Simple Summary Biliary tract cancer (BTC) carries a poor prognosis. Most patients with BTC will require 'systemic' therapy, treating cancer throughout the body to control the disease and extend life while maintaining or improving the quality of life, but not to cure. There is no standard third-line systemic therapy, and few patients remain fit to receive three lines of treatment. This study assessed 97 patients from three academic centres who received three lines of palliative systemic therapy for BTC. Median survival after starting third-line treatment was 6.4 months, and from first-line treatment it was 26.9 months. The region of the biliary tract in which the cancer originated did not significantly affect prognosis. The 10 patients with an identified molecular change 'driving' the cancer, who received third-line treatment targeting that change, survived longer (12.5 months, versus 5.9 months for all other included patients). This study provides a benchmark for future clinical trials within BTC. Abstract Phase 3 trials have established standard first-line (1L) and 2L systemic therapy options for patients with advanced biliary cancer (ABC). However, a standard 3L treatment remains undefined. Clinical practice and outcomes for 3L systemic therapy in patients with ABC were therefore evaluated from three academic centres. Included patients were identified using institutional registries; demographics, staging, treatment history, and clinical outcomes were collected. Kaplan–Meier methods were used to assess progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Ninety-seven patients, treated between 2006 and 2022, were included; 61.9% had intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. At the time of analysis, there had been 91 deaths. Median PFS from initiating 3L palliative systemic therapy (mPFS3) was 3.1 months (95%CI 2.0–4.1), while mOS3 was 6.4 months (95%CI 5.5–7.3); mOS1 was 26.9 months (95%CI 23.6–30.2). Among patients with a therapy-targeted molecular aberration (10.3%; n = 10; all received in 3L), mOS3 was significantly improved versus all other included patients (12.5 vs. 5.9 months; p = 0.02). No differences in OS1 were demonstrated between anatomical subtypes. Fourth-line systemic therapy was received by 19.6% of patients (n = 19). This international multicentre analysis documents systemic therapy use in this select patient group, and provides a benchmark of outcomes for future trial design.


A separator of solid boron nitride is utilized to prevent diffusion bonding between an alloy being worked at high temperature and the components of working apparatus.


This research studied insurance dispute resolution through contracting mediation under the Jordanian Law, aiming to be acquainted with the barriers blocking this method, in focusing on Insurance dispute mediator, as a prim factor in these procedures.
To achieve this goal, this study defined Insurance dispute mediator through explaining the conditions to be met and his accreditation procedures, thereafter, it specified his role in the procedures for settling such disputes through mediation, in a study conducted to analyze and evaluate the texts regulating this subject in the Jordanian law.


The effects of crude ethanol-chloroform extract of Parquetina nigrescens leaves on the haematological parameters of normal albino rats were investigated at dose of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight (b.w). Acute toxicity study (LD50) and phytochemical constituents of the extracts were also evaluated. Thirty (30) male Wistar rats were grouped into five (5) of 6 rats each (n = 6). Group A: Control; administered 2 ml of normal saline. The other groups were administered extracts viz: Group B - 50 mg/kg b.w of ethanol extract, Group C - 100 mg/kg b.w of ethanol extract, Group D - 50 mg/kg b.w of chloroform extract and Group E - 100 mg/kg b.w of chloroform extract. After 21 days of administration, the blood samples were collected for the analysis. The results revealed that, the ethanol and chloroform extracts caused significant (p 0.05) decrease in white blood cell differential compared with animals in the control group. The monocyte and platelet concentration of the rats administered both extracts were found to have non-significant (p > 0.05) decrease at 50 and 100 mg/kg b.w of administration compared with animals in the control group. The results of the qualitative phytochemical analysis showed that the ethanol-chloroform extract tested positively to flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponnin and reducing sugars while, chloroform extract tested positive to fat and oil and steroids. Acute toxicity and lethality studies on ethanol-chloroform extracts revealed an oral LD50 equal or more than 5000 mg/kg body weight in mice. It can be concluded that, the plant Parquetina nigrescens leaf has beneficial haematological and immunological properties in Wistar albino rats. It also revealed that P. nigrescens possessed erythropoietic potentials at minimal dose which lends support to its use in the treatment of anaemia.

 Key words: Acute toxicity, phytochemical, immunological, anaemia, haematological.


A Bragg reflector composed of periodic cylindrically symmetric corrugations can provide a reflection of nearly unity through the principles of constructive interference, allowing the creation of a frequency selective resonator. Measurements of reflectivity and Q of the resonator for sinusoidal corrugations are presented. Measurement and simulation results for an improved reflector with a Hamming-Window amplitude distribution are also presented.


Theme of the Forum: "The Harmony of Civilizations and Prosperity for All: Looking Beyond the Crisis to a Harmonious Future"


This article covers the role of the nation-State and the relationship between the concepts of State and nation. It specially highlights the emergence of new political units, which the author classifies as nation-autonomies, which constitute a real challenge to the traditional concept of sovereignty, focusing the Spanish case.


This paper explores the potential conflicts and synergies between climate change mitigation policies and social justice issues in Europe. It identifies EU-level policies and measures likely to play an important role in climate change mitigation over the next three to five years and analyses case studies in selected EU Member States, using a set of indicators to explore their potential implications from a social justice point of view.


EVERY YEAR 3 TO 5 MILLION PEOPLE SUFFER FROM FLU. CHILDREN ARE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLU. AT THE MOMENT, THE MAIN METHODS OF FLU PROPHYLAXIS AND TREATMENT ARE FLU VACCINATION AND ANTIVIRUS MEDICATIONS. OF THE TESTED ANTI-VIRUS MEDICATIONS, 3 GROUPS ARE MOST INTERESTING: INTERFERONS AND INTERFERON INDUCTORS, M2-CHANNEL BLOCKERS (DERIVATIVE OF ADAMANTINE) AND NEURAMINIDASE INHIBITORS. NEURAMINIDASE INHIBITORS ARE A BRAND NEW TYPE OFVIRUS INFECTION THERAPY THEY SELECTIVELY INHIBIT ACTIVITY OF FLU VIRUS NEURAMINIDASES, WHICH RESTRAINS VIRUS FROM GETTING INTO THE CELL, EXIT OF VIRION FROM THE CELL BEFORE THE REPRODUCTION CYCLE IS OVER AND NEW CELLS ARE AFFECTED. OSELTAMIVIR ONE OF THE NEW NEURAMINIDASE INHIBITORS CAN BE USED FOR A SAFE AND EFFICIENT FLU TREATMENT AND PROPHYLAXIS AMONG ADULTS; YET RECENTLY THIS MEDICATION HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED FOR CHILDREN OVER 1 YEAR OF AGE, BASING UPON THE FINDINGS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED SURVEYS. DATA SHOWS THAT USAGE OF OSELTAMIVIR REDUCES THE PERIOD OF DISEASES AND SEVERITY OF ACUTE FLU SYMPTOMS FOR CHILDREN WITH NO SIDE DISEASES, AS WELL AS FOR CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM CARDIOVASCULAR AND BRONCHOPULMONARY SYSTEM DISEASES; BESIDES THIS MEDICATION REDUCES THE RISK OF SECONDARY FLU COMPLICATIONS.


Despite geochemical properties and pore structures for shale oil extraction, the interplay among shale chemistry, pore network, and hydrocarbon movability still is an open question. Here, by using hybrid experimental methods, including backscatter scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, adsorption/desorption isotherm, and nuclear magnetic resonance, we provide a general characteristic of geochemistry and pore structures of Chang 7 (C7) shale in Ordos basin and figure out how these properties impact the shale oil extraction. Our results confirmed that the C7 shale in Ordos basin could be divided into three types based on the mineral components with various pore structures, and the proportion of the pores that radius below 4.8 nm (from adsorption branch) or 3.8 nm (from desorption branch) play a dominant role in the determination of pore size distributions. The kerogen index that is derived from maceral types was the most significant geochemical indicator; high kerogen index was corresponding to large pore volumes and surface areas, but low pore diameters. We identify the pore structure mechanism—mesopores predominantly or micropores abundantly (increase free fluid index) and absence of inorganic or organic pores (decrease free fluid index)—responsible for the oil extraction capability and show that the unmovable fluid stained in the voids would lead to the slow rate decay of the curves, which caused the nonsignal disturbance. Our results demonstrate the powerful control of maceral components and pore diameters on shale oil extraction and show the markedly different flow behavior of various types of shale.


Introduction Much of the economic cost associated with severe asthma is related to the treatment of comorbidities, several of which arise from systemic steroid exposure related to asthma management. However these comorbidities may not progress equally across age-groups and genders following systemic steroid exposure. Aim To examine the relationship between age-groups and gender in relation to prevalence of steroid induced comorbidity and the associated costs. Methods Data for a cohort of 808 patients with severe asthma (SA) matched by age and sex with a cohort of 3,975 patients with a diagnosis of mild asthma and 2,412 non-asthma patients with a diagnosis of rhinitis were extracted from the Optimum Patient Care Research Database (OPCRD). Consultation data were used to identify comorbidities and conditional logistic regression analysis provided odds ratios (95% CI's) for comorbidity risk between cohorts by age-group and gender. Prescription data for individual comorbidities was costed using Prescription Cost Analysis data from Northern Ireland and regressed upon cohort, age and gender. Results Results presented below focus on a comparison between the non-asthma and severe asthma cohorts. Compared to older patients, younger patients in the SA cohort show significantly higher odds ratios relative to the non-asthma cohort for many comorbidities (Table 1). Apart from chronic kidney disease, hypercholesterolemia, osteoporosis and osteopenia, males with SA have higher odds ratios for all other comorbidities listed in Table 1 relative to non-asthma patients than females with SA. Upon examination of costs for individual comorbidities, males cost more than females for type II diabetes, hypertension, psychiatric disorders, while the opposite was observed for osteoporosis and osteopenia. Significant linear and non-linear increasing relationships were observed across age for costs related to type II diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, dyspeptic disorders, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and osteopenia. Furthermore cost differentials for age and gender exhibited varying relationships across morbidities. Conclusions The odds of having many steroid-induced comorbidities are higher among younger persons; differences between genders are also evident. While patients' with SA cost significantly more than patients without steroid exposure or with mild steroid exposure, the distribution of the cost across age and gender varies across comorbidities. Abstract P124 Table 1 Summary of odds ratios for comparison of comorbidity risk between severe asthma and rhinitis cohorts Severe Asthma Cohort vs Rhinitis (Non-Asthma) Cohort – Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Intervals) Gender Age-group Male Female ≤45 yr 46–60 yr 61–70 yr >70 yr Type 2 Diabetes 1.0 (0.6–1.6) 2.7 (1.8–4.1)*** 4.2 (1.1–18.0)** 4.0 (2.2–7.2)*** 1.7 (0.9–3.2) 0.9 (0.5–1.6) Obesity 1.8 (1.3–2.4)*** 2.8 (2.2–3.5)*** 3.7 (2.4–5.6)*** 3.3 (2.4–4.6)*** 1.8 (1.3–2.6)*** 1.8 (1.3–2.6)*** Osteoporosis† 49.2 (11.2–217)*** 4.6 (3.2–6.8)*** 18.3 (6.4–52.8)*** 6.2 (3.0–12.6)*** 5.2 (4.0–6.9)*** Osteopenia† ‡ 4.5 (2.8–7.3)*** 50.4 (12.0–210)*** 2.7 (1.2–6.3)*** 3.1 (1.5–6.6)*** Hypertension 1.9 (1.4–2.6)*** 1.7 (1.3–2.2)*** 4.1 (1.9–8.9)*** 2.4 (1.6–2.4)*** 1.7 (1.2–2.5)*** 1.2 (0.9–1.7) Chronic Kidney Disease† 3.9 (2.4–6.4)*** 1.9 (1.3–2.7)*** 7.7 (3.6–16.8)*** 3.2 (1.7–5.9)*** 1.4 (1.0–2.1)* Dyspeptic Disorders 5.5 (4.0–7.6)*** 7.8 (5.9–10.3)*** 9.4 (5.8–15.2)*** 9.8 (6.5–14.7)*** 6.2 (3.9–9.8)*** 4.0 (3.3–4.8)*** Psychiatric Disorders 1.6 (1.2–2.2)*** 2.0 (1.6–2.6)*** 2.6 (1.8–3.9)*** 2.1 (1.6–2.9)*** 1.8 (1.2–2.5)*** 1.3 (0.9–2.0) Sleep Disorders 1.2 (0.4–3.4) 3.5 (1.9–6.7)*** 12.9 (1.6–103 )** 8.1 (2.1–30.3)*** 2.3 (0.7–7.5) 0.6 (0.2–1.8) Hypercholesterolemia 2.1 (1.4–3.1)*** 1.4 (1.0–1.9)* ‡ 2.2 (1.3–3.8)*** 1.7 (1.1–2.8)** 1.2 (0.8–1.8) †Age groups '<45 yr' and '46–60 yr' were combined ‡Too few cases of comorbidity for analysis * P<0.1, ** P<0.05, ***P<0.01


20 precise compact voltage sources based on Zener diodes were manufactured. These sources were under investigation at measuring system in NPO VNIIFTRI during the year. A few sources with voltage drift less than 5 ppm per year and noise level lower than 100 nV in the frequency band of 0.01-10 Hz were selected for manufacturing of 4-channels dc voltage transportable reference standard. This reference standard was investigated by Russian I-V Josephson systems.<<ETX>>


What do poll results in newspapers during elections really mean? All newspapers run stories about polls, but the six in this study fell short in reporting accepted standards about the polls that might have helped readers make sense of them.


Endoscopy is a minimally invasive medical diagnostic procedure, which is used for observing the surfaces of organs inside human body. The surfaces usually contain specular reflections from distributing light sources, which are visible in endoscopic images and videos. For many computer vision algorithms the highlights created by specular reflections may become significant source of error. In this paper, we propose: (a) a method for segmentation of highlights based on adoptive colour thresholding and contour analyses and (b) a powerful inpainting method, which fill the highlighted regions with information propagated from adjacent areas. The inpainting algorithm conceals the specular reflections with high accuracy and provides visually pleasurable appearance of endoscopic images and videos. The methods are compared with related approaches reported for processing of endoscopic images and the efficiency is demonstrated on large set of endoscopic images.


There are two problems with this. First, to what extent are there cultural and ideological factors, operating independently of simple economic self interest, which contribute to the oppression of women? Secondly, the volume appears in a context shaped by the 1986 Social Security Act, the 1987 election result and the 1988 Budget. Is the programme politically viable, against the ferocity of those with interests vested in unequal distribution between men and women and rich and poor (for example, the better off, trade unions, Mrs Thatcher, men) ? This is a fascinating and thought-provoking book. I hope Bill Jordan will continue the long term project of constructing an alternative both to the traditional welfare statism of the old left, and the new dull orthodoxy of the right. Perhaps an account of the politics of welfare change would complement the idealism (in both senses of the word) of his work on the normative theory of the state, and now on the family as a pre-figurative form of welfare capitalism. PETER TAYLOR-GOOBY University of Kent


This article on Chinese medicine CHB experimental study of the status and substance of the TCM,antiviral effect,the immune regulatory function of liver damage and genetic research related to the CHB.Summarized analysis,by exploring the essence,the CHB to promote TCM diagnosis towards the objective of the micro-and standardize;the process of antiviral activity,the immune regulatory function of liver damage in the experimental study,to reveal and clarify CHB efficacy of Chinese medicine on the mechanism has played an important role in the field of molecular biology research on genes related CHB the initial attempt,CHB is in Chinese medicine research to the development of modern science and technology,an inevitable trend.Besides,from experimental design to the direction and content of technology,and the deficiencies,the corresponding strategies and a vision for the future.


In order to avoid the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) anode (Pt) to be poisonous, the amount of carbon monoxide (CO) in hydrogen stream must be less than 10 ppm. So, water gas shift reaction (WGSR) is applied to purify the hydrogen stream before entering the PEMFC. An emerging use for WGS reaction is on-board hydrogen production for fuel cell vehicles. In WGSR, catalyst plays an important role. The WGSR system in this study used CoNi based (ATR catalyst) as its catalyst. To improve the performance of the catalyst, three different promoters were added to each different sample. They are manganese (Mn), iron (Fe) or chromium (Cr). The main objective of this paper is to study the characterization of X-CoNi/MgO (X= Mn or Fe or Cr) for WGSR. Firstly, each catalyst had to undergo the X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. This analysis is conducted to identify the crystalline phases that were present. Furthermore, Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR) was used to observe the concentration of reducible species present in the catalyst. From XRD and TPR, all of catalysts were found to be free from NiO and CoO that contribute to sintering and coke formation. TPR also represents the activity of catalysts were related with reduction temperature. The activity of catalysts was increased when temperature reduction of catalyst was increased. From the results of experiment, FeO-NiOCoO/MGO with 3wt% has a high activity compared to others.


In an effort to enhance the understanding of persistent organic pollutant (POP) bioaccumulation in the Strait of Georgia, I developed, parameterized, and tested a mechanistic bioaccumulation model for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Strait of Georgia. Review of the literature required to support the model uncovered significant gaps in the empirical dataset. These gaps limit the usefulness of the model as a management tool; however, enough data were available to support analysis of the current sediment quality guideline for PCBs in British Columbia. This analysis suggests that the guideline is inadequate to protect top predators in the Strait of Georgia and may not meet the Ministry of Environment's protection objectives. I recommend that research be directed at improving the empirical database required for bioaccumulation modelling in the Strait of Georgia and that bioaccumulation models similar to that developed here be used when deriving sediment quality guidelines for other POPs.


Multiobjective decision analysis (MDA) is a useful assessment method when fishery managers need a systematic investigation of the tradeoffs involved in the selection of alternative policy options. An important class of techniques within MDA is vector optimization, consisting of mathematical programming models with vector valued objective functions. From the management perspective, vector optimization models are particularly suited for situations when the decision rule requires each objective to be kept as high (or low) as possible. Solving vector optimization problems usually entails finding a set of Paretooptimal solutions. These solutions are relevant to the decision-making process specially if decision-makers have monotonic preferences. In this paper, a vector optimization model of the Eastern Pacific yellowfin tuna fishery is used to generate Paretooptimal solutions and to evaluate the tradeoffs (shadow prices) involved in the selection of alternative policy options. Three conflicting biological objectives are considered: (a) minimizing dolphin incidental mortality, (b) minimizing by-catch of all nondolphin species and (c) maximizing total yellowfin tuna catch. Results are presented and discussed by means of non-linear tradeoff curves. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Using six years (1969−1974) of data of sunspot groups from the white light pictures of the Kodaikanal Observatory, we compute rotation rates of the leading and the following sunspots and the rate of change of longitudinal separation during their life times. We find that (i) the spots that are associated with abnormal rotation rates (i.e, rotation rates that are greater than 1σ from the mean rotation) and that approach at a separation rate of 1− 2d eg/day also experience minimum longitudinal separation (∼6 ◦ −10 ◦ ) of their foot points during the course of their evolution; (ii) spots that have a minimum separation eventu- ally trigger flares; and (iii) events with abnormal rotation rates and minimum approaching distances of the foot points occur on average during between 50−80% of the life spans, indicating the annihilation of magnetic energy, probably below the surface. These results support the conventional physical scenario of magnetic reconnection that may be responsible for triggering flares.


An A-manifold is a manifold whose Ricci tensor is cyclic-parallel, equivalently it satisfies ∇ X Ric(X, X) = 0. This condition generalizes the Einstein condition. We construct new examples of A-manifolds on r-torus bundles over a base which is a product of almost Hodge A-manifolds.


Some sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability of impulsive control systems with impulses at fixed times have recently been presented. In this paper, we derive some less conservative conditions for asymptotic stability of such impulsive control systems and the results are used to design impulsive control for a class of nonlinear systems. The class of nonlinear systems considered is also extended.


Graphic design plays an important role in the field of design and has made a great contribution to the inheritance of human civilization.As the river of human history is constantly running and the social is progressing,graphic design should be more and more rich and colorful.So,the subject of innovation and continuity of graphic design is important to our graphic designers.In this article,I try to interpreter the innovation and continuity of graphic design from the perspective of semiotics,and put forward some new ways of design.


In modern economical life,risk is a conception which people must pay attention to.This conception is often mentioned especially in securities market in which situation changes constantly.This thesis is about the research of beta coefficient.The object of the empirical research is the beta coefficients of the listed companies in Shanghai Stock Exchange.Among many indexes to describe risk conception,beta coefficient is an important parameter and conception,which describes the relationship between asset and market collectivity.It is an important system risk index as it can measure system risk of asset.Due to its simplicity and high precision,beta coefficient is attached much importance to.


I Whitley RJ. Herpes simplex virus infections of the central nervous system in children. Sem Neuro 1982;2:87-97. 2 Nahmias AJ, Dardle WR. Antigenic and biologic differences in Herpes virus hominis. Prog Med Virol 1968;10:1 10. 3 Mandell GL, Douglas RG Jr, Bennett JE. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. New York, John Wiley, 1985:946-7. 4 Gary GW Jr, Palmer EL. Comparative complement fixation and serum neutralisation antibody titres to herpes simplex virus type I and Herpes-virus simiae in Macaca mulatta and humans. J Clin Microbiol 1977;5: 465-70. 5 Elitsur Y, Carmi R, Sarov I. HSV-specific serum CSF antibody ratio in association with HSV serum IgM antibodies in diagnosis of Herpes Encephalitis in infants. Israel J Med Sci 1983;19:943-5. 6 Nahmias AJ, Whitley RJ, Visintine AN et al. Herpes simplex virus encephalitis: Laboratory evaluations and their diagnostic significance. J Infect Dis 1982;145:829-36. 7 Back AF, Schmidt NJ. Indirect haemagglutinating antibody response to herpesvirus hominis types I and II in immunized laboratory animals and in natural infections of man. Appi Microbiol 1974;28:392-9. 8 Forghani B, Schmidt NJ, Lennette EH. Solid phase radio-immunoassay for typing herpes simplex viral antibodies in human sera. J Clin Microbiol 1975;2:410-8. 9 Raiols WE, Iwamoto AE, Melnich JL. Measurement of antibodies to herpesvirus types I and II in human sera. J Immunol 1970;104:599-606. 10 Adams RD, Victor M. Principles of Neurology 3rd ed. New York, McGraw Hill Inc, 1985:557-60. 11 Baringer JR. Patency of HSV and varicella zoster viruses in the nervous system. The Human Herpes Virus. New York, Elsevier, 1981:202-5. 12 Whitley RJ, Soon SJ, Linneman C Jr et al. Herpes simplex encephalitis. Clinical Assessment. JAMA 1982;247:317-20. 13 Koskiniemi M, Vaheri A, Manheim V et al. Herpes simplex virus encephalitis. New diagnostic and clinical features and results of therapy. Arch Neurol 1980;37:763-7. 14 Brodtkorb E, Liadquist M, Tonsson M, Gustafsson A. Diagnosis of herpes encephalitis. A comparison between electro-encephalography and computer tomography findings. Acta Neurol Scand 1982;66:462-71. 15 Griffith JF, Chien LT. Herpes simplex virus encephalitis. Diagnostic and treatment considerations. Med Clin N A 1983;67: 991-1007. 16 Di Sclafani A, Kopl S, Ostrow PT. The importance of brain biopsy in suspected herpes simplex encephalitis. Surg Neurol 1982;17:101-5. 17 Barza M, Pauker SG. The decision to biopsy, treat or wait in suspected herpes encephalitis. Annals Int Med 1980;92:641-9. 18 Skoldenberg B, Forsgreen M, Alestig K, et al. Acyclovir versus vidarabine in herpes simplex encephalitis: Randomised multicentre study in consecutive Swedish patients. Lancet 1984;ii:707-1 1. 19 Whitley RJ, Alford CA, Hirsh MS et al. Vidarabine versus Acyclovir therapy in herpes simplex encephalitis. N Engl J Med 1986;3:144-9.


The effect of p53 gene therapy on chemosensitivity and apoptotic response of PANC-1 tumor cells, which express high amount of mutant p53, to cancer chemotherapeutic agents of Etoposide and Doxorubicin was investigated. Comparison of the chemosensitivity of PANC-1 cells to its wild type p53 transfectants showed that wt-p53 expressing transfectants are more sensitive to both Etoposide and Doxorubucin. It further showed that neither the PANC1 cells nor its wild type p53 transfectants arrested at G1 in response to X-irradiation. Furthermore, treatment of both PANC-1 cells as well as its wt-p53 transfectants with etoposide resulted in apoptosis despite the difference in their p53 status, although, the number of apoptotic cells of the wt-p53 transfectants was higher compared to the control cells. This evidence reinforce the view that combining p53 gene therapy with conventional chemotherapeutic agents may yield a more beneficial response than conventional treatments alone in pancreatic tumor cells with high amount of mutant p53.


The shape of the modal duct of an acoustic wave propagating in a muffling system varies with the internal geometry. This shape can be either as a result of plane wave propagation or three-dimensional wave propagation. These shapes depict the distribution of acoustic pressure that may be used in the design or modification of mufflers to create resonance at cut-off frequencies and hence achieve noise attenuation or special effects on the output of the noise. This research compares the shapes of acoustic duct modes of two sets of four pitch configurations of a helicoid in a simple expansion chamber with and without a central tube. Models are generated using Autodesk Inventor modeling software and imported into ANSYS 18.2, where a fluid volume from the complex computer-aided-design (CAD) geometry is extracted for three-dimensional (3D) analysis. Mesh is generated to capture the details of the fluid cavity for frequency range between 0 and 2000Hz. After defining acoustic properties, acoustic boundary conditions and loads were defined at inlet and outlet ports before computation. Postprocessed acoustic results of the modal shapes and transmission loss (TL) characteristics of the two configurations were obtained and compared for geometries of the same helical pitch. It was established that whereas plane wave propagation in a simple expansion chamber (SEC) resulted in a clearly defined acoustic pressure pattern across the propagation path, the distribution in the configurations with and without the central tube depicted three-dimensional acoustic wave propagation characteristics, with patterns scattering or consolidating to regions of either very low or very high acoustic pressure differentials. A difference of about 80 decibels between the highest and lowest acoustic pressure levels was observed for the modal duct of the geometry with four turns and with a central tube. On the other hand, the shape of the TL curve shifts from a sinusoidal-shaped profile with well-defined peaks and valleys in definite multiples of π for the simple expansion chamber, while that of the other two configurations depended on the variation in wavelength that affects the location of occurrence of cut-on or cut-off frequency. The geometry with four turns and a central tube had a maximum value of TL of about 90 decibels at approximately 1900Hz.


Risk management at an early stage of projects is known as an effective method expected various benefits. The PDRI(Project Definition Rating Index) by the CII(Construction Industry Institute) is defined project scope for reducing risks. In addition, the PDRI is one of the verified methods for achieving benefits by a risk management. The literature review in Korea about risk management is all about focusing on construction works and the construction phase. Thus, we need to extend the perspective of a project management such as the PDRI. To develop the Korean PDRI, However, we have to consider Korean situations. Therefore, in this study, we analyze some previous studies of PDRI' indexes and its using methods, and suggest the new direction for using PDRI in Korea. This method will enable to improve the scoring method of a project management with PDRI in Korea.


Currently, lithium-ion batteries are the definitive standard used for the storage of electrical energy in modern vehicles, passenger aircraft, and smart mobile devices. For this reason, the industries seek to manage these components due to their high variability and atypical behavior. By other hands, the capacity inside shows an indicator used as a qualitative measure to determine the capacity nominal to store and provide energy to a system or device. Nowadays, using artificial intelligence and advanced resource computational, it is possible to obtain models data-driven, combining mathematical algorithms that optimize the management of the life cycle and prognostic the state of health. The Gaussian process regression algorithm is proposed to develop a model and validate it in another dataset, it guarantees the performance, reliability, and safety of the battery. For the verification stage, the lithium-ion battery dataset of the NASA research repository was used, and to ensure the effectiveness of the model, the dataset was separated into 30% for the training and 70% for the testing during the research. For the validation stage was added a noise, two datasets were used, and compared their results using metrics quantitative. The experimental showed results R2 > 98% and MAE and RMSE < 0.02 these confirmed that the proposed methodology demonstrates high prediction accuracy of the proposed in practice.


ABSTRACT In this paper, we intervene in naturalised distinctions based on problematic assumptions about agency and choice that underpin the global regime of migration management: namely, that categories of human mobility can be ontologically and juridically distinguished from one another in terms of the degrees or forms of freedom they embody, and that different rights legitimately adhere to each. Focussing on the 'hotspots' instituted on 5 islands in the Aegean Sea to manage 'mixed migration flows' during the declared 'refugee crisis,' we show that the ideological justification for the process of differentiation involves variable attributions of agency, choice, and freedom, or their lack thereof, all of which silence the actual subjects transformed into objects of 'migration management.' We argue that the figure of the refugee is divested of agency through the ascription of vulnerability, while the migrant is invested with economic rationality. However, the forms of vulnerability that internment within the camp produces are excluded by design from vulnerability assessments. By tracing the various paths out of the hotspot – including the IOM's Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme – we show that the hotspot is, in essence, a deportation mechanism. This analysis is based on an ethnographic encounter, which illustrates the psychic and physical violence through which the will is bent and shaped, leading some illegalised subjects to 'self-deportation.'


The invention relates to an authentication device (100) for authenticating a person, comprising: an illumination source (101), which is designed to illuminate an area of skin of the person with an illumination light in a predetermined wavelength region in which the illumination light at least partially penetrates into the skin area; a detector (103) for detecting a detection image of the skin area in the predetermined wavelength range; and a processor (105) for authenticating the person on the basis of the detection image.


Part of the lower plain of the Rio dos Sinos (RS-Brazil) presents a high density of urban-industrial occupancy in natural-flooding areas. To prevent this phenomenon, retention and drainage works were executed. The aim of this study is to analyze the risk factors associated with the state of the installed part of the project of the Rio dos Sinos Valley Flood Control System. The natural phenomenon was problematized at first, then the Control engine was considered, and by means of reports and field observations the risks were evaluated.


We report the resonance Raman spectrum of the 1,3-butadiene radical cation generated by γ-irradiation in a Freon glass. The spectrum is excited at 550 nm in resonance with the first absorption band. The spectrum, which is interpreted with the help of density functional theory calculations and a recently published scaled quantum mechanical force field, indicates the presence of both the s-trans and the s-cis rotamers of the butadiene radical cation.


A new anonymous proxy signature scheme with off-line traceability based on ElGamal cryptosystem is proposed according to the benefit of the proxy signer and the signature verifier.In the scheme,the identity of the proxy signer can not be known by the verifier,but the verifier can reveal the real identity of the proxy signer with the help of the original signer when the disputation happens.The generation and verification of signature can be performed off-line and a trusted third party isn't involved in the scheme.


The emergence of a "liberal" global political economy in place
of the regulated capitalisms of the post-war "Golden Age" has had profound implications for the labour movement and social democracy.


At present a number of enterprises attach little importance to enactment of internal accounting control system,which has led to falsification of accounting information ,accounting disorder,and even failure to control over management.Having absorbed and learnt from the elemental spirit and content of internal control system,this article expounds the significance of internal accounting supervision system to safeguarding the trueness of accounting information and improving the management from such aspects as necessity and goal.


This project presents dynamics modeling of longitudinal controller based on
design an autopilot that controls the pitch of an aircraft. One of the major problems of
flight control system is due to the combination of nonlinear dynamics, modelling
uncertainties and parameter variation in characterizing an aircraft and its operating
environment. In recent years, many researches find that the uncertainty associated
with modelling, and the complexity of the nonlinear phenomena present the main
challenges in developing flight control systems. Thereby, this research is attempted to
study several control strategies required to address the complex nonlinear
longitudinal dynamic characteristics of such aircraft. In longitudinal control, it involved
pitch axis of an aircraft system and the elevators controls the longitudinal motion.
Specifically, the research objective are i) to study the complex dynamics behaviour of
aircraft system and develop the suitable mathematical model for aircraft longitudinal
control and ii) to identify the suitable model parameters in modelling of longitudinal
controller of aircraft system and iii) to compare the performance of several controllers
including classical, intelligent and hybrid control strategies for aircraft longitudinal
dynamic. This research is conducted to model the appropriate control schemes for
longitudinal control, in order to study the complex dynamics behaviour of aircraft
system. It begin by define the model for longitudinal controller to describe dynamics of
system in a set of differential equation. This project used three approaches in
designing controller that consist of classical, intelligent and hybrid controller.
Proportional-integral-derivative (PID), Self-tuning fuzzy PID and PID-type fuzzy logic
controller are used in this investigation to control the pitch angle of aircraft system.
The main motivation behind this research is to investigate which approach provides
the best performance base on time response specification and disturbances rejection.
Through the simulation in Matlab and Simulink results shows that the hybrid control,
PID-type fuzzy logic controller perform the best performance compared to
Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) and self-tuning fuzzy PID. motion consist of a small deviation from its equalibrium flight condition [2]. In addition, the control system of aircraft can be divided into two groups, namely longitudinal and lateral control. In longitudinal control, the elevator controls pitch or the longitudinal motion of aircraft system.


We construct a one-family technicolor model which is consistent with the precision experiments on the electroweak interaction. The Majorana mass of the right-handed techni-neutrino is introduced and the techni-U (1) B−L symmetry is gauged to obtain the correct breaking of the electroweak symmetry. The tree-level kinetic mixing between the techni-U (1) B−L and U (1) Y gauge bosons plays an important role for having the consistent value of the S parameter.


With modern polychemotherapy Ewing's sarcoma exhibit remarkable chemosensitivity leading to 5-year survival rates approaching 60–70%. However, in the last decade, no significant progress has been achieved in terms of improved cure rates and quality of life. In addition, prognosis is poor either in relapsed patients and in patients with metastasis at diagnosis. Thus, it is imperative to develop novel therapeutic strategies and to identify markers for risk-adapted therapies. The PROTHETS European Consortium through collaborative studies defined prognostic markers and new therapeutic targets in the Ewing's sarcoma family of tumours (ESFT), to provide rigorous scientific justifications for the development of clinical trials for this rare disease. Genetic studies have been performed for the screening of high-risk patients and patients responding differently to chemotherapy. Between others, these studies identified in gluthation metabolism a major pathway regulating Ewing's sarcoma chemoresistance. The prognostic relevance of glutathione metabolism pathway was validated by RT-PCR and the expression of MGST1, the microsomal glutathione transferase (GST), was found to clearly predict EWS prognosis. MGST1 expression was associated with doxorubicin chemo sensitivity. This prompted to assess the in vitro effectiveness a new anticancer agent (NBDHEX) that efficiently inhibits GST enzymes.. The consortium have collected more than 600 cases in specific tissue arrays for validation studies. Their use allowed the identification of some markers of prognosis, either conventional or new (ki-67, adhesion proteins, GAL3BP). Overall, theses studies started to define possible forthcoming risk-adapted strategies. Another goal of the project was the creation of new tools and drugs as well as the optimization of molecular approaches against three therapeutic targets, EWS-FLI1, CD99 and IGF-IR that have great potential in terms of clinical application. The studies on IGF-IR have provide the rationale for the currently on-going clinical studies in Ewing's sarcoma.


Answering natural language questions using information from tables (TableQA) is of considerable recent interest. In many applications, tables occur not in isolation, but embed- ded in, or linked to unstructured text. Often, a question is best answered by matching its parts to either table cell contents or unstructured text spans, and extracting answers from either source. This leads to a new space of TextTableQA problems that was introduced by the HybridQA dataset. Existing adap-tations of table representation to transformer-based reading comprehension (RC) architectures fail to tackle the diverse modalities of the two representations through a single sys- tem. Training such systems is further challenged by the need for distant supervision. To reduce cognitive burden, training instances usually include just the question and answer, the lat-ter matching multiple table rows and text passages. This leads to a noisy multi-instance training regime involving not only rows of the table, but also spans of linked text. We respond to these challenges by proposing MITQA, a new TextTableQA system that explicitly models the different but closely-related probability spaces of table row selection and text span selection. Our experiments indicate the superiority of our approach compared to recent baselines. The proposed method is currently at the top of the HybridQA leaderboard with a held out test set, achieving 21% absolute improvement on both EM and F1 scores over previous published results.


Ocean Drilling Program Site 704 in the subantarctic South Atlantic was drilled to investigate the response of the Southern Ocean to climatic and Oceanographic developments during the late Neogene. Stable oxygen and carbon isotopes of fine-fraction (<63 μm) carbonate were analyzed to supplement similar analyses of benthic and planktonic foraminifers. The fine fraction is generally composed primarily of coccoliths, and isotopic analyses of the fine fraction were made to complement the foraminiferal analyses. The isotopic curves thus generated suggest paleoceanographic changes not recognizable by the use of benthic and planktonic foraminifers alone. The global Chron 6 carbon isotope shift, found at 253-244 mbsf (6.39-6.0 Ma) at Site 704 in the planktonic and benthic record, is seen in the fine-fraction δC record as a gradual decrease from 255 mbsf (6.44 Ma) to 210 mbsf (4.24 Ma). At 170 mbsf, mean δ 1 8 θ values of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma increase by 0.6°/oo-0.7°/oo (Hodell and Ciesielski, this volume), reflecting decreased temperature and increased continental ice volume. Accumulation rates increase by 3.3 times above this depth (which corresponds to an age of 2.5 Ma), suggesting increased upwelling and biologic productivity. Carbon isotopic values of fine-fraction carbonate decrease by about 1.5°/oo at 2.6 Ma; however, no change is recorded in the δC of N. pachyderma. The fine-fraction δC shift slightly precedes an average l°/oo decrease in δC in benthic foraminifers. The cause of the benthic δC shift (most likely due to a change in deep water circulation; Hodell and Ciesielski, this volume) is probably not directly related to the fine-fraction shift. The fine-fraction shift is most likely caused by (1) a change in the upwelling to productivity ratio at this site, with increased upwelling bringing lighter carbon to surface waters, more productivity, and higher sedimentation rates and (2) a change in the particle composition of the fine fraction. The increased upwelling is probably due to a northward migration of the Antarctic Polar Front to a position nearer Site 704.


The invention belongs to the technical field of radar weak and small target detection and tracking, and particularly relates to a method for conducting before-detection tracking on a weak and small target in a strong-clutter environment based on dynamic planning. The method for conducting before-detection tracking on the weak and small target in the strong-clutter environment based on dynamic planning includes the first step of preprocessing echo data received by radar to obtain a processed distance-doppler two-dimensional image, and the second step of constructing a complex number likelihood ratio function according to the distance-doppler two-dimensional image, taking the complex number likelihood ratio function as a value function for dynamic planning, and conducting before-detection tracking on the target according to a dynamic planning method so as to obtain the target track.


FUTURE historians reviewing the "achievements of American technologists in this first half of the fifth decade of the twentieth century will consider the humanitarian aspects of the penicillin development and observe with cynical remarks on poetic justice the unpacific stimulus which has crowded ten years of research and production experience into one. Nevertheless, we may justly pride ourselves on our presentnational production rate of about 400,000,4000,000 units each month. The price of an unduly rushed job is inefficiency because refinements always take time to work out. The penicillin problem lias now reached the stage when economic considerations are becoming important. The cost of producing these 530 lb. per month is tremendous on a weight basis. In addition, the increased production has resulted in an increased demand for supplies which now threatens to put one more chemical on the critical list—amyl acetate. Coghill ( 2 ) has reviewed the technology of penicillin ...


Among the formulations of the theory of quantum measurements in continuous time, quantum trajectory theory is very suitable for the introduction of measurement based feedback and closed loop control of quantum systems. In this paper we present such a construction in the concrete case of a two-level atom stimulated by a coherent, monochromatic laser. In particular, we show how fast feedback \`a la Wiseman and Milburn can be introduced in the formulation of the theory. Then, the spectrum of the free fluorescence light is studied and typical quantum phenomena, squeezing and sub-natural line-narrowing, are presented.


Objective To explore the relationship between 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose(18F-FDG) uptake on PET/CT and the expression of glucose transporter-1(Glut-1) in patients with colorectal cancer.Methods Twenty patients with colorectal cancer were imaged with 18F-FDG PET/CT before operation.The mean standard uptake value(SUVmean) was measured.Resected tumor samples were pathologic examined.The expression of Glut-1 was graded semiquantitatively by immunohistochemistry.The correlation of histopathology,Glut-1 and SUVmean were analyzed.Results 18F-FDG uptakes of colorectal cancer were high,and the SUVmean was 5.42±1.67.According to the morphous classification,SUVmean of infiltrating type colorectal cancer(6.55±1.63) was higher than that of mass type(4.20±1.29) and ulcer type(5.83±1.60),but there was no significantly different(P0.05).SUVmean of colorectal cancer with metastasis(7.14±1.07) was higher than that of non-metastasis(4.84±1.41)(P=0.04).There was significant positive correlation between SUVmean and expression of Glut-1(r=0.53,P=0.02).Conclusion Expression of Glut-1 correlates with 18F-FDG uptake(SUVmean) in patients with colorectal cancer.


It has been a pleasure and a highly rewarding endeavour to read and reflect on the collection of papers in this issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. It is a rare thing to read...


Most scholars found explanations for Sun Yat-sen's lecture on Great Asianism from his ideological system.However,this lecture is close connected with The New Immigration Law and the Exclusion of Japanese, approved by the United States in 1924.It made Japan,the country aiming at leaving Asia and entering Europe,to face the choice of reorientation since Meiji Restoration.The Japanese people from all circles,began to think about whether they should return to Asia.Meanwhile,some voices of allying with the great country of Asia were getting more and more popular.However,the countries in East Asia were all lack of interest,for Japan implemented an aggressive policy in East Asia.At the beginning,Sun Yat-sen remained a quite reserved attitude.Till the voice of self-reflection appeared in the internal Japan,and other countries in East Asia had positive responses,Sun turned to strive for the support from Japanese government in order to unify China.But after failing in recourse to the Japanese government and parties,Sun turned to the Japanese people,and tried to unite all the Asian peoples,including the Russian,to counterwork the federation of power countries and the power countries adhered by the Japanese government and their politicians.So the lecture on great Asianism,delivered by Sun Yat-sen at the end of 1924,did not cater for Japan,but to aim at attaining the sympathy from the people who lived under the colonial rule by Japan.The understanding of those people on Sun Yat-sen's great Asianism,kept quite a distance to those of the politicians in China and Japan,as well as those of the subsequent scholars.


The interactions of hydrogen interstitial and self-interstitial with dissociated Shockley partial dislocations in fcc Ni were studied with embedded atom method calculations and the results were compared with those obtained from elasticity solutions. Such cross-correlations are important for efficient and accurate inclusion of the point defects into the dislocation dynamics simulations that are usually based on elasticity theories. The simulations were carried out using a dipole dislocation cell having periodic boundaries. The size effect, tetragonal distortions and the modulus effect were considered in the elasticity analysis. The results indicate that the elasticity solutions compare well with the atomistic results for the regions outside the Shockley partial cores, even though the interaction energies differed by approximately one order of magnitude for these two types of point defects. The range where the elasticity description of the interstitial–dislocation interaction breaks down was identified. In the self-interstitial case, the core reaction with the interstitial was observed, resulting in a larger core interaction range.


A protocol for rapid and representative sampling of vascular and non-vascular epiphytes (ex cluding epiphylls) is presented for one hectare of tropical rain forest, including montane forest. We estimate that the inventory and morpho species recognition (excluding species identification) can be carried out in approximately 2 weeks by a team of six persons, three specialists (one each for vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens) and three field assistants.


In the course of building a well off society across the country,the teaching of the "Two Courses" plays an important role in raising students theretical level of ideology and moral quality but we should understand that the teaching may meet with more difficult situation after entering WTO.Therefore it is necessary to carry out a brave reform in teaching contents,forms and methods:choosing teaching contents which are close to the times,realistics and students,full of moving power;taking good teaching forms and flexible teaching methods including enlightenment,discussion,researching,lectures of specialitist,visiting and surveying;fully using teaching means of modernization,establishing teaching models of three dimensional effect and humanity. [


To address the lack of studies examining the convergent and discriminant validity of cross-informant ratings, several statistical approaches were used in this study to evaluate the convergent and discriminant validity for ratings of interparental conflict, adolescent behavioral problems, and adolescent competence. A total of 272 adolescent-motherfather triads completed measures assessing interparental conflict, adolescent behavioral problems, and adolescent competence. The validity of these measures appeared questionnable when relationships were examined using Campbell and Fiske's criteria and confirmatory factor analysis, respectively. In contrast, analyses demonstrated adequate fit of cross-informant ratings in a correlated uniqueness model, supporting convergent and discriminant validity. Overall, results suggested that informant effects should be analyzed when examining interparental conflict and adolescent adjustment. These findings emphasize the importance of considering the measurement issues of cross-informant ratings when examining interparental conflict, adolescent behavioral problems, and adolescent competence.


Therapeutic vaccination is a desirable alternative for controlling Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. Attachment to the gastric mucosa is the first step in establishing bacterial colonization, and adhesins, which are on the surface of H. pylori, play a pivotal role in binding to human gastric mucosa.


of certain elements or chemical (organic) compounds and/or whose morphological, histological or cellular structure, metabolic-bio-chemical processes, behaviour or population structure(s), including changes in these Before entering the field of integrating different bioindication methods, clear cut definitions of the terms bioindication and biomonitoring are given. For purposes of bioindication and biomonitoring of chemical elements obviously both a highly specific approach con-cerning each single chemical species of an element and a comprehensive treatment of general features are required. The latter is given in the Biological System of Elements. Classical methods have been tested for years to observe the quality of our environment. Especially the use of living organisms in biotests, bioindication and biomonitoring activities is meanwhile an established method of determining inorganic and organic contaminants. To achieve a more public-related prophylactic healthcare feature derived from these biotechniques in the future, all existing tools of analytical and biological investigations of the past must be con-centrated on a common focus. A first approach, including an example for transferring trace elements from the food to the the childs via the nursering mother is given, in a so called Multi-Markered Bioindication Concept (MMBC). Further on, the collaboration between analytical scientists, ecotoxicologists and especially medical people is of elementary impor-tance. For reaching this communication and exchange of essential information different forms of education and teaching of students on an international level combined with common research projects are essential key functions for a common success.


From April 1988, individuals were offered a new pensions option by the Government: the possibility of 'contracting out' of the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) into an Approved Personal Pension. In a personal pension scheme, an individual accumulates his or her pension contributions in a fund, the proceeds of which are used to buy an annuity from an insurance company on retirement. Two main objectives lay behind this reform:..


One of the most pioneering advantages of the Energy Dispersive X-ray Laue Diffraction (EDLD) is the one-shot experiment for investigation of polycrystalline materials. Using a 2D energy-dispersive detector, the EDLD is measuring simultaneous position- and energy signals. This makes the EDLD a cutting-edge experiment in Micro Texture (MiTx) characterization of polycrystalline materials. However, real-time analysis of the generated images requires innovative techniques to extract grain-wise structural information. Employing synchrotron radiation, high-performance computing, and data management approaches are required to perform one-shot experiments and on-the-fly analysis. In this article we show how the EDLD experimental analysis can be encapsulated with the fast-computing methodology of the in-memory database system, incorporating the cube architecture, and enhancing data accessibility and warehousing.


Wind power and Electric Vehicles (EVs) hold a promising future due to their operations is less carbon intensive and have capacity to reduce reliance to fossil fuels. When the amount of wind power and EVs increase, it is necessary to consider their impacts on power system operations and scheduling. In this paper, Battery Swapping Station (BSS) and fluctuating wind power are incorporated in the Unit Commitment (UC) formulation. Firstly, we present a mathematical definition of a battery swapping station. Then, the model is solved using Mixed Integer Quadratic Programming (MIQP). Adopting a 10-unit system as an example, the simulation results show that the charging and discharging of BSSs can reduce the system operating costs and make up for the fluctuation of wind power.


In the last years, the phenomenon of electronic products passing all tests by the manufacturer but failing in the field (No Fault Found, or NFF) attracted the attention of industries and researchers. Delay faults are supposed to be among the contributors to this phenomenon. Hence, companies are increasingly adopting functional test as a final step, which is expected to detect this kind of defects. This paper investigates the capabilities of detecting delay faults by several types of functional test, and proposes a method to write functional test programs able to detect most of the delay faults on the connections between the CPU and the memory.


The future of deep space exploration depends upon technological advancement towards improving spacecraft's autonomy and versatility. This study examines the feasibility of orbit determination using gravity gradient measurements, and investigate its potential as a prospective solution for futuristic autonomous orbital navigation. The long term objective of this research is to ascertain specific sensor requirements to meet pre-defined mission navigation error budgets. For this paper, a Monte Carlo simulation based on a simple three degree of freedom environment model and an extended Kalman filter are developed. While the results are low fidelity, they can be used as a guide for more detailed and complete analysis. Traditional inertial navigation (dead reckoning and external aiding) is not considered. Instead, measurements from pairs of advanced, highly sensitive accelerometers (e.g. cold atom accelerometers), on three mutually perpendicular baselines, are used to determine gravity field gradients which are then correlated to onboard gravity maps and used to determine orbital information. This study is repeated for a variety of orbital regimes and initial conditions.


The correlation of elastic characteristics of slate rocks which are widely used at calculations, design and manufacturing of underground constructions is considered.


Abstract : A planar technology has been developed for fabrication of passive couplers for use in multimode fiber optics systems. Based on a previous study (F19628-78-C-0202), the masked ion exchange has been used for guide pattern formation. In this effort an optimization of the diffusion process has been attempted to maximize the fiber-to-channel coupling. (Author)


As more U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) remediation sites approach closure, the importance of properly conducting CERCLA five-year reviews will increase.Relatively few DOD sites have been subject to a five-year review so far, and less than a handful have been subject to a five-year review under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) new guidance. Since these reviews are required to occur at certain sites into the indefinite future, conducting them properly from the outset is critical. The assumptions and decisions made in conducting the first five-year review at a given site set the precedent for future five-year reviews, and mistakes made in format or content may be perpetuated in subsequent five-year reviews. This article provides a detailed accounting of how one of the DOD's largest cleanup sites, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, conducted its first five-year review in accordance with the new EPA guidance. It provides a lesson in cooperation among the DOD; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Shell Oil Company; local, state, and federal regulators; and the public. This article simplifies the complex process of conducting a five-year review at a large cleanup site and clarifies objectives. Finally, the article provides recommendations to help other facilities properly conduct a five-year review the first time so the process is simpler in the future. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


A complex wastewater treatment process is considered that usually takes place in a large-scale treatment basin which is aerated by sections differently. Three basic processes: carbon removal, nitrification and denitrification can be activated there in different sections. A stochastic model of the process is proposed for description of the growth and oxidation processes in time and along the basin, and the state estimation and control methods. The estimation method is proposed for online estimation of the biomass and growth substrates in any local area along the basin by the dissolved oxygen and ammonia concentration measurements and by the outlet gas flow rate and composition measurements. The online estimation accuracy is relatively high because of data smoothing in time and by state-space coordinates along the basin. The estimation accuracy is evaluated in a simulation experiment in close to real conditions. The control algorithm is proposed for the sludge-load, sludge-loading and concentration control and for the water quality control. The sludge recycling and removal flows are considered as control parameters as well as their distribution along the basin and the water-feeding distribution.


Spectral Analysis of Surface Wave (SASW) is widely used in nondestructive subsurface profiling for geological sites. The air-coupled SASW is an extension from conventional SASW methods by replacing ground-mounted accelerometers with non-contact microphones, which acquire a leaky surface wave instead of ground vibration. The air-coupled SASW is a good candidate for fast inspection in shallow geological studies. Especially for pavement maintenance, minimum traffic interference might be induced. One issue that restrains SASW from fast inspection is the traditional slow inversion which relies on guess-and-check iteration techniques including a forward analysis. In this article, a fast inversion analysis algorithm is proposed to estimate the shear velocity profile without performing conventional forward simulation. By investigating the attenuation of particle displacement along penetrating depths, a weighted combination relationship is derived to connect the dispersion curve with the shear velocity profile directly. Using this relationship, the shear velocity profile could be estimated from a given/measured dispersion curve. The proposed procedure allows the surface wave-based method to be fully automatic and even operated in real-time for geological site and pavement assessment. The method is verified by the forward analysis with stiffness matrix method. It is also proved by comparing with other published results using various inversion methods.


The residual ions of the acid cleaning processes induce the further corrosion of the metals, and this could be minimized using green inhibitors. Alkaloids extracted from plant parts could be cost effective and efficient inhibitors. In this work, alkaloids from Solanum xanthocarpum stem were successfully extracted, and they were characterized by qualitative chemical tests and spectroscopic measurements. As-extracted alkaloids were employed as green corrosion inhibitors for mild steel. The effectiveness of the inhibitor was determined by the weight loss and electrochemical measurement methods. From the weight loss measurement, the maximum inhibition efficiency of 93.14% was achieved. The temperature effect study revealed that the inhibitor can work up to a temperature of 58 °C. This could be one of the highest working temperatures among the reported green inhibitors. The electrochemical measurement reveals that the alkaloids could inhibit effectively up to 98.14% of the corrosion and serve as a mixed-type green inhibitor. A study on the kinetic parameters reflects that the inhibitor forms a potential barrier for the protection of a mild steel surface against corrosion. The values obtained from the thermodynamic parameters study reflect that the process is a spontaneous endothermic process. Based on the findings, it is revealed that the alkaloids extracted from S. xanthocarpum can serve as an excellent, eco-friendly and a promising green inhibitor against mild steel corrosion.


This thesis describes the design of a roaming system of virtual train station based on Virtools. The system through the three-dimensional modeling technology to build a 3D scene train station,to realize the interaction between passengers and train station by roaming technology, and use the collision detection technology to ensure the real effects of the system. The system can be issued in the form of web, passengers can roam the train station on the internet,and they can understand the internal structure of the train station on the internet. Example of HeFei train station, i completed a design of a 3D interactive virtual train station, practicing of the application of virtual reality technology in roaming in the train station.


Glasses with composition xLi2O-(40- x)Bi2O3-20CdO-40B2O3 where (0 ≤ x ≤ 40) have been prepared using melt quench technique. Optical absorption spectra of the pure glasses reveled that the cutoff wave length decreases and optical band gap (Eopt) and Urbach energy (ΔE) increases with increase in Li2O content. The Eopt values of these glasses are found to be in the range 2.818-3.258 eV where as the values of ΔE are in the range 0.21-0.33 eV. Raman and infrared spectroscopies have been employed to investigate these glasses in order to obtain information about the competitive role of Bi2O3 and B2O3 in the formation of glass network. IR and Raman spectra show that these glasses are made up of [BO3], [BO4], [BiO3] and [BiO6] units. The formation of Cd in tetrahedral co-ordination was not observed.


The sequence of the Vitellogenin which contains 5 270 bases and an open reading frame which contains 5 334 bases was identified in the Antheraea yamamai.The 1 778 amino acids concluding gasignal peptide of 15 amino acids were encoded by the ORF.The results of the homology analysis suggested the amino acid and base sequence of the Vg be highly conserved between Antherea peryni and Antherea yamamai.As far as the N-linked glycosylation site was concerned,there were 4 sites in A.peryni, while A.yamamai and B.mori were 5 sites.In the N-terminal domain,the poly-serregions and RSRR sites recognized by proteinase except for A.peryni.In the C-terminaldomain,the majority of the insects had 7~10 Cys from the function site GICG to the end of C-terminal and there were 7 Cysirrespe ctivelyin A.peryni,A.yamamai,B.mori and L.dispar.


The online line-loss calculation platform with province and region integration uses the CIM model interface and imports grid models directly from the EMS,which does not require building the model manually and repetitively. It can track the changes of the grid model,and ensure the qualified rate of state estimation at a higher level,which can lay the foundation for the accuracy statistics and computation of the loss-loss. The power data provided in the platform can covered all grid models of 110 kV and above,which is the verification and important supplement of power data collection system. Based on this platform,it can provide a more comprehensive analysis platform of network-loss for the staff,and find an effective way to reduce network-loss through the analysis of system loss and equipment loss under various operation modes. The theoretical calculations of line-loss in Hebei South Grid under typical daily load mode have been carried out by using this platform. Through the daily line loss analysis,it can find the problems of online data in the EMS system in time,which can improve the qualified rate of system state estimation.


The imperfect tense shows a far greater scope of variation; to illustrate, the following are reflexes of original Arabic *yaqifu "he stands up": yawgaf, yogaf, yugaf, yig^if, yigof, yigif, yagaf (p. 69). It is odd that Prochaska did not come across the secondary derived verb formations such as reported by Peter F. Abboud for Ha°il, such as yinttaraduun "they can be pursued," which is equivalent to Forms VII with -nand VIII with -/combined. ("The Syntax of Najdi Arabic" [Ph.D. diss., University of Texas at Austin, 1964], 20. This form occurs only in the imperfect tense passive and only with potential meaning.) This is all the more strange in view of the fact that such innovations occur in many Arabized dialects, such as stanna, "to wait" in Egyptian dialect—a combination of Forms X and II—and stla a "to reach out for and grab," in the dialect of Tripoli, Lebanon—a combination of Forms X and V. In the area of lexicon, reflexes of both tenses of the verb *raa "to see" exist in most group (1) dialects alongside of shaf (pp. 106-7), such as Abha ra "he saw," YARa "he sees," ret "I saw," and so on. The imperative form with suffixed pronoun gives the equivalent of "there is," as in •'arih "le voila" (addressing a male), aruh "le voila" (masc. pi.) (p. 226). The suffixed feminine singular pronoun illustrates the great variety of alternants found in Saudi dialects: -ki, -ki, -ik, -kr, -ich, -ch, -ish, -sh, -its, -ts, -ach, -ash (p. 126). In short, this is an encyclopedia of detail on the morphology in particular, the phonology and the lexicon of representative sedentary dialects of Saudi Arabia. It is a most careful study; for example, stress is marked on those items which do not obey the rules or where there is fluctuation, as with the items for "she left him" in Rufaidah and Tanumah, tdrakatih as compared with Qauz tarakdtuh, all of group (1) (p. 135). It was not the author's intent in this study to formulate phonological or historical rules of change, but the corpus is there for such study. Thus, the dialectal variants given on page 34 of the glossary "they (fern, pi.) write" suggest the evolutionary stages of development from an original yaktubna as yaktubin (Hail) with loss of final -a and insertion of the helping vowel /, yaktibin (Rwaili) with the usual change of u to i, ydktibin (al-Qasim) with shift of stress to fit the regular rule, and yiktban (Sudair) which shows the change of the feminine plural suffix from -na to -an, change of the prefix vowel a to i as in the case of the Arabized dialects, and loss of the stem vowel i (p. 34).


Quakers and Nazis: Inner Light in Outer Darkness, by Hans A. SchmittAfter the widespread allegations of German "eliminationist antisemitism" in the first half of this century, it is a relief to turn to the story of persons who never can be accused of holding such views -- the Quakers. The history of this small but significant group of German non-conformists has not previously been written either in German or in English, so Professor Schmitt's carefully researched account is much to be welcomed, all the more since we have had to wait for so long. He makes extensive use both of the few surviving Quaker records in Germany and of the reminiscences of surviving members, as well as of the large number of Gestapo records which portray the close surveillance devoted by the Nazi authorities to this small sect. In addition, he has made excellent use of Quaker archives in London and Philadelphia and convincingly establishes his case that this was a tiny but heroic handful of men and women who preferred to light a small candle rather than curse the surrounding darkness of Nazi Germany.The Society of Friends managed to establish a small following in Europe in its early years, but emigration or rejection led to its disappearance by the mid-nineteenth century. The Quakers first returned to Germany in 1919, when the British and American Friends defied the wishes of their governments and went over to Berlin and Vienna to establish a humanitarian relief program, principally by setting up feeding stations for the starving children of those cities. The "Quakerspeisung" was so well organized that by 1921 more than one million individuals were being fed in 1,640 centers, assisted by 40,000 local helpers.As the food crisis ebbed, the Quakers turned to their other principal and more spiritual concern, the cultivation of groups of spiritual seekers along the familiar pattern of silent meetings and pursuit of the "inner light." The first national Yearly Meeting was held in 1925, and a headquarters building was purchased in the north German spa resort of Bad Pyrmont. But the Quaker faith is highly demanding of commitment, conscience, and conviction. It requires a readiness to suffer and a courageous witness. As a result, no large-scale membership drive was attempted. By 1933 only some 150 members were declared Friends, though probably twice as many were interested observers.With the rise of Hitler, Quakers, as pacifists, were immediately suspect, and the evidence shows that from early on the Gestapo continually scrutinized their activities. The Friends were, however, to demonstrate that, even in this difficult and isolated setting, they were prepared to carry out their commitment to reconciliation and relief of suffering. Very quickly they became involved in trying to assist the Nazis' chief victims, the Jews. In particular, the Quaker help was directed to those "non-aryans" who no longer had connections to any Jewish or Christian organizations. (A particularly poignant case is described in Yad Vashem Studies, Vol. …


Setting aside certain complications that can arise due to market power it is a relatively straightforward matter to derive (if not implement) a valuation formula for FTRs and to relate FTR valuation with the proceeds of the FTR auction allowing for both taxation and auction efficiency. If the FTR auction is fully efficient and/or if FTR revenues and costs were not taxable then not only would FTR values be maximised but the revenues to grid-connected parties from that auction would also be maximised. The seemingly odd result that FTR auction efficiency affects FTR values flows from the fact that the latter benefit from a tax deduction on FTR acquisition costs which deduction is maximised under a fully efficient FTR auction.


SUMMARY: This proposed rule describes how articles the President determines no longer warrant control under Category XII (Fire Control, Range Finder, Optical and Guidance and Control Equipment) of the United States Munitions List (USML) of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) would be controlled under the Commerce Control List (CCL) by creating new ''600 series'' Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCN)s 6A615, 6B615 and 6D615 for military fire control, range finder, and optical items, by revising ECCN 7A611 and by creating new ECCNs 7B611, 7C611 and 7E611 for military optical and guidance items. In addition, for certain night vision items currently subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), this rule proposes to expand the scope of control, eliminate the use of some license exceptions, and create new ECCNs for certain software and technology related to night vision items. This proposed rule would also expand the scope of end-use restrictions on certain exports and reexports of certain cameras, systems, or equipment and expand the scope of military commodities described in ECCN 0A919. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// www.regulations.gov. Search for this rule using its regulations.gov docket number: BIS–2015–0016. • By email directly to email@example.com. Include RIN 0694–AF75 in the subject line.


ABSTRACT Lower income households are at risk for material hardship, particularly amidst the economic fallout of COVID-19. Where one lives (e.g., suburb, small town) may affect this risk due to variable access to resources, yet the evidence is mixed concerning the influence of place. We used a pooled, national cross-sectional sample of 66,046 lower-income tax filers to examine differences in material hardship in rural, small town, micropolitan, and urban areas. Controlling only for standard demographic variables, hardship risk appears higher in non-urban areas, yet these differences disappear after controlling for financial characteristics such as liquid assets and home ownership.


From the perspective of the forming mechanism of credit risk, the paper puts forward some countermeasures correspondingly, based on the discussing of the outstanding problems lying in the active credit risk management.


A class of properties of distributed computations is described and an algorithm which detects them is presented. This class of properties called regular patterns allows the user to specify an expected (or unwanted) behavior of a computation as sequences of relevant events (or as sequences of local predicates that must be successively verified). The sequences are defined by a finite state automaton (hence the name regular patterns) A computation verifies the property if and only if one of its causal paths matches a sequence.


139 Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is broadly established in European centers when treating locally advanced gastric cancer. However, there still remain questions as to the benefit of this extended form of treatment in regards to tumor location and stage. Methods: Data obtained in the ongoing prospective, multicenter observational study (German Gastric Cancer Study II) on quality assurance in surgical therapy of gastric cancer containing a total of 2897 patients treated from 01/01/2007 through 31/12/2009 in 145 surgical departments to evaluate. Results: Overall, 506 patients (18.4%) received neoadjuvant treatment in regards to all tumor stages. Of the 530 patients with adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) 34.5% (n=183) received chemotherapy. In detail, 30.1% (n=873) of the patients were found to be in stage I. In regards to the mean time of survival for advanced stages (III/IV 6th editiion) a survival benefit for patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment (n=356) of 12.0 months was de...


1. A method of manufacturing pulp and / or paper substrate, comprising contacting a quantity of fibers in solution with at least one optical brightener after the last bleaching stage / extraction using chlorine bleach. ! 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the contacting is carried out at pulp or paper making process prior to mixing box / delivery machine drawer. ! 3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the fibers in solution are a consistency greater than about 4%. ! 4. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the fibers in solution are a consistency of from 7 to 15%. ! 5. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the catalyst contains from 1 to 15 pounds per ton OO contact with the fibers. ! 6. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the pH of the solution during contact with OO fibers is from 3.5 to 5.5. ! 7. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the temperature at OO contact with the fibers is from 60 to 80 ° C. ! 8. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that OO is contacted with the fibers for a period of 0.5 to 6 hours.! 9. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the contacting is carried out at pulp or paper production process to the stage of refining. ! 10. The method of claim 1, comprising contacting a quantity of fibers in solution with at least one optical brightener after the last bleaching stage / extraction in the absence of the retaining means. ! 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising upgrading fibers and OO, wherein the refinement is selected as one element from the group consisting of chemical refining, mechanical refining, thermochemical refining, thermomechanical refining and chemical termomehaniche


List of Contributors.Acknowledgements.Preface.General Introductory Aspects for Thermal Engineering. Energy Storage Systems. Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Methods. Thermal Energy Storage and Environmental Impact. Thermal Energy Storage and Energy Savings. Heat Transfer and Stratification in Sensible Heat Storage Systems. Modeling of Latent Heat Storage Systems. Heat Transfer with Phase Change in Simple and Complex Geometries. Thermodynamic Optimization of Thermal Energy Storage Systems. Energy and Exergy Analyses of Thermal Energy Storage Systems. Thermal Energy Storage Case Studies.Appendix A -- Conversion Factors.Appendix B -- Thermophysical Properties.Appendix C -- Glossary.Subject Index.


The extra positive electrode of an EDLC where doesn't face to a negative electrode was known as an easily corroded area. However, the mechanism was not clear. In this paper, in order to simulate an extra positive electrode, two sets of EDLC (Cell 1 and Cell 2) were arranged in a horizontal plane, and the positive electrode of Cell 1 (P1) and that of Cell 2 (P2) were connected or disconnected electrically. Four reference electrodes were embedded around Cell 1 and Cell 2 and electrical potential behavior in a horizontal plane of an EDLC twin cell was studied. With the extra positive electrode (P2), P2 potential shifted to high when charging and discharging the Cell 2, and electric current flow of several mA was observed between P1 and P2. By a simulation study of an electric equivalent circuit of an EDLC twin cell, an ionic movement resistance between P2 and the negative electrode of Cell 1 (N1) was estimated as several hundred ohm. The extra positive electrode (P2) was charged gradually and P2 potential also shifted to high as a result of the simulation study. Reliability of reference electrodes also was studied with the EDLC twin cell with four-reference electrodes.


The invention concerns a peptide with radio protective effect that comprises a modified form and/or, optionally, a modified fragment of the Bowman-Birk-Protease-Inhibitors (BBI).


* An inventory index fund is an index fund that serves as a trading mechanism to accommodate security transactions initiated by active equity investment managers operating under the same trust or master trust. It functions as an "intra-trust" clearinghouse to improve total investment performance of the equity component of corporate pension assets by avoiding or substantially reducing trading costs and operating


Sachs (Zener, f. Gyn., 1928, No. 16) emphasizes the need for prophylactic monitoring of the oral cavity during pregnancy, since dental and oral diseases are very often a source of severe postpartum infections


This study aimed to present the concepts and practices of self-care in the officials who work in the National Directorate of Schools to understand the individual, social, work and family factors that affect the self-care practices, starting of conducting semi-structured interviews with a group of selected workers, taking as reference the existing information in the institution on Labor Absenteeism presented in 2018, in order to assess the situations that characterize this phenomenon.
In this regard, a qualitative study was carried out with the case study methodology that interpreted "extreme cases", in which officials who work in the National Directorate of Schools of the National Police of Colombia participated, the data were subjected to an analysis content and ATLAS.ti software was used, version 8.0.
We identified the factors that affect self-care practices and the concept of self-care and, as well as an analysis from the point of view of the natural and sociological sciences on the way in which the human being acquires them from the individual, family, educational field , labor and social ..
From the interviews conducted, it can be said that self-care practices vary from one social class to another, generating that they change, be modified and strictly depend on concepts external to the individual. The interviewees refer that self-care is a way of taking care of and preserving a lifestyle and that this action is learned during the life cycle, from the family and is perfected in the social and labor field.
It was possible to identify that work absenteeism can not be explained considering only self-care, since this is not a determining factor for the materialization of illnesses or accidents; that is, there are other factors that jointly affect the generation of these events, explained from the theory of multicausality.


Electron transport through molecular bridges connecting nano-scale electrodes is investigated theoretically with the coupling effect of an electron with molecular vibrations in the bridge. The ground state of the bridge molecule changes from a polaron state to an undressed state with the increase of the transfer integral. The electronic excited states in the bridge are also determined. Transition probabilities between these states are estimated by the golden rule including the excitation of molecular vibrations. By solving the master equation with these transition probabilities, we simulate the electron transfer process in the molecular bridge. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2006.311]


A 161Dy Mossbauer study has been performed on the cubic equiatomic compound DyMg. From the value of the hyperfine parameters, the isomer shift in the intermetallic compounds of dysprosium and the magnetic properties of the heavy rare-earth-magnesium system are discussed.


Fire hazards analyses and probabilistic fire safety analyses have demonstrated that fire can be an important contributor to core damage frequency and other major plant damage states of nuclear power plants. In this issue, fire modelling has been undertaken by a diverse set of contributors, including, nuclear licensees, technical safety organizations, and, in some countries, regulators, to assess the consequences of fires. One important aspect of fire related risk‐informed and performance‐ based regulation is undeniably the availability of verified and validated fire models that can reliably estimate the consequences of a fire in confined and mechanically ventilated compartments. A number of members of the Organization for Economic Co‐operation andDevelopment (OECD)Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) expressed their interest in participating in a joint international research project on the topic of fire events to be carried out under the auspices of the NEA. The PRISME (French acronym for "Fire Propagation in Elementary Multi‐Room Scenarios") Project was launched from 2006 to 2010 by the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN, France) with their specially designed facilities in Cadarache. The three major research areas addressed by the PRISME Project included the confinement effect on the fire dynamics, the smoke propagation from the fire compartment to adjacent rooms, and the effect of the ventilation network on limiting smoke propagation. In total, five experimental campaigns consisting of more than 35 large‐scale fire tests were carried out. The main experimental results and findings were presented in the first OECD/NEA PRISME summary report. In parallel to these experimental campaigns, PRISME partners evaluated the capabilities of various fire modelling codes to simulate fire scenarios based on the PRISME results. A number of benchmark exercises were conducted within an analytical working group of PRISME, which further advanced the knowledge on the predictive capabilities of the various fire codes being used. Some of these studies were published in the Fire Safety Journal, PRISME special issue. The experimental findings of the PRISME project and the analytical working group highlighted that confined mechanically ventilated fires were composed of physical complex phenomena to model. The outputs of the PRISME experiments and analysis allowed for the identification of further focused experimentations to address areas of uncertainty. These targeted areas formed the basis of the second PRISME Project. The second phase was launched on July 2011 and ended on December 2016. A total of nine countries signed the agreement to become PRISME 2 members: Belgium (Bel V and Tractebel‐


The authors demonstrate by numerical simulations that midsystem optical phase conjugation can compensate for propagation effects in periodically amplified soliton transmission systems. Within the domain of validity of the average soliton model, soliton interactions are undone and RMS Gordon-Haus jitter is halved. >


Abstract : The purpose of this research was (1) to analyze causes of attrition classified as 'not officer material' (NOM), (2) to determine if the present flight aptitude tests are predicting this type of attrition, and (3) to consider this NOM group as research criteria. The results of this research are as follows: (1) NOM cadets differ significantly from successful cadets on only one variable, pre-flight ground final grades, (2) none of the flight aptitude tests are predicting NOM attrition, (3) NOM attrition are the most heterogeneous of any attrition group studied and thus are questionable as homogeneous test research criteria. (Author)


High purity MnBi low temperature phase has been prepared and analyzed using X-ray diffraction, Lorentz-Polarization Factor and Fourier transforms infrared measurement. After synthesis of samples structural characterization has done on samples by X-ray diffraction, which shows that after making the bulk sample is in no single phase MnBi has been prepared by sintering Mn and Bi powders. By Lorentz-Polarization Factor is affecting the relative intensity of diffraction lines on a powder form. And by FTIR which shows absorption peaks of MnBi alloys.


For almost 30 years, researchers have been studying socioeconomic and geographic health inequalities in the United Kingdom. The consensus view, at least with respect to mortality, has been that those inequalities have increased since the institution of the National Health Service, and that they have continued to increase even after the current Labour government made elimination of the inequalities a priority. These inequalities have been found even in seemingly homogeneous segments of the population; and among one seemingly homogeneous segment few of whose members suffer from material deprivation (British civil servants), health inequalities have been found to be larger than those in the nation at large. With few exceptions, however, this research is suspect because not undertaken with a recognition of the way relationships between the rates at which different groups experience or avoid an outcome are affected by the overall prevalence of an outcome. Most notably, while health inequalities have generally been measured in terms of the ratio of the rate at which a disadvantaged group experiences an adverse outcome to the rate at which the advantaged group experiences that outcome, (i.e., the relative difference), researchers have failed to recognize the statistical tendency whereby the rarer an outcome, the greater the relative difference in experiencing it and the smaller the relative difference in avoiding it. Thus, in times of declining mortality researchers have failed to recognize that such declines will almost invariably be accompanied by increasing relative differences in mortality rates. Researchers have similarly failed to recognize that relative differences will tend to be greater among relatively advantaged segments of the population because overall mortality is lower among such groups. But relative differences between rates of experiencing an outcome are not the only measures that are affected by overall changes in the prevalence of an outcome. All measures of differences between rates of experiencing binary outcomes, as well as all measures that are functions of binary outcomes, appear to change in one manner or another as there occurs a change in the prevalence of an outcome. Thus, it is unclear whether the sizes of health inequalities and whether they are increasing or decreasing can be measured in a meaningful way.


The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-microbial properties of leaf extract from some local plants in Saudi Arabia belonging to seven different families which areRumex vesicarius from the family Polygonaceae, Datura stramonium from the familySolanaceae, Zygophyllum coccineum from the family Zygophyllaceae, Citrullus colocyuthus from the family Cueurbitaceae, Lasiurus scindicus from the family Poaceaeand Heliotropium digynum from the family Boraginaceae against seven human pathogenic bacteria and yeast strains including Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Bacillus subtilisATCC 6633, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853,Salmonella suis ATCC 13076, Shigella sonnei ATCC 11060, and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. The compounds were extracted using two different extraction agent water and acetone. The evaluation of the anti-microbial activities of the extracts was examined against all the aforementioned microorganisms by standard agar well diffusion method. The water extracts showed no antibacterial activities in all the different plant families, but as for the acetone's extracts, the antimicrobial activities were moderate to strong (about 18 to 30 mm). The compounds present in the extracts were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The leaf extracts of the following medicinal plants were mainly found to contain compounds like 4-ethyl-2-hydroxycyclopent-2-en-1-one, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, and cyclobutanol for R. vesicarius; hexanoic, nonanoic, octanoic, and heptanoic acid for D. stramonium; 1-hexyl-2-nitrocyclexane, 2-octadecyl-propane-1,3-diol, octadecanal, and cyclohexane for Z. coccineum; l-(+)-ascorbic acid 2,6-dihexadecanoate, eicosanoic acid, and 2-heptadecenal for C. colocyuthus; butanoic acid, 6-octen-1-ol,3,7-dimethyl-propanoate, 2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylcyclopent-2-en-1-one, and alpha-cadinol for L. scindicus; and 5H-1-pyrindine indolizine, 7-acetyl-2-hydroxy-2-methyl-5-isopropylbicyclo, 1-hexyl-2-nitrocyclohexane for H. digynum.

 Key words: Antimicrobial activities, medicinal plant extract, agar well diffusion method, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Saudi Arabia.


The latissimus dorsi (LD) muscle is primarily considered as an extensor and adductor of the shoulder. However, during the large range of motion required in baseball pitching, it may change its function in different positions and orientations of the humerus in reference to the trunk. Overuse of the LD muscle especially for a baseball pitcher may affect his pitching performance [1]. It could also lead to various shoulder and back disorders in overhead sports activities among athletes and in heavy and repetitive manual tasks among industrial workers. The biomechanical function of the LD muscle involved in these strenuous activities has not been well studied. To judge the function of the muscle, the muscle moment arm and muscle stress are probably the most important factors. In previous muscle moment arm studies, the roentgenographic method [2] or anatomic measurements using cadaver specimens [3]. These methods were restricted to static analysis in selected joint positions. van der Helm developed a three-dimensional finite element shoulder model to calculate the muscle moment arm and muscle force using a truss element [4]. Further extension of this concept by considering the continuous movement of muscle origin and insertion sites and to graphically demonstrate muscle line of action changes relative to joint anatomy during motion would be important to facilitate modeling of the musculoskeletal system for biomechanical analysis. The purpose of this study was to apply a visual interactive musculoskeletal system (VIMS) to investigate the anatomical and biomechanical roles of the LD muscle during baseball pitching and to utilize the graphic animation capacity of VIMS to visualize the model in action.


From the geographical novel to the novel as a geographer iterature has become a significant source of inspiration for geographers in the Llast 20 years. Papers, books and review articles on the subject, most of which have been published in English, are now a well-established part of a geographical discourse that transcends the 'geography-and-literature' subfield. More and more geographers working in different areas are quoting or referring to poets or novelists in order to provide meaningful insight into their subject matter. More generally, the growing interest in the role of discourse and writing practices has led many geographers to question their own use of language and, in this regard, literature and literary theory may provide valuable food for thought. Humanistic geographers have played a role in drawing their colleagues' attention to meaning, subjectivity, agency, imagination and, in so doing, to literature.2 Until the 1970s, this interest was minimal and mainly focused on the 'documentary' value of literary sources for regional geography. In a bid to bring human perspectives and values back to the core of geography, humanists focused on various aspects of 'sense of place', landscape perception and, occasionally, on the didactic relevance of literature. In the process, various other currents of the discipline have contributed their points of view to the examination of lit-