Background: Congenital ptosis with poor levator function are very difficult to make good results of functional and cosmetic side. Surgical methods for the correction of congenital ptosis with poor levator function, including frontalis suspension or maximal levator resection, remain controversial. We evaluated the postoperative surgical and cosmetic long-term outcomes after frontalis sling operation with preserved fascia lata for congenital ptosis with poor levator function. Objective: To evaluate the long-term outcome of asymmetric ptosis with frontalis sling operation preserved fascia lata by modified direct tarsal fixation in congenital ptosis patients. Methods: A retrospective case series was performed. From January 2000 to December 2018, 53 patients (30 unilateral and 23 bilateral asymmetric ptosis) with 70 eyelids who underwent frontalis sling with preserved fascia lata were included. Six patients underwent levator resection at opposite eye. The surgical results were graded as excellent, good and poor. Results: The mean age at the time of surgery was 5.2±3.2 years (range, 1-43 years) with a mean follow-up time of 106.6±29.1 months (range, 60-196 months). Satisfactory results (excellent or good result) were obtained in 94.2% of the patients. Patients were divided into two groups based on levator function as follows: 0 to 2 mm (24 cases) and 2.5 to 4.0 mm (46 cases). Preoperative levator function, margin reflex distance-1 and levator dehiscence were not correlated with postoperative surgical outcomes. Complications were exposure keratopathy (8.6%), lidcrease asymmetry (7.1%), overcorrection (5.7%), entropion (5.7%), and eyelash ptosis (2.9%). Conclusion: Frontalis sling operation by preserved fascia lata with modified direct tarsal fixation is a simple but effective treatment for severe congenital ptosis with poor levator function. And it has good long-term


Ever since the beginning of 1920s, a group of essayists from White Horse Lake, headed by Feng Zi-kai, Xia Mian-zun, Zhu Zi-qing and Ye Sheng-tao, have gained wide popularity for their delicate and meaningful essays. They voiced differently with their counterparts through wonderful integration between content and form, idea and art, and showed their unique artistic style of simplicity, implicity, originality and fertility.


The establishment of higher education in London - a survey higher education and the London economy 1830-1914 higher education in the London community class and gender aspects of higher education in London - the origins of London Polytechnics the city of London and higher education the London County Council and higher education the funding of higher education in London the London polytechnics teacher training in London technical and scientific education in London higher education and the visual arts in London.


Due to shear strain and aberration, we can not accurately obtain the solution by using beam elements when we solve section stress of thinwalled box girder of different height webplate web height of thin-walled box.Solving scale is relatively large if we use entity cell in the whole bridge. Some problem could be solved if we use the sub-model technology to analyze simple-box simple-cell and webplate with different height thinwalled box girder.


HIGHLIGHTS

This study aimed to identify the characteristics of Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia (GTN).
GTN is chemosensitive, but without appropriate therapy and follow-up, GTN will develop into complications and fatalities.

ABSTRACT
Objective: Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia (GTN) is a pregnancy-related malignancy due to abnormal proliferation of trophoblastic tissue. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of patients with GTN to help diagnose cases of GTN earlier and provide better treatment.
Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive retrospective study on medical records of patients with GTN in Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital Surabaya, Indonesia, during the period of January 2018 to December 2020 with a total sampling technique. There were 41 patients with GTN included as study subjects.
Results: Forty-one cases of GTN met the inclusion criteria out of the fifty medical records collected. The majority of patients aged 21 – 30 years old (34%) and had parity status without data (42%). Regarding the clinical profile based on prognostic factors, the predominant patients (71%) also had no data about the time interval between the end of the last pregnancy and the first time diagnosed by GTN, Those with more than 100,000 mIU/ml of beta-hCG levels were 32%, and those without metastases were 41.5%. Most patients belonged to the low-risk group (49%) and received chemotherapy (71%) with the MTX LD regimen (69%).
Conclusion: GTN occurred predominantly in reproductive women that belonged to the low-risk group. Furthermore, chemotherapy is one of the chosen therapy for those patients.


It was hardly practical to control the quality of Chinese herbal medicines with different types of constituents, broad polarities, and a variety of UV absorptions utilizing a single standard to determine multi-components (SSDMC) method alone. To extend the application range of the SSDMC method, a new strategy was developed and named as WP-ERS-CSP-SSDMC. This new strategy combined three different techniques, namely wavelength program (WP), exogenous reference standard (ERS) and core-shell particle (CSP), to enhance the existing SSDMC method. Taking Kansui Radix (roots of Euphobia kansui) as an example, thirteen major components including three jatrophane diterpenoids, eight ingenane diterpenoids and two triterpenes which included three pairs of isomerides and three strong hydrophobic components were all simultaneously assayed using this new strategy with ethyl benzoate, a synthetic compound, employed as a single reference standard for the first time. A C8 column packed with 2.7 µm core-shell particles was optimized to separate these constituents in 25 minutes on a conventional HPLC instrument with a photodiode array detector on which a four-stage wavelength program was established. The WP-ERS-CSP-SSDMC method was validated to have the capacity to acquire more repeatable and consistent results than that obtained by traditional external standard methods. Through Plackett-Burmantest (PB) tests, eight primary chromatographic parameters of the method were investigated and it was found that the two factors, wavelength and flow rate, should be strictly restrained. At last 75 batches of Kansui Radix and its three different processing products were successfully analyzed and discriminated by applying the proposed method. This work provided a useful strategy for SSDMC method making the simultaneous multi-component assay of complex TCM system achievable, and an extensive application of multi-component quality control of TCM feasible.


PurposeThe dynamic business environment of all industries is forcing organizations to restructure their organizational philosophy and strategies to gain and maintain competitive advantage. To grapple with this rapidly changing environment, organizations are required to be more intrapreneurial in their operations. However, very few studies have been conducted on knowing the antecedent of intrapreneurship in organizations; thus the purpose of this paper is to fill this gap. This study strived to investigate the association among styles of leadership and intrapreneurial behavior (IB) of employees in the presence of psychological empowerment (PE) as mediator in higher educational institutes in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachA deductive approach of logic was taken to formulate and test the hypotheses. A structured questionnaire was developed and sent to 350 Academic staff of Universities in Pakistan, out of which 280 responses were collected. A structured equation modeling technique was utilized to analyze the hypotheses.FindingsFindings revealed a positive impact of transformational leadership (TL) and authentic leadership on IB, while a negative association between transactional leadership and IB was found. Contrary to these results, no significant association was observed between IB and passive- avoidant leadership. In addition, mediation analysis was run using the bootstrapping function of SmartPLS. Results showed that the association among TL, authentic leadership and IB were mediated by PE; however, the association of transactional leadership, passive-avoidant leadership and IB was not mediated by empowerment.Originality/valueThis study contributed to the knowledge domain of leadership as well as intrapreneurship. The study may help practitioners and academicians understand organizational factors such as leadership behavior, which might foster IB.


elevated view.title and further information inscribed in pencil on verso. inscribed in pencil on verso: vines studio photo wangaratta vic. g. e. roberts print. another print of this image exists at h19005.


In one embodiment, a style compressor for improving compression of a web document collects all the style attributes referenced by elements of the web document into a central style repository. The style compressor replaces each reference by each of the elements with a class attribute assigned in the central style repository to the replaced style attributes. Next, the style compressor organizes the style attributes in the central style repository and compresses the style attributes into a minimized selection of class attributes each referencing at least one of the style attributes. The style compressor updates the elements of the web document to reference one or more of the minimized selection of class attributes in the central style repository to produce a shorter, more efficiently organized web document. ® KIPO & WIPO 2009


Recently, biodiesel production from abundant bio-sources has drawn the attention of the academic and the industrial community. In this study, crude palm oil (CPO) containing 8.7% free fatty acid content (FFA) was used as raw material. Different common types of acid catalysts (sulfuric acid, methanesulfonic acid and hydrochloric acid) were optimized to investigate the catalytic activity of each acid in the pre-treatment of CPO by the esterification process. Ultrasonic energy was used for the reduction of FFA in CPO. FFA content was measured at different sonication intervals, and the optimum time was determined. Hydrochloric acid showed the highest catalytic activity in the reduction of FFA content in CPO, as well as in converting FFA to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). From this work, it is reasonable to conclude that there is significant enhancement in the pre-treatment of oils by applying ultrasonic energy using long sonication time.


True countercurrent washing is difficult to achieve with unaggregated erythrocytes because of their small size and tendency to engage in bulk flow. Continuous‐flow centrifugal washing of cells suspended in isotonic saline is extremely efficient, permitting a reduction in the concentration of extracellular contaminant by a factor of 100 in less than five minutes with a wash solution volume less than twice the volume of the cell solution. The introduction of glycerol into a cell suspension decreases sedimentation rates and imposes several obstacles to continuous‐flow wash. The efficiency of centrifugal wash procedures for fully glycerolized cells is poor and a preliminary reduction in glycerol concentration by some other method is necessary before continuous‐flow wash can be used effectively. A preliminary dilution with a hypertonic sodium chloride wash improves sedimentation characteristics, but excessive packing of the crenated cells results in washing hemolysis. Some further dilution with isotonic saline prevents this and permits completion of the wash on a continuous‐flow centrifugal basis.


Significant vortex-induced vibration (VIV) occurs when the vortex shedding frequency about a structure coincides with its natural frequency. This is a cause of major problems in the offshore industry that account for large maintenance costs. One method to reduce VIV is by the use of splitter plates to reduce vortex shedding behind bluff bodies such as marine risers. The function of splitter plates was traditionally regarded as prohibiting lift force and amplitude response of VIV by the reduction of vortex interaction from either side of the structure. By allowing the cylindrical structure to vibrate transversely in a towing tank, interesting observations were made as a result of changing splitter plate length. Contrary to existing literature and belief, lock-in region displacement amplitudes of cylinders with splitter plates of lengths 0.5 to 1.5 diameters are up to 4 times larger than bare cylinder displacements. This paper discusses the significance of this experimental result and details on experimental set-up, procedure and vortex induced forces and displacements of cylinders in sub critical flows of reduced velocities ranging from 0 to 32.5 and Reynolds Numbers of 1.0×10 < Re < 7.5×10 with splitter plates of lengths 0 to 3 diameters.


Periodically-poled lithium niobate (PPLN) offers many properties that make it attractive for devices. It provides a significantly increased nonlinearity compared with bulk lithium niobate: it allows phase-matching of frequency-conversion processes for any frequencies in its wide transmission bandwidth: it can be fabricated with special structures, such as an aperiodic grating, which allow effects to occur that have no counterparts in bulk nonlinear media. These properties offer novel devices and major enhancement in many existing devices. We will review a number of these devices, giving particular emphasis to parametric devices such as optical parametric oscillators, amplifiers and generators. The high parametric gain achievable with modest pump powers has allowed an important convergence between the pump power requirements of PPLN devices and the powers available from fibre laser devices. Prospects that stem from this convergence will be considered.


The researchers have consistently observed higher heat transfer rates with different kinds of nanofluids (among others, Al CNT, nickel, Nano diamond, TiO2, and SiO2 turbulent flow conditions. The heat transfer enhancement of nanofluids depends on particle concentrations, thermal conductivity of nanoparticles and mass flow rates. The thermal conductivity of nanoparticles may be altered or changed by synthesizing the hybrid (nanocomposite) nanoparticles and it is expected that fluids prepared with hybrid nanoparticles may cause further heat transfer enhancements. The hybrid nanoparticles may be defined as two or more different materials nanometer size; hybrid nanoparticles represent an area of nanotechnology, which is experiencing a marked growth due to its potential impact in material science and engineering. In this Present work, a solid model of a double pipe heat exchanger is The main objectives of this research are to analyze the thermal efficiency of hybrid nano-fluid (Cu-Al2O3/Water) relative to single and pure water. For which nanofluid and hybrid nanofluid passes through the tube side with 6mm diameter, while the hot fluid flows through the annulus side with a 16mm inside diameter and length 1000mm. For this we considered hot water is supplied to the outer tube at a volume flow rate of 3.5 litre/min at a temperature of 353 K, while Cu nanofluid of 0.3% volume concentration are supplied to the inner tube at different volume flow rate of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1 litre/min at temperature of 301K. From the present study, it has been found that at 0.4, 0.6, 0.8.and 1 liter per minute cold fluid flow rate and 3.5 liters per minute hot fluid flow rate the overall heat transfer coefficient is improved by 12 percent by the use of hybrid nano-fluid (Cu to single nano-fluid (Al2O3).


In the entire history of commercial nuclear power so far, only two major accidents leading to damage of reactor core have taken place. One is Three Mile Island (TMT) accident (1979), which is caused by a series of human error, and the other is Chernobyl accident (1986), which is due to the combined reason of design defects and human errors. After TMI and Chernobyl accidents, in order to reduce manpower in operation and maintenance and influence of human errors on reactor safety, consideration is given to utilization of passive safety systems. According to the IAEA definition, passive safety systems are based on natural forces, such as convection and gravity, and stored energy, making safety functions less dependent on active systems and operators' action. Recently, the technology of passive safety has been adopted in many reactor designs, such as AP1000, developed by Westinghouse and EP1000 developed by European vendor, and so on. AP1000 as the first so-called Generation III+ has received the final design approval from US NRC in September 2004, and now being under construction in Sanmen, China. In this paper, the major passive safety systems of AP1000, including passive safety injection system, automatic depressurization system passive residual heat removal system and passive containment cooling system, are described and their responses to a break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) are given. Just due to these passive systems' adoption, the nuclear plant can be able to require no operator action and offsite or onsite AC power sources for at least 72h when one accident occurs, and the core melt and large release frequencies are significantly below the requirement of operating plants and the NRC safety goals.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


Micro-perforated structures with a backing cavity is a device for providing efficient noise absorption. In a practical and industrial setting, the efficiency of Micro-Perforated Structure (MPS) may be influenced by the vibro-acoustic behavior of the surrounding systems, the shape of the micro-perforated structure as well as different kinds of excitation. In this paper, the Patch Transfer Functions (PTF) approach is proposed to model the MPS behaviour in such Complex Vibro-Acoustic Environment The PTF method is a substructuring approach which allows assembling different vibro-acoustic subsystems coupled through surfaces. The proposed PTF formulation of the MPS is capable of taking the micro-perforations and the flexibility of the structures into account and allows easy prediction of the efficiency of a MPS in a practical vibro-acoustic environment. In order to validate the present approach, PTF results are compared with experimental measurements.


The research aims to examine the effect top management support and professionalism of internal auditors toward effectiveness internal audit in Perguruan Tinggi Negeri Berbadan Hukum (PTNBH). This research was conducted with a saturated sampling method in 11 (eleven) Perguruan Tinggi Negeri Berbadan Hukum (PTNBH) in Indonesia. The method caused in this research is quantitative descriptive method. The data used are primary data. Primary data sourced from the result of questionnaire responses. The data analysis model used analysis paht. Based on the result of statistical test, it concludes that top management support and professionalism of internal auditor purpose simultaneously has a positive effect towards effectiveness of internal audit in Perguruan Tinggi Negeri Berbadan Hukum (PTNBH) in Indonesia.


Having made a review of theories about the origin of fluid in this disease, X. comes to the conclusion that the amniotic cavity also serves as a source of hydrorrhoea gravidarum and is not even particularly rare.


In this paper we show that a striking improvement in the explanatory power of a "dividend type" of security valuation model can be obtained by classifying companies into equivalent risk categories, estimating the discount factor for a category, and then constructing a cross-sectional model for it. The increased homogenity of the data base improves the model's sensitivity to systematic forces, but does not sacrifice the heterogeneity of the independent variables.

Assuming that the difference between the intrinsic value of a security and its market value should be zero, the authors demonstrate a method for estimating kjt, the market discount rate for the jth risk category in the tth period. The results of the estimation procedure appear to be reasonable and when used in our security valuation model they produce higher coefficients of determination (R2) than those previously published for similar models.


A novel hepta-band coupled-fed antenna is presented for WWAN/LTE metal-ring- frame (MRF) smartphone applications in this paper. Unlike the conventional solutions simply removing the redundant resonances generated by the metal ring, A creative couple-fed scheme is utilized in this proposed antenna to take full advantage of the metal ring resonances. With com- pact size occupation and wide band coverage, the proposed antenna for smartphones enhances the bandwidth coverage, as well as user experience of cosmetic appearance and mechanical strength.


. The Kalimantan peat swamp water is one of the habitats for diversity of freshwater fish, where is currently facing of various threats of extinction that caused by diseases and pathogens, water population, changes in temperature and climate, deforestration, and habitat degradation. Inventory and species identification is the first step in conservation the diversity of freshwater fish. The purpose of this study to inventory of the freshwater fish in Palangka Raya University area. The research was conducted during February 1- April 30, 2021 at three location in the Palangka Raya University area using the direct fishing method at the observation location. The results showed 2574 individuals consisting of 8 families, 11 genera, and 15 species. The abundance of freshwater fish species was shown in Pectenocypris korthausae with 1114 individuals.


Abstract This paper focuses on experiential learning in the paradoxical postmodern moment: a period offering unparalleled opportunities for diverse groups to experiment with identities. But this in a context of frightening uncertainties and insecurities at an environmental, socioeconomic and personal level. The struggle to experiment must also be located within a powerful consumerism which can offer illusions of choice, but substitutes appearance for substance, manic materialism for existential purpose. Using cultural theory and psychoanalysis, I argue that experiential learning, in the postmodern moment, requires a holistic cultural psychology of human agency transcending the narrow vocationalist, short‐term discourse of lifelong learning. In a culture where inherited templates have fractured, experiential learning has become a vital necessity, offering, potentially, some supportive space, emotional as well as critical literacy, for the peoples of the margins, and nearer the core, to recompose selves, st...


Abstract Suppose μ and ν are Borel measures on locally compact spaces X and Y, respectively. A product measure λ can be defined on the Borel sets of X x Y by the formula λ(M) = ∫ν(Mx) dμ, provided that vertical cross section measure ν(Mx) is a measurable function in x. Conditions are summarized for ν(Mx) to be measurable as a function in x, and examples are given in which the function ν(Mx) is not measurable. It is shown that a dense, countably compact set fails to be a Borel set if it contains no nonempty zero set.


An instrumental variable approach to non-linear model-based adaptive control of engine speed regulation was investigated and implemented on a spark ignition internal combustion engine. A four-step version of instrumental variable parameter estimation is used to identify a bias-free and noise tolerant model of the engine dynamics from the by-pass air valve voltage input to the output engine speed. The parametric model representing the engine dynamics is a truncated Volterra series structure. Model-based adaptive control is accomplished through a partitioned non-linear model inversion of the engine model. The desired throttle response and disturbance rejection dynamics are introduced via a two-degree-of-freedom control structure. Performance of the non-linear model-based adaptive control algorithm has been verified experimentally.


Electrochemical corrosion monitoring (EN) was used to monitor corrosion and predict copper (Cu) release in a pilot-scale test facility operated for a one-year period. Data was collected from fourteen Cu corrosion loops and fourteen EN probes with Cu electrodes with and without phosphate and silicate inhibitors at varying doses. EN models were developed that found the Linear Polarization Rate (LPR) and Electrochemical Noise (ECN) described Cu release as well as chemical models, which indicated both localized and general corrosion mechanisms were active. The actual data and the EN model found that Cu release was highest for pH controls and was reduced by all inhibitors investigated. The ranked order of inhibition was BOP>OP>ZOP>Si>>pH. EN monitoring is significantly faster and less labor intensive relative to traditional water quality monitoring techniques, and provided a good fit to total and dissolved Cu release with a R 2 of 0.72 and 0.68, respectively.


This rhetorical study of Japanese government apologies made in 1990 to the President of South Korea considers national apology as part of a process, rather than as standalone and rhetor-driven text. These apologies demonstrate the interactional and intersubjective nature of national discourse, revealing perhaps surprisingly the role of the recipient and audience in the construction— indeed "co-construction"—of the apology. The role of the media is particularly important in this process.


and word naming as encoding tasks for later picture naming and translation. Comprehension processes benefited from prior production in the same language, and production processes benefited from prior comprehension. However, these response time reductions were smaller than with identical process repetition, suggesting some degree of process directionality. Error rate reductions followed a different pattern, with comprehension at encoding eliciting the largest benefit in production. Possible methods of incorporating backward processes into a quantitative transfer-appropriate processing model are examined. a study of picture priming, pigeons were first trained to respond differentially in a two-key choice task in the presence of 1 of 20 pictures of cars or people to a criterion of 80% correct. In test sessions, target pictures were presented relatively briefly, and were preceded 60 sec earlier by a 10-sec presentation of either the same picture (e.g., Person 1 ¡ 60-sec ISI ¡ briefly presented Person 1) or a picture from the other category (e.g., Car 1 ¡ 60-sec ISI ¡ briefly presented Person 2). The results showed that seeing the same picture 60 sec earlier facilitated performance in some of the birds. the ability to judge stimulus properties better than chance levels without being able to express the basis of the judgments verbally. Here, we show that intuitive judgments in a gestalt perception task are based on the unconscious activation of conceptual object representations. Participants were presented fragmented line drawings which depicted meaningful objects (coherent fragments) or contained randomly displaced line segments (incoherent fragments). In three experiments, participants discriminated coherent and incoherent fragments at better than chance levels even if they did not recognize the objects. Moreover , object names produced faster lexical decision latencies when they were preceded by coherent rather than by incoherent fragments. Coherent fragments producing larger priming in the lexical decision task (indicating stronger activation of object representations) were more frequently judged as coherent. The results indicate that intuitive gestalt judgments rest on the activation of semantic object representations , which bias conscious decisions without being consciously retrieved. (2099) Haptic Memory Capacity. TOMOHIRO NABETA & TAKASHI KUSUMI, Kyoto University—The present study examined the capacity of the haptic memory and its modality specificity. The experiment consisted of the haptic study and the recognition test phases. In the haptic study phase, 100 or 500 objects were presented with the hap-tic modality. In the recognition test phase, the studied and distractor objects were presented with the haptic …


The article presents the concept of marketing analysis of the additional services provided in pharmacies in the city of Belgorod. The authors carried out the assessment of customers' satisfaction with the quality of the additional services provided in the pharmacies in the city of Belgorod. Also the authors analyzed consumers' preferences to form the list of services that can increase a pharmacy's customer loyalty and its competitiveness in the pharmaceutical market. Keywords—marketing analysis, pharmacy, additional services, IT-technologies


To improve the teaching effect of preventive medicine, teaching network platform and new teaching model based on network resources were established in Guangzhou Medical College. The new teaching model was carried out among 60 clinical medical students of grade 2003. The results after the class showed that the students highly evaluated the teaching effects of the new teaching model. They said that the new teaching model greatly motivated their learning activity and improved their learning results.

Key words:
Network teaching platform;  Preventive medicine;  Teaching model


For frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) ground-based synthetic aperture radar (GB-SAR) imaging, classical matched filtering-based algorithms suffer from limited resolution and high-level sidelobes. By exploiting the sparsity of targets, compressive sensing (CS) based algorithm can achieve higher resolution and reduced sidelobe level. Conventional CS based imaging algorithm is a typical sparse vector recovery problem that can be solved by greedy algorithms. Three problems, e.g., computational complexity, memory usage, and reconstruction accuracy, will appear when conventional greedy algorithms are applied to sparse GB-SAR imaging with large illuminated area, high resolution requirement, and off-grid targets. In this paper, we proposed a new greedy algorithm, i.e., 2D parameter-searched orthogonal matching pursuit (2D POMP) algorithm, to solve these problems. The imaging problem is modeled as a sparse matrix recovery problem, which can be solve by the proposed algorithm effectively and accurately. Compared with the imaging algorithms based on OMP, the computational burden and memory usage of the proposed algorithm is decreased, while the reconstruction accuracy is improved. Simulation results validate the proposed imaging algorithm.


This paper computers Beijing manufacturing's technology innovation efficiency through the method of factor analysis.The result shows the manufacturing industries that have advantage in technology are poor in efficiency of technology innovation,while the manufacturing industries that have disadvantage in technology are efficiency relatively.In this paper,we make a concrete analysis of this situation and think the market environment is the most important factor of influencing the efficiency of technology innovation.


SPORTS SCIENCE SUPPORT AND ACTION RESEARCH Stewart Ollis and John Sproule report a Case Study in which sports-science support was provided for an international shooting team over a two-year period. Constructivist coaching emphasizes that learners construct their own knowledge and is defined by the authors in a framework that includes Vygotsky's [1] 'zone of proximal development' concept. Action research refers to a situation where the researchers and the people being researched participated jointly in pursuit of practical solutions to important issues such as the quest for performance enhancement in sport. Ollis and Sproule use a model of expertise development that involves five stages of change: identify, action, establish, evaluate and empower; denoted with the acronym IAEEE. With respect to empowerment, the authors report:


This abstract summarizes the key ideas of the Java Embedded Micro-kernel (JEM) infrastructure that is capable of dynamically loading service modules at runtime onto devices with limited system resources.


Cortona Resources Ltd has recently announced the discovery of a highly significant high-grade gold-in-soil anomaly 1.3km south-east of Dargues Reef. Dargues is to be the central hub of initial production, with Plums Lode and a chargeable anomaly called Chianti tentatively slated to add additional feed.


Structured observations of 101 2-hour meetings of long-term discussion groups involving low-income and working-class mothers were carried out over a 12-month period. Conversations in the informal and formal settings were compared regarding topics discussed and frequency of nonroutine conversation. Discussion of parent and child topics decreased throughout the year in both settings, while conversations related to income, family, and self increased. Nonroutine conversations occurred with similar frequencies in informal and formal settings. The findings point to the educational potential of informal peerdirected conversations, and the need for parent education materials and leader preparation regarding the social contexts of parenthood.


The mono- and binuclear organometallic Ni II complexes [(μ-bpym){Ni(Mes)Br} n ] (bpym = 2,2'-bipyrimidine; n = 1 or 2; Mes = mesityl = 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl) were prepared and characterised electrochemically and spectroscopically (NMR, UV/Vis/NIR) in detail. The long-wavelength absorptions for the binuclear complex reveal a marked electronic coupling of the two metal centres over the ligand bridge via their low-lying π*-orbitals. While the mononuclear complex undergoes rapid dissociation of the bromido ligand after one-electron reduction the binuclear derivative exhibits reversible reductive electrochemistry and both of them yield stable radical anionic complexes with mainly bpym ligand centred spin density as shown by EPR spectroscopy of the free ligand bpym and the nickel complexes. The molecular structure of the binuclear bpym complex [(μ-bpym){Ni(Mes)Br} 2 ] was studied by EXAFS in comparison to the mononuclear analogue [(bpym)Ni(Mes)Br] revealing markedly increased Ni-C/N distance of the first coordination shell for the binuclear derivative suggesting an optimum overlap for the mononuclear complex, while two nickel complex fragments {Ni-(Mes)Br) are seemingly too large to fit into the bis-chelate coordination site.


This study aims to determine the effect of straight groove, zigzag groove, and U pattern groove movement on the hardness and mechanical properties of the material in ST42 steel welding. The welding method used is shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) with a current strength of 100 Amperes. The test results show that the movement of the straight groove electrode gives the highest stress value in the bending test with an average of 1,168 MPa. The zig-zag groove electrode movement gave an average stress value of 1.127 Mpa, while the U pattern groove electrode movement gave an average stress value of 1.905 MPa. Microstructural testing showed that all electrode movements produced pearlite and ferrite phases, but straight groove electrode movements had more pearlite phases than the other movements. In addition, the zig-zag groove electrode flow and U pattern. This study provides a better understanding of the effect of electrode movement on the quality of welded joints, as well as providing important information in the development of industrial welding techniques.


Beginning with the year 1935 the Magnetic Observatory of Sloutsk has published periodically "Collected volumes" of information on terrestrial magnetism and electricity. At the present time four volumes have already appeared and the fifth volume is now in the press.

One of the chief objects of these volumes is to inform, as quickly and fully as possible, the scientists working in terrestrial magnetism and electricity and the allied sciences of all essential scientific discoveries concerning terrestrial magnetism and electricity. In conformity with this purpose the "Collected volumes" contain not only original articles but also reviews and bibliographical indexes of papers published in Russian and other languages.


Introduction: Routine urinalysis is among the most requested exams in the clinical laboratory, assisting in the diagnosis of various diseases and treatment follow-up. In this case, the pre-analytical phase is extremely important because the quality of the sample directly influences the analysis and interpretation of the result. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the main errors in the pre-analytical phase of routine urine examination in a private laboratory and their frequency of occurrence. Material and method: Data were collected from 2014 to 2018. In all, 107,277 urine samples were registered and 98 (0.09%) were sent for recollection. Results: Recollect requests were higher among females (81.6%), and the most affected age groups were 51 to 60 years old and 21 to 30 years old. The most common justification for recollection was insufficient material (48.0%), followed by confirmation of results in 24.5% of cases. The predominance of urine recollection in women was due to their having urine tests more often since they are more prone to urinary tract infections, especially in the sexually active and postmenopausal life stages. Conclusion: In general, the urine recollection rate obtained in the research was lower than the goal set by the laboratory; however, the main reasons that led to recollection request could be avoided or minimized if patients had been well educated on the correct collection procedures, indicating the need for constant training and training programs of the work team.


As a result of changes to the Australian industrial relations framework, long service leave benefits are under review. State and Commonwealth governments are working towards the development of a new national standard for long service leave (LSL). It is, therefore, timely to re-examine the purpose of LSL. How do people use their LSL benefits? What are the main benefits of LSL for employers, employees, and the community as a whole? This paper provides a historical overview of developments, as well as a summary of current trends, and discusses some proposals for improved vesting and portability of benefits.


Suppliers often offer price discounts for large purchases. These discounts are generally of two types: all‐unit discounts and incremental discounts. An improved procedure is presented for determining the economic order quantity under an all‐unit discounting scheme. Upper bounds on the total relevant costs are obtained which are used to discard certain high‐price ranges from consideration.


This paper reports on National Propane Safety Week. The publicity encompassed everything from preventative maintenance to safe winter storage of cylinders. This campaign focused much of its attention on GAS (gas appliance system) Check, the propane industry's most well-known safety program.


In this paper the concepts of Hamilton cycle (HC) and Hamilton path (HP) extendability are introduced. A connected graph Γ is n‐HC‐extendable if it contains a path of length n and if every such path is contained in some Hamilton cycle of Γ. Similarly, Γ is weakly n‐HP‐extendable if it contains a path of length n and if every such path is contained in some Hamilton path of Γ. Moreover, Γ is strongly n‐HP‐extendable if it contains a path of length n and if for every such path P there is a Hamilton path of Γ starting with P. These concepts are then studied for the class of connected Cayley graphs on abelian groups. It is proved that every connected Cayley graph on an abelian group of order at least three is 2‐HC‐extendable and a complete classification of 3‐HC‐extendable connected Cayley graphs of abelian groups is obtained. Moreover, it is proved that every connected Cayley graph on an abelian group of order at least five is weakly 4‐HP‐extendable. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory


Choline oxidase was immobilized at hydrogen peroxide electrode and the enzyme electrode was used for the amperometric determination of choline chloride.A good linear scope was from 0 to 200 mg·L-1,the corresponding relative standard deviation less than 1.5%.The response time for enzyme electrode with choline was 40 seconds,the immobilized enzyme membrane lasted at least 60 days,and the recovery ratewas from 100.3% to 102.3%.The contents of choline chloride in succinyl choline chloride injection can be determined specially,rapidly and inexpensively with enzyme electrode.


Introduction. The problem of determining the analytic continuation and functional equation of general L functions associated to automorphic representations of reductive Lie groups and representations of the L groups has been pursued by 2 different techniques. The first is the interpretation of the L function as arising in the constant term of Eisenstein series (the Langlands-Shahidi method). The second is the generalized Rankin Selberg integral representation of the L function. We refer the reader to [GS] for an excellent description of both methods and a comparison of the various techniques used. In any event the Langlands-Shahidi method determines a prescribed list of L functions; this list does not include all the possible cases of L functions that arise. The Rankin Selberg method has so far yielded only some of the L functions that come about by the first method. One of the major questions thus is whether the Rankin Selberg method will give new examples of L functions not possible by Langlands-Shahidi method. We show that in fact this is the case. We construct here via the Rankin Selberg method the L function associated to the tensor product of the standard 7 dimensional representation of G2 with the standard 2 dimensional representation of GL2. In fact as a bonus of our method we also represent the L function of the standard 7 dimensional representation of G2!


Dear Editor, Osteomas are benign, slow-growing tumours of the bone which may be classifi ed as solitary or multiple. Multiple osteomas are mainly associated with Gardner's syndrome while solitary osteomas can be further classifi ed as peripheral, central or extra skeletal depending on the origin. Peripheral osteomas arise from the periosteum and are most commonly found in the frontal sinus or ethmoidal and maxillary sinuses of the skull.1,2 Clinically, these are mostly asymptomatic fi xed, bony, hard tumours which may result in progressive facial asymmetry or malocclusion. Pain, gagging, nausea and dysphagia are rare.3 We report a case of rare maxillary compact peripheral osteoma which presented in our centre for treatment.


A function for calculating optical phase errors from the pixel area of an aperture of synthetic Fresnel holograms is derived without approximation. The proposed function is applied to the calculation procedure of synthetic holograms with various pixel sizes and numerical apertures. By analysis with numerical simulations, the imaging properties of some Fresnel holograms were revealed to be sensitive to stigmatism: decrease in values of the modulation transfer function and intensity fluctuations of the reconstructed image when the phase errors of pixels were considered by the proposed function.


Imaging techniques empower researchers and medical practitioners to evaluate disorders and activities inside the human brain and pancreases earlier than performing invasive surgery. Amid sundry medical image modalities, magnetic resonance imaging dispenses utmost preferred contrast information about brain tissues from a diversity of excitation sequences. Therefore, remedy forethought is a key to the midway to recover grace lifespan of oncological patients. Here proposed work through brain image and pancreases image with respective MR image and CT scan image through filters DBCWMF and histogram equation, Segmentation with SRM and extracted Feature GLCM and Naive Bayes approach with hospital database and TCIA database..


The study aims to define the
financial situation of Mongolian entities. The objective of research determines the nature of its trend and evaluates the role
of accounting and its reporting by reviewing the accuracy and transparency of
the reporting information by making analysis including core financial
indicators. The data is based on the "Financial statements of the entities"
issued by the Accounting policy department, Ministry of Finance of Mongolia and
related statistical information. The significance of the study will be more
useful to understand a Mongolia's entities'
financial nature and make better economic decisions.


We demonstrate that the results of landscape-level vegetation projections using FVS differ depending on the strategy used to aggregate the input data. To illustrate the point, we picked landscape-level variables that are important to addressing habitat components for old forest-dependent species, a contemporary forest management issue for the Sierra Nevada Bioregion, California. The approach was to compare FVS results using: (1) Traditional strata maps developed by USDA Forest Service Region 5 for regional planning where the "average" condition of all the relevant FIA plots is aggregated into a series of timber strata representative of large landscapes. (2) Modified strata maps developed by calculating the "mode" of the relevant FIA plots but also aggregated into timber strata. (3) Projections of the individual FIA plots without aggrega- tion. Interpretation of two continuously valued variables we stud- ied did not vary significantly between aggregation methods, but the interpretation of the discretely classed variables greatly differed. Our inspection of the results suggested that the unaggregated data gave more realistic projections of size and density distribution that seemed to best represent fundamental ecological processes. None- theless, we argue that using aggregated data is necessary when the spatial integrity of the analysis needs to be maintained. The implications of our observations on landscape analysis are dis- cussed.


Very Special Relativity (VSR), proposed by Cohen and Glashow, considers one of the subgroups of Poincare group as the symmetry of spacetime. This paper investigates the transformations of electromagnetic fields under boosts of VSR, and by the aid of them studies the interaction energy between spin of an electron and external electromagnetic fields. Here, we argue that Thomas precession, one of the consequences of Special Relativity (SR), does not exist in HOM(2) avatar of VSR. The predictions of SR and VSR about the spin interaction energy in a certain case are compared, and despite the absence of Thomas precession in VSR, no noticeable departure is seen.


In R (McConnell and YY) v Registrar General for England and Wales [2020] EWCA Civ 559, the Court of Appeal held the Registrar General was correct to register a trans man, who had given birth after the issuing of his gender recognition certificate, as 'mother' on his son's birth certificate. In their judgement, the court rejected the appellants' contention that the Gender Recognition Act 2004 should be construed to allow registration as either 'father' or 'parent'. The court further held that the interference with the appellants' Article 8 rights which resulted from the registration as 'mother' was proportionate and justified.


Objective To evaluate the accuracy of dynamic scanning by multi-slice computed tomography(MSCT) and enhanced scanning by magnetic resonance images(MRI) for preoperative staging of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma(EHCC). Methods Seventy-seven patients with surgically proven EHCC were reviewed retrospectively. Sixty cases underwent dynamic MSCT. 3-dimensional contrast-enhanced dynamic magnetic resonance images(3D CE MRI) were obtained in thirty-three patients, both CT and MRI dynamic enhancement were performed in 16 cases. The radial extent (TNM staging) and the vertical extent of tumors were assessed and their correlation with pathological findings of surgical specimen analyzed. Results All of primary tumors were detected by 3-dimensional contrast-enhanced dynamic magnetic resonance imaging(100%), and 52 of 60 cases with extrahepatic EHCC detected by dynamic MSCT(86.7%). The overall accuracy of the T staging was 65%(39/60) with dynamic MSCT and 93.9%(31/33)with contrast-enhanced dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (P 0. 05)respectively. Conclusion 3D CE MRI is more valuable than dynamic MDCT in detection of primary tumors and the accuracy for TNM staging of EHCC.

Key words:
Bile duct neoplasm; Contrast media; Tomography; X-ray computed; Magnetic resonance imaging


Many new goat producers find it very hard to raise goats. Raise goats smarter not harder. Here are 7 ways to raise goats smarter not harder.


The human immunodeficiency virus is a unique social phenomenon that affects almost all the aspects of the social and economic life of individuals. The present study was conducted for the path analysis of the relationship between social roles and psychosocial adjustment in women with AIDS.


The possible release of volatile iodine-131 and -133 from a nuclear power plant emergency is a public health concern because, if ingested or inhaled, they tend to concentrate in the thyroid gland and could cause cancer. Inexpensive potassium iodide is considered the best available chemical substance to block the accumulation of radioiodines, and is recommended as a pre-packaged antidote to persons living in the proximity of a nuclear plant. The cost of purchasing and distributing potassious iodide in New York City is estimated at $13.3 million compared with $300 million to care for thyroid gland damage after a serious accident. 13 references. (DCK)


High yield catalytic growth of carbon nanotubes (NT's) at extremely low temperatures (<600 K) could be achieved by co-depositing carbon precursors along with Ni(2+) in aqueous solutions using Aerosol-Assisted CVD. Deposition experiments were carried out by using both concurrent decomposition of Ni-based chemicals and Ni colloids. Raman spectroscopy was used to quantify the relative amount of NT's grown over graphite-like carbon. Microscopy was also employed to confirm the deposition of NT's as well to provide further information on the growth mechanism. Modeling of NT nucleation will also be presented, leading to the understanding of the microscopic mechanism of NT embryo formation.


This paper proposes an intruder detection method using Multiple Input Multiple Output channel. We call this method as MIMO Sensor. Although the channel capacity on the MIMO transmission is severely degraded in time variant channels, we use this feature as an underhanded way in the MIMO Sensor. The time correlation function for channel matrix of MIMO channel is used as the cost function. Moreover, we clarify the antenna arrangement (antenna height and element spacing) which is suitable for MIMO sensor by using the measured propagation channels in an indoor environment. From the measured results, we clarify that the antenna hight with 1 m and the element spacing over 22 λ are suitable for MIMO sensor, when considering the small room (53 m2) when considering 2×2MIMO sensor.


The research's title is Rhetoric Analysis of tolerance and intolerance posts in social media. This research focuses on analysing some tolerance and intolerance posts in so many social media platform from Indonesians.The research aims were to analysis tolerance and intolerance posts in social media with rhetoric approach by Aristotle. The methodology used in this research is qualitative with qualitative with descriptive study. Data of the research were collected with text analysis and study of documentation.The results of the research are explained that: from ethos, mostly, have ethos's aspect which are intelligence, character, and goodwill. Ethos's aspect from this research mostly dominated by goodwill. Pathos from posts have some emotion such as symphaty, emphaty, sad, dissapoint, shamelessness, unconfidence, fear, anger and hatred. Logos or logic, there are a lot of logical fallacy in the posts such as irrelevant conclusion, argument ad baculum, argumen ad hominem, argumentum ad misericordiam, argumentum ad populum, argumentum ad verecundiam, false cause, amphiboly, and division.


To detect and characterize materials defects in fiber composites as well as for evaluatingthe three-dimensional local fiber orientation in the latter, X-ray micro-CT is the preferred methodof choice. When micro computed tomography is applied to inspect large components, the method isreferred to as region-of-interest computed tomography. Parts can be as large as 10 cm wide and 1 mlong, while the measurement volume of micro computed tomography is a cylinder of only 4 − 5 mmdiameter (typical wall thickness of fiber composite parts). In this report, the potentials and limits ofregion-of-interest computed tomography are discussed with regard to spatial resolution and precisionwhen evaluating defects and local fiber orientation in squeeze cast components. The micro computedtomography scanner metRIC at Fraunhofer's Development Center X-ray Technology EZRT deliversregion-of-interest computed tomography up to a spatial resolution of 2 μm/voxel, which is sufficientfor determining the orientation of natural or synthetic fibers, wood, carbon and glass. The mean localfiber orientation is estimated on an isotropic structuring element of approximately 0.1 mm length bymeans of volume image analysis (MAVI software package by Fraunhofer ITWM). Knowing the exactlocal fiber orientation is critical for estimating anisotropic thermal conductivity and materials strength.


In order to obtain a reel unwinder, in particular an automatic reel change in paper and other materials in web form for a new reel (2 ') replacing the nearly empty reel (2) operation, wherein the overlapping ends connecting web (LC) and after providing (LT) is nearly empty reel (2) of the web tail (LC) with the new reel (2 ') of the head portion (LT) of the overlapping in step immediately surface of the new reel (2 ') of the new reel (2') begins.


The paper defines materials of all cured high resistance ant-corona and structure of stator winding for large type high voltage generator(6.3~27kV),by the studying for selecting of domestic ant-corona of different mesh number sic and the studying of non-linearity parameter.Optimizing traditional ant-corona structure,at the same time developing a new type of ant-corona structure and technology.Optimizing the conventional ant-corona structure and developing new typing of ant-corona structure,the various ant-corona qualification reached the advanced level in the word.The two kind of ant-corona structure fit to high voltage generators.


In today's oversaturated information environment, it has become increasingly necessary to process data and arrive at decisions immediately without the data being at rest or retrieved from secondary storage. In the brief moment new information is available, it must be assimilated and the worthiness ascertained and applied to the decision making capabilities of the software in question. This is a paradigm shift from traditional batch processing and learning algorithms. With continuous data flow, the challenge is how to transform the vast amount of stream raw data into information and knowledge representation and accumulate experience over time to support future decision-making [Haibo et al. 2011]. This paper will investigate the concept of learning in a real time data environment and compare and contrast contemporary solutions proposed for the problem domain.


The present invention relates to a motor vehicle, comprising a drive motor, a torque transmission device with the operating device, such as a clutch, a transmission device and a control device operating with. Two drive means (410,406) operating a shift shaft (412) by a rack (405), the sleeve-like member having a toothed portion through the sleeve-like member (411), pushing members (308) and.


This paper studies multiuser coding techniques for channel coding with a given (possibly suboptimal) decoding rule. For the mismatched discrete memoryless multiple-access channel, error exponents are obtained which are tight with respect to the ensemble average, and positive within the interior of Lapidoth's achievable rate region. In the special case of maximum-likelihood decoding, the ensemble tightness of the exponent of Liu-Hughes is proved. Alternative expressions for the error exponents and rate regions are given, including expressions obtained using Lagrange duality which extend immediately to general alphabets. In the setting of single-user mismatched decoding, similar analysis techniques are applied to two types of superposition coding. The standard version is shown to yield an achievable rate which is at least as high as that of Lapidoth's expurgated parallel coding rate after the optimization of the parameters. A refined version of superposition coding is shown to achieve rates at least as good as the standard version for any set of random-coding parameters, and it is shown that the gap between the two can be significant when the input distribution is fixed. Index Terms Mismatched decoding, multiple-access channels, superposition coding, random coding, error exponents, ensemble tightness, duality, maximum-likelihood decoding.


Objective To investigate the positive effects of self-efficacy and functional exercise on cervical cancer patients' postoperative quality of life.Methods A total of 69 cervical cancer patients were divided into two groups randomly: contrast group ( n = 34) and experiment group (n = 35) .In the experiment group, besides the regular care of gynecological abdomen surgery, systematic individual nursing with the application of self- efficacy and bladder functional exercise was carried out.In the contrast group only regular nursing was carried out The self- efficacy, the time for plucking urinary catheters, the occurrence rate of urinary retention, psychological negative mood and life quality of the two groups were all compared.Results The psychological negative mood of the patients from the experiment group was relieved.The time for plucking their urinary catheters was shortened and the occurrence rate of urinary retention was decreased, while their self-efficacy and life quality were increased dramatically (P <0.01 ) .Conclusions The spplication of self-efficacy and functional exercise to nursing cervical cancer patients can increase the patients'self-efficacy, relieve their psychological negative mood, promote their recovery and improve their life quality.

Key words:
Cervical cancer;  Self- efficacy;  Nursing intervention;  Quality of life


Fiber-optic multi-band transmission (MBT) aims at exploiting the low-loss spectral windows of single-mode fibers (SMFs) for data transport, expanding by <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim\!11\times$</tex-math></inline-formula> the available bandwidth of C-band line systems and by <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim\!5\times$</tex-math></inline-formula> C+L-band line systems'. MBT offers a high potential for cost-efficient throughput upgrades of optical networks, even in absence of available dark-fibers, as it utilizes more efficiently the existing infrastructures. This represents the main advantage compared to approaches such as multi-mode/-core fibers or spatial division multiplexing. Furthermore, the industrial trend is clear: the first commercial C<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$+$</tex-math></inline-formula>L-band systems are entering the market and research has moved toward the neighboring S-band. This article discusses the potential and challenges of MBT covering the ITU-T optical bands O <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\rightarrow$</tex-math></inline-formula> L. MBT performance is assessed by addressing the generalized SNR (GSNR) including both the linear and non-linear fiber propagation effects. Non-linear fiber propagation is taken into account by computing the generated non-linear interference by using the generalized Gaussian-noise (GGN) model, which takes into account the interaction of non-linear fiber propagation with stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), and in general considers wavelength-dependent fiber parameters. For linear effects, we hypothesize typical components' figures and discussion on components' limitations, such as transceivers,' amplifiers' and filters' are not part of this work. We focus on assessing the transmission throughput that is realistic to achieve by using feasible multi-band components without specific optimizations and implementation discussion. So, results are meant to address the potential throughput scaling by turning-on excess fiber transmission bands. As transmission fiber, we focus <italic>exclusively</italic> on the ITU-T G.652.D, since it is the most widely deployed fiber type worldwide and the mostly suitable to multi-band transmission, thanks to its ultra-wide low-loss single-mode high-dispersion spectral region. Similar analyses could be carried out for other single-mode fiber types. We estimate a total single-fiber throughput of 450 Tb/s over a distance of 50 km and 220 Tb/s over regional distances of 600 km: <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim\!10\times$</tex-math></inline-formula> and 8× more than C-band transmission respectively and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim\!2.5\times$</tex-math></inline-formula> more than full C+L.


Objective To study the influence of IL-27 on airway inflammation of asthmatic guinea pigs induced by ovalbumin(OVA).Methods 24 female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into saline group,asthmatic model group and IL-27 group with each group of 8 ones.Asthmatic model was established with the application of OVA,1 μg IL-27 dissolved in 50 μl PBS was administered intranasally to IL-27 group,and then lung histopathological change was observed and eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) were counted in 3 groups;IL-4 and IFN-γ in BALF were detected with ELISA,expression of T-bet mRNA in lung tissue was detected with RT-PCR.Results Inflammatory response in lung tissue of IL-27 group was less than that of asthmatic model group;compared with those in asthmatic model group,eosinophil counting in BALF was significantly decreased [(2.21±0.33)×107/L vs(12.82±2.17)×107/L,P0.01];IL-4 concentration in BALF was significantly decreased [(20.4±3.2) μg/L vs(61.3±13.1) μg/L,P0.05)] while IFN-γ concentration in BALF was significantly increased [(50.3±6.3) μg/L vs(11.1±3.3) μg/L,P0.05) ] and T-bet mRNA synthesis(ratio of integral absorbance) in lung tissue was significantly increased [(0.268±0.048) vs(0.130±0.012),P0.05)] in IL-27 group.Conclusion IL-27 maybe strengthen Th1 response and reduce number of eosinophils in BALF so as to reduce lung tissue inflammation in asthmatic guinea pigs by increasing T-bet mRNA expression.


his study has been carried out to put forward some general characteristics of vineyard enterprises and agricultural practices in Sarigol, Manisa, where Sultana seedless grape is widely grown. The data of the survey, which was


Follow up Adaptive Behaviour Scale (ABS) assessments were undertaken on a population of people with Down syndrome, after a mean period of five years. Participlants were randomly selected within age stratified groups: 20 people from the original age bands 20–29 years, 30—39 years, 40–29 years, 50–59 years, and all 12 people in the original age band 60+ years. Examinations were successfully completed in 83 cases. Loss of skills was found to increase with age, and was common over the age of 40 years. The study examines age-related deterioration in ABS scores and subscores.


Introduction - arguing from social facts prefects and geometrics judges and astronomers averages and the realism of aggregates correlation and the realism of causes statistics and the state - France and Great Britain statistics and the state - Germany and the United States the part for the whole - monographs or representative sampling classifying and encoding modelling and adjusting conclusion - disputing the indisputable.


One-year-old liners of Encore azalea 'Chiffon' (Rhododendron sp.) were transplanted in Apr. 2013 into two types of one-gallon containers: black plastic container and paper biodegradable container. Azalea plants were fertilized with 250 mL of nitrogen (N) free fertilizer solution twice weekly plus N rate of 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20 mM from ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3). All plants were irrigated with the same total volume of water through one or two irrigations daily. Plant growth and N uptake in response to N fertilization, irrigation frequency, and container type were investigated. The feasibility of biodegradable paper containers was evaluated in 1-year production of Encore azalea 'Chiffon'. Paper biocontainers resulted in increased plant growth index (PGI), dry weights (leaf, stem, root, and total plant dry weight), leaf area, and root growth (root length and surface area) compared with plastic containers using N rates from 10 to 20 mM. Biocontainer-grown plant had more than twice of root length and surface area as plastic container–grown plant. Leaf SPAD reading increased with increasing N rate from 0 to 20 mM. One irrigation per day resulted in greater PGI, root dry weight, root length, root surface area, and root N content than two irrigations per day. Higher tissue N concentration was found in plants grown in plastic containers compared with those grown in biocontainers when fertilized with 15 or 20 mM N. However, N content was greater for plants grown in biocontainers, resulting from greater plant dry weight. The combinations of plastic container and one irrigation per day and that of 20 mMN and one irrigation per day resulted in best flower production, 21.9 and 32.2 flowers per plant, respectively. Biocontainers resulted in superior vegetative growth of azalea plant compared with plastic containers with sufficient N supply of 10, 15, and 20 mM. Azaleas are generally known as light feeders, requiring low levels of N fertilization in production (Larson, 1993). They do not respond well to high N rates, which can increase plant susceptibility to fungal disease and reduce winter hardiness (Witt, 1994). According to Micha1oj c and Koter (2012), the optimal nutrient levels in azalea leaves are 1.88% to 2.20% N, 1.0% to 1.7% potassium (K), and 0.60% to 1.20% calcium (Ca). Under overhead irrigation, increasing N rate from 1.0 to 1.5 or 2.0 lb N/yard resulted in lower shoot dry weight and shoot height of Rhododendron sp. 'George Tabor', and 1.5 lb N/yard was recommended for resin-coated controlled-release fertilizer (Nutricote 17N– 3.1P–6.7K, 180 d at 77 F) (Million et al., 2007). In another study, increasing N fertilization rate was found to promote shoot growth of Rhododendron 'Karen', with decreasing N and phosphorus (P) fertilization rates promoting root growth (Ristvey et al., 2007). Optimal plant growth was maintained using an intermediate fertilization rate (100 mg N and 5 mg P per week) compared with lower (25 mg N) or higher (250 mg N) fertilization rates. Increasing fertilization rates (N and P) increased the amount of nutrient leached to the environment and decreased uptake efficiency (Ristvey et al., 2007). Bi et al. (2007) reported similar results where N uptake efficiency of 1-year-old rhododendron (Rhododendron 'P.J.M.') and azalea (Rhododendron 'Cannon's Double') declined linearly with an increasing rate of N fertilization from 5 to 20 mM. The investigation of the nutrient requirements of a specific species is important for optimizing nutrient management and reducing environmental contamination. Optimum nutrient applications for a species are often only valid under a certain set of growing conditions, resulting in certain nutrient availability in the substrate to plant root systems (Bi et al., 2007; Million et al., 2007; Ristvey et al., 2007). Given sufficient N supply, N uptake was considered to be subject to a plant's internal regulation depending on growth rate (Gastal and Lemaire, 2002). Therefore, determination of optimum N rate should be based on both substrate availability of the nutrient (N supply) and crop growth (N demand). Fertilizer application rates are commonly determined in nursery production based on the assumption that water availability does not limit nutrient uptake and that container capacity should be maintained to promote plant growth and nutrient uptake (Beeson, 1992; Scagel et al., 2011). However, it may be impractical to maintain container capacity in production. Nutrient availability has been shown to decline with low soil water content, which becomes a limiting factor for nutrients to become soluble and be delivered to root surface (Marschner, 2012). Nutrient uptake can be further decreased when a dry substrate has impaired root growth, especially in a dry climate (Marschner, 2012). Because soil moisture conditions can be altered by altering irrigation frequency (Levin et al., 1980), the influence of irrigation frequency on plant growth and nutrient uptake has been investigated. Neilsen et al. (1995) reported that high irrigation frequency improved tree growth of 'Gala' apple (Malus domestica) than low irrigation frequency, with less effect on leaf nutrient concentration. Canopy volume, trunk cross-sectional area, dry weight, shoot length, leaf area, and total root dry weight of young 'Hamlin' orange (Citrus sinensis) trees were significantly reduced by low irrigation frequency (Marler and Davies, 1990). Increased irrigation frequency was found to reduce N leachate more than continuous irrigation using the same total irrigation quantity (Fare et al., 1994). Traditionally, when plants are grown in plastic containers, evaporative loss of water is mainly through the substrate surface rather than the container sidewall because plastic containers are impervious to water. Use of biodegradable containers as a sustainable alternative to plastic containers can alter water consumption characteristics of container-grown plants (Koeser et al., 2013a; Wang et al., 2015). Biocontainers Received for publication 22 Dec. 2017. Accepted for publication 6 Feb. 2018. This work was supported by the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch projects MIS-212050. We would like to thank Robert E. ''Buddy'' Lee from Plant Development Services, Inc. for donating all the plant materials for this study. Mention of a trademark, proprietary product, or vendor does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by Mississippi State University and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that also may be suitable. Corresponding author. E-mail: tl665@msstate. edu. 560 HORTSCIENCE VOL. 53(4) APRIL 2018 constructed with materials such as peat, wood fiber, straw, or paper are highly porous and tend to require more frequent irrigation and a higher total amount of water than traditional plastic containers (Evans et al., 2010; Koeser et al., 2013a; Wang et al., 2015). With increasing water loss between irrigation events, some biocontainers produced smaller plants of 'Yellow Madness' petunia (Petunia ·hybrida) (Koeser et al., 2013a). However, sidewall water loss from biocontainers was reported to reduce substrate temperature, which helped alleviate heat stress and enhanced plant survival at locations with hot summer conditions (Nambuthiri et al., 2015). Growth response of Encore azaleas under different N fertilization levels and irrigation frequencies when grown in biocontainers compared with plastic containers has not been determined. Considering the container used to grow nursery plants may have considerable influence on plant water consumption characteristics, container choice may alter the irrigation requirement and nutrient uptake of a given species. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to 1) investigate the influence of increased irrigation frequency on growth and N uptake of Encore azalea 'Chiffon', 2) compare growth response of plants grown in a black plastic container with a biocontainer made from recycled paper, and 3) determine the optimum N fertilization rate based on irrigation frequency and container type. Results of this study will provide valuable reference for the fertilization and irrigation requirements of Encore azalea 'Chiffon', a dwarf, slowgrowing cultivar. Materials and Methods Plant culture and treatments. The study was conducted at Mississippi State University (lat. 33 26# N, long. 88 47# W, USDA hardiness zone 8a) in 2013. One-year-old liners (grown in 4-inch trays) of Encore azalea 'Chiffon' were potted in pine bark substrate (100% adjusted with 1 lb/yard lime; 1.5 cm particle size) into two types of 1-gallon containers. One is a black plastic container (GL 400; top diameter 17.78 cm, bottom diameter 18.10 cm, volume 3.785 L; Nursery Supplies Inc., Chambersburg, PA) and the other is a biodegradable container (biocontainer) made from a mix of recycled paper (7 · 7 RD; interior top diameter 18.7 cm, bottom diameter 14.9 cm, height 17.1 cm, and volume 3.90 L; Western Pulp Products Co., Corvallis, OR). All plants were maintained outdoors in full sun. Each azalea plant was fertilized with 250 mL of N-free fertilizer (Cornell No. N Eq. 0–6–27; GreenCare Fertilizers, Kankakee, IL) plus 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20 mM N from NH4NO3 twice weekly from 23 Apr. to 15 Sept. 2013. Plants were irrigated either once per day at 8:00 AM or twice per day at 8:00 AM and 2:30 PM with the same total daily irrigation amount. Plants were irrigated to replace daily water loss plus 15% leaching fraction. Measurements and data collection. Plant height and widths (width 1, the greatest width; width 2, perpendicular to width 1) were measured on each plant every 2 weeks. Plant growth index was calculated as the average of plant height, width 1, and width 2. Three fully expanded new leaves were selected from each plant to measure their leaf SPAD reading using a chlorophyll meter (SPAD 502 Plus; Konica Minol


Making the Game "A Lone Burglar" by focusing on the stealth game category because stealth game-based games are still rare. This game aims to test the use of the rapid application development (RAD) method in developing a stealth game. The research method used in this research is requirement analysis, game design, testing, and launching. Rapid application development (RAD) is a quick software development method that focuses on development that refers to user feedback for improvement and adding features to the developed software. A survey evaluates user requirements, and a user acceptance test (UAT) to obtain user feedback regarding the developed game. The result can be concluded that users are satisfied with an 86,49% score UAT. So it is proven that the application is very satisfying to the user. But just like making games, it also has weaknesses that will be further researched, such as the number of levels being reproduced, various levels and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).


Lowering the operating temperature of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is highly desirable to reduce the cost and increase the lifetime, which relies upon the development of a cathode component with high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity at a lower temperature. Herein, we report the characterization of high-performance BaScxCo1-xO3- (x=0, 0.125, 0.25, and 0.375) perovskite SOFC cathodes. Unlike BaCoO3-, which adopts 2H-hexagonal perovskite structure, the replacement of 25mol% of Co with Sc stabilizes the cubic structure, which also leads to the significant reduction in area specific resistances and their activation energies between 650 and 500 degrees C (for BaSc0.25Co0.75O3-) relative to the non-doped BaCoO3-. In this temperature range, BaSc0.25Co0.75O3- displayed a remarkably high ORR activity compared to Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3- (BSCF), the current cathode benchmark. We attribute such superior ORR performance to the higher oxygen non-stoichiometries of BaSc0.25Co0.75O3- relative to BSCF, which also translates to the higher oxygen bulk diffusion and surface exchange coefficients for the former compared to the latter. As a result, a single fuel cell based on an anode-supported 20m thick samarium-doped ceria electrolyte and BaSc0.25Co0.75O3- cathode achieved a very high peak power density of 1723mWcm(-2) at 650 degrees C. We also demonstrated the possibility to increase the ORR activity of the BaSc0.25Co0.75O3- cathode by impregnation of a low amount of silver.


Jamming is the art of deceiving an enemy radar system into deducing incorrect information about the position and/or velocity of an aircraft or other target. In order to do this, the jammer must exploit specific weaknesses of the victim radar and this requires an intimate knowledge of its design and operation. There are, however, many types of radar system employing a range of different principles depending upon the intended function for example, long range surveillance, target acquisition or weapon control. It follows that there must be an equally diverse range of jamming techniques and this book provides a comprehensive resume, with particular reference to protecting an airborne attack. Of fundamental importance to any jammer is the jamming-to-signal power ratio it is able to develop at the victim radar's antenna, which depends on geometry, the output powers and antenna gains of both radar and jammer and, of course, target radar cross-section. These relationships are developed in Chapter 1 for the basic scenarios. Jamming in its simplest form seeks to bury the target echo in a barrage of noise; noise jamming in its various forms, including the more intelligent use of noise to generate realistic false targets, is the subject of Chapter 2. The next three chapters address the more sophisticated tricks of misleading the victim radar into incorrectly determining target range, angle and velocity respectively, including the various pull-off techniques. The final chapter discusses means of manipulating a radar's automatic gain control. Three appendices cover feedback control systems, tracking by fire control radars and the computer simulation of generalised jamming scenarios, a tool employed in a number of examples throughout the book.


Until recently, the use of hierarchies in CAD for VLSI has almost exclusively been restricted to layout and simulation problems. The paper describes representation and handling of design hierarchies in the MIMOLA design system, featuring RT-level synthesis, test program generation and retargetable code generation. A method of embedding these tools in a common design environment, providing access to the hierarchy, is described. Advantages of having a design hierarchy are presented for each of the tools. In addition, relevant features of the MIMOLA language are explained. The MSS, as described in [11], did not make use of design hierarchies. This paper describes our approach for extending the MSS towards a hierarchical, integrated design system.


Chronic musculoskeletal pain is linked to increased fall risk among elders. Older adults with chronic pain also experience mobility limitations. This prospective study examined the mediating effect of gait measures in the relationship whereby pain leads to falls. In the MOBILIZE Boston Study II of adults aged ≥70y in the Boston completed the gait assessment. Chronic musculoskeletal pain was classified as multisite, single site, or no pain, based on pain assessment of the hand/wrists, shoul-ders, back, hip, knees and feet. The gait assessment each of 3 conditions, walk (QW), easy dual task (DTE), and hard dual task (DTH), on a 16-foot sensored gait mat. to subtract aloud from 100 by 5's (DTE) and 3's (DTH) while walking at a normal pace. Following baseline assessments of pain and gait, monthly fall calendars were collected over 2 years. Multivariable negative binomial models to determine associations between pain and fall rates, adjusting for sociodemographic and health characteristics. Mediation effects of gait measures on the pain-fall relationship were evaluated using the Sobel test. Multisite pain was associated with a 51% increased risk of falls compared to no pain (adj. IRR=1.51, 95% CI: 1.51–2.10). A number of gait parameters mediated (p-value<0.05) the pain-falls relationship including coefficients of variation for stride time, stride length, and swing time. No mediating effects of DT decre-ments were found. Chronic musculoskeletal pain contribute to increased gait variability and thereby increased risk of falls among older adults. and the of in the the did not noted in of pain documentation post-implementation. Electronic charting staff The objective of this study was to examine the effect of pain on upper-lower extremity (UE-LE) disability over time among American older adults. We studied 7136 participants who were aged ≥ 65 years from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2011–2016). Key variables included pain, socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, race/ ethnicity, and education), depression, and comorbidities. The outcome variable was UE-LE disability and was assessed by self-reported questions about limitations in functional activities (able to put a heavy object or reach above the head, able to open a jar or grasp small objects, able to carry 20 or 10-pounds, able to walk 6 or 3-blocks, able to walk up 20 or 10-stairs, get down on knees, and able to bend over). UP-LE disability was defined as the limitation in one or more of the four activities for UE and one or more of the six activities for LE. General estimation equation model was fitted to test the effect of pain on UE-LE disability over time. All variables were analyzed as time-dependent variable except education and race/ethnicity. At baseline, 54% reported pain, 28.9% reported UE disability, and 63.4% reported LE disability. The odds ratio of UE disability among participants without any UE limitations at baseline as a function of pain was 2.9 (95% CI=1.92–4.45), and for LE disability was 2.0 (95% CI=1.80–2.30) among those without any LE limitations at baseline, after controlling for all covariates. The evaluation and timely treatment of pain can prevent future disability in this population.


Knowledge Mining draws upon many of the key concepts of knowledge management, data mining and knowledge discovery, meta-analysis and data visualization.Within the context of scientific research, knowledge mining is principally concerned with the quantitative synthesis and visualization of research results and findings. The results of knowledge mining are increased scientific understanding along with improvements in research quality and value. Knowledge mining products can be used to highlight research opportunities, assist with the presentation of "best" scientific evidence, facilitate research portfolio management, as well as, facilitate policy setting and decision making. Specifically discussed will be the application of knowledge mining within the area of pharmaceutical drug development and commercialization (e.g., the visualization and synthesis of clinical research findings surrounding a class of drugs and their effectiveness in treating specific patient subgroups). This ground breaking work should be of special interest to life science professionals working in the areas of knowledge management, data mining, and visualization.


The invention relates to a mechanical seal for providing a fluid-lubricated, in particular liquid-lubricated seal between a pair of relatively rotatable components, especially between a stationary and a rotating component, comprising a first slip ring with respect to one of the components mounted axially fixed and non-rotatably and sealed, and a second seal ring that is fixed non-rotatably and sealed with respect to the other component. The second slip ring is axially movable towards the first seal ring, cooperate so that opposing surfaces of the first and second seal ring such that a sealing gap is formed between them. At least one channel in one of the seal rings is provided, wherein the channel opens at the sealing surface of the seal ring within the seal gap, wherein the channel a lubrication fluid, in particular a liquid lubricant leads. At least one sensor is provided for monitoring operating conditions and the lubricating fluid is supplied via the channel of the sealing gap as a function of the monitored operating conditions, to optimize the performance of the mechanical seal. In the mechanical seal (1) is a, preferably integrated micromechanical, conveyor means (21) for delivering the lubricating fluid. Here, an output side (24) of the conveyor (21) with the channel (17) and an input side (25) of the conveyor is connected via a further channel (18) with a fluid-filled space. The conveyor (21) is ideally located in the stationary seal ring (7), particularly in the axially stationary slide ring (7).


The effect of oxide damage on the electron mobility in n-channel inversion layers is studied. It is observed that as a result of stress, the universal mobility model becomes interface charge dependent. The effect of interface damage, attributed to Coulomb scattering in the region of strong inversion, can be described by a change in universal model parameters with interface charge (N/sub it/). An N/sub it/-dependent model is presented which can be easily assimilated in simulation tools by circuit designers to accurately predict impact of device degradation on performance.


5590Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT) are often part of management of early stage uterine papillary serous (UPSC) and clear cell carcinoma (UCC), though their benefit rem...


The complex magnetic behavior of holmium is a well‐established experimental fact and has been studied by a variety of experimental techniques, including magnetization, x‐ray diffraction, thermal expansion, and heat capacity. Our recent studies have focused on using neutron diffraction to study the temperature and field dependence of the helimagnetic structure. The pitch of the helix is described by τ, the spiral wave vector. τ usually varies smoothly with temperature but tends to lock in at various values that are commensurate with the lattice when a field is applied. These lock‐ins provide clues to the nature of the different magnetic phases and, up to now, all the lock‐ins have corresponded to features of the magnetic phase diagram obtained from magnetization measurements. However, recent experiments have revealed a previously unobserved lock‐in at τ=2/9 rlu in a 1.4 T b‐axis field. It shares the same general features of other lock‐ins except that it does not correspond to any feature of the magnetic ph...


Hurricanes act as large external shocks potentially causing considerable damage to agricultural production in the Caribbean. While a number of existing studies have estimated their historic economic impact, arguably the wider community and policy makers are more concerned about their future risk and potential losses, since this type of information is useful for disaster preparedness and mitigation strategy and policy. This paper implements a new approach to undertake a quantitative risk and loss assessment of the agricultural sector of Caribbean island economies. To this end we construct an expected loss function that uses synthetically generated, as well as historical, hurricane tracks within a wind field model that takes cropland exposure derived from satellite data into consideration. The results indicate that expected losses are potentially large but vary considerably across the region, where the smaller islands are considerably more likely to be negatively impacted.


As if it wasn't enough to have their homes inundated, possessions destroyed, and lives uprooted, Gulf Coast evacuees of 2005's Hurricane Katrina had to endure another indignity: The trailers given to them by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for safe shelter made them sick. Trailer interiors used composite woods, and the urea-formaldehyde resins that bound those composites were emitting formaldehyde into the air inside. In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention tested the trailers and found formaldehyde levels of up to 590 ppb, which is several times the limit deemed acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency. A petition put together by the Sierra Club and signed by many evacuees described some of the symptoms. "Their lungs burn. Their eyes tear," it read. "Many suffer from headaches and other illnesses that have required frequent doctor visits and, in some cases, hospitalization." The episode highlighted the long-standing issue of formaldehyde ...


Oyster reefs are the most imperiled marine habitat on earth, with a staggering 85 percent loss in just the past two centuries. A paradigm shift in the way we manage these critical coastal ecosystems is needed to ensure that they are restored and managed to sustain both human and ecological communities. Establishing restoration objectives that incorporate the full array of ecosystem services provided by oyster reefs could provide a much-needed impetus for reversing course and maintaining these vital habitats.


In the title compound, [Ni(C15H10BrClN2O2)(C5H5N)3]·C5H5N, the Ni atom is coordinated by three pyridine molecules and one oxygen-containing ligand in a tridentate manner via O, N and O atoms. The geometry of the Ni atom is distorted octahedral. There are no significant intermolecular interactions in the crystal structure.


In effort to eliminate morbidity and costs, associated with arteriographic investigation, we increasingly perform Duplex Scan of the extracranial carotid artery prior to endarterectomy. 451 carotid reconstructions between 1986 and April 1991 were evaluated retrospectively. The percentage of patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy without angiography has increased from 21.1% to 92.8%. Angiography was associated with a combined neurologic morbidity rate of 3.0%. Perioperative outcome of patients and stratification by indication did not show any significant differences for both groups undergoing Duplex Scan alone and/or angiography. Diagnostic Carotid angiography should only be used selectively in patients showing distal internal carotid plaque, recurrent stenosis, symptomatic carotid occlusion or aortic arch disease.


The present invention relates to albumen and the new method of albumen evolution. The invention still further relates to the method identifying and positioning the mutant polypeptide formed or based on template peptide by template peptide.


Success of endodontic treatment depends on different phases. One of the most important phases is cleaning and shaping. Cleaning and shaping can be performed by different intracanal rotary and hand instruments. Unfortunately, Limited flexibility and strength of intracanal instruments combined with improper use may result in intracanal instruments separation. This mishap can jeopardize the whole treatment plan. There are basically different approaches to remove and retrieve these separated instruments. Ultrasonic tips are one of the most successful approaches used nowadays to retrieve the separated instruments. Ultrasonic tips with the help of some systems and devices based on "A tube slieve fit principle "as IRS (instrument removal system) increased the chances for instruments retrieval by exposing the coronal end of the instruments. Attempted removal of the separated instruments using ultrasonic tips without good visualization increases the risk for ledges and perforations. Conversely, using an operating microscope greatly increases the chance for retrieval.


This paper proposes a control architecture for a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles that is responsible for handling the events that take place in a given area. The architecture guarantees that each event is handled by the required number of vehicles in the shortest time, while the rest of the fleet is optimally distributed in order to achieve an optimal coverage of the area. Each vehicle is steered to the specified location by a path planner that follows the shortest path while avoiding collisions. The control architecture has been validated both in simulations and in experiments on a fleet of three vehicles.


We propose a new two-dimensional meshing algorithm called PINW able to generate meshes that accurately approximate the distance between any two domain points by paths composed only of cell edges. This technique is based on an extension of pinwheel tilings proposed by Radin and Conway (see [C. Radin, Ann.of Math. (2), 139 (1994), pp. 661-702]). We prove that the algorithm produces triangles of bounded aspect ratio. This kind of mesh would be useful in cohesive interface finite element modeling when the crack propagation path is an outcome of a simulation process.


Objective: To understand the characteristics of stigma experienced by patients with schizophrenia and their family members, and discussed the effects of stigma on them. Methods: By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, we developed a questionnaire which had good reliability and validity. 225 patients with schizophrenia, 230 family members of persons with schizophrenia, 257 community members and 283 psychiatric doctors and nurses completed the questionnaire. Results: 42% patients reported that they were ill-treated by their work units, discriminated by colleagues or classmates, looked down by neighbors, and resulted in failure of love affair or marriage. 56% family members of the patients, reported that they kept the patients' schizophrenia as a secret in fear of stigma. Of all the four groups of respondents, 85% believed that stigma could reduce the patients' self-confidence, 75% believed that stigma could put much pressure on their family members. More than 70% believed that stigma could badly influence the patients' life. More than 60% thought that the relative's reduced their normal social activities. Compared with the other three groups, mental health workers more firmly believed that the stigma on schizophrenics and their family members were very common, and could greatly harm their life. Not like the patients and their family members, most community members denied the existence of serious stigma on the mentally ill, but they agreed that stigma had negative effects on patients and their family members. Conclusion: The stigma on schizophrenia was mainly in three aspects that were closed related with their daily social activities: job, marriage and basic social interaction. Stigma badly influenced the psychic and social life of patients and their family members.


We present a compositional approach to generate linear hybrid automata timing models, and Markovian stochastic automata safety models, from an architecture specification. Formal models declared for components are composed to form an overall model for the system, where the composition rules depend on the semantics of the architecture specification. We further allow abstract models to be specified for a subsystem of components, where the abstract model may be substituted for the concrete model of that subsystem when composing the overall system model. We assume both abstract and concrete models are given, we address the problem of verifying that the abstractions yield safe if approximate results. An abstract model may be viewed as a formal subsystem specification used for both conformance checking and improving the tractability of system analysis.


In the simulation of wave propagation phenomenon truncating the grid will lead to unacceptable reflection artifacts from boundary. One remedy is to extend simulation region by Perfectly Matched Layers (PML) that contains a special absorbing medium. In the PML region, a method of choice would be to solve Nearly Perfectly Matched Layer (NPML) absorbing boundary conditions which is contained coupled auxiliary differential equations. In this research NPML absorbing boundary conditions are derived for the secondorder viscoacoustic wave equations for creating synthetic seismic. Numerical results of NPML are investigated on a constant velocity model and it is shown satisfactory damping of the reflected wave from boundaries for different value of attenuation factors.


The theory of forms of government is one of the recurrent themes in the works of major political theorists. From Plato, Aristotle, to the founders of modern Western political thought - Machiavelli, Hobbes, among others - there is a theoretical concern to define and, in many cases, assess, the different ways to govern. The Dutch philosopher Benedict Spinoza is absent from both famous books: The Theory of forms of Government (1976) from Italian jurist Norbert Bobbio; and The Classics of Politics (1991) from Brazilian political scientist Francisco Correa Weffort. The intention here is to retrieve some of the main theories about forms of government – following Bobbio's schema which focuses on the issues: (1) Who governs? (2) How to govern? - and introduce the theory developed by Espinosa - about monarchy, aristocracy and democracy - exploring the differences and similarities of his typology from the previous ones. The main objective is to justify the inclusion of Espinosa among the "classics of politics", and, for this, we intend to present his political thinking, analyzing to which extent it can be considered "innovative", but also exploring the aspects he was not able to "overcome" due to his political, social, historical, cultural and religious background.