Background: The insertion of dental implants involves the drilling process. This drilling process should be as conservative as possible to avoid damage the bone. When this drilling is conservative and no irrigation was used we can obtain bone particles that can be used as a particulate bone graft. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of a biological low-speed (without irrigation) drilling and to analyze the bone obtained in order to know the viability and vitality of the bone cells contained in this bone. Findings: In this pilot study were collected samples of biological drilling (low revs without irrigation) and standard drilling protocol in two patients undergoing implant surgery. The samples shall be analyzed by conventional histology and cultivated in order to observe cell growth. The samples of bone obtained by biological drilling shows living cells in the conventional optical microscopy and cell growth when it is cultivated. The bone obtained with drilling at high revolutions shows no living cells and when to be cultivated not obtained cell growth. Moreover, the preservation of bone particles of biological drilling was more effective to support the cell survival more than physiological saline. Conclusions: The biological drilling at low revs gives us the possibility of collect bone grafts in a simple manner. This collection of bone allows us the treatment of areas in the same surgical phase that would require bone grafts. Bone Presevation in Endoret (PRGF) is more effective than physiological saline in supporting cell survival. Eduardo Anitua* Department of Oral Implantology, Eduardo Anitua Foundation, Vitoria, Spain Eduardo Anitua Journal of Dentistry and Oral Biology Remedy Publications LLC. 2017 | Volume 2 | Issue 12 | Article 1076 2 in a humidified 5% CO2 atmosphere and medium was changed twice a week (Figure 1). When we look at the samples with conventional optical microscopy, we observe one essential difference. The bone of the filter, it is an acellular bone in which there are not living cells in the bone spaces where they should be placed (empty cells) (Figure 2a), while in the bone obtained by biological drilling we observe living cells intact in their bone structure. The bone of the biological drilling with optical microscopy shows alive cells, maintained bone architecture and the size of the bone particle significantly higher (Figure 2b). Due to the absence of cells, in the bone obtained by drilling at high speed, it was not possible to cultivate and expand osteoblasts. In the bone obtained through biological drilling was cultivated by the technique of explants. To this the bone are distributed in fragments on the surface of cultivation. Once distributed is added ObM with antibiotics and antifungal medications (300 μl) and maintenance in incubator white room. The follow-up was realized 3 days a week and annotation file the day in which appear the cells in culture. The migration and proliferation of osteoblasts was positive in all the samples cultured obtained by biological drilling (Figure 3). Figure 4 shows the effectiveness of Endoret (PRGF) to preserve the bone particles as evidence by significantly higher cell survival in comparison to physiological saline.


The study identifies a unique role for early T-bet expression in promoting the proliferation of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells following vaccination. Early T-bet expression is necessary for optimal LFA1 expression for appropriate cellular interactions and enables optimal expansion and differentiation of effector and memory CD8+ T cells.


Claude Guillot & Pierre Labrousse ; The authors of this article retrace the years spent by Raden Saleh in Paris between 1845 and 1848, as well as his relations with France. Thanks to the aid of Dutch living in Paris, such as the Ambassador Fagel; the former Governor of the East Indies, Van der Capellen ; the General Le Bron de Vexela ; and the family connections of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, etc., the Javanese painter Raden Saleh enjoyed a warm welcome from Parisian high society and was even received at the court of Louis-Philippe, who acquired two of his paintings. Raden Saleh entered into contact with the well-known artist Horace Vernet, in whose studio Raden Saleh worked for a while at Versailles, but with whom he never travelled to Algeria. Raden Saleh was apparently a prolific painter during his time in Paris, accomplishing 12 paintings in two and half years, as well as participating in the Exhibitions of 1847 and 1848. During his time in Paris, he focused mainly on paintings depicting wild animals. He presented two of his works to the Emperor Napoleon III. In the appendix, is included a list of his paintings completed in France.


The 2021 ICC Arbitration Rules introduce new procedures, update key provisions, and formalize the existing practices of the ICC Secretariat and the Court in order to allow for greater flexibility, efficiency and transparency in the administration of ICC arbitration cases. We will focus in this post on the changes made under the new Rules to the Arbitral Tribunal's powers. In particular, we will address the following five key provisions: new Articles 12(9), 13(6), 17(1)-(2), 26, and Appendix IV paragraphs (h)(i).


: Introduction: Several studies have highlighted differences in the facial features in a White European population. Genetics appears to have a major influence on normal facial variation and environmental factors are likely to have minor influences on face shape directly or through epigenetic mechanisms. Aim: The aim of this longitudinal cohort study is to determine the rate of change in midline facial landmarks in 3 distinct homogenous population groups (Finnish, Latvian and Welsh) from 12.8 to 15.3 years of age. This age range covers the pubertal growth period for the majority of boys and girls. Methods: A cohort of children aged 12 were monitored for facial growth in 3 countries (Finland (n=60), Latvia (n=107) and Wales (n=96)). 3D facial surface images were acquired (using either laser or photogrammetric methods) at regular intervals (6 to 12 months) for 4 years. Ethical approval was granted in each country. 9 midline landmarks were identified and the relative spatial position of these surface landmarks were measured relative to the mid-endocanthion (men) over a 4-year period. Results: This study reports the children who attended 95% of all scanning sessions (Finland 48 out of 60; Latvia 104 out of 107; Wales 50 out of 96). Considerable facial variation is seen for all countries and sexes. There are clear patterns of growth that show different magnitudes at different age groups for the different country groups, sexes and facial parameters. The greatest single yearly growth rate (5.4mm) was seen for Welsh males for men-pg distance at 13.6 years of age. Males exhibit greater rates of growth compared to females. These variations in magnitude and timings are likely to be influenced by genetic ancestry as a result of population migration. Conclusion: The midline points are a simple and valid method to assess the relative spatial positions of facial surface landmarks. This study confirms previous reports on the subtle differences in facial shapes and sizes of male and female children in different populations and also highlights the magnitudes and timings of growth for various midline landmark distances to mid-endocanthion point.


Communication-based train control systems (CBTCs) have been widely used as crucial systems in urban rail transit networks. CBTCs typically utizes different levels of symmetry structure according to different geographic deployments. While, in practice, CBTCs crashes have destroyed the transportation systems of the whole city level for many times. Based on the extended object-oriented Petri net (EOOPN), this paper proposes a vulnerability model and an evaluation procedure, which are capable of considering the vulnerability factors in both inner system level and equipment level. On the system level, it establishes a complex dynamic communication structure model among the distributed subsystems, while on the equipment level, it details the equipment changing state during train operation. The searching algorithm of EOOPN depicts possible failed paths of CBTCs via the token transition among train¬–ground communication EOOPN subnets. The vulnerability calculation is applied to the metro company's in situ CBTCs to illustrate the effectiveness of the approach.


Immobilization of liposomes on implantable/insertable medical devices may be advantageous for the stability of liposomes and the localized release of drugs from the device to prevent/manage pathological processes. This work focuses on the preparation of polymeric systems suitable for the immobilization of drug-free and 5-fluorouracil-loaded liposomes. Polymeric systems, based on N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and N-acryloxysuccinimide (NAS), were prepared by γ radiation with three different structures: a binary copolymer grafted onto polypropylene (PP), an interpenetrated polymer network (IPN) grafted onto PP, and an IPN hydrogel; all of them cross-linked with poly-L-lysine. Although liposome immobilization is accompanied by a lost in the 5FU entrapment efficiency, the high extent of the immobilization provides the polymeric systems with a remarkable amount of drug at their surface. These findings point out poly-L-lysine as a suitable component to endow surface-modified devices with ability to host liposomes and thus to develop drug-medical device combination products.


Objective: To characterize microangiopathy in patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) of a moderate to severe stage and to evaluate improvement of the microcirculatory parameters after sclerotherapy of incompetent perforators and compression therapy. Design: Fluorescence videomicroscopy (Na-fluore-scein), laser Doppler fluxmetry and tcPo2 measurements (43°C) at the medial ankle in healthy controls and patients. Laser Doppler flux and tcPo2 were recorded in supine and sitting position in order to evaluate postural vasoconstriction. The measurements were repeated 6 and 12 months after sclerotherapy of incompetent perforators (Polidocanol 40 mg/ml) and compression therapy by below-knee class II or III stockings (Sigvaris®). Setting: Department of Internal Medicine, Angiology Division, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland. Patients, participants: 15 healthy subjects (15 legs, mean age 53.3 years) and 15 patients with CVI of a moderate to severe stage (17 legs, mean age 56.8 years). Results: Microangiopathy in CVI is characterized by significantly enlarged, elongated and dilated capillaries with increased diameters of the pericapillary spaces ('halos'). Single capillaries may be thrombosed. Laser Doppler flux is increased and tcPo2 is decreased. After therapy, there was a trend to decreased laser Doppler flux and an increase in tcPo2, but the differences were not statistically significant. Capillary thromboses were no longer detected. Mean halo diameters tended to decrease, but this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Microangiopathy in CVI is characterized by morphological and functional changes. Beneficial changes induced by therapy develop slowly and emphasize the importance of long-lasting treatment.


This paper argues that workplace integration strategies within the "inclusivity thesis" – including employment equity, affirmative action, pay equity or comparable worth, and diversity management – should be situated as part of the agendas of relevant social actors with competing equalities, which is a key to understanding and transforming the Canadian workplace.


An electric machine has a rotor that rotates around an axis and a stator provided with a set of several C-shaped polar elements arranged around the axis at the same angular distance from each other. Each polar element surrounds a stator winding with a base strip and with two polar fingers that project from the base strip. In order to cool such an electric machine as efficiently as possible, the stator winding surrounds the axis like a ring and a cooling medium flows through the sator winding.


This paper will discuss how Muslim networks from South Asia contributed to the reconstruction of religious, cultural, and social belonging as they created new modes and formats of regional interaction and connectivity with actors and institutions in Post-Soviet Central Asia. This will be shown here on the examples of the activities of the conservative preaching groups of the missionary movement of the Tablighi Jama'at (TJ) and the related Deoband tradition of Sunni Islam, on one side, and of the comparatively modern International Islamic University in Islamabad (IIUI), Pakistan, and its graduates, on the other. After explaining their approach to Central Asia, it will discuss forms of expansion and local adaptation of their networks, practices and concepts, focusing on the cases of Kyrgyzstan for the Tablighis and Tajikistan for the IIUI. Their mobility is a larger process of regional transformation, where two-way secular interaction with South Asia is also involved.


Two of Iowa's waste disposal problems are manure from livestock confinement facilities and yard waste. Considered separately, they present special difficulties in disposal, but when combined they may make a good compost material suitable for use by gardeners and landscapers. Column study to access bioretention cell filter mixtures for urban stormwater management, 2014, #ESP2013-01 Abstract: The study examined several options for material placement in bioretention cells to keep water cleaner and cut down on pollution into urban storm sewers. Constructed wetlands to reduce agricultural chemical transport to water resources, 1999, #95-48 Abstract: This project was part of a larger five-year, multi-phase research and demonstration effort to study water quality and agricultural drainage wells (ADWs). The goal was to evaluate the use of constructed wetlands for treatment of subsurface drainage prior to release to groundwater through ADWs and to develop design and operation criteria for these treatment wetlands. Demonstration of a an agroforestry system to minimize pollution hazards from land application of treated municipal sludge, 1998, #95-47 Abstract: Iowa has over 700 communities that generate municipal biosolids by various treatment means. These biosolids contain valuable nutrients. In this study, municipal biosolids are applied to trees, perennial grasses, and corn/soybean crops in an alley cropping (repeated tree strips combined with crops) system. The goal is to produce economical quantities of biomass and grains with reduced use of fossil fuel-based fertilizers and minimal environmental impacts. Drainage water quality impacts of current and future agricultural management practices, 2013, #XP2011-04 Abstract: Researchers examined how crop tillage, rotation or crop residue removal can affect the chemical composition of water draining from farm fields. Effect of tillage, crop rotation, and the innovative nitrogen and pesticide management practices on productivity, sustainability, and water quality, 1997, #9314 Abstract: Better management practices can improve nitrogen (N) uptake and possibly reduce nitrogen leaching to groundwater. More efficient herbicide use can decrease or eliminate the herbicide leaching losses to water sources. In this project, the effects of seven nitrogen management practices on water quality were evaluated after collecting data from 40 experimental plots. Lower rates of N application and strip and hay cropping systems helped produce lower concentrations of NO3-N in the shallow groundwater in comparison with the higher rate of N application. Also, banding of herbicides has resulted in lower herbicide losses to shallow groundwater. The use of the late spring NO3-N test (LSNT) and strip cropping show a great deal of promise to protect water quality. Effective high-speed, high-residue row crop cultivation, 1997, #93-01 Abstract: Banding of herbicides linked with mechanical cultivation has been touted as a way to decrease dependence on chemical inputs in farming. Tests on a farm near Boone, Iowa were used to determine the effects of cultivator design and speed when combined with the banding of chemicals to control weeds. Three cultivator styles, two speeds, and two herbicide bands (19 and 38 cm.) were tested. Results showed that faster cultivation speeds did not harm weed control or crop yields. There was no difference between yield in a broadcast treatment and that of a cultivator treatment in conjunction with a wide band of herbicide when disc hillers were used. Environmental impacts of the use of poultry manure for agricultural production systems, 2002, #99-68 Abstract: Iowa is among the top national producers of poultry, with accompanying public concerns about the proper disposal of poultry wastes and associated nonpoint source pollution. This project investigated the effects of poultry manure application on surface and groundwater quality. Evaluating the effectiveness of restored wetlands for reducing nutrient losses from agricultural watersheds, 2004, #01-60 Abstract: Scientists examined the effectiveness of recent wetland restorations and land use conversions (set-asides) for reducing nutrients in agricultural runoff into the Iowa Great Lakes. Fertilizer placement for ridge-till and no-till systems, 1998, #95-55 Abstract: Uncertainty about cost-effective methods of broadcast vs. subsurface fertilizer application and soil test interpretation for ridge-till and no-till systems may be a major factor in the slow adoption or abandonment of these systems by Iowa farmers. Broadcast fertilizer is cheaper than banding, but seems inefficient because fertilizers are not incorporated (no-till) or incorporated too late (ridge-till) for plant needs. From a soil and water quality perspective, the lack of incorporation of fertilizers, especially phosphorus fertilizer, could hamper system benefits in reducing nutrient losses in water runoff because, although reduced, the runoff contains more soluble nutrients. Impacts of managed grazing on stream ecology and water quality, 2006, #U19-2002 Abstract: The project measures and analyzes the varying effects different grazing systems have on the nutrients that appear in surface runoff. Re-connecting Iowa riparian buffers with tile drainage (1), 2014, #E2010-01 Abstract: Changing the configuration of tile drainage structures to allow subsurface flow through a riparian buffer could offer farmers another option for nitrate removal. This project examined the effects of using tiling and buffers to enhance the denitrification process. Re-connecting Iowa riparian buffers with tile drainage (2), 2014, #E2013-13 Abstract: This is a continuation of an earlier pilot project (E2010-10) where tile discharge was rerouted to allow subsurface flow through an established riparian buffer. This third year of observations allowed researchers to gather more data on nitrate removal using this system. Soil carbon quality and interactions in Iowa wetlands, 2003, #01-47 Abstract: Most of Iowa's wetlands have been drained, tiled, and cultivated. This project looked at how carbon sequestration has been affected and what might be done to help improve the situation. Researchers collected GPS coordinates of all the sites samples so that in the future someone can return to the sites and determine the amount of change in organic carbon or other properties that have occurred over time. Understanding the potential of phosphorus transport to water resources via leaching, 2004, #02-40 Abstract: Improved management of phosphorus (P) from both manure and fertilizer sources is important because of surface water quality concerns. This study considers possible P loss via leaching through the soil and examines the dynamics of the adsorption/extraction process. Understanding soil organic matter change: Modeling root and soil interactions across soil landscapes, 2014, #E2012-11 Abstract: The project looked at bioenergy feedstocks and how they might be employed to improve soil properties, specifically soil structure and soil carbon in the form of organic matter content. In this study, switchgrass showed the greatest promise for improving soil qualities.


A model of diluted random field sustained by quenched volume deformations is shown to reproduce puzzling physical features found in X(CN)xY1 x mixed cyanide crystals. X is an alkali metal (K, Na or Rb) and Y is a spherical halogen ion (Br, Cl or I). Critical thresholds xc at which associated first order ferroelastic transitions disappear are calculated exactly. The diluted random field is shown to compete with compressibility in making the transition first order. Transitions are then found to remain first order down to xc except in the case of bromine dilution where they become continuous. All the results are in excellent agreement with available experimental data.


In a referendum held in 2016, Britain voted to leave the EU. Britain's membership of the EU has been a difficult one. Unlike the other leading Member States of the EU, Britain did not seem to have a firm conviction that "ever-closer union" of the peoples of Europe is essential to the peace and liberty of Europe. In the wake of increased immigration and the recent refugee crisis, the British people chose to leave the EU in order to have their sovereignty and independence re-affirmed. It remains to be seen what will be the economic consequences of this largely political decision.


Information system security is very important and very complicated, security is to prevent potential crisis. To detect both from external invasion behavior, also want to check the internal unauthorized behavior. Presented here ABHIDS hybrid intrusion detection system model, designed a component Agent, controller, storage, filter, manager component (database), puts forward a new detecting DDoS attacks (trinoo) algorithm and the implementation. ABHIDS adopts object-oriented design method, a study on intrusion detection can be used as a working mechanism of the algorithms and test verification platform.


Absorbent materials for mercury removal were prepared using (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS) and trimethoxy(octyl)silane (TMOS) on the surface of glass web fiber. Surfaces of the absobent materials were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The elements of the modified surface in the absorbent materials were well accordance with those of APTMS or TMOS. Adsorption of mercury ion from mercury-contaminated water using the prepared absobent materials was studied. Quantitative measurement of mercury ion was carried out on inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICPOES). The ability of mercury ion removal from mercury-contaminated water is in the sequence of APTMS-modified glass web > TMOS-modified glass web > pristine glass web. This sequence has relationship with chemical structure of APTMS and TMOS which were used for modification of glass web.


Penetrating traumatic brain injury caused by gunshot is one of the most severe injuries. In the past, nihilism was the predominant treatment approach, and such injured patients were not considered promising. In recent years, a more active approach has been promoted by adopting damage control resuscitation measures and early surgical decompression in both a civil and military setting. In this paper, we summarise current knowledge about gunshot injuries of the brain and present a helpful understanding of this topic to neurologists, neurosurgeons, and intensivists. We discuss pathophysiology, diff erences between civilian and wartime injuries, and indications for surgical treatment. We specifi cally discuss early and late complications of gunshot wounds of the head/ brain, some medico-legal issues, and blast injury. Autoři deklarují, že v souvislosti s předmětem studie nemají žádné komerční zájmy. The authors declare they have no potential confl icts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study. Redakční rada potvrzuje, že rukopis práce splnil ICMJE kritéria pro publikace zasílané do biomedicínských časopisů. The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE "uniform requirements" for


Since the retrocession of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, the Hong Kong SAR government and key curriculum developers have been determined to make use of the school curriculum (formal and informal) and in particular, the two history subjects, 'Chinese History' and 'History,' to promote a national identity among students. This study shows that a Chinese national identity in ethnic, cultural and historical terms has been promoted through 'Chinese History.' At the same time, through the other history subject, 'History,' a Hongkongese identity that includes both an international and a national dimension has also been made possible. However, it is argued that in promoting a sense of national identity through the school curriculum, the government has turned the curriculum to a form of nationalistic propaganda. In addition, the emphasis on national identity would create tension between Hong Kong students, students from China and ethnical minority students.


We show that the interaction constant governing the long-range electron-electron interaction in a quantum wire coupled to two reservoirs and capacitively coupled to a gate can be determined by a low-frequency measurement. We present a self-consistent, charge and current conserving, theory of the full conductance matrix. The collective excitation spectrum consists of plasma modes with a relaxation rate which increases with the interaction strength and is inversely proportional to the length of the wire.


To diagnose disease, western medicine looks inside of patient's body using many devices such as MRI, but oriental medicine only observes outside of patient's body. A pulse signal is one of those examples. A wrist is good part of our body to detect a pulse signal and the wrist pulse has been used as a fundamental element for diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It has many properties and by perceiving these features, doctors can diagnose disease. In this paper, we have developed diagnosing system which detects pulse signal using piezoelectric film sensor and uses pulse to check possible liver illness and heart disorder.


Relationship between the valid porosity and anticipate porosity of three different mineral admixtures i.e.fly ash,slag and silica fume of the porous concrete is studied respectively.The relationship among the valid porosity,permeability coefficient,plane porosity,equivalent aperture and compressive strength and the situation of pore distribution is also discussed.The results show that it can effectively control the porosity of the porous concrete by adopting absolute volume method.Among the different mineral admixture,the valid porosity and permeability coefficient ex- ists nicer quadratic function relationship,the valid porosity and permeability coefficient basically becomes inversely-proportional relationship, which could get the correlative relational equation.The size of equivalent aperture and the number of the pores influence the change of the plane porosity.When the valid porosity of the different mineral admixtures porous concrete are from 20% to 30%,the size of the equivalent aperture ra- dius is from 10mm to 20mm.Furthermore,the main size is from 13mm to 16mm,in which range,the increasing amplitude of the permeability co- efficient achieves the maximum value.


We report on the development of a new cost-effective, small form-factor laser source at a wavelength of 980 nm. The laser module is based on proven technology commonly used for pump laser modules deployed in fiber amplifiers of telecommunication networks. The package uses a state-of-the-art 14-pin butterfly housing with a footprint of 30x15 mm2 with a Fabry-Perot AlGaAs-InGaAs pump laser diode mounted inside having an anti-reflection coating on its front facet. The light is coupled into a single-mode polarization-maintaining fiber with a mode-field diameter of 6.6 micrometer. The spectral properties of the source are defined by a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) that provides feedback in a narrow reflection band. The laser back facet and the FBG form a long resonant cavity of 1.7 m length in which laser light with a low coherence length of a few cm is generated. This configuration with the laser being operated in the coherence-collapse regime has the advantage of being robust against variations in the optical path, thus enabling stable and mode-hop free emission. The laser module has the following properties: a continuous-wave fiber output power exceeding 800 mW, a spectral bandwidth of less than 50 pm, a root-mean square power variation of less than 0.2 % from DC to 2 MHz over the entire power operating range, and a polarization extinction ratio of more than 20 dB. This is a compact, low noise, high power source for frequency conversion with nonlinear optical materials, such as blue light generation.


Epidemiological documents show an association of tobacco smoking rates and perceived stress levels. This study, using an animal model of nicotine self-administration, investigated effects of stress on nicotine-taking behavior. Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to intravenously self-administer nicotine. Thirty minutes before test sessions, animals were challenged with an intraperitoneal administration of a pharmacological stressor yohimbine. In the low nicotine-taking rats, yohimbine challenge enhanced lever-press responses and thereby nicotine intake. In contrast, no such effect was observed in the high nicotine-taking rats. After yohimbine challenge, nicotine intake in those originally low nicotine-taking rats remained at the heightened level. These findings demonstrate that exposure to stress facilitates nicotine self-administration in the rats previously consuming less nicotine and makes them to become high nicotine-taking subjects. The results of this study suggest that stressful life events may be effective in increasing tobacco smoking in light to moderate smokers and therefore increase the prevalence of nicotine dependence. As such, reducing stress levels in daily life may prove to be an effective approach to the prevention of nicotine addiction.


Editor's Note: on the occasion of the Centennial of the Auicultural Society, we are privileged to present an article that first appeared in the Avicultural Magazine, November-December 1942, Series V, Volume VII, Number 6, pages 172-174. Long before his death at the age of 95 in 1985, jean Delacour held an awesome reputation as an ornithologist, aviculturist, explorer, conservationist, zoo and museum professional, and author. Tbis has only grown in recent years. Auiculturists who did not have the privilege of knowing him (no one was more approacbablel) or who are unfamiliar with the 281 articles and notes he wrote for his beloved Avicultural Society, from 1916 to 1982, most likely think of him as the authority on pheasants and waterfowl that he certainly was, based on the monumental ioorks he wrote on these birds. His knowledge of and delight in birds covered all forms, however, and the following article may reveal a side of him that many may find unexpected. -Josef Lindholm No other birds can make better pets than Parrots, or be more intelligent. In the course of many years spent among birds, I have had dozens of tame and amusing ones, but none has left me a more vivid impression, nor more bitter regrets when it passed away, than the very intelligent and most affectionate Red-headed Conure (Aratinga rubrotaruat a) which I had from 1922 to 1930. The majority of tame mammals and birds which become attached to their owners usually do so as a result of clever training, petting, and offering of Editor's Note: on the occasion of the Centennial of the Auicultural Society, we are privileged to present an article that first appeared in the Avicultural Magazine, November-December 1942, Series V, Volume VII, Number 6, pages 172-174. Long before his death at the age of 95 in 1985, jean Delacour held an awesome reputation as an ornithologist, aviculturist, explorer, conservationist, zoo and museum professional, and author. Tbis has only grown in recent years. Auiculturists who did not have the privilege of knowing him (no one was more approacbablel) or who are unfamiliar with the 281 articles and notes he wrote for his beloved Avicultural Society, from 1916 to 1982, most likely think of him as the authority on pheasants and waterfowl that he certainly was, based on the monumental ioorks he wrote on these birds. His knowledge of and delight in birds covered all forms, however, and the following article may reveal a side of him that many may find unexpected. -Josef Lindholm No other birds can make better pets than Parrots, or be more intelligent. In the course of many years spent among birds, I have had dozens of tame and amusing ones, but none has left me a more vivid impression, nor more bitter regrets when it passed away, than the very intelligent and most affectionate Red-headed Conure (Aratinga rubrotaruat a) which I had from 1922 to 1930. The majority of tame mammals and birds which become attached to their owners usually do so as a result of clever training, petting, and offering of tempting food. But sometimes one meets with a case of spontaneous attraction and no doubt this was the case with my Conure. In 1922 I received a consignment of birds from western South America and this Parrakeet was in it - a biggish bird, bright grass green, with scarlet head, bend of wings and thighs, a large white beak and a white ring around the eye. The species is found from Colombia to Peru. The bird, undoubtedly a male, was neither very beautiful nor rare. It did not look wild. We had several more interesting specimens to care for in the consignment, so we cut the feathers on one of its wings so that he could not fly, and let him out on some bushes along the balustrade of the terrace. He stayed there, coming in to feed, and looking very happy. I had noticed that the bird was tame and even rather aggressive, but there were several other Parrakeets and small Parrots living there under the same conditions and I paid little attention to him, aside from giving him some tit-bits whenever I passed him on my way. After a few months, his flight feathers had grown again and he began to fly. No sooner could he move about with ease than he unhesitatingly picked me out of all people at Cl eres, following me everywhere I went and settling on my shoulder as often as I permitted. There was no other reason but his own fancy for the Conure to act in this way. I never gave him anything special to eat, except a few breadcrumbs when I fed other birds in the park, and his proper food was offered to him by keepers whom he never particularly noticed. But, of his own choice, he had taken to my person. Although devoted to me, he kept showing a hot and impatient temper. When I tried to grab him or to chase him away, he never hesitated to bite, but always lightly, never seriously enough to hurt, at the same time expressing his anger by little cries and contortions. With other people, it was a different story. He proved quite ferocious, attacking savagely and fetching blood. He became furious whenever anyone came close to me while he was sitting on my shoulder. One day, as I was walking in the park with friends, he appeared flying high, stooped down and alighted on the shoulder of Prince Paul Murat. At that time we were both much of the same build and the Conure mistook him for me. My friend started calling me and as soon as the bird heard his voice and discovered his mistake, he bit the Prince on the neck as hard as he could, which stopped all jokes about the shifting of his affection! · My Conure lived at Cleres for eight years at complete liberty, summers and winters, flying all about the place. When I was at home, no one else counted for him. Early in the morning, he was watching for my appearance at a window of my bedroom and followed me from room to room, from floor to floor, never coming in, as he realized that he had not the right to enter the house. As soon as I came out, he was on my shoulder and went everywhere with me. When I was tired of carrying him, he would follow from tree to tree. But if I went too far from the house - over a mile - he would suddenly leave me and return quickly on the wing. He hated being too far from his usual surroundings. He gave me every proof of his affection, warbling at my ear, gently picking at my neck, playing with my fingers and even offering me food, the politest of all gestures in a Parrot. When I sat down, he would first play on my knees, then cuddle himself in my arms and go to sleep. Every autumn and winter, during my long trips abroad, the Conure would take again to an independent life; he would sometimes come to Mr. Fooks or to some keeper and demonstrate to them. But they were ignored as soon as I returned. Even after a year's absence his feelings remained unaltered. As soon as I landed from the car, he was there to welcome me home, showing extreme pleasure and excitement. Alas, during one of my long absences, in 1930, my Conure died after a few days' illness, I was told. He might have been old, as he was adult when he had arrived. His Joss was a real sorrow to me. AFA is 1110s/ grateful lo Professor j.R. Hodges, Chairman of the Council of the A11ic11/111ra/ Society, and Frank Woo/ham, Honorary Editor of the Avicultural Magazine for permission to reproduce this article.•


During the survey of Bilara area some interesting findings were noted. In some area pearlmillet and vegetable crop are in very flourishing conditions. The survey was conducted tothe nematodes community structure soil and root sample, representing 15 locations wereexamined. Eight important genera of plant-parasitic nematodes namely Meloidogyne incognita,Tylenchorhynchus mashhoodi, Hoplolaimus indicus, Helicotylenchus indius, Xiphenema sp.,Longidorus sp., Paralongidorus sp. and Paratrichodorus porosus were found (Kamra A,Pankaj, Sharma H K and Mishra S D 2001). 13 agriculture field surveyed where mustard(Brassica campestris), jawar (Sorghum vulgare), peart-millet (Pennisetum tyhoides), wheat(Triticumae aestivum), castor (Ricinus commiinii), caner (Nerium indicum), tulsi (Ocimumscanctum), pumpkin (Cucurbitta moschata), spinach (Spincea oleracca), lemon (Citruslimon), brinjal (Solanum melongena) and aak (Calotropis procera). The relative density andRelative prominence value of Tylenchorhynchus mashhoodi was (56.41) and (61.24) followedby Helicotylenchus indius (26.11) and (26.09). Tylenchohrynchus mashhoodi most dominantin study area in which nematodes population very highest in Brinjal per 200 cm3 soil. Therelative densities of Hoplolaimus sp., Meloidogyne incognita were (6.91) and (3.34) relativeprominence values were (5.89) and (2.66). Respectively soil samples were collected fromcrop fields in order to study the community analysis of plant parasitic nematodes community(Shivakumar M, Poornima K, Mani M P and Umamaheshwari 2002).


Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have become the leading energy storage technology, powering a wide range of applications in today's electrified world. This comprehensive review paper delves into the current challenges and innovative solutions driving the supercharged future of lithium-ion batteries. It scrutinizes the limitations of energy density in existing batteries, exploring advanced electrode materials and designs that promise higher capacity. Safety concerns take center stage, with a focus on cutting-edge thermal management systems and materials. The imperative of sustainable sourcing is addressed, highlighting alternative materials and recycling strategies for a greener supply chain. Transformative breakthroughs, such as solid-state electrolytes and emerging battery chemistries, offer glimpses of the future. The paper also examines the applications and market perspectives of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, portable electronics, and renewable energy storage. It concludes by emphasizing the transformative potential of lithium-ion batteries in accelerating the energy revolution and paving the way for a sustainable energy future.


A tight converse bound to the channel coding rate in the finite block-length regime and under additive white Gaussian noise conditions was recently proposed by Polyanskiy-Poor-Verdú (PPV). The bound is a generalization of a number of other classical results, and it was also claimed to be equivalent to Shannon's 1959 cone packing bound. In this paper, we investigate methods for a reliable numerical evaluation of the bound, which is troublesome even for not too large values of the block-length n, by compactly expressing the Polyanskiy, Poor, and Verdú (PPV) converse bound in terms of non-central chi-squared distributions, and by evaluating those through an integral expression and a corresponding series expansion which exploit a method proposed by Temme. As a result, a robust evaluation method and new insights on the bound's asymptotics, as well as new approximate expressions, are obtained.


We consider a cognitive radio system with one secondary user (SU) accessing multiple channels via periodic sensing and spectrum handoff. We propose an optimal spectrum sensing and access mechanism such that the average energy cost of the SU, which includes the energy consumed by spectrum sensing, channel switching, and data transmission, is minimized, whereas multiple constraints on the reliability of sensing, the throughput, and the delay of the secondary transmission are satisfied. Optimality is achieved by jointly considering two fundamental tradeoffs involved in energy minimization, i.e., the sensing/transmission tradeoff and the wait/switch tradeoff. An efficient convex optimization procedure is developed to solve for the optimal values of the sensing slot duration and the channel switching probability. The advantages of the proposed spectrum sensing and access mechanism are shown through simulations. S.Swathika et al, International Journal of Computer Science and Mobile Computing, Vol.3 Issue.8, August2014, pg. 457-470 © 2014, IJCSMC All Rights Reserved 458


The object of this research is the novel entitled The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. The major problem of this study is to investigate how the resilience to stay alive reflected in Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games novel
specifically viewed from individual psychological approach.
In conducting this study, the researcher uses qualitative research whose data are based on primary data source that is the novel Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games itself, and secondary data sources is references and materials
related to the study picking up from the books or internet, and other data which deal with the research. Both data are collected by conducting library research and analyzed by descriptive analysis. The results of this study are as follows: based on the structural analysis of each element, it shows that the character and characterization, setting, plot, point of view, theme is supporting each other to produce a good quality novel. Then, based on the individual psychology analysis, the study shows that the problem
faced by the major character is her own psychology condition to decide the appropriate ways for her life. This novel also shows the process how the resilience to stay alive will produce the amazing result.


Throughout the web of the English Criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen, that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner's guUt subject to what I have already said as to the defence of insanity and subj ect also to any statutory exception if at the end of and on the whole of the case, there is a reasonable doubt created by the evidence given by either the prosecution or the prisoner, as to whether the prisoner killed the deceased with a malicious intention, the prosecution has not made out the case and the prisoner is entitled to an acqUittal. No matter what the charge or where the trial, the principle that the prosecutor must prove the guilt of the prisoner is


The feedback between sea surface temperature (SST) and surface evaporation is an important issue in the study of climate change. To understand this feedback and its interaction with surface wind in the tropical Pacific Ocean (30°N – 30°S), and in particular over the warm pool region, a dynamic tropical atmospheric circulation model is used. The model consists of a two-layer free troposphere and a well-mixed boundary layer. It involves active interactions between the boundary layer flow, forced by an SST gradient, and the free atmospheric flow, forced by SST. Various SST fields (representing climatology, El Nino, and La Nina conditions) are used to drive the model. It is found that the binned averages of evaporation and wind speed increase with SST for up to about 300–301 K. From that point on they decrease with SST. In addition, negative SST anomalies correspond to excess latent heat flux and wind speed. These results are in agreement with relevant observations. To understand the thermodynamic versus dynamic effects of SST on surface evaporation, in one of the experiments we impose a sudden positive SST perturbation on the climatological SST field during the model integration. It is shown that while surface evaporation is initially enhanced in response to the SST change, as the atmospheric circulation gradually "feels" the SST perturbation, its dynamic effect through the circulation change becomes more apparent over the SST perturbation region. Overall, the results of our study show that in the low SST regime the behavior of evaporation is dictated by thermodynamics, whereas in the high SST regime it is dictated by atmospheric dynamic considerations.


Scientific manuscript peer review has a 300-year history, but formal analysis of validity of peer review began in the late 20th century.1 Peer review bias was suggested in the 1980s,2 but in a 1997 congress,2 no significant reviewer bias was detected.3 Within dermatology, the peer review process has hardly been studied. The majority of dermatology journals have a single-blind (SB) peer review process, with reviewers informed of author identity, but authors unaware of reviewers'. Few journals have a double-blind (DB) process, such that neither authors nor reviewers are aware of identity. We conducted a cross-sectional study investigating associations between peer review blinding and author publication metrics.


The Cancer-associated Serum Antigen (CASA) assay uses two monoclonal antibodies reactive with the core protein of the polymorphic epithelial mucin (MUC1) to measure levels of this molecule in serum. Detection of this mucin using this assay is dependent on the level of glycosylation of this complex molecule. A normal range of CASA levels has been established with smoking, increasing age and chronic respiratory infections increasing basal CASA levels. Because of the independent expression of CASA and CA125 in ovarian cancer, and because CASA is not elevated in most patients with benign adnexal masses, CASA can be used in combination with CA125 to facilitate the discrimination of malignant from benign ovarian disease. Post-operative pre-chemotherapeutic CASA levels appear to more accurately classify the status of residual disease in ovarian cancer resulting in improved prognostic ability of CASA over CA125 at this time. The combination of CASA with CA125 in monitoring for recurrence of ovarian cancer results in detection of recurrence more than two months before clinical symptoms in 60% of patients. Although this mucin marker appears to generally have a lower sensitivity for ovarian cancer than CA125, when used in combination with CA125 it can enhance the management of patients with this disease.


[Problem] To achieve high performance and reduce the costs of lithium ion battery cathode active materials. [Solution] A method for producing a nickel lithium metal composite oxide including steps 1 to 7. (Step 1) Melting process. (Step 2) Depositing process. (Step 3) Filtering process. (Step 4) Drying process. (Step 5) Mixing process of mixing aluminum hydroxide and lithium carbonate in a precursor powder obtained in step 4. (Step 6) High-temperature firing process of firing the mixture obtained in step 5 at a temperature higher than 790 DEG C. (Step 7) Low-temperature firing process of firing the fired article which has undergone step 6 at a temperature lower than 790 DEG C.


This paper takes all the classic works in China or anywhere else in the world as a carrier,digging out the valuable literary resources of green culture.Integrating the green concept of ecological civilization into the course of College language and literature can be an effective means of enhancing the students' sense of ecological civilization,achieving the aim of bringing environmental education into colleges.


ABSTRACT Conceptualizations of language as translanguaging (Otheguy, García, and Reid 2015) help us to render wholeness out of languages and groups of speakers socially constructed as distinct. Yet in practice teachers are still compelled to identify students by dichotomous institutional labels for discrete proficiencies in named languages: identity labels that are inevitably hierarchical and connected to inequity. This paper examines how youth in a two-way DLBE program on the US-Mexico border conceptualized themselves and their peers quite differently – as non-dichotomous – and their bilingualism as more continuously emergent. Based on interviews in a multiyear ethnography, we argue that youths' conceptualizations of themselves as lingual (Flores 2013) people, rather than bilingual or monolingual, English learner or English proficient, are particularly important for serving our goals of equity in DLBE at the high school level.


Deploying small cells has been widely accepted as a viable solution to meet ever-growing demand of user traffic in cellular heterogeneous networks (HetNets). These small cells can be deterministically or randomly deployed. In this paper we consider a HetNet scenario where multiple small cells are randomly or deterministically overlaid with a macro cell. We use the hexagonal grid model for the deterministic deployment and the Poisson point process model for the random deployment. We analyze user rate and network energy efficiencies, and our numerical results show that deterministic deployment strategy is generally better than random deployment. We evaluate the performances of macro cell and small cell users separately and find that most benefits go to small cell users, not macro cell users. Our simulation results also suggest that deterministically deploying more small cells continues to boost network energy efficiency, while randomly deploying more small cells brings little gain.


With the development of cognitive neuroscience, people begin to realize that the brain metabolic changes may be subject to specific mental state or the impact of the disease, brain function images can express some pathology information. Ways of quantitative analysis on brain function images develop rapidly. This paper reviewed the various methods of morphometry and their advantages and disadvantages, and discussed the current problems and trends.


The influences of several kinds of snake venoms, which indicate thrombin-like actions on the blood coagulation and fibrinolysis were investigated with special reference to factor XIII, and the results that were obtained are as follows;1) Venoms are able to form cross-linkage of fibrin more slowly than thrombin can act.2) Ca-ion is necessary in the formation of the cross-linkage of fibrin by the use of venoms.3) When cysteine solutions are not added into the reaction mixture, the fibrin clot formed by thrombin does not dissolve in 1% monochlor acetic acid solution, but the fibrin clot formed by venoms dissolves in the acidic solution.4) When the reaction mixture containes cysteine, the fibrin clot formed by venoms becomes insoluble in 1% monochlor acetic acid solution, after 30min. or 1hr. incubation.5) The action of Defibrase prepared from Bothrops atrox marajoensis venom on the activation of factor XIII resembles tha of Venacil from Agkistrodon rhodostoma venom, but Defibrase from Bothrops atrox moojeni venom demonstrates a slightly stronger activity for the activation of factor XIII in comparison with the activities of the other two venoms.


Abstract Pretreatment is the first step to open up the complex structure of feedstock and to facilitate the access of hydrolytic enzymes to carbohydrates. Researchers are paying utmost care to pretreatment since it has pervasive impact in downstream processing. Numerous pretreatments have been investigated in the past with various degrees of success and still several new investigations are under progress. Extrusion/thermo-mechanical process is a continuous viable pretreatment and easy to adapt at industry scale with flexibility in process modifications. Agricultural residues and dedicated energy crops such as corn stover, prairie cord grass, wheat straw, rice straw, rape straw, barley straw, wheat bran, soybean hull, switchgrass, miscanthus, big bluestem, and forest products such as poplar, pine, Douglas fir, and eucalyptus were subjected to extrusion pretreatment with or without chemicals. This chapter provides an overview of extrusion pretreatments including the mechanism influencing extruder and feedstock parameters, evaluation of pretreatment efficiency including production of potential fermentation inhibitors, torque requirements, and direction for future work.


Nitroglycerin was proposed for the treatment of angina pectoris in 1867 by Lauder-Brunton. However, there is still no consensus regarding the mechanism of action of this drug. It is known that nitrites have an effect not only on coronary circulation. They cause a decrease in blood pressure, venous pressure, change the venous blood flow to the heart, minute and stroke volumes, etc. Karpman and M. X. Khody-Zade).


Software bots fulfill an important role in collective software development, and their adoption by developers promises increased productivity. Past research has identified that bots that communicate too often can irritate developers, which affects the utility of the bot. However, it is not clear what other properties of human-bot collaboration affect developers' preferences, or what impact these properties might have. The main idea of this paper is to explore characteristics affecting developer preferences for interactions between humans and bots, in the context of GitHub pull requests. We carried out an exploratory sequential study with interviews and a subsequent vignette-based survey. We find developers generally prefer bots that are personable but show little autonomy, however, more experienced developers tend to prefer more autonomous bots. Based on this empirical evidence, we recommend bot developers increase configuration options for bots so that individual developers and projects can configure bots to best align with their own preferences and project cultures.


(1) Background: This study aimed to explore the dynamics of meaning-making among drug addicts during drug addiction recovery by using a case study approach. The participants were five male recovering addicts, aged 26 to 49 years, who had been abstinent for 4 to 17 years; (2) Methods: Data collection consisted of in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire, Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Beck's Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and recovery stage criteria based on the Developmental Model of Recovery (DMR). (3) Results: The results showed that meaning making was an ongoing process before and during the use of drugs and recovery. Drug use was a coping strategy to overcome distress caused by ACE, which was perceived as a stressful event and brought up an implicit meaning of ACE. This initial meaning played an essential role in initiating the dynamics of the subsequent meaning-making process. A similar mechanism using non-constructive adaptation processes other negative impacts of drug use. They created more distress and developed false-positive beliefs, which resulted in continued drug use. Symptoms of depression occur during drug use, which drags the addict to the lowest point in life (hitting rock bottom), and addicts perceive it as a turning point for seeking treatment and attaining recovery. In complete recovery, reappraising the meaning of the stressors experienced throughout life makes new constructive meaning. Creating a constructive meaning of earliest traumatic experiences played an important role in preventing relapse and ensuring the success of recovery from drug addiction.


An analysis of how various types of royalty owners are taxed for Windfall Profit Tax purposes shows that there are no current opportunities for tax planning available. The tax relief pending in Congress does not offer any obvious tax-planning opportunities because the proposed legislation is designed to preclude more than one taxpayer among a group of taxable persons who are related from qualifying for a specific tax-relief provision. The royalty owner's nonoperating economic interest in oil production is normally at the mercy of the independent producer, integrated oil company, or other operator in respect to the level of production from a well where the use of more technology or the incurring of greater production costs could result in more production and royalty income. 38 references, 2 tables.


In order to improve the network of agricultural management and intelligent level,reduce the workload of farmland management,the farmland information acquisition and transmission system was completed based on ZigBee wireless sensor network design,focused on the systems architecture,hardware design and part of software design.The system can quickly,reliably remote acquisition and transmission of field information,is of great significance to the development of precision agriculture.


The concept of geomagnetic optics, as described by the asymptotic directions of approach, is extremely useful in the analysis of cosmic radiation data. However, when changes in cutoff rigidities occur as a result of evolution in the geomagnetic field, there are corresponding changes in the asymptotic cones of acceptance. It has been demonstrated that the effect of geomagnetic disturbances on asymptotic directions of approach can be estimated for nonpolar locations from the corresponding change in the cutoff rigidity. In this paper it is shown that the same procedure is applicable with respect to the secular evolution in the geomagnetic field, and that, with this procedure, it is possible to adjust reference published asymptotic directions to other epochs if the change in cutoff rigidity is known.


Si-cataloes were used as female parent,and'Simmental','Angus' and'German Yellow' were used as male parents to produce fifteen months store cattle for fattening test,and the production performance and analyzing the meat qualities were determined.The results showed that the weight before slaughter was 712kg and the protein content was 21.09g/100g of the'German Yellow'hybrid,which were significantly higher than those of'Angus' hybrid and'Simmental'hybrid(P0.05),water loss rate was 30.05% of'Angus' hybrid,which was significantly lower than those of'German Yellow'hybrid and 'Simmental'hybrid(P0.05),the daily gain was 2.18kg,which was significantly higher than those of other hybrids,and other indicators exist differences,but the differences were not remarkable.The'German Yellow'hybrid had higher nutrition value,while the Angus hybrid had better fattening effect and eating quality.


Abstract Divorce rates have doubled since the 1970s, this has influenced both the structure and the impact of the family. It is imperative not to overlook the large and growing population of children affected by divorce. This paper will discuss the differences of important variables involved, such as age, gender and cultural background. In addition, it will discuss in detail outreach ideas and intervention strategies including small groups, mentoring programs, and bibliotherapy that have all been effective in supporting these children and their families in this crucial change of family structure. Children in single parent and blended families are considered "at-risk" because research shows these children are at a high risk for veering off the path of becoming productive adults who contribute positively to society (Anderson, 2002). School counselors and faculty are at times the only advocates for children when parents are distracted with working on their own issues that are brought on by the divorce. A school can provide a neutral environment, allowing continued involvement by both parents in their child's life, which promotes academic success. School counselors can act as advocates because of their continued involvement, their knowledge of developmental needs, and their training in interventions that can reduce at-risk behavior. Abstract Divorce rates have doubled since the 1970s, this has influenced both the structure and the impact of the family. It is imperative not to overlook the large and growing population of children affected by divorce. This paper will discuss the differences of important variables involved, such as age, gender and cultural background. In addition, it will discuss in detail outreach ideas and intervention strategies including small groups, mentoring programs, and bibliotherapy that have all been effective in supporting these children and their families in this crucial change of family structure. Children in single parent and blended families are considered "at-risk" because research shows these children are at a high risk for veering off the path of becoming productive adults who contribute positively to society (Anderson, 2002). School counselors and faculty are at times the only advocates for children when parents are distracted with working on their own issues that are brought on by the divorce. A school can provide a neutral environment, allowing continued involvement by both parents in their child's life, which promotes academic success. School counselor's can act as advocates because of their continued involvement, their knowledge of developmental needs, and their training in interventions that can reduce at-risk behavior.


The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) has received substantial factor analytic attention. The majority of these studies have been exploratory in nature and have supported Kaufman's (1979) finding of a three-factor solution. The few confirmatory factor analytic studies have provided some support for the three-factor interpretation over the two- and one-factor interpretations, but they have consistently failed to examine other potentially valuable models for the WISC-R. This study tested one, two-, three-, and four-factor models within both normal and psychiatric adolescent inpatient samples. For both samples, the Kaufman three-factor solution emerged with the best overall fit of the WISC-R subtest covariance structure. The remaining models (Guilford-Bannatyne, Bannatyne, Guilford, Horn, and single g) were found to be less applicable to the WISC-R subtest covariance structure and were effectively eliminated as explanatory models when applied to the WISC-R.


Cu-oxide catalysts have a tendency to deactivate dramatically in reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction, because of the aggregation of supported copper particles at high temperatures. Herein, β-Mo2C, which is a typical type of transition-metal carbide, has been demonstrated to be capable of dispersing and stabilizing copper particles. Cu/β-Mo2C catalysts exhibit good catalytic activity and stability for the RWGS reaction. Under relatively high weight hourly space velocity (WHSV = 300 000 mL/g/h), the optimized 1 wt % Cu/β-Mo2C exhibits superior activity over traditional oxide-supported Pt- and Cu-based catalysts. The activity was well-maintained in a 40 h stability test, and the catalyst shows stable reactivity in a six-cycle start-up cool-down experiment. Detailed structure characterizations demonstrate that the strong interaction between Cu and β-Mo2C effectively promotes the dispersion of supported copper and prevents the aggregation of Cu particles, which accounts for the extraordinary activity and s...


For More Online MontGuides, Visit www.msuextension.org The transfer of non-titled property such as photographs and other family heirlooms often creates more challenges among family members than the transfer of titled property. Here's how to deal with some of the issues that may arise. by Marlene S. Stum, Ph.D., Family Economics & Gerontology, University of Minnesota; and Marsha A. Goetting, Ph.D., CFP, CFCS, Extension Family Economics Specialist, Montana State University


In this research the authors investigate the potential of project-based learning in making students of higher educational institutes more engaged and gain a deep understanding of the curriculum content. The literature review presents the main definitions and benefits of project-based learning (PBL), followed by its contribution to improving the performance of students' training. The results of the research are based on testing the main statements of PBL empirically - if it really can provide additional value for learners in higher education. The empirical data have been collected based on Ukrainian case study and allow the authors to prove the influence of PBL on increasing students' engagement, satisfaction, performance and improving learning outcomes.


In this study, we investigate magnetic field annealing of Fe82.5Ga17.5 single crystal disks with two easy axes ([100] and [010]) in the plane of the disk. Magnetic annealing was conducted with a high magnetic field (H>12kOe) applied along the [100] or [010] easy axes of the demagnetized, as-grown, slow-cooled sample. Strain measurements were recorded both before and after the magnetic annealing of the samples from a demagnetized state. After each annealing protocol, the resultant built-in uniaxial anisotropy constants were measured using torque magnetometry and also using an approach that calculates anisotropy based on magnetization curves. The built-in anisotropy constant after magnetic annealing strongly depends on annealing protocol. The calculated anisotropy constants determined for each sample show consistent trends for each annealing condition using the two different anisotropy measurement methods. The maximum uniaxial anisotropy constant was 4.24kJ∕m3 and the built-in effective prestress was −19.9M...


In this paper, we develop a series of extensions to scheduleindependent storage mapping using Quasi-Universal Occupancy Vectors (QUOVs) targeting tiled execution of polyhedral programs. By quasi-universality, we mean that we restrict the "universe" of the schedule to those that correspond to tiling. This provides the following benefits: (i) the shortest QUOVs may be shorter than the fully universal ones, (ii) the shortest QUOVs can be found without any search, and (iii) multi-statement programs can be handled. The resulting storage mapping is valid for tiled execution by any tile size.


In order to find the solution to the problems including the cost increase of product and the decrease of the service life of the spindle due to the frequent oil recruit and oil change,analysis is done to the lubrication element and the status quo of oil recruit and oil change both at home and abroad.Installation of the sealing ring on the spindle and the modification of the structure of the upper bearing makes it possible to improve the application effect of oil-economy spindle with high speed,consequently with 9.42yuan per spindle.And more,the spindle is of easy maintenance with the service life extended 1.5 multiply of the conventional products, hence the tech-safeguard for the reduction of production cost of the enterprises.


Atmospheric-pressure nonthermal corona discharge plasma was applied to the sterilization of biologically contaminated scoria powder. Escherichia coli (E. coli) culture solution was uniformly sprayed throughout the scoria powder for artificial in- oculation, which was well mixed to ensure uniformity of the batch. The effect of the key parameters such as discharge power, treatment time, type of gas and electrode distance on the sterilization efficiency was examined and discussed. The experimental results revealed that the plasma treatment was very effective for the sterilization of scoria powder; 5-min treatment at 15 W could sterilize more than 99.9% of E. coli inoculated into the scoria powder. Increasing the discharge power, treatment time or applied voltage led to an improvement in the sterilization efficiency. The effect of type of gas on the sterilization efficiency was in order of oxygen, synthetic air (20% oxygen) and nitrogen from high to low. The inactivation of E. coli under the influence of corona discharge plasma can be explained by cell membrane erosion or etching resulting from UV and reactive oxidizing species (oxygen radical, OH radical, ozone, etc.), and the destruction of E. coli cell membrane by the physical action of numerous corona streamers.


Circ Genom Precis Med. 2018;11:e002397. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCGEN.118.002397 December 2018 Judith M.A. Verhagen, MD Myrthe van den Born, MD Serife Kurul, BSc Angeliki Asimaki, PhD Ingrid M.B.H. van de Laar, MD, PhD Ingrid M.E. Frohn-Mulder, MD Janneke A.E. Kammeraad, MD, PhD Sing C. Yap, MD, PhD Margot M. Bartelings, MD, PhD Marjon A. van Slegtenhorst, PhD Jan H. von der Thüsen, MD, PhD Marja W. Wessels, MD, PhD Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) refers to a spectrum of cardiac malformations characterized by underdevelopment of the left heart structures. Like other left-sided heart defects, isolated HLHS seems to be highly heritable. However, only a few genes have been associated with isolated HLHS, and only a small proportion of patients carry a pathogenic variant in one of these genes, suggesting further locus heterogeneity. Here, we report 2 siblings with HLHS and features of noncompaction resulting from a homozygous truncating variant in the PKP2 gene. The first child of consanguineous Dutch parents (Figure [A]) was diagnosed with left ventricular hypoplasia and hydrops fetalis, resulting in intrauterine death at 38 weeks' gestation. Autopsy revealed additional severe right ventricular hypertrophy with prominent trabeculation and multiple ventricular septal defects. No extracardiac malformations were reported. Cardiological examination of the parents (age 28 and 30 years) showed no abnormalities. In the second pregnancy, ultrasound examination again showed hypoplasia of the left ventricle and hydrops fetalis. Postnatal transthoracic echocardiography showed an abnormal myocardium with prominent trabeculation and reduced contractility of both ventricles. Because cardiac function did not improve despite optimal medical therapy, treatment was withdrawn, and the patient subsequently died at age 19 days. Cardiac autopsy confirmed the clinical findings (Figure [B]). Hereafter, the parents had 3 healthy children. Considering the unusual aspect of the myocardium, we hypothesized that the HLHS resulted from an intrinsic defect in myocardial development. Targeted nextgeneration sequencing of cardiomyopathy-related genes revealed a heterozygous variant c.1211dup in the PKP2 gene (NM_004572.3), encoding the desmosomal protein plakophilin-2, in both parents. This variant was present in homozygous state in their 2 affected daughters. The duplication produces a frameshift that is predicted to result in a premature termination codon 4 amino acids downstream p.(Val406fs), within the second armadillo domain. The abnormal transcript is expected to undergo nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. The same variant has been reported previously in heterozygous state in 14 index patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy1 and was classified as pathogenic according to 2015 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guidelines. On cardiac reexamination at age 46 and 48 years, both parents indeed showed signs of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Plakophilin-2 is the primary cardiac plakophilin, an essential component of desmosomes. Heterozygous variants in the corresponding PKP2 gene have been found in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (MIM 609040), a genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by progressive fibrofatty replacement of the myocardium that predisposes to ventricular tachyarrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. As of October 2018, over 283 different PKP2 variants have been CLINICAL LETTER


Friction is resistance to motion that appears when two surfaces in contact slide against one another. Generally speaking, the concept of 'friction' describes the dissipation of energy that occurs. Most phenomena associated with sliding friction can be understood from observations made by Leonardo da Vinci. He was the first to note that, based on his experiments, friction is proportional to 1/4th of the applied pressure and that it is independent of the area of contact between two active surfaces. This latter observation was inspired by the fact that the resistance to sliding of a coil of rope is the same as for a stretched piece of rope. Almost two centuries later, in the 18 century, Guillaume Amontons and CharlesAugustin de Coulomb, carried out rigorous experiments on friction, with the aim of obtaining quantitative results. The collective work by L. da Vinci, G. Amontons and C.-A. de Coulomb led to the two fundamental 'laws' of friction. These statements, simple and still valid, are widely applicable:


Disciplinary background A. Ecological psychology and distributed creativity. The theoretical framework of the research drew on Gibson's (1979) ecological psychology and concept of affordances, considering the role of technology and music as social affordances. The distributed and inherently social nature of music and dance (Linson & Clarke, 2021; van der Schyff, Shiavio, Walton, Verlado, & Chemero, 2018) and online creative participation (Literat & Glăveanu, 2018) was considered, drawing on ecological perspectives from the fields of human-computer interaction (Norman, 2013), music (DeNora, 2009; Duby, 2019; Krueger, 2014; Magnusson, 2010; Martinez & Villanueva, 2018) and creativity studies (Glăveanu, 2012). Disciplinary background B. Participatory Action Research. The work took the form of a participatory action research (PAR) project, exploring the creation of a virtual music and dance performance in ashra baladi, an Egyptian improvisational form of dance and music by six experienced arts practitioners. Participatory action research centres local knowledge and needs, aiming to involve members of the community in the research project and create social change in the process (Brydon-Miller, 1997; Lykes, 2013; Smith, Rosenzweig, & Schmidt, 2010). During COVID-19 lockdown, arts practitioners were required to adjust rapidly to changing circumstances to maintain their livelihood, and this research investigated this process. As community-based arts practitioners, the researchers further investigated how virtual improvisation might be applied for social connection in larger culturally diverse settings. Abstract The research aimed to explore:


Objective To investigate the safety and effectiveness of bilateral transverse thoracic muscle plane (TTP) block (modified approach) combined with general anesthesia in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG). Methods The clinical data of 60 patients undergoing OPCABG, selected from March to August 2019 in General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, were retrospectively analyzed and divided into TTP block with general anesthesia group (TTP+general anesthesia group, n=30) and general anesthesia group (n=30) according to anesthesia mode. Patients in TTP+general anesthesia group undergone bilateral TTP block (modified approach, 0.25% ropivacaine 20 ml each side) before anesthesia induction, and both groups were induced by routine anesthesia. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded and analyzed before and after cutting, splitting and closing the sternum, and the total dosage of sufentanil at the end of operation was recorded. The levels of lactic acid and blood glucose in blood gas analysis of patients at the time they entered the room, the operation ended and at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20 and 24 h after the operation were recorded. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores in resting and moving state at 12, 24 and 48 h after operation were recorded. The numbers of patients who were first added analgesic drugs (pethidine) on the day, the first day and the second day after operations were recorded, and the occurrence of postoperative adverse reactions was recorded. Results Compared with general anesthesia group, the change rate of MAP and HR in TTP+general anesthesia group decreased slightly at each time point, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The differences of lactic acid at 2 and 4 h after operation were statistically significant (P 0.05); while the dosage of sufentanil in TTP+general anesthesia group was obviously decreased, and the number of patients who were added analgesics at the postoperative day was markedly reduced, both were with statistical significance (P 0.05). The incidence of postoperative chills was obviously lower in TTP+general anesthesia group than in general anesthesia group with a statistical difference (P<0.05). Conclusion Bilateral TTP block (modified approach) combined with general anesthesia can provide good perioperative analgesia for patient undergoing OPCABG, reduce the use of opioids, and inhibit the stress response to a certain extent, thus having better safety and effectiveness.

DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2020.08.09


OBJECTIVE
To assess the role of external cephalic version (ECV) at term, using tocolysis.

DESIGN
A randomized controlled trial over a 12 month period.

SETTING
Harare Maternity Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe.

SUBJECTS
208 women with breech presentation at term were recruited after satisfying eligibility criteria. There were 103 women in the study group and 105 in the control group. At the end of the study a further 104 women were recruited for ECV.

INTERVENTION
ECV attempted after intravenous injection of 10 micrograms of hexaprenaline, using either forward or backward somersault over a maximum period of 5 min.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Success rate in terms of presentation during labour, need for caesarean section, and various variables related to fetal outcome.

RESULTS
ECV reduced the frequency of breech presentation during labour from 83% to 17% and that of caesarean section from 33% to 13%. There were no troublesome complications from the procedure.

CONCLUSION
In carefully selected women with breech presentation, ECV at term using tocolysis, safely reduced the rate of breech presentation in labour and also the caesarean section rate. Further research is needed to determine the role of ECV in early labour.


The growing demands for telecommunications bandwidth, and the development of high-capacity optical networks, are creating a demand for large-port-count optical cross-connects. The initial cross-connect products currently being offered all utilize electronic switch fabrics, and while they are meeting the immediate needs for network operators, there is a growing consensus that transparent optical switch fabrics will be needed in the near future. The purpose of the paper is to review the requirements and architectures for optical switch fabrics, and to compare and evaluate the various optical switch technologies that are available to implement fabrics capable of meeting those requirements.


ABSTRACT The spread making potential of chia seed and cashew nuts was investigated. Chia seeds and Cashew nuts were processed into spread in ratios: 95:5% (CAC), 90:10% (CSF), 85:15% (SOD), 80:20% (TPS), and 100% (BAM). Physicochemical (over 4 weeks), rheological and sensory analysis of the spread was determined. Physicochemical analysis showed that SOD (85:15%) had the lowest chemical composition in terms of peroxide, acid, iodine and saponification values, which indicated that Chia seed can be used to control oxidation in nut spreads. Rheological analysis demonstrated that the spread blends had good rheological properties similar to the control sample. Sensory analysis revealed that acceptable spread can be produced up to 10% substitution level. Conclusively, nut spread with good chemical and rheological properties can be produced from chia seed and cashew nut pastes which can increase utilization of these crops.


Applications such those of electronic payment require the participants authentication and a privacy of crucial information. Public-key infrastructures (PKIs) are essential for providing them these security services in open networks like the Internet. We propose logic for reasoning about PKI trust models. Our formalism enables us to describe a trust model of a PKI with greater precision than the widely used graph. It also allows us to verify whether a model respond to the PKI objectives and under which conditions. These objectives generally concern statements about entitles beliefs with regard to public key authenticity and certification authorities (CAs) trustworthiness. The proposed formalism takes into account the number of intermediates that have participated in an entity belief and the constraints that can be the concern of certification practices or certificate policies of PKI's CAs. These constraints may influence the trust model suitability to applications with specific requirements.


This report summarizes experiments and engineering evaluations conducted in a project funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Cleanup and Acceleration to develop improved sorbent materials for strontium/actinide separations at SRS. From the results of Phase 1 activities of the project, we offer the following conclusions and recommendations. Chemically modified monosodium titanate (MST) samples exhibited significantly increased actinide removal performance compared to the baseline MST. Testing results indicate that the modified MST offers the possibility of reduced MST concentrations and shorter contact times compared to the baseline MST. Preliminary calculations indicate that the use of the optimized MST sorbent will provide significantly increased waste throughput in the ARP facilities should shorter batch contact times and reduced MST concentrations be realized. The maximum throughput increases are realized using a 0.1-micron pore-size filter media in these facilities. Evaluation of the impacts of incorporating MST into DWPF operations indicates that both the baseline MST and optimized MST (4X decrease) quantities can be accommodated from Chemical Processing Cell (CPC) and glass formulation perspectives. We recommend that the MST materials be tested to determine the effects, if any, that introduction of MST has on slurry rheology, antifoam effectiveness, potential generation of hydrogen and processing time in the CPC. Evaluation of the impacts of MST and titanosilicate analog of pharmacosiderite (TSP) materials determined that the use of these materials showed no significant impacts on the SWPF and Saltstone facility. Based on the promising enhanced actinide removal performance of the chemically modified MST samples, which could have significant positive impacts on the SWPF, ARP and perhaps an in-tank deployment for Sr/actinide removal, we recommend that the Department of Energy continue funding to develop chemically modified MST materials. Dried MST exhibited poorer strontium and alpha removal kinetics, which may adversely impact process cycle times and waste feed throughput. Thus, we recommend that pretreatment facilities not use dried MST. Samples of TSP, sodium nonatitanate (SNT) templated-MST and pH-adjusted MST materials did not exhibit significantly improved strontium and actinide removal performance compared to the baseline MST. Thus, we halted further development of these materials. Nb-SNT exhibited evidence of chemical instability upon contact with strongly alkaline salt solutions for several days. The chemical instability could have significant impacts on downstream operations in the SWPF and DWPF.


Wind energy is growing increasingly popular in the United States, so it is imperative to make it as cost competitive as possible. Operations and Maintenance (O&M) make up 20-25% of the total cost of onshore wind projects. Unplanned maintenance contributes approximately 75% of the total maintenance costs (WWEA, 2012). Condition-based maintenance strategies intend to maximize the uptime by reducing to the amounts of unplanned maintenance. This should result in an overall decrease in the cost of maintenance. Wind turbines produce an interesting challenge, because their main shaft rotation is both slow and nonstationary. Through the use of adaptive resampling and order tracking, both of these challenges were combated as the bearing fault was identified in the order spectrum then tracked as it progressed. The fault was identified as an outer race defect on the main bearing that initiated sometime during or before installation. The total energy in the order spectrum around the bearing fault rate was identified as a potential front-runner for a prognostic parameter. This paper presents a case study application to operational wind turbine bearing data to demonstrate the ease and intuitiveness of combining adaptive resampling and order tracking to diagnose faults for slow, nonstationary bearings. Prognosis of remaining useful life is proposed with features extracted from the order spectrum, but additional data are needed to develop and demonstrate this analysis.


Air defense missile with microthrusters was studied in this paper.Based on the nonlinear mathematics model of aerodynamic force/direct force composite control system at high angle of attack and aerodynamic force/direct force composite control system was designed according to the characteristic of direct force.The simulation results are shown that the composite system makes rising time of overload of air defense missile short greatly and improves accelerations and maneuvering capability of air defense missile.


Early afterglows of N2 and N2‐O2 flowing microwave discharges are characterized by optical emission spectroscopy. The N and O atom and N2(A) metastable molecule densities are determined by optical emission spectroscopy after calibration by NO titration for N‐atoms and measurements of NO and N2 band intensities for O‐atoms and N2(A) metastable molecules. By using N2 tanks with 50 and 10 ppm impurity, it is determined in the afterglow an O‐ atom impurity of 150‐200 ppm. Variations of the N and O‐atom and N2(A) metastable molecule densities are obtained in the early afterglow of N2–(9·10–5–3·10–3)O2 gas mixtures. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Indonesian foreign policy is considered as a uniqe and rare policy. This is because the main focus of Indonesian foreign policy is Free and Active. For country like Indonesia which had just got independence in 1945, the country is considered as a country with a pioneer foreign policy to stand in a non-block. Therefore, Indonesia was quite popular with non-block movement and Bandung Conference in the Cold War Period. This paper discusses Indonesian foreign policy and match its policy with underlying theory of Foreign Policies: Realism, Idealism, and Constructivism. Moreover, this essay also analyses Indonesian Foreign Policy through Middle Power Concept. Additionally, this essay also explains the practices of Indonesian Foreign Policy in current years, especially under Joko Widodo 's Administration. Last but not least, the author also reveals Indonesian foreign policy and its relations to media, society or public opinion.


The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) experiment performed the first measurement of the time-evolution of flavor-tagged B0s->J/psiphi decays, which probes mixing-induced CP-violation in the B0s sector. Any sizable deviation from zero of the phase beta_s, accessible through interference of the bbar\to cbar c sbar quark-level process accompanied or not by B0s-aB0s mixing, would be unambiguous indication of physics beyond the Standard Model. I report CDF results obtained in 1.35/fb, a recent extension to a larger dataset corresponding to 2.8/fb, and future projections.


The latest version of Apple's operating system iOS 8, released in September, allows physicians to connect with patients in more ways than before.


The competence management and performance assessment is currently considered as a valid and effective methodology in several successful organisations. In educational institution, the adoption of competence management and the performance assessment is complex since the decision making process involved in this process deals with the soft data of the competencies of the employees and their performance evaluation to bring quality in the education process. Over the past two decades, great research efforts have been made towards the personalisation of performance assessment. This feature increases remarkably the quality and the transparency in the process, since the employees and the organisation's special needs and capabilities are respected. The idea of predicting the users' capabilities and assigning the job helps in utilising the best talents in the department and satisfaction. This paper concerns with competence management system and the performance assessment systems in educational institutions and survey the properties of them. As a result in this paper, the data flow diagrams (DFDs) of a competence management system in educational institution environment are designed to aid the managers for better control and decision making.


Dr. Hari Krishna Saksena was born on December 21, 1922 at Sultanpur, U.P. He received his early college and University education at Allahabad and obtained his M.Sc. (Botany) in Ist division from Allahabad University (1944) with specialization in Plant Pathology under the guidance of Professor R.K. Saksena. Thereafter, he joined the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and worked (1944-46) with the distinguished Mycologist, Dr. B.B. Mundkur for Associateship of IARI, New Delhi.


The presented work discusses the topology of
swirling flows in circular channels. A comprehensive
parameter study is conducted with the objective to investigate
the sensitivity of such flows to geometric and
fluid mechanic parameters. The swirling flow system
in this study consists of a straight tube of large lengthto-
diameter ratio with a tangential-type swirl generator
at the bottom and a specified outlet at the opposite exit.
The study was carried out with the novel measurement
technique Phase-Contrast Magnetic Resonance
Imaging, which in combination with Laser Doppler
Anemometry allowed the time-efficient measuring of
more than 70 parameter combinations. The investigated
flows are categorized in sub-critical and supercritical
states. One major outcome is the finding of a
swirling flow that is remarkably robust although it is a
sub-critical flow by definition. This flow formation is
characterized by a distinctive three-zone axial velocity
profile which in this form has not been reported yet
in the literature. The corresponding Reynolds number
and swirl strength lie within the technical relevant
range. Due to its robustness and applicability, the flow
is easy to reproduce and therefore ideally suited as a
test case for subsequent studies, such as for the validation
of numerical codes.


The strongest El Nino event that has been ever seen since observation records started in 1951 occurred in 2015/2016. This paper analyzes the characteristics of the severe convective weather and extreme rainfalls that were experienced from January to August, 2016, which are then compared to those found for the corresponding periods since 1981. The findings are summarized as follows. (1) Severe convective weather, especially thunderstorm gales and short-time rainstorms, occurred much more in 2016 than normal, resulting in the most serious severe convective disasters in the recent years and the most extreme precipitation events since 2000. (2) The interannual variation of the severe convective weather and extreme rainfalls since 1981 reveals that in the years (1982/1983, 1997/1998, 2015/2016) when super El Nino events ended the extreme rainfalls and severe convective weather occurred much more than those during the normal El Nino years, when there are not very obvious features of high frequency of such weather events. (3) In 1983, thunderstorm gales and hails occurred frequently, but the extreme rainfall days were similar with those in normal years except in the Yangtze River valley. (4) In 1998, extreme precipitation days over the whole country were the most since 1981, and the frequency of short-time heavy precipitation ( ³ 20 mm/h) was only second to that in 2016 while the disaster-inducing short-time rainstorms ( ³ 50 mm/h) was the most since 1981. (5) In 2016, severe convective weather was mainly reflected by frequent thunderstorm gales and short-time rainstorms, which were more than the climatic averages over the Yangtze River valley and its south regions. Especially, the fierce thunderstorm gales stronger than 25 m/s were the most in the recent five years, about 3–4 times of those in the other years. However, hail events were still in the decreasing trend as the result of the remarkable decrease in hail over the northern part of China. Comparatively, the days of extreme rainfalls in North China were the second most since 1981, of which the nationwide rainfall amount in the 18–20 July severe precipitation event with the North China region as the heavy rainfall center exceeded the precipitation in the corresponding period in history. (6) In the years when the three super El Nino events ended, extreme rainfalls occurred more frequently than normal, but difference existed in different regions. In 2016, the frequency ratio of extreme rainfalls was the highest since 2000 no matter whether it was for the nationwide, or the Yangtze River valley and North China. The extreme rainfall days that appeared nationwide and the Yangtze River valley in 1998 was the highest since 1981 while such days in 1983 were found more only in the Yangtze River valley.


During the recent work of clearing and reconstruction at Nimrud in the area of the Temple of Nabu, close to a dozen fragments of Neo-Assyrian inscriptions were recovered.' Of particular interest is the stone tablet with a copy of the annals of the early years of Shalmaneser III; but the Ashurbanipal fragments, taken for copies of well-known texts, are not to be overlooked. The fragment presented as Text 2 and identified as part of Prism B, in fact turns out to belong to Ashurbanipal Prism C.2 Text 4 is a welcome addition to Prism K. As these new texts add to our knowledge of these prisms, updated editions of which remain Assyriological desiderata,3 they are presented below, followed by brief remarks.


The effect of 5 silatranes RSi(OCH2CH2)3N, where R = C2HsO; C6H5; ClCH2 and RSi[OCH(CH3)CH2]3N, where R = C6H5, ClCH2 and tetraethoxysilane were studied on the growth, photosynthetic oxygen evolution and dark respiration of the marine centric diatom Cyclotella cryptica. Both silica-free and Si(OH)4 supplemented media were used. Only 1-ethoxy- silatrane was hydrolyzed by the diatom, giving sufficient quantities of Si(OH)4 to maintain growth without exogenous Si(OH)4. In this case the diatoms multiplied by a factor of 18 within 48 h. With silica in the medium, 1-phenylsilatrane, 1-phenyl-3,7,10-trimethylsilatrane, 1-chlormethylsilatrane and 1-chlorm ethyl-3,7,10-trimethylsilatrane exhibited only slightly inhibitory activity. In contrast, however, tetraethoxysilane (5 · 10-4 mol/1) inhibited growth almost completely. Respiration was unaffected by all the silatranes tested, but net photosynthetic oxygen evolution was reduced by approx. 50% by 1-chlormethylsilatrane and 1-chlormethyl- 3,7,10-trimethylsilatrane and almost completely by 1-phenylsilatrane and 1-phenyl-3,7,10-tri- methylsilatrane. In the absence of silica as nutrient in the medium, the silatranes hardly affected dark respiration within 24 h. Conversely, the same samples showed no photosynthetic oxygen evolution after 24 h, and 24 h later again a negative O2 balance was produced in the light. Different silatranes produced significant differences in the final oxygen balance.


Prognosis has improved in newly diagnosed adult ALL using dose-intense multiagent regimens. Outcome of 185 patients (pts) treated with Hyper-CVAD (fractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone) showed 91% CR rate with 5-yr. survival of 39% and low induction mortality ( Kantarjian et al. JCO 18:547, 2000 ). Outcome remains poor in ALL salvage. Following leads in pediatric ALL, we hypothesized that "augmentation" of hyper-CVAD (AHCVAD) with vincristine, dexamethasone, and L-asparaginase during induction and consolidation may improve prognosis in adult ALL salvage. To evaluate efficacy and safety of AHCVAD we conducted a phase II study, in which pts received up to 8 courses of HCVAD alternating with methotrexate/high-dose cytarabine. Each course was augmented by L-asparaginase 20,000 units i.v. and vincristine 2 mg i.v. at days 1, 8, and 15 each, and dexamethasone 80 mg i.v./p.o. on days 1–4 and 15–18. From June 2003 to June 2005, 29 pts with relapsed/refractory ALL were treated. Median age was 32 yrs (range 14–70). Twenty-two pts (76%) had pre-B ALL (1 isolated CNS disease), 6 (21%) T cell ALL (2 with isolated extramedullary disease), and 1 (3%) pt had mature B ALL. Karyotype was diploid in 11 (44%) and abnormal in 14 (56%) pts (1 Ph+ ALL). No information is available in 4 pts. Median number of prior regimens was 1 (1–4). Median remission duration to initial induction regimen was 9 mos (0–68). Three pts were primary refractory. Of 29 pts, 22 are evaluable for response (2 too early, 5 off study for toxicity or pt. choice). Eight pts (37%) achieved CR, 1 (5%) PR, and 2 (10%) hematologic improvement (HI) for an OR of 52%. Six pts were able to proceed with stem cell transplant (5 CR, 1 HI). Of 29 pts evaluable for toxicity, 5 (17%) died on study from infectious complications. Uncomplicated neutropenic fever was common. Three pts (10%) were intolerant to L-asparaginase and had to be taken off study early. In summary, AHCVAD has activity in ALL salvage. However, asparaginase-related toxicities and neutropenic complications remain frequent and may limit the usefulness of this approach to selected patient populations.