This study generated a program for digital optimization of the educational profile of public higher education institutions in Bulgaria, a software program that allows the process of data sets, sorting and comparing data, and combining data according to specific criteria to add and remove visual elements. By connecting the optimization logic, an effective model of a particular object - a university - is achieved. The logic of the program is driven by graphic elements that can be accessed through the JavaFX library. Using the software program, generated in the current development, determines the optimal profile of each of the higher schools included in it according to the criteria for atypical and unprofitable majors. During development, the optimal profile of each university is combined with the option of merging some higher education institutions into mega structures. As a result, it has been proven that reducing the state subsidy for economically unprofitable and atypical majors for a given university is a better option for higher education reform than consolidation reform. At the same time, the program offers an optimization model that leads to a lower social and financial cost of reforming higher education.


During the colonization of Sub-Sahara Africa, two-way trade directions were established between European colonizers and their respective African colonies. During the colonial period, the colonies exported commodities needed by their metropolis while the later imported into their colonies, manufactured consumer goods. Over a long period, the trade activities became one of the major factors of colonization with implications in the post-colonial period to the point that it became impossible to envision global trade with SSA without taking into account the weight of the legacy of colonization that continues to support commercial ties and SSA's market orientation toward Europe. Thus, understanding the underpinning of the colonial legacy in SSA starts by considering the economic theory suggesting that the common primary goal of colonization by the European empires was to secure easy access to the cheap labor force, mineral, and agricultural resources. To achieve these objectives, the colonizing powers imposed their languages, education system, and trade direction in their colonies in a way that continues to affect the economic partnerships between the former colonies with other nations.


Safety information of evacuee is the most important for relief activities in disasters. Here tofore, we have been discussed about required conditions for computer systems destined for supporting effective relief activities after disasters. In addition, on the basis of the above, we also have been proposed a network construction algorithm and have been performed preliminary evaluation about the installation locations among wireless stations and wireless link connectivity. In this paper, we discuss more about network architecture using heterogeneous wireless link and development of application model using at shelters in order to step forward for the realization of our network system.


The practice was possible thanks to the agreement between Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD) and Corporacion Autonoma Regional del Alto Magdalena (CAM). As a condition for getting the degree of Agroforestry Engineer, the process of professional experience was made according to existing agreement, where we perform the activities and commitments stablished in the contract that corresponds to the months of services offered to the corporation.
Among the activities and commitments implemented by students, we have the following list: Support to "Ecological Path Project" in Marengo farm in Pitalito Huila, where we worked in activities of adequacy, characterization of tree species and walkings around the Ecological Path where we did environmental education conferences with educational institutions in order to raise environmental awareness on the management and protection of natural resources. As a second commitment we did a monitoring and reviewing to violations about environmental effects. In this way we did a work that included the verification of facts to get technical concept as a foundation of the visit as a tool for getting information about a possible environmental impact. Besides we participate in many activities of promotion such as "The CAM in your Municipality Program" which try to decentralize and to provide direct services in each municipality of the region


Research carried out by the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland suggests carbon dioxide can extend the storage life of bulk milk. W E Espie and R H Madden, from the Department's Food Science Division, explain.


The Jacksonians Versus the Banks: Politics in the States After the Panic of 1837. By James Roger Sharp. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1972. Pp. 329. $12.50.) For some time past controversies over Jacksonian democracy have yielded diminishing returns. This book shows that study of politics in the states opens a new field for inquiry and may force the abandonment or revision of several familiar theses. Interest in the Bank question did not die down after Jackson's reelection; it remained the focal point of state politics. In all the states studied, the hard money faction in the party prevailed over the "softs." The dominant ethos of the party was neither rising capitalism nor eastern radicalism.


The generalized BFOS (G-BFOS), a sequential pruning algorithm for designing optimal tree structures, was presented by Chou, Lookabaugh, and Gray (see IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, vol.35, no.2, p.299, 1989), and it was applied to tree-structured vector quantizers (TSVQ). G-BFOS yields VQ codebooks that often outperform conventional generalized Lloyd full search codebooks having the same rate and block size. The authors have developed a modified version of G-BFOS, called the recursive optimal pruning algorithm (ROPA), which recursively searches for the nodes to be pruned next. The sequence of these pruned codebooks includes the original optimal G-BFOS codebooks and many additional ones. The optimality of these codebooks is described, and simulations evaluate their performance.<<ETX>>


Background: Anemia being the most common nutritional deficiency disorder in the world affects the pregnancy and its outcome, more so in the developing countries. With the prevalence of more than 60%in India, it needs an effective and novel tool for treatment of anemia in pregnancy which has deleterious effects on the mother and the baby. Ferric carboxymaltose formulation is safe and effective in treating iron deficiency anemia. Objective: To compare the safety, efficacy and tolerance of Ferric carboxymaltose and Iron sucrose in iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy. Methods: 100 pregnant women were allocated into two groups. Group A IV FCM group subjects were given 1000mg FCM at single setting. Group B IV Iron sucrose subjects were given multiple doses of 200mg per day on day 0,2,4,6,8 total of 1000mg iron sucrose. Both groups Hb%, PCV, Red cell indices, Peripheral smear were done on day 0 and after 4weeks of parenteral iron therapy. Rise in Hb, Red cell indices along with side effects and tolerability were noted. Results: There was statistically sifnificant rise in Hb (P<0.001)in FCM group of 2.09g/dl when compared to Hb in Iron sucrose group 1.82g/dl. No serious adverse effects were noted either in FCM group or Iron sucrose group. Conclusion : FCM can be used an effective alternative to afford the efficacy of IV Iron administration without the inconvenience of multile small doses, with less side effects and better tolerance in pregnancy.


Homocoupling of aryl- and styrylboronic acids and their hydrolysis to afford biaryls and phenols, resp., are very sensitive to steric effects.


Morphometric characters of two species of lizardfishes viz.,Saurida pseudotumbil Dutt and Sagar, 1981 and Saurida tumbil (Bloch, 1795), were studied to delineate the species using multivariate techniques. Specimens were collected from Parangipettai and Cochin waters, southern India, for recording data on 21 morphometric characters. Principal component analysis (PCA) was done after log transformation and the first three components explained 93.36% of the total variation. The most important morphometric characters determined using the eigenvectors (coefficients) of these components were post-orbital length, snout to pectoral, snout to pelvic, snout to anal, anal fin base and dorsal fin base, which showed high loading (≥0.8) in the three components. The overlapping ratio between these species ranged from 42.59 to 89.28%. The PCA data cloud of S. pseudotumbil and S. tumbil also reflected the same trend. Therefore, canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) was done which clearly separated the species with maximum case allocation success (100%) for both S. pseudotumbil and S. tumbil, which clearly showed that both the species are different.


ABSTRACT Questions regarding the quality and comparability of cross-national crime data from different sources have cast doubt on the validity of explanatory cross-national research on crime. While past research has addressed some of the important issues, other problems remain that have not been adequately addressed Data sources differ in the types of crime for which rates are available, rates for the same nation for the same type of crime, and the sample composition of nations for which rates are available. This research examines whether these differences affect explanatory cross- national research on crime in terms of the association of relevant independent variables with crime rates. Results show that choice of data source affects the associations of relevant independent variables to homicide rates and that these associations also differ depending on whether robbery or other types of theft is studied Recommendations are made on choice of rates and data sources for future research.


Asian martial arts were largely unknown until the 1960s in the Western world. Initially, taekwondo was mainly an outgrowth of Japanese karate, but later changed its fundamental character from a martial art for self-defence into a sport with the introduction of full-contact competitions. This also paved the way for taekwondo to eventually become an internationally recognised sport, in spite of the fact that originally this transformation was very controversial among the early taekwondo leaders and represented ultimately the outcome of their political struggles. Furthermore, the principle rules and regulations selected for the competition format had a profound effect on the technical direction of the sport. Rule changes and the improvement of protective equipment continued to play an important role in the shaping of taekwondo. The ongoing changes in the competition format, largely initiated by outside criticism and the fear of losing its Olympic membership status, are going to decide taekwondo's future direction and survival as a sport.


A study was conducted during 2006 and 2007 at KVK Leh (Ladakh), JK while the average minimum shell thickness was found in cluster 6. The genotypes of cluster 2 and 9 were found highly diverse from each other and will give better segregants after hybridization which can then be used as cultivar in the future.


In order to prevent meat retailers offering thawed – imported frozen meat as fresh domestic meat,  -hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase (HOADH) activity was determined. Two methods; i. e., color test and photometric assay, were used in this study. Twenty fresh meat samples were obtained from butcher shops. Each sample was divided into two portions, the first portion was analyzed immediately, while the second one was frozen at – 30°C and stored at – 18°C for 10 days and analyzed after thawing. Concerning color test, the press juice obtained from all fresh meat samples had a purple–red color which retained for several days, while the meat juice obtained from thawed samples had a blue color. Regarding photometric method, the obtained results indicated that activity of HOADH was greater than 3.0 U/ml in the muscle press juice and this indicates the presence of frozen meat samples. A limited survey was also performed, where twenty meat samples were collected randomly from butcher's in poor districts at Cairo markets and analyzed by the two methods. The obtained data revealed that 10% of the collected samples were frozen and thawed before


Author has presented the comprehensive utilization scheme for carbon circulation concerning power generation,electrolytic water,power storage,combinative production of hydrogen,ammonia,methanol made by coal gasification and dry ice using as plant nutrient made from CO2;has introduced the process features and production application effect for pure oxygen gasification technology from dry pulverized coal in China;has discussed the innovated process technology in which the hydrogen and carbon dioxide separated from electrolytic water of synthetic gas was replaced by the traditional shift de-carbon;productive base for chemical products was planned imagined and prospected for methanol,ethylene,etc.made by process of coal gasification and power generation


Edge-aware smoothing is important for many image editing applications as well as image preprocessing.Edge preservation and detail suppression form a contradictory pair.An edge-preserving smoothing algorithm was proposed,in which a signal is asked to attain its extrema at some given points.By manipulations on extrema of the resulting image,significant edges are retained,and at the same time,side edges and small fluctuations are subdued.Our method first obtains a preliminary smoothing version,whose extrema are used as constraints on the resulting image.Among all functions that meet these constraints,we pursued the one that is most similar to the original signal as the smoothing result.This optimization problem is solved by the half-quadratic technique and alternating minimization.Experimental results show that applications such as detail enhancement can benefit from the better performance of our method for preserving edges.


In functional experiments the emphasis should be laid on the combination of theory and practice, and the understanding of theory ought to be strengthened by practice so that a solid theoretical foundation can be laid for students. Consequently, their thinking and analyzing capacity can be promoted. Only in this way can it be possible for the students to bring forth new ideas in the future clinical practice. The approach adopted in the functional experiments is to analyze and discuss cases of illness on the basis of experiments on animals to verify the theories and deepen the understanding of it as well as improve students' practical capacity and interest in study by making them engage in clinical courses in advance and learn how to use reference books to solve problems by themselves.


Abstract. Software package is developed for working withnetwork thematic geo-information databases via Internet(Intranet) that provide geologists with simple and convenienttool for quick retrieval and viewing of factual and cartographicinformation on the objects of non-metallic minerals. Geologicaldata about non-metallic minerals in Russia are the informationalbasis for factual databank. Cartographic database includeslayers and projects of maps of various content and destination.For database management PostgreSQL free system with theextension PostGIS is chosen, as a cartographic web serviceWeb Map Service QGIS Server is used. The article showswork organization with geographically referenced data objectson the example of non-metallic mineral resource base ofTatarstan.Keywords: database, map, non-metallic minerals, theRepublic of Tatarstan.Information about authorsDmitriy A. Semanov – PhD (Chem.), Senior ResearcherPavel P. Senatorov – PhD (Geol. and Min.), Head of theDepartmentGul'nara N. Bulatova – PhD (Geogr.), Senior ResearcherYuriy A. Sochalov – EngineerLyubov' P. Lashkova – Deputy Head of the DepartmentDepartment of Economics and Information Support ofSubsurface Use, Central Research Institute of Geology ofNon-metallic Mineral Resources (FSUE «TsNIIgeolnerud»)420097, Russia, Kazan, Zinina str. 4. Phone: (843)236-38-62


The exploitation of groundwater in a riverside water source area is a complex process of conversion of surface water and groundwater. At present, the numerical model for simulating the exploitation of riverside water sources often generalizes rivers to the specified head boundary (CHD) or the river boundary (RIV). The CHD generalizes the river into an infinite supply of water, which is obviously unrealistic for seasonal rivers, and the RIV does not have the function of the river confluence. The above two methods directly affect the calculation accuracy of river water and groundwater conversion amount due to inherent loopholes, so the simulation of the riverside exploitation amount has some errors. This study uses the Streamflow-Routing (SFR) model to generalize the Baima-Jili River. By calculating the stream flow, the upstream, and downstream water levels of the rainy, normal, and dry seasons through the permeability parameter between river water and groundwater (parameters such as riverbed permeability coefficient, riverbed thickness, water depth, and cross-sectional shape), a coupling model of surface water and groundwater is established. In order to verify the accuracy of the SFR model simulation, the CHD and RIV conditions are used to generalize the river, and the simulation results of the three models are compared. The results show that the available groundwater exploitation simulated by the SFR model, the CHD, and the RIV boundary conditions are 27.798 × 106, 35.11 × 106, and 25.76 ×106 m3/a, respectively. The known available groundwater exploitation in the study area is 2,870 × 104 m3/a. Therefore, the SFR simulation results are more realistic, indicating that the SFR model is more suitable for coupling simulation of the surface water and groundwater interaction in riverside water sources of a seasonal river.


An improved method based on the interpolation technique is proposed to simulate a wind field. It overcomes the difficulty that the Cholesky's decomposition of a wind spectral density matrix can not be executed due to its possible indefiniteness with phase angle. The interval of the simulant wind frequency can be divided into two parts: definite interval and indefinite interval according to the definiteness or indefiniteness of the wind spectral density matrix. In definite interval, the Cholesky's decomposition can be directly executed, while in indefinite interval, the decomposition expression can be obtained by the interpolation technique. Then the turbulent wind velocity can be simulated with the spectral representation method in entire intervals of the wind frequency. Numerical examples show that the method is of high precision and the simulant results accord with the basic characteristics of natural wind.


Two tendencies co-exist within the field of analytical psychology. The first is to locate Jung's psychology within the established bounds of official science (by for example insisting on its implicit consistency with orthodox scientific findings). The second is to make claims that Jung's psychology is extra- (or super-) scientific. It seems to me however that neither approach can do justice to the difficulty of the problem Jung has set us. In order to develop a third approach I place Jung's problematic engagement with science into a creative encounter with the philosophical ideas of Deleuze & Guattari. The French philosophers distinguish two contrasting ways of doing science: "Royal" or "state" science privileges the fixed, stable and constant. "Nomad" or "minor" science emphasizes the malleable, fluid, and metamorphic nature of being. These are not alternatives but "ontologically, a single field of interaction" (Deleuze & Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus, p. 367). When it comes to Jung's writings on science, the irredeemable ambiguity of his psychology shows up in what appear to be two contradictory approaches. One highlights the intrinsically scientific nature of his project and insists upon his empiricism. The other takes the form of a profound and relentless critique of the materialistic, reductive and rationalistic assumptions Jung finds behind the scientific approach. My suggestion here is that the dynamic tension between these two opposing visions of science that forms the crucial condition for the on-going individuation of his psychology.


In order to describe natural phenomena, science develops sophisticated models that use mathematical and formal languages which seem, and often are, very far from common experience. When a phenomenon is not accessible to our senses, its description is indirect and understanding can be difficult for those who are not trained to understand the consequences of formal languages used by scientists. When one succeed to obtain a direct visualization of a phenomenon inaccessible to senses, it is possible to get a deeper understanding since a very effective channel of learning is involved. A wider and more profound result in learning process can be obtained if the physical system utilized for visualization enables direct interaction with the phenomenon. From the infrared vision to cosmic rays, from the magnetic field to the flow of energy, many phenomena can be suitable for building systems that allow capturing a greater awareness of the physical world. Some examples of such systems are given for relevant topics in physics and for mathematical tools. They were designed for a summer school for students in the last years of high school or for deepening laboratories addressed to talented students in secondary school, but with some attention it is possible to adapt them to other cases like high school classes or undergraduate students.


The spectacular increase of number of motor vehicles
on the road is mainly attributed ingeneration of traffic problems
like accidents, congestions, delays etc., especially in the urban
premises of developing countries. This paper examines the traffic
problems and sustainable improvement of road intersection at
Bhopal, India. The special and temporal constitutions of the
vehicle as well as pedestrian traffic at the intersections were
examined and the characteristics of the junction indoctrinating
the delay problems are identified. Data regarding the traffic
volume, land use and pedestrian movement activities are collected
through surveys, expert opinion and literature . Analysis of the
collected data revealed that the improper planning of the
junctions, lack of traffic signals and unauthorised parking are the
major factors contributing to the traffic congestions. Various
Using data collected from surveys, traffic frequency and severity
standards for signalized and Un signalized have been established.
The methodologies are developed incorporating the relative
importance of different severity of different safety indices at
intersection. The relative importance (weights) of very low, low,
medium and high severity condition is developed using data
collection and expert opinions experience people which have
knowledge in development/safety development at intersection were
obtained by conducting a survey.


A theory is derived for a new electrostatic probe technique for determining the depletion of electrons in a plasma due to the introduction of an electron-attaching gas. The technique makes use of the positive ion saturation currents and the difference of floating potential. No negative species saturation current measurement is made. The technique is implemented in such a way that all complicated chemical kinetics associated with the electron-attaching gas and plasma are avoided. The utility of the technique was demonstrated in an arcjet experiment in which a readily measurable change in probe floating potential was observed, an indication that the local electron density had been significantly reduced by electron attachment to form negative ions. The arcjet was found to provide a satisfactory flow field for investigation of the effectiveness of various electrophilic gases.


Facebook (FB) and WhatsApp (WA) have become the "communication portal" for social networking, which has rapidly transformed the way people communicate and stay connected. From an educational perspective, social networking sites have received ambiguous reviews. Some studies have shown that the use of FB is becoming more widespread in language learning and it can be an effective tool. FB is not only easy to use, but it also helps encourage autonomous learning within a social environment for students and puts control for learning into the students' hands. This article focuses on the social networking site, FB


▪ Abstract This paper assesses and synthesizes the cumulative results of a new "neighborhood-effects" literature that examines social processes related to problem behaviors and health-related outcomes. Our review identified over 40 relevant studies published in peer-reviewed journals from the mid-1990s to 2001, the take-off point for an increasing level of interest in neighborhood effects. Moving beyond traditional characteristics such as concentrated poverty, we evaluate the salience of social-interactional and institutional mechanisms hypothesized to account for neighborhood-level variations in a variety of phenomena (e.g., delinquency, violence, depression, high-risk behavior), especially among adolescents. We highlight neighborhood ties, social control, mutual trust, institutional resources, disorder, and routine activity patterns. We also discuss a set of thorny methodological problems that plague the study of neighborhood effects, with special attention to selection bias. We conclude with promising ...


These reflections aim to contribute for a new way for understanding human development, human needs and satisfaction through leisure, elements which meet some of the basic human needs. This text is based on Human-Scale Development Theory (1986) and intends to be a theoretical corpus open to the current human reality complex.


In this issue a paper by PELLETTIERI et al. deals with one of the most challenging subjects in neuroradiology, cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). They report on 3 cases treated with respectively endovascular embolization, proton radiation, and surgery. The paper reflects the great variety in successful treatment strategies and in the therapeutic shortcomings. Apparently successful surgery on AVMs can sometimes turn into disaster. Apart from unsuccessful surgery itself, the phenomenon termed normal perfusion pressure breakthrough (NPPB) bleeding has been feared the most. Later in the course of follow-up, residual AVMs have unexpectedly been found at control angiography following a complete obliteration or resection, as determined from prior angiographies. These residual AVMs may occasionally be explained by incomplete angiographies or postoperative vessel wall spasms during angiography. However, in relatively old publications, authors like OLIVECRONA & SPETZLER have pointed out that the full treatment of an AVM may need resection of much larger parts of the brain than to be expected from the angiographs; even the total resection of a hemisphere would seem to be necessary in some cases. Despite the vast number of brain AVMs embolized since the introduction of endovascular neuroradiological treatment, relatively few large follow-up studies have been presented. Contrary to this, the authors of this paper have previously published relatively large angiographic follow-up studies of embolized patients. Thus it is not surprising that the authors now present follow-up cases that enable them to launch a theory of "hidden compartments" in AVMs being responsible for late residuals. According to their theory, hidden compartments are defined as part of the malformed vascular areas that are not visible at cerebral angiography. They think that the hidden compartment's may be responsible for the "growth" of the AVM and for the bleeding that sometimes follows an apparently successful embolization or surgery. Their concept indicates that the hidden compartments are not used to the strain that occurs after redistribution peror postoperatively, and may therefore be responsible for residuals as well as for acute bleedings in some patients. Thus the authors dispute the validity of the theory of NPPB bleedings which occur in normal arteries adjacent to the AVM. They have observed that most residuals are found in the watershed areas of the cerebral circulation and therefore find support for their belief that the energy of the blood stream in this area is not sufficient for visualizing the hidden compartments as long as the high flow system of the AVM is present. The paper presents a theory based on extremely good quality angiograms and scrutiny at the film reading. There is good reason to believe that this is the case in this report. It must, however, be expected that the concept will be disputed with regard to originality as well as to its trustworthiness which is based on only 3 cases. I therefore suspect that this very interesting paper is just an overture to further developments that these experienced authors have hidden up their sleeves.


In an operating method for a laundry-Behandlungserat with a treatment chamber for receiving material to be treated laundry and a dispensing system for dispensing treatment chemicals for the purpose of use in the Waschgutbehandlung a wash load in the processing chamber is determined, at least either a diluent or an output rate for treating chemistry or both on Due to the load size detected is set to define an output parameter, and the output system driven so that the treatment chemical is output to the output parameter corresponding to


The Electronic Structure of Atoms The Electronic Structure of Molecules Organic Molecules Inorganic Molecules The Birth of Quantum Mechanics and Modern Chemistry Molecular Orbital Theory and the Recovery of Classical Chemical Notions The Nature of the Atomic Nucleus Chemical Transformations, Reactions: Velocity and Energy Balance Chemistry and Energy Sources Chemistry and Living Beings.


Introduction Adults with Down9s syndrome (DS) are predisposed to sleep apnoea (SA). Prevalence is, as yet, unknown. Aims and objectives To assess prevalence of SA, sleepiness and behavioural and emotional disturbances in adults with DS in Scotland. Methods A sleep questionnaire, including the pictorial Epworth Sleepiness Scale (pESS) and subscales of the Developmental Behaviour Checklist for Adults (DBC-A), was sent to 650 adults (age ≥16yrs) with DS. All respondents were offered sleep studies (Embletta® Gold, Embla Systems LLC). Standard statistical analysis was undertaken. Results Response rate was 42% (246 valid). 16 respondents had existing SA; 11 were treated. Mean age was 31±11 years. BMI was 30±7 kg/m 2 , higher in females (p=0.009). Mean pESS score was 7±5, with males sleepier (p=0.016). 176 respondents reported snoring; 85 snored often or frequently. 60 reported apnoeas. To date, 23 patients (15 males) have had sleep studies, 20 being valid. Mean age was 26±9 yrs. Mean BMI was 30±7 kg/m 2 ; females were heavier (p=0.001). Median AH (apnoeas+hypopnoeas per hour in bed) was 28.6 (IQR 14.8-48.2). Median ODI (≥4% O 2 desaturations per hour in bed) was 6.5 (IQR 2.1-30.9). Snorers scored higher on pESS (r=0.459, p=0.042) and DBC-A disruptive subscale (r=0.463, p=0.040). BMI correlated with the anxiety/antisocial subscale (r=0.606, p=0.010). Conclusion This is the first population survey of SA in DS adults. Females were less sleepy than males, despite being more obese. Snoring was associated with sleepiness and disruptive behaviour. Heavier patients were more anxious. The study is ongoing. Acknowledgements Chief Scientist Office, Scotland; Fondation Jerome Lejeune, France.


The invention discloses sauced air-dried beef and a processing method thereof. The sauced air-dried beef is prepared from the following raw materials in parts by weight: 60-80 parts of beef, 2-3 parts of dodder, 1-2 parts of eucommia ulmoides, 2-4 parts of fructus rubi, 2-3 parts of mulberry fruit, 2-4 parts of adenophora stricta, 1-4 parts of glossy privet fruit, 2-4 parts of walnut kernel, 2-3 parts of lanatechead saussurea herb with flower, 4-6 parts of iodized salt, 6-8 parts of sesame powder, 6-8 parts of potato sauce, 5-7 parts of pepper powder and 5-8 parts of nutrition additives. According to the sauced air-dried beef and the processing method thereof disclosed by the invention, the Chinese herbal medicinal ingredients and beef are combined to be processed into the dried beef. Compared with the traditional dried beef, the sauced air-dried beef is rich in nutrition and comfortable in mouthfeel and accords with the popular flavor. Meanwhile, multiple traditional Chinese medicine components such as the dodder, the eucommia ulmoides and the fructus rubi are added into the raw materials, so that the sauced air-dried beef product has good effects of replenishing blood and tonifying Yang.


"Bearing the blame and resigning",as a system arrangement,has been introduced into our country.Some regions and departments have worked out some regulations and methods successively and some officials have resigned from their office because of their neglecting of their duty.In fact,"bearing the blame and resigning" is not only a system arrangement,but it contains the moral self-discipline.It is the combination of system arrangement and moral self-discipline.In order to perfect the system of "bearing the blame and resigning",morally,we should improve the officials' responsibility and foster their conscience and sense of shame.


This paper addresses on investigation the possibili ty of electrolytic treatment the sulphur acidic waste solution, obtained in the conventional electrolytic copper refining process. The copper anodes with non-standard nickel, lead, tin a nd antimony content were specially prepared for the refining process. Nickel content of all ano des was approximately 7.5 mass %, and the content of lead, tin and antimony was varied. It wa s observed, that anodes with O 2 content lower than 200 ppm, were not passivated. Results, obtaine d using the standard electrochemical techniques, have indicated that the anodes with non -standard chemical composition could be used under the same conditions as well as in the co nventional copper refining process.


There is currently a debate about the Europeanization of financial policies to procure overall economic stability and to ensure the survival of the Eurozone (EZ). The present theoretical survey asks whether and to what extent reassigning national financial policies to European-level control may help safeguard the EZ. The authors argue that establishing a complementary European financial policy may aid in securing a sound formation of the EZ. From an ordo-liberal standpoint, however, a proper institutional system of checks and balances between national and European competences will play a key role in mitigating moral hazard behavior of EZ members; otherwise, such a reassignment of responsibilities would undermine the survival of the EZ. The authors therefore argue in favor of instead strengthening financial policies on the level of European Member States.


Background: The measures implemented against the coronavirus pandemic also led to a sharp decline in influenza infections in the 2020/2021 flu season. In the meantime, however, the number of influenza infections has risen again; it is known from history that influenza viruses can also trigger severe pandemics. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy of ultraviolet radiation in the spectral range of 200–400 nm for inactivating influenza viruses. Materials and methods: The scientific literature was searched for published ultraviolet (UV) irradiation experiments with influenza viruses and the results were standardized by determining the lg-reduction dose. The results were then sorted and analyzed by virus type and wavelength as far as possible. Results: The scope of the published data sets was limited and revealed large variations with regard to the lg-reduction dose. Only for experiments with influenza viruses in liquid media in the UVC spectral range around 260 nm – the emission range of commonly-used mercury vapor lamps – was there sufficient data to compare virus types. No significant difference between the virus (sub-) types was observed. The lg-reduction dose in this spectral range is 1.75 mJ/cm2 (median). It was also shown that influenza viruses are particularly sensitive in the far-UVC spectral range (200–230 nm). Conclusion: UVC, including far-UVC, is suited for influenza virus inactivation as long as the viruses are in UVC-transparent materials. A large difference in the UV sensitivity of different influenza viruses from the last approx. 100 years could not be detected. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that future influenza viruses will also be similarly UV-sensitive or that UV can also inactivate new influenza viruses.


The recently proposed model potential for including correlation effects in relativistic Hartree-Fock calculations is applied to computations of oscillator strengths for the lowest transitions in Cu I, Ag I and Au I spectra. The present results remove the large discrepancies between the measured fik values for resonance transitions and the values from single-configuration calculations.


We prove that the sharply bounded arithmetic T02 in a language containing the function symbol ⌊x /2y ⌋ (often denoted by MSP) is equivalent to PV1. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Abstract : The main results of the research program are summarized in terms of: (I) development of a time-temperature-transformation (TTT) cure diagram for thermosetting systems; (II) automation of a torsion pendulum using digital computers; (III) characterization of novel polymers, composites and transitions, and (IV) development and application of a pyrolysis system for characterizing the thermal degradation mechanisms of polymers. Originator supplied keywords include: Cure, Epoxies, Torsion pendulum, Torsional braid analysis, T sub ll transition, Pyrolysis.


ObjectivesTo evaluate the time course of hemoglobin concentrations in nonbleeding intensive care unit patients. DesignProspective, observational study. SettingMultidisciplinary (medicosurgical) department of intensive care. PatientsNinety-one patients with no evidence of recent or active blood loss, no history of hematologic disease or chronic renal failure, and no need for extracorporeal epuration techniques. InterventionsNone. Measurements and Main ResultsData collection included primary diagnoses, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and sepsis-related organ failure assessment scores, signs of sepsis, 24-hr fluid balance, and hemoglobin concentrations. For the entire intensive care unit stay, the fall in hemoglobin concentrations (calculated from the mean of individual slopes of hemoglobin concentrations over time) averaged 0.52 ± 0.69 g/dL/day. For the 33 patients who stayed in the intensive care unit for >3 days, this decline was larger for the first 3 days than for subsequent days (0.66 ± 0.84 g/dL/day vs. 0.12 ± 0.29 g/dL/day;p < .01). After the third intensive care unit day, the change in hemoglobin concentrations was inversely related to the severity of the disease, as reflected by the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and the sepsis-related organ failure assessment scores. Hemoglobin concentrations decreased by 0.44 ± 0.70 g/dL/day in the nonseptic and 0.68 ± 0.66 g/dL/day in the septic patients (p = .13). After the third intensive care unit day, hemoglobin concentrations continued to decrease in the septic patients but not in the nonseptic patients (−0.29 ± 0.19 vs. 0.006 ± 0.3 g/dL/day;p = .0016). The fall in hemoglobin concentrations was not significantly related to the fluid balance. The volume of blood drawn daily for laboratory studies was 40.3 ± 15.4 mL: 49.0 ± 11.3 mL in the septic patients and 36.7 ± 14.9 mL in the nonseptic patients (p = .04). ConclusionsHemoglobin concentrations typically decline by >0.5 g/dL/day during the first days of intensive care unit stay in nonbleeding patients. Beyond the third day, hemoglobin concentrations can remain relatively constant in nonseptic patients but continue to decrease in septic patients, as well as patients with high sepsis-related organ failure assessment or Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores. These observations may help in the interpretation of hemoglobin concentrations in critically ill patients.


『An Open Space』 has a trait of a space fiction in terms of a parallel arrangement of the South and North Korea, a crossing of the past and the...


Habitat modification and invasive species are significant drivers of biodiversity decline. However, distinguishing between the impacts of these two drivers on native species can be difficult. For example, habitat modification may reduce native species abundance, while an invasive species may take advantage of the new environment.This scenario has been described as the driver-passenger model, with 'passengers' taking advantage of habitat modification and 'drivers' causing native species decline. Therefore, research must incorporate both habitat modification and invasive species impact to successfully investigate native species decline. In this paper, we used the common myna (Acridotheres tristis) as a case study to investigate the driver-passenger model.We investi- gated changes in bird abundance, over 2 years, in relation to different habitat types and common myna abundance. We hypothesized that the common myna is both a passenger of habitat change and a driver of some bird species decline. Our results indicated that the abundance of many native species is greater in high tree density nature reserves, while the common myna was uncommon in these areas. Common myna abundance was almost three times higher in urban areas than nature reserves and declined rapidly as tree density in nature reserves increased. Our findings indicated that the common myna is primarily a passenger of habitat change. However, we also observed negative associations between common myna abundance and some bird species.We stress the importance of simultaneously investigating both invasive species impact and habitat modification.We suggest habitat restoration could be a useful tool for both native species recovery and invasive species control. Understanding the drivers of native species decline will help inform impact mitigation and direct further research.


Liu Pings Smuggling Dossier is a fine piece of writing on the fight against corruption. It recounts vividly a soul-stirring struggle against smuggling with exciting plots, distinctive characters and careful psychological portrayal. It stresses the important theme of the combat against smuggling and rottenness. It probes deeply into the human complexity for the corruption emergence.


The ameloblastoma may present as either a multicystic or a Unicystic lesion (Kramer, Pindborg & Shear, 1992). An epidemiological study in the Witwatersrand area of South Africa has shown (Shear & Singh, 1978) that the age-standardised incidence rate of the ameloblastoma is 1.96, 1.20, 0.18 and 0.44 cases per million population per year in black males, black females, white males and white females , respectively. It may grow to a large size and lead to extensive enlargement and destruction of the jaws. It is much more common in the mandible than in the maxilla. In an archival study done at the University of the W itwatersrand in Johannesburg (Slabbert, 1989) only 11 of a series of 187 cases (5.9%) occurred in the maxilla. In black patients the ratio of mandibular : maxillary cases was 16.1 : 1 and in white patients 8 : 1.


A novel method of coupling to high-index, small mode-field diameter, waveguides using free-standing tapered 'grapefruit' microstructured optical fibre pigtails with mode fields down to 1 µm is presented. 0.15 dB mode mismatch loss with chalcogenide rib waveguides is demonstrated, a reduction of more than 5 from high NA fibre, and it is shown that they can be used to butt-couple to silicon nanowires.


Intermediate molded article for machining a pinion shaft of a steering device is provided to improve products quality by machining a helical gear in a helical gear forming part after mounting the intermediate molded article in a chuck for precision machining. Intermediate molded article for machining a pinion shaft of a steering device comprises a head part(1), an intermediate body(2), a helical gear forming part(3), a tip part(4), a first step difference part(5), a second step difference part(6), a third step difference part(7), oil grooves(9), an upper chuck inserting groove(10) and a lower chuck inserting groove. The intermediate body, the helical gear forming part and the tip part are formed in a lower part of the head part so that each diameter thereof is reduced. The first step difference part is formed between the head part and the intermediate body. The second step difference part is formed between the helical gear forming part and the intermediate body. The third step difference part is formed between the helical gear forming part and the tip part. A coupling groove(8) inserted by an output shaft of the steering device is formed in an upper part of the head part. The oil grooves are formed in both sides of an upper part of the head part so as to be inclined. The upper chuck inserting groove and the lower chuck inserting groove are respectively formed in the intermediate body of a lower surface of the tip part and an intermediate bottom part of the coupling groove.


Interaction of slow-wave rhythmic components of cardiac, respiratory and motor activities was analyzed in non-narcotized of newborn 1-day-old (P1) and 16-day-old (P16) Wistar rat pups under normal and impaired cholinergic regulation. Functional activity of these three systems is rhythmic, and coordination of their functioning is an important element of the mechanism of adaptive rearrangements under changing factors of the external and internal environment. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine (eserine) was used to increase the level of endogenous acetylcholine and enhance cholinergic effects. To reveal the role of N-cholinoreceptors in intersystemic somatovisceral interactions (ISI), we performed blockade of this receptor type with benzohexonium. Administration of physostigmine leads to the development of a number of pathological reactions and a decrease in the level of ISI in all ranges of modulating rhythms in rats of both ages. ISI in younger rats appear to be more resistant to changes in the level of cholinergic activation. Blockade of N-cholinoreceptors causes inhibition of ISI at P1 and partially to their potentialization at P16. The activation of cholinoreactive structures, which occurred against the background of cholinoreceptors blockade, reduces the pathological effects of physostigmine in animals of both ages, but at the same time leads to an attenuation of ISI. This weakening is more pronounced in 16-day old rats, which may indicate the formation of the definitive level of cholinergic regulation in the first weeks of postnatal ontogenesis.


Had been done experiment about influence of external magnetic field toward polarization angle of laser ray to NaCl various concentration 5%,10%,15%,20%,25%,30%,35% and water. Optical characteristic behaviors studied in this research were vibration direction rotation of electric fields b from transmitted laser trace because of external magnetic fields in the transparent materials. The result of experiment indicated increasing polarization angle of laser
ray proportional with magnetic field touched to transparent material. If the magnetic fields touched to the transparent materials were higher, then the polarization angle change of laser ray also experienced increase linear. For NaCl
solution concentration variation, it was found that the change in polarization direction was directly comparable to its concentration. In addition, from experiment, it was also found that Verdet's Constant water is (0,03±0,002)min/Gcm
and NaCl 0,125 molal is (0,16±0,015)min/G-cm.


Abstract : Political legitimacy is at the heart of any conflict or war. Based on the idea that wars cannot be won without establishing and maintaining political legitimacy, this thesis examines how the COIN strategies developed in Basilan, Bohol, and Sulu address the legitimacy problem. It also offers recommendations for developing a COIN strategy for Mindanao. The thesis uses Ted Gurr's theory of relative deprivation as a framework to explain the factors that lead a society to revolt. It also underscores the importance of providing a long-term solution to the insurgent problems by correcting the underlying issues of poverty, deprivation, and lawlessness. In Basilan, Bohol, and Sulu, the Philippine government and its U.S. allies successfully engineered what Borer describes as the strategy-legitimacy nexus. By promoting the legitimacy of the Philippine government, the insurgent capabilities and influence were substantially reduced by isolating them from the population. Using the same framework, the three case studies demonstrate that while conditions in Mindanao are very different, the case studies offer valuable lessons. These are applied to conducting COIN in the region utilizing an Indirect Approach strategy and are based on McCormick's Diamond Counterinsurgency model that promotes legitimacy through good governance, improved security, and socioeconomic conditions.


Few-shot semantic segmentation (FSS) aims to segment unseen class objects given very few densely-annotated support images from the same class. Existing FSS methods find the query object by using support prototypes or by directly relying on heuristic multi-scale feature fusion. However, they fail to fully leverage the high-order appearance relationships between multi-scale features among the support-query image pairs, thus leading to an inaccurate localization of the query objects. To tackle the above challenge, we propose an end-to-end scale-aware graph neural network (SAGNN) by reasoning the cross-scale relations among the support-query images for FSS. Specifically, a scale-aware graph is first built by taking support-induced multi-scale query features as nodes and, meanwhile, each edge is modeled as the pairwise interaction of its connected nodes. By progressive message passing over this graph, SAGNN is capable of capturing cross-scale relations and overcoming object variations (e.g., appearance, scale and location), and can thus learn more precise node embeddings. This in turn enables it to predict more accurate foreground objects. Moreover, to make full use of the location relations across scales for the query image, a novel self-node collaboration mechanism is proposed to enrich the current node, which endows SAGNN the ability of perceiving different resolutions of the same objects. Extensive experiments on PASCAL-5i and COCO-20i show that SAGNN achieves state-of-the-art results.


KTF, one of the biggest mobile carriers in Korea, provides the SHOW third generation (3G) services that intend to deliver not only voice calls but also visual communication features such as video calling and data services. Details of the current SHOW 3G services and expectations of future services are discussed. The newly-developed DisplayPort standard is intended to provide an interface suited to a very wide range of applications, including both external (" box to box ") and internal (e.g., notebook PC panel interface) connections. With the widespread industry support, Display-Port will replace just about every major digital multime-dia display interface for PCs that are in existence today. Previous display interfaces, such as DVI, LVDS, and VGA will no longer be included on displays in the future, as the PC industry vision is to have ultra-sleek displays with just a DisplayPort connector on the back of the PC. DisplayPort allows high-definition digital audio to be available to the display device over the same cable as the digital video signal. It delivers true plug-and-play with robust interoperability. When the optional content protection capability is active, DisplayPort will support viewing high definition television, video, and audio types of protected content. This paper provides an overview of the proposed standard and its basic technical details. This paper proposes a Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-based music discrimination system for mobile broadcasting receivers. The objective of the system is to automatically archive music signals from audio broadcasting programs that are normally mixed with human voices, acoustic noises, commercial advertisements , and so on. To enhance the robustness of the system performance and to sharply cut the starting/ ending-point of the recording, we also introduce a post-processing module whose features consist of signal duration, energy dynamics, and local variation of feature statistics. Experimental results to various input signals verify the superiority of the proposed system. A lot of attention has been directed at designing various sounds that are treated as noise, such as automobile acceleration sounds and vacuum cleaner sounds. The reason is that the idea of sound being a normal part of product operation has permeated society. We focused on sound design and evaluated it for 11 kinds of button sounds. First, an impression was extracted by the semantic differential (SD) method, and the relevance with a time frequency analysis was investigated. Next, we confirmed whether or not the impression changed when a sound that generated a …


Unconditional Respect for Persons (RfP) scale is an instrument for measuring positive attitudes towards autonomy, equality, and integrity of human beings. This research validated and analyzed some psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the RfP scale in a sample of 947 pupils from 12 and 19 years old (M = 15.47, SD = 1.49). Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, we found two factors of respect Disrespect towards people (F1) and Respect toward people (F2). Internal consistency (F1: Omega = 0.82; F2: Omega = 0.78), and convergent and discriminant validity of the RfP were acceptable. Results show that RfP is a valid and reliable instrument for applying to adolescents and young population.


Olefin modified styrene-acrylonitrile (OSA) polymers are high impact thermo plastics designed for resistance to changes in mechanical properties and ap pearance when exposed outdoors. The effects of changes in elastomer level and SAN molecular weight on initial properties and retention of toughness during weathering were studied for a series of OSA blends. Specimens were exposed in Miami, Florida and in a fluorescent sunlamp/blacklight device. Changes in mechanical properties were tracked by means of a chip impact test. Changes in surface morphology were also monitored.


This paper presents an efficient method to scan the power characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) systems in a few milliseconds. Further, it proposes and analyses the discrete-time cascaded-control designs for the grid-connected PV systems for two different operations (Global MPPT (GMPPT) and power curtailment), ensuring efficient performance during rapidly changing or non-uniform environmental conditions. A simple strategy is also discussed to predict the maximum available PV plant power when the environmental conditions vary between two consecutive scanning events to guarantee stability during the power curtailment operations. The performance of the proposed controllers is validated, analyzed, and compared using MATLAB/SIMULINK. The power curtailment operation is found to be superior to the GMPPT operation, ensuring stable operations during three-phase failure conditions.


Aeropalynological study was conducted in three different locations in the University of Lagos, Akoka campus from the month of April to June 2014. This project aims at surveying the abundance of air-borne palynomorphs and their variation with time. Pollen traps were constructed using buckets, filled with a mixture of 50 ml of glycerol, 10 ml of formaldehyde and 5 ml of phenol and they were placed at the various studied locations, namely Faculty of Science, Senate building and New Hall.  The mixtures were collected at the end of every month throughout the sampling period, analyzed and observed under the microscope. The recovered palynological  assemblage showed a total abundance of 1,229, 833 and 1,433 palynomorph species in the months of April, May and June respectively. The highest abundance of  palynomorphs was recorded in April, June and May at the Faculty of Science, Senate Building and New Hall respectively. A total of 3,495 palynomorphs belonging to  about 22 families were recovered in all. The Poaceae family dominates representing 13.67 % of the total palynomorph count, followed by Cyperaceae (12.72 %)  Euphorbiaceae (5.34 %) Mimosaceae (8.89 %), Fern spores (8.64 %) and Arecaceae (5.85 %). Key words: Aeropalynology, Palynomorphs, University of Lagos, Southwest


We obtain the nonequilibrium distributions and first two moments of the following random variables which arise in describing the ${D / {M / 1}}$ queue relative to $T_0 $, any specified instant in time (either an arbitrary instant or any well-defined epoch): 1. the time until the nth departure, 2. the number of departures in $( {T_0 ,T_0 + t} ]$, 3. the time between the $( {n - 1} )$st and nth departures.The equilibrium formulas are readily obtained from the nonequilibrium results. These results are based on the solution to a differential equation whose solution would be a gamma distribution exceptfor more complicated boundary conditions.We compare the equilibrium interdeparture time distribution to an exponential distribution for a range of values of server utilization, $\rho$. We conclude that the differences are greatest when $0 < \rho < 0.2$ and that they diminish steadily as $\rho $ goes from 0.2 to 1.


SummaryThe conditions for producing anodic coatings on aluminium for wear and abrasion resistance have been studied. The nucleation and growth of such films have been examined by scanning electron microscopy and potential time measurements. The formation of island blocks of anodic oxide (rosettes) has been explained and the characteristic concentric rings and terraces shown to be growth cracks which are different from craze cracks. The mechanism of hard anodizing is discussed and related to previously published models.


was notable; despite this, no pathological levels of insulin Case report and C-peptide were detectable. We omitted preoperative CT-guided needle biopsy because Whipple's triad and the A 60-year-old man presented with RCC of the left kidney and was treated successfully by a transperitoneal nephfindings on CT supported the diagnosis of an insulinoma, because surgery is the treatment of choice for any rectomy in 1989. The histopathological examination revealed a small (2 cm in the greatest dimension) well malignancy of exocrine and endocrine pancreatic tissue, diCerentiated, clear-cell type RCC with microscopic vein involvement. The tumour was resected radically; furthermore, no regional lymph nodes or distant metastases were found. Over a follow-up of 8 years there was no evidence of local recurrence or metastatic disease. The patient began to experience unpredictable episodes of hunger associated with sweating and dizziness in October 1997. During these episodes his blood glucose levels were decreased by up to 300 mg/L. Ultrasonography showed two hypoechoic lesions in the pancreas and subsequent CT of the abdomen showed two hypervascularized well-circumscribed tumours in the body (1.5 cm) and in the tail (2.3 cm) of the pancreas (Fig. 1). However, insulin and C-peptide levels were in the normal range. In January 1998 the patient was admitted to the Department of Surgery. A distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy, combined with a tumour enucleation, was performed after intraoperative ultrasonography. An accurate tumour classification from the intraoperative frozen section was not possible, but the surgical margins were free of tumour. The definitive histopathological specimens revealed two metastases of a clear-cell type RCC (Fig. 2); near these lesions some islet cells showed a moderate hyperplasia. The postoperative course was uneventful. During a 4-month follow-up the patient had no hypoglycaemic attacks and his blood glucose levels remained within the normal range.


The author examines extensively, the case of Lavigne v. Ontario Public Service Employees' Union which deals with the power of a trade union to support without restriction, political and ideological causes unrelated to collective bargaining. Involved in this analysis is a discussion of the Charter right under s. 2, freedom of association, and whether or not this right would also include the freedom not to associate. The author then looks at the potential political implications of the Lavigne decision.


A nucleoside phosphorylase specific for 6-amino purine nucleosides has been purified from extracts of promastigotes of the pathogenic protozoan Leishmania donovani. Unlike the three nucleoside hydrolases previously isolated from this organism (Koszalka and Krenitsky, JBC, 254, 8185-8193, 1979), this enzyme was capable of nucleoside synthesis from pentose-1-phosphate and adenine or selected analogues. The purified enzyme had a pl value of 6.2, a molecular weight of 86,000 daltons, and a pH optimum for adenosine phosphorolysis between 5.6 and 6.5. The energy of activation for the synthetic direction with adenine and Rib-1-P was 8600 cal/mole, while that for the phosphorolytic direction was 11,300 cal/mole.Substrates for the phosphorolytic direction in decreasing order of substrate efficiency (Rel Vmax/Km) were: 5'-methylthioadenosine (26), 2'-deoxyadenosine (12.5), 5'-deoxyadenosine (11.8) and adenosine (0.7). The Km values ranged from 1-46 μM. Adenine arabinoside, inosine, 2'-deoxyinosine, guanosine, and 2'-deoxyguanosine were neither substrates nor potent inhibitors. Adenine and various 2-substituted adenine analogues were substrates with Rib-1-P, whereas 4-amino-pyrazolo(3,4-d)pyrimidine and the 3-deaza-, 7-deaza-, and 8-aza-adenine analogues were all non-substrate competitive inhibitors. This enzyme catalyzed nucleoside synthesis from adenine and Rib-1-P, 2-'dRib-1-P or 5'-methylthio-Rib-1-P. A marked difference between this protozoal MTA phosphorylase and the mammalian counterpart is its ability to synthesize and cleave 2'-deoxyadenosine.


This paper presents the first systematic effort for the experimental validation of the 2D Meshless Random Grid Method (MRGM) for the full field measurement of displacement and strain fields. Although the MRGM has been demonstrating very promising characteristics of accuracy, performance and ease of application based on previously conducted sensitivity analysis supported by virtual data, extensive experimental validation was not available until now. This work comes to fill this gap and presents preliminary validation results against strain gauge data collected from open hole tension experiments of composite specimens. In addition, strain and displacement field verification is performed by comparison studies with finite element analysis results.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


Objective To investigate the quantity of life and their influential factors for peritoneum dialysis patients, provide basic information for enhancing the quantity of life of peritoneum dialysis patients. Methods Questionnaire method was used and 31 peritoneum dialysis patients were interviewed by medical outcomes study health status short form (MOS SF-36) and Zung self-rating depression scale (SDS) and Smilkstein family scale (APGAR). Results The scores on eight dimensionality of quantity of life of peritoneum dialysis patients were lower than the scores of mode, and there were significant differences between them(P0.05). Its influential factors were age, sex,dialysis time (month) of peritoneum, dialysis source of charge, depressive symptom. Conclusion According to the actual circumstance of patients, adopt the individuation intervention measure, and enhance cognizance and teaching for peritoneum dialysis patients and family numbers with the health of depressive symptom, to improve patients quantity of life.


In this paper,the mechanism for large area powder-mixed dielectric EDM(PMD-EDM) is discussed. The reasons that PMD-EDM can improve the machining surface roughness are analyzed and the discharge craters become wide and shallow and uniform are the basic reasons. The comparing experiments in common dielectric and powder-mixed dielectric prove the conclusions are correct.


is always necessary to prevent recurrence (1). Treatment with oral corticosteroids is sometimes referred to as ``medical polypectomy'' because steroids have good repressive effects on nasal polyps (2), but there is also a strong tendency to recurrence within 5 months after successful oral therapy (3). However, oral corticosteroids should be used only for short-term treatment due to the risk of systemic sideeffects. Intranasal corticosteroids are reserved for the treatment of mild cases (e.g., nasal polyposis). In the past 2 years leukotrienes have been implicated in the mediation of bronchoconstriction and in ̄ammatory changes in asthma. The leukotriene-receptor antagonist montelukast has been shown to produce subjective and objective improvement in patients with mild to moderate asthma (4). Leukotriene levels have also been shown to be elevated in patients with sinonasal polyposis and sinusitis. Recently, an objective alleviation, or at least stabilization, of sinonasal polyposis was reported in 50% of the patients after application of the leukotriene-synthesis inhibitor zileuton or the leukotrienereceptor antagonist za®rlukast (5). On the basis of these ®ndings, we evaluated the ef®cacy of short-term oral corticosteroid therapy combined with montelukast in a daily dosage of 10 mg as maintenance therapy in controlling symptoms of severe sinonasal polyposis. Outcome measures included subjective interviews, serial endoscopic examinations, and MRI. We treated nine patients with massive bilateral sinonasal polyposis. All but one patient had repeated surgical polypectomy in the past. Recurrence was observed after 3 weeks (n=1), 8 weeks (n=3), 12 weeks (n=1), and 1 year (n=3) after surgery. Nasal blockage (100%) was found to be the major complaint before therapy. Nearly half of the patients initially suffered from rhinorrhea. In the ®rst 5 days of treatment, 40 mg methylprednisolone was given orally followed by a progressive reduction. Montelukast in a daily dosage of 10 mg was also administered. After day 12, the oral steroid therapy was discontinued. The follow-up period for the ®rst treated patients is now up to 1 year. Meanwhile seven patients experienced subjective improvement of their symptomatology and four out of these seven were even free of symptoms. Anterior rhinoscopy was performed before treatment and then monthly. All patients showed endonasal polyps at the initial visit, ®ve patients reached a polyp-free nasal cavity under treatment, and one patient showed clear regression of nasal polyps. Three patients presented with unchanged ®ndings under anterior rhinoscopy. After 3 months regressive disease was documented by MRI in four patients, whereas in three patients stabilization of sinonasal polyposis was documented. Endoscopic nasal examination ®ndings and MRI results were consistent with the reports of overall bene®t (n=7). Side-effects of this treatment concept were not observed. Two patients showing strong bene®t of this therapy chose to discontinue treatment, and recurrence was observed 4±8 weeks later. All patients, even the two patients with only limited bene®t of this therapeutic approach, preferred this therapy to surgical intervention. We conclude that this new concept in the management of diffuse sinonasal polyposis might be a viable alternative to long-term oral steroid therapy and repeated surgical debridement. According to these preliminary data, oral application of montelukast should not be discontinued due to the risk of recurrence. None of our patients developed progressive disease; therefore, our data show that the leukotriene-receptor antagonist montelukast might play a signi®cant role in the prevention of nasal polyps after surgery. In view of these promising results, a clinical trial comparing our new therapy concept group to a control group receiving only topical steroids is in progress.


DEVICE RECORDING IMAGES IN WHICH PAPER SENSITIVE OR PLAIN IS SELECTED AS RECORDING MEDIUM. IF MONOCHROME IMAGE MUST BE REGISTERED, PROVISIONAL IMAGE MADE BY MEANS OF OPAQUE MATTER WHICH REPRESENTS THE ORIGINAL IMAGE RECORDING IS TRANSFERRED, DIRECTLY ON ORDINARY PAPER FORM A MONOCHROME PICTURE ON IT. IF COLOR IMAGE MUST BE REGISTERED, OPAQUE IMAGE IS TRANSFERRED, ONCE ON A CARRIER AND IMAGE IMAGE RANGE BY THE CARRIER IS PROJECTED IMAGES ON SENSITIVE PAPER TO FORM AN IMAGE ON THE LATENT -THIS. LATENT IMAGE MADE ON PAPER SENSITIVE BY EXPOSURE ABOVE THEN DEVELOPED TO PRODUCE A VISIBLE IN COLOR.


The land loss and displaced population of the North Carolina coast caused by predicted sea-level rise are quantified. Maps are created to show land area that would be inundated from four sea-level rise predictions. The predictions used are a sea-level rise in the year 2100 of 1, 2, 4, and 7 feet above the 1990 level. The land area and displaced population are calculated for each of the predictions. The results show that 18.1 percent of the land area and 143,068 people of coastal North Carolina would be inundated with a sea-level rise of 1 foot, 22.5 percent land area and 175,528 people with 2 feet of rise, 27.6 percent land area and 215,280 people with 4 feet of rise, and 34.4 percent land area and 272,223 people with 7 feet of rise. 1.0 Introduction Many scientists agree that climate change is one of the most pressing world issues. Of the many impacts that climate change has on the planet, sea-level rise could be one of the most detrimental to humans. According to McGranahan et al. [1], "2 percent of the world's land area is less than 10 meters above sea level but contains 10 percent of the world's population and 13 percent of the world's urban population." Sea-level rise would have impacts on society through coastal erosion, increased susceptibility to storm surges, and groundwater contamination [2]. In addition to the impacts on humans, sea-level rise would also cause changes to near-shore coastal dynamics, including sand abundance and distribution and shipping channels. Sea level is defined as the average height of the sea with respect to a reference surface [3]. The sea level changes on a short-term basis due to waves, tides, storms, and seasonal weather patterns [4]. Long-term sea level change is dominated by fluctuations in global near-surface air temperature and fresh water input from ice sheets and glaciers. Of these contributing factors, ice sheets have the greatest ability to raise the sea level. The complete melting of ice sheets would raise the global sea level about 70 meters [5]. Over the last century, the mean sea-level rose 1 to 2 mm/year, with thermal expansion caused by warming contributing 0.5 ± 0.2 mm [2]. Thermal expansion is a change in the volume of ocean water in response to heat transfer with the atmosphere. Because the mean global surface temperature has increased 0.85°C from 1880-2012, there is a strong correlation between temperature and sea-level [6]. This increase in temperature has come as a result of the emission of greenhouse gases from human activities. Another concern with regards to ice sheet and glacier melting is soot. Soot is twice as effective as carbon dioxide when it comes to altering the global surface air temperature [7]. When deposited on snow and ice, soot decreases the average albedo of the earth and increases the amount of sunlight that is absorbed. The coastal region of North Carolina is one of the state's most valuable resources. The beaches that line the Atlantic Ocean are popular vacation spots for people from around the world. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina received over 2.31 million visitors in 2013 (outerbanks.org). In 2012, the total revenue from tourism in coastal counties was over $2.91 billion (NC Department of Commerce, nccommerce.com). From the 2010 census, the total population of the coastal counties was 988,911 (US Census Bureau, census.gov). In order to manage this region of the state, the Coastal Area Management Act of 1974 was passed by the North Carolina General Assembly. This act created the Coastal Resources


1975 soil samples were collected from different areas in Hebei Province and the entomopathogenic nematodes(EPN) were extracted with Galleria mellonella trap method.A total of 66 populations were isolated from soil samples,among which 2 populations are Steinernema glaseri, 49 populations are Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. One population(G6) isolated from Gu'an county is a new steinernematide species that can be distinguished from all known species by morphology,morphometrics and ITS-rDNA sequence analysis,and the others were confirmed to be another new steinernematide species. It was determined that occurrence of EPN was closely related to plant species and soil types. The prevalence of EPN in uncultivated soil, orchard, vegetable fields and crop fields were 6.59%, 5.13%, 3.15% and 2.90%, respectively; and in sandy, sandy loam, loam and clay soils, 8.57%, 3.17%, 3.36% and 0, respectively.


This study was carried out to determine the morphological traits, distributions of body coat colour and body measurements of donkeys raised in the East and Southeast of Turkey by comparing with other donkey breeds of the world. For this purpose a total of 124 male and 70 female donkeys were measured. Descriptive statistics results yielded the following means: for withers height was 102.3 cm, height at rump 104.3 cm, body length 105.2 cm, heart girth circumference 113.5 cm, chest depth 45.7 cm, chest width 29.5 cm, cannon circumference 13.6 cm, head length 48.7 cm and ear length 21.9 cm respectively. In this study the body coat color frequencies among the donkeys were: mouse gray 31.4%, white 24.7%, black 23.7%, and brown 20.2%.


The design of autonomous characters capable of planning their own motions continues to be a challenge for computer animation. We present a novel kinematic motion planning algorithm for character animation which addresses some of the outstanding problems. The problem domain for our algorithm is as follows: given a constrained environment with designated handholds and footholds, plan a motion through the environment towards a desired goal. Our algorithm is based on a stochastic search procedure which is guided by a combination of geometric constraints, posture heuristics, and distance-to-goal measures. The method provides a single framework for the use of multiple modes of locomotion in planning motions through constrained, unstructured environments. We illustrate our results with demonstrations of a human character using walking, swinging, climbing, and crawling in order to navigate through complex environments.


The author of the article points out the relevance of the patriotic theme, which is a priority in the educational work of Vavilov University. The problem of the influence of project activities on the development of patriotic education of student youth is considered by the example of the implementation of the cultural and educational project «Patriotic theme in the songs of Soviet composers». This method, using end–to-end technologies of the digital economy – virtual and augmented reality, has proved its effectiveness in the purposeful process of developing patriotic education of student youth.


This paper discusses the key findings from a major research project that assessed the impacts of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Time of Day Pricing Initiative on the behavior of car users. The data show that 7.4% of passenger trips changed behavior because of the time of day pricing initiative, and that demand is inelastic to tolls with elasticities in the range of -0.11 to -0.24. Passenger car users responded to time of day pricing by implementing multidimensional strategies, involving several behavioral responses such as changes in facility usage, changes in time of travel, changes in the productivity of car trips, and changes in mode/occupancy. Individuals who changed behavior reported 3.23 different behavioral changes in average. The behavioral response most frequently cited was to shift mode and maintain the original time of travel, instead of changing time of travel and maintaining the use of the passenger car. The users reported limited flexibility to arrive early or late to their destination for their work trips, with averages of 20.4 and 12.3 minutes respectively. The limited time of travel flexibility suggests the need for comprehensive policies, possibly involving incentives or regulations to foster employers' participation in staggered, or flexible time, work hour programs. Comprehensive approaches involving such programs, combined with time of day pricing, are bound to be more effective in balancing car traffic during the day.


In recent years, there has been much advancement in the field of ontology modularity. However, work on evaluation metrics for modules is lacking. For the studies that do exist on evaluation metrics, they specialise on only a few metrics, and there is not always a quantitative approach to calculate them. Furthermore, the metrics are not comprehensive enough to apply to the different types of modules and it is unclear which metrics fare well with, say locality-based modules as opposed to those that fare well with partition modules. In this paper, we create a comprehensive list of both existing and new evaluation metrics for modules, together with equations to measure them. In order to test these metrics with existing modules, we create an ontology module metrics tool, Tool for Ontology Module Metrics (TOMM), to measure the metrics of an ontology module or a set of related ontology modules. This leads to uncovering metrics fare well with which module types.


he greatest pollution prevention device in the world is an active human mind. Active minds working together have made this firm what it is today, a 118-year-old learning organization. Mr. I.P. Hyde started making knives for the shoe industry about a mile from where our plant is located in Southbridge, Massachusetts. He made knives for three days a week and peddled them two days a week. Mr. Hyde, a good Yankee business man, believed in using up, using over, and making do. His one-man shop could not afford to waste any resources. Hyde Manufacturing Company now has sales in excess of $30 million a year. Our 305-member team carries out as many as 30 different processes in producing the finest putty knives, surface preparation tools, and machine blades in the world. Every day we face issues that Mr. Hyde couldn't have dreamed of. We develop more new products each month than he did in a lifetime. We constantly have to plan for future federal, state, and emerging international environmental requirements to make sure that we don't invest in processes or products that changing laws will render obsolete. At the same time, we have stakeholders, including the community where many of our employees live, who are affected by the way we operate our business. One of the factors, for example, that led us to adopt our ambitious goals for reducing waste was the need to reduce the load on the local publicly owned wastewater treatment plant. How a company responds to the complex challenges of today's marketplace depends on the vision of its top management. At Hyde, we have returned to the fundamentals of using


Modelling and predicting meteorological behaviour using conventional algorithmic and statistical techniques has many problems. Models need to be constructed for a specific geography and climate, formulae suitable for one region will not in general be applicable to another region. Neural networks are nonparametric and can be trained to model the meteorological behaviour of any region for which there is sufficient data. In this paper, feed-forward neural networks are trained using data collected in Sicily between 1980 and 1983 to predict the occurrence of frost. The number and type of inputs was varied to give an indication of which were important to the performance of the neural predictor. The best network only failed to correctly predict frost on one occasion out of fifty unseen test days.


Ir/Pb(Zr, Ti)O3(PZT)/Ir capacitors were fabricated solely by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Both top and bottom Ir electrodes with mirror like surfaces were obtained at 300°C by MOCVD. Ferroelectric PZT thin films were successfully prepared at 395-540°C by MOCVD using (C2H5)3PbOCH2C(CH3)3 as a Pb precursor and PbTiO3 as a seed. Both Ir electrodes and PZT thin films showed good step coverage of 70–80%. PZT films prepared at 445–540°C exhibited well-saturated hysteresis loops with remanent polarization of 19–25 µC/cm2.


DC servomechanisms are widely used as actuators in industry and are generally required to have the conflicting requirements of high accuracy, fast speed of response and no overshoot. These requirements are obviously necessary in robot position control, but classical control theory results in a compromise. The author outlines a control strategy that would meet all the previously stated requirements and also to maintain a high degree of consistency in the face of disturbance parameters when implemented on a robot system. >


Abstract We describe a compact water-heating system for thermally marking salmon otoliths during incubation. The system is portable and can be used to provide heated water for either streamside or instream incubators. The heating system consists of a small, propane-fired boiler and heat exchanger, a jet pump, a motorized set-point, a four-way mixing valve, and two circulating pumps. Warmed stream water exiting the heat exchanger is pumped to a head tank, mixed with ambient water to the desired temperature, and dispersed to the incubators, where some or all of the water can be recirculated or discarded. The mixing valve maintains a constant temperature in water flowing to the head tank based on a sensor feedback loop from the recovery tank. Using this system, we successfully marked approximately 800,000 pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha with no apparent adverse affects. Depending on incubation techniques, larger numbers of eggs or alevins could be marked.


Oral carcinoma is amongst the leading malignancies worldwide, with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) as the most common type accounting for over 90% of cases (Johnson et al., 2011). In spite of vast advance in the field of cancer research, availability of sophisticated diagnostic techniques and improved therapeutic options prognosis of patients presenting with this type of tumor still remains very poor (SahebJamee et al., 2008). The early diagnosis and treatment of oral SCC is important and it is possible that some biomarkers could be used for screening and demonstration of high risk patients. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of closely related enzymes that can degrade the extracellular matrix and play an important role in tumor invasiveness and metastasis (Knapinska and Fields, 2012; Pereira et al., 2012; Shuman et al., 2012; Abbasi et al., 2014; Yadav et al., 2014). MMP-2 and MMP-9 are the common MMPs involved in head and neck SCC. Both MMPs are found to be correlated with degree and stage of tumor and lymph node metastasis as well as poor prognosis. It is reported that MMP-2 activates MMP-9 (Forsyth et al.,


The study examines two major contrasting theological accounts of nature within the contemporary North American Evangelical community as articulated by Henry Morris and Bernard Ramm. In doing so, the dissertation analyzes nature considered diachronically in three epochs namely: (1) Natura Originalis (the origin of nature); (2) Natura Continua (the contemporary status of nature); and (3) Natura Nova (the future of nature). The purpose of this research is to discover, describe, analyze, and compare the shape of the two contrasting concepts of nature articulated respectively by Morris, a strict concordist and a special creationist and Ramm, a broad concordist and a progressive creationist as a first step in a systematic, theological, and comparative study of the contemporary North American evangelical understanding of nature. The core of the dissertation is a critical comparison and evaluation of the three epochs of nature according to Morris and Ramm. Their different views on nature and hermeneutics are analyzed and evaluated, and strengths and weaknesses are highlighted. The evangelical discussion of nature as represented by Morris and Ramm is framed synchronically and diachronically. In doing so, the study reaches four critical conclusions namely: 1. Whereas Ramm requires reinterpretation of Scripture when Scripture appears to make statements that counter current scientific beliefs regarding nature, the dissertation concludes that such a methodology may, however, result in giving unintended meaning to Scriptural statements about nature. 2. The synchronic and diachronic framing by the dissertation of the evangelical discussion of nature by Morris and Ramm is a useful way of illuminating their views of nature. For example, the close diachronic framing reveals that Morris's claim that future nature mirrors original nature is not fully consistent due to the presence of hell in future nature. 3. The strict and broad concordists' approaches to nature, as articulated by Morris and Ramm, are inadequate and insufficient for the task of developing a fully coherent evangelical concept of nature. 4. While Morris's emphasis on a literal interpretation of Scripture is a positive development, Ramm's call to evangelicals to be open to science and to develop a healthy attitude toward science is also commendable. However, both thinkers tend to appeal to the extremes of the evangelical spectrum. The dissertation suggests that there is a need for a more centrist approach to nature in evangelical discussions. The dissertation ends by making some recommendations for further study.


Paraphilias are disorders of sexual preferences. Paraphilias cause serious distress and impairment to the suffering individual. Stigma around the illness makes treatment inaccessible. Paraphilic behaviors often lead to crimes. Most of the paraphilias are as such punishable by law. Thus, the persons with paraphilia are often found in prisons and not in hospitals. Although paraphilias are considered as psychiatric illnesses, there is less emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation of individuals with these illnesses. While safety of victims is a priority, decriminalization of paraphilias is a debatable issue.


The essay is made particularistic to children issue in terms of their rights to take part in social and political activities and rights to receive care and protection from the adults. As a critical ...


In this paper, the issue of see-through image blurring of transparent organic light-emitting diodes display is demonstrated, and a systematic method is proposed to calculate blurred see-through image based on diffraction theory. In the calculation, distances of background object and the viewer are considered to correct Fresnel diffraction and chromatic image can be finally synthesized. Calculated and actually captured see-through images match well by using different background distances and pixel structures to verify, as error ratio of only 2.3% and 4.3%, respectively, in the term of blurred image's fringe length. Based on the calculation results, see-through image qualities corresponding to four pixel structures are evaluated and two structures are verified to have better image quality. Finally, higher resolutions that lead to much more significant see-through image blurring are discussed.


The active part of present polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs) consists of only a single layer. Multilayer devices have the advantage that the electron and hole transport can be balanced and that the recombination can be removed from the metallic cathode, leading to higher efficiencies. A major problem for polymer‐based multilayer devices is the solubility of the materials used; a multilayer can not be fabricated when a spin‐cast layer dissolves in the solvent of the subsequent layer. We demonstrate the development of high‐mobility poly(p‐phenylenevinylene) (PPV)‐based hole‐transport layers with tunable solubility by chemical modification. Enhanced charge‐transport properties are achieved by using symmetrically substituted PPVs; copolymers of long and short side chains enable us to tune the solubility without loss of the enhanced charge transport. Dual‐layer PLEDs, in which the holes are efficiently transported via this copolymer towards the luminescent layer, exhibit an enhanced efficiency at high voltages (> 10 V) and a strongly improved robustness against electrical breakdown.


The paper examines the implementation of the enlargement policy at the end
 of the second decade of the 21st century, which occurred under considerably
 altered circumstances and in different dynamics in comparison to the
 previous cycles of the ?Eastern enlargements?. Unlike those accession cycles
 which were conducted under different circumstances and had been regionally
 and strategically directed in their approach so that the entire groups of
 countries could simultaneously join the Union, during the last decade there
 was a growing focus on strictly bilateral relations of Brussels with each
 candidate and its individual accomplishments within the ?accession regatta?,
 and on more intensive and earlier conditioning. In combination with the
 changed international circumstances, these resulted in a different treatment
 of the current accession candidates. The article points that the reasons for
 this have been the altered political circumstances and challenges in the
 functioning of the Union, the different international context, as well as
 insufficient progress in the remaining ?unintegrated? southeastern
 countries. With the accession policy falling behind and along with
 considerations regarding the reform plans within the European Union by the
 model of concentric cycles of integration, it appears to the author that
 further accession of EU candidates will retain different dynamics comparing
 to the previous enlargement rounds, and potentially result in a different
 form of integration in the future..


Infants are dominated among patients with respiratory syncytial viral infection (RSVI). In patients with RSVI characteristic are lesions of the lower respiratory tract and development of bronchial obstruction. Laboratory indicators of intoxication (the level of CRP, Leukocyte index of intoxication (LII), hematologic indicator of intoxication (GPI), metabolic disorders and decreased oxygen saturation below 93% are indicators of the severity of the disease, which can predict the development of a more severe course of RSVI and its complications.


Properties of solutions of generic hyperbolic systems with multiple characteristics with microlocally diagonalizable principal part are investigated. Solutions are represented as a Picard series with terms in the form of iterated Fourier integral operators. It is shown that this series is an asymptotic expansion with respect to smoothness under quite general geometric conditions on characteristics. Both constant and variable multiplicities are allowed. Propagation of singularities is described and sharp regularity properties of solutions are obtained. Results are applied to establish regularity estimates for scalar weakly hyperbolic equations with involutive characteristics. They are also applied to derive the first and second terms of the spectral asymptotics for the corresponding self-adjoint elliptic systems.


"Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts,"Marcus Garvey, the creator, heart, and soul of the prodigiously successful Black nationalist Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), warned his followers in July 1925. From his jail cell in the Atlanta penitentiary—having been sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly having used the mail to defraud—he urged that the "Negro should keep shy of Communism or the Worker's party of America." Those groups, he judged, are "more dangerous to the Negro's welfare than any other group at present." Statements such as these and clashes such as the one in 1930 in which Alfred Levy, a Black communist, was killed in a dispute with Garveyites in Harlem, gave Garvey and Garveyism (his variety of Black nationalism) the reputation of having been "particularly anti-Communist." In 1967, Harold Cruse portrayed the New Negro era after World War I as an ideological battlefield. "Garvey Nationalism, Black Socialism, Black Communism, Black trade unionism, Black civil rightsism [...] were at each other's political throats." "It is a fact," Cruse reinforced this view of enmity between the Black Left and Garvey, "that [A. Philip] Randolph's Messenger writers were implacable enemies of the Garvey movement." This perception of Garvey as a staunch anti-Communist prevailed and was reiterated by various scholars in the following decades into the twenty-first century. Tony Martin in his study on the Garvey movement set the scene as one of strict antagonism. In spite of "continuous onslaughts from communists" (and others), Martin writes, Garvey nevertheless managed to


Psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (eczema), alopecia areata, vitiligo and hidradenitis suppurativa are different types of chronic inflammatory skin diseases (CISDs). It is well known that diseases linked to the immune system can co-occur. In particular, types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, where there is inflammation in parts of the digestive tract) called ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease may be associated with various skin diseases. This study, from the USA, wanted to find out if IBD is found more often in patients with a CISD versus patients seen by dermatol-ogists but without a CISD. It used patient data from health plans across the USA and included adults and children who were seen by a dermatologist between 2004 and 2020. To capture information about new IBD, we excluded patients who already had IBD. All patients were followed for an average of 2 years and over that time we looked at the number of patients who developed IBD in each group. After accounting for differences in IBD risk factors between groups, we found that patients with hidradenitis suppurativa had double the risk of developing both ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease compared with patients without a CISD. We found that patients with psoriasis had a 35% increased risk of Crohn disease, but no increased risk of ulcerative colitis. Neither ulcerative colitis nor Crohn disease was increased in people with atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata or vitiligo. This study points towards an increased risk of newly occurring IBD in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa and of Crohn disease in patients with psoriasis.


IBSchek is a blood test marketed to assist in the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome with predominant diarrhea (IBS-D) or with mixed bowel habits (IBS-M) in adults.


Set up in 1996, the HIPC Initiative's prime goal was to reduce eligible countries' debt burdens to the thresholds established under the Initiative. In September 1999, the HIPC Initiative was enhanced in order to provide broader, deeper and faster debt relief. There are both costs and benefits associated with participation under the Initiative. At the completion point, full debt cancellation under the MDRI is granted. Nepal has been found to be satisfying all the conditions required to reach the decision point under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative framework. The possible conditions attached to Nepal's entry to the HIPC Initiative, the level of existing concessionary foreign assistance that can be nonconcessionary, the reform measures that need to be additionally implemented and the possible debt situation after reaching the completion point of the HIPC Initiative are some of the issues that need further attention.


The Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou area is located in the south of the Yangtze River delta.Groundwater resources in the shallow aquifers are abundant.However,the contents of Fe~(2+) and Mn~(2+) in the groundwater is very high.Based on the current data of groundwater quality,the Eh measured in the field and analyses of chemical compositions of soils and minerals,the occurrence of Fe and Mn and influence factors are examined in this paper.The results show that such factors as compositions of the media,environment of oxidation and reduction can influence on the groundwater quality.In order to improve the shallow groundwater quality,a way of improving the groundwater circulation by exploiting the shallow groundwater is put forward.


Disulfides are very important organic synthetic reagents.In this paper,a lot of synthetic methods of disulfides were reviewed.The merits and shortcomings of these methods were also presented.In addition,the outlook on the progress of disulfides synthesis techniques were also given.