The study was conducted on 12 male buffalo calves administered with glycopyrrolate (0.01 mg/kg, i.m.) followed by acepromazine (0.04 mg/kg, i.m.), xylazine (0.04 mg/kg, i.m.) and thiopentone (5 mg/kg, 5%, i.v.) for general anaesthesia. Lowering of head was observed at 4.88±0.35 min after glycopyrrolate administration. The animals went into sternal recumbency at 1.22±0.07 min after thiopentone administration and then into lateral recumbence with eyes partially closed. Complete relaxation of muscles and analgesia were observed after thiopentone administration at 6.63±0.28 and 8.99±0.21 min, respectively, while palpebral and corneal reflexes were lost at 9.74±0.21 min and the return of head righting was observed at 41.41±2.78 min after thiopentone administration indicating the start of recovery period. Complete recovery took 68.77±1.20 min after thiopentone administration. Significant hyperglycaemia was observed (77.9±3.072 mg/dL) at 10 min of xylazine administration, which remained elevated throughout the period of observation. Sodium and potassium levels increased significantly at 10 min of xylazine administration and remained elevated till recovery, while other blood biochemical parameters showed no significant changes. The heart rate significantly increased after acepromazine administration. Mean arterial pressure, with an initial increase at 15 min of glycopyrrolate administration, decreased significantly immediately after thiopentone administration and remained lower throughout the period of observation. Central venous pressure increased after xylazine administration and remained high throughout the period of observation. The cardiovascular parameters remained within the normal limits. It was concluded that the combination may be used to anaesthetize the buffaloes, as there were minimal side effects with good anaesthesia.


Fossil‐rich sediments of the Santa Cruz Formation, Patagonia, Argentina, span the initiation of the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO), the most recent period of warm and wet conditions in the Cenozoic. These conditions drove the expansion of tropical and subtropical ecosystems to much higher latitudes, with the fossiliferous Santa Cruz Formation recording one of the southernmost examples. We collected new carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of herbivore tooth enamel from fossils ~17.4 to 16.4 Ma in age to investigate ecological and climatic changes across the initiation of the MCO. Enamel δ13C values are consistent with a C3‐dominated ecosystem with moderate precipitation and a mix of wooded and more open areas. Serially sampled teeth reveal little zoning in δ13C and δ18O values, suggesting little seasonal variation in water and plant isotope compositions or seasonal changes in diet. Carbon isotope‐based estimates of mean annual precipitation (MAP) are consistent with aridification, with MAP decreasing from ~1,000 ± 235 mm/yr at 17.4 Ma to ~525 ± 105 mm/yr at the start of the climatic optimum (~16.9 Ma). This decrease corresponds to increasing global temperatures, as indicated by marine proxy records, and was followed by a rebound to ~840 ± 270 mm/yr by ~16.4 Ma. In comparison to a modern mean annual temperature (MAT) in the region of ~8°C, oxygen isotopes indicate high MAT (at least 20°C) at the onset of the MCO at 16.9 Ma and a significant increase in MAT to ~25°C by 16.4 Ma.


Background:, Prosthodontic Rehabilitation for trismuspatients with extremelyrestricted mouth openings by using traditional methods represent a big challenge for prosthodontists. Intra oral scanning and digitalized three dimensional CAD,CAM technology have affordeddifferenttechniquesused in the construction of highly accurate virtual dentition casts. Aim: to improve the accuracy of aRPD framework by incorporating the digitalization technology, computer-aided design (CAD), and 3D printing. Materials and Methods: Multiple intraoral scans were used to reconstruct the virtual cast on which the authors planned the virtual RPD framework. Thenusing a 3D printing process, the titanium alloy framework was constructed, and the final RPD was fitted on the patient mouth. Conclusions: Digitalization technology, computer-aided design (CAD), and 3D printing andIntraoral scanning provided an accurate and effective method in the construction of a removable prosthesis for a trismus patient with severly restricted mouth opening.


Abstract : Biofouling, the accumulation of biological detritus on a hard substrate, has plagued the United Navy. Fouling causes increased hydrodynamic drag, resulting in increased fuel consumption and decreased speed and range. The purpose of this investigation was to research the formation of fouling, mechanisms of prevention, and tools for its removal. The Navy currently uses a copper-based antifouling coating that releases copper into the water, killing the fouling organisms. There is new research in biomimetic polymers that deter fouling, but are non-toxic. These polymers are rigidly attached to the hull surface extending their lifetime. Removal mechanisms have included water jets and abrasive brushes, yet no tool has concentrated on grooming the hull to remove the initial layer of microfouling. Removing the initial layer will deter the development of macrofouling, such as barnacles, which are more difficult to remove. The mechanisms that marine animals use to de-foul themselves were also examined and several concepts for a biomimetic hull-grooming tool were developed. These tools include novel brush designs; in addition, ultraviolet light was explored as another tool to remove microfouling.


The study explores, through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, the existence of Mode 2 knowledge and programmes in the South African higher education sector. It begins by theorising about knowledge and takes as a point of departure the propositions about theory-building which state that to explain social phenomena, a system of ideas is required, the conceptual tools of which are able to explain the essential dynamics of such phenomena. It goes on to describe a crisis in a system of ideas that, together with valid critiques, demands to be re-examined as well as the potential for advancing alternative lines of thought. A critical reading and understanding of existing theories leads me to believe that independently, they are all inadequate to explain the relationship between knowledge production and South African higher education in an era of globalisation. This includes the all-encompassing framework of neo-Marxism, the excessive consumerism of academic capitalism, the equation of the worker with modern technology in post-industrialism and the`lax relativity', complacent and, indiscriminate celebration of diversity in post-modernism. By combining the `culturally sensitive' critical post-modernism of William Tierney and George Subotzky with the concept of `late capitalism' as proposed by Frederic Jameson, it is possible to establish a relationship between globalisation and South African higher education on the one hand, and between its' policy and knowledge production on the other. Against the features of the newly proffered theoretical framework of `critical postmodernism in late capitalism', the study examines the new higher education policy and legislation and ensuing discourse, with particular reference to the Gibbons thesis. It then explores, by using an empirical investigation, the extent to which Mode 2 knowledge production exists in South African higher education. This is done through a selected programme from a former technikon in that demonstrates the key assumptions and perceptions about Mode 2 as held by lecturing staff and as embedded in the structure, design and content of the programme. With the results obtained the study finally makes recommendations for the establishment of a paradigm-shift and for new practices in knowledge production in higher education in South Africa.


Robot manipulators and mechanical arms have complicated behavior including interactions among multiple joints, nonlinear effects such as Coriolis and centrifugal forces, and varying inertia depending on the arm configuration. In this paper, a new approach to the geometrical representation of manipulator dynamics is presented. The inertia ellipsoid, which is used to represent dynamic characteristics of a single rigid body, is extended to a series of rigid bodies in order to represent the manipulator dynamics. The geometrical representation of the generalized inertia ellipsoid (GIE) represents the characteristics of the manipulator as a whole. One can understand the complicated inertia effect and nonlinearity of multi-degree-of-freedom motion by simply investigating the GIE configuration. In the latter half of the paper, the presented method is applied to aid the design of a mechanical arm, in which dimensions of an arm structure and its mass distribution are optimized through the evaluation and graphical representation of the arm dynamics. Keyword: manipulator dynamics, robot arm design, CAD, inertia tensor


Equipments random inventory management strategy and relevant factors include ordering cost, storage cost, average cost per unit time, probability of no shortage of spare parts, and decision models. Ensuring the randomness of demand and equipment replenishment ratio, with the target of minimum system cost, the dynamic storage model was set up. Meanwhile supposing the consumption is subject to poisson distribution, ordering postpone time as a constant, and single article in stock. Meanwhile supposing the consumption is subject to poisson distribution, ordering postpone time as a constant, and single article in stock. The simulation indicated that this model would optimize management and lower down the cost.


The comparative reflective properties of relevant road surfacing materials under conventional high pressure sodium (HPS) and prototype ceramic metal halide (CMH) lighting were assessed. The expected luminance distribution and small target visibility distribution were calculated for the full-scale street lighting trial carried out at TRL, UK and for the pilot study in Albi, France. The samples tested were taken from the site of the road trial at TRL and one of the roads in the trial at Albi. A sample of negatively textured thin surfacing was also included. A total of 308 measurements were made on the samples. The data showed that the CMH lamp spectrum, but not the HPS lamp spectrum, changed with orientation of the lamp axis with respect to the vertical. More of the light from the CMH lamp was measured in the shorter wavelengths when the lamp axis was vertical. The measurements demonstrated that this effect was responsible for the changes in spectrum seen in this experiment.


This study aims to reconfirm the outcome of a previous study that was conducted on the same target in an identical way to identify the effectiveness of a Treasure Talk coaching model after educating and training mothers and teachers how to interact effectively in order to develop the interaction techniques between teachers and mothers who are the most meaningful agents to children. Two research matters were established to accomplish the research purpose: first, confirming the education-training effect of Treasure Talk targeting early childhood teachers, and second, confirming those of targeting mothers of young children.. The study was conducted according to the following methods and procedures. The pre-post test by T verification was conducted using the CICAIO (Coaching Inventory of Child-Adult Interaction through Observation) as the standard way to confirm the effect of the education-training program with Treasure Talk that was used with 14 teachers and 16 mothers, and the reconfirmation of previous study has verified its effectiveness. The result shows that the education-training effect has been verified in both the group of teachers and mothers in the pre-questioned interaction and post-questioned interaction, so we reconfirm that this study has the same effect as the preceding study. Thus, it is concluded that utilizing the TREASURE Talk coaching model has versatility as an effective instrument in improving the interaction skills of teacher and mother in early childhood.


Purpose: To report a rare case of large vascularized astrocytoma on optic disc. Case Report: A 12-year-old boy with history of decreased vision in the left eye since 5-6 months ago was referred to the ocular oncology service at Rassoul Akram Hospital with provisional diagnosis of retinoblastoma. On examination, visual acuity was counting fingers at 50 cm, and a 3+ relative afferent pupillary defect response as well as an exodeviation was evident in the left eye. Fundus examination of the left eye revealed a large yellow-white mass with superficial vessels overhanging the optic disc. Right eye slit lamp exam and funduscopy were unremarkable. No clinical manifestation of tuberous sclerosis was found. Orbital CT scan, MRI and ultrasonography of the globe was done. Enucleation was performed because of the development of iris neovascularization and progressive enlargement of the tumor. Histologic exam confirmed the diagnosis of astrocytoma.


This paper shows how the OR technique of the Mean Path Theorem can lead to results that indicate the rate of change of a program structure. We have compared with other theoretical results and found that it is consistent with the same order of magnitude.


Cover: Co‐localization of MBD4 with Mlh1, UHRF1, and recruitment of USP7 at heterochromatic foci. See article by Meng et al. on pages 476–485.


In the processing of a digital image, automatic white balance (AWB) is used to reproduce color under alternative color temperature. This paper provides a method of AWB control using fuzzy logic from which we can see the advantage of fuzzy logic in digital image processing.


We study agents who distill the complex world around them using cognitive frames. We assume that agents share the same frame and analyze how the frame affects their collective performance. In one-s...


www.e-arms.org Ganglia occur in specific locations in the hand, wrist and foot. They are usually soft, solitary and asymptomatic, but cause pain and neurologic symptoms when developed near peripheral nerve region. It is the most common soft tissue tumor of the hand, representing approximately 50% to 70% of all upper extremity masses but the exact etiology of ganglion cysts remain obscure. The female to male ratio of ganglion in flexor tendon sheath has been reported as 2.6 to 1 and is predominant in females in their 30s and 40s' flexor tendon sheath between first annular (A1) and second annular (A2) pulleys of middle finger. The A1 pulley is known to be involved most commonly followed by A2 pulley and the area between A1 and A2 pulley is rarely involved. We report two cases of ganglia originated from the flexor tendon sheath in the area between A1 and A2 pulley and one case originated from Camper's chiasm. CASE REPORT


Implementation of 3D high frame rate (HFR) tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) typically requires a fully wired matrix probe. However, such probes remain impractical for use in a clinical setting. Therefore, clinical matrix arrays rely on sub-aperture (SAP) beamforming. This makes diverging wave (DW) imaging challenging as side- and grating-lobes arise from the simultaneous reconstruction of image lines with considerably different orientations. We have previously shown in computer simulations that these difficulties could be mitigated by using a sparse transmit sequence. The present study looked at the implementation of this sequence in a clinical system. 3D TDI was acquired in vivo at 610 vol/s and compared against conventional TDI (i.e. focused transmissions). The velocity curves obtained from both methods were similar (cross correlation = 0.90 ± 0.11) and the full left ventricle could be imaged at HFR in a single acquisition using the 3D DW sequence. Overall, this study supports the feasibility of HFR 3D TDI in a clinical system, despite the limitations of SAP beamforming.


A novel TDM approach has been incorporated with serrodyning to shift the frequency of an arbitrary carrier up to /spl plusmn/1 MHz with highest sideband suppression ever reported. This technique also realizes endless phase modulation.


Callisto at 0.24 lb AI/A applied PREE gave a similar level of control of prostrate pigweed as did Dual Magnum, Outlook, and Prowl. POST applications of Callisto at 0.188 lb AI/A were equivalent to the higher rate of 0.24 lb AI/A. Callisto, Distinct, and Clarity provided excellent POST control of pigweed. Callisto applied POST was the same as PREE followed by POST sequentially. Aim provided marginally acceptable control of pigweed.


AIM: To report an atypical and misdiagnosed case of optic neuritis in a young female. METHOD: 26 year healthy female was referred to the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Amritsar with the diagnosis of angle closure glaucoma both eyes. Patient was on 2% pilocarpine eye drops q.i.d and tablet acetazolamide 250 mg BD. On examination, visual acuity was 2/60 OD and 1/60 OS. Near vision was 6/36 OU. There was no circumcorneal congestion OU, no corneal edema OU, though anterior chamber was shallow OS >OD with pin pointed non-reacting pupil OU. IOP 14.6mm Hg OD and17.3mm Hg OS. Gonioscopically open angle grade 2. IOP and gonioscopy were repeated after pupil dilatation with tropicamide, findings were consistent with the previous ones. Fundoscopy showed bilateral disc edema with hyperemia and normal foveal reflex. Color vision was defective .Low vision prevented a conclusive perimetry. ONTT protocol was given, on the basis of decreased visual acuity, abnormal color vision, headache, disc changes, open angle and a normal MRI. Patient's vision improved to 6/6 OD 6/9 OS in thirteen days. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral optic neuritis is rare and an atypical presentation can be misdiagnosed as angle closure glaucoma in presence of severe headache, OU visual loss and shallow anterior chamber.


The article deals with the main theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis and definition of the city. It is highlighted that modern authors again and again draw attention to the need for a holistic approach to the phenomenon of the city and tend to multidisciplinary urban studies. In the Ukrainian philosophical thought, the beginning of this work is laid in the philosophy of the city by L. Radionova, who proposes "to build a city in the cultural space as a kind of ontological idea", in viewing the city as the world of human existence by M. Karpovets or presenting the idea of the city as its myth. At the present stage under the conditions of civilizational crises and collision of various cultural orientations unfolding in urban spaces, it becomes clear that the city is not only an arena for these processes, but sometimes also their condition, an active participant and, in the end, their consequence. There is a necessity to develop a theory of the city that could simultaneously comprehend the city as a dynamic cultural form in general and as specific processes that take place in urban environments. The article deals with the main theoretical and methodological approaches in urban studies. The focus is on new multidisciplinary approaches to the phenomenon of city. Such us the theory of the own logic of the cities according to the research team of Darmstadt University; and the SPACE (D) system that focuses on the city from the standpoint of sociology, politics, architecture, city culture, urban economics and city data.


A random sample of 1033 adults in an Australian community survey completed a form containing the abbreviated Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire together with an index of community involvement in a range of secular groups and church attendance. The data indicate that different personality characteristics are associated with church attendance on the one hand and with secular areas of community involvement on the other hand.


Copyright © 2014 by ASME. Waves in finite-depth and shallow water represent an important and challenging research topic, both from practical and academic perspective. Most of practical applications related to the ocean are conducted in coastal areas, but most of research attention has been dedicated to the surface waves in deep water. Shallow areas are effectively a different physical environment, where wave kinematics change, waves become steeper and consequently more nonlinear but less or non-dispersive, and as a result their nonlinear behaviors change dramatically, waves directly interact with the bottom, in a number of different ways, and most importantly release their energy and momentum through intensive and extensive breaking. In the paper, modulational instability in finite depths will be discussed. This mechanism is regarded responsible for rogue waves, and hence extreme wave heights in deep water. Extreme wave heights are a key design criterion for the ocean industry, including shallow environments too. It is believed, however, that wave breaking rather than wave instabilities is the primary mechanism that controls the maximum possible wave height in depth-limited environments. Here, data of the LoWish JIP will be used in order to identify the criteria for transition from modulational instability being active in the deep-water environments to being suppressed in the shallow waters.


Objective. The aim was to obtain the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with skin photoaiging and to know the received treatment and their therapeutic efficacy. Patients and methOd. We performed a descriptive, ambispective study in 109 with skin photoaiging, attended in the dermatology department of the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital between 2009 and December 2014. Were determined different epidemiological variables, such as: age, sex, skin phototype, civil state, schooling, occupation, toxic habits; the clinical characteristics of the lesions; and were evaluated the received treatments and their response. Results. The most frequents epidemiological characteristics of patients were feminine, older than 40 years old, married, workers, with


Types of pile construction are usually large public, industrial or apartment buildings. This type of building has, according to the periods of the year, great needs for heating or cooling, which are well suited at first glance to energy piles. Despite the growing number of energy geo-structures already operational, their design remains mainly based on recommendations. There are still no standards allowing a true geotechnical dimensioning; this deficiency is mainly attributable to the still limited knowledge of the thermomechanical behavior of this type of structures. Moreover, their impacts on soil and groundwater are not sufficiently studied. These issues will be investigated in this paper.


The clinically active functionalized flavonols (2-aryl/heteroaryl-3-acetoxy-4H-chromones) 5(a-g) were synthesized from Algar–Flynn–Oyamada transformation of chalcones (1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-ones) 4(a-g). Furthermore, oxovanadium metal complexes 6(a-g) of ligands 5(a-g) were synthesized and characterized by physical, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, 1H NMR, mass, UV-reflectance spectroscopy, magnetic moment susceptibility, thermal and analytical data. The functionalized flavonol acts as bidentate chelating ligand and coordinate with vanadium metal atom through hydroxyl and carbonyl groups. The complexes have general formula [MOL2] where M = vanadium, O = oxygen and L = ligand. The chelation process reduces the polarity of metal ion by coordinating with ligands, which increase the lipophilic nature of the metals. This lipophilic nature of the metal enhanced its penetration through the lipoid layer of cell membrane of the micro-organism. This constitutes a new group of compounds that can be used as potential metal derived drugs. Therefore, the synthesized compounds were screen for their antifungal activity against A. niger and C. albicans using the cup plate diffusion method, however antibacterial activities screen against pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli, S. aureus, B. subtilis and P. aeruginosa.


This paper provides an optimal sequential decision procedure for deciding between two composite hypotheses about the unknown failure rate of an exponential distribution, using censored data. The procedure has two components, a stopping time and a decision function. The optimal stopping time minimizes the expected total loss due to a wrong decision plus cost of observing the process. The optimal decision function is easily characterized once a stopping time has been specified. The main result determines the continuation region for the optimal decision procedure


Bone marrow and spleen cells from early, midstage, and terminal Rauscher leukemia virus (RLV‐A)‐infected erythroleukemic mice were assessed for granulocyte stem cell (CFU‐c) clonogenic capacity in the semisolid agar culture assay. It was found that marrow CFU‐c concentrations exceeded normal in early stages of this erythroid disease but returned to near normal values during mid‐ and terminal phases. Splenic CFU‐c concentrations, on the other hand, were generally higher than control values for all stages of the disease. These results are discussed with reference to the pathogenesis of RLV‐A disease.


Purpose: The mental health during the elementary school years is important to develop overall healthy behaviors and well adapt to society. So as to provide basic data for comprehensive health education programs, we investigated the state of mental health problems and health promotion behaviors among rural elementary school students, along with the relationship between the two factors. Methods: In total, 421 5th and 6th grade students were recruited to answer a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was composed of questions about general demographic characteristics, 4 items over mental health-interpersonal vulnerability, depression, anxiety, hostility-, and 5 items over health behaviors-general health habits, computer addiction, accident prevention, infection prevention, and mental health-. The participation rate was 96%(407/421). Results: 1) The mean and the standard deviation of mental health problems were as follows; interpersonal sensitivity 2.06±0.70, hostility 1.88±0.73, depression 1.74±0.69, anxiety 1.72±0.66. 2) The mean and the standard deviation of health-promoting behaviors were as follows; prevention of infectious diseases 3.37±0.47, hygiene and daily-life habit 3.09±0.41, mental health 2.81±0.51, accident prevention 2.79±0.57, computer usage and health 2.61±0.56. 3) Students with high academic performance, good relationships with friends and teachers, high household economic status, and good family relation, showed higher scores in health-promoting behaviors. 4) Higher scores in mental health problems were significantly correlated with lower scores in health-promoting behaviors. Conclusion: In developing comprehensive school health programs, it is necessary to find ways to improve both health promoting behaviors and mental health problems.


Introduction:
 Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in the setting of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF) is further characterized as isolated post-capillary PH (IpcPH) or combined pre- & post-capillary PH (CpcPH). This is distinguished by pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) cut-off of 3 WU. Prior definitions used a diastolic pulmonary gradient (DPG) cut-off of 7mmHg to distinguish PH subtype. Studies have examined echocardiographic right ventricular outflow tract Doppler notching (RVOT-notch) as a correlate for pulmonary vascular disease, though its role in distinguishing PH-HFpEF subtype by current vs. prior definition has never been described.

 Hypothesis:
 Our study explores the ability of RVOT-notch to distinguish CpcPH from IpcPH in patients with PH-HFpEF, in the context of current PVR & prior DPG cutpoints.

 Methods:
 We retrospectively reviewed patients with PH-HFpEF referred to our PH program who underwent right heart catheterization and echo (later reviewed independently by blinded cardiologists to assess RVOT-notch).

 Results:
 86 patients with PH-HFpEF were reviewed with a mean age of 66 and female predominance. Patients with RVOT-notch had signs of worsening right heart function both via echocardiography (higher estimated PASP, more severe TR, lower TAPSE) & hemodynamically (higher DPG, higher PVR, and lower pulmonary arterial compliance). RVOT-notch was able to distinguish CpcPH from IpcPH, with current PVR cut-off ≥3 WU (sensitivity 91%, specificity 68%, PPV 76%, NPV 88%) and prior DPG cut-off ≥7mmHg (sensitivity of 94%, specificity 58%, PPV 57%, NPV 94%).

 Conclusions:
 In PH-HFpEF, RVOT-notch is a sensitive marker of CpcPH, and notably better reflects the current PVR-based definition (PVR≥3) with better specificity than prior DPG-based definition. This could have implications as non-invasive screening for CpcPH in patients with PH-HFpEF. Further work is needed to validate this marker in larger cohorts.


Corporate boards perform better when they include the best people who come from a range of perspectives and backgrounds. The boardroom is where strategic decisions are made, governance applied and risk overseen. It is therefore imperative that boards are made up of competent high caliber individuals who together offer a mix of skills, experiences and backgrounds. Board appointments must always be made on merit, with the best qualified person getting the job. But, given the long record of women achieving the highest qualifications and leadership positions in many walks of life, the poor representation of women on boards, relative to their male counterparts, has raised questions about whether board recruitment is in practice based on skills, experience and performance. This paper reviews the issues relating to this imbalance. It is high time that corporate boards recognize that gender diversity is a business imperative and a critical element in sustaining successful enterprises. Increasing the number of women in leadership positions has to be a priority, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is essential to building a high performance organization. Corporate India's leading companies by 1st April 2015 were required to add women directors to the board, otherwise the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) would serve them with "very serious" consequences. Last year, SEBI imposed a quota of 1 female director for every listed firm's board. The deadline was extended, yet hundreds of firms, including several large state-owned companies, still fall short of the requirement.


Background: Headache is a common clinical entity seen among pediatric patients in routine clinical practice. The pressure of two opposing mucosa in the nasal cavity even in the absence of inflammation can be a cause of headache, which is called a rhinogenic contact point headache. Anatomical variations of the nose such as rhinogenic contact point headache may result in headache due to the contact of the nasal mucosa which often missed during the evaluation of the pediatric patients. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the rhinogenic contact point headache in the pediatric age group. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study and 112 children with rhinogenic contact point headache enrolled in this study. This study conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital during September 2018–October 2021. The anatomical variations of the nose were evaluated with help of diagnostic nasal endoscopy and computed tomography (CT) scan. These anatomical variations in rhinogenic contact point headache were treated surgically. Results: Out of 112 children with rhinogenic contact point headache, 31 (27.67%) had deviated nasal septum, 28 (25%) had septal spur, 20 (17.85%) middle turbinate concha bullosa, 11 (9.82%) enlarged ethmoidal bullosa, 11 (9.82%) had hypertrophied inferior turbinate, 7 (6.25%) had hypertrophied super turbinate, and 4 (3.57%) had nasal septal bullosa. Treatment of each child with rhinogenic contact point was personalized for every patient. Conclusion: Headache is a common clinical symptom and is nearly universal in the life of a child. The contact between opposing mucosa in the nasal cavity in the absence of inflammation can result in headache and/or facial pain in the pediatric age group. Endoscopic excision of the contact points of nasal cavity is effective for the treatment of rhinogenic contact point headaches.


The oil and gas industry belongs to the high risk activity. Today, the enterprises engaged in this field including oil and gas production facilities implement a risk-based approach, which involves the identification of risk criteria and risk categories, timely reassessment of risks based on updated and formed normative legal documents. In this regard, the purpose of this research is the analysis of the management system of occupational hazards and measures to minimize them using innovations and innovative solutions at the oil and gas production facilities in the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation. The object of the study is working conditions and occupational hazards at the oil and gas production facilities of two leading oil companies of the Irkutsk region: they are the Irkutsk branch of Gazprom Bureniye LLC and the Irkutsk branch of RN-Bureniye LLC. As a result possible reasons for the discrepancy between the physical factors of the working environment of oil industry workers when pеrforming works on oil rigs are analyzed. Professional risks having been assessed, a register of high-risk professions and hazardous areas of technological processes under the operation of oil and gas drilling rigs has been compiled. The professions studied in this paper are classified as high-risk and medium-risk ones. It is found out that the negative effects of moving machines and mechanisms, general vibration, local vibration, noise, low air temperatures in winter are unacceptable. To minimize unacceptable risks, it is proposed to introduce a low-cost technology for visualizing hazardous areas on a drilling rig with the installation of proven innovative safety barriers in addition to the related training of employees.


An array substrate for a liquid crystal display device according to the invention, the transverse direction a plurality of gate lines, a region and a plurality of data lines formed in a longitudinal direction to intersect with the gate lines and the vertical, in which the gate lines and data lines are overlapped is formed by a semiconductor layer between and formed therefrom are given portion projecting to the gate lines above and a is a predetermined distance away from the data line drain electrode formed to be overlapped the semiconductor layer portion and the amount of the drain electrode tip and is connected to the electrically It is characterized in that comprises a pixel electrode of the pair. Thus, according as the present invention, the stitch and / or as an overlay defect removing the difference of the parasitic capacitance formed in the thin film transfection indicated emitter area of each pixel region, and minimize dirt related quality defect of the liquid crystal display device, and a large area it produces as a liquid crystal display device has an advantage to overcome the stitches and / or overlay failure without further new process.


Friedrich Ludwig's appointment in medieval music at the University of Straßburg came at a crucial time for German musicology, then a new discipline in a flourishing academic environment. Upon entering his post at Straßburg in the autumn of 1905, Ludwig delivered a formal lecture, here translated, in which he outlined the goals for twentieth-century medieval musicology. While many of these goals, in particular the editing of certain theorists and late medieval repertories, have been achieved, other directions implied in Ludwig's synthetic approach have received less attention. Ludwig's own musicology was a creative combination of forces: on the one hand, a reaction to earlier French scholarship in archaeology and philology; on the other, a borrowing of recent German trends in historiography, philosophy and music. Most notable is the influence of Ranke and Hegel on Ludwig's then new concept of latent rhythm (i.e., 'modal rhythm') in medieval music. A century of scholarship later, Ludwig's vision for musicology as an innovative interdisciplinary conjunction has much to teach us.


AbstractBending test of seven reinforced concrete beams are modeled in finite element program to validate the modeling strategies by comparing the structural response of the beams. Three beams in the set are pre-damaged and strengthened with fiber reinforced composites before the bending tests. Cracks are implemented into the model by inserting geometrical discontinuities to represent the pre-damaged beams. Parametric variables such as crack width, length and interval are chosen to simulate different pre-damage levels. Once the proposed modeling strategies are validated by real experimental tests then 196 finite element models are created to study the effects of pre-damage levels on the moment capacity of reinforced concrete beams repaired with CFRP. Results indicate that inclusion of pre-damage levels by means of cracks into the cross sections have significant effect on beams moment capacity.


The problem of approximating the ideal normalized amplitude response of a low-pass filter by the use of a set of ultraspherical polynomials is considered. The amplitude response obtained is more general than the analogous response of the Chebyshev filter because of an additional parameter available with the ultraspherical polynomials. It is shown that this additional parameter may be used to obtain a response having either less ripple or sharper cutoff than the Chebyshev response. The ultraspherical polynomial filter is shown to include as special cases the Chebyshev filter, the Butterworth filter, and a filter recently developed utilizing modified Legendre polynomials.


This first issue of the second volume of the Corpus Basilicarum departs from the older plan. It consists of a single very full and detailed account of the church of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura. This detail has been made possible largely through the extensive investigations carried out in and near the church in the course of repairs rendered necessary by reason of the damage sustained during the war. The report follows the usual lines of the accounts in the first volume of the Corpus; it is lavishly illustrated with plans, drawings, photographs and reproductions. The photographs, interspersed among the text, are generally poor. The text is clear, though there are occasional infelicities of language, e.g. ' strong ' for wide and ' dado ' for base. A few errors have also been noted; they are usually obvious and should not mislead the careful reader, e.g. the misplaced compass point O(uest) for E(st) on pi. 11. S. Lorenzo stands in the middle of an important cemetery, which has been investigated over a long period. The Christian cult centre grew up round the tomb of St. Lawrence, whose martyrdom under Valerian and burial in the Agro Verano are recorded in the Liber Pontificalis. The fourth century saw the erection near the tomb (and now within the modern cemetery) of a great aisled basilica (basilica motor). The eastern part of the present church dates from the time of Pelagius II (579-90) while the western part was added by Honorius III (1216-27). Between these dates it is possible to follow the development and systematization of the structures providing access to the tombs in the area behind the sixth-century apse, which was later covered by the western basilica. These detailed surveys, rendered possible by soundings both below the floor and behind the later wall coverings, make S. Lorenzo one of the key sites for Christian archaeology; there the whole development of the martyr-cult can be followed on one of the major Roman sites. The identification of the basilica maior lying south of the church, within the modern cemetery, is an important discovery. It belongs to a type which has recently been attracting attention. Beside the classic instance at S. Sebastiano on the Via Appia, an important structure of this kind has recently been explored and published at SS. Pietro and Marcellino, by Tor Pignattara (Jahrbuch des deutschen archiiologischen Instituts LXXII (1956)). In Rome these buildings lie extra moenia alongside churches raised in honour of the martyrs. They seem to have been connected with the cult, probably the celebration of the dies natalis, and their floor area appears to have been extensively used for the tombs of those who sought burial alongside the saint. At S. Lorenzo the contemporary systematization of the martyrion within the area of the present church was on an elaborate scale ; the details here published afford the means of a better appreciation of these structures. The sixth-century basilica falls into a recognized group with Sant' Agnese and Santi Nereo ed Achilleo ; it is marked out by the prominence and importance of the chapel retro sanctos, which can be properly appreciated in the light of the recent discoveries. This same feature received a further development in the eighth or ninth century ; the authors aptly compare this stage with the post-absidal, semi-subterranean chapels of the Carolingian Empire, such as that at St. Riquier.


This essay draws upon the recent work of Alenka Zupančič and Slavoj Žižek to explore Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's Enigma Variations. The play gives acute expression to their "Lacanian" mode of comedy, staging a "traversal of the fantasy" that gestures toward new modes of configuring the sublime and confronting the Real.


Data-driven models used for predictive classification and regression tasks are commonly computed using floating point arithmetic preserving accuracy by automatic scaling even in high non-linear functions. With respect to distributed sensor networks like the IoT, sensor data is acquired on low-resource embedded systems and delivered to data servers characterized by big data volumes. In specific use cases and domains, local predictive modelling on low-power devices is desired or required. But heterogeneity of host platforms and dynamic programming disables machine code deployment. This work addresses Tiny ML on very low-resource devices (microcontrollers, less than 32 kB RAM and ROM) by using a stack-based Tiny Virtual Machine providing core ML operations to implement Decision Trees (DT), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). VM program code is always provided in textual format and compiled just-in-time to Bytecode to ensure portability, servicability, and mobility. Two damage diagnostics use-cases demonstrate the suitability of the VM approach, and even time consuming computational tasks do not compromise the overall responsiveness of the platform by using a real-time approach. This work addresses the underlying integer arithmetic operations required to implement efficient and fast computable ML models on microncontrollers.


Cloud computing is the solution for e-leering and social learning in Higher education.To provide these needs, this study identified the factors support for cloud computing adoption in Malaysian and Jordan Universities. In the cross-sectional study, respondents from297 out of 1329 for Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia and 175 out of 323 for Al-Zaytoonah University, Jordan. The objective of this study is to check the main effect and tested the technology, organization and environmental (TOE) factors toward cloud computing adoption in universities. The results show significant support for major effects based on the theory of the TOE theory. The results also show the buffered impact of technology, organization and environmental on cloud computing adoption with institution influence as mediator between them and predicted the level of the adoption increase in universities. Useful recommendations and future research direction.


In Technological Man (1969), Victor Ferkiss concluded that a new human type capable of using technology for humanistic purposes was not only desperately needed, but could be realized. In his new book, he undertakes a very ambitious, but welcome, effort to delineate the foundations for a political philosophy that he believes is needed for the construction of a social order based on a new world outlook that he terms "ecological humanism." Ferkiss agrees with those that see mankind threatened. In general, he accepts that critique of American society which sees it permeated with alienation, mechanization, and bureaucratization. The enemy against whom Ferkiss wields his theoretic lance is none other than Liberalism (chapters 1-6). The failure of liberalism lies in its ideology, the Lockean heritage of possessive individualism, and its rampant self-centered aggrandizement. Locke's teaching "bestowed on us a ravaged continent and a disordered society, and threatens us with the loss of our humanity in enslavement to technology" (p. 31). Modification or reform of liberalism, whether masquerading under the form of state capitalism, monopoly capitalism, or interestgroup liberalism, will not work. Ferkiss sees little hope in conservatism and socialism, for the alternatives which they offer, he concludes, lead to similar dead ends. Ferkiss' attack on liberalism provides an impressive synthesis of the increasingly large literature on this topic. Granted, much of his criticism is valid, yet the problems that he points to are common to all industrialized societies, east and west. A major part of our problems may stem from the fact that the very foundations of our modern, technological-scientific world order are intrinsically poweroriented. The drive for power and dominion over nature (and over other people)—part and parcel of the modern outlook—owes as much to Descartes and Bacon as it does to Locke and Hobbes. Ferkiss appears to be setting up a straw man, and in doing so he fails to come to grips with the inner logic of the technological society that has emerged. It is the dynamic, if not demonic qualities of parts of the technological society that Ferkiss will not confront. This is understandable, since he is such an outspoken believer in the positive attributes of technology.


This document addresses the need to establish a reasonable methodology for establishing alarm points for electronic dosimetry used by the Hanford Fire Department (HFD) for emergency response in radiological facilities.


An important issue in the design of stereo vision, which is a necessity for robotic perception in three dimensions, is rapid determination of corresponding points in two shifted images. In this paper, we propose a method for identifying equivalent points on such images based on the computation of sums of absolute differences (SAD). Because the use of this method to identify such equivalent points can result in a rapidly increasing number of SAD computation cycles, reducing the number of these computations becomes an important issue. In this paper we propose a recursive algorithm for SAD computations that takes into account the existence of intermediate results that are common to several SAD operations. Our algorithm not only reduces the amount of computation, but also is suitable for VLSI implementation due to its regularity and ease of parallelization. Using this algorithm, we have reduced the amount of computation to 1.2% of the amount required when recursive computation is not used. In addition, we propose an allocation architecture based on scheduling that minimizes the memory capacity required for the intermediate results by minimizing the interconnections between computers. Our analysis reveals that performance levels 5000 times higher than the levels for special-use processors are achievable. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 87(12): 19–27, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.10191


This paper aims to investigate the most frequently used keywords in pet's café and regular cafe to identify the linguistics discrepancies between the reviews in the two cafes. A self- created corpora of pet's café and regular café's reviews were collected from TripAdvisor and google map and used as the main data to compare the linguistic features in each corpus. The analysis was conducted by using AntConc 3.5.9 for Windows (64-bit) to compare the keywords and concordance lines of notable keywords. A comparison of the keyword analysis indicates that the big discrepancies between the two corpora is the use of second- and third-persons pronouns  in pet café review and the use of the first-person pronouns in regular café review. This pronouns choice suggests that in pet café, the writers adopt customers and product- based review, whereas in regular café, the writer tend to focus their reviews on author-based review. Another notable finding is the absence of Wi-fi in pet café review and the absence of adverb and preposition in regular café. Despite the difference, the reviews in both cafés are heavily dominated by the use of verbs, nouns, and only small number of adjectives found in each corpus.


Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs in the mucosa of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses and is regulated by a variety of immune cells and immune factors. As a newly discovered inflammatory factor in recent years, interleukin-27 (IL-27) has special immunoregulatory function and plays a role in infectious diseases, immune diseases and tumors. IL-27 promotes and/or inhibits cellular differentiation of regulatory T cells (Treg) and helper T cells (Th), thus exhibiting dual pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects. This article reviews the biological characteristics of IL-27 and its role in CRS


One kind of liver-benefiting health food composite is disclosed. It is prepared with glossy ganoderma, haw, polygala root, aloe, wolfberry fruit and other 16 kinds of herbal medicinal materials. It has excellent liver function promoting effect and is safe to body.


In the last few lectures, we've introduced the postulates of quantum mechanics, and studied them in some depth in the contexts of entanglement detection and non-local games. We now switch to the topic of quantum algorithms, i.e. algorithms harnessing the four postulates of quantum mechanics. We begin with a very simple quantum algorithm due to David Deutsch, which is by no means new (it was discovered in 1985), nor does it tackle a particularly important problem (in fact, the problem is quite artificial). Nevertheless, Deutsch's algorithm serves as an excellent proof of concept that, in certain settings, quantum computers are strictly more powerful than classical ones.


But we shall return to O'Leary's teachers later. O'Leary discusses histological changes in the human brain; he states that histologically demonstrable damage must represent the end result of aging in the nervous system, since usual histological methods are too insensitive to reveal fine changes. For research on aging of nervous tissue to proceed apace with that of other organs "it is imperative that data be acquired by animal experimentation demonstrating effects upon electrical activity and upon the chemical substrate". Dealing with psychiatric aspects, O'Leary refers to work by S. Granick on the psychology of senility. Granick found that in subjects over forty years of age there was a progressive decline in overall test performance as related to increasing age. However, where speed of response was not a factor older adults did as well as younger ones. Granick found that memory functioning, efficiency of performance and tasks involving the relinquishing of old habits were difficult for old people. At the same time he admitted that healthy old adults are capable of making significant contributions to "cultural, industrial and social institutions". History, of course, is full of examples of this. O'Leary has a wordy way of expressing his ideas. He writes: "With increasing age the individual survives his intimates. Thus interpersonal contacts become progressively impoverished, and free social relationships are not established readily with younger replacements."


The dependence of the superconducting transition temperature in GdBa2Cu3O6+δ single crystals on the magnetic field H applied parallel to the intercrystalline layers is studied experimentally. A nontrivial dependence of the superconducting transition temperature on the field H is explained by magnetic field penetration into high-Tc single crystals. The presence of a layered structure leads to the formation of a spatially periodic magnetic structure with a period varying discretely in fields H≫Hc1 (Hc1 is the lower critical field). Any change in the magnetic structure results in a nonmonotonic (jumpwise) dependence of the superconducting transition temperature on the field H. The effect is estimated numerically by using the results of calculation of the critical temperature of small samples in strong magnetic fields.


The key role of choral music in music education is emphasised, highlighting the main features of a good choir. Elements of a comprehensive development program at the national and regional level are discussed, with examples of implementations of such programs in New Zealand.


Range dependent clutter suppression is a challenging problem in airborne frequency diverse array (FDA) radar due to the appearance of range ambiguity. In this paper, we develop a novel space-time-range adaptive processing filter for clutter suppression using co-pulsing FDA radar, where co-prime frequency offsets (FOs) applied across the elements of a co- prime array and each element transmits at a non-uniform co-prime pulse repetition interval (C-Cube). Taking advantage of the large aperture and increased degrees-of-freedom (DoFs) provided by three-dimensional co-prime structure, our proposed method provides good clutter suppression potential with low cost, compared to the uniform counterparts. Simulations results show the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed filters.


Abstract A systematic study of chiral adducts derived from amines as catalysts for aldol reaction revealed that enantioselective outcome depends on the chiral enamine intermediate and not the face-selective activation of aldehyde. A simple addition compound of proline and 8-hydroxy quinoline was found to be a good catalyst. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® for the following free supplemental resource(s): Full experimental and spectral details.] GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


We investigate how the use of quantitative along with qualitative variables may improve the evaluation of the creditworthiness of micro, small and medium firms. We harden qualitative variables in order to assign ratings to borrowers. The survey covered a sample of about 17 thousand Italian companies observed during the financial crisis. Soft facts are determined within the balanced scorecard framework in order to find out the explanatory power of customers, business processes, learning and growth, and financial perspectives. The purpose to use such a variables is to estimate the resilience of firms during a crisis period, from the bank's perspective. Our findings show that credit risk models integrating soft variables optimize the bankruptcy prediction


Low language and communication skills on students with deaf have an impact on their lack of confidence and lack of learning experience. The existence of peers in the learning environment is supposed to be a means of developing self-confidence of deaf students. The objective of the research is to measure the data of application of the use of peer teaching method in improving self-confidence of deaf students. This research was conducted on students of class XI SMPLB-B with seven sample people. The study used a quantitative experimental approach with the One-Group Pre-test Post-test design. The results showed an increase of confidence by 19.04%. In the hypothesis test obtained J_count> J_table (28> 2) then the null hypothesis (H0) rejected. This means that the method of peer teaching can increase students' confidence in the class XI SMPLB-B. Through the peer teaching method, the self-esteem, optimistic, objective, responsible, rational, and realistic beliefs that exist on the deaf students are increasing. Aspects of self-confidence on the deaf students develop in learning situations involving the acceptance of peers. Peer participation that has higher thinking ability and better communication, makes learning process more dynamic and deaf students can understand learning materials more quickly. Giving reinforcement and reward by teachers will reconstruct and reinforce a meaningful learning experience for deaf students. Teachers must understand and allow the deaf students to use language they agree upon without having to fixate on one of the language systems they do not understand. Teachers can also use all communication mediums i.e. speak, signal and write simultaneously (total communication).


Birdsong et al. (2010) found that acute exposure to ATP potentiated ASIC evoked currents from dorsal root ganglion cells innervating muscles of rats. This finding prompted us to determine whether the results seen in vitro would translate to an in vivo preparation. We measured the pressor and cardioaccelerator responses to injecting lactic acid (24mM; 0.4mL), an ASIC agonist, into the femoral artery of decerebrated rats with either freely perfused hindlimbs (n=6) or hindlimbs whose femoral artery was ligated (n=5). This was done both before and after injecting ATPγS (200μg/kg). In freely perfused rats, the pressor response to lactic acid after ATPγS was not different from that to lactic acid before ATPγS (15±2 vs. 14±2 mmHg; p>0.05). The cardioaccelerator response to lactic acid after ATPγS was modestly greater than that evoked by lactic acid before ATPγS (3±1 vs. −2±1 bpm; p<0.05). In ligated rats, the pressor response to lactic acid was greater after ATPγS than before, although the increase was not significant (28±6 vs. 21±4 mmHg; p=0.11). The cardioaccelerator response to lactic acid after ATPγS was not significantly different from that evoked by lactic acid before ATPγS (1±2 vs. 2±2 bpm; p>0.05). We conclude that ATPγS does not potentiate the muscle chemoreflex response to lactic acid but may do so in rats with ligated femoral arteries. Supported by NIH RO1‐HL030710 and P01 HL096570.


Research Background: Featuring motion-captured 3D animation broadcast via a virtual camera, and accompanied by live music and vocal performance, The She's Not There performance project challenged established relationships between music, animation and live performance. The project asserts that the demand for cinematic novelty has little changed since the vaudevillian tricks of earliest animation, and later, the first pairings of live music with animated image.
Research Contribution: VR, motion capture, and virtual cinematography are cutting-edge filmmaking and games-production tools. It is imperative that a new cinematic language is developed that both exploit these new technologies and meet the demands of modern filmmaking production. Employing these tools in the She's Not There project provided a means to apply them in innovative ways and explore the visual results, so that the findings could be disseminated to modern filmmakers.
Virtual cameras are primarily used as a pre-visualisation tool in animation and film pre-production. For the She's Not There project however, it was used in a completely unique way: to 'film' a pre-rendered animated performance for presentation alongside a live orchestra.
Research Significance: The She's Not There project played to an audience of over 100 film school educators of the CILECT congress in Brisbane, Australia, November 20, 2016 as opening performance. Unsolicited audience feedback indicated a successful presentation that met the objectives of novelty and intrigue. Presented in collaboration with staff and students from QLD Conservatorium Griffith University under internationally acclaimed composer and orchestrator Mr Cameron Patrick, and featuring high profile performance artist Christine Johnston, the project showcased the University's prowess in the pioneering of new forms of cinema.


Hypocalcemia is a common complication after total thyroidectomy that results from inadvertent exeresis or devascularization of the parathyroids glands during surgery. Being able to predict patients at risk of postoperative hypocalcemia allows surgeons to prevent symptoms and adequate calcium supplementation. Stratification of patients at risk also prevents from unnecessary treatment and enables early hospital discharge in selected cases. Postoperative intact parathormone (iPTH) has been widely assessed as a reliable predictor of postoperative hypocalcemia; despite the variability that involves most protocols regarding timing and cut-off values, most of them agree that PTH has a high sensibility to predict patients in risk of postoperative hypocalcemia. The aim of this short review is to up-date knowledge in this issue. It seems that only one measurement is sensible enough to predict those patients in risk of hypocalcemia. Timing of dosage is still controversial but many authors agree that 4 to 6 hours is highly sensible. Besides, threshold levels are also a contentious issue but most publications consider that patients with normal PTH levels are unlikely to progress into risky hypocalcemia. Health costs could also be improved by using PTH assays, as patients could be discharged earlier and calcium supplementation optimized.


mplementing process pedagogy in an L2 writing classroom has its own limits for students with low English proficiency. Although L1 writers commonly benefit from writing multiple drafts, most of the low English level Korean college students in my English composition class did not benefit from the revisions. This article introduces an innovative technique, which combines the two dichotomous approaches�process and product�through the use of grammar-translation in a reflective and collaborative environment. It discusses how using their previous learning approach�based on the grammar-translation method�helped the students to recognize the importance of accuracy for successful written communication and to raise awareness of the audience. It also discusses how this approach has revealed the fact that students� first language use in a second language writing classroom can be a positive tool for improving their writing proficiency and helping them realize the importance of seeing their own writing more objectively.


ABSTRACT The Common Core State Standards have placed more emphasis on the close reading of all texts, and have made a point of increasing the use of nonfiction in secondary English classrooms. In this article, the author describes an approach for implementing close reading of literary nonfiction. The approach comes from a small-scale classroom-based research study that revealed statistically significant gains on the subtest measuring analysis of literature. After defining close reading and discussing how and why instructional methods differ, based on elements of analysis within fiction and nonfiction, the author describes the close reading approach using student samples. The approach described in detail is a three-column journal used for guiding students in the close reading of literary nonfiction.


This manuscript introduces a symmetrical gripping mechanism, a significant piece of robotic equipment, adept at adjusting to the variable dimensions of disparate objects within an extensive range. The innovative mechanism presented in this treatise has dual degrees of freedom (DOF), and its parameters can be customized to satisfy diverse requirements. Symbolic computation is employed to dissect both the forward and inverse kinematics of the mechanism. Furthermore, the requisite driving force of the mechanism, when paired with parameterized objects, is discussed. Ultimately, a methodology is suggested for discerning the mechanism's parameters in relation to variously grasped widths and forces. The article concludes with the introduction of a prototype construction process. Experimental results substantiate the effectiveness and functionality of the proposed mechanism.


Orogenic gold deposits are the focus of attention of many tectonic and mineral geologists. Groves et al. (1998) and Goldfarb et al's (2001) studies, based on the crustal continuum model for late-Archaean lode-gold deposits (Groves, 1993), are marked by involvement of large-amount of new data and consideration for many factors. However, many current studies failed to notice certain macroscopic disparities between Archaean and Phanerozoic geological entities rationally and understand global gold occurrences and some tectonic settings properly. The Phanerozoic, identified by far too limited igneous activity, lacks the "hypozonal" type of and any other higher-grade metamorphic rock-hosted gold deposits in a low-grade metamorphic rock-hosted gold camp, whereas the Archaean is likewise devoid of low-grade metamorphic rock-hosted gold deposits in a greenstone belt. The gold deposits in the margin of the North China Block (NCB) are primarily of Jurassic-Cretaceous age, notably younger than the Late Palaeozoic Greater Hinggan (on the north of NCB) and Triassic Qinling-Dabieshan (on the south of NCB) orogens. Those gold deposits, mostly hosted by Archaean intermediate-high grade metamorphic rocks and Late Mesozoic granitoids, are basically ascribed to the giant magmatic arc along the Eurasian Margin, which is Yanshanian in age (Jurassic-Cretaceous) and nearly N-S orientated. Eastern China appears to differ from the North America Cordillera in the Late Mesozoic interval as to being further from the subduction zone, lacking ophiolitic complexes and large-scale metamorphism, having numerous basins and thinning in the crust, suggesting that the magmatic arc was probably formed in a back arc basin-like extensional setting. Further clarifying the connection of Phanerozoic gold deposits to relevant orogens may be the key to understanding orogenic gold deposits throughout the geological age.


Abstract Erdős and Niven proved that for any positive integers m and d, there are only finitely many positive integers n for which one or more of the elementary symmetric functions of 1/m, 1/(m + d), . . . , 1/(m + nd) are integers. In this paper, we show that if n ≥ 2, then none of the elementary symmetric functions of 1, 1/3, . . . , 1/(2n − 1) is an integer


Bayesian hierarchical models represent an untapped method for combining scientific information and observational data for the reconstruction of geophysical fields. Here I review an example of such a model presented by Berliner et al. in "Bayesian hierarchical modeling of air-sea interaction" [1]. This article provides an informative example of how traditional Bayesian hierarchical modeling can be extended to include scientific first-principles information, and demonstrates the potential of this "physical-statistical" approach as a reconstructive tool. In addition, the shortcomings of the results highlight the fact that model parsimony and computational efficiency both represent trade-offs for an optimal estimation of ones target.


Vascularized composite allografts consists of skin, muscle, bone, and other tissues, and is more immunogenic than solid-organ allografts. Our laboratory developed a murine model to study mechanisms of vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) rejection. A limb from a donor C57BL/6 (syngeneic) or BALB/c mouse (allogeneic) is placed in the cervical region of a recipient C57BL/6mouse, and the donor's femoral artery and vein are anastomosed to the recipient's common carotid artery and jugular vein. Survival rate is >90% for syngeneic transplant recipients and 66.7% for recipients of allogeneic transplants (n = 12). The skin ismonitored daily for hair loss, discoloration, and dryness. Syngeneic grafts were monitored for >100 days and showed no evidence of rejection. In the allogeneic group, rejection was evident on day 3 posttransplant and severe rejection occurred by day 5. Histology showed leukocyte infiltration on day 3 (n=2) and total loss of tissue architecture on day 5 (n=3). We utilized the high dimensional capacity of Mass Cytometry (Cytometry by Time of Flight; CyTOF) for unsupervised analysis of VCA immunity and designed a panel of surface and intracellular markers for the identification and characterization of leukocyte populations in the spleen and lymph nodes. We observed a higher proportion of TNFαCD44CD62L CD8T-cells and CD11cCD11bNK1.1 NK cells in the allogeneic group as compared to control. To develop strategies to promote VCA prolongation, C57BL/6 mice were treated with donor BALB/c plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) intravenously 7 days prior to VCA. pDCs are a subset of dendritic cells that we and others have shown to prolong murine allograft survival. pDCtreated mice exhibited a delayed-rejection phenotype, showing little to no hair-loss and discoloration of the graft on day 5 post-transplant. Histology showed less leukocyte infiltration and tissue damage than the VCA untreated groups. CyTOF analysis identified an immune profile that is uniquely distinguishable from control and untreated VCAmice on the basis of principal component analysis. In addition, pDC-treated mice had a higher proportion of Gr1CD11bmyeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Thus, we have developed a robust VCAmodel to characterize the immune response and have identified a novel, promising strategy to prolong VCA survival. JTH was supported by a Gates Millennium Scholarship and a NSF GRFP. This work was supported by NIH AI119686-01, USAMRMC RT150096. FIGURE 3. S198 Transplantation ■ July 2018 ■ Volume 102 ■ Number 7S www.transplantjournal.com


SUMMARY The paper comprises a study on automatic analysis of two-dimensional (2D) electrophoretic gels by means of image analysis. The data considered are gels showing polypeptides from human embryonal lung fibroblasts digitized to approximately 2,000 x 2,000 picture elements (pixels). The matching between the reference gel and the test gel is done in several steps. First, the disparity between related points in the two gels are estimated by minimizing sums of squared differences, which basically is equivalent to a cross-correlation technique. Based on these disparities, the test gel is transformed ("warped") so that it will match the reference gel as well as possible. Second, the polypeptide spots in the two gels are identified by a series of (morphological) filterings. The methods include noise removal by means of median filtering, grey level erosion, edge detection using "second-derivative filters," and binary erosion. The operations are done at different resolutions in order to detect objects of different sizes. The identification of polypeptides in the test gel may now be assessed by superimposing the spots from the reference gel on the "warped" spots from the test gel. A visual inspection shows that this automated approach may be of value in the further development of 2D electrophoresis programs.


The aim of this study was the designing of causal relationships between strategic thinking, knowledge management and intellectual capital in the Office of Youth and Sports the selected provinces of Iran. The used research method in this research was descriptive (correlation). The population of this research was all of Offices staff of Youth and Sports The selected provinces (N= 430), according to Morgan table, 347 employees were selected as Statistical samples which the correct questionnaires returned 288 case. Sampling method in this study was cluster – random. For gathering the data, questionnaires were used (Strategic thinking, knowledge management and intellectual capital questionnaire). Validity and reliability of instrumentation were confirmed with Cronbach alpha. In order to test the hypotheses, descriptive and inferential statistics were used. With using the tests: skewness and kurtosis for investigating the normalizing and structural equation modeling was used and level of 0.95 considered as significant(software AMOS & SPSS). The results showed that it was effect of strategic thinking on knowledge management and intellectual capital and also it was effect of knowledge management on intellectual capital in the Office of Youth and Sports the selected provinces of the country.


This paper is contributed to the qualitative analysis of a coupled chemotaxis-fluid model on bounded domains in multiple spatial dimensions. Based on scaling-invariant argument and energy method, several optimal extensibility criteria for local classical solutions are established. As a by-product, a global well-posedness result is obtained in the two-dimensional case for general initial data.


Applications that are exposed to fluctuating workloads must ensure elasticity, that is the ability to scale up and down rapidly to meet the demand. Cloud infrastructures provide adaptation tasks, which allow applications to automatically scale up and down straightforwardly. These adaptation tasks drive the system to new states, which may expose implementation errors and therefore must be tested. In this paper, we focus on testing elastic applications during different elasticity-related states. This test is difficult since the elasticity states are not directly controlled by the tester. To execute the test at different elasticity-related states, we propose a controlled testing procedure. This procedure consists in controlling the leading of applications through the required elasticity states, while they are tested accordingly. To test the application, we identify the elasticity states at real time, and in parallel, we execute the state-related tests. We validate our testing procedure by performing experiments on Amazon EC2. In the experiments, we successfully lead an application through the required elasticity states, and identify non-functional errors.


The anisotropy of the Ll transition emission following heavy ion-atom collisions has been measured at a projectile velocity corresponding to 1.4 MeV N-1 kinetic energy. The atomic numbers of the collision partners range up to Z=92 covering a wide range of Z1/Z2 values. A discrepancy between the experiment and direct Coulomb excitation predictions has been observed and is considered to be due to quasimolecular excitation processes as well as to satellite line structures.


A landmark moment in Holocaust history and memory occurred in 1989 when about 1,000 Kindertransport survivors attended their 50-year reunion in London. The event commemorated the transport of 10,000 children from Central Europe to safety in Britain. Launched on November 9, 1938, the transport continued for a year until the Nazis ended it when war was declared in September 1939. Before they began to share their memories of the transport, few had thought of themselves as Holocaust survivors. After all, they had escaped the round-ups and deportations that began shortly after November 9, 1938, when the Nazis orchestrated Kristallnacht (night of broken glass), the nation-wide pogrom against the Jews, their synagogues, and businesses. None of these child refugees had suffered the ghettoes or camps. They were not among the children who had been hidden with non-Jewish families or in convents, and they did not pass as Aryans with forged identity papers. And yet, as Vera Fast discovered in interviews, memoirs, and archives, despite being rescued, those 10,000 children did not escape the effects of the Holocaust. Almost all the children's parents had been killed. For the younger children, this would mean that in addition to losing their parents, they would have no memory of them to mourn. For the older children, memories could be fleeting or remain as excruciating reminders of their loss. Of the few parents who survived, the trauma of separation was exacerbated when reunions were painful. However, despite these losses and pain, almost all of the Kinder grew up to have successful careers and rich personal lives, and they remained unequivocally grateful to the nation that saved them. Yet as memoirs and interviews reveal, their experiences were also complicated by the process of adapting linguistically and socially to an alien culture and society that did not always understand the emotional needs and religious customs of these Jewish children. Their story of rescue and adaptation is crucial to our knowledge of the Holocaust as it represents another facet of the intricate and global reach of Hitler's designs to persecute and exterminate the Jewish people.


Agency banking has proved to be a successful model for most marginalized people as it promotes accessibility of affordable banking services which has led to development of any economy. The main objective of this study was to determine the factors influencing financial performance of equity agency banking business in Siaya Town. The specific objectives involved determination of the extent to which financial inclusion affected financial performance of equity agency banking business in Siaya Town. The study applied descriptive survey research design with a target population of 83 agent bankers; census sampling technique was used in conjunction with a structured questionnaire to select sample size and collection of data. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze data. The unstandardized regression coefficient value of financial inclusion was 0.456 and significance level of p<.001.  This indicated that a unit change in financial inclusion would result to significant change in performance by 0.456. The study concluded that financial inclusion positively affected financial performance of Equity agency banking business. The study recommended that Equity bank together with other commercial banks should encourage their customers to fully embrace agency banking particularly for services such as cash deposits, cash withdrawals and account opening which can be achieved through creating awareness in market segments as this will enhance performance and collection of information to fit the needs of the customers. Key words: Agency Banking, Financial Inclusion, Financial performance, Equity Agency Banking CITATION: Ojwang, A. O.,& Otinga, H. N. (2019). Effect of financial inclusion on financial performance of equity agency banking business in Siaya town. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 6 (2), 55 – 65.


Shaping codes are used to generate code sequences in which the symbols obey a prescribed probability distribution. They arise naturally in the context of source coding for noiseless channels with unequal symbol costs. Recently, shaping codes have been proposed to extend the lifetime of flash memory and reduce DNA synthesis time. In this paper, we study a general class of shaping codes for noiseless finite-state channels with cost and i.i.d. sources. We establish a relationship between the code rate and minimum average symbol cost. We then determine the rate that minimizes the average cost per source symbol (total cost). An equivalence is established between codes minimizing average symbol cost and codes minimizing total cost, and a separation theorem is proved, showing that optimal shaping can be achieved by a concatenation of optimal compression and optimal shaping for a uniform i.i.d. source.


The OSCE is a sociomaterial assemblage—a meshing together of human and material components producing multiple effects. Materials matter because they shape candidate performance, with potentially calamitous career consequences if materials influence performance unjustly. Although the OSCE literature refers to materials, few papers study the sociomateriality of OSCEs. Therefore, we explored OSCE stakeholders' talk about sociomaterial assemblages to better understand their importance for candidate performance.


In July 2019, IUPAC held its General Assembly (GA) and World Chemistry Congress in Paris, France, and celebrated its centenary. Plans are on-going to hold the 2021 WCC/GA in Montréal, Canada, 13-20 August 2021 (iupac2021.org). The following WCC/GA in 2023 will be in The Hague, Netherlands, 20-25 August, and two years later, the Institut Kimia Malaysia will host the 50th World Chemistry Congress and 53rd General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 11-18 July 2025.


The plant life cycle is characterized by the alternation of generations between a diploid sporophyte and a haploid gametophyte. The sporophyte functions to produce spores, which then develop into gametophytes. The differentiated gametophytes in turn produce either the male gametes (sperm) or female gametes (egg cells). In contrast to lower plant species, in which the gametophyte is the dominant, free-living generation (see Cove and Knight, 1993, this issue), gametophytes of angiosperms are smaller and less complex than the sporophyte and are formed within specialized organs of the flower. The male gametophyte (pollen or microgametophyte) develops within the anther, whereas the female gametophyte (embryo sac or megagametophyte) is a product of the ovule. Sexual reproduction requires the delivery of the sperm nuclei, via the pollen, to the embryo sac, where fertilization occurs and the new diploid sporophyte is formed (see Dumas and Mogensen, 1993, this issue).


Chromosomal abnormalities were detected in the bone marrow of a girl with disseminated retinoblastoma. One of these abnormalities, i(6p), is characteristic of primary retinoblastoma and its presence confirmed the diagnosis of bone marrow infiltration with retinoblastoma. This approach could be extended to study other tumours of childhood.


The conformity framework has recently been proposed for the task of reliable classification. Given a classifier B, the framework allows to obtain p-values of the classifications assigned to individual instances. However, applying the framework is a difficult problem: we need to construct an instance non-conformity function for the classifier B. To avoid constructing such a function we propose a meta-conformity approach. If a conformity-based classifier M is available, the approach is to train M as a meta classifier that predicts the correctness of each classification of the classifier B. In this way the classification p-values of the classifier B are represented by the classification p-values of the classifier M.

The meta-conformity approach can be used for constructing classifiers with predefined generalization performance. Experiments show that the approach results in classifiers that can outperform existing conformity-based classifiers.


The present study examined the development of sensitivity to positive and negative moods metaphorically expressed through the formal properties of paintings. Subjects aged from 5 to 17 years provided mood labels (happy, sad, angry, or calm) for abstract works that had been rated by adults as saliently expressing one of these four moods. Sensitivity to the expression of all moods developed with age, with correct assignment of moods above chance levels at 7 years and older. Performance of the 7‐year‐olds on the happy works was significantly superior to that on the sad works. Subjects also labelled abstract works that had been rated equivocally in terms of mood by the adults. Significantly more positive than negative feelings were read into the mood‐equivocal works across all ages. These findings are interpreted according to Parsons' (1987) stage account of aesthetic appreciation. The combined analysis of subjects' justifications for their choices on all the works confirmed that children can associate formal...


Polymer composites have been thoroughly explored for future electromagnetic interference (EMI) applications owing to their unique combination of electrical, mechanical, and optical properties. The composition, morphology, and surface characteristics of the filler material play critical roles in regulating the composite activity. We studied the formation, synthesis and EM attenuation properties of nickel zinc ferrite (NZF) + Polycaprolactone (PCL) microcomposites that were prepared via the conventional mixed oxide (CMO) technique. Compared with other preparation routes, CMO may provide the advantages of a simple process and the ability for mass production and controlled product formation. A rectangular waveguide connected to a vector network analyser coaxial cable was employed to measure the scattering parameters [S] for use in determining the attenuation values of NZF+PCL substrates for a variety of NZF% values. Measurement tests showed a simultaneous increment in the attenuation value with the filler percentage. NZF+PCL samples of 1-mm thickness were able to attenuate microwave frequencies by up to ~3.33 dB, where the highest attenuation magnitude of 8.599 dB over a large area was attributed to the 12.5% NZF filler content at 12 GHz. Thus, a low transmission of waves resulted from the high shielding effectiveness (SE) values that showed a maximum 6.86 dB EM interference. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was utilized to analyse the average particle size (1.45 μm) of the filler powder.


Embodiment of the method according to the present disclosure relates to the manufacture of refastenable pant diaper, separate chassis, the horizontal axis is advanced in the machine direction so as to be parallel to the machine direction. Next, the first side panel are connected to refastenable a first waist region, a second side panel is connected permanently to the second waist region of the individual chassis. The methods disclosed herein, the chassis, coupled with the material of the individual length side panel material and / or the connecting zone, intermittently spaced arranged chassis, and are these intermittently spaced formed by intermittently spaced arranged side panels across the gap between the chassis, to form a continuous web of articles. Then, the chassis is folded in parallel transversely to the lateral centerline, followed by the first side panel and the second side panel are joined together. Next, the article, in order to form a refastenable pant diaper fastened individual advance, are cut with a knife in the vicinity of the junction area.


The paper aims to explore the social construction of catastrophe in the historically situated context, the construction of catastrophic spectacles, as well as the processes of 'normalization' of the critical situation (O'Neill, 2011). The study will argue that the perceptions of crisis and catastrophe are not unique to 'cosmology episodes' resulting in the loss of contextual rationality (Weick, 1993), and that 'catastrophization' of social reality can be perceived as the popular sensemaking method, managerial tool, as well as associated with the dynamics of identity construction. The discussion of findings will be structured with a view to facilitate future studies...


We investigate the production of baryons and antibaryons in the central rapidity region of high energy nuclear collisions within the framework of the Skyrme model taking into account the effects of explicit chiral symmetry breaking. We argue that the formation of disordered chiral condensates may lead to enhanced baryon-antibaryon production at low transverse momentum.


Objectives:To discuss clinical significance of enternal nutrition of Nutrison fibre in neurosurgical coma patients. Methods:The study group(20 cases,GCS≤5) was fed gastrically with Nutrison fibre by a nasal feeding tube, and the control group(20 cases,GCS≤5) was supported with common fluid diet.In all cases,triceps skin fold,blood sugar,albumin,total lymphocyte count,complications and nitrogen balance were observed. Results:There were not significant differences between the study group and the control group in nutritional status,but the rate of complication in study group was obviously lower than that in control group. Conclutions:Enteral nutrition with Nutrison fibre can decrease the complications in nurosurgical coma patients and improve the quality of life.


[Objective]To investigate the diagnositic value of lumbar discography in discogenic low back pain and the effect of intervertebral fusion surgery.[Method]Forty-five cases with 101 discs underwent discography,360 degree fusion manipulation were performed on 18 discography abnormal cases,27 cases were treated conservatively.Discography,MRI and provocative pain were observed and all the cases were followed up.[Result]Twenty-one cases showed positive provocative pain(21/45,47%)and 21 discs of 101 were concordant discogrephy(21/101,21%).All cases were followed for an average of 6 months(3 months to 10 months),the satisfactory rate was 83%(15/18)in the surgery group and 41%(11/27)in the conservative group.[Conclusion]It is concluded that the discography were moderate sensitive in the diagnosis of discogenic low back pain.Furthermore,the short term follow-up reveals that operative group has better pain relief result than conservative group.


When encountered the emergence of the multilateral climate governance, China showed hostile stance, opposing against have obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, it has gradually changed the stance to accept a non-obligatory reduction of carbon intensity, and to be proactive in the reduction. Meantime, it has implemented a number of climate policy measures. Against this backdrop, this chapter aims to explore what changed its hostile stance toward proactive one through a revisit to the policy process and policy outcomes that the Chinese government has taken to address the climate-energy conundrum, discussing the effectiveness of the policy outcome and logical consequences that will cause by enhancing the outcome. The findings can be summarized as follows. First, China's climate policy has been centered on energy development strategy, thus framed as energy policy. However, detailed policy measures have been adjusted to incorporate vested interests of local governments and national oil companies (NOCs), government desire to create new growth point, and emerging heath concerns into account to make it realistic and effective. Second, the resultant climate-energy policy provokes conflicts of interests among provincial governments, NOCs and distributed energy producers, which blocks changes in energy mix from accelerating, and impairing the structural effect in CO 2 emission reduction. Such domestic conflicts of interests is shifting the government focus toward "going global" of coal and hydropower industries, which can cause international disruption of livelihood and ecology, and directs the energy infrastructure system of foreign countries toward a high CO 2 emission pathway.


Fresh frozen plasma is indicated for the deficiency of coagulation factors with abnormal coagulation tests in the presence of active bleeding. FFP is also indicated for a planned surgery or invasive procedure in the presence of abnormal coagulation tests, reversal of warfarin in the presence of active bleeding or planned procedure when vitamin K is inadequate to reverse the warfarin effect, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, and congenital or acquired factor deficiency with no alternative therapy. Other more specific recommendations for FFP based on systematic review include trauma patients requiring massive transfusion and warfarin-related intracranial hemorrhage. Other situations where the administration of FFP cannot be recommended for or against based on systematic review include FFP transfusion at a plasma-to-RBC ratio of 1:3 or more in trauma patients with massive transfusion. Conditions that cause the deficiency of multiple coagulation factors and may require the administration of FFP include liver disease and disseminated intravascular coagulation. FFP transfusion may not be tolerated in patients with liver disease as patients may not be able to tolerate the infusion volumes necessary to achieve adequate hemostatic levels of coagulation factors.[1][2][3]


This paper presents a robotic hand using wires with shape memory (NiTi) as non-conventional actuators. The mechanical structure of the robot hand was first designed by means of a CAD computer program and afterwards 3D printed using ABS polymer. The robotic hand was designed according to the physiological characteristics of the human hand, with particular attention to the angles formed by the phalanges of the fingers. A mechanical system accommodates the thin NiTi wires compactly, thus forming an artificial muscle. A fuzzy logic based control system allows an accurate positioning of each phalanx. The contribution of the present work to science lies in the practical implementation of known techniques and materials.


Copyright: © 2013 Bacchetti S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Neuroendocrine carcinomas (NEC) arising in various locations constitute a morphologically heterogenous group of lesions. They originate from the dispersed or diffuse neuroendocrine cell system. Hepatic metastases are common in NEC, especially in patients with gastro entero pancreatic disease as the portal vein drains directly into the liver [1]. Liver metastases are found at presentation in 44-85% of patients with midgut tumors and are the most common imaging finding [2,3]. However, liver metastases can be present in patients with NEC involving other sites (for instance head and neck areas). The presence of metastases is an important prognostic factor for survival [47]. The accurate identification of suspected malignant hepatic mass (es) is mandatory and imaging modalities are fundamental [1].


Although it has been shown that phenology can respond to temporal environmental variation in free ranging populations of several species, little is known about the mechanisms of these responses and their effects on demography, and in particular on survival. Exploring phenological responses and their associated consequences on survival can be achieved at two distinct scales: the population scale, which focusses on a set of common responses to environmental conditions, and the individual scale, focusing on the relative position of each individual in the distribution of survival and phenology under particular conditions. In this study, we apply capture-mark-recapture multistate modelling on a 38-year monitoring dataset of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) to investigate the effects of breeding phenology and some demographic covariates (breeding density, average and individual breeding success) on adult survival, at both population and individual scales. Our analysis revealed that (i) at the population scale, early breeding years are followed by lower average adult survival. (ii) At the individual level, earlier breeders within the population have higher subsequent survival than later breeders, although this relationship is reversed in years with very harsh conditions, e.g. warm spring and high breeding density. (iii) High individual relative breeding success is also associated with higher subsequent survival and explains more survival variation than relative phenology. Overall, our study indicates that, although earlier breeding is associated with a survival cost at the population level, substantial intrapopulation hererogeneity shapes a positive association between earlier breeding, breeding success and survival at the individual level.


In this paper, learning algorithm for a single multiplicative spiking neuron (MSN) is proposed and tested for various applications where a multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network is conventionally used. It is found that a single MSN is sufficient for the applications that require a number of neurons in different hidden layers of a conventional neural network. Several benchmark and real-life problems of classification and function-approximation are illustrated. It has been observed that the inclusion of few more biological phenomenon in artificial neural networks can make them more prevailing.


In contrast with the thermal entanglement, we study the quantum discord and classical correlation in a two-qubit Heisenberg XXZ model with an inhomogeneous magnetic field. It is shown that the effects of the external magnetic fields, including the uniform and inhomogeneous magnetic fields, on the thermal entanglement, quantum discord and classical correlation behave differently in various aspects, which depend on system temperature and model type. We can tune the inhomogeneous magnetic field to enhance the entanglement or classical correlation and meanwhile decrease the quantum discord. In addition, taking into account the inhomogeneous magnetic field, the sudden change in the behaviour of quantum discord still survives, which can detect the critical points of quantum phase transitions at finite temperature, but not for a uniform magnetic field.


Rapid increase of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles in utility distribution feeders introduces more and more uncertainties. To investigate how such uncertainties may affect the available delivery capability (ADC) of the distribution network, it is imperative to employ a probabilistic analysis framework. In this paper, a formulation for probabilistic ADC incorporating renewable generators and load variations is proposed; a computationally efficient method to solve the probabilistic ADC is presented, which combines the up-to-date sparse polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) and the continuation method. A numerical example in the IEEE 13 node test feeder is given to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method.


The power spectra for line intensities of lower chro-mospheric lines N i 1319 A and C ii 1335 A are presented. On a number of occasions, intensity oscillations were seen to occur in N i at 3.7 mHz while C ii over the same spatial location showed oscillations close to 2.7 mHz. In a network region, the C ii line intensity was time-delayed by 1 min., compared to the N i line intensity. For network regions, the 5 min. intensity oscillations observed in N i are often accompanied with a blue-shifted line proole of 2{3 km s ?1. These oscillations can be interpreted in terms of kink and sausage waves propagating upwards along thin magnetic ux tubes. These waves can be generated by random foot-point motions driven by exploding granules at the photospheric level.