There have been very few quantitative studies of the intertidal and shallow water biota of the Andaman Coast of Thailand and thus it was very difficult to provide precise estimates of the impact of the tsunami on coastal resources. Some quantitative data from Laem Son National Park existed, having been collected by the present authors, and these indicated that the most severe impacts were on the intertidal sand beach fauna, on rocky shore assemblages and on the seaward edge of mangrove forests. Inside the forests there was heavy deposition of coarse sediment on the forest floor and this led to changes in the species composition of the infauna. Most, but not all, sea grass beds escaped serious damage. By 2008 intertidal sediment assemblages contained a similar number of individuals to that recorded before the tsunami. Pre-tsunami data indicate that open coast, estuarine and seagrasses assemblages are naturally highly variable and thus were well adapted to recovering from the tsunami disturbance. Offshore sediments lack pre-tsunami information, but they too appear to be normal. Size frequency analysis of a population of the heart urchin Brissopsis luzonicus indicate that some individuals survived the tsunami but that there is heavy domination by the first post-tsunami cohort suggesting heavy colonization of disturbed seafloor. The trees in the seaward fringe of the most exposed mangrove forests still have to recover from tsunami damage, although the benthic fauna within the forest has returned.


The C++ language does not supply a perfect garbage auto-collection mechanism,so memory leak often occur in complex pro-grame design,this paper implements the garbage auto-collection with C++ standard library ,C++ boost library and simplely evaluatesthese methods


Torque ripple compensation for permanent magnet stepper motors is considered. The control design methodology is based on our earlier work on adaptive variable structure control (1997). A current-level controller is derived for a detailed model of the motor which achieves asymptotic tracking of a reference trajectory while compensating for uncertainties in the mechanical dynamics of the motor. The proposed robust nonlinear controller requires the use of only one adaptation parameter. The control design methodology is of variable structure type with a smooth control action. Simulation results for position and for constant velocity tracking show the efficacy of the proposed control design.


The inhibitory effect of lipids and prevention of this inhibition in a two-phase anaerobic process were examined using laboratory-scale reactors and batch experiments. Lipids were satisfactorily degraded in a two-phase anaerobic filter while in a single-phase system, inhibition resulted in poor lipid degradation. Unsaturated long-chain fatty acids (LFAs) had a greater inhibitory effect than saturated LFAs. Methane production as well as beta-oxidation (degradation of saturated LFAs) were inhibited by unsaturated LFAs. The saturation of unsaturated LFAs was not inhibited, and palmitate (C16:0) was accumulated in the degradation of oleate (C18:l) or linoleate (C18:2). Greater inhibition was observed at low pH values. Continuous operation of a suspended-growth acidogenic reactor showed that hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of no less than 8 hours were necessary to mitigate the inhibition in a two-phase process. The fact that saturation of oleate occurred at HRTs no less than 8 hours suggests that the saturation of unsaturated LFAs in an acidogenic reactor is essential in the prevention of lipid inhibition in two-phase anaerobic processes.


The report presents problems related to scaling, project transfer, and the creation of murals in the art. The positive and negative aspects of the methods used so far are discussed. The main part offers modern technological tools to make the process easier. Examples are innovations such as "Robospray", Vertical plotter and Vertical printer. Their pluses and disadvantages are considered. The effects of the penetration of new instruments and their influence on the visual looks on the secco technique are investigated. There is a proposal for a new form a monumental work - the Augmented Reality. The problems of such a work and the circumstances in which the use of this form is justified are discussed. The conclusion highlighted the need to rethink the meaning of the term: mural painting, due to the latest scientific discoveries concerning matter. Also problems related to the value of the monumental works in the sphere of mural painting. Keywords: Secco, Mural Painting, Robospray, Vertical Plotter, Vertical Printer, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality


With the aim of developing efficient microsensors with low power consumption for the detection of inflammable hydrocarbon gases (CH 4 , C 3 H 8 ), SnO 2 thin films were synthesized and their gas sensing properties tested. Using an oxygen-ion-assisted deposition technique, a series of SnO 2 thin films with various crystalline structures and nonstoichiometry were prepared as a function of oxygen ion energy. The material properties of the synthesized thin films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the sensing properties were determined based on the measurements of electrical conductance in a test gas environment. The as-deposited tin oxide thin films were observed in an amorphous state and the annealed films showed a preferred orientation to the axis, along with and . All the deposited films showed a deficiency in oxygen content as the state of SnO 2-x but had a binding energy of Sn +4 . With regard to differentiation in the sensitivities and selectivities of methane and propane, the effective factors were determined to be substrates (SiO 2 /Si, alumina), electrode position, amount of dopants (Pt, Pd) and ion beam energy.


This study investigates the thrust force (Fz) and torque (Mz) in a drilling process of an Al7075 workpiece using solid carbide tools (Kennametal KC7325), depending on the effects of crucial cutting parameters such as cutting velocity, feed rate and tool diameter of 10mm, 12mm and 14mm. Artificial neural networks (ANN) methodology is used in order to acquire mathematical models for both the thrust force (Fz) and torque (Mz) related to the drilling process. The ANN results showed that the best prediction topology of the network for the thrust force was the one with five neurons in the hidden layer, while for the case of Mz the best network topology for the prediction of the experimental values was the one with six neurons in the hidden layer. Based on the results acquired, the ANN models achieved accuracy of 1,96% and 1,95% for both the thrust force and torque measured, while the R coefficient for the prediction model of the thrust force is 0.99976 and 00.99981 for the torque. As a result they can be considered as very accurate and appropriate for their prediction.


The relationship of gender, educational level, and past occupation to the Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs was evaluated for a Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) old-age normative sample. Gender differences did not meaningfully influence the WAIS-R scores of persons 75 years of age and older, but differences due to education and past occupation were marked. Persons with? 12 years of education earned Full Scale IQs that were 17 points higher than the composite score for individuals with < 11 years of education. Those with a history of professional/managerial employment outscored retired operatives/laborers on the Full Scale IQ by approximately 16 points.


An algorithm is given for selacting the biasing paramatar, k, in RIDGE regrassion. By means of simulaction it is shown that the algorithm has the following properties: (i) it produces an aberaged squared error for the regrassion coafficiants that is les than least squares, (ii) the distribuction of squared arrots for the regression coafficiants has a smallar variance than does that for last squares, and (iii) regradless of he signal-to-noiss retio the probability that RIDGE producas a smaller squared error than least squares is greatar than 0.50.


The aetiological agent of SVC is spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV), a member of the virus family Rhabdoviridae, and tentatively placed in the genus Vesiculovirus (21). The virus genome is a nonsegmented, negative-sense, single strand of RNA. The genome contains 11,019 nucleotides encoding five proteins in the following order: a nucleoprotein (N), a phosphoprotein (P), a matrix protein (M), a glycoprotein (G) and an RNA-dependent, RNA polymerase (L). The genome does not contain a non-virion (NV) gene between the G and L genes as is found in fish rhabdoviruses of the genus Novirhabdovirus (5). The type strain of SVCV is available from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC VR-1390, [25]). Two complete genome sequences of the type strain have been submitted to Genbank (Genbank accession U18101 by Bjorklund et al. [12] and Genbank accession AJ318079 by Hoffmann et al. [33]). The complete genome sequence of an isolate from China (People's Rep. of) has also been deposited in Genbank (Genbank accession DQ097384) by Teng et al. (56).


Recently, a modified non-coherent detection scheme for pseudo random (PN) code acquisition of direct sequence spread spectrum signals was introduced. The proposed scheme, known as differential non coherent (DNC) detector, promises 2 dB performance improvement over the classical non coherent detection scheme under AWGN channels. The scheme, as a method of post detection integration, has also been studied as an effective method of post detection integration when a frequency offset is present. We analyze the performance of the DNC detector under the Rayleigh fading case. The false alarm probability and detection probability are derived under a Rayleigh fading signal in AWGN. The DNC scheme enjoys a 2 dB performance improvement over the conventional non coherent detector even under the Rayleigh fading case. Also, the detector performance is analyzed when various uncertainties, like frequency offset or timing offset, are present. The performance degradation due to these uncertainties is derived. It is found that the performance degradation due to carrier frequency error is the same for DNC and NC, due to which the DNC offers SNR improvement over NC.


Pulsed laser light when of low to moderate intensity impinged into an aqueous media generates stress waves by thermoelastic mechanism. Referred to as photo-acoustic emission (PAE) these arise from sources during rapid laser liquid interaction that contains valuable information on the state of the composition and concentration of the liquid. Optical energy from a Q-switched Nd-YAG laser light source (wavelength of 1.064 µm, 50mJ maximum power) is lead into a Perspex cell (100 millilitres capacity) containing sample liquid-based food products and picked up using a piezoelectric (1MHz bandwidth) transducer 30mm distant from and in-line with the optical fibre. Spectral measurements of PAE generated in water, milk and other diverse liquid-based food and aqueous products provide distinguishable classes of power spectral density and frequency ranges. Grin rod lens fixed to the PAE cell improved the PAE signal-to-noise ratio by two orders of magnitude. Variation of milk concentration in water and influence of iron filings in oil are discussed.


Context. Imine compounds are thought to have a role in the interstellar formation of complex organic species, including pre-biotic molecules. Ketenimine (CH2CNH) is one of the four imines discovered in space. It was identified in Sgr B2(N-LMH) through the detection of three rotational lines in absorption. Aims. We present an extensive laboratory study of the ground-state rotational spectrum of CH2CNH at submillimetre wavelengths, aimed at obtaining accurate rest-frequencies for radio-astronomical searches. Methods. The investigation was carried out using a source-modulation microwave spectrometer equipped with a cell that is coupled to a pyrolysis apparatus working at 1000 ◦ . The spectrum was recorded in the frequency range 80–620 GHz with the detection of 150 transitions. Results. The newly measured transition frequencies were analysed with previously available microwave and far-infrared data, yielding accurate rotational constants of CH2CNH, the complete sets of quartic and sextic centrifugal distortion constants, and three octic constants. Several transitions exhibit a hyperfine structure due to the quadrupole and spin-rotation couplings of the 14 N nucleus, which were accounted for in the analysis. Conclusions. The determined spectroscopic constants allowed for the computation of a list of highly accurate rest-frequencies for astrophysical purposes in the submillimetre and THz region with 1σ uncertainties that are lower than 0.1 km s −1 in radial equivalent velocity.


Drying is one of the post-harvest processes that can affect the quality standard of kecombrang flower simplicia. The purpose of this research is for determine the effect of wind and oven drying methods on the characteristics of kecombrang flower simplicia. This research method includes the manufacture of kecombrang flower simplicia by using wind and oven drying methods, as well as characteristic testing including organoleptic, macroscopic, microscopic, water content, water soluble extract content, ethanol soluble extract content, thin layer chromatography, and total flavonoid content. The results showed that kecombrang flower simplicia on wind and oven drying met the requirements which included several parameters organoleptic, microscopic, macroscopic, moisture content, water soluble extract content, total flavonoid content. In the oven drying process, the simplicia of kecombrang flower produced the best characteristics organoleptic, macroscopic, moisture content and total flavonoid content, while in wind drying the extract showed the highest water soluble and ethanol content. The conclusion of this research is that there is an effect between the wind and oven drying methods on the characteristics of kecombrang flower simplicia which include water content, water soluble extract content, and total flavonoid content.


This paper aims to unveil the movements of expansion and shrinkage of the State Productive Sector (SPS) in Brazil between 1930 and 2010, as well as the arguments used by the governments to justify these processes. First, we describe the formation of the Brazilian SPS, highlighting the quantitative growth of these organizations. We analyse the economic and ideological changes triggering the privatization movement of the 80's, which aimed to stop the uncontrolled growth of the number of state companies. Since 1990, the privatization process intensified and, with the beginning of the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, it became part of a broader movement to reform the State. The final section addresses the Lula mandates, characterized by a recovery of State intervention and, on the other hand, by the maintenance of the concessions policy started by the previous government.


We present a quantum approach to simulate self-heating effects in transistors based on silicon nanowires and estimate the resulting performance degradation. Our self-consistent thermoelectric simulations are based on the nonequilibrium Green's function approach and provide the heat power transferred from electrons to phonons, thus allowing the calculation of the local temperature and its impact on the transistor output characteristics. We apply our approach to the simulation of a tri-gate transistor with a 14 nm channel length in the presence of surface roughness. Our results clearly indicate that self-heating effects are enhanced by surface roughness, with important consequences on the on-current of the device.


Background Studies from the western population proved inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) a risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE) and thromboprophylaxis has become standard care for hospitalised IBD patients with disease flares. In Asia, lack of studies on VTE among IBD patients makes practice of thromboprophylaxis far from standardised. Our aim is to explore the incidence and risk factors for VTE among Chinese IBD patients. Methods Retrospective analysis of IBD patients from 17 Chinese tertiary referral hospitals between 2011 and 2016 was performed. Patients with IBD diagnosis were identified and searched for VTE diagnosis. Incidence density of VTE was calculated; a case-control study that included IBD patients with and without VTE was performed to analyse VTE related risk factors among Chinese IBD patients. Results A total of 8459 IBD patients and 46 patients with VTE were identified, yielding an incidence of 37.18/10000 person-years. Risk of VTE increased with advanced age (RR=1.05, 95%CI=1.02–1.08) and history of bowel resection (RR=3.52, 95%CI=1.45–8.52). Severe disease flare (Crohn's disease activity index [CDAI]>450, mayo score >10), but not disease flares with less severity (CDAI >150, mayo >2), was an independent risk factor for VTE among inpatients (for Crohn's disease: OR=11.68,95%CI=2.33–58.47, ulcerative colitis: OR=4.68, 95%CI=1.11–19.58). In addition, history of glucocorticoids use was a risk factor for patients with Crohn's disease (OR=5.01, 95%CI=1.22–21.16), whereas history of 5-aminosalicylic acid use was a protective factor for patients with ulcerative colitis (OR=0.16, 95%CI=0.04–0.65). Conclusions The incidence of VTE among Chinese IBD patients is not lower than that from the western population. VTE related risk factors included age, severe disease flare, past history of surgery and glucocorticoids use, whereas past use of 5-aminosalicylic acid was protective against VTE for ulcerative colitis. Thromboprophylaxis should be considered for patients with these risk factors.


A forming method of a semiconductor testing jig comprises the steps that a substrate is provided; a plurality of separated testing needle heads are formed on the substrate; and dielectric layers are formed on the substrate and are arranged in spaces between adjacent testing needle heads in a filling mode and cover the side wall surfaces of the testing needle heads, the surfaces of the dielectric layers are flush with the top surfaces of the testing needle heads, transition plates placed on the dielectric layers and the testing needle heads, and a plurality metal blocks which are in electric contact with the top surfaces of the testing needle heads are arranged in the transition plates. The dielectric layers in the semiconductor testing jig formed with the method are used for electricity isolation between the testing needle heads, the mechanical strength of the testing needle heads is improved, the transition plates are arranged on the dielectric layers and are used as transition structures between the testing needle heads and tested terminals, testing of electrical properties is convenient, direct contacting of the testing needle heads and the tested terminals is avoided, damage to the tested terminals is avoided, or the problem that the testing needle heads can deform easily is avoided.


In this work, we studied the efficacy of corrosion inhibition of carbon steel X70 in H2SO40.5M solution using ferrocenyl compounds prepared in VPRS laboratory. These compounds are 2(ferrocenyl methyl) aminobenzonitrile (Fc22), 3-(ferrocenyl methyl) aminobenzonitrile (Fc23) et 4-(ferrocenyl methyl) amino benzonitrile (Fc24). The inhibitory potency of these compounds was determined by the electrochemical method (extrapolation of Tafel lines). The overall results show that the compounds studied have varying percentages of inhibition and the adsorption of the inhibitor on the surface of the metal is made according to the model adsorption by the isotherm of Langmuir. In H2SO4 0.5M, the compound Fc24 had the best ability to inhibit at a concentration of 20ppm (R = 75.48%).


Abstract. Several endogenic and synthetic peptides were investigated in order to reveal their antibacterial activity. The study of dose-depended effects of antibacterial activity of the immunotropic peptide ZP-2, which is included in GM-CSF active center, shown significant antibacterial activity of ZP-2 by action range and by rate of bactericidal activity in case of low concentration. Combined application of substance derived from supernatant of CD34+CD45-cells and synthetic peptide ZP-2 enhances significantly actions of each other. Probably, this effect is connected with various mechanisms of their influence on bacteria. The obtained facts indicate that synthetic peptide has not only immunostimulating action but it also promotes a direct antibacterial activity. These data support an idea that synthetic peptides have good perspectives in case of development new antibacterial drugs with unique characteristics.


The recent publication of the NSABP-B35 trial provides important information about the relative value of anastrozole (ANA) over tamoxifen (TAM) for post-menopausal women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) treated with conservative surgery (CS) and radiotherapy (RT). However, the clinician is still left wondering when adjuvant hormonal treatment (HT) should be prescribed for the individual patient and now whether to use ANA instead of TAM (1).


Response Surface Analysis(RSA) was applied to optimize the extraction of the total flavonoids of Semen Litchi. Temperature,time and ethanol concentration were chosen as the factors in RSA . The optimum condition was obtained from RSA.


The principles and data processing means of single well PS-wave logging method are described on the paper. The velocities of P-wave and S-wave may be obtained by measuring the travel time of first break from seismic wave field propagated through rock and soil at different depths. Furthermore, some kinetic parameters of rock and soil, such as Poisson's ratio, shear modulus, Young's modulus, bulk modulus, Lame's constant, weathering factor and integrity factor of rock mass etc., may be figured out accordingto the velocities of P-wave and S-wave based on elastic theory. All these parameters are called on to evaluate grade of surrounding rock and supply necessary warranties for tunnel design. Meanwhile, the velocities of P-wave and S-wave gained by PS-wave logging from soil and severe, middling and mild weathering strata may take very important role in weathering demarcation for Rayleigh wave and refraction wave explorations. Finally, according to application effects of the method in a concrete tunnel exploration, both the traits of effectiveness and shortcut to obtain kinetic parameters of soil-rock and its potential application prospects are also exhibited.


This paper presents the concise review of the discourse analysis and one view of its relation to psychology. The first part considers the defining characteristics of the discourse analysis as an interdisciplinary area that studies language not as a system but language in use dealing with linguistic and communication units larger than sentence. The second part presents some dominant approaches in this area (speech act models, conversation analysis, the grammar of the story, structural, relational and procedural approaches). The third part deals with the relevance of the text production and reception and the development of the idea of importance of the social context of the speech). It also deals with the possible uses of the discourse analysis knowledge relevant to the problems of different psychological branches (the research of the communicative competence and strategies, the development of the different models of classroom discourse, the improvement of the communication efficiency in the different areas of human activities, etc.).


Bronchial carcinomas are one of the most frequent causes of death in Germany. Radiotherapy is used in progressed stages of the cancer if the tumor cannot be removed surgically. The aim of radiotherapy is to control tumor growth by the administration of a high dose while the normal tissue surrounding the tumor is intended to be spared. Charged particles have the beneficial feature of an inverse depth dose distribution which means that the normal tissue can be spared while a high dose is absorbed by the tumor [1]. However, doses to the healthy tissue may be high enough to provoke side effects like pneumonitis or fibrosis. These effects are preceded by vascular damage, which is considered to be related to the pathogenesis of pneumonitis and fibrosis [2]. Here we investigated the impact of Carbon ions on blood vessel damage in the rat lung.


A model for addressing navigation limitations and metacognitive constraints in hypermedia training systems is presented in the form of the viewgraphs. The following subject areas are covered: samples of software and people problems; system design; and hypermedia training system.


This Article does not advocate the constitutionality or permissibility of all student religious expression. Instead, this Article suggests that identifying the contexts in which students express their religious beliefs – curricular, ceremonial-functional, and extracurricular – and distinguishing between students' private religious expression and their programmatic religious expression may be a preferable way to determine when student religious expression is constitutionally permissible in public schools. Part II of the Article discusses the development of students' constitutional rights generally and religious rights specifically in the public schools. Part III will define student religious expression and discuss the treatment of it as speech and as religion in the various contexts of public school. Part IV discusses the constitutionality of programmatic and private student religious expression. Part V applies the thesis of the Article to relevant cases.


Disassembly leveling, one of disassembly process planning decisions, is to determine disassembly structures that specify parts/subassemblies to be obtained from used/end-of-life products, and disassembly lot-sizing is the problem of determining the amounts of disassembly operations required to satisfy the demands of their parts and/or subassemblies. In this study, we consider the two problems at the same time for the objective of minimizing the sum of disassembly setup and operation costs. In particular, we consider a generalized version in which disassembly levels may be different even for products of the same type. Two types of the problem are considered: (a) basic problem without parts commonality, i.e., products do not share their parts/subassemblies; and (b) extended problem with parts commonality. For the basic problem, a polynomial-time optimal algorithm is suggested after developing a mathematical programming model. Also, we show that the extended problem is NP-hard and then suggest a heuristic, together with its computational results.


The portrayal of creole identity is presented in several literary works, one of them is in the portrayal of Antoinette Cosway in Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea. Antoinette Cosway firstly is the minor character in Charlotte Bronts Jane Eyre. The research traces the link between Antoinette Cosways creole identity with her madness. According to Bhabhas ambivalence theory, creole identity possibly creates a new identity as the result of interrelation between colonizer and colonized. Based on the research, Antoinette Cosway failed to create a new identity and became a madwoman instead. The cause is the complex situation faced by her and the lack of supporting aspects for constructing a new identity.Keywords: creole identity, ambivalence, Antoinette Cosway, Homi Bhabha


Students' conceptions of learning or preconceived views of what learning means to students have been found to play a significant role in how they choose to approach their learning. This study investigates conceptions of learning held by accounting students in their secondand third-years in university. The study is based on phenomenographic and content-analytic approaches applied to survey responses of 207 accounting students from an Australian university. In the first phase of the analysis we identify 6 learning conceptions. Learning is conceived as: (1) increase of knowledge; (2) understanding; (3) knowledge acquisition for application; (4) a pathway to success; (5) seeing in new ways; and (6) self-development. Compared to similar studies we did not find evidence of the conception 'learning as memorisation'. In contrast to prior research 'learning as understanding' emerged as a lowerorder conception of learning in accounting students in this study. In the second phase we find that, after controlling for a range of factors that are likely to affect students' conceptions of learning third-year students are more likely to adopt a higher-order conception. However, majority of the students, including third year students, continue to adopt low-order conceptions. These findings highlight the need to extend student learning beyond the acquisition of technical skills and knowledge to instil higher-order learning conceptions which underpin the development of generic skills much demanded of professional accountants. As a result, the findings of this study have implications for curriculum and assessment design, and learning and teaching practice in accounting degree programs. Keyword: Student conceptions of learning, phenomenography, learning context, accounting degrees, generic skills.


Gibberellin induces the dark germination of tobacco seeds. This phenomenon had been reported by Ogawara and Onol~, and Yamaki and his collaborators2~, but the mechanism of the germination inducing action of gibberellin is still obscure. As a step of the study of gibberellin action on germination, the effects on gibberellin action of hydrogen ion concentrations of the germination bed were studied in the dark, under the consideration of the age of the seeds.


A new class of high brilliant mirror effect inks is now able to provide a realistic alternative to foil blocking, cold foil, and metalised substrates with economic advantages in both product cost, and in some cases by removing the need for costly and time consuming offline downstream operations following printing. This new ink concept allows any printer using one of the offset, flexo, gravure or screen-printing process methods to take advantage of their use on press.


The cluster expansion theory is used to explain ternary mixed electroytes having a common ion. The mixing coefficients have been studied and their inter relationships are reported. Their possible applications to the calculation of activity coefficients and osmotic coefficients are shown. Higherorder limiting laws are also discussed.


The invention discloses a voice recognition method and system. The method includes evaluating the voice quality of a first voice message and a second voice message, choosing the better voice message as a reference voice message and regarding the worse voice message as an auxiliary voice message, recognizing the reference voice message to obtain a reference identifying message, choosing n words with the highest confidence in the reference identifying message as key words, generating m-stage related word set according to a predetermined word list for each key word, raising the weighed value of the key words and related words in a voice recognition model lexicon, and using an updated model lexicon to respectively voice recognize the reference voice message and the auxiliary voice message. Because the related weighted value is revised according to the contents of conversations, the accuracy of the voice recognition model to the current contents of conversations is improved and the precision rate of the voice recognition is raised.


Under risk-based regulatory regimes like Solvency II in the EU, the risk profile of a variable annuity directly affects the amount of capital that providers are required to hold. Therefore, providers of variable annuities not only face the challenge to hedge against changes in the value of embedded guarantees, but are also exposed to potential additional capital needs due to changes in their capital requirements. Both, the value of embedded guarantees as well as corresponding capital requirements, are dependent on market parameters and, thus, subject to changes. We analyze the risk profile of a pool of variable annuity policies with Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) riders with regard to the pool's key financial risk drivers: equity returns, implied equity volatility and interest rates. In a simulation study, we analyze the effectiveness of different stylized hedging programs over a one-year time horizon and compute indicators for riskbased capital requirements. The approach we use is comparable to an internal model type approach under Solvency II. We also analyze the impact changing market environments have on risk profile, hedge effectiveness and capital requirements, similar to a forward-looking analysis in the context of the mandatory Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) under Solvency II. We find that, in addition to the stress from potentially unhedged increases in the value of liabilities, changes in the market environment can have a substantial impact on capital requirements. As a result, GLWB providers face the risk of increases in their risk-based capital requirements and, thus, the need for capital injections – even without pricing errors or malfunctioning of the hedging program. However, there are also cases where an increase in the value of liabilities is accompanied by a decrease of capital requirements, reducing the overall impact on the provider.


Towards a compact and process-variation-tolerant nonvolatile ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM), we propose a novel complementary cell structure with just five transistors and four magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices (5T-4MTJ). The complementary cell structure enlarges output voltage swing of each cell circuit together with match-line voltage swing in word circuit constructed by many bits of cell circuits, which eliminates search errors. We also propose a novel bit-parallel writing scheme, called phase-selective parallel writing, for the cell circuit. Every data is written into a complementary MTJ-device pair in two phases by selectively asserting bit-lines during 0-write phase or 1-write phase, not directly assigning write data to the bit-lines. Consequently, the phase-selective parallel writing scheme enables fourphase write for the proposed 5T-4MTJ-based word circuit.


SYNOPSIS Field measurements of a small-sectioned diaphragm wall foundation for a highway bridge have been performed to understand the stability of the trench wall during construction. In this paper, a case history on the field measurements of the diaphragm wall foundation during deep trench excavation is presented.


The present invention provides an endoscopic device suitable for attaching the adapter to deliver an assist gas. The adapter having an adapter body comprising generally a first fluid conveying member and a second fluid conveying member, and which may include a gas inlet for a secondary gas source is attached to the fluid delivery member. It may include a sealing member extending through to prevent any fluid (e.g. liquid or gas) leakage of transported fluid transport component. The adapter may be used in an endoscopic examination method, and in particular for feeding secondary gas source endoscopic procedure.


A photgraph of Miss Minnie Gabell taken by Scherer Photographer, 515 Main St., Buffalo, New York. Rear of photo reads "Imperials $2.50 per dozen up" and "duplicates of this picture can be had at any time." The address for Miss Minnie Gabell reads, 128 River St., Depew, New York.


ABSTRACT Objectives: There is an urgent need to expand the geriatrics workforce. By providing volunteers meaningful experiences with older adults, we hoped to stimulate interest in geriatrics. Design: Electronic mixed methods survey of volunteers from April 2018-October 2019 Setting: Academic medical center Participants: 32 volunteers Measurements: We conducted a mixed methods survey of volunteers to understand their experiences in the program, in part using a Likert scale. Two coders independently compared themes to ensure consensus. Results: Thirty-six percent (n = 32) completed surveys; 69% (n = 22) were women; most (59%) were first in their family to work in healthcare, and 81% (n = 26) had prior healthcare experience. Volunteers found patients to be engaging, and recognized that older adults need attention. Almost half (47%, n = 15) expressed interest in working with older adults before starting the program, which increased to 63% (n = 20) after the program. Most volunteers (n = 30, 94%) answered 'definitely yes' or 'probably yes' for feeling appreciated by patients, and 88% (n = 28) felt appreciated by patients' families. Conclusion: A volunteer program pairing companions with older age inpatients increased interest and appreciation for older adults. While additional research should examine whether such experiences influence career choices, this intervention proposes an innovative pipeline to increase the geriatrics workforce.


A hybrid model of the actuator surface combined with the blade element method(BEM) is presented.The blades are replaced by a mean surface and a "pressure jump" boundary condition is applied here.The hybrid model combines a CFD solver with the BEM.The solving method is iterative: at the beginning of iteration the BEM determines the pressure discontinuities along the blade span,using the rotor inflow and the aerodynamic properties of blade sections.Then the CFD solver applies this pressure discontinuity in order to model the blade forces and the wake downstream the rotor.The results were applied to the BEM module for the next calculation.At the end of iteration the obtained flow parameters and the residuals are compared with those obtained from previous iteration.If the required precision is attained,the calculation stops.Finally,the proposed hybrid model is used to calculate the performance of NREL Phase VI wind turbine and the results are satisfactory.


We present a full analysis of the bit complexity of an efficient algorithm for the computation of at least one point in each connected component of a smooth real hypersurface. This is a basic and important operation in semi-algebraic geometry: it gives an upper bound on the number of connected components of a real hypersurface, and is also used in many higher level algorithms. Our starting point is an algorithm by Safey El Din and Schost (Polar varieties and computation of one point in each connected component of a smooth real algebraic set, ISSAC'03). This algorithm uses random changes of variables that are proved to generically ensure certain desirable geometric properties. The cost of the algorithm was given in an algebraic complexity model; the analysis of the bit complexity and the error probability were left for future work. Our paper answers these questions. Our main contribution is a quantitative analysis of several genericity statements, such as Thom's weak transversality theorem or Noether normalization properties for polar varieties.


Dopamine (DA) was first synthesized in 1910 from 3,4-dihydroxy phenyl alanine (DOPA) by Barger and Ewens at Wellcome Laboratories in London. It is a cathecholamine and in the 1940s Blaschko in Cambridge proposed that DA was a precursor in synthesis of the cat-echolamine neurotransmitters noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and adrenaline (epinephrine). In 1957 it was shown to be present in the brain with other catecholamines (1). In 1958, Carlsson discovered the function of dopamine a neurotransmitter (2), while studying the action of reserpine, isolated in 1952 from the root of Rauwolfia, used traditionally in India for the treatment of insanity. Reserpine irreversibly blocks the vesicular monoamine transporter, thus depleting neuronal serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. In mammals it produces loss of movement or "akinesia", a symptom of Parkinson's disease. The degree of akinesia induced by reserpine correlated most closely with the depletion of dopamine, and could be reversed by L-dopa. In Vienna, Hornykiewicz who had worked with Blaschko, measured dopamine in Parkinson's disease brains, and in 1960 reported depletion of dopamine in the corpus striatum in these brains, and later postulated that striatal dopamine deficiency accounts for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (3). Carlsson demonstrated dopamine was concentrated in the basal ganglia. Using the technique of monoamine histofluorescence, dopamine pathways were mapped in the brain including the nigrostriatal path¬way, from A9 neurons in the substantia nigra to the corpus striatum (4). In 1967, Cotzias in New York developed a technique, raising the dose of DOPA gradually, up to 16 grams per day, to treat Parkinson's disease (5). Thus the role of dopamine in movement control and Parkinson's disease was established by 1967.


Objective: To research the expression of IFI16 which is the member of interferon-inducible p200 family in the bone giant cell tumors by the immunohistochemical,and to explore the characteristics of the expression of IFI16 in bone giant cell tumors and clinical significance.Methods: The immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expressions of IFI16 proteins in 51 cases bone giant cell tumors of the organization of wax slice and normal bone tissue paraffin,and compare the positive expression rate of the IFI16 in the bone giant cell tumors Ⅰ-level,Ⅱ-level and Ⅲ-level.Results: IFI16 protein positive expression was mainly located in the nucleus of mononuclear cells of bone giant cell tumors,the positive expression was brown particles,and it was also in cytoplasm in a few cases;there was only a few positive expressions in multinucleated giant cells,and occasionally seen in multinucleated giant cells which is less nucleus.In this trial the total rate of IFI16 protein positive expression was 33.3%,and the lack in expression of IFI16 in bone giant cell tumors was about 66.7%,and the positive expression rate of IFI16 in l-level,II-level and III-level giant cell tumor of bone were 64.3%,22.2% and 21.1% respectively.The difference between Ⅰ-level and Ⅱ-level,Ⅲ-level was significant(P0.05),but the difference between Ⅱ-level and Ⅲ-level was not significant(P0.05).IFI16's positive expression rate in Ⅰ-level was significantly higher than that of in Ⅱ-level and Ⅲ-level(P0.05).The expression of IFI16 was positive in bone tissue cells of normal control group.Conclusion: The expression of IFI16 is gradually reduced along with the increase of mononuclear,which plays a main role in tumor progression and accords with the effect of IFI16 as tumor inhibitory factor,so in judging the prognosis of bone giant cell tumors,lower expression of IFI16 can be used as one of the indexes cells.


Abstract This study examined recollections of parental acceptance and control and perceptions of the abusiveness and typicality of care-giver behaviors toward elderly adults in Korean and Caucasian American undergraduate students. American students recalled their fathers and mothers as more accepting and more controlling than did Korean students. Korean students viewed psychological abuse towards the elderly as more abusive but material abuse, physical abuse, and neglect as less abusive than did American students. Parental acceptance was positively related to perceptions of abusiveness in both groups, but father control was associated with perceptions of abusiveness for Korean, but not for American, students. The implications of these findings are discussed.


An international, phase II, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study evaluated pegaptanib sodium (Macugen, OSI Eyetech/Pfizer) for the treatment of macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion. Results after 30 weeks showed significant benefits of treatment for improving vision and reducing edema.


"The satisfaction of correcting a deformity in a newborn infant lies in the fact that all his life lies before him. Parents hope for miracles, but are grateful for the best that can be given by a mere human being." – Willis Potts This is what we, at the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Bharati Hospital, Pune, aim to provide the best care and the satisfaction of providing a good quality of life to all children suffering from surgical conditions.


Crime scene profiling, more formally referred to as "criminal investigation analysis", is specially based on the technique developed by the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, is a technique for identifying the major personality and behavioral characteristics of an individual criminal. Crime scene profiling has played the critical roles in categorizing offenders' different psychological characteristics, determining their motivations and ways to commit particular crimes in the course of logical judgement. Utility, reliability and validity are parameter to evaluate the technique of crime scene profiling.


Singapore's uniformly tropical weather and dense urban and industrial environment makes it prone to air pollution. Up to now no significant study of air pollution has been carried out. This paper seeks to evaluate the occurrence of PAHs in ambient air particulates. PAHs are extracted with cyclohexane and determined by gradient HPLC and fluorescence detection.


Four extraction methods including cold water blending, hot water blending, hot water extraction and microwave oven extraction at various temperatures/ power-time combinations were investigated to obtain soursop juice. Juice extraction yield and properties including ascorbic acid content, colour and total soluble solids were measured. The microwave extraction method has a greater capability in producing soursop juice. Juice yield was 73%, 93% and 7% higher than those obtained by cold water blending, hot water blending and hot water extraction method while the ascorbic acid preserved was at least 3% higher. The optimized microwave extraction power was at 850 W and for an extraction time of 2 min. This microwave oven extraction method is recommended for processing of soursop juice in the beverage industry.


Ms. Bf age 11, has refused to eat solid food for more than 1 month because she fears choking. She lost 14 lb during that time. How would you approach her care? [CASE] Refusing solid food Ms. B, age 11, is admitted to a pediatric medical inpatient unit for unintentional weight loss of 14 lb (15% total body weight) over the past month. She reports having 2 traumatic episodes last month: choking on a piece of cheese and having a swab specimen taken for a rapid strep test, which required several people to restrain her (the test was positive). Since then, she has refused to ingest solids, despite hunger and a desire to eat. Ms. B reports diffuse abdominal pain merely "at the sight of food" and a fear of swallowing solids. She denies difficulty or pain upon swallowing, nausea, vomiting, or any change in bowel habits. Her mother reports that, on the rare occasion that Ms. B has attempted to eat solid food, she spent as long as an hour cutting it into small pieces before bringing it to her mouth--after which she put the food down without eating. Her mother also witnessed Ms. B holding food in her mouth for "a very long time," then spitting it out. Ms. B says she is distressed about the weight loss and recognizes that her fear of solid food is excessive. What would your diagnosis of Ms. B's problem be? a) anorexia nervosa b) avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) c) specific phobia (swallowing solids or choking) d) generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) The authors' observations DSM-5 describes a new eating disorder called ARFID, which replaces the DSMIV-TR diagnosis of feeding disorder of infancy or early childhood. DSM-5 diagnostic criteria define ARFID as: An eating or feeding disturbance (eg, avoidance based on the sensory characteristics of food ...) as manifested by persistent failure to meet appropriate nutritional and/or energy needs associated with at least one of the following: 1. Significant weight loss (or failure to achieve expected weight gain or faltering growth in children). 2. Significant nutritional deficiency. 3. Dependence on enteral feeding or oral nutritional supple merits. 4. Marked interference with psychosocial-functioning. (1) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DSM-5 also specifies that the disorder cannot be caused by lack of available food or traditional cultural practices; cannot coexist with anorexia or bulimia nervosa; and is not attributable to a concurrent medical or psychiatric disorder. Because it is a newly defined diagnosis, the epidemiology of ARFID is unclear. Patients with ARFID have a wide variety of eating symptoms that do not meet diagnostic criteria for anorexia or bulimia nervosa. One study found that, among a cohort of mostly adolescent patients who presented for evaluation of an eating disorder, 14% met diagnostic criteria for ARFID. (2) Another retrospective case-control study found a similar prevalence among patients age 8 to 18 (13.8% of 712 patients). (3) Because of the variety of maladaptive feeding behaviors seen in ARFID, there is little evidence that pharmacotherapy is effective. (4) HISTORY Premature birth Ms. B's medical history states that she is twin A of a premature birth at 26 weeks (birth weight, 1,060 g), with a 90-day neonatal intensive care unit hospitalization, during which she required supplemental oxygen and nasogastric tube feeding. She has mild cerebral palsy, and had motor delay of walking at 2.5 years old. Currently, she has no motor difficulties. Ms. B does not have a psychiatric history and does not take medications. Her mother has a history of major depressive disorder that is well controlled with an unspecified selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Ms. B's maternal uncle has poorly controlled schizophrenia. During Ms. B's 6-day hospitalization, her mental status exams are unremarkable. …


The influence of ethinyl estradiol treatment on LH release was studied in 9 women with 2nd degree amenorrhea. All had previously had no reaction to testing with LH-RH. After a 10-day course of ethinyl estradiol medication patients received 50 mcg LH-RH rapidly intravenously. Plasma LH levels were determined before and 5 10 15 20 25 30 40 50 and 60 minutes thereafter. A significant increase in plasma LH levels was observed in 6 patients within 20 minutes. Maximum values were reached within 40 minutes and declined only slowly. It was concluded that in women with absent endogenous estrogen synthesis and an apparently negative response to LH-RH testing potential gonadotropic hypophyseal function can be assessed accurately only after repetition of the test in the presence of estrogen medication.(AUTHORS MODIFIED)


INTRODUCTION
Former investigations of Koebner phenomenon had demonstrated its higher incidence in patients with severe generalized and/or unstable forms of psoriasis which expressed increased resistance to various treatment modalities. The aim of this study was to establish the correlation between the presence of Koebner phenomenon and the PUVA therapy effects, total number of PUVA treatments, total dose of UVA radiation and the duration of remission after PUVA therapy discontinuation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Sixty patients with severe clinical picture of psoriasis vulgaris, treated with PUVA therapy, were included in this research. According to the presence of Koebner phenomenon they were divided into two groups, 20 patients with positive and 40 patients with negative Koebner reaction, who were the control group at the same time.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
95% of patients treated with PUVA, were cleared of psoriatic changes in the Koebner positive, as well as in the Koebner negative group. There were also no differences between the Koebner positive and Koebner negative group in the mean number of PUVA treatments, mean total dose and the last dose of UVA radiation, which led up to the clinical remission of psoriasis. Our results of investigation have demonstrated increased relapse of psoriasis, during the first 6 months after cessation of PUVA therapy, in the Koebner positive group, with a high statistical significance (p < 0.001), comparing with Koebner negative group in the same period. Furthermore, the tendency of relapse of Koebner positive and Koebner negative psoriatic patients was higher in Koebner positive group even in the first 3 months after PUVA therapy.

CONCLUSIONS
PUVA therapy effects, total number of PUVA treatments, total dose of UVA radiation didn't depend on presence of Koebner phenomenon. However, Koebner phenomenon was a mark of high relapsing tendency of psoriasis in the first 6 months after PUVA therapy cessation.


Users of wide area network applications are usually concerned about both response time and content validity. The common solution of client-side caching that reuses cached content based on arbitrary time-to-live may not be applicable in narrow bandwidth environment, where heavy load is imposed on sparse transmission abilities. In such cases, some users may wait for a long time for fresh content extracted from the origin server although they would settle for obsolescent content, while other users may receive the cached copy which is considered valid, although they would be ready to wait longer for fresher content. In this work, a new model for caching is introduced, where clients introduce preferences regarding their expectations for the time they are willing to wait, and the level of obsolescence they are willing to tolerate. The cache manager considers user preferences, and is capable of balancing the relative importance of each dimension. A cost model is used to determine which of the following three alternatives is most promising: delivery of a local cached copy, delivery of a copy from a cooperating cache, or delivery of a fresh copy from the origin server. The proposed model is proven to be useful by experiments that used both synthetic data and real Web traces simulation. The experiments reveal that using the proposed model, it becomes possible to meet client needs with reduced latency. We also show the benefit of cache cooperation in increasing hit ratios and reducing latency. A prototype of the proposed model was built and deployed on real-world environment demonstrating how users can set preferences towards Web pages, and how cache managers are affected.


Although there are significant benefits to implementing international accounting standards and it is increasing in importance, yet there are still many challenges to further development and authoritative implementation. To best understand these challenges one must look at the factors that influence the development of accounting regulations. Such factors can include, social and cultural values; political and legal systems; business activities and economic conditions; standard setting processes; capital markets and forms of ownership; and finally cooperative efforts by nations. These factors if properly understood can mitigate or even eliminate the challenges to international accounting standards. Based on this premise, the work reviews in a more detailed manner the international accounting standard and implementation in the changing accounting environment. This study unveils that the benefits of international accounting standards can be financial, economic and political. Preliminary evidence suggests that companies, lenders, and investors would prefer a convergence of domestic accounting standards with international accounting standards to create a quality financial reporting framework. International accounting standards are important today and will most certainly become more important for the future as they are further developed.


We present a general review of a new syndrome that we described in 1973, under the title "cheveux incoiffables" (uncombable half syndrome). The scanning electron microscopy shows two specific alterations of the hair: a triangular section and a longitudinal groove.


The following inscriptions, published by permission of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and of Yale University, are all from Jerash, the ancient Gerasa, or the immediate neighbourhood. They range in date from the reign of Domitian to after that of Justinian. The language is almost always Greek; the few examples of Latin are, with one exception, memorials of members of the imperial civil service or the army. I here put the Latin inscriptions first (nos. 1–10); the Greek I have arranged as far as possible in their chronological order, leaving to the end those which I cannot date. It may save repetition to note that Gerasa employed throughout her known history the Pompeian era, which was reckoned as beginning from about October 1, 63 B.C. (Brünnow, Die Provincia Arabia, iii, 304).


Bronchofiberoscopy (BF) is a key tool used in the management of patients with respiratory diseases. Describing factors that contribute to patient anxiety surrounding BF has the potential to influence patient management and willingness to undergo the procedure again in the future if needed.


The Houston Ship Channel is one of the busiest deep -draft navigation channels in the United States and must be able to accommodate larger vessel dimensions over time. The U.S. Army Engineer District, Galveston (SWG) requested the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory perform hydrodynamic and sediment modeling of proposed modifications along the Houston Ship Channel. The modeling results are necessary to provide data for salinity and sediment transport analysis a s well as ship simulation studies. SWG provided a project alternative that includes channel widening, deepening, and bend easing. After initial analysis, two additional channel widths in the bay portion of the Houston Ship Channel were requested for testing. The results of these additional channel widths are presented in this report. The model shows that the salinity does not vary significantly due to the channel modifications being considered for this project. Changes in salinity are 2 parts per thousand or less. The tidal prism increases by less than 2% when the project is included, and the tidal amplitudes increase by no more than 0.01 meter. The residual velocity vectors do vary in and around areas where project modifications are made.


Shrubs can change the local ecological environment,which in turn impacts on the surrounding plant biomass,plant composition,plant chemical composition,and macro-and micronutrient elements in the nearby soil.Shrubs can change the local micro-environment in ways which affect the spatial distribution and circulation of nutrients,and may concentrate nutrients under the shrub canopy or enhance moisture retention.Such patches displaying enhanced moisture and nutrient retention and shade effects relative to the surrounding space are known as the shrub fertile islands.Here we discuss the ecological impact of shrubs in natural arid and semi-arid grassland areas and their role in the desert grassland restoration process,reduction of soil erosion and associated grassland productivity decline.The importance of shrubs and their ecological significance for vegetation succession and restoration and reconstruction is discussed,and a theoretical basis for prevention and control of land degradation in ecologically fragile regions is provided.


I usually decline, if only on grounds of incompetence, requests to offer generalizations about the current condition of Anglo-American philosophy. However, I feel fairly confident in saying that the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein are not the favorite reading of most contemporary philosophical professionals. And that is one of the many reasons for my surprise at finding myself here today, since I suppose that those who so flatteringly elected me must have had some inkling of my philosophical predilections. There is indeed an immense gulf, which hardly anyone can fail to see, between Wittgenstein's conception of the subject and that of the mainstream. Indeed, his method of argument diverges from what is familiar so drastically, that some fail to see that there is any argument there at all. He himself, in his bleak Preface to Philosophical Investigations, says his book "is really only an album" and laments that he has been unable to produce the "good book" that he would have liked. There is no reason to doubt that he was sincerely dissatisfied with the work as it stood; but I think there is overwhelming reason not to accept at its face value his description of it as "only an album". Even the paragraph of the Preface that ostensibly is to justify that designation hardly does so in fact. In fact in the previous sentence he speaks of it as "a picture of a landscape" and one constructed according to definite principles. In any case, anyone who reads the book with care-and it is a waste of time to read it in any other way-will soon realize that the structure of argument is very tight. It is, to be sure, a structure of a different sort from that commonly met with in philosophical argument, but the difference is certainly not a matter of lower degree of rigor or connectedness. Rather, the discussion introduces new conceptions of what these argumentative virtues can amount to. The divergence from the mainstream is nowhere more evident than in Wittgenstein's treatment of the concept of 'belief,' both in Tractatus (Propositions 5.54-5.5423) and in Philosophical Investigations, Part II, Sections x and xi. His discussion is not focussed on the kind of question we meet in most of the literature: 'What is belief? Is it a state, a process, an activity, a disposition, or what? Is it something psychological or something physiological, or does it partake of both? How are different kinds of belief to be classified?'-etc. Where he does touch on such questions, he does so as it were glancingly; and this is one reason why little notice has been taken of his discussions by those interested in the concept of belief. But even amongst those who do take a serious interest in Wittgenstein's work, his treatment of belief is seldom given a central place. I myself think that what he writes about this is both of great importance in itself and also absolutely


We tested the hardness, wearing capacity,anti-contact fatigue and high temperature behaviour of the Al_2O_3_p/Ni multiple brush plating layer which has been prepared, and studied its metallographic structure.The results show that the hardness of the Al_2O_3_p/Ni multiple brush plating layer is 1.7 times of no Al_2O_3_p/Ni brush plating, wearing capacity is 2.5 times,the endurance failure gets to 10~6 cycles,the usable temperature is 450℃. The strengthen mechanism of Al_2O_3_p/Ni multiple brush plating layer is mainly crystal strengthen,dispersion strengthen and line defect streng then.


Tritium (H3) is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, having a half life of 12.4 years and emitting 0.019 mev. beta particles. Due to its radioactivity, accurate measurement of this tracer can be made even when small quantities are present. The experiments described in this paper were designed to evaluate the extent of incorporation and retention of tritium in bean plants which had been grown in a nutrient solution containing tritium oxide. The tritium oxide content of the plant water and the tritium organically bound in the various plant tissues were determined under several environmental conditions. A brief study was also made of the incorporation of tritium by a bean plant when exposed to an atmosphere containing tritium gas. The molecules containing tritium were HTO and H-T, respectively. Little work has been published on the absorption and metabolism of tritium oxide in plants. It has been reported that tritium could not be detected in chlorophyll isolated from Chlorella grown in a medium containing tritium oxide (7). Considerable research has been done on the effect of deuterium oxide on plant systems. It generally has been reported as retarding respiration (8), retarding germination of seeds and spores (4), and retarding photosynthesis (3) with the degree of retardation increasing with the concentration of deuterium oxide. The concentrations of deuterium oxide employed in these experiments were, however, many orders of magnitude greater than the tracer concentrations of tritium oxide employed in the present study.


As the indications for laparoscopic surgery expand, the number of complications specific to laparoscopic surgery and severe injuries, such as intestinal damage and ureteral injury have also increased. In our hospital, we use the Yellow Port Plus produced by AMCO as a 5-mm port, which is reusable. During total laparoscopic hysterectomy for uterine corpus cancer, we noticed a leakage of carbon dioxide gas from the port as the scissor forceps were removed. We checked the valve of that port and found it had been damaged. A part of the valve was found on the surface of the sigmoid colon just below the tip of the port, and we managed to salvage it. To our knowledge, valve injuries have never been reported. If this finding had been delayed, it would have been undetectable. We noticed the leakage of carbon dioxide gas and responded promptly, it was possible to avoid the contamination of a piece of valve in the body. Since rare contingent complications occur infrequently, it is very meaningful to share the knowledge of these complications with those that are not as experienced.


Establishing working relationships with academic faculty members at nearby universities and colleges can be a profitable step for a local practitioner because it provides access to specialized knowledge, training, skills and experience at a relatively low cost. Academics are particularly effective at improving staff training and strengthening quality controls because of their external perspectives. They also can contribute to recruiting and marketing programs and enhance the firm's stature in the community. CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION While large CPA firms can develop in-house training materials and programs, smaller firms must look to outside sources for CPE. Not only will there be out-of-pocket costs, but also the smaller firm may have difficulty finding courses that satisfy its needs in terms of content, location or quantity. Accounting academicians can devise and teach in-house CPE programs offering convenient times and location at reduced costs. This is particularly true of "building block" courses that correspond to the experience level of diverse staff members. Another approach is "coteaching," in which practitioners and academics share responsibility for CPE courses. This reduces the practitioner's preparation time and brings to the course a blend of theoretical perspective and practical experience. STANDARDS REVIEW AND QUALITY CONTROL The academic also can serve as a technical adviser and consultant in these ways: * Perform reviews of financial statements, auditor's reports and working papers for selected engagements. * Implement new auditing and accounting standards or procedures. * Develop in-house monitoring procedures that improve quality controls. When academics are used for standards review and quality control, their independence, knowledge and experience are a real asset. Additionally, they apply contemporary accounting and auditing theories to engagements, which helps keep practitioners current. EXAMINATIONS AND INSPECTIONS Some firms have academics perform internal examinations and served as team captains during inspections. The academic generally can complete the review in less time than the firm's managers and partners because he or she has no client responsibilities. The academics also can help firm members adapt to the profession's changing circumstances, methods and pronouncements. This arrangement is not only cost-efficient, but also is helpful when the firm undergoes a formal external peer review. Outside peer review teams often look favorably on the use of an independent academician in the firm's monitoring programs. SPECIALIZED SERVICES AND CONSULTING While many practitioners, especially those in smaller firms, are generalists, academics tend to specialize in one area, such as financial, cost, tax or auditing. As a result, they can advise practitioners on highly technical questions or on unfamiliar areas. They are neither competitors nor closely associated with the client, which gives them objectivity and a different perspective. …


The study aims at investigating the Effect of Peer-Tutoring on Geometry Performance of Slow Learners among Junior Secondary School Students in Niger state. 'Quasi Experimental design was used for the study. The sample consisted of 77 students; 36 students were assigned to the experimental group and 41 students to the control group. The experimental group was taught using Peer-Tutoring and the Control Group was taught using Conventional (Lecture) method. The data collected was analyzed using mean and t-test statistics. The study revealed that Peer-Tutoring is more effective than the conventional approach in enhancing slow learners' achievement in geometry. There was no significant difference in gender performance of the slow learners taught Geometry using PeerTutoring. Based on the findings it was recommended among others that secondary school teachers should be trained on the effective use of Peer-Tutoring in order to enhance the students' performance in JSS Geometry.


This paper describes few issues related to TFTLCD display color rendition and characterization. The paper points out specific aspects of color rendition on TFTLCD devices that differentiate the traditional CRT self luminous devices from the TFTLCD transmissive devices. Two TFTLCD technologies are discussed, TN (Twisted Nematic) and IPS (In Plane Switching) with and without dual domain improvement. The paper discusses specific aspects of color rendering for TN and IPS technologies, the display primaries, color gamut and brightness, the transfer function, the white point, some viewing angle issues and the color model. The paper explains why the TFTLCD displays offer perceptually a larger gamut than the CRT displays, even if chromatically their gamut triangle is smaller in the CIE chromaticity diagram than the one of a typical CRT. The paper also explains the hue shift effect of the primaries with the input voltage and the effect of luminance variation with the viewing angle, both encountered in some TN TFTLCD displays. The paper confirms that despite their advantages due to high brightness, high contrast, high sharpness, virtually no geometric image distortion, in terms of color capability, with few exceptions, TFTLCD devices have not yet surpassed the CRT devices with larger chromatic gamut and no color variation with the viewing angle.


Since the 1960s, the concept of health has changed from a treatment orientation to that of being prevention-focused. This change in philosophy, together with escalating costs of health care, has stimulated both individuals and their employers to look at ways to improve wellness. Particularly in the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of business organizations that have developed programs which stress health promotion. Many of these programs now include a nutrition component. Nutrition awareness is central to health attainment and maintenance since, while good nutrition does not in itself guarantee good health, certainly the latter can't be achieved without the former. Good nutrition is necessary for both physical and mental health, as well as optimum productivity, so important in the work situation. Proper nutrition aids in stress management as well as the prevention and/or treatment of many disorders, including obesity, cardiovascular disease and strokes, and diabetes. Weight control is especially important since obesity is associated with many chronic health problems as well as prenatal hazards. Moreover, the problem of overweight is very common in American society, affecting 25% to 40% of adults over 30 years of age. In view of these considerations, it is not surprising that weight control tends to be the nutrition-related issue most likely to be addressed in worksite pro-


An application deployment model for enterprise applications enables such applications to be deployed to and executed from a globally distributed computing platform, such as an edge server in an Internet content delivery network (CDN). In a representative embodiment, a CDN edge server supports application server code that executes a Web tier and/or Enterprise tier component of a given Java-based application. When multiple instances of the application server code are executed, given resources (e.g., memory, CPU, disk and network I/O) are monitored, and the application server instances are terminated or rate-limited to prevent over-utilization by any particular instance. In addition, a given application running in a given application server instance is restricted from taking certain actions, e.g., reading or writing from a file system, so that it cannot interfere with or access data from another customer's application.


Based on the provisions of corporate social responsibility and taking into account the specifics of Russian mining enterprises, the authors attempt to understand theoretically the corporate social and environmental responsibility in this paper. The study shows that the essence of the principles of socially responsible behavior has ancient roots, while the consumer's attitude towards nature begins only in the era of modern times. The genesis, evolution and transformation of social responsibility in Western countries in the twentieth century are traced. The necessity of taking into account the national social and cultural specifics of the domestic economy is substantiated instead of blind copying of foreign management practices. The difference in the formation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) abroad and in Russia is shown. The list of facts and factors contributing to the formation of CSR in Russian realities is given. With regard to the coal industry enterprises inconsistencies have been identified. Their overcoming will allow the enterprises formulating strategies for corporate social and environmental responsibility. The advantages of social and environmental responsibility in comparison with the legal one are presented. In conclusion, the authors summed up the theoretical interpretation of the object claimed in the introduction.


Both unipolar depression (UD) and bipolar depression (BD) have obvious depression symptoms. Clinically, UD and BD are often misdiagnosed. Recently, MR imaging (MRI) has been used to detect biomarkers distinguishing BD and UD. This study will summarize previous studies on detecting biomarkers to distinguish BD and UD based on structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional MRI. Based on the current issues of previous studies, we further make prospective development of future studies in this field.

Key words:
Unipolar disorder; Bipolar disorder; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Diffusion tensor imaging; Structural magnetic resonance imaging


This study seeks to understand what helps a high-tech cluster emerge. Specifically, it investigates the role of planning in nurturing collaborations and communications, which have been critical in building the San Diego bio-cluster. Because of the characteristics of the research question, it adopts an interpretive approach, one of qualitative research methods, which allows us to capture the development process of the regional bio-cluster. This study argues that the emergence of San Diego"s bio-cluster was not an "accident", but it is the result of elaborated collaborations among community leaders, urban planners, entrepreneurs, and others, particularly around their planning process. Urban planning acted as a platform to maximize long-term and social utility, instead of short-term and individual benefit. "Planning," not "plan," over two decades, was instrumental in developing the bio-cluster in San Diego. To generalize the role of planning in building high-tech clusters, more studies are necessary. The findings of this research do not provide general lessons to regions and nations. However, this study can deliver novel insights and implications to city leaders, planners, and practitioners in leveraging planning to foster economic vitality.


A total of 250 laying hens were fed a diet containing 0, 1, 2.5 or 5% conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and 5% Safflower seed oil (SSO) for 5 weeks, and eggs were collected by week to analyse lipid characteristics of egg yolk. Egg yolk from CLA-fed groups showed significant increase in CLA content with increased CLA in the diet. Dietary CLA also increased the ratio of saturated fatty acids and decreased unsaturated fatty acids in the egg yolk. The proportion of myristic, palmitic, stearic and CLA were increased, while those of oleic, linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic acid were decreased. The cholesterol content in egg yolk was significantly decreased by dietary CLA for 5 weeks feeding. After 7 days of feeding, 5% CLA-fed group showed the lowest cholesterol content in egg yolk. CLA- fed groups showed significantly lower 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) values compared to control and SSO-fed group after 14 days of storage. No significant differences in TBARS values among CLA-fed groups were observed at the 28 days of storage. Results suggested that lipid oxidation of egg yolk during cold storage could be inhibited by dietary CLA due not only to changes in fatty acid composition but also to the high concentration of CLA in egg yolk. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2003. Vol 16, No. 8 : 1165-1170)


A Pedal operated sorghum dehuller for dehulling tempered grain was developed and tested for its performance using two sorghum varieties (Dionje and Jumbo). The use of short tempering duration (10 – 15 minutes) followed by a short resting period (5 – 10 Minutes) to ensured that all the tempering moisture was absorbed into the grain before the grain was introduced into the dehuller thus eliminating the clogging problem usually associated with conventional abrasive dehullers. This facilitated the removal of the seed coat from the endosperm. The obtained results showed that the developed dehuller was able to achieve high dehulling efficiency (90.1% for Jumbo and 83.4 for Dionje) and high recovery levels compared to conventional abrasive dehullers (45.6 for Jumbo and 40.3% for Dionje). The quality of the dehulled grain was also much higher as indicated by the low ash content, low crude fibre content and superior colour of the flour obtained from the grain dehulled in the developed dehuller compared to flour from grain dehulled using conventional abrasive dehullers. These results demonstrate that it is possible to achieve high quality dehulled sorghum product and high dehulling efficiency by incorporating simple and cheap traditional pretreatments in the mechanical dehulling process. Accordingly, the developed pedal operated dehuller could be very appropriate for small scale sorghum farmers and consumers in the rural areas where spare parts, electrical power and competent technicians to run and maintain the conventional abrasive dehullers are limited. Key Words : Sorghum, grain tempering, dehuller, dehulling efficiency


The invention discloses an electro-optical phase modulator, which comprises an electro-optical phase modulating crystal, a power extraction unit, a modulating power detection unit, a coherent power detection unit, a feedback signal generating unit, an electro-optical phase modulating crystal parallel resonant circuit, a main controller unit and an electro-optical phase modulator shielding shell, wherein the power extraction unit is used for extracting the power and a driving signal of an input modulating signal and the power of a coherent signal of a phase modulator reflected signal; the modulating power detection unit is used for converting the power of the extracted modulating signal into a voltage value; the coherent power detection unit is used for converting the extracted power of the coherent signal into a voltage value; the feedback signal generating unit is used of providing a feedback signal according to signals output by the modulating power detection unit and the coherent power detection unit; the main controller unit is used for acquiring and judging the feedback signal provided by the feedback signal generating unit, controlling the inductance value of the parallel resonant circuit according to a judgment result and automatically changing the resonant frequency point of the phase modulator till the resonant frequency point is matched with a modulating signal frequency; the resonant frequency of the phase modulator is always matched with a modulating signal frequency value output by a modulating power supply; and the electro-optical phase modulator shielding shell is used for protecting each component inside the electro-optical phase modulator and isolating external electromagnetic interference signals.


Patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) develop a profound cytokine‐mediated pro‐inflammatory response. This study reports outcomes in 10 patients with COVID‐19 supported on veno‐venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV‐ECMO) who were selected for the emergency use of a hemoadsorption column integrated in the ECMO circuit.


The optimisation by Genetic Algorithm (GA) of a non-linear autopilot for ship course changing is studied in this paper. The theory of the optimisation technique is presented from its basis in Darwinian evolution to the development of the form of optimisation algorithm used in the application. This application involves a Sliding Mode (SM) controller for use as a course changing autopilot for a scale model of a supply ship. The GA optimised simulation results are presented and post-optimisation evaluation is carried out through further simulations and trials in a model ship testing tank. From the evaluation of the optimised autopilot the GA and SM control law are shown to be effective design methodologies for control implementation.


ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Biology Open, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Kerry Roby is first author on ' Loss of p19Arf Promotes Fibroblast Survival During Leucine Deprivation', published in BiO. Kerry conducted the research described in this article while a postgraduate student in Sandra Ryeom's lab at the Perlman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He is now a Postdoc in the lab of Joseph McCarty at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, investigating the 'normal' cell populations of the tumor microenvironment, and how their manipulation promotes tumorigenesis.


Taxes are one of the largest sources of state revenue, so the state is vying to optimize its tax revenues. However, there are some companies that make tax avoidance schemes and tax planning aggressively so that the state loses. Google Tax is a tax avoidance method with Double Irish and Dutch Sandwich schemes. Indonesia and India are equally disadvantaged by Google in terms of Taxes, but India has stepped forward with the regime or law that has been made equalization levy. This study aims to provide an understanding of the formulation of the Google Tax regime in India and Indonesia. Policy Making Theory is used to analyze the comparison of policies in India and Indonesia when overcoming Google Tax. This study uses a descriptive-comparative method to explain how the comparison of Google Tax policy planning in India and Indonesia based on the Political will of the policy makers in each country. The result of this research is that there are similarities and differences of political will which is owned by the decision makers of the two countries, where the intention in building the infrastructure, but in Indonesia is hindered by bureaucracy complex.


We consider the sequential change detection problem for Markovian processes. Adopting a Lorden-like criterion where expected delays are replaced with detection probabilities we end up with a well defined constrained optimization problem which is possible to solve, exactly, in the Markovian case. The optimum scheme turns out to be a modified version of the Shewhart test (known to be optimum in the i.i.d. case) that involves two unknown functions. These functions can be identified by solving a system of two equation which is the result of applying optimal stopping theory and the need for the optimum scheme to be an equalizer rule.


The process of sulphation of potato starch with a deep eutectic solvent, a mixture of sulfamic acid: urea, was optimized. The influence of varying factors was established - the ratio of sulfamic acid: urea (SAA: U), the ratio of starch: sulfating complex (St: SC) and the duration of the process on the sulfur content (wt.%) in the obtained starch sulfate. The data of analysis of variance for the obtained mathematical models indicate good prognostic properties. The optimal conditions for starch sulfation, which provide water-soluble sulfated starch with a high (up to 11.2% wt.) sulfur content, have been established. The optimal conditions for the process of sulfation of potato starch are the ratio SAA: U 1: 2.0-1: 2.2, the ratio St: SC 1: 3.5-1: 4.0 and the duration of the process is 118-120 minutes.


I surveyed current and former Harry Potter fans' thoughts on recent tweets by author J. K. Rowling. Results show that fans have strong opinions of Rowling's tweets and Rowling herself, but mixed feelings about the Harry Potter franchise.


Economic development and man's development are closely interrelated. Market economy itself requires that man play the role of economic subject. The growth and development of man as the social subject is not automatic or guaranteed by government, but a process of self awareness. The consciousness of man as the social subject must be strengthened, such as independence, freedom, equality, advancement and ability, so that his right as the social subject can be actively performed in the social life.


The baserate of violence among male and female psychiatric patients is comparable and ranges between 8 45%. Civil commitment legislation in most of North America includes a requirement that the individual poses a degree of risk to others. However, there is a dearth of research evaluating the validity of risk assessment measures with civil psychiatric populations and particularly with women. The current study evaluated the predictive utility of three risk assessment schemes in a sample of 279 male and female civil psychiatric patients involuntarily committed to a large provincial psychiatric hospital. The HCR-20, Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV), and McNiel and Binder's Screening Tool were evaluated using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses and survival analyses. Consistent with previous research, the baserate of inpatient violence by men and women was nearly identical; however, men were significantly more likely to be violent following community discharge. Unexpectedly, the measures evidenced moderate to strong associations with many forms of violence by women, particularly in the inpatient setting. However, none of the measures demonstrated a strong relationship with physical violence by women during hospitalization or following discharge. The results of this study provide preliminary evidence for the use of the HCR-20 and PCL:SV to assess risk of inpatient and outpatient violence in civil psychiatric populations of men and women; however, it is concluded that there is a need to examine the possibility of developing measures composed of variables that are relevant specifically to the potential for violent behaviour in women. Acknowledgments My sincerest thanks to Jim Ogloff for his patient guidance and thoughtful approach to supervision. I would also like to thank Chris Webster for his insightful comments and Don Read for his ongoing support. I am grateful to everyone involved in this project. In particular, I wish to note Kevin Douglas, a good friend and colleague. I would also like to acknowledge Lindsey Jack, Grant Burt, Sharon Agar, Rebecca Dempster, Lynne Sullivan, Karen Whitternore, and Maureen Olley. I want to note the love and support of my family, Samara, Darren, Sherry and my parents. A final thank you to the staff at Riverview hospital clinical records. Table of


The process of legalization and legitimization of discrimination of
 foreigners who are trying to reach some of the EU countries without
 appropriate permissions is the major topic of this text. It is shown how a
 legal and administrative qualification of a type of movement transforms into
 a social qualification of people who are undertaking that type of movement.
 To put it differently, the process of metaphoric transformations of the
 illegal movement to the illegal people is represented here. Once being done,
 these transformations allow further proliferation of 'the illegal people' to
 'criminals' or 'victims', but they also can lead to the denial of all or some
 human characteristics to the people in question - dehumanization. When
 dehumanization is accepted at the level of representations, it begins to
 serve as the excuse for and justification of the aggressive practices towards
 the dehumanized people. This circular phenomenon of dehumanization is
 manifested systematically: it can be identified in the laws, the work of some
 state or international institutions, in everyday's communication between the
 migrants and the people they meet. In the beginning of this text the
 migrations through the territory of Serbia and its asylum system have been
 presented. This is followed by the discussion of the dehumanization and the
 legislature and the legislative practices that support it. In the concluding
 part of the text dehumanization is presented as a linguistic, metaphoric,
 pragmatic and discursive phenomenon. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike
 Srbije: Multietnicitet, multikulturalnost, migracije - savremeni procesi]


A method for improving the reliability of a fuel cell system in the event of a Endzellenheizerausfalls in a fuel cell stack. The method comprises that it is detected that an end cell has failed. When a Endzellenheizerausfall is detected, then the method performs one or more of adjusting a cooling fluid pump to a predetermined speed, which drives a cooling fluid through cooling fluid flow channels in the fuel cell stack, limiting the output power of the fuel cell stack or the net power of the fuel cell system, limiting the maximum temperature of from stack to remove flowing cooling fluid, shutting down stack flooding prevention algorithms that can be used to water of reactant gas flow in the stack, and disconnection of Kathodenstochiometrieeinstellungen for controlling the relative humidity in response to in cathode flow channels in the fuel cell stack ansammelndem water.


We study circular synthetic aperture radar (CSAR) systems collecting radar backscatter measurements over a complete circular aperture of 360 degrees. This study is motivated by the GOTCHA CSAR data collection experiment conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Circular SAR provides wide-angle information about the anisotropic reflectivity of the scattering centers in the scene, and also provides three dimensional information about the location of the scattering centers due to a non planar collection geometry. Three dimensional imaging results with single pass circular SAR data reveals that the 3D resolution of the system is poor due to the limited persistence of the reflectors in the scene. We present results on polarimetric processing of CSAR data and illustrate reasoning of three dimensional shape from multi-view layover using prior information about target scattering mechanisms. Next, we discuss processing of multipass (CSAR) data and present volumetric imaging results with IFSAR and three dimensional backprojection techniques on the GOTCHA data set. We observe that the volumetric imaging with GOTCHA data is degraded by aliasing and high sidelobes due to nonlinear flightpaths and sparse and unequal sampling in elevation. We conclude with a model based technique that resolves target features and enhances the volumetric imagery by extrapolating the phase history data using the estimated model.


Arbitrarily-oriented object detection is a challenging task. Since the object orientation in remote sensing images is arbitrary, using horizontal bounding boxes will lead to low detection accuracy. Existing regression-based rotation detectors can lead to the problem of boundary discontinuity. In this paper, we propose a remote sensing image object detection method based on angle classification that uses rotation detection bounding boxes with angle information to detect objects. Specifically, we incorporate the neural architecture search framework with feature pyramid network (NAS-FPN) module in a dense detector (RetinaNet) and use a binary encoding method in angle classification. This method reduces the background influence, so that there is almost no overlap between detection boxes. Based on the angles of the detection boxes, we can infer the information of the motion direction of the target and further determine the motion trajectory of the target. We conducted ablation experiments on a large publicly available for object detection in an aerial imagery (DOTA) to verify the effectiveness of each module in the method and compared the method with several other detection methods. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.


An X-band dielectric-based wakefield power extractor is under development to provide high power rf for Two Beam Acceleration. A low surface electric field to gradient ratio and low fabrication cost are two main advantages of the dielectric-loaded accelerating /decelerating structure. We designed a 12 GHz dielectricbased power extractor which has a similar performance to the CLIC PETS, with 23 mm beam channel, 240 ns pulse duration, and 135 MW output per structure using the CLIC drive beam. In order to study potential rf breakdown issues, as a first step we built a 11.424 GHz dielectric-based power extractor scaled from the 12 GHz version. A high power rf test will be conducted using the SLAC 11.424 GHz high power rf source. The structure has been conditioned up to ~40 MW rf power without the observation of destructive breakdown. Meanwhile, the 12 GHz fully featured dielectric power extractor has been finished as well. MOTIVATION


Haemorrhagic cystitis caused by BK virus (BKV) is a known complication of allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and is relatively common following HLA‐haploidentical transplantation. Adoptive immunotransfer of virus‐specific T cells from the donor is a promising therapeutic approach, although production of these cells is challenging, particularly when dealing with low‐frequency T cells such as BKV‐specific T cells.


Having reflected on the author's 20 years of experience as a member, and even chairman, of many Shariah boards around the globe, this book offers a pioneering and insightful look at the inner workings of 'Shariah minds', including how Shariah scholars respond to innovation and how they deal with bottleneck issues within a contemporary regulatory framework. This book enlightens and inspires all the stakeholders in Islamic finance, including Shariah scholars and other professionals in Islamic finance, as well as junior scholars aiming to become Shariah scholars and even ordinary persons on the street, about the importance of attaining knowledge of real experience and practice. Undoubtedly, this book is highly recommended for all stakeholders in Islamic finance.


An insight into ethnographic and folklore material on Croatian carnival customs leads to the conclusion that attention was seldom paid to the criteria for choosing carriers of transgressive disguising and performance. The author attempts to illuminate this issue in a case study conducted in Bol on the island of BraC, where the leading character is Tonci Kukoc Bager, a man perceived by his fellow townsmen as a person with exceptional inclination for ludicrous performances. In so doing, she does not analyze the personality of Bager as someone owing great presentational skills; she discusses the figure of Bager, as it is determined by relationships within the community and by the group's necessity for a figure which would occasionally question the border between social order and disorder using grotesque disguise. In the well known narratives about Bager 's "otherness" the author recognizes the means of his exotization within the local community. She analyses the moments which Bager chooses for his performances, and concludes that Bager's carnivalesque transgressions are not carried out only in the frame of Carnival customs; the comic events in Bol gain their legitimacy by Bager's performative presence, which sometimes also turns serious segments into parody. Furthermore, the author presents most common Bager's roles and ways of transformation, with a special emphasis on the gender reversal roles. She shows the construction ofBager into a trademark of Bol, as it is presented in the media discourse. Finally, the author concludes that Bager is needed in the community as much as he needs its members to be his audience; for the people of Bol his performances are a welcome periodical break from the everyday life, a whit of disorder placed within the local "normality".


Uneasy times such as the present are distinguished by the extreme indeterminacy and fuzziness of the language they use. But as a rule this is veiled over, not unsuccessfully, if often unconsciously and with self-deception. The concrete examples or "figures" of linguistic expression are quite diverse: they include the reduction of the conceptual structures of language to purely verbal constructions and schemata, the uncommonly frequent use (repetition) of certain words and expressions, which creates the illusion that they are clear and well defined, and much, much else.


Chaotic spatiotemporal patterns can have highly ordered time averages. This fact is demonstrated for Faraday waves by averaging shadowgraph images. The averages exhibit box quantization effects, and their spatial form is similar to that predicted for patterns near onset, despite the large fluctuations. Patches of the disordered instantaneous patterns retain significant phase coherence with the ordered averages.