Using optimization design methods,a whole plastic lightweight car body is designed based on one-step forming technique.The finite element analysis data show that the vibration frequency of the car body is dampened significantly.Based on the test results from the rotational molding and orthogonal analysis,the optimal processing conditions are obtained such as the main and counter shaft rotating speed ratio,the heating temperature and time frame,the cooling method and so on.Using the proposed processing technique,the vehicle can satisfy the performance requirements when driving in medium and low speed.


* Acknowledgments 1. The Clockwork Muse 2. The Writing Schedule * Setting Priorities * The Writing Session * A Time to Write * Ideals and Constraints * Quiet Times * Keeping Your Momentum * A-Time and B-Time 3. A Mountain with Stairs * Divide and Conquer * The Outline * Drafts and Revisions 4. The Project Timetable * Estimating Length * Pacing Yourself * Deadlines 5. The Mechanics of Progress * Getting Started * Moving Along * Closing * Storage and Retrieval * Road Maps and Benchmarks * Discipline and Flexibility * Notes * Index


Objectives :  To study the accuracy of clinical diagnosis and the completion of physical and laboratory examination in patients with Dengue Fever and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in Rattanaburi hospital compared with WHO criteria. Study design  :  Retrospective descriptive study Method :  The patients' medical record, which was diagnosed with Dengue Fever or Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever during 1 January and 31 December 2010 were reviewed. Physical and laboratory examination results were compared with WHO criteria. Statistical analysis was performed by descriptive analysis. Results :  Two-hundred and seventy two patients' medical records were recruited in the study, including 125 males (46%) and 147 females (54%) mean age: 14.5 + 11.7 years. The most prevalence rate was found in agerange of 11-15 years old. Two-hundred and thirty five patients (86.4%) were diagnosed with Dengue Fever and 37 patients (13.6%) were diagnosed with Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. The result of physical and laboratory examination in Dengue Fever were as follow : body temperature 2 38°c = 81 patients (34.5%), headache = 47 patients (20.0%), myalgia = 7 patients (3.0%), posive Tourniquet test = 175 patients (74.5%) white blood cells < 5,000 cell/mm3 = 211 patients (89.8%) platelets < 100,000 cell/mm3 = 168 patients (71.5%), rising hematocrit of 20% = 147 patients (62.5%). เท addition, the result of physical and laboratory examination in Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever were as follow : body temperature 2 38 °c = 16 patients (43.2%), headache = 5 patients (13.5%), posive Tourniquet test = 36 patients (97.3%) white blood cells < 5,000 cell/mm3 = 32 patients (86.5%) platelets < 100,000 cell/mm3 = 34 patients (91.9%), rising hematocrit of 20% = 27 patients (73.0%). According to WHO criteria, 226 Dengue Fever patients (96.2%) and 37 Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever patients (100%) had complete of physical and laboratory examination. The accuracy of diagnosis in Dengue Fever and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever were 32.3% and 43.2% respectively. Conclusion :  The completion of physical and laboratory examination in patients with Dengue Fever and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in Rattanaburi hospital were 96.2% and 100% reapectively. The accuracy of diagnosis in Dengue Fever and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever were 32.3% and 43.2% respectively. Thus, the accuracy of Dengue infection diagnosis in Rattanaburi hospital should be improved. Key words :  Dengue Fever, Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, Accuracy of diagnosis, WHO criteria


The morphopathological alterations of chronic cadmium (Cd) toxicity in Sarotherodon galilaeus were studied. 126 fish were used to determine 96 hrs LC50 of cadmium chloride, the obtained result was 28.3 mg/L. Forty-eight fish were used to induce chronic toxicity, twenty-four fish were exposed to 2.83 mg/L cadmium chloride for 8 weeks and other fish as control. Gills, hepatopancreas, posterior kidney and spleen were the most affected organs during chronic exposure. Eosinophilic granular cells (EGCs) infiltration and goblet cells hyperplasia in tips of primary lamellae, lamellar lifting, lamellar necrosis and Proliferative interlamellar hyperplasia with fusion in gills, hydropic degeneration and necrosis of the hepatic cells, hemorrhage and necrotic renal tubules and splenic necrosis and depletion of lymphocytes were recorded as histopathological changes.


Previous literature indicated that people tend to have lower motivation and level of participation in e-training. This case study aims to shed light on the factors that contribute to employees' e-training participation. It examines the influence of personality traits i.e. computer self-efficacy and self-esteem and attitudinal disposition i.e. technology acceptance, job satisfaction and organisational commitment on employees' e-training participation. Results of the study indicate that all of the selected predictors were correlated positively with employees' participation in e-training. The three most dominant factors that influenced employees' participation in e-training were computer self-efficacy, technology acceptance and organisational commitment. The implications and conclusions of the study are clarified.


One of Malaysia's economic goals is to become an education hub for the region. To achieve this, the Malaysian government had liberalised government policies resulting in the proliferation of Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) including private Universities and University Colleges. As competition intensifies it becomes increasingly pertinent to ask "What sustainable competitive advantage should the Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) have to achieve market leadership in the Malaysian education industry?" For the smaller PHEIs, it is a question of survival itself. This paper aims to provide a theoretical study of some of the key strategic activities of the leading PHEIs to answer this question. The literature review covering both foreign and local sources indicates three key factors of sustainable competitive advantage, i.e. branding and image, the physical aspects of higher education including location and facilities, and the mode of delivery. The paper will seek to identify these factors amongst the market leaders to ascertain the validity of the secondary data via critical analysis of their activities. The theoretical framework employed for the analysis will be Michael Porter's Three Generic Strategies and Five Competitive Forces. The PHEIs have largely evolved into business entities and this development makes the framework appropriate for the study


The advantages and disadvantages of nuclear reactors for surface vessels and submarines are outlined. Design considerations for reactors, fuel elements, moderators, coolants, and power cycles are tabulated and discussed. The special economic consideration to be made for nuclear power in merchant ships is also discussed. (T.R.H.)


For young people today the ability to read and interpret text seems to be of decreasing standard. This bachelor thesis is trying to find patterns among five different library patrons, all adults an ...


Objective To evaluate the genetic polymorphism of Serratia marcescens by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method. Methods Five strains of Serratia marcescens isolated from the blood of five patients in the ICU of cardiovascular surgical department were identified and antimicrobial susceptibility was detected by disk agar diffusion methods, then the genetic polymorphism of Serratia marcescens was detected with two different arbitrary primers. Results Five strains of Serratia marcescens had the same antimicrobial susceptibility spectrum. One of the arbitrary primers couldn't type, the other one could divide the Serratia marcescens into two genotypes and four strains were the same genotype, the other one was a different genotype. Conclusion There were different RAPD genotypes among five strains of Serratia marcescens, and four of which had the same type, suggesting there was prevalence of the infection.


The COVID-19 pandemic has once again highlighted the need for all psychiatrists to have a good understanding of the bi-directional relationship between mental health and a person's ability to function well at work. Ensuring patients are able to work should be a key treatment outcome for all psychiatrists.


The risk for a patient to develop secondary cancers from non‐target exposures can be assessed from the equivalent doses to various radiosensitive organs. To determine organdoses, a computational model or physical phantom that represents the whole patient anatomy must be used. Physical phantoms (such as the RANDO and ATOM phantoms) have tiny cavities on each of the tissue‐equivalent slices for inserting TL and MOSFET dosimeters. When beam is delivered according to a patient's treatment plan, the dosimeters are processed to provide organdose information. The experimental procedures can be time‐consuming and expensive, especially when various patients and treatment plans are studies. Virtual patient models, on the other hand, can be combined with a Monte Carlo code to simulate the transport of radiation in the body. These models cover the entire body and typically contain a large number of defined organs. Coupled with a model of the accelerator, one can calculate detailed information about secondary dose distributions in the patient body. Whole‐body models are classified into three types: 1) Stylized models that are based on surface equations, 2) Tomographic models that are derived from medical images, and 3) Hybrid equation‐voxel models that describe organ boundaries using advanced primitives such as the NURBS for realtime deformation (4D simulations). To date, more than 20 tomographic models have been developed for radiation protection and nuclear medicine applications. An international consortium on computational human models (www.virtualphantoms.org) has been recently formed to promote research in this area. A team of researchers from Rensselaer, Vanderbilt, University of Florida, Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins University is working on a project to standardize a library of age‐ and gender‐specific models. This lecture presents the current status of patient modeling and the application of various tools to study secondary doses from radiation treatment involving both photons and protons. Detailed information on the VIP‐Man model developed from the Visible Human Project is presented. Segmentation of more than 80 organs, including the red bone marrow, and the implementation of the VIP‐Man model into EGS, MCNP/X and GEANT4 are discussed. Finally, organdoses and effective doses for protontreatment plans using various adult and pediatric patient models are presented. Educational Objectives of this symposium are: 1. Understanding new tools of Monte Carlo‐based patient and accelerator modeling for secondary dose studies. 2. Understanding the effective dose data for various modalities.


According with the "foothold in Shaoxing,facing across the country,radiating to whole China,and connecting with the world",encircling on improving the efficiency of agriculture and farmers income,starting from the implementation of the project of farm mail box,the full implementation of agricultural information technology was carried out in Shaoxing City,and the Internet social framework for farm had covered agricultural production,processing,circulation,and market.The agricultural information service network had played more and more role in information passing,market smoothing,and knowledge improving.


The present invention relates to a technique that when filtering the audio signal inputted through the microphone from the phone to filter based on the frequency of the user voice to remove all of the audio signal other than the user of the frequency-domain audio signal. The present invention comprises: a memory (2) for storing the frequency of the user voice signal input through a microphone (1) and; And a filter 3 for filtering by setting the frequency at the time of filtering the audio signal input through the microphone (1) the user's voice signal stored in the memory 2 to the cut-off frequency; It is achieved by the amplifier 4 for amplifying the audio signal output from the filter 3 at a constant level.


A semantic role is information used to clarify the role of entities in an event that a sentence describes, including agent, theme, experience, object, and location. Semantic role labeling (SRL) is a process that determines the semantic relation of a predicate and its arguments in a sentence and is an important factor in the semantic analysis of natural language processing, in addition to word sense disambiguation. To date, many manual semantic tagging tasks have been constructed; however, these tasks require a great deal of time and cost. To solve this problem, we propose a method for automatic SRL using frame files included in the Korean version of Proposition Bank (PropBank), which is one of the most widely used corpora. Frame files provide guidelines for PropBank annotators and include a list of framesets, which stand for a set of syntactic frames. First, we select the proper sense of the predicate from among multiple senses of the predicate in the frame files. Senses of the predicate are classified according to the semantic and syntactic properties of the predicate's arguments. We collect the nouns in a sample sentence of a given sense; we also collect all of the nouns that appear in a given sentence. The semantic similarities between the nouns from the sample sentence and the given sentence are measured and the sense with the highest similarity value is selected. The frame information of the selected sense is used for SRL of the given predicate and its arguments.


ABSTRACT The map and temporal scale of the territory known as 'The Land of Maramureș' outlines a real heritage treasure, built in historical time and formed of 74 wooden churches. Varying in terms of architecture, dimensions and cult, the wooden churches are indeed heritage objects, 33 of them being on the list of historical monuments in Romania, while 5 are included in the UNESCO world heritage list. An impressive database, which includes the edifices built during 1531–2015 period, is processed, analyzed, synthesized and mapped in this project. By using cartographic methods and specific programs (ArcGis, CorelDRAW), suggestive pictograms are generated, expressing relevant elements for the proposed purpose: spatiality, a series of technical details (height, architectural style, etc.), monument type and oldness. Such a complex material is useful in the process of territorial planning and organization from the point of view of those concerned with issues of urban development and tourism as well as for the general public as well.


This study estimates the implied cost of equity capital of the Jordanian companies listed at the Amman Stock Exchange using the residual income valuation model suggested by Gebhardt, Lee, and Swaminathan (GLS) (2001). The results show that the implied cost of equity capital computed from the GLS approach produces a mean of ex-ante cost of equity capital of 9.6% for the Jordanian companies listed at the ASE. We also examine whether the Jordanian firms' cost of equity capital, based on the residual income model, is a more reliable measure of cost of equity than the realised stock returns, by investigating the association between the cost of equity capital (or realised returns) and firm-specific risk proxies. We find that the implied cost of equity capital is associated significantly with all risk proxies in the predicted directions, while the realised stock returns show a significant association only with the size of the firms and market beta. We also find that the adjusted R² of the regression of the implied cost of equity capital on the risk proxies is higher than that of the realised stock returns. We conclude that the implied cost of equity capital derived from the residual income valuation model is a more reliable measure for the ex-ante cost of equity capital than that of the realised stock returns in terms of the association with firm-specific risk proxies.


Measuring relevance for two nodes is fundamental to social network analysis, which has been proven to benefit many network analysis tasks and applications such as link prediction, node classification, community detection, search and recommendations. The majority of existing relevance measurements focused on unsigned social networks (or networks with only positive links). However, social media provides mechanisms that allow online users to specify negative links in addition to positive ones. For example, Slashdot users can create foe links; users in Epinions can establish distrust relations; while users in Facebook and Twitter can block or unfriend others. Thereby, social networks with both positive and negative links (or signed social networks) have become ubiquitous in social media and attracted increasing attention in recent years. On the one hand, it is evident from recent studies that negative links have added value in a number of analytical tasks. On the other hand, the availability of negative links challenges existing relevance measurements designed for unsigned networks. Hence, we need dedicated relevance measurements for signed social networks. In this paper, we present an initial and comprehensive investigation on signed relevance measurements and design numerous relevance measurements for signed social networks from both local and global perspectives. Empirical experiments on four real-world signed social networks demonstrate the importance of negative links in building signed relevance measurements and their effects on social network analysis tasks.


Citizens recording police, a form of action that has been termed "sousveillance" (surveillance from underneath) or the "participatory panopticon," has become increasingly common in recent years. Citizen media can have a substantial impact on policing and police image management – and thus effect public perceptions of police legitimacy. On the other hand, police departments are increasingly utilizing sophisticated visual surveillance technologies, such as officer-mounted wearable cameras, to document police-citizen encounters. In some states, eavesdropping statutes have been applied against citizens attempting to record encounters with police officers, often while these same statutes contain exemptions for officer-initiated recordings. Courts have begun to weigh in on the legal rights of citizens documenting police action – and the constitutionality of the state eavesdropping laws that prohibit such conduct – and have generally begun to recognize a First Amendment constitutional right to film police in public spaces. However, the continued proliferation of recording devices and smartphone applications designed to allow citizens to covertly record encounters with police officers in efforts to hold public officials accountable put some users (perhaps even unwittingly) at serious legal risk. This situation presents a distinct problem – a problem of one-sided surveillance power and limited transparency that potentially threatens the Constitutional rights and freedoms of American citizens. This paper examines, theoretically, the role that citizen media should play as a liberty-preserving form of reciprocal transparency, what forms of respect ought to be owed by camera-wielding citizens to the police officers and other subjects of their recordings in public spaces, and what moral and legal obligations citizen journalists may have (or may not have) to respect and obey wiretapping laws that prohibit recording in public spaces without all-party consent.


: Fact-fi nding committees like the Schlesinger Commission are there to fi nd out about individual and collective re-sponsibilities for criminal or political acts. They may be instrumental in enlightening about societal collective myths, thus building faith and norm conciousness. Does the Schlesinger Report fulfi ll these premises? The paper highlights key fi ndings and recommendations of the Report. Though the Schlesinger Report is shown to be informative in some aspects, it is a central point of this article that the Commission missed the chance to weigh the Abu Ghraib abuse cases in the light of the Guantánamo precedent where the proliferation of abusive treatment was started. The suspension of ethical and legal standards in the name of necessities of the war on terror might turn out to transform at least in parts the military and thus a society's sense of justice, since it is assumed that the results of fact-fi nding committees enter human rights awareness with relative ease.


Based on the field survey data set of households in Mizhi,Ansai and Wuqi in loess hilly regions,this paper introduced the grey relational model and measured the coupling degree of agricultural ecological system.Based on this,the paper further empirically examined the impact of sloping land conversion program(SLCP) on the coupling of agricultural ecological system.The results show that:1)The coupling of agricultural ecological system in loess hilly regions is in a moderate state,yet not fully achieving the reasonable matching and coordinating situation;2) SLCP makes a significantly negative effect on the coupling of agricultural ecological system,denoting that the SLCP cannot effectively encourage farmers to adjust their agricultural structure.Therefore the Chinese government should take the effect into consideration when launching a new round of SLCP,and should also mainstream agricultural adaptation to climate change into the SLCP for improving the adaptive capacity of the loess hilly regions.This research is proposed to provide useful inputs for the government's decision making on agricultural development and ecological rehabilitation policy in fragile ecological areas.


Finding the maximum and minimum values of a function is essential in high school math. However, Vietnamese high school students have only been taught how to find the extreme values of a function of 1 variable. Seeing the extreme values of a function of 2 and 3 variables is a difficult problem for students. Using the determinants, our aim in this paper is to show the necessary and sufficient conditions for a continuous and differentiable function (1 variable, two variables, and three variables) to reach its maximum over a specified domain. Furthermore, our method can be used to find the extremes of n-variable differentiable functions.


Development of technologies that allow small, high power density engines such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), unmanned marine vehicles (UMV), and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) to operate on single logistic fuel such as JP-8 is one of government goals. To advance this goal, a lightweight, compact, and retrofit capable ignition source is critical. Compared to standard spark igniters and noncatalytic glow plugs, the use of catalytic glow plugs will provide benefits of lower required compression ratio, improved igniter life, reduced electrical energy requirements, and overall reduction in system weight and size. Experimental testing demonstrated a significant increase in surface temperature (160+ °C) with impingement of a fuel spray compared to a conventional glow plug with engine testing demonstrating the use of catalyst allows stable engine operation at reduced power requirements. Computational analysis was performed to provide insight into the catalyst behavior. Analytical studies suggested increased stability due to both heat release due to exothermic catalytic reaction and production of reactive species. This technology would allow high power density engines to use heavy fuels, while potentially reducing electric power supply and engine complexity and weight, both of which would allow greater range and/or payload capacity. This paper discusses the feasibility of advanced igniters technology as an enabling component for the use of heavy fuels in small, high power density internal combustion engines. The paper presents and discusses analytical investigation, experimental test results, and durability testing data in an internal combustion engine environment.


The management and administration of Waqf properties in Zanzibar in which more than 95% of the population are Muslim has been in existence even before 19 th century. The Waqf properties are of paramount importance for the socio-economic development of the country. This study highlights the historical perspective of the Waqf management in Zanzibar; it also tries to examine the current structure of the commission following various changes that have taken place. Moreover the study explores the contributions of the Waqf properties for the socio-economic development of the country as well as finding out challenges which hamper the pace of progress for the Waqf department. The study uses both secondary and primary data collection methods. The findings indicate that the Waqf and Trust Commission (WTC) is structured according to the current demand of the society due to the rapid technological change, the contribution of the Waqf properties in socio-economic development is found to be very minimal due to the insufficient awareness of the Zanzibar Muslims on the benefits of Waqf as well as people perceptions and mistrust against WTC staff. The study recommends awareness programmes to be strengthened especially in the higher learning institutions. Keywords : Waqf, Waqf and Trust Commission, Zanzibar


The moduli of doubly connected domains are computed by means of the Bergman curvature associated with the Bergman function of the domain. The moduli of nonconcentric annuli, elliptic rings, confocal elliptic rings, squares inside circles and squares inside squares are determined by this method.


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Bicyclic thiohydantoins were synthesized in a stereoselective manner by reacting (2R)/(2S)-diastereoisomer mixtures of 1,3-thiazolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acids or their dimethyl diesters with PhNCS. 5,5-Dimethyl-1,3-thiazolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid with PhNCS led to a cyclization involving the CO group at the C(2) center of the thiazolidine ring, while the acid's dimethyl diester gave cyclization involving the CO group at C(4). In contrast, reactions involving unsubstituted 1,3-thiazolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid or its dimethyl diester led to thiohydantoins in which the ring closure had taken place only with the COO group at C(4). Independently of the direction of the ring closure, all reactions produce exclusively products with the (R)-configuration at C(2). The configurational assignments were based on 1H- and 13C-NMR studies, and confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analyses.


Abstract: Clinically metastases to the thyroid are rare with an autopsy series incidence ranging from 1.25% to as high as 24% in widespread malignancy. Although detection of metastasis to the thyroid gland often indicates poor prognosis, aggressive surgical and medical therapy may be effective in a small percentage of patients. In this article we describe F-18 FDG PET/CT images of metastases to the thyroid in a case of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Because anaplastic NPC metastases to the thyroid are rare, it is important to make a correct diagnosis, so that appropriate treatment may be chosen.


We investigate theoretically the formation of two-component light with superluminal group velocity in a medium controlled by four Raman pump fields. In such an optical scheme only a particular combination of the probe fields is coupled to the matter and exhibits superluminal propagation, the orthogonal combination is uncoupled. The individual probe fields do not have a definite group velocity in the medium. Calculations demonstrate that this superluminal component experiences an envelope advancement in the medium with respect to the propagation in vacuum.


In this paper, we provide an early look at our model for generating terrain that is occluded in the initial lidar scan or out of range of the sensor. As a proof of concept, we show that a transformer based framework is able to be overfit to predict the geometries of unobserved roads around intersections or corners. We discuss our method for generating training data, as well as a unique loss function for training our terrain extension network. The framework is tested on data from the SemanticKitti [1] dataset. Unlabeled point clouds measured from an onboard lidar are used as input data to generate predicted road points that are out of range or occluded in the original point-cloud scan. Then the input pointcloud and predicted terrain are concatenated to the terrain-extended pointcloud. We show promising qualitative results from these methods, as well as discussion for potential quantitative metrics to evaluate the overall success of our framework. Finally, we discuss improvements that can be made to the framework for successful generalization to test sets.


Few treatments or procedures in veterinary medicine can be as shopped for as elective surgeries. Stories abound of receptionists fielding multiple "phone shoppers" per day, with potential clients inquiring about the costs of spays and neuters. As a result of this perceived competition, many hospitals have succumbed to downward pressure on the prices of these surgeries, in order to try to "win" these phone-shopping clients. At the same time, the inclusion of pre-operative blood work and intra-operative intravenous fluids has increased the value of these procedures. This combination of factors has led to a large number of hospitals surrendering potential revenue, as they attempt to offer low prices in tandem with high-quality surgical procedures to sway price sensitive pet owners.

Examining the results of the 2014 Provincial Economic Surveys sheds light on how different provinces across the nation offer and charge for elective surgeries. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on canine spays. The results were quite similar for canine neuters and feline spays; however, feline neuters bucked the trends seen with the other elective surgeries. The cost of a dog spay is adjusted to the cost of living in each province to make the comparison valid across Canada.

From province to province, the cost of a dog spay, adjusted for cost of living, varied widely, from a low of $263.13 to a high of $377.08. At first, it may be tempting to chalk this discrepancy up to differences in what is included with the surgery; certainly, a spay that incorporates pre-operative blood work and intra-operative IV fluids would be expected to be more costly than one that did not provide these benefits.

To glean these distinctions, the Provincial Economic Surveys asked veterinary hospitals to indicate the price they charge for a routine canine spay, and whether blood work or IV fluids is included in this price. The results of the data collected is presented in Figure 1, outlining the percentage of hospitals in each province that offer pre-operative blood work and intra-operative IV fluids, as well as the cost-of-living adjusted price of a dog spay.

Figure 1

Canine ovariohysterectomy costs per province (NL — Newfoundland, PE — Prince Edward Island, NS — Nova Scotia, NB — New Brunswick, ON — Ontario, MB — Manitoba, SK — Saskatchewan, AB — Alberta, ...

This figure illustrates the lack of an obvious relationship between the price of a spay procedure and the added benefits that are included. Many provinces charging lower fees are also the ones in which higher percentages of hospitals are offering both blood work and IV fluids.

As an example, both Alberta and British Columbia had lower spay prices ($276.99 and $275.09, respectively), while 8% of hospitals in Alberta and 18% in British Columbia included blood work, and 64% in Alberta and 61% in British Columbia included IV fluids. Conversely, Ontario had a cost-of-living adjusted spay price of $377.08, with 21% of hospitals indicating that this included pre-operative blood work, and 72% indicating that this price encompassed IV fluids. Given how close the percentages of hospitals including blood work and IV fluids are in Ontario to Alberta and British Columbia, it would be expected that the cost-of-living adjusted spay price would be relatively similar across all three (Table 1).

Table 1

Cost-of-living adjusted spay price per province

This leads us to the obvious question, what is the cause of this price discrepancy? Simply put, there isn't a clear reason why some provinces choose to charge less while offering more. This foregone revenue, therefore, should be considered quite a low hanging fruit, particularly for those veterinary hospitals charging lower prices for elective surgeries while offering many added benefits, such as blood work and IV fluids. Through adjustments to their pricing, these hospitals could realize much more revenue without alienating a large base of their clients. The evidence pointing to the viability of this strategy is provided by those provinces charging higher cost of living adjusted spay prices, in tandem with blood work and IV fluids.

While it is tempting for veterinary hospitals to compete for clients based on price alone, a superior metric of distinction would be the value they offer their patrons. Certainly, some pet owners will be searching for the absolute lowest price. However, many others will be looking not for the lowest price, but the best value. These clients will be seeking a veterinary hospital that offers a high-quality surgery, with the added benefits they desire, at a reasonable price. At this point, many provinces are offering the high-quality surgery that clients expect, yet cutting themselves short when it comes to pricing. An increase in price, in tandem with staff strongly communicating the value of the procedures and associated benefits offered by their hospital, can result in higher revenue without pushback from clients. As the adage goes, price is only an issue in the absence of perceived value.


Rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) is an old world monkey belongs to family- cercopithecidae. Rhesus monkey has a major role in biodiversity and in medical biological study such as surrogate mother, immunodeficiency disease, captive breeding, blood grouping and sequence of genome etc. (Zahn et al., 2007). The present study was carried out from February, 2008 to July, 2008 to record various troop size and troop composition of rhesus monkey in Saraswati Plantation Wildlife Sanctuary and Bir Sonty Reserve Forest, Kurukshetra, Haryana (India). Three troops (T-I, T-II, T-III) of rhesus monkey in Saraswati Plantation Wildlife Sanctuary and three troops (T-IV, T-V, T-VI) in Bir Sonty Reserve Forest were selected. The sighted individuals were categorized based on age-sex ratio viz., infants, juveniles, adult male and adult female followed by Singh (1981).The results indicated that the number of adults (males and females) remained constant during study period in all six selected troops of rhesus monkey. However, troop size swelled from 25 to 29 of troop-I, 35 to 38 of troop-II and 49 to 55 of troop-III. Similarly, in Bir Sonty Reserve Forest, troop size swelled from 45 to 49 of troop-IV, 48 to 54 of troop-V and 42 to 45 troop-V due to addition of newly born young ones during breeding period of rhesus monkey. The average age- sex ratio varied from a minimum of 2.40 in troop I to a maximum of 3.16 in troop II.


The vertical stratification and optical characteristics of aloft aerosol plumes are critical to evaluate their influences on climate radiation and air quality. In this study, we demonstrate the synergistic measurements of aloft aerosol plumes by a ground-based NOAA-CREST lidar network (CLN) along the US East Coast, the AERONET-sun/sky radiometer network at lidar sites, and satellite observations. During the plume intrusion period on March 6, 2012, the CLN and AERONET measurements were consistent in illustrating the onset of dust aerosol plumes. We observed two-layers of aerosol located at 1.0 ~ 8.0 km altitude. The column-average volume size distributions show increasing concentration of both fine- and coarse-modes aerosols, but are dominated by the coarse-mode. Direct lidar inversions illustrate that the aerosol plume layers contributed up to 70% of the total AOD. NOAA-HYSPLIT back-trajectories and CALIPSO observations indicate the trans-Pacific transport of Asian-dust at 3 - 8 km altitude to the US East Coast. Meanwhile, the NOAA-HMS fire and smoke products illustrate the transport and possible mixture of dust with fine-mode smoke particles from the middle and southwestern US. The small Angstrom exponents of MODIS/Aqua in the US East Coast imply the dominance of coarse-mode particles. Accordingly, the upper layer of coarse mode aerosols is most likely transported from the East Asia, while the lower layer at 1-3 km altitude probably consists of continental dust particles from the western US mixed with fine-mode smoke particles. In addition, the transport and vertical structure of aerosol are investigated with the NAAPS global aerosol transport model.


Abstract Cardiac haemangiomas are exceedingly rare; however, they can cause significant haemodynamic impairment and disturbances in heart rhythm. Rarely, cardiac tumours may also coexist with congenital heart lesions. We present an extremely unusual case of a cardiac haemangioma in the setting of complex transposition of the great arteries that caused functional tricuspid atresia. To our knowledge, this is the first such case described in the literature.


Rotating-frame imaging with the mathematically well-defined, non-constant magnetic field gradient of toroid cavity detectors represents a new technique to evaluate diffusion in solids, fluids or mixed-phase systems. While conventional NMR methods to measure diffusion utilize constant magnetic field gradients and, therefore, constant k-space wave numbers across the sample volume, the hyperbolic B{sub 1} fields of toroid cavity detectors exhibit large ranges of wave numbers radially distributed around the central conductor. As a consequence, signal amplitudes decay depending on the radial distance from the center axis of the torus. Applying a numerical finite-difference procedure to solve partial differential transport equations makes it possible not only to determine diffusion in toroid detectors to a high precision but also to include and accurately reproduce transport phenomena at or through singularities, such as phase transitions, membranes or impermeable boundaries.


Abstract. We consider the stationary reaction-diffusion problem in a domain Ω⊂ℝ 3 $\Omega \subset \mathbb {R}^3$ having the size along one coordinate direction essentially smaller than along the others. By an energy type argumentation, different simplified models of lower dimension can be deduced and solved numerically. For these models, we derive a guaranteed upper bound of the difference between the exact solution of the original problem and a three-dimensional reconstruction generated by the solution of a dimensionally reduced problem. This estimate of the total error is determined as the sum of discretization and modeling errors, which are both explicit and computable. The corresponding discretization errors are estimated by a posteriori estimates of the functional type. Modeling error majorants are also explicitly evaluated. Hence, a numerical strategy based on the balancing modeling and discretization errors can be derived in order to provide an economical way of getting an approximate solution with an a priori given accuracy. Numerical tests are presented and discussed.


Effects on the spectra of the quantum bouncer due to dissipation are given when a linear or quadratic dissipation is taken into account. Classical constant of motions and Hamiltonians are deduced for these systems and their quantized eigenvalues are estimated through perturbation theory. we found some differences when we compare the eigenvalues of these two quantities.


We examine the origin and evolution of the mass-metallicity relationship (MZR, M*-Z) for galaxies using high-resolution cosmological smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) + N-body simulations that include a physically motivated description of supernova feedback and subsequent metal enrichment. We discriminate between two sources that may contribute to the origin of the MZR: (1) metal and baryon loss due to gas outflow or (2) inefficient star formation at the lowest galaxy masses. Our simulated galaxies reproduce the observed MZR in shape and normalization at both z = 0 and 2. We find that baryon loss occurs due to UV heating before star formation turns on in galaxies with Mbar < 108 M☉, but that some gas loss due to supernova-induced winds is required to subsequently reproduce the low effective chemical yield observed in low-mass galaxies. Despite this, we show that low star formation efficiencies, regulated by supernova feedback, are primarily responsible for the lower metallicities of low-mass galaxies and the overall M*-Z trend. We find that the shape of the MZR is relatively constant with redshift but that its normalization increases with time. Simulations with no energy feedback from supernovae overproduce metals at low galaxy masses by rapidly transforming a large fraction of their gas into stars. Despite the fact that our low-mass galaxies have lost a majority of their baryons, they are still the most gas-rich objects in our simulations due to their low star formation efficiencies.


Disclosed herein is a variable-resistance memory device including a first common line; a second common line; a storage element connected between the first common line and the second common line to serve as a storage element whose resistance changes in accordance with a voltage applied to the storage element; and a driving control circuit.


(57) Abstract: fuel lines, a suitable multilayer tube for use in a motor vehicle system for transporting hydrocarbon-containing fluids such as those found in the vapor return line or vapor recovery tube, provided on the innermost side in the radial direction is the first layer, and the second a layer in the desired lifetime of the tube made by the melt-processable thermoplastic material is extrudable to withstand prolonged exposure to automotive fuels and various fuel additives first layer and the to prevent delamination of the layers and fully persistent layer bonded may extrudable melt processable non-polyester between the second layer, non-alcoholic heat a second layer made of plastic material. The thermoplastic material of the second layer, the first thermoplastic material used in the layer of chemically dissimilar thermoplastic at least one component, such as a melt-processable compound having at least two isocyanate groups thermoplastic material used in the first layer, such as an elastomer or a polyamide and configured in combination with similar compounds. Tube of the present invention may optionally include an additional layer include an additional layer interposed between the respective layers, or covering the outside surface of the second layer.


Model calculations suggest that the emissions by road traffic (passenger vehicles and trucks) of ozone precursors (NOx, CO, hydrocarbons) have a substantial impact on the concentration of tropospheric ozone at the regional scale in the boundary layer and at the hemispheric scale in the free troposphere. Increases in the surface ozone concentration resulting from road traffic are typically 5–15 % at mid‐latitudes in the Northern hemisphere during summer. Similar levels of ozone changes are calculated in the Southern hemisphere during austral summertime, but with perturbations less uniformly distributed than in the Northern hemisphere. Ozone changes produced in the upper troposphere as a result of road traffic are of the same magnitude (5–8% in July) as the changes generated by commercial aircraft operations. A traffic‐induced reduction of 3% is estimated for the globally and annually averaged lifetime of methane.


Fossil (Miocene, most probably Badenian) shark tooth with traces of human activity is described from the Pavlov I locality (Gravettian). The traces indicate that it has been used by the Pavlovians probably as a cutting tool. Besides, even bioerosion traces are visible on its surface, their origin being connected with the interactions between the tooth and the roots of higher plants.


Scientific and technological education has been, in present times, fairly-well discussed, with focus on the ultimate commitment of the various teaching institutions: to promote the formation of citizens who are able to understand the world where they live in. Actually, the choice of contemporary topics is by itself a very strategic approach to motivate discussions on such matters in the classroom. Nanoscience and nanotechnology come up very properly in such a domain, which can be treated in an interdisciplinary way, by joining exact and natural sciences on the one hand, and human and social sciences on the other hand. The proposal of thematic directions to approach nanoscience and nanotechnology as a motto for science teaching, set up from reviewing the literature under the optics of Science-Technology-Society-Environment (STSE), is the main goal of the present paper.


Technology-based entrepreneurship or technopreneur-ship is crucial in driving business innovations in a country, especially in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 era. To date, the Malaysian government has put forth various efforts and implemented many strategies to develop youth technopreneurs. However, the establishment of new technological businesses still needed to be higher. In addition, reluctance to embark on entrepreneurship among university students remained a main issue and challenge. Therefore, the ultimate purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of technopreneurial intention among university students. The mediating role of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) was also tested. This study employed the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the concept of IEO as the underpinning theories in developing the model of research and hypotheses. The research method adopted was quantitative because all variables were quantifiable. In particular, it utilised a survey questionnaire. The object of the research was individual university students chosen from a public university in Malaysia. A total of 5030 students was identified as the population of the study. Based on the proportionate stratified random sampling, 358 students were selected as a sample and surveyed. The collected data were further analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). The findings empirically confirmed that contextual elements significantly and positively influenced technopreneurs' intentions. However, computer and Internet self-efficacy were not significant in influencing technoprenuerial intention. IEO significantly mediated the relationship between contextual elements and technopreneurs' intention regarding mediation testing. This research proved that aspects of contextual elements such as access to capital, access to information, and social networks were important in encouraging and developing technopreneurs. Furthermore, it confirmed a model for understanding and bolstering technopreneurial intention. It helped the government find significant external factors influencing students' technopreneurial intention. It also sheds light on establishing effective ways of developing technopreneur-ship among youths early.


Intrduction: Rapamycin is an mTOR inhibitor and a prominent inducer of autophagy in cancer cells and tumor interstitial cells. Macrophages are the primary type of immune cells observed in the tumor microenvironment and serve varying roles in the progression of cancer by polarizing into distinct phenotypes. However, whether rapamycin-induced macrophage autophagy influences bladder cancer remains unclear. Methods: THP-1 cells were successfully polarized into M1 or M2 macrophages, which were identified by detecting CD86 (M1) or CD206 (M2) expressions using flow cytometry and measuring M1/M2-related mRNA expressions using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Rapamycin was employed for inducing autophagy, and then the influences of enhanced autophagic M1 and M2 macrophages on migration and invasion of bladder cancer cells were confirmed by wound healing and Transwell assay in the co-culture model. Furthermore, the gene and protein expressions of IL-10 and the underlying role are still unclear. Results: Rapamycin significantly increased autophagy levels in M1 and M2 macrophages, while only autophagy-enhanced M2 macrophages facilitated the migration and invasion of bladder cancer cells. Furthermore, rapamycin increased IL-10 secretion from M2 macrophages, which mediated the effects of M2 macrophages on migration and invasion of bladder cancer. Conclusion: Rapamycin induces M2 macrophage autophagy and promotes the migration and invasion of bladder cancer by increasing IL-10 secretion, suggesting that M2 macrophage autophagy is an underlying target of rapamycin in treating bladder cancer.


Intramuscular fat content (IMF%) in cattle influences the value of individual animals, especially for higher marbling markets. IMF is triacylglyceride (TAG) in lipid droplets in the intramuscular adipocytes. However, there are many different pathways from feed intake to the final common process of TAG synthesis and storage as IMF. To evaluate the relative importance of different pathways we compared changes in the expression of genes encoding proteins involved in the TAG and fatty acid (FA) synthesis pathways in the longissimus muscle of Piedmontese × Hereford (P×H) and Wagyu × Hereford (W×H) crosses. Based on these changes we have estimated the relative contributions of FA synthesised de novo in the intramuscular adipocyte and the uptake of circulating FA (both free and from TAG), from the diet or synthesised de novo in other tissues, to TAG deposition as IMF. We have analysed the impact of different developmental times and different diets on these processes. Increased de novo FA synthesis in intramuscular adipocytes appeared to contribute more than increased FA uptake from circulation to the additional TAG deposition in W×H compared with P×H cattle between 12 and 25 months (forage diet). Changing diet from forage to concentrate appeared to increase the importance of FA uptake from circulation relative to de novo FA synthesis for TAG synthesis in intramuscular adipocytes. These results are consistent with the literature based on analysis of lipid composition. Gene expression appears to provide a simple assay for identification of the source of FA for the deposition of IMF.


With China's market economy development, more and more investors focus on the analysis of listed company investment value, such as wisdom Agriculture sector, expecting to get good investment reference. Mixed listed companies financial status, coupled with that the stock market is a complex system, it is difficult to accurately predict the future trend. But a healthy company after a long-term stable operation is bound to achieve substantial profit. The fuzzy clustering method is constructed to screen financial indicators systems that affect listed companies' investment value by avoiding risk philosophy for a sound investment. Financial data from the previous year of 963 companies were made as training samples to establish data mining model of the investment value in the listed companies based on Twin SVM, then predict the investment value of the companies in next year based on the data of this year. And based on the same test samples, traditional SVM and twin SVM were tested and compared. Results show that, our Twin SVM can obtain higher accuracy and faster calculation speed than ordinary SVM.


supplied, but, for reasons of safety the cylinders were partially filled with water. A mercury manometer was used to measure the internal pressure. The axial compressive load was applied by a hydraulic strut and measured with an SR-4 load cell. The torsion load was applied by a hydraulic strut which was attached to the lower head by two cables. The torsion load was also meas ured by an SR-4 load cell. The buckling loads of the test specimens were determined visually, which was a relatively simple task because the buckles often snapped into position. Occasionally, buckles appeared to grow out of relatively large initial irregularities. The order of application of the compression and torsion loads did not affect the magnitude of the critical stresses. A photograph of a typical buckle pattern in one of the specimens subjected to a combined load is shown in Fig. 1. The test data are plotted in Fig. 2 in terms of the nondimensional stress ratios Rc and Rt. The stress ratios are defined as in Eq. 1, but the critical stresses are those obtained with internal pressure present. In order to plot the combined loads data, the average of the experimental buckling stresses for the cylinders loaded in compression alone and those loaded in torsion alone have been used as the denominators of the stress ratios. Shown in Fig. 2 is the interaction relationship defined by Eq. (1) which has been suggested for unpressurized cylinders. It can be ob served that this interaction curve is a suitable lower bound to the test data. Based on these tests, it is concluded that the same shape design curve adequately describes the behavior of both pressurized and unpressurized circular cylinders under combined compression and torsion. For the design of pressurized cylinders, the stress ratios in Eq. (1) should be used with the critical buck ling stress for pressurized cylinders under compression alone or under torsion alone determined from empirical curves. It should be remembered that the above conclusions are based on tests of cylinders at only two values of the pressure parameter, (p/E) (r/t)2. It is conjectured that the interaction curve would be the same for any long pressurized cylinder; however, additional tests should be performed to verif}^ this assumption.


Objective To observe the clinical effect of revision surgery for lumbar disc herniation and analyze the relative factors.Methods We selected the clinical data of 131 cases with lumbar disc herniation lumbar surgical.The JOA score,leg pain VAS score,low back pain VAS score and patient's subjective satisfaction before surgery and the last follow-up evaluation of patients were compared.Results JOA score,VAS score of leg pain,low back pain VAS score before reoperation and the last follow-up had significant differences(P0.05);the surgical results preoperative neurological damage,the course of the disease were the influencing factors(P0.05).Conclusion The effect of lumbar disc herniation lumbar reoperation is better,its impact factors are reoperation before nerve damage,the course of the disease.


Modern multibeam sonars provide high resolution measurements of acoustic backscatter that were unthinkable just a few decades ago. However, many aspects of the data acquisition can heavily impact these measurements, reducing the data quality in the output mosaic and any attempt of seafloor characterization. This work first describes techniques to identify the presence of artifacts (e.g., bubble wash-down), then explores possible scenarios for how to reduce the lack of knowledge in such areas. Finally, it outlines an approach for how to retain the information from the processing steps used in an attempt to increase output reproducibility and reusability.


A 73-year·old right-handed man with a history of diabetes, hyperlipidem ia, co ronary artery disease, and asthmatic obstructive lung disease came to our institution beca use of a 2year history of gradual worseoiog of gait aod balaoce. One year previously, he had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting without perioperative complica tions. Subsequently, h is gait worsened, and his fee l felt "glued to the floor." During the 2 years before the curre nt examination, he also noticed urinary urgency, occasional incont inence, and irnpotcnce. His wife noti ced that he had had some mental slo wing and forgetfulness during the precediog 18 months. Review of systems revealed no history of tremo r. speech change, diffi culty with use of his arms, or wea kness . Five months before the current assessment, a neu rol ogist had noted parkin son ism; amantadi oe hydrochlori de and carbidopaIcvodopa were prescribed separate ly but yielded no benefi t. On initi al consultation , the patient had norm al mental status and cranial nerve func tions. Motor examina tion showed generally preserved strength, red uced aokle jerks, and flexor plantar responses bilaterally. Muscle tone was mildly spastic in the legs. Sensory examinat ion showed mild hypoe sthesia 10 pinprick in bot h hands (fingertips) and feet (up 10 the ankles); other sensory modalit ies were normal. His ga it was wide-based , and externa l anal sphincte r tone was mildly reduced . Parkinsoni an signs included shuffl ing gait, slowed walking, and postural instability.


The synthesis of 6-amino-1-(2′,3′-dideoxy-β-D-glycero-pentofuranosyl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4(5H)-one ( =8-aza-7-deaza-2′,3′-dideoxyguanosine; 1) from its 2′-deoxyribofuranoside 5a by a five-step deoxygenation route is described. The precursor of 5a, 3a, was prepared by solid-liquid phase-transfer glyscosylation which gave higher yields (57%) than the liquid-liquid method. Ammonoloysis of 3b furnished the diamino nucleoside 3c. Compound 1 was less acid sensitive at the N-glycosydic bond than 2′,3′-dideoxyguanosine (2).


China from the opium wars to the 1911 revolution by Jean March 24th, 2019 China from the opium wars to the 1911 revolution New York Pantheon Books MLA Citation Chesneaux Jean and Bergere Marie Claire and Bastid Marianne China from the opium wars to the 1911 revolution by Jean Chesneaux Marianne Bastid and Marie Claire Bergere translated from the French by Anne Destenay Pantheon Books New York 1976


vi ABSTRACT Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human gamma2-herpesvirus and the causative agent of three human cancers: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). KSHV establishes persistent life-long infection and manipulates host cell proliferation and apoptosis, which leads to the development of cancer in immunocompromised individuals. KSHV has two phases of life cycle, the latency phase and lytic replication phase. Latency is a silent mode of infection, while in the lytic replication phase new virus progeny are produced. Although the latent phase is the default mode of infection, the lytic cycle has an instrumental role in the emergence and progression of KS. KSHV encodes several microRNAs (miRNAs) that have a potential role in viral tumorigenesis. However, the targets of these miRNAs are still poorly known. In the first study we show that KSHV-encoded miRNAs inhibit apoptosis by silencing the expression of caspase 3, an apoptotic effector, in latent KSHV-infected cells. In the second study the aim is to discover new specific anti-viral drugs by targeting host cell antiapoptotic mechanisms utilized by KHSV. To this end, BH3 mimetic drugs are tested which bind and inhibit the anti-apoptotic function of the B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins in KSHV-infected cells. This study shows that the myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) inhibitor, Obatoclax, induces cell death in KSHV-infected cells undergoing lytic phase. The cellular mechanisms that regulate the triggering of the lytic cycle (reactivation) are not completely understood. To discover new regulators of KSHV reactivation and lytic cycle activation, a targeted RNAi screen was performed using a library of siRNA oligos targeting human epigenetic factors and their regulators. The screen identifies Mouse double minute-2 (MDM2), the main regulator of p53 protein stability, as a negative regulator of KSHV reactivation. Further studies demonstrate that efficient KSHV reactivation is favored by a p53 stress response and by the induction of p21Cip-1-mediated G2/M cell cycle arrest. KSHV encoded cyclin D homolog viral cyclin (v-cyclin) is able to overcome G1 cell cycle arrest and dysregulate mitosis of KSHV infected cells. V-cyclin operates by interacting with cellular proteins and consequently to study the role of v-cyclin in KSHV induced cancers, comprehensive interactome of v-cyclin and cellular proteins was studied in tetracycline inducible isogenic v-cyclin expressing human cell line.


Interest in acute exercise-induced feeling states has intensified in recent years, signaling the need for development of domain-specific measures of these constructs. In response to this call, 2 exercise-specific measures of feeling states have been introduced-namely, the Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory (EFI; Gauvin & Rejeski, 1993) and the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale (SEES; McAuley & Courneya, 1994). Although certain subscales of the 2 instruments are unique, a number of similar constructs exist both within and between instruments. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to (a) combine the EFI and SEES scales into a single, more encompassing instrument and (b) investigate potential factor redundancy within and between the 2 instruments. Initial correlational analyses indicated that the Positive Well-Being subscale of the SEES and the revitalization and Positive Engagement subscales of the EFI were highly correlated. Similar results were obtained for the Fatigue (SEES) and Physical Exhaustion (EFI) subscales. These findings provided the impetus for the construction of the Physical Activity Affect Scale (PAAS), an instrument consisting of the Psychological Distress subscale of the SEES and the subscales of the EFI. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated support for 4 components of exercise-induced affect that were subsequently labeled positive affect, negative affect, fatigue, and tranquility. The PAAS appears to be an improvement over the EFI and SEES in that it is a more encompassing measure of exercise-induced feeling states with less component redundancy than its predecessors.


Entomopathogenic nematodes are insect parasites that form a
symbiotic relationship with Gram negative bacteria and together
they seek suitable hosts. There is still a lack of knowledge
about the biological interactions between nematodal parasite
and insect host, for instance we still do not know which
molecules are responsible for the host immune response to
nematode infection. To better understand these defense
mechanisms, the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is
successfully used as study model since it is an excellent
genetic tool. It can help us in understanding the molecular
mechanisms of immune response and identification of key genes
as well as their function. It has been proposed that
thioester-containing proteins (TEPs) can play an important role
in pathogen recognition, but their exact role in immune
response is still unclear. In previous studies it has been
shown that Drosophila TEP3 mutants are more susceptible to
nematode infections. In another study, TEP4 mutants infected
with Photorhabdus bacteria demonstrated higher levels of
melanization and phenoloxidase activity as well as increased
production of antimicrobial peptides. The goal of our work is
to achieve a better understanding of TEPs and their role. In
particular, we are interested at the TEP3 function in the
defense against nematodes which we study by testing the
susceptibility of Drosophila against symbiotic and axenic
nematodes of selected species in experimental infections. We
observed clear difference in pathogenic effect not only among
different species of nematodes, but also among different
isolates of one species. Immunity of TEP3 flies was further
evaluated by determination of phenoloxidase and antimicrobial
activities that differ from wild-type flies in case of TEP4.
These tests could provide us with a better insight to the role
of TEP3 gene and its product in immune system of the Drosophila
and its reactions to pathogens. This project was supported by
grant GACR 17-03253S.


Abstract This paper is concerned specifically with the growth and development of pitting on mild steel surfaces under anaerobic conditions, that is, when sufficient corrosion product has built-up u...


The high-temperature overheater outlet is a significant safeguard in boiler running,which will bear high temperature and or high pressure.Its quality of fixing has an important effect on the operation of the boiler.So,the rational weld-plan,heat treatment and quality-examination will be necessary to guarantee its installation-quality in installing course.According to the essentiality of the weld,the characteristics of two parent metals and the biggish wall thickness,a novel weld procedure was proposed in this paper to improves the weld-quality and power set reliability,in which there are 2 times weld course and 2 times nondestructive flaw detection.


Abstract In flooded soil, volatile fatty acids (VFAs) which are intermediate products of organic matter decomposition are toxic to rice plant. The VFAs consist mainly of acetic acid (CH3COOH), and methane (CH4)-producing bacteria (MPBs) decompose them into CH4 and carbon dioxide (CO2).


Based on a series of about a hundred CT-guided stereotactic biopsies, the basic principles of stereotaxic approach of the brain are reviewed. The authors also report their preliminary experience of stereotaxic aspiration in the management of brain abscesses and hypertensive intracerebral hematomas. CT-guided stereotaxic aspiration is useful in the management of brain abscesses and is a viable treatment modality of hypertensive hematomas.


Polysilsesquioxanes containing methacrylate pendant groups were prepared by the sol−gel process through hydrolysis and condensation of (3-methacryloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTS) dissolved in a methanol/methyl methacrylate (MMA) mixture. The effects of different water, MMA, and methanol contents, as well as of pH, on the nanoscopic and local structures of the system, at advanced stages of the condensation reaction, were studied by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, respectively. SAXS results indicate that the nanoscopic features of the hybrid sol could be described by a hierarchical model composed of two levels, namely (i) silsesquioxane (SSQO) nanoparticles surrounded by the methacrylate pendant groups and the methanol/MMA mixture, and (ii) aggregation zones or islands containing correlated SSQO nanoparticles, embedded in the liquid medium. The 29Si NMR results show that the inner structures of SSQO nanoparticles produced at pH 1 and 3 were built...


Gifts in human and some animal courtship tend to be "expensive", i.e. costly to the giver but of low intrinsic value to the receiver. We propose an evolutionary explanation, modelling courtship as an asymmetric game between the sexes. The game involves a single gift being offered by the male, followed by the female choosing whether to accept or reject the gift, and then whether or not to mate. Acceptance of a gift eliminates the female's uncertainty about the type of gift offered. If mating occurs the male then chooses whether to desert or to help care for the young. We find evolutionary equilibria in which gifts of value to the female are never offered to attractive females, though gifts which are offered are costly to the male ("expensive"). Indeed, the offer of an (apparently) valuable gift will be rejected. Other equilibria exist in which only valuable gifts, or a mixture of valuable and expensive gifts are offered to attractive females. Our results show that the cost of gifts may function as an indicator to the female of her attractiveness to the male, and hence of his intention to help care for the young. At the same time, a gift with low instrinsic value means that there is no incentive for females to act as "gold-diggers" and accept gifts from males with whom they have no intention of mating. Hence the economic inefficiency of courtship gifts facilitates the matching of mutually attractive partners.


The article presents fossilized plant remains from the Uzon caldera in Kamchatka for the first time. A problematic plant remain from diatomite, undetermined plant bulbs and several pieces of silicified herbs and wood as small stems and branches were recognized. Based on microscopic structure, one piece of stem was attributed to the genus Salix L. All presented fossils are silicified, connected to the former volcanic activity of the Uzon caldera.


Objective To evaluate clinical effects and relating problems of traditional opening lumbar discectomy(group A)and contemporary microendoscopy(MED)(group B)treated lumbar disc herniation.Methods According to clinical manifestation and image results,625 cases of lumbar disc herniation were operated upon with traditional open discectomy,546 cases with MED.Naikai's criteria was used to assess the clinical outcomes,with comparatively analyzing operating time、the volume of blood lose、complications and postoperative recovery time.Results The rate of exellent and good in group A was 94.2%,and group B was 98.3%.There was no significant differences between two groups(P0.05).The mean operating time in group A was 75.6 minutes,and 67.7 minutes in group B,which had no statistical significance(P0.05).There were 8 cases complication in group A,3 cases complication in group B,which had no statistical significance(P0.05).There was significance differences in the volumes of blood lose、postopereting recovery time between two groups(P0.05).Conclusion The clinical outcome of two groups are same satisfactory.The laminectomy discectomy is always main method to treat lumbar disc herniation.being a minimally invasive procedure in spinal surgery,MED has advantage of minimal incision、less blood lose、speed recovery and less damage to posterior column of lumbar spine,but it can't fully replace the convetional discectomy.However,under the condition of masterring the convetional discectomy skill、accurae operation indication and skilled operative procedure are the key to improve outcome and reduce the complication.


We report the existence of eight different interleukin-15 receptor α-chain (IL-15Rα) transcripts resulting from exon-splicing mechanisms within the IL-15Rα gene. Two main classes of transcripts can be distinguished that do or do not (Δ2 isoforms) contain the exon 2-coding sequence. Both classes were expressed in numerous cell lines and tissues (including peripheral blood lymphocytes) at comparable levels and could be transcribed in COS-7 cells, and the proteins were expressed at the cell surface. Both receptor forms displayed numerous glycosylation states, reflecting differential usage of a single N-glycosylation site as well as extensive O-glycosylations. Whereas IL-15Rα bound IL-15 with high affinity, Δ2IL-15Rα was unable to bind IL-15, thus revealing the indispensable role of the exon 2-encoded domain in cytokine binding. A large proportion of IL-15Rα was expressed at the nuclear membrane with some intranuclear localization, supporting a potential direct action of the IL-15·IL-15Rα complex at the nuclear level. In sharp contrast, Δ2IL-15Rα was found only in the non-nuclear membrane compartments, indicating that the exon 2-encoded domain (which is shown to contain a potential nuclear localization signal) plays an important role in receptor post-translational routing. Together, our data indicate that exon 2 splicing of human IL-15Rα is a natural process that might play regulatory roles at different levels.


I. INTRODUCTION During recent years, parametric moving average (MA), autoregressive (AR), and autoregressive moving average (ARMA) modeling have been developed for higher order spectrum analysis, phase estimation, and system identification of non-Gaussian process [1]. Estimating the parameters of the model is a major goal in signal modeling. There have many methods estimating the model parameters, but most of them assume prior knowledge of the model order. In most realistic situations, the model order is not known. It's necessary to obtain the model order before estimating the model parameters. The problem of selecting the proper model order is a difficult one that has never been solved satisfactorily. Currently there have four broad categories of causal system model order determination, i.e., the correlation analysis method, the information theoretic criteria method, the linear algebra method and the optimization algorithm based method. The Correlation Analysis based order determination method is firstly proposed by Box-Jenkins in 1976. It determines the model order using the truncation of sample data's autocorrelation and partial autocorrelation. This method also decides the type of model when selecting the model order. Several information theoretic criteria have been proposed. The Final Prediction-Error (PFE) criterion and Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC), which are both based on the prediction-error variance, were proposed by Akaike in 1969 and 1974 respectively. FPE and AIC are asymptotically equivalent, but don't yield consistent estimates of the model order [2]. The Minimum Description Length (MDL) criterion was developed by both Schwartz and Rissanen [3]. The fundamental principle of the information theoretic criteria methods is that selecting the orders when the cost function achieves the minimum. With the development of bionics, the optimization algorithms are introduced into model order determination. These methods estimate the model orders via optimizing a cost function. But the cost function is difficult to be built and solved. There is still a big gap between theoretical analysis and practical application. The typical linear algebra order determination methods include the determinant test method, the singular value decomposition (SVD) method and the Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization method. The SVD method is recognized as a numerically robust tool for AR order determination, and works rather well with the moderate SNR's noises. As in the AR order determination, Zhang and Zhang introduced the SVD method into the MA order determination. But Zhang and Zhang's method is based on the higher-order cumulant, and is sensitive to the length of data. In this paper, the author analyzed the applicability of the AR order determination based on autocorrelation and fourth order cumulant respectively. The author also proposed a new MA order determination method based on Zhang Zhang's method. The new approach introduced the information theoretic criteria into MA order determination. Numerical simulations demonstrated the new approach had good practical values.


. Theory of mind refers to the human ability to reason about mental con- tent of other people such as beliefs, desires, and goals. In everyday life, people rely on their theory of mind to understand, explain, and predict the behaviour of others. Having a theory of mind is especially useful when people collaborate, since individuals can then reason on what the other individual knows as well as what reason- ing they might do. Realization of hybrid intelligence, where an agent collaborates with a human, will require the agent to be able to do similar reasoning through computational theory of mind. Accordingly, this paper provides a mechanism for computational theory of mind based on abstractions of single beliefs into higher- level concepts. These concepts can correspond to social norms, roles, as well as values. Their use in decision making serves as a heuristic to choose among interac- tions, thus facilitating collaboration on decisions. Using examples from the medical domain, we demonstrate how having such a theory of mind enables an agent to in- teract with humans efficiently and can increase the quality of the decisions humans make.


Friction between a tool and chip, and the heat generated, often limit machining in metal cutting operations. Coolants and lubricants are used in great quantities to reduce friction at the cutting area. However, the cost of cutting fluids is increasing because of the increasingly stringent environmental standards for fluid handling and disposal, and these standards are likely to be further tightened in proposed national and international legislation (Weinert and Inasaki, 2004). Although dry and semi-dry machining is an attractive option, it is currently unavailable in many operations because cooling cannot be achieved (Tasdelen et al., 2008; Werda et al., 2016). Therefore, cutting fluids will continue to be required. As a fluid deteriorates, its cutting power decreases and the work environment becomes polluted. Techniques that extend the life of cutting fluids are therefore needed. One of the key causes of deterioration is decomposition due to bacterial growth (Rabenstein et al., 2009; Griffiths, 1978). Bacteria enter the fluid from both the air and the chip. Because preventing bacteria from contaminating the cutting fluid is difficult, chemical additives are widely used for bacterial control. The widespread use of oil additives has led to the emergence of resistant bacteria, and the additives change the characteristics of the cutting fluid. Therefore, we proposed a sterilization technique using plasma treatment under atmospheric pressure (Miyamoto et al., 2018). Moreover, we suggested that the molecular structure of the fluids was not affected by plasma jet treatment (Miyamoto et al., 2018). In our previous study, the number of bacterial colonies in fluid sterilized using atmospheric-pressure plasma was reduced by more than 90% compared with the number in an untreated fluid (Miyamoto et al., 2018). From this report, however, it is unclear whether the remaining bacteria and surface Junji MIYAMOTO*, Ryo TSUBOI*, Masashi YOSHIDA** and Koichiro NAMBU*** * Department of Mechanical Engineering, Daido University 10-3 Takiharu-cho, Minami-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 457-8530, Japan E-mail: email@example.com ** Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Daido University 10-3 Takiharu-cho, Minami-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 457-8530, Japan *** Toyota Technological Institute 2-12-1 Hisakata Tenpaku-ku, Nagoya, Japan


The purpose of this research is trying to describe the role of librarians in optimizing the improvement and strengthening of library images. Research is based on careful analysis based on detailed studies of the focus of content management discussion on the role of librarians in optimizing the improvement and strengthening of library images. The research covers the scope of the analysis of fundamental analysis focusing on the role of librarians in the application of information communication technology and library promotion, in order to realize the ideal image of the library, in accordance with the industrial revolution era 4.0. The implementation of analysis requires critical realistic thinking, applying conceptual in the historical period in the past as well as when it is happening, so that it is appropriate to use historical approach research, which requires an investigation characterized by critical critical inquiry into the progress of a thought. Primary information sources are utilized as primary data. The data collection technique utilizes library research, through various literary reading activities subjecting the role of librarians, optimizing library image enhancement and strengthening. The analysis was carried out in a descriptive qualitative manner, based on the analysis of various types of theoretical reading, research and non-research. Research dominates, describes, examines and evaluates various factual facts in order to find solutions to various problems in phenomena. In order to achieve the validity of the analysis, content analysis is needed, which has the benefit of analyzing the meaning of the most important concepts. Observations made are used to support the construction of theory. The results of the study are the ideal image of the library can be achieved through optimizing the role of librarians including; (1). Librarians must have readiness and competency preparation so they can play a maximum role. (2). Librarians must have the ability to apply ICT. (3). Librarians are required to carry out promotions in various ways. (4). Librarians must be able to reflect and evaluate the evaluative power of evaluation and public response when utilizing library information services.


Infants are the most vulnerable group of a society to stunting. In Indonesia the prevalence of stunting infants is 30.8%, while the NTT Province is 46.2% in 2018. Stunting can inhibit physical growth, mental development and health status of children. This study aims to determine the relationship of mother's knowledge about nutrition and their attitudes to stunting. This quantitative study with a descriptive correlation method applied a cross-sectional approach. There were 68 mothers who involved in the present study and were selected by simple random sampling. The instrument used was a closed questionnaire and analyzed by Chi-square test. The results of this study indicate that the level of knowledge of infants' mothers about nutrition is mostly moderate (45.6%), their attitudes on stunting are mostly unfavorable by 35%. Moreover, there is a relationship between infants' mothers knowledge about nutrition and their attitudes on stunting with p- value = 0.00. Having taken into account about the findings of the present study, it is hoped that the mothers of infants can increase their knowledge about nutrition to reduce the stunting case in order to create a healthy generation.


Objectives To investigate the effect of obesity on subjects with acute high—altitude exposure. Methods A total of 39 obese and 43 non-obese young-middle aged male subjects were enrolled in this study. Each subject completed an AMS (acute mountain sickness) self-report questionnaire at sea level and after ascending high-altitude 12 hours and 24 hours. Weight and height were measured and BM1 was calculated. Vital capacity of lungs was measured. Venous blood was sampled for measuring haemoglobin at baseline. Arterial blood was taken for evaluating arterial oxygen saturation (SO2), arterial oxygen pressure (PaO2) and arterial carbon dioxide pressure (PaCOz) at baseline and 24 hours after ascending high-altitude. Results No statistical differences were found between groups at age, haemoglobin and vital capacity (P > 0.05). BMI in the two groups was significantly different because it is the cut—off point of grouping. At sea level, no statistical differences were found between groups at SOz, PaOz, PaCOz but 24 h after ascending high-altitude, SO2, PaO2 were much lower and PaCO2 was significantly higher in obese group than those in nonobese group (P < 0.001). Conclusions Obesity is an important risk factor in the development of acute high-altitude disease.


This paper focuses on discussing the role of trust in strategic alliances aimed at creating new knowledge and developing novel products in the rapidly changing technological setting. Trust is regarded as a salient factor in forming collaborative relationships among direct or indirect competitors for high technology markets. Trusting attitudes also foster organizational learning and unhampered knowledge exchange within an alliance structure. Finally, trust plays a considerable role in distributing and enforcing property rights for the objects of innovation when their valuable features cannot be meaningfully predicted or fully defined due to the rapidly changing environment as well as incomplete firms' knowledge caused by radical shifts of technology.


The superior performance of a novel deflection-type multi-DOF actuator is introduced briefly in this paper, three kinds of permanent magnetic rotor magnetization modes and schemes for a new PM deflection-type multi-DOF motors have been put forward. Static magnetic flux density modulus value calculation and static magnetic field analysis of every kind of permanent magnet magnetization modes and key structure parameters are implemented, and then the detailed distribution features of the rotor in permanent magnet deflection-type multi-DOF motor are simulated under the circumstance of 3D finite element software. Finally some disciplines of NdFeB rotor are concluded and analyzed. The results provide the references for the structure design of such kind of actuators or motors


Memory effects in the pre-asymptotic regime of transport in heterogeneous media, indicated by reliable numerical experiments, are explained by a dependence on initial conditions which is specific for systems with space variable properties such as aquifers, turbulent atmosphere or ionized plasmas. For statistically homogeneous random velocity fields, with finite correlation range, incompressible, and continuously differentiable, the one-particle dispersion (average over velocity realizations of the actual dispersion for fixed initial positions of the solute molecules) is a "memory-free" quantity, solely determined by the velocity correlation and the local dispersion coefficient and independent of initial conditions. Nonergodic behavior of large initial plumes, as manifest in deviations of actual solute dispersion from one-particle dispersion, is associated with a "memory term" consisting of correlations between initial positions and displacements of solute molecules. Increasing the source dimensions has two opposite effects: it reduces the uncertainty related to the randomness of center of mass, but, at the same time, it yields large memory terms. The memory effects increase with the source dimension and depend on its shape and orientation. Large narrow sources oriented transverse to the mean flow direction yield ergodic behavior with respect to the one-particle dispersion of the longitudinal dispersion and nonergodic behavior of the transverse dispersion, whereas for large longitudinal sources the longitudinal dispersion behaves nonergodically and the transverse dispersion ergodically. Such memory effects are significantly large over hundreds of heterogeneity scales and should therefore be considered in practical applications, as for instance calibration of model parameters, forecasting, identification of the contaminant source.


This chapter aims to identify the specific aspects of immersed tunnel design and construction that commonly cause environmental concern. Relevant issues are described, examples are included of how particular problems have been solved in practice, and recommendations are made for further good practice. Most of the material presented is drawn from case studies relating to 13 specific tunnels. The following effects on the watercourse, crossed by the tunnel, are reviewed: changes in flow patterns, changes in scour and siltation patterns, pollution of the watercourse, and effects on aquatic life. Immersed tunnel construction often involves large-scale ground water lowering to build approach cuttings and create a tunnel element graving dock. The two main issues arising when ground water is lowered for these purposes are how far it can still be used for drinking and how it may be contaminated. Immersed tunnel construction always involves major dredging operations, and normally requires large dry excavations for approach structures. Although the reuse of dredged and excavated material within the works is always considered, it is often necessary to dispose of much material, some of which may be contaminated. Although construction can damage or destroy shore habitats, it may also enable land use improvements. For the covering abstract, see IRRD 892202.


Fugitive dust emissions resulting from street car traffic in the city of Vienna were determined over a period of 17 months. The emission factor over the measuring period was calculated by measuring the silt content (sL-value) of different selected streets and using the available traffic count data. It is shown, that strewing crushed stone on streets in winter has a major influence on fugitive dust emission. A comparison of these emission factors with ambient air measuring data over the same measuring period shows parallel curves, which shows that resuspension of the dust deposited on streets affects air quality in the city of Vienna.


Small bowel herniation after operative laparoscopy is an uncommon but serious complication that can result in bowel resection. Therefore, it is important to prevent and diagnose early. We experienced a case of small bowel herniation through trocar site and present with a brief review of literatures.


Over the years, supplier selection was a critical strategic decision in the organization. Due to several circumstances and factors, this decision should meet many criteria. In this context, this paper presents a systematic literature review on sustainable and resilient supplier selection. The purpose is to identify key elements supporting the evaluation of suppliers based on sustainable, circular and resilient criteria. Seventy articles were collected and analyzed in different dimensions such as criteria, methods, validation and case studies. The findings highlight an increasing focus on supplier selection problem in the last three years. In addition, the results revealed that sustainable criteria are the most appearing. The combination of multiple methods in an uncertain environment is most employed by authors. Moreover, an important number of models are validated in a real-world case study. The presented outcomes can accompany academics and managers to develop a selection and evaluation supplier model ensuring sustainability, circularity and resilience in supply chain. Future researches could focus on analyzing intensively the studied dimensions.


In Nigeria young people are becoming sexually active at an increasingly earlier age. They are therefore at risk of contacting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. To evaluate the efficacy of health promotion and education programme on the knowledge attitude and sexual risk behaviour of young people in Nigeria. Comprehensive health education intervention information was sourced from the Internet. Although a reasonable amount of literature exists on STI/STDs in Nigeria, relatively little deals specifically with health promotion and education. Among the intervention students there was also an increase in the consistent use of condom and the use of the condom during their sexual intercourse. Young people can benefit from specific health promotion and education programmes that transmit important information necessary to prevent risky behaviour and improve knowledge and attitudes on STDs. The poor attitudes to precautionary measures portend a lot of dangers for the country's efforts toward reducing/eradicating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. These results show that a lot still needs to be done in designing health promotion and education programs that would assure behaviour modification among the target population.


We approximate the effective potential appearing in the radial part of the massless Klein-Gordon equation for the interior of a charged black hole by a second-order polynomial. This approximation allows an analytic treatment of the equation. Further we recover all the relevant properties in the interior region. For the interior normal modes the comparison between the analytical and numerical results yields an excellent agreement when the ratio of charge to mass for the black hole is close to unity. We use two theorems to bound the difference between the exact and approximate eigenvalues. A complementary scheme using both the analytical and numerical methods is proposed to solve related problems in the Kerr metric.


Embodiments of the present invention disclose methods, node equipment and a network system for service transmission processing. Wherein, one method includes: the service data relayed by a 3R relay node are received; the relay processing includes terminating the optical channel(OCh) which regenerates the service data, wherein, the optical channel transport unit(OTU) is transparently transmitted when the optical channel is terminated; a detection result is obtained by performing the defect detection of the OTU path. Another method includes: obtaining the overhead of an optical transport network(OTN) frame; determining whether the overhead contains the client layer failure information inserted after the signal failed, if yes, confirming the path where the defect occurs according to the client layer failure information. The technical solutions of the embodiments of present invention can improve the processing procedure of the service transmission.


There are a lot of non-scientific-related news on Websites. In order to improve the useful value for the news information,a novel multilevel dichotomous model of text automatic categorization extraction system for technology news based on TF-IDF was designed and implemented. The news offered by government news website and Phoenix as the research background in scientific news categorization extraction. Experiments showed a85. 3 percent accuracy for scientific-related news and 82. 9 percent recognition rate for nonscientific-related news respectively in the test containing two hundred thousand documents and more than four thousand news classifications. The results showed that the proposed method offered a useful reference model on website scientific intelligence.


Standing back, the greatest influence of Indigenous Peoples on international law is our contribution to a pragmatically-driven yet conscious reframing of its foundations. Partly as a result of our participation in international law, it is changing its nineteenth and twentieth century state-centric, colonial, and positivist character to a more informal, flexible, and partially decolonizing system of law. In this way, Indigenous Peoples are crafting a legal system that achieves the "sweet-spot." It has sufficient "hard-law" quality to restrain the self-interested instincts of powerful states—much needed by Indigenous Peoples seeking to realize their claims against states—and systemic inclusion and justice.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of combined resection for the treatment of T(4) gastric cancer and to refine the indication for en bloc dissection.

METHODS
Clinical data of 69 cases receiving combined resection were analyzed retrospectively, and compared with those of 45 cases undergoing palliative gastrectomy.

RESULTS
Of 69 cases, 54 patients underwent curative combined resection, 15 patients underwent palliative combined resection, including 24 with transverse colectomy, 22 with pancreatico-splenectomy, 8 with left lateral lobectomy of liver, 6 with pancreatico-splenectomy and transverse colectomy, 5 with pancreaticoduodenectomy, 2 with cholecystectomy, 1 with splenectomy, 1 with phrenectomy. The total rate of lymph node metastasis was 88.4%; the operative mortality rate was 4.3%; the morbidity rate was 14.5%. The postoperatively 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates of CR group and NCR group were 66.9%, 39.1%, 26.8% and 33.4%, 7.4%, 0% respectively (P < 0.01). The five year survival rate of curative resection group was 34.1%.

CONCLUSIONS
An en bloc combined resection can cure some T(4) patients, and improve the five-year survival rate.


After the Declaration of the State of Emergency on the shortage of Water throughout the country on September 2011, the government carried out a rapid assessment and a post drought recovery assessment. Both assessment focused on the extend and severity of t


IaaS providers provide infrastructure to the end users with various pricing schemes and models. They provide different types of virtual machines (small, medium, large, etc.). Since each IaaS provider uses their own pricing schemes and models, price varies from one provider to the other for the same requirements. To select a best IaaS provider, the end users need to consider various parameters such as SLA, pricing models/schemes, VM heterogeneity, etc. Since many parameters are involved, selecting an efficient IaaS provider is a challenging job for an end user. To address this issue, in this work we have designed, implemented and tested a decision-assist system which assists the end users to select efficient IaaS provider(s). Our decision-assist system consists of an analytical model to calculate the cost and decision strategies to assist the end user in selecting the efficient IaaS provider(s). The decision assist system considers various relevant parameters such as VM configuration, price, availability, etc. to decide the efficient IaaS provider(s). Rigorous experiments have been conducted by emulating various IaaS providers, and we have observed that our DAS successfully suggests the efficient IaaS provider/ providers by considering the input parameters given by the user.