It relates to a light flux controlling member, the light emitting device and a display device. Light beam control member, the incident surface, being formed at the recessed toward the incident surface, if the first optical reflecting at least a portion of light incident through the incident surface, and are formed extending from the first optical surface, wherein 1 but includes a second optical surface for reflecting at least a portion of light incident through the optical surface, wherein the second optical surface comprises a plurality of sections of different inclination is.


Background: VB N-01 is an open label phase 1/2a basket trial to evaluate safety, feasibility, and immunogenicity of a therapeutic DNA cancer vaccine VB10.NEO in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid cancers. Each VB10.NEO vaccine contains up to 20 neoepitopes selected by the proprietary AI platform NeoSELECT and is designed to target antigen presenting cells using Nykode' s modular vaccine platform known as Vaccibody™.
 Patients and Methods: The trial enrolled patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid cancers (renal cell carcinoma, urothelial cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, and melanoma), who did not obtain complete responses on immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (CPI). Up to 14 VB10.NEO doses (3 mg per dose) were administered i.m. by PharmaJet Stratis® for up to 1 year in combination with standard of care (CPI and/or other anti-cancer therapies). Blood samples and tumor biopsies were collected at baseline and during treatment for evaluation of immune responses.
 Results: At cut-off of May 2022, 41 patients had received at least one vaccination with VB10.NEO. The vaccine was safe and well-tolerated with no new or additional toxicity reported beyond that expected for CPIs alone. All patients displayed immune responses to a minimum of 3 neoepitopes (average 53% of vaccine neoepitopes), assessed by in vitro stimulation (IVS) interferon-gamma ELISpot. T cell responses were elicited in both high and low tumor mutational burden patients (TMB range 2-69mut/Mb). Multiple vaccinations increased the breadth and magnitude of the immune responses with vaccine-induced T cell responses (de novo and/or amplified pre-existing) measured in 95% of eligible patients. IVS intracellular cytokine staining of selected patients demonstrated that the majority of neoepitopes induced polyfunctional CD8 T cells. TCR sequencing of baseline and on-treatment samples (6 patients) showed expansion of T cell clones in both blood and tumor with selected clones being expanded in both compartments.
 Conclusions: VB10.NEO was generally well tolerated in patients with various pre-treated and advanced cancers. Assessment of neoepitope-specific T cell reactivity demonstrated VB10.NEO-induced broad and long-lasting T cell responses, and the majority of tested neoepitopes activated polyfunctional CD8 T cells. Pre- and post-vaccination TCRseq analysis of blood and tumor samples demonstrated the presence of blood-expanded clones in the on-treatment tumor sample potentially indicating trafficking of VB10.NEO-expanded T cells to the tumor site.
 Citation Format: Jürgen Krauss, Angela Krakhardt, Stephan Eisenmann, Sebastian Ochsenreither, Kaja C.G Berg, Kushi Kushekhar, Lars-Egil Fallang, Mikkel W. Pedersen, Siri Torhaug, Karsten B. Slot, Karoline Schjetne. Individualized APC targeting VB10.NEO cancer vaccines induce broad neoepitope-specific CD8 T cell responses in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors: interim results from a phase 1/2a trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 2 (Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Research); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(8_Suppl):Abstract nr CT274.


Excerpt The diagnostic triad—history, physical, and laboratory—is the key to the study of the hereditary bleeding diseases. From the history, it can usually be determined whether the bleeding is sp...


The article deals with author's approach to understanding methodological and technological diagnostics problems and evaluating university graduates qualification (psychology education is taken as an example). The essence of the introduced conception is in necessity of working out diagnostic and evaluative means not only for testing operational and technological, but graduate's individual and personal readiness for professional activity as well. The authors prove the necessity of establishing university (interuniversity) psychological centre (service) the aim of which is to diagnose and evaluate student's personality system and integral characteristics development level.


Abstract A compactness result is revised in order to prove the pointwise convergence of the gradients of a sequence of solutions to a general quasilinear inequality (anisotropic or not, degenerate or not) and for an arbitrary open set. Combining this result with the well-known Brézis-Lieb lemma, we derive simple proofs of Palais-Smale properties in many optimization problems especially on unbounded domains.


We describe Efficacy and Safety of acamprosate in enhancing abstinence on detoxified patients, a meta analysis on 16 controlled trials,


The aim of this diploma thesis is to characterize tools and methods to support creativity in enterprises, to summarize the determinants and ways to measure innovation activity, to prepare and to characterize data for selected sectors and to evaluate impact of creative environment on innovation activity of enterprises.
In the first part of the work are identified on the basis of literature research the theoretical bases, which are needed for the processing of the analytical part. The second part is based on an analysis of facts about innovations for selected sectors. In conclusion, a case study on innovation activities in the company AV R&D, s. r. o. is prepared.


In the modern radar software test, due to the scale of software getting larger and larger, the quantity of test cases will be very giant when it meets some test coverage requirements. Intersection method is based on orthogonal arrays,by which software test can meet some coverage requirements on a small quantity of test cases.This paper introduces the basic conceptions of intersection method, analyzes the feasibility of applying this method to test case design,and presents the detailed test steps.A test case design for target track module by using this method is given to prove the applicability and validity of the method.


Summary form only given. Absolute measurement of the free-bound (FB) continuum spectrum above the K-shell from atomic-number Z ges 10 Z-pinches can be a useful diagnostic tool to obtain the electron temperature and the ion density of a hot, radiating Z-pinch. These measurements are also of interest for benchmarking continuum radiation models associated with the use of this high-photon-energy radiation for radiation-matter interaction studies. In previous work, we described a curved crystal spectrometer modified to measure, absolutely, the argon FB spectrum from 5 to 10 keV emanating from the implosion of a 12-cm diam, shell-on-shell, argon-gas-puff Z pinch, driven by peak currents of ~6 MA with implosion times of 220-260 ns on the decade quad. Time averaged and time resolved electron temperatures were determined from the slope of the FB spectrum and the energy in the FB spectrum was compared with the total K-shell yield. Now, we review the diagnostic and discuss an improved absolute calibration. The new calibration results in ~10% of the total K-shell yield residing in the continuum above 4.4 keV, about a factor-of-three lower than previously reported. We present new calculations that relate the ion density, electron temperature and absolute continuum emission that account for radiative recombination on both bare and H-like ions. Using radial and axial scale lengths obtained from time-integrated pinhole-camera images, this expression is used to infer the time-averaged density of ions radiating in the FB continuum, which is then compared with ion densities determined using the line-ratio technique. Finally, these measurements are compared with results from a CRE-based model that includes radiation transport


The invention relates to a method for preparing medicinal high-purity calcium dobesilate. The method comprises the following steps of: 1, treating a coarse product of calcium dobesilate by using an organic solvent; and 2, re-crystallizing by using an aqueous solution of ethanol, wherein the organic solvent is acetone, ethyl acetate or a mixed solvent of acetone and ethyl acetate, and a volume ratio (V/V) of the acetone to the ethyl acetate is 1:5-5:1.


The purpose of this study was to develop and examine the effectiveness (knowledge, attitude, skills of Evidence-Based Practice, and problem solving skills) of nursing information literacy competency enhancement program for nursing students. It is a pre-post design study carried out with a single group of 72 sophomores in a nursing college. Nursing information literacy competency enhancement program of 6 times (8 hours) was provided to nursing students. Our results have demonstrated that knowledge, attitude, skills of evidence-based practice, and problem solving skills were significantly higher in nursing students. In conclusion, the nursing information literacy competency enhancement program was effective in promoting knowledge, attitude, skills of evidence-based practice and problem solving skills. Based on our results, the nursing information literacy competency enhancement program can provide a basis for enhancing evidence-based nursing practice competencies and problem solving skills of nursing students.


The purpose of this study was to find out the influence of Google Classroom  online learning on the learning interests of x-class students on basic accounting lessons at SMK Negeri 1 Kragilan Kab. Serang. Research methods were used with quantitative techniques and data collection techniques using questionnaires, documentation, library studies. In this study first conducted instrument testing, namely by conducting a validity and reliability test, then conducting a data normality test, a simple linear regression test, a hypothesis test (T Test) and a determination coefficient test using SPSS 26. Based on the results of the T Test (hypothesis) obtained the value Tcalculated 4.923 while the Ttable 1.99601. This  indicates that T Test > Ttable or 4.923 > 1.99601, so H0 was rejected, and Ha was accepted. So, it can be concluded that there was an influence of online learning with Google Classroom on the interest in learning basic accounting subjects (in students of class x SMK Negeri Kragilan).


(75) Inventors: Cheol HAM, Yongin-si (KR): In-oh C09D 7/12 (2006.01) C23C I6/44 (2006.01) Hwang, Seongnam-si (KR); BSD L/18 (2006.01) Byung-ha Park, Suwon-si (KR): Soo-jin Park, Hwaseong-si (KR): (52) U.S. Cl. ............... 106/287.14; 427/430.1; 427/255.6 Seung-hoon Kal. Anyang-si (KR); Myung-gon Kim, Hwaseong-si (57) ABSTRACT (KR); Saim Saher, Seoul (KR); ing fil fi inth Jin-wook Lee, Suwon-si (KR) A coating film to prevent a conspicuous fingerprint has a water contact angle of no less than 60° so that most of water (73) Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., contained in fingerprints on the coating film evaporates with Suwon-si (KR) out forming a layer adsorbed on the coating film. Further, the coating film has lipophilicity and has a diiodomethane con (21) Appl. No.: 13/343,953 tactangle of no more than 45° so that the coating film exhibits enhanced affinity to fingerprints, which primarily contain oily (22) Filed: Jan. 5, 2012 components.


This paper proposes a media sharing scheme for scalable media streaming and precise group synchronization services among adjacent mobile smart devices in wireless local area networks. For scalable media streaming, the structure of a hierarchical wireless media streaming network (HSN) is introduced to distribute streaming traffic to multiple wireless channels. It consists of a single IEEE 802.11 infrastructure network and multiple WiFi‐Direct networks. For group synchronization on a scale of milliseconds in the HSN, we propose PlaySharing, which combines event‐based synchronization, local adjustment of playback position errors, and rare and periodic synchronization. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate sustained precise synchronization by minimizing synchronization control packets during network congestion. Event‐based synchronization manages the synchronization between a media source device and client devices using event messages from the source device. To reduce the number of synchronization control packets, the local adjustment of playback position errors corrects those on the media client devices according to the expected playback position for the time elapsed since the last synchronization. Rare and periodic synchronization is applied in preparation for control packet loss, correcting the local adjustment errors when no event occurs. To evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme, the average synchronization errors between the source device and the client devices are measured using the user datagram protocol unicast and broadcast for control packet transmission in an IEEE 802.11 infrastructure network configuration and an HSN configuration. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme, with user datagram protocol unicast transmission of control messages in the HSN, has the lowest synchronization errors in the experiments.


To improve adsorption and photocatalytic activity towards air pollutants,1%Ce/TiO2 coated on stainless steel mesh,prepared via a sol-gel and dip-coating method,and calcinations treatment was further modified by immersing the catalyst in a solution containing β-CD,to adsorb β-CD onto catalyst surface. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD) ,scanning electron microscope(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) . Their activities were determined and compared using a photocatalytic reactor(14L) . β-CD modified Ce/TiO2 oxidized 100%an initial 70mg/m3 toluene in about 4-5 hours reaction time,and the removal rate was still 100% when the catalyst was used repeatedly for a third time. To an initial 97 mg/m3 toluene,100% removal rate was also obtained,but to a high initial(~208mg/m3) toluene concentration,only 80% toluene removal rate was obtained using the β-CD modified 1%Ce/TiO2. The modification with β-CD improved the specific photo-catalytic activity by 1.59 times,and increased removal rate by 35% and 20% respectively for oxidizing initially 70 and 208 mg/m3 toluene in air.


Small scale hydro power generation is becoming an attractive energy alternative for remote areas. They are mostly run-of-river type which is coupled to fixed speed conversion systems while regulating the water flow rate mechanically. A synchronous generator based micro-hydro system with diesel generator is developed in this paper. To eliminate all mechanical adjustments a power conditioning system (PCS) is proposed. Power conditioning system comprises of a back-toback ac/dc/ac static converter through which grid connection can be made. This proposed design is simple, reliable, and efficient. FFT analysis is done and THD is analyzed at load and inverter. Using MATLAB Simulink based simulations topology and dynamic performance of the proposed system is validated.


Objective To evaluate hypogammaglobulinaemia and risk of serious infectious adverse events in active lupus nephritis. Methods The Abatacept and Cyclophosphamide Combination Efficacy and Safety Study (ACCESS) compared abatacept with placebo in participants with lupus nephritis undergoing treatment with Euro-Lupus Nephritis low-dose cyclophosphamide. Serum IgG levels were assessed prior to initiation of treatment and throughout the trial. Hypogammaglobulinaemia was defined as IgG <450 mg/dL. Results Hypogammaglobulinaemia was observed in 16/102 (15.7%) participants prior to initiation of induction therapy for active lupus nephritis. Participants with nephrotic range proteinuria were more likely to have hypogammaglobulinaemia, and serum IgG levels were inversely correlated with urine protein to creatinine ratio (r=−0.42, p<0.0001). Following initiation of treatment for active lupus nephritis, additional participants developed hypogammaglobulinaemia by weeks 2–4. Serum IgG levels then increased, and all but one participant had serum IgG ≥450 mg/dL at 24 weeks. Hypogammaglobulinaemia was not associated with an increased risk of serious infectious adverse events. Conclusions In active lupus nephritis in ACCESS, hypogammaglobulinaemia was common and inversely correlated with proteinuria. Serum IgG levels were lowest in the weeks immediately following initiation of induction therapy, and subsequently improved by 24 weeks. Hypogammaglobulinaemia was not associated with serious infectious adverse events. Trial registration


Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) is a promising technique for corneal transplantation that avoids the chronic immunosuppression comorbidities and graft rejection risk associated with penetrating keratoplasty (PKP), the standard procedure. In DALK, surgeons must insert a needle 90% through the 500 μm cornea without penetrating its underlying membrane. This pushes surgeons to their manipulation and visualization limits such that 59% of DALK attempts fail due to corneal perforation or inadequate needle depth. We propose a robot-assisted solution to jointly solve the manipulation and visualization challenges using a cooperatively-controlled, precise robot arm and live optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging, respectively. Our system features an interface handle, with which the surgeon and robot cooperatively hold the tool, and a posterior corneal boundary virtual fixture driven by real-time OCT segmentation. A study in which three operators performed DALK needle insertions manually and cooperatively in ex vivo human corneas demonstrated an 84% improvement in perforation-free needle depth without an increased perforation rate.


1. Why we question collapse and study human resilience, ecological vulnerability, and the aftermath of empire Patricia A. McAnany and Norman Yoffee Part I. Human Resilience and Ecological Vulnerability: 2. Ecological catastrophe, collapse, and the myth of 'ecocide' on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Terry L. Hunt and Carl P. Lipo 3. Did the medieval Norse society in Greenland really fail? Joel Berglund 4. Calamities without collapse: environment, economy, and society in China, c.1800-1949 Kenneth Pomeranz Part II. Surviving Collapse: Studies of Societal Regeneration: 5. Marketing conquest and the vanishing Indian: an indigenous response to Jared Diamond's archaeology of the American southwest Michael Wilcox 6. Bellicose rulers and climatological peril? Retrofitting 21st century woes on 8th century Maya society Patricia A. McAnany and Tomas Gallareta Negron 7. Collapse in ancient Mesopotamia: what happened, what didn't Norman Yoffee Part III. Societies in the Aftermath of Empire: 8. Advanced Andeans and backward Europeans: structure and agency in the collapse of the Inca empire David Cahill 9. Rwandan genocide: towards an explanation in which history and culture matter Christopher C. Taylor 10. 'Failed' states, societal 'collapse', and ecological 'disaster': a Haitian lesson on grand theory Drexel G. Woodson 11. The power of the past: environment, Aborigines, archaeology, and a sustainable Australian society Tim Murray 12. Excusing the haves and blaming the have-nots in the telling of history Frederick Errington and Deborah Gewertz Part IV. Reflections on Sustainability: 13. Sustainable survival J. R. McNeill.


This article describes the site investigation, geology and construction considerations, in tunnelling under the Bosphorus Strait, Turkey, for the new rail connection between Europe and Asia. The project will reduce travel times and road transport pollution and congestion. Geotechnical design issues include seismic activity and possible soil liquefaction, fractured rock and deep historic fill depths. Site investigation involved borehole drilling with standard penetration and cone penetration testing and sampling, geophysical surveys and environmental sampling. Probabilistic and deterministic hazard models were developed for seismic design, and ground stabilisation was conducted for the trench around the immersed tube tunnel, where soil liquefaction is likely in the event of an earthquake. Soil investigations at station sites identified the rock formations and soft fills. Station construction on the Asian side of the Bosphorus involves thick diaphragm walls supported by concrete struts. On the European side, work was delayed by archaeological excavation of the ancient harbour. The station here is constructed with secant pile walls and tie-back anchors.


Although Mg based hydrogen storage materials absorb hydrogen immediately under appropriate thermodynamic conditions, an obvious incubation period exists for hydrogen desorption. This fact implies that the mechanisms of hydrogen absorption and desorption are different from each other. During hydrogen desorption process, nucleation and growth of Mg are occurring in MgH2. It is considered that free surface is the only nucleation site of Mg in hydrogen desorption process. The nucleation frequency per unit specific surface area should be constant under a fixed temperature and H2 partial pressure. Therefore, it is estimated that the incubation period is proportional to the inverse of specific surface area. The relationship between incubation period and specific surface area of MgH2 was investigated in order to understand the mechanism of incubation period on magnesiumhydrogen system. MgH2 with several kinds of specific surface area were manufactured by changing milling time of a planetary ball mill. A primary Gibbs free energy for dehydrogenation was conducted as -1.94 kJ mol-1 by controlling H2 pressure for measuring incubation period. The results revealed that the incubation period was proportional to the inverse of specific surface area. [doi:10.2320/jinstmet.JD201604]


The sealing pack 440 receives a quantity of material for making smoothies of one person. Materials are fruity flavor material 410, such as a piece of (strawberry, raspberry, mango); Frozen liquid portion, such as water, fruit juice, milk, coffee or tea (420); It includes an adhesion material 430, such as ice cream, sherbet, and yogurt. Pack may be exposed to a sufficient temperature natneun enough to hold a part of the material in the pack 440 in a frozen state. In addition, the material pack, the first and second container, or a method of freezing and packing in a container equipped with a partition portions for the other materials of the non-frozen state; Using a seal pack, and how to prepare the ingredients of smoothies one person to be mixed with additional liquid; The device using the sealing pack is disclosed for automatic selling of the smoothie, and one person. A smoothie, a material, liquid, frozen, seal, pack,


Significance
 The changes affect contract negotiations, disciplinary procedures and the role of labour unions. The White House argues the changes will improve efficiency, but opponents lament any weakening of unions and fear that the civil service's operations could become politicised.

 Impacts
 Cabinet secretaries and other political appointees will gain more influence over the civil service.
 A more restrictive civil service work regimen could make it harder to recruit and retain civil servants.
 Loss of civil servants could see shortfalls in the expertise required for policymaking and governance.
 Curbing taxpayer money spent on civil servants working for unions will likely be well received by Republicans.


The emergence of web 2.0 and its resources at the end of 2004 caused a great paradigm shift in the education sector, taking into account that we are no longer mere spectators and we become protagonists of the activities that take place on the web, favoring in this way the creation And publication of content on the network, interaction synchronously and work collaboratively. This article discusses the experience of using some of these resources (edmodo platform, google drive collaborative tool, blogs and bibliographic reference manager medley) in the master's degree in education sciences and education in nature conservation, at the Higher Institute of Educational Sciences Of Huambo, Republic of Angola. We worked with a population of 80 students where a course was designed, implemented and evaluated using these tools. In order to carry out the training process, three steps were established: the first refers to the selection of the work team and web 2.0 resources; the second, to the design and implementation of the course; And the third relates to course evaluation. Three principals have been taken into account: principle of teaching and flexible, interactive and collaborative learning, principle of unity between education, education and development and finally the principle of the link between theory and the practice. At the end of the training the target population of research showed that they were satisfied using the questionnaire applied where they recognize that the training results were above expectations.


Novel hollow mesoporous silica spheres (HMSs) with uniform size and morphology have been successfully synthesized in a facile route using poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as co-templates at room temperature. XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption analysis, FE-SEM, and TEM are used for the characterization of the structure. The hexagonally ordered pore channels are formed on the shell. Ibuprofen (IBU) as a model drug is used to examine the storage capacity and the release behaviour of drug molecules. The storage capacity of hollow mesoporous silica spheres can reach 1133 ± 52.4 mg g−1 for ibuprofen, which is three times higher than that of conventional mesoporous materials previously reported (337 mg g−1), and the storage capacity is adjustable in a wide range. Furthermore, this system also shows a sustained-release behaviour. The release rates from the IBU-HMSs system (IBU stored in HMSs) increase with the decrease of pH values and the release process follows a Fick's law.


The distributions of pocket gopher species in Colorado are contiguously allopatric. This pattern has been attributed to competitive exclusion, perhaps due to aggres- sion toward the broad-niched species by more narrow-niched species. This study tested for differences in aggressiveness between the narrow-niched Thomomys bottae and the broader niched T. talpoides. Twenty-seven individuals of T. bottae were paired with 27 T. talpoides. Each animal was used once. Contrary to expectations the broader niched species, T. talpoides, is more aggressive than T. bottae.


The purpose of this study is to research the photosynthetic response of Dendrobium.chrysotoxum to doubled CO2 concentration,which is important scientific significance to the protection and utilization of D.chrysotoxum.Leaf gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence paramters were measured with the treatment of doubled atmospheric CO2 concentration(30 days).The paramters of leaf gas exchange showed that net photosynthesis rate(Pn),intercellular CO2 concentration(Ci),water utilization efficiency(WUE) increased,and the stomatal conductance(Cond) and transpiration(Tr) decreased with the treatment of doubled CO2 concentration.The results of chlorophyll fluorescence paramters showed that the maximal photochemical efficiency(Fv/Fm) didn't vary significantly,actual PSⅡ efficiency(Yield) and relative rate of electron transport(ETR)decreased,photochemical fluorescence quenching coefficient(qP) increased significantly and non-photochemical quenching coefficient(qN) decreased remarkably.These suggest that D.chrysotoxum is of great adaptability and growth advantage to drought and elevated CO2 concentration of the climat environment in the future.


Ganoderma P. Krast is one of the most popular mushrooms in oriental medicine. It is found in tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate climates all around the world but prefers warmer climate on a large variety of trees such as deciduous and hardwood trees. The diverse climatic condition in India made the country a natural habitat for Ganoderma. This is probably the first medicinal mushroom to gain importance in India. The genus Ganoderma is identified on the basis of their basidiocarp morphology, microscopic view of basidiospore and mycelium. Ganoderma are fairly large with a generally tough bracket like pileus (cap) that can reach more than 60 cm (24 inches) in diameter. Many species have a stipe (stalk) to support the pileus, some species are sessile and have a pileus attached Ganoderma is widely distributed mushroom with the longest record of medicinal use. Specimens of Ganoderma were collected from several locations in Navsari. These were identified on the basis of macroscopic and microscopic traits of fruiting bodies and biological properties of pure cultures. A total of seven Ganoderma isolates were collected and named based on genus, place and locality. These were GNN-1, GNN-2, GNN-3, GND-1, GND2, GNG-1 and GNG-2. The shape of basidiocarp varied from auriform to discoid, colour from light to dark brown; they were either sessile or stipitate with double walled ellipsoid brown coloured basidiospores and pore layers were white or brownish white coloured. The colour of mycelia varied from white to off white colour and density varied from cottony to velvety. Thick walled and elliptical to spherical shaped chlamydospores found in four isolates and the position was varied from terminal to intercalary. The maximum growth was recorded in Mushroom Complete Medium (MCM) media viz., 7.20cm, 6.67cm, 6.63cm and 5.97cm in GNN-2, GNG-1, GND-1 and GNN-1, respectively on fifth day of inoculation. Mycelial growth of GNN-2 was significantly more as compared to rest of the isolates which covered the petriplate earlier to all i.e. on sixth day. K e y w o r d s


Preface I (paper 1--12, session 3, Processing and Melt Stabilisation) (S. Al--Malaika). Preface II (papers 13--27, session 7, Functionalisation and Reactive Processing) (F. Ciardelli). Structure--Property Relationships: Phenolic Antioxidants with High Efficacy and Low Color Contribution (I. Vulic, et al.). Vitamin E--A New Choice for Polyolefin Stabilization (D. Muller, et al.). Settling the Question of Optimum Concentration and Methodology Used for Adding an Antioxidant to PS/PP Polyblend (R. Sciamanna, et al.). Stabilizing Action of Polymeric Plasticisers in PVC (G. Maura and G. Rinaldi). Effect of Oil and Cured Agent Content on the Structure and properties of Thermoplastic Vulcanizates (T. Medintseva, et al.). Phenols and Aromatic Amines as Thermal Stabilizers in Polyolefin Processing (J. Pospisil, et al.). Fibre--Forming Blends of Polypropylene and Polyethylene Terephthalate (A. Marcincin, et al.). Melt Stabilisation of High--Density Film--Grade Polyethylene (P. Mariani, et al.). Nucleating and Clarifying Agents for Polyolefins (K. Hoffman, et al.). The Role of Lubricants in Reactive Compatibilization of Polyolefin Blends (D. Hlavata, et al.). Learning from Mother Nature: Exploiting a Biological Antioxidant for the Melt Stabilisation of Polymers (S. Al--Malaika). Influence of Temperature on Molecular Regroupings and Chain Rupture under Stretching Deformation of High--Oriented Linear Polyethylene (U. Gafurov). Creation of Novel Polymer Materials by Processing with Inclusion Compounds (L. Huang, et al.). Study of the Properties of PVC / ABS Blends (N. Belhaneche--Bensemra and A. Bedda). Grafting of Functional Maleimides onto Oligo-- and Polyolefins (P. Sulek, et al.). Toughening of PBT by ABS, SBS and HIPS Systems and the Effects of Reactive Functionalised Copolymers (G. Mantovani, et al.). New Polyfunctional Modifier of Water Dispersions of Polar Polymers (I. Averco--Antonovich, et al.). New Reactive Additives for Interface Modification in Multicomponent Polyolefin Systems (G. Marosi, et al.). PBT Modification with EVA/EVOH Copolymers: A Morphological Study (M. Fiorini, et al.). Modification of PET by Reactive Blending with Sulfonated Esters, 1 Synthesis and Characterization of PET--Ionomers (C. Berti, et al.). Surface and Bulk Modification of Polyolefins by Functional Aryl Nitrenes as Highly Reactive Intermediates (S. Knaus, et al.). Modification of EVOH Copolymers with epsi--Caprolactone: Synthesis and Compatibilization Effects in PE/PVC Blends (M. Toselli, et al.). Solid--State Modification of Polypropylene (PP): Grafting of Styrene on Atactic PP (F. Picchioni, et al.). Oxazoline Functionalization of Polyethylenes and Their Blends with Polyamides and Polyesters (F. La Mantia, et al.). Silylation of OH--Polymers by Reactive Extrusion (W. Mormann and D. Spitzer). Solid--State Polypropylene Grafting as an Effective Chemical Method of Modification (E. Borsig, et al.). Composites from Functionalized Polyolefins and Silica (E. Passaglia, et al.).


By the end of 2012 to early 2013,extreme low temperature and low temperature weather in Kunming,caused plants freeze injury in campus of Yunnan Normal University. Investigation on the injured plants has been conducted,including 71 families,178 species at Chenggong campus of Yunnan Normal University. The damage reason of plants quantity and freeze injury degree were analyzed,and the rational allocation of plants and plant antifreeze protection suggestions were carried out in this paper.


Jixi basin is one of the important coal basins in China. To explore the gas accumulation characteristics and its geological controls, it's important for further exploration and development of coalbed methane (CBM). The gas content of Jixi Basin is high viable from 4.78 to 11.94 m3/t, indicating high gas content in the north and west but low gas content in the south and east. The further analysis results show that the delta plain and lake are favorable sedimentary environments for coal accumulation. The Chengzihe and Muleng formation are formed in these environments. Moreover, massive magmatic intrusion heat activities and subsequent continuous subside of strata increase coal rank of the coals. In the area of Pingma reverse fault and the area with thick Muleng formation, mud seals are favorable for CBM preservation. In these areas, CBM is sealed and accumulated by hydrodynamic condition. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation model for CBM was found. Based on the evaluation model, the most favorable zone for CBM exploration is forecasted to be J idong depression.


Looks at the extent of and policy responses to the problem of labour shortage in the economies of Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.


Introduction. Degeneration intervertebral disc, commonly affiliated with low pack is characterized a (ECM) Recent advance in indicates that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be an alternative source for tissue repair. The aim ofthis study was to investigate whether co-culture with disc explant tissue could influence stem cells to differentiate towards disc-like cells. Methods. Rodent MSCs (rMSC) were cultured alone or co-cultured with disc explant by using insert plates. Differentiation potential ofrMSC's was evaluated by immunostaining, western blot, ultrastructural analysis, real time RT-PCR, and northern blot respectively up to 30 days. The multi-potential differentiation characteristics assays, proteoglycan synthesis, tota! collagen synthesis were performed.Results.The co-culture conditions led to expression ofcollagen-II, aggrecan and sox-9 in rMSC at both RNA and protein level after 14 days, whereas rMSCs cultured alone did not express these markers. Co-cultured rMSCs showed functional characteristics ofdisc-chondrocytes, including production of extracellular matrix ofproteoglycan and total collagen. In addition, rMSCs underwent morphological changes to form 3D micro-masses upon differentiation with formation ofECM. rMSCs being co-cultured for day 21 still demonstrated ability ofosteogenic and adipogenic differentiation but no hemopoietic colony formulation ability. Cells contact between co-cultured rMSC's and disc explants were observed. disc-like in an explant host is sufficient for this to occur, the and to differentiate. This novel explant co-cultured system allows easy separation ofdifferentiated rMSC for subsequent analysis. This study supports MSCs as a promising source for cellular therapy ofdisc degeneration and highlights that explants along without manipulation (extract cells) is already sufficient to influence MSCs defeneration pathway.


Objectives Aspergillus disease in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients has been proposed to encompass 4 classes: Class 1; No disease, Class 2; Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA), Class 3; Aspergillus sensitised, Class 4; Aspergillus Bronchitis.1 The clinical consequence of non-ABPA Aspergillus disease in CF is not fully understood. We evaluated the survival of patients with different classes of Aspergillus disease who were diagnosed as part of Baxter's work between 2008–2011 in order to determine the clinical consequences of the different pheonotypes of disease. Methods A retrospective case note analysis was undertaken for all 129 patients from the Baxter et al. patient cohort. Survival outcomes were documented for all patients, and baseline demographics including age, gender, FEV1, BMI and co-pathogens were collected. Any patients who received double lung transplantation or who moved away from the unit during this time were identified. The best FEV1 for each year of follow up, FEV1 closest to annual consent date, and BMI were collected for each year of follow in every patient until the current day, or date of death, transplant, or move away. Data was tested for normality and between group comparisons were calculated with one-way anova. Survival was assessed with Kaplan Meier and re-analysed with Cox Regression to adjust for other prognostic factors. Results There was no statistical significance in survival rates between the 4 classes of Aspergillus disease (P value 0.521). The sole predictor of survival was baseline FEV1% predicted at time of diagnosis (P value<0.001). Conclusions There was no statistically significant difference in survival for CF patients with Aspergillus disease over 6–8 years follow up. Further work is being undertaken to continue monitoring and reclassify disease phenotype in this patient cohort. Reference Baxteret al. J Allergy Clin Immunol2013:132(3).


e22068Background: Anti-PD-1 agents represent a standard treatment for melanoma patients. However, most patients fail to respond, showing in some cases very rapid disease progression. At moment, the...


For the problems of warning plan and emergency management about mountain flood disaster, this article proposes a research program for emergency management platform about mountain flood disaster by building a plan knowledge library. Firstly, we analyse and classify the emergency plans by multi-layer, and build the plan knowledge base with multiple indexes. We propose a fast searching and matching algorithm for plan subset, so to support the implementation for other modules of the platform. Secondly, by analyzing the typical business process, we construct the three-layer architecture and core functions division for the emergency platform about mountain flood disaster. Finally, based on the pattern of "one network style"and "one table style", we implement the emergency management platform about mountain flood disaster by using J2 EE platform,so to form the new emergency management mechanism around area where command is unified, function is complete and response is sensitive.


The dispersion and polarization properties of the electromagnetic waves in a multilayered structure composed of a magneto-optic waveguide on dielectric substrate covered by a one-dimensional dielectric photonic crystal are investigated theoretically. Different regimes of modes propagation inside such structure depending on the system parameters are studied.


In this paper, the author consideres music sequence as the result of abstract computations, and he tries to study the process of such computations involved in a passage of Gyorgy Ligeti's Melodien, a piece for small orchestra which was written en 1971. The tool used for this research is PatchWork (Lisp environment with graphical and musical interface).
NOTE : [*] This paper is an extended version of a conference presented at the
International Symposium on Music and Mathematics, Bucharest, May 29-30,
1994. The computer reconstruction of Ligeti's fragment has been done in collaboration with Gerard Assayag (Music
Representation Group, at Ircam).


Introductory essay to a special issue devoted to articles based on papers presented at "Port Cities in the Early Modern World, 1500-1800," a conference hosted by the McNeil Center for Early American Studies in Philadelphia 5-7 November 2015.


Research conducted in 1996 and 2000, the results of which are presented in this paper, shows that educational disadvantage is an ongoing problem in Cork city, and stems from a combination of economic, social, and cultural factors. Cork Institute of Technology and University College Cork propose to establish a joint campus on Cork's northside, where much of the city's socioeconomic and educational disadvantage is located. The colleges expect that the proximity of the new campus to the target community and the provision of specific programmes and facilities will help to facilitate greater participation in higher education by underrepresented groups. While the findings of the research reported in this paper support the initiative for the proposed campus, it is argued that its physical location in an area of socioeconomic disadvantage will be insufficient to increase participation in higher education in target communities. The campus must also have a status comparable to that of its parent institutions, its provision should reflect the needs and expectations of the community at which it is targeted, and it should constitute just one facet of an integrated set of policies and strategies aimed at combating educational inequality and increasing participation.


There is a need for investigators, legislators, and business leaders to understand the magnitude of innovation and discovery in the field of environmentally conscious technologies (ECTs). Knowledge of the "big picture" is important to providing a national and global account of actual environmental stewardship over the last twenty-five years. A recitation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supported Acts which have been enacted into law reveals one facet of the multifaceted dynamic of environmental consciousness. The popular discussion and debate, as well as partisan lobbying, which created the political forces leading to environmentally conscious legislation is another facet. A third facet is the corporate response to the threats and opportunities predicted by CEO's and others through environmental scanning. This paper examines changes in environmentally conscious inventive effort by comparing data from United States Patents issued from 1976 through 2003. Patents are useful tool for measuring technological innovation because they are publicly available records of innovative activity. Although not all inventions result in patent applications, the monopoly rights granted on the invention give the inventor a strong incentive to obtain patents on any viable product or process. Among the results, we found a significant increase in patents relating to environmentally conscious products and processes during the period in question. Specifically, a dramatic increase in patent activity was seen for the decade of the 1990's. Surprisingly, the patenting rate from 2000 to 2003 seems to have stabilized. Additionally public discussion of ECTs appears to have a positive impact on patent filings.


Health-care professionals play an essential role in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, most of the collected Covid-19 specimens are collected manually by health care workers and by using sterile cotton swab. The close contact between the health workers and the patients put them at high risk of being infected. One of approaches toward protecting the health workers, is to reduce the direct contact between the health care workers and the Covid-19 patients through deploying robots. In this study, a robotic system for Covid-19 swab sampling is designed and built. The robotic system consists of a 3 DOF arm, 2 DOF end effector with force sensor, and head holder. The robot is controlled remotely and from a safe distance. The preliminary experimental tests show that the robot is able to position the swab tip at the opening of the nasal cavity with the orientation and location that makes the swab insertion parallel to the palate. A force sensor is integrated in the end effector design to measure the normal contact force between the swab tip and the interior of the nasal cavity. The experimental results show that the normal contact force was successfully controlled and maintained within the acceptable force range, between 0.35N and 0.68N, as reported in literature. Maintaining the contact force within such range is essential in protecting the interior tissue of the nasal cavity from any injury


The paper presents the heat transfer characteristics of a shell and tube latent thermal energy storage system. A two dimensional computational fluid dynamics model based on enthalpy porosity was developed to investigate the charging and discharging of the system. Organic fatty acids were used as phase change materials in the tubes and water was used as heat transfer fluid in the shell. A variety of numerical investigations were carried out for both constant and variable inlet temperature profiles. The gains in energy storage for the studied system were compared to a sensible water-only system. The melting times were found to be reasonable (less than 12 hours) and a gain in stored energy from 132-376% can be obtained by increasing phase change volume fraction from 30% to 80% for a 7 o C operating range of temperature.


The need for reassessment of the fatigue life of existing structures is increasing as the world's infrastructure ages. A fatigue life reassessment typically begins with an assessment of the current condition of the structure. The condition assessment techniques range from visual inspection to X-ray inspection or detection of acoustic emissions. The fatigue reliability of the structure can be estimated from probabilistic fatigue life or fracture mechanics models. The data obtained from the condition assessment can be combined with these models to estimate the remaining service life of a structure using Bayes' theorem. Simulation techniques are often used to facilitate these calculations. If the remaining service life is inadequate, it may be desirable to repair the structure; however, repairs must be performed carefully to provide the desired benefit. On the other hand, economic factors may dictate a course of action other than repair, such as replacing the structure or changing the operation of the structure.


To solve the problem that it is difficult to get messages of vehicle maintenance,SPCE061A SCM is used as a control chip to remind the users with messages of vehicle maintenance for realization of the accurate and timely vehicle maintenance and tell the users how to do with their vehicles after gathering the key factors(time and mileage) of vehicle maintenance.Voice reporting and LCD display are gathered togather in the cueing mode,which makes the users to get and check messages of vehicle maintenance easily.The systerm realized the purpose of reminding the users to carry out the vehicle maintenance.


A supersymmetric extension of the vierbein formalism of Einstein gravity is investigated by takingSL(N, 2;C) superalgebra, which is shown to be the sole possibility other than the previously investigatedOSp(N 2;C). After general discussion on the ξ-field realization, a non-linear realization of linear representation introduced in a previous paper, it is applied to the fundamental representation ofSL(N, 2;C) t0 which the vierbein supermultiplet belongs. The chiral symmetry derived in the theory is shown to beSO(N) in the same way as in theOSp(N,2;C)-symmetric extension.


Contents: Money and capital market - Labour demand by industries, qualification levels and sex - Economic development up to 2000 in the new and old lands of Germany (optimistic simulation) - Sensitivity analysis of the structure of the model - Bilateral trade flows for Germany, Poland and Slovakia - Multi-variate time series analysis.


Two coordination polymers of cobalt acetate, [Co5(O2CMe)10] (1) and [Co(O2CMe)2(H2O)]·H2O (2), were solvothermally synthesized and characterized by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses, IR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Compound 1 crystallizes in orthorhombic space group Pbcn in two-dimensional layers, which consist of 12-membered cobalt rings. Compound 2 crystallizes in monoclinic space group C2/m and exhibits one-dimensional chains, which are bridged by one water molecule and two acetate ligands in (2.11)- and (2.20)-modes. Preliminary magnetic studies revealed that antiferromagnetic couplings exist in both compounds.


The paper describes existing methods evaluating the quality of surface; it is suggested a new method autogenerating evaluation method of surface quality in accordance with the current state of scientific research. There is carried out research of applications of the proposed method, and investigated the results of computer simulation, which are conclusions of applicability of the method.


Part 2 of the European guidelines for clinical management of abnormal cytology (Jordan et al., p. 5) provide cytologists with the low-down on the various types of treatment for CIN, with definitions of LLETZ, LEEP, SWETZ and NETZ among others. The guidelines tell us that "there is no clear evidence suggesting that the diagnostic performance of cytology in combination with colposcopy for the detection of persistent disease after treatment for CIN is superior to cytology alone and we read in Aerssens et al. (p. 27) that cytology remains the cornerstone in the early follow-up after LEEP for CIN lesions of the cervix. Although ''HPV testing increased the sensitivity of cytology in concomitant testing during the first 6 months'' it decreased specificity from 70.5% to 65%. It looks as though we will still have jobs.


In this paper, an energy-efficient communication scheme for low-power wireless networks is proposed which is based on encoding the messages by a novel source coding technique, called Dual-message Compression with Variable Null Symbol (DGVN S), followed by using the concept of Silent Communication. The source coding technique used in this scheme interleaves bits from two messages and encodes every two consecutive bits of this interleaved dual-message by one of four symbol values so that the overall message length is reduced by a factor of two. The transmitter is kept silent during the periods of the most dominant symbol which is dynamically changed. A hybrid modulation / demodulation technique using non-coherent FSK and ASK is used to have 43.46% energy savings on an average at the transmitter using a channel with Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN), and 50% energy savings at the receiver over the conventional Binary Frequency Shift Keying (BFSK), with equal likelihood of all possible strings of binary messages. Simulation results with real-life sensor data show that we can get still higher energy savings at the transmitter, ranging from about 54.1% to 58.9%. Also, the transmission time is reduced by a factor of two due to the reduced length of the encoded message. The scheme is suitable for multihop communication in low cost wireless sensor network applications.


Writing is one of fundamental educational skills which represents the basis of education and has a major influence on individual's academic achievement. Children start to express themselves in writing after they have acquired oral skills, with the goal of grammatically correct and meaningful writing, which means turning phonemes into graphemes. Most people learn to write spontaneously and do not have any major problems in acquiring this skill. However, there is a minority of children who develop specific mistakes that indicate dysgraphia. Dysgraphia is defined as a specific disorder which disables a child to acquire writing skills. Prevention of dysgraphia begins at an early age, often unknowingly, through everyday activities, especially through play which is considered as primary mean of acquiring knowledge for children. Through play, children develop cognitive, auditory, visual, motor, emotional and social skills, which represent the basis for learning how to write. It is important to notice the writing disorder at an early stage, in order to improve writing skills and prevent the disorder from developing. At a later stage, the writing disorder may require longer and more complicated treatment.


(DEADLINE DATE) non-public opening at the offices of the Procurement and Distribution Department, 2351 Cardinal Lane, San Diego, California 92123-3799, for the award of a contract, as follows: ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEMS INTEGRATION SERVICES Proposals must be submitted on forms provided by the San Diego Unified School District, including all applicable forms detailed and contained in this package. Dates Advertised: (1) August 8th, 2002 Procurement Representative: Ms. Phyllis Lewellen (2) August 15, 2002 Telephone: 858-496-8013


This scientific paper is based on the presentation of the company in which a case study was conducted to improve the strength and quality of airbags. In this sense, a bibliographic material was analyzed through which some of the essential problems of the object of the study were highlighted. The research method predicts on the design of experiments. Subsequently, statistical processing of the experimental data was performed using dispersion analysis. In this context, the analyzed data were analyzed using 3D graphs. The last part of the paper contains its own points of view and conclusions based on which new research directions are presented.


Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a heterogeneous disease associated with arrhythmias. Life-threatening ventricular tachycardia (VT) or fibrillation is the main cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in HCM, even though bradycardia does occur. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator effectively prevents SCD. Non-sustained VT is a risk factor for SCD and part of current risk stratification. Furthermore, atrial fibrillation (AF) is believed to be common in HCM and increases the risk of stroke. Notably, novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC) is recommended in HCM with AF, even in the absence of other risk factors. Routinely, arrhythmias are evaluated by 24–48 hours of ambulatory monitoring occasionally. Thus, the true burden of arrhythmia is unknown but may be elucidated by an insertable cardiac monitor (ICM).

 The purpose of this study was to ascertain the incidence of NSVT, AF, and significant bradycardia in unselected HCM patients by use of an ICM.

 In total, 30 adults with HCM had an ICM Confirm Rx implanted subcutaneously at the level of the fourth rib on the left side. None had a cardiac device implanted previously since they were considered to be at low risk for SCD according to ESC risk score. The application for monitoring was installed in the patients' phone which also allowed for patient activation in case of symptoms. The ICM was programmed as follows: VT ≥160 beats per minute (bpm) during ≥8 intervals, AF ≥2minute of duration, and bradycardia ≤40 bpm or pause ≥3.0 s. Clin Trial Reg: NCT03259113.

 In total, 29 patients, mean age 51.2±12.3 years, 24 (82.8%) males, completed the monitoring and 1 had the phone disconnected the vast majority of time and was excluded for analyses. During a follow-up of 14–18 months, 9 patients (31.0%) had AF and were started on NOAC and potential dose-adjustment of beta-blocker. One of these patients had syncope due to rapidly conducted AF. One of the patients with AF also had episodes of atrial flutter. At least one episode of NSVT was detected in 6 patients (20.7%). In 11 patients (37.9%), sino-atrial block/sinus arrest were seen, typically 30–40 bpm. In 9 patients (31.0%) no significant arrhythmia were detected.

 In this first study of ICM in HCM, evaluation of arrhythmia burden in low risk patients with HCM, yielded 31.0% AF, 20.7% NSVT, and 37.9% sino-atrial block/arrest.

 Abbott


The onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) often occurs during individuals' prime working years. Although the majority of people with MS are employed at the time of diagnosis, premature departure from the workforce is an all too common response to the significant challenges posed by this disease. The purpose of this article is to examine job retention barriers frequently encountered by people with MS and to describe vocational rehabilitation (VR) strategies designed to ameliorate these barriers so that these individuals can continue working. The authors summarize research findings on illness-related, demographic, and work- environmental barriers to job retention and career advancement. The authors then provide examples of job retention strategies and interventions that can be implemented by VR professionals to improve the employment outcomes of people with MS.


This study extends the applicability of an existing technique, which examines the homogeneity of TMR and the content of effective fiber in the product, to island-wide dairy farmers in Taiwan. The technique was developed based on, and has been successfully applied to samples in southern Taiwan. The technique was revised by expanding the distribution of samples from 216 sites/10 farmers in the south to 342 sites/17 farmers on the whole island. TMR of an adequate slimness was produced from baled hay using a multi-purpose TMR truck. The product was examined using a ψ3.81 cm screen on the top followed by the upper screen (ψl.90 cm) and the bottom tray of the standard Penn State particle separator. The probability of the product with a particle size between 10-15 cm A Technique Suitable for Pan-Taiwan for Determining the Effective Fiber Content and the Homogeneity of Total Mixed Ration (TMR) 適用於台灣全島的完全混合日糧(TMR) 有效纖維量與均勻度的檢測技術 Feng-Jui Kuo 1) Ching-Wan Huang 2) Ching-Hua Ting 2) Huaang-Youh Hurng 2)*


In the present investigation, the difference in the measurement of the hydraulic depth in a Closed Loop Channel Photobioreactor Open to the Atmosphere (CLCPOA) with water volumes 750, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750, 2000, 2130 mL was elucidated using a sensor ultrasound HC-SR4 and a longitudinal meter (king's foot). The HC-SR04 sensor was installed on the Arduino UNO platform with its free software program and the specific libraries to allow the measurement of the hydraulic depth on the CLCPOA at different operating volumes. It was found that there is no significant difference in the measurement values of the hydraulic depth of CLCPOA, obtained with the king's foot and the ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04 (p <0.05). The HC-SR04 sensor, because it is not subject to the possible measurement errors due to manipulation and reading, which occur when the king's foot is used, is more suitable for the determination of the CLCPOA hydraulic depth.


I n 1928, the chemist Adolf Windaus (1876-1959) was awarded the Nobel Prize in recognition of his landmark studies that paved the way to the identification of vitamin D as the antirachitic compound required to prevent and reverse rickets in humans. As a member of fat-soluble secosterols engaged in the absorption of calcium and other minerals in the intestine and kidneys, the vitamin regulates calcium mobilization from the skeleton through enhanced osteoclast formation, a mechanism that allows for fine-tuning of both the expression and enzymatic activity of specific hydrolases in the liver and kidneys, being ultimately responsible for serum levels of the hormonally active 1,25(OH)2D3 metabolite (cholecalciferol). Early radiation experiments in animals provided insights to later understand that the main source of vitamin D in humans is conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol by ultraviolet B light in the skin; yet, a limited supply of vitamin (vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol) is also provided by dietary components such as fish, liver, and dairy products. Whereas vitamin D exerts its genomic activity through binding to the vitamin D receptor (VDR), an endocrine member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, not unexpectedly, significant individual differences in the metabolism of this vitamin occur as a consequence of polymorphisms of the genes encoding enzymes involved in vitamin D synthesis and activation, vitamin D binding protein, and VDR. Though the levels of vitamin D defining insufficiency are debated, a blood level of 25(OH)D3 less than 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) constitutes a state of insufficiency, which is common in the industrialized Western countries, mainly as a consequence of limited population exposure to sunlight, a lifestyle that is widely encouraged to prevent skin cancer. Apart from its hormonal activity, vitamin D is credited with being protective against several benign diseases and malignancies. The theory that vitamin D insufficiency may be associated with an increased risk of cancer is biologically plausible, with a wealth of studies supporting the immunologic, proapoptotic, antiproliferative, and antiangiogenic properties of the vitamin, not to mention the expression of VDR in more than 20 human cancer cell lines and the up-regulation of genes of the Toll-like receptor family involved in oxidative stress and inflammation mechanisms associated with vitamin D insufficiency. However, against a consistent and conclusive body of evidence of causality for the association between cancer and vitamin D insufficiency stands more than one analysis of observational studies. This is even more so in the field of liver cancer, a tumor that develops in the context of such well-identified risk factors as viral hepatitis, alcohol abuse, and metabolic syndrome, where the risk of neoplastic transformation of the liver is fueled by both constitutional and lifestyle variables. Currently, one case-control study in 226 patients with an incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from a hyperendemic area for liver cancer in China negates any significant association between HCC risk and circulating levels of vitamin D. Instead, such an association is clearly purported by a nested case-control subanalysis of the multinational prospective study (The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition; EPIC) that was designed to assess the association of diet, lifestyle, and environmental factors with the risk of various types of cancer and other chronic diseases. The scrutiny of a large cohort of 520,000 participants of both sexes, mainly recruited from the general population in 23 centers of 10 European countries, led to the identification of 204 cases of HCC through record linkage with population-based regional cancer registries or by a combination of Abbreviations: EPIC, The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; HCV, hepatitis C virus; VDR, vitamin D receptor. Address reprint requests to: Massimo Colombo, M.D., Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Universit a degli Studi di Milano, Via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milano, Italy. E-mail firstname.lastname@example.com; fax 39-0250320410. Copyright VC 2014 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/hep.27178 Potential conflict of interest: Dr. Colombo consults for, advises, is on the speakers' bureau for and received grants from Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Gilead. He consults, advises, and is on the speakers' bureau for Tibotec, Novartis, Bayer, and Vertex. He consults for and advises Janssen Cilag, Achillion, Lundbeck, Abbott, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, GenSpera, and AbbVie. He received grants from Merck. Dr. Sangiovanni holds intellectual property rights with Bayer.


In this paper, we will deal with interesting example of natural risk modeling – namely of indoor radon concentration, needed for proper exposure assessment and appreciation of quality of preventive measures taken. First, we will illustrate, how the traditional view based on fixed (i.e., time‐invariant) coefficient models can be misleading. Then we formulate a flexible (nonparametric) regression dynamic model offering a doable alternative. Situation is not entirely standard here, as the smoothed and weight‐giving variables are different. Nevertheless, estimation for our local regression formulation is easily doable even for rather large data via extension of standard local smoothing that we describe. We illustrate on data coming from a rare intensive measurement campaign in an occupied house with simultaneous measurements taken in different rooms. Our model has nice physical interpretation of its parts. We also illustrate how even such a simple model can produce behavior that throws some light on radon experts' discussions about natural radon concentration circadial movement phase. This is because our model acts as a linear but time‐varying filter that can change not only amplitude but also phase between different rooms of the same house, suggesting that there might not be a universal phase of (e.g., daily) radon variation. Instead, the phase might depend on how close a particular indoor location is to the radon sources. Finally, we present some ideas about how our model can be expanded in future to cover more complicated situations and settings. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


articular type, and in most of the polyarticular forms of the disease. He therefore believes that syphilis plays a large role in the aetiology of this disease. In all the monarticular cases there was a history of trauma, and he suggests that in these cases the trauma is the exciting and syphilis the underlying cause. In the polyarticular cases he supposes that a rheumatic diathesis is the exciting cause which ?determines this particular manifestation of syphilitic disease. It is probably by no means the whole truth in this very complex question of the aetiology of arthritis deformans, or rheumatoid arthritis, but this line of investigation certainly deserves further attention.


The utility model relates to a solar sea water desalting device which comprises two main pipelines (1) connected with a fresh water collecting container (4). A plurality of brackets (2) with water receiving troughs are connected between the main pipelines (1). The plurality of brackets (2) are parallel to each other and arranged at equal intervals. Two shed panels (3) are installed between every two adjacent brackets (2). The upper ends of the shed panels are connected with each other, and the lower ends of the shed panels are respectively connected on the two adjacent brackets (2). The lower ends of the inner side wall of the shed panels (3) are located over the water troughs on the brackets. The solar sea water desalting device fully utilizes the heat generated by sunshine to heat the sea water and recycles the distilled fresh water after evaporation of sea water and has the advantages of simple structure and low manufacturing cost.


The characteristics in response to sound and directional sensitivity of the auditory primary neurons and interneurons of the cicada Cryptotympana atrata were studied with neurophysiological techniques. These neurons are tuned to a similar characteristic frequency, which is in correspondence with the dominant frequency of calling song of the cicada. They are able to code sound intensity within the dynamic range of 40 dB above thresholds with an increment of about two spikes per 10 dB. The auditory neurons possess good directional sensitivity with the threshold difference of 10-12 dB at the best frequency between contra and ipsilateral stimulations.


The urazolediamine (VI), a useful monomer for the preparation of polyamides, polyesters, and polyimides, is obtained in eight steps starting from 4-nitrobenzoic acid (I).


Marshmallow, coneflower, St. John's wort and sage, which grown in plantation, were the hosts of numerous fungi species that cause a variety of symptoms. A total of 34 species from 22 genera were determined. Some species pathogen on only one host (Puccinia malvacearum on marshmallow, Diaporthe eres and Seimatosporium hypericum on St. John's wort), while others were present at all examined hosts (species of the genus Fusarium are present in all examined hosts). The most abundant species in the seed was Alternaria alternate. The percentage of contaminated seeds ranged from 5% to 69%. Fusaium species were isolated from 2.5% to 29% of seeds, depending on the host and year. From the root of the studied medicinal plants seven species of Fusarium (F.graminearum, F. oxysporum, F.proliferatum, F.semitectum, F.solani, F.subglutinans and F.verticilioides) and one of the genus Sclerotinia (S.sclerotiorum) were isolated. Thirteen fungi species belonging to 10 genera were isolated from stem, leaves and flower of medicinal plants.


Interactions of domain walls are analyzed with relevance to formation of stationary bubbles (bound state of two domain walls) and bound states of many domains in one-dimensional systems. We investigate the domain structures in ferromagnets which are described with the Landau Lifshitz equation as well as the domains in critical systems described with the Ginzburg Landau equation. Supplementing previous author studies on the creation of hard bubbles [formed by one Bloch domain wall and one Neel (Ising) domain wall] in the presence of an external (magnetic) eld, the soft bubbles consisting of two Bloch domain walls or two Neel (Ising) domain walls are studied in detail. The interactions of two domain walls of the same kind are studied in the framework of a perturbation calculus.


In linear mixed models the selection of fixed and random effects using a testing hypothesis approach brings up several problems. In this paper, we consider the so called boundary problem and the confounding impact of effects from one set of coefficient in the other set. These problems are addressed by defining two test statistics based on ordinary least squares obtained by dividing two quadratic forms, one that contains the effect and another that does not. As a result, the test statistics are sufficiently general, easy to compute, with known finite sample properties. The test on randomness has a known exact distribution under the null and alternative hypothesis, the test on fixed effect is approximated by a noncentral F−distribution. Because of its importance in the selection variable approach, the goodnessof-approximation is examined in-depth in final simulations. keywords: Selection procedure; Hypothesis testing; Linear Mixed Models; Generalized F-distribution;


In important papers on cake-cutting -- one of the key areas in fair division and resource allocation -- the measure-theoretical fundamentals are not fully correctly given. It is not clear (i) which family of sets should be taken for the pieces of cake, (ii) which set-functions should be used for evaluating the pieces, and (iii) which is the relationship between various continuity properties appearing in cake-cutting.
We show that probably the best choice for the familiy of subsets of $[0,1]$ is the Borel $\sigma$-algebra and for the set-function any `sliceable' Borel measure. At least in dimension one it does not make sense to work with only finitely additive contents on finite unions of intervals. For the continuity property we see two possibilities. The weaker is the traditional divisibility property, which is equivalent to being atom-free. The stronger is simply absolute continuity with respect to Lebesgue measure. We also consider the case of a base set (cake or pie) more general than $[0,1]$.


We show that the U.S. commercial banks have become increasingly similar in their risk exposure after the global financial crisis. Pairwise correlation in bank equity returns increased threefold after the enactment of annual stress tests under the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA). Non-financial firms and non-bank financial firms do not exhibit such pattern, and within banks the pattern is stronger for the stress-tested banks. We develop a theoretical model to derive conditions under which stress tests can increase commonality across banks. Consistent with the model, sensitivity of banks' equity returns to macroeconomic factors and their asset holdings have become similar after the DFA. After a bank fails stress test, its portfolio becomes similar to other banks, providing a causal interpretation to our results. Finally, the results of the stress tests across banks have themselves become similar over time. Our findings raise concerns about correlated risk in the system and the cost of future bank failures through correlated fire-sale. JEL Codes: G20 G21 G30.


The terrestrial vegetation is unambiguously an important factor in the climate system, modulating the exchange of energy, momentum, water vapor, and other trace gases between land and atmosphere. Here, we review the evolution of the terrestrial flora from the Proterozoic through to the Neogene at three distinct scales—the overall evolution of floral composition, the evolution of plant physiology, and the evolution of landscape occupation both spatially and seasonally—all in the context of how the vegetation may have influenced climate through time and which deep-time evolutionary transitions may have had the greatest effect. Our focus is upon the direct impacts of the vegetation on temperature and precipitation, but we also consider the indirect impacts of plants on climate via atmospheric composition. We argue that the times of greatest change in plant climate feedbacks are likely to have been the Carboniferous and the early Paleogene.


Abstract / Resume This responds to Christopher Alcantara's "Individual Property Rights on Canadian Indian Reserves" that appeared in XXI11:2 (2003) of the CJNS. Some special interest groups-mainly but not exclusively of the political far Right-have suggested that privatizing Canadian 'Indian Reserve' land would facilitate ameliorating the dreadful conditions endemic to Reserves. This paper explores the experience of U.S. First Nations when Reservation land was privatized. Under the 1887 General Allotment Act (known as the Dawes Act) the U.S. Aboriginal land-base shrank from approximately 150 million acres to only about 48 million by 1935, when the Dawes Act was reversed. L'article repond a l'article de Christopher Alcantara intitule « Individual Property Rights on Canadian Indian Reserves », qui a paru dans le n° 2 du volume 23 de la CJNS. Certains groupes d'interets, qui proviennent principalement, mais non exclusivement de !'extreme-droite politique, ont suggere que la privatisation des terres des reserves indiennes du Canada faciliterait l'amelioration des conditions deplorables qui sont endemiques dans les reserves. L'article explore l'experience des Premieres nations des Etats-Unis ou les terres de reserve ont ete privatisees. En vertu de la General Allotment Act de 1887, connue sous le nom de « Dawes Act », l'assise territoriale des Autochtones americains s'est retrecie pour passer d'environ 150 millions d'acres a environ 48 millions d'acres en 1935, lors que la Dawes Act a ete revoquee. Reform is always afoot in the field of Indian affairs. -Vine Deloria Jr. (1933-2005) & C.M. Lytle1 Over a decade ago the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples recommended that Canada provide First Nations with lands "sufficient in size and quality to foster Aboriginal economic self-reliance and cultural and political autonomy."2 Although according to the 2001 Canadian Census 'status Indians' numbered only 558,175, Aboriginal people constitute at least 3.5 percent of the population.3 Reserves account for under 0.5 percent of the land - 6.5 million acres fragmented into 2,242 tracts with an average size of only 2.89 acres.4 There are powerful special interest groups in Canada that, rather than appreciating how much has been appropriated from Aboriginal people at cut-rate prices, remain keen to be rid of the nuisance of treaties, land-'claims' cases, constitutional negotiations involving Aboriginal rights, time-consuming environmental impact studies, and the costs and embarrassments associated with the Department of Indian Affairs. Given their importance to people living on many Canadian Reserves (or who would if the Indian befand other factors allowed), 'Certificates of Possession' (CPs) have been an unaccountably neglected topic for research. This was demonstrated by Christopher Alcantara's 2003 Canadian Journal of Native Studies article on "Individual Property Rights on Canadian Indian Reserves," a compressed version of his 2002 University of Calgary M.A. thesis "Certificates of Possession: A Solution to the Aboriginal Housing Crisis."5 Alcantara's thesis supervisor was U.S.born and educated Reform-Conservative political scientist Tom Flanagan. Professor Flanagan has made a career, academic and otherwise, of opposing Indigenous rights, most recently those of the original Australians.6 How prominent Flanagan is amongst Canada's leading new Conservatives is illustrated most pointedly by his recent book Harper's Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power.7 We now turn to consider the fact that, in many parts of Canada, CPs represent the most common type of Reserve land-holding6 and the thin edge of the proverbial wedge for the derogation of Aboriginal rights by those who are politely termed 'neo-Conservatives.'9 Among the more recent, if least subtle, expressions of this was "Road to Prosperity - Five Steps To Change Aboriginal Policy," a September 2005 pronouncement from the Calgary-based Canadian Taxpayers Federation 'Centre for Aboriginal Policy Change. …


The topic of this paper is the implementation and analysis of vision algorithms for the detection of static and dynamic objects in videos. These algorithms are typically components of the visual perception module of modern driver assistance systems or even autonomous cars. Whereas the vast majority of todays' papers from the vision community uses convolutional deep neural networks (CNNs), this paper explores the more traditional approaches, namely HOG (Histogram of Oriented Gradients) as well as SVM (Support Vector Machine). The static and dynamic objects which are to be recognized are traffic signs and motorcycles, respectively. These two object classes have been chosen, since traffic signs are on one hand relatively easy to detect and on the other hand, motorcycles state a much more complex task. Thus, this paper tackles differently difficult tasks with a single set of algorithms.


We explore the mechanics of inflation within simplified extra-dimensional models involving an inflaton interacting with the Einstein-Maxwell system in two extra dimensions. The models are Goldilocks-like inasmuch as they are just complicated enough to include a mechanism to stabilize the extra-dimensional size (or modulus), yet simple enough to solve explicitly the full extra-dimensional field equations using only simple tools. The solutions are not restricted to the effective 4D regime with H ≪ mKK (the latter referring to the characteristic mass splitting of the Kaluza-Klein excitations) because the full extra-dimensional Einstein equations are solved. This allows an exploration of inflationary physics in a controlled calculational regime away from the usual four-dimensional lamp-post. The inclusion of modulus stabilization is important because experience with string models teaches that this is usually what makes models fail: stabilization energies easily dominate the shallow potentials required by slow roll and so open up directions to evolve that are steeper than those of the putative inflationary direction. We explore (numerically and analytically) three representative kinds of inflationary scenarios within this simple setup. In one the radion is trapped in an inflaton-dependent local minimum whose non-zero energy drives inflation. Inflation ends as this energy relaxes to zero when the inflaton finds its own minimum. The other two involve power-law scaling solutions during inflation. One of these is a dynamical attractor whose features are relatively insensitive to initial conditions but whose slow-roll parameters cannot be arbitrarily small; the other is not an attractor but can roll much more slowly, until eventually transitioning to the attractor. The scaling solutions can satisfy H > mKK, but when they do standard 4D fluctuation calculations need not apply. When in a 4D regime the solutions predict η ≃ 0 and so r ≃ 0.11 when ns ≃ 0.96 and so are ruled out if tensor modes remain unseen. Assessment of general parameters is difficult until a full 6D fluctuation calculation is done.


The Hall effect in granular co‐sputtered ferromagnetic metal–insulator films was found to increase dramatically as the magnetic volume fraction decreases toward the metal–insulator transition. The saturated Hall resistivity is up to 160 μΩ cm at T=5 K, that is almost four orders of magnitude greater than that in a pure magnetic metal sample. Close to the metal–insulator transition, both magnetoresistivity and the saturated Hall resistivity decrease with increasing temperature. Correlations of the Hall resistivity with resistivity and magnetoresistivity are discussed.


The occurrence of skin lesions in gonococcal bacteraemia is well recognized and well documented (Keil, 1938; Abu-Nassar, Hill, Fred, and Yow, 1963; Kvorning, 1963; O'Sullivan, 1964; Ackerman, Miller, and Shapiro, 1965; Fred, Eiband, Martincheck, and Yow, 1965; Bj6rnberg and Gisslen, 1966). Less well documented is the occurrence of lesions due to direct implantation of gonococci on the skin, either by accidental inoculation (Sears, 1947) or by sexual intercourse. The latter has been known to cause primary gonococcal skin lesions both extragenitally, for example on the sternum or in the axilla (Pugh, 1930), and genitally. Here, we are concerned with primary gonococcal skin lesions of the male genitalia and we restrict ourselves to those involving the penis. Such lesions are infrequently reported and are undoubtedly rare. It is possible that the gonococcus is not always looked for in such lesions because it is not expected; and this is perhaps because stratified squamous epithelium has for long enjoyed a formidable reputation as a most inhospitable host to this organism. Hunter's ill-fated and misleading self-inoculations of 1767 notwithstanding (Hunter, 1786), early unsuccessful experiments between 1789 and 1880 in inoculating the glans, prepuce, or shaft of the penis, listed by Hill (1943) in her comprehensive review, created the impression that primary gonococcal infection of the skin was extremely improbable if not impossible. This belief was epitomized by Bumm in what Belgodere (1930) described as the loi de Bumm, which contestait dogmatiquement au gonocoque tout pouvoir agressif vis-a'-vis des epithdliums pavimentaux. Belgodere quoted this argument in 1930 in order skilfully to demolish it. But 15 years later Harkness declared 'I do not consider it to be possible for the gonococcus to penetrate a healthy epidermis, and in my opinion it is always necessary for the superficial layers to be destroyed before the organisms are able


In this paper, we propose a VLSI implementation scheme for region split and merge image segmentation. Region splitting is done using a parallel pixel network. We propose a modified merging criterion to reduce the execution time and corresponding hardware implementation is also proposed. We have shown the modified merge criterion will reduce the number of merging iteration steps. Implementation results are encouraging as the processing time in hardware with a 100MHz clock in XILINX VIRTEX IV FPGA is achieved a few order lower than the software implementation.


Referencing the main idea of the Romer' s endogenous growth model,this paper introduces energy and environmental quality into the production function,and takes the technology factor together with labor,energy consumption,environmental quality in order to get a more realistic reflection of economic growth equation.Thus,it is possible to measure the direct and indirect effect of technology factor on " Energy-Environment-Economy" system.According to this equation and adopting China' s time series data of 1981-2011,the paper analyzes the long-run equilibrium relationship and energy consumption,environmental governance,technology progress economic growth,by establishing VAR model,doing Johansen Cointegration test and VECM methods.The conclusion indicates that China' s economy is in a stage of increasing returns to scale.The relationship is positive between economic growth and capital stock,technology progress and labor,energy consumption pollution control investment that combine with technology variable in a long run.In a short run,it is not significant that energy consumption joined technology variable affects the economic growth.While the labor joined technology and pollution control investment joined technology show a significant negative correlation wit economic growth,the capital stock affects positively economic growth.Finally,it is suggested that China' s economy sould develop from "labor-capital-energy" mode to "technology-environmental protection" mode.


The invention provides a traceless joint fabric knitting method of a double-needle-bed warp knitting machine, which is characterized by including the following steps of selecting warps materials, setting yarn laying motions of guide bars and utilizing yarn threading and aligning process; beaming warps; mounting the guide bars with swing yarn guide needles in a needle bed working area, performance traceless jointing at the edges of fabrics of a front needle bed and a rear needle bed; making up information of the yarn guide needles; performing machine-boarding processing adjustment and knitting; and arranging the fabrics. By the traceless joint fabric knitting method of the double-needle-bed warp knitting machine, the technical problem of cylindrical knitting by twice or more guiding on the double-needle-bed warp knitting machine can be solved, joint wrinkles of preformed parts of various cylindrical warp knitting composite materials are eliminated, mechanic performance of the spinning composite materials are improved, ultra-wide products can be provided for cloth used in shed cover industry. In addition, perfect traceless jointing can be provided for warp-knitted fully-formed clothes and appearance and comfortableness of the clothes can be improved.


Abstract A modification of Defano's method for Golgi apparatus is described with emphasis on reduced overall stain time and better stain definition. This method utilizes a variation of widely used silver nitrate impregnation solution modified for a specific research need. The addition of a counterstain provides improved contrast and definition of dendritic spines in the Golgi apparatus of brain tissue. This modified method provides consistent, reproducible results for large numbers of brain specimens, and as such is believed to be superior to the Defano method.


The rationale, history, and guidelines of the University of Wisconsin System's teaching award for academic departments and programs serves as a model for other institutions seeking ways to reward group teaching achievements.


Hydroxyurea (Hydrea, Squibb) has proved to be a drug with moderate anticancer chemotherapeutic value which may be taken on an ambulatory basis with minimal clinical toxicity. One hundred and eighteen patients with inoperable neoplasms were treated with hydroxyurea on an outpatient basis, receiving an average oral dose of 50 mg/kg body weight daily in 2 divided doses. A reduction of 25% or more in tumor size was considered an objective response. As with other anticancer agents, the response of different neoplasms to hydroxyurea was variable. Patients with malignant melanomas, cancer of the colon, rectum, and anus (particularly with metastasis to the liver), cancer of the head and neck, lymphomas, and primary hepatomas responded best. Patients with carcinoma of the prostate, thyroid, or lung and those with primary cancer in an unknown site responded the poorest. Of 10 patients with sarcoma, 60% had subjective relief, and 37% had objective improvement. One patient with ovarian cancer, of 7 treated, has remained asymptomatic with no evidence of dissemination for over 2 years on hydroxyurea therapy; and one patient with cancer of the kidney, of 4 treated, had a dramatic response of metastases to bone. The toxicity in most instances was mild and consisted primarily of hematopoietic depression which usually cleared up spontaneously in one to two weeks after withdrawal of the drug. A continuous oral dose of 50 mg/kg body weight daily, in 2 divided doses, proved to be a satisfactory regimen.


A radioisotope-powered, self-oscillating cantilever beam has been developed for small scale applications. A thin beam is placed within a short distance from a radioisotope source and as the charged particles from the source are collected on the beam, it is attracted towards the source. As it contacts the source, the beam is discharged and returns to it's initial position. The period of oscillation is governed by the time it takes for the beam to contact the surface and discharge. A model has been developed to provide understanding of the behavior of such a device, and to help explore potential applications. Based on a single dimensionless parameter, this model predicts the design space for which the beam will self-oscillate, as well as regimes for which contact is never achieved. Initial benchmarks of the model are encouraging. Introduction Efficient on-board power for MEMS devices will create an opportunity for a wide variety of applications. Previously suggested power sources include fossil fuels, fuel cells, chemical batteries, and solar energy, but nuclear power sources provide significant advantages for applications requiring long lives or high power density. Such sources have been extensively researched on fairly large scales [14], but application to the microscale is just beginning. One approach to harnessing radioisotope power for MEMS devices is to collect radiated charges across a capacitor. This is called a direct conversion nuclear battery [2]. Other options utilize the heat produced by radioactive decay, along with thermoelectric or thermionic devices to produce electricity. In this paper we demonstrate a novel direct conversion battery in which one of the electrodes is elastically deformable. Recently [5], feasibility and a preliminary model were presented. In this paper we present an analytical model that results in an elegant approach to understanding various areas of oscillator operation. Potential for Isotope-Powered MEMS devices Some typical isotopes that one would use in a nuclear powered MEMS device are presented in Table 1. Characteristics required for these applications include low range (to avoid passing through the device) and an absence of gamma emission (for safety reasons). The 210-Po isotope in this table is an alpha emitter, but all the others are beta emitters and none exhibit gamma emission. Power densities range from 0.006 to 137 W/g. The lifetime of these devices will depend on the half-life of the isotope, so one can easily get a battery which retains a substantial fraction of it's available power over decades. One way to assess the life of a power source is to compare the energy density, which integrates the power over the life (without recharging). A typical chemical battery has an energy density on the order of 1 kJ/g, while a typical nuclear battery will have contain well over 10,000 kJ/g. Hence, power sources fueled by radioisotopes are ideal for applications requiring high power density and a long life (without refueling). The experiments described below employ 63-Ni to power an oscillator. Isotope Average energy Half life Specific activity Specific Power Estimated Range in Cu (KeV) (year) (Ci/g) (W/g) (microns) 63-Ni 17.4 100.2 57 0.006 14 90-Sr 195.8 28.8 138 0.16 332 3-H 5.7 12.3 9664 32.5 3 210-Po 5304.3 0.38 4493 137 11 32-P 694.9 0.04 285700 1.18 1344 TABLE 1. Some candidate radioisotopes for MEMS applications. The first three columns are obtained from Reference 6. A Nuclear Powered Oscillating Actuator A novel application of radioisotope power at small scales is the realization of a self-reciprocating or oscillating actuator that can generate forces for microscale systems. The central idea behind this oscillator is to collect the charged particles emitted from the radioisotope by a cantilever. By charge conservation, the radioisotope thin film will have opposite charges left as it radiates electrons into the cantilever. Thus an electrostatic force will be generated between the cantilever and the radioisotope thin film. The resulting force attracts the cantilever toward the source. With a suitable initial distance the cantilever eventually reaches the radioisotope and the charges are neutralized via charge transfer. Although the exact mechanisms of charge transfer can be tunneling or direct contact, the time scale of the charge transfer is much shorter than the reciprocation cycle, allowing the details to be ignored for cantilever performance analysis. As the electrostatic force is removed, the spring force on the cantilever retracts it back to the original position and it begins to collect charges for the next cycle. Hence, the cantilever acts as a charge integrator allowing energy to be stored and converted into both mechanical and electrical forms. Based on this idea, a prototype cantilever device has been made and an analytical model is developed. A schematic of the device is shown in figure 2. Figure 2: Schematic of the oscillator Electromechanical Model A model has been developed to provide understanding of the behavior of this oscillator [5]. The radioisotope source is modeled as a current source. The cantilever/source gap is modeled as a time varying capacitor. A parasitic resistor is included to model possible leakage paths for the collected charge. Several physical mechanisms may contribute to this resistance. Both naturally occurring ions, and ions created by electronic collisions between emitted particles and gas molecules will constitute a current. Furthermore, secondary electrons emitted from the cantilever due to high-energy electron-substrate collisions may contribute to the leakage current with a polarity opposite to the emitted current. Charge conservation results in: 0 0 =       ∂ ∂ − − d V t A R V I ε α (1) where I is the total emitted current from the radioisotope, A is the area of the capacitor, R is the equivalent resistance, V is the voltage across the source and the cantilever, t is the time, d is the distance between the electrodes, and α is an empirical coefficient describing the portion of the total emitted current that gets collected by the cantilever. The first term is the emitted current; the second is the leakage current and the third is the displacement current. There are at least three reasons for imperfect charge collection (i.e., α < 1). First, the charged particles emitted from the source have an angular distribution and only the particles that fall in the solid angle formed by the intersection of the source and cantilever are collected. Second, some high energy particles can travel through the cantilever. Third, when secondary electrons are emitted from the cantilever, positive charges are left in the cantilever, reducing the net negative charges. The third term in equation1 is the displacement current of the capacitor. The electrical field E between the source and the cantilever has been approximated as uniform, i.e. E = V/d, because the angle of approach between the cantilever and the source is small allowing the approximation that an average gap d exists between the cantilever and the source. Assuming that the cantilever moves very slowly, an assumption that is verified by experiment, one can ignore the cantilever's inertia. In this quasi-static approximation, the spring force of the cantilever exactly balances the electrostatic attraction force acting on the cantilever. This can be written as: QE d d k = − ) ( 0 (2) where k is the spring constant, d0 is the initial distance, d is the distance between the cantilever and the source, Q is the total charges on the cantilever and E is the electric field. Assuming a uniform electric field, the capacitor can be modeled as a parallel plate capacitor C and the charge on it is: d AV CV Q 0 ε = = (3) Combining Equations 2 and 3 with the uniform electric field approximation gives:


With the development of this article, we intend to discuss the constitution of the deaf pedagogic subject from the convergence between community and school for the deaf. It's take a look at the subject object of pedagogy that has its construction also defined by the ways in which the deaf community falls within the school for the deaf. The following study was conducted using as research subjects deaf students and teachers of specific schools for the deaf in the cities of the Caxias do Sul/ RS, Porto Alegre/RS and Santa Maria/RS. To develop this text, was used analytical tools resulting from studies of post-structuralist strand depending on the convenience of this perspective when it sets the objective to understand the processes of production of truth and the constitution of subjects. It was possible to outline four key strategies that illustrate the investment by the community in shaping the political subject through the school: the need to maintain contact with deaf peers; the need for allocation of a geographic and temporal spatiality to the joint community; the intervention at an early age; and the presence of deaf people with successful personal and professional stories working in the school. Through the development of this article, it was possible to realize that the community understands the school as a possibility of maintenance of its operation and principles according to which the subject who is pedagogized in the school learns there to be political and to account for what the community wants.


Two novel, reusable phenanthridine linkers that use cerium ammonium nitrate as a cleavage reagent are described. These linkers are based on a disubstituted amide and are designed for the release of carboxylic acids but tolerate exposure to acidic, basic, and reductive reaction conditions. Application of these linkers to solid-phase organic synthesis affords products in excellent yields and high purities.