Based on the AC-13,rubber particles were incorporated into the mixture instead of part of the fine aggregate.Marshall and high temperature stability test were conducted for the rubber particles asphalt mixture.The results show that compared with ordinary asphalt mixture,Marshall stability of the rubber particles asphalt mixes is decreased slightly and the flow value is slightly larger.When the twice molding process is used,Marshall stability of the crumb rubber particles asphalt mixture is improved more significantly than the once molding specimen.The high temperature stability of rubber particles asphalt mixture is increased partly compared with the ordinary asphalt mixture.


Summary In this article, an initial-value problem for a nonlinear hyperbolic generalised Fisher equation is considered in detail. The nonlinear hyperbolic generalised Fisher equation of order p(> 0) is given by � utt +ut =uxx +F(u)+� F(u)t, where �> 0 is a parameter and F(u) =u p (1−u) is the generalised Fisher kinetics. When p = 1 the equation is the classical hyperbolic Fisher equation which has been examined in detail elsewhere, and we restrict attention to p ∈ (0,1)∪(1,∞). It is established that the large-time structure of the solution to the initial-value problem involves the evolution of a propagating wavefront which is either of reaction–diffusion or reaction–relaxation type. It is demonstrated that the wavefront is of reaction–diffusion type when (1 0), (1


In the field of Finnish as a second language, there has hitherto been little research on the development of syntax. This article presents quantitative findings of the use of a common and versatile syntactic pattern – the transitive construction – in texts written by adult learners of L2 Finnish, and rated on a functional CEFR scale at levels A1–C2. The aim is to examine how the use of the transitive construction develops across the levels: how it is varied and combined with different kinds of syntactic resources, and moreover, what kinds of uses are typical at each level. The paper will focus on two clause level phenomena that also seem to indicate proficiency in writing: the uses of the transitive construction with infinite structures and passive. Language learning and linguistic development are discussed from the usage-based and Construction Grammarian perspective.


Using a clinical example, I explore the dynamics and the analyst's response to suicidal fantasies, particularly when the patient's grief and loss resonate with her own. This paper pushes beyond the accepted complex dynamic meanings of suicidal preoccupation by suggesting that along with the wish to end one's life may paradoxically lie a wish to re-imagine it. While the threat of suicide can foreclose and narrow the interpersonal field, it also, at times, has the power to reframe it and bring new life to stale narratives. Standing in contrast to its destructive potential, the desire to suicide may be a call to give birth to a self that has, heretofore, eluded expression and recognition. Examining these aspects, while also parsing out degrees of risk, brings new awareness and acceptance to shared experiences of powerlessness and the possibility for change.


For as long as I can remember, the major research universities in the US have repeated the mantra that "good research makes good teaching". When challenged about the need for investment in research personnel or facilities by those who think a university's proper role is to educate undergraduates, university administrators often claim that the institution's best researchers are also its best teachers. They say that researchers at the cutting edge of their disciplines are better able to provide insight and challenges to their students.


Abstract Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) are rare, diurnal, colonial, burrowing, ground-dwelling squirrels. Studies of marked individuals living under natural conditions in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s showed that males are heavier than females throughout the year; that adult females living in the same territory are consistently close kin; and that females usually mate with the sexually mature male(s) living in the home territory. Research from 2007 through 2010 challenges all 3 of these findings. Here we discuss how different methods might have led to the discrepancies.


Price determines company profit. A company profit comes from the
difference between revenue and overall cost to produce company�s products.
Revenue is the number of product units sold multiplied by the price. Thus, the
price must be carefully considered. Factors considered in determining price are
the costs and the value of intangibles, such as quality and brand. Quality which
means superiority or advantages of a product, has positive effect on price, so does
the brand.
The research aims to develop mathematical models of product pricing by
considering the cost, quality, and brand. The data used in this study are three
primary data and twenty secondary data. The data is in the form of product price
structure consisting production cost, value of quality, and value of brand.
Production costs are calculated from the direct production cost, indirect
production costs, and general expenses. Based on the information of production
costs and sales volume, the internal rate of return analysis is carried out in order to
obtain a reasonable price. Reasonable price is the price at minimum rate of return.
The difference between fair price and the actual price is the intangible value of the
product. Furthermore, value of quality and brand are determined from the
intangible value, using the method of AHP based on the factor weights that have
been set by the company.
This price modeling using six common forms are sorted according to the
complexity of the model. The model consists of two types, i.e. linear and nonlinear
model, each with interaction and without interaction between variables. The
simplest model involves three parameters, while the most complex model consists
of sixteen parameters. The parameters are determined is by minimizing the sum of
squared distance. The assesment criterion of the model is evaluated based on the
sum of squared distance criterion (SSres), coefficient of determination (Adjusted
R2), AIC score (Akaike Information Criterion), predictive capability, and the
number of parameters involved.
The research developed six mathematical pricing models which determine
the product price with three variables (cost, quality and brand). All variables
involved including price, have been normalized using the direct production costs.
These six models produce highest SSres of 7,935


Abstract Some possible atomic structural models of the grain boundary in PLZT transparent ferroelectric ceramics were constructed according to the HREM image photomicrographs taken near the grain boundary from a high resolution electron microscope. These models give not only a clear picture of the grain boundary structure in PLZT ceramics, but can also be used as a reference for grain boundary research of other ceramics with similar struture.


PURPOSE
Diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) is increasingly being investigated for radiotherapy planning and response assessment. Selection of a limited number of b-values in DW-MRI is important to keep geometrical variations low and imaging time short. We investigated various b-value sets to determine an optimal set for obtaining monoexponential apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) close to perfusion-insensitive intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) model ADC (ADCIVIM) in nonsmall cell lung cancer.

METHODS
Seven patients had 27 DW-MRI scans before and during radiotherapy in a 1.5T scanner. Respiratory triggering was applied to the echo-planar DW-MRI with TR=4500ms approximately, TE=74ms, pixel size=1.98×1.98mm2 , slice thickness=4-6mm and 7 axial slices. Diffusion gradients were applied to all three axes producing traceweighted images with eight b-values of 0-1000μs/μm2 . Monoexponential model ADC values using various b-value sets were compared to ADCIVIM using all b-values. To compare the relative noise in ADC maps, intra-scan coefficient of variation (CV) of active tumor volumes was computed.

RESULTS
ADCIVIM, perfusion coefficient and perfusion fraction for tumor volumes were in the range of 880-1622 μm2 /s, 8119-33834 μm2 /s and 0.104-0.349, respectively. ADC values using sets of 250, 800 and 1000; 250, 650 and 1000; and 250-1000μs/μm2 only were not significantly different from ADCIVIM(p>0.05, paired t-test). Error in ADC values for 0-1000, 50-1000, 100-1000, 250-1000, 500-1000, and three b-value sets- 250, 500 and 1000; 250, 650 and 1000; and 250, 800 and 1000μs/μm2 were 15.0, 9.4, 5.6, 1.4, 11.7, 3.7, 2.0 and 0.2% relative to the reference-standard ADCIVIM, respectively. Mean intrascan CV was 20.2, 20.9, 21.9, 24.9, 32.6, 25.8, 25.4 and 24.8%, respectively, whereas that for ADCIVIM was 23.3%.

CONCLUSION
ADC values of two 3 b-value sets (250, 650 and 1000; and 250, 800 and 1000μs/μm2 ) approached ADCIVIM, with relative noise comparable to that of ADCIVIM. These sets may be used to obtain perfusion-insensitive ADC values in lung tumors. E. Weiss: Funding through Varian Medical Systems and Philips Oncology Systems, UpToDate royalties. G. Hugo: NIH R01CA166119, P01 CA116602, NHMRC Project Grant.


Digital Montessori-inspired Manipulatives (MiMs), so far have been used effectively for knowledge transfer in elementary educational settings. For work modelling and task-based interactive systems design we propose a modelling concept and usage scenario that should help to increase effectiveness in organization and technology development. The Tangible Task Modelling Demonstrator (TTMD) facilitates the representation and development of work and task models by means of MiMs. Using the TTMD users can directly grasp and manipulate work tasks. As a result, the cognitive load for modelling and (re-)arranging elements of work spaces can be reduced.


This study examines the effect of strategic decision-making context on organizational performance in culturally diverse occupational settings of Bindura Nickel Mine (BNC). The research also highlight some literature by previous authors on strategic decision-making and organizational performance. A case study was used as the main research methodology with a questionnaire containing structured questions as the research instrument. This study used a descriptive research design. The study sampled 162 employees of BNC from sampling frame of 277 and the response rate was 152 (93.8%). Stratified random sampling procedure was used to group employees in terms of their work positions and convenient sampling for the selection of individual respondents in the sample for this study. Data collection procedure was done through use of drop-and-pick strategy. Data was processed using SPSS version 20. The study was limited to BNC, Bindura district, Mashonaland Central Province in Zimbabwe. The results of this study established that Leader psychological path and Follower psychological pathhad a significant direct effect on organizational performance, while Legislative context, Economic Context and Firm resources and had some weak association. The relationship is significant and theoretically justified. In brief, the results indicate that strategic decision-makingcontext is the predictor of organizational performance. The study, therefore, recommends the adoption of the need for training, mentoring, coaching to empower employees on strategic decision issues. Finally, recommends further research on the impact of strategic influence and strategic talent developmenton organizational performance.


Two new ultraspecialized troglomorphic Leptodirini (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae) from two Croatian caves are described. Hygrodromus (new genus) nikolinae, a new species from Mladenova cave near Orebić, is a very enigmatic taxon of "tetramerous"Leptodirini, markedly distinct for several morphological features in antennae, mouthparts, male genitalia and the peculiar sexually dimorphic apex of elytra. However, because of some characters, it could be assigned to the phyletic lineage of Hadesia and Nauticiella, which so far includes only "pentamerous"species. Leptomeson vuicae from Dragina lipa jama cave near Čelopek in central Dalmatia, owing to its morphological features, is the south-eastern substitutive adelphotaxon of L. dombrowskii, from which it differs by its smaller size, longer elytral pubescence and the different shape of the median lobe of the aedeagus with a stouter apex.


The paper compares many technologies of public cryptosystems,synthesizes their advantages and disadvantages and uses the Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem in E-commerce.Furthermore,it analyzes the procedure of SET protocol and describes how to embed elliptic curve cryptosystem into SET protocol.


A multipactor discharge is a resonant condition for electrons in an alternating electric field. This discharge can be disruptive to rf circuits, cavities, and resonators. The coaxial multipactor experiment (CMX) investigates these discharges in parallel plate and coaxial transmission line geometries at frequencies from 40to150MHz with goals of measuring the electron energy distributions. CMX has a unique experimental setup that allows the transmission line to pass continuously through a short vacuum region. Retarding potential analyzers with secondary electron suppression measure the electron current as a function of bias voltage. Both parallel plate and coaxial multipactor experiments provide detailed measurements of the electron energy distributions under a variety of rf frequencies and electrode materials.


Water q u a l i t y s t u d i e s conducted i n the recent past i n the Lower Fra s e r R i v e r Basin i n d i c a t e d that l o c a l l y some high p o l l u t i o n l e v e l s e x i s t . With f u r t h e r u r b a n i z a t i o n and i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n of the Vancouver r e g i o n an increase i n waste loadings and a degradation of water q u a l i t y can be expected i f no s t r i c t p o l l u t i o n c o n t r o l i s a p p l i e d . Of p a r t i c u l a r concern are b i o l o g i c a l l y undegradable substances such as heavy metals and p o l y c h l o r i n a t e d hydrocarbons. They accumulate i n the sediments of the r i v e r and the estuary and become concentrated i n organisms of the food chain. P o l l u t i o n i s a g r a d u a l l y o c c u r r i n g process. A n t i c i p a t i o n of p o t e n t i a l problems i s important f o r the d e c i s i o n maker r e s p o n s i b l e f o r water q u a l i t y management. The Fraser R i v e r supports one of the l a r g e s t salmon runs of the world and i s abundant w i t h other commercially and r e c r e a t i o n a l l y v a l u a b l e f i s h . Salmon are very s e n s i t i v e t o p o l l u t i o n and could disappear from the Fraser r i v e r system as they a l r e a d y have from many other major r i v e r s i f p o l l u t i o n l e v e l s become too high. The Fraser R i v e r estuary has the f u n c t i o n of a b o t t l e n e c k . A d u l t salmon enter the r i v e r to migrate upstream to t h e i r spawning grounds, and j u v e n i l e salmon stay i n the estuary f o r a w h i l e to a c c l i m a t i z e themselves to the s a l i n e environment. I n t h i s t h e s i s a method i s presented to simulate the e f f e c t s of p o t e n t i a l p o l l u t i o n on the s i z e of a salmon stock. A model which uses data from various l i f e stages of a p a r t i c u l a r sockeye salmon run i n the F r a s e r system i s developed. U n c e r t a i n t i e s due to environmental f l u c t u a t i o n s are accounted f o r . Using t h i s model the e f f e c t s of an increase i n m o r t a l i t y r a t e i n two stages of the sockeye salmon l i f e c y c l e on a d u l t r e t u r n numbers are studie d . The a n a l y s i s showed that at a c e r t a i n m o r t a l i t y r a t e chances are that the stock might not be able to recover. In l i g h t of a planned salmon enhancement program to increase salmon stocks i n various P a c i f i c r i v e r s , the f a c t that decreasing water q u a l i t y could counteract a l l enhancement e f f o r t s should be a warning s i g n a l to the d e c i s i o n makers. The development of a water q u a l i t y index to p r e d i c t f u t u r e condit i o n s i s recommended and a p o s s i b l e procedure to r e l a t e water q u a l i t y parameters to an increase i n m o r t a l i t y r a t e i s sketched out.


Abstract In this paper, we propose a control Lyapunov function based on a nonlinear controller for a turbocharged diesel engine. A model-based approach is used which predicts the experimentally observed engine performance for a biodiesel. The basic idea is to develop an inverse optimal control and to employ a Lyapunov function in order to achieve good performances. The obtained controller gain guarantees the global convergence of the system and regulates the flows for the variable geometry turbocharger as well as exhaust gas recirculation systems in order to minimize the NOx emission and the smoke of a biodiesel engine. Simulation of the control performances based on professional software and experimental results show the effectiveness of this approach.


Despite recent interest in the effects of student-driven collaborations on learning outcomes, little or no empirical investigations examine the potential benefits from collaboration between instructors of separate, but related, courses. This study proposes a learning intervention that explicitly accounts for interdependencies across courses and extends the traditional definition of collaborative learning to include the synthesis of teaching and learning in four courses through bilateral, group activities between instructors and among students. A student-performance measure assesses the intervention. Statistical results suggest that the collaborative learning intervention improved student-writing performance. Although the traditional lecture format remains the primary mode of instruction in most economics courses, interest in alternative instructional methods is increasing. Pedagogical literature and experts tout the benefits of active and collaborative learning, yet only a few studies assess the quantitative impact of these techniques on student learning. Active and collaborative learning has been shown to enhance learning by stimulating stronger interest in the subject matter and promoting critical thinking skills (Totten et al.; Siegfried et al.; Wilson). Active learning usually emphasizes student participation through activities that involve collaborations among students in discussions and problem solving. Students at various performance levels collaborate to achieve a common learning objective by working on exercises or conceptual experiments in small groups within and outside the classroom setting. The small group interactions are usually problem-based and are intended to encourage critical thinking. The collaborative learning activities may culminate in written reports and oral presentations and are believed to increase the quality of these learning


A novel class of probability distributions resulting from a compound Poisson process is found to correlate well with amplitude distributions of radar clutter returns spatially sampled from composite terrain. This class of distributions, derived from assumptions of random scattering phase and Poisson spatial distribution of elementary scattering sources, is specified by several physical and statistical parameters in its complete generality. These parameters are: 1) the number of scatterer types; 2) the average radar scattering cross section and the cross-sectional distribution of each different scatterer type; 3) the occurrence probability or the average scatterer size and spatial density; 4) the radar resolution area; and 5) the average background radiation as well as the radar internal noise power. Excellent fits of the theoretical clutter distributions to the measurement data are obtained by assuming a Rayleigh amplitude distribution for the elementary scatterer return for high grazing angle cases and a more general K -distribution for low grazing angle cases.


IT IS well known that there is a marked difference in the rate of growth and clinical behavior of the various histologic types of thyroid carcinoma. The largest histologic group, namely papillary carcinomas, consists of slowly growing neoplasms whose natural history is now well understood. The role of the surgeon in the treatment of this form of carcinoma is well established. Extensive local surgical procedures may be combined with dissection of cervical lymph nodes, or even with radical dissection of mediastinal lymph nodes. Additional histologic types of thyroid carcinoma, more malignant than the papillary form but of relatively slow growth, include the more or less circumscribed or encapsulated carcinoma variously called "malignant adenoma" or follicular and alveolar carcinoma. In this group, metastasis may occur by lymphatics to regional nodes or by the blood stream, particularly to bone. Hurthle-cell carcinomas, frequently encapsulated, make up a fairly well recognized histologic group, as do solid a...


A reverberation method is used to determine the total acoustic energy absorbed by a mouse when exposed to ultrasound at clinical frequencies. The specimen is exposed in a cylindrical stainless steel tank supported by wires to minimize acoustic losses using a diffuse field created by frequency modulating the 1.03 MHz carrier signal with white noise having a bandwidth of 285 kHz. In the reverberation method, the rate of change of acoustic intensity, also referred to as the decay rate, is measured using a piezoelectric probe when the source is modulated. The energy absorbed by the specimen is given by the product of the total acoustic input power, the exposure time, and the fractional increase in decay rate caused by the specimen. The decay rate for samples of castor oil enclosed in spherical glass vessels was measured at two temperatures, 20° and 30°C. The absorption coefficient was calculated from the decay rate by assuming the energy density within the specimen was uniform and equal to the average energy ...


Abstract
 This chapter highlights the application of genetic principles in sheep and goat breeding such as chromosome analysis, prediction of breeding values, and the use of the latest tools and technology in animal breeding.


Objective The purpose of the study was to evaluate the mechanisms of carvedilol in patients with CHF (New York Heart Association functional class Ⅱ IV). Methods Patients with CHF were treated with carvedilol at the beginning dose of 5mg/d and was slowly titrated to 40mg/d as tolerated or to the dose can be just tolerated .At the same time, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, left ventricular dimension, 6 minute walk distance were monitored. Results (1)Carvedilol had effect on CHF; (2)There was no obvious change on exercise tolerance between two groups;(3)The patients in carvedilol group had more efficacy than routine group. Conclusions Carvedilol have effect on cardiac remodeling, antioxidant activety in CHF .


An adaptive fault detection method for the small current to ground system is proposed based on the atom sparse and evidence fusion theory. Firstly, the two cycles of transient zero-sequence current are obtained when occur fault, which is decomposed by the matching pursuit algorithm, and the iterations are set to four, then, according to the correlation analysis, the best three atoms of maximum correlation are chosen and which are sorted by the correlation coefficients. Secondly, we obtained the determine fault measure (DFM) values by calculating the atomic energy entropy, and selected the atomic fault trust (FT) function by revising the DFM. Finally, the FT values are integrated by the D-S (Dempster–Shafer) evidence theory, then the fault comprehensive trust values are gained, the selection results are output. Simulation results show that the method of fault line detection is accurate and reliable.


There are patterns, regularities and repetitive actions in decision processes that create observable structures that can be studied and improved using computing technologies. Managers often assume that important or strategic organizational decisions are unstructured because they occur infrequently, goals are often ambiguous, and every situation seems different. Both research and our experiences in organizations suggests that past behavior and training of participants actually creates structure and predictable patterns in strategic, unstructured decision situations. What is the structure of unstructured decisions?


Construction of large structures close to each other is a common practice as long as interaction between the foundations of these structures is appropriately considered. A very limited amount of literature is available to analyze and design deep and shallow foundations when they are constructed adjacent to each other. The authors have recently been involved in a project where a large structure was supposed to be constructed on drilled shafts adjacent to another existing large structure founded on drilled shafts socketed into the bedrock. Several of the shafts for the proposed structure were already in place. However, due to a change in the project requirements, the owner wanted to know if it is possible to eliminate the remainder of the shafts and change the foundation type from drilled shafts to mat foundation resting on a layer of compacted crushed stone. This change would cause a part of the proposed structure to rest on subsurface having very high stiffness compared to the other part. In addition, the change would cause different interaction with the foundation of the adjacent structure. This paper presents more detailed information about the project, analysis procedure used, results, and conclusions developed which are useful for practicing engineers to make informed decisions when different types of foundations are constructed close to each other.


Abstract:Founder Yakubu Yakubu, with Alithnayn Abdulkareem, discusses this group of Muslims fighting negative perceptions of Islam and forms of extremism.


An experimental study for miniaturization of a broadband printed bell-shaped monopole antenna is described in this paper. This antenna improves the matched impedance in the lower frequency band by using the short stub structure. The fabricated antenna operates impedance bandwidth of 3.1∼10.6 GHz and has a compact size of 20 × 28 × 1.6 mm3 using a FR-4 dielectric substrate. The proposed antenna acquired broadband characteristic covering the frequency band of UWB system by measurement.


Original position statistic distribution analysis (OPA) is a new analytical method to determine the quantitative distribution of different chemical compositions and their states on a big scope of the materials. A new quantitative metal original position analyzer, which was invented based on the analysis technology of single discharge analysis (SDA) and a continuous scanning excitement spark spectrum without pre-excitement, can be used effectively to analyze the original position statistic distribution of the metals. Thus, the new information of the materials, such as the quantitative statistic distribution of contents of various elements and inclusions on different positions in the materials, the distribution of the size of the inclusions, can be obtained. The technique can also be applied to the accurate calculation of the segregation of various elements in the materials, as well as the quantitative description of the homogeneity and porosity of the materials. The concept of the original position statistic distribution analysis along with the wide utilization of the metal original position analyzer will provide researchers and scientists a new method to study the inside characteristics and properties of the materials.


Objective : The present study aimed to determine whether type 2 diabetes mellitus influences the response to antiviral therapy with peg-interferon alpha plus ribavirin in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods : All patients were treated with peginterferon alpha 2 b (1.5 μg/Kg/body weight) subcutaneously plus oral ribavirin application in a dose ranging from 800-1200 mg/day and followed after 12 w of therapy. Results: The present study indicated that, non-significant changes were observed in liver function, kidney function, thyroid function tests, tumor marker, immunological analysis, hematological parameters, viral load and degree of cirrhosis between both groups' baselines, while the only significant difference was regarded in glucose level. However, diabetic group showed a significant decrease in response to antiviral therapy as compared to non-diabetic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients. Furthermore, significant decrease in serum liver enzymes activity and total bilirubin level as compared to baseline levels in both groups, while there were a significant increase in alanine transaminase (ALT) activity and total bilirubin level in diabetic group as compared to non-diabetic HCV group after treatment. Also, significant decreases in hemoglobin concentration, white blood cells and platelet counts, in both groups after treatment as compared to there before treatment while diabetic group showed significant decreases in hemoglobin concentration and white blood cells count when compared with non-diabetic HCV group after treatment. Conclusion: Type 2 diabetes mellitus influence the response to antiviral therapy with peginterferon plus ribavirin in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C.


This introductory chapter is intended to provide a quick overview of organic colorants and their use in textile dyeing, works of art and objects of cultural value over the centuries. Also, a brief outline is given about the analytical methods and chemical procedures that have been commonly employed and newly developed aiming to the identification of such materials. Among the different techniques, special emphasis is placed on the application of SERS, which has recently attracted increasing attention in this context thanks to its great potential in detecting minuscule amounts of colorants with very high sensitivity.


Based on Agency Theory, as a form of the principal (government) accountability to the agency (citizens) over the management of resources, the government agency as a public sector organization must prepare a financial report. To avoid fraud in the accounting practice of financial statements, it is necessary to implementation the values in the financial statements that also derived from the Javanese ethnic culture as local wisdom in the preparation of financial statements. This article contains values in the financial statements derived from ethnic Javanese culture which is implemented in the preparation of financial statements as one of the accounting practices in the public sector. This research is a qualitative research using in depth interview complemented with literature study. The results revealed there are several values in the financial statements that are also contained in the value of ethnic Javanese culture both in Ancient Javanese Philosophy and Tembang Macapat. Values in the preparation of financial statements in accordance with piwulang in Javanese ethnic culture is Transparent and honest (in accordance with one stanza macapat work of Ranggawarsita in Fiber Kalatidha); Provide useful information (Urip Iku Urup); Prudential Principle (Alon-alon Waton Klakon).


Slowly approaching the second quarter of the 21st century, research on social media and its effects over democracy has quickly permeated across various fields in social sciences, particularly political communication. Based on accumulated evidence in this strand of literature, this paper briefly summarizes several established research areas. First, it highlights how social media facilitates individuals' political expression. Second, it sheds light on how this enhanced communicative behavior has reinvigorated a more participatory society in democracy. Third, it examines social media's democratic deficit mechanisms in regards to stagnant political knowledge acquisition. Finally, the paper offers a theoretical explanation to this lack of knowledge acquisition through the lenses of the 'news-finds-me' perception theory. Overall, the present manuscript explains specific ways in which social media helps and hinders the advancement of healthy democracies, thereby also providing promising guidelines for future research.


............................................................................................................ iv DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. x LIST OF SCHEMES.............................................................................................. xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................ xvi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.1. Lewis Acids ................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Umpolung Chemistry ................................................................................... 4 1.3. Reactions of γ-Carbonyl Cations.................................................................. 8 1.4. Reactions of ε-Carbonyl Cations ................................................................ 13 1.5. Examples of ε-Functionalized Compounds ................................................ 20 1.6. Reasoning for Current Research ................................................................ 23 CHAPTER 2: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................... 25 2.1. Computational Studies of Ionization Reactions ......................................... 25 2.1.1. ε-Carbonyl Cations ................................................................................ 25 2.1.2. Propargyl Cations .................................................................................. 28 2.2. Synthesis and Reaction of Ethyl 6-bromo-2,4-hexadienoate (82) ............. 31


Two new species, Sason sundaicum (males + females) from Thailand and Malaysia, and S. hirsutum (male) from Indonesia, are described and compared with the male holotype of S. andamanicum (Simon). Notes on the biology and distribution of the new species are given; biogeography, taxonomic characters and relationships in the genus Sason are discussed.


Lasers deliver coherent radiation which is concentrated in very narrow spectral regions and contained within an extremely smaJl:~~ltd!~Ml~~·T~~~e.properties make laser light ideally ~s}litêdfor.:demonstrating diffraction and i~terferen~eleff~cts. K'theth6d based on '., .. • 't ~ ., this can besuccessfully 'applied to aproblem long present in the manufacture of incandescent lamps and thermionic valves, for which a solution based on the diffraction of light was proposed many years ago [ll. This is the problem of measuring the diameter of very thin wires. The arrangement is illustrated in jig. 1. A gas laser 537.525 :535.339


Variation of bathymetry has large effects on sound propagation. An acoustic propagation experiment was conducted in the South China Sea. Some different propagation phenomena are observed for two different tracks with the flat bottom and the sloping bottom environments when the source depth is 131 m. Numerical analysis based on the ray methods is carried out to explain the causes of the differences. The experimental and numerical results show that when a sea hill with height of 320 m, which is less than 1/10 of water depth, exists at the range of sound beams with the grazing angles from 10° to 20° incident on bottom first time, an inverted-triangle shadow zone appears at the reflection-blockage area of the sea hill. Compared with the TLs results in the flat bottom environment, TLs increase up to about 8 dB in the corresponding area of the first shadow zone, and the abnormal TLs effects can reach to maximal depth of 1300 m. The first convergence zone caused by refractions of sound beams with small grazing angles within 10° from the water above the axis of sound channel is lost. There are only the sound beams refracted back from water below the axis of sound channel. It's quite different from the convergence-zone structure in deep water with flat bottom. Thus, the accuracy of bathymetry is meaningful for sound propagation and target detection in deep water.


Significance Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a leader in population distribution and dynamics research, particularly in developing gridded population datasets. For this study, ORNL researchers leverage their expertise in intelligent dasymetric modeling to construct large-scale, national level, spatially distributed population projections for the contiguous United States. The model presented here departs from other spatially explicit projection models by accounting for socioeconomic and cultural characteristics that influence spatial population growth at smaller scales, while still projecting population at a large scale. The resulting projected population distribution can be exploited for long-term urban and infrastructure planning, and scientific modeling for climate change. Localized adverse events, including natural hazards, epidemiological events, and human conflict, underscore the criticality of quantifying and mapping current population. Building on the spatial interpolation technique previously developed for high-resolution population distribution data (LandScan Global and LandScan USA), we have constructed an empirically informed spatial distribution of projected population of the contiguous United States for 2030 and 2050, depicting one of many possible population futures. Whereas most current large-scale, spatially explicit population projections typically rely on a population gravity model to determine areas of future growth, our projection model departs from these by accounting for multiple components that affect population distribution. Modeled variables, which included land cover, slope, distances to larger cities, and a moving average of current population, were locally adaptive and geographically varying. The resulting weighted surface was used to determine which areas had the greatest likelihood for future population change. Population projections of county level numbers were developed using a modified version of the US Census's projection methodology, with the US Census's official projection as the benchmark. Applications of our model include incorporating multiple various scenario-driven events to produce a range of spatially explicit population futures for suitability modeling, service area planning for governmental agencies, consequence assessment, mitigation planning and implementation, and assessment of spatially vulnerable populations.


Traditionally, treatment modality for periodontitis has been debridement of plaque and calculus from crown and root surfaces. But, if periodontitis is caused by group of specific microorganisms then antimicrobial agents must have been indicated. So, scaling and root planing (SRP) plus Metronidazole provides benefits beyond that obtained with debridement alone. Cultural tests, Dark or Phase contrast microscopy, DNA and RNA probes etc. are traditional techniques to diagnose the infection but now newer diagnostic procedures like BAPNA test are increasingly used for evaluation of periodontal infection due to P.gingivalis, T.denticola and B.forsythus. Methodolology: For the present study 15 patients aged between 35-65 years irrespective of sex were selected. Subgingival plaque sample was collected with sterilized curettes and transferred to microtitre plate containing BAPNA solution.The test sites were divided into two groups Group A Subjects on Metronidazole therapy only, Group B - Metronidazole + SRP therapy. At baseline, pocket depth measurements were taken. Pocket depth were measured and classified into 3 ranges for study:- 1-3mm, 4-6mm, 7mm and more. The plaque sample in BAPNA working solution was 0 incubated for 24 hours at 37 C. The outcome of hydrolysis was recorded and tabulated. Result: The outcome of BAPNA test was significant. It is useful as a reliable indicator of BAPNA positive species in subgingival plaque. Conclusion: The results from the present study emphasized the use of newer diagnostic techniques such as BAPNA test, as the diagnosis of periodontal diseases is possible by this test in early stages of the disease.


IN 1964, W. Marxsen published a short essay which triggered an intense discussion among German Protestants concerning the understanding of the Resurrection faith. Marxsen's essay soon influenced Catholic theology, and the discussion spread to German Catholic circles. In these circumstances the German bishops wrote a letter "to all who are commissioned by the Church to preach the faith," dated Sept. 22, 1967. The letter rejected an extreme interpretation of the Resurrection and stated: "The confession of the Resurrection of Jesus as a real event (wirkliches Ereignis) necessarily belongs to the Christian faith and cannot be understood as a time-conditioned interpretation of an inner-historical, inner-worldly or inner-human experience, which can at other times be expressed differently. " The letter of the bishops did not mention any theologian by name. It did not even say that any theologian expressly taught what it rejected. Rather, in a time of confusion, the letter set a limit beyond which the discussion of German Catholics could not go. It did not seek to end all discussion of the meaning of the Resurrection faith. What then have the theologians been saying?


This paper intends to review the trends in solid-state microwave technologies and their impact on the anticipated performance enhancement expected for space applications.


The invention relates to a corrosion and scale inhibitor, namely, an epoxy succinic acid/diepoxy ethyl benzene sulfonic acid copolymer and a preparation method thereof. The copolymer is a polyether compound containing carboxyl and sulfonic group. The method of the invention adopts the steps that after cyclic oxidation is performed to double bond in maleic acid and Divinyl benzene sodium sulfonate, epoxy succinic acid/diepoxy ethyl benzene sulfonic acid copolymer is formed in ionic polymerization way. Experiments prove that the copolymer can effectively prevent scale such as CaCO3, CaSO4, BaSO4, SrSO4, and Ca3 (PO4)2, etc. from being formed, and the copolymer has good stabilization function on zinc ions, thereby being poly scale-inhibiting disperser; simultaneously, the copolymer also has certain corrosion inhibition performance; the copolymer is phosphorus free and nitrogen free, and can be biologically degraded, thereby being an environmental protecting corrosion and scale inhibitor.


The percolating water from the Jinghe River and meteoric water are the major source of the karstic underground water resources in the Saizhudongquan area. According to the principle of mass balance, the permeability from the Jinghe River can be inferred by means of stable isotopes of water, thus to calculate the composition ratio of the underground water resources in the Saizhudongquan area.


Ayurvedic medicine, a widely used traditional medicinal system in India, seeks to alleviate disease with natural herbal remedies. Due to a burgeoning global market, Ayurvedic formulations are now being bottled with the addition of chemical preservatives instead of being freshly prepared when prescribed. Our study took samples of contaminated bottles of manjistada kashayam obtained directly from Ayurvedic manufacturing units which had been returned from the market due to spoilage. These were then screened and six contaminants were isolated; three fungal strains, Aspergillus flavus, Haplosporangium parvum, Paecilomyces lilacinus and three bacterial strains Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtillus . The shrub Cassia alata was selected as a possible bio preservative. Extractions were done with 75% dry weight of flowers and 25% seeds using ethanol, water and ultrasound. MBC and MFC values were obtained for these against the above isolated contaminants. High activity was seen against the fungal contaminants but action against two of the gram positive bacterial contaminants was low. Further studies involving the conjoint use of the extract with the natural probiotic Nisin, was attempted. The proposed biopreservative using hurdle technology was seen to be an effective way to combat contamination in Ayurvedic formulations.


The present study investigated the relationship between personality profiles and susceptibility to persuasion. Participants (N = 316) were recruited for an online questionnaire and asked to complete self-reported measures of their personality Big-5, Dark Triad and Type D. Individual differences in susceptibility to persuasion were also explored using Cialdini's model of persuasion. Latent profile analysis identified three distinct profiles which were labelled Socially Apt, Fearful and Malevolent. These profiles were correlated with scores on the persuasion subscales authority, commitment, liking, scarcity, reciprocity, consensus and a number of interesting associations were identified. The malevolent profile self-reported as more susceptible to a higher use of scarcity relative to the other principles of persuasion, and were least susceptible to reciprocity and authority. The socially apt profile appear to be more inclined to be persuaded to do something if it is consistent with their beliefs or a prior act whereas individuals in the Fearful profile were more likely to report obeying those in authority and going along with a crowd. Implications for persuasion are discussed along with research on personality types. Dear Editor and Reviewers, Many thanks for reviewing our paper titled: Personality Profiles and Persuasion: An exploratory study investigating the role of the Big-5, Type D Personality and the Dark Triad on Susceptibility to Persuasion. We believe that the comments were very constructive and sincerely hope that we have satisfactorily addressed all of the comments raised. We have listed each comment below in addition to how we have addressed it and look forward to hearing back from you. Yours Sincerely The Authors


The huge success of electric vehicles across the world is challenged by a lack of infrastructure and a major increase in battery material prices. This challenge positions internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) to remain a vehicle of choice. The majority of these vehicles use a lead-acid battery (LAB) for starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) functions. However, these LABs are faced with challenges of short lifespan and low storage capacity because of improved electronic systems in modern ICEVs. In this manuscript, we propose an extension application of a hybrid LAB and lithium-ion energy storage system (ESS) for a vehicle using a single source of 70 Ah and 90 Ah capacity. Whereas previously, a hybrid energy storage system (HESS) for use in a vehicle using a source of 50 Ah battery capacity was proposed. Hence, the unique contribution of the study is using an integrated fuzzy-logic and triple-loop-proportional-integral-based battery management strategy (BMS) to improve LAB performance in a wide range of vehicles with different battery capacities sizes. The results show that the proposed BMS can help increase LAB lifespan and improve the storage capacity of the system, thus ensuring reliability. Additionally, compared to a single use of LAB, the combined energy storage system shows superior performance.


This paper gives an account of five taxa of the genus Meliola . Of these, Meliola dioscoreacearum, M. dioscoregena and M. vazhachalensis are the new species, while, M. erythrinae var. indica and M. strophanthicola var. indica are the new varieties collected from the Western Ghats region of Kerala state. All these fungi are described and illustrated in detail.


Nowadays, the problem of low standard of living among paddy farmers in Malaysia is very apparent. Many efforts have been done by government in order to help them to increase their paddy production as well as their income. Thus, this study sought to measure the effectiveness of group farming program as well as to estimate the impact of socio-economic variables and subsidy on the total paddy production of farmers in the Muda area. This study also aimed to analyze the demographic background of farmers and paddy cultivation as well as to measure the standard of living of farmers in the area. Data collection was through well structured questionnaires administered on 664 respondents selected through random sampling technique. The methods of analysis used were descriptive statistic and production function analysis using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) criterion to estimate the parameters of the production function. Results showed that majority of the farmers were elderly and married. Also, they have large household size, low level of education and many years of experience in paddy cultivation as well as cultivate small farm holdings. Result further showed that only 10 Tons Project, Projek Ladang Contoh, age, household size, educational level, land ownership and subsidy had significant effect on farmers' total production of paddy. Paddy Estate Project, gender, years involve in paddy cultivation and farm size had no significant effect on the farmers' total production of paddy in the study area. Five policy implications, including the need for implementation of more group farming programs, involvement of more youths in paddy cultivation activity, provision of early retirement scheme for elderly farmers, enhancement of educational level of farmers and improvement of the subsidy delivery system were made.


Background: Mechanical stabilization of metastatic pathological fracture of the sacrum is technically challenging. There is often inadequate purchase in the sacrum, and instrumentation has to be achieved between the lumbar vertebrae and the ilium. In addition, commercial iliac screws are usually unavailable at most institutes in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the original pedicle screw instead of the iliac screw for spinopelvic fixation in patients with metastatic sacral tumor. Methods: From January 2006 to December 2012, we performed posterior decompression and supplemental instrumentation to treat 15 patients with metastatic sacral tumor at our institutes. The original pedicle screw, with 65 mm in length and 7 mm in diameter, was used instead of the iliac screw for spinopelvic fixation. The visual analog score (VAS), modified Brodsky's criteria, Frankel scale, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were recorded before surgery, before discharge, and 6 months after surgery to evaluate the clinical outcomes. Results: The average VAS was 8.1 (range, 7 to 9) before surgery; it significantly decreased to 3.3 (range, 3 to 4) after surgery (p < 0.001), and continued to decrease to 1.9 (range, 1 to 3) at 6 months after surgery (p=0.001). The average ODI measured 82.9% (range, 76% to 92%) before surgery, significantly decreased to 27.2% (range, 20% to 36%) after surgery (p=0.001), and continued to decrease to 20.8% (range, 16% to 28%) 6 months after surgery (p=0.001). All patients achieved a good or excellent outcome based on modified Brodsky's criteria, and the improvement was significant after surgery (p < 0.001). No patient experienced surgery-related complications or neurologic deterioration. Three patients expired due to tumor progression at 10 months, 12 months, and 19 months after surgery. Conclusions: Spinopelvic fixation using commercial pedicle screw and associated neurologic decompression can provide good clinical outcomes and a low complication rate for patients with metastatic sacral tumor.


The spectrum of created particles during the tunneling process, leading to the decay of a false vacuum state, is studied numerically in the thick-wall approximation. It is shown that in this case the particle production is very intensive for small momenta. The number of created particles is nearly constant n(p)≈1 for 4≤p≤500.


This paper addresses the scatternet formation for large scale multi-hop Bluetooth networks. We first describe an efficient method to build a Connected Dominating Set (CDS) as the backbone of multi-hop Bluetooth network, then propose new algorithms to form the dBBlue scatternets (Song et al., 2005) in each cluster. The final scatternet, M-dBBlue, guarantees the connectivity. Our experiment shows our scatternet seldom parks any node. We then propose a complete set of hierarchical routing methods for M-dBBlue which enables the self-routing inside each cluster. Moreover, our scatternet formation and routing algorithm do not necessarily require position information of the node.


The thesis introduces the course of the development of the computer control systemand technology concerned. It proves with PLC application instances in the central air condition-er system that this is a comprehensive technique to check, control, optimize, dispatch, manageand decide the course by applying control theory, instrument and apparatus, computer and oth-er information technologies, in order to achieve the purposes of raising the efficiency and quali-ty, lowering consumption, and guaranteeing the security, etc., which includes three majorparts of software, hardware and system. And it also explains the importance in the controlledfield of the computer control technology.


AbstractLarge-scale distributed hydrological modeling is nowadays more widely applied for water resource management. To ensure the spatial consistency of distributed parameters, an alternative calibration strategy is suggested: the global calibration. This approach aims to identify a single parameter set suitable for every stations located within the modeled domain. A global calibration procedure is applied and tested over a large portion of the St. Lawrence River basin (387,000  km2) using Hydrotel, a physically based semidistributed hydrological model. Despite limitations in estimating high flows on small catchments, global calibration is regarded as a fair trade-off between local performance and regional consistency of parametric information. In the near future, the global calibration strategy will act as a key methodological framework for large-scale hydrological assessments.


A DC-gain enhancement technique for Q-tuning is presented for low-voltage current-mirror based differential current-mode integrators. A tunable active resistor makes it theoretically possible to obtain infinite DC-gain without making any modification to the operating point of the integrator. Simulation results agree well with the technique.


In this paper, we present decomposition mechanism studies of energetic molecules using HOMO and LUMO orbital energy gap driven molecular dynamics (MD) method. Under frozen orbital approximation, this is an 'electronic excitation' MD, where electrons is excited from HOMO to LUMO orbitals Meanwhile, the HOMO and LUMO orbital energy gap is taken as a biasing potential to accelerate chemical reactions, in particular for electronic excitation due to external stimulating, such as high temperature and high pressure in shock wave detonation. We applied this method on decomposition reaction simulations on 1,3,5,7‐tetranitro‐1,3,5,7‐tetrazocane (HMX) and 1,3,5‐trinitro‐1,3,5‐triazacyclohexane (RDX) energetic molecules. It shows that the cleavage of the N‐N bond appears as the principle event in the decomposition when electrons are excited.


The invention provides a double-shifting-fork mechanism for a rear-arranged three-stage transmission. The double-shifting-fork mechanism comprises a low-speed-gear shifting fork shaft, a medium-high-speed-gear shifting fork shaft and a transmission shell. A low-speed-gear shifting fork is provided with the low-speed-gear shifting fork shaft. A medium-high-gear shifting fork is provided with the medium-high-speed-gear shifting fork shaft. The center line of the low-speed-gear shifting fork shaft is parallel to the center line of the medium-high-speed-gear shifting fork. Both the front end of the low-speed-gear shifting-fork shaft and the front end of the medium-high-speed-gear shifting fork shaft extend out of the transmission shell. The low-speed-gear shifting fork is close to the front end of the low-speed-gear shifting fork shaft. The medium-high-speed-gear shifting fork is close to the tail end of the medium-high-speed-gear shifting fork shaft. The outer side of the low-speed-gear shifting fork shaft is provided with two first grooves. The outer side of the medium-high-speed-gear shifting fork shaft is provided with three second grooves. The first grooves and the second grooves are provided with shifting fork shaft control mechanisms located on the transmission shell. The double-shifting-fork mechanism is suitable for the rear-arranged three-stage transmission of a tricycle, safe, reliable and high in practicability.


Abstract Based on an overview of feminist and gender research over two decades, this article reflects on feminist geographies in Norway within a wider political and social context. We identify eight broad, partly overlapping themes of feminist geography: rurality; development policies and practices; entrepreneurship and economic change; migration and mobility; children and youth; sexuality and health; landscape and place; and emotions and autobiography. We find that much of the research has been collaborative, interdisciplinary, multicultural, and transnational. Feminist geographies in Norway are characterized by increasing emphasis on multiple realities and situatedness, and focus on rights and power relations among men and women in all spheres of society, including academia. Yet the gender dimension has tended to focus on geographies of women, with few studies of masculinity. Inspired in part through feminist critiques of research practices in social sciences, a recent development has been autobiographical approaches examining the significance of personal lives and emotions for the research process. We conclude that feminist geographies in Norway are diverse, empirically and contextually informed, and have become embedded within several fields of human geography.


Industrial Enterprises are the microcosmic main body of the regional innovation system;their innovation abilities largely reflect the level of regional innovation.This paper can provide references for enterprises and related departments.It studies the key factors affecting the technical innovation capability of industrial enterprises.From the perspective of expenditure for technology,it chooses such three independent variables as capital investment of technology introduction,the expenditure for digestion and absorption and the expenditure for technology improvement,regards the units of new product as the dependent variable,establishes regression models,analyzes the influences of variables on the technical innovation capability of industrial enterprises,and proposes such suggestions as strengthening the expenditure for technology improvement,advocating government departments actively to participate in and achieving commercialization of new products.


The study was aimed to assess the effect of Trichoderma harzianum Bi on qualitative and quantitative traits of polianthes, including stem length and diameter, inflorescence floret number and leaf length of the main and lateral bulbs; an experiment with completely randomized design having four treatments and seven replications was completed in greenhouse conditions. Enriched coco peat with Trichoderma in different concentrations (0, 20, 50 and 100%) of pot total coco peat, were applied as treatments. Main media mixture was 40% of coco peat+ 40% of field soil+ 20% of perlite. Enriched coco peat with 100% concentration significantly increased stem length and diameter, floret number and leaf length in both main and lateral bulbs compared with control sample. There were no significant differences between treatments for stem length and diameter, neither for floret number. Also, treatments of 50% and 20% enriched coco peat for stem length and diameter, and floret number, did not significantly differ from control variant. By applying 50% enriched coco peat the floret number and leaf length of the main and lateral bulbs significantly increased compared with control variant. The data obtained from the experiment showed that Trichoderma enhanced qualitative and quantitative traits of polianthes cut flowers.


In this paper we present a new high performance frequency-to-voltage converter (FVC) dedicated for integrated CMOS mixed-signal (analog/digital) applications. The circuit is very fast and requires a very small silicon area for integration. The output voltage generated by this FVC does not present any AC ripples and is proportional to the period of a square wave form input signal. The time response of this FVC is very small and is approximately equal to eight cycles of the input signal within a precision of 0.4%. The circuit can operate theoretically up to 100 MHz and its operating frequency range can easily be changed.


We describe a two-stage retrieval pipeline for the TREC Deep Learning 2020 track, where we used a lightweight neural model to rerank a baseline produced by an efficient traditional technique. In terms of overall performance, our results are slightly below the median, with a best score of 0.5283 nDCG@10. Our source code is available from https://github.com/T-Almeida/TREC-DL-2020.


Objective To obtain high yield of recombinant human apolipoprotein A-Ⅰ(apoA-Ⅰ) with normal structural and functional properties by a prokaryotic expression system.Methods PET-30b(+) was used as an expression vector,silent mutation was introduced to increase the expression yield,and a 6×histine tag was added to the C-terminus to facilitate purification.α helical content,capabilities of binding lipid and promoting cellular cholesterol efflux were examined for recombinant protein.Results A high yield up to(12 mg) purified apoA-Ⅰ per(1 L) bacterial culture was obtained.To the recombinant apoA-Ⅰ,α helical content,rate constant(k_(1/2)) of lipid binding kinetics and fraction of cholesterol efflux were(54±4)%,(0.059±(0.002)min~(-1)),and(16.68±1.77)% respectively.(Conclusion This) expression system is very useful to generate apoA-Ⅰ or its mutants.


The goal of this report is to review previously published clinical trials addressing contact lens discomfort (CLD) to identify appropriate trial design and outcome parameters to guide future clinical research that will characterize and investigate possible causes of CLD. A further goal is to identify possible confounding features of clinical trial design and performance in order to reduce bias in conduct of future trials or analysis of data from those trials.


On a new generator of controlled aerosols, based on the fragmentation of the jets resulting from a disc in rotation, which we developed and automated, two models were developed and automated, two models were developed in order to determine the trajectory of the jets and the exact conditions of their break-up. The first model determines the trajectory of the jets with good precision thanks to the introduction of an ampirical law predicting the aerodynamic force of trail. The second model, approaching the jet by a succession of cylindrical sections, makes it possible to show that the disturbance which spreads and develops along the jet is a purely progressive wave advancing with a speed equal to the sum of the velocity of the flow and the celirity of capillary waves in a rest liquind. Thus, it is possible to predict the distances of natural and forced break-up, the most-unstable frequency, the zone in which the break-up of a jet induce an aerosol monodispersed without satellite and the size of the drops according to the physical properties of the liquid to be dispersed. The study also showed that, in the case of the smooth dics, the jets turn slower than the disc. When the dics present regularly distributed teeth at its periphery, we observe, according to the relative size of teeth and jets, or a periodic disturbance of the jets created by the jets crossing over the teeth. This disturbance constitutes a source of vibration, which controls the break-up in a similar way when starting the vibration of the disc by using a piezoelectric cell. The kinematics and granulometrics measurements were realised by using the photographs of the flow and a specific numerical granulometer presented in the document


An investigation is reported on how to improve the performance of diamond-impregnated segments for the circular sawing of natural rock materials. T hese serial papers consist of three parts. Part 1 is concerned with the service performance of diamond segments fabricated at a wide range of conditions. The service performance of the segments was evaluated in terms of t he characteristics of segment wear and the consumed power. The worn surfaces of the seg m nts were monitored in an effort to relate the working surface state of the segments w ith their service performance. The percentage of diamond working conditions on the worn segment surfaces w s found to be closely related to the wear performance of the segments and the consume d pow r. The diamond working conditions and hence the segment performance are attributed to t he combined effects of such parameters as grain size, concentration and quality of diamonds, proper ties of bond matrix and granite. Introduction It is estimated that one of the biggest consumptions of synthetic di amond abrasive lies in the processing of rock materials, in which case sawing is perhaps the most important with regard to the production cost and efficiency. The tools most widely used for primary s wing are circular saw blades with diamond impregnated segments. With the increasing use of natural rock materials as decorative materials around the world, there is a great demand on opt imizing the wear behavior of diamond sawblades so as to reduce the overall production cost. Diamond impregnated segments consist of randomly dispersed diamond cr ystals embedded in a metal matrix. As sawing proceeds the segments wear down and new iamonds emerge from the matrix and cut the workpiece. During the sawing process, the main role of the metal bond matrix is to ensure maximum cutting productivity of the diamond by holding it fir mly until it is worn out. Generally speaking, the matrix and the diamond wear rates should be appropriately matched in order to facilitate constant efficient cutting as well as mi ni ze the wear of the diamond segments. Unfortunately, diamond segments that are popularly used in the practica l fields of producing granite products are frequently worn in unexpected modes, in which case diamond gr its prematurely fail either through pop-out or by fracture and the bond matrix wears much slowe r or faster than diamond grits. A fundamental understanding of what mainly affects the wear of diamond segments is required in order to provide a technological basis for optimizing the design of diamond segments and consequently improving their performance. These serial papers consist of three parts. Part 1 is mainly de vote to elucidate the influences of segment components including the compositions of bond matrix, diamond grit s ize, and the concentration and quality of diamond grits, on the performance of diamond se gments fabricated and used under different conditions. Coupled with the findings of this first part, Part 2 will focus on studying the mechanisms for the retention of coated diamond grits, whereas an attempt is to be made in Part 3 to improve the performance of bond matrix through an addi tion of rare earth elements. It is hoped that the findings of these serial papers ca n provide more technical supports for the selection of diamond grits and optimal design of the compositions of bond matrix in order to improve the performance of diamond segments for the sawing of natural rock materia ls. Key Engineering Materials Online: 2003-09-15 ISSN: 1662-9795, Vol. 250, pp 46-53 doi:10.4028/www.scie tific.net/KEM.250.46 © 2003 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Trans Tech Publications Ltd, www.scientific.net. (Semanticscholar.org-13/03/20,20:10:18) Key Engineering Materials Vols. 47


The avifauna of tropical peat swamp forests in East Kalimantan has not been well documented because of the smallest peat area compared to central Kalimantan. The surveys were conducted using various methods in the Muara Siran peat swamp forests and surrounding areas of Lake Siran (heath forest and riparian) in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. These findings were recorded on a list of 80 bird species as well as in numerous noteworthy records.  Wetlands are an essential habitat for many threatened and near-threatened bird species. We also discovered Gallinula tenebrosa in Siran Lake, a species that has not been seen in over a century. However, it has a wide distribution globally, including in Australia and the United States.  In the peat swamp forest, we recorded Cymbirrhinchus macrurus and Ichtyophaga humilis, rare and widely distributed. We also found Dicrurus hottentotus and Dicrurus remifer, some species of Ferruginous Babbler, Trichastoma bicolor, and the White-necked Babbler, Stachyris leucotis.  The Hook-billed bulbul Setornis criniger and the Sooty capped Babbler Malacopteron affinae are found in riparian forests. There are six species of woodpecker. Dryocopus javensis, Great Slaty Woodpecker, Mulleripicus pulverulentus, Meyglyptes tukki, Picus puniceus, and Sasia abnormis.  Cuckoo-shrike Coracina striata and Pitta sordia were also discovered.   Wetlands (peat swamp forest, heath forest, and riparian areas) should be better protected due to their importance to many species, particularly from destruction and loss of habitat caused by forest fires.


Comparative acute toxicity values for Ceriodaphnia dubia, Scapholeberis sp. and Pimephales promelas exposed to copper were used to calculate water effect ratios (e.g., site water LC50 value/reference water LC50 value), which reflect the difference in the biological availability and/or toxicity of copper between water from the Naugatuck River, Connecticut and Lake Superior reference water. These ratios were used to modify U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ambient aquatic life criteria for copper to site- and station-specific criteria, using the indicator procedure of the U.S. EPA guidelines for deriving site-specific water quality criteria. A water effect ratio of 1.0 was established using unpolluted upstream water, resulting in a site-specific criterion maximum concentration (CMC) and criterion continuous concentration (CCC) of 8.7 and 6.2 μg/L copper, respectively. Mean water effect ratios of 3.9 to 7.0, reflective of reduced biological availability and/or toxicity of copper, were determined for four successive downstream stations where the water contained copper and other industrial and domestic wastes. The resulting station-specific CMCs and CCCs ranged from 32 to 57 and 22 to 39 μg/L copper, respectively. These copper criteria were compared with effluent-contributed ambient copper concentrations and ecological survey data from each downstream station to ascertain impact on aquatic life. It was concluded that the national and site-specific criteria derived for copper would be protective of the river's aquatic life because a relatively healthy aquatic community existed where these criteria were exceeded slightly. Whether or not the station-specific criteria were protective could not be determined because these criteria were not exceeded at stations with healthy communities; however, where they were exceeded, impaired aquatic communities were evident.

Generally, C. dubia survival and young production data from receiving water tests and copper addition tests, conducted just prior to the acute toxicity tests, were also indicative of reduced copper biological availability and/or toxicity in the Naugatuck River at downstream stations.


Using amplitude modulation derived from repetitive pulses of varying duty cycle with the Tromsoe heater facility, the authors determine the ratio of the heating to cooling time constants of ELF currents generated in the D-region. This ratio is found to decrease from 1.03 {plus minus} 0.07 at 510 Hz to 0.28 {plus minus} 0.03 at 6,010 kHz. These results, which were obtained using an effective radiated power of 240 MW, suggest that future heater facilities designed to optimize ELF radiation efficiency using the technique of beam painting' will have to operate at considerably higher power levels than the Tromsoe facility if any practical advantages are to be gained.


In this paper we present the results of a survey, conducted in the Italian region of Lombardy, on teaching Italian as a second language to adult migrants at Pre A1 level of competence, i.e. in the case of semi-literate learners. The first purpose of this research was to describe the characteristics of the teaching practices of Italian as a second language in Pre A1 level courses for migrants, collecting data through a questionnaire addressed to teachers in adult education centres in Lombardy. Then, a broader objective was to encourage the teachers' metacognitive thinking, in order to enhance and disseminate existing good practices and promote methodological innovation, with particular attention to the role of grammatical reflection in the case of semi-literate learners. After showing the theoretical framework and the methodology of the research, we analyse the collected data, which allow to outline some implications for teaching practice and teacher training.


This paper attempts to analyze how Indonesian gay males and transgenders male to female in two different social, cultural and political contexts (in Indonesia and Northern Europe) are actively engaged in the making of their own subjectivity. Their subjectivities are entangled with gender, sexuality, religion, romantic love relationships and kinship. They juggle in negotiating and making sense of norms and values of societies that projected towards them. This paper aims to shed light on gender politics of gay and transgender Indonesians in the context of heterosexual hegemony and migration.


According to the Indonesian Traffic Police Center, in 2017 Indonesia ranks the top 4th countries in South East Asia which has a high number of road accidents. Many of the accidents, unfortunately, are caused by the drowsiness of car drivers. This indicates that human fatigue significantly affects the safety of traffic. To decrease the number of road accidents in Indonesia, this research proposes an alternative measurement tool and parameter to detect the drowsiness symptoms of car drivers. This research analyzes the usage of a wearable wristband blood pressure and heart rate monitor, attached to a car driver to detect drowsiness. The proposed measurement tool monitors all retrieved data to measure the fatigue condition of the driver. The main purpose of this research is to analyze the effectiveness of proposed wristband to collect the blood pressure and heart rate pattern for indicating drowsiness symptoms. This research concludes that car drivers' drowsiness can be detected by monitoring their heart rate and blood pressure using the proposed wristband. This research can be expanded in the future as a mitigation system to prevent car accidents caused by drivers' drowsiness. It can be expanded as an integrated Internet of Things system in a smart car that can alert a driver to take a rest when the system indicates that the driver is in a fatigue condition. When this integrated system has been developed well, the car accidents caused by driver drowsiness can be effectively prevented so that the number of car accident victims in Indonesia will be minimized.


funded by DFID, to conduct detailed situation appraisal, development of mental health policy, implementation plans, epidemiology and integration of mental health into primary care. The project is working closely with a wide range of stakeholders including the professional associations and NGOs, especially KPA, KSF and MEHATA. The project contributes to DFID's overall goal to reduce poverty and contribute to the other Millennium Development Goals. The project was asked to produce a strategic model which can be adapted for use in other countries, and is in the process of producing a practical policy development, implementation and audit toolkit. The project has also undertaken epidemiological studies in Dar es Salaam and rural Kisumu, qualitative work with traditional healers, and adaptation of the WHO primary care guidelines. This talk will describe some of the outcomes of the project so far and additional new projects. VASCULAR FACTORS IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE


On March 11, 2011, the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake occurred. After the earthquake, at coast in Iwate prefecture, same as other coastal area, fishermen evacuated to offshore area to protect themselves and their boats. We conducted survey to investigate the evacuation of fisheries in Iwate prefecture and consider whether they can get enough information about tsunami. The results of interview are (1) Evacuation ratio of boats is proportional to the boat size. (2) The depth of the areas boats evacuated to have a variation, and some of them are shallower than 50m. (3) Fishermen on small boats use cell-phone not radio communication system. However at 2011.3.11 cell phone lines were dead or jammed. (4) As boats smaller than about 3tonnage in Fudai and Tanohata, can't get the information of tsunami warning in some area, there is risk to fail to escape from tsunami.


A forward cDNA-SSH library was established by suppression subtractive hybridization using seedling leaf of Himalaya 10,a drought-tolerant Tibet barley(Hordeum vulgare L.var.nudum HK.f.),among which 600 positive clones were selected for sequencing.after detection by PCR for each clone,each single clone was sequenced.Totally 420 available sequences were assembled and 220 uniESTs,in which 37 contigs and 183 singlets were obtained by cluster analyses of the ESTs.The results of BlastN showed that 189 ESTs had homologous sequences in unigenes database of GenBank,while the other 31 ESTs had no protein homologous.The BlastX results indicated that 158 ESTs had significant homology with proteins encoded by unigenes and 62 were unknown proteins and putative proteins.Most of those genes were not only related to abiotic stresses,but also related to biotic stresses in plants,which suggesting the cross-interactions in response to different stresses in plants,and 58% of the ESTs were homologous with barley ESTs.These UniGenes involved in signal transduction and transcriptional regulation(11.96%),encoding protection,defense and stress protein(9.78%),transport related(5.43%),photosynthesis genes(6.52%),and enzymes for structure and function of metabolic synthesis pathway and other metabolic processes(30.43%).The experimental results indicated that the barley can induce a series of specific expressed genes in the drought-rehydration conditions,not only some known enzymes and protein genes participated in drought response,such as zinc protein,senescence associated protein,CAS,cytochrome P450,heat shock proteins and stress proteins,were found this study,but also some protective protein genes,such as LEA protein,dehydrated protein,P5CS.KOBAS mapped 56 ESTs of the 220 uniESTs to 32 KEGG pathways.This study suggested that the drought tolerance of Tibet barley was closely related with glutamate metabolism,arginine and proline metabolism and Ubiquitin mediated proteolysis.


Abstract The paper discusses the prospect of implementing a software package for the optimal scheduling of large-scale water supply and distribution networks. The time distribution function methodology is considered to be a suitable candidate for the solver implementation. However, since the existing methodology enables optimization of middle size networks, a concept of spatial decomposition is introduced and investigated. The resulting optimization problems are convex and soluble by the existing numerical methods of mathematical programming. Effective measures are proposed to reduce computational complexity of the approach. Finally software technologies to be used for the implementation are presented along with a relational data model for the problem.


This study is aimed to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of the audit committee and external auditors on the disclosure of intellectual capital. Intellectual capital disclosure (ICDI) variable is measured by using the 61 checklists in 3 formats namely tables, images and numeric. The populations in this study are the companies that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2012. Total research sample is 100 companies that are selected by proportionate stratified random sampling method. This research analyzes the company's annual report using the method of content analysis. Data analysis is tested by the test of classical assumptions, test of hypothesis, and multiple linear regression analysis method. The results of this research indicate that frequency meeting of audit committee are positively significant effect on intellectual capital disclosure.While, the financial expertise of the audit committee, the external auditor' specialization and the quality of external auditors have no significant on intellectual capital disclosure.


Teacher education plays a significant role in influencing generations of future teachers. This article aims to explore the role of pre-service teacher education in promoting socially just and inclusive practices in music education. Six pre-service teachers were interviewed before graduating, and then again six months into their first year of teaching. The interviewees reflected on their understandings of what constitutes being inclusive in the music classroom and how these understandings have been influenced by their perceptions of both university and school experiences. The article provides insights into the ways that teacher education programmes might equip early-career teachers to engage in a variety of teaching practices that are socially just, within the music classroom.


0 1 3 ' assumed a disorder for 0(15) too. But in spite of the large anisotropic displacement parameters of 0(15) the lowering of the occupation factor of this atom did not improve the refinement here. The next highest difference peak located between 0(13) and 0(14) may indicate a hydrogen atom but no further hydrogen atoms could be detected. The third difference peak corresponds to Taylor's Ow(3*). Both peaks were not considered here in the refinement. The setting of the structure agrees with ref. 2 but differs from that of other authors: For comparison the data of ref. 3 and 5 have to be transformed by 1/2—x, y, 1/2-z or origin-shifted by 1/2, 1/2, 0, those of ref. 4 transformed by x, l/2-y, ζ or origin-shifted by 0, 0, 1/2. On large crystals the following faces were observed: {0,1,0}, {1,1,0} and {1,1,1}. The crystals are elongated in the c-direction and are flat in the ¿»-direction.


It's significant for Institutes of higher engineering learning to carry out enterprise education.By analyzing the enterprise actualities of engineering students,we expound chief things of enterprise education,respect and basic principle.In this paper,we mostly expound the particular contents of enterprise education carried out by engineering colleges,i.e.environment system,evaluating system,content system,communicating system and training system.


A cap seal for a container such as a drum, and doubly-sealing apparatus of a container such as a drum using the same, which execute a reliable sealing function of a cap part of the container such as the drum. Double sealing of the cap part of the container such as the drum due to the cap seal is fully performed despite various errors such as the difference in the curling external diameter of the cap part of the container, the quality of the substances in the container can be fully guaranteed, and the unsealing operation is performed simply and reliably. a clamping and pressing part (10) for outside sealing with the cross section of approximately V shape is formed at the inner side of a ring-shaped sagging wall (4) of a cap seal body (1), when the cap seal is mounted in a sealing way, a ring-shaped external protruding part (31a) is reciprocated at the upper end of a fixing mouthpiece (31) to force the section of the clamping and pressing part (10) to be embedded into the clamping and pressing part (10) with the cross section of approximately V shape in a mode of approximately V shaped press, the ring-shaped external protruding part (31a) is clamped and pressed at two contacts (P, Q) by the return force of the elastomeric materials the cap seal, thus the external sealing is realized.


According to time, so many researches have been proposed on invisible multiple watermarking. Basically, invisible video watermarking is the technique to hide relevant information into another host image, audio, text, and video. In this paper, invisible watermark is embedded by using DWT, LSB, DCT and Mojette. These techniques are based on some numeric parameters like PSNR (peak signal to noise ratio), RMSE (root mean square error), NC (normalized correlation) and MSE (mean square error). Various attacks are applied on the watermarked video and watermarking extraction process should be done to recover watermark. Then compare the recover watermark with an original watermark. A different watermark is embedded in a cover video, which is difficult for an attacker to hack digital contents. Comparative analysis of these three techniques also are used based on different type of scenarios should be used.


The question of whether nuclei are polarized as a result of H–H(D–D) spin‐exchange collisions within the relatively dense gas of a laser‐driven source of polarized hydrogen (deuterium) can be addressed directly by measuring the nuclear polarization of atoms from the source. The feasibility of using a polarimeter based on the D+T→n+4He reaction to measure the tensor polarization of deuterium in an internal target fed by the laser‐driven source has been tested. The device and the measurements necessary to test the spin‐exchange polarization theory are described.


BACKGROUND: The controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score is an objective indicator of general condition from the aspect of nutritional status, calculated from serum albumin, total cholesterol, and total lymphocyte count. The CONUT score is also considered to reflect the degree of tumor-derived chronic inflammation and the host immune status in patients with advanced cancer. OBJECTIVE: To examine the prognostic role of the CONUT score in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC) treated with first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. METHODS: Associations of the CONUT score with clinical parameters and overall survival (OS) were investigated retrospectively in 147 patients with aUC receiving first-line platinum-based chemotherapy at a single cancer center from February 2003 to April 2019. RESULTS: The median (range) CONUT score was 1 (0–7). A higher CONUT score was associated with lower hemoglobin (P < 0.001) and higher C-reactive protein levels (P = 0.023) but not with chemotherapy response (P = 0.432). The median OS for patients with CONUT scores 0–1, 2–3, and ≥4 were 23.3, 14.9, and 9.4 months, respectively (P < 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, a higher CONUT score was independently associated with shorter OS (scores 2–3 vs 0–1, HR 1.58, P = 0.048; scores ≥4 vs 0–1, HR 2.63, P = 0.008) along with poorer performance status (HR 4.79, P < 0.001), primary tumor site of the upper urinary tract (HR 1.70, P = 0.016), higher LDH (HR 3.85, P = 0.036), higher alkaline phosphatase (HR 3.06, P = 0.028), and non-responders to chemotherapy (HR 2.07, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The CONUT score is a prognostic biomarker in patients with aUC receiving first-line platinum-based chemotherapy.


Propranolol hydrochloride was synthesized from α-naphthol,epoxy chloropropane and isopropylamine via a series of reactions including etherification,elimination,ammoniation and salt formation. Then,its two derivatives,O-acetyl propranolol hydrochloride( compound Ⅳ) and polyacrylic acid immobilized propranolol hydrochloride( compound Ⅶ),were prepared by the reaction of propranolol hydrochloride with acetyl chloride and polypropylene chloride,respectively. Their structures were characterized by means of melting point,IR,1HNMR,and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The hydrolysis results under acidic conditions indicate that the releasing rate of propranolol hydrochloride in compounds Ⅳ and Ⅶ within 8 h was 15. 18% and 17. 86%,respectively. Compared with that of compound Ⅳ,the polymeric carrier of compound Ⅶ is not easy to be absorbed by the body and can be expected to be used as prodrug for clinical application.


The Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD) is presented as an approach to the production and measurement of cognitive change. The assessment of cognitive change requires a means of conceptualizing the initial and end states as well as the nature of the change. The LPAD model and cognitive map provide this means. Four changes from traditional psychometric approaches are necessary: shift from product to process orientation and modification of test structure, test situation, and interpretation of results. The components of the cognitive map (content, modality, operation, phase, level of complexity, and level of efficiency) provide the conceptual model for production and measurement of cognitive change. The paper presents 3 empirical studies illustrating how the LPAD may be applied in solving practical problems with important educational and social implications.


1. The kinetochore is a compound body composed of a commissural region and a spindle spherule, so far as univalent chromosomes are concerned.2. The half spindle component connects with the chromosome through the spindle spherule.3. Already during the diakinetic phases of meiosis, each tetrad has two kinetochores which are distinct and separate from each other. Each of these is provided with two spindle spherules, so that each tetrad carries a total of four spindle spherules.4. In the first spermatocyte division, the kinetochores lead the way to the poles. The dyads resulting from this division each show two spindle spherules until the resting stage is reached.5. At metaphase of the second spermatocyte, each dyad is already sharply differentiated into two chromatids or univalent chromosomes. Each of these carries a kinetochore provided with a spindle spherule.6. Aside from its structure, various staining reactions mark the kinetochore as an organ quite distinct from the ordinary chromomere.7. The possible ...


The Authors present the case of an asymptomatic 36‐year‐old man, affected by Down syndrome, with an unexpected quadricuspid aortic valve coupled with the anomalous origin of the left circumflex coronary artery from the proximal right coronary artery. This is the first report of the concomitant presence of these three conditions.


The invention relates to a method for prompting the signal state of a television signal source menu, comprising a signal source menu program of the television. The method is characterized by comprising the following steps of: detecting the current signal source of the television when a user opens the signal source menu of the television; and correspondingly displaying the signal source menu program on the signal source menu according to detection information for allowing a user to visually know the connecting state of a signal wire of the signal source and the signal state and improve the competitiveness of products.


Diseases or disorders affecting the posterior segment of the eye, such as diabetic retinopathy, age related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, are the leading causes of decreased visual acuity and blindness. Successful treatment modalities require generation and maintenance of therapeutically effective drug concentrations at the target sites: vitreous, retina and/or choroid. Drug delivery to the posterior ocular segment is, however, limited by several physiological processes. Topical instillation, the most favored local mode of application, is challenged by tear flow, structural complexity of the cornea, diffusion distance, counter-directional intraocular convection and conjunctival, scleral and choroidal vasculature and lymphatics. Although systemic administration offers an alternative route, the blood-ocular barriers restrict the diffusion of a wide variety of Correspondence/Reprint request: Dr. Soumyajit Majumdar, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, Research Associate Professor, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Mississippi University, MS-38677, USA. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Ramesh Srirangam & Soumyajit Majumdar 34 therapeutic agents from the systemic circulation into the ocular chambers. In recent years, transscleral delivery approach has gained in prominence rapidly. A relatively large scleral surface area with favorable permeability characteristics presents opportunities for efficient and effective delivery to the retina and vitreous. This chapter will explore the recent literature on transscleral drug delivery and disposition, with a particular emphasis on novel drug delivery systems like particulate and colloidal formulations.


A BRIEF consideration of China's prewar trade with foreign countries generally and of possible postwar trends will be sufficient to indicate the growing urgency of a solution of the problem of taxation confronting American concerns desiring to do business there. In prewar days, first among China's exports was wood (tung) oil, of which she is the world's major source of supply. Next come egg products, in a preserved or dried form, of which China is also the world's biggest producer. Then come bristles, carpet wools and camel's hair from the herds of Mongolia, tungsten and antimony from the Yangtze Valley, of which China has sixty per cent of the world's sup. ply, and musk from the musk deer of Szechuan and Tibet. There are also tin from the mines of Yunnan, camphor, lacquers, vegetable oil, seeds, hand-made embroideries and laces, porcelains.' Among China's imports, cotton goods were first on the list. There followed iron, steel and machinery, electrical equipment, aircraft and accessories, railway materials, motor cars, trucks, buses, chemicals and medicinal preparations, petroleum products, leather goods, paper, cigarettes and leaf tobacco.2 Before the first world war, American trade with China was on a small scale and could not be compared with that of other nations. In 1913, for instance, nearly thirty per cent of China's imports were accredited to Hongkong, of which the bulk was of British or European origin; over twenty per cent came from Japan; sixteen and one-half per cent was accredited to Great Britain direct; and but six per cent represented America's share.3


Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can treat diseases through its "multi-component, multi-target, multi-pathway" mechanisms. Especially have advantages in the treatment of diseases with complicated pathogenesis, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Tonifying the kidney and strengthening the spleen is one of the common methods of Chinese Medicine to treat AD. The TCM combination of Epimrdii Herba and Coicis Semen can be used as the main drugs of a prescription for tonifying the kidney and strengthening the spleen. However, the mechanisms for Epimrdii Herba-Coicis Semen (EH-CS) to treat AD is vague. The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanisms of EH-CS on AD using a network pharmacological method.Methods: We retrieved the chemical compounds and targets of Epimrdii Herba-Coicis Semen from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). We screened the active ingredients based on the pharmacokinetic parameters (ADME). The Human Gene Database (GeenCards) was used to obtain disease targets of Alzheimer's disease. Then we drew a venn diagram to obtain common targets of Chinese medicine and disease. Based on the topological properties, we screened the key targets. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING database, and the "Traditional Chinese Medicine-active ingredient-target" network was constructed using Cytoscape software. The key targets were respectively uploaded to the Metascape and DAVID database for GO and KEGG pathway analysis.Results: We obtained 31 active compounds for EH-CS. Flavonoids play important roles in the treatment of AD. A total of 29 key targets, including AKT1, MAPK1, and TP53, etc. The biological processes involve response to lipopolysaccharide, neuron death, neuroinflammatory response, etc. The main pathways include TNF signaling pathways, MAPK signaling pathways, PI3K-Akt signaling pathways and other signaling pathways.Conclusion: The network pharmacology method is an effective tool for exploring the mechanisms of TCM. Based on network pharmacology, this study systematically explained the potential mechanisms of EH-CS on AD. It provides a valuable reference for the development of AD drugs.


Antagonists of plant growth regulators offer the possibility of observing the physiological effects of a lowering of the natural growth regulator status of tissues, and the present results were obtained while exploring such possibilities. Regeneration on shoot cuttings was chosen for observation because exogenous auxin (15), gibberellin (2), and cytokinin (6) were known to affect root formation on them, but little was known about the contributions of endogenous regulators to the observed effects. The results are relevant also to the increases in root numbers on shoot cuttings produced by plant extracts (3, 5, 8). The regulators and antagonists employed were the auxins, IAA and 2 4-D, the auxin antagonist, PCPIB,' the gibberellin, GA, and the gibberellin antagonist, EL 531.