........................................................................................................................................... ii DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................... xvi PART ONE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.


significant literature on 'born-global' firms, centred on articles by Benjamin M. Oviatt and Patricia P. McDougall, several of which are in the information technology sector, in outsourcing activities. In his conclusions, Toral suggests that a similar study could be done in relation to Portuguese investments in Brazil and mentions linguistic, cultural and institutional similarities. He is partly right, but the institutional voids certainly found in Brazil are not a characteristic of the Portuguese environment.


Metal–organic frameworks (MOF) have attracted much attention as new platform for designing highly functional catalysts owing to their inherent structure designability in addition to high specific surface areas and ordered porous structures [1-3]. In this regard, our group has developed a MOF photocatalyst that behave as a visible-light photoredox catalyst (denoted as Zr-MOF-TCPP) by incorporating a photofunctional organic ligand, tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP), into the MOF framework [4]. However, particle size control is still required to further improve its photocatalytic activity in terms of light utilization efficiency and substance diffusion in the pores. As a continuous research, a size controllable synthesis method for Zr-MOF-TCPP has been developed by using inorganic salts as modulators. The resultant Zr-MOF-TCPPs have been applied to oxidative hydroxylation of arylboronic acids as a heterogeneous photoredox catalyst, and the influence of particle sizes on catalytic activity has been investigated. A series of size-controlled Zr-MOF-TCPPs were solvothermally synthesized by using ZrCl4∙6H2O, TCPP, and various inorganic salts as modulators. The successful formation of 3dimensional porous framework structure was confirmed by XRD and N2 adsorption– desorption measurements. The results of FESEM observations demonstrated clearly that the addition of inorganic salts to precursor solutions led to the decrease in the particle sizes of synthesized MOFs. The size reducing effect was observed most especially when Li2CO3 was used as modulator, resulting in the formation of fine particles of 56 nm size. Suppressing crystal growth of MOFs by the ionic species generated via electrolytic dissociation of the inorganic salt in the solvent as capping agents would be responsible for such a controlling of particle sizes. Oxidative hydroxylation of phenylboronic acid was performed in the presence of triethylamine (TEA) under green LED light irradiation (λ = 523 nm). Highly selective conversions of phenylboronic acid to phenol were achieved by using Zr-MOF-TCPPs as heterogeneous photoredox catalysts. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 1, the photocatalytic activity of Zr-MOF-TCPPs improved with decreasing the particle sizes. This finding would be explained by the increasing number of active sites where the reaction substrates can approach easily. On the other hand, the mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction was investigated by laser flash photolysis. The resultant data indicated that the photo-excited TCPP incorporated within the MOF framework is subject to reductive quenching by TEA and subsequently reacts with O2 to give active O2 •species during the reaction.


In cancer cells metabolic changes and mitochondrial morphology are coupled. It is known that the cytoskeleton and molecular motors are directly involved in regulating mitochondrial morphology. Here we show that myosin-Va, an actin-based molecular motor, is required for the malignant properties of melanoma cells and localizes to mitochondria in these cells. Knockdown of myosin-Va increases cellular respiration rates and ROS production and decreases glucose uptake and lactate secretion. In addition, knockdown of myosin-Va results in reduced mitochondrial fission and correspondingly elongated mitochondria. We show that myosin-Va interacts with the mitochondrial outer membrane protein Spire1C, an actin-regulatory protein implicated in mitochondrial fission, and that Spire1C recruits myosin-Va to mitochondria. Finally, we show that during mitochondrial fission myosin-Va localization to mitochondria increases, and that myosin-Va localizes to mitochondrial fission sites immediately adjacent to Drp1 punctae. We conclude that myosin-Va facilitates mitochondrial fission. These data implicate myosin-Va as a target for the Warburg effect in melanoma cells.


The gain coefficient of Nd glass used in amplifiers for fusion lasers affects the staging and over-all performance. Significant improvements are possible by the development of improved glass compositions. We have evaluated a large number of new glasses for amplifier applications. Predictions of gain coefficient are based upon measurements of absorption and fluorescence spectra and decay properties combined with computer calculations of flashlamp pumping. The results for several silicate and phosphate glasses are in good agreement with the actual performance in a laser cavity. Since the information required for this evaluation can be obtained from small samples of the laser material, this considerably simplifies the comparison and selection of Nd glass for use in large laser amplifiers.


BACKGROUND: Pathogen reduction methods have the potential to modify blood components, resulting in immunologic reactions or compromised blood components. This study evaluated the hypothesis that there is no immune response to riboflavin‐and‐ultraviolet [UV]‐light–treated red blood cells (RBCs), as observed by serology and by survival of RBCs in circulation.


As the development of knowledge economic , human resource has been the core of the world economic .So searching the reasonable evaluating and managing methods becomes one of the hot issues which have been concerned by people . Traditional evaluating methods of human resource are simple and direct , but they greatly depend on people's subjective judgement and experience . In order to overcome the default , this paper puts forward the method of synthetically evaluation on rough sets, which takes advantage of the rough sets theory, the concept of information entropy and relative analysis to filter the original indexes, then to standardize the importance degree of every index and get the weight of every index. Synthetically valuation model and corresponding arithmetic are summed up. Finally the sample illuminates the validity and feasibility of this method.


Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are one of the major advances in cancer treatment. ICIs have shown significant benefit in treating several types of cancer. Currently there are 6 ICIs available in the United States and multiple ICIs in the pipeline. Immune checkpoint signaling leads to immune tolerance of cancer cells through downregulation of T-cell activation. The reversal in tumor-tolerance and self-tolerance effected by ICIs likely drives both T-cell–mediated toxicity and immune-related adverse effects (irAEs); however, the exact mechanism remains not completely understood. Pulmonary irAEs are among the most feared high-grade irAEs leading to discontinuation of ICIs and, not uncommonly, treatment-related death. Because of the high degree of morbidity and mortality associated with pulmonary irAEs and the exponential growth of ICI use, clinicians must increasingly be facile in diagnosing and managing these irAEs.


A clever method for finding second-order kinetic rate constants by using a time lag method that avoids direct measurement of the end point reading P(infinity) can easily be programmed.


Developing students' active learning is an important step of personnel training for vocational education.However,now the students are not interested in their major,not clear about their occupational planning,and weak in learning will,etc.in addition,the tourism employees are sometimes considered as the service personal.The vocational education should motivate students to learn actively and train qualified tourism personnel for the society by increasing introduction to the major of tourism management and reforming pro-fessional teaching plan,guide the students to make occupational planning,and create better learning environment.


Diclofenac (DCF) is one of the most generally utilized non-steroidal antiin lammatory therapies during the world for different diseases curing in post pubertal ladies. Be that as it may, constrained data is accessible with respect to its security during pregnancy and teratogenicity. The present study was done to investigate the histopathological impact of diclofenac potassium (DP) on some vital maternal and fetal tissues, placenta and liver during two different periods of gestation. In this study 30 pregnant rats have been used and divided into 3 groups (ten for each one); group 1 (control), group 2 treated with 15.4 mg/kg of diclofenac potassium during organogenesis period, and group 3 subjected during fetal developmental period with the same dosage. At the 20 gestation day the rats were anesthetized and dissected, histopathological studies on placenta, maternal liver, and fetal liver have been done. Our results revealedmoderate to severe histopathological alternations in all examined tissues like disorganization of tissue architecture, vacuolation, lymphatic in iltration, apoptosis and more changes. There is a harmful effect of the DP on the placenta tissue and also the liver tissue of the fetus, and on this we recommend that you use the DP with caution during pregnancy at the possible lowest effective dose and for the shortest duration.


This chapter outlines the surgical and medical treatment of breast cancer in females and males, breast cancer screening, benign breast conditions, breast pain and gynaecomastia. It describes the assessment of a breast lump with triple assessment and also how to perform a punch biopsy.


Existing research highlights the role of partnerships between business and non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) in addressing poverty, climate change, disease and other challenges. But less is known about how such partnerships may also challenge our very understanding of the nature of those problems. This paper draws on Habermas' theoretical ideas about communicative action and deliberative democracy, applying them to an ethnographic study of Concern Universal, an international NGO with a particular focus on working collaboratively with business. The focus of the study is the seam between two apparently different 'worlds', along which alternating processes of 'colonisation' and resistance are played out. Partnership emerges as an arena for both instrumental and communicative encounters, in which slow progress is occasionally punctuated by leaps in partners' understanding of both themselves and the challenges they seek to address. As such, despite the evolutionary ambitions of participants, partnership emerges as a potential catalyst of social change.


The UN system produces abundant, easily accessible information about itself and about the world at large. The statistics and databases compiled in the UN system help monitor progress on its goals for global economic and social development. Moreover, the UN contributes to knowledge through its training, education, and research initiatives. Academia remains a key producer of knowledge about the UN, and the introduction of the concept of global governance has stimulated a renewed focus on the organization. Today, electronic and social media are important sources of popular knowledge. Despite 'scandals' and negative publicity, the UN enjoys public support around the world. There seems to be no firm correlation between popular attitudes and knowledge.


In this study, we compared the diagnostic performance of the cancer antigen 125 (CA125), a biomarker that is frequently used in the clinic, both alone and in combination with other biomarkers, for the early detection of ovarian cancer. The serum samples were from Korean women, including 202 patients with benign pelvic masses and 52 ovarian cancer patients. The other markers used in combination with CA125 were M1, M2, M3, and M4, which have previously shown high diagnostic performance. We determined the biomarker levels by using Luminex assay. Logistic regression was used to assess the multivariate model performance by using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The AUC of CA125 in early ovarian cancer was 69.96% and that of the CA125 + M2 combination was 76.61%. From this study, we showed better diagnostic performance by using other markers in combination with CA125 than by using CA125 alone.


Biofuels are seen as an alternative for diesel fuel owing to renewability, biodegradability and generating acceptable quality exhaust gases. The biggest penalty of biofuels is the increase in NOx emissions due to high level oxygen content. In this study, effects of electronically controlled water steam injection to the intake manifold of a single cylinder diesel engine to performance and emissions are investigated by experimentally, in order to control the high NOx emissions originated from biofuels. The biodiesel fuel, which is derived from canola oil by transesterification method, is blended with conventional diesel with mixing ratios of 10% by mass, for engine tests. In the experimental work, which is conducted in full load conditions, performance and emission changes are observed by injection of variable ratios of water steam (10%, 20%, 30%). Experimental results indicates that NOx emissions are decreased up to 22%, while engine torque and power increase up to 2,5% and break specific fuel consumption decrease up to 3%. Besides the progresses in the exhaust emissions and performance, there is an increase in the CO emissions, due to the cooling effect of the injected steam. Key-Words: -Diesel engine, emission reduction, NOx emissions, biodiesel, steam injection


Although a lot of work has been done on the ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) eclogites from the Dabie Shan, eastern China, the role of the fluid phase during eclogite-facies metamorphism is not answered yet. In order to obtain information on the physical-chemical conditions of the fluid phase during UHP metamorphism, we studied fluid inclusions in coesitebearing eclogites from the Bixiling complex in the southern Dabie Shan. These rocks outcrop in an area of about 1 kn'l 2 within foliated quartzofeldspathic gneiss. The boundary between the eclogites and country rock shows tectonic contact relations. The complex mainly consists of eclogites and elongated (1-40m) lenses of garnet peridotite. The field observations suggest that both eclogites and garnet peridotite underwent coesite-eclogite-facies metamorphism. The eclogites from the Bixiling complex typically contain garnet, omphacite, phengite, rutile, quartz, kyanite, with minor zoisite, amphibole, plagioclase, epidote, biotite, zircon and coesite. The peak mineral assemblage for the eclogites is characterized by garnet + omphacite + phengite + futile • kyanite • coesite _+ zoisite +_ zircon. The eclogites underwent a complex metamorphic evolution of at least five metamorphic stages (Xiao et al., 1995): (a) prograde pre-eclogite-facies metamorphism at ~ 27 kb and /> 700 ~ as documented by coesite relics preserved as inclusions in garnet and omphacite; (c) quartz-eclogite-facies metamorphism at 15-20 kb and -800 ~ characterized by coarsegrained garnet + omphacite + kyanite + quartz; (d) a retrograde symplectite stage at 9 -13 kbar and 600-700 ~ represented by various symplectitic replacement assemblages of clinopyroxene, amphibole and plagioclase; and (e) a post-symplectitic stage corresponding to the amphibolite-facies metamorphism. In the coesite-bearing eclogites from Bixiling, fluid inclusions normally are < 20 gm in diameter, rarely up to 40 p.m. Four types of fluid inclusions were distinguished according to textural criteria and fluid compositions: (1) High-salinity brines in quartz blebs in kyanite represent the oldest generation of fluid inclusions. Sometimes they occur also in kyanite itself. They are isolated or randomly distributed inclusions. They are mostly 3-phase (LVShalite) and show rounded or negative crystal morphologies. They have filling degrees of about 80 vol%. These fluid inclusions do not show any phase transition during cooling; on subsequent warming, they show a granular texture between -65 ~ and -75 ~ interpreted as a devitrification phenomenon (metastable non-crystalline to crystalline state) and hides a clear observation of the eutectic point. We asumme that the Te is slightly higher than the devitrification temperature and indicates the presence of Ca 2+ (and/or Mg2+). Rare clathrate melting between 10 and 15 ~ indicates the presence of CO2. (2) High-salinity aqueous inclusions (_+ halite) in omphacite and kyanite occur as tubes that are oriented parallel to the growth zones of the host mineral suggesting primary origin. They probably contain relic metamorphic fluids of the eclogitefacies. Unlike the isolated fluid inclusions in quartz blebs, this type of high-salinity inclusions show clear freezing between 6 0 and 7 0 ~ and display Tm ico between -24~ and -16~ They have eutectic temperatures between 3 0 and -21 ~ indicating a dominantly NaCl-bearing fluid. (3) Carbonic inclusions were found both in omphacite and in matrix quartz. They are monophase at room temperature. They occur isolated and as clusters, and have rounded or negative crystal shapes. The CO2 inclusions in omphacite display final Tmco2 around -58.5~ and Th (to liquid) between -31 and


We examine the effect of large extra dimensions on black hole seeded vacuum decay using the Randall-Sundrum model as a prototype for warped extra dimensions. We model the braneworld black hole by a tidal solution and solve the Higgs equations of motion for the instanton on the brane. Remarkably, the action of the static instanton can be shown to be the difference in the bulk areas of the seed and remnant black holes, and we estimate these areas assuming the black holes are small compared to the bulk anti–de Sitter radius. Comparing to the Hawking evaporation rate shows that small black hole seeds preferentially catalyze vacuum decay, thus extending our previous results to higher-dimensional braneworld scenarios. The parameter ranges do not allow for standard model Higgs decay from collider black holes, but they can be relevant for cosmic ray collisions.


The α‐lactalbumins form stable molten globule states under a range of conditions, with the low pH form being the best characterized. The stability of the molten globule varies among different members of this family, but the origin of the stability difference is not clear. We compare the folding and stability of α‐subdomain constructs of human and bovine α‐lactalbumin. Previous studies have demonstrated that the isolated α‐subdomain of human α‐lactalbumin folds and forms a molten globule state. The minimum core construct has been defined to include the A, B, and D α‐helices and the C‐terminal 310 helix. A construct corresponding to the same region of bovine α‐lactalbumin is much less structured and less stable than the human α‐lactalbumin construct. Addition of the C‐helix to generate a 75‐residue bovine construct does not lead to a significant increase in structure or stability. This construct (AB‐CD/310) contains the entire α‐subdomain of bovine α‐lactalbumin. Thus molten globule formation in the human protein, but not in the bovine protein, can be rationalized on the basis of a stable α‐subdomain. Interactions involving more of the protein chain are required to generate a well structured molten globule in the bovine protein. Comparison of AB‐CD/310 to the molten globule formed by the intact protein and to the protein with the 6–120 disulfide reduced indicates that both the β‐subdomain and the 6–120 disulfide play a role in stabilizing the bovine α‐lactalbumin molten globule.


SummaryThe flowering period of male and female pistachio trees rarely coincides in the eastern Mediterranean islands of Rhodes and Kos. The late blooming of the female trees is probably due to lack of sufficient winter chilling. Spraying female trees with mineral oil-DNOC during their rest period advanced their blooming date by about 3 weeks, sufficient to overlap that of both cultivated and wild male pistachio trees, and led to an economic increase in fruit set.


In applications that combine musical sounds with visual colors, it is relevant to define rules that may relate color dimensions to the pitch and timbre of sounds. In a first attempt toward defining such rules, this investigation examined effects of processing audio signals through equivalent color matching filters. Using Butterworth bandpass filters, a three filter bank (f1, f2, f3) was designed to approximate the response of filters used in the CIE 1931 Standard Observer [G. Wyszecki and W. S. Stile, Color Science (1982)]. The bandwidths of the color‐matching filters were transposed to the audible frequency range (0.02–20.0 kHz); the filter passbands were 0.05–0.6 kHz and 9.0–11.0 kHz for f1, 1.0–4.0 kHz for f2, and 9.0–11.0 kHz for f3; the passband gains were 1.15, 0.35, 1.0, and 1.75, respectively. Synthesized audio signal were passed through the filter bank and the power, P, at the filter outputs was computed. The P values were used to specify the X and Y coordinates of CIE chromaticity diagrams as fo...


In multi-cellular organisms, cells adhere to each other in an orderly manner and form an established individual. Selectivity of cell contact has been considered to provide informations on the mechanism of development and differentiation. The loss of the contact inhibition (1) in tumor cells induced by changes in their cell surface (2) is one of the major problems to be explored. Sponges and sea urchins have been frequently used in studying the mechanisms of cell adhesion (3-4). Dissociated cells of these organisms reaggregate species-specifically under proper conditions and the architecture of the organisms can be reconstituted. When placed in calciumand magnesiumfree artificial sea water and kept at 5°, however, dissociated cells do not reaggregate. While studying the hemagglutination activities for human red blood cells detected in the culture fluids of some actinomycetes (5), we have noticed that some of these samples strongly aggregate dissociated sponge and sea urchin cells under the conditions in which reaggregation of the cells is inhibited. Embryos of the sea urchin, Anthocidaris crassispina, were collected at the blastula stage immediately after their hatching, washed three times with calciumand magnesium-free artificial sea water (CMF-SW), incubated for 1 hr (3 ml of packed embryos/500 ml of CMF-SW), and left to stand. Then single cell suspension was obtained from the upper layer of the incubated mixture. Sponge, Helichondria japonica, was broken to pieces by hand, soaked in CMF-SW for 30 min, squeezed through a 4-layered fine cloth, and centrifuged. The precipitate was suspended in CMF-SW (3 ml of packed volume/ 500 ml of CMF-SW), left to stand, and single cell suspension was prepared


The need for a common language for discussing cracking, rutting, spalling, and other types of pavement distress is noted, and attention is focused on a Strategic Highway Research Program report, 'Distress Identification Manual for the Long-Term Pavement Performance Research Studies. The manual includes descriptions and photographs of 46 types of distress grouped by pavement type: asphalt concrete surfaced, jointed portland cement concrete, and continuously reinforced portland cement concrete. The manual helps inspection crews precisely report on pavement condition. Highway agencies that adopt the terminology used in the distress identification manual will benefit from improved communications.


Controlling the speed of the permanent magnet synchronous machines plays an essential role in the industrial process and keeps the permanent magnet synchronous machines running quickly and efficiently. Even if the load changes, the rate speed of the permanent magnet synchronous machines should be adjusted to a constant speed. An excellent permanent magnet synchronous machines speed control system must respond quickly and accurately. However, in practice, rarely find a permanent magnet synchronous machines controlled to achieve a certain speed. This research presents an analysis of fuzzy logic control using seven membership functions for speed control of permanent magnet synchronous machines. Rotor speed control is performed on the rotor voltage by changing the duty cycle value. This voltage change affects the torque of the engine. Adjust the speed by changing the input voltage of the permanent magnet synchronous machines with the six-steps inverter. In the open-loop test (without control), the system cannot reach the desired setting and will only run after input from the throttle. In a closed loop (using fuzzy logic control), the system can achieve the desired setting in 90 seconds even if the setpoint is changed and can move to the setpoint.


Measured admittance of an X -band waveguide radiating into dielectric and plasma layers is compared with variationally computed admittance figures. The waveguide admittance measurements for polystyrene sheets of varying thicknesses compared closely with calculations. The admittance is computed first by assuming the principal waveguide mode, and second by using a superposition of sine and shifted cosine waves as trial functions for aperture fields. Although the aperture fields are shown to differ significantly in the two cases, the computed admittance data are nearly the same because of the stationary character of the admittance expression. The admittance measurements for plasma layers are made during the diffusion controlled afterglow of a pulsed discharge contained in a bell-shaped vessel. Thin Teflon sheets are used to confine the plasma layers to an approximate size of 5 \times 5 \times \frac{3}{4} inches. The electron density of the plasma profile is measured by Langmuir probes at various times during the afterglow. The plasma density was measured over approximately 70 percent of the thickness of the plasma layers, and was found to be nearly constant in this range which excluded regions near the boundary. Numerical solutions of the equations for ambipolar diffusion during the afterglow in a rectangular geometry show that the lateral plasma density variations are negligible in the vicinity of the waveguide. The measured admittance and plasma density data are shown to agree with calculations made for homogeneous plasma layers, if a correction is made for elevated ion temperatures for times of approximately 10 to 20 \mu s following the discharge. Several computational models consider plasma stratifications near the boundary of the plasma layer but they do not improve the agreement between measurement and calculations.


Photograph of uniformed U.S. soldier George Thalman sitting on a helmet on a field of dirt. He is writing on a piece of paper that he's holding in his lap while glancing at the camera. Bags sit before him. Several soldiers and a line of army vehicles are visible behind Thalman.


Anyone paying attention to public opinion polls in Japan or the cascade of damning revelations about the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis might assume the nation is pulling the plug on nuclear energy. That is not the case. Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko is eager to restart some of Japan's idled nuclear reactors as soon as possible despite significant safety concerns and he enjoys the powerful support of the so-called 'nuclear village' of pro-nuclear advocates, comprising, utilities, business federations, vendors, politicians, bureaucrats, media, and academics. Currently, only 1 of Japan's 54 reactors is operating, but by early May all will be offline for stress tests introduced by the government in July 2011 to assess operational safety. The government, however, is trying to bring at least two reactors back online before the summer by allowing utilities to postpone critical safety upgrades.


More than fifty years ago, Anneke T. Clason published the first English-language archaeozoological study on Dutch faunal assemblages. Inspired by the anniversary of this landmark publication, this paper presents a status overview of Dutch archaeozoology organized in twelve themes (e.g. rituals, Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, medieval period). The paper also discusses the common methods applied in Dutch archaeozoology, and includes extensive supplementary material that summarizes data from gray literature in Dutch. Our aim is to provide a guide to archaeozoological questions pertaining to the Netherlands and open a window for researchers working outside the Netherlands to the highly active world of Dutch archaeozoology.


The influence of some polymer dispersions on the shear viscosity at low shear rates (up to ca. 1500s-l) and on the viscoelastic properties of clayor CaC0,-based coating colours has been investigated. The dispersions used were intended as either binders or pigments for paper coatings. For the types of dispersions normally used in the paper coating field it was often noted that the polymer particles did not interact to any significant extent with other components of the colour, e.g. the dissolved carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Since the rheological properties of the coating colours studied are to an appreciable degree governed by the interaction between the mineral particles and CMC, an increase in the amount of polymeric dispersion at the expense of the mineral particles lowered the shear viscosity and the storage modulus of the colours. With the systems used, the effect of the reduced interaction on the rheology was more pronounced than that related to the change in packing ability of the solid particles. It is however also clear that a strong interaction between the polymeric particles and the other components and consequently a marked effect on the rheological properties may be obtained by a suitable design of the polymeric particles.


Production optimization of lipase enzyme from Aspergillus oryzae isolate on moldy copra has been conducted. Enzyme isolation is carried out after the fungi is activated and cultured on media containing peptone and olive oil at 370C in temperature and 7,0 in pH during 8 days. Production optimization of lipase enzyme is conducted by varying composition of production media, namely: peptone concentration and olive oil and optimal stirring speed. The study results showed that activity of the highest lipase enzyme is acquired on pepton concentration of 1 %, olive oil concentration of 3 % and the stirring speed is 150 rpm. Of concentration optimization of production media and stirring speed is acquired that there is an increasing activity of the lipase enzyme from 13.222 U/mL to 18888U/mL.


Background: Although recent studies suggest that there is rising proportion of cervical adenocarcinoma in most part of the world, there has been no formal study in our setting. We therefore undertook this review to document and evaluate the pattern in Kano, Northern Nigeria. Patients and Methods: This was a 10 year retrospective study from 2nd January, 2002 to 31st December, 2011 of all non-squamous cell malignancies diagnosed at the pathology department of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria. Where necessary, new sections were made from formalin fixed, paraffin embedded blocks. Results: During the ten year study period, a total of 545 cervical cancers were diagnosed. Of these, 448 (82.2%) were squamous cell carcinomas and 17.8% were non-squamous malignancies. Out of the 97 non-squamous malignancies, adenocarcinoma was by far the most common. 52 (53.6%) were endometrioid type adenocarcinomas, while clear cell and mucinous variants comprised 12 (12.4%) and 6 (6.2%) respectively. Other carcinomas in this series were adenosquamous (10 cases), small cell (6 cases), adenoid cystic {3 cases}, undifferentiated (3 cases) and metastatic (1 case). There was only one sarcoma - a leiomyosarcoma. Patients ranged from 20 to 80 years (mean 48.30 ± SD 12.61 years) with the highest occurence in the 4th–6th decade age group. Conclusion: Non-squamous malignancies of the cervix comprised 17.8% of all invasive cervical cancers in Kano and adenocarcinomas were overwhelmingly preponderant. The study findings were consistent with most published reports in Nigeria and elsewhere. These malignancies were associated with high morbidity and mortality which necessitates data for health planning and policy decisions.


This article argues that the trend towards larger and larger publishing conglomerates is happening in parallel with apparently paradoxical changes in attitudes and approaches towards work and the organization of work. These changes, include for example remote working and the increasingly powerful potential of 'outsourcing'. Looking at a publishing environment now populated mainly by very large and very small companies, the article suggests a symbiotic relationship between these giants and pygmies. It then looks at major characteristics of small publishers and how such companies can exploit the advantages of smallness to survive and succeed. The specific case of IP Publishing Ltd is used to illustrate some options for small publishers, including their opportunity to operate as 'virtual' companies. Finally, the article suggests that small companies can be useful to large corporations as indicators of change.


A sandstorm is one of the extreme weather events causing extensive damage to overhead transmission lines (OTLs). Due to potential postsandstorm insulator flashover, OTLs face high failure probabilities, and implementing in-time maintenance on OTLs is crucial to mitigate postsandstorm losses. Aiming at determining an optimal maintenance sequence of targeted OTLs, this article proposes a decision-dependent stochastic approach for the joint operation and maintenance of OTLs. First, considering the inherent dependency of the uncertain availability of OTLs on maintenance decisions, the multiperiod maintenance process of OTLs is modeled as a stochastic process with decision-dependent uncertainty (DDU). Second, a two-stage stochastic model with DDU is formulated, where the maintenance sequence and unit commitment decisions are made in the first stage and the second stage comprises scenariowise operation. Then, to tackle the coupling relation between decisions and DDU, a unique modeling transformation technique is adopted to convert the established decision-dependent stochastic model into a computationally efficient form. Case studies verify the effectiveness of the proposed method for postsandstorm maintenance scheduling.


Abstract. Since the planetary albedo of Earth above ocean is typically lower than above land surface, increasing sea-level reduces the planetary albedo. This causes a feedback that is very weak on the global scale, but significantly positive. Its amplitude can be assumed to be higher locally and to grow with the considered time scale.


Abstract : President Bush has made closer relations with India a priority. thereby intensifying a process begun by the previous administration. Strengthening U.S.- India ties and cooperation on Asia-Pacific security issues can advance national interests in regional stability by reducing the risk of nuclear war on the subcontinent, The first step in the process is to peel away remaining punitive sanctions against India. Although symbolic of the commitment to nonproliferation, sanctions are manifestly ineffective and counterproductive in South Asia. This applies to Pakistan as well as India. Only India can initiate changes in the regional security atmosphere. The administration should focus on encouraging New Delhi to allow policies of restraint. Improved security relations will create equities that enable Washington to further encourage restraint, Restraint would mean resuming a dialogue with Pakistan on nuclear issues; not deploying nuclear weapons; no further testing; and defining a minimum deterrent that engenders greater stability, that is, does not create incentives for either a first strike or for Pakistan to enhance its deterrent. U.S., policy should link expanded bilateral ties to regular and more substantive military-to-military contacts. China and Pakistan may feel threatened by improved U.S.-India relations, and Pakistan may seek help from China or North Korea. Washington should counter this possibility by reassuring Beijing and also rebuilding badly damaged relations with Islamabad.


The paper presents the main structure features of 100% low-floor tram Combino Plus bogie frame,and analyses the difficulties during bogie frame manufacturing process. The static strength and fatigue strength of bogie frame are checked according to standards such as VDV 152 and DIN EN 13749 etc.


Background and Purpose— The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the effects of body position in patients with large supratentorial stroke. Methods— We performed 43 monitoring sessions in 18 patients with acute complete or subtotal middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory stroke. Intracranial pressure (ICP) was monitored with a parenchymal probe. Mean arterial blood pressure, ICP, and MCA peak mean flow velocity (VmMCA) were continuously recorded. Patients with acute ICP crises were excluded. After baseline values at a 0° supine position were attained, the backrest was elevated in 2 steps of 5 minutes each to 15° and 30° and then returned to 0°. Results— Baseline mean arterial pressure was 90.0±1.6 mm Hg and fell to 82.7±1.7 mm Hg at 15° and 76.1±1.6 mm Hg at 30° backrest elevation (P <0.0001). ICP decreased from 13.0±0.9 to 12.0±0.9 mm Hg at 15° and 11.4±0.9 mm Hg at 30° backrest elevation (P <0.0001). As a result, cerebral perfusion pressure decreased from a baseline value of 77.0±1.8 to 70.0±1.8 mm Hg at 15° and 64.7±1.7 mm Hg at 30° backrest elevation (P <0.0001). VmMCA was already higher on the affected side during baseline measurements. VmMCA decreased from 72.8±11.3 cm/s at 0° to 67.2±9.7 cm/s at 15° and 61.2±8.9 cm/s at 30° on the affected and from 49.9±3.7 cm/s at 0° to 47.7±3.6 cm/s at 15° and 46.2±2.2 cm/s at 30° on the contralateral side (P <0.0001). Conclusions— In patients with large hemispheric stroke without an acute ICP crisis, cerebral perfusion pressure was maximal in the horizontal position although ICP was usually at its highest point. If adequate cerebral perfusion pressure is considered more desirable than the absolute level of ICP, the horizontal position is optimal for these patients.


The germination and tube growth of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) pollen were studied in vitro (in liquid media) and in vivo in pistils of Crocus sativus and Crocus thomasii after intraspecific and interspecific pollinations. In vitro about 20% of the saffron pollen grains germinated, but only about 9% developed a pollen tube. Although 21% of the pollen germinated on the stigmas, most pollen tubes ceased growth in the pistil and only a low percentage (about 6% of germinated grains) reached the ovary, where few of the ovules (about 5%) were penetrated. The defective germination and pollen tube growth were correlated with the occurrence of cytological abnormalities of the saffron pollen. Moreover, the ovarian transmitting tissue appeared to prevent the penetration of the ovules.


Abstract: This study evaluated the composition, digestibility [dry matter digestibility (DMD)], CH4 abatement potential, and fatty acid biohydrogenation of six species of microalgae. Lipid content ranged from 115 g kg-1 dry matter (DM) (Scenedesmus sp. AMDD) to 361 g kg-1 DM (Tetracystis sp.), while Scenedesmus sp. AMDD had the highest carbohydrate (364 g kg-1 DM) and fibre content (277 g kg-1 DM). Gas production was highest (P < 0.001) for Micractinium reisseri and Chlorella vulgaris. In vitro DMD ranged from 654 g kg-1 for Scenedesmus sp. AMDD to 797 g kg-1 for Nannochloris bacillaris. Total CH4 differed (P < 0.001) among microalgae, ranging from 1.76 mL g-1 DM for Tetracystis sp. to 4.07 mL g-1 DM for M. reisseri. Nannochloropsis granulata (marine) had higher myristic, palmitoleic, and eicosapentaenoic acid levels than freshwater microalgae. Levels of a-linolenic acid were higher in Scenedesmus sp. AMDD than all other microalgae. CH4 production negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with levels of total carbohydrate, oleic, and a-linolenic acid. Despite having a lower lipid content, CH4 reductions with Scenedesmus sp. AMDD were comparable to Tetracystis sp. and N. bacillaris. Reductions in CH4 with Tetracystis sp. and N. bacillaris occurred without a decline in DMD, suggesting that overall microbial activity was not inhibited.


Many countries have adopted lengthy lockdown measures to mitigate the spreading of the COVID-19 virus. In this study, we train a RandomForest model using 10 variables quantifying individuals' living environment, physical and mental health statuses to predict how long each of the UK participants (N=382) had been in lockdown. Self-perceived loneliness was found to be the most important variable predicting time in lockdown and, therefore, the aspect most influenced by the time the participant spent in lockdown. Subsequent statistical analysis showed a significant U-shaped curve for the levels of perceived loneliness (p<0.012), specifically decreasing during the 4th and 5th lockdown weeks. The same pattern was found on data from Greek citizens (N=129, p<0.041). These results suggest that lockdown measures may have affected how people evaluated their social support while in lockdown, leading to a decreased sense of loneliness. Implications of this study should be reflected on policies and countermeasures to current and future pandemics.


Abstract Background: Deficiency of vitamin D can lead to multiple health issues in children. Though it can be asymptomatic in early stages, it can lead to symptomatic illnesses if severe/ prolonged including seizures and rickets. Deficiency can be prevented by adequate dietary vitamin D intake with/without supplementation in those at higher risk. However, there has been a recent reemergence and increase in the incidence of vitamin D deficiency in European nations, noted as early as 2008 and at least upto 2018. Hence, we performed a 10 year retrospective study of severe vitamin D deficiency in hospitalized patients at a Children's Hospital in USA. Methods: Electronic medical record was searched to identify patients with the following inclusion criteria: admitted at our hospital between 1/1/2010 and 12/31/2019 and had a 25-OH vitamin D (25-OH D) level <13 ng/mL with/without hypocalcemia or had a diagnosis of rickets. The study was approved by our institutional review board and consent was waived. Patient demographics, medical history and data on laboratory results, treatment given were extracted. We then ran a summative analysis of most of the data collected, analyzed trends for the number of admissions per year and the response time of calcium levels. Results: Between 1/1/2010 and 12/31/2019, there were 109 hospital admissions with 25-OH D deficiency with or without hypocalcemia. Median 25-OH D level was 9.7 ng/mL. Admissions per year increased from 2010 to 2019 as follows: 2 in 2010, 5 in 2011, 4 in 2012, 6 in 2013, 6 in 2014, 7 in 2015, 12 in 2016, 13 in 2017, 23 in 2018, 25 in 2019. Median patient age was 27 months (range 0,228). Of those </=1 year (n=39), 13% were preterm, 38% were exclusively breastfed and 44% were formula fed. Ninety percent of these infants were not receiving vitamin D supplementation prior to hospitalization. Of the entire cohort of 109 patients, 63% were males and race distribution was as follows: 13% were White, 77% were Blacks and 10% were others. Seventy percent patients were on state sponsored insurance. About 33% had some diet restrictions/ peculiarities, 40% had a presenting complaint related to hypocalcemia including seizures, while 44% had hypocalcemia but it was not their primary reason for presentation. Seventy eight percent patients had hypocalcemia. Of the patients with initial calcium <7.5 mg/dL (n=64), it took a median of 72 hours (range 7,468) to improve to >/= 7.5 mg/dL. Conclusions: Our hospital has witnessed a significant increase in severe vitamin D deficiency in admitted patients between 2010 and 2019. A large proportion of these were Blacks, on state sponsored insurances and infants not on vitamin D supplementation. Greater than 3/4th of patients had hypocalcemia and over 50% patients had hypocalcemia that required a median of 3 days to correct. This is a concerning trend of an often easily preventable morbidity and another health issue that highlights disparities in our health system.


Midwest Bioethics Center believes that encouraging palliative care training in the school milieu is one of the keys to achieving lasting improvement in end-of-life care. Therefore, a cooperative venture to increase palliative care education in medical schools was among the first strategies envisioned in the Center's PATHWAYS initiative. Its implementation, no less than its goal, requires both time and effort.


Objective To investigate the expression of breast cancer resistance protein(BCRP) gene in patients with malignant hematologic disease. Methods Semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) was used to examine the expression of BCRP gene in 62 cases of malignant hematologic diseases, BCRP/β_2-MG ratio was defined as BCRP expressible level. Results The positive percentage of BCRP gene expression in patients with malignant hematologic diseases was high. The expressible level of BCRP gene was very variation and arranged in increased order was as follows: AML,CML,ALL. BCRP gene expression was positive in 1 case of patient with MDS-RAEB, and in 1 case of patient with CLL. The first complete remission rate in 18 patients of AML (exxcpt M3) with high expression level of BCRP gene was lower than in patients with low expression level of BCRP gene. Conclusion High positive percentage in patients with malignant hematologic diseases, and high expression of BCRP gene may lead to clinical drug resistance, it may be an unfavorable factor to prognosis of the patients.


A simple, reliable, and effective analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of five organotin compounds (OTCs) including monobutyltin trichloride dibutyltin dichloride tributyltin chloride tetrabutyltin and triphenyltin chloride in white wines. The OTCs were derivatized with sodium tetraethylborate (NaBEt4), and their derivatives were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) into n-hexane. The experimental variables, such as type and volume of extraction solvents, amount of derivatization reagent NaBEt4 and extraction time were optimized. The determination of ethylated derivatives of OTCs in the final extracts was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Under optimized conditions, good linearity was observed when analytical concentrations were in the range of 0.01–4.0 µg · mL−1, the linearity correlation coefficients were between 0.9982 and 0.9987, with the LODs in the range of 0.2–3.0 µg · L−1, and the LOQs varied from 0.6 to 10.0 µg · L−1. The obtained recoveries were in the range of 78.0–120.0%, with the relative standard deviations equal to or lower than 8.1%. This method was applied to the determination of OTCs in white wines with satisfactory results.


Background. Clinical evidence indicates that vascular endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction occurs early after transplantation (Tx) and initiates chronic graft vasculopathy. This study explored this phenomenon in rat aorta Tx using the stringent Dark Agouti (DA)-to-Lewis (LEW) and the weak Fischer 344 (F344)-to-LEW strain combinations. Methods. Donor abdominal aortae were orthotopically grafted into LEW rats. At post-Tx days 7, 14, 28, and 56, grafts were collected to assess changes in EC morphology (en face silver staining) and EC function, i.e., vasodilatory response to acetylcholine (ACH) after phenylephrine (PHE) precontraction; changes in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) &agr;-actin (western blotting), degree of apoptosis (caspase-3 activity), and morphology. Results. In DA allografts, VSMC and EC dysfunctions developed concomitantly and were completed at 14 days post-Tx, most likely due to the EC and &agr;-actin-positive VSMC loss. Meanwhile, allografts revealed markedly increased caspase-3 activity. Neointima formation, restricted to the edges of allografts at day 28, covered the entire allografts by day 56 post-Tx. In F344-allografts, VSMC function was maintained up to day 14 post-Tx, whereas ACH-induced relaxation was reduced by 50% at day 7 and abolished at day 14. EC denudation was not seen up to 56 days post-Tx, despite prominent leukocyte adhesion. Neointima formation was not detected at day 28 post-Tx but appeared along the entire allografts at day 56 post-Tx. Conclusions. These results confirm that Tx-induced EC dysfunction precedes the development of vasculopathy in rat aorta allografts and suggest that this early phenomenon can be best studied in the F344-to-LEW strain combination.


Trans-carvone oxide has been found in the floral fragrances of nine species of Ca- tasetum, one species each of Aspasia and Notylia (all three genera in Orchidaceae), and in one species of Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae). Carvone oxide is a major fragrance component in 11 of the 12 species analyzed, and has been synthesized and used in field bioassays in Panama, where it attracts five species of Eulaema and three species of Euglossa. We predict it will be a major attractant of Eulaema species that previously have not been attracted to chemical baits. We suggest that synthesis and secretion of carvone oxide by several genera of Orchidaceae and one species of Euphorbiaceae are the result of evolutionary convergence in floral rewards.


The project for developing recommended practice for the establishment of voltage sag indices was approved by the IEEE in January 2000. Since then, the task force P 1564 met twice a year and developed a draft document. This paper presents the current state of discussions and a summary of the latest draft D2. Next to retained voltage and duration, as defined in IEC 61000-4-30, this paper discusses three-phase characteristics, voltage-sag energy indices, SARFI-indices, and voltage-sag tables. Triggering level and time aggregation are also briefly discussed.


Organizational silence behaviors responses employees' silence behaviors generally.They became popular and often restrict gravely the harmoniousness and the development of organizations.The paper analyzed the concept,reasons and sorts of organizational silence behaviors.By analyzing some typical Chinese historic cases,the paper leaded to research the effect to employees,managers and organizations.At last,we proposed the Organizational Silence Behaviors Model in China,and proposed three corresponding responses to organizational silence behaviors.


There has been considerable research on instrumental practice and musical motivation. This paper aimed to extend this research studying instrument differences in beginner players in relation to their practice and motivation. Almost 500 beginner instrumentalists and vocalists completed a questionnaire which consisted of a number of statements relating to time spent practicing, practicing strategies, organisation of practice, motivation to practice, support for playing an instrument, self-beliefs, musical identity, enjoyment of performance and musical aspirations. Participants, who were divided into seven instrumental groups (strings, woodwind, brass, piano/keyboard, guitar, drummers, and voice) responded on a seven-point Likert scale. Multivariate analysis was undertaken in relation to time spent practicing, practice strategies, attitudes towards practice and motivation. The analyses took account of instrument group, age and gender and showed the complexity of the relationships between these. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for teaching.


In this paper we propose a new cluster architecture for parallel and distributed computing called Agent Space Architecture. Our architecture builds upon the notions of Agent and Object Space and utilizes Multicast Network. The building blocks for our proposed architecture consist of an active processing unit called Agent, a shared place for communication call Space, and a communication medium called Multicast Network. One unique feature of our architecture is that we extend the concept of Object Space to become an Active Space. Our Active Space functions as a rendezvous, a repository, a cache, a responder, a notifier, and a manager of its own resources. The organization of our architecture is as general as network topology. Any number of Agents, Spaces, or Networks can be added. High performance of the architecture is achieved by simply adding more Agents, Spaces, or Networks. Another feature for high performance is the result of using Space as cache. This results in reducing repeated computations and response times comparing to the original concept of Object Space. Our architecture is as scalable as Ethernet and adding Agents or Spaces is as easy as plug and play. High availability and fault tolerance is achieved through multiple Agents, Spaces, and Networks. All these features are particularly beneficial for challenging applications such as Search Engines.


This paper discusses a simple phenomenological model of squeeze-film gas damping which has been applied to the design of micromachined optical modulators operating at speeds in excess of 12Mbits/sec. The model is described by analytic expressions and does not rely on the Reynolds or Navier-Stokes equations. It shows, in particular, that to prevent ringing following a step change in driving force, devices intended to operate at speeds greater than a few Mbits/sec must be packaged at elevated gas pressure. Comparisons are made with experimental data.


The central subject of this article is the evaluation of the low interest credits for R&D provided by the Centre for Industrial Technologic Development (CDTI) . The objective is a evaluation of the role and impact of the projects, financed by the CDTI, within the firms. The analysed aspects are the financial importance of the support (freerider attitude), the technical and commercial objectives and their accomplishments, the impact on the innovative culture and the improvement of the technological capabilities and cooperative attitude


The coordination compounds of low molecular weight Chitosan with Copper (Ⅱ) and Zinc(Ⅱ) were synthesized and studied by FT IR and UV Vis spectrophotometric method. The results indicated that the metal ion was mainly interacted with the NH 2 group of chitosan. The coordination mechanism was also discussed.


Abstract The Swedish Medical Nanoscience Center is an integrative research hub located at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. In this highly reputed medical research institute, our mission is to establish the area of nanomedicine as a means to advance this new research area to meet the demands of future innovative health care solutions. Using interdisciplinary basic research, often referred to as 'curiosity-driven' research, as our driving force, we promote the integration of cutting-edge nanotechnology and biomedical research. As new concepts and technologies mature, focus of our projects is gradually shifted towards clinically relevant problems. Advancement of the area of nanomedicine requires engagement of a new breed of scientist with the enthusiasm, devotion and competence to communicate and work across many disciplines. Together, they help generate a highly multidisciplinary scientific environment, producing new knowledge that ultimately becomes the stepping-stone towards novel therapies for the benefit of the patient.


A stationary power spectral model presented by Hu Yuxian is selected as a random earthquake excitation for base-isolated structures.The story hysteretic drifts of the base-isolated structures are described by Bouc-Wen model.The equivalent linearized state equation is established after equivalent linearization of dynamic property matrixes of hysteretic system.By introducing left and right eigenvector series,the vibration differential equation is decoupled and the analytical solutions of response statistical moments of structures are found.In accordance with the deformation failure criterion,the limit states of base-isolated structures are defined.On the basis of the first passage mechanism, the hypothesis about Possion distribution and the series connection reliability model,a simplified method for evaluating the seismic reliability of base-isolated structures on the whole is presented.Finally,a frame structure with base isolation is given for numerical illustration of the proposed method.


We analyze an algorithm of ascendant hierarchical classification under contiguity constraint and using the aggregation principle of reciprocal nearest neighbors. This algorithm is situated in the general framework of quick ascendant hierarchical classification algorithms. Two cluster merging criteria are studied. The former is the classical inertia Ward criterion and the latter consists of the maximal likelihood linkage family criteria. A new contiguity version of this criterion proves its efficiency in image segmentation. One major feature of our algorithm is the linear nature of the computational complexity. New strategies concerning multiple aggregation in the class formation and contiguity notion are positively evaluated in terms of quality and efficiency. We establish mathematically and experimentally how the used criterion influences inversion possibility in the tree building. Finally, comparative results of both types of criteria in image segmentation on satellite pictures are discussed.


Catenary componets'reliability is an important factor of railway safety,but traditional re-liability calculation model can not be correspond with reality.Fuzzy mathematical theory is applied to reli-ability calculation of catenary componets.Mathematic model of fuzzy reliability calculation based on dif-ferent membership functions is established in which the stress and the strength are normal distribution.It provides a theoretical basis for reliability calculation of catenary componets.In the end,scientific method of the fuzzy reliability calculation model is analyzed by reliability calculation of clamp fittings.


This paper extends transaction cost economics (TCE) by arguing that prior contractual commitments and changes in bargaining power with contractual partners can limit a firm's ability to differentiate or change its governance arrangements in the future. Consequently, governance choice may be more particularistic than the current version of TCE allows.


Abstract:This current study investigates the role of nature in the novel Viento fuerte by Guatemalan author Miguel Ángel Asturias. Whereas critical studies of this classic have mainly focused on historical and social implications, this paper shifts the focus to the agency of nature in the wake of neocolonial hegemony in Latin America. I adopt an ecocritical approach on the concept of deep ecology, to show how nature is structurally and thematically present in the novel. I argue that the novel gives readers an active and holistic view of nature, thus conveying bio-centric and eco-centric values, by employing the narrative mode of magical realism.


Four strains of Fibrobacter succinogenes (DI, D3, D5 and D6) and 3 strains of
Ruminococcus flavefaciens eMD-I, MD-8 and MD-9) were found to be highly
fibrolytic, degrading and solubilising Whatman No.1 filter paper strips in Scott and
Dehority medium within 16-48 h. Among the 7 bacterial strains, F. succinogenes D3
and R. flavefaciens MD-1 were two of the most active, being able to solubilise the
filter paper strip within 16-24 h, and were used for endoglucanase assay. R.
flavefaciens MD-1 produced significantly higher endoglucanases activity than F.
succinogenes D3 at all incubation periods.


Digital video applications can often push a computer's resources to their limit. They require massive amounts of storage, high IO transfer rates, and fast display refresh times. And if software is involved in the decompression process, the CPU will often end up over-utilized. Resource demands have a direct eeect on the quality of the delivered video; this results in a complex \load-balancing" problem, which must be solved with both quantitative and qualitative metrics. In this paper we describe our experiments on media applications, speciically concentrating on the tradeoo analysis involved in tuning video systems. We rst postulate a set of hypotheses, and then we describe the controlled set of 240 tests we ran to test them. Our observations connrmed that achieving smooth playback is mainly a problem of coordinating an operating system to the properties of the media. The rst 120 test runs were drawn from a series of 60 videos, which we generated with our own Hi8 equipment. Each test video uniquely instantiated the following variables: codec, frame size, digitized rate, spatial quality and keyframe distribution. The tests were carried out on two Apple Macintosh platforms: at the lower end a Quadra 950, and at the high-end, a Power PC 7100/80. Our quantitative metrics included average playback rate, as well as the rate's variance over one-second intervals. This paper contains the results of these experiments, as well our analysis of each variable's importance. The rst set of results unveiled some surprising anomalies, which seemed to substantiate our hypotheses { even more than we expected. These anomalies forced us to run an additional 120 tests, whose analysis led to some broad conclusions about digital video specii-cally, and the capabilities of personal computers in general.


Subtitle: Chris Austen asks if the recent US GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act is the answer to the vexed question of container security.


This text studies human creativity from a computational modelling perspective. The work examines theories and models of the creative process in humans, both input creativity - the analytic side of interpreting input information - and output creativity - the artistic, synthetic process of generating something novel and innovative. After critically examining earlier theories and computational models, the authors develop their own model, an emergent memory theory. This theory is then implemented as a computational model and a detailed empirical study is reported and analyzed.


e23275Background: During the past decade, a tremendous amount of effort has been devoted to better understanding the dynamic role of autophagy, a lysosome-mediated degradation and recycling process...


We have recently developed absorbing boundary conditions for the three-dimensional scalar wave equation in full-space. Their applicability has been extended to half-space scattering problems where the scatterer is located near a pressure-free surface. A variational scheme was also proposed for coupling the structural acoustics equations with the absorbing boundary conditions. It was shown that the application of a Galerkin method on the variational form results in an attractive finite element scheme that, in a natural way, gives rise to a surface-only absorbing boundary element on the truncation boundary. The element — the finite element embodiment of a second-order absorbing boundary condition — is completely characterized by a pair of symmetric, frequency-independent damping and stiffness matrices, and is equally applicable to the transient and harmonic steady-state regimes. Previously, we had applied the methodology to problems involving scatterers of arbitrary geometry. In this paper, we validate our approach by comparing numerical results for rigid spherical scatterers submerged in a half-space, against a recently developed analytic solution.


OBJECTIVE To quantitatively analyze the rhynchophylline in different medicinal parts of Uncaria rhynchophylla from different habitats in Guangxi,provide experimental basis for great use of Uncaria rhynchophylla from different habitats in Guangxi,and provide experimental basis for great use of Uncaria rhynchophylla plant resouces.METHODS HPLC method was performed to determine the amount of rhynchophylline in stem with hooks,hooks without stem,stem without hooks,stem and leaf of Uncaria rhynchophylla from 10 batches.Gemini C18column(250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm)was used with methanol-water with contain 2 mmol· L-1 of triethylamine,a pH of 7.5(64:36),a flow rate of 1.0 mL·L-1 as the mobile phase and the detection wavelength was 254 nm.RESULTS Rhynchophylline could be detected in most of the medicinal parts from Uncaria rhynchophylla of 10 batches,and the amount of rhynchophylline was:stemstem with hooks,hooks without stem,stem without hooksleaf.CONCLUSION Most of the medicinal parts form Uncaria rhynchophylla contains rhynchophylline,which make the medicinal parts of Uncaria rhynchophylla was extended,and provide experimental basis for full use of Uncaria rhynchophylla plant resouces.


ABSTRACT Software synthesis is a useful technology to accelerate the design of digital systems, and the MoC (model of computation) is the foundation of software synthesis. Current researches on MoC mainly focus on the situations that the produced data frames are used only once by its downstream module. However, for some applications with loops, the data frame produced by upstream module needs to be reused and thus the current MoCs cannot be directly used to synthesize these applications' DFG (data flow graph). To solve this problem, a novel MoC based on data frame driving is proposed for software synthesis in this paper. In our MoC, the DFG with loops is first transformed into an acyclic DFG and modules in the acyclic DFG are divided into different levels that define the priority of modules. Then, the schedule can be generated according to the modules' level. The proposed MoC is verified under both random generated DFG and real-world application's DFG. The experimental results show that by using the proposed MoC, the schedule for DFG with reused data frame can be generated for both single processor system and multi-processors system, and it thus can be used as a useful tool to aid the software synthesis.


One of the most profound future challenges for human space activities is the development of practical engineering approaches to the deflection of hazardous solar system bodies. Over the past decades there have been many different approaches proposed and developed at a theoretical level, many of which have been reviewed in the NRC report "Defending Planet Earth." With these many different approaches to mitigation, there is sometimes confusion about comparisons between these approaches with respect to the important parameters of deflection needed, time to go, the type of deflection and the significant unknowns involved with each approach. This paper will integrate previous studies to develop a common set of metrics by which different methods can be compared independent of system-level design. Such metrics can be used to help guide policy and engineering developments to deal with this hazard. The initial focus of this study is on developing a simple form of the effectiveness of a technique and the detectability of this technique over a given time span.


The protein kinase C (PKC) family of serine/threonine kinases plays a critical role in signal transduction, and dysregulation of PKC activity is implicated in a variety of diseases, including cancer. Over 60 fusion genes involving PKC isozymes have been identified in an array of cancers, making PKC the most frequently fused member of the AGC kinase superfamily. With previous studies in the laboratory revealing a tumor suppressive role for PKC, we sought to characterize these PKC fusions and determine whether they may be loss‐of‐function in cancer. For our analysis, we selected TANC2‐PRKCA, a fusion gene identified in lung squamous cell carcinoma. This fusion retains the C‐terminal catalytic domain of PKC while having a truncated N‐terminal regulatory moiety due to fusion with TANC2. Overexpression in cells reveals that the fusion protein lacks the conserved priming phosphorylations necessary for proper PKC maturation yet is constitutively active, a result of the loss of the autoinhibitory pseudosubstrate from within the PKC regulatory moiety. As an additional consequence, the fusion is also markedly unstable, unable to adopt the stable, autoinhibited conformation of wild‐type PKC. We thus reasoned that TANC2‐PKCα, in an active and degradation‐sensitive conformation, would be too unstable to significantly accumulate in cells. To address this, we utilized CRISPR/Cas9 gene‐editing to express the TANC2‐PRKCA fusion in cells. While the fusion mRNA was detected in the CRISPR‐edited clones, the fusion protein was not, consistent with the protein's inherent instability. Thus, while the loss of autoinhibition renders the fusion constitutively active, the resulting instability leads to a dramatic reduction of its steady‐state levels, making it paradoxically loss‐of‐function. While overexpression studies showed that the fusion protein is more ubiquitinated compared to wild‐type protein, inhibition of proteasomal, lysosomal, and endosomal degradative pathways in the CRISPR‐edited cells did not result in accumulation of the fusion protein. Knockdown of RINCK (TRIM41), an E3 ligase for PKC, and CHIP (STUB1), an E3 ligase for misfolded proteins, by siRNA similarly did not result in accumulation of the fusion protein. Taken together, our analyses show that the TANC2‐PKCα fusion protein is constitutively active but locked in an open and unstable conformation, resulting in its downregulation. Fusion of PKC's catalytic domain to other genes thus presents another mechanism by which loss of PKC activity can occur in cancer, supporting a tumor suppressive role for PKC.


S OF PAPERS READ BEFORE THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT OXFORD, AUGUST 9-14, 1894. I. — T H E CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE, TRIASSIC SANDSTONE, AND SALT-B BARING MARLS OF THE NORTH OF THE ISLE OF MAN. By Professor BOTD-DAWKINS, P.E.S. T Ordovician slates, quartzites, and conglomerates, and the associated volcanic rocks of the "massif" of the island gradually pass underneath the sand, shingle, and clay of the Boulder-clay series in going northward along the coast towards Kirk Michael, until they disappear altogether from the cliffs and the shore. They stand up conspicuously along the ancient shore-line extending from Kirk Michael to Ballaugh, Sulby, and Ramsey, commanding the low, sandy, and marshy region which forms the northern portion of the island, contrasting in its flatness with the lofty rolling Ordovician hills behind, culminating in Startfell, Snaefell, and North Barule. This contrast is obviously the result of a difference in the physical character of the rocks in the two districts. The problem as to which rocks underlie the glacial strata in the former, which had occupied the author's mind for many years, is now partially solved by the three borings which have been made under nis advice by Messrs. Craine in 1891-94 in search of the Coalmeasures of the Whitehaven field, at the Point of Ayre, at Blue Point, and at Shen Moar. The boring at Shen Moar revealed the existence of the Carboniferous Limestone at a depth of 167 feet 6 inches below the drift. The next bore-hole, at Blue Point, about 40,050 feet to the north-east of that at Shen Moar, revealed the presence of more than 60 feet of Red Sandstone buried 171 feet , beneath the drift. The Red Sandstone in this section is, in his opinion, identical with the St. Bees sandstone, or lowest member of the Triassic formation in the district of the Lakes. This is greatly strengthened by the discovery in the third boring at the Point of Ayre, to the east of the lighthouse, of the Triassic marls with salt, at a distance of a little under five miles from Blue Point. The diamond drill was used from a depth of 452 feet to the bottom. The total thickness of the salt-beds amounts to 33 feet 6 inches, and the bore-hole happened also to intersect a brine run 2 feet 6 inches in depth. If this section be compared with that published by Mr. Dickenson of the saliferous marls of Duncrue, near Carrickfergus, it will be found to be practically identical. The same series of salt-bearing marls is also worked at Barrow-in-Furness and at Preesal, near Fleetwood. The salt-beds in each of these cases are variable in thickness, and those in the Isle of Man are thinner than in the other localities. It must, however, be remembered that the Manx boring has not been put down to a sufficient depth to test the true thickness of the salt-field. The discovery is of great theoretical importance, because it links on the deposit at Barrow with that of Carrickfergus, and shows the Notices of Memoirs—Phyllopoda of Palceozoic Rocks. 559 Irish Sea was an area in which the salt-bearing Triassic marls were deposited. It points towards the truth of Mr. Dickenson's suggestion that the Cheshire salt-field was formerly continuous with that of Ireland. These marls have since been broken up, faulted, and denuded away in many places. It is an open question how far those of the Isle of Man are now continuous under the sea eastwards to Barrow and Fleetwood, and to the north-west in the direction of Carrickfergus. All these rocks are buried under a great thickness of boulder sand, gravel, and clay, amounting at the Point of Ayre to 298 feet. To this also must be added the height of the drift hills close by, formed of the same materials, which would give the total thickness as not less than 450 feet in the extreme north. The rocky floor on which it rests dips rapidly to the north-east towards the deeper part of the Irish Sea. The discovery of this salt-field is likely to add a new industry to the resources of the Isle of Man. II.—FOSSIL PHYLLOPODA OF THE PALJEOZOIC EOCKS. ELEVENTH*BEPORT OF THE COMMITTEE, CONSISTING OF Professor T. WILTSHIRE (Chairman), Dr. H. WOODWABD, and Professor T. EUPEBT JONES (Secretary). Drawn up by Professor T. Eupert Jones, F.E.S., F.G.S. 1. A NEW species of Beecher's phyllocaridal genus Elymocaris, J\_ from the collection of Dr. G. J. Hinde, F.G.S., has been figured and described in the GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE for July, 1894, p. 292, PI. IX. Fig. 7. It was found at Arkona, Ontario, Canada, in the Hamilton group of the Middle Devonian series. Its nearest known ally is Elymocaris capsella (Hall and Clarke), from the Hamilton group of New York State, Palaeont. New York, vol. vii. 1888, p. 181, pi. xxxi. fig. 4. It differs, however, in details of outline, ornament, and ocular spot. The new species is named E. Hindei, after its discoverer. 2. Two imperfect sets of abdominal segments, impressed on a piece of Moffat Shale (from Garpel Linn), have been noticed in association with a carapace of Discinocaris Browniana, and therefore probably belonging to individuals of either that genus and species, or of Aptychopsis, or possibly Peltocarig, which also occur in the Moffat Shales. The two above-mentioned specimens are figured and described in the GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE for July, 1894, p. 291, PI. IX. Figs. 4a, 46. Fig 3 shows the associated carapace. They belong to the Carlisle Museum. We have noticed similar abdominal segments, but differing somewhat in size, associated with Hymenocaris in the Tremadoc slates, and with Ceratiocaris in the Upper Silurian beds. As such bodyrings belong to various groups of these low-class Crustacea, it is not extraordinary that the above-mentioned genera should each possess the same kind of structure in the abdominal region. 3. A good-sized Discinncaris Browniana and the moiety of a rather large Aptychopsis Wilsoni, preserved in the Carlisle Museum, 560 Notices of Memoirs—Geology of the Isle of Man. have also been described and figured in the GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE for July, 1894, p. 292, PL IX. Figs. 5 and 6. They are typical of


In the present work, the recent developed Unsteady Double Wake Model, USDWM, is used to simulate separated flows past a wind turbine airfoil at high angles of attack. The solver is basically an unsteady two-dimensional panel method which uses the unsteady double wake technique to model flow separation and its dynamics. In this paper, the calculated integral forces have been successfully validated against wind tunnel measurements for the FFA-W3-211 airfoil. Furthermore, the computed highly unsteady flow field is analyzed in detail for a set of angles of attack ranging from light to deep stall conditions.


Anomaly detection involves characterizing the behaviors of individuals or systems and recognizing behavior that is outside the norm. This paper describes some preliminary results concerning the robustness and generalization capabilities of machine learning methods in creating user profiles based on the selection and subsequent classification of command line arguments. We base our method on the belief that legitimate users can be classified into categories based on the percentage of commands they use in a specified period. The hybrid approach we employ begins with the application of expert rules to reduce the dimensionality of the data, followed by an initial clustering of the data and subsequent refinement of the cluster locations using a competitive network called Learning Vector Quantization. Since Learning Vector Quantization is a nearest neighbor classifier, and new record presented to the network that lies outside a specified distance is classified as a masquerader. Thus, this system does not require anomalous records to be included in the training set.


To riff on the opening lines of Steven Shapin's book The Scientific Revolution (1996), there is no such thing as a science-religion conflict, and this is an essay about it. It is not, however, another rebuttal of the 'conflict narrative' – there is already an abundance of good, recent writing in that vein from historians, sociologists and philosophers as well as scientists themselves. Readers still under the misapprehension that the history of science can be accurately characterised by a continuous struggle to escape from the shackles of religious oppression into a sunny secular upland of free thought (loudly expressed by a few scientists but no historians) can consult Peter Harrison's masterly book The Territories of Science and Religion (2015), or dip into RonaldNumbers's delightful edited volume Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion (2009).


The decolorizing reaction based on incubation effect of phenol to oxidation butyl rhodamine B with potassium bromate has been investigated in sulfuric acid medium by stop-flow technique. The reaction mechanism has been discussed. A highly sensitive and simple inhibitory kinetic spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace phenol based on its effect on incubation period of the reaction was proposed. The detection limit was 1.3×10+{-9} g/L and linear range was 0.3~15.0 μg/L and the relative standard deviation (5.0 μg/L, n=11) was 2.1% for phenol. The method has been applied to determining of trace phenol in samples of river waters and industrial wastewater with satisfactory results.


One of the subtlest phenomena in physics has been subjected to more than a century of experimental and theoretical investigations.One of the subtlest phenomena in physics has been subjected to more than a century of experimental and theoretical investigations.


The Brazilian military dictatorship established an institutional framework characterized by the coexistence of the 1946 and 1967 constitutions with institutional acts. The coexistence of constitutions with institutional acts was not a contradiction. This coexistence was effective not only for the application of "revolutionary punishments", but also for the attempt to "institutionalize" the dictatorship. Institutionalization presupposed the imposition of a new constitution that would give birth the authoritarian project of a "strong democracy". The coexistence of the constitutions with exceptional legislation was possible because of the tradition of military interventionism in Brazilian republican history. The Superior Military Court (STM), since it started the political trials of civilians accused of political crimes, has debated the peculiar institutional framework of the military dictatorship. The aim of this article is to discuss the peculiarity of the institutional framework and institutionalization of the Brazilian military dictatorship – in light of the long tradition of interventionism by the military in the country's domestic policy – in the period of its consolidation (1964-1978).


We describe a technique for measuring the trace humidity level delivered by a permeation-tube type moisture generator (PTMG). Mole fractions of H2O in N2 carrier gas in the range 10 nmol/mol to 100 nmol/mol were considered. The measurements are referenced to the NIST low frost-point generator (LFPG). A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) hygrometer is used as a comparator to measure the concentration difference between the respective outputs of the PTMG and LFPG. Differences in the water vapor mole fraction of . 1 nmol/mol were observable with this technique. Systematic differences with respect to the LFPG output of (3.8 ∀ 0.9) % and (2.9 ∀ 0.7) %, were measured for two PTMG devices.


Experiments have shown high quality quartz oscillator crystals to exhibit a much greater fractional frequency change when irradiated with X-rays, with photon energies less than 100 keV, than when exposed to Co60 gamma radiation at the same dose rate. In both cases, the shift is negative, dose rate dependent, and recovers rapidly once irradiation ceases. The probable causes of these effects are temperature and electric charge gradients resulting from build up and dose enhancement processes.<<ETX>>


This paper discussed the increasing danger of population explosion in Nigeria and its implication to available food supply and social infrastructures. The objective of the paper is to show that over population is the reason for high level of illiteracy, wide spread unemployment, poverty and violent crime. The study reveals that with the rate of population increase in Nigeria if nothing is done, time will come when it will result to environmental hazards, malnutrition and other infectious diseases. It observed that while other countries of the world like China and India with increasing rate of population like Nigeria are making serious efforts through Laws and legislation to combat this population increase. The Nigerian leaders are not putting any effort to fight this menace rather what is taking centre stage in Nigeria is this issue of corruption and embezzlement of government funds. The paper was of the opinion that this attitude of our leaders is what has resulted to unemployment armed robbery, kidnapping, underdevelopment and crises of killing and marginalization.  It concluded by suggesting a way forward which includes reduction in early marriages which leads to increase in child bearing, corruption and poverty. Finally, it recommended that the government should encourage the people to do away with outdated customs and traditions which make it possible for people lay more emphasis on male children to the extent that unless they have male children, they will not be satisfied.
 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3382455


Public lands provide recreational opportunities and preserve historic and ecological values. Increases in low-density residential development in the contiguous United States pose a threat not only along the boundaries of national parks and forests, but also around uniquely valuable Wilderness areas. Development within and around protected lands can affect land management and landscape ecology by fragmenting forest and wildlife habitat, diminishing air and water quality, and limiting recreational opportunities and access. Exurban and rural sprawl particularly affects wilderness areas because land development is inconsistent with the nature of wilderness and its associated values. This research uses U.S. Census and land ownership data to identify National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) units with exurban or urban housing densities and large amounts of surrounding private land. Identifying NWPS units within 10 miles of the Wilderness boundary that are most likely to experience housing density increases will assist in the management and protection of these valuable lands.


Biogas upgrading by a catalytic process has been studied in order to obtain syngas using renewable source of methane. This work evaluates the influence of metal dopant (Gd, Sm, and Zr) on the CeO2 structure for the dry reforming of methane over Ni nanoparticle embedded catalysts. The doping with Zr improved the thermal stability of the catalyst, leading to the formation of small Ni nanoparticles, while Ni metal sintering was observed for Ni@CeO2, Ni@CeGdO2, and Ni@SmO2, according to in situ XRD under reduction conditions. The ceria reducibility was affected by the dopant nature, for which the addition of Zr caused distortions in the ceria lattice, promoting the diffusion of oxygen bulk to surface. The doping with Gd and Sm created oxygen vacancies by charge compensation, and the saturation of oxygen vacancies in the fresh samples decreased the degree of Ce reduction, according to TPR results. The larger Ni particles and poor redox behavior for Ni@CeGdO2 and Ni@CeSmO2 were responsible for the high carbon formation on these catalysts during the DRM reaction. The Ni@CeZrO2 catalyst did not present coke formation because of smaller Ni crystallite size and higher ceria reducibility. Therefore, the control of Ni particle size and the high oxygen mobility in the Ni@CeZrO2 catalyst inhibits carbon deposition and enhances the mechanism of carbon removal, promoting the catalyst stability.


Summary form only given. The writing process in magnetic recording is the switching of media grains by the head magnetic field. As the head moves across the media, the grains in the recording layer experience the writing fields that vary both in magnitude and direction. Fundamentally, in the longitudinal recording, the writing field perpendicular component provides a path for the media magnetization gyromagnetic motion. Therefore it is likely to reduce the required longitudinal field for the grain reversal. The traditional Willium-Comstock model includes only the longitudinal components of the head field. It has predicted that the required deep gap field should be roughly 3 times the media (writing) coercivity. This requirement has been contradicted by the recently published experimental result of Liu et al. (see IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 37, p. 613 et seq., 2001). Using our micro-magnetic recording model, which combines the writing and reading process at head-media level, the impact of the full 3D writing field on the recording process was examined. The present work focused especially on the effect of field angular dependence. A modified Willium-Comstock model was also developed to include the effects of the perpendicular field component. The corrected calculations predicted an optimum writing field that was reduced and agreed reasonably well with the results obtained from experiment and micromagnetic simulations.


Purpose: To determine whether the frequency of vascular disruption defects, other than limb defects, is increased in reports of chorionic villus sampling (CVS) exposed children compared with an unexposed population.Methods: Only studies that reported the total number of CVS-exposed pregnancies and details of pregnancy outcome, including all the malformations, were included. Twenty-five articles met these criteria.Results: The frequencies of gastroschisis, intestinal atresias, and clubfoot were significantly increased among the CVS-exposed infants as compared with the baseline unexposed population. The frequencies of other vascular disruption defects, including Poland sequence, amniotic band sequence, and cleft lip/cleft palate, were not increased.Conclusion: CVS-exposed children have an increased frequency of intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, and clubfoot compared with the nonexposed population. The fact that an increased frequency of other defects attributed to vascular disruption was not found may be due to under-ascertainment, misclassification, or "lumping" of the defects identified in previous studies.


Purpose

The starting point of the paper is the meteoric rise of care and care work upon the societal and sociological agenda. Referring to Polanyi, the authors argue that this is the manifestation of a new phase of capitalist societalisation (Vergesellschaftung) of social reproduction in the form of an economic shift. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the societal organisation of care and care work and questions of inequality and justice.

Design/methodology/approach

The first part of the paper illustrates some facets of the economic shift in the field of care and care work. The second part reconstructs the societal organisation of care and care work in the private sector, state, third sector and private households from the mid-twentieth century in the context of questions of inequality and justice. The third part draws on the institutional logics perspective and French pragmatic sociology and the own case studies on home care agencies (HCA), residential care communities (RCC) and early child care (ECC) in Austria and Germany and shows how conflicting demands give rise to new questions of justice. The paper ends with a short conclusion.

Findings

The paper shows how the commodification and de-commodification of care and care work have changed over time and how the economic shift – illustrated in the case of HCA, RCC and ECC – is accompanied by conflicting demands and questions of justice.

Originality/value

A Polanyian perspective on the relation between market and society is combined with the neo-institutionalist and pragmatic idea that orientations rooted in the "logics" of the market, the state, the family and the profession influence how conflicting demands in elder and child care are dealt with and how questions of inequality and justice arise.


The reissuing of Reluctant Reformers can inform our attempts to grapple with how the unity of the oppressed can be forged in such a way that the interests of the historically marginalized do not continue to get…well, marginalized.


Environmental law is intended to promote the conservation and protection of the environment, but it is not always able to perform its function effectively25. According to the latest report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), "currently observed changes in the Earth system is unprecedented in the history of mankind. Efforts to slow down the rate of change or a reduction in their scope, including increased resource efficiency and mitigation measures, have achieved moderate success, but have not eliminated the consequences of the adverse changes in the environment. Neither the scale nor the speed of these changes have not diminished over the last five years.'126 According to the UNEP report, the "many existing national, sub-national and international legal instruments contribute to improving the environment. At the same time, there is a further deterioration of the environment in the field and in respect of the majority of global problems."27 In September 2015 the issues on improvement of the efficiency of environmental law have been considered in the framework of the third conference of the European Forum of Environmental Law. This article provides a brief overview of the events and the summary of selected performances.


Highlights This article proposes a three-dimensional rice root growth model based on the differential L-system. We tested the accuracy of the model output, and the measured values and the simulated values were compared. A three-dimensional visualization of the growth simulation system was implemented, and the dynamic growth process of rice roots was visually reproduced. Abstract. Three-dimensional visualization studies on the morphological characteristics of rice root systems are important for improving farmland management and for the selective breeding and genetic improvement of rice. To clarify the rules governing the structure and distribution of rice roots, the three-dimensional (3D) coordinates and morphological parameters of rice roots were measured in hydroponic experiments at different growing periods, and the rice root structure was measured with a high degree of accuracy. The initial position, growth direction, and rate were then determined via statistical analysis of the data. In this article, a 3D rice root growth model based on the differential L-system is proposed; in this system, the biological characteristics based on the topological structure and the actual growth laws of rice roots are quantified. We adopted the growing degree day (GDD) as the driving factor that describes the growth law of rice roots and tested the accuracy of the model output. In this model, a 3D visualization of the growth simulation system of rice roots is implemented via Visual C++ and the OpenGL standard library on the basis of algorithms for the constructed 3D rice root growth model. The model output realistically recreates the dynamic growth process of rice roots under different conditions. A large amount of experimental data and comparative analysis show that the average accuracies achieved by the proposed system concerning total root length, root surface area and root volume are 96.95%, 95.97%, and 93.98%, respectively. These results verify the high reliability of the constructed model and the effective simulation of the morphological characteristics and growth laws of rice roots at different growth periods, laying the foundation for future research on the laws of changes in morphological structure and the physiological and ecological factors of rice roots at different growth stages.


GGB-1 bead maker with high frequency induction heating for sample preparation in X-ray fluorescence analysis has been developed.High frequency induction heating and automatic micro-computer control technology were used and the temperature phase-locked loop system was devised.The heating speed and temperature could be controlled by the oscillation current output from high frequency generator,which provided the intelligent and automatic fusing procedure.The molten sample homogenizer was devised,which could swing and spin synchronously and form electric eddy in flux to attain homogenous bead.Based on sample preparation characteristic of XRF analysis,pre-oxidation process was designed for ore sample analysis.The results from equipment performance testing showed that the highest fusion temperature of bead maker was 1300℃ with temperature fluctuation of ±2℃ and the precision of sample preparation was better than 0.3%RSD(n=11).


In this study, a preliminary ethnobotanical studjl is made from Kaz Dagi-and its around. The vernacular names of 57 taxa and medicinal uses of 38 taxa have been provided. Additionally, usage of 10 taxa as herbal tea, 6 taxa as food and 3 taxa as dye have been reported. Key words: Kaz Dagi, Ethnobotany


Effective pretreatment is crucial for cellulase production from sugarcane bagasse. Pretreatment with tamarind extract could reduce the hazardous effect associated with chemical pretreatment. The present work investigated tamarind (Tamarindus indica) extract in combination with H2SO4 and thermal pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse for cellulase production by Aspergillus flavus. The sugarcane bagasse was pretreated with tamarind extract pH 2 and pH 4, followed by 1% H2SO4 and thermal treatment at 121°C for 15 min. The pretreatment slurry was analysed for reducing sugar while solid bagasse was analysed for weight loss. Aspergillus flavus grew on sugarcane bagasse under solid state fermentation and the Carboxy Methyl Cellulase (CMCase) and Filter Paper Assay (FPA) activities were compared on the various pretreatments. The pretreatments changed the visible morphology of the sugarcane bagasse observed by the swelling, fibrous appearance and colour change. Pretreatment slurry yielded highest soluble reducing sugar at 60.01 mg/ml in tamarind extract (pH 4/1% H2SO4 ) and highest weight  loss of solids at 73.70% in tamarind extract (pH 2/1% H2SO4 /thermal 121°C). Aspergillus flavus performed better on tamarind extract (pH 2/1% H2SO4 ) by producing optimal CMCase and FPA activities at 0.100 U/ml and 0.409 U/ml respectively after 3 days of fermentation. Cellulase was maximally active at temperature of 50 °C. The tamarind extract pretreatment successfully proved to be an alternative organo-chemical pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse as evidenced by the physical properties, soluble reducing sugars and cellulase activities.
Keywords: Aspergillus flavus, Cellulase, Pretreatment, Sugarcane bagasse, Tamarind extract


To investigate whether affective experience is linked to the neurodynamics of basic emotional systems, a novel mood-induction procedure was utilized to induce affective changes and observe the neural consequences. The internal motor imagery of laughter and crying (to evoke joy and sadness), along with the affectively neutral task of walk imagery, allowed evocation of affective states without the confounding effects of motor artifacts. Affective response scores (nine-point Likert scale) indicated that internal laughter significantly increased happiness and decreased sadness. Conversely, crying imagery significantly increased sadness and decreased happiness. Seven brain regions exhibited BOLD signal changes in the emotion tasks, which were not observed during the neutral walking task. These regions are the left basal ganglia, right putamen, insula, thalamus, and inferior occipital gyrus, and left and right caudate. These data suggest that there may be a shared neural system for activating affective responses.