From a cultural point of view the Proverb is Four Hundred

Any literature would reveal the context of the times in which it originated, and literature would portray the society of the time according to the mirror of time. The creator of art creates art as an expression of the society in which he lives, and a writer of literature, by the power of his profoundly versatile scholarship, is able to create imaginary men, through whom he is able to express the society and culture of his time. By showing so. From the literature he has created, we can understand the period of the life of the vasiyar, the cultural norms of the eco-society, etc

Growing Surface Tension of Amorphous-Amorphous Interfaces on Approaching the Colloidal Glass Transition

There is mounting evidence indicating that relaxation dynamics in liquids approaching their glass transition not only becomes increasingly cooperative (1,2) but the relaxing regions also become more compact in shape(3-7). While the surface tension of the interface separating neighboring relaxing regions is thought to play a crucial role in deciding both their size and morphology(8-10), owing to the amorphous nature of these regions, even identifying these interfaces has not been possible in bulk liquids. Here, by devising a scheme to identify self-induced disorder sites in bulk colloidal liquids, we directly quantified the dynamics of interfaces delineating regions of high and low configurational overlap. This procedure also helped unveil a non-monotonicity in dynamical correlations that has never been observed in bulk supercooled liquids. Using the capillary fluctuation method (11,12), we measured the surface tension of amorphous-amorphous interfaces with supercooling and find that it increases rapidly across the mode-coupling area fraction. Remarkably, a similar growth in the surface tension is also seen in the presence of a pinned amorphous wall. Our observations help prune theories of glass formation and opens up new research avenues aimed at tuning the properties of amorphous-amorphous interfaces, and hence the glass itself, in a manner analogous to grain boundary engineering in polycrystals (13)

A Multilevel, Posture-based Model for Motor Control in Simulation and Robotic Applications

This paper presents a multilevel, posture-based motor control model intended to plan collision-free movements in a 3D environment while maintaining computationally efficiency and accurately imitating human and primate motor function. Our model is a comprehensive approach that addresses the storage and lookup of postures and movements, path planning and the generation of new movements, and learning with experience. We demonstrate the functionality and computational advantages of the model through preliminary testing on a humanoid robot

Light scattering from a magnetically tunable dense random medium with weak dissipation : ferrofluid

We present a semi-phenomenological treatment of light transmission through and its reflection from a ferrofluid, which we regard as a magnetically tunable system of dense random dielectric scatterers with weak dissipation. Partial spatial ordering is introduced by the application of a transverse magnetic field that superimposes a periodic modulation on the dielectric randomess. This introduces Bragg scattering which effectively enhances the scattering due to disorder alone, and thus reduces the elastic mean free path towards Anderson localization. Our theoretical treatment, based on invariant imbedding, gives a simultaneous decrease of transmission and reflection without change of incident linear polarisation as the spatial order is tuned magnetically to the Bragg condition, namely the light wave vector being equal to half the Bragg vector (Q). Our experimental observations are in qualitative agreement with these results. We have also given expressions for the transit (sojourn) time of light and for the light energy stored in the random medium under steady illumination. The ferrofluid thus provides an interesting physical realization of effectively a "Lossy Anderson-Bragg" (LAB) cavity with which to study the effect of the interplay of spatial disorder, partial order and weak dissipation on light transport. Given the current interest in propagation, optical limiting and storage of light in ferrofluids, the present work seems topical

Maternal health epidemiology

"Maternal Health Epidemiology is designed for public health professionals who want to apply epidemiologic methods to the area of maternal health. The document covers basic definitions and measures used in maternal health epidemiology, methods for determining the magnitude of maternal mortality, how to apply epidemiologic study designs to maternal health questions, research and data implications, and a case study."The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided funding for this project through a Participating Agency Service Agreement with CDC (936-3038.01).Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-57).936-3038.0

Reproductive tract Infections

"Reproductive Tract Infections is designed for public health professionals who want to apply epidemiologic methods to the area of reproductive tract infections (RTIs). The document includes an overview of RTIs, epidemiologic models of RTI transmission, indicators used in RTI epidemiology, surveillance of RTIs, framework for strategic planning for control and prevention of RTIs, implications of research and collected data uses, and two case studies."Divya A. Patel, Nancy M. Burnett, Kathryn M. Curtis ; technical editors, Susan Hillis, Polly Marchbanks."June 2003."The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided funding for this project through a Participating Agency Service Agreement with CDC (936-3038.01).Also available via the World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (428 KB, 96 p.).Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-83)

Teachers’ Perceptions of Needs and Supports for Handwriting Instruction in Kindergarten

Background: This study was designed to explore the perceived needs of kindergarten teachers as well as the supports they require in preparing children for success in the area of handwriting. Methods: A phenomenological research design was used and nine kindergarten teachers employed at four elementary schools in a school district in Illinois participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were completed to discuss the perceptions of teachers related to challenges they face and the supports they require in promoting the occupational task of handwriting among the children in their classrooms. Results: The results from this pilot study revealed that overall the teachers felt that the lack of a curriculum and formalized training impacted their teaching practices related to handwriting instruction. Conclusion: The teachers stated that gaps in their knowledge base relating to developmental progression, the ability to assist struggling students, an awareness of strategies to use, and the IEP process contributed to their challenges in teaching handwriting to kindergarten students