Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu Tampere University of Applied Sciences Degree Programme in Nursing and Health Care Option of Medical-Surgical Nursing HELPIÖ, ADA & LUIRO, ROOSA: Emotional Support in the Case of Spontaneous Abortion Written support material Bachelor's thesis 34 pages October 2016 Spontaneous abortion is a common complication of pregnancy which happens in nearly every fifth case. A spontaneous abortion can be emotionally a very challenging experience for a woman and her family, therefore support in many different forms is needed. Tampere social and health services felt that they were lacking emotional support material and this is why support material in form of a leaflet was created. The objective of this functional thesis was to create a leaflet that benefits both health care professionals as well as patients and their families. The leaflet was aimed to promote health and mental well-being. A literature review was conducted in order to collect information concerning the key concepts to form theoretical starting points which answer the research questions. An emotional support leaflet was created as the product of functional thesis. The leaflet had information of the treatment in case of spontaneous abortion in the city of Tampere which was provided by Tampere social and health care services and a section that discussed emotional support. The part of emotional support was conducted using the literature review of the Bachelor's thesis. The support leaflet is beneficial to the patients and their families, since they can return to the information that it contains later on when they feel equipped to process the situation. The continuous education of health care professionals should include more training on how to encounter a patient who has suffered a spontaneous abortion, since health care professionals are in close contact with these patients. Also the whole family's experience of spontaneous abortion should be studied more due to the lack of information in this area. In the future translating the support leaflet to other languages could also be beneficial to patients with different native language in order to ensure the comprehension of the information.


* Mr. Gore is Principal of the Delhi School of Social Work, University of Delhi, India. At the General Assembly of Schools of Social Work held in Tokyo in November, 1958, Mr. Gore was elected Vice-President of the International Association of Schools of Social Work. The general topic of this session is the &dquo;Contribution of Social Work Education in the Preparation of Senior and Auxiliary Social Welfare Personnel.&dquo; The premise on which such a discussion can take place is important and probably needs to be explicitly stated. This premise is that the areas of social work and social welfare are not exactly co-terminus, and that the preparation of social welfare workers need not and, probably, cannot be the same as the preparation of social workers. Yet there is a common core to the activities


ABSTRACT Recent multilingual perspectives view second language writing as part of a language user's dynamic multilingual repertoire, always occurring in the (cognitive and social) context of some first language(s), and often of first language literacy and/or use of other languages. This paper focuses on one element of written language (lexical sophistication), and examines preliminary findings about this variable across languages in a sample of undergraduate student writers in two quite divergent languages: Arabic (L1) and English (L2). Significant differences were found in students' use of vocabulary from different frequency bands of vocabulary in their L1 writing, their writing in L2, and a sample of expert native speaker writing in each language. There was, however, little evidence for development in lexical sophistication in either language over sixteen weeks of a semester. Overall, lexical sophistication did not seem to bear a clear relation to academic achievement in either writing course, nor to previous language learning experience, except in one measure of English vocabulary. There is the possibility of a positive correlation between lexical sophistication in the two languages, although this was not significant in this study. Implications for further research are discussed.


CRIES problems grave FOR problems REFORM occurring tells AND in us American CHANGE that reform ARE urban is FREQUENTLY needed, areas. it While does HEARD the not CON existence tell CERNIN us what of G problems occurring in American urban areas. While the existence of grave problems t lls us that reform is eed d, it does ot tell us what kind of reform will lead to amelioration of problems. Reforms can make things worse as well as making them better.2 One purpose of this essay is to attempt to isolate the theoretical structure implicit in the traditional metropolitan reform movement so that empirical research can be organized to examine the warrantability of the propositions contained therein. A second purpose of the essay is to pose an alternative theoretical structure derived from the work of political economists. The elucidation of alternative theoretical structures may help guide future research efforts toward ascertaining which of these theoretical structures ( or possibly others ) provides a better explanation for the relationship among variables such as the size of governmental units and their multiplicity in a metropolitan area, and variables such as output, efficiency, equal distribution of costs, responsibility of public officials, and citizen participation. With a warrantable explanation for changes in these variables, reforms can be devised which will produce desired, rather than undesired, outcomes.3 In addition to the above, this essay will also (1) discuss the need for developing agreed-upon definitions of terms and their operationalizations, and (2) present findings from a few studies which challenge the empirical warrantability of some of the propositions elucidated in the first section.


Abstract We study variants of the mixed finite element method (mixed FEM) and the first-order system least-squares finite element (FOSLS) for the Poisson problem where we replace the load by a suitable regularization which permits to use H − 1 H^{-1} loads. We prove that any bounded H − 1 H^{-1} projector onto piecewise constants can be used to define the regularization and yields quasi-optimality of the lowest-order mixed FEM resp. FOSLS in weaker norms. Examples for the construction of such projectors are given. One is based on the adjoint of a weighted Clément quasi-interpolator. We prove that this Clément operator has second-order approximation properties. For the modified mixed method, we show optimal convergence rates of a postprocessed solution under minimal regularity assumptions—a result not valid for the lowest-order mixed FEM without regularization. Numerical examples conclude this work.


Aims:  To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of flexible‐dose fesoterodine in subjects with overactive bladder (OAB) who were dissatisfied with previous tolterodine treatment.


Transverse beams connected with reinforced concrete slabs might be helpful for structural systems to endure earthquake and to keep the stability after complete failure of the longitudinal beams. To investigate the behavior of the connections between transverse beams and floor slabs, three torsional tests of a transverse beam connected to a concrete slab with studs were performed. It was observed that the behaviors of the connections are different according to the location of the slab and the direction of the torsional rotation. These behaviors were also observed in finite element analyses (FEA), and the load-deformation relationships and crack locations obtained by the FEA agreed with the test results. To predict the ultimate strength, a simple mathematical model were proposed and validated using the FEA and test results. It was shown that this model could predict the bending moment in the slab and the axial force in the studs. This model can be used to estimate the failure mode and the maximum strength of the model by defining the maximum bending moment of the slab and the maximum axial force of the stud.


Based on experimental results, adopting damage and failure principle of Ottosen, this paper proposes a dynamic constitutive model to describe mechanical behavior of concrete subjected to impact loading. Macroscopically, concrete is assumed to be homogeneous and consecutive, but a large amount of micro-crack defects are distributed randomly throughout the concrete. Assuming these micro-cracks satisfy perfect micro-crack system conditions, the volume ratio of micro-cracks in the sample is used to describe the decrease in macro-mechanical properties of concrete. And the development of damage is presented. A comparison between model prediction and experiment results shows that the model prediction agrees well with experiment results. So it can be used to simulate the dynamic behavior of concrete under impact loading.


Boundary-conforming coordinate transformations are used widely to map a flow region onto a computational space in which a finite-difference solution to the differential flow conservation laws is carried out. This method entails difficulties with maintenance of global conservation and with computation of the local volume element under time-dependent mappings that result from boundary motion. To improve the method, a differential ''geometric conservation law" (GCL) is formulated that governs the spatial volume element under an arbitrary mapping. The GCL is solved numerically along with the flow conservation laws using conservative difference operators. Numerical results are presented for implicit solutions of the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations and for explicit solutions of the steady supersonic flow equations.


Intentionality is a key-notion in Searle's philosophical thinking. It plays a dominant role not only in many of his articles on the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind, but it also figures as the title of one of his books. For reasons of space I cannot discuss all the issues which are dealt with there [Searle 1983]. These issues cover such diverse (though interrelated) topics as the Intentionality of mental states; the Intentionality of perception and action; Intentional causation; Intentionality of language and communication in general plus Intentionality of indexical expressions, of natural kind terms, and of proper names in particular. Thus I will here not touch upon the derived Intentionality of language, i.e. on the systematic meaning or function which the intentions of a person have for the purposes of linguistic and nonlinguistic communication, because these issues rather belong to another section of this symposium on "Speech acts and Intentionality". Instead I want to focus on the basic distinction between genuine or "intrinsic" Intentionality on the one hand and derived or "metaphorical" Intentionality on the other hand and try to shed some light on the question:


Innovative capacity of a personality is one of the most important constituents of human capital assets. The development of innovation activity in a personality is impossible without the goals, values and motives of self-fulfillment. Nowadays both a modern researcher and a practicing psychologist take a particular interest in personal traits' developmental level and peculiarities of the value-motivational moments in groups with various degrees of expressiveness. Particularly, a practicing psychologist works out and manages psycho-technology of the value-motivational personality sphere for effective self-fulfillment in society. The study of the value-motivational features of young students with various degrees of innovativeness was conducted. The article considers re-examinations to an analysis and a research of the value-motivational features of the individual innovativeness activity. The paper also presents a comparative and empirical analysis of the above-mentioned characteristics of young students. The recent data on a personal and gender-based value-motivational sphere and an innovativeness demonstration were presented in terms of the specified research policies and ground results.The results of the study are of particular interest for practicing psychologists who can broaden the sphere of personal value-motivational structure investigation and determine the basic ways of psychocorrective work in effective human capital assets development. The diagnosis of the value-motivational innovative activity and the elaboration of the personal developmental programmes are the fundamental basis for the innovative personality potential improvement and self-fulfillment in professional career. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s2p105


An estimate of change in volume of East Rathong glacier in Eastern Himalayas has been made, vis-a-vis changes in its surface area over the period 1962-2011. The change in the area and volume of the glacier has been estimated using remote sensing (CORONA and Landsat images) and GIS techniques, field methods and certain empirical relationships and scaling laws. Bruckl's thickness-area relationship and volume-area scaling methods are used to estimate the volume and change in the volume of the glacier from 1962 to 2011. Nye's glacier flow mechanics equation gave the volume of the glacier for 2002. The volume of the glacier in the year 2002 calculated (using the value of = 150 kPa), has been found to be almost equal to the volume of glacier estimated using other methods for 2002. From 1962 to 2011, surface area of East Rathong glacier decreased by 15 % whereas the estimated total volume loss is ~20%.Total retreat of the glacier during 1962-2011 is 740 m. AAR has been observed to show an almost constant value ~0.6 throughout the study period. Though AAR is nearly constant, the decrease in surface area, the rate of retreat and the rate of % volume loss, all have been observed to be consistently positive. This shows that for a three-zone glacier like East Rathong, AAR is not a very good measure of the glacier health. Hence, while assessing the health of a glacier, it is important to look into parameters like surface area, length and the thickness parameters along with AAR.


In [Irtegov and Burlakova, 2017], the algorithms for the qualitative analysis of conservative systems have been presented. These are based on the Routh-Lyapunov method [Lyapunov, 1954] and some its modifications [Irtegov and Titorenko, 2009] as well as computer algebra methods [Cox, Little, and O'Shea, 1997]. In the paper the application of the algorithms is demonstrated by analysing a conservative system, the study of which is also of interest. We conduct qualitative analysis for the differential equations describing the rotational motion of a rigid body with a fixed point in two constant force fields. Similar problems arise, e.g., in space dynamics [Sarychev and Gutnik, 2015], quantum mechanics [Adler, Marikhin, and Shabat, 2012], [Smirnov, 2008]. In the phase space of the problem, we isolate the invariant manifolds of maximal dimension and study the equations of motion on them.
For these equations, solutions (and their families) corresponding in the original phase space of the problem to permanent rotations and pendulum-like oscillations of the body as well as the invariant manifolds of 2nd level, which these solutions belong to, have been found and their Lyapunov's stability has been investigated. The possibility of stabilization for the motions of conservative systems, whose stability conditions have the form of some constraints on the constants of first integrals, is discussed.


Interest in ethical leadership has been spurred by the widespread reporting of corporate malfeasance and corruption in the last decade. Although ethical leadership theories have highlighted the importance of ethical considerations in leadership, the dominant discourses of this field tend to treat ethical leadership as individualised, decontextualised and power-neutral. The purpose of this article is to address these limitations of the mainstream literature through a reimagination of ethical leadership research, development and practice grounded in a feminist, communitarian and corporeal ethic. This approach, I propose, has the potential to reorient leadership as a collective ethico-political project exercised towards the goals of equality, justice and emancipation.


The primary objective of this study is to develop a method to evaluate the LOS of pedestrians, so that people can understa nd how well a particular street accommodates pedestrian travel. In order to fulfill this objective, a statistical process called c onjoint analysis was used in this study to identify the best combination of factors to achieve an accurate LOS. Factors affe cting pedestrian LOS have been defined and they were weighted by relative importance. In case of sidewalks, the result i ndicates that the factor 'flow rate' has greater importance than other factors. At the crosswalks turning vehicles have much impact on pedestrians than the other factors. Finally a method for the assignment of pedestrian LOS was developed based on identified attributes. This study provides the method to determine the LOS of a pedestrian path, as well as factors contri buting to low and high LOS.


Ample amount of geographic data has been collected with modern data acquisition techniques such as a Global Positioning System, high resolution remote sensing and internet based volunteered geographic information. Spatial datasets are large in size, multidimensional and have high complexity measures. To address these challenges Spatial Data Mining (SDM) for Geographic Knowledge Discovery (GKD) are the emerging fields for extraction of useful information and knowledge mining for many applications. This paper addresses the clustering and noise detection technique for spatial data. We considered multidimensional spatial data to provide feasible environment to place sensitive devices in a laboratory by using the data collected from the sensors. Various sensors were used to collect the spatial and temporal data. The GDBSCAN algorithm is used for clustering, which relies on density based notation of clustering and is designed to discover clusters of arbitrary shape and distinguish noise. The proposed work reduces the computation cost and increase the performance.


IL‐12 gene transfer to hepatocytes using a recombinant adenovirus vector (AdIL‐12) has been shown to protect against primary and metastatic liver tumors in mice. However, the mechanism of protection has been elusive and studies using depleting monoclonal antibodies or transgenic mice have purported it to be independent of T and NK cells. We postulated that depletion of NK cells may distort the experimental model and misrepresent the antitumor mechanism by altering the magnitude and duration of transgene expression. We show in mice treated with AdIL‐12 that NK depletion increased serum IL‐12 levels by more than 250‐fold and prolonged transgene expression by nearly 2 weeks compared to nondepleted mice. To determine the contribution of NK cells to tumor protection after AdIL‐12 treatment, we analyzed NK cells from treated animals. Isolated NK cells were markedly activated in terms of their lytic activity and IFN‐γ secretion. Adoptive transfer of NK cells from mice that had been treated with AdIL‐12 to naive mice was sufficient to confer protection against colorectal hepatic metastases. This protection was mediated in part by NK‐cell production of IFN‐γ. Our findings indicate that NK‐cell depletion distorts the model of systemic AdIL‐12 administration by markedly altering transgene expression, which then may potentiate other antitumor mechanisms, and that endogenous IL‐12 overexpression activates NK cells, rendering them sufficient to protect against liver metastases. These data have critical implications for investigating the immunologic mechanisms of experimental models that utilize gene transfer. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Modular multilevel converter (MMC) has become the most attractive topology in the high-voltage and high-power fields. In order to cope with the sub-module(SM) fault of MMC, a new fault-tolerant control strategy is proposed in this paper. In the strategy, the SM fault can be cleared smoothly and the conduction losses of MMC can be reduced at the same time. The control strategy is composed of the fault clearance control and the substitution control. In the fault clearance control, the smooth clearance of the fault is realized by the proposed SM configuration method. The substitution control is proposed to suppress the output fluctuation caused by the insertion of the cold-reserved SMs. Finally, an MMC simulation system with 51 levels is established in the PSCAD/EMTDC. The simulation results are consistent with the theoretical analyses, and verify the performance of the proposed control strategy.


This paper develops a generalized autoregressive conditional correlation (GARCC) model when the standardized residuals follow a random coefficient vector autoregressive process. As a multivariate generalization of the Tsay (1987, Journal of the American Statistical Association 82, 590–604) random coefficient autoregressive (RCA) model, the GARCC model provides a motivation for the conditional correlations to be time varying. GARCC is also more general than the Engle (2002, Journal of Business & Economic Statistics 20, 339–350) dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) and the Tse and Tsui (2002, Journal of Business & Economic Statistics 20, 351–362) varying conditional correlation (VCC) models and does not impose unduly restrictive conditions on the parameters of the DCC model. The structural properties of the GARCC model, specifically, the analytical forms of the regularity conditions, are derived, and the asymptotic theory is established. The Baba, Engle, Kraft, and Kroner (BEKK) model of Engle and Kroner (1995, Econometric Theory 11, 122–150) is demonstrated to be a special case of a multivariate RCA process. A likelihood ratio test is proposed for several special cases of GARCC. The empirical usefulness of GARCC and the practicality of the likelihood ratio test are demonstrated for the daily returns of the Standard and Poor's 500, Nikkei, and Hang Seng indexes.


The Research Topic "Psychoanalytical neuroscience: Exploring psychoanalytic concepts with neuroscientific methods" was cross-linked in two Frontiers journals, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience and Frontiers in Psychoanalysis and Neuropsychoanalysis. Thus, contributing authors could choose to submit to either of those two journals. Among the 16 finally accepted contributions, 14 were submitted to Frontiers in Human Neuroscience and 2 to Frontiers in Psychoanalysis and Neuropsychoanalysis (potentially related to the fact that during the time of submission only the former journal was listed with an impact factor; this has changed by now). These articles covered a wide range of topics, from empirical studies on basic psychoanalytic concepts (n = 4) to articles on the neurobiological mechanisms of psychodynamic therapy (n = 3) and theoretical reviews (n = 9).


The Master of Science in Computer Information Systems (MS-CIS) program at Colorado State University (CSU) was one of the first in the country when it was established in 1967 according to the model provided by the Data Processing Management Association (DPMA). Beginning in 1967, CSU initiated delivery of its MBA at a distance and graduated the first student in 1972, thus, making it the first and most senior program in the US. In 1992 a Computer Information Systems (CIS) concentration was offered in the distance MBA, though many challenges were faced due primarily to the distribution of the necessary software (IEF by Texas Instruments). The concentration was discontinued in 1995 due to difficulties associated with installation of the complex IEF software on distance student computers. Fall 2010 saw the rollout of the entire MS-CIS program consisting of 5 courses in the fall, 4 courses in the spring and the remainder during summer 2011. The purpose of this paper is to share lessons learned in terms of university and college approval, development and deployment. Surprisingly, many lessons may appear to be counter-intuitive and, yet, are critical to the success of the distance program.


Peer-to-Peer (P2P) computing model is a successful computing model in utilizing and managing the growing information and resources that are distributed over the Internet. However, this computing model has some limitations. Especially, decentralized unstructured P2P systems uses randomly choosing neighbor and blind flooding search in combination, which dramatically aggravates the network overhead thus seriously affects the performance of such systems. In this paper we introduce and compare various types of existing methods for alleviating the network overhead of decentralized unstructured P2P systems. Based on the comparison, we predict the directions of the researching in the performance optimization of decentralized unstructured P2P systems.


A baccalaureate faculty interwove content on mental retardation with that on normal development in a basic program. Tests showed favorable growth in student knowledge and attitudes during a five-year project.


Abstract : A series of cooperative experiments between the National Cancer Institute and the Army Missile Command began in late 1963 with treatment of two separate tumor systems in two different strains of mice. The first group consisted of 96 female CxDBA/F1 hybrid mice with a single Cloudman S91 melanoma implant in each. Forty-four of these mice were exposed to laser radiation and fifty-two were untreated and used for controls to determine the difference in survival between the two groups. The second group consisted of seventy-three female C57BL/6JN mice with a single Lewis T241 sarcoma implant in each. Thirty-three of these mice had the sarcoma exposed to the laser; forty were untreated controls. The results of this test are discussed.


Two-operand binary addition is the most widely used arithmetic operation in modern data path designs. Parallel prefix adders are used for economical VLSI implementation of binary variety additions. Parallel-prefix adders offer a highly efficient solution to the binary addition problem and are well-suited for VLSI implementations. The look and implementation details for such lower complex quick parallel prefix adders supported Ling theory of resolving. Specifically, valency or node indicates number of inputs given to a particular node in a carry tree. Ling design offers a quicker carry computation stage compared to the standard parallel prefix adders by projecting a replacement methodology to solve Ling adders, which helps to cut the complexity and also the delay of the adders.


State of the environment and environmental infrastructure is one of the factors determining the quality of life of residents in a given territory. The main objective of the Regional Operational Programme for the Lower Silesia voivodeship for 2007-2013 was to increase the level of living in Lower Silesia, and to improve the competitiveness of the region while respecting the principles of sustainable development . Implementation of this objective was to be achieved through the implementation of the objectives assigned to individual priorities. The aim of the priority IV Environment and Ecological Safety was the improvement of the environment, preventing its degradation and conservation of biodiversity and natural assets of Lower Silesia, as well as the improvement of safety in the region through counteracting natural and technological risks and eliminating their effects and to support active in this range of emergency services. Objective of the study is to show how the implementation of projects funded under Priority IV contributed to improve the environment and infrastructure for environmental protection. For this purpose, will be compared with the results of completed projects statistics regarding the state of the environment and environmental infrastructure in the region. The analysis will be carried out in the various environmental components that correspond to the thematic focus of the various activities carried out under Priority IV. The analysis will therefore be conducted in the area of waste, water and wastewater management, air quality, flood protection infrastructure, restoration of degraded land, protect the environment from natural and technological risks and to protect biodiversity.


Objective To investigate the expression of Urotensin- Ⅱ in blood plasma of lung cancer patients, and the relationship between U-Ⅱ and stages of lung cancer and pathology type. Methods We determined the con-tent of U- Ⅱ in plasma of lung cancer patients, non-lung cancer patients and healthy adults by radioimmunoassay. Re-sults The content of U-Ⅱ in plasma of healthy control group was(2.834±1.157) pmol/L,lung cancer group was (3.537±1.198) pmol/L, there was significant difference between them (P 0.0.5) ; Ⅰ~Ⅲ stage of lung cancer group compared with Ⅳ stage group, the content of U-Ⅱ in plasma had significant diefference(P<0.05). Conclusion The expression of U-Ⅱ in plasma of lung cancer increased, the expression level of U-Ⅱ was correlated with the stage of lung cancer and distant metasta-sis, no correlation was found between U-Ⅱ and the pathology type of lung cancer. Therefore, the present study had great value in revealing pathogenesis of lung cancer.

Key words:
Lung neoplasms; Urotensin Ⅱ


A method of application of object oriented programming with C++ Builder in multi channel real time serial communication is introduced from the aspects of class building, multithreading, exception treatment etc, taking the analogical navigation signal source software as an example.


AIMS To study the plain film diagnosis for childhood intussusception. METHODS Plain films of 32 children with intussusception confirmed by operation or enema, and of 32 children without intussusception as controls, were reviewed. The six plain film manifestations of the two groups(reduced amount of gas in the jejunum, dilation of the ileum, reduced amount of faeces in the colon, indiscernible caecum, lateralization of the ileum and abdominal mass) were analysed respectively, and the results were compared using χ 2 test. RESULTS Except reduced amount of gas in the jejunum, the other five manifestations between the two groups were different significantly(P0.01). A combination of the X_ray manifestations made the diagnostic accurancy rate up to 81.3%. CONCLUSIONS Abdominal plain film is of high diagnostic value for early childhood intussusception and it can reveal whether enema is contraindicated and predict enema reduction is difficult or not. The plain film should be considered as scout film for intussusception diagnosis.


Northern Sumatra is an area with a complex structure of the earth's crust. This area is very suitable for studying the state of the lithosphere in the subduction zone, where the average distribution of earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 5.0 occurs due to the movement of the subduction zone. This study aims to map the depth of the Moho discontinuity and subduction slab under 3 seismic stations in northern Sumatra, where 3 broadband sensors are 3 components of the BMKG seismograph network (Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics) using the receiver function method. This study used teleseismic earthquake data with a distance of 30° - 90°. Inversion of the neighbourhood algorithm is used to get the S wave velocity model and the Vp/Vs value used to migrate the amplitude of the receiver function from the time domain to the depth domain. The depth of the Moho in northern Sumatra varies, under the GSI station the Moho depth is shallow ∼ 9 km, while the Moho depth for the other stations is on average 19 - 47 km. The slab is identified at a depth of ∼ 35.5 - 192.54 km below the GSI station to the TSI station where the position of the linear station is towards the Indo-Australian subduction zone. The low speed zone can be identified in the study and found to be in the range of ∼ 10 - 35 km below the surface of the Toba caldera.


Abstract Myriad symbioses exist between insects and orchids, especially in tropical forests where the majority of species are epiphytic. Relationships between ants and rare epiphytic orchids are underrepresented in the scientific literature. The natural history and ecological entomology of Florida's endangered and epiphytic ghost orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii (Lindley) Bentham ex Rolfe (Orchidaceae), remain limited. Widely recognized for long-standing hypotheses concerning the species' pollination ecology, that documentation recently overturned, other interactions between insects and ghost orchids are scarce. Here we describe the first associations between ants, Crematogaster ashmeadi Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and D. lindenii. Ghost orchid roots provide facultative and opportunistic structures for arboreal ants to use in nesting. Furthermore, excrement from ant colonies within the root mass can increase nutrient availability in the orchid's nutrient-poor substrate; the proximity of these ants permits patrolling to defend the plant and exert control over possible extra floral nectaries that require further inquiry. This study presents novel observations that expand the known insect associations with ghost orchids, elucidating the complex ecology of one of Florida's rarest and most endangered species.


STUDENTS OF SEAN O'CASEY generally agree that his plays describe a course of technical development from naturalism to expressionism. The point of definite change of genre is usually established as the second act of The Silver Tassie (1928). Shortly after the first performance of the play, Curtis Canfield wrote: "In The Silver Tassie [O'Casey] gives evidence of relinquishing a medium and a method in which he was most effective for the sake of a different subject matter and a different technique .... The Silver Tassie opens in the familiar Dublin tenement but the last acts move away from realism into the realm of philosophic expressionism." A decade later, the same interpretation persisted. For example, Walter Starkie commented that in The Silver Tassie O'Casey '1eft behind the plays of his former manner, and he began to grope towards new dramatic values. . . . The first act is written in true O'Casey manner-there is movement, there is life: the characters are real beings .... The second act, which is set in the trenches 'somewhere in France: is a queer, fantastic scene that recalls slightly the dream play in Masses and Men by Toller." After still another decade, S. Marion Tucker and Alan S. Downer were indicating that in The Silver Tassie O'Casey ''began experimenting with form and trying his hand at expressionism."! And so on. Numerous other examples could be offered. The point of this paper is that O'Casey's application of expressionistic techniques actually began not with The Silver Tassie, but with The Plough and the Stars (1926). The expressionistic techniques are, to be sure, not dominant-the earlier play is almost universally recognized as realistic or naturalistic-but still they appear strongly enough to warrant interested study. Exactly what "naturalism" or "expressionism" may be, of course, is open to dehate.2 There are probably as many analyses as there are commentators. However, it should be made clear that for the purposes of this study, naturalism is conceived as being basically a picture of life in which people, places, and events appear as they really are, without any coloring of idealism, romanticism, or sentimentality. In-


Rice is one of the oldest cultivated crops on earth and half of the world's population subsists wholly or partially on rice. 90% of the world's rice is grown and consumed in Asia, and in Pakistan it holds second pitch in consumption after wheat and is a major source of export earnings. Growing rice country wide, Pakistan has an added advantage of world renowned KALLAR Tract (a bowl-shaped region) and fine rice of this area has a unique character of Aroma that distinct it from others and rated best in liking. So the study was made to analyze the response of transplanted fine rice to various nitrogen, zinc and irrigation regimes under semiarid irrigated environment of Pakistan. This book will serve the purpose in explaining the growth, yield and quality of fine rice (genotype: Super basmati) in relation to nutrition and irrigation management.


The copper concentrate is leached by catalyzing and oxidizing process, and the leaching rate is more than 98% on the following optimum conditions: 0.2 mol/L catalyst, 2 mol/L NaCl, 3mol/L H 2SO 4, L∶S=5∶1, 85℃, 6h.


Abstract 4495 32 year old man was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia(CML) in accelerated phase. Karyotype analysis and fluorescent in situ hybridization of the leukemic clone revealed a 9; 22 translocation, loss of Y chromosome, and an interstitial deletion of chromosome 16. Despite treatment with imatinib and hydroxyurea, he progressed to myeloid blast crisis with the bone marrow showing three leukemic clones, including a second Ph' and trisomy 8, consistent with karyotype evolution. He underwent myeloablative stem cell transplant from a matched sibling donor, following which he was maintained on dasatinib which was discontinued 6 months later due to anasarca. At the time of discontinuation, he was in cytogenetic and molecular remission (CMR). He was then started on nilotinib 400mg twice daily. A year later he developed grade 3 hepatotoxicity with hyperbilirubinemia. Further workup revealed gallstones for which he underwent cholecystectomy. Despite surgery, his liver enzymes remained elevated and liver biopsy revealed chronic inflammation and fibrosis. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed a 2.6 × 5.5 cm periaortic mass in the retroperitoneum. Biopsy revealed fibrosis and chronic inflammation consistent with retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF). Peripheral blood reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for BCR-ABL showed patient to be in ongoing CMR. Therapy with imatinib mesylate (IM) is a standard of care for most patients with Ph+ CML. Resistance to imatinib occurs annually in 3% to 4% of patients with CML. Nilotinib is rationally designed in inhibiting the growth of 32 of 33 cell lines bearing mutations causing imatinib resistance, the exception being the T315I mutant. Reported adverse effects with nilotinib include elevated lipase levels, rash, indirect hyperbilirubinemia, myelosuppression, pancreatitis, QTc prolongation and sudden death. To our knowledge, RPF has not been previously reported with nilotinib use. We faced different diagnostic possibilities mainly (1) relapse of CML, (2) new onset of another postchemotherapy nonepithelial neoplasia and (3) idiopathic RPF (Ormond disease). Idiopathic RPF is a rare subtype of chronic periaortitis characterized by the presence of a fibroinflammatory mass surrounding the abdominal aorta and iliac arteries. It occurs predominantly in men in the fifth to sixth decade of life. Therefore, we considered this disease as statistically unlikely, although not impossible in this patient. In most cases secondary to malignant disease, RPF results from an exuberant desmoplastic response to retroperitoneal metastases—e.g. carcinoma of the prostate, breast, colon—or to the retroperitoneal primary tumour—e.g. Hodgkin9s and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, various types of sarcomas. There have been no reported cases of RPF with CML. Among the drugs causing RPF most common ones are derivatives of ergot alkaloids, β-blockers, hydralazine, and analgesics.The estimation of the probability that a drug caused an adverse drug reaction (ADR) is usually based on clinical judgment. Naranjo et al developed a simple probability scale to assess the causality of ADR. The ADR was assigned to a probability category from the total score as follows: definite ≥ 9, probable 5 to 8, possible 1 to 4, doubtful ≤0 based on a simple questionnaire. We got a total score of 7 which falls in the probable category for nilotinib causing RPF. Mechanism of RPF from nilotinib use is unknown. In vitro and in vivo genetic toxicology studies conducted in animals found that nilotinib exhibited fibrotic changes in dog heart. Hematological findings, common in rats and monkeys, included elevated white counts attributed to drug-effects in the lymphoid tissues such as lymphoid hyperplasia and fibrosis. Therapy for patients with CML has grown in complexity. Nilotinib is a relatively new TKI and optimal management of patients on this drug requires intimate knowledge not only of response criteria and of timing but also of potential toxicities and how they may affect response to therapy and patient outcome. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


This paper discusses adapting already successful internet content-creation methods for the development and presentation of interactive television programming. The migration of the television industry to digital technology provides the opportunity for broadcasters to utilize their spectrum for the delivery of new types of programming services, allowing personalization of program content, commerce opportunities, and direct viewer interaction.


The crystal structure of the title compound, C13H15NOS, is very similar to that of the corresponding oxazolopyridin-5-one. However, a significant participation of a tautomeric thio–enolic form is observed, as reflected by the short N—C(=S) bond length of 1.328 (4) A.


Progress in the development of effective antihypertensive agents is briefly reviewed. Evidence that drug treatment reduces the incidence of major complications is presented. The recently completed controlled trial carried out in Veterans Administration hospitals indicates that in men with diastolic blood pressure levels of 90 through 114 mm Hg the risk of developing a morbid event over a five-year period was reduced from 55% to 18% by treatment. The degree of benefit was proportional to the risk, which in turn was related directly to the level of blood pressure.


There are three main objectives of this study. The first is to measure the regional (provincial level) income inequality in Sri Lanka in recent past with a decomposable inequality measure. The second is to quantify the determinants of recent trends in regional income inequality in Sri Lanka. Since Japan is said to be one of the most egalitarian societies in their development path, third objective is set to review pattern of regional income inequality in Japanese development path and draw some policy implications for Sri Lanka. As the method of analysis, Theil's entropy measure "T" was computed by using provincial level GDP and employment data, and decomposed into wishin-region inequality and between region inequality in Sri Lanka for 1997 and 2003. Contribution made by agriculture, manufacturing and services into total inequality and regional inequality is also estimated for the same years. Regional inequality in per capita GDP as measured by the Theil T index increased from 0.2077 to 0.2313 by 11 percent from 1997 to 2003. However, as expected in the early stage of development, contribution made by between-sector component to regional income inequality has increased form 30 percent in 1997 to 56 percent in 2003. This situation may have generated through high growth in "employment-lacked" western province-based serviced sector in Sri Lanka and slow growth in manufacturing and services sectors in other regions. Even though regional inequality level was relatively high in Japan soon after the World War II, it has reached to the lowest in late 1970s owing to implementation of land reform policies, substantial government subsidies on agricultural sector, high government intervention in regional infrastructure development and promotion of export oriented enterprises in various regions. Finally, this study stresses the importance of role of government in planning, implementing and monitoring in regional inequality in the development path of SriLanka. Inherent multi-ethnicity of the society and unusual service sector growth in the urban economy highlight importance of government role in managing regional inequality in Sri Lanka.


Four new ruthenium arene PTA type complexes have been synthesized using substituted picolinamide derivatives as ancillary ligands and characterized by spectroscopic methods. In one of the complexes, the ancillary ligand has shown an unprecedented valence-bond tautomerization in the presence of an ammonium salt to act as a polar neutral donor ligand making the ligand more prone towards substitution. The same compound has shown remarkable antiproliferative activity against three cancer cell lines with GI50 values comparable to Adriamycin, a known therapeutic drug. Along with this it also strongly inhibits the action of thioredoxin reductase, which might be a probable reason for the enhanced proliferative action of the valence-bond tautomerized compound.


Time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) was used to study a number of processes involving thiol‐based self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) on nontextured (polycrystalline) gold (Au) films deposited on Si wafers. ToF‐SIMS turned out to be a convenient and versatile semiqualitative technique which readily verified electrochemical desorption of a SAM and formation of another SAM on the same sample via reincubation with another thiol. The technique, allowing one to follow simultaneously more than one species on the surface, showed that any formation of a mixed SAM on surfaces which did not undergo electrolysis was negligible with the applied time scale (minutes). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Phospholipid-transporting ATPase ABCA7 (2146 aa, ~234 kDa) is encoded by the human ABCA7 gene. This protein plays a role in both macrophage-mediated phagocytosis and lipid transport.


I recently suggested to a colleague, a reading professor, that she read the article, "How Should Reading be Taught?" in a recent issue of Scientific American (Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky & Seidenberg, 2002). The article, I warned her, would not make progressive, whole-language enthusiasts happy since it promotes robust phonics instruction in reading programs. Without reading the article, she sent me the following curt e-mail: "Scientific American has no business meddling in an epistemology it knows nothing about" (Name withheld, March, 2002). I found this a troubling but all too common response in the world of education: If research does not conform to current dogma, ignore it, disparage its authors, and be sure to include some impressively clever jargon. This got me thinking about diversity. Does diversity simply refer to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, and the like, or does it also include diversity of opinion and belief? If divergent opinions and beliefs are not truly welcomed in developmental education, some may find it expedient to publicize a narrow, selective body of research and keep the lid on research results which are not congruent with fashionable doctrine. Do college campuses and developmental educators promote true diversity, or a "skin-deep" variety? Certainly, it is not difficult for administrators to confirm their pro-diversity stance: They can simply point to the rainbow of colors and ethnicities on their campuses. But a campus may boast a supposedly diverse mix of people without achieving true diversity; one set of beliefs may dominate the campus culture to such a great extent that it is actually risky for an individual to broach an iconoclastic view. One would think that divergent views would be encouraged in the world of developmental education and on campuses in general. Are they? Let us look at developmental education first. In the fall 2001 edition of Research and Teaching in Developmental Education, we see five articles listed under the heading "columns." Each of these five columns lays out a progressive view of education. The first promotes multiculturalism in developmental education (Higbee, 2001); the second suggests the use of teaching portfolios as "alternative outcomes assessment[s]" (Zayani, 2001); the third and fourth both support learning communities (Testone, 2001; Cantone, 2001); and the fifth documents student interpretations of their developmental education experiences (Carranza, 2001). Actual empirical evidence supporting the progressive ideas that these columns favor is skimpy at best. And nowhere among these columns are the benefits of traditionalism, or any conflicting approach, enunciated. It is as if traditionalism has been so universally discredited by educationists that its mention only occurs for the formality of belittling it. One might expect that an occasional contrarian or divergent view might appear among these columns. One would be disappointed. However, if traditionalism is considered moribund by the vast majority of education professors and those they have influenced, that does not mean we should be intoning its last rites. Far from it. Some respected researchers are still telling us what many educators simply refuse to hear. For example, Jean Chall, in the final publication of a fruitful career in educational research, provides reams of data to support her ultimate statements: The major conclusion of my study in this book is that a traditional, teachercentered approach to education generally results in higher academic achievement than a progressive, student-centered approach. This is particularly so among students who are less well prepared for academic learning-poor children and those with learning difficulties at all social and economic levels. (Chall, 2000, p. 182) Compare this statement to the gist of the five columns referred to above. Each, with the exception of the article about teaching portfolios, promotes a studentcentered approach to learning without recognizing that other successful approaches may also exist. …


Investigation of propagation characteristics of a pressure wave is of great significance to the solution of the transient pressure problem caused by unsteady operations during management pressure drilling operations. With consideration of the important factors such as virtual mass force, drag force, angular frequency, gas influx rate, pressure, temperature, and well depth, a united wave velocity model has been proposed based on pressure gradient equations in drilling operations, gas-liquid two-fluid model, the gas-drilling mud equations of state, and small perturbation theory. Solved by adopting the Runge-Kutta method, calculation results indicate that the wave velocity and void fraction have different values with respect to well depth. In the annulus, the drop of pressure causes an increase in void fraction along the flow direction. The void fraction increases first slightly and then sharply; correspondingly the wave velocity first gradually decreases and then slightly increases. In general, the wave velocity tends to increase with the increase in back pressure and the decrease of gas influx rate and angular frequency, significantly in low range. Taking the virtual mass force into account, the dispersion characteristic of the pressure wave weakens obviously, especially at the position close to the wellhead.


1. Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems? Read each item carefully, and  your response. Not at all Nearly every day More than half the days Several days 1 3 2 0 Copyright held by Pfizer, but may be photocopied ad libitum 2. If you checked off any problem on this questionnaire so far, how diffucult have these problems made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people? Not at all ________ Several days __________ Very difficult ___________ Extremely difficult ___________ a. Little interest or pleasure in doing things b. Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless c. Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much d. Feeling tired or having little energy e. Poor appetite or overeating f. Feeling bad about yourself-or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down g. Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television h. Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed. Or the opposite-being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual i. Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way Totals + + = You may contact me at () ______-_______ to talk about studies that focus on these feelings. _________


This study identifies an environmentally sustainable development in the Kutai Kartanegara Regency in the province of East Kalimantan. Kutai Kartanegara is a regency with a significant economic growth since the decentralisation of permit authorization in the mineral sector in Indonesia. The analytical descriptive research method is done by using secondary data through literature review. The result of this research concludes that the local government of Kutai Kartanegara regency in increasing the economic growth based on extractive industry views natural resources as source of revenue instead of source of livelihoods and consequently caused environmental degradation. The practice of EIA is limited and viewed as merely a requirement for mining permits and thus failed to prevent environmental degradation.


The article explores theoretical and practical approaches to determining the nature of social, economic and environmental efficiency and evaluates social, economic, and environmental efficiency of cattle breeding in Ukraine. Negative trends in the industry are revealed accompanied by a decrease in the number of cattle, including cows, a decrease in production volumes of the industry, loss of production of cattle meat and a low level of profitability of milk production. To develop a motivational mechanism for improving the performance of social, economic and environmental functions of the stockbreeding industry by agricultural enterprises, a mechanism for raising its income has been proposed. The use of the socio-economic-environmental coefficient (SEEC) as an element of the proposed mechanism is justified. SEEC is an integral indicator of the social, economic and environmental efficiency of the stockbreeding development. This coefficient was verified through the example of agricultural enterprises of Kharkiv region, which in 2018 produced stockbreeding products. The relationship between SEEC and stockbreeding performance indicators was found to be related to the law of diminishing returns from changes in cost recovery due to income from milk sales and profit per cow. The maximum cost-recovery value is achieved with an SEEC of 2.1. According to a survey of 91 agricultural enterprises, only four enterprises could receive financial support for the high rates of social, economic and environmental efficiency of cattle breeding. In 2018, the amount of such support could be UAH 52,626.2 thousand.


Catalytic hydrogenation of optically active alcohol esters of 2,2,5,5-tetramethyltetia hydrofurylidene-3-acetic acid (VI) or of 2,2,5,5-tetramethyldihydrofuryl-3-acetic acid (X), using 1-menthol, 1,2: 5,6-diisopropylidene-ƒ¿-D-glucofuranose, and 1,2: 5,6-dicyclohexylideneƒ¿-D-glucofuranose, afforded, after hydrolysis , optically active 2,2,5,5-tetramethyltetrahydro furyl-3-acetic acid. The maximum optical yield (62.5 %) was obtained when the dicyclohexylidene glucose derivative ester of VI was hydrogenated in dioxane though in low reduction


Camel Liver Esterase (LE) was isolated through five consecutive steps: Extraction with Tris/HCl buffer, pH 8, precipitation with ammonium sulfate, affinity chromatography on Affi-gel-butyric acid and on Affi-gel-oleic acid, and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The Km values were found as: methyl butyrate (8.3 mM), α-naphthyl acetate (3.65 mM), β-naphthyl myristate (66.7 mM), p-nitrophenyl acetate (0.29 mM), and phenyl acetate (5.26 mM). The Ki of LE inhibition by bis(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate was 7.9 μM, and 58 μM by phenyl-methyl-sulfonyl fluoride. The inhibition by these inhibitors is irreversible. p-Hydroxymercuribenzoate or ethylenediamine-tetra-acetic acid did not inhibit the enzyme. LE showed a dimeric structure with molecular weight of 129 kD. The energy of activation of LE was 15.0, 5.5 and 10.75 Kcal, using the substrates: α-naphthyl acetate, p-nitrophenyl acetate, and methyl butyrate, respectively. The optimal pH for LE was between 8 and 10. The N-terminus was found as aspartic acid. The percentage of glycine residues (13.3%) was the highest whereas the percentage of cysteine residues (0.68%) was the lowest in LE. Amino acid composition shows that LE has ~50% of its histidine residues as N-methylhistidines.


Making Rights a Reality: Disability Rights Activists and Legal Mobilization, by lisa vanhala. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, xviii + 272 + (bibliography + index) 21pp (£55 hardback). ISBN: 978-1-107-00087-2. Gender, Law and Justice in a Global Market, by ann stewart. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, xv + 317 + (bibiliography + index) 43pp (£23.99 paperback). ISBN: 978-0-521-74653-3. Is the Death Penalty Dying? European and American Perspectives, edited by austin sarat and jürgen martschukat. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, xi + 321 + (index) 8pp (£55 hardback). ISBN: 978-0-521-76351-6. Landmark Cases in Family Law, edited by stephen gilmore, jonathan herring and rebecca probert. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2011, xxxii + 281 + (index) 16pp (£60 hardback). ISBN: 978-1-84946-101-6. Juxtaposing Autonomy and Paternalism in Private Law, edited by anthony ogus and willem h van boom. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2011, v + 223 + (index) 20pp (£40 paperback). ISBN:978-1-84946-118-4. International Law on the Left: Re-examining Marxist Legacies, edited by susan marks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, ix + 307 + (index) 12pp (£24.99 paperback). ISBN: 978-0-521-18762-6. Crime, Punishment, and Responsibility: The Jurisprudence of Anthony Duff, edited by rowan cruft, matthew h kramer and mark r reiff. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, viii + 379 + (bibliography + index) 15pp (£60 hardback). ISBN: 978-0-19-959281-4. Law and Religion in Europe: A Comparative Introduction, by norman doe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, xxviii + 261 + (appendix + bibliography + index) 45pp (£29.99 paperback). ISBN: 978-0-19-960400-5. Aboriginal Title: The Modern Jurisprudence of Tribal Land Rights, by pg mchugh. Oxford: Oxford University press, 2011, xx + 339 + (bibliography + index) 17pp (£70 hardback). ISBN: 978-0-19-969941-4. Formalism and the Sources of International Law: A Theory of the Ascertainment of Legal Rules, by jean d'aspremont. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, xviii + 224 + (bibliography + index) 42pp (£60 hardback). ISBN: 978-0-19-969631-4. Reflections on the Concept of Law, by aw brian simpson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, viii + 206 + (bibliography + index) 14pp (£35 hardback). ISBN: 978-0-19-969332-0. The Impact of the UK Human Rights Act on Private Law, edited by david hoffman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, xli + 381 + (index) 18pp (£75 hardback). ISBN: 978-1-107-00932-5. Principle and Policy in Contract Law: Competing or Complementary Concepts? by stephen waddams. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, xvii + 230 + (bibliography + index) 18 pp (£60 hardback). ISBN: 978-0-521-19614-7. Lawyer Barons: What their Contingency Fees Really Cost America, by lester brickman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, xxiv + 487 + (appendices + index) 69pp (£60 hardback). ISBN: 978-1-107-00122-0. Legal Studies, Vol. 32 No. 1, March 2012, pp. 177–178 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-121X.2011.00221.x


The book presents improved equations for monthly water resources models, in particular for interception and transpiration. Most of the existing monthly models do not make a distinction between interception and transipiration, while this distinction is very important for management purposes. Interception is direct feedback to the atmosphere, important to sustain rainfall. Transpiration is a good indicator for plant growth and biomass production. This distinction also contributes to the estimation of recharge and therewith of runoff. The derivations are based on the Markov theory for the occurrence of rain-days. The methodology can be used on the basis of an analysis of a few time series of daily data, at a spatial scale of 300km and not necessarily of the same period as the monthly data. Zimbabwe served as the case study, but derived equations can be used worldwide as long as the relationship between the monthly rainfall and the mean number of rain-days can be established.


Abstract Joint actuators with a compact size and high power density are necessary for robots with rotating joints, making the hydraulic actuator (HyA) an ideal actuator candidate. This paper presents a joint HyA with the following characteristics: compact installation size of 70 mm × 92.5 mm × 145 mm, low weight of 1.93 kg, high output torque of 742.2 Nm/531.09 Nm in two directions under 210 bar, high torque to weight ratio of 265.5 Nm/kg, low internal leakage of about 9 mL/min, zero external leakage, low starting pressure of 0.26 MPa/0.39 MPa in two directions, and a large rotation angle of 135 degrees. Compared with HyAs that have been applied in robot joints, the HyA proposed in this paper can greatly reduce the joint weight, reduce the joint size, and ensure the control performance of the joint movement. In addition, a dynamic model of the HyA is established. Based on this, some dynamic design suggestions are given. Furthermore, a simple position and torque control algorithm for the HyA is proposed. Finally, some experiments are carried out to verify the performance of the HyA.


The crop is vulnerable to many diseases and pests due to its extreme delicacy and succulence. Diseases caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses are major constrains to chilli production. Among the fungal diseases, fruit rot is a major constraint in chilli causing several losses in terms of quality and quantity (Sreekantiah et al., 1973). In India, the first report of Alternaria sp. was made from Delhi by Dutt in 1937. Narain et al., (2000) reported Alternaria alternata causing fruit rot of chilli on fruits. The present study carried out to ascertain molecular polymorphism in different isolates of Alternaria alternata.


Characterizing the quantum complexity of local random quantum circuits is a very deep problem with implications to the seemingly disparate fields of quantum information theory, quantum many-body physics and high energy physics. While our theoretical understanding of these systems has progressed in recent years, numerical approaches for studying these models remains severely limited. In this paper, we discuss a special class of numerically tractable quantum circuits, known as quantum automaton circuits, which may be particularly well suited for this task. These are circuits which preserve the computational basis, yet can produce highly entangled output wave functions. Using ideas from quantum complexity theory, especially those concerning unitary designs, we argue that automaton wave functions have high quantum state complexity. We look at a wide variety of metrics, including measurements of the output bit-string distribution and characterization of the generalized entanglement properties of the quantum state, and find that automaton wave functions closely approximate the behavior of fully Haar random states. In addition to this, we identify the generalized out-of-time ordered 2k-point correlation functions as a particularly useful probe of complexity in automaton circuits. Using these correlators, we are able to numerically study the growth of complexity well beyond the scrambling time for very large systems. As a result, we are able to present evidence of a linear growth of design complexity in local quantum circuits, consistent with conjectures from quantum information theory.


Aim: To explore dynamic state change of the serum neopterin level(Npt) in patients with acute stage of atherosclerosis thrombotic cerebral infarction(ATCI). Methods: 20 persons in acute stage of ATCI as experimental group , 15 cases with unvascular neurogenic disease as positive control group and 20 healthy persons were categorized as normal group. Serum neopterin levels on 1 st, 3 rd, 7 th, 14 th day of the experimental group, positive control group and normal group were examined respectively. Results: Serum neopterin levels on 1st,3rd,7 th day in 20 patients with acute stage of ATCI were significantly higher than those in positive control group and normal group (P0.05); serum neopterin level of experimental group on 1st,3rd,7 th day was significantly higher than that on 14th day (P0.05). Conclusion: Serum neopterin level was significantly elevated in patients in acute stage of ATCI, and it gradually decreased with the improvement of patients conditions and decreased to approximately normal level on the 14 th day, which responses activity of cerebral atherosclerotic plaque. So neopterin may be an important marker of ATCI activity.


In Brazil, Law 9,433, enacted in 1997, established the National Water Resources Policy and created the National Water Resources Management System, introducing a new integrated approach to environmental management policies. This law defi ned the hydrographic basin as the unit of planning, considering multiple water uses, introducing many changes at the institutional and policy instruments levels. Fifteen years after the enactment of the above law, improvements still need to be done. Evidence of this is the process of revising the rules on pollutant discharge on water bodies. Despite the latest changes, there still exist improvements that could be considered. This paper aims to contribute to this effort, by comparing the Brazilian water pollution control model with the American model, which can provide valuable insights in terms of defi ning pollutant discharge limits based on industrial typologies, and especially for having pollution control instruments such as the total maximum daily load and the water quality trading policy. Finally, based on the US model, this paper makes suggestions that could be incorporated in Brazil to make water pollution control more effective.


Based on the information of body proportion, in this study, a simple and effective processing scheme is developed for two age groups classification, i.e. children and adults for the applications of smart autonomous movers. By the YOLO-based CNN model for head and body objects detections, the recognition accuracies of age group classification for children and adults are 95% and 92.5% respectively with the image datasets collected in publics. Compared with the existed design, the proposed methodology performs simpler and more effective recognition capability for age group classification of adults and children. The proposed design is implemented on GPU-based embedded platform for real-time applications.


CONTENTS: Brief 1. Overview / Agnes R. Quisumbing and Ruth S. Meinzen-Dick Brief 2. Land Rights / Eve Crowley Brief 3. Water Rights / Barbara Van Koppen Brief 4. Rights to Livestock / Beth A. Miller Brief 5. Technology / Thelma R. Paris, Hilary Sims Feldstein, and Guadalupe Duron Brief 6. Education / Elizabeth M. King and Harold Alderman Brief 7. Labor Markets and Employment / Ruthanne Deutsch, Suzanne Duryea, and Claudia Piras Brief 8. Health and Nutrition / Stuart Gillespie Brief 9. Social Capital / Mercy S. Dikito-Wachtmeister Brief 10. Microfinance / Manohar Sharma Brief 11. Safety Nets / Michelle Adato and Shelley Feldman Brief 12. Law and Legal Reform / Gita Gopal


Electric field measurements at Vostok station in Antarctica reveal that the El Niño—Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has a statistically significant effect on the global electric circuit, as earlier predicted by simulations. Analysis of 10 October‐February periods during 2006–2016 indicates that the shape of the diurnal variation of the surface electric field is significantly different for El Niño and La Niña years, with an especially pronounced deviation during the super El Niño of 2015/16. During strong El Niños the potential gradient relative to the diurnal mean is generally higher than usual around 8:00–14:00 UTC and lower than usual around 16:00–0:00 UTC; La Niñas are characterized by the opposite behavior. Simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting model imply that the observed patterns are the result of changes in the global distribution of electrified clouds over the Pacific Ocean, Maritime Continent, and South America during ENSO events.


We have obtained near-infrared images of the L1448 molecular outflow in the J, H, and K bands and through a 1% passband filter centered on the 2.122 μm v=1-0 S(1) line of molecular hydrogen. We report the discovery of a highly collimated, clumpy, and bipolar molecular hydrogen jet associated with the L1448 molecular outflow. We estimate that the total H 2 luminosity of the L1448 outflow is about 0.2 L ○. . Most of the line emission in the northern outflow lobe arises from a narrow, curving filament consisting of a chain of knots. Some H 2 knots and the bow-shaped emission regions protruding several arcseconds to the west of the filament may be shocks associated with CP- and SiO-emitting bullets seen in millimeter-wave observations


The taste, flavor and persistence of response were evaluated in chocolate drinks at 50–55°C, containing increasing concentrations of either glycerol monostearate or lecithin. Each surfactant decreased flavor but increased sweetness and persistence time, and polarimetric evidence suggests that a complex between surfactant and sucrose molecules might account in part for the taste phenomena observed. When subjective intensity of sweetness in the drinks is plotted against increasing concentration of added sucrose over a range of surfactant concentrations it is found that the surfactant changes the slope as well as the intercept of the resulting curves. These results are discussed in relation to the accession of sweet stimuli to receptors and their effectiveness at eliciting a response.


Connecting, living and working with people coming from different horizons across the globe has never been as intese as nowadays. This bordless world increases the amount of competitors that compani ...


Objectives  Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) has been increasingly used in the assessment of elevated blood pressure (BP) in adults as well as in children. Normal ABPM reference values for school children have been published. However, there is little reported experience with this method in children under the age of 6 years, especially in infants. The aim of our study was to investigate the feasibility of ABPM in healthy infants.

Design and methods  Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring recordings were performed in 97 infants with no history of disease or drugs affecting BP. The medical history was taken and gender, age, height, and weight were recorded. A minimum of 22 hours of recording time and at least 40 recordings were required. An accurate oscillometric device (SpaceLabs 90207) was used in all infants with an appropriate cuff, attached to the non-dominant arm. Measurements were performed every 20 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes during the night.

Results  Ninety-seven infants, aged from 2 to 30 months (mean 13 ± 3 months), were included. A satisfactory ABPM profile was obtained in 84 (86.7%) infants. In five infants the number of recordings was < 40, while in eight infants the recording time was too short. There were, on average, 54 (75.4%) satisfactory recordings. The mean ± SD systolic and diastolic BP was 100 ± 6/63 ± 5 mmHg during the day-time and 96 ± 5/58 ± 4 mmHg at night. The height of the infants ranged from 57 to 95 cm (mean 75 ± 2 cm). The infants were divided into four groups according to height. The mean systolic and diastolic values showed a slight, but significant increase with body height. The day to night decline of the mean systolic BP was 3.0 to 6.0% and the mean diastolic fall was 3.4 to 10.6% in the different height groups.

Conclusions  Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is a useful tool for the assessment of BP in very young children. The method was well tolerated and the measurements were technically acceptable. We confirmed the increase in BP with body height and the nocturnal decrease in BP. To obtain normal data for ABPM for this age group a much larger number of infants are needed.


Given a graph where every vertex has exactly one labeled token, how can we most quickly execute a given permutation on the tokens? In (sequential) token swapping , the goal is to use the shortest possible sequence of swaps , each of which exchanges the tokens at the two endpoints of an edge of the graph. In parallel token swapping , the goal is to use the fewest rounds , each of which consists of one or more swaps on the edges of a matching. We prove that both of these problems remain NP-hard when the graph is restricted to be a tree. These token swapping problems have been studied by disparate groups of researchers in discrete mathematics, theoretical computer science, robot motion planning, game theory, and engineering. Previous work establishes NP-completeness on general graphs (for both problems), constant-factor approximation algorithms, and some poly-time exact algorithms for simple graph classes such as cliques, stars, paths, and cycles. Sequential and parallel token swapping on trees were first studied over thirty years ago (as "sorting with a transposition tree") and over twenty-five years ago (as "routing permutations via matchings"), yet their complexities were previously unknown. We also show limitations on approximation of sequential token swapping on trees: we identify a broad class of algorithms that encompass all three known polynomial-time algorithms that achieve the best known approximation factor (which is 2) and show that no such algorithm can achieve an approximation factor less Computational co-organized Erik 22–29, Holetown, Barbados. We the other participants of that workshop for providing a


This paper explores the developmental issues of the forms of Chinese characters from the informational and psyshological view and reveals the course of grand development since ancient time.It also displays the present achievement of the development of Chinese characters and the construction and participation in the future great exploit.


Introduction: UV index is a precaution index that shows level of exposure to sunlight UV. UV index can be calculated by the related formula according to solar spectral irradiance (Eλ). But this formula and others like this are mostly used when sky is clear. The aim of this investigation is determination of effect of PM2.5 and NO2 concentration on UV index. Material and methods: Two points with the same altitude were chosen and the PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations, and UV index were measured 4 h every day from 11am to 3 pm, in these points during one month from 15 October till 15 November 2016. Results: Simple and interaction regression models showed significant reverse relationship between contaminants concentration and UVI (Pvalue ≤ 0.05), although the effect of PM2.5 concentration was more significant than NO2 (Pvalue ≤ 0.001), in both point. Conclusions: There is a strong correlation between PM2.5 concentration and decrease in UV index. Also a significant correlation between NO2 concentration and UV index was found and any significant correlation between UV index and interaction effect of NO2 - PM2.5 was not appeared. Results of this study showed that air pollutants concentration can reduce UV index, thus it can change the risk of skin eczema and skin cancer.


The decision to amputate rather than reconstruct a severely injured limb ('mangled extremity') has historically been one of the most difficult choices faced by a trauma surgeon. The surgeon's responsibility is heightened by the knowledge that delayed or incorrect decision-making may lead to worse outcomes. Unfortunately, hard data upon which to base reliable decisions remain elusive. A prospective analysis of the use of scoring systems including the Limb Salvage Index, the Predictive Salvage Index, the Hanover Fracture Scale, and the NISSSA (Nerve injury, Ischaemia, Soft-tissue contamination, Skeletal damage, Shock, Age) and MESS (Mangled Extremity Severity Score) scores did not validate the clinical utility of any of the scoring algorithms.


The issue of college readiness is receiving increased attention and financial backing from various institutions and funding agencies, both public and private. As states move toward the adoption of college and career readiness standards, it is vital to better define what is meant by college readiness. As noted educational researcher David Conley (2010) argues, the idea that students should graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully pursue college and career is not a novel concept. What is new, however, is the systemic shift to preparing all students for formal learning opportunities beyond high school. Paramount to achieving this goal of having every student graduate high school ready to pursue college and career is measuring the impact of college readiness programs and policies on student transition beyond high school, and finding useful models and frameworks that can help the state and local institutions (secondary and postsecondary) to guide this important work.


Based on the principles of biomineralization,spherical Hydroxyapatite(HA) crystals were synthesized using Ca(NO3)2·4H2O and(NH4)3PO4·3H2O as raw materials and poly(diallyl dimethylammonium) chloride(PDAC) as template.The structure,chemical composition,morphology and thermal behavior of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),Fourier transform infrared spectroscope(FT-IR),Transmission electron microscope(TEM) and Thermal gravimetric analysis(TG).The results show that the concentration of PDAC has great effect on the morphology of HA.Spherical HA crystals with diameter of 40 nm and uniform distribution can be obtained when the concentration of PDAC is 2.0 wt%.The possible formation mechanism of morphology change of HA crystal was also discussed.


Robot Dynamic Simulators offer convenient implementation and testing of physical robots, thus accelerating research and development. While existing simulators support most real-world robots with serially linked kinematic and dynamic chains, they offer limited or conditional support for complex closed-loop robots. On the other hand, many of the underlying physics computation libraries that these simulators employ support closed-loop kinematic chains and redundant mechanisms. Such mechanisms are often utilized in surgical robots to achieve constrained motions (e.g., the remote center of motion (RCM)). To deal with such robots, we propose a new simulation framework based on a front-end description format and a robust real-time dynamic simulator. Although this study focuses on surgical robots, the proposed format and simulator are applicable to any type of robot. In this manuscript, we describe the philosophy and implementation of the front-end description format and demonstrate its performance and the simulator's capabilities using simulated models of real-world surgical robots.


Recently, the crash-safety measures against the bus crew and the passengers came to be requested by the rise of demands for the crash-safety performances of automobiles. In Japan, the guideline for the bus crash test was worked out in 1999. Bus crash safety in the situation where seat belt wearing is not obligatory for bus passengers was investigated. Sled tests of which the test parameters were seat belt, seat interval, and posture were undertaken. For the first row passenger three point seat belt effectiveness and for other passengers two point seat belt effectiveness were studied. In this report, the test results were considered in relation to international harmonization, and current research activities are described. For the covering abstract see ITRD E825082.


Molecular weight distribution effects of novolak resin‐based chemical amplification negative resist systems are investigated for electron‐beam lithography. The resist systems investigated consist of onium salts as an acid generator, a methoxymethyl melamine crosslinker, and a conventional/fractionated novolak resin matrix. Delineated patterns of both types of resist systems are compared to evaluate submicron‐scale resolution. The conventional novolak resin‐based system shows higher contrast than the fractionated one. High aspect ratio patterns are resolved for the conventional novolak‐based resist, whereas poor results are obtained for the fractionated resin‐based one on the submicron scale. Very thin films (30 nm) of both resist systems are delineated with a finely focused electron beam (diameter: approximately 2 nm at 5 kV) from a scanning electron microscope. Nanometer‐scale edge roughness (nanoedge roughness) is observed for the conventional novolak resin‐based resist. On the contrary, the degree of n...


Contamination in the in vitro culture is a critical problem causing the failure of seed production. Contamination in the oil palm plantlet is detrimental, considering that oil palm propagation is difficult and takes a long time. This research aimed to study the effect of sterilization during acclimatization of the contaminated oil palm plantlets by fungi on viability and to determine the optimum viability achieved from the contaminated materials. The materials used were contaminated plantlets of oil palm with roots, four leaves, and a height of about 17 cm. The plantlets were removed from the tube and cleaned with running tap water, then were sterilized, with treatments P1: soaking in benomyl-mancozeb-sodium hypochlorite and mannitol and rinsing with aquadest, P2: soaking in benomyl-mancozeb, P3: soaking in mancozeb. Cleaning plantlets under running tap water was carried out as a control treatment. The results showed that at 10 weeks after acclimatization, the survival rate of plantlets in each treatment (P1, P2, and P3) was significantly higher than that of the control. Sterilization methods affect the time new leaves emerge, leaf condition after sterilization treatment, and shoot height. The lowest fungal contamination after treatments was found in P2, followed by P3. After 3 months, plantlet survival rate decreased, with the highest survival rate in treatment P3 (32.3%) followed by treatment P2 (22.5%). In conclusion, acclimatization of contaminated oil palm plantlets can be carried out using a suitable sterilization treatment. Sterilization affects the survival rate and growth of in vitro-contaminated oil palm plantlets during acclimatization.


The effect of current velocity on byssal-thread production by adult zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) was investigated. The number of threads produced by 20 individuals at currents of 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.27 m/s was recorded daily over 21 consecutive days, after which individual shell length and dry tissue masses were measured and the byssal complex was removed. Increasing the current velocity from 0.10 to 0.20 m/s significantly elevated rates of byssal-thread production, but the rate was reduced at 0.27 m/s. Current-induced suppression of byssal-thread production may be due to mechanical disturbance of attached mussels, interfering with their ability to press the tip of the foot against the substratum as the thread cures. The mean thread number in a newly formed byssal complex after 21 days was 52.5, 63.8, 73.3 and 60.4 at currents of 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.27 m/s, respectively. Current velocity had no effect on thread width. The mean number of threads found in the byssal complex of individuals from th...


Abstract : Since German reunification on October 3, 1990, one fact has emerged: Germany is Europe's local superpower. Despite the economic and social problems brought on the meshing of the two very different societies of the east and west, Germany has not faltered. The demise of the Soviet Union and the chaos encompassing the Commonwealth of Independence States has left a political vacuum on the European continent. Germany, under the leadership of Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, has shown itself both capable of the determined to step in and assume a position of leadership. Germany displayed its new political confidence most clearly in the decision to recognize Croatia and Slovenia in January 1992, against the objections of the United States and a number of fellow European Community (EC) members. The Germans, however, refused to be dissuaded from what they saw as the only way to end the bloodshed in what formally Yugoslavia. The U.S. and the other EC nations reluctantly followed suit and recognized both Croatia and Slovenia.


In late 2019, the Flexible Electrical Networks (FEN) Research Campus, in which the institutes of E.ON ERC are involved in a leading capacity, teamed up with other institutes of RWTH Aachen University and industrial partners to commission a medium-voltage direct current (MVDC) network on the Melaten campus of RWTH Aachen University as a demonstration network (see Research & News, No. 24, 3/2019). Just a few months after it was put into operation, in March 2020, the EnergyAgency.NRW chose this unique research grid as its "project of the month," highlighting the project on the agency's website, where the general public can learn about it as an outstanding example in the area of grid innovation. The detailed, highly interesting article presents a clear view of the fundamental technical and economic advantages of DC technology. It also features specific technical innovations, Optimized technology mix reduces grid loads Page 2 • FCN: Modeling grid-friendly clean energy communities Page 2 • Shortening simulation calculations facilitates grid and capacity planning Page 3 • Combined heat and power has great potential for supplying residential buildings Page 4 • Researchers identify interactions and flexibilities for stable distribution networks Page 5 • Knowledge and expertise for the energy transition Page 6 • 5G gets energy grids ready for the future Page 6 • MPC-Geothermie efficiently integrates borehole heat exchanger fields into building energy supply Page 7 • Researchers lay groundwork for the PV power plants of the future Page 8 • STAWAG Dissertation Award Page 9 • Workshop eGrid 2020 Page 9 Study identifies new business models for electric mobility


Introduction The field of entrepreneurship is sometimes divided into two communities of interests. One group of entrepreneurship researchers focuses on the external forces and investigates the situations in which entrepreneurial opportunity is recognised and exploited, while the other is interested in the individuals involved and views entrepreneurship as a function of core human attributes (Campbell, 2003; Burnett and McMurray, 2004). Both communities of interest seek to explain a wide range of complex entrepreneurial activities. Proponents of the first school argue that entrepreneurial actions are episodic with little evidence of permanence, and hence concentrate on external forces. The second school counters that every external force requires the action of those individuals who identify and pursue opportunities. This last notion finds resonance with authors like Bygrave (1989a &1989b), Bygrave & Hofer (1991), Gartner (2001), and Mitton (1989). Bygrave & Hofer (1991:14) define an entrepreneur as "someone who perceives an opportunity and creates an organization to pursue it", adhering to the notion that the creation of a business is driven by an individual who has the skills to both recognise business opportunities and being able to build a business around these. Some ten years later, Shane & Venkataraman (2000), similarly maintain that: "entrepreneurship involves the nexus of two phenomena: the presence of lucrative opportunities and the presence of enterprising individuals" (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000:218). Shane (2003) takes this further by integrating both views, offering an overarching conceptual framework consisting of different components of the entrepreneurial process together with the characteristics of entrepreneurial opportunities and the individuals who discover, pursue and exploit them. These incorporate the skills and strategies necessary to do so. This paper leverages on this overarching framework, by linking the entrepreneur's behaviour with the situations occurring during the process of new venture growth. This is accomplished by investigating entrepreneurial characteristics from a broader (non-linear) perspective. The focus thus turns to the interactions between the entrepreneur & the opportunity, and to defining more comprehensive non-linear traits that will better typify the successful creation of new ventures. AGSE 2008


Abstract Information on humic substances (HS) associated with nitrogen fertilization in West Indian cherry is scarce in the literature. The use of soil conditioners, such as HS, can increase the efficiency in the absorption of nutrients, especially N. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate, in two production cycles, the fruit quality, yield and nutritional status of West Indian cherry as a function of fertigation with nitrogen (N) and HS in Petrolina-PE, Brazil. The experimental design was in split plots, with treatments distributed in 5 x 2 strips, referring to N doses (50, 75, 100, 125 and 150% of the recommended dose) and HS application (without and with), respectively, with 4 replicates and 3 plants per plot. The N source used was urea (45% N) and the HS source used was the commercial product KS100 (Omnia®), from leonardite, monthly applied at dose of 6 g plant-1. Production, yield, indices of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll, and leaf contents of N, P, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn and Zn were determined. Fruits were evaluated for: pH, vitamin C, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA) and SS/TA ratio. Except for leaf N content, which increased linearly with the applied doses, the leaf contents of nutrients, production and yield of West Indian cherry showed a stochastic pattern as a function of the increase in N availability and HS application. West Indian cherry plants cultivated and fertilized according to the recommendation for the crop did not respond to the evaluated treatments. Application of humic substances and N doses did not alter the post-harvest quality of West Indian cherry fruits.


The paper illustrates a differential evolution (DE) algorithm to calculate the level-cuts of the fuzzy extension of a multidimensional real valued function to fuzzy numbers. The method decomposes the fuzzy extension engine into a set of "nested" min and max box-constrained op- timization problems and uses a form of the DE algorithm, based on multi populations which cooperate during the search phase and specialize, a part of the populations to find the the global min (corresponding to lower branch of the fuzzy extension) and a part of the populations to find the global max (corresponding to the upper branch), both gaining efficiency from the work done for a level-cut to the subsequent ones. A special ver- sion of the algorithm is designed to the case of differentiable functions, for which a representation of the fuzzy numbers is used to improve ef- ficiency and quality of calculations. The included computational results indicate that the DE method is a promising tool as its computational complexity grows on average superlinearly (of degree less than 1.5) in the number of variables of the function to be extended.


Summary form only given.Photo-induced EMF provides an attractive means to perform adaptive interferometry that is insensitive to speckle or vibrations. One particular application is for laser-based ultrasound detection if the sensitivity of the technique can be improved. The responsivity of conventional photo-EMF receivers has suffered from small photoconductive gain, which have prevented their widespread use. We showed previously that the photo-EMF signal can be enhanced, at constant intensity, by using asymmetric interdigitated contacts to collect the EMF current. In the present work we studied the scaling of this enhancement up to 128 pairs of collecting contacts.


Helicobacter pylori and HCV are the most prevalent pathogens worldwide associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of H. pylori in HCV infected patients and compares changes in liver function tests (LFTs) of both HCV mono-infected and HCV/H. pylori co-infected patients. Eighty-seven participants participated in this study who were first screened for HCV using GeneXpert technology followed by H. pylori antigen stool test. A complete blood count (CBC) analysis and LFTs were performed to determine the impact of HCV and H. pylori on liver enzymes. Our findings suggested that 45% of patients had HCV mono-infection, whereas 55% were co-infected with both HCV and H. pylori. Furthermore, we also observed that ALT, AST, and ALP levels were significantly elevated in HCV/H. pylori co-infected patients as compared to HCV mono-infected patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the prevalence of H. pylori in HCV infected subjects of Lahori population


The majority of the existing ad hoc wireless network routing protocols has a tendency to use the shortest single path from the source to the destination. However, in constantly changing topologies such as those in mobile ad hoc networks, the shortest single path is quite unstable for reachability and also for traffic load equilibrium. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme, called Applicative Indirect Routing (AIR), to control network traffic congestion and refine the route availability by coping with unreliable links quickly. The proposed scheme, acting as a proactive routing protocol, utilizes additional information about the neighbors shared (defined as proxies) by the sender and receiver to find ondemand an alternative for the original path with unreliable links. The additional bandwidth usage in AIR to obtain the information about shared neighbors is so minimal that the bandwidth availability for data packets is not significantly affected. In our scheme, it is possible for the nodes to dynamically reroute incoming packets into alternative paths so the packets will reach their destinations even when the ideal routing path fails. The conducted simulation experiments show that AIR leads to a much improved system performance in terms of packet delivery ratio, average end-to-end packet delay, and network reliability as compared with a conventional proactive protocol, namely Destination-Sequenced Distance Vector (DSDV). AIR is also a competitive protocol in terms of packet delivery ratio as compared with two existing reactive protocols; namely Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector (AODV) and Dynamic Source Routing (DSR).


The present invention discloses a data acquisition device having at least one communication interface, which is adapted to couple the data acquisition device with other data acquisition devices, an adjustable time recording device which is configured to output the current detected by the time detecting means local time, with a computing device which the at least one communication interface and the time detecting means is coupled, and is formed to cyclically receive in a synchronized state on the at least one communication interface synchronization messages of the other data acquisition devices and cyclically send out its own synchronization messages, wherein the computing device is further configured, in the synchronized state based on each of the received synchronization messages a deviation between a respective in the Synchronisationsnachrich t specified time and the local time to be calculated, and based on the calculated deviation to adjust the timing detection means so that the deviation is minimized. Further, the present invention discloses a network and a method.


An exposure radiation power measurement technique utilizing thin gold film thermal sensors has been presented. The sensory system of the power meter (or calorimeter) consists of three interlaced serpentine resistors covering an area of 6 cm by 0.4 cm, functioning as a thermal sensor, a heater and a shielding electrode. The measurement principle is based on recording the change in resistance of the sensor due to heating under radiation and internal calibration. The interlaced gold sensors were fabricated using optical lithography on a 100 mm diameter silicon wafer. The power measurements have been performed at CAMD/LSU 1.3 - 1.5 GeV synchrotron source, on a 'white light' beamline (Emax approximately 4 keV). The measurement results agree with calculations within approximately 4%. The relaxation time of the calorimeter response was 90 seconds in vacuum (10-4Torr) and 18 seconds in 25 Torr helium. The power from a UV lamp of an ORIEL optical exposure station was measured using an interlaced thermal sensor and a commercial calorimeter. The results agree within 2%.


In this paper we show how measurements made by a simple handheld polarimeter in conjunction with automated sunsky radiometers can be used to effectively constrain the real part of the complex refractive index of aerosols. We find that even measurements over a limited angular range near 90° scattering angle are sufficient for this purpose. We also note that because of the effect of surface reflectance on the observed degree of linear polarization (DOLP) it is sensible to select spectral bands for these measurements for which the surface is relatively dark and homogeneous (i.e. wavelengths shorter than 700 nm are to be preferred).


In order to improve the efficiency of chemical wastewater treatment as well as the security and reliability of systems operation, PLC light tracking technology is applied to the photovoltaic device in the system. According to the requirements of electro-catalytic oxidation process, design the energy storage and impulse voltage generating control system using SCM technology,to realize the sewage treatment by catalytic oxidation of pulsed power.