Aim:To study the protective effects of tea polyphenols(TP) on the brain cells apoptosis induced by D-galactose and Aβ_(25~35),and exploit the relationship between the anti-oxidative mechanism and/or regulation of calcium homeostasis in cells and inhibition of brain cells apoptosis.Methods:D-galactose(120 mg/kg) was sc injected into mice for 12 weeks and β-amyloid peptide(Aβ_(25~35),4 nmol) was icv injected in the 7~(th) week to induce animal brain cells apoptosis,thereby establishing Alzheimer′s-disease mice,and TP was ig administered for 12 weeks at the beginning of the animal modeling.Water maze testing apparatus was used to determine the ability of mice′s learning and memory,and the activity of SOD and the contents of MDA in the plasma and brain tissue or liver tissue were detected separately.Fura-2/AM and double-wave-length fluorospectrophotometer were used to measure the [Ca~(2+)] in the erythrocytes and brain cells.The apoptosis of neurons was detected by using flow cytometer.Results:Co-treatment of D-galactose and Aβ_(25~35) induced the apoptosis of brain cells up to 31.5%.The contents of MDA in plasma,liver and brain tissue were increased significantly,and the activity of SOD was decreased substantially.However,[Ca~(2+)] in the erythrocytes and brain cells were higher than that of control group.Moreover,impairments of learning and memory ability were found to exist in the mice.Administration of two dosages of 250 mg/kg and 625 mg/kg TP markedly decreased the rate of brain cell′s apoptosis by 18.6% and 12.6%,respectively;increased the activity of SOD,decreased the amount of MDA and [Ca~(2+)] in erythrocytes and brain cells.Therefore,TP could significantly improve the ability of learning and memory of model mice.Conclusion:TP could inhibit the brain cells apoptosis induced by D-galactose and Aβ_(25~35),and improve the ability of learning and memory of model mice.The finding may be related to the increase in the anti-oxidative ability and the improvement in the [Ca~(2+)] overloading in the cells caused by oxidative stress damage.


I. The Organization of International Relations. II. Anarchy and Cooperation. III. The Role of Regimes. IV. Regimes and Organizations. V. The Functions of International Organizations: Legitimization, Standard-Setting, and Norm-Creation. VI. The Functions of International Organizations: Collective Security and Conflict Management. VII. The Challenges of Integration. VIII. Structures and Transformations.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stop receive force, generated when an extension anchor is extended, by a tightening device, accordingly eliminate necessity for supporting the extension anchor by a workpiece, as a result avoid damage in a hole drilling bottom part. SOLUTION: A mounting device 10, a for extension anchors 30, 32, is provided with a tightening piston 40 guided in an expansion piston 18. The tightening piston is provided with a tightening cone part 52 for a collect chuck 54. The tightening piston is slid to move on the collet chuck fixed to a casing to tighten a shank 28 of the extension anchor. The expansion piston thrust-moves an expansion sleeve 34 on a shank of the extension anchor through an expansion plate 24. The expansion plate is screw-fixed to the expansion piston 18, a hole 26 is provided in the center of the plate. Through this hole, the shank of the extension anchor can be rushed into the collet chuck.


Current methods of evaluation of multi-pinhole SPECT imaging systems are limited to analyses of small numbers of experiments or simulations. The authors propose an objective evaluation method based on the singular-value decomposition of the projection-backprojection operation. The decomposition is performed using the power method in order to alleviate the need to store the projection-backprojection matrix in computer memory.


Analyses the connotation and essential characteristics of college culture in higher vocational college.Discusses the content,method and measure to build college culture.Explores how to innovate and research college culture.


The present work deals with the development and validation of a stability indicating reverse phase HPLC method for the determination of ortho and meta isomers in N-Methyl fluoxetine oxalate on Zorbax Eclipse XDB C-18 column (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 µm). A mobile phase consisting of solution-A (0.05M Disodium hydrogen ortho phosphate with triethylamine and the resulting mixture pH adjusted to 3.00) and solution-B (methanol : tetrahydrofuran /80:20) in the ratio of 60:40. The flow rate was 1.5 mL per min. The separation was performed at 40 °C column oven temperature. Detection was carried out at l215 nm by UV detector. The developed method was statistically validated for the linearity, accuracy, specificity, LOD and LOQ. The specificity of the method was ascertained by forced degradation studies with acid, alkali, oxidation, thermal and photolysis. The degraded products were well separated from the analysis with significant differences in their retention time values. In the present study Beer Lambert's Law obeyed over a concentration range of 0.21-1000 ug per mL and correlation coefficient was 0.9972.


Security of sensitive data in the network is a key issue in a world where such sensitive data can easily be transferred between different servers and locations (e.g., in networked clouds). In this context, there is a particular need to control the path followed by the data when they move across the cloud (e.g., to avoid crossing -even encrypted- un-trusted nodes or areas). In this paper we proposed therefore a new approach which aims to leverage the programmability offered by the SDN technology in order to enforce a trusted path for the transfer of sensitive data in the network. Given a policy related to the sensitive data (e.g., the data should not cross a given area), our approach allows sending this policy to an extended SDN controller (called Trusted Path Controller) which automatically enforces this policy in the SDN network. Two architectures have been investigated: the Out-of-Band architecture (the policy being sent to the Trusted Path Controller via a Web Service interface) and the In-Band architecture (the policy being sent to the Trusted Path Controller via a dedicated "signaling packet"). These two architectures have been implemented in a SDN controller. Experimentations and evaluations have also been performed on a test-bed of SDN switches which allow showing the feasibility of this approach as well as its performances.


Recently, the effectiveness of biological therapies such as inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6 receptor (tocilizumab) in TAK patients who were refractory to other immunosuppressive therapies has been reported in several studies. We have recently reported a French nationwide registry that showed quite similar effectiveness of TNF-α antagonists and tocilizumab, with acceptable safety profile and significant steroid sparing effect. A recent phase 3, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of tocilizumabversusplacebo in TAK failed to reach its primary intention-to-treat analysis, but tocilizumab was favored in a secondary per-protocol analysis regarding TAK time to relapse. Besides its role on refractory patients, intravenous tocilizumab was also evaluated in treatment-naïve TAK patients in the French TOCITAKA prospective multicenter open-labeled trial, showing 6-month remission rates of 80%, of whom 54% were in glucocorticoid-free remission at 6 months.In this large multicenter study, we compared the effectiveness and safety of tocilizumab IVversusSC in 109 TAK patients.We conducted a retrospective multicenter study in referral centers from France, Italy, Spain, Armenia, Israel, Japan, Tunisia, and Russia regarding biological-targeted therapies in TAK, since January 2017 to September 2019.A total of 109 TAK patients received at least 3 months tocilizumab therapy and were included in this study. Among them, 91 and 18 patients received IV and SC tocilizumab, respectively. A complete response (NIH<2 with less than 7.5 mg/day of prednisone) at 6 months was evidenced in 69% of TAK patients, of whom 57 (70%) and 11 (69%) patients were on IV and SC tocilizumab, respectively (p=0.95). The factors associated with complete response to tocilizumab at 6 months in multivariate analysis, only age < 30 years (OR = 2.85, 95% CI 1.14; 7.12; p=0.027) and time between TAK diagnosis and tocilizumab initiation (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.02; 1.36; p=0.034). During the median follow-up of 30.1 months [0.4; 105.8] and 10.8 [0.1; 46.4] (p<0.0001) in patients who received tocilizumab in IV and SC forms, respectively, the risk of relapse was significantly higher in TAK patients on SC tocilizumab (HR = 2.55, 95%CI 1.08;6.02; p=0.033). The overall cumulative incidence of relapse at 12 months in TAK patients was at 13.7% (95%CI 7.6; 21.5), with 10.3% (95%CI 4.8;18.4) for those on IV tocilizumabversus30.9% (95%CI 10.5;54.2) for patients receiving SC tocilizumab. Adverse events occurred in 14 (15%) patients on IV route and in 2 (11%) on SC tocilizumab.In this study, we confirm that tocilizumab is effective in TAK, with complete remission being achieving by 70% of DMARDs-refractory TAK patients at 6 months.NIL.NIL.None Declared.


In the optimum design of electromagnet, it is important to analyze the dynamic behaviors. The electromagnet is always used in stable operation, but it did not achieve the maximum efficiency. In this paper, it has proposed an electromagnetic system with double coils design methodology, which has applied Finite Element Method (FEM). The objective of design and analyses the electromagnet has achieve the desired requirements. From the instantaneous peak current of coil and the pull-in speed, it has optimized the improvement of the electromagnet. In order to energy saving and environmental protection, when the electromagnet is closed, double-coil automatically switch to single-coil. Based on these results, the validity of the proposed method has been confirmed by test.


The traditional heart balm torts?alienation of affec tions, criminal conversation, breach of marriage promise, and seduction?were developed at com mon law as a means to prevent the disruption of marital and familial relationships by third parties. See gen erally^. Page Keeton et al., Prosser andKeeton on the Law of7orts?? 124, 125 (5th ed. 1984). These torts gen erally focused on the husband's exclu sive property rights in the services and companionship of his wife and chil dren. Id ? 124 at 916-17, ? 125 at 926. At the time, wives lacked most of the rights enjoyed by their hus bands and were essentially considered to be their husbands' property. Id. ? 124 at 916.


Recent studies suggest that a common theme links the diverse elements of pineal photoneuroendocrine transduction –regulation via binding to 14‐3‐3 proteins. The elements include photoreception, neurotransmission, signal transduction and the synthesis of melatonin from tryptophan. We review general aspects of 14‐3‐3 proteins and their biological function as binding partners, and also focus on their roles in pineal photoneuroendocrine transduction.


Automated services like the blockchain currently lack the reasonable behaviour we require of third parties such as with bank guarantees and public notaries.


Background and Objective: Animal studies using open surgical models indicate that collagen solder is capable of fixation of surgical meshes without interfering with tissue integration, increasing adhesions, or increasing inflammation intraperitoneally. This study describes development of instrumentation and techniques for laparoscopic herniorrhaphy using laser-assisted soldering technology. Study Design and Methods: Anesthetized 20 kg to 25 kg female Yorkshire pigs underwent laparoscopy with a 3-trocar technique. Parietex TET, Parietex TEC, and Prolene mesh segments (5 × 5 cm) were embedded in 55% collagen solder. Segments were inserted by using a specially designed introducer and affixed to the peritoneum by using prototype laser devices (1.45 µ, 4.5 W continuous wave, 5-mm spot, 55° C set temperature) and a custom laparoscopic handpiece (IPOM). Parietex PCO mesh was inserted and affixed using the Endo-hernia stapler (Control). Animals were recovered and underwent second-look laparoscopy at 6 weeks. Mesh sites were harvested after animals were euthanized. Results: The mesh-solder constructs were easily inserted and affixed in an IPOM approach. Prolene mesh tended to curl at its edges as the solder was melted. Postoperative healing was similar to that in Control segments in all cases. Discussion and Conclusion: Collagen-based tissue soldering permits normal wound healing and may mitigate or reduce the use of staples or other foreign bodies for laparoscopic mesh fixation, prevent tissue ischemia and possibly nerve entrapment, which result in severe postoperative pain and morbidity. Laser-assisted mesh fixation is a promising alternative for laparoscopic herniorrhaphy. Further development of this strategy is warranted.


Objective To explore mechanisms of sustained and transient effects in encoding processes of emotional memory by examining activation of amygdala via functional MRI and to provide evidence for understanding the underlying neural mechanism related to emotional memory disorders further. Methods Twenty two subjects (aged from 20 to 24 years old) participated in the study and mixed blocked/event-related design was adopted. Sixty negatively emotional pictures and sixty neutral scene pictures were used. Functional MRI scanning was performed while subjects were doing encoding tasks. Behavioral data were acquired during retrieval. Correlation analyses of functional MRI data and simples paired t -test of behavioral performance were performed with SPM2 and SPSS13.0 statistical software,respectively. Results Significant differences of behavioral performance ( t= 2.791,P= 0.01 ) was found between emotional (3.15 ± 0.14) and neutral (2.25 ± 0.08 ) pictures. A whole-brain voxelwise correlation analysis between functional MRI and emotional enhancement effect indicated that the transient effect of emotional enhancement of memory involved the left amygdala, left hippocampus and left lateral orbitofrontal cortex, while the sustained effect involved the right amygdala, right hippocampus, right inferior frontal gyrus, right medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Region of interest analysis demonstrated that the sustained effect was related to the right amygdala (r= 0.50, P = 0.019 ), which was different from transient effect ( Z = 1.655, P = 0.049 ),while the transient effect was correlated with the left amygdala (r=0.65, P=0.001 ) ,which was different from sustained effect( Z= 2.512, P=0.006). Conclusion Different neural mechanisms are involved in sustained and transient effects of emotional memory encoding. The right amygdala is responsible for sustained effect and the left amygdala is responsible for transient effect ,respectively. The results confirm and extend the model of the left-transient/right-sustained effect.

Key words:
Emotional memory; Sustained effect; Transient effect; Amygdala


Objective To study the effect of Smad3 on the autophagy of the ovarian granulosa cells( GCs) in the rat. Methods Ovarian granulosa cells were cultured and treated in the following conditions: control group in which GCs were cultured without any treatment; knockdown group in which GCs were transfected by specific Smad3 siRNA with Lipo RNAiMAX; overexpression group in which GCs were transfected by p3 × FLAG-CMV-Smad3 plasmid with Lipo 2000. Immunocytochemistry was used to identify cell purity. To determine the efficiency of transfection,the expression of Smad3 protein was evaluated by Western blotting; Western blotting analysis was also used to detect the expression of autophagy associated gene 8( LC3),B cell lymphoma2( Bcl-2) proteins of ovarian GCs. Results Western blotting results showed that: in knockdown group,the ratio of LC3B II / I had no significant difference and the expression intensity of Bcl-2 protein was significantly decreased,compared to the control group. In overexpression group,the ratio of LC3BII / I was significantly increased and the expression intensity of Bcl-2 protein was significantly increased,compared to the control group. Conclusion Both Smad 3 SiRNA and P3 × FLA-CMV-Smad 3 can be effectively transfected to GCs. The mechanism,by which Smad 3 promotes the autophagy of GCs,may be related to the expression of Bcl-2 protein.


We study a problem with pairwise ranking optimization (PRO): that it tends to yield too short translations. We find that this is partially due to the inadequate smoothing in PRO's BLEU+1, which boosts the precision component of BLEU but leaves the brevity penalty unchanged, thus destroying the balance between the two, compared to BLEU. It is also partially due to PRO optimizing for a sentence-level score without a global view on the overall length, which introducing a bias towards short translations; we show that letting PRO optimize a corpus-level BLEU yields a perfect length. Finally, we find some residual bias due to the interaction of PRO with BLEU+1: such a bias does not exist for a version of MIRA with sentence-level BLEU+1. We propose several ways to fix the length problem of PRO, including smoothing the brevity penalty, scaling the effective reference length, grounding the precision component, and unclipping the brevity penalty, which yield sizable improvements in test BLEU on two Arabic-English datasets: IWSLT (+0.65) and NIST (+0.37).


Four bovine BAC clones (0494F01, 0069D07, 0060B06, and 0306A12) containing MUC1, as confirmed by mapping MUC1 on a RH3000 radiation hybrid panel, were hybridised on R-banded chromosomes of cattle (BTA), river buffalo (BBU), sheep (OAR) and goat (CHI). MUC1 was FISH-mapped on BTA3q13, BBU6q13, OAR1p13 and CHI3q13 and both chromosomes and chromosome bands were homoeologous confirming the high degree of chromosome homoeologies among bovids and adding more information on the pericentromeric regions of these species' chromosomes. Indeed, MUC1 was more precisely assigned to BTA3 and assigned for the first time to BBU6, OAR1p and CHI3. Moreover, detailed and improved cytogenetic maps of BTA3, CHI3, OAR1p and BBU6 are shown and compared with HSA1.


Objectives: To test the interrater reliability of a standardized ethod to analyze knee bone mineral density (BMD) using ual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA); to compare spine, ip, and knee BMD of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) ith able-bodied controls; and to determine the relation beween hip BMD and knee BMD in SCI and able-bodied ubjects. Design: Criterion standard and masked comparison. Setting: Primary care university hospital. Participants: A convenience sample of 11 subjects with omplete SCI was age and sex matched with 11 able-bodied ontrol subjects. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Four raters analyzed regions of nterest according to operational definitions recently developed o standardize the analysis of BMD of the knee. Subjects with hronic SCI and matched controls underwent conventional XA scans of the spine and hips and "less conventional" scans f the distal femurs and proximal tibias. The relation between ip and knee BMD was analyzed. Results: The knee measurements were highly reliable (feur intraclass correlation coefficient model 2,1 [ICC2,1] .98; ibia ICC2,1 .89). Subjects with SCI had lower BMD values han controls at all hip and knee sites (P .05). Lumbar spine MD did not differ between groups. Hip BMD was moderately redictive of distal femur BMD (R .67), but less correlated ith the proximal tibia (R .38). Conclusions: Knee BMD can be reliably analyzed using XA with this protocol. Subjects with SCI have diminished nee and hip BMD. Low hip BMD is associated with low distal emur BMD.


The invention provides polyethylene glycol double-alkenyl succinic acid monoalkyl-ester ester. The polyethylene glycol double-alkenyl succinic acid monoalkyl-ester ester comprises alkenyl maleic anhydride with appropriate alkyl, alkyl fatty alcohol, polyethylene glycol with appropriate degree of polymerization and a catalyst. According to a preparation method of the polyethylene glycol double-alkenyl succinic acid monoalkyl-ester ester, the alkenyl maleic anhydride with the appropriate alkyl reacts with the alkyl fatty alcohol under the action of the catalyst to generate monoalkyl alkenyl succinate; the monoalkyl alkenyl succinate reacts with the polyethylene glycol with an appropriate degree of polymerization to obtain the polyethylene glycol double-alkenyl succinic acid monoalkyl-ester ester. The polyethylene glycol double-alkenyl succinic acid monoalkyl-ester ester has excellent emulsifying property due to adoption of a specific chemical molecular structure; a universal low-molecular-weight emulsifying agent and the invented high-molecular-weight emulsifying agent are compounded in an adjusted proportion for use; the diameters of emulsion particles of produced steel plate rolling oil can be controlled; and required stable lubrication property in a steel plate rolling process can be maintained. The prepared the polyethylene glycol double-alkenyl succinic acid monoalkyl-ester ester has low oil coke generation tendency and good annealing detergency property after rolling of steel plates and overcomes the problem of complexity of a rolling oil formula. The polyethylene glycol double-alkenyl succinic acid monoalkyl-ester ester is used in the field of steel plate rolling.


The aim of the study was to assess the progression of liver fibrosis in HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐coinfected patients with no or mild‐to‐moderate fibrosis (stages F0−F2).


Black-Scholes equation is an important model in option pricing theory of financial mathematics, which is very practical in the application of numerical computation. This paper constructs a kind of parallel alternating segment Crank-Nicolson (ASC-N) scheme for solving the payment of dividend Black-Scholes equation. Secondly, it gives the existence and uniqueness of solution, stability and convergence analysis of the scheme. The theoretical analysis and numerical examples demonstrate that ASC-N scheme has same computational accuracy with C-N scheme's, but its computational efficiency (computational time) can save nearly 40% compared with C-N scheme. Numerical experiment verifies the theoretical analysis, and it shows that ASC-N scheme is effective for solving Black-Scholes equation with dividend paying.


E-commerce has existed for a long time, but the outbreak of the COVID-19 ushered in a new opportunity for its development. Live commerce is a significant branch of e-commerce, which mainly realizes businesses through livestreaming marketing. After COVID-19, more and more people watch the livestreaming, it ushered in explosive growth. In the process of livestreaming marketing, Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) play a very important role. In 2021, 62% of advertisers use KOL promotion. This paper mainly discussed live commerce under the background of COVID-19 in China. Through literature analysis, this paper discussed the impact factors of live commerce on consumers' purchasing behavior and how KOLs affect consumer behavior positively and negatively. In the last part, this article gave some suggestions to help enterprises to recover from COVID-19.


Procuring and describing content for discoverability are as important now as they ever have been, but we suggest that a successful organization should expect more from faculty and staff members. As technical skill sets become more in demand, "back of the house" staff need to step to the front. In this article we explore how two Grand Valley State University Libraries back of the house departments have partnered with other organizations on campus. Collaboration has reenergized the staff, raised the Libraries's profile, and contributed to the Libraries's overall success. Traditionally "back of the house" staff work exclusively behind the scenes to grow and support the collections of the library. Even the term itself indicates, "back of the house" staff should remain behind closed doors, working on tasks that, while important, are not easily identifiable to library users. Procuring and describing content for discoverability are as important now as it they ever have been, but a successful organization should expect faculty and staff to do more. As technical skill sets become more in demand campus‐wide, the "back of the house" staff are presented with opportunities to step to the front. Two Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Libraries departments typically considered back of the house have partnered with other entities on campus, providing services that are otherwise unavailable. The experiences of these staff members have demonstrated a growing need for back of the house staff to engage with the campus community. Flipping the house by getting these staff members more widely involved has reenergized the staff, raised the Libraries's profile, and contributed to the Libraries's overall success. Having back of the house staff spend time on outreach isn't a new idea. A 2011 article from Toce and Schofield discusses the value of all library departments providing services that integrate them into the wider campus community and help make the library indispensable. They point out that outreach is traditionally the responsibility of public services departments and instruction librarians, but that technical services departments have unique skills that can lend themselves to other areas on campus. GVSU Libraries firmly believe that Toce and Schofield were correct in their thinking that all library departments can provide service. Through both deliberate partnerships and chance encounters the GVSU Libraries have taken advantage of outreach opportunities. At the GVSU Libraries the Research and Instruction division is primarily responsible for outreach to both faculty and students. They do an excellent job working with the campus community and have done noteworthy work in showcasing the importance of the Libraries. The Knowledge Access and Resource Management Department (KARMS; formerly the Technical Services Department) and the Systems and Technology Department have also begun reaching out and providing services to the campus. This not only has increased the profile of the Libraries, but also has provided additional support around campus for library‐provided services. If Toce and Schofield got it right in 2011, why, in 2015, are so many back of the house departments still solely focused on library‐centric tasks? GVSU Libraries found themselves asking these questions in 2012. This thinking led the entire Technology and Information Services (TIS) division to rethink its workflows and approach to providing services. Carlos Rodriquez, Associate Dean of TIS, challenged every staff member in the division to Copyright of this contribution remains in the name of the author(s). http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284316297 Management and Administration 438 reexamine their workloads, shifting the focus from task to reason. Why do we catalog material? Why do we have circulation limits. Who is the primary user of our library tools? The resulting changes weren't sweeping, and the division is still responsible for all traditional back of the house functions. The impact was a shift in focus from the task to the patron. Through this focus on the patron it began to become clear that TIS had some services they could offer to other departments at GVSU. One of the early attempts at tweaking the KARMS team was to add more direct contact with the University community. This was accomplished by a cross‐training program with the Operations and User Services team. GVSU Libraries have one service point in the library, handling circulation, reference, and general questions of all kinds. The service point is primarily staffed by student workers, but at all times there is a staff member at the "perching station." This station is within sightline of the service point, and the staff person there is responsible for overseeing the service point and stepping in for more complex requests. The staff member at the perching station also answers chat questions as they come into the library. Six members of the KARMS team began working the service point between two and four hours each week. There are quite a few benefits to this arrangement. The main benefit has been allowing back of the house staff direct contact with our patrons. When you spend the majority of your time cataloging books, tracking down rush acquisitions, and maintaining and troubleshooting electronic resources, it can be easy to forget the why behind any of those tasks. You can easily begin to focus on the task at hand and lose sight of the reason we do any of that work: supporting the needs of our patrons. Interacting with the patrons just a few hours a week keeps the "why" fresh in their minds. Dealing with patrons face to face and seeing how KARMS work impacts these patrons and keeps the staff motivated to do the best job they can. Quite a few other benefits also come from this arrangement. While the KARMS team covers between 10 and 20 hours a week of perch station time, the operations team is able to get some work of their own done, further removed from the hustle and bustle, focusing on jobs that require less distraction to do well. The KARMS team members get a change of pace for that little bit of time each day. We have worked really hard for our teams to not be isolated, but still the majority of our work is behind closed doors, focused intently on the computer. Benefits that we didn't anticipate became clear early on. Two of the KARMS team members working the service point are responsible for electronic resource management. While working, they quickly realized as electronic resource questions came to the desk that student employees around would hear them answer questions and frequently say things like "Oh . . . I didn't know that." The same is true for our cataloger, government document specialist, and journal specialist. There are questions that come up where the KARMS team is the most qualified in the organization to answer. We have learned that having them at the service desk creates teachable moments for the student workers. Other examples of encouraging the KARMS staff to get involved follow similar lines. Two members of the teams are inclusion advocates at GVSU. This roll requires training from Human Resources, and every search committee on campus must have an inclusion advocate. Inclusion advocates are part of a search committee with the added roll of making sure that GVSU creates an environment that values differences across all dimensions of diversity. The KARMS inclusion advocates are therefore on multiple search committees, bringing that expertise to the process, but also exposing them to all types of jobs that the Libraries hire for. GVSU has received a lot of press in recent years for the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons, which opened in June 2013. This state of the art library is beautiful and unique. Over two years into the new building we still have requests for tours on a regular basis. Several members of the KARMS team have undergone our internal training and serve as tour guides at special events. This is yet another opportunity to get out of the back of the house and interact directly with patrons of the Libraries.


Truth inference, a method that resolves conflicts among multi-agent data, has been widely studied in the field of AI. Most existing truth inference methods use iterative approaches to achieve high accuracy, but are inefficient to infer object truths over data streams. The methods developed for streaming data can achieve high efficiency but suffer from low accuracy. In this paper, we propose a novel truth inference method, Dynamic Source Weight Computation truth inference (DSWC), that can work with a wide range of iterative-based truth inference methods to dynamically compute source weights over data streams. Specifically, we use Taylor expansion to analyze the unit error of object truths inferred by source weights computed at a previous timestamp. If the source weight at present is predicted to be able to limit the error under a threshold, we use the source weights computed previously to approximate object truths at present to avoid the expensive source weight computation step. Compared with the existing work, the proposed method is more effective in predicting source weights and can be applied to a wider range of applications. Experimental results based on four real-world datasets demonstrate that DSWC is both accurate and efficient for truth inference over data streams.


The effect of token reinforcement on the verbal participation of long-s male psychiatric patients in a social activity was studied in four experiments. In Experiment I the characteristic effects of continuous reinforcement were found with 21 of the 37 patients on the ward. In Experiment II an effective and quick way of establishing tokens as conditioned reinforcers was demonstrated with 25 patients. In Experiment III the 37 patients were divided into four groups, with high responders, low responders and non-responders equally distributed in each, to determine the effect of fixed ratio schedules of token reinforcement on verbal participation. In Experiment IV the effect of different schedules of variable ratio token reinforcement on the same group of patients is examined. To introduce the studies a brief but comprehens survey of token systems in applied settings is made. The term 'token economy' is defined and distinguished from 'token reinforcement system ' . Studies of non-verbal behaviours using intermittent token reinforcement are reviewed. This followed by a review of studies verbal behaviour in whi token reinforcement been variously delivered on continuous, f interval, variable rval, fixed ratio and variable ratio schedules. Finally a general survey the operant conditioning of verbal behaviour is and a comprehensive bib1iogI"aphy of studies with token systems until December 1975, is provided.


Extrauterine growth retardation in preterm infants is associated with an increased risk for cardiometabolic diseases later in life. Adipocytokines are also associated with the development of cardiometabolic diseases. We examined the relationship between extrauterine growth and serum concentrations of adipocytokines and metabolic hormones in preterm infants.


The Buckner Member of the Haynesville Formation is an evaporitic mudstone unit of Late Jurassic age that is present only in the subsurface around the margin of the Gulf Coast embayment. It has been divided informally into two parts, lower and upper. The most common rock types in the Buckner are nodular anhydritic mudstone and nodular anhydrite. The nodules consist of swirls of lathy anhydrite in a matrix of blocky to anhedral crystals. The mudstone matrix consists of a red or gray non-laminated or poorly laminated mixture of silt and clay minerals. The clay minerals are mostly illite and chlorite. The next most common rock type is light gray crypto- to micrograined laminated anhydrite that is largely confined to the lower part. This type contains scattered minute rounded dolomite grains, clay mineral grains, and fine-grained sand and silt. Some less common rock types in the Buckner are oolitic and detrital limestone, oolitic-micritic and detrital-micritic limestone, rock salt, micrograined dolomite, and medium-grained dolomite. > The member was deposited around the margin of the Gulf Coast embayment in linear basins. Contemporaneously growing salt-cored anticlines along the seaward margin caused restricted circulation with the open sea. The lower part was deposited mainly in standing bodies of water and the upper part was deposited on a tidal mud flat that was, from time to time, flooded by both marine and non-marine water. The sea generally was regressing during deposition of the Buckner. Micrograined anhydrite is associated with rock salt and is considered to be primary. Nodular anhydrite is associated with brackish-water fossils and was probably deposited as gypsum. End_of_Article - Last_Page 461------------


To ensure the safe and reliable operation of transmission gas pipelines, it is necessary to determine quantitatively their actual technical state by advanced diagnostic methods. Monitoring of the results of multiple intrapipe diagnostics shows that the large difference in the extent of stress corrosion cracking of pipes of different wall thicknesses and the type of manufacture of transmission gas pipelines is associated with the differences in the magnitude of the stresses formed in these pipes and results from destructive processes taking place in the metal of the pipes and protective coatings during ageing.


Most often curricula are defined in university catalogs according to course prerequisite structures. Formal linkages between individual courses are typically first-order relationships based on prerequisite knowledge or discipline maturity. This paper describes a second-order, collaborative relationship that was established between two computer science courses that has greatly benefitted the students of both classes and has added another dimension to a combined computer and information sciences curricula.


, 1293 (1997); 275 Science et al. Antoine Bechara, Advantageous Strategy Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the www.sciencemag.org (this information is current as of March 31, 2008 ): The following resources related to this article are available online at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/275/5304/1293 version of this article at: including high-resolution figures, can be found in the online Updated information and services, http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/275/5304/1293#otherarticles 97 articles hosted by HighWire Press; see: cited by This article has been http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/collection/psychology Psychology : subject collections This article appears in the following http://www.sciencemag.org/about/permissions.dtl in whole or in part can be found at: this article permission to reproduce of this article or about obtaining reprints Information about obtaining


Embedded systems consist of interacting components that are required to deliver a specific functionality under constraints on execution rates and relative time separation of the components. In this article, we model an embedded system using concurrent processes interacting through synchronization. We assume that there are rate constraints on the execution rates of processes imposed by the designer or the environment of the system, where the execution rate of a process is the number of its executions per unit time. We address the problem of computing bounds on the execution rates of processes constituting an embedded system, and propose an interactive rate analysis framework. As part of the rate analysis framework we present an efficient algorithms for checking the consistency of the rate constraints. Bounds on the execution rate of each process are computed using an efficient algorithm based on the relationship between the execution rate of a process and the maximum mean delay cycles in the process graph. Finally, if the computed rates violate some of the rate constraints, some of the processes in the system are redesigned using information from the rate analysis step. This rate analysis framework is implemented in a tool called RATAN. We illustrate by an example how RATAN can be used in an embedded system design.


This study examines the work-related information needed and sought by professional and managerial staff of a large university. Through personal contacts, the Internet, and departmental sources, professional staff are able to readily satisfy many of their daily and short-term work-related information needs with minimal use of the library. However, because their jobs are multifaceted and complex, these staff members frequently are engaged in longer-term activities (such as project development, report writing) requiring more intensive library use, which often is perceived to be frustrating and time-consuming. The implications of these findings for academic libraries are discussed.


The performance of a vapour compression refrigeration system depends greatly on the spatial arrangement of the components, properties of the refrigerant and lubricant. Numerous models have been developed by using these properties to predict the performance of the vapour compression refrigeration system. The usual ideal gas model does not yield accurate results due to its limited range. In this study, an analytical real gas model has been developed for heat transfer in the evaporator and work output rate of compressor to achieve the coefficient of performance (COP) of the system. This real gas model is validated against the investigational data and the end result obtained was consistent with an error band of 10% for exhaust temperature and 7% for COP. This model can be used to predict the COP of any vapour compression refrigeration system, given that the thermodynamic properties of the working fluid and required dimensions of the system are known. However, it cannot be extended to compressor oils due to it does not differentiate between necessary properties like viscosity of refrigerator oil.


A gem quality zircon crystal from the Mud Tank Carbonatite, Australia, was carefully crushed, sieved, acid leached and hand-picked to produce three different zircon fractions: 1) clear and apparently free of inclusions; 2) with inclusions; 3) with inclusions and adhering alteration/matrix material. Each separate and the bulk sample was dissolved by 1) lithium metaborate fusion and 2) Parr bomb digestion utilizing 29 mol l−1 hydrofluoric (HF) and 16 mol l−1 nitric (HNO3) acids. In situ analyses were performed using laser ablation ICP-MS and demonstrate that, on the basis of REE, two types of inclusions are present: 1) those with a positive Ce anomaly and 2) those with no Ce anomaly. The former type of inclusion appears to be smaller than the latter. Analysis of the digested samples for the rare earth elements (REE) was then performed using a quadrupole ICP-MS. Comparison of the chondrite-normalized REE patterns for the different fractions gave apparent positive anomalies at Sm and Eu in the acid digestions but not in the fused samples. Zirconium has five isotopes (90Zr, 91Zr, 92Zr, 94Zr and 96Zr) and there is a strong tendency for Zr to combine with fluorine (19 F). Based on calculations and experiments, the increased levels of Sm and Eu in the acid digested samples were due to interferences of 90Zr19 F3 on 147 Sm and of 94Zr19 F3 on 151 Eu. Decreasing the ratio of HF:HNO3 did not remove these interferences, nor did post-treatment with perchloric acid. A mathematical method was developed to correct for these polyatomic interferences.

Un cristal-gemme de zircon provenant de la carbonatite de Mud Tank, Australie, a ete soigneusement broye, tamise, lessivea l'acide et triea la main pour obtenir trois fractions de zircon: 1) limpide et sans inclusions apparentes; 2) avec inclusions; 3) avec inclusions et matrice/produits d'alteration. Chaque fraction separee et la roche totale ont ete dissoutes par 1) une fusion avec metaborate de lithium et 2) une attaque acide en bombe de Parr avec HF 29 mol l−1 et HNO3 16 mol l−1. Des analyses in situ ont ete realisees par ICP-MS avec ablation laser et mettent en evidence, du point de vue des Terres Rares, deux types d'inclusions: 1) avec une anomalie positive en Ce et 2) sans anomalie en Ce. Le premier type d'inclusions semble plus petit que le second. L'analyse des Terres Rares des echantillons issus de l'attaque acide a ete realisee par ICP-MS a quadrupole. La comparaison des spectres de Terres Rares normalises aux chondrites des differentes fractions montre des anomalies positives apparentes en Sm et Eu seulement pour les attaques acides. Le zirconium a cinq isotopes (90Zr, 91Zr, 92Zr, 94Zr et 96Zr) et une forte tendance a se combiner au fluor (19 F). A partir de calculs et d'experimentations, l'enrichissement en Sm et en Eu des echantillons issus de l'attaque acide serait du aux interferences 90Zr19 F3 sur 147 Sm et 94Zr19 F3 sur 151 Eu. La diminution du rapport HF/HNO3 ne supprime pas ces interferences, pas plus qu'un traitement final a l'acide perchlorique. Une methode mathematique a ete developpee pour corriger ces interferences polyatomiques.


Purpose – The purpose of this study is to review the waqf property development that has been implemented by the Islamic Religious Council of Pulau Pinang (MAINPP) as a trustee for the endowment land named waqf Seetee Aishah. The Seetee Aishah endowment land located at Seberang Jaya, Pulau Pinang. This waqf land was developed into a housing estate. Methodology – This study employs two types of methods – library research and fi eld research. The library research is used as the fi rst method for collecting data, where the data is extracted from fi qh contemporary books, fi qh classic books, journals, internet websites, annual reports and scientifi c conference papers. The second method of data collection is fi eld research, where interviews were conducted with the head of the endowment (waqf) and also the project manager of the Seetee Aishah endowment at MAINPP. The methods of analysis covered three aspects – deductive, inductive and comparative. Findings – This study fi nds that the development of waqf properties at Pulau Pinang was carried out by the collaboration between MAINPP with the developer (UDA Holdings Bhd.). Because of the lack of cash fl ows, MAINPP is not able to provide fi nancial capital (liquid assets) to carry out the development of waqf property, but able to provide unmovable capital (waqf land) for the project. Originality/Value – This study proves that joint venture between MAINPP and UDA Holdings Bhd. in developing the waqf land could increase the value of existing waqf properties. The joint venture implemented by MAINPP can also be used as a model for the other states in Malaysia to construct their waqf property more productive.


This study explores the influence of the workplace environment on nurses' levels of physical activity and occupational health outcomes in Egypt. In terms of the latter, the study specifically delineates low back pain, burnout and sharps or needlestick injuries; all of which the authors suggest have a predictive and synergic relationship with low levels of physical activity and the workplace environment and conditions. In drawing together these links, the authors offer a thoughtful exposé on the role of the employing organizations in taking responsibility for the health and wellbeing of its staff. This of course, is not a new argument. For example, in common with other research, this study purported that factors such as shift work, long working hours, ineffective leadership and management, poor communication and heavy workloads all contribute to the occurrences of poor occupational health and safety outcomes. However, these findings illustrate an interesting interdependence between all of these factors and levels of physical activity, and this synergy is worthy of note. Another interesting finding is that nurses achieved only low levels of physical activity when doing their daily job or getting to and from work. This is significant because it highlights the responsibilities of the workplace in providing the opportunities and conditions that facilitate this. When considered in the light of the synergic nature of low physical activity with occupational health outcomes, then it is essential for organisations to recognise that they could be contributing to this and address it. Results also showed that 79.1% of nurses in the study were undertaking less than 600 minutes of low physical activity a week, and that 90.6% of nurses were not achieving the levels of exercise suggested by theWHO to maintain physical health and wellbeing. It was not clear in the study if this was about lifestyle choices, and in this sense, something that could be addressed by individuals outside of the workplace; but limited knowledge of the benefits of physical activity was highlighted in the participants. This suggest that individuals could take some responsibility for their levels of physical activity. However, the problem here, as my work shows (Clouston 2015) is that having the opportunity to do exercise outside of work is predicated on having the time and energy to do so; and


'"Edwardian" is one of art history's unclaimed adjectives', noted John Russell in 1964. In the last thirty years three major exhibitions have nevertheless sought to claim it, each responding, in their own way, to Samuel Hynes' pioneering 1968 study, The Edwardian Turn of Mind, which challenged standard (yet strangely stubborn) readings of the period as 'a long garden party on a golden afternoon'. The first of these exhibitions, The Edwardian Era (The Barbican, 1987), was especially keen to provide a corrective to the image of the garden party, with detailed sections on the Suffrage Movement, black politicians and office architecture. The Edwardians: Secrets and Desires (National Gallery of Australia, 2004), as befitted its Australian setting, focused more on transnational networks, showcasing a wide variety of artistic styles and holding the wider social context rather more at arm's length. The most recent contribution and the fruit of ten years' work, Edwardian Opulence (Yale Centre for British Art, 2013), plays a similar game, admitting the 'colossal torrent of political, social, economic, and cultural change' that occurred during the first ten years of the twentieth century, but refusing to be drawn into grim, revisionist narratives. It was not all glittering gowns and smart waistcoats, the exhibition admits, but that is no reason to ignore this side of things. Nostalgia for, and within, the Edwardian period, is seen as something to explore and enjoy, rather than guiltily push aside. If the title of the exhibition is not proof enough, the cover of the catalogue – a reproduction of a bold Boldini portrait – leaves us in absolutely no doubt that opulence is the keynote here (although it should be noted that even The Edwardian Era could not resist slapping a smartly dressed Edwardian woman on its cover). The first thing you see upon entering the exhibition is a large glass case containing a sumptuous silk gown belonging to Mary Curzon, Vicereine of India. This is clearly a beautiful object, though the conditions of its display gives the impression of a tropical fish sealed in an empty aquarium. It forms a striking start to the show, heralding the visitor's entry to a world that is fantastical and remote; a world that, so the story goes, was blown away by the First World War (a concept brought to the fore by the very last item in the exhibition, William Orpen's painting To the Unknown British Soldier in France (1921–8)).


Abstract A 17-year-old male was admitted to the hospital because of fever, low back pain and knee pain which had started a couple of months ago. Pelvic CT-scan confirmed left sacroiliitis. Complete blood count revealed pancytopenia. A bone marrow biopsy and aspiration was performed under local anaesthesia.The pathologist reported Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. The reported patient is the first case of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, accompanied by sacroiliitis.


Have you ever recognized someone at a farmers' market whom you had seen years before, when she stood alone on a street corner, unemployed and desperate to make money off what she could sell out of a single cooler?


The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate a model that explains how female doctoral candidates manage and negotiate the tensions relating to their roles and identities as females, mothers, and academics within the social structure of academia. Data was collected via a questionnaire, life map, and semi-structured interview from 11 doctoral candidates enrolled in a nationally accredited Doctor of Education (EdD) program in the southeastern United States. The theoretical model produced from this study depicts the development and relationship among EdD students' identities as females, professionals, and academics and how the roles and responsibilities related to these identities may be managed and balanced in order to motivate persistence in a doctoral program. Contributing to the empirical and theoretical literature on doctoral persistence and female identity, these findings underscore the importance of choosing "the right season" in life to add doctoral studies, having realistic expectations about pace and progress, and not becoming "genderless" or "scholarless," but rather, learning to honor and intersect all identities. Findings Discussion & Implications


The studies on zooplankton population structure, distribution and abundance are scare from Pakistani waters particularly from the near-shore waters off of Karachi. Most of the previous work is done on a few individual groups and species of zooplankton. The present study was proposed with an objective to assess the distribution and abundance of zooplankton from near-shore waters off of Karachi and also to correlate quantitative data with water quality parameters. This study showed higher population diversity of zooplankton groups. The seasonal abundance of zooplankton groups varied from station to station; the peak zooplankton abundance occurred in April (337.6 individuals/m3) at S2 and the lowest abundance was recorded in July (19.08 individuals/m3) at S1. In general, copepods (highest 67.74% at S1 and 73.51 at S3) always maintained dominance in the zooplankton population. Water parameters were variable through the year and showed low correlation with abundance data. The zooplankton population appears to be regulated by other factors (such as grazing pressure, etc.) and the water parameters had little contribution in controlling zooplankton population. For example, chlorophyll content (primary production) showed only weak positive correlation (r =0.170) with zooplankton abundance. The study area showed relatively stable environmental conditions and high zooplankton population which is beneficial for fisheries production. This study also provides the current and updated data, which helps to understand the marine ecosystem of coastal waters of Karachi coast of North Arabian Sea.


High‐quality laser‐driven lightings require not only high luminous flux (LF) but also uniform spectral distribution. Herein, the green‐emitting Lu3Al5O12:Ce3+ (LuAG:Ce) and red‐emitting CaAlSiN3:Eu2+ (CASN:Eu) commercial phosphor powders with high‐performance are fabricated into phosphor‐in‐glass film (PiGF) sintered on sapphire plate, and further served as a motor‐driven rotatory "phosphor wheel" to receive pumping of blue laser in a reflective excitation light path. The greatly relieved thermal pressure, benefited from the high‐thermal‐conductivity sapphire substrate and the pulse‐like rotatory excitation mode, efficiently retards the occurrence of luminescence saturation. Remarkably, the photon reabsorption phenomenon in the conventional "phosphor mixture" design is well solved by introducing a smart "phosphor pattern" design, free of causing inhomogeneous angular color distribution at the same time. The constructed LuAG:Ce PiGF‐based lighting source yields high brightness of 2970 lm@21 W mm−2, and the constructed LuAG:Ce PiGF‐CASN:Eu PiGF‐based lighting source yields luminosity‐chromaticity balanced white light with LF higher than 1000 lm and color rendering index of 80–90.


RATIONALE
Sulfur mustard is a blister agent prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the detection of its hydrolysis product, thiodiglycol (TDG), is an important indicator of blister agent contamination. Due to the poor volatility and low extraction efficiency of thiodiglycol, derivatization-gas chromatography or liquid chromatography are required for conventional methods, and the detection process is cumbersome and time-consuming.

METHOD
Microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) device and nano-electrospray ionization (nano-ESI) device was carried out. The central composite design (CCD) model of Response Surface Methodology was used to optimize the elution procedure; the variance analysis under equal repeated trials with multiple factors was used to quantitatively analyze the significance of the impact of related factors on the nano-ESI efficiency. The MEPS-Nano ESI experimental conditions were optimized.

RESULTS
A new detection method of sulfur mustard hydrolysis products in water based on MEPS-Nano ESI-MS was established; the detection limit was 1ng/mL and was linear between 5ng/mL and 100ng/mL (R2 = 0.9911) with the precision of ≤7.2%, and the recovery rate was 107.89% when the sample concentration was 40ng/mL.

CONCLUSIONS
The experimental results showed that the proposed method could quickly detect the contaminated water samples without chromatographic separation and derivatization, thereby verifying the contamination of sulfur mustard on site.


TPR patterns of supported or unsupported ruthenium sulfide crystallites clearly show three different kinds of sulfur. A geometrical model based on pyrite type structure of RuS 2 is proposed. This model can describe qualitatively and quantitatively these sulfur species. Moreover, the relative proportion of these peaks is related to the crystallite sizes. The use of the model and a simple TPR pattern allow calculation of the particle size


Leadership is an interesting and important topic to be discussed for all time. It is related to the important role of leaders in an organization or group of people. Whether or not the condition of the organization or group in the future depends on the role of the leader at this time. A leader is expected to have professional technical and managerial skills. The technical skills are under their fields, while managerial skills require their role in leading others. These skills are reflected in his actions, such as selecting, educating, motivating, developing up to terminating employment relations. Leadership and adjusting to change are the biggest challenges facing leaders today. Leaders must use leadership styles that are most effective in influencing subordinates' perceptions about the goals to be achieved and ways to achieve them. There are three leadership theories, namely, traits theory, behavior theory, and contingency theory. All three theories have different basic assumptions. This article only focuses on the theory of traits theory and behavior theory. Trait theory believes that leaders are born with several inherent characteristics such as courage, intelligence, strength, initiative, responsibility. In contrast to trait theory, behavior theory believes that leaders can be formed with education and training, where leadership functions such as planning, organizing, directing, controlling are more prominent than the leader's character.


The theory of cohort competition developed by Easterlin suggests that individuals born during the baby boom are more likely to be poor than those born before or after them. This article investigates this claim by addressing two questions: Is there any effect of cohort on poverty and if so does this effect follow the pattern predicted by Easterlins theory? A decomposition of poverty by age period cohort and household type shows that among whites every successive generation of family heads born throughout the baby boom has faced an increasingly greater chance of being poor. Among blacks the cohort effect is not statistically significant. Contrary to Easterlins prediction however it is white-family heads born after the baby boom who face the highest odds of poverty. The cohort effect is not due to recent changes in family structure which are controlled. (EXCERPT)


In recent times, the way people access information from the web has undergone a transformation. The demand for information to be accessible from anywhere, anytime, has resulted in the introduction of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and cellular phones that are able to browse the web and can be used to find information using wireless connections. However, the small display form factor of these portable devices greatly diminishes the rate at which these sites can be browsed. This shows the requirement of efficient algorithms to extract the content of web pages and build a faithful reproduction of the original pages with the important content intact.


In the early 80-ties it became clear that the classification of the non-abelian finite simple groups was complete. Among the finite simple groups we find several families: the alternating groups and various families of groups of Lietype and their twisted analogues. Besides these families there exist 26 sporadic finite simple groups. Buildings are natural geometries for the groups of Lie-type (and, the thin building of type A for the alternating groups). For the 26 sporadic groups there is no canonical type of geometry. The theory of diagram geometries, however, has opened various ways to associate geometries to these sporadic simple groups. In these notes we consider five sporadic simple groups, the Mathieu groups Mi, i ∈ {11, 12, 22, 23, 24}, as well as some of their geometries. In particular, for the large Mathieu groups, i.e., i ∈ {22, 23, 24}, we will describe geometries with the following diagrams: M22 : s s s c


To build safety culture in enterprise,that is to say,the staff fair safety psyche should be cultivated while forming a correct attitude towards safety.At the same time,safety culture should be emphasize on innovating.Leaders at all levels must enhance constantly works' sense of responsibility and professional morality,make the sense of safety become an habit,a requirement,a conscious activity,and build a characteristic safety culture.


Over the last two decades, work on the Post Keynesian theory of endogenous money has been flourishing, and has prompted a rethinking of the complex nature of money in modern economies. At the heart of the debate between what have now been labelled the accommodationist (or horizontalist) approach and the structuralist approach to endogenous money are the issues of the slope of the supply curves of reserves and of credit money, respectively. Using the distinction between a single period analysis and a continuation analysis, similarities and differences between those approaches are explained, and the suggestion is then made for retaining and re-interpreting them into a more general theory.


An odor episode event, occurring in Wuxi city from the end of May to early June, 2007, were investigated. Using flavor profile analysis (FPA) and sensory GC, the odorous compounds of polluted black agglomeration, raw water and finished water were identified. Meanwhile, main odorous compounds were quantified using GC/MS, and microcystins content and biological genotoxicity were also determined. It showed that the main odorous compounds were some sulfide compounds such as dimethyl trisulfide, coming from organisms decomposition, and concentration of dimethyl trisulfide were 11399 ng·L-1 high in the black agglomeration sampled in 4 June. Some cyanobacterial metabolites like MIB were also detected but not the main odorous compound, which was covered by fishy and septic odor caused by sulfide compounds like dimethyl trisulfide. Microcystins content in raw water sampled in 4 June and 8 June was much lower than the standard that was recently implemented in Standards for Drinking Water Quality, and the biological genotoxicity determined by umu test was very low.


Transmission loss of automotive muffler was measured and predicted by CAE, GT-Power which is based 1-dimension equation. Two load method to find 4-pole parameters of transfer matrix was used and basic characteristics of simple elements-straight pipe, expansion chamber, extended type, absorption material and perforated pipe was investigated. Simultaneously with it, CAE analysis by CT-Power was performed and compared with test result. It was found that the two load method is appropriated to measure TL of automotive muffler and CAE analysis also has reliability compared with test result. Finally, TL of a number of complete automotive mufflers measured and compared with analysis result. The possibility of two load method and CAE analysis to measure or predict TL performance of muffler was verified.


Solar and solar assisted dryers for sewage sludge have shown to be a commercially viable
alternative compared to conventional drying processes. Therefore, a cost-efficient mixing and
transporting robot for processing and handling of various biomass during a solar drying
process was developed. To ascertain a systematic and efficient design procedure, the
discursive design method VDI 2221 and innovative Computer Aided Engineering (CAE)
software tools were used. The analysis of the complex technical system was based on several
function structure plans. The derived technical solutions were organised on a morphological
chart. The computed technical value (xA=0.76) and the economical value (yA=0.77) of the
robot testified a high-grade design concept. First drying experiments with the prototype
demonstrate the general functionality and applicability. Hence, the combination of the VDI
design method with specific CAE-tools is suitable for reducing the development period on
the innovation driven market of biomass processing.


Social-natural habitat in the form of ecological vital functions can influence upon the homeostas of inner mans habitat that disturb standart parameters psychological and psychical health of teenagers living in the negative ecological habitat. The results of many years experimental-psychology research of teenagers borning and living in the negative ecology-chemical habitat with using manyvectotial patopsychological and pathopsychology-mathemetical discriminant analysis on the conclusive level, found out firm neurotoxic and neuroendocrinetoxic nfluence of the complicated chemical inorganic compositions. Toxic influences break development of individuality, in other words the ability to be full subject from the position of the conception constitutionally-continued area of the personality in the system of complicated multilevel organization which is determined by interaction and independency of inner psycholotypological and outward factors.


With a continuously increasing penetration in power system, the impact of dispersed generation is getting higher and higher. This paper deals with the contribution of DG to power system security. It focuses more precisely on its behavior in case of severe frequency disturbances and shows how distributed generation can provide an active contribution to power system security. The UCTE represents the continental European TSOs and defines system security rules, among which the required amount of reserves or general load shedding management rules. On the one hand, the paper deals with the decoupling protections in EU countries whose specifications may induce different frequency behaviors across the various interconnected power systems. In case of severe frequency deviation across the European grid, unwanted tripping of DG may occur at a large scale, even if this kind of generation has the ability to remain connected during such disturbances. Such a behavior may jeopardize the whole system security by decreasing the amount of available power for frequency support. As an example, the outage of European grid on November 2006 led to the tripping of a significant DG capacity in the western part of the UCTE (e.g. in Spain with the loss of 2 800 MW of wind power) as frequency dropped at 49 Hz. On the other hand, the paper presents the requirements and the existing frequency control systems for wind farms. Due to the dramatic increase in installed wind power capacity, this may become a key issue for frequency control. DG could thus contribute to frequency support and power system security.


The first-order Fermi acceleration processes acting at ultra-relativistic shock waves lead to the unique asymptotic spectral index σγ→∞≈2.2. Below, we discuss this result, differences of its various derivations and some problems with astrophysical applications of the discussed mechanism. We point out that spectra generated in realistic shocks with the Lorentz factor γ∼10–100 can be much steeper than the ones obtained in the assymptotic limit of γ→∞. Then we point out that γ considered for shocks in the GRB afterglow phases may be too low to allow for the limiting spectral index. One should rather expect formation of the spectrum steepening with time.


Spinoza claims that God is extended and corporeal, but he resists identifying God with the extended, corporeal world. How then are we to understand the relation of God to the physical world? This essay first critically examines interpretations offered by Schmaltz and Woolhouse which claim that Spinoza's God is not actually extended, but a nonextended essence of extension. It is then suggested that Spinoza's God can be understood as something akin to (a modified version of) scholastic prime matter. On this view, Spinoza's God is actually extended, but cannot be identified with the corporeal world, which is changeable and variegated in a way that prime matter is not.


This paper introduces a new simple and practical method of backuping and restoring database, gives an example of SQL Server, and then presents some source codes of the instance.


This research aims to determine the influence of the free expression method on students' creativity in drawing three dimensions. Students from class IV of the Elementary School State Gugus 1 IVAngkek subdistrict were selected for the sample study of this research using a simple random sampling technique. The study employs a quantitative research method within an experimental and quasi-experimental design. Data collection techniques used are essay-shaped tests, and a t-test is used for analysis to determine the influence of the two average values following the test. The results of this study suggest that the mean post-test class of experimentation was 80.96 and the mean control class was 77.00. Analysis of data from both classes obtained t-count results of 5.132 and 1.701, both of which are above the required level of 0.05. It can therefore be concluded that the free method of expression produces positive results in students' creativity in drawing three dimensions.


Objective: To compare the anterior and posterior blind intra-articular steroid injections approaches in the management of adhesive capsulitis of shoulder Intervention: After randomisation, 60 patients were allocated in three groups (A, B and C). Group C (n=20) received physical therapy practice in the department of PMR, RIMS, Imphal. Group A (n=18) and B (n=22) received intraarticular steroid (methylprednisolone 80mg each) by anterior and posterior approaches without imaging guidance respectively in addition to physical therapy. Outcome measures: 1) Visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, 2) Shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI) and 3) Passive range of motion of affected shoulder using goniometer. Results: All the three groups showed improvement with statistically significant (p<0.005) findings in all the outcome variables except in shoulder flexion range (p=0.085). Improvement in outcomes namely VAS, SPADI, shoulder rotation and abduction range were more marked in group A when compared with group B which was found statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: The intra-articular steroid injection when combined with physical therapy is effective in the management of adhesive capsulitis of shoulder. The blind anterior approach intra-articular steroid injection is more effective than posterior approach in improving shoulder rotation and abduction range of movements, reducing shoulder pain and disability in patient having less than 3 months duration adhesive capsulitis of shoulder.


The experiment was conducted to study the change of appearance and milling qualities of inferior grain,which is located on the secondary branches of lower part ear,by gradient-reducing spikelet(reducing sink),and analysis the correlation between rice qualities and filling parameters during the progress of grain filling,to affirming the effect of grain itself activity on rice qualities.The result showed: in a natural state,there is a significantly difference between inferior grain of lower part ear and other superior grains in several seed traits,such as grain length(GL),grain width(GW),grain thick(GT),brown rice rate(BR),milled rice rate(MR) and head rice rate(HR).When we only kept the branches of lower part ear,it can obtain significantly improved of rice qualities in inferior grain,for example GL,GW,BR,MR and HR,but it still had a great difference with superior grains.3.Correlation analysis showed that grain shape had a highly significantly negative correlation with grain filling duration,but had a greatly positive correlation with filling rate.Furthermore,there was significant negative correlation between milling qualities and mid-late grain-filling stage and whole filling duration,but had not obviously correlation with filling rate.So,the poor rice qualities of inferior grain had not necessarily linked with the supply of the nutriment,physiological activity of grain itself might be a major reason for the difference of rice qualities in different grain locations.


The problem of preservation of health, healthy lifestyles and the impact that factors occupational exposure is one of the urgent problems of modern society. This led us to research in health development and a culture of healthy lifestyle of future leaders of agriculture. There are a number of professions based on an ongoing responsibility for other people's decision, which entails both mental and physical stress. The category of such activities also include managers of all levels, whose active work leads to the stress of all body systems and subordinates all its resources. But like any resources health resources can not be inexhaustible. There comes a time when the overvoltage begins adversely affect the body as a whole, leading to various diseases. In management activities the number of stress factors are varied and numerous. This creates a risk for health problems. Coping with stress becomes a relevant aspect in modern organizations. Research in the field of occupational stress indicates the need for a radical increase of management efficiency through the formation of future leaders' awareness of stress resistance behavior. The basis of the stressresistant behavior in the professional activity of the future leaders of the agroindustrial complex is the presence of the triune adaptive resource of a specialist's health (physical, mental and social ). This article discusses the main methodological approaches to the process of forming the triune adaptive resource of health. Namely, in the framework of the research problem specified and clarified : systemic, environmental, resource and health preserving methodological approaches. The proposed model of the triune adaptive health resource of future leaders based on implementing of the system's, resource, and environmental healthpreserving approaches designed to meet the adequacy of its conceptual principles, objectives, content, forms, methods and outcomes.


This article proposes an enhanced version of the one-step-ahead control algorithm applied to a wind system. The wind system is considered as an isolate source of power and it is composed of a horizontal-axis wind turbine connected to an induction generator: consistent mathematical models for the horizontal-axis wind turbine and the induction generator will be introduced. Although the main strength of the one-step-ahead control technique is its adaptivity, nevertheless its convergence rate reduces very quickly. This aspect shows the primary algorithm weakness and is the reason for the proposed enhancement. Finally, the results of control problems will prove the reliability of the suggested enhanced control technique.


DSDP Sites 327, 328, and 330 in the South Atlantic on the Falkland Plateau yielded suites of well-preserved palynomorphs (spores, pollen, dinoflagellates, acritarchs, and tasmanitids) from Late Jurassic to early Tertiary sediments. The oldest sediments recorded are from Site 330 and are of Oxfordian age. These sediments are separated from those of the late Neocomian to Aptian by an appreciable hiatus. At both Sites 327 and 330 the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous sediments are marginal marine and were deposited under reducing euxinic conditions. Palynomorph assemblages are dominated by terrestrial components. Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary sediments at Sites 327 and 328, on the other hand, reflect deep water environments, and the assemblages are dominated by dinoflagellate cysts. A comparison of Early Cretaceous assemblages from Site 249, Mozambique Ridge (Indian Ocean) supports continental reconstructions which would place this site near those on the Falkland Plateau. There is a very strong southern hemisphere component in all assemblages, but the marine elements in particular show marked similarity with those of Western Australia and the Indian Ocean, implying a southern Atlantic circulation linked with that of the Indian Ocean. INTRODUCTION Palynomorphs comprising terrestrially derived spores and pollen and a marine component of dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, and Prasinophyceae (unicellular algae, tasmanitids) were recovered from DSDP Sites 327, 328, and 330 (Figure 1). The sediments range in age from Late Jurassic through early Tertiary and represent a wide range of environments from nearshore deltaic elastics through to pelagic oozes. The sample data for these sites and Site 249 (DSDP Leg 25) are listed in Table 1. A large number of the species observed in these samples are illustrated in Plates 1-24. Systematic studies are in progress and will be presented elsewhere. Because of the large component of undescribed species, detailed distribution charts are not presented here, but will be included in the systematic papers. The preservation of palynomorphs is generally very good but there are sequences (e.g., Hole 327A, Cores 13-21) where these fossils are absent. SITE 327 Samples from Hole 327A drilled at this site fall into two groups separated by a large interval of barren samples. Cores 5-12 are of Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary age and Cores 22-27 are Neocomian to Aptian. Observations Early Tertiary—Cores 5-9 Palynomorphs in this interval are rare and many samples are barren. Core 5 carries abundant tracheid material and a small assemblage with Cleistosphaeridium sp., Hexagonifera sp., and aff. Samlandia. None of these are distinctive enough to indicate an age. No terrestrial palynomorphs were observed. Cores 8 and 9 carry reasonably diverse assemblages and dinoflagellates amount to about 50% in Core 8 and 90% in Core 9. Species include: 1) Spores and pollen Clavatipollenites cf. C. hughesi Couper Gleicheniidites circinidites (Cookson) Laevigatosporites ovatus Wilson and Webster Nothofagidites sp. aff. N. incrassatus (Cookson) Phyllocladidites mawsonii Cookson ex Couper Podocarpidites ellipticus Cookson Proteacidites sp. Stereisporites antiquasporites (Wilson and Webster) Tricolpites cf. T. prolata Cookson 2) Microplankton Deflandrea sp. A (also present at DSDP Site 214) D. aff. D. gambangensis Cookson and Eisenack Eisenackia crassitabulata Cookson and Eisenack "Michrystridium" cf. M. ambiguum Deflandre


Gouania leptostachya DC. var. tonkinensis Pitard. Rhamnaceae is a traditional medicinal plant used in Thailand for treating various inflammatory symptoms. However, no systematic studies have been performed concerning the anti‐inflammatory effects or molecular mechanisms of this plant. The immunopharmacological activities of a methanol extract from the leaves and twigs of G. leptostachya (Gl‐ME) were elucidated based on the gastritis symptoms of mice treated with HCl/EtOH and the inflammatory responses, such as nitric oxide (NO) release and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production, from RAW264.7 cells and peritoneal macrophages. Moreover, inhibitory target molecules were also assessed. Gl‐ME dose‐dependently diminished the secretion of NO and PGE2 from LPS‐stimulated RAW264.7 cells and peritoneal macrophages. The gastritis lesions of HCl/EtOH‐treated mice were also attenuated after Gl‐ME treatment. The extract (50 and 300 µg/mL) clearly reduced mRNA expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)‐2, nuclear translocation of p65/nuclear factor (NF)‐κB, phosphorylation of p65‐activating upstream enzymes, such as protein kinase B (AKT), inhibitor of κBα kinase (IKK), and inhibitor of κB (IκBα), and the enzymatic activity of Src. By HPLC analysis, one of the major components in the extract was revealed as resveratrol with NO and Src inhibitory activities. Moreover, this compound suppressed NO production and HCl/EtOH‐induced gastric symptoms. Therefore, these results suggest that Gl‐ME might be useful as an herbal anti‐inflammatory medicine through the inhibition of Src and NF‐κB activation pathways. The efficacy data of G. leptostachya also implies that this plant could be further tested to see whether it can be developed as potential anti‐inflammatory preparation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Colonic anastomotic strictures are usually secondary to ischemia, leakage, inflammation, or hemorrhage at the anastomotic line. Several techniques for stricture dilation including endoscopic and radiologic dilation have been reported to avoid surgery. However, if colonic strictures are more than 1 cm long and the diameter is <5 mm, surgery is usually necessary. We describe the combined use of bougie, stent, and endoscopic techniques in successful dilation of a complicated anastomotic stricture of the colon, with a length of 5 cm with angulation and a diameter of <5 mm.


An experimental set up was designed and constructed to13; measure temperature distributions in the vapour between an13; evaporatinq liquid surface and a cooler condensing surface. The vapour was contained in transparent chambers of diameter 105mm with metal end plates to heat and cool the liquid surfaces.Temperature distributions were measured .x2018;using Chromel-Alumel thermocouples. This report describes the theoretical background for the experiments, the equipment used and the preliminary results obtained with water, Freon 113 and mercury. The results obtained generally qualitatively conform with the theoretical13; predictions for vapours contaminated with inert gas. The results suggest that much higher levels of purity will have to be achieved if the anomalous temperature distribution is to be observed, assuming that it exists in nature.


Background and Objectives: Aydughmush dam was built on Aydughmush River at !"km in southwest of Mianeh City. The dam is multipurpose and its main aims are the spring floods control, supplying potable water for villages and providing irrigation water. Different pollutants which probably discharge to the river finally enter to the dam reservoir so; this study focuses on evaluating the quality of the dam reservoir. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study standard field parameters including dissolved oxygen, temperature, Biochemical and chemical oxygen Demand, Most Probable Number of Coliforms, Fecal Coliform, Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids, Total Solids, pH, conductivity and others were measured at eight different stations during the spring and summer in 2010. Sampling points were selected on the basis of their importance.Water quality index was calculated using water quality index calculator given by National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) information system. Results: The highest value of WQI of the samples was 84.89 in A3 station in July while the lowest value was 67.96 in A2 station in May. The lower value of WQI has been found mainly due to the slightly lower value of DO in the dam reservoir water. Most of the water samples were found within Good category of National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSF-WQI). Comparison of the measured parameters based on the sampling stations and various months by variance and t-student analysis showed a significant relationship for some parameters(P<0.05). Nutrient budget determination indicates that the concentration of phosphate, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia at inlet are higher than outlet of the dam reservoir. Conclusion: The calculated (WQI) showed good water quality. Based on the results of NSFQWI calculations, the dam reservoir water quality is suitable for various purposes Keywords:Water Quality Index, NSFWQI, Dam Reservoir, Water Quality Iran. J. Health & Environ., 2012, Vol. 4, No. 4 *Corresponding Author: email@example.com Tel:+98 811 83 800, Fax: D ow nl oa de d fr om h ttp :// jo ur na ls .tu m s. ac .ir / on M on da y, J ul y 09 , 2 01 2 !"#$%& '()&*&+,-.(/0&1234,&#&5,67&+(8,& 9:;<:&234,&5=:>?@& '()&A'8B: !"# $% !&' ($)*+ ,-&'# .$/012 ,34$56 74$89 ,34$56 74:; '#<#"<-& =>?$@4; '#<#A<&# =BC@DE C>3DE $F 74GHI1 JI6 JK L@M N>KM 7J9 O/P$K OQ$R1 .$/KC59 SFCT UGIV WC/1GXRY-' 4; BG8TJ@Z OQ$P;:4 W:4CF BG8TJ@Z JK FG>"&#&+,>H, N>KM 7J9 [MJ\M O]^I1 W24:$_Y S`M4M W4$RFZ : JK O1G\ W$a$/K:4 WMCF UC9 UZ LR1$% ¡W4$5F W$a UbRK cC/IY .G6 W;Jd/1 eMJaM eJa $F Odf$^1 L@M L@MCF$IF JQG9 S1 ;4M: JK >_E O6$@4; OF >@$5Q 4; JQG9 S1 ORXg% ¡JK OF W;:4: OQ$P;:4 OF h$8/\M OY S*X/g1 W$a 7JI@hZ N>KM 7J9 3$iQM JK >_E O6$@4; UZ >R*RY SK4CF : S@$R8R9GRF 2$RQ ;4G1 .jR0YM ¡UZ W$1; ¡cGX)1 .jR0YM k1$9 ¡SQMJR1 ($df$^1 l$P S*RY W$aC/1M4$E ¡Sd^]1 Odf$^1 L@M 4; F 7I;@&J#I W$aC/1M4$E Cm@; : UZ 7j@: >@MJa ¡pH ¡(MJ1$V kY ¡cGX)1 (MJ1$V kY ¡(4:JY ¡SnG?J1 W$a 3C*RXY ¡3C*RXY ;MJd% L@C% k8/)1 ¡S@$R8R9 oP$9 NJQJ9 U$g/QM >R8aM p$KMCF W4M;CF OQG8Q W$a 7$m/0@M NJQJ9 WCRq 72MJQM -&r' .$/0F$% : 4$5F cGs? St uX/g1 7$m/0@M r 4; S*RY NJ@;Cq OvK$)1 wNSFx>9MJ5F SX1 ;$RIF oP$9 OvK$)1 y/0RK 2M 7;$*/KM $F UZ >R*RY NJ1Z >K; OF 7$1 >_5v@;4M 4; A27$m/0@M WMCF 4MJ]1 L@C/8Y : 7$1CR% 4; A3 7$m/0@M WMCF r!R*RY oP$9 L@C/_RF =-"& +K0-< C/_RF ¡NSFWQI oP$9 WJIF O]vt p$KMCF N>KM 7;GF JK >_E O6$@4; UZ 4; cGX)1 .jR0YM 4MJ]1 >?M kRf; OF oP$9 4MJ]1 za$Y 7;$*/KM $F W4M;CF OQG8Q W$a 7$m/0@M : 7$1 p$KMCF 7J9 WCRq 72MJQM S*RY W$aC/1M4$E O0@$]1 NJQ;GF UGP >R*RY WM4M; 7J9 WCRq 72MJQM W$a OQG8Q Ja; S1 .$_Q WD{1 ;MG1 .bRF OvK$)1 wP|#<#"x ;M; .$_Q W4M; SId1 }$v%4M $aC/1M4$E SPCF WMCF ¡t-student : ~Q$@4M: Rf$QZ W$a .G12Z 2M N>KM JK SV:CP 2M C/_RF W;:4: 4; €$RQG1Z : ($*0? ¡>@C/RQ ¡(MC/RQ >HXT BG8TJ@Z JK >_E O6$@4; UZ >R*RY ¡NSFWQIoP$9 @$/Q p$KM CF N>KM UGP UZ >R*RY ;M; .$_Q 7J9 OvK$)1 oP$9&F*;3L&& +83KB NJ9$F S1 'K$I1 uX/g1 W$a 7;$*/KM WMCF MN&53O3P&¡>7&5!%&+E-3(T&9-LU:# &RS-=&V:&CQ-OK7:&-@&JW'X>7&+E-?,&¡ <-.=#I&ccc:&dI>e&¡CQ:V&& A3^_&g9MJ5F 7:Cq ¡.MJ8a S"9E 3GXn 7$m_QM; >9MJ5F 7J"_QM; ¡3;C1 …4$E W:4 OF :4 ¡7JR85? JR59 4MGXF ¡za:jE 7M44$56 ¡.MJ8a =cG†01 7JI0@GQ


The intensive use of ionizing radiation has promoted the constant investigation of adequate dosimetric systems in the measurement of doses applied in irradiated products. The objective of this work is to propose gamma dosimetric systems, using carboxylic acids in a solid state and measuring the change via infrared spectroscopy (carboxylic acid/ ATR-FT-IR1). We worked with three systems: (1) behenic acid/ATR-FT-IR, (2) sebacic acid/ATR-FT-IR, and (3) fumaric acid/ATR-FT-IR. The change in absorbance corresponding to the stretching vibration frequency of the carbonyl group to the absorbed dose (in the range of kGy) was measured. The results showed that the acid/ATR-FT-IR systems have a linear response with respect to the absorbed dose, for behenic acid/ATR-FT-IR from 0 to 122 kGy, for ATR-FT-IR sebacic acid from 0 to 61 kGy, and for fumaric acid/ATR-FT-IR from 0 to 34 kGy. The results indicated that the linear response of the absorbance dose in the three systems allows us to continue studying other variables to be able to propose them as chemical dosimeters.


A novel visible-light-induced alkene difunctionalization strategy is described for the synthesis of 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds from two reaction partners, α-aryl allylic alcohols and α-carbonyl alkyl bromides. This method is successful by sequential alkylation of an alkene C–C double bond and intramolecular 1,2-aryl migration, and shows a broad substrate scope, excellent functional group tolerance and good selectivity.


Hard Interests, Soft Illusions: Southeast Asia and American Power. By Natasha Hamilton-Hart. Ithaca, New York and London: Cornell University Press, 2012. Hardcover: 243pp. Much ink has been spilled in recent months regarding the American "pivot" to Asia. While there have been debates about whether the policy is anything new and whether the assurances made by a declining power are credible, this re-engagement has been broadly welcomed by regional elites. The US presence is routinely described as "positive" and "stabilizing", and Washington is widely seen as a relatively "benign" hegemon. Why is the United States viewed in such a positive light? In Hard Interests, Soft Illusions, Natasha Hamilton-Hart tackles a question that is rarely asked, exploring the interests and beliefs that underpin Southeast Asia's alignment with Washington. She rejects the argument that state action is driven largely by systemic pressures such as the distribution of power or balance of threats. Rather, echoing the work of Subaltern Realists, Hamilton-Hart claims that, in Southeast Asia, there are good reasons to think "the motives that drive this alignment are located at the domestic level" (p. 20). At the heart of the book are the "hard interests" of power holders and the "soft illusions" or beliefs of foreign policy-makers and practitioners. Beliefs about the positive role of the United States are not illusory, but neither can they be easily equated with "national interests". As has been well documented, in many parts of the region the gap between elite views of Washington and popular opinion is striking. The book starts with a discussion of the material interests of those who gained power as a consequence of US actions in Southeast Asia since World War Two. In a section entitled "The political economy of alignment", Hamilton-Hart argues, "the winners who emerged from political struggles between the 1940s and the 1960s enjoyed American support because they pursued policies that were broadly in line with American preferences for capitalist development in the region" (p. 85). The author claims that the exercise of American power in Southeast Asia served two ends for regional elites: first, it helped them defeat potential rivals and opponents; second, it allowed them to "pay off supporters and in some cases to appropriate material gains individually" (p. 18). But if the argument is grounded in political economy, the bigger claim is about the independent power of beliefs. The author argues that there is a particular alignment of material interest and ideological vision that has underpinned acceptance of American hegemony and is the condition for continued support for US "engagement" and "balancing" in the region today. The ideational basis of alignment is explored in two chapters that draw on a rich survey of the historical literature and seventy-four interviews with Southeast Asian policy-makers and practitioners. For America's friends and partners in the region, the most common justification for viewing it as a "benign, stabilizing force" is its historical record (p. 88). Chapter Four examines the way that national histories have been written and interpreted to draw particular (largely positive) lessons about the United States and its role in the region. Three themes emerge: first, in non-Communist states, the spectre of Communism in past domestic conflicts is frequently invoked; second, external threats are described in a way that presents the United States as a protector; and finally "scant attention" is paid to the human casualties of past conflicts (p. …


Microfinance has become crucial to Ghana's financial system over the last three decades. They target the financially excluded and poverty stricken population with micro financial products, empowering the poor to create livelihoods for themselves and by so doing contributing towards the economic growth of the country. In recent years, there have been reported cases of the collapse of several microfinance institutions and others facing serious challenges. These series of events signal an ominous situation for the microfinance subsector and the entire financial system for that matter. This study therefore aims at examining the performance of microfinance institutions in Ghana, focusing on three key performance indicators; profitability, liquidity and credit advanced. The study revealed that loan default and interest expenses are the major variables which negatively affect the performance of the MFIs. In ensuring the sustenance of the microfinance subsector of the financial system, the study recommends that, the MFIs should adopt lending methodologies which minimize loan defaults and the Bank of Ghana should be encouraged to strength its regulatory oversight and power to rein in MFIs which offer outrageous rates of return on customers' deposits.


Delay compensation for a class of discrete-time nonlinear networked control systems with bounded controls while imposing positivity in closed-loop systems is considered in the paper. Under the state feedback and the output feedback control, compensation for the network induced delays is designed using the Lyapunov stability theory and matrix transformation with nonnegative control and bounded control. All the results are presented in linear programming (LP) forms. An example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed methods.


Public health emergencies like epidemic outbreaks provide a challenge to the legitimacy of the state as the mechanism for the maintenance of public order in modern societies. Official agencies, under such circumstances, are faced with the formidable task of ration alising the state's failure to pre-empt a crisis, that is, to maintain their legitimacy in the face of human suffering. This article explores how the Delhi government responded to an outbreak of dengue fever in 1996, an event for which it was entirely unprepared. Using a multi-sited ethnographic approach, I trace the lineaments of the disease out break on the multiple but interconnected registers of the state, the media, the medical community and individual citizens. Crucial to this analysis is the notion of crisis, since the implicit line drawn by the state between public disorder and the concern for public good is demonstrated during crises, in the manner in which they are resolved and the legitimacy and stability of the state maintained.


A novel mercury electrode, termed the mercury thread electrode (MTE), modified with a hydrophilic dialysis polymer is introduced. The electrode consists of a minimum amount of pure mercury contained in a short dialysis tube with a very tin wall. Renewal of mercury, continuously or as needed, can conveniently be performed during use. Preliminary cyclic voltammetry data on Pb(II) exhibit reversible electrochemistry with diffusion-controlled mass transport. Anodic stripping voltammetry of aqueous Pb(II) is linear in the 20-118 ppb range. A plating time of only 10 s gave noise-free peak current at these concentrations


One of the justifications offered by neo‐classical economics for gender‐based wage differentials is the far greater probability that females will not be in continuous employment. This paper uses a model that estimates the extent to which salary differentials between male and female accountants can be explained by intermittent employment. The results show that about one‐third of the observed differentials arises from female career breaks and that the wage discrimination observed in the accountancy profession is more likely to be a sociological than an economic phenomenon.


We consider integrable models, i.e. models defined by R-matrices, on random Manhattan lattices (RML). The set of random Manhattan lattices is defined as the set dual to the lattice random surfaces embedded on a regular d-dimensional lattice. As an example we formulate a random matrix model where the partition function reproduces annealed average of the XXZ Heisenberg chain over all RML. A technique is presented which reduces the random matrix integration in partition function to an integration over their eigenvalues. e-mail:email@example.com e-mail:email@example.com


The Marginalized Particle Filter(MPF),which combines Particle Filter(PF) with Kalman filter,is an effective algorithm for the estimation of mixed linear/nonlinear system,but the computational complexity of PF make it difficult to meet the requirement of real-time and precision in estimation.A likelihood-sampling PF was introduced to join in the MPF algorithm.The ILLH_MPF algorithm sampled the particles from the observation,and increased the utilization factor of particles by calculating the transition probability of adjacent time's particles.Compared with MPF,this algorithm was expected to get a good estimation precision with fewer particles,and could improve the Kalman filter's precision and efficiency.The principle and detailed procedure of this algorithm was introduced.The Monte-Carlo simulation was designed to show the ILLH_MPF algorithm's application for a problem of target-tracking in the hybrid coordinate.


We investigate the class $\mathcal{B}^{loc}(\mathbb{R}^{n})$ of exponents $p(\cdot)$ for with local Hardy-Littlewood maximal operator is bounded in $L^{p(\cdot)}(\mathbb{R}^{n})$ space. Littlewood-Paley square-function characterization of $L^{p(\cdot)}(\mathbb{R}^{n})$ spaces with the above class of exponent are also obtained.


Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a contentious diagnosis due in part to the abstract nature of personality, as well as the controversies surrounding the current classification systems. Individuals with this diagnosis make up a significant proportion of mental health services, but what the label means to people is unclear.
The first paper is a literature review about recovery from BPD, distinct from the process of remission. Ten papers were included, and the range of themes synthesised into an overview about recovery. The second, empirical, paper examined service-users' and professionals' perspectives of the BPD diagnosis. Q methodology was selected to gather an appreciation and objective understanding of subjective beliefs about recovery, treatment and stigma. This will identify the key factors underpinning these perspectives. The following factors were found: 'Stigma, Internalisation and Social Construction'; 'Essentialism, Acceptance and Compassion'; and, 'Change, Externalisation and Shared Understandings.'
The personal meanings attributed to the BPD diagnosis are important and, to respect the subjectivity and idiosyncrasies of people who may meet the criteria for this diagnosis, should be explored before the diagnosis is made.
The third paper is a reflective piece about the overall research process.