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Recent measurements of the nuclear level densities and γ-ray strength functions below the neutron thresholds in 180,181,182Ta are used as input in the nuclear reaction code TALYS. These experimental average quantities are utilized in the calculations of the 179,180,181Ta radiative neutron capture cross sections. From the latter, astrophysical Maxwellian-averaged (n,γ) cross sections (MACS) and reaction rates are extracted, which in turn are used in large astrophysical network calculations to probe the production mechanism of 180 Ta. These calculations are performed for two scenarios, the s-process production of 180,181Ta in Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars and the p-process nucleosynthesis of 180Tam in Type-II supernovae. Based on the results from this work, the s-process in stellar evolution is considered negligible in the production of 180Tam whereas 181Ta is partially produced by AGB stars. The new measurements strongly constrain the production and destruction rates of 180Tam at p-process temperatures and confirm significant production of nature’s rarest stable isotope 180Tam by the p-process., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The increasing processing power of today’s HW/SW platforms leads to the integration of more and more functions in a single device. Additional design challenges arise when these functions share computing resources and belong to different criticality levels. CONTREX complements current activities in the area of predictable computing platforms and segregation mechanisms with techniques to consider the extra-functional properties, i.e., timing constraints, power, and temperature. CONTREX enables energy efficient and cost aware design through analysis and optimization of these properties with regard to application demands at different criticality levels. This article presents an overview of the CONTREX European project, its main innovative technology (extension of a model based design approach, functional and extra-functional analysis with executable models and run-time management) and the final results of three industrial use-cases from different domain (avionics, automotive and telecommunication). The work leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2011 under grant agreement no. 611146.

5th International Conference on New Horizons in Education (INTE) - JUN 25-27, 2014 - Paris, FRANCE WOS: 000383740203018 Since learners who can summarize a text learn informative texts better and also they can remember them, this skill should be taught in schools. In this process, teachers have a great responsibility. For this reason, in this study, these questions are wanted to be answered: what is the summarizing level of pre-service teachers?, Are there any differences between pre-service teachers on summarizing skill-level in terms of their disciplines, genders, reading habits and subscribing a consist magazine? The universe of this study was occupied by the learners who were attending "Pedagogical Formation Course" Program in Mugla Sitki Kocman University in Turkey in 2014. In this study, 'Maslow's Needs Hierarchy' (Sahin, 1983, p. 3-7) was selected as a natural and informative text for the learners in order that the learners summarize it. As a result of the data gathered from the study, it was seen that the summarizing skill-level of the pre-service teachers was in the middle level. That result was a promising finding for the pre-service teachers to help the learners on summarizing skill. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

In the recent past, the numbers of religiously- and politically-motivated terrorist attacks have increased, inevitably raising the question of effective measures to prevent further terrorist attacks. Empirical studies related to school shootings have shown that school shooters reliably (directly and indirectly) disclosed their intentions or plans prior to the attack, a phenomenon termed leaking or leakage. Leaking has been used for preventive purposes in this area of research. Recent research has indicated that leaking was also present prior to politically and religiously motivated terrorist attacks. In order to determine the current state of knowledge about leaking related to these offenses, we conducted a review of the international literature on religiously and politically motivated terrorist attacks. Up to 90% of the offenders showed some type of leaking prior to the attacks. A range of different forms of leaking could be observed. Leaking often occurred in the form of verbal communication with family and friends and/or via communication over the Internet. Terrorist offenders apparently tend to show leaking more often than other groups of mass murderers. Findings regarding similarities and dissimilarities in leaking between religiously motivated, jihadist and politically-motivated, far-right terrorist attacks were contradictory. We discuss the implications of these findings for practice and research as well as the strengths and possible weaknesses of the leaking concept.

Technological tools have the potential to efficiently support learning performance in children and are therefore recognized as being beneficial for children with special needs, such as reading disorders. The present study investigated the effectivity of a novel digital game-based reading training in second- and third-grade children with reading disorder (N = 50) carried out in home environment over a short training period of eight to eleven weeks. Children were randomly assigned to either a training group (N = 25) receiving the digital game-based reading training or a control group performing digitalized mind games (N = 25). Results showed significant improvement of reading performance for trained word material and a trend for transfer effects to untrained words. The digital game-based reading training was also found to be highly motivating and feasible for use in home environment. This study extends existing knowledge about digital game-based reading support and underlines that using a multi-component reading approach combined with flow principles is beneficial for children with reading disorder. Furthermore, the evaluated program seems to be a promising addition for children who do not have access to individual reading support.

Background Previous research results suggest that ADHD symptoms explain the relationship between specific learning disability and externalising psychopathology and between math disability and anxiety, but not between reading disability and anxiety. For depression, previous results are mixed. Aims The current study aims to clarify this role of ADHD symptoms in the relationship between various areas of academic achievement (reading, writing, and math skills) and psychopathological symptoms (anxiety, depression, and conduct disorder). Methods and procedures We used linear regressions based on data from a general population sample (N = 3014) collected using online assessment of 3rd and 4th grade students in Germany, which included measures of academic achievement and parent-reported psychopathological symptoms. Outcomes and results ADHD symptoms completely account for the relationship between reading/writing achievement and anxiety and between writing/math achievement and conduct problems. The negative relationship between academic achievement and depression was strongest for children with average or high ADHD symptom scores. Conclusions and implications ADHD symptoms play an important role in explaining the relationship between academic achievement and psychopathological symptoms in elementary school children. The nature and size of this role depend on the exact constructs under study. We discuss implications for the support of children with learning problems, ADHD, and/or psychopathological problems.

Several obstetric complications due to inappropriately healed cesarean scar such as placenta accreta, scar dehiscence, and ectopic scar pregnancy are increasingly reported along with rising cesarean rates. Furthermore, many gynecologic conditions, including abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain and infertility, are imputed to deficient cesarean scar healing. Hysteroscopy is the most commonly reported approach for the revision of cesarean scar defects (CSDs). Nevertheless, existing evidence is inadequate to conclude that either hysteroscopy or laparoscopy is effective or superior to each other. Although several management options have been suggested recently, the laparoscopic approach has not been thoroughly scrutinized. We present a case and reviewed the data related to the laparoscopic repair of CSDs and compared the hysteroscopic and laparoscopic management options based on the data from previously published articles. As a result of our analyses, the laparoscopic approach increases uterine wall thickness when compared with the hysteroscopic approach, and both surgical techniques seem to be effective for the resolution of gynecologic symptoms. Hysteroscopic treatment most likely corrects the scar defect but does not strengthen the uterine wall; thus, the potential risk of dehiscence or rupture in subsequent pregnancies does not seem to be improved. Because large uterine defects are known risk factors for scar dehiscence, the repair of the defect to reinforce the myometrial endurance seems to be an appropriate method of treatment.

L. Pellegri et al. ; 5 pags. ; 6 figs. ; open access article under the CC BY license. Funded by SCOAP3, © 2014 The Authors. The γ decay from the high-lying states of 124Sn was measured using the inelastic scattering of 17O at 340 MeV. The emitted γ rays were detected with high resolution with the AGATA demonstrator array and the scattered ions were detected in two segmented δE-E silicon telescopes. The angular distribution was measured both for the γ rays and the scattered 17O ions. An accumulation of E1 strength below the particle threshold was found and compared with previous data obtained with (γ, γ') and (α, α'γ) reactions. The present results of elastic scattering, and excitation of E2 and E1 states were analysed using the DWBA approach. From this comprehensive description the isoscalar component of the 1- excited states was extracted. The obtained values are based on the comparison of the data with DWBA calculations including a form factor deduced using a microscopic transition density., Grant No. 2011/03/B/ST2/01894; (iii) the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at MSU; (iv) the US NSF Grant PHY-1204486; and the German BMBF under Grant 06KY9136.

A novel X-ray detector diode, optimized for angular independent (isotropic) dose response, is presented. The diode is designed as a silicon cube with p–n junctions on all six sides, which creates a device that is close to being symmetrical in 3D. The cube edge is 300 μm or 410 μm. Its manufacturing process is based on micromachining, featuring deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates, doping of vertical walls from gas phase dopants and re-fill of etched trenches with polysilicon. The variation in detector response to 6 MV X-rays, in a ±30° beam angle range, was at best ±0.5% for a cubic diode compared to ±3.3% for conventional diodes, which indicates improvement by a factor 7.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, destined to be eaten raw or minimally processed only, harbor the risk of conveying pathogenic microorganisms. Factors such as weather conditions, which favor survival or growth of microorganisms, and improper handling during cultivation or in the postharvest chain, can contribute to outbreaks of food-borne illness. Application of chemical sanitizers or physical treatments often shows a limited efficiency or does not meet consumer acceptance. Availability of gentle and effective techniques for disinfection of fresh produce, therefore, is highly desirable. Non-thermal gas plasma (NTP) treatment is a promising novel technique to reduce the microbial load on fresh fruits and vegetables. However, knowledge on practical applicability of NTP for fresh fruits and vegetables is very limited. In this study, chlorophyll fluorescence imaging (CFI) was used to elucidate suitable process parameters for application of an atmospheric pressure plasma-jet (kINPen 09, INP Greifswald, Germany) on corn salad, a perishable leafy green. Keeping a distance of 17 mm to the plasma-jet, corn salad leaves could be treated for up to 60 s at a fixed power (8 W) and 5 L min− 1 of argon mixed with 0.1% oxygen. Surface temperature on leaves did never exceed 35.2 °C. Antibacterial tests were performed on corn salad, cucumber, apple, and tomato and achieved an inactivation of artificially inoculated Escherichia coli DSM 1116 of 4.1 ± 1.2, 4.7 ± 0.4, 4.7 ± 0, and 3.3 ± 0.9 log units, respectively, after 60 s treatment time. Additional tests with a dielectric barrier discharge plasma and indirect plasma treatment within a remote exposure reactor, fed by a microwave induced plasma torch, did not result in equivalent levels of quality retention as observed using the plasma-jet. Industrial relevance Development of gentle non-thermal disinfection methods aims to provide the industry with new tools to actively improve the microbial status of fresh produce beyond the preventive benefits of good hygiene practices and the limited efficacy of post-harvest washing. The presented study shows how cold plasma can be applied to heat-sensitive lettuce leaves without detrimental effects to product quality. The additional microbiological tests offer insights into the antibacterial capacity of cold plasma on different produce surfaces. The results contribute to prompt the development of appropriate large-scale plasma sources to establish a new plasma-based sanitation technique for fresh fruits and vegetables, which should also be implementable into running process lines.

Septoria tritici is the causal agent of leaf blotch in wheat and among the most damaging fungal cereal pathogens in the humid regions of central Europe. The percentage of the leaf area colonized by S. tritici was recorded weekly between April and July every season between 2004 and 2010. A total of 11 cultivars with moderate susceptibility [ratings of 4–6 on a 1 (resistant) to 9 (susceptible) scale] were included. The disease level was assessed on the upper three leaf layers at 2 locations between 2004 and 2006 and at 3 locations between 2007 and 2010. The period between sowing and the point of time, when 50% of the leaf area was necrotized due to colonization by S. tritici ( T 50 ) was estimated for each year, site, cultivar and leaf layer by non-linear regression. T 50 values followed a bimodal distribution with one maximum at 245 days after sowing (DAS; early epidemics) and one maximum at 270 DAS (late epidemics). Early epidemics were preceded by almost constant daily average temperatures of 13.2 ± 0.8 °C between 181 and 210 DAS. Late epidemics were preceded by an approximately linear increase in temperature from 8.7 ± 0.9 to 12.1 ± 0.9 °C during the same period of time. Based on these differences, it seems possible to predict whether an early or a late epidemic can be expected at least 35 days before the epidemic outbreak. Temperature sums calculated with a base temperature of 6.6 °C starting at sowing and ending when T 50 was reached were not significantly different between early and late epidemics ( P = 0.73) and averaged 1721 ± 49°days. Fungicide applications, which resulted into a delay of the epidemic development similar to the difference between early and late epidemics, resulted in a yield increase between 11.7 and 12.6%.

Background To evaluate long-term toxicity and efficacy of a combined modality strategy including extended-field radiotherapy (EF-RT) or involved-field radiotherapy (IF-RT), the German Hodgkin Study Group carried out a follow-up analysis in patients with early unfavorable Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). Patients and methods One thousand two hundred and four patients were randomized to four cycles of chemotherapy followed by either 30 Gy EF- or 30 Gy IF-RT (HD8 trial); 532 patients in each treatment arm were eligible. Results At 10 years, no arm differences were revealed with respect to freedom from treatment failure (FFTF) (79.8% versus 79.7%), progression-free survival (79.8% versus 80.0%), and overall survival (86.4% versus 87.3%). Non-inferiority of IF-RT was demonstrated for the primary end point FFTF (95% confidence interval for hazard ratio 0.72–1.25). Elderly patients had a poorer outcome when treated with EF-RT. So far, 15.0% of patients in arm A and 12.2% in arm B died, mostly due to secondary malignancies (5.3% versus 3.4%) or HL (3.2% versus 3.4%). After EF-RT, there were more secondary malignancies overall (58 versus 45), especially acute myeloid leukemias (11 versus 4). Conclusion Radiotherapy intensity reduction to IF-RT does not result in poorer long-term outcome but is associated with less acute toxicity and might be associated with less secondary malignancies.

We wished to determine the relationship between preoperative serum CA 125 levels and the risk of metastatic disease, recurrent disease, and death in women with endometrial cancer.We reviewed the records of women with endometrial adenocarcinoma of all stages who underwent primary surgery. We abstracted multiple data variables, including demographic characteristics, serum CA 125 levels, postoperative histopathology results, progression-free survival, and overall survival rates.The records of 97 women with endometrial carcinoma were analyzed. With a serum CA 125 cut-off level of 35 kU/L, the likelihood of disease-related death could be predicted with 70% sensitivity and 83% specificity; disease progression could be predicted with 60% sensitivity and 84% specificity; and lymph node metastasis could be predicted with 75% sensitivity and 84% specificity. There was a significant relationship between a serum CA 125 level ≥ 35 kU/L and depth of myometrial invasion, cervical stromal invasion, stage, frequency of recurrence, and disease-related death. Having deep myometrial invasion, cervical stromal involvement, positive peritoneal cytology, lymph node metastasis, disease recurrence, and disease-related death were each associated with significantly higher mean CA 125 levels. In women with serum CA 125 levels35 kU/L, five-year progression-free survival rates (88%) and overall survival rates (92%) were significantly better than in women with levels ≥ 35 kU/L (57% and 70%, respectively; P = 0.001 for both).Serum CA 125 levels and extension of disease are highly correlated in women with endometrioid endometrial cancer, and elevated CA 125 levels predict a higher risk of disease recurrence and death.

Here, the proton spectrum from the 57Fe(α,p) reaction has been measured and analyzed with the Hauser-Feshbach model of nuclear reactions. Different input level density models have been tested. It was found that the best description is achieved with either Fermi-gas or constant temperature model functions obtained by fitting them to neutron resonance spacing and to discrete levels and using the spin cutoff parameter with much weaker excitation energy dependence than it is predicted by the Fermi-gas model.

The structure of low-lying states in the light krypton isotopes 72Kr, 74Kr, and 76Kr has been studied with the finite-range Gogny D1S effective interaction via Hartree–Fock–Bogolyubov based calculations within a configuration-mixing formalism treating axial and triaxial quadrupole deformations. The good overall agreement with the experimental low-lying excitation spectra and matrix elements supports the shape coexistence scenario and a transition of the ground-state shape from oblate in 72Kr to prolate in 76Kr. The triaxial degree of freedom is shown to be crucial to reproduce the experimental data in general and the inversion of the oblate and prolate configurations in particular.

An appropriate technique to distinguish monazite from other similar minerals like zircon and xenotime is of significance in modern heavy mineral analysis since monazite occurs in sands and sandstone and may provide useful information on provenance and history of sedimentary sequences. Monazite differs from the optically very similar zircon by its dark-olive cathodoluminescence (CL) feature. The CL-spectra of monazite and zircon are dominated by characteristically narrow bands of different rare earth elements: Nd 3+ and Sm 3+ for monazite and mainly Dy 3+ for zircon. Because of the different crystal-lattices of both minerals, the splitting of the multiplet level of equally available elements is different. High amounts of rare earth elements within monazite lead to quenching effects, so that the CL-feature visually appears very weak. Detection of monazite in heavy mineral separates from Triassic sandstones of E-Bavaria allows us to reconstruct different crystalline source areas (Bohemian Massif, Erzgebirge). Altogether, the monazites from these areas show the same CL-behaviour like those from other crystalline areas (Dora Maira Massif) and from placers (Bahia/Brazil, Taiwan). These investigations underline the considerable potential of the cathodoluminescence technique for heavy mineral analysis and specifically for the distinction of minerals with similar optical properties.