bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Treasury Bill Rate and Interest Rate On The Stock Market Returns: Case Of Ghana Stock Exchange
Authors: Addo Augustine  , Sunzuoye Fidelis
Published: October 2013

Several studies have suggested that macroeconomic variables affect Stock market returns using Treasury bill rate as a measure of interest rate. The study examines the joint impact of  interest rates and Treasury bill rate on  stock market returns on Ghana Stock Exchange over the period between January 1995 and December 2011. Using Johansen’s Multivariate Cointegration Model and Vector Error  Correction Model the study establish that there is cointegration between Interest rate, Treasury bill rate and stock market returns indicating long run relationship. On the basis of the Multiple Regression Analysis (OLS) carried out by Eviews 7 program, the results show that Treasury bill rate and interest rate both have a negative relationship with stock market returns but  are not  significant. These results lend support to the idea that interest rate and Treasury bill rate has both  negative  relationship  but  weak predictive  power on stock market returns independently. The study conclude that interest rate and Treasury bill rate jointly impact on stock market returns in the long run. Understanding the effects of both  Treasury bill rate and interest rate dynamics on stock market returns will help investors, fund  and portfolio managers and firms make better investment decisions.
Conservative Therapy Of Inflammatory Diseases Of Large Intenstine
Authors: Matkarimov S , Rustamov A , Rahmonov S
Published: October 2013

The target of research was the implementation of the comparative analysis of conservative therapy of preparation of basic therapy and also new methods of treatment (anticytokine therapy). Appointment of salofalk  - in twos  tablets  (0, 5) 3-4 times a day per os, and also 2,0 gr in the form of a rectal enema unitary for a period of seven days, then had  transferd the patients to reception 2,0 gr salofalk  per os, allowed  to achieve substantial improvement patients’ clinic-laboratory and endoscopic symptoms   with a heavy intensification of ulcer colitis variation, providing full clinic-labaratory remissions  achievements  of disease at  8 (34 %) patients. In the Minister of  the Uzbek Public Health of  the  Republican  Science Coloproctological  Center at 10 patients with  the IDI   have  spent  the therapy  remicade, 7 of them had NUC and 3 patients had the Crohn's disease.  Therefore, all patients no longer than on the first  week after introduction of remicade had improvement of a course disease which was expressed in defering  stool, extinction or reduction of pathological impurity in excrement and subsidence bellyaches. During colonoscopical inspection, in 12-18 weeks after the first infusion at 80% of the patients had observed disappearance of ulcers and erosion. In terms of   6 months of supervision of relapse of disease was not noted. All new directions in treatment of the IDI, apparently, are perspective, but while are proved only theoretically and had no practical development. Unique and enough effective and safe method at the IDI and already has clinical acknowledgement is remicade.
Prevention Of Chronic Renal Diseases
Authors: Alushi Fejzi , Thereska Nestor
Published: October 2013

It is easier to prevent a disease than to cure it. This postulate is a foundation stone of the contemporary medicine, furthermore its mission. The Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD), amongst them the Chronic Pyelonephrites (CP) and the mass kidney reduction  take an important  place in human pathologies in general, and in particular in renal ones. The Chronic Pyelonephrites  are chronic renal pathologies, which on one side are of various causes and on the other side are multi systemic. At the same time they tend, earlier or later, depending on their course, to bring the patient towards the Chronic Kidney Insufficiency  in stage of uremia, consequently in need of substitution therapies e.g. dialysis, peritoneum dialysis or transplant. It is worthy to emphasize that from the prevention and correct cure of CP make profit the patients, the family, the state and in the last analyses  the entire society, because in that way the budget expense destined for the fore going substitution cures, dialysis, peritoneum dialysis or transplant, is considerably  reduced. The same should be mentioned  in relation to the CP and the mass kidney reduction, speaking about our country, which are still at the first place as the very cause of Chronic Kidney  Insufficiencies (CRI), later on advancing toward uremia and terminal uremia along with its grave consequences. In general  the very foundation of the CP is on  the  infections of urinary roads, in particular on the complicated ones, among them it should be mentioned-congenital kidney anomalies, renal calculosis  so much present in our country, and pathologies of segment or vesical-ureteral reflux, and rarely the pathologies of prostate.
Assessment Of The Level Of Apoptosis Markers In Women With Non-Developing Pregnancies, Depending On The Origin
Authors: Saidjalilova Dilnoza
Published: October 2013

Based on survey of 257 women with non-developing pregnancies of various geneses, it was shown that the level of apoptosis marker P53 in the decidual tissue is increased, and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 simultaneously is reduced, compared with similar data of women with physiological pregnancies. The morphological and histochemical investigation of apoptotic changes during NDP, by means of Bcl-2 and P53, must consider the main marker in early manifestations of the dynamics of the pathological processes.
A Comparative Study Of The Use Of Infinitive In English And Albanian Language. Teaching English Grammar To Albanian Learners Based On A Comparison.
Authors: Dralo Artemisa
Published: October 2013

Today, interest in developing courses that provide interdisciplinary perspectives is increasing. In this way, we could obviously illustrate and give exact comparisons for our learners of English as a second language, in order to avoid their misconception and later incorrect usage of exact grammatical patterns. Thus a detailed study particularly upon the key patterns of each language, especially the correct usage of verbs, is necessary not even for the learner, but also for the teacher and especially for a linguist. The aim of this study is the correct usage and explanation of non-finite verbs for the learner of English as a second language. Teachers of all levels of English language have usually been confronted with this problem, while explaining grammar and trying to adjust the similarities and differences of English non-finites with the Albanian forms. This article focuses as well on the morphological and syntactical aspect and the structure of non-finite verbs within sentences in English and Albanian language, the problem of whether verbs are followed by the gerund or infinitive, especially in English but in a comparison to Albanian language and their equivalence.
Early Bilingual Education Moving Towards The Dual Language Immersion Program. An Upcoming Reality Also In Gjirokastra
Authors: Kote Zamira
Published: October 2013

This article focuses on the issues of bilingual education in Gjirokastra, in the 9-year primary schools, as an important link in the process of foreign language learning by our children. Albania has quickly embraced the concept of early foreign language learning. A memorandum signed by the respective governments of Albania and Italy  in 2002 opened the way to a teaching process conducted in two languages, Italian and Albanian, in the upper cycle of the primary school and also in the high schools, so that half of the subjects would be taught in a foreign language. Through this paper we try to give our opinion why the implementation of this program of dual language immersion is necessary as an educational system based on pragmatic and functional concepts. The achievement of the dual language immersion program also in our schools, aims at a transmission of knowledge for a better internalization of the foreign language, and also at improving the perspectives of our students in the European labor market. The difficulties and the obstacles which might condition this process cannot diminish the advantages and benefits that the children studying in these schools where the teaching process will be conducted in two languages, will have over the children who will study a foreign language as a separate subject. The role of parents and  a highly qualified teaching staff are important factors in the success of this process.
Strategy of Education Development Of The Republic of Kazakhstan
Authors: Kukubaeva Asiya
Published: October 2013

This article presents the role and influence of social factors on the development of education in Kazakhstan.Transformation of consciousness of the people led to the of the Kazakh people. The educational system defines alevel of formation of youth outlooks. The last is thatpsychological environment within the limits of there is anacquisition of knowledge. On the basis of interests, valuableorientations processes of training, education anddevelopment of a personality are carried out. Thus, theoutlook allows to integrate knowledge, defines a vitalposition and spiritual shape of people. In other words,formation, and outlook are interconnected amongthemselves that speaks about an urgency of formation of outlook in teaching and educational process. One of the basic directions of formation is education of Kazakhpatriotism, formation of national consciousness. InKazakhstan purposeful work on formation of positive tolerant relations is necessary.
Footsteps, breath and recording devices: Abandoning a camera-centric construction of ‘point of audition’
Authors: Schiffer Sheldon
Published: October 2013

The seminal work of Michel Chion Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen ([1992] 1994) postulates an analogous concept to point of view for sound in the cinema, what Chion refers to as the ‘point of audition’. During his brief discussion of the concept, he touches upon spatial and subjective modes through which the film-maker can clue the auditor towards discerning the origin from which a sound is intentionally perceived. He also alludes to how the auditor might recognize point of audition by the behaviour of on-screen characters towards sound events, of sound events caused by characters, and the recognition of tone and colour caused by microphone positioning or its simulation with signal processing. This article expands Chion’s postulations on how the spectator experiences point of audition, and challenges Chion’s own somewhat limiting conclusion, that point of audition is determined by camera positioning and its subsequent image. By providing closely read examples from narrative and documentary cinema, Schiffer proposes that the implied agency of body-derived sound effects, or sounds that refer to the processes of recording devices themselves, enables the spectator to render points of audition independent from the image created by the camera.
Linking absorptive capacity with innovative capabilities: A survey of manufacturing firms in Nigeria
Authors: Dutse A. Y.
Published: October 2013

The study was conducted to explore the role of manufacturing firms’ investments in the development of their absorptive capacity on their innovative capabilities. Data were collected from 225 firms through reliable-tested structured questionnaires and were analysed principally by testing association and predictions relating to firms’ investment in absorptive capacity to innovative capabilities. In a composite manner, the study found that investments in exclusive innovation and R&D activities are the main drivers of innovative capabilities with subsidiaries exhibiting more pronounced capabilities than indigenous firms. This outcome raises hope for further progress in the condition of Nigeria’s innovation system.
On the classification of convex lattice polytopes (II)
Authors: Zong C.
Published: October 2013

In 1980, V. I. Arnold studied the classification problem for convex lattice polygons of given area. Since then this problem and its analogues have been studied by several authors, upper bounds for the numbers of non-equivalent d-dimensional convex lattice polytopes of given volume or fixed number of lattice points have been achieved. In this paper, by introducing and studying the unimodular groups acting on convex lattice polytopes, we obtain a lower bound for the number of non-equivalent d-dimensional centrally symmetric convex lattice polytopes of given number of lattice points, which is essentially tight.
An upper bound on the volume of the symmetric difference of a body and a congruent copy
Authors: Schymura D.
Published: October 2013

Let A be a bounded subset of ℝd for some d ≥ 2. We give an upper bound on the volume of the symmetric difference of A and ƒ(A) where f is a translation, a rotation, or the composition of both, a rigid motion.

We bound the volume of the symmetric difference of A and f(A) in terms of the (d - 1)- dimensional volume of the boundary of A and the maximal distance of a boundary point to its image under ƒ. The boundary is measured by the (d - 1)-dimensional Hausdorff measure, which matches the surface area for sufficiently nice sets. In the case of translations, our bound is sharp. In the case of rotations, we get a sharp bound under the assumption that the boundary is sufficiently nice.

The motivation to study these bounds comes from shape matching.
Control of a HexaPOD treatment couch for robot-assisted radiotherapy
Authors: Herrmann Christian , Ma Lei , Wilbert Jürgen , Baier Kurt , Schilling Klaus
Published: October 2013

Moving tumors, for example in the vicinity of the lungs, pose a challenging problem in radiotherapy, as healthy tissue should not be irradiated. Apart from gating approaches, one standard method is to irradiate the complete volume within which a tumor moves plus a safety margin containing a considerable volume of healthy tissue. This work deals with a system for tumor motion compensation using the HexaPOD
Section plane selection influences the results of histomorphometric studies: the example of dental implants
Authors: Kopp Sigmar , Warkentin Mareike , Öri Ferenc , Ottl Peter , Kundt Günther , Frerich Bernhard
Published: October 2013

This study was designed to determine and statistically analyze bone-to-implant contact (BIC) values for human specimens segmented in at least two different locations.

Samples of human bone with fractured osseointegrated implants were obtained from six patients. Sections were prepared, dehydrated, and resin infiltrated. Undecalcified bone sections were produced using the thin-section technique according to Donath, ultimately obtaining a section thickness of approximately 20 μm. Fifteen specimens were available for histomorphometry. The bone sections were digitized and analyzed. The bone-to-metal contact (BMC) parameter was determined histomorphometrically. The BMC was returned in terms of the visibly bone-covered implant surfaces as a percentage of the total implant surface shown.

The values obtained for the six implants were arranged as six maximum-distance pairs and tested for significance using the t-test for dependent samples. The mean difference in BIC was 11.69±9.79%. The two-sided test showed a significant difference (p=0.033).

The accidental or deliberate choice of section plane for a bone-implant block has an influence on the BIC value. To make BIC values more comparable, a standardization of section planes is desirable.
A Short Theory of the Rayleigh–Ritz Method
Authors: Yserentant Harry
Published: October 2013

We present some new error estimates for the eigenvalues and
eigenfunctions obtained by the Rayleigh–Ritz method, the common
variational method to solve eigenproblems. The errors are bounded
in terms of the error of the best approximation of the
eigenfunction under consideration by functions in the ansatz space.
In contrast to the classical theory, the approximation error of
eigenfunctions other than the given one does not enter into these
estimates. The estimates are based on a bound for the norm of a
certain projection operator, e.g., in finite element methods for
second order eigenvalue problems, the H1-norm of the
L2-projection onto the finite element space.
A computational study on azaazulenes
Authors: Gümüş Selçuk
Published: October 2013

All possible aza analogs of azulene, containing from one to three nitrogen atoms in the five-membered ring or from one to five nitrogen atoms in the seven-membered ring, have been theoretically considered to obtain information about their stabilities and aromaticities. Total electronic energy and nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS) data have been used to evaluate stability and aromaticity, respectively. The stabilities of the structures are strongly affected by the positions of the nitrogen atoms. Calculations of azaazulenes show that stability is decreased with close proximity of the nitrogen atoms. When nitrogen in the five-membered ring is adjacent to a ring junction, aromaticity of the cyclopentadienyl anion is reduced and that of the tropylium cation is increased. The number of nitrogen atoms affects the aromaticity of the system.
Electropolymerization of Aminoanthraquinone from
H2SO4/Acetonitrile Mixed Solvent – Polymer
Film Characterization and its Use as Analytical
Sensor
Authors: Badawy Waheed A. , Ismail Khaled M. , Medany Shymaa S.
Published: October 2013

Polyaminoanthraquinone, PAAQ, films were prepared
potentiodynamically and potentiostatically from
acetonitrile/sulfuric acid mixed solvent. Series of investigations
have been carried out in which the mixed solvent ratio, type of
substrate, electrochemical technique, potential scan range, scan
rate and number of cycles were investigated in order to optimize
the electropolymerization process. The potentiodynamic technique
using glassy carbon, GC, substrates provides more stable films and
useful information about the electropolymerization process from
the mixed solvent. The suitable monomer concentration was 5.0 mM
of 1-amino-9, 10-anthraquinone dissolved in 4.0 M
H2SO4/ACN mixed solvent with a volume ratio
7:3. The most suitable potential scan range was from − 0.5 to
+ 1.4 V at a scan rate of
100 mV s
–1. The effect of the scan
repetition i. e. the thickness of the prepared
polymer films on the electroanalytical performance of the modified
electrode was investigated and discussed. The kinetics of
electropolymerization process was investigated and the reaction
was found to be first order with respect to the monomer
concentration and of negative order with respect to sulfuric
acid. The formed films were used successfully as analytical
sensors for ascorbic acid, catechol, Ce III ions, dopamine,
epinephrine, p-aminophenol and pyrogallol. The determination is
based on the construction of a calibration curve for each analyte
using the values of the oxidation peak currents in the cyclic
voltammogram obtained by the PAAQ modified electrode in each
case. The data were compared with the data obtained previously by
the same films prepared in non-aqueous and aqueous media. The
significance of the analytical performance of the formed films
with respect to the state-of-the-art was investigated and
discussed. The use of the mixed solvent, beside its effectiveness
as analytical sensor, has limited the effect of hazardous organic
solvent.
IGF2 and cancer
Authors: Livingstone Callum
Published: October 2013

Insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) is a 7.5 kDa mitogenic peptide hormone expressed by liver and many other tissues. It is three times more abundant in serum than IGF1, but our understanding of its physiological and pathological roles has lagged behind that of IGF1. Expression of theIGF2gene is strictly regulated. Over-expression occurs in many cancers and is associated with a poor prognosis. Elevated serum IGF2 is also associated with increased risk of developing various cancers including colorectal, breast, prostate and lung. There is established clinical utility for IGF2 measurement in the diagnosis of non-islet cell tumour hypoglycaemia, a condition characterised by a molar IGF2:IGF1 ratio >10. Recent advances in understanding of the pathophysiology of IGF2 in cancer have suggested much novel clinical utility for its measurement. Measurement of IGF2 in blood and genetic and epigenetic tests of theIGF2gene may help assess cancer risk and prognosis. Further studies will determine whether these tests enter clinical practice. New therapeutic approaches are being developed to target IGF2 action. This review provides a clinical perspective on IGF2 and an update on recent research findings.
Cracking of magnesium-based biodegradable implant alloys under the combined action of stress and corrosive body fluid: a review
Authors: Singh Raman R. K. , Choudhary Lokesh
Published: October 2013

The mechanical and chemical stabilities of implant materials when used in the human body are critically important. While exposed to corrosive human body fluid, implants simultaneously experience considerable loadings and thus, may undergo environmentally assisted cracking (such as stress–corrosion cracking). This article summarizes the current research on stress–corrosion cracking of magnesium alloys and then, presents a review on their stress–corrosion cracking in simulated human body environments.
The importance of crown dimensions to improve tropical tree biomass estimates
Authors: Goodman Rosa C. , Phillips Oliver L. , Baker Timothy R.
Published: October 2013

Tropical forests play a vital role in the global carbon cycle, but the amount of carbon they contain and its spatial distribution remain uncertain. Recent studies suggest that once tree height is accounted for in biomass calculations, in addition to diameter and wood density, carbon stock estimates are reduced in many areas. However, it is possible that larger crown sizes might offset the reduction in biomass estimates in some forests where tree heights are lower because even comparatively short trees develop large, well‐lit crowns in or above the forest canopy. While current allometric models and theory focus on diameter, wood density, and height, the influence of crown size and structure has not been well studied.

To test the extent to which accounting for crown parameters can improve biomass estimates, we harvested and weighed 51 trees (11–169 cm diameter) in southwestern Amazonia where no direct biomass measurements have been made. The trees in our study had nearly half of total aboveground biomass in the branches (44% ± 2% [mean ± SE]), demonstrating the importance of accounting for tree crowns. Consistent with our predictions, key pantropical equations that include height, but do not account for crown dimensions, underestimated the sum total biomass of all 51 trees by 11% to 14%, primarily due to substantial underestimates of many of the largest trees.

In our models, including crown radius greatly improves performance and reduces error, especially for the largest trees. In addition, over the full data set, crown radius explained more variation in aboveground biomass (10.5%) than height (6.0%). Crown form is also important: Trees with a monopodial architectural type are estimated to have 21–44% less mass than trees with other growth patterns. Our analysis suggests that accounting for crown allometry would substantially improve the accuracy of tropical estimates of tree biomass and its distribution in primary and degraded forests.
Wettability Alteration by Brine Salinity and Temperature in Reservoir Cores
Authors: Al-Aulaqi Talal , Fisher Quentin , Grattoni Carlos , Al-Hinai Suleiman M.
Published: October 2013

Field development planning is critical in the development of successful EOR programmes. Various types of information are required from reservoirs regarding the interaction of the crude oil/brine/rock (COBR) system so as to optimize the EOR process. Core analysis studies are central to gathering the information needed for optimizing EOR. In this paper, investigation of the effect of brine salinity and temperature in the wettability of reservoir rocks is the focus of this paper.

The new contribution in the current work is that it provides a novel approach in combining experimental techniques: displacement tests, which is dominated by capillary imbibition, and non destructive, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), to track the effect of brine salinity and temperature in the COBR system. For the first time, this combination of techniques is applied in core scale experiments. Furthermore, the emphasis of rock interaction as a function of brine salinity and temperature was investigated by tracking the relative permeability behaviour during forced displacement experiments in a viscous dominated regime. Integration of the results from these experiments provides a framework for understanding COBR interaction in terms of wettability in static and dynamic displacements.

Four main results emerge from this study: Reducing the salinity of brine with monovalent cations increases the oil recovery in sandstones. The presence of clay is not a necessary condition to observe the low salinity effect. The mechanism of increasing the oil recovery is by shifting the wettability of rock surface towards a more water-wet state.Increasing temperature from 20˚C to 60˚C causes a large decrease (50%) of recovery factor, IAH and INMR suggesting that the wettability is shifted towards an oil-wet state.Increasing temperature in carbonates increases recovery factor by less than 4%. IAH and INMR indicate the wettability is not shifted significantly towards an water-wet state.The dynamic viscous force effect has two patterns of injectivity to sweep the residual oil as brine salinity change. The first is sweeping the oil with high injectivity, which occurs between 0.5 M NaCl brine and 0.1 M NaCl brine. The second is sweeping the oil with loss of water injectivity between 0.1 M NaCl brine and 0.01 M NaCl brine. The potential reason of losing injectivity is attributed to a detachment of the clay that coats the grains leading to a blockage of pore throats.

The implication of these results can enhance the understanding of wettability alteration as part of reservoir managment during designing a field pilot test.
Meeting the water and sanitation MDGs: a study of human resource development requirements in Tanzania
Authors: Kimwaga Richard , Nobert Joel , Kongo Victor , Ngwisa Mpembe
Published: October 2013

In the Tanzanian water and sanitation (WatSan) sector, the human resource (HR) requirements for meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets have so far been relatively unknown. This study was therefore conducted with a focus on determining HR requirements in the public sector and parastatal institutions, in the private sector (private consultancy companies, individual contractors, etc.), and in non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations active in the broader water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector. The competences assessed were: design and construction of new infrastructure, operation and maintenance (O&M), community mobilization, sanitation, and hygiene promotion. The study found a greater HR shortage in rural areas than in urban areas. The smallest HR need is for social development professionals (estimated at 320 in the urban areas). In the water supply and sanitation sectors, the average number of water supply engineers that will be required to achieve MDGs is estimated at 3,864, compared to the sanitation sector, which will need 637 engineers. In terms of the demand for competences in the water supply sector, the highest need is for O&M professionals (7,589) and the lowest for mobilization professionals (447). The study recommends increasing the HR supply in the WatSan sector through the following measures: increasing support for training institutions offering relevant courses in WatSan; focusing on skills required for asset management and O&M; and giving specific attention to HR capacity development in small towns and rural areas.
Readiness and willingness of the public to participate in integrated water management: some insights from the Levant
Authors: Ker Rault Philippe Ange , Vreugdenhil Heleen , Jeffrey Paul , Slinger Jill Hillary
Published: October 2013

Although public participation has received much attention in the context of integrated water resources management, little is known about the readiness and willingness of the wider public to participate. The top-down perception that the public is poorly organised, has limited knowledge and is not interested in participation is a major barrier for the implementation of participation. We illustrate, through four medium-scale surveys in the Levant, that the potential for public participation is present, even in countries with limited exercise of democracy. The study demonstrates that the public is willing to participate and knowledgeable about water management challenges at both the institutional and household level. These conditions for participation are particularly present in countries where water stress is high. The preferred style of participation is active involvement, in order to have a channel to communicate, express opinions and exchange personal understanding of the situation in which one lives.
Hyaluronic Acid (HA) Viscosupplementation on Synovial Fluid Inflammation in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Pilot Study
Authors: Vincent Heather K , Percival Susan S , Conrad Bryan P , Seay Amanda N , Montero Cindy , Vincent Kevin R
Published: October 2013

Objective:

This study examined the changes in synovial fluid levels of cytokines, oxidative stress and viscosity six months after intraarticular hyaluronic acid (HA) treatment in adults and elderly adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Design:

This was a prospective, repeated-measures study design in which patients with knee OA were administered 1% sodium hyaluronate. Patients (N=28) were stratified by age (adults, 50-64 years and elderly adults, ≥65 years). Ambulatory knee pain values and self-reported physical activity were collected at baseline and month six.

Materials and Methods:

Knee synovial fluid aspirates were collected at baseline and at six months. Fluid samples were analyzed for pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukins 1β, 6,8,12, tumor necrosis factor-α, monocyte chemotactic protein), anti-inflammatory cytokines (interleukins 4, 10 13), oxidative stress (4-hydroxynonenal) and viscosity at two different physiological shear speeds 2.5Hz and 5Hz.

Results:

HA improved ambulatory knee pain in adults and elderly groups by month six, but adults reported less knee pain-related interference with participation in exercise than elderly adults. A greater reduction in TNF-α occurred in adults compared to elderly adults (-95.8% ± 7.1% vs 19.2% ± 83.8%, respectively; p=.044). Fluid tended to improve at both shear speeds in adults compared to the elderly adults. The reduction in pain severity correlated with the change in IL-1β levels by month six (r= -.566; p=.044).

Conclusion:

Reduction of knee pain might be due to improvements in synovial fluid viscosity and inflammation. Cartilage preservation may be dependent on how cytokine, oxidative stress profiles and viscosity change over time.
Scenario Planning + MCDA Procedure For Innovation Selection Problem
Authors: Michnik Jerzy
Published: October 2013

Selecting the proper set of innovation projects is the vital point of the innovation management in a firm. To make a good decision, managers have to consider many conicting objectives in a highly uncertain environment. In this article, the comprehensive decision procedure based on scenario planning and multiple criteria analysis is presented. The main part of the procedure is a two-step model in which Hurwicz's rule and VIKOR-S method are employed to gain the selection of alternatives. To build up the decision base, the classification of the criteria involved in the innovation project selection into five categories is proposed.
Innovative Production Systems at Statistics New Zealand: Overcoming the Design and Build Bottleneck
Authors: Seyb Allyson , McKenzie Ron , Skerrett Andrew
Published: October 2013

In 2011, Statistics NZ embarked on an ambitious ten-year programme of change called Statistics 2020 Te Kāpehu Whetū: Achieving the statistics system of the future. This article outlines a key component of this approach to transforming how Statistics NZ delivers its statistics. This involves modernising all aspects of statistical production - from identifying need, right through to dissemination - to ensure the organisation has the functionality and capacity to deliver now and into the future. Standardisation of processes, methods, tools, and systems to increase flexibility and efficiency is a key component of this transformation.
Methodological Problems of Temperature Measurement in the Cutting Area During Milling Magnesium Alloys
Authors: Kuczmaszewski Józef , Zagórski Ireneusz
Published: October 2013

This paper presents a literature review on temperature measurement during milling of magnesium alloys as well as other structural materials. Methodology and temperature measurement methods used in own tests are discussed in this paper. Selected test results for each method of temperature measurement in the cutting area are demonstrated
Using Sustainable Competitive Advantages to Measure Technological Opportunities
Authors: Takala Josu , Muhos Matti , Tilabi Sara , Tas Mehmet Serif , Yan Bingli
Published: October 2013

The goal of this paper is to help small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) to find operative competitive advantage. This paper introduces a new method which applies critical factor analysis, risk and opportunities analysis to measure and propose resource allocation for companies in couple of next years. this research shows Knowledge/Technology (K/T) Calculation effect on (Balanced) Critical Factor Index (CFIs) depending on the proportions allocated among the different technological levels (Basic, Core or Spearhead) for each attribute separately. Moreover it helps firms to take balance in resource allocation for each attribute in changing environments on the basis of different level of technology. This paper presents the ’first in the world’ case study on operative sustainable competitive advantage and corresponding risk levels by taking into account technology and knowledge effects for 7 SME companies
Effect of PRP and PPP on proliferation and migration of human chondrocytes and synoviocytes in vitro
Authors: Amrichová Judita , Špaková Tímea , Rosocha Ján , Harvanová Denisa , Bačenková Darina , Lacko Marek , Horňák Slavomír
Published: October 2013

Cartilage tissue engineering can provide substantial relief to people suffering from degenerative cartilage disease, such as osteoarthritis. The autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) application appears to improve cartilage healing due to its ability to positively influence cellular mechanisms, mainly in cells from synovium and cartilage. Primary cultures of human synovial fluid stem cells (synoviocytes, SCs) and chondrocytes (CCs) were exposed to various concentrations of non-activated PRP and plateletpoor plasma (PPP) prepared by apheresis. Cell proliferation and migration were evaluated in real-time with the non-invasive xCELLigence System. It was found that PRP had a similar effect on the growth of cells as fetal bovine serum (FBS). Surprisingly, our proliferation assay results indicated that 50% PPP had the largest effect on both cell types, with a statistically significant increase in cell number (P<0.001) compared to the (0% FBS) in vitro control. The migratory ability of SCs was significantly enhanced with 10% PRP and 0.8% hyaluronic acid (HA). HA also augmented migration of CCs. In summary, these results demonstrate that directed cell proliferation and migration are inducible in human articular CCs and SCs, and that both platelet-derived fractions may exert a positive effect and modulate several cell responses that are potentially involved in tissue integration during cartilage repair.
Relationship Between Physical Fitness, BMI, WHR and Hypertension in Elderly Men and Women
Authors: Pantelić Saša , Kostić Radmila , Djurašković Ratomir , Uzunović Slavoljub , Milanović Zoran , Trajković Nebojša
Published: October 2013

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the structure, characteristics and significance of the relationship between physical fitness, BMI and WHR on one hand and hypertension of elderly men and women on the other.

Methods: The sample consisted of 1288 participants (594 men and 694 women) who live in their own households in the cities and villages of Central, Eastern and South Serbia. After the obtained classification of participants based on arterial blood pressure, 231 patients with hypertension aged 60-80 years were selected. The subsample consisted of 138 male participants, while the subsample of women was 93 participants. Predictor variables consisted of 6 variables for the evaluation of physical fitness, Body mass index (BMI) and Waist-to Hip Ratio index (WHR). Criterion variables consisted of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP).

Results: The results showed that there is a statistically significant correlation (p <0.05) between predictor variables and hypertension. Higher values of higher SBP in elderly men causes an increase in body weight due to increased body fat (BMI, WHR). In elderly women, these changes occur under the influence of increased body mass index and reduced CRF. Higher values of high DBP in elderly men cause more power and flexibility of the upper body and in elderly women greater strength in the arms and less strength in legs and CRF.

Conclusions: Being overweight in both subsamples could be considered as a factor that contributes to high blood pressure.
Correspondence Between Legislation and Public Opinion in Bulgaria about Accessto Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)
Authors: Krastev Radoy , Mitev Vanyo
Published: October 2013

Introduction: This is the first study on the correspondence between the legislation and public opinion in Bulgaria regarding access to assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

Methods: We carried out a national on-line-based cross-sectional survey in the Bulgarian language from July 2010 until June 2011. Participants were 951 respondents from 18 to 65 years of age who independently completed the anonymous survey. We were interested in: 1) Attitudes about a woman’s age limit for ART, 2) the rate of acceptance of access of single women to ART, 3) the rate of approval of access of lesbian couples to ART, 4) the degree of acceptance of post-mortem assisted reproduction (PAR).

Results: Most of the respondents (54.9%) approved of a woman’s age limit of 43 years. The majority of the respondents (85.4%) supported access of single women to ART, while 45.1% of the participants approved of lesbians using assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Approximately 71.7% of the respondents stated they would permit PAR.

Conclusions: People prefer 43 years as a woman’s age limit for ART. The majority of the respondents accept access of single women to ART, but a two-fold lower percentage considers that lesbians should be allowed to use ART. The majority of the respondents are proponents of PAR.
Identification and Control of Health Risks in Hospital Environment from the Aspect of Users, Buildings and Systems
Authors: Dovjak Mateja , Kukec Andreja , Krainer Aleš
Published: October 2013

Izvleček

Izhodišča: Bolnišnice predstavljajo kompleksno notranje okolje, v katerem so bolniki, zaposleni in obiskovalci izpostavljeni številnim dejavnikom tveganja za zdravje. Raziskav, ki bi obravnavale več dejavnikov tveganja hkrati, je danes malo. Ne izhajajo iz povezave med uporabniki, stavbo in sistemi. Namen metaanalize je prepoznati fizikalne, biološke in kemične dejavnike tveganja za zdravje v bolnišničnem okolju ter izdelati izhodišča za pripravo priporočil za njihovo preprečevanje in obvladovanje. Pri tem bomo upoštevali uporabnike ter življenjski cikel stavbe in sistemov.

Metode: Opravili smo metaanalizo raziskav na področju fizikalnih, bioloških in kemičnih dejavnikov tveganj za zdravje v bolnišničnem okolju. Zajeli smo dve bibliografski bazi (Pub Med in Science Direct). V analizo je bilo vključenih 634 virov literature, ki so bili objavljeni med letoma 1934 in 2012. Izhodišča za pripravo priporočil smo izdelali po nadgrajeni metodi inženirskega načrtovanja.

Rezultati: Na podlagi izsledkov metaanalize smo pripravili izhodišča za pripravo priporočil, ki vključujejo sistematične ukrepe, specifične za bolnišnično okolje. Preprečevanje fizikalnih dejavnikov tveganja za zdravje vključuje ukrepe s področja zakonodaje, načrtovanja stavbe in sistemov ter usposabljanja zaposlenih. Najpomembnejši ukrepi s področja bioloških in kemičnih dejavnikov tveganja za zdravje so: preprečevanje in obvladovanje poti prenosa povzročiteljev bolezni ter nadzor kemičnih onesnaževal v notranjem in zunanjem zraku.

Zaključki: Metaanaliza predstavlja nov pristop k preprečevanju in obvladovanju fizikalnih, bioloških in kemičnih dejavnikov tveganja za zdravje v kompleksnem bolnišničnem okolju - od načrtovanja stavbe do njene uporabe in vzdrževanja. Učinkovitost stavbe in sistemov se doseže s celostnim upoštevanjem značilnosti uporabnikov, bolnišničnega okolja in rabe energije. Uporabljen pristop je tudi pogoj za načrtovanje stavb in sistemov; je temelj uspešnih prenov.
Effects of Dwarf Pine Stands on Slope Deformation Processes, as a Basis for their Management in the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains
Authors: Roštínský Pavel , Šenfeldr Martin , Maděra Petr
Published: October 2013

This paper studies non-indigenous dwarf pine stands in the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains, from the perspective of their spatial and genetic relations to slope phenomena of deformation character. The paper contains a typology of regional slope deformations, data on their spatial distribution and specific properties, including risk estimates of their origination or further development in case of potential future dwarf pine stand clearings, as well as a three-stage categorization of dwarf pine stands based on this tendency. The results were processed using data from literary sources, map documents and aerial photos, as well as an extensive field survey. Three main types of slope deformations were distinguished on sites with highly variable geomorphological features - extensive complex phenomena with numerous subforms, linear debris flows and local shallow landslides. The acquired data show that while dwarf pine stands have no great effect on the development of large slope phenomena, they play a more significant reinforcement role in the prevention of smaller surface deformations, the origination of which is predominantly related to steeper slopes. The results of this study can serve for future decision making on the management of dwarf pine stands
The test-negative design: validity, accuracy and precision of vaccine efficacy estimates compared to the gold standard of randomised placebo-controlled clinical trials
Authors: De Serres G , Skowronski D M , Wu X W , Ambrose C S
Published: October 2013

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A Case for Hard-heartedness: Clarissa, Indifferency, Impersonality
Authors: Lee Wendy Anne
Published: October 2013

Reading Clarissa’s hard-heartedness through the lens of indifferency clarifies what is at stake in her still-puzzling and multi-layered defection. The phenomenon of hard-heartedness in Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa is here re-evaluated through John Locke’s concept of “indifferency” and through contemporary theories of impersonality. Beginning with an account of the novel’s reception in which readers were unnerved by Clarissa’s refusal to marry her rapist, I locate an important counter-response in Anna Laetitia Barbauld, who valued precisely the quality of impassivity in Richardson’s heroine. In eighteenth-century thought, a similar form of disengagement is articulated by Locke’s notion of indifferency, an impartiality that risks alienation for the sake of understanding and autonomy. By featuring an impersonal Clarissa, I show how the novel’s theory of character, in which a hidden interiority underwrites personhood, contains its own critique of a depth-model of psychology. I conclude by examining a phase of Clarissa’s narrative not often discussed: her life as an urban rape survivor, an incarnation that offers the most challenging as well as the most promising possibilities for the impersonal person in the novel.
“Glorious Perverseness”: Stoic Pride and Domestic Heroism in Richardson’s Novels
Authors: Deters Anna
Published: October 2013

In response to his creation of Sir Charles Grandison as a new male exemplar, literary critics credit Samuel Richardson with domesticating the prideful heroism embodied by his character Lovelace. This article revises this account of Richardson’s reformulation of heroism by considering his reliance on stoicism as key to his engagement with the ethics of heroic exemplarity. How to promote a self-conscious practice of individual virtue and at the same time warn against the wickedness of stoic pride and self-love is a central moral problem in Richardson’s novels. Through probing the ethical complexities that inhere in his protagonists’ self-awareness of their virtue, Richardson comes to accept this pride as an integral component of domestic heroism.
The Vehicle of the Soul: Motion and Emotion in Vehicular It-Narratives
Authors: Landreth Sara
Published: October 2013

Vehicular it-narratives grappled with Enlightenment debates about the nature of both the mind/soul and self-motion. For many eighteenth-century writers, spatial motion was a crucial component of the study of human nature. Changes in movement could cause changes in one’s passions, intellect, and sympathetic interactions with other people. Vehicle-narrators exemplify the ways in which transportation might result in passionate transport. These texts also investigate important analogies between Newtonian law and the laws of human nature: do the motions of the mind/soul obey the same laws as physical bodies? Is the mind/soul self-moving, or is it moved by outside forces? In order to understand the centrality of the concept of motion in Enlightenment texts, we must suspend modern assumptions that, in its literal sense, motion necessarily denotes a physical object moving through space. In asking whether the mind or matter caused a living being to move, stories told by coaches, cabriolets, and sedans show that the it-narrative genre was as much engaged with philosophical problems as it was with social ones.
Note on James Sowerby and the discovery of Sowerby's beaked whale,Mesoplodon bidens
Authors: Waller G. N. H.
Published: October 2013

James Sowerby's life in London, his zoological works, and his natural history collections are briefly reviewed. The location and date of the stranding and subsequent description of the type specimen of Mesoplodon bidens is discussed. This and other information pertaining to the two original publications by Sowerby is reviewed and the history of the type cranium and mandible is described.
The introduction of the eleven-spotted ladybird Coccinella undecimpunctata to New Zealand in 1874: the first use of a ladybird for biological control, or a spurious record created by cumulative misreporting?
Authors: Galbreath R. A. , Cameron P. J.
Published: October 2013

The introduction of the eleven-spotted ladybird Coccinella undecimpunctata to New Zealand in 1874 has been widely quoted as the first importation of an insect for biological control in New Zealand and one of the first anywhere. However, searches of historical records show no evidence that such an introduction was made or attempted. Instead, there is clear evidence that the presently accepted record arose by a process of cumulative misreporting. An account of discussions in the Entomological Society of London in December 1873 about possible introductions of various beneficial insects to New Zealand was misreported by the American entomologist C. V. Riley, and several subsequent authors restated his version with further modifications and additions. This created the record of the introduction of C. undecimpunctata to New Zealand in 1874 that has been accepted and repeated ever since.