Introduction: The incidence of breast cancer (BC) has substantially increased among women younger than 50. Due to fragile economic situation in the middle east and lack of awareness, BC women are characterized by late diagnosis and thus, there is an urgent need for a cheap early prognostic tool. BC progression involves several genetic mutations via activating oncogenes or disrupting the functions of tumor suppressor genes, such as; BRCA1, BRCA2, P53. Mutation in these genes are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and thereof, can be used as prognostic markers. High throughput technologies such as next generation sequencing (NGS) with help of different bioinformatic analysis tools give massive data about deleterious mutations in tumor suppressor genes. Therefore, in this study we aimed to establish High Resolution Melting (HRM) technique as an economic prognostic tool for identifying deleterious mutations in BRCA1/2 and P53 genes amongst familial and non-familial breast cancer patients.
 Patients and Methods: Forty-eight breast cancer patients (15 Familial and 33 non-familial) and 2 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the present study. Genomic DNA was extracted from breast cancer tissues and screened using NGS to identify types of mutations in both BRCA1/2 genes. All positive samples were screened for presence of mutations in BRCA 1(exon 19), BRCA2 (Exon 11F) and P53 (exon 5) using HRM. All samples were analyzed for identifying types of mutations using sanger sequencing.
 Results: Our results identified 57 different mutations in the three genes. Deleterious mutations are identified as follows; 13 frameshift (c.5345delA (36.3%), c.5321delC (36%), c.5337delA (27.2%)) and 8 missense mutations (c.T5320C (36.3%), c.T5330W(A/T) (27.2%)) in BRCA1 (Exon 19). 6 frameshift mutations (c.3528delA (27.2%)), 13 missense mutations (c.T3840G (72.7%), c.G3839K(G/T) (27.2%)) and 6 synonymous mutations (c.A3895R (A/G) (45.4%)) in BRCA2 (exon11F). Regarding P53 (exon 5), 10 frameshift mutations (c.813insC (63.6%)) were detected. Additionally, some of the sequences were sent to GenBank and obtained the following accession numbers; (OL512955 and OL512956 for BRCA1(Exon 19) and OL512957 for BRCA2 (Exon 11)). Moreover, mutations in the three high penetrance genes; BRCA1, BRCA2 and P53 were correlated with some clinical parameters and results showed that young age and family history were the most prominent ones.
 Conclusion: The present study successfully established HRM as an economic prognostic tool for identifying the presence of deleterious mutations in BRCA1/2 and P53 genes which will help correlate the presence of mutations on other affected exons when present with other risk factors as prognostic tool in BC women.
 STDF Acknowledgement: This project was funded by the Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF), Egypt Grant No.22944.
 Citation Format: Shaza Ahmed, Nasra F. Abdel Fattah, Shimaa A. Metwally, Marwa A. Abdelwahed, Hossam Taha Mohamed, Sara H. Agwa, AbdelWahab El Ghareeb, Gehan Safwat, Ahmed A. El Sherif, Mohamed M. Moneer, Samah A. Loutfy. High resolution melting technique as an economic prognostic tool for identifying deleterious mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, and P53 genes amongst breast cancer women [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 5842.


This scheme selection for three different molecular weight chitosan experimented,and detailedly studied process and conditions of graft copolymers.In this thesis,the chitosan-graft-poly(D,L-Lactic acid) copolymers were prepared through a protection-graft-deprotection route.The results show:(1) by changing the feed ratio,temperature and time conditions to determine the optimal conditions for synthesis of phthalic anhydride process.Experiments available in the feed ratio(chitosan/phthalic anhydride)(CS/PH)1∶4,reaction temperature 125 ℃,reaction time 7 h,under the condition,the reaction of chitosan amino protecting the basic reaction completely;(2) when the PLLA content increased in feed ratio(PHCS/PLLA),the PHCS-g-PLLA graft rate increased.in the feed ratio(chitosan/phthalic anhydride)(CS/PH)1∶3,the chitosan-graft-poly(D,L-Lactic acid) copolymers graft rate reached 100%.


The utility model discloses a cooking system for an alphatized rice product line, comprising amounting rack (1), wherein, the mounting rack (1) is provided with a steam box (2); the two ends of the amounting rack are provided with a chain wheel (4) driven by a main electric machine (3); the chain wheel (4) is hung with a chain (5) penetrated through the steam box (2); the chain (5) is provided with a transmission guipure (6); the inner of the steam box (2) is provided with a vapor pipe (8). Owing to the fact that the inner of the steam box is provided with a spike up mechanism and a punching mechanism, the utility model provides an increasement of air permeability of rice, and an improvement of output and an energy conservation on the condition of the constant dissipation of energy. The place corresponding with the spike up mechanism is provided with a sprinkler pipe, which can make up water for the rice, and prevent the rice from bonding on the pike. A clearing brush is arranged at the lower side of the transmission guipure for the clearing of the rice grain adhered on the transmission guipure. The utility model provides a passage type structure and a continuous output of rice, suits a flow operating production, and has a high degree of automation and a stable and reliable product quality.


The article presents the materials of historical and ethnographic studies of the Shore rural population and immovable architectural and ethnographic monuments of the folk architecture of the Interrechen city district of Kuzbass. The results of the author's expeditions in 1985–1989 were also noted. in the Orton rural area of the then Interrechen district.


In this paper we propose a new measure for the marginal contribution of each view to the ex-ante tracking error volatility (TEV). The issue of the TEV sensitivity to the views is relevant for several purposes: 1. provide the asset managers with a method for revising the portfolio consistently with a given TEV constraint; 2. Make the specialists responsible for the generation process of the views; 3. set a mechanism to connect the incentive fees not only to the excess return but also to the marginal contribution of each view to the TEV. We provide also an empirical investigation in the Black-Litterman framework in order to modify the views to achieve a TEV goal.


Objective:To investigate the effect of saikosaponin-d(SSd) on experimental hepatocarcino-genesis induced by diethylinitrosamine(DEN) in rats.Methods:Ninety male SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups:control group(n=10),model group(n=20) and three treatment groups(n=20 in each group).Except for the control group,the other groups were administered(ig) with 2 g/L DEN at a dose of 10 mg/kg body weight(5 times/wk for 16 wk).At the same time,the rats in the treatment groups were injected intraperitoneally with SSd at different doses(1.0,1.5 and 2.0 mg/kg) once per day for 16 weeks.The rats were anesthetized and killed at 6,12,and 16 week.Hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining was used to examine the changes of liver pathology and the levels of total bilirubin(TB),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate amino transferase(AST) and albumin(ALB) in serum were measured by biochemical examinations.Results:SSd had activity in protecting rats from toxicity of DEN and can ameliorate liver function,increased the body weight,attenuate the extent of necrosis and reduce the death rate of rat compared with model group(P0.05).Similarly,both the volume and the number of tumors were significantly reduced in 3 SSd treatment groups.Under microscope,the cancer cells in the rats of model group showed polymorphic and abnormal shape.In contrast,the cancer cells in the rats of SSd treatment groups were well differentiated.Conclusion:SSd has inhibitory effect on DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats.


Abstract What is the future of the social work profession? This paper explores what being more future facing might look like for social workers/educators and introduces foresight as a useful and urgently needed framework for the profession. Contemporary realities like Covid-19 and uprisings associated with long-standing racial violence bring added relevance to the need to apply new ways of thinking, use new practical techniques, and strengthen a collective ability to see beyond the current cannon of ideas and approaches. These additions to the social work toolbox are much needed in a world full of inequity, change and turbulence. Utilization of a foresight lens has the opportunity to amplify and deepen the sociological and moral imagination, as well as the strategic effectiveness of the profession of social work now and in the years ahead. The paper ends with a call to action to amplify and evolve social work strengths to join the interdisciplinary community of those using forecasting methods to build a better future.


IN EVALUATING a patient with central-nervoussystem (CNS) disease and meningeal irritation of unknown etiology, low spinal-fluid sugar content calls attention to the possibility of diffuse CNS tumor acting as the cause. Meningeal or cerebral carcinomatosis or both must be considered in the differential diagnosis. It is the purpose of this paper to call attention to the association of CNS tumor and decreased cerebrospinal-fluid (CSF) sugar content. Report of a Case A 54-year-old Cuban woman was admitted to the Psychiatric Institute of Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Fla, on Jan 23, 1963, with a tentative diagnosis of involutional depressive reaction. Six months previously she had fled her homeland and sought refuge in Jamaica, where she lived under crowded and unsanitary conditions. One month prior to admission she arrived in Miami and visited the emergency room of Jackson Memorial Hospital on several occasions with complaints of head, neck, and back ache. On each


On the basis of long-term cooperation between our university science and technology parks and multinational corporation RD centers,six basic operating models have been formed.For the purpose of promoting the further cooperation between our university science and technology parks and multinational corporation RD centers,it is necessary to sum up the experience of our cooperation,to consolidate the achievements,and to adopt feasible policy measures to cope with the problems in finance,tax,credit and land supply in the process of cooperation.These will give our university science and technology parks a great push forward in the future.


be the result of prolonged intrauterine compression. The rarity of reports of these tumours occurring in preterm infants may be attributed to the relatively large cushioning volume of liquor amnii. The 2 cases here reported occurred in the second placed infants of twins in pregnancies with prolonged loss of liquor before delivery. They therefore seem at risk to postural deformity despite their prematurity. Case 1 was delivered by caesarean section, adding to the list of documented sternomastoid tumours occurring in infants so delivered, which seems further evidence that these tumours are not the result of birth injury.


Abstract The aim of this contribution is to provide an overview of the calculation procedures of risk analysis, that is, the effects and consequences of pool fires. Fires and explosions are the most significant and most common causes of damage to equipment and of injuries and death in industry. Damages are a direct consequence of the generated heat flux. Mathematical tools for the prediction of heat flux at a distance can be divided into four classes: semi-empirical models, field models, integral models and zone models. Semi-empirical modeling is a relatively simple technique providing models predicting heat flux at a distance. There are two types of semi-empirical models: point source models and surface emitter models. By their nature, semi-empirical models depend strongly on experimental data. Correlations are able to describe the general features of a fire. Semi-empirical models are ideal for routine hazard assessment purposes because they are mathematically simple, and hence easily understood. However, if more models describing the same phenomenon are available, significant differences in the heat flux prediction can be expected. In this contribution, differences in the prediction of the heat flux from pool fires are discussed.


to the fractional setting. This extension can be obtained in several different ways, depending on the physical models we are interested in; see, for example, [18, 19, 22]. One can replace the first-order derivative in time by a derivative of non-integer order α > 0 or the second-order derivative in space by a derivative of arbitrary real order β > 1, or one can replace both integer-order derivatives with non-integer ones. In each of these cases, we obtain a so-called fractional diffusion equation. Here we are interested in the first case, that is, the case where the first-order time derivative is replaced by a derivative of real order α, and, as explained in [22], this generalisation may be given in two different forms if we consider the two most popular definitions of fractional derivative. We can obtain the time-fractional diffusion equation:


This is a call to those who share an affinity with Sol LeWitt's legacy as a conceptual
artist, to those who knew him and those who did not—to anyone who has ever wondered,
"What would Sol LeWitt like?"
Your gift to Sol LeWitt can take the form of an image, an object, a piece of music, or a
film. Books, ephemera, and other non-perishable items (e.g. wine) are also welcome.
Other ideas may be discussed with the curator. 2D contributions should be no larger than
8.5 x 11 inches; 3D contributions should be no larger than 12 x 12 x 12 inches.
All contributions will be exhibited at either Cabinet or MASS MoCA.
Please note that we cannot return your contribution. You can, however, pick it up at the
end of the exhibition if prior arrangements have been made.


Soil salinization,one kind of land degradation in the Minqin basin,expanded rapidly recently.Random block experiment was employed to investigate the effects of the plantation of Lyciumruthenicumon horizontal and vertical distribution of soil salt.The experimental site were irrigated by 0.8 g·L-1,2 g·L-1,5 g·L-1 saline water two years precedent to the plantation of L.ruthenicum.The results showed that horizontal soil salt was significantly influenced by the concentration of irrigation water and soil depth.Mean soil electrical conductivity of 0-100 cm was in the consequence of the pre-treatment of 5 g·L-12 g·L-10.8 g ·L-1 saline water.Two year plantation of L.ruthenicumincreased the soil salt content under the canopy but decreased that in the interspace soil.The soil salt content at the 0-100 cm layers varied seasonally,which was positively related to the rainfall and the reference evapotranspiration ratio.


In order to press homogeneous and dense green bodies of ZnO varistors,the tap densities,the particle sizes and transmission electron microscope(TEM)micrographs,slurry viscosity and particle size distribution and morphologies of spray dried powders of ZnO from different manufacturers were compared.It can be concluded that the viscosities of slurries and the morphologies of spray dried powers mainly depend on the morphologies of raw powders.It was proposed that the tap densities was used as a parameter indicating the morphologies of ZnO powders,which provides a simple method for ZnO varistor manufacturers to select appropriate ZnO raw materials and manufacture the products with the stable properties.


For the location effects and dispersion effects model with censored data in unreplicated factorial experiments,the new algorithm which combine model selection with simultaneous estimation of location and dipersion effects into an iterative procedure is prsented.The algorithm expands the method of Hamada and Wu(1991) by inserting Brenneman and Nair(2001)'s MH method on estimation of dispersion effects into the iterative procedure,so that dispersion effects in the new model can be estimated.The simulation results demonstrates the feasibility of the algorithm,and that,on criteria of MSE,the estimation accuracy of location effects is superior to Hamada and Wu's.Finally,a further analysis of the Hamada and Wu's example by applying this algorithm is made.


THE SYMPTOM of headache is one of the greatest challenges presented to the practitioner in every field of medicine.1Until the past decade the physician was firmly convinced that the average headache was secondary to a specific disease in the body. With this in mind, extensive investigation of the patient was made to rule out any possible sign of organic disease. Once an abnormality of an organ was determined, a vigorous attempt was made to correct this surgically or medically, with the hope that the headache would disappear as a result of these efforts. The actual symptom of headache was minimized by the patient and the physician, and thus the rounds were made to each specialist for investigation in his sphere of activity. Fortunately for these headache sufferers, a considerable amount of physiologic and clinical data has been accumulated in the attempt to determine the mechanism of production of


4,042 plexus anaesthesias were analysed for systemic complications by means of computer-assisted data processing. This allowed the large case material to be analysed statistically in great detail. The incidence of complications of this anaesthetic technique and the advantages arising from computer-assisted data processing are reviewed. Specific problems due to technical factors were also investigated.


Abstract : United States security strategy hinges on available forward deployed and forward presence forces to project U.S. national interests. As the executive agent for the implementation of national strategy in the Pacific theater, USCINCPAC relies on the continued availability of overseas facilities and bases to carry out both the National Security and National Military Strategies. However, the 'tyranny of distance' within this theater requires reliance on Cold War allies to meet this commitment. As the international dimension of world politics shifts from a bipolar to a regional and economic emphasis, national priorities will have a greater play. Overseas basing carries with it considerable baggage--for both host and donor nations. Since the closing of the military facilities in the Philippines, CINCPAC has had to rely on Japan to provide the lion's share of bases within that theater. While during the Cold War having U.S. forces was considered beneficial to Japan, this condition may soon change. The possibility exists that we will be faced with a regional crisis in the future that is contrary to Japan's national interest, and be restricted for responding from her facilities. U.S. planners need to prepare for this eventuality by aggressively seeking alternated basing sites, access facilities or develop forward logistics sites that can respond in the case of regional crises. This paper addresses the various regional limitations to alternative basing and access sites and suggests that a vibrant forward logistics site located in Guam is an available solution.


In her entry on arrangement hrtheEncyclopediaofRheto^ Fahnestock distinguishes the second canon of rhetoric from the other four by pointing to the lack of attention it has received. Compared to the other canons, she writes, "arrangement has received little independent treatment" (32). A survey of what treatment exists reveals little that would contradict this claim, and most scholars writing about arrangement offer similar complaints.1 When arrangement is discussed at length in classical texts, it is often restricted to an explication of the parts of discourse appropriate to given rhetorical situations. Unlike invention and style, canons that are often theorized independently of specific instances, arrangement tends to be situationally bound. With their focus upon those specific orders that various situations require, few rhetoricians have found it necessary to justify the idea of order, and it is this self-evident nature of arrangement that has been its own worst enemy. Writing as we do for a textual medium where linearity is all but inescapable, it is perfectly understandable that arrangement would first be reduced to sequence, and then largely be taken for granted. I want to begin this essay, however, by introducing an instance where arrangement does not simply exist as a given, an excerpt from Book VII of Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria. In this passage, Quintilian imports a metaphor from architecture to argue for the importance of arrangement:


Voltage variations, in particular voltage sags, cause unplanned production stoppages that cost North American industry over $200 billion per annum. Electrical utilities cannot readily prevent the occurrence of voltage sags, which are more frequent during stormy weather. It is usually not practical for the utility to provide correction for a network, or even for individual customers. Companies that regularly invest millions in production equipment often ignore or greatly underestimate the cost of their unplanned stoppages. The article reviews the latest active voltage conditioning solutions that keep critical equipment running, avoid the unplanned stoppage costs, and provide a very attractive financial payback.


Objective The modified two-cuff technique was used to establish rat orthotopic liver transplantation 1 /2 animal model to observe the effect of sodium tanshinone A sulfonate on the activity of liver function and P450 isoform of cytochrome P450 enzyme after operation and to explore the mechanism of drug intervention,and provide a theoretical basis for clinical rational use of drugs in treatment of liver transplantation. Methods Sixty rats w ere randomly divided into blank control group,model group,Si M attel group and tanshinone group. Rats in Si M attel group w ere injected w ith 2 mg /( kg·d) Si M attel by tail vein; on the basis of Si M attel group,tanshinone group w as intravenously injected sodium tanshinone A sulfonate 5 mg /( kg·d) for 14 days; blank control group and model group w ere injected w ith the same volume of physiological saline. HPLC method w as used to detect the liver microsomal cytochrome P450 isoforms( CYP2E1,CYP1A2,CYP3A4,CYP2D6,CYP2C9) before and after treatment,biochemistry method w as used to detect the level of bile acid biochemical liver function( TBA),total bilirubin( STB),aspartate aminotransferase( AST) and alanine aminotransferase( ALT),gamma glutamyl transferase( GGT),and the survival rate of liver transplantation w as calculated,and the effect of sodium tanshinone A sulfonate on rat allograft orthotopic liver transplantation 1 /2 w as calculated. Results Through the drug intervention of tanshinone A sulfonic acid sodium and Si M attel,CYP2E1,CYP1A2,CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 enzyme activity and TBA,GGT,ALT,AST and STB of tanshinone group w ere decreased and the survival rate increased to 60%; compared w ith model group and Si M attel group,the differences w ere significant( P < 0. 05). Conclusion Tanshinone A sulfonic acid sodium can improve the survival rate and restore liver function of 1 /2 allograft orthotopic liver transplantation rats; the mechanism maybe related to inhibiting the activity of rat hepatic microsomal P450 isoform of cytochrome P450 enzymes,reducing the allergic reaction,reinforcing Na+/ K+-ATP enzyme pump function through combination w ith Si M attel,promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis,and increasing hepatic tissue oxygen supply.


More than a decade has elapsed since the link between the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery and HIV-1 protein trafficking and budding was first identified. L domains in HIV-1 Gag mediate recruitment of ESCRT which function in bud abscission releasing the viral particle from the host cell. Beyond virus budding, the ESCRT machinery is also involved in the endocytic pathway, cytokinesis, and autophagy. In the past few years, the number of non-ESCRT host proteins shown to be required in the assembly process has also grown. In this paper, we highlight the role of recently identified cellular factors that link ESCRT machinery to calcium signaling machinery and we suggest that this liaison contributes to setting the stage for productive ESCRT recruitment and mediation of abscission. Parallel paradigms for non-ESCRT roles in virus budding and cytokinesis will be discussed.


The ecological compensation standard in transboundary river basins should be determined by the basin countries through negotiation on the basis of the base value of the ecological compensation standard. This paper calculated the base value range of the ecological compensation standard, determining the upper limit based on the spillover value of ecosystem services for the ecosystem-service-consuming country and the lower limit according to the cost of ecological protection for the ecosystem-service-supplying country. The final range was determined by integrating this with the willingness to pay and the actual effort in each basin country. Taking, for example, the Lancang–Mekong River basin, the results indicate that the spillover value of ecosystem services in Laos, China and Myanmar was positive and these three countries were ecosystem-service-supplying countries, while in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand it was negative and these three countries were ecosystem-service-consuming countries. Among the ecosystem-service-supplying countries, the cost of ecological protection of them was in descending order of Laos, China and Myanmar, which was related to their own level of economic development. Considering the adjustment coefficient for the payment of ecosystem service value and the cost-sharing coefficient of each basin country, the feasible range for the base value of the ecological compensation standard was determined to be [2.47, 229.67] × 108 $, which provided the basis for the negotiation on the determination of the ECS. In addition, implementation suggestions were proposed from three aspects: establishing a basin-information-sharing mechanism and platform, establishing an integrated management organization for transboundary river basins, and strengthening and improving the coordination and supervision model of ecological compensation.


This paper presents a continuous-time sigma-delta modulator (CTSDM) with a voltage-controlled-oscillator-based (VCO-based) integrating quantizer. A background replica-based calibration technique is proposed to alleviate the impact of the process, voltage supply, and temperature (PVT) variations on the tuning characteristic and current consumption of the VCO-based quantizer. Matching between the replica VCO and the main VCO in the proposed calibration is not needed. A latency-free background calibration technique is also proposed to eliminate the distortions caused by the DAC mismatch. The prototype VCO-based CTSDM is fabricated in a 40 nm CMOS and achieves SNDR/SFDR/DR of 76.4 dB/91.7 dBc/79.6 dB, respectively, within a 50 MHz bandwidth (BW) at 1.6 GHz sampling frequency. The measured SNDR varies within ±1 dB over a temperature range of $0\sim 80~^{\circ }\text{C}$ and a voltage supply variation of ±10%, across different tested samples. The power consumption is 18.1 mW, achieving a Schreier Figure of Merit (FoMS) of 170.8 dB.


This paper analyzes how real assets implicitly provide a collateral for debt when an initially profitable production becomes relatively non-profitable in a structural model framework. Ex ante, the implicit collateral will benefit the firm owners because the tax shield can be better exploited. Results indicate that the firm value can increase by 40-50% and the par yield may decrease about 200 bps. The possibility to sell the assets extends the equity holders' strategy space: entering a renegotiation process with the debt holders may lead to either a restructuring of the firm's capital or an asset sale. The model further provides an argument for why Internet firms lose value fast when the initial production fails to be profitable.


The present invention relates to a method for determining suitable for a simulation of a driving dynamics of a vehicle tire characteristics, in which in a first mathematical mechanically analytical model feature sizes of a respective tire, which are calculated on a first bench and Reibgrosen of the tire is determined on a second test are combined, and wherein a characteristic of a friction of the tire is determined based on sliding speed and sliding force of the tire by the first model, wherein the characteristic variable is used to combine the feature sizes and the Reibgrosen in a tire model, the tire model is used, to produce simulation data used for determining parameters of a final model for forecasting a vehicle dynamics of the vehicle with the respective tire. Further, the present invention relates to an arrangement with test benches for performing the featured method.


We report on the temperature and field dependence of resistance of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films over a wide temperature range and in pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T. The epitaxial La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films were deposited by laser molecular beam epitaxy. High magnetic field magnetoresistance curves were fitted by the Brillouin function, which indicated the existence of magnetically polarized regions and the underlying hopping mechanism. The unsaturated magnetoconductance was the most striking finding observed in pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T. These observations can deepen the fundamental understanding of the colossal magnetoresistance in manganites with strong correlation of transport properties and magnetic ordering.


The aim of this thesis is to as-sess the natUre of African Traditional healing system with special reference to Mpondo culture. It is a case study of the Mpondo people of the Eastern Cape. The focus of the study was on the historical facts, the cultural background, the religious experiences and the traditional healing system of this people. Stimulated by the fact that Mpondo people appear to be a marginalized group, undermined and sometimes sidelined, the research seeks to set the record straight. A lack of documented information about this people is the major contributing factor to their lost identity. This stems from the fact that very little has been written about them. Even when such writings are found, they often contain distorted information. In some books, they are mistakenly represented as amaXhosa or a Xhosa sub-group. They are mostly regarded as having no culture, no language or identity. In terms of language, isiXhosa is taught at schools in Mpondoland. This research is an attempt to raise awareness about the reality of the situation of the Mpondo people. Without this knowledge, the Mpondo people can not regain their lost identity, people-hood, humanity and dignity. Through this knowledge, a dehumanised people can fight for their rights. AmaMpondo need to rediscover the spirit of Africanness, so that they know that they belong to Africa. As T Mbeki puts it, Africa needs to be refounded as a space that is centred neither on the market nor on the fortress,


In the past fifteen years or so considerable attention has been focused on the application of regional multiplier analysis to the estimation of regional economic parameters, i.e., regional economic impacts. With some variations, two general approaches have emerged in the literature-the input-output approach and the economic base approach. It has generally been concluded that the input-output approach is more sophisticated and comprehensive, since it requires the development of a complete interindustry model. The majority of regional economic impact studies still employ the economic base approach, however, because input-output studies typically entail prohibitive costs and data problems.1 More recently, conventional regional multiplier methods have been used in the analysis of two specific questions: (1) the economic impact of public sector institutions or projects [7, 8]; and (2) the distribution of economic benefits from public programs among "incidence groups" [6, 1 1]. The former has often become essential in project evaluation, and the latter has received more emphasis as governmental developmental planning has emerged as a policy priority. One important outgrowth of these questions has been the recent attention given to estimating local economic impacts of institutions of higher education, fostered in large part by the American Council on Education's development in 1971 of a comprehensive methodology for estimating such impacts [3].2


When evaluating surround sound loudspeaker reproduction, perceptual effects are commonly analyzed in relationship to different loudspeaker configurations. The presented work contributes to this by modeling perceptual effects based on acoustic properties of various reproduction formats. A model of immersion in music listening is derived from the results of an experimental study analyzing the psychological construct of immersive music experience. The proposed approach is evaluated with respect to the relationship between immersion ratings and sound field features obtained from re-recordings of the stimuli using a spherical microphone array at the listening position. Spatial sound field parameters such as inter-aural cross-correlation (IACC), diffuseness and directivity are found to be of particular relevance. Further, immersion is observed to reach a point of saturation with greater numbers of loudspeakers, which is confirmed to be predictable from the physical properties of the sound field. Although effects related to participants and musical pieces outweigh the impact of sound field features, the proposed approach is found to be suitable for predicting population-average ratings, i.e. immersion experienced by an average listener for unknown content. The proposed method could complement existing research on multichannel loudspeaker reproduction by establishing a more generalizable framework independent of particular speaker setups.


The antimicrobial activities of ten plant extracts showed some degree of variation among Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Nineteen crude plant extracts were active against Gram positive bacteria as compared to only 9 against Gram negative bacteria. The most resistant bacteria was K. pneumoniae K6 which showed no sign of susceptibility towards any of the plant extracts. This might be due to the presence of s-lactamase, which had been reported recently. S. epidermidis* showed susceptibility towards all plants except for M. citrifolia L . The highest zone of inhibition was 14.67 mm which was found in P. guajava extracts against S. epidermidis and this is closely followed by M. indica (at 13.67 mm ) against the same bacteria. Among all the plants which have been studied only M. citrifolia L . extract did not show any sign of antimicrobial activity. The result showed that means of inhibition zones between each plant extract were significantly different. Key words : Antibacterial; Gram positive; Gram negative; medicinal plants.


Accurate chromosomal DNA replication is essential for normal development and genome stability. Under conditions of replication stress or increased DNA damage, completion of replication crucially depends on the ability of cells to activate DNA damage tolerance (DDT) pathways, which mediate replication fork reactivation and gap-filling. Two main modes of DDT are present in all eukaryotic organisms. An error-prone DDT mode uses translesion synthesis polymerases capable of replicating across DNA lesions, but also occasionally introduces mutations. The other DDT mode, error-free, is mediated by recombination and involves a switch from the damaged template to a homologous one, usually the sister chromatid (template switching). Damage-bypass by template switching genetically depends on PCNA polyubiquitylation, which is induced by replication stress and replication-associated DNA damage, and on homologous recombination activities. However, during replication, various regulatory mechanisms ensure global repression of recombination. The most elucidated mechanism for counteracting replication-associated recombination involves SUMOylated PCNA, a PCNA modification that occurs coincidently with replication. This modification acts to recruit the Srs2 anti-recombinase to replication forks and to suppress recombination. Notably, SUMOylation of PCNA is still present, even increased, in response to DNA damage. As DDT is essential to prevent conversion of single-stranded DNA to deleterious double strand breaks, but recombination is globally suppressed during replication, the question arising is if replicating cells use preferentially translesion synthesis-mediated damagebypass during replication. This does not appear to be the case. Contrary to this, various findings indicate that mutagenesis is suppressed early during replication, while damage-bypass by template switching is instead favored. However, how cells engage in recombination-mediated DDT by template switching at sites of perturbed replication, while recombination is globally suppressed, remained puzzling. In a recent study in the lab, we uncovered a SUMO-orchestrated regulatory mechanism, mediated by the conserved SUMO-like domains (SLDs)-containing protein Esc2, that enables recombination-mediated DDT specifically at sites of compromised replication. Mechanistically, we found that Esc2 preferentially binds structures arising at stalled and damaged replication forks. In this environment, Esc2 engages via its SLDs in regulatory interactions with SIM-containing replisome-associated proteins. Critical for Esc2 pro-recombination function at such sites of perturbed replication is its counteraction of the anti-recombinase Srs2. The locally reduced Srs2 levels subsequently allow local Rad51 filament formation and template switching-mediated damage-bypass. We uncovered that Esc2 controls Srs2 local levels by promoting its turnover and limiting its chromatin recruitment. Crucial in this process is Esc2 interaction with a conserved SUMO–targeted ubiquitin ligase (STUbL) complex, Slx5/Slx8, and their subsequent joint action in mediating proteasome-dependent Srs2 turnover (Fig. 1). In addition, Esc2 limits de novo Srs2 recruitment at sites of damaged forks by favoring local stable association of the PCNA unloader, Elg1. It is likely that this second process is linked to the Srs2 turnover regulation. As Elg1 and Srs2 bind to and potentially compete for SUMOylated PCNA, lower levels of Srs2 will make space for increased Elg1 binding, accelerating unloading of PCNA and therefore limiting Srs2 recruitment. Thus, we propose that Esc2 acts with STUbLs to initiate a feedback circle of Srs2 down-regulation that enables local engagement of recombination at sites of perturbed replication (Fig. 1). STUbLs are known to mediate proteasome-degradation of SUMOylated substrates. Although Srs2 is SUMOylated and this modification can occur in the absence of Esc2, we identified Esc2 to be a crucial regulator of Srs2 turnover. Esc2 role in Srs2 turnover relies on its ability to robustly bind stalled forks and on its SLDs-mediated interaction with the SIMs of Slx5 and Srs2. We thus propose that SLDs of Esc2 act as a platform to recruit Slx5-Slx8 to its substrates at stalled forks, and possibly in other chromosomal contexts in which Esc2 functions are important. In the light of this scenario, STUbL substrates may not need to be SUMOylated in order to be degraded, as Esc2 could recruit Slx5-Slx8 via its SLDs to the substrates. Whether Esc2 is required for the STUbL-mediated turnover of other replisome-associated factors, and if that also serves recombination-mediated DDT by template switching, will remain to be addressed by future studies. To date, Srs2 regulation was described primarily in the context of SUMOylated PCNA, which functions to recruit Srs2 to chromatin and therefore to inhibit recombination during replication. Our recent findings identified a mechanism that guides recombination specifically at sites of replication stress,


Abstract : The feasibility of generating frequency agile impulses has been successfully demonstrated using a monolithic, photoconductive GaAs impulse device. Two time-delayed optical pulses from a mode-locked Nd:YAG laser, delivered by two different lengths of optical cables, were used to turn-on and turn-off the device. The time interval between the on-laser pulse and the off''-laser pulse was varied, resulting in a corresponding change in the output electrical pulsewidth which ranged from 2.1 ns to 4.9 ns.


The first theorem desctibes the change in the admittance matrix corresponding to the change of the voltage reference terminal ("ground" terminal). The second theorem shows that the determinant of the admittance matrix is invariant under such transformations.


The first method for directly generating C,N-dianion from an alkyl-substituted π-excessive N-heterocyclic compound (2-methylindole) has been developed. It involves treatment with 3 equiv. of BuLi and 2 equiv. of ButOK in a particular sequence and results in the functionalization of the 2-methyl group of the indole in a regiospecific manner.


. Maturity measurement is very necessary to improving the quality of the IT Service to made business better especially in operational area alignment with the institution purposes. The purpose of this study is to measure maturity level an application for the establishment (IJOP) of RA & Madrasah of The Ministry of Religious Affairs of The Republic of Indonesia. This study will compare maturity level from user which is current condition with their expectations using ITIL V3 domain service operation: event management, incident management, request fulfillment, problem management, access management and maturity level PMF measurement. The method to get the data using interview and questionnaire. This study based on variables contained ITIL V3 Framework Domain Service Operation and maturity level PMF found a large gap, the maturity level of "IJOP" is currently not as expected. The result from measurement in current condition is "2,4" that means repeatable, and the expectation is "4" that mean managed. The Service Level Agreement of this application reaches +/-95%. From that large gap, this study will be purposes a recommendation for improvement the "IJOP" application in features, tools and policy to help improving Service Level Agreement and index maturity level.


Objective: A simple and accurate Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic method was developed for the determination of Assay of Tolterodine Tablets 2mg. Tolterodine Tartrate the active pharmaceutical ingredient used in the treatment of urinary incontinence. Method: A RP-HPLC method was developed for the method as well as for the validation. The process was achieved using a High performance liquid chromatography equipped with Auto Sampler and DAD or UV detector and the Column used for Method Development & Validation was Symmetry C18 (4.6 x 150mm, 5 m, Make: Kromosil). The mobile phase was consists of Phosphate Buffer pH 3.0 and Acetonitrile HPLC grade. The binary gradient was made with a flow rate at 0.8 ml/min. The detection wavelength was selected 282 nm. The injection volume was 20 μL. Results: The Accuracy was calculated and the % Recovery was found to be 98.1%to 100.2%. The method was found to be Linear over the range of 20 to 100µg per ml. The LOD for the drug was found to be 0.108µg/ml and LOQ for Tolterodine Tartrate was found to be 0.36μg/mL Conclusion: The validated method yielded good results of precision, linearity, accuracy, and robustness. The proposed method was found to be suitable and accurate for the method development and validation and assay of compound Tolterodine Tartrate in active pharmaceutical ingredient. The developed method was validated to ensure the compliance in accordance with ICH guidelines and also well suitable for studies on HPLC.


When optical scanners were introduced for food store use more than a decade ago a near revolution in store operations was forecast. Store management was expected to initiate automatic reordering systems using scanning as well as use the information to evaluate specialing and pricing strategies more carefully (see NGA). Economists for their part had potential access to a new and far-reaching data set on product movement at the retail level. It was becoming possible to do retail level analysis routinely which previously required special tabulations (see e.g. Marion and Walker, and Marian, et al.).


The formulation of a system of hierarchic models for the simulation of the mechanical response of slender elastic bodies, such as elastic rods, is considered. The present work is concerned with aspects of implementation and numerical examples. We use a finite element formulation based on the principle of minimum potential energy. The displacement fields are represented by the product of one-dimensional field functions and two-dimensional director functions. The field functions are approximated by the p-version of the finite element method. Our objective is to control both the model form errors and the errors of discretization with a view toward the development of advanced engineering applications equipped with autonomous error control procedures. We present numerical examples that illustrate the performance characteristics of the algorithm.


Extant literature on value congruence is fragmented due to different methodological treatments and theoretical perspectives. Proposing a typology of the value congruence concept, this paper reviews several key themes in value congruence research including staffing, socialization, leadership, job attitudes, performance, among others. By reviewing related antecedents and outcomes, discussing underlying theoretical perspectives, and highlighting future directions, this paper integrates value congruence research into a comprehensive framework. Managerial implications are also discussed where relevant.


In this thesis I aim to analyze the modern classic book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951) in an attempt to determine whether one can categorize it as a Young Adult book or not. The nov ...


A carriage support member suitable for printhead carriage of the ink jet printer (22), a bar-like structure having a first and a second contact portion (41), a first contact portion (42) second contact portion (43 ) comprises Yes pivotal carriage mounting portion located between the (44), the. The first and second contact portions attached sliding or rolling as the carriage along the secondary guide rail (35) on the carriage mounting portion. Bar-shaped structure pivots against the carriage about the carriage mounting portion.


Electronic health records (EHR) have been promoted to improve clinical care and reduce healthcare costs. To study the effects of an EHR-based alert for


Many countries affected by the global outbreak of monkeypox in 2022 have observed a decline in cases. Our mathematical model incorporating empirical estimates of the heavy-tailed sexual partnership distribution among men who have sex with men (MSM) suggests that monkeypox epidemics can hit the infection-derived herd immunity threshold and begin to decline with less than 1% of sexually active MSM population infected regardless of interventions or behavioural changes. Consistently, we found that many countries and US states experienced an epidemic peak with cumulative cases of around 0.1-0.7% of MSM population. The observed decline in cases may not necessarily be attributable to interventions or behavioural changes primarily, although continuing these approaches in the most effective manner is still warranted to minimise total epidemic size.


Background.—In the absence of biological markers, the diagnosis of cluster headache (CH) rests on clinical evidence as reported through ad‐hoc interviews.


In recent years, large amount of ground truth data is typically required to feed into the supervised depth estimation models to produce satisfactory performance, while it is usually costly and impracticable to acquire depth ground truth. In this paper, we propose a self-supervised joint deep learning pipeline for depth and pose estimation of monocular video sequences, which uses the cycle generation adversarial network structure to extend the existing reconstruction loss function based on photometric consistency. The generation function of the algorithm learns to synthesize the adjacent image to predict the depth map and the relative target pose, and the discriminant function learns the dispersion of the monocular images to correctly classify the realism of the composite image. At the same time, a reconstruction loss function based on pose consistency is used to assist the generator function in training. Extensive experimental results on the KITTI dataset show superior performance of the proposed method.


ness and resolved to avoid contamination by contact with secular government, Presbyterians seemed to hanker after some kind of established status. In the case of those Presbyterians of English extraction, based primarily in Dublin, what was sought, in vain, was readmission to a comprehensive Church of Ireland. The Scottish Presbyterians in Ulster, by contrast, developed their own form of alternative establishment, complete with hierarchical organisation, instruments of social discipline, and institutions to administer the education of their children and the provision of charity to the poor. Not surprisingly, the clergy of the established church regarded these structures, which seemed in so many ways to mimic their own, as a direct challenge. In the early eighteenth century, mindful of the experience of Episcopalians in Scotland after 1689, they genuinely feared a Presbyterian takeover of their own position. Because of the Scottish precedent, and what seemed the aggressiveness of the General Synod of Ulster, contemporary clerical opinion in Ireland saw the contest between church and dissent in a different way than did high-churchmen in England: not as a struggle to enforce theological uniformity or to preserve a confessional state, but as a war between two rival churches for possession of establishment status. At the same time, of course, the very fact that Presbyterians did not enjoy the benefits of being an established church left them prey to the essential weakness of any sect, a tendency to divide into competing factions. They were, after all, in contemporary parlance, 'schismatics'.


We present two methods to measure contact angles inside porous media using high-resolution images. The direct determination of contact angle at the three-phase contact line is often ambiguous due to uncertainties with image segmentation. Instead, we propose two alternative approaches that provide an averaged assessment of wettability. The first uses fundamental principles in topology to relate the contact angle to the integral of the Gaussian curvature over the fluid-fluid meniscus. The advantage of this approach is that it replaces the uncertain determination of an angle at a point with a more accurate determination of an integral over a surface. However, in mixed-wet porous media, many interfaces are pinned with a hinging contact angle. For predictive pore-scale models, we need to determine the contact angle at which displacement occurs when the interfaces move. To address this problem we apply an energy balance, ignoring viscous dissipation, to estimate the contact angle from the meniscus curvature and changes in interfacial areas and saturation. We apply these methods to characterize wettability on pore-scale images of two- and three-phase flow. We also discuss the implications of the results for recovery and storage applications.


Video streaming has been the most popular applications in social networks. However, the current social networks still use the traditional client/server (C/S) architecture, which seriously limits the scale and scalability of video streaming system in social networks. To meet the requirement of more users in social networks, more money are invested to purchase server bandwidth and storage space. Recently, P2P streaming has been a promising way to deliver video streaming and reduce the pressure of the video server. Unfortunately, the traditional mechanisms of P2P streaming systems are suboptimal, even not suitable for social networks. In this paper, we propose a P2P-assisted video streaming system in social networks, called SocialStreaming. The main contribution of this paper is: i) we put forward a network coding based storage strategy, which can improve the utilization of each peer's limited storage space. Moreover, with the same storage space, it can increase the diversity of stored data, which can improve the efficiency of data sharing; ii) we propose a social network based streaming predelivery algorithm in distributed way, derived from the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm. This algorithm could effectively deliver the video streaming to some peers, which will watch this video later with high probability; iii) we present a social network based neighbor selection algorithm, which combines the network performance factor and social factor as a tradeoff to select proper neighbors to exchange data. The trace driven based simulation results also demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of SocialStreaming, which can bring good transmission performance and significantly reduce the load of the server.


Background: To strategically develop preventive and therapeutic measures against coronavirus disease 2019 and its causative virus, SARS-CoV-2, it is critical to fully characterize immune response and sustained immune activation following viral infection and vaccination. However, the mechanisms controlling intrapersonal variation in antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2 antigens remain unclear. To gain further insights into how we can optimize therapeutic and preventive care, we performed a robust molecular and cellular investigation of immune responses in infected, recovered, and vaccinated individuals. Methods: We evaluated the expression of 29 cytokines and assessed their correlation with neutralizing potency. We further investigated memory B-cell response in patients infected with the original SARS-CoV-2 strain or other variants of concern, and in vaccinated individuals. Results: Correlation analyses showed that the relationship between neutralizing activity and cytokine expression differed according to disease severity and viral strain. Furthermore, long-term longitudinal analyses revealed that post-vaccination neutralizing potential was more strongly associated with various cytokine expression levels in recovered patients than in naive individuals. Notably, we found a similar distribution of virus-specific antibody gene families in triple-vaccinated individuals and a patient with COVID-19 pneumonia for one year. Conclusion: Our results showed that distinct immune responses occur depending on the viral strain suggesting that therapeutic options should be selected on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, longitudinal analyses revealed biomarker candidates that correlated with repeated vaccination that may be applicable to therapies regulating specific immune responses and novel monoclonal antibodies.


Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technology. To achieve high product quality, the powder is best spread as a uniform, dense layer. The challenge for LPBF manufacturers is to develop a spreading process that can produce a consistent layer quality for the many powders used, which show considerable differences in spreadability. Therefore, we investigate the influence of material properties, process parameters and the type of spreading tool on the layer quality. The discrete particle method is used to simulate the spreading process and to define metrics to evaluate the powder layer characteristics. We found that particle shape and surface roughness in terms of rolling resistance and interparticle sliding friction as well as particle cohesion all have a major (sometimes surprising) influence on the powder layer quality: more irregular shaped particles, rougher particle surfaces and/or higher interfacial cohesion usually, but not always, lead to worse spreadability. Our findings illustrate that there is a trade-off between material properties and process parameters. Increasing the spreading speed decreases layer quality for nonand weakly cohesive powders, but improves it for strongly cohesive ones. Using a counter-clockwise rotating roller as ∗Corresponding author. Email addresses: email@example.com (Mohamad Yousef Shaheen), firstname.lastname@example.com (Anthony R. Thornton), firstname.lastname@example.com (Stefan Luding), email@example.com (Thomas Weinhart) Preprint submitted to Powder Technology July 21, 2020 ar X iv :2 00 7. 10 12 5v 1 [ co nd -m at .s of t] 1 6 Ju l 2 02 0 a spreading tool improves the powder layer quality compared to spreading with a blade. Finally, for both geometries, a unique correlation between the quality criteria uniformity and mass fraction is reported and some of the findings are related to size-segregation during spreading.


The main objective of this work is to design a kinetic energy harvester for TPMS applications. The energy harvester presented in this work is a multi-pendulum fixed to a rolling wheel, which exploits nonlinear effects rendered by such a design.


The expanding use of location-based services has profound implications on the privacy of personal information. In this paper, we propose a framework for preserving location privacy based on the idea of sending to the service provider suitably modified location information. Agents execute data transformation and the service provider directly processes the transformed dataset. Our technique not only prevents the service provider from knowing the exact locations of users, but also protects information about user movements and locations from being disclosed to other users who are not authorized to access this information. We also define a privacy model to analyze our framework, and examine our approach experimentally.


An initiative combining risk management and electronic medical records (EMRs) at MedStar Health, Columbia, MD, is expected to reduce medical errors and cut malpractice losses by an average of approximately $2 million a year.


Angels, inspirers and shopping clothes on credit" – power and conditional assistance in Swedish reality-TV

The aim of this study is to provide a closer look at the nature of help given in selected Swedish reality shows with charity and lifestyle platforms. Descriptive in nature, the study is a content analysis of the influence and power the reality programs may have on participants, focusing on three different shows, chosen for their charitable aspirations. Sofias anglar, Lyxfallan and Den hemlige miljonaren all differ in style and structure with regards to donor and recipient of help, but all have in common that their participants are deprived with something that the shows are ready to provide for or extend. Using the transcripts and visual materials of the programs, the content analysis is aimed at three core issues: 1) choice and presentation of the participants; 2) motivation behind the help; 3) influence of the help in the relationship between donor and recipient. These issues are described for each of the three reality shows from the perspective of Bourdieus theories of symbolic power, and Foucaults theories of power, specifically, on the pastoral kind of power. The main finding is that the help extended in all three shows played a significant role in the strength or power ratio between the donor and recipient. The nature of the help, which all differed among the shows, did play a part in how and in what way the participant, their problems and the solutions are characterized, which by the commercial nature of the reality shows leads to the conclusion that the described wants and expected needs of the participants are structured by and attributed to production requirements and prerequisites.


The specification describes endoscopes that enable varying stiffness of an insertion portion in an endoscope assembly. In one example, an actuator operates either a spring or a flexible tube to vary stiffness of the insertion portion. In alternative examples, an elliptical wheel arrangement or screw mechanism provides a means to increase stiffness of the insertion portion of an endoscope assembly. In further examples, fluid and gas may be used inside the insertion potion to vary stiffness by varying pressure of the fluid/gas.


This thesis has been done in order to ease the process of drawing schematics ofelectrical wiring. The need arose after demand from the government due to a seriesof incidents that took place during ...


Objective To observe the anti-osteoporosis effect of Gusongbao capsule (GC).Methods Osteoporosis rat models were induced by gastric infusion of vitamin A acid at a dose of 70 mg/kg for 14 days. The bone morphological and blood biochemical indexes and the amount of calcium and phosphorus in urine excreted every day were determined in both treatment group (treated with Gusongbao) and model control group.Results In the treatment group,the average width of bone trabecula,relative bone volume,average thickness of bone cortex,bone calcium,cell number in per unit area of bone trabecula,and the average gray degree of caput femoris and femoral shaft were higher than those in the moderate group. High dose (0.8 g/kg) and middle dose (0.4 g/kg) of GC increased bone phosphorus level and decreased urine calcium level markedly and high dose of GC also increased serum level of CT (P 0.05or P 0.01). Conclusion GC can inhibit the excessive bone transform and promote osteanagenesis and has antagonism effect on rat osteoporosis caused by vitamin A acid.


Education for early childhood is the provision of efforts to stimulate, guide, nurture and provide learning activities that will produce children's abilities and skills. This service is carried out at Aisiyah Jetis Kindergarten located in Blulukan Village, Colomadu. The main problem of Aisyiah Kindergarten is the lack of socialization to local residents and the quality of education is not guaranteed so that many local residents do not send their children to the kindergarten, but choose schools outside the village. This activity resulted in a SWOT analysis of TK Aisyiah as follows: Strengths: TK Aisyah is located in a densely populated village, this is a source of strength for the school to acquire more students. Weaknesses: The school is located on the 2nd floor of the Al Huda Mosque so it makes parents less comfortable to send their children to the school. Opportunity: The school must show that the school is a quality school so that it can attract people to send their children to the kindergarten. Threats: The emergence of many new schools that provide facilities and comfort for students and parents.


Based on the data of grain yield in ten experimental areas,the situation and potential increase of grain yield in the soil loss region of Loess Plateau were studied from three different levels of yield,which are dryland yield potential,experimental yields in ten areas and yields of ten counties.The results indicated that the potential yield increase was greater in the soil loss region of Loess Plateau,and the present yield only reached 74.7% of the experimental level in ten areas,and 54.2% of the sunlight temperature water yield potential.Comparison of dryland potential yield increase in gully and hilly regions of Loess Plateau shows that potential yield increase in hilly region is 117.6%,and only 56.6%in gully region.Owing to population increase and decrease of cultivated land in the soil loss region,the produced grain yield will not meet the need in the future thirty years.


In the case of data acquisition system,a method of constructing virtual instrument by cross-platform graphical user interface library Qt and related extended library with special hardware platform is introduced.Compared with the LabVIEW,Qt and its extended library not only have the same well-designed graphical user interface,but also have better portability,expansibility and flexibility.


Pacific land issues are not only about Indigenous ownership in rural areas. Within urban areas in particular, land historically alienated into State control produced consequences only now being realised. In Fiji, all State land is claimed by communal landowners and such claims were said to be one reason for the


Extended Abstract. The dairy industry stands at a unique intersection as both an emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and a player in mitigating emissions. Dairies can reduce emissions by installing anaerobic digesters for manure management. Digesters are a proven reduction technology due to the capture and use of the produced methane. However, the cost to install and maintain digesters is often prohibitive. California's Compliance Offset Program provides an economic incentive to installing digesters through the sale of the corresponding offset credits. This program, which is administered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and began on January 1, 2013, includes digester projects as one of five approved offset protocols. After following a rigorous process to verify emissions reductions, producers can recoup a portion of the cost associated with the digester by selling the offsets. Although the entities requiring and purchasing the offsets are subject to California's Cap-and-Trade Regulation and are primarily located in California, the digester projects themselves can be located nationwide. Thus, the offset program is relevant to producers across the country. However, verification can be expensive and offset generation may not be a cost-effective mechanism for every farm. This paper provides a summary of the lessons learned from the first years of CARB's program.


This paper discusses design aspects of sequential power amplifiers (SPAs). After derivation of theoretical performance limits, an optimum practical realisation is suggested, using an FPGA-circuit at the input and an adaptable directional coupler as the signal combiner at the output. Design trade-offs between the optimum coupling and the output power capability of the involved amplifiers are outlined. Using SPAs efficiencies of more than 50% can be achieved under up 10dB back-off from maximum power. The combining characteristics of the adaptable combiner are investigated. Off-the-shelf power amplifiers may be employed, which can be linearized in a conventional manner. The paper closes with measurement results.


Objective of this work is to explain the modelling concept of analytical function in the financial knowledge discovery model. This new simulation model of analytical function is devel- oped for a financial knowledge discovery process that is used for the Corporate Criminal Intelli- gence Analysis (CCIA, in short). Model was developed for the CCIA work of the whole analytical part of the Financial police of the Republic of Croatia. The benefit of this new simulation model of analytical function is in simple method (based mainly on statistical simulations) of measuring analytical capacity and capability of analysis, which is now in usage in the financial field and field of law. The analytical function of the CCIA was prepared for investigations of financial criminal incidents, financial criminal offenders or victims and for financial crime control methods, etc. An application of this simulation model increases the group effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of the operational and strategic financial investigative operations that are in usage during the whole financial knowledge discovery process.


Objective To evaluate the efficacy of general anesthesia(GA) with laryngeal mask airway(LMA) combined with lower extremity nerve block in the high-risk elderly undergoing total hip replacement.Methods A total of 72 people over 75 years old were divided randomly into four groups of A(GA with tracheal intubation),B(GA with tracheal intubation and lower limb nerve block),C(GA with LMA) and D(GA with LMA and lower extremity nerve block).The changes of MAP and HR were recorded before anesthesia(T1),at the time of tracheal intubation or LMA insertion(T2),periosteal detaching(T3),at the end of operation(T4) and extubation or LMA removal(T5).The time of extuhation or LMA removal,awareness during anesthesia and anesthetic dosages were recorded.Results MAP and HR in groups of A and B were significantly higher at T2 and T5 than those at T1(P0.05).MAP and HR in groups of A and C were significantly higher at T3 than those at T1(P0.05).The time of extubation or LMA removal in group D [(11.2±4.3) min] was significantly shorter than(21.3±6.8) min in group B,(27.8±7.7) min in group C or(35.4±10.9) min in group A(P0.01).Conclusion GA with LMA combined with lower extremity never block could maintain the hemodynamics stable and reduce anesthetic dosage with rapid awakening in the high-risk elder patients undergoing THR.


In this paper I examine creative autonomy in research with children, as both complex and relational, and reflect on its role in countering the deceptive dualisms, such as researcher/ participant, adult/child, knowledge/embodiment, that can predetermine how participation is imagined. This reflection is a process of recalling memories, extending the analysis, and simultaneously offering new and evolving questions and affective connections through responses to photographs from a cross-cultural study with disabled children.


In recent years,with the development of natural polysaccharide in the field of material,cellulose and chitosan have attracted wide attention. Because of its excellent biocompatibility,biodegradability and antibacterial properties,chitosan has attracted attention of many researchers,great progress has been made in the medical,food,environmental engineering and many other fields. This paper starts from the solution properties of chitosan,introducing the influence of deacetylation degree,molecular weight,temperature and other factors on chitosan solution behavior respectively,focusing on the introduction of chitosan dissolution using acetic acidandionic liquid,summarizing the wet spinning of chitosan,as well as the methods to improve the performance of fiber and the possibility of filament realizing. Finally,the future development of chitosan and its fiber products are prospected.


Nanocarbon-based disordered, conductive, polymeric nanocomposite materials (DCPNs) are increasingly being adopted in applications across the breadth of materials science. DCPNs characteristically e...


To date, most of the small satellite formation flying missions have flown with Hill-Clohessy-Wiltshire equations based controllers. Additionally, the vast majority of nonlinear optimal control methods are complex for onboard implementation with the critical need of verification and validation methods. In this context, this paper addresses the relative motion control of formation flying mission with the design and development of an analytical, onboard-compatible optimal controller based upon the Nonlinear Generalized Predictive Control theory. The resulting controller is shown to be suitable to handle perturbed near-circular orbits.


This paper reports upon a secondary analysis of Richard Hall's (1968) data, indicating that two major trends—the increasing professionalization of the labor force and the increasing bureaucratizati...


Monthly images of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) are used to characterize the spatio-temporal variability of vegetation in a large South American wetland (SAW) (located in the Paraná River floodplain) during the period 2000–2009. While these data do not meet the requirements of classical component extraction techniques (CETs) (e.g. principal component analysis (PCA)), they are suitable for the modern method named independent component analysis (ICA). Hence, ICA is used here to extract three statistically independent modes of inter-annual MODIS-NDVI variability that are successfully interpreted as vegetation responses to hydrological changes. One mode isolates the vegetation response to a severe drought associated with La Niña 2007–2008. Another component reflects the expansion (or contraction) of lagoons owing to high (or low) water level of the Paraná River. The remaining mode captures the vegetation decrease caused by the flood related to El Niño 2006–2007. The results presented here for a particular wetland suggest that ICA of NDVI images is a powerful tool for identifying the physical causes of vegetation changes in other large wetlands.


The invention relates to a preparation method of high solid content waterborne polyurethane. The waterborne polyurethane is higher than common organic solvent in latent heat of evaporation, and water solvent type polyurethane in waterborne polyurethane of the same solid content is slow in solvent evaporation and needs long drying time. The preparation method comprises the steps of mixing polymer polyol with polyisocyanates under the protection of nitrogen, stirring evenly and then adding catalyst for reacting; adding a hydrophilic chain extender for reacting; cooling, adding a solvent and a neutralizer so as to obtain a prepolymer and stirring at high speed so as to disperse in deionized water; adding the chain extender, stirring, reducing pressure and removing the solvent through steaming so as to obtain the waterborne polyurethane emulsion; and preparing the prepolymer of different size distribution, dispersing in the waterborne polyurethane emulsion along with velocity mixing, and stirring for 1-4 hours. The waterborne polyurethane emulsion has wide size distribution and low viscosity, is stable, and can solve the key technical problems of high latent of evaporation, slow volatilization, long drying time, low production efficiency and the like in the field of research of the waterborne polyurethane.


This study aims to analyze the effect of the Global Sharia Stock Exchange on the Indonesia Sharia Stock Price Index in Indonesia Stock Exchange for the study period of 2016 to 2018. On 31 December 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community began to be implemented, then resulting in a free flow of goods, services, and investments, so this study took samples starting in 2016. Dependent variables used are the Indonesia Sharia Stock Index, while the independent variables are Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI), European Dow Jones Islamic Market Index, (DJIEU), Dow Jones Islamic Market Index 25 USD (Malaysia) and Tadawull All Share Index (Saudi Arabia). While the independent variable used is the Indonesia Sharia stock index (ISSI). The data used are monthly stock index data from all sharia stock indexes in Indonesia, Malaysia, the US, Japan, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia from 2016 to 2018. This research was processed using Eviews 10. The results of this study indicate that partially Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) and the European Dow Jones Islamic Market Index (DJIEU) have no significant effect on the Indonesia Sharia stock index, while the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index 25 USD (Malaysia) and the Tadawull All Share Index (Saudi Arabia) have a significant effect on the Indonesia Sharia Stock Index.


The important effects of bottom sediments on the seismic response of arch dams are studied in this paper. To do so, a three‐dimensional boundary element model is used. It includes the water reservoir as a compressible fluid, the dam and unbounded foundation rock as viscoelastic solids, and the bottom sediment as a two‐phase poroelastic domain with dynamic behaviour described by Biot's equations. Dynamic interaction among all those regions, local topography and travelling wave effects are taken into account. The results obtained show the important influence of sediment compressibility and permeability on the seismic response. The former is associated with a general change of the system response whereas the permeability has a significant influence on damping at resonance peaks. The analysis is carried out in the frequency domain considering time harmonic excitation due to P and S plane waves. The time‐domain results obtained by using the Fourier transform for a given earthquake accelerogram are also shown. The possibility of using simplified models to represent the bottom sediment effects is discussed in the paper. Two alternative models for porous sediment are tested. Simplified models are shown to be able to reproduce the effects of porous sediments except for very high permeability values. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We present photonic topological insulators displaying topologically protected bulk propagation, robust to large-scale defects. These topological insulators are described in synthetic dimensions and open the door for shaping topological propagation.


Data Saves the Whales! was developed as part of the Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping Integrated to Unlock Potential (AMP-IT-UP) project, funded by the National Science Foundation through its Math and Science Partnership program. A central outcome of the AMP-IT-UP project was the development of 1-week modules for core middle school math and science courses that were aligned with best practices as put forth in the Next Generation Science Standards and Standards of Mathematical Practice. Data Saves the Whales! is a middle school mathematics module that is set within a marine ecosystem. It focuses on independent and dependent variables and Cartesian coordinate graphing, and on math practices related to data representation—i.e. how data can be represented in different ways to communicate various messages to an audience. Students engage in a simulated investigation to collect oceanographic data, meant to mimic the experimental procedures used by marine scientists when collecting samples, and learn different methods of graphing the data to effectively communicate their findings. This module features work conducted by the research team of Dr. Ellery Ingall, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science at Georgia Tech, and integrates math skills with marine science and the concepts of food webs and the interdependence of organisms.


Companies have invested billions of dollars in Year 2000 remedies. Given the poor track record of IT projects, one of the major questions is whether companies used this "crisis" to identify changes to improve the delivery of future projects and other IT management practices. This research proposes a model based on the crisis management and learning theories to argue that the learning orientation of an organization is associated with the Y2K strategy adopted and associated learning outcomes.


The catastrophic economic damage caused by the 2008 financial crisis was unprecedented and caught many market participants by surprise. It raises the question: To what extent do institutional investors play a monitoring role in the banking industry? In this article, we investigate this underresearched area and provide evidence that gray institutions (i.e., banks and insurance companies) have more information about banks' risk exposure to securitization than independent institutions do (e.g., investment companies and public pension funds) as gray institutions shied away from banks holding more private-label mortgage-backed securities or issuing riskier securitization deals before the crisis. We also find that the trading of gray institutions before the crisis can predict high-exposure banks' abnormal returns around the Lehman Bankruptcy and subsequent 1-year stock performance. The trades of gray institutions are also significant and positively related to such banks' operating performance during the crisis period.


High refractive index glass microsphere is developed. The reflective plate is fabricated by using the glass microsphere.This reflective plate can be used to substitute the common mirror in the optoelectronic measuring instrument.The measuring precision and the stability of the system are improved, which benefits by the retroreflection of the glass microsphere. This reflective plate eliminates decreasing the measuring precision due to vibration of the system.


Backgroud: The detection of lymph node metastasis by reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification method (RT-LAMP) had been studied previously. Even though, RT-LAMP method provides improved performance compared to intraoperative histology sentinel lymph node (SLN) evaluation, direct RT-LAMP method without RNA extraction can be more efficient and easily accessible process. Therefore, we evaluated the performance and efficacy of a direct reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (direct RT-LAMP) assay for visual detection of CK19 , CK20 , and CEA mRNAs to identify lymph node metastasis in patients with early breast cancer. Methods: A total of 92 lymph nodes dissected from 40 patients with breast cancer were collected at the breast cancer center of Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital between November 2015 and February 2016. All of the samples were analyzed by direct RT-LAMP assay and routine histopathology examination. Cutoff values to distinguish metastasis and nonmetasis were determined by measuring cytokerain 19 (CK19) mRNA in histopathologically positive and negative lymph node using direct RT-LAMP. Results: We set the cutoff value of direct RT-LAMP assay for CK 19 mRNA at 1ng to distinguish status of LN metastasis. The sensitivity and specificity of the RT-LAMP assay were 85.7% and 100%, respectively. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 100% and 94.4%. Conclusion: Direct RT-LAMP assay can allow detection of SLN metastasis in breast cancer patients intraoperatively with a good sensitivity through cost-effective and time–saving manner. Citation Format: Lee IH, Jung J, Lee S, Lee J, Lee RK, Park H, Jung J, Kang J, Chae Y. Evaluation of a direct reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification method without RNA extraction (direct RT-LAMP) for the detection of lymph node metastasis in early breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-03-29.


This article uses a proximity sensor to perform noncontact-based (sensing) chewing activity detection, capturing the temporalis muscle movement during food intake. The proposed approach is validated using data from a larger number of participants, 20, and different food types, eight. The proposed chewing detection classifies the chewing activity with an overall accuracy of 96.4% using a medium Gaussian support vector machine (SVM). In accordance with the result, this article proposes a novel chew count estimation based on particle swarm optimization (PSO). First, the base of the algorithm is developed based on counting the peak of the chewing signal. Next, the insignificant peak is removed by introducing an argument of minimum peak prominence and maximum peak width where the value of the parameters needs to be determined. As the individual chewing pattern varies from person to person, this article uses a novel parameter search using the PSO method to find the multiplier (parameter values) according to the average peak prominence and width value within each chewing episode. The proposed estimation approach simplifies the typical trial-and-error method. During optimization, within 100 iterations, the chewing count is reduced by 12.9% from its first iteration. Overall, the proposed methods achieve a 4.26% mean absolute error of chewing count estimation.


Pathways to the production of precipitation in two cloud microphysics schemes available in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model are investigated in a scenario of tropical cyclone intensification. Comparisons of the results from the WRF Model simulations indicate that the variation in the simulated initial rapid intensification of an idealized tropical cyclone is due to the differences between the two cloud microphysics schemes in their representations of pathways to the formation and growth of precipitating hydrometeors. Diagnoses of the source and sink terms of the hydrometeor budget equations indicate that the major differences in the production of hydrometeors between the schemes are in the spectral definition of individual hydrometeor categories and spectrum-dependent microphysical processes, such as accretion growth and sedimentation. These differences lead to different horizontally averaged vertical profiles of net latent heating rate associated with significantly different horizontally averaged vertical distributions and productionratesof hydrometeorsinthesimulatedclouds.Resultsfromthisstudy alsohighlightthepossibility that the advantage of double-moment formulations can be overshadowed by the uncertainties in the spectral definition of individual hydrometeor categories and spectrum-dependent microphysical processes. dependence of the simulated TC development on variations in the diabatic forcing associated with different microphysics parameterization schemes. We then compare the hydrometeor distribution and latent heating profiles from the two schemes, showing that quantitative differences in the assumed pathways to the production of hydrometeors significantly contribute to the differences in the net latent heat release between the two schemes. We further diagnose the source and sink terms of all the hydrometeor budgets.


Via a facile one-pot strategy, polyaspartate (PASP) coated LaF3:Ce3+/Tb3+ luminescent nanocrystals have been successfully prepared. Based on the luminescence quenching of the PASP modified LaF3:Ce3+/Tb3+ nanocrystals by Fe3+, a simple and novel luminescent chemosensor for Fe3+ has been developed. High selectivity and sensitivity is observed over other cations, which is mainly attributed to the formation of a PASP–Fe3+ complex on the NP surface. The luminescence of the suspensions was gradually quenched with the addition of Fe3+ ion, with a linear range of 5 × 10−7 to 1 × 10−4 mol L−1.


The invention relates to a deep-sea floated wind power generator unit, comprising a wind turbine structure, a tower frame and a floated platform from top to bottom. The floated platform is fixed at the seabed by hawsers; the wind turbine structure comprises wind turbine blades, a wind turbine shaft and a wind turbine cabin which are connected transversely in sequence; shock-reduction control devices are respectively arranged in the wind turbine cabin and the floated platform. The wind power generator unit is capable of effectively inhibiting vibration caused by sea wind loads and save wave loads, so that the safe and efficiency production of the deep-sea floated wind power generator unit can be ensured.


Type of funding sources: None.

 Currently employed catheters for treatment of symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) leverage thermal energy to ablate the myocardium. Despite excellent acute success rates, the non-selective nature of thermal injury has been associated with frequent AF recurrences and complications such as pulmonary vein stenosis and thermal damage to adjacent structures. Recently, a novel, non-thermal ablative modality has been introduced for the treatment of AF: pulsed field ablation (PFA). The selective nature of PFA translates in the ability to perform full transmural lesions whilst sparing adjacent tissues and structures, making PFA an attractive solution to limitations faced with thermal energy sources. Although several pre-clinical studies investigated the safety and feasibility of PFA, limited reports have been published so far describing the clinical application of this novel catheter technology.

 In this study we present our initial experience with a pulsed field ablation catheter and describe procedural findings and acute safety of the first 68 patients treated at our center.

 We investigated the first 68 patients treated for symptomatic AF at our center using pulsed field ablation between July 2021 and January 2022. Procedural findings at the time of ablation are presented. Procedure-related complications are reported. Qualitative analysis of electrograms and electrophysiological maps before and after ablation are also provided. Lastly, learning curves of operators who performed more than 10 procedures are described.

 Mean age of patients was 63.1±9.2 years, and most were men (57.4%). Most patients suffered from paroxysmal AF (79.4%). The median CHA2DS2-VASc score was 2.0 (1.0; 3.0) and mean left-atrium (LA) volume index was 33.0±8.3 ml/m2. All procedures were performed using conscious sedation. In 63/68 patients ablation of the PVI was performed and in 5/68 patients additional ablation of the left atrial posterior wall was performed. 3D electroanatomic mapping was performed during 10/68 procedures which lasted on average 107.3±15.5 min. Procedures where no mapping was performed lasted on average 48.5±20.7 min. Mean LA time was 39.9±19.0 min. Mean number of applications per pulmonary vein (PV) were 8.6±1.1. In all patients (100%) PVs were confirmed to be isolated. Four different operators performed the ablations: operator 1 performed 25/58 procedures (36.8%), operator 2 28/58 (41.2%), operator 3 9/58 (13.2%), and operator 4 6/58 (8.8%). The learning curves of both operator 1 and operator 2 showed negligible variation of performance over time (R2: Operator 1 = 0.181; Operator 2 = 0.078). The only complications reported were two cases of bleeding at the percutaneous access site of the femoral vein.

 Our initial experience with a PFA catheter in 68 patients shows that PFA is a safe, quick, easy-to-learn, and effective ablation technique for the treatment of symptomatic AF.


Relapsed/resistant/neglected clubfeet is a common problem in developing countries. Differential distraction of soft tissues by means of an external fixator has been used with success in the correction of these difficult Clubfeet.But the correction is usually associated with stiff feet similar to that of open surgical releases even though the length of the foot can be improved. Most of the studies recommended that the fixator be maintained for a period of at least 4 to 6 weeks following the distraction dynamic phase to prevent recurrence. But prolonged period in a frame may increase the stiffness and incidence of reflex sympathetic dystrophy. The fixator does not allow much calcaneal rotation as it has a hold on the calcaneus; this is very important as envisaged by Ponseti. Hence to decrease the risk of stiffness and to apply the principle laid down by Ponseti for the correction of clubfoot, we removed the fixator early in a series of cases and applied Ponseti's technique. The purpose of the study was to follow up Resistant/ Relapse/Neglected clubfoot and to assess whether the correction of the deformity could be achieved and maintained by early removal of the fixator in the static phase and applying Ponseti's methods Introduction:


This text includes an abstract of my doctoral research on the construction of victimhood at the Ixhil area, a post conflict region in Guatemala. The method used to account this psychosocial process was ethnography, mainly focused on the population's relief practices. Throughout 40 weeks, I observed, asked, and shared with the people their experiences during the war, as well as their future expectations. However, to consider themselves as victims is a complex issue to deal with, because it refers to a persuasive device to access for help and resources instead of being use as a descriptive or identifying category. Therefore, empirical evidence has found that the construction of victimhood in this region is related to some diseases currently suffered by the population; to the poverty in which they survive, and the vulnerability and exclusion subjected by the State. All of this turns more evident when people try to get aid from welfare programs, such as the Programa Nacional de Resarcimiento PNR (translated as the National Compensation Program) a place where their speeches of victims seem to be reproduced and reinforced.


Botanic sensibility movement can be divided into two types- recurrent and singular movement. Singular movement refers to certain correspond movement caused by a single and short stimulation, via inner body chain re-action. The movement is mainly manifested in worm eating plants, shock sensible plants and the organs of plants.


Very recently, a fundamental observable has been introduced and analyzed to quantify the exploration of random walks: the time $\tau_k$ required for a random walk to find a site that it never visited previously, when the walk has already visited $k$ distinct sites. Here, we tackle the natural issue of the statistics of $M_n$, the longest duration out of $\tau_0,\dots,\tau_{n-1}$. This problem belongs to the active field of extreme value statistics, with the difficulty that the random variables $\tau_k$ are both correlated and non-identically distributed. Beyond this fundamental aspect, we show that the asymptotic determination of the statistics of $M_n$ finds explicit applications in foraging theory and allows us to solve the open $d$-dimensional starving random walk problem, in which each site of a lattice initially contains one food unit, consumed upon visit by the random walker, which can travel $\mathcal{S}$ steps without food before starving. Processes of diverse nature, including regular diffusion, anomalous diffusion, and diffusion in disordered media and fractals, share common properties within the same universality classes.


284 MATHEMATICS TEACHER | Vol. 109, No. 4 • November 2015 D E N N IS O W U S U -A N S A H /T H IN K S T O C K T he social and educational status of black male youth in the United States has been receiving increasing attention. In February 2014, President Barack Obama announced a new national initiative— My Brother's Keeper—for helping black boys and male youth or, to speak more generally, boys and young men of color, to "stay on track; providing the support they need to think more broadly about their future; building on what works, when it works, in those critical life-changing moments" (Obama 2014, ¶ 45). This initiative is intended to reach beyond the school setting to help address the many challenges for black boys and male youth in the broader society (Howard 2014). The deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, for example, are two high-profile events that have thrust into the national spotlight discussions about the challenges of being black and male in the United States. Currently and historically, news media, popular cultural, policy reports, and educational conferences too often paint a negative picture of black boys and male youth (Brown 2011). Numerous images and discourses throughout society imprint on the hearts and minds of people the negative stereotypical image of black male youth as thugs. Our aim here is to assist secondary school mathematics teachers in exploring strategies to engage the academic and mathematical promise of their black male students and, in doing so, create classrooms as mathematical communities that support the mathematics learning of all students. What might these classrooms look like? Classrooms as mathematical communities are humanizing and self-empowering education spaces where students actively participate in as well as take ownership of their mathematics learning and also, and perhaps more important, the mathematics being taught and learned (Boaler 1998). If created effectively, such classrooms value and use cultural differences between and among teachers and students as assets in building mathematical understanding (Nasir, Hand, and Taylor 2008). Here, both students and teachers build mathematical understanding through in-school and out-of-school academic communities (Walker 2006) as culturally specific ways of being and as community knowledge becomes foundational in the teaching and learning of mathematics (Civil 2007; Leonard 2008). In classrooms as mathematical communities, classroom discourses that foster explanation, argumentation, and defense of mathematical ideas between and among teachers and students become classroom norms (Walshaw and Anthony 2008). Rather than alienate learners, which occurs far too often for Teacher, Grades 9-12, Equity / Diversity / Special Needs, Advocacy


The accuracy of the job completion is very important to increase productivity. PT.UPA-Orang Tua Group has a chemical analysis laboratory (Analytical Research Laboratory) which is tasked analyzing samples from Formulator Divisions. In carrying out the sample chemical analysis, the company has 10 working days lead time. But it was seen that a number of samples were handled beyond the 10-day deadline. This is thought to be a chemical analyst's workload that exceeds its capacity. In this study, workload will be calculated using the Workload Analysis method and also set a standard time for chemical analysis in which the company does not have it. The object of this research is to determine the standard time taken from the preparation of chemical analysis of each parameter. There are 8 chemical parameters that will be calculated. Then observations of work time were carried out by a chemical analyst with good abilities and moderate work rhythms. Determination of the standard time for chemical analysis is 24.07 hours per sample. And the workload for each analyst is 7 samples per month, so it takes 11 chemical analysts to complete 639 samples that will come to meet the 10-day work target.


Requirements
The final objective of the NMP-project InPro is to develop an "Open Information Environ-ment (OIE)" supporting the Early Design Phase for the construction life cycle of a Build-ing.
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