This study analyzes the rationale that led to the choice of participant observation as a practical research tool within a case study of tourist satisfaction and dissatisfaction on a small-group, soft-adventure, long-haul inclusive tour from the United Kingdom to Malaysia and Singapore. In particular, the advantages of participant observation are favorably contrasted with customer service questionnaires. The author also outlines some of the key problems and issues that were confronted through the technique and its special usefulness for tourism research. Although the focus of the research in this instance was tourist satisfaction/dissatisfaction, it is possible to envisage research into other tourist behavior and management questions. Consequently, it is hoped that other researchers and commercial organizations will attempt to more fully use the technique.


Introduction: Alcoholism is a public health problem in Mexico; deteriorating physical and mental health, social, family and economic performance. Several studies have associated alcoholism with depression and suicide, especially during the period of abstinence; however it is unknown whether these risks remain after passing the period of abstinence and the importance of family and society in the rehabilitation of this period. Objective: Determine the association of depression and suicide risk with family and social support for people undergoing rehabilitation for alcohol dependence after abstinence period. Methodology: A cross-sectional study included 70 male inmates at the Cottolengo rehabilitation center of Yucatan, they had at least 4 months without consuming alcohol. They applied the AUDIT scale,


American Options can be exercised prior to the date of expiration,the valuation of American options then constitutes a free boundary value problem.How to determine the free boundary,i.e. the optimal exercise price,is a key problem.In this paper,a nonlinear equation is given.The free boundary can be obtained by solving the nonlinear equation and the numerical results are better.


This research was aimed at finding out vocabulary learning strategies employed by English Department students of State Polytechnic of Bengkalis across different proficiency levels. The subjects of the study were 28 students of English Department of Bengkalis State Polytechnic academic year 2014/2015.  The questionnaire was used to collect the data, consisting of 32 items classified under three strategy categories; discovering meaning of new vocabulary (DMV), retaining knowledge of the newly-learned vocabulary  (RKV), and  Further Consolidation Vocabulary  strategies (FCV). The quantitative data from questionnaire were analyzed using mean score.  A Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) was also administered to identify students' English language proficiency levels based on  Puengpipattrakul (2007);Elementary (200-395), intermediate (400-595), working proficiency (600-795). The findings of this descriptive research revealed that the working proficiency level reported the highest frequency of overall strategy use, the intermediate level's frequency of use was slightly lower, and the elementary level had the lowest frequency of use.  In DMV strategies, both working proficiency and intermediate levels used guessing strategy as the most frequently used strategy. In contrast, elementary level used dictionary-use strategy as the most frequently used DMV strategy. In RKV strategies, working proficiency level used association as the most frequently used strategy. In contrast, both elementary and intermediate level  used repetition strategy as the most frequently used RKV strategy. In further consolidation vocabulary (FCV), all working proficiency, intermediate and elementary levels used expanding more frequently than  practice strategy.


Objective To observe the germicidal efficacy of compound sodium hypochlorite disinfectant and the factors influencing its active ingredient.Method Suspension quantitative germicidal test and iodometric method were used.(Results)The killing logarithm value of Bacillus subtilis var.niger spores in suspension exposed to compound sodium hypochlorite disinfectant containing available chlorine 3000 mg/L for 60 min was only 1.86 and that of B.subtilis var.niger spores exposed to the disinfectant solution containing available chlorine 4000 mg/L for 30 min was 5.00.When the compound sodium hypochlorite disinfectant was diluted with hard water to a solution containing available chlorine 4000~2000 mg/L and then stored at 20℃ for 60 min,there was no significant influence on available chlorine content.When the disinfectant solution was reconstituted with 150 ml of distilled water and contained diluent(TPS) 15 ml to make the available chlorine content in the range of 4000~2000 mg/L,there was practically no influence on available chlorine content.When the disinfectant solution reconstituted with 150 ml of distilled water and containing 30 g/L bovine serum albumin solution 15 ml and available chlorine in the range of 4000~2000 mg /L was laid aside for 30 min,the available chlorine content of the disinfectant containing available chlorine 3000 mg/L decreased by over 50%.Conclusion When new suspension quantitative method is used to assess the germicidal efficacy of sodium hypochlorite disinfectant solution,the dosage of the disinfectant required is increased obviously.The amounts of bovine serum albumin and bacterial suspension added to the experiment system have significant influence on available chlorine content.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of polymeric viscosity improver on the tribological performance of palm kernel methyl ester (PKME).

Design/methodology/approach
Tribological performances of the PKME added with the various concentration of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) were evaluated using four-ball tribotester under extreme pressure condition. The morphologies of the worn surfaces were observed by using the optical microscope.

Findings
The addition of polymeric viscosity improver (EVA copolymer) has produced positive results towards the tribological properties of PKME. In total, 4 per cent of EVA copolymer is found as the optimum concentration by improving the friction reducing properties and anti-wear behaviour due to the formation of film thickness between two rubbing surfaces.

Originality/value
This work might contribute to the development of vegetable oils as a new source of environmental-friendly lubricant.


All chemically reasonable [2+2] and [2+3] dipolar addition reactions between two S2O molecules forming heterocyclic intermediates of composition S4O2, as well as the decomposition of these species to generate the observed products S3 and SO2, have been studied by gas-phase ab initio MO calculations at the G3X(MP2) level of theory. The reaction enthalpies, Gibbs energies and, partly, activation enthalpies of 17 reactions have been calculated. The [2+2] cycloadditions of S2O are all endothermic and are characterized by high barriers. The reaction of lowest activation enthalpy (ΔH#298 = 11 kJ·mol−1) is the exothermic [2+3] cycloaddition of two S2O molecules resulting in the five-membered heterocycle oxatetrathiolane 2-oxide S4O2 (7), which is predicted to decompose at 298 K exothermally and without any activation enthalpy to SO2 plus S3. The S3 molecule is predicted to add exothermally to S2O to give the five-membered homocycle S5O which has, in fact, been prepared in this way before. The bimolecular decomposition of S5O to SO2, S4 and S5 is also exothermic and may explain the formation of the red S4 molecule on condensation of S2O at temperatures below −130 °C. The implications of these results for the understanding of the chemistry on Jupiter's moon Io are discussed. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004)


Topnotch sportsmen's psychological character and athlete's psychological condition before competition were analyzed in this paper. The psychological train methods on improving competition positive continually were given by author.


This study explored the perceptions of Mexican senior government agency officials with regard to the impact of NAFTA on training and development practices in Mexico. This study was conducted using a phenomenological tradition within qualitative research. The major findings of the study indicate that Mexican senior government agency officials consider NAFTA as a driver for the implementation/development of training and development practices in Mexican companies. According to the participants' perceptions, NAFTA motivated the creation and development of national programs for training and development. The Mexican government has found in these programs a means to provide support to Mexican companies to increase their competitiveness.


Numerical simulations of components subjected to cyclic thermo-mechanical loads require an accurate modelling of their cyclic plasticity behaviour. Combined models permit to capture monotonic hardening as well as cyclic hardening/softening phenomena, that occur in reality. In principle the durability assessment of a component under thermal loads can be performed only if the cyclic behaviour is simulated until complete material stabilization. As materials stabilize approximately at half the number of cycles to failure, it follows that in case of small plastic strains a huge number of cycles must be considered and an unfeasible simulation time would be required. Accelerated models have thus been proposed in literature. The aim of this work is that of comparing the different acceleration techniques in the case a round mould for continuous casting loaded thermo-mechanically. It can be observed that the usual approach of using the stabilized stress-strain curve already from the first cycle could lead to relevant errors. An alternative method is that of increasing the value of the parameter that controls the speed of stabilization in the combined model. This approach permits the number of cycles to reach stabilization to be drastically reduced, without affecting the overall mechanical behaviour. Based on this approach, a simple design rule, that can be adopted, particularly when relatively small plastic strains occur, is finally proposed. 1 Numerical simulation of mechanical components under thermal loads The choice of a suitable cyclic plasticity model to be used in numerical simulation of components subjected to cyclic thermo-mechanical loads is a crucial aspect in design. Some of typical examples are discussed in [1, 2, 3]. In fact, to perform a reliable thermal fatigue analysis a model able to capture accurately the behaviour of the material observed during experimental testing is required. On the other hand, durability assessment of a component under thermal loads can be done only if complete material stabilization is reached [4]. As materials stabilize approximately at half number of cycles to failure, it follows that in case of small plastic strain a huge number of cycles must be considered and an unfeasible computational time would be required. In a recent work [5] dealing with a thermomechanical analysis of a squared mould showed that a huge number of cycles (around 60567) must be performed to reach the stabilized condition. Since the geometry of the squared mould requires a 3D finite element (FE) simulation, even taking into account symmetries and optimizing the mesh, ≈15 min is needed to compute 1 cycle or ≈630 day to obtain final results, according to the value (b≈4) of the speed of stabilization of the mould alloy, see Fig. 1. Therefore, to overcome this problem, some alternative models (accelerated, stabilized), proposed in [6], have been adopted and compared. It has been shown that accelerated models gave the most conservative results, as the lowest value of number of cycle to failure was obtained. On the other hand, in that work it was not possible to make a comparison with the combined (complete) model because a too long computational time was necessary to reach stabilization. Fig. 1. Possible strategy to reduce the computational time. Fig. 1 presents schematically the desirable diagram required to perform a correct design of the component. In principle the basic idea of the accelerated techniques ≈ 60567 (≈630 days) N (log) Sp ee d of st ab ili za tio n, b Combined model ≈ 4 Accelerated models N=100 (≈25 hours) UNREALISTIC Δεpl UNFEASIBLE 1500 A B MATEC Web of Conferences 165, 19010 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201816519010


Foreword ( Helen Brand, Chief Executive, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Sir David Tweedie, Chairman, International Accounting Standards Board ). Introduction. 1 Recharging Yourself to Face the Challenge. 2 "Uphold Morality on Strong Shoulders and Create Brilliant Writings with a Fine Hand". 3 Making Your Writings More Citable and Your Students More Useful to Society. 4 Honesty is the Core of Integrity Awakening is the Prerequisite to Achievement. 5 Innovative Thinking and the Pursuit of Excellence. 6 A Good Essay is the Result of Good Subject Matter Steady Progress is the Result of Strong Resolve. 7 Studying Philosophy: Clear Directions at a Glance. 8 Studying Classics for Enlightenment. Appendix. Index.


Multi-core architectures require Dynamic Thermal Management mechanisms (DTM) to handle (1) multiple hotspots and (2) global chip heating effect while finding the best trade-off between performance and thermal control. In that scenario Thin-Film Thermoelectric Cooling devices can be used to mitigate both effects since they provide on-die localized cooling with a dynamic and heterogeneous effect. This work proposes controlling TFTECs from the microarchitecture for an enhanced Dynamic Thermal Management in multi-core architectures. We show that by using our TFTEC-based proposals the performance is within 8% of that of a thermally-unconstrained processor.


A development of chaotic pendulum instrument was made,which could demonstrate chaos phenomenon driven by periodic force based on PASCO system.Adjusting the parameters of the chaotic pendulum instrument,the system could demonstrate different nonlinear dynamic actions,plot phase diagram sunder situations with or without driving force,and then analyzing sensitivity to the initial value and singularity.Using the dynamic equation for the chaotic pendulum,the simulation experiment based on Matlab was carried out.The results indicated that the properties of the chaotic pendulum dynamic system were sensitive to the driving frequency,and a threshold value of the driving amplitude existed for the appearance of chaos phase.


The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, 2010, (together known as "Obamacare") have as their objective the provision of comprehensive health care coverage for most residents of the United States. But rather than follow the piecemeal incremental approach adopted by previous administrations (that yielded Medicare and Medicaid, for instance), the Obama administration went for the jugular, radically altering the landscape of health care financing and delivery in the country. The administration's big bang approach sharply contrasts with minimalist incrementalism to which ordinary Americans are accustomed. And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. This paper argues that escalating opposition to Obamacare is rooted in two principal factors, to wit: widespread disapproval of the process that led to the enactment of the legislation and deep-seated fear of actualizing a result that is not only completely at variance with American value system and way of life but also potentially catastrophic for the economy. Polls convincingly show that most Americans actively support reforming the health system. Nevertheless – and this is the key – the role they envisage for the government is quite narrow and limited. This perceived limited role, an original American credo and a pillar of American exceptionalism, is powerfully consistent with a minimalist approach to health care expansion – which, as the paper demonstrates, provides a more acceptable path (gauged by public support) to health system reform. And in contrast to prevailing orthodoxy, which equates the right to health care to provision of comprehensive health care coverage, this paper contends that basic coverage packages (particularly in situations where the former is not politically feasible) is consistent with international obligations of nations to secure and protect the human right to health care in their respective jurisdictions.


A Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) method, which was introduced to determine the manufacture time quota of injection mould, was put forward. As two key technologies of the method, case retrieval and case modification were focused. To improve the efficiency and accuracy of case retrieval, a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based hierarchy retrieval model was proposed to optimize the feature weights. To improve the accuracy of case modification,a relative value and experience mixed modification strategy was put forward to combine and optimize the evaluation rules. Finally, an example was applied to verify the validity of the method.


One explanation for firms' inventory cycles is that they are tied to the calendar year, reflecting fundamental demand seasonality. But we find that these cycles are also tied to the fiscal year, an accounting artifact constructed by firms themselves. Specifically, inventory is lower at fiscal year end (FYE), a phenomenon we call inventory's FYE effect. Among U.S. manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, we find inventory is 10% lower at FYE than at other times of the fiscal year, controlling for calendar time. In aggregate, this 10% is $47 billion, valued at cost of goods. One possible explanation for the FYE effect is sales timing, in which executives' private benefits lead them to pull some post-FYE sales into the FYE. But the literature suggests three alternative hypotheses that can also explain the FYE effect. To test for sales timing, we employ a novel natural experiment based on Germany's tax code change in 2000, when some firms change their FYEs in a way that is plausibly exogenous to inventory patterns. We find that these German firms also have lower inventory at FYE. This result is robust to corrections for possible treatment selection using the Heckit procedure and propensity scoring. We also examine mediator and moderator effects. For example, the link from FYE to lower inventory is mediated by lower margins and higher sales. Firms whose executive compensations have a higher bonus component have a stronger FYE effect. Taken together, the evidence is consistent with sales timing, but is not explained by the alternative hypotheses. Finally, we estimate that 1 percentage point lower inventory at FYE is associated with an economically significant 1.7% lower Tobin's q, which is due to lower gross profits and higher costs like inventory holdings expenses and capacity investments. We conclude with a discussion of limitations, next steps, and some intriguing implications for research and practice.


This research concerns how to implement knowledge management for coordination and collaboration and what the important issues are in managing knowledge in today's globalizing fashion business contexts. Through a literature survey, we develop an implementation framework that provides a new, knowledge-centred management paradigm for organizations. We begin with a discussion of the issues of knowledge and knowledge management as aspects of the organizational process, and examine how knowledge management aids networked organizations in managing, sharing, and transferring their "knowledge". On such a premise we examine a case of how knowledge management can be operationalized and assessed in terms of the three-dimensional aspects of managing the latest communication and coordination technologies: predictability, interconnectedness, and efficiency. Although our research is based on empirical observations of international textile and apparel companies, the contextual elements governing the use of the technologies apply to all businesses that rely on proper communication and coordination to plan and monitor globally dispersed functional teams and enterprises.


The paper provides a structural account of a clinical case of psychosis based on a two-year analysis conducted from a Lacanian perspective. It illustrates the Lacanian theoretical and clinical approach to psychosis through discussing the different phases of the analytic work with the particular analysand from her gradual stabilization to her breakdown and hospitalization. Following through the development of the analysis in a chronological order enables a presentation of the different modalities of psychotic transference at different points in the work as well as a discussion of the mechanisms responsible for stabilization and, conversely, psychotic breakdown. The paper discusses the use of language in psychosis as well as the strategies of binding jouissance that the analysand developed as a means of preventing psychotic crises and maintaining a functional relation to the world. Finally,issues are raised about the aim and direction of psychoanalytic treatment of psychosis.


. Henry George's vision of land monopolization as the source of growing rentier income was compatible with all elements in the predominant Ricardian-Millian classical distribution model except the rent-reducing effects of technological change and Malthusian population growth as the catalyst underlying income distribution. Since George also rejected Malthusianism on ethical and philosophical grounds, his analysis focused on the autonomous nature of rent income with respect to population and technological change. George analyzed the distributive consequences of both increasing technology with constant population, and constant technology with increasing population. In the latter case, George, in an ultimate rejection of Malthusianism, demonstrated an optimistic increasing returns to scale of population growth. However, although capable, George never considered a logical extension of his analysis, namely, the dynamic case of changing population, technology, and increasing returns. This analysis would have contradicted his predictions of the trend in relative income shares and the uniqueness of the single tax as the solution to social and economic distress.


PT' EMPORARY whole-body hypothermia in theory offers an ideal way of greatly 1, reducing metabolism, and seems to hold great promise in clinical surgery. Yet, although the reptile or the hibernating mammal can withstand very low body temperatures without distress, body temperatures much below 28°C produce severe and often fatal physiological stress in the non-hibernating mammal. In the course of a series of studies of the physiology of experimental hypothermia in the dog, we have observed profound changes in the auto-regulation of respiration and of blood PH. These changes appear to be important components body temperatures of in the stress effect of low higher mammals. Prevention or control of these changes appears to greatly increase vive extremely the ability of the dog to low body temperatures. sur-


А bstract . Present review article considers neuroimmunological issues in pathogenesis of infantile cerebral paralysis  (ICP).  Various  factors  of  immune  system  and  cytokine  regulation  network  (including  TNFα, interleukins) have been shown to participate in development of pathological events in patients with periventricular leukomalacia which result into evolving ICP. Selective cytotoxic activity of TNFα was analyzed as a factor in development of continuous chronic process. A role of immunopathological events for development of cytogenetic rearrangements in peripheral blood cells is proposed. ( Med. Immunol., 2011, vol. 13, N 2-3, pp 115-12 0)


Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and DNA recombinant techniques were used in these experiments to clone human cytochrome P450 2A6 (CYP 2A6) cDNA from human liver tissue into cloning vector pBluescript SK (M13). The fragments were identified by restriction map analysis and subcloned into eukaryotic expressioni vector pREP9. The recombinant was transfected into CHL cells by a modified calcium phosphate-mediated procedure, to establish the transgenic cell line CHL-2A6. CYP 2A6 cDNA expression was assessed by measuring activity of coumarin-7-hydroxylase (COH) in S9 fraction of cells. COH activity in CHL-2A6 S9 was (2.58±0.68) nmol·min~(-1)·g~(-1) protein. No activity was detected in control CHL S9. The establishment of the line of CHL-2A6 cells provides as useful tool for study of drug metabolism and toxicology.


Acute liver failure (ALF) results from a significant loss of liver function and has few effective treatments and poor clinical outcomes. ALF is associated with neurological dysfunction, called type A hepatic encephalopathy (HE), which greatly increases mortality. One of the commonly used models of type A HE is the azoxymethane (AOM) mouse model, which is associated with hepatocyte necrosis, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. That being said, there have been no extensive analyses into the hepatic pathology associated with AOM‐induced liver injury. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize the hepatic injury during the AOM model of type A HE.


Adult Higher Academic Education(AHAE) nowadays suffers from a rapid decrease of student quantity and severe enrollment situation,due to the popularization of national general higher education.Therefore,to analyze the student resources,as well as to carry out an active and robust AHAE enrollment,has become one of the most important tasks of the AHAE development in our country.Additionally,exploring the potential student resources,analyzing effective ways of AHAE enrollment promotion is of great guiding significance in AHAE.


With a very simple interpolation procedure, a number of fundamental spectroscopic constants (ground‐state energies, equilibrium distances, force constants, and frequencies) for asymmetric alkali molecules and alkali molecular ions are estimated, starting from the corresponding values of the symmetric molecules and ions. For the quantities for which there are data available in the literature, good agreement is found both with experimental data and theoretical calculations. In general, the estimated spectroscopic constants may be considered sufficiently reliable to be safely used in applications such as the construction of potential‐energy curves.


This article describes the author's experience with dance as a sensory experience. The author discusses dance as an experience, an art form, and a way of investigating the author's connection with the past and her ancestors.


Authorship is often referred to as the currency of academia. It plays a significant role in how one advances in his or her academic career, such as getting a job, a grant, tenure, promotion, even in attracting doctoral-stream students. While it is evident that authorship has its privileges, it also comes with responsibilities and expectations. In their 2015 Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy (CJOT) editorial, Davis and Polatajko explained that to earn authorship, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) established four criteria: (a) one must have made ''substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work''; (b) one must have drafted or critically revised the work for important intellectual content; (c) one must have approved the final version of the work to be published; and (d) one must agree ''to be accountable for all aspects of the work'' when it comes to its accuracy and integrity, and be able to identify who is responsible for each part (ICMJE, n.d., Section 2). One must meet all four of these criteria to earn the privilege of authorship. If none or only some of the criteria are met, then one's contribution should be delineated in the Acknowledgement section. The ICMJE also stipulates that anyone who meets the first criterion should be provided with the opportunity to meet the other three criteria. Despite the development of the ICMJE and other guidelines for authorship, issues with authorship continue to exist. The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, 2014) reports that the most common issues are (a) persons who have been omitted from authorship claiming they deserve authorship, (b) persons who have been named as authors without their consent, (c) persons who agree to be authors but do not assume responsibility when something goes wrong, and (d) confusion when it comes to having multiple authors. Writing a manuscript can be complex and can involve the contribution of people in different roles. The number of researchers collaborating on projects is increasing, as, consequently, is the number of researchers coauthoring. The question as to whether a particular researcher can be an author is not usually a point of discussion; however, whether he or she has contributed sufficiently to merit authorship is a recurring issue. In addition, different types of authors and coauthors can be involved in the writing of a manuscript, each with its unique intricacies to consider. Some common instances of authorship collaborations are outlined below as well as what contributions should, and should not, constitute authorship.


On the basis of a recent survey conducted by AIAA composite structures subcom mittee, the failure criteria used by more than ninety percent design engineers have been considered in this study. These failure criteria are maximum stress, maximum strain and quadratic polynomial (Tsai Wu, Chamis, Hoffman and Hill) failure criteria. Failure envelopes for all these failure criteria are drawn for (0/90/±45)s laminate made of T300/5208 graphite epoxy material in stress space. For the first ply failure strength, we observe a great deal of difference in the predictions made by these failure criteria. Depending upon the failure criteria being compared, the maximum percentage dif ference ranges to 75%. Because of the criticality of failure criteria in structural design, for a better confidence in the predicted strength, it is necessary to undertake further theoretical and experimental studies in failure criteria. Computer aided optimum designs may not be optimum if the correct failure criteria is not considered.


In the current study, contents of cognitive function game were developed, and variations in Electroencephalography signals were measured and compared before performing the game tasks and during performing the game. The study sought to assess how much the game contents activated brain
 to see if they were suitable for cognitive functional training. For Electroencephalography signal analysis, power spectral analysis was implemented to classify signals according to frequency. To test signal variation according to the degree of brain activation before and after performing the
 game, variation comparison and paired t-test were conducted. Results showed that there was reduction in α wave signaling which implied that the subjects concentrate on the content, and increase in β wave signifying that they were engaged in cognitive activities such
 as remembering and assessing. Consequentially, the produced contents in this study are expected to be useful for cognitive functional training.


The present invention relates to a cutter for tempered glass using a laser and a cutting method thereof. The cutter includes a laser light source unit which generates and outputs a laser beam, a scanner unit which reflects the laser beam to tempered glass in a preset pattern by controlling the horizontal displacement and vertical displacement of the laser beam from the laser light source unit, an initial crack unit which generates an initial crack by applying a physical shock to one end of a line for cutting the tempered glass, and a control unit for controlling the laser light source unit, the scanner unit, and the creation of initial cracks.


examines the volatility of the U$/Euro exchange rate during the period 1999-2005. According to our estimates, the degree of volatility persistence, although statistically significant, is rather low; moreover, there is no evidence of an asymmetric response of predictable volatility to past innovations. Since this evidence excludes a relevant component of 'nonfundamental' exchange rate volatility, the main policy implication is that the ECB 'benign neglect' approach towards the Euro has been entirely appropriate. This conclusion is in line with the current consensus view emerging from the literature on inflation targeting and monetary policy rules in open economies.


Hierarchical Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S nanohexagon dendrites were synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method. The Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S nanohexagon dendrites were made up of nanohexagons with a side length of about 90 nm. The nanohexagons were regularly arranged forming as embranchments which were parallel to each other along certain hexagonal directions. Furthermore, these embranchments made up primary trunks shaping as dendrites. The growth mechanism of Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S nanohexagon dendrites was proposed in which molecular soft template and lowest energy principle played key roles. By adjusting the composition of the reactants, a series of Zn x Cd 1– x S solid solutions could be obtained. The morphology of the synthesized Zn x Cd 1– x S depended much on the x value. The UV-vis spectra absorb edges of the Zn x Cd 1– x S samples continuously shifted indicating the changes of the band gap.


Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua, a rhizome‐propagating herb endemic to China, is used in many traditional Chinese medicines and foods. The hilly mountains in western and southern Anhui province is one of its main natural distribution and artificial cultivation areas. We assessed the genetic diversity and structure of P. cyrtonema germplasm resources in Anhui by nine pairs of SSR primers and selected morphological characters. The results showed that the 13 sampled populations of P. cyrtonema possessed normal levels of genetic diversity but could be clustered into three distinct genetic groups. The levels of within‐group genetic diversity was similar among the three groups, but their distribution areas and morphological characters were remarkably different. Group I was confined to the Tianmu (including Jiuhua) Mountains, group II was distributed in the Huangshan Mountains, and group III was restricted to the Dabie Mountains. Furthermore, the leaf length:width ratio significantly differed among groups, and the peduncle length of group I was significantly shorter than that of the other two groups. Levels of genetic differentiation among the three groups was close to that between different species within the genus. Thus, the three genetic groups of P. cyrtonema should be considered as independent units for conservation and breeding management in the Anhui region.


Currently, the fuel oil for transportation and industry is produced mostly from fossil fuels. Because fossil fuels are a limited resource, biomass could be an alternative resource. Empty fruit bunch (EFB) is biomass waste from fresh fruit bunch processing in palm oil mills. EFB can be converted to bio-crude oil through pyrolysis at temperatures from 400 to 600 °C. The quality of bio-crude oil must be upgraded due to its high oxygen content. Esterification of bio-crude oil potentially improves the quality of bio-crude oil by using zeolite as catalyst. The purpose of this research was to investigate the properties of Bayah natural zeolites for upgrading the quality of bio-crude oil from EFB pyrolysis. Bayah natural zeolite was activated using various NaOH concentrations. Characterization of the natural zeolites was performed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), and nitrogen physisorption. The optimum ratio of Si/Al of the modified Bayah natural zeolites was 3.91. The surface area of the parent was initially 19 m2/g and increased significantly to 150 m2/g after treatment with 0.4 M NaOH solution. The application of the activated zeolites for bio-crude oil esterification successfully decreased the total acid number.


The main results of structural studies of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were given and presented data on the dependence of the structure and properties of CdS nanoparticles on their size. An Xray analysis method was used to determine the structure and size of nanoparticles. It was found that nanostructured films and CdS nanopowders are a mixture of crystallites or domains of the cubic and hexagonal phases and have an unordered densely packed structure with an average nanoparticle size of about 5 nm.


Practice education is not only the need of the talent training, but also an effective approach to realize the innovative students' construction and promote the country to be innovative. Due to the factors such as the poor mechanism, the backward concept, the faulty security conditions, and the lack of investment, the higher practice education in China is a mere formality. Renewing the idea, reforming the course scheme, establishing the social system, implementing the evaluation and authentication mechanism is the effective method to improve the level of the practice education.


SGLT2 blockers are a new group of hypoglycemic drugs to improve glycemic control, reduce HbA1c, and contribute to weight loss, in case of low risk of hypoglycaemia. In the paper current data on the effectiveness and safety of SGLT2 blockers in patients with normal and impaired renal function in a mild, moderate and severe stage will be presented.


Forging industries are considered to be the most polluting industries causing not only air but also noise pollution. These industrial units mostly contain different types of furnaces and power hammers. Furnace oil is the main fuel used because of the considerable consumption of furnace oil. In this study, forged auto components were identified and a carbon footprint assessment was scientifically grounded . An effort was made for identification and calculation of carbon footprint of such units to address the urgent need for the relevant measures for offsetting the carbon footprint. In our study, forging industry produces CO 2 emissions equal to 4.83 Gg, non-CO 2 emissions 0.141 Gg, indirect emissions (utilities sector) 1.31 Gg and other emissions 0.064 Gg. These emissions can be offset through wind energy which produces approximately 4.0 MW power. This can be further used in the same industry. In calculation of carbon footprint, credible scientific standards like Green House Gas Protocol and IPCC Guidelines 1996 are used.


Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a rare form of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) that presents with generalized blistering since birth. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common cutaneous malignancy seen in RDEB, starting from second decade onwards. We report a case of SCC complicating RDEB in a 6‐year‐old girl.


The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (Fermi) has opened a new window for our studies of pulsars, particularly the millisecond pulsars (MSPs). Amo ng the sources detected by Fermi, a significant number of pulsars should exist and have not been i d tified. We have carried out a candidate MSP selection based on the known properties of pul sars, andFermi data analysis for the selected sources for further selection has also been con du ted. We propose to search for the MSP binaries among them through optical observations by find ing their orbital flux modulation. The proposed optical observations would be an alternativel y effective method for finding MSP binaries, particularly if they are eclipsing systems. The o bservations could be a good program carried out with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT ) given SALT's capabilities.


Reasonable interaction designing makes users more successful and satisfied,otherwise the failed interaction designing makes users frustrated.Using HOQ to work out key-points of human computer interaction design is to point out the direction of designing satisfied human computer interaction.


Strongly nonlinear surface eddies are identified and analyzed in a general circulation model. Agulhas rings and Gulf Stream cold-core eddies are examples of eddies that cannot be properly characterized using linear geostrophic dynamics. These eddies are compact, highly circular, persistent in time, and travel long distances while maintaining their characteristics. The nonlinear eddies can be identified by a large Rossby number and high circularity. The majority of the anomalous eddies are anticyclones. Calculation of the balance of forces on these eddies demonstrates that the centrifugal force associated with strong curvature is significant, and the force balance shifts from geostrophy toward a gradient wind balance. Using geostrophy instead of the gradient wind balance produces large errors in estimates of rotational velocity of these eddies. The gradient wind velocity can be calculated from geostrophic velocity and eddy radius. Comparison between the results demonstrates that even when only sea surface height and associated geostrophic velocities are available, strongly nonlinear eddies can be identified and properly characterized. This analysis is then applied to altimetric maps of sea surface height. Nonlinear eddies are present in the altimetric maps, but are less common and not as strongly nonlinear. This analysis demonstrates that by properly accounting for the dynamics of the eddy field, a more complete statistical description including nonlinear terms can be obtained from readily available observations.


Political and foreign affairs are subtle and concerns the benefits of the state,and consequently sentences and words should be considered carefully.The tones of the political articles,which are different from science articles,news reports and literary works,should be very firm,and their contents should be very concise so that they are suitable to the political occasions.Therefore many aspects should be considered when they are translated so as to avoid ambiguity or the damage of the benefits of the state.This paper conducts a discussion on translation of political articles from three aspects——stylistic,function equivalence and register.


Abstract Roasted flavor is a critical factor in the acceptance of a peanut cultivar. A three-year study was made on the variation in roasted peanut flavor intensity of U.S. peanut cultivars and advanced breeding lines. An initial set of 83 entries was reduced to 71 by removing samples that showed evidence of extraneous environmental conditions, immaturity, and handling or improper sample preparation effects. All entries for the cv. New Mexico Valenicia C, representing the Valencia market type, were lost because of improper roasting or intense fruity flavor. Florigiant, Florunner, and Pronto were used as comparison standards for roasted peanut attribute values in evaluating the Virginia, runner, and Spanish market types, respectively. The positive estimated difference between control and test germplasm sources was largest within the Virginia type, with a least-square mean difference of +1.4 for roasted peanut attribute intensity. Spanish types were next with a positive estimated difference of +1.3, and run...


Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) studies have been conducted on genitalic structures of Anopheles (Cellia) stephensi Liston for the first time from India. External genitalic attributes are highly species specific in many insect groups in general and mosquitoes in particular. Though the external male and female genitalic structures have already been studied by taxonomists in case of this most important vector species. Many additional characteristics have been found which will prove useful in sorting out species complex of this group.


SUMMARY Impulsivity was associated with the coexistence of DEB and BD (U=224427; p<0.01). The 3.5% of female students with impulsiv- ity presented DEB and BD together vs. 0.6% who did not; 19.6% of female students with impulsivity presented one of the two behaviors vs. 7.8% without this trait. Impulsivity was associated positively and significantly with the coexistence of DEB and BD (t=3.8; p<0.01), re- gardless of socioeconomic variables, such as the father's educational attainment, the mother's educational attainment, and the number of services in the household.


Based on the study of selected cases, particularly those in the United States, and the developmental course of collaborative journalism in the global environment, this study shows that collaboration between professional and amateur journalists is currently moving from a mechanical to an organic form of collaboration. Innovative practices in collaborative journalism have produced not only significant results, but also in-depth explicate and exemplify the idea of "news as conversation." Although collaborative journalism has made strides in Taiwan, the results remain limited compared to those in other countries. Nonetheless, most participants of the movement believe that collaborative journalism has great potential and value, and that it will benefit Taiwan's journalistic ecology and reconstruct its professionalism.


ABSTRACT This paper seeks to use eye-tracking emulation software to understand and forecast the human responses to signage and directional cues in Massachusetts, USA. Using eye-tracking emulation software, this study measured the unconscious visual responses people are projected to have to designs and layouts in new built environments, focusing on what makes streets most walkable. The study found differences between the way the brain takes in conventional automobile-oriented residential developments versus new urbanist layouts, with the former lacking key fixation points. The study's discoveries explain why new urbanist layouts promote walking effortlessly and conventional automobile-oriented residential developments cannot.


:This development research aims to determine the effectiveness of Ethno-STEM-based learning tools to improve students' creative thinking skills at SMP Muhammadiyah Tilango. The research method uses the RnD model with research stages including preliminary studies, planning, preparation of initial products, product validation, product trials, final products. Data analysis techniques use descriptive statistics with one group pre-test and post-test designs based on indicators of creative thinking and student response. The results showed that the learning tools met the criteria of being effective. The effectiveness is seen in the positive response results of students, namely 89% and the results of the creative thinking test on the fluency indicator reaching 85%, the flexibility indicator reaching 80%, the original indicator reaching 68% and the elaboration indicator reaching 70%. Based on the results, the n-gain is in the range of 0.3<g<0.7 with a medium category.


During the past decade the attractiveness of various hydrolyzed proteins to several species of tephritid flies has been established and these materials have been used in poison bait sprays, in fly traps, and in studies on dispersal habits. Several workers have reported more satisfactory control when enzymatic yeast hydrolysates or acid hydrolysates of corn protein were added to malathion sprays: Steiner (1952, 1955a, and 1955b) for the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata Wied.), the oriental fruit fly (Dacus dorsalis Hendel), and the melon fly (Dacus cucurbitae Coq.); Shaw (1955) for the Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens Loew); Orphanidis et al. (1958) for Dacus adults on olives; and Marucci (1958) for the blueberry maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh). Orphanidis et al. have also reported that the addition of casein hydrolysate or the acid hydrolysates of corn protein to the recommended lure of ammonium sulphate increased the captures of Dacus as much as twelve times. Although most of the work with these attractants has concerned control, Barnes (1959) has used them to advantage in biological studies. He labelled natural populations of the walnut husk fly, Rhagoletis completa Cress., with a radioactive tracer by attracting the flies to feeding stations of Staley's insecticide bait No. 7 (acid hydrolysate of corn protein) plus the isotope P32 By subsequent trapping he determined the field movements of the adults in and out of walnut orchards.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the expression of progesterone receptor (PR) mRNA and PR protein levels in the myometrium and leiomyomata from untreated and mifepristone pretreated women with leiomyoma and to examine the mechanism of mifepristone treatment on uterine leiomyomata.

METHODS
Expression of PR mRNA and PR protein were determined by Northern blot and HAP of single-dose saturated analysis in myometrium and leiomyomata (center and marginal area) from 27 untreated and 6 mifepristone pretreated women with leiomyomata.

RESULTS
PR mRNA abundance and PR protein levels in both myomatous center and marginal area were significantly greater than those in corporal myometrium (P < 0.01) in both follicular and luteal phases, but similar between myomatous center and marginal area (P > 0.05). 6 cases pretreated with mifepristone 25 mg/day for 3 months were operated, all but one patient displayed a decrease in leiomyomata volume. PR mRNA abundance in both myometruim and leiomyomata (center and marginal area) was significantly decreased in 4 patients continuing mifepristone treatment before the operation but not in the other 2 patients stopping RU486 1 month before operation. PR protein levels in these tissues showed significant decrease in all 6 cases.

CONCLUSION
There are overexpression of PRmRNA and PR protein in leiomyomata. One of the mechanism of mifepristone action on decreasing leiomyomata volume may be related to suppression on expression of PR gene. It seems that suppression on transcription of PR gene is reversible, but on translation of PR gene may maintain in a relatively longer period.


The value of lateral cephalometric radiographs to evaluate the pharyngeal airway is limited because it provided 2-dimensional (2D) images of complex 3-dimensional (3D) anatomic structures. Three dimensional analyses of the airway volumes are required to understand oral and pharyngeal adaptations in mouth breathing and nasal breathing subjects. The aim of this study was to measure the pharyngeal airway volume and the size of the face, then compare between pharyngeal airway volume in mouth breathing and nasal breathing subjects and find the gender difference in each group, also to study the relation between pharyngeal airway volume and the size of the face. Material and Methods: Fifty patients including 28 males and 22 females with an age ranged between 18-35 years suffered from clinical symptoms of nasal obstruction and mouth breathing was detected by otolaryngolog ist and sent to be imaged by Brilliance™ 64, Philips multi-detector computed tomography. Twenty normal subjects (10 males and 10 females) were selected as control. Angular and linear variables were measured in addition to the size of the face and the pharyngeal airway volume. Results: A statistically significant relationship between the pharyngeal airway volume and the mode of respiration and between pharyngeal airway volume and genders were detected. The pharyngeal airway volume was larger in nasal breathers than in mouth breathers and it was larger in males than in females. The size of the face was larger in males than females. Conclusion: CT volumetric images provide more reliable and accurate information for measurement of the pharyngeal airway volume, so the changes in the pharyngeal airway volume can be studied before and after surgery and this will aid in selection of the best treatment option in addition to control the relapse after orthodontic treatment with mouth breathing patients. Keyword: Pharyngeal airway volume, size of the face, mouth breathing, computerized tomography. (J Bagh Coll


The IgE levels and food‐allergen‐specific IgE‐ and IgG‐antibodies (Ab) to oval bumin (OA), ovomucoid (OVO) and β‐Mactoglobulin (BLG) were determined up to 18 months of age in 163 infants born to women who were atopic. A high (HIGH group) or a low (REDUCED group) intake of hen's egg and cow's milk by the mother during the third trimester gave no significant differences in the concentrations of IgE or in IgE‐Ab (OVO, BLG) and IgG‐Ab (OA, OVO, BLG). Similarly, a prolongation of the abstention diet to the early lactation period did not influence the immune response. The IgG‐Ab levels to all three food allergens decreased significantly (P < 0.001) in both study groups between birth and 2 months of age, but then increased significantly (P < 0.001) between 6 and 18 months of age. The presence in serum of IgE‐Ab to OVO (≥ 0.15 PRU/ml) was associated with significantly higher IgG‐Ab levels to OVO at 6 months (P < 0.001) and at 18 months (P < 0.05). Infants with positive skin‐prick tests (SPT) to OA and OVO showed higher IgG‐Ab levels at 6 and 18 months of age than did infants with negative SPT reactions to the two egg allergens. This indicates a relation between the IgE‐ and IgG‐Ab response and it also suggests that some individuals are 'high responders' to both types of immunoglobulin isotypes while others are 'low responders'.


Abstract This paper examines the impact of work days off due to illness on the financial status and livelihoods of poor slum dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Data on illness and socio-economic status were collected in a panel survey with monthly rounds. We contacted over 12 000 individuals during a 12-month period and 2682 adults had taken work days off due to illness. Where adults had taken time off work due to illness, coping responses included a deficit in their financial situation, reducing expenditure, taking loans or mortgages, selling assets, changing their work and begging. Particular households may be vulnerable to adult ill-health. When ill-health prevents an adult earner from working, the household financial situation deteriorates, and strategies are used to offset the effect. It is likely that adult illness is a major contributor to chronic poverty.


Iowa State University's Construction Engineering faculty and the Quality Management Division of the American Society for Quality Control have sponsored and conducted two workshops on total quality management (TQM) in building design and construction in recent years. The second of these workshops brought together 50 industry practitioners with the goal of discussing the implementation of TQM in building design and construction. Through breakout session discussions and with guidance provided by companies with in‐place TQM programs, the participants developed a model implementation plan. The breakout sessions allowed small‐group discussion of three areas considered vital in any implementation of TQM. These included: (1) Organization, management involvement, and training; (2) customer and employee feedback mechanisms; and (3) teamwork, employee involvement, and recognition. The discussions in the breakout sessions were extended by the participants to generate a model TQM implementation plan. This plan is pres...


mediators fromintestinal mast cells mayserveasinitiators ofacuteand delayed inflammation. Mastcellhistamine release wasmeasured in19patients with inflammatory boweldiseases using gutmast cells fromenzymatically dispersed endoscopic forceps biopsy specimens ofmacroscopically inflamed andnormal tissue. Mastcells and corresponding basophils werechallenged withanti-IgE, anti-IgG, subclass anti-IgG4, and formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP)andresults werecompared with those fromninepatient control subjects. Themastcell countinpatients withulcera- tive colitis wasincreased compared with that in control subjects andpatients withCrohn's disease, andthemastcell countobtained from inflamed tissue wasgreater thanthatof normaltissue. Thestudyalsoshowsthe heterogeneity oftheresponsiveness ofthe histamine releasing cells tovarious secreta- gogues. Thus, mastcells released 04(0.0-2.0) (median (range)) nghistamine persample at anti-IgE challenge, andbasophils werealso anti-IgE responsive. Incontrast, mastcells did notrespond toFMLP butthecorresponding basophils did.Gutmastcells released 0*3 (0.0-1-0) (median (range)) nghistamine per sample atanti-IgG4 challenge; however, the corresponding basophils didnotrespond to anti-IgG4. Inaddition, theanti-IgG4 mediated histamine release wasprimarily confined to patients withinflammatory bowel disease. Thisstudysubstantiates previous histo- pathological findings that mastcells mayplay a functional role intheinflammatory process of inflammatory boweldiseases andprovides evidence forapossible role ofsubclass IgG4 as areaginic antibody.


An investigation of the reaction conditions influence on the self-assembling of Ru2(CO3)43− paddle wheel precursors and Co2+ ions in aqueous solution has resulted in a series of Co–Ru2 hetero-metallic complexes with different composition and dimensionality, namely [K1/3{Co(H2O)6}4/3{Ru2(CO3)4(H2O)2}]·2H2O (1), [KCo(H2O)5Ru2(CO3)4]·5H2O (2), and [KCo(H2O)4Ru2(CO3)4]·H2O (3). These complexes exhibit dimensional diversity due to the various linking modes of Co2+ ions. X-Ray structural analysis reveals that complex 1 is composed of ionic crystals with the Ru2(CO3)43−:Co(H2O)62+:K+ ratio of 3:4:1. For complex 2, one water of each Co(H2O)62+ is substituted by one oxygen of Ru2(CO3)43− forming [Co(H2O)5Ru2(CO3)4]−, then the neighboring Ru2(CO3)43− units are connected to each other through the remaining two carbonate oxygen atoms forming a negative square-grid layer [Co(H2O)5Ru2(CO3)4]nn−. In complex 3, two water molecules of each Co(H2O)62+ are substituted by the oxygen atoms of Ru2(CO3)43− units, which are connected to each other forming the square-grid layer [Ru2(CO3)4]n3n− similar to that in 2, then Co(H2O)42+ ions bond to neighboring [Ru2(CO3)4]n3n− layers in a cis mode forming the three-dimensional network [Co(H2O)4Ru2(CO3)4]nn−. Complex 2 exhibits ferromagnetic coupling between Ru25+ and Co2+, and long-range ordering is observed below 5.0 K. In contrast, complex 3 with a 3-D sublattice displays spin-glass behavior with the coexistence of spin-canting with magnetic ordering at 4.7 K.


The analysis and recognition of fault status in the Smart Grid field is a challenging problem. Computational Intelligence techniques have already been shown to be a successful framework to face complex problems related to a Smart Grid. The availability of huge amounts of data coming from smart sensors allows the system to take a fine grained picture of the power grid status. This data can be processed in order to offer an instrument in aiding humans operators to better understand the power grid status and to take decisions on grid operations. This paper addresses the problem of fault recognitions in a real-world power grid (i. e. the power grid that feds the city of Rome, Italy) with the One-Class Classification paradigm by a combined approach of dissimilarity measure learning by means of an evolution strategy and clustering techniques for modeling the decision regions between fault status and the standard functioning of the power system. In this paper we present an in-depth study of the performance of two clustering algorithms in building up the model of faults, as the core procedure of the proposed recognition system.


An important way to improve users' satisfaction in Web search is to assist them by issuing more effective queries. One such approach is query reformulation, which generates new queries according to the current query issued by users. A common procedure for conducting reformulation is to generate some candidate queries first, then a scoring method is employed to assess these candidates. Currently, most of the existing methods are context based. They rely heavily on the context relation of terms in the history queries and cannot detect and maintain the semantic consistency of queries. In this article, we propose a graphical model to score queries. The proposed model exploits a latent topic space, which is automatically derived from the query log, to detect semantic dependency of terms in a query and dependency among topics. Meanwhile, the graphical model also captures the term context in the history query by skip-bigram and n-gram language models. In addition, our model can be easily extended to consider users' history search interests when we conduct query reformulation for different users. In the task of candidate query generation, we investigate a social tagging data resource—Delicious bookmark—to generate addition and substitution patterns that are employed as supplements to the patterns generated from query log data.


We apply a general algorithm for merging prediction strategies (the Aggregating Algorithm) to the problem of linear regression with the square loss; our main assumption is that the response variable is bounded. It turns out that for this particular problem the Aggregating Algorithm resembles, but is slightly different from, the well-known ridge estimation procedure. From general results about the Aggregating Algorithm we deduce a guaranteed bound on the difference between our algorithm's performance and the best, in some sense, linear regression function's performance. We show that the AA attains the optimal constant in our bound, whereas the constant attained by the ridge regression procedure in general can be 4 times worse.


Application with multimedia systems are expected children can learn quickly and easily understood. This study aids program design using Macromedia Flash MX. This application is designed to help children, especially kindergarten children in the learning process in recognizing numbers, letters, shapes, colors, animals and fruits. Development methodology used is a multimedia development methodology. Intent and purpose of this program so that they could be interested to learn and play as if it were not learning the program was created consisting of text, sound and image with some motion pictures. This multimedia program on the application there are also exercises in addition to learning but also be able to implement it by answering questions that have been provided. keywords : Applications, Children kindergarten, Multimedia, Macromedia Flash MX


Recommendation is increasingly widely used in many areas in which collaborative filtering is one of the most well-known algorithms, but the traditional collaborative filtering (CF) recommendation algorithm suffers from data sparsity and user similarity imprecision problems. To conquer these problems mentioned above, this paper studies user attributes representing and proposes a hybrid recommendation algorithm based on attribute knowledge embedded collaborative filtering. By making use of attribute information, the similarity between users is improved. The hybrid algorithm assembles user attribute and collaborative filtering by a weighted method. Experiments validates its effectiveness.


Carol J. Clover on October 27, 2006, at the Townsend Center for the Humanities at the University of California, Berkeley. / REPRES E N TAT I O N S 100. Fall 2007 © 2007 The Regents of the University of California. ISSN 0734–6018, electronic ISSN 1533–855X, pages 13–22. All rights reserved. Direct requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content to the University of California Press at http://www. ucpressjournals.com/reprintinfo.asp. DOI: 10.1525/rep.2007.100.1.13. REP100_03.qxd 9/6/07 2:02 PM Page 13 This content downloaded from 126.96.36.199 on Thu, 7 Nov 2013 16:31:53 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Then he drew from his arm a ring, the greatest of treasures, and gave it to [Audun] and said, "if the worst should happen and you not only lose the ship, but the silver too, you will still not be penniless when you reach land, if you hold on to the ring. It can then still be seen that you have met King Svein. But I think it reasonable that if you have a debt to repay to some distinguished person, then give him the ring, because it suits a high-ranking man. And now farewell." Now let me tell you a little about this bear whose picture introduces this article. Every once in a while you have a perfect seminar. The students play off each other and off you productively; there is a constant energy and even the students do not want it to end. This was a gift to me from the students in such a seminar three years ago. It was a seminar that led to my Eye for an Eye book, and I assigned Audun's Story as part of readings to talk about the various ways people assessed value, and the relation of particular kinds of risk to value. Thus the value of the bear goes up because Audun says no to Harald's requests for it despite the very high probability of being killed for refusing, and its value goes up even more because by letting Audun get on with his mission, the bear becomes partly Harald's gift to Svein. But it is the value of this bear I need first affirm. When the students presented it to me, I was quite embarrassed but genuinely touched. The bear was not a cute stuffed animal, but a real—well, you know what I mean—a polar bear. It is more an accurate sculpture than a cuddly stuffed animal. I turned red, which was probably the best thank-you I could have given. I have displayed it prominently in my office on a cabinet that makes the bear look down threateningly on any student who comes by to complain about a grade. I love this bear, and I dragged my family down to my office to see it. It has been much admired by colleagues and students who feel obliged to comment on it. What are the rules regarding gifts you receive? Can you give them away? If so, must you conceal that you have done so from the original giver? Or is there a statute of limitations, after which any right the original giver has to feel wronged or to burden you with guilt for undervaluing it by giving it away rightly expires? Even an heirloom might exhaust its sacredness. Sometimes the sacred has a half-life, as might be the case, for instance, with your grandmother's dining set. Can the giver ask for his gifts back if you try to give them away? Might he be able to sue to recover it? Can he justly hate you for giving it away, feel wronged? Does it matter whether the gift was the initiatory gift, the one that started it all, or that it was a payback for a prior gift, or that it was a closing gift, a gift to send someone on their way never to return, as were the swords and cloaks Norwegian kings gave to departing Icelanders? Are there different rules for different kinds of gifts, a sword by one rule, a cloak or an ox or an axe by another? R E P R E S E N TAT I O N S 14 REP100_03.qxd 9/6/07 2:02 PM Page 14 This content downloaded from 22.214.171.124 on Thu, 7 Nov 2013 16:31:53 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions It would be a mistake to think that such questions have easy answers, for every situation presents its own set of particular circumstances that might alter what counts as a violation of proper behavior or what can be excused or understood as an imaginative and justifiable response to a special situation. But there are tendencies that can at times be stated as if they were hard and fast rules. Such rules often appear as proverbs and even as laws, laws you can sue on. Audun's Story puts the issue of regifting squarely in play. Its sublime ending depends on doing just that, as Audun regives to ruthless King Harald the arm-ring King Svein gave to him. And as we saw in the passage I quoted at the beginning, in which Svein indicated that the ring should be passed on to a highborn person, it really was not meant for Audun to keep except under certain limited circumstances. Another Icelandic tale expands upon the issues of giving away a gift. It suggests that the original giver retains some rights in gifts he has given. The tale involves men named Brand the Generous, King Olaf the Saint, and Isleif Gizurarson. This Isleif, by the way, made a gift of a polar bear to the German emperor (Henry III) in 1055 when he was to be consecrated the first bishop of Iceland. The events that ensued in the following brief vignette occurred some three decades earlier, when Isleif was a young priest. Isleif had just arrived in Norway from Germany, where he had been studying. Brand was in attendance on King Olaf at the time. Olaf held Brand in high esteem and, as an indication of it, gave Brand a fine scarlet cloak lined with gray fur. Then this: Brand ran into Isleif in town, and they were each delighted to see the other. Isleif was a priest at the time and quite poor when he arrived from the south. Brand said, "Accept from me this cloak the king gave me." He said, "You surely haven't lost any of your generosity; I will accept it with pleasure." Later in the holiday when Brand was eating with the king, the king fixed him with a look and said, "Brand, why aren't you wearing the cloak I gave you?" He said, "My lord, I gave it to this priest." The king said, "I want to see the priest to see if I will judge it excusable that you so quickly have given away a king's gift." People were rather amazed that Brand would treat such a person's gift so cavalierly. And when on their way to a church-meeting Brand said to the king: "My lord, there stands the priest, next to the church; he is wearing the cloak." The king fixed him with his eye and said, "This is the course we are going to take, Brand, because now I want to give him the cloak. Call the priest over to me." Brand said he would do so. Isleif soon came before the king and greeted him. The king accepted the greeting with pleasure and said, "That cloak, priest, that Brand gave you . . . I wish to give it to you, and I will repay Brand its value, because you so please me that I wish to gain the protection of your prayers." Is a Gift Forever? 15 REP100_03.qxd 9/6/07 2:02 PM Page 15 This content downloaded from 18.104.22.168 on Thu, 7 Nov 2013 16:31:53 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions He answered, "My lord, I thought this gift a splendid one before when Brand gave it to me, but it has even greater value coming from you with these words."2 The king believes he retains a right to reclaim his gift if it has been "abused" or insufficiently honored, and, being a strong king, his belief regarding his rights does much to realize those rights. But the king does not go about reclaiming the gift as highhandedly as he might have. He acts with considerable restraint. He thus compensates Brand for its value, presumably the compensation being directed to satisfy two, possibly three, things: any dishonor to Brand by reclaiming it, any return Brand was expecting from Isleif that may now be compromised, or, supposing as likely, the cloak was a repayment for gifts Brand had previously made to Olaf, a new discharge of that debt. This episode is more complex than it seems, though. Is Brand's act of generosity wiped off the slate? Does Isleif, in other words, still owe Brand? In support of this, has not the king actually ratified Brand's gift by remaking it to the same beneficiary? He has not canceled it in the least. It thus does not appear, or at least the story does not care to indicate, that Isleif handed the cloak back to Olaf so that Olaf could physically hand it back to him. The cloak stays on Isleif by Brand's hand. There are more than a few laws that purport to regulate the reclamation of gifts. It would not be suitable to go into the legalistic details. Suffice it to say: Legally there was a robust right of reclamation in land transfers, and there was one also for any gift above a certain value that had not been repaid at least to half its value. And even a giver of gifts of lesser value could sue to recover if the receiver promised a return gift.3 But this gift from Olaf is presumably already a countergift to Brand, not a gift that starts a cycle but more likely one that concludes a cycle, so Olaf has no claim against Brand for not having been repaid for the cloak. Not enough time has passed, in any event, for him to make such a claim, should it have been an opening gift. And should an Icelandic father try to follow the Gospel and give all he has to the poor, the heirs can reclaim that. Dad is limited to a gift of 10 percent of his net worth—called the great tithe—once in his lifetime "for the good of his soul," but not more unless he gets the heirs to sign on.4 Overcoming the interest of the heirs in the property dad gives away may account for the fact that types like Brand the Generous are generous abroad, far away from the jealous and watchful eye of kinsmen out to make sure their "expectations" remain great expectations, and who do not quite trust the value of any returns for gifts made to the Church or to the poor, or to kings for that matter. R E P R E S E N TAT I O N S 16 REP100_03.qxd 9/6/07 2:02 PM Page 16 This content downloaded from 22.214.171.124 on Thu, 7 Nov 2013 16:31:53 PM A


Purpose

To investigate the prognostic value of hypertension in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
Methods and Materials:

A total of 1057 patients with nonmetastatic, histologically proven NPC who were treated with IMRT were retrospectively reviewed. Associations between hypertension and overall survival (OS), loco-regional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were estimated by Cox regression.
Results

Among 1057 patients, 94 (8.9%) had hypertension. Compared to normotensive patients, the hypertensive patients were generally older, had higher body fat, were more likely to be alcohol consumers, were more often in the early stage and usually received radiotherapy alone. Compared to normotension, hypertension was significantly associated with worse OS (hazard ratio (HR), 2.20; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.41–3.42; P = 0.000), LRRFS (HR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.12–4.03; P = 0.021) and DMFS (HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.09–3.05; P = 0.023) after adjusting for covariates. Moreover, the association with OS remained unchanged regardless of smoking, body mass index (BMI), N stage and chemotherapy, whereas it was limited in the subgroup of patients who were older than 50 years, male, not alcohol consumers, in advanced T stage and in advanced clinical stage. Compared with treated hypertension, untreated hypertension was associated with increased risks for death (P = 0.221; HR, 1.88; 95% CI, 0.69–5.15), locoregional recurrence (P = 0.073; HR, 3.29; 95% CI, 0.89–12.09) and distant metastasis (P = 0.640; HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.44–3.83). The patients with more severe levels of hypertension had worse survival and locoregional control, although there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05).
Conclusions

Hypertension is an independent adverse prognostic factor in NPC patients treated with IMRT. The NPC patients with untreated hypertension had similar survival as those with treated hypertension. The severity of hypertension did not influence the prognosis.


Objective
To investigate the effects of interferon inducible protein 16 (IFI16), a cytosolic DNA sensor, on the expression of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) proteins and pro-inflammatory cytokines in adult HTLV-1-positive T cells.

Methods
IFI16 expression in different HTLV-1-positive T cell lines was detected by immunoblot assay. Specific siRNA targeting the IFI16 gene was constructed and the gene silencing efficiency was detected by immunoblot assay. Expression of HTLV-1 Tax protein at mRNA and protein levels was respectively detected by real-time PCR and immunoblot assay after knocking down the expression of IFI16 in HTLV-1-positive T cells with siRNA. Expression of interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, Tax and Env were detected by real-time PCR.

Results
Compared with the HTLV-1-negative T cell line Jurkat, IFI16 expression was enhanced in the HTLV-1-positive T cell lines MT2, MT4 and C8166. Tax expression was increased, while that of IFN-α, IFN-γ and TNF-α was decreased in MT2 and MT4 cells after silencing the expression of IFI16 with siRNA.

Conclusions
IFI16 expression was increased in HTLV-1-positive MT2 and MT4 cells. Meanwhile, IFI16 promoted the production of interferon and pro-inflammatory cytokines and inhibited the expression of HTLV-1 proteins.

Key words:
Interferon inducible protein 16 (IFI16); Human T-cell leukemia lymphoma virus type 1 (HTLV-1); Interferon; T lymphocyte; TNF-α


This paper proposes the method to implement a general form of membership functions for fuzzy systems in CMOS technology. These membership functions are a general form of triangular types and those functions which are used in linguistic hedge fuzzy logic, hence can offer better performance in almost all applications. The comparison between the proposed method and previously reported works shows better performance in all parameters. Designed circuits to implement these types of membership functions are simulated using HSPICE by level 49 parameters (BSIM3v3) in 0.35μm standard CMOS technology. Current mode realization of the circuits leads to simple and intuitive configurations. The Rational Power Generator Module (RPGM) generates powers with the resolution of 0.03125 and using 7 programming bits. The simulation results of RPGM demonstrate a RMS error of 1.42% and a maximum power consumption of 1.05 mW.


LAND RESTITUTION IN COLOMBIA: PROGRESSIVE POLICY AND POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY? Melissa Ricci Advisor: University of Guelph, 2010 Dr. John Devlin This paper studies the policy changes that have led to the design and early implementation of the land restitution program in Colombia. I use the land reform literature to frame land reform efforts in Colombia within the larger ideological discussion on land reform. The study maps out the roles of the main actors that influenced the actions of government regarding land reform and their role in shaping the present policies affecting land restitution. The paper argues that although the land restitution program provides an opportunity to initiate a peace building process and should be seriously considered as a measure to compensate the victims of the armed conflict, the present rural development model is an impediment to its success. Although, the more progressive coalition was able to achieve the approval of the land restitution program, the success of the program relies entirely on the wider rural development model being currently embraced in the country. The present rural development model puts an emphasis on the exploitation of extractive resources and other mega projects responding to global market demands; while illicit crops continue to provide an easy and profitable livelihood opportunity for many in the countryside. Such development does not support the livelihoods of returnees and thus does not compliment the land restitution program. The success of the land restitution program thus remains in doubt. The reason is that powerful actors support a neoliberal development model that continues to dominate the political agenda.


Thearterial wail responds tothrombosis or mechanical I jury through theinduction ofspecific geneprod- uctsthatincrease cellular proliferation andconnective tissue formation. These changes result inintimal hyperplasia that is observed inrestenosis andtheearly phases ofatherosclerosis. Transforming growth factor 8lu (TGF-8l1) isasecreted multi- functional protein thatplays animportant role inembryonal development andinrepair following tissue i 'ury. However, thefunction ofTGF-I31 invascular cell growth invivo hasnot beendefmed. Inthis report, wehaveevaluated theroleof TGF-j81 inthepathophysiology ofintimal andmedial hyper- plasia bygenetransfer ofanexpression plasmid encoding active TGF-131 into porcine arteries. Expression ofTGF-fl1 innormal arteries resulted insubstantial extracellular matrix production accompanied byintimal andmedial hyperplasia. Increased procoUlagen, collagen, andproteoglycan synthesis intheneoint- imawasdemonstrated byimmunohistochemistry


The software implementation is described of an emerging standard for the lossy compression of continuous tone still images. This software program can be used to compress planetary images and other 2-D instrument data. It provides a high compression image coding capability that preserves image fidelity at compression rates competitive or superior to most known techniques. This software implementation confirms the usefulness of such data compression and allows its performance to be compared with other schemes used in deep space missions and for data based storage.


The aim of this bachelor's thesis is analysis of the competitive environment of FORCHEM, s.r.o. In work I identify possible competition on the marktet with chemical matter. I provide analysis the competition acording the market share. I use SWOT analysis and provide a marketing research by the telephone interviewing.


We propose OHODIN an online extension for data streams of the knn-based ODIN anomaly detection approach and presents a detection-threshold heuristic that is based on extreme value theory. In contrast to sophisticated anomaly and novelty detection approaches the decision-making process of ODIN is interpretable by humans, making it interesting for certain applications. This article presents the algorithms itself and an experimental evaluation with competing state-of-the-art anomaly detection approaches.


The premixing phase of a steam explosion covers the interaction of the melt jet with the water prior to any steam explosion occurring. To get a better insight into the hydrodynamic processes during the premixing phase, inaddition to "hot" premixing experiments, where the water evaporation is significant, "cold" isothermal premixing experiments were also performed. The special feature of isothermal premixing experiments is that three phases are involved - the water, the air and the spheres'phase - but only the spheres'phase mixes with the other two phases, whereas the water and air phases do not mix and remain separated by a free surface. Our idea was to treat the isothermal premixing process with an original, combined multiphase model. In the developed combined multiphase model the water and air phases are treated with a free-surface model as a single, joint phase with discontinuous phase properties at the water-air interface. The spheres are treated, as is usual, with a multiphase flow model, where the spheres represent the dispersed phase and the joint water-air phase represents the continuous phase. The developed combined multiphase model was validated against the QUEOS isothermal premixing experiment Q08. A numerical analysis using different treatments of the water-air interface (level set, high-resolution, upwind) was performed for the incompressible and compressible cases and the results were compared with experimental measurements.


To investigate the status of light-weight aggregate volcanic scoria blocks cracks and combine experiment studies,according to itself quality of light-weight aggregate volcanic scoria blocks and impact factors on wall distortion such as temperature and drying shrinkage,the problems in filling wall construction of light-weight aggregate volcanic scoria blocks were analyzed,and some relevant prevention measures were put forward.


Pose estimation is an essential task in many mobile robot navigation systems. Visual guidance provides a feasible means for pose estimation using the observed scene information as reference. This work presents an approach to estimate the pose of a mobile robot based on projective transformations. First, the Hough transform is used for lane detection. Next, a projective transformation is computed using the detected lines as reference. Finally, the robot's pose is estimated from the resulting projective transformation. The theoretical principles and computational implementation are analyzed. Experimental results of a visual navigation experiment are presented to validate the usefulness of the proposed approach.


Excerpt]This report presents the end-of-project impact evaluation for the project Strengthening Protections of Internationally Recognized Labor Rights in Colombia. The project is designed to address Colombian workers' lack of access to safe mechanisms through which they can address workers' rights violations. The main purpose of this evaluation was to estimate the impact of CAL services on workers' labor-related complaints and their resolution and on CAL clients' knowledge of their labor rights. Although the specificity of the population targeted by the program and by the evaluation means that the results of this study may not be readily applicable to other contexts, the issues raised are potentially relevant in many contexts.


A telephone survey was administered to colleges and universities with an approved science teacher education program in the state of Ohio to determine the status and to estimate the use of interactive video technology (IVD) in preservice science education programs. The following characteristics were examined: (1) overall IVD usage; (2) classroom demographics; (3) faculty demographics; (4) various uses of IVD in the programs surveyed; (5) IVD particulars; (6) hardware, video disk, and software components; (7) outcome studies; (8) inservice workshops; and (9) information regarding institutions not using IVDs. The data indicated that there is an emerging nature of IVD use in science teacher education programs in Ohio. (ZWH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT Off EDUCATION Office of Educational Rematch arid Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) >P This document has been reproduced es received from the person or ofgantration originating it 0 Minor changes have been media to improve reproduction quality Points of view Of opinions stated in this docu . mrit do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy A SURVEY OF INTERACTIVE VIDEO USE IN SCIENCE TEACHER EDUCATION IN OHIO David D. Kumar College of Education Florida Atlantic University 2912 College Avenue Davie, FL 33314 "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY


A multi-scale, thermohydrologic (TH) modeling methodology has been developed that integrates the results from 1-, 2-, and 3-D drift-scale models and a 3-D mountain-scale model to calculate the near-field TH variables affecting the performance of the engineered barrier system (EBS) of the potential repository at Yucca Mountain. This information was used by Total System Performance Assessment--Viability Assessment (TSPA-VA) and is being used by the ongoing TSPA, supporting the License Application Design Selection, to assess waste-package (WP) corrosion, waste-form dissolution, and radionuclide transport in the EBS. Line-load WP spacing, which places WPs nearly end to end in widely spaced drifts, results in more locally intensive and uniform heating along drifts, causing hotter, drier, and more uniform conditions on WPs than point-load spacing, which is used in the VA design. Backfilling drifts with a granular material with coarse, well-sorted, nonporous grains (e.g., a coarse quartz sand) results in a large, persistent reduction in RH on WPs; point-load spacing allows only the medium-to-high-heat-output WPs to benefit from RH reduction, but line-load spacing enables all WPs to benefit.


The utility model relates to logistics equipment, in particular to an erecting rolling sliding device of a finished-tire passage. The erecting rolling sliding device of the finished-tire passage consists of oblique bearing passages and isolation guide support beams, wherein the oblique bearing passages and the isolation guide support beams are installed in the finished-tire passage of a finished-tire warehouse; and the basic concept of the erecting rolling sliding device of the finished-tire passage is that fluency strips are installed on the oblique bearing passages, or the fluency strips are installed on two sides of the isolation guide support beams, or the fluency strips are installed on two respective sides of the oblique bearing passages and the isolation guide support beams. The erecting rolling sliding device of the finished-tire passage is simple in structure and has obvious effects; the friction force to tires during the process of rolling and sliding for storage in a tire vertical storage warehouse is effectively decreased; the tire warehouse-out/warehouse-in efficiency is improved; the friction damage caused by warehousing equipment to the tire surfaces during the storage process is prevented; and the logistics quality of the tires during the warehouse-out/warehouse-in process is guaranteed.


This article describes an investigation on the virulence/attenuation of bovine herpesvirus type 5 (BoHV-5) recombinants deleted in the genes encoding glycoprotein E (BoHV-5gEΔ), thymidine kinase (BoHV-5TKΔ), and both gE and TK (BoHV-5gEΔTKΔ). Seronegative calves (80 to 90 days-old) inoculated with the parental strain (SV-507/99, n=5) shed virus in nasal secretions for up to 15 days (average 10.8 days). Duration of virus shedding was 11 days for BoHV-5gΔ, 9.6 days for BoHV-5TKΔ and 6.2 days for BoHV-5gEΔTKΔ groups. The highest titers were observed between days 1 and 6 post-infection (pi) for SV-507/99 (106.8TCID50/mL), 105.1TCID50/mL (BoHV-5gEΔ), 105.9TCID50/mL (BoHV-5TKΔ) and 104.7TCID50/mL (BoHV-5gEΔTKΔ). Calves inoculated with the parental virus presented anorexia, profound apathy and loss of body condition. Two calves were euthanized in extremis on days 10 and 11 pi; infectious virus was recovered from several areas of the brain. In contrast, calves inoculated with the recombinants remained healthy and a few presented a mild and transient nasal secretion. Dexamethasone (Dx) administration at day 42 pi resulted in virus shedding by all controls calves (mean duration 3.7 days), by 2/5 of BoHV-5TKΔ calves (two days) and 2/5 of BoHV-5gEΔ (one day). No virus shedding was detected in BoHV-5gEΔTKΔ calves upon Dx treatment. PCR examination of brain sections of calves euthanized at day 30 post Dx treatment revealed the presence of latent viral DNA widely distributed in the brain of SV-507/99 calves. Latent viral DNA was detected in a few sections (3/30) of the brains of BoHV-5gEΔ calves and was not detected in the brains of calves inoculated with BoHV-5TKΔ and BoHV-5gEΔTKΔ. These results show that the single BoHV-5 mutants (gE and tk-deleted) are attenuated for calves and establish and/or reactivate latent infection inefficiently. The double mutant BoHV-5gEΔTKΔ is fully attenuated and appears not to establish or not reactivate efficiently from latent infection. Thus, these recombinants, especially the double mutant BoHV-5gEΔTKΔ, display an adequate phenotype for use in modified-live vaccine formulations.


Activatied method of charcoal determines the specific usage of activated charcoal. Generally there recognize two activation methods to produce activated charcoal : physical and chemical methods. This research was carried out to identify structure and components of charcoal and activated charcoal from candlenut shell. Candlenut shell (Aleurites moluccana Willd) was carbonised in drum-kyln to produce charcoal, and then the product was activated in electrical retort by applying thermal activator with heating duration of 120 minutes at temperature of 550 C, 650 C and 750 C respectively. For further investigation, the heats at 750 C was chosed, combined with steam activator by heating duration of 90 minutes and 120 minutes. Fungsional group, crystallinity and porosity of candlenut shell, charcoal and activated charcoals sample test were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra Red FTIR X-Ray Difractometer XRD Scanning Electron Microscope SEM chemical compounds on sample test of candlenut shell, charcoal and activated charcoals Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer Py-GCMS In turned out that activation process brought about changing in fungtional group pattern, increasing in crystallinity, pore opening and chemical compound reduction. The higher activation temperature caused the increase in crystallinity, pore diameter and chemical compound reduction. The activation by steam resulted activated charcoal with relatively cleaner pore. Structure, components, charcoal, activated charcoal, candlenut shell (Aleurites moluccana).


The greatest revolutions in military affairs are possibly more in the nature of war than in technological revolution in weapons systems, command and control devices and so on. A State is supposed to offer protection to its citizens. As for many countries the external aggressor has practically disappeared, they started concentrating on the internal security. But the threat to internal security often comes from outside, which means that one has to go global and address the causes of the disease where they are, rather than symptoms at home. This has reoriented security policies towards more diplomacy, more co-operation and, as military forces are concerned, towards capacities of expeditionary type. This is, at least for the majority of the European nations, such a profound change in their nature and their doctrine, their structure and their equipment that even the term "revolution" was used.


An experimental study was carried out to assess the efficiency of self-cleaning properties of three wheat cultivars and their potential in the protection against Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici , a fungus that causes powdery mildew. Leaf samples with intact epicuticular structure were compared to such with wiped wax crystals. Contact angles were determined and the surfaces were subjected to a standardized contamination test with hydrophobic fluorescence powder. Another set of samples was inoculated with conidia of B. graminis and, after various time intervals, exposed to artificial fog or rain. For the intact surfaces of all cultivars contact angles of about 165° were measured. It is therefore suggested that wheat should be termed superhydrophobic. The wiping of the wax crystals led to a significant decrease of contact angles. This fact underlines the importance of surface roughness for achieving extreme water-repellency. In the standardized contamination test significantly more particles remained on the wiped surfaces than on those who had been left intact. This result was ascribed to increased adhesion on the smoothed samples. The inoculation with subsequent precipitation revealed a significantly better removal effect of conidia from intact than from wiped surfaces. This was irrespective of the wheat cultivar. In general, conidia were more effectively removed by rain than by fog. This was probably due to the higher kinetic energy and the greater amount of water when using rain. If fog application was delayed by 3 hours a higher percentage of conidia remained on the surface. As possible causes are discussed increased adhesion by conidia secretions or the development of primary germ tubes. Despite its highly efficient self-cleaning properties proved here, wheat is frequently infected by Blumeria graminis . We conclude that the high water content of the mildew conidia, the ability of Blumeria graminis to germinate at very low humidities and its rapid irreversible adhesion are effective adaptations in order to overcome the barrier of a superhydrophobic self-cleaning surface.


This paper presents a COMSOL Multiphysics 2-D axisymmetric model of a pH-sensitive electrochemical field effect transistor (pH-ElecFET) microsensor. This device combines an integrated microelectrode with a pH-sensitive chemical field effect transistor (pH-ChemFET). Thus, by triggering electrolysis phenomena owing to the integrated microelectrode, associated local pH variations in microvolumes are monitored thanks to the pH-ChemFET microdevice. Taking into account (electro) chemical reactions and diffusion phenomena in the liquid phase, the proposed model points out the role of the ElecFET geometrical design (microelectrode width w, gate sensitive radius re and distance between the pH-ChemFET gate and the microelectrode d), as well as polarization parameters, (polarization voltage Vp and time tp), on the microsensor response. It is first applied to water electrolysis in order to validate pH impulsional variations in microvolume. Then, the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide in phosphate buffer (PBS, pH0 = 7.2) solutions is studied, evidencing the H2O2 potentiometric detection in the [10-100 mM] concentration range. This developed model paves new ways for sensor applications, opening several new opportunities for pH-ElecFET devices for H2O2-related enzymatic detection of biomolecules.


There are a variety of laws and regulations governing the relationship between a postsecondary education institution and a student with a disability. This paper reviews the laws by analyzing cases ...


Determination of the torque-speed characteristic of an induction motor using a curve-fitting technique This paper describes the use of a curve-fitting technique to deduce the nominal torque-speed characteristic of a three-phase induction motor from the speed data obtained in a no-load acceleration test. Experimental results show that the fitted curve is reasonably close to the torque-speed characteristic obtained from an actual load test.


A wave of anthropological literature that has recently turned into a flood (e.g., P.C. Lloyd; 1 B. Lloyd; 2 Kuper and Smith,3 Southall,4 Tuden and Plotnicov s) has begun to examine in considerable detail the nature and implications of social inequality within Africa. In turning to this material scholars have been struggling to free concepts like "elite", "social class", "plural society", and "social complexity" from the culturally-specific contexts in which they were first developed. Why anthropologists have been so relatively late in coming to grips with the topic of social inequality is a matter of some interest for intellectual historians of the discipline. Suffice it to note Aidan Southall's recent charge that anthropology began ever the decade of the 1960's believing that "power would not corrupt, that wealth would not stratify".6 In this paper I wish to examine some aspects of this last phrase with respect to one society, Western Nigeria, where wealth has grown considerably in the last