorded in the pulmonary veins, arteries and mixed venous blood largely depends on Qp/Qs. The theoretical models presented here can be used to compare the results of haemodynamic status assessments of patients with univentricular physiology. Received 22 May 2019. Revised 4 November 2019. Accepted 10 November 2019. Funding: The study did not have sponsorship. Conflict of interest: Authors declare no conflict of interest.


Accelerating fluorescent indicators on the Cosmos-3 and Cosmos-5 satellites registered very soft electrons, their energy being in the range of 0.04-5 keV. They were observed mostly on the sunlit portion of the orbit. Their mean intensity was ~ 5 x 108 electrons per cm2 per sec per steradian and had tendency to rise with height. Their pitch angle distribution was nearly isotropic j and markedly different from such distributions for harder electrons. Реаюме: С помощью спутников "Космос 3" и "Космос 5" на высотах 2001600 км были зарегистрированы очень мягкие электроны, энергия которых заключена в пределах 0,04-4 кэв. Они наблюдались преимущественно на освещенном участке орбиты, причем их интенсивность составляла в среднем ~5.108 эл/см2 сек стерад и имела тенденцию к увеличению с ростом высоты. Распределение их по питч-углам было близко к изотропному и резко отличалось от распределения более жестких электронов. 1. Electrons with energy 40 eV-5 keV The fluorescent indicators of electrons on the Cosmos-3 and Cosmos-5 satellites permitted the detection of electrons in a wide energy range [1, 2]. Different groups of electrons were distinguished by estimating the ratios of the three indicators' signals at various accelerating voltages. Extremely soft electrons were recorded mainly by the indicator shielded with foil of 0.4 mg спг 2 A l at the maximum accelerating voltage of 11 kV. When the accelerating voltage was reduced to 6 kV, the signal decreased by two orders of magnitude. At an accelerating voltage of 11 kV the signal of the indicator with foil of 0.6 mg cm 2 A l was less than that of the indicator with foil 0.4 mg cm 2 at the same accelerating potential by a factor of about 20. According to the laboratory calibration such a ratio indicated that the energy of monoenergetic electrons was less than 5 keV. When recording a non-monoenergetic electron flux, most of the electrons would be still softer because the indicator's sensitivity increases with energy. The lower threshold of energy of the registered electrons depended on the value of the negative voltage on the retarding grid. Its laboratory value relative to the satellite body was — 40 V. In flight this value was controlled


Family law disputes concerning the custody, residence and contact of children have increased in recent years. Judgments made by the court in the resolution of disputes have significant short and long term consequences for the children involved. The child is not a party to the proceedings. Instead the child has a right to be heard and a right to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration. These rights originate from the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the European Convention on the Exercise of the Children's Rights and the Parental Code.

The purpose of this essay has been to study the child's place in disputes concerning custody, residence and contact and if it would be suitable to pass a law that provides a lawyer for the child. The essay has discussed how that would affect the child's position and to what extent the child would be heard in these disputes. Furthermore, the essay has also described how New Zealand's legal system provides a lawyer for the child. The focus in the essay is on the child's right to be heard and to have his or hers views given due weight.

The court has the obligation to investigate the child's views. There are different ways for the child to be heard. The child can be heard through a representative from the social services, who is interviewing the child or the child can be heard in court.

The applicability of the right to be heard and to put the best interests of the child first, have had disadvantages. In several cases there has been a lack of focus on the child's situation and individualised discussions on the best interests of the child. Furthermore, there has also been a lack of transparency in the judgments because the court has not explained how it has considered the child's views. Finally, there is not an obligation to talk to the child in an investigation of custody, residence and contact. Therefore, there is no guarantee that the child can be heard in every case.

The question of implementing a lawyer for the child has been discussed in different inquiries, but the legislator has refused to pass a law. In New Zealand, a lawyer is available and it is the most common way for a child to be heard. There are both advantages and disadvantages with a lawyer for the child. A notable disadvantage is that the costs of providing a lawyer will be significant, and most likely be paid for by the government. Furthermore, there would also be many participants in the court with similar tasks. However, an advantage of having a lawyer for the child is that the child's wishes may receive greater consideration by the court in the disputes resolution.


We read with interest the article by Aldrovandi et al1 evaluating the characteristics of coronary lesions using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and angiographically nonobstructive coronary artery disease. We congratulate the authors on their elegant study fitting comfortably with the vulnerable plaque paradigm. However, in our opinion, the main findings failed to take into account important confounders.

First, the identification of an increased burden of angiographically underestimated coronary plaques by means of CCTA is to support the atherosclerotic pathophysiology of unexplained MI. However, the detection of angiographically invisible coronary plaques is a common finding and has been reported previously by intravascular ultrasound studies …


As the wheels of a biplane approach a desolate airfield in the Solomon Islands, a man wearing only a loincloth breaks through the brush, brandishing a spear and a flail. From behind the plane's windows four biologists watch with wary eyes and silently map an escape route. "You're thinking, 'What am I supposed to do here?'" recalls Janet Hemingway, Director of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, International Director of the Joint Centre for Infectious Disease Research, and a recently elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. "And then you realize this is a welcoming committee."

Janet Hemingway. Photo courtesy of McCoy Wynne Photography.

Throughout her career, Hemingway has tackled the problem of malaria transmission from many perspectives: She has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with villagers in tropical countries, performed basic research in molecular biology and biochemistry, uncovered countless mechanisms of insecticide resistance, and helped develop life-saving quinolone antimalarial drugs (1). In her Inaugural Article (2), Hemingway explores the increasing challenge of insecticide resistance in Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus mosquitoes, malaria vectors prevalent in the southern African country of Malawi. The findings reveal that pyrethroids, the most effective antimalarial insecticides known to date, are under siege by resistant variants of Anopheles , and increased monitoring in the impoverished country is desperately needed to track the underlying mechanisms of resistance before malaria regains a stronghold.

Hemingway was born in 1957 to a working-class family in the small coal-mining town of West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Her parents owned a corner shop and her grandfather worked in the mines. At around age five, Hemingway's grandfather presented her with a pair of retired "pit" ponies that had pulled coal trucks in the mine but had never been ridden. "I was kind of plopped on top of one, and off we went," she recalls. Much …


We prove a differential inequality for real forms of arbitrary degree, the problem being considered on closed orthants H ⊂ R. A sufficient positivity criterion is derived. Our results allow computer implementation and contain enough information to imply the fundamental AM −GM inequality.


This month sees the first of four seminars on 'New Frontiers of Family' – a BPS sponsored series that aims to examine the psychological implications of emerging forms of family in the UK – those beyond genetic relatedness, and those beyond the nuclear family. In this article, the seminar series organisers explore two topics - conception through embryo donation and voluntary childlessness both of which are highly topical in the context of declining birth rates and increases in the use of assisted reproduction in Britain. This paper provides an overview of research to date in these areas as well as the limitations of the current research base.


The present invention is a carbon nanotube field emission by the device according to, in particular, under carbon nanotubes having a gate structure tube field emission changes for the cathode structure of the device, and the carbon a to further form the auxiliary electrodes for the brightness increases and the electron beam focusing nanotubes It relates to a field emission device. A problem that the conventional flat type carbon nanotube field emission device of the under gate structure, a high driving voltage instead of a simple two-formed and the low efficiency problem, the counter electrode coplanar structure needs more expensive and the yield deterioration in the through-hole forming process and, as the charge is charged and discharged in the insulating layer having an exposed surface in common, easy to this electric field distortion, there is a problem in at least the light-emission by the anode electric field that appears high. In addition, since the carbon nanotubes formed in accordance with the width of the gate electrode there is a problem in that the neighboring cell and the spreading of the electron beam deep optical interference. In order to solve the above problems to the present invention forms a cathode electrode and an auxiliary electrode the electrons in the emitting portion region after forming a meshed structure with a separation distance to each other, mutual interlocking structure of the carbon nanotubes in the cathode electrode portion Thereby, the homogeneous electric field of the electron-emitting portion to reduce the spread of the electron beam increase the luminescence efficiency, there is an effect of reducing the electric field distortion.


Objective To optimize the extration technology of total polyphenols in Semen Benincasae.Methods The extracting conditions polyphenols in Semen Benincasae were optimized by the orthogonal test of L9(33).Results The influencing order of each factor was as follows:extraction time,ethanol concentration,material-liquid ratio.The optimal technology conditions were as follows:ethanol concentration was 50%,material-liquid ratio was 1∶ 20 and extracting time was 2 hours.Conclusion This method was accurate with good reproducibility and high extraction ratio.


In the research of arti cial intelligence, symbol processing has been providing powerful tools to represent and process complicated and varied information. However, it has disadvantages in `analogy', `uncertainty', and `learning/adapting'. Neural networks have been expected to conquer these disadvantages of symbol processing. In order to provide exible and robust problem solving methods, many researchers have been trying to construct hybrid or integrated systems of symbol and neural processing. However, there remains a problem in such a hybrid way, which comes from di erence of characteristics of data that neural and symbol processings deal with. Especially, following two essential characteristics of data representation in symbol processing are important. Symbols: each of which indicates discrete and independent information. Data structures: by which complicated information is arranged exibly. Because neural networks originally have not mechanisms to deal with these characteristics, it is di cult to transfer information exibly between neural and symbol processing modules in a hybrid system. In this thesis, I describe learning methods of neural networks that provide a way to deal with symbols and data structures. First, the symbolization of patterns in neural networks is investigated. In order to analyze patterns as symbols, it is useful that pattern representation is simple and has no redundant part. However, networks get redundant representation through its learning, so that such analysis becomes di cult. In chapter 2, a new learning method, `overload learning', to solve the problem of how to eliminate such redundant representation is described. In this method, a network is trained to learn an additional task together with an original one. Since a redundant part of pattern representation is used for the additional task, only minimum representation


Although thinning is a common practice in the productive apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) region in the state of Chihuahua, it is still often performed manually, belated, innefficient and costly. Chemical thinning is an increasingly common practice. In apple trees, flower or fruit thinning increases the fruit quality and reduces alternate bearing in the apple production. To maximize the benefits of this practice, it was assessed efficiency of the following products: naphthaleneacetic acid, hydrogen cyanamide, ammonium thiosulfate, benzyladenine, gibberelic acid, and a mixture of lime-sulfur and fish oil as chemical thinners of flowers in the cultivars Golden Delicious and RedChief Delicious, sprayed during bloom was evaluated. Another treatment consisted of the application of the lime-sulfur mixture and fish oil at bloom plus a spraying with naphthaleneacetic acid at post-bloom stage. The results were compared with a late manual thinning as control, and with a treatment of manual thinning during bloom. In both cultivars, the treatment with limesulfur at bloom and naphthaleneacetic acid at post-bloom, significantly reduced fruit set without reducing crop yield. Furthermore, there were obtained larger fruits at harvest with this same treatment. Treatments with lime-sulfur and fish oil resulted in russeting on 'Golden Delicious' fruits. Naphthaleneacetic acid treatment during bloom significantly reduced alternate bearing observed in cv. 'Golden Delicious'.


The incidence of red spider mite, Oligonychus coffeae on tea crop was maximum during the month of April to May-June and September-October (2011). The minimum number of mites were recorded from July-August and November (2011) to February (2012). The data taken from 1 st week of April, 2011 to last week of March, 2012. That population build up of O. coffeae showed a significant positive correlation with the maximum temperature and minimum temperature (r = 0.320 and r = 0.268, respectively). Whereas, the red spider mite population was negatively correlated but significant with average relative humidity (r = -0.357). Rainfall had a negative non-significant correlation with the mite population (r = -0.049).


When major crises occur, organizations face critical concerns, such as stress, uncertainties, need of quick anticipation and better communication. The need of experience implies a regular training of those involved. Serious games and environmental computer-based simulations are useful training tools for people who have to manage a crisis. They are relevant for educational purposes, for the acquisition of technical and non-technical skills, of automatic reflexes, and of ways of thinking. The suitability of the teaching strategy in link with the profile of participants and the moderation by the trainers are difficult. The present work aims at solving these difficulties by the development of a distributed multitier architecture, computer-assisted training, a multiagent system, and requirements for a relevant physical infrastructure. Our methodology integrates four steps: exercise modeling, scenario modeling, scenario simulation with a multiagent system, debriefing approach and learning objectives assessment. Our methodological recommendations have been applied in order to define a real semi-virtual training environment. Limits and prospects are already identified for further improvements.


In this paper, we show that there exists no left invariant Riemannian metric h on the Heisenberg group H such that (H, h) is a symmetric Riemannian manifold, and there does not exist any H-invariant metric h̄ on the Heisenberg manifold H/Γ such that the Riemannian connection on (H/Γ, h̄) is a Yang-Mills connection. Moreover, we get necessary and sufficient conditions for a group homomorphism of (SU(2), g) with an arbitrarily given left invariant metric g into (H, h) with an arbitrarily given left invariant metric h to be a harmonic and an affine map, and get the totality of harmonic maps of (SU(2), g) into H with a left invariant metric, and then show the fact that any affine map of (SU(2), g) into H, equipped with a properly given left invariant metric on H, does not exist.


Through linkage of Norwegian registries, this study investigated the risk of epilepsy in children in a period of up to 5 years after pandemic influenza vaccination. OBJECTIVES: To determine if pandemic influenza vaccination was associated with an increased risk of epilepsy in children. METHODS: Information from Norwegian registries from 2006 through 2014 on all children <18 years living in Norway on October 1, 2009 was used in Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios for incident epilepsy after vaccination. A self-controlled case series analysis was used to estimate incidence rate ratios in defined risk periods after pandemic vaccination. RESULTS: In Norway, the main period of the influenza A subtype H1N1 pandemic was from October 2009 to December 2009. On October 1, 2009, 1 154 113 children <18 years of age were registered as residents in Norway. Of these, 572 875 (50.7%) were vaccinated against pandemic influenza. From October 2009 through 2014 there were 3628 new cases of epilepsy (incidence rate 6.09 per 10 000 person-years). The risk of epilepsy was not increased after vaccination: hazard ratio: 1.07; 95% confidence interval: 0.94–1.23. Results from the self-controlled case series analysis supported the finding of no association between vaccination and subsequent epilepsy. CONCLUSIONS: Pandemic influenza vaccination was not associated with increased risk of epilepsy. Concerns about pandemic vaccination causing epilepsy in children seem to be unwarranted.


We investigate the host galaxies of compact objects merging in the local Universe, by combining the results of binary population-synthesis simulations with the Illustris cosmological box. Double neutron stars (DNSs) merging in the local Universe tend to form in massive galaxies (with stellar mass $>10^{9}$ M$_\odot$) and to merge in the same galaxy where they formed, with a short delay time between the formation of the progenitor stars and the DNS merger. In contrast, double black holes (DBHs) and black hole $-$ neutron star binaries (BHNSs) form preferentially in small galaxies (with stellar mass $<10^{10}$ M$_\odot$) and merge either in small or in larger galaxies, with a long delay time. This result is an effect of metallicity: merging DBHs and BHNSs form preferentially from metal-poor progenitors ($Z\leq{}0.1$ Z$_\odot$), which are more common in high-redshift galaxies and in local dwarf galaxies, whereas merging DNSs are only mildly sensitive to progenitor's metallicity and thus are more abundant in massive galaxies nowadays. The mass range of DNS hosts we predict in this work is consistent with the mass range of short gamma-ray burst hosts.


The nonsteroidal agent dipyrone (metamizole) was banned by the United States Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in the late 1970s after it was associated with myelotoxicity. This toxicity and, specifically, the development of agranulocytosis remain a topic of discussion within the medical literature. Less debatable, but perhaps more surprising, is the fact that this drug is still commonly seen in the United States despite the FDA ban. As described by Garcia et al, dipyrone was found in 28% of surveyed Latino households in Miami. The drug is generally obtained over the counter in Latin America and is being used by Latinos for treatment of pain and/or fever. A survey of the medical literature reveals multiple case reports of agranulocytosis attributed to dipyrone, but the actual incidence of this potentially fatal side effect is still the subject of debate. A recent, population-based survey in hematology units in Spain documented 177 cases of drug-induced agranulocytosis for a follow-up of over 78 million person-years. While agranulocytosis was a rare event, the medications most associated with this toxicity included ticlopidine, calcium dobesilate, antithyroid drugs, spironolactone, and dipyrone. A Swedish study looking at spontaneous reports of blood dyscrasias with dipyrone estimated the reported incidence of agranulocytosis to be approximately 1:1,400, considerably higher than previous studies. The International Agranulocytosis and Aplastic Anemia Study (IAAAS) also reported on dipyrone-induced myelotoxicity, finding an incidence of approximately 1:20,000. But uncertainty as to this association remains. Edwards et al have noted that these studies have strikingly different findings in terms of magnitude of risk, and the absolute risk of agranulocytosis may be quite small. Confounding issues such as consumption, frequency of use, geography, and genetic factors might also affect the ultimate risk of toxicity with this drug. Similarly, Bensenor has noted that the relative risk of toxicity with this inexpensive and effective nonsteroidal medication–when compared with other commonly used analgesics such as acetaminophen–is likely quite low. The ongoing LATIN study (incidence of aplastic anemia and agranulocytosis in Latin America) may answer these questions for us. This multicenter, international, case-control study is collecting data on the incidence of agranulocytosis and aplastic anemia in Latin America and offers hope that the longstanding debate surrounding the use of dipyrone will be settled. The countries involved in the study have decided not to withdraw this drug from their markets. In the meantime, the ban in the US will rightly remain. Clinicians must be cognizant, however, that dipyrone is readily available in Latino communities and likely possesses at least some risk to patients. Garcia et al note that the drug is available alone and in multiple combination forms. As such, a detailed history of prescription and nonprescription medication use must be obtained—particularly in the setting of blood dyscrasias.


Aim Characterization of the structural and functional changes in low density lipoprotein (LDL) aftermodification with both malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4hydroxynonenal (HNE).Methods LDL was modified with both 40 mmol/L MDA and 6 mmol/L HNE. A rabbit antibody against this double modified LDL was produced by use of continuous LDL-coupled affinity chromatography. The antigenic structure properties of MDA-HNE-LDL (MH-LDL) was investigated with a competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA ). The degradation of 123 I-MH-LDL by THP-l cells and mouse peritoneal macrophages were measured eparately to evaluate the biological significance of LDL modified with double aldehydes.Results The purified antibody against MH-LDL did not react with native LDL and acetyl LDL. However,MDA-LDL, HNE-LDL,and oxidized LDL showed a certain degree of competitive inhibitory effects to the binding of the antibody with MDA-HNE-LDL (70%, 33% and 21%, respectively). The degradation of 12:I-MH-LDL by THP-l cells (243 ± 53 μg/g cell protein) was similar to that of 125 I-oxidized LDL (233f35 ig/g cell protein) but lower than 125I-LDL (441± 16 μg/g cell protein). Both MH-LDL and acetyl LDL could competitively inhibit 125I-MH-LDL degradation by THP-l cells where as native LDL did not. In mouse peritoneal macrophages 125 I-MH-LDL was degraded as much as 10 times of 125I-LDL. When incubated with various amounts of antibody against MHLDL, 125I-MH-LDL degradation by macrophages differed from 18% to 223% of that in the absence of the antibody.Conclusion Antigenity of MH-LDL might primarily depended on the modification of MDA. The uptake of MH-LDL by cells would be mediated via scavenger receptor pathway.


Plants of soybean (Glycine max L.) cv. Augusta grew in the soil with addition of Ni in the concentration of 80 (C-80) or 120 mg∙kg-1 dry mass (C-120) or without Ni (C-0), and they were subjected to UV-B (300 nm – 315 nm) dose of 1.8 kJ m-2 d-1 for 28 days. The addition of nickel into soil in the concentration of 120 mg kg-1 (C-120) caused a decrease of the plant height by 35% compared to the control (C-0), and in the presence of UV-B (U-120) – by 43%. The shoot fresh and dry mass in the C-80 and C-120 plants were lower by 33% and 52% than in the C-0. In the presence of Ni, the intensity of net photosynthesis decreased by 55%. UV-B caused an increase of flavonoid content by 25% compared to the control (C-0), and Ni induced a reduction in the content of these compounds from 20% to 40%.


Moduli stabilisation is key to obtaining phenomenologically viable string models. Non-geometric compactifications, like T-duality orbifolds (T-folds), are capable of freezing many moduli. However, T-folds, admitting free fermionic descriptions, can be associated to a large number of different T-folds with varying number of moduli, since the fermion pairings for bosonisation is far from unique. Fermion symmetries induce mappings in the bosonised description that extend the T-duality group.


Challenging office cases in obstetrics and gynaecology , Challenging office cases in obstetrics and gynaecology , کتابخانه دیجیتال دانشگاه علوم پزشکی اصفهان


During the terms of trade boom, strong growth in output prices meant that the real cost of labour declined from the average firm's perspective and demand for labour increased. At the same time, the appreciation of the exchange rate helped to contain the increase in consumption prices, so the purchasing power of employees' earnings rose and growth in the labour force picked up. Overall, Australian employment grew strongly and the unemployment rate fell. Since 2011/12, the terms of trade have declined substantially. The mining investment boom is coming to an end and the less labour-intensive phase of resource production has begun. While mining-related labour demand has declined, low interest rates and the depreciation of the exchange rate have provided support to labour demand in other sectors. Overall, firms' output prices and unit labour costs have been little changed since the peak in the terms of trade, though there have been differences between industries. Growth in employee earnings has declined and it is no longer outpacing growth in consumption prices. The lower growth in employee earnings appears to have encouraged firms to retain or employ more workers than would otherwise have been the case. Growth in the labour force has also responded to changes in labour market conditions, and population growth has slowed. This labour market flexibility has helped to smooth the adjustment following the end of the terms of trade boom and limit the increase in the unemployment rate.


This article presents a method to estimate flow variables for an open channel network governed by the linearized Saint-Venant equations and subject to periodic forcing. The discharge at the upstream end of the system and the stage at the downstream end of the system are defined as the model input; the flow properties at selected internal locations, as well as the other external boundary conditions, are defined as the output. Both inputs and outputs are affected by noise and we use the model to re-estimate this data. A spatially-dependent transfer matrix in the frequency domain is constructed to relate the model input and output using modal decomposition. A data reconciliation technique is used to incorporate the error in the measured data and results in a set of reconciliated external boundary conditions; subsequently, the flow properties at any location in the system can be accurately constructed from the input measurements. The applicability and effectiveness of the method is demonstrated with a case study of the river flow subject to tidal forcing in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in California. We used existing USGS sensors placed in the Delta as measurement points, and deploy our own sensors at selected locations to produce data used for the validation. The proposed method gives an accurate estimation of the flow properties at intermediate locations within the channel network.


The spreading of the COVID-19 virus limits the transportation services capacity, which heavily impacts the logistics business. In air freight services, flight arrangement relies on the number of passengers traveling from/to different destinies. Soon after COVID-19 vigorously spread, minor flight operation and transportation charges suddenly increased to cover higher operating costs while carriers aimed to maintain a consistent profit. The objective of this paper is to minimize high air freight expenses and reduce manual load planning by implementing MILP (Mixed integer linear programming), which supports automating cargo load planning. Moreover, 3D Load Packer is introduced to validate the output of optimized value received from CPLEX Optimization Studio to ensure loading feasibility. As a result, this study provides significant benefits in load planning speed and profit enhancement.


ABSTRACT Facies mapping of the Cambrian in the subsurface of southern Alberta shows that the Cambrian paleogeography has a marked influence on the distribution of the Middle to Upper Devonian Beaverhill Lake carbonates. During the Cambrian, southern Alberta was a shallow marine basin surrounded by shoal areas on three sides. These shoal areas bordered the Peace River Arch to the north, the West Alberta Ridge to the west, and the Sweetgrass Arch to the south. Sedimentary rocks originating in the shallow basin consist of glauconitic sandstone and shale, quartzarenite, flat-pebble conglomerate, coquina and minor carbonate. Shoal areas are reflected predominantly by mottled dolomitic mudstone to packstone, oolitic grainstone, cryptalgalaminate, flat-pebble conglomerate and coquina. Mud cracks are abundant in places. Initial Cambrian paleogeography controlled the distribution of subsequent Cambrian sedimentation. Resultant facies distribution impacted on the paleotopography of the Cambrian. Carbonate facies in shoal areas were more resistant to pre-Devonian erosion than the basinal clastic facies. It is possible that the Cambrian clastic section has suffered more compaction than the carbonate section. The combination of these factors resulted during late Givetian, early Frasnian time in a topographic depression bordered by relatively high areas that exerted a primary control on sedimentation (Beaverhill Lake Formation). Beaverhill Lake paleogeography across southern Alberta was dominated by a carbonate bank composed of limestone, dolomite, and evaporites, a large shale basin, and a carbonate platform with reefal development (the Swan Hills reef complex). These major Beaverhill Lake paleogeographic features are closely related to the paleogeographic and lithofacies patterns of the underlying Cambrian rocks. End_of_Record - Last_Page 183-------


Dear Editor,

Fungal agents have been reported to be more frequently responsible from health care associated infections in recent years [1]. New antifungal agents for invasive fungal infections are introduced to market and we wanted to evaluate our dynamics in use of one of them, the anidulafungin use in our patients with suspected invasive fungal infection.

The study was designed as an observational retrospective single center study in a tertiary care hospital. The patients who were treated with anidulafungin, either empirically or culture based, even for one day were included. The pharmacy reports and infection control team consultation reports as well as hospital data base were used. A total of 27 patients included [Table/Fig-1]. Candida spp. was revealed from 14 (52%) patients: 4 (15%) C. albicans, 8 (30%) non-albicans Candida (NAC) and in 2 (7%) patients both C.albicans and NAC were revealed. From the culture positive 14 patients, only 9 (64%) had subsquent culture samples after initiating antifungal therapy, the remaining 5 patients either didn't have a control blood culture because either they died (n=4) while they were under anidulafungin therapy or referred to another center and lost from follow-up (n=1). Culture negativity was achieved in a median of 3 days in all of the remaining 9 patients (100%) who have subsquent culture samples. Only one patient had another positive culture on the 12th day of therapy, after achieving negative blood culture on the 2nd therapy day. No source was found for persistence of candidemia and control blood culture was again turned to negative on the 19th day of therapy. Of total 27 patients, 22 (82%) patients had died because of underlying medical problems, 11 (44%) of the patients had died before they completed anidulafungin therapy and median anidulafungin therapy duration of these 11 patients were only 5 days (2-15days). As conclusion, anidulafungin was used in elder patients who have long hospitalization duration especially in ICUs; all the patients who have subsquent culture samples were achieved culture negativity under anidulafungin therapy; culture negativity was achieved in a median of 3 days. Attributable mortality cannot be calculated because of the study-design and controlled randomized studies are needed in these complicated patients of ICUs.

[Table/Fig-1]:

Demographic variables of the patients under anidulafungin therapy (n=27)


Test excavations in 1984 at the middle palaeolithic rockshelter of 'Ain Difla (Wadi Hasa Survey Site 634) in west-central Jordan produced a lithic assemblage dominated by elongated levallois points with very few retouched tools. Length/width ratios of the levallois points and width/thickness ratios of a sample of complete flakes suggest an affinity with Tabun D/Phase 1 mousterian sites. This kind of assemblage is generally thought to occur during the early Levantine mousterian. However, there is evidence of persistence of Tabun D assemblages in the southern Levant until the middle/upper palaeolithic transition. Comparing the 'Ain Difla lithic assemblage with those of other Levantine mousterian sites underscores problems with the analytical frameworks used to 'date' sites through technological and metrical analyses. A rather coarse-grained regional paleoenvironmental sequence exacerbates these problems.


The design of curricula on the basis of academic subjects rests in part on the assumption that different subjects are associated with different modes of knowing, that is to say, with different forms of constructive activity. This study set out to examine this assumption in regard to young learners. A sample of 48 children aged 7-11 years was presented with learning materials in the domains of English, mathematics and science and required to provide verbal protocols of their intellectual engagements with the experiences. The protocol data were analysed using a scale of constructive activity the categories of which had been grounded in think-aloud responses. No differences were found in levels of constructive activity between the academic subjects. Each subject was associated with low levels of intellectual engagement. The implications of these conclusions are discussed in terms of theories of classroom work.


Positive/negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) tends to co‐occur with El Niño/La Niña. Five positive IODs, however, are observed under La Niña condition in 1961, 1966, 1967, 2007, and 2011. This study uses the monthly ocean temperature and atmospheric reanalysis datasets from ECMWF to investigate how these positive IOD events occurred. It is found that the five positive IODs are consistently accompanied by a moderately strong positive subsurface IOD (Sub‐IOD) event that initiated earlier. The Sub‐IOD‐related oceanic dynamical processes including oceanic Kelvin and Rossby waves help to promote the development of the positive IODs. More specifically, the equatorial easterly anomalies in the Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) that are crucial for the development of the positive Sub‐IODs and IODs in 1961/2011 are triggered by an anticyclonic curl over South Indian Ocean that is induced by a Southern Hemispheric Indian Ocean Subtropical Dipole mode. The crucial equatorial easterly anomalies in 1967 are triggered by a thermocline warming in the southwestern TIO induced by westward downwelling oceanic Rossby waves, while in 1966/2007, the equatorial easterly anomalies are connected with the anomalous Walker circulation resulting from the certain sea surface temperature anomaly pattern over the equatorial Pacific. On the other hand, the remote effects of La Niña on TIO are relatively weaker, being overwhelmed by the above triggering processes.


I am pleased to be with you today to discuss the new world that bankers and bank supervisors alike face in the wake of historic financial reform and continuing technological and financial innovation. Clearly, these are exciting, heady times. The American banking system has just posted its eighth consecutive year of record earnings, exhibiting substantial resilience and strength in rebounding from the troubles of the late 1980s and early 1990s. In doing so, banks have contributed substantially to, and benefited enormously from, the longest economic expansion in our nation's history. Simply put, most people in our country have never had it so good. And yet even as we celebrate our good fortune, we must bear in mind that this very prosperity exposes the seemingly unstoppable US economy to certain very real risks.


The study was conducted at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Banswara in Southern Humid Agro-climatic Zone of Rajasthan (Zone IV b) for three consecutive rainy seasons of 2009, 2010 and 2011 to evaluate the performance of basmati type rice variety "Pusa 1460" at farmers field under rainfed conditions. Front line demonstrations (FLDs) were conducted with scientific package of practices of rice technology. The Pusa 1460 variety of rice was found superior over farmers' existing practices with local landraces. Pusa 1460 with improved production technologies followed in FLDs, increased mean grain yield by 28.7% over existing farmers' practice with only Rs. 1511/ha extra expenditure on inputs. The mean extension gap (0.57 t/ha) and mean IBCR (3.94) are sufficiently high to motivate farmers for adoption of Pusa 1460 and rice production technology.


A generalized optimal latching pulse for DRAM dynamic sense amplifier design has been derived. The model equations account for threshold voltage (V/sub t/) imbalance, bit line capacitance (C/sub b/) imbalance, current gain ( beta ) imbalance, gate capacitance (C/sub G/) and intrabit line capacitive (C/sub I/) coupling effect, channel length modulation, source-body effect, and temperature sensitivity in a unified manner. Computer simulations of the analytical equations, including those effects, are presented. A design implementation for fast sense amplifier operation is also presented to demonstrate the utility of the model equations for practical application.<<ETX>>