The study's objectives were to update Partanen's and Boffetta's 1994 meta-analysis of lung cancer among roofing and paving asphalt workers and explore the role of coal tar in explaining the statistical heterogeneity among these studies. Information retrieval strategies and eligibility criteria were defined for identifying the epidemiologic studies to be included in the analysis. The relative risk ratio (RR) for lung cancer was selected as the effect measure of interest. Coal tar bias factors were developed and used to externally adjust each eligible study's published RR for confounding by coal tar. Confidence intervals on adjusted RRs were estimated by the Monte Carlo methods outlined by Steenland and Greenland (2004). The meta-Relative Risk (meta-RR) and its variance were estimated by general variance-based methods. Heterogeneity of the RRs was assessed by heterogeneity chi-square and I 2 tests. Also explored were the influences of study design; differences between internally and externally adjusted RRs; and the potential impact of coal tar misclassification. The results from this update were similar to those in Partanen's and Boffetta's original meta-analysis. The unadjusted meta-RR (random effects model) for the roofing studies was elevated (meta-RR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.39–2.02, I 2 = 80%) and significantly greater than the meta-RR for the paving studies (meta-RR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.81–1.18, I 2 = 59%). After adjustment for confounding by coal tar, however, the corrected roofers' meta-RR dropped to 1.10 (meta-RR = 1.10, 95% CI = 0.91–1.33, I 2 = 60%), while the corrected pavers' meta-RR was nearly unchanged at 0.96 (meta-RR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.80–1.16, I 2 = 56%). Although the meta-RRs for the roofers and the pavers were no longer statistically significantly different from one another, significant heterogeneity remained within each of the coal tar-adjusted sectors. Stratifying the roofing and paving studies by study design revealed that statistical heterogeneity was concentrated in the weaker designs such as those relying on death certificates for work history. When the weaker studies were excluded, the remaining roofing and paving studies had a combined meta-RR close to 1.0 (meta-RR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.88–1.17) with no significant heterogeneity (I 2 = 0%). Meta-analysis of non-experimental epidemiologic studies is subject to significant uncertainties as is externally correcting studies for confounding. Given these uncertainties, the specific quantitative estimates in this (or any similar) analysis must be viewed with caution. Nevertheless, this analysis provides support for the hypothesis proposed by several major reviewers that confounding by coal tar-related PAH exposures may explain most or all of the lung cancer risks found in the epidemiologic literature on asphalt roofing and paving workers.


We call a given American option representable if there exists a European claim which dominates the American payoff at any time and such that the values of the two options coincide in the continuation region of the American option. This concept has interesting implications from a probabilistic, analytic, financial, and numeric point of view. Relying on methods from Jourdain and Martini (2001, 2002), Chrsitensen (2014) and convex duality, we make a first step towards verifying representability of American options.


Whether or not American policy after the 2013 Syrian chemical-weapons attack was wise, its execution was bungled, causing unnecessary harm to the US– France relationship.


This paper analyzes the effects of different monetary policy transmiss ion channels in Serbia as well as their implications for the current monetary policy framework and instruments. It has become apparent that, for the time being there are two active channels: the exchange rate channel and the expectations channel. Although the effect of transmission of the exchange rate on prices is dominant, the central bank is determined to conduct its monetary policy within the framework of an inflation targeting monetary strategy. In the future, other channels -primarily the interest rate and credit channels – are expected to become active as well. However, it should be said that the use of administrative measures has so far not been efficient in strengthening these channels. The Conclusion of the paper draws attention to the difficulties faced by monetary policymakers in the absence of support from other policies, especially fiscal policy.


This study has been prepared with the aim of determining the views and success levels towards spreadsheet of the university students' studying with blended education and e-learning.Two-group experimental study model was used in this study. In one group the lectures were given via e-learning technique and in the other group the blended learning study model was applied. In both groups there were 30 students. Courses were held with WordPress and variety of Web tools supported environments. In order to obtain the views of both groups in the study, pre-test and post-test surveys were used. By using data on SPSS 16.00 pocket program the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and t-test analyses were done. For the validity of survey's scope and vision, 10 experts' opinions have been taken. As a result of factor analysis, it was determined that the scale has a valid structure. In order to determine the success levels, the achievement tests were applied in both groups. Achievement tests was becoming from two questions. At the end of the research, it was determined that blended education students declared positive views towards account statements. Similarly, achievement test results were more successful than the e-learning group.


Based on the fact that the score recording managerial software of teaching affairs in universities all across China is far from perfect yet, the key point of this thesis is to provide a way for programming on the automatic graduation qualification censorship under the credit system by drawing attentions to the necessity of adding a graduation qualification censoring function to the existing program and the effects it brings consequently.


We describe experimental results about the spontaneous wrinkling of diamond-like carbon films over the thickness range 2 nm–58 nm, grown on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates with a 5 nm gold film deposited as adhesion layer. Using Atomic Force Microscopy data with suitable processing, we explore both isotropic and anisotropic wrinkling, the latter done by creating trench structures on PDMS substrates. We show new non-predictable results based on the known literature.


Since the worldwide economy become more and more close, international trade and FDI grow rapidly as an important means for an open country involving in the international economy. Ever since China joined WTO, FDI inflows and international trade in China both develop fast. China has become the largest country of export and import of foreign capital. This paper work on international trade data from 2002 to 2010, use statistic method to analyze the effect of FDI on the means of export trade in China. The analysis shows that, foreign capital has encouraged export trade in China, and has facilitated the High-tech product export, as well as inner capital investment. Also with the growth of economy in China, foreign capital tends to emphasis more on RD, which can have a positive effect on the more value-added product export and facilitate our innovation.


So generally this dangerous condition called neutropenia will occur when the neutrophils cells counts is lower than the normal count which is 1500 cell/μl [1-5]. Even so when the neutrophil count is more than 1000 cell/μl there will still be normal protection against infection. When the level of neutrophils falls to 500-1000 cell/μl it is classified as mild neutropenia and moderate neutropenia happened when the count falls between 200-500 cell/μl [1-3]. When the neutrophil count falls lower than 200 cell/μl; it is considered as a very serious condition that requires the patient to be admitted to the hospital and treated with antibiotics [2-3]. It has been reported that the normal neutrophil count in the white man is 1500 cell/μl while in the black man the normal is lower (i.e., 1200 cell/μl) [5].


Background: Extent of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been shown to be associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). 16-Flourodeoxyglucose(FDG) uptake on positron emission tomography(PET) can ...


The public sector purchasing function continues to face growing pressures to reform current purchasing processes. Yet, little is known about the abilities of purchasing professionals to adapt to this rapidly changing environment. This article identifies the critical job duties and work responsibilities of government purchasing buyers and officers in an attempt to determine if they currently posses the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully adapt to increased pressures for reform.


Depending on the accuracy of the tools we employ in our research, each variable is measured within a certain degree of precision. For example, in most clinical studies on adults, age is measured in years. Generally, measuring the age with more accuracy in such studies is neither necessary nor of any particular importance. However, we might measure blood pH in the same study with two or even three digits after the decimal point because minute changes in blood pH are associated with serious clinical implications. Statistical software programs commonly used in the analysis of research data, however, calculate the results with a predefined precision, say, three digits after the decimal point, no matter how accurately the raw data were measured. Therefore, the software would report the mean of both of the mentioned variables, age and pH, with three digits after the decimal point.


List of Tables and Map Acknowledgements List of Acronyms Introduction: Considering Contradictions The Origins of NORAD: Institutionalizing Canadian/US Military Cooperation Canada's Nuclear Weapons: The Relations of Military Cooperation Constructing an Aerospace Defence Mandate: 1958-1981 Active Missile and Space-Based Defence Programs: 1981-96 Constructing an Economic Context for NORAD Decision-Making The Relations of Defence Production Sharing: Decision-Making in the 1980s and 90s The Public Discourse I: The 1950s and 60s The Public Discourse II: From 'Post-Cold War' to Post-Cold War Into the Twenty First Century Selected Bibliography Index


Objective To explore the effect of MP and GM1 on apoptosis and bcl-2 gene expression in spinal neuron of rats after spinal cord injury(SCI).Method 85 Wistar rats were subjected to 25gcfc ontusion to thoracolumbar(T11) spinal cord,and a thin plastic tube was placed in subarachnoid space below the injury level for perfusion.The MP and GM1-treated group received MP and GM1 liquid at once、15min、4、8、12、24、72hours afterconfusion,and an equal volume of normal saline was given to the control group at same time.Results There was no apoptotic neurons in spinal cord of normal rat group.The apoptotic neurons was found 4 h after SCI in NS group.MP and GM1 treatment group are significantly less than NS group(P0.01).The levels of bcl-2 gene expression in the MP and GM1 group were significantly higher than those in NS group(P0.01).Conclusion Apoptotic neurons and bcl-2 gene expression in rat spinal cord can be markedly enhanced by injury,MP and GM1 may protect ISC by suppressing the neuronal apoptosis and increasing bcl-2 gene expression.


Probability and Statistical Inference. By Robert V. Hogg and Elliot A. Tanis. New York, Macmillan, 1977. ix, 450 p. 24 cm. £11·25.


The flow performance characteristics of two check valves,the holistic opening valve and the cantilever valve,were investigated.The prototype of piezoelectric pump with double series-wound chambers was manufactured in two form valves.The experimental results show that the self-suck ability and output flux of the piezoelectric pump with holistic opening valve are better than the piezoelectric pump with cantilever valve.With the alternating current of 200 V,the maximum self-suck height of the formers is 430 mm water column(the pressure is about 43 kPa),and the maximum output flux is 972 ml/min,the counterpart value of the latter piezoelectric pump is 410 water column and 480 ml/min,respectively.


Mobile commerce, known as mcommerce, has emerged as an important sector in retail businesses, as US smartphones have penetrated near 80% of the population in 2017. The average adult daily usage of smart phone outpaced personal computers for the first time, and the users do more commerce on their smartphones than on their personal computers. As predicted by eMarketer US mcommerce will be a half of the total ecommerce by 2020. As a result, marketers have spent advertisement on smartphones. The marketers realize that they can better target smartphone users through programmatic advertising, particularly when they find the phone users are interested in particular products they browse. This research, through an empirical survey, focuses on the effectiveness of mobile marketing. The research results confirm this marketing trend, and provide some useful insights for marketers in their future marketing endeavors.


Methods and apparatus to control accessories are disclosed. An example method includes establishing a first close-proximity communication connection via a first protocol by providing connection information via a second close-proximity communication connection via a second protocol, obtaining configuration information via the second close-proximity communication connection, and configuring a response to an event associated with the second close-proximity communication connection.


Numerous studies from various parts of India on the various aspects of typhoid fever have been published during the last 20 years. In going through the published Indian literature, one finds that not many cases have been reported before 1920. In the past, owing to lack of laboratory facilities in India, the diagnosis of enteric fever was mainly based on clinical evidence, but the only positive criteria for diagnosis of these diseases should be isolation of the causative organism from the blood. En the absence of facilities for doing blood culture, positive widal reac ion of the blood in increasing titre and particularly above 1 in


Types of man-induced impact in the territory of village councils in Staryi Sambir raion have been analyzed. The most significant changes in the raion's territory have been caused by agricultural, forestry, pastoral, residential, industrial, and recreational impacts. Many types of impact are characterized by a rather clear landscape confinedness. Each of the types of impact causes different anthropic transformations in specific environmental components. Following P. Shyshchenko's methodology, the factors of man-induced transformation for the territory of village councils of the raion in question have been estimated on the basis of analysis of the structure of agriculturally used lands. Five levels of territory transformation have been outlined according to the value of the man-induced transformation factor: very slightly transformed, slightly, moderately, severely and very severely transformed. It has been clarified that the territories of village councils with moderate level of transformation stand for almost a half of the raion's area. A bit smaller is the share of very slightly transformed ones – 24.9% and slightly transformed ones – 23.1% of the territory. The territories of severely and very severely transformed village councils occupy, respectively, 1.6% and 1.5%. These are mainly the territories around the towns of Staryi Sambir, Dobromyl, and Khyriv. The overall man-induced transformation factor for the territory of Staryi Sambir raion is some 3.51.


The community matrix is potentially a powerful tool for community ecology. While it details direct interactions between community members, it can also be used to quantify all indirect effects that occur in a community, and thereby to make predictions regarding population response to experimental treatments or natural disturbances. These predictions are essentially hypotheses of system behavior that can be rigorously evaluated. Use of the community matrix, however, has been hindered by indeterminacy and ambiguity in response predictions. In this study, we reveal a theoretical source of the problem that arises as a consequence of community structure. Using a qualitative analysis of the community matrix, we detail the complementary feedback cycles that contribute to the response of a population following a sustained or press perturbation. Complementary feedback is the sum of all direct and indirect effects that can contribute to a response. We develop a "weighted-predictions matrix" that assigns a probability scale to sign determinacy of predicted responses. This matrix is formed by the quotient of the net sum of complementary feedback cycles and the absolute number of complementary feedback cycles. A qualitative analysis of system structure provides a theoretical benchmark for under- standing a spectrum of behavior in biological systems, and for framing and prioritizing management interventions for whole communities. This advance clarifies much of the uncertainty and ambiguity found in predicting the behavior of large and complex systems. We validate these tools by analyzing published studies of community response.


The liquid crystalline polymer [CH 2 C(CH 3 )(COOR)] n (R= (CH) 3 Si(Me) 2 OSi(Me) 2 OSi(Me) 2 (CH 2 ) 3 OPhCOOPhPhOC 4 H 9 ) is synthesized by radical polymerization and is found to show an enantiotropic mesophase


The aim of the study was to estimate the influence of environmental conditions resulting from coal mining on the diversity of bottom oligochaete communities in subsidence ponds. In the ponds studied 17 oligochaete species representing the families Lumbriculidae (1 species), Enchytraeidae (1 species) and Naididae (15 species), in the new sense (Erseus et al., 2008) were collected. The presence of Aulodrilus japonicus Yamaguchi, 1953 and Potamothrix bavaricus (Oschmann, 1913), rare species in anthropogenic water bodies, is noteworthy. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the important factors influencing oligochaete distribution in the subsidence ponds studied were the type of substratum, the organic matter content of the sediment as well as the mineralization of the water. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


This research aims to compare Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale (1623) with Kane's Phaedra's Love (1996) from the viewpoint of Levinas and his ideas on the relationship between being and the Other expressed in his pivotal work Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence (1978). The central events of the two plays are analyzed based on the text to flesh out the similarities and differences the two playwrights have with regard to their treatment of the approach of the Other. Of the highest importance in the analysis is how the characters of the plays deal with responsibility for the Other, and also how they react to the wonder of facing the Other. It is concluded that, in Shakespeare's play, the characters mostly do not carry out their ethical responsibility, and those who do are not treated well; as the play progresses, however, they start to take responsibility for one another which leads to a mostly happy ending. In Kane's play, by contrast, there is no happy ending because the vast majority of characters do not realize their responsibility, and thus, their wonder at facing the Other turns extremely violent. Additionally, even those characters that come to terms with their responsibility undergo the same gruesome fate as those who do not embody ethical responsibility.


Abstract Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) is widely used as a plasticizer in carrier of pesticide, food packing and many daily products. It could be hydrolysed to mono-butyl phthalate (MBP) inside the body of organisms, which is highly toxic to humans and other organisms, affecting the reproductive and developmental function. Immune spleen cells were collected from mice immunised intraperitoneally (i.p.) and multiple subcutaneously (s.c.). A hybridoma cell line named 2F7 was obtained via colony hybridisation of immune spleen cells and myeloma cells SP2/0. The mAb against MBP secreted by 2F7 was an isotype of IgG1, and showed 1.93×108 of an affinity and the CR values of the mAb with other analogues of MBP were not more than 5%, except for BBP (11.5%). The high affinity and IgG characteristics of the mAb against MBP could be used for MBP detection in the future.


Abstract While recent work suggests democracy does cause growth, the channels through which this effect occurs remain unclear. Exploiting quasi-random variation in the timing of district-level political regime changes induced by the collapse of President Suharto's government, we study the microlevel drivers of the democracy-growth relationship. Using Indonesian firm-level data, we find that democratization leads to an increase in firm productivity, a critical determinant of economic growth. Furthermore we find evidence of an improvement in the quality of local business regulations and the business environment for firms.


During 1998, five episodes of elevated chlorophyll concentration are observed in the Pacific around the Marquesas Islands (140°W, 10°S) in SeaWiFS ocean color observations. Daily positions of geostationary satellite sea surface temperature fronts reveal the influence of the westward propagating tropical instability waves as narrow temperature fronts that extend far to the south of the equator and intersect the nutrient rich waters of the Marquesas. Because the upwelled equatorial waters are rich in iron, phytoplankton blooms are produced and are advected downstream by the South Equatorial Current. Previous studies attributed the blooms to local sources of iron and the interaction of the Marquesas with the South Equatorial Current. The satellite observations suggest that the currents that produced the phytoplankton blooms may have diverted the Kon‐Tiki southward in 1947 as described by Thor Heyerdahl.


The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C13H10O2S3, contains two independent molecules, which exhibit different conformations [C=C(SMe)—C(O)—C torsion angles of 81.4 (3) and 80.2 (2)°], normal bond lengths and angles, and short intramolecular S⋯O distances [2.768 (3) A in both molecules]. The crystal packing exhibits weak intermolecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.


A major objective of the grape breeding program at Geneva has been to combine the seedless character available in certain grapes of Mediterranean origin with the winter cold hardiness and disease resistance of grapes of American origin so that the resulting progeny will be suited to the growing conditions of northeastern North America. From this program, 4 white and 1 red seedless (steno-spermocarpic) cultivars have been released and planted widely (2). There has been considerable demand for a blue, seedless grape similar to those already released. 'Glenora' meets this demand.


Abstract The melts of aluminium alloys are very sensitive to oxidation during casting, and the surface oxide film formed during casting can be folded and entrained into the melt due to melt surface turbulence. In this research, sandwiches of oxide–metal–oxide (OMO) formed in a very short time within the cast during solidification were investigated in order to see the effect of magnesium content (i.e. 1 and 2 wt-%) on the oxide film thickness. To form OMO sandwiches within the cast, a certain amount of air was blown into the melt every 0·5 s during casting time by means of a compressor at 0·5 atm pressure. Where bubbles of air collided, they formed a sandwich which later was used for investigating purpose. Both the thickness and the surface of oxide films were studied via SEM. The results showed that the thickness of the short time oxide film varies in the range of 150–250 and 200–300 nm for Al–1Mg and Al–2Mg alloys respectively.


Background: The highest incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐associated vasculitis in the world has been reported in Alaska Natives. We examined the incidence of HBV‐associated vasculitis before and after mass HBV vaccine immunization and the association between HBV genotype and vasculitis in a population‐based cohort study in Alaska natives chronically infected with HBV.


The quality of a heuristic solution to a NP-hard combinatorial problem is hard to assess. A few studies have advocated and tested statistical bounds as a method for assessment. These studies indica ...


Methodological individualism and conception of the State in Max Weber. Individual action as producer of the political order. There are works that consider sp...


Magnetite deposits on an island in Tuxedni Bay occur in contact-metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks near their contact with a quartz-diorite batholith, which underlies large areas of the adjacent Aleutian Range. The deposits are pyrometasomatic in origin and probably are localized by northeasttrending fractures. The eastern deposit is a low-grade disseminated deposit occurring in hornfels. The western deposit occurs as a massive lens of magnetite and garnet with a marble hanging wall and a hornfels footwall. The western deposit may contain about 75 percent magnetite. The deposit is lenticular and can be followed along strike for 55 feet in outcrop. Magnetic effects indicate that it extends an additional 55 feet to the northeast, where it is concealed beneath a cover of soil and vegetation. Where it is exposed in a sea cliff, the deposit is 30 to 35 feet thick.


The Sonogashira–Hagihara coupling polymerization of d-hydroxyphenylglycine-derived diiodo monomers 1–4 and platinum-containing diethynyl monomer 5 gave the corresponding polymers [poly(1–5)–(2–5)] with number-average molecular weights of 19,000–25,000 quantitatively. The polymers were soluble in CHCl3, CH2Cl2, THF, and DMF. CD and UV–vis spectroscopic analysis revealed that amide-substituted polymers [poly(1–5) and poly(2–5)] formed chiral higher-order structures in solution, while ester-substituted polymers [poly(3–5) and poly(4–5)] did not. Poly(1–5) formed one-handed helices in THF/toluene mixtures, while it formed chiral aggregates in THF/MeOH mixtures. Poly(1–5) emitted fluorescence with quantum yields ranging from 0.8 to 1.3%. The polymers usually aggregated in the solid state. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015


�Abstract��The optimization of shareholder wealth based on the theory of firm and agency theory through investment, funding and dividend decisions has various empirical supports. This model is interesting to be examined in Indonesian companies. The study aims to examine the model for the case in Indonesia with a sample of 18 companies listed on IDX which are members of the LQ-45 index for the 2016-2019 period which were selected by purposive sampling. The research applied panel data regression analysis using the eviews-9 program to answer its objectives. The results show that investment decisions have a significant positive effect, funding decisions have a significant negative effect and dividend decisions have an insignificant negative effect on firm value.��


Research Findings: Part of the attention system of the brain is involved in the control of thoughts, emotions, and behavior. As attentional control develops, children are more able to control cognition and responses flexibly and to adjust their behavior in social interactions better. In this article, we discuss evidence from different levels of analysis (e.g., temperamental, cognitive, and neural) indicating that attentional control plays a central role in several factors related to schooling, including socioemotional adjustment and academic achievement. Connecting behavioral and cognitive levels of analysis with the function of a particular brain network opens the possibility of exploring other factors that might influence the efficiency of this self-regulatory system. Moreover, understanding the processes and factors influencing the development of attentional control has the potential to help parents and teachers in their effort to promote schooling success. Practice or Policy: We also discuss recent efforts to develop educational interventions aimed at enhancing children's attention skills.


General laser safety precautions are reviewed. Laser protective filters are discussed in more detail. It is demonstrated that a sandwich consisting of absorbing glasses and dielectric band-rejection filters is the most effective design, especially for multiwavelength filters. Several examples of such filters are described.


The aminopyrazol (I) is converted to the pyrazolotriazines (III) which react with the p-chloroaniline hydrochloride (IV) to yield the derivatives (V).


In Part 1 of this review the thermo-physical properties of conventional mould slags were reviewed and analysed. In Part 2 the properties of slags for specialised continuous casting are collated and reviewed. In Part 1 it was found that the values of the required physical properties of the mould slag were determined by the mould dimensions, the casting conditions and the steel grade being cast. Optimum lubrication and heat extraction of the newly-formed shell were obtained with these required values of the powder consumption (Qs) viscosity (η), break (or solidification) temperature (Tbr) and fraction crystalline phase (fcryst) of the slag film formed between the shell and the mould.1) The use of mould slags with these optimum values helps to minimise incidences of longitudinal cracking and sticker breakouts. However, other thermo-physical properties (e.g. interfacial tension (γmsl) or density (ρ)) must be optimised to minimise other defects and casting problems. The required values of the viscosity (η), break temperature (Tbr) and fraction of crystals (fcryst) in the slag film, in specialised casting follow the same empirical rules as those for conventional continuous casting. However, some properties may need adjusting to minimise specific casting problems (e.g. adjustment of η, γmsl to minimise slag entrapment or to cope with the Al2O3 Structure and Properties of Slags Used in the Continuous Casting of Steel: Part 2 Specialist Mould Powders


The infrared spectra of sublimed films of oxamide, dithiooxamide, and their deuterium analogs were obtained at —190° and 25°C in the region from 4000 to 400 cm—1. These spectra are consistent with the x‐ray data and satisfactory vibrational assignments were made on the basis of molecules with planar trans heavy‐atom structures with over‐all site symmetries Ci but close to C2h. An increase in frequency of v(CN) on deuteration accompanied by too large a decrease in δ(ND2) results from a strong mixing of these stretching and bending modes and from Fermi type resonances. Only ordinary hydrogen bonds were found so that the unusually high melting points of these compounds are due to a fortuitous combination of several factors related to their layer structures rather than to very strong hydrogen bonding alone.


A nonlinear dynamic model that re-constructs signals with polynomial fitting is introduced and a dynamic classifier is built. A small number of fitting coefficients are used to show the characteristic differences between the signal and interference. Also, the major nonlinear coefficients of echoes are confirmed based on an advanced dynamic model for "phase space re-construction". Results of data analysis show the validity of this method. It is concluded that echo signals have nonlinear dynamic characteristics different from reverberation, and the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of different targets are also different. This establishes the basis of nonlinear dynamic modeling and its application to echo detection and classification.


The influence of two alternative agro-residues (barley and oat straw-ΒΟ and beech wood residues-ΒW) used as main cultivation substrates in respect to wheat straw-WS was examined on the production and quality characteristics of Pleurotus ostreatus, strain AMRL 144. Evaluation included fungal bio-transformation efficiency with respect to substrate colonization and carposome production time, biological efficiency-BE%, as well as mushroom number, size, colour and firmness. The effect of these wastes was also evaluated on moisture content, crude protein, total polysaccharides, lipid and phenolic content of whole sporophores. First mushrooms appeared 19-42 days after inoculation, with WS and BOS substrates promoting earlier sporophore initiation than BW did. As for BE%, the highest values were recorded at BOS and BW wastes (75.30% and 64.26% respectively) compared to the conventional WS. Mushroom protein content was significantly increased when BW was used (28.25% versus 11.02 in WS) and so did colour lightness in BOS (L*=78.16). Firmer mushrooms were also produced in BOS and BW substrates (7.25 N) than in WS (6.56 N), while polysaccharides were synthesised in high amount, mostly in mushrooms cultivated in BW (35.47%) and consisted mainly of glucose (in higher than 70.5% w/w). Phenolic synthesis was promoted in BO and BW (640 mg/l GAE) versus WS (400 mg/l GAE) substrates. Mushroom lipid content, on the contrary, was not affected by the substrate used.


Samples of North Carolina aquatic fulvic acid were ozonated in a neutral buffer at several ozone/carbon ratios, and the reaction mixtures were characterized by using total organic carbon (TOC) and UV-visible absorbance analysis, XAD-8 chromatography, and ultrafiltration. Results show a large initial ozone consumption with loss of TOC and UV-visible absorbance by the fulvic acid solution followed by a slower rate of ozone consumption and decrease in TOC and UV-visible absorbance at higher doses. Exclusion chromatography and ultrafiltration show an increase in smaller sized materials. The authors conclude that ozone initially and rapidly attacks sensitive nucleophlic sites on the molecule. At higher doses slower cleavage reactions produce structural changes in the macromolecule. 15 references, 8 figures.


Whenever an apparently non-breathing victim is found in the water, the rescuer is confronted with a difficult choice. Should the rescuer attempt resuscitation procedures in the water or first bring the victim to shore, and then attempt resuscitation? This question was one of those looked at by the 2005 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) Science and Treatment Recommendations (CoSTR) organized by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). The purpose of this presentation is to present the CoSTR evidence-based worksheet on in-water resuscitation (IWR). (1).


The radiation hardness for charge retention (memory) in MNOS capacitor structures under60Co γ-ray irradiation is increased ∼25 percent by an ion-bombardment thermal-anneal (700°C) process. Ohmic transport in MNOS is observed for carriers produced by 5.4-eV photons, and a previously proposed model based upon ohmic transport adequately describes the decay rate for accumulated charge in both bombarded and nonbombarded structures under60Co γ-ray irradiation for zero applied bias. The model does not, however, adequately describe the effect of applied bias during ionizing radiation of bombarded structures, possibly because an assumption of planar accumulated charge is invalid. Applying the model to the decay rate obtained with zero bias gives a µr product of 1.5 to 2 × 10-13cm2/V, and an inferred 10-20-Å mean transport distance for ionization produced charge carriers at low fields (∼106V/cm). This result suggests that ion-bombardment-produced gradients in transport properties are too broad to be resolved in low-field experiments. Furthermore, if hot carrier transport dominates, as previously suggested, then neither the decay rate nor the applied bias effects will be strongly dependent upon trap densities within Si3N4.


Сlassification of factors of development of the state or municipal university is given. The analysis of problems in educational process, scientific activity, marketing, the finance, human resources, culture and image of university is resulted.


The rust protecion technigue of stopping operation with 18 amine has fast been popularized domesticly in recent gears. The technigue is that 18 amine is filled in the thermodynamic system before the system stops. 18 amine is mixedd with the steam in the system under volatilization in high temperature which is then spread in whoke thermodynamic system of the boiler and turbine and forms a hydlrophobic 18 amine protective membrane on the inner surface of metal parts so as to isolate metal suface from air and keep the equipment from corrosion during stopping operation. This method is easy to operate and suitable for all kinds of generation units. This method has been used in No.1 unit during the major overhaul in our company. Very good result has been achieved through actual operational inspection and chemical examination. Now the practical experience of this technique is described here for the referance.


Sensory and structural characteristics of hair can be modified by chemical and physical treatments, as dyeing, brushing, but also by external factors, as sunlight radiation. However, quantitative data relating damage to the degree of hair curliness and treatments are missing.


With the aim of developing force fields for lipid /membrane simulations, extensive ab initio calculations have been carried out on lipid model compounds. This contribution reports results from searching the potential energy surfaces of two simple model species, the dimethyl phosphate and methyl propyl phosphate anions. It is shown that most of the critical structural features of phospholipids found experimentally in crystals, in the gel and liquid crystal phases, and in solution are also seen from quantum mechanical calculations on these simple systems in the gas phase


(1) The advantages of the direct determination of the stresses in an elastic solid have been pointed out by Prof. J. H. Michell. The principal line of attack in the case of plane strain has been by aid of the well-known stress function method, by which the stresses are determined from a single stress function χ of x and y only, satisfying ∇14 χ = 0, where ∇12 = ∂2/∂ x 2 + ∂2/∂ y 2 (1) The lines along which further advance might have been expected, and the difficulties which have been met with, are discussed by Prof. A. E. H. Love. It seems to the writer, however, that a point of very considerable importance has been overlooked, viz., that the stress function method gives a set of stresses which can in most cases be resolved into two distinct sets, each of which leads to strains satisfying the identical relations between the strain components.


In recent years, wide spreading use of microprocessors changes various apparatus as well as instruments into the smart functional products, dramatically. Even if the most high performance microprocessors and high speed memory is exploited; it is essential to exploit the high performance sensors which give original information of the computer instructions.High sensibility, toughness to the mechanical and environmental conditions such as stress, temperature and humidity are required to any types of sensors.Magnetic sensor is classified into two major categories. One is the semiconductor type, e.g. Hall sensor, and the other is sensing or picking up coil type. As is well known fact any types of semiconductor elements are greatly dominated by environmental temperature, and also depended on the mechanical stress. On the other side, sensing or picking up coil type magnetic sensor has reasonable tough properties to the mechanical and environmental conditions, even though they do not have high sensibility.In the present paper, we propose two types of magnetic sensors in order to sense the metallic materials. Our magnetic sensors belong to the sensing or picking up coil type, and are further classified into active and passive types. Proto type of these sensors is exploited and initial experiment is carried out.


This article aims to examine M-truncated soliton solutions of the fractional (4+1)-dimensional Fokas equation (FE), which is a generalization of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) and Davey-Stewartson (DS) equations. The fractional (4+1)$-dimensional Fokas equation with the M-truncated derivatives is also studied first time in this study. The generalized projective Riccati equations method (GPREM) is successfully implemented. In the application of the presented method, a suitable fractional wave transformation is chosen to convert the proposed model into a nonlinear ordinary differential equation. Then, a linear equation system is acquired utilizing the GPREM, the system is solved, and the suitable solution sets are obtained. Dark and singular soliton solutions are successfully derived. Under the selection of appropriate values of the parameters, 2D, 3D, and contour plots are also displayed for some solutions.


Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) have enjoyed enormous recent success in the treatment of ovarian cancer, a deadly and difficult to treat disease. In recent years, PARPi have gained approvals as monotherapy in BRCA mutated ovarian cancer, as maintenance treatment after platinum-sensitive recurrence, and most recently as maintenance therapy after successful front-line treatment. These benefits have been largely limited to patients with germline or somatic BRCA mutations or homologous-recombination deficiency (HRD), with limited efficacy in homologous-recombination (HR)-proficient patients.


Main concepts: Stability of equilibrium points, stability of maps, Runge-Kutta stability function , stability domain. In the previous chapter we studied equilibrium points and their discrete couterpart, fixed points. A lot can be said about the qualitative behavior of dynamical systems by looking at the local solution behavior in the neighborhood of equilibrium points. In this chapter we study stability of these points and the related stability of fixed points of Runge-Kutta methods. We now define the stability of an equilibrium point. In general, the stability concerns the behavior of solutions near an equilibrium point in the long term. Given an autonomous system of differential equations (1.13), denote the solution of the system with the initial condition y(0) = y 0 by y(t; y 0). (1) The equilibrium point y * is stable in the sense of Lyapunov (or just stable) for the given differential equation if ∀ > 0, ∃δ > 0, T > 0 such that, if y 0 − y * < δ then y(t; y 0) − y * < , t > T. (2) The equilibrium point y * is asymptotically stable if there exists γ > 0 such that, for any initial condition y 0 such that y 0 − y * < γ, lim t→∞ y(t; y 0) − y * = 0 (3) The equilibrium point y * is unstable if it is not stable (in the sense of Lyapunov). Note: any asymptotically stable equilibrium point is also stable. The simplest way to illustrate the types of situations that can arise is to consider the linear systems d dt y = −1 0 0 −1 y, d dt y = −1 0 0 1 y, d dt y = 0 1 −1 0 y. The origin is the only equilibrium point in each case. For the first system it is asymptotically stable (and also stable), for the second it is unstable, and for the third it is stable but not asymptotically stable. See Figure 10.1. One sometimes hears it said in engineering or science that a certain system is stable. This use of the term may be the same as that used above but suggesting that the equilibrium point of interest is understood, or it may be a different usage of the term entirely. (Some caution is urged.) There are a number of methods for analyzing stability in general. One of these …


Objective Loss of all or part of the ear is one of the significant defects in the head and neck area (regardless of the cause) that can result from trauma, cancer, congenital diseases, or surgery to remove benign tumors. These defects can be reconstructed with the help of surgical procedures or cosmetic prostheses. However, due to the complex structure of the ear, reconstructive surgery is one of the most challenging surgeries for plastic surgeons. Choosing between surgical methods and prosthesis use is problematic for those with a significant lesion and depends on the etiology and the patient's wishes. If the patient is a candidate for a silicone ear prosthesis, the most critical challenge is the suspension and ease of using the prosthesis. The conventional suspension method (unique adhesive) will present several challenges to the patient. Thus, we report using the implant suspension method for an ear prosthesis in this study. Materials & Methods A 35-years-old male patient with a congenital ear defect and no history of prosthesis use was referred to the Dentistry School of Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran City, Iran and was studied to make an ear prosthesis based on an implant. To make a prosthesis, the general steps were alginate molding from both healthy and involved parts of the patient, alginate molding from the donor, positive wax mold making, negative gypsum mold making, silicone casting, and prosthesis attachment using implants on the patient's stamp. Results In this method, we used silicone and implant-based reconstruction of ear defects. An attempt has been made to provide ease of wearing and removing the prosthesis, proper grip, natural appearance, and finally, patient satisfaction. Conclusion In this method, we used silicone and implant-based reconstruction of ear defects. An attempt has been made to provide ease of wearing and removing the prosthesis, proper grip, natural appearance, and finally, patient satisfaction


The moments of the random future liabilities of health insurance policies are key quantities for studying distributional properties of the future liabilities. Assuming that the randomness of the future health status of individual policyholders can be described by a semi-Markovian multistate model, integral and differential equations are derived for moments of any order and for the moment generating function. Different representations are derived and discussed with a view to numerical solution methods.


This study uses 360 choice experiment data gathered in five large Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Kunming during the traditional Chinese holidays of spring 2016 to analyze respondents' acceptance of almonds as a healthy snack food. The purchasing impact of Country of origin (COO), price, organic, brand, freshness, taste and consumer specific profile of education and their food expenses were examined. Mixed logit model was applied and the results show that: 1) there existed positive purchase attitudes toward the health featured almond snacks; 2) California imported almonds were preferred to the domestic Chinese almonds and the imported almonds were valued higher; 3) when purchase almonds, Chinese respondents were found to be unlikely price sensitive; and 4) their purchase decision was found to be unlikely affected by organic, crop freshness and the decision was made without the influence of respondents' educational background.


The social histories as told here, and presented in this chronological fashion, prompted me to think about the arc of LSI. Much like the formation of a community, like-minded people were drawn to a way of seeing, and began developing specific methods to explicate particular features of talk and interaction. The formative years in the 1960s and 1970s were generative and inclusive, drawing on interdisciplinary ideas, authors and frameworks. However, as the years progressed, norms were created and refined into rules protected by gatekeepers. The final chapters seemed to limit who is able to count as an LSI member. I was left longing for the formative period, devoid of such parameters. In the spirit of reflexive self-disclosure, I am currently the chair of the LSI division at NCA and was a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts. What has been the most difficult part of reviewing this text was deciding how to frame my reading. On the one hand, I would have liked to talk about how these scholars exhibit membership in the category of LSI researchers. On the other hand, I was tempted to consider LSI as a speech community. Making this choice would situate me in a particular place, holding a specific orientation. However, discovering how these distinct accounts of LSI are all contained within the same volume provides a generative spirit that may still lead to novel ways of blending differing LSI perspectives. The book will be of immense value to anyone interested in those early connections that led to this burgeoning field. Students will be interested in the who's who history they have recently come to take for granted from social networking sites – information that doesn't always exist for past generations. Communication colleagues will be interested in how graduate student experiences, often crossing disciplinary lines, have made our own discipline a nexus for a variety of scholars. Finally, those currently affiliated with LSI research may learn to become more reflexive about the people with whom we share this affinity. Towards that end, we may seek to learn more about who or what readings have inspired our current young scholars and what novel questions they seek to answer.


Ten 5-pyrazolecarboxamide derivatives were synthesized by the reaction of amine and interme- diate 6 starting from 2,3-dichloropyridine and diethyl maleate. Their structures were identified by elemental analysis, IR, 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR spectra. The preliminary bioassay showed that compounds 7a~7j had moderate insecticidal activities against Nilaparvata lugens (Stal), 7a and 7d possessed good insecticidal ac- tivity with the mortality rate of 57.6% and 64.4% at a concentration of 100 µg/mL, respectively, similarly to the control (buprofezin). Insecticidal mechanism of 7d indicated that it has a good inhibitive activity against Brown planthopper acetylcholinesterase with rate of 75.2% than the commercial control buprofezin (52.2%).


Abstract:Analysts often consider the postcolonial Sudanese state to be governed by an elite primarily interested in private accumulation rather than national development. This article demonstrates the existence of distinct development projects in postcolonial Sudanese history, which wax and wane. Developmental states can be distinguished from non-developmental states by whether political and policymaking elites are able to assert "the right to policymaking discretion." The analysis of whether this discretion is present depends upon close archival readings of policy debates. Reading the pages of the Sudanese Economists it is possible to see the waning of the first Sudanese developmental state as the discourses of austerity and transparency replace those of growth and investment.


The invention provides a flexible super-capacitor electrode and a manufacturing method thereof. The flexible super-capacitor electrode is characterized in that a super-capacitor is uniformly mixed with high specific surface area activated carbon, a conductive agent and PTFE by using a low-boiling-point solvent and powdered mixture is obtained through drying, then the powdered mixture is moderately dispersed by a high-boiling-point solvent and then an electric thin film is obtained through compression, and the electrode thin film is adhered on a processed metal current collector surface after fully drying so that a flexible electrode is obtained. Infiltration of electrolyte is effectively guaranteed, a rich and fast channel is provided for ion transmission, and degree of polarization and impedance of the electrode are effectively reduced by the measures as for a relatively thick electrode of which the mass transfer process is a bottleneck.


In this article, using a twisted version of Hormander's $L^2$-estimate, we give new characterizations of notions of partial positivity, which are uniform $q$-positivity and RC-positivity. As an application of these results, we study a generalization of the Prekopa-Berndtsson theorem. Moreover, we show the RC-positivity of some sort of direct image bundle. We also discuss the definition of uniform $q$-positivity for singular Hermitian metrics.


Objective: To evaluate a method to measure red-cell volume (RCV) using a nonradioactive marker (sodium fluorescein) and flow cytometry. Design: Study of reproducibility and feasibility of the method in healthy volunteers. Setting: Laboratory of an intensive care unit at a university hospital. Participants: Five healthy male and 10 healthy female subjects. Interventions: A total of 28 RCV determinations was carried out in the 5 male subjects to establish the reproducibility of the method. Twenty of the RCV determinations were performed as duplicate measurements (interval: 1 h). The longest period between two subsequent measurements was 112 days. In the 10 female subjects a total of 20 RCV determinations was carried out (two measurements per subject with a 1-hour interval. Results: The variation coefficient (mean ± standard deviation) in male subjects was 3.1 + 1.4%. The mean differences ( ± SD) between the measurements carried out on different days and those carried out as duplicate measurements on the same day did not differ (0.0 + 3.8% versus 0.6 + 4.7%). RCV in relation to body weight and body surface area, respectively, was 29.1 ± 2.7 ml/kg and 1,108 ± 90 ml/m2 in males and 24.0 ± 1.5 ml/kg and 848 ± 56 ml/m2 in females. Conclusions: We conclude that sodium fluorescein is a suitable nonradioactive marker for RCV determination and that RCV is constant over long periods of time.


Circus 1 to 3 is a circus school, based on the concept of New Circus, for boys resident in St. Patrick's Training School, Northern Ireland. The project is designed, not only to teach Circus skills,...


The paper reveals some substantial defects crept in the conventional method of calculating EVA's essential component - Capital Charge. Presently the Capital Charge is derived as combination of market capital structure based WACC and accounting based Invested Capital, which is likewise joining apples with oranges. This cross-breeding deflects EVA from the Residual Income and the concept of Economic Profit, formulated by Alfred Marshall. The paper proves that the correct way to calculate Capital Charge is to use accounting WACC embracing relevant adjustments made to the Invested Capital. Properly calculated EVA adequately reflects firm's performance compared with initial opportunity costs existed when the capital was contributed. However shareholders' dollar amount opportunity costs at the moment of performance evaluation depend on the market value of capital and market WACC. The paper also establishes the Residual Market Profit that is based on Market Profit and Market Capital Charge defined as market WACC multiplied Market Value of the Firm. The Residual Market Profit effectively accounts for time value effects and manifests either the firm justifies market expectations about her performance or fails to satisfy them.


The histology and ultrastructure of male reproductive system of mussels Mytilu s edulis were studied with light microscope and transmission electron microsco pe.The male reproductive system is composed of branch testis and vas deferens. The testis consist of great number of branchy seminiferous tubules and capsules. The tubule showed by the transverse section is made up of germinative epithelia (spermatogonium) and tubule liner,and the germinative epithelia constantly pro duce spermatocyte,spermatid and sperm.The spermatogonium has an oval shape,in which there are dispersed chromatin,mitochondria and many free ribosomes.In p rimary spermatocyte and secondary spermatocyte the chromatin densified to some b locks.In the early spermatid,many small dense particulates which produced from rough endoplasmic reticulum vesicles,aggregated to form a large proacrosomal v esicles.The acrosomal vesicle futher develop into "Λ"shape acrosome which co mposed of apical cap,acrosomal central tubule and lamellar structure.At the sa me time,the nucleus and flagellum were produced(there are 5 mitochondria in bas e of the flagellum)and the sperm matured.


Autonomous linguistic rule extraction involving temporal dynamics is an application of growing interest for its relevance to both decision support systems and fuzzy controllers. In the presented work, rules are extracted by and evaluated using three qualitative metrics (i.e., rule inaccuracies, antecedent/consequent mismatches and lack of supporting evidence in the dataset) based on their representation on the truth space diagram. Each metric is then treated as an independent competing optimization goal and multiple objective evolutionary algorithm is used to obtain a set of optimal non-dominant rules. Each representing the best rule observed from the given dataset. Novel techniques for data preprocessing and rule set postprocessing are designed. Data collected from an experimental hot and cold water mixer is used to validate the proposed procedure.


The greatest effect on increasing the residual strength of cement stone based on alumina cements in the temperature range of 800-1200 °C is achieved when replacing part of the cement with thermally activated metakaolin which is associated with the formation of secondary mullite. To intensify the strengthening process of mullite formation, the influence of various magnesium additives-mineralizers has been studied. The effect of chemically pure magnesium oxide, caustic magnesite and magnesium oxide hydration product calcined at 390 - 450 °C were investigated experimentally. The content of additives in compositions based on high-purity high-alumina cement was accepted in the amount of 0.5, 1 and 1.5 %. Experiments have confirmed the positive effect of magnesium additives on the process of hardening of cement stone, both during hardening and after heat treatment. It was found that the type of magnesium additive affects the hardening process. The highest strength after hardening and drying is obtained by using caustic magnesite as a mineralizer additive in an amount of 0.5 %. Exposed to high temperature, the best results are recorded when using a chemically pure magnesium additive.


End plates for hot isostatic pressing the canister, and a central region extending radially from the central region, and a main area ends at the outer periphery near the corners of the end plates. The thickness of the end plate, toward the corner portions from the central region increases along the main region defining the taper angle. Corners includes an inner surface with a radius part, it by the main area is a smooth transition to the lip. The metallurgical powder using a hot isostatic canister with the methods applying 圧加 isostatic hot, hot isostatic pressing the canister includes at least one of said end plates is also disclosed. .FIELD 4


The duties of editing for sci-tech editors consist of two parts: modifying and standardizing grammar;discovering and correcting the academic mistakes made by the authors.Combining with many detailed problems found in practice,the academic values of sci-tech editing are discussed further in the editing process.


Second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) can be effective in treating mood disorders in pediatric patients; however, these medications also present with a risk of serious adverse effects. A recent review by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) evaluated the use of SGAs in pediatric patients. This article summarizes the findings of the review, with a focus on bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.


Author(s): Wei, Hua | Advisor(s): Gary, John W | Abstract: This thesis presents a search for direct and gluino-mediated production of supersymmetric scalar top-quark pairs in the all-hadronic final state using top tagging. The result of search is based on a 13 TeV proton-proton sample collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $36 fb^{-1}$. The results of the search are interpreted in several Simplified Models (SMS).


Abstract : Contents are as follows: The Colonial Connection; Perception of Four Major Rural Problems; New Ideological Challenges; Rival Ideologies; World War II And the Two Camps; American Leadership and Aid; The Shifts in Emphasis; The Chinese Model of Rural Development; Special Project, and the Seventies--A Decade of Consolidation of Two Models: Indian and Chinese.


International joint ventures are an increasingly important way for organizations to expand internationally. There is no apparent reason for this trend not to continue as pressures from global competition, the need to learn quickly and the need to use valued scarce resources wisely are likely to be with us for some time. But, as organizations learn, it is one thing to enter into an IJV and quite another thing to make it succeed. And, with so many reasons for entering into an IJV, organizations want them to be as successful as possible. Examination of many IJV failures, in conjunction with the reasons for their establishment, indicates that the quality of human resource management can be critical. This paper attempts: a) to illustrate all the organizational/human resource management issues that need to be managed in the IJV process; b) to provide a framework for examining the role played in these issues by various human resource management activities; and c) to highlight the roles of the senior HR leader and the HR department in the IJV process. A four-stage model of IJVs based on the importance of learning and longer-term relationships, along with several theoretical perspectives, is used to generate several testable propositions regarding HR issues and activities in IJVs.


After extracting the candidate region from an image, it is necessary to take a kind of technology to determine whether the split target is a pedestrian. By analysis and feature extraction to segmentations of pedestrian candidate region, the classification of pedestrians has been studied. The pedestrian classifier of the SVM (Support Vector Machines) has been trained with pedestrian's typical characteristics. This paper mainly studies the efficient algorithms of splitting pedestrian target from other non-pedestrians. As the pedestrians in the image will show different shapes, postures and sizes, and they are usually in different light conditions, it is complicate to describe the pedestrians. This paper proposes a pedestrian segmentation method, which effectively solves the problems, making the classifier be able to deal with the complicate problems. Secondly, the paper uses the pedestrian image texture and shape features to describe the pedestrian. The extracted features are taken as the input of SVM. In order to solve the impact of lighting and other factors to pedestrian recognition, some characteristics have been considered, such as the pedestrian's grayscale images have certain gray symmetry and texture features, and the pedestrians successive edge makes outline of the image features clear. By using lots of events to train the SVM algorithm the recognized pedestrian classification can be obtained. The test results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively recognize different pedestrians in front of the vehicle and get a good real-time effect.


【Task】 A The present invention, 4-hydroxy-isoleucine, its isomers, analogs, lactones, salts, and prodrugs, processes for their preparation, and pharmaceutical compositions containing them about. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of these compounds in the prevention and treatment of obesity and related syndromes. .BACKGROUND


The links between science and music are deep and their roots are directly associated to the emergence of modern science. Music has an important background in physics: it is made up of sounds tuned by culture. Concomitantly, it has often served as a metaphor and as an inspiration in how we interpret our physical world, especially in cosmological models. This paper offers an initial exploration of how topics and outlooks on science and technology have emerged and had an impact on the lyrics of popular Brazilian music in modern life. This non-comprehensive qualitative analysis aims at to be a starting point for a preliminary sketch of how topics involving science-which is a social activity immersed in a specific cultural context-can make their way into popular art forms, in this case, Brazilian music.


A rapidly and pollution-free method was developed to identify the types of waste water by visible/near-infrared spectroscopy and back-propagation artificial neural network(BP-ANN) algorithm.The spectra data of the total 168 samples were obtained by a FieldSpec3 spectrometer.All the samples were divided randomly into two groups,one with the 132 samples used as the calibrated set,and the other with the 36 samples as the validated set,and subsequently were analyzed with the whole wave band(400~2450 nm) and the selection wave band(400~1800 nm) models,respectively.The spectra data were pretreated by the methods of S.Golay Smoothing and Standard Normal Variable(SNV),and the pretreated spectra data were analyzed with Principal Component Analysis(PCA).The anterior 9 principal components computed by PCA were used as the input variables of BP-ANN model which included one hidden layer,while the values of the types of waste water used as the output variables,and consequently the three layers BP-ANN identification model was built.The 36 unknown samples in the validated set were predicted by the ANN-BP model.The results showed that the recognition rate was 100% in such both models,and the accuracy of selection wave band model was higher than that of the whole wave band model.We suggested that it was feasible to discriminate the types of waste water used by visible / near-infrared spectroscopy and BP-ANN algorithm as a rapid and pollution-free way,and the wave band selection was a validated way to improve the precision of the identification model.


In this paper,using the method of camera calibration based on planar pattern,the camera calibration of planar circle pattern is studied.In the process of calibration,Lens' radial distortion is considered. First,the initial camera parameter values are estimated by the direct linear transformation(DLT);then the parameter values are optimized by using Levenberg-Marquardt(L-M) non-linear method.The results show that,either the direct linear transformation or non-linear optimization,the relative errors of the parameters are almost uniform.So in the process of calibration,the direct linear transformation can be choosed because it can meet accuracy standard and its algorithm is simple.


The Mexican neoliberal model and its policy of sustaining competitiveness in the low cost of labor, has caused an excessive concentration of income in the highest spheres of the Mexican population, in addition to growing poverty in our country; However, the shortcomings are not distributed equally, since inequality is expressed at the moment in territorial and social inequalities that in turn are a brake on economic growth in the long term. These inequalities can be corroborated by observing the very different levels of development achieved by the entities of our country measured through the Human Development Index. Although Mexico has traditionally been a nation of inequalities, until the mid-eighties of the last century these inequalities had been decreasing; However, the change in the economic model has caused an increase in these inequities. In this sense, the objective of this paper is to know how the concentration of wealth has caused enormous levels of inequality in Mexico. The methodology used is the comparison between the level of Human Development among the federative entities of our country and the evolution of the Gini index to understand how inequality has evolved and in which regions poverty has been concentrated. This reinforces the argument that the neoliberal model is the cause of the growth of poverty and inequality in Mexico.


Brian Ilnicki, executive director of the Land Stewardship Centre, presented at the 2012 ASSW on a pilot project about transferring development credits.


Atherosclerotic carotid artery disease is estimated to represent the etiology for one quarter of all strokes. Carotid magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography are promising tools in the evaluation of carotid atherosclerotic vascular disease. In this study, we evaluate the reliability of high resolution carotid wall magnetic resonance (MR) imaging by investigating the inter-observer, intra-observer, and inter-scan variability in measurements of carotid vessel total lumen area and mean wall thickness. This HIPAA compliant study received IRB approval and all subjects gave written informed consent. Nineteen subjects were imaged on a 3T MRI scanner with custom-built 4-element receive-only phased-array coils optimized for carotid anatomy. Three observers manually drew regions of interest around the lumen and outer wall for both left and right carotid arteries. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) showed excellent agreement between Observer 1 and the others (>0.92). A two- way analysis of variance (ANOVA) found no significant difference between observers (p>0.05). Intra-observer variability for Observer 1 was measured by coefficient of variation (CV) with 0.03 for total lumen area and 0.03 for mean wall thickness. Similarly, the inter-scan variability of Observer 1 was found by CV to be 0.05±0.02 for total lumen area and 0.04±0.03 for mean wall thickness. Our results demonstrate that the MR measurements of total lumen area and mean wall thickness are highly reproducible and provide a reliable foundation for the evaluation of carotid atherosclerotic vascular disease.


Techniques to assess population changes in reptiles across large landscapes are a conservation and management need. We studied a population of Texas tortoises (Gopherus berlandieri) on a large study area (6150 ha) of contiguous thornscrub vegetation in southern Texas from 1990 to 1999. We examined cohort and temporal variation in capture probabilities; and estimated survival, population size, and A (finite pop- ulation growth rate) for a population of Texas tortoises. We captured 2128 tortoises a total of 3132 times during the study period. The distribution of the frequency of captures by sex varied during the active season and across years, but annual capture probabilities were similar between sexes. The ratio of juvenile to adults varied by a month-by-year interaction. Tortoises exhibited a temporary response to marking that was modeled in survival analysis. Capture probabilities of adult tortoises on an annual basis ranged from 0.12-0.38, and annual survival rate of adults was estimated to be 0.79 ? 0.05. We estimated the density of the adult population to be 0.26 tortoises/ha, a level of magnitude lower than previous work conducted on habitat islands. Lambda (population growth rate) was estimated to be 0.981 (95% confidence limits: 0.945- 1.019) from a Jolly-Seber model. Road-cruising was an effective large-scale method for population moni- toring of the Texas tortoise in our study area and may prove useful in thornscrub habitats that compose the majority of its geographic range.


Tunnel FET is a promising device to replace MOSFET in low power high performance applications. This paper highlights and compares the best TFET designs proposed in the literature namely: Double gate Si-based TFET, InAs TFET device and III-V semiconductor (GaAs1-xSbx-InAs) based TFET device. Simulations are performed using TCAD tool and simulation results suggest that conventional DGTFET device has less on current and degraded subthreshold slope as compared to InAs and III-V semiconductor based TFET device. InAs based TFET device provides steep subthreshold slope of 61 mV/dec and off current of the order of nano-amperes at sub 1V operation thereby making it an ideal choice for low power high performance applications. The variation in the performance of the III-V HTFET device with the variation in the mole fraction is also studied in detail. Carefully choosing the mole fraction value in III-V semiconductor based HTFET device can lead to better device performance.


The article analyzes economic order quantity for the retailer who has to handle imperfect quality of the product and the units are subject to deteriorate at a constant rate. To control deterioration of the units in inventory, the retailer has to deploy advanced preservation technology. Another challenge for the retailer is to have perfect quality product. This requires mandatory inspection during the production process. This model is developed with the condition of random fraction of defective items. It is assumed that after inspection, the screened defective items are sold at a discounted rate instantly. Demand is considered to be price-sensitive stock-dependent. The model is incorporating effect of inflation which is critical factor globally. The objective is to maximize profit of the retailer with respect to preservation technology investment, order quantity and cycle time. The numerical example is given to validate the proposed model. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to work out managerial issues.


Soil acidification is a widespread degradation problem, but little information is available for oil palm
production systems. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of fertiliser type and placement on
acidification of volcanic ash soils under oil palm in Papua New Guinea. A field trial, which had various combinations of N (114-120 kg N/(ha.year)) and K (329 kg K/(ha.year)) fertilisers applied over 13 years, was examined. Over that period, pHwater of the 0-0.2m layer declined by 0.38 units in the control treatment and 0.52-0.96 units in the fertilised treatments. Application of fertiliser and plant residues are not uniform in oil palm plantations, so the effect of placement was measured in another trial, which had been operating for 6 years. In the 0-0.05 m layer, the decrease in pHwater due to fertiliser addition (ammonium chloride plus kieserite) was least (0.52 units) when fertiliser was applied in the weeded circle and greatest (1.03 units) when it was applied in the frond pile. Soil pH buffer capacity was different between zones and fertiliser
treatments, but the difference in acidification effect of fertiliser between zones was attributed primarily to
differences in the water balance and N cycling rather than pH buffer capacity.


AIM: To study the chemical const itue nts of Clematis armandii Franch.. METHOD: The constituen ts were isolated and purified by column chromatography and the structures were identified by physicochemical properties and spectral analysis. RESULT : Nine compounds were obtained as armandiside(1),liriodendri n(2) ,(+)-pinoresinol 4,4′-Ο-bis-β-D-glucopyranoside(3 ),(+)-pinor esinol 4′-Ο-β-D-glucopyranoside(4),(+)-syrin garesinol 4′-Ο-β -D-glucopyranoside(5),(+)-lariciresinol 4,4′-Ο -bis-β-D-gluco pyranoside(6),(+)-lariciresinol 4-Ο-β-D-gluc opyranoside(7),(+)-lariciresinol 4′-Ο-β-D-glucopyranoside( 8),and salvadoraside(9). CONCLUSION: All the se compounds were ob tained from this plant for the first time,and compound 1 is a new g lucoside.


In order to plan, interact and reflect on teaching, pre-service teachers (PSTs) use practical knowledge and personal beliefs as a framework (Levin & Hee, 2008). Practical knowledge refers to th ...


1 Changes in tension in response to cumulative additons of angiotensins (i.e., angiotensinogen, angiotensin I and angiotensin II), bradykinin and acetylcholine were monitored isometrically on ring preparations from porcine interlobar renal arteries. 2 Angiotensins consistently elicited contractile responses, whereas both bradykinin and acetylcholine produced relaxation of the arterial rings when active tone was induced by prostaglandin F2α. 3 Contractile responses to angiotensin II could be completely blocked by the combined action of the cyclo‐oxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin (1 μm) and the lipoxygenase inhibitor, nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA, 10 μm). 4 Relaxant responses to bradykinin were unchanged during blockade of thromboxane A2 synthesis by dazoxiben (30μm) and proved to be largely resistant to blockade by indomethacin (1 μm) and the prostaglandin I2 (prostacyclin) synthesis inhibitor, tranylcypromine (40 μm). 5 The angiotensin receptor blocker, saralasin (10 and 100 nm) antagonized responses to angiotensinogen, angiotensin I and angiotensin II effectively and with similar potency. Enalaprilic acid, the active metabolite of the converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril (300 nm), attenuated responses to angiotensin I but failed to inhibit those to angiotensinogen up to 1 μm. The serine protease kallikrein (0.001 to 1 u ml−1) produced a dose‐dependent shift to the left of the concentration‐response curve for angiotensinogen. 6 It is suggested that the porcine interlobar renal artery possesses a local renin‐angiotensin system with activatable angiotensin II forming enzyme(s) within the vessel wall.


An inner ear model was used to demonstrate thermal and mechanical effects occurring during Erbium laser stapedotomy. Results of inverse schlieren optical flash photography and time resolved pressure amplitude measurements indicate the existence of safe laser parameters for stapes foot plate perforation. Due to the high absorption of 3 micrometers radiation in water, efficient bone ablation and precise fenestration with small thermally damaged zones is achieved. Pressure transients caused by the explosive ablation process correlate with the spiking of the laser intensity. The energy of a laser pulse, directly applied into the perilymph through an already existing perforation, creates a vapor channel which afterwards collapses, sending out a strong pressure transient. The maximal amplitude of this pressure transient depends on the geometry and dynamics of the vapor channel and is several times stronger than the pressure amplitudes generated by the bone ablation process. This study shows that no permanent hearing loss or damage of inner ear structures is expected using an Erbium laser fluence of 10 J/cm2.


Abstract : The primary goal of the Geoclutter program is to assess geologic clutter/reverberation issues in a seismically and geologically well-characterized shallow-water environment. The mid-outer continental shelf off New Jersey provides such an opportunity, because both bathymetry (a known and prominent cause of backscatter) and portions of the shallow subsurface have been mapped in detail as a result of STRATAFORM.


Based on existing wave dissipation model by vegetation, a kind of forced vibration with damping model is used to take care of the vegetation swaying in the water waves with different wave parameters. By introducing the factor D as the concession to the wave force, the drag coefficient CD is replaced with an equivalent coefficient CDf in flexible vegetation, and then CDf=|1-D|CD, where D is the relative value of the velocity of plants swaying and water particle. Therefore, according to the theory applied in this paper, the original SWAN-VEG model is modified, in order to simulate the attenuation of wave energy well in the numerical wave tank. In addition, an experiment with artificial flexible materials is carried out to calibrate the calculated results, and the results of the improved SWAN-VEG model yield the experimental results much better than those from the original model. It indicates that for a flexible case the swaying of vegetation should not be neglected, and it relates to the natural circle frequency, damping ratio, height of plants, and the incident wave parameter. On the basis of the comparison between calculated and experimental results, it can be concluded that the way of using the equivalent drag coefficient CDf in the modeling of flexible vegetation fields such as kelps, reeds, seagrasses and so on are valid.


De-worming of horses suffering from associative invasion, against the background of the amino acid Dektomaksommineral and vitamin feed Mikrovitamom immunoprobiotikoterapii Baktoneotimom and average daily milk yield improves, the chemical composition and level of vitamins in the milk of mares.


The article deals with the evolution of the political and legal system of the Kyrgyz society during theEarly Middle Ages. In the 6th century, the Khagyas (Kyrgyz) State was formed on the Yenisei River on thebasis of the unification of the Altai and Yenisei Kyrgyz tribes. The IX-beginning of the X century — the periodof the greatest growth of the power of the Kyrgyz power was called the "Kyrgyz Great Power".


Advances in the field of natural language processing have lead to the ever increasing precision of automatic text analysis, understanding and generation processes. This work has as an objective the generation of text in the style of speakers in the United Kingdom's houses. To this end debate transcripts from 2016 onward will be collected and analyzed. An statistical model will then be trained from the resulting text corpus that will generate text in the style of different speakers. To conclude, the generated texts then be evaluated with several metrics.


Effects of preheating on collapse occurrence and effect of heating on collapse recovery for E.camaldulensis were investigated.The results showed that 4h preheating including steaming and 80℃hot-water soaking could reduce the collapse with drying,and 3h heating at moisture content of 18%during drying could make collapsed wood recovery.


In the present study, we aimed to identify masculinized genotypic females of Rhamdia quelen on the basis of the sex ratio of the progeny. Masculinizing diets containing 3 levels of 17α-methyltestosterone (MT; 60, 90, or 120 mg kg) were administered to R. quelen fry. Thereafter, 5 phenotypic males from each MT treatment were crossed with normal females, and their progenies were sexed. At least 1 male from each treatment group generated progeny with a higher female:male ratio. These males, designated M60, M90, and M120, were crossed again with 3 other normal females to re-evaluate the sex ratio of the progeny. Moreover, a normal male was used as a control. Again, we found a higher female:male ratio in the progeny of M60, M90, and M120. The control male produced 2 sets of balanced progeny and 1 with a lower female:male ratio. Although these breeders did not generate all-female progeny (79.75 ± 7.20% of females), our findings indicate that M60, M90, and M120 can be considered masculinized genotypic females of R. quelen, suggesting the involvement of autosomal genes or polygenic interactions in sex determination.


SummaryT. japonicum, T. confusum and T. dendrolimi were able to discriminate the parasitized hosts (the eggs of Corcyra cephalonica) by the same female wasp, among them T. japonicum appeared to have the strongest discriminating ability. T. japonicum was unable to discriminate the hosts that were parasitized by the other female of the same species or the female of T. confusum and T. dendrolimi. T confusum was able to distinguish the parasitized hosts by other female of the same species but unable to discriminate the parasitized hosts by T. japonicum. T. dendrolimi can relatively strongly discriminate the parasitized hosts by other female either of the same species or of T. japonicum. Either on the eggs of Corcyra cephalonica (in laboratory) or on the eggs of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (in laboatory or in paddy fields), T. japonicum was incomparable superior to T. confusum and T. dendrolimi in interspecific competition, in this case, T. dendrolimi appeared as the weakest. In fact, T. japonicum is the most effective and dominant species for controlling Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, T. confusum is less effective, and T. dendrolimi in not suitable. It is also necessary to avoid the mixture of species in mass production of Trichogramma in order to control the quality of the wasps.


The Boston Change Process Study Group (BCPSG) has consistently and incisively explicated child development literature in its relationship to a theory of change in adult psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. This paper assesses some central aspects of their work. We highlight several themes that we believe are relevant to the issues that the BCPSG has raised. As a main point we note the manner in which the BCPSG bifurcates theoretical models. We maintain that this type of bifurcation is not justified by the data they cite. After summarizing their assumptions, we examine some of the empirical evidence that they mention and contend that this evidence can be interpreted in several different ways. We try to show that the infant research they cite supports a contemporary Freudian position as well the position advocated by the BCPSG. We offer a model that we believe reflects greater continuity in theoretical and clinical concepts. In this paper we also offer a critique of a clinical case the BCPSG has stated illustrates their theoretical–clinical principles.


The ways of the magnetic levitation have passed through an intensive and financially very expensive development within the last forty years. The research and development works have been recently finished and nowadays first magnetically levitated fast trains HSGT (High Speed Ground Transportation) are introduced into operation. One of them is the German system Transrapid based on the electromagnetic principle, another system MLU of the Japanese provenience is based on the electrodynamic principle with superconducting magnets. Several years ago, one more interesting magnetically levitated transport system was patented in the USA that uses permanent magnets in the Halbach array. Up to now, this system called Inductrack has been experimentally verified only on small models, but the acquired experience indicated that in comparison with existing Maglev systems this new system has a number of remarkable properties. The paper represents the first (as far as the author knows) contribution aimed at building of the corresponding mathematical model.


A 25% duty cycle clock generation circuit for wireless transceiver is designed in this paper, including divider based on current mode logic (CML) latch, the AND gates and buffers. The advantages and disadvantages of main structure and the principle of the clock generation circuit are analyzed. The key sub-circuits and layouts such as the divider-by-two, logic gates and buffers are designed based on 0.13μ m CMOS process. The simulation results show that the operating frequency range of the 25% duty cycle clock generation circuit is 0.02-2.5GHz, and the rise (fall) time is 0.02-ns.


This study examines the issue of matrimonial property, when a spouse claims a share of the other's wealth in cases of divorce, death or husband's second marriage. That is different from other rights entailed by the marriage contract like nafaqah (alimony), mut'ah (post-divorce gift) and both prompt and deferred parts of the dower (muqaddam al-?adaq wa mu'akharuh). Studying this issue in light of 'urf (custom), al-ma??lih al-mursalah (public interest) and al-m'?l?t (consequences), I found that these types of evidence or Ijtihad instruments do not establish this financial right for any one of the spouses. As a matter of fact, the financial rights secured by Shari'ah during spouses' life by virtue of the marriage contract, or after they pass away through inheritance, are not matched by any positive law. Therefore, Muslims do not need such legislations that do not bring any real interest for spouses but rather result in numerous harms.


The transition to ICD-10 is a big one, so training your staff to understand and use the codes will take some time. In this podcast, Rhonda Buckholtz, vice president of ICD-10 training and education for the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), offers some insight into this transition.


An investigation was conducted on the ornamental plants for greening roads in Yangling from the aspects of species and application status.The ornamental values and the changes of the characteristics of the plants since 2007 were summarized.Problems existed were discussed and suggestions were put forward to provide references for the plant arrangement and the green road sight design in other similar sites.


Objective To study the short-term effect of pillar vertebral spacer united vertebral pedicle screw system to cure vertebrae fractures. Methods From March 2009 to July 2010, 13 patients suffered from traumatic vertebral compression fracture underwent pillar vertebral spacer united vertebral pedicle screw system. Of them, there were 5 male cases and 8 female, their ages ranged from 35 to 68 years with an average of 52.3 years. All cases with 6-12 months (average 9.8 months) of follow-up were evaluated, the pre/post-operative VAS scores and the height of the anterior vertebral bodies were recorded at various time points respectively. Results The pain of postoperative wasn't relieved instantly, however, the pain was obviously alleviated after 10 days. At various time points, X-ray image and CT image showed a satisfactory position of pedicle screw and pillar vertebral spacer. The height of anterior vertebral bodies was improved significantly after operation, the 3 months and 6 months follow-up both showed that there were no significant loss of height. Conclusions The short-term effect of pillar vertebral spacer united vertebral pedicle screw system with vertebrae fractures is excellent.

Key words:
Pillar vertebral spacer;  Vertebral pedicle screw system;  Traumatic;  Vertebral compression fractures


Diffusers convert kinetic flow energy into a rise in static pressure. This pressure recovery is the primary aerodynamic design objective for exhaust gas diffusers in power-generating steam and gas turbines. The total pressure loss is an equally important diffuser design parameter. It is strongly linked to the pressure recovery and the residual kinetic energy of the diffuser outlet flow. A reduction benefits the overall thermodynamic cycle, which requires the adjacent components of a diffuser to be included in the design process.
This paper focuses on the total pressure losses in the boundary layer of a highly loaded annular diffuser. Due to its large opening angle the diffuser is susceptible to flow separation under uniform inlet conditions, which is a major source for total pressure losses. However, the unsteady tip leakage vortices of the upstream rotor, which are a source of losses, stabilise the boundary layer and prevent separation. Experiments and unsteady numerical simulation conducted show that the total pressure loss reduction caused by the delayed boundary layer separation exceed the vortex-induced losses by far. This flow interaction between the rotor and diffuser consequently decreases the overall total pressure losses.
The intensity of the tip leakage vortex is linked to three rotor design parameters, namely work coefficient, flow coefficient and reduced blade-passing frequency. Based on these parameters, we propose a semi-empiric correlation to predict and evaluate the change in total pressure losses with regards to design operating conditions.


In this article, low loading of Halloysite Nanotube (HNT) was used as filler for natural rubber (NR) composites where it was used at 0–10 phr. The change of functionalities and crystalline structure were investigated by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The performance of the composites was further monitored through the thermogravimetric analysis. The band of Al–OH vibration shifted from 910 to 914 cm–1 after the addition of 2.5–10 phr of HNT. Further increase in the HNT loading has caused to increase in the peak intensities of Si–O and Al–OH vibrations. This limited intercalation of HNT throughout NR and other ingredients was evidently shown in XRD results. Moreover, the addition of HNT also results in shifting the decomposition temperature and char residue irrespective of the loadings of HNT, the tubular-shape and unique structure of HNT is clearly responsible to the thermal stability observed.


We present an interesting case of a fetus which was delivered in our hospital after antenatal detection on ultrasonography. Clinical examination, ultrasonography findings, infantogram, autopsy and histopathology proved it to be a case of Meckel Gruber syndrome. INTRODUCTION: Meckel Gruber syndrome is a rare, lethal syndrome characterized by occipital cephalocele, post axial polydactyly and dysplastic cystic kidneys. We report a case of Meckel Gruber syndrome diagnosed antenatally at 37 weeks of gestation and confirmed postnatally by postnatal radiographs, fetal autopsy and histopathology. CASE REPORT: A 23 year old primigravida with no history of consanguineous marriage was referred for routine third trimester obstetric ultrasound. US evaluation revealed a single, live fetus of 37 weeks maturity with severe oligohydramnios. US of the fetal abdomen revealed bilateral enlarged echogenic kidneys with few cystic spaces (Fig- 1). Fetal head showed a large occipital cephalocele. (Figure - 2) Fetal thorax and liver were compressed by the enlarged kidneys. However fetal liver did not show cysts. Fetal urinary bladder was visualized. The limbs were examined for polydactyly but could not be ascertained as the liquor was scanty. The lungs were hypoplastic. The umbilical cord had a normal trivascular appearance. As the fetus showed lethal anomalies, she was admitted and delivery was induced. The baby was delivered stillborn. On clinical examination, the face showed characteristic potter facies - micrognathia, hypertelorism, epicanthic folds, snubbed nose, and low set ears. The fetus had grossly distended abdomen, a bell shaped thorax and an occipital encephalocele, lobulated tongue, polydactyly, talipes and club feet (Figures 3, 4, 5). Autopsy was done. The findings included large multicystic kidneys bilaterally. The lungs were hypoplastic. The bladder and ureters were seen and normal, uterus with ovaries was seen. (Figure 6) Histopathologic examination revealed-Multicystic dysplastic kidneys, hypoplastic lungs, and hepatic fibrosis. The finding of polydactyly in the autopsy specimen confirmed the diagnosis of Meckel Gruber syndrome.


The site suitability for fruit crops is one of initiatives to improve the fruits production. Six variables were involved in this study there was maximum temperature, annual rainfall, relative humidity, soil series, topography and land use. Spatial analysis was done on suitability variables by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). An Inverse Distance Weight (IDW) technique was applied to determine of sample values for the all areas in Perlis. The raster calculation and reclassification was showed the suitable and unsuitable area for grapes cultivation has represented by scale 1 and 0. Results showed that an almost area was suitable for grapes cultivation in Perlis. An Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to support the results of weight value for the each variable. Results showed that grapes cultivation has an inclination with the highest weighted value for topography which is 0.28 (28%). Analysis based on AHP showed that most of territorial division is suitable for grapes cultivation. The area were represented by scale 1 has a potential for grapes cultivation. This study was showed that GIS and AHP techniques in grapes cultivation has a new phase in evaluation and determination process by decision makers. The risk of cultivation damage has been decreasing by involved all site suitability variables


THE LYMPHOKINE INTERLEUKIN 2 (IL-2) has significant anti-neoplastic activity against metastatic malignant melanomas and renal cell carcinomas. Objective responses have oc-curred in 20 % to 33 % ofpatients treated with high-dose IL-2 plus lymphokine-activated killer cells. Complete remissions have been obtained in about 8 % to 15 % of treated patients. t,2 Most of the complete responses have lasted many months, with the longest approaching five years.' Unfortunately, the toxicity of IL-2 is substantial and can involve several organ systems. The various side effects of IL-2 have been exten-sively described by Rosenberg and colleagues.`4 Frequent side effects include a pronounced increase in vascular perme-ability, called the vascular leak syndrome, which is mani-fested by decreased intravascular volume and peripheral re-sistance and increases in interstitial fluid. This is clinically manifest by weight gain, edema, hypotension (often requir-ing pressor therapy), and oliguria. Other important side effects include fever, chills, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Common toxic effects to the gastrointestinal system include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, elevated liver func-tion tests, and, rarely, spontaneous bowel perforation ( < 1 % of treated patients).' Pancreatitis has not been previously reported with IL-2 therapy. We describe two cases of probable pancreatitis associated with high-dose bolus IL-2 therapy and provide a briefdiscus-sion of the evidence for IL-2 as the etiologic agent.


We study Milnor fibrations of real analytic maps , n ≥ p, with an isolated critical value. We do so by looking at a pencil associated canonically to every such map, with axis V = f-1(0). The elements of this pencil are all analytic varieties with singular set contained in V. We introduce the concept of d-regularity, which means that away from the axis each element of the pencil is transverse to all sufficiently small spheres. We show that if V has dimension 0, or if f has the Thom af-property, then f is d-regular if and only if it has a Milnor fibration on every sufficiently small sphere, with projection map f/‖f‖. Our results include the case when f has an isolated critical point. Furthermore, we show that if f is d-regular, then its Milnor fibration on the sphere is equivalent to its fibration on a Milnor tube. To prove these fibration theorems we introduce the spherefication map, which is rather useful to study Milnor fibrations. It is defined away from V; one of its main properties is that it is a submersion if and only if f is d-regular. Here restricted to each sphere in ℝn the spherefication gives a fiber bundle equivalent to the Milnor fibration.